Pumpkin and Gnocchi Gratin

Around eight million pumpkins are expected to be thrown away in the UK after Halloween this year - and according to this Guardian article, only a third of consumers will cook and eat any of them.

I didn't get around to carving a pumpkin this year but did buy two, for some photos with my little girl!

I then made use of them in various ways - soup, pie, and this pumpkin and gnocchi gratin. The recipe is from an old issue of Weightwatchers magazine; but I added bacon lardons as well (if you want it without, this makes a nice vegetarian dish). I also used more cheese and allowed more gnocchi per person.
This is really tasty - I'm not a huge fan of gnocchi as it's very doughy and needs more than just a tomato sauce, but it works wonderfully in this recipe - you could also substitute the pumpkin for butternut squash.

Serves 4
400g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
4 tbsp. chopped fresh sage - I used 4 tsp dried sage to keep the cost down
200g bacon lardons
low fat cooking spray (or oil if you are not following Weightwatchers)
500g gnocchi
250g tomato passata
5 tbsp. grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with foil and spray with non stick spray or pour in a little oil. Roast the pumpkin, garlic, onion and sage, and sprinkle over some salt and pepper then toss in the oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin has softened.

Meanwhile fry the bacon lardons in a frying pan.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water according to the pack instructions - it only takes a few minutes.

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and mash with a fork, discarding the skin. In a large ovenproof dish mix the garlic, pumpkin and onion, bacon lardons, gnocchi, then pour over the passata and gently mix in. Finally sprinkle over the cheese.

 

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes; serve with a green veg like broccoli or a salad and garlic bread.

A lovely winter warmer, and a good way to use up pumpkin so it isn't wasted.

 

 And here's my little pumpkin herself!

 

I'm sharing this with Cook Blog Share, hosted by Easy Peasy Foodie.

WeightWatchers Chicken Basque

This a great one-pot meal which can feed a whole family. It's actually a WeightWatchers recipe as it's fairly low in fat if you use skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs - I used thighs for this recipe so it's good value as well. If you left the chorizo out it would be lower in fat but wouldn't taste as good!

According to the recipe which I found in an old WeightWatchers magazine, this has 9 and a half points per person. It involved scattering olives and orange slices over the top at the end which I didn't do, so I have left these out of the recipe.

To serve 4, you need:
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
low fat cooking spray
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
2 red peppers, de-seeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
75g chorizo sausage, skinned and sliced
50g semi-dried tomatoes (I used sun-dried, drained of oil on kitchen paper)
175g brown basmati rice
1 chicken stock cube, mixed with 225ml water
125ml dry white wine
1 tbsp. tomato puree
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

 

Season the chicken. Use an oven proof dish that can also go on the hob if you have one, and spray with low fat cooking spray. Brown the chicken on both sides - alternatively you can do this in a frying pan. Heat the olive oil in the casserole dish or frying pan and brown the onion and peppers, then after about 5 minutes add the garlic, chorizo and tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 180C. If you're using a frying pan, at this point transfer the ingredients into the casserole dish. Stir in the rice until it's coated in oil then add the stock, wine, tomato puree and paprika. Put the chicken on top, making sure the rice is still covered by liquid, and put the lid on top.

Bake in the oven for about an hour until the rice has cooked and the liquid absorbed and the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

WeightWatchers Curried Fish Pie

Fish pie is a comforting family staple and is usually topped with mashed potato or puff pastry. The former is carb-heavy and the latter high in fat, so using filo pastry is a much lighter option.

I adapted a recipe in an old WeightWatchers magazine to make this, which tasted really good and made a nice change from the usual kind of fish pie. The WeightWatchers recipe had 6.5 syns per serving and I don't think my changes will have affected that.

To serve 2 you need:

175g white fish like cod or haddock, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
75ml double cream (the WeightWatchers recipe calls for less than 55% fat double cream)
100g cooked and peeled prawns
1/2 tbsp. mild curry powder
zest of 1/2 a lime
4 x 15g sheets filo pastry
low fat cooking spray (I use Fry Light)

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the cubed fish and prawns in the bottom of an ovenproof dish and mix with the cream, curry powder and lime zest.

