Raspberry Muffins (Serves 12 at 4 PP each)

1 1/2 cups wholewheat self raising flour

4 tbsp Bertolli light
2 oz rice krispies
1 1/2 cups of raspberries
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.  Coat a 12 hole muffin tin with cooking spray.  Place flour in a large bowl and rub in bertolli light with fingers.
2. Stir in cereal, raspberries & sugar.  Combine eggs & milk in small bowl and stir into fruit mixture.
3. Pour mixture into prepared tin.
4. Bake for 25 mins.  Let stand for 5 mins before putting on a wire rack to cool.

I actually made half the amount as if they are in the house (12 !) I will eat them.  So far I have had one yesterday, and Henry has eaten 3 :-)

Hungarian Goulash (Serves 4 at 4 pp each)

Again, this is a recipe I have adapted (removed the swirl of creme fraiche at the end) and re-pointed from an old WW cookbook - Healthy Heart, Food For Life.

low fat cooking spray
500g lean diced beef stewing steak
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp plain flour
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
425 ml (15 fl oz) beef stock, made with one stock cube
1 red, 1 green pepper, deseeded & sliced
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 140 / 120 fan oven.  Heat casserole dish & spray with low fat cooking spray, add beef and cook till browned.
2. At the same time brown onions using low fat spray adding a little water if they stick.  Stir in garlic, paprika & flour & cook for 30 secs, then add the chopped tomatoes & tomato puree.  Pour over the beef, add the stock and stir well to mix together.
3. Bring to a simmer and then cover with lid and cook in the oven for 1 1/4 hours.  Stir in the peppers, replace the lid and cook for a further 45 mins.

Banana Oat Bars (Serves 8 at 2pp each)

This recipe came from one of the older WW cookbooks (Cook, Eat, Enjoy).  I have propointed them to be a big slab of cake - but you could easily halve them and have 1 pp each slice.  I was just hungry today ;-)

100g porridge oats
2 tbsp granulated artificial sweetener
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 ripe medium bananas, mashed
2 medium eggs, separated
150g low fat plain yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan oven.  Lightly grease a cake tin with low fat cooking spray & line with baking parchment.
2. Reserve 1 tbsp oats to top the bars, then whizz the rest in a food processor.
3. Mix with the sweetener, cinnamon, mashed bananas, egg yolks & yogurt.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to a soft peak, stir a spoonful into the banana oat batter to loosen it, then carefully fold in the remainder.
5. Bake for 30 mins.  Cool in the tin and then transfer onto a wire rack.

Another 1.5 lbs down !

Well I weighed a day early last week as I couldn't make the Friday morning class and I lost 1.5 lbs which pleased me immensely as we had had my parents for a meal at the weekend and I cooked a three course meal with scrummy cheesecake for pud !!!!  Have been trying some new recipes so will add some now.

Carrot & Sunflower Seed Salad (Serves 3 at 2 PP each)

I have just tried this recipe from 'How to Eat the WW Way' - an old cook book from back when it was points only.  I have used e-source to repoint it, and it is gorgeous - surprised me how tasty it was actually !

1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
4 large carrots, grated coursely
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tbsp runny honey
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Check seasoning and serve !!

Back to WW - again !

This time for good again though :-)  I bit the bullet and decided to go back to a meeting as a proper member after my holiday at the beginning of June, so here we are (again !) back writing the blog.  Mainly so I can keep a record of the good recipes I try and also share them with my friends, btu also to keep a track on what is going on and how I am feeling on the weight loss journey.  I have about 1.5 stone to lose to get back near goal and so I am aiming on doing that this year if possible.  I get weighed on a Friday morning and lost 2.5 lbs on my first weigh in last week.  Fingers crossed for this week too - although I am weighing in a day early as I can't make the Friday class.

Jubby Pie (Serves 6 at 10 PP each)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 medium leeks, sliced
500g turkey mince
100g frozen peas
2 small carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
12 tbsp tomato ketchup
300ml chicken stock
salt & pepper
4 tbsp flour
1kg potatoes, boiled & made into mash with a little bit of skimmed milk & bertolli light

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan until sizzling.  Add the onions & leeks & cook for 5 mins to soften.  Add the turkey, peas, carrots & celery & cook for a further 10 mins.  Next add the flour & ketchup & mix well, then add the boiling stock & bring to the boil, stirring all the time.  Cook for 10 mins, or until the vegetables are cooked.  Season to taste
2. Place a layer of mashed potato in the bottom of a dish, then top with a layer of meat mixture, then potato and then meat mixture.  Keep layering and finish with a layer of potato.
3. Cook in a preheated oven at 200c for 25 mins.

