Fat Free Roast Potatoes

I love roastie's but it is something that can ruin a diet or healthy eating plan. It is possible to have your roastie & eat it. Though they are not quite the same as a gorgeous crispy roast potato they are better than nothing.
This is for people who either have never had to try & lose some weight or those who just never thought of doing this.
 If you are serious about watching your fat intake or losing weight give them a try

Peel & part boil potatoes. After draining them give them a careful shake in the colander to break the outside a little, this will make them a little crispier.
Line a baking tray with something non stick (I used foil) spray this with a low cal cooking spray. Tip potatoes on this & space them out a little. Now spray them with the cooking spray (you can also sprinkle them with salt to help with the crisping but I don't as we watch the old arteries :-)
Roast as normal, keeping an eye on the colour, you don't want to burn them!

Chicken Dinner In A Pot, low fat

I am all for one pot cooking, its certainly easy & I can add extra veg if I like but its not necessary. Easy on the purse & easy on the figure.
I have a long line of quick recipes that are filling & nutritious, from my days of owning & running a busy town centre shop & not getting home till 7.30pm. I mean who in their right mind wants to start cooking then, but needs must with a husband who had a heart attack I have to cook from scratch for a healthy lifestyle!
Try this easy to prepare recipe, then while its cooking you can relax.

Chicken drumsticks or legs, skin removed
12 Cloves Garlic crushed
1 Onion cut into quarters
4 carrots roughly chopped
2 Courgette's sliced
1 tsp Tarragon
3/4 - 1 pint Chicken stock
2 tsp Dried celery (optional)
New potatoes skin on or old potatoes cut small, skin on
Salt & pepper
Low cal cooking spray or a little oil wiped over pan
Brown the chicken, add garlic to pan while browning.
Add all the other ingredients then stir in the stock & season to taste.

Bring to the boil, turn down, cover & simmer for one hour
That's it!
Enjoy



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One Pot Curried Mince Low Fat

This couldn't be easier, basically it takes as long as potatoes take to boil! I love this recipe especially when I am too tired to"cook" I love it with minced lamb but I can't get that here, so far, so I use pork mince.
This no nonsense, meal in a pot, quick to the table meal couldn't be easier!
New potatoes in skins or old cut small in skins(scrubbed)
2 Onion (red) chopped small
4 cloves Garlic crushed & chopped
1 inch Root Ginger peeled & grated
Low cal cooking spray or wipe the pan with a little oil
Extra lean Minced Pork or;  fry the fat off & rinse the mince with hot water & wipe the pan before placing the mince back in.
2 tbsp Curry powder medium or hot
Jar Tomatoes
1/4 pint Chicken stock
Spinach leaves
Salt & pepper
Very low fat natural yogurt to drizzle

Put the potatoes on to cook. Spray a deep pan with cooking oil (low cal) & brown off the mince then drain, rinse & return to heat. Add garlic, onions & cook till softened.Add Ginger & curry powder & cook aprox 6 mins.Add the tomatoes & stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat & simmer for a few mins.

Add the cooked potatoes & spinach, cover & wilt the spinach. Easy as that!
Enjoy

Pork Biryani, Low Fat

Loving the spicy food when I am on a diet. Its like lying to my brain so I feel naughty & full. I even get the return munchies & have to keep dipping into the pan to eat the left overs!
This recipe can be enjoyed with or without the curry powder or chili. Without it has a gorgeous ginger zing on the tongue & the smell is lovely, so enjoy whichever way you cook it.

Pork
2 Onions chopped
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
Low cal cooking spray or wipe the pan with a little oil on a piece of kitchen roll
1 inch Root ginger
2 eggs
Boiled rice
Frozen peas, corn, Green beans
or
Cooked Carrots, Courgette small chopped, Green beans
1/4 pint strong chicken stock. if you are using frozen veg
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Curry powder or some chili flakes
Fresh ground black pepper
Peel & chop ginger into small pieces, chop the onion & garlic small.
Boil rice. Don't let the rice cook too much

Remove all visible fat from the pork & cut the pork into thin strips, then cut the strips into small pieces so you have something very small but more substantial than minced meat.

