Floretine Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs just got a little more grown up! And healthier!
(An easy way to sneak greens into your family’s meals!)

Serves 4
(Or 3 if you’re really hungry!!

For the meatballs:
First wilt 100g spinach in a pan. Then allow to cool, squeeze out the liquid, roughly chop and set aside.
Then mince 450g chicken (ideally thighs) and two garlic cloves in a food processor. (Don’t be afraid of the raw garlic! :))
Then season the chicken mix with 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper, 1 tsp oregano and stir in the spinach.
Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper and spray with frylight. Roll chicken into 16 meatballs and place in the dish.

Bake at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce:
Sauté one finely chopped onion and one garlic clove.
After the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes remove from the oven. Removing the greaseproof paper!!!
Toss the meatballs with the sautéed onions, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper, 1 tsp of oregano and 1 tsp of sweetener (or honey if you don’t like sweetener – but don’t forget to count the syns).
Cover, and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Then serve!

Great for batch baking and freezing.

Syn free on the Slimming World plan.

Jewelled Couscous

Well this is just healthy comfort food! Filling but light and summery.

Pour 2/3 cup water on 1/3 cup couscous and set aside for it to ‘cook’.

Using a food process if you have one, finely chop:

2 tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

2 spring onions

1 carrot

and a handful of fresh parsley and coriander.

Then mix together with the couscous and 50g of pomegranate seeds, 1 tsp of sumac and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Orange, fennel and rocket salad

This light salad pairs well with a piece of grilled chicken or seared tuna.

In a food processor finely slice half a fennel bulb. Then peel and thinly slice one orange. Toss together with 30g of rocket.

SYN FREE

 

 

Strawberry, Mint & Quinoa Salad

This simple but refreshing salad will wow guests at your next BBQ.

140g strawberries, cut into quarters

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1/3 cup cooked quinoa

10 mint leaves, cut into thin strips

3 tsp lemon juice

Toss all the ingredients together and then add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

SYN FREE

 

 

Steak Marinade

This marinade will take your steak to a whole new level.

This makes enough to marinade 2 steaks;

Mix: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp garlic granules and 1 tsp dried chilli flakes.

Leave the meat to marinade an hour or two. Then cook to taste.

 

Pea and Mint Hummus

In a food processor blitz: 113g of drained chickpeas, 113g peas, a garlic clove, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tbsp water and a large handful of mint leaves.

Then remove from the food processor and stir in 2 tbsp of yogurt and salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Syn free – perfect with veggies or as a spread for crackers.

Turkey Crusted Asparagus Quiche

Line a small baking tin with greaseproof paper and then cover with thin slices of turkey or ham.

Chop a couple of spring onions and scatter them on the turkey.
Then place lots of asparagus tips on the turkey.

Beat three eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the asparagus.
Bake on a medium heat for 40 minutes.

Yummy hot or cold!

Bourbon biscuits, popcorn and strawberry milk… BAGS!!!

There’s a hot new trend…It seems…much to my amazement…For handbags that look like food…yes…really!

With only two months to go till my much anticipated Disneyland Paris minibreak. .. my mind is firmly focused on planning.

I am back in the swing of things with Slimming World and on my way to shedding a couple of stone before the trip. With hotel and transport booked, next up to plan is of course activities and restaurants. … because well food IS my life after all.

Then comes the more practical side of things like clothes and my realisation that I need to decide between a backpack and a crossbody bag…yes this really is a big decision to make at the moment.

And while food IS my life… I have to share with you these bags I found when looking for a new bag online. I can’t decide whether they are so cool I need one… or whether they are yet another weird trend of something that I will be fed up of after 3 months.

Check this out… my favourite is the Bourbon biscuit bag at Esty. At £65 it’s actually a decent price for a leather bag:

Next up, and definitely aimed at a younger crowd is the Strawberry Milk Carton bag from Accessorize for a pocket money price of £15.

And the third one I came across… which is probably the one that baffles me the most, is the high end contribution from Browns: a £335 popcorn container shaped bag. I just don’t understand why someone would spend this sort of money on this sort of bag! Unless you were maybe Miles Cirus or someone.

And there are plenty more of these bags at the moment!!! These are just the ones that caught my eye.

Well my search for the perfect weekend handbag continues. ..and for now it won’t include anything of the edible looking variety!