Prawn Balti (Serves 4 at 4 pp each)

500g raw king prawns
juice of 1 lime
1.5 tsp paprika

Masala
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, diced
4cm piece of fresf root ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground garam masala
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves

1. Put the prawns in a bowl, squeeze over the lime juice and stir in the paprika.  Stir well and then leave on one side while you make the masala.

2. Heat the oil in a wok over a moderate heat and fry the onion for about 5 mins, add the ginger, garlic, chillies and red pepper.  Continue frying for about a minute.

3. Turn the heat up and add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, cinnamon, garam masala, ground coriander and sugar.  Cook briskly until the tomatoes have thickened.  Pour in about 150ml hot water and stir well and turn the heat down to low.

4. Add the prawns, along with any lime juice from the bowl and simmer for 3-4 mins until the prawns are cooked.  Add the coriander and serve.

Special Chicken Curry (Serves 4 at 4 pp each)

2 tsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
4 tomatoes, skinned & finely chopped (I used 3/4 can chopped tomatoes)
50g plain very low fat yogurt
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
3 large cardamom pods
6 cloves
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
450g chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 tbsp chopped coriander

Heat the oil in the saucepan, add the onion and cook until browned.  Remove and then blitz them in a food processor.  Set aside.

Add the garlic & ginger pastes to pan, stir for a few mins, add tomatoes, stir well and then stir in the yogurt.  Cook for 5-6 mins.  Add the browned onion paste, then all the spices, bay leaf and salt to taste.  Cook for about 5 mins, then add the chicken, and keep adding small amounts of water if it needs it (I think we added about 1/2 a pint in the end).  Cook for 40-50 mins, add the chopped coriander and serve.

Mixed Vegetable Curry (Serves 4 at 3 pp each)

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
2 large plum tomatoes skinned & chopped (I used 1/2 can chopped tomatoes)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt
500g potatos, peeled and diced
500g cauliflower, cut into medium florets
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped



Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook until lightly browned.  Add garlic paste, ginger paste, tomatoes, spices and salt to taste & stir well.  Add potatoes, cauliflower & 125 ml water.  Stir well & put the lid on the pan.  Cook for 15-20 mins or until veg are tender.  Add chopped coriander, check seasoning and serve.

Irish Pork Stew with Cider (Serves 6 at 9 propoints each)

500g lean pork loin, cut into chunks
8 rashers of lean smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 turnip, peeled & cut into small chunks
4 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into small chunks
1/2 cabbage, shredded
200ml cider
400ml pork or chicken stock
1 bay leaf

Fry the bacon in a little fry light and then add the pork loin, once they are a little coloured add the cider and the pork stock.

Add the remaining vegetables and the bay leaf and allow to simmer for about an hour.

Add salt to taste - we added more stock to make sure all the veg were covered and cooked properly.

New Year, New Me - 2012 is going to be a good year !

OK, I have been weighed and today is the first day of really sticking to the plan for the last 6 months really.  I am totally switched on, had a good morning already and have been for a good walk with my friend.  Feeling good.  Chicken Madras for tea (5 propoints), I have already earnt 4 bonus points using my pedometer, so hoping to up that a couple by tonight.  My kind friend also gave me a couple of WW recipe books (one that I have been toying with buying for the last 6 months so I'm going to have a good look through them this afternoon and plan a few more meals as I have already planned the meals up to next Tuesday. 

At the weigh in I put 7 lbs on since the beginning of December which is not so bad as I have had my 40th birthday, Christmas and New Year and had a fantastic time too.  But because of that I now have 25 lbs to lose to get back to my goal weight.  I will also be doing this on my own with the fantastic support of my friends and a facebook group, but not attending meetings anymore as I am fed up of being a clerk in a meeting and not getting any support or being appreciated so I have decided to stop attending.  I am feeling very good about the decision though and positive about the future.