In a large deep pan/wok sprayed or wiped with oil brown off the pork & cook till tender.
In another fry pan, cook the onions, garlic & ginger for a couple of mins then crack in the eggs & scramble it through the mix. Add this to the pork stir through, then add the stock & frozen veg & cook till veg is done, skip this if you are using fresh cooked vegetables.
Stir the fresh cooked vegetables, rice, Curry powder (or chili flakes to taste) & cook for 5 mins
Season with black pepper & stir in the soy sauce.

Serve cold as a salad, it's scrummy

Cheeky Chilli Chicken, Low Fat

Another low fat chicken recipe from the village kitchen, Different flavours are achieved by using spices & herbs & this is no slouch in the taste stakes. You can make it as hot or mild as you like,the main point here is to encourage you to cook healthier & enjoy great food when you are trying to shift the pounds.

Chicken legs, skin removed
4 Garlic cloves crushed & chopped
Two large roasted peppers
Mushrooms, thick sliced..... optional
1/2 pint Chicken stock
1/2 tsp liquid sweetener
Jar Tomatoes
Chilli flakes to taste
1 tsp Paprika
Low cal cooking spray or wipe the pan lightly with oil on a kitchen roll
Salt & pepper
Spray or wipe the pan with oil. Brown the chicken Add the garlic & fry for a couple of mins. Add the mushrooms & cook a couple more mins. Add the roughly chopped peppers & cook for 5 mins. Sweeten & stir in paprika, tomatoes & stock. Season to taste, cover & cook on a low heat for 1 hour.
You can remove the meat from the bone or serve as is.

Moroccan Lemon Chicken, Low Fat

Easy food for all & no one needs to know its diet food, after all what is diet food? This is & if you are eating boring, tasteless dinners try this.Its all in the preparation & taking out the fat!!!! Fat is BAD, repeat...... ;-D
I am always trying different ways with chicken as its the best meat for watching our weight & healthy eating but it can just get boring, if you feel the same this is worth a try.

Chicken, skin removed
2 Onions, cut into quarters
3 Carrots, bite size pieces
Low fat cooking spray
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Lemon zest & juice
1 /2 pints Chicken stock
Sml jar Olives
Spray a pan with a low fat cooking oil or wipe the pan with kitchen roll with olive oil. Brown chicken & add the chopped onions, carrots, spices, lemon & stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, cover & reduce heat. Cook for one hour until the chicken is tender, remove from the heat & stir in the olives.

Spiced Red Cabbage, Low Fat Version

Mmmm I love the smell of spices & my favourite spices are ginger, cinnamon & allspice so this is almost a perfect vegetable dish for me. Problem is the onion but I am gradually adding a little into my diet & taking tablets so I can enjoy the occasional treat such as this!
A warming side dish you can add to your table & let people dig in & be surprised.
This dish takes a lot of cooking time but can be reheated so cook ahead of time.
Especially enjoy this durig the winter months but actually any time of year. Serve cold at summer garden parties.

1 Head Red cabbage, sliced
2-4 Red onions, sliced
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp Ginger
1 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp liquid sweetener
6 tbsp Red wine vinegar
spray cooking oil, frylight or other

In an oven proof casserole dish, layer the shredded cabbage with the onion, ending with a layer of cabbage. In a jug mix the spices with the liquids & pour over the cabbage. Spray the cabbage with the cooking spray & place the lid on. Cook in the middle of a preheated oven 150c for 3 hours (told you it was a lot of cooking!). Stir the mix occasionally
Enjoy

Zingy Beef Pot Roast, (Low fat) & Not A Tomato In Sight!

I love, love, love a good pot roast & have cooked beef, pork & goat (in Bulgaria) in this way for years, but it usually involves lots of red wine & rakia or brandy!
Now I am on a diet & I want to lose a lot of weight, without compromising delicious food or taste.
We don't need to eat boring foder, or have bland tasteless meals, just because we want to shift the pounds. We just need to watch how we cook, what we cook & what we add to our cooking.
There are lots of compromises out there & the biggest change, for loss of calories in food, comes from cutting off all visible fat & draining off all fat from mince, & not adding fat when cooking. It's the FAT!!!
Add taste with herbs, spices & fat free sauces like soy sauce etc.
This recipe is full of aroma & flavour. A very tasty pot roast, very easy &  very adaptable.
Serve with potato, either boiled with skin, dry roasted or mashed with no milk or fat, mash it with an egg & load up with lots of vegetables.

Beef, all visible fat removed
1 pint of beef stock, made with 2 stock cubes
4 Garlic cloves, crushed You can also add onions if you wish cut in half
Marrow, chopped in cubes. or any other root vegetable of your choice
3 Carrots, julienne style
Roasted green & red Peppers, chopped (you can use non roasted)
1 tsp Paprika
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1tbsp Soy sauce
2 sml Bay leaves
Fresh ground Salt & blk pepper
Chili flakes to your taste
1 tsp Mixed herbs

First trim off all visible fat, if this means you end up with more than one lump so be it.
In a casserole pot add the beef, crushed garlic & sprinkle over the paprika.  Poke the  marrow, around the side of the pork & add salt, pepper, chopped roasted peppers, chili flakes, stock with Worcester &soy sauce's, bay leaves, carrots & mixed herbs.
Place in the centre of a hot oven 220c for 15mins then turn oven down to 150c & slow cook for 4 - 6 hours untill  the meat is so tender it melts. Keep an eye on the fluid level, don't let it get too low.
See, east peasy ;-D

Slimming Pork Goulash

Pork in Bulgaria is probably the main meat we eat. Its cheap & very, very tasty. Pork is reared by many people in the villages. I would love to raise Pigs for food but I am unable to kill & eat something I have cared for, wimp I know!
People think if you are on a diet you can't eat pork & other meats that it has to be poultry. This is rubbish, a complete fallacy. The only thing you have to do is cut off all visible fat, as you have to remove the skin from poultry. Why would you want to make your life miserable by denying yourself good food??????
So here is a very tasty dish & you can dish this up to everyone its that good!
I have adapted this from a Slimming World recipe. 
Enjoy with rice or mashed potato & green beans. Do not add milk & fat to the potato but fork it, to break the potato, crack in an egg  & mash it well.

2 Leeks, trimmed & outer layer removed
4 Cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Cloves of garlic chopped
1 - 2 lb Pork (2lb will make enough for friends or to freeze)
2 Red peppers, chopped
Fry light (if you cannot get this, wipe a small amount of oil over a non stick frypan) If you are in Bulgaria get family to send it over it will be a massive help.
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Paprika
1/2 pint of beef stock
Jar/tin Tomatoes in sauce
Seasoning
Chop the pork into bite size pieces, remove all visible fat.
In a pan, lightly brown to seal the pork, add leeks & stirring occasionally cook for 3 mins. Add bay & garlic & cook a couple of mins. Add the peppers & sprinkle over the paprika stirin & cook for 5- 7 mins.
Pour in tomatoes & the beef stock combine, grind in black pepper & sea or rock salt.
Bring to the boil, cover pan & cook for 60 - 90 mins or till pork is nice & tender.
Enjoy, gorgeous & filling

Big Beefy Burgers

Mmmmmm I love juicy fat, full of meat burgers. We don't just have to have them as a treat though.
Here in Bulgaria its not like shopping in the UK, we can't buy extra lean mince beef, but what we can do is mince our own. Back to basics here in lots of things, well it keeps us busy ;-)
I enjoy making these burgers, they are so easy & I look forward to them all day when they are on the menu.
I can even have these on my diet with egg & bacon in a bun or with pasta n sauce, potato etc, which is always good!

1 red onion, chopped small (can use white)
4 or more cloves of Garlic, crushed & chopped small.
250g Minced beef (lean or very lean for a healthier burger)
2 tsp Worcester or Soy sauce
1 tsp Parsley
Salt & pepper
Oil or Fry Light (for frying)
Add onion & garlic to the mince meat & mix in. Add parsley, Worcester sauce & season, mix it all together.
Divide into 4 portions, shape into balls & then flatten into burger patties.

Cook gently in a fry pan for 10 - 15 mins depending on your taste & thickness of burgers.
Enjoy.......