Cut each sheet of filo pastry in half to make 8 squares. Spray one side of the pastry with cooking spray and crumble up each piece of pastry and sit it on top of the pie dish until it is covered. Once you have used all the pastry, spray over them all with cooking spray.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

 

WeightWatchers Rosemary and Butterbean Soup

I've been trying to avoid bread and at the very least not taking sandwiches into work for lunch, which at this time of year means soups instead. I am a pretty fussy eater (for those who hadn't figured that out yet!) and often skip over recipes because they have ingredients I don't like. But, I figured, when you are blending everything together in a soup, you don't really know you are eating it, right? Especially if it isn't an ingredient with a strong overpowering taste.

So I decided to make this rosemary and bean soup from an old WeightWatchers recipe book called Simply Autumn. I used butterbeans, though you can also use cannellini or borlotti beans. I added a little plain yogurt at the end to thicken the soup but if you don't do this, it would be vegan - great for anyone doing #veganuary.

According to the WeightWatchers recipe book this has 3 points per portion.

To make two portions, here's what I did:

 

You need:
Fry Light (low-fat cooking spray)
2 cloves garlic with the skins left on
400g tin butter beans or cannellini beans
1/2 an onion, peeled and chopped into wedges
1/2 a lemon, cut in half
1 small handful rosemary
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 pint vegetable stock
2 tbsp. low fat plain yogurt (optional - no longer vegan if you use this)
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. Spray a roasting tin with Fry Light or similar. Put the garlic, butter beans, onion, lemon, rosemary and oregano into the pan, spray with more Fry Light, toss together and roast in the oven for 20 mins.

Take out of the oven and use a fork or wooden spoon to crush the softened garlic and lemon. Remove the garlic skin and lemon peel and discard.

Scrape everything into a blender and add the stock. Liquidize to make a soup; stir in the yogurt if desired and serve.

I'm sending this to Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes for her veggie soup challenge No Croutons Required.

Weightwatchers Chicken in a Creamy Tarragon Sauce

This is another WeightWatchers recipe and is low fat but tastes really indulgent with a creamy sauce that even uses white wine. Leeks are in season in autumn and winter so it's a great recipe to make at this time of year.

According to WeightWatchers this has 6 points per serving.

To serve 4, you need:
2 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 a chicken stock cube
150ml WeightWatchers Fruity white wine (you can use any white wine but that will change the WW Points if you are counting them)
400g skinless boneless chicken breasts
100g very low fat fromage frais
100g half-fat crème fraiche
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1/2 bunch fresh tarragon
800g floury potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tsp low fat spread
4 tbsp. skimmed milk

Bring a pan of water to the boil then summer the potatoes.

Meanwhile put the sliced leeks and garlic in a deep frying pan with a lid. Mix the chicken stock cube with a splash of boiling water and pour into the pan. Cover and steam over a low to medium heat for 10-15 mins until the leeks are tender. Add the wine, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.

Cut the chicken breasts into 12 pieces and add to the pan. Turn down the heat, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Drain the potatoes and mash with the low fat spread and milk.

Stir in the fromage frais, crème fraiche, mustard and tarragon and heat through. Season to taste. Serve with the mashed potatoes and green veg.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the finished dish but taste is more important than looks anyway!

 

I'm sharing this with Simply Seasonal, hosted by Hijacked by Twins.

Lahmacun - Weightwatchers Turkish Pizza

This Turkish pizza is topped with minced lamb and spices - and has no cheese, so it isn't what some people would consider a pizza, but trust me, it's delicious!

 

I found the recipe in an old WeightWatchers magazine - I can't remember how they work out the Points system but they say this has 5 points per serving. It uses a packet pizza base mix and lamb is quite a fatty meat so is not what I would call super-healthy but it obviously does fit into the WeightWatchers plan if you are following that.

To serve 4, you need:
Low fat cooking spray eg Fry Light
145g sachet pizza base mix
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
225g lean lamb mince
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large ripe vine tomato, chopped (I left this out as we don't like tomatoes)
4 tsp sun dried tomato puree (I used regular tomato puree)
4 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
lemon wedges to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 C. Spray a large baking tray with low fat spray or Fry Light.

Make up the pizza dough according to pack instructions then divide into four and shape into ovals. Or if you want a larger meal make two - but if you are counting WeightWatchers points you will have to double them per person. Place the pizza bases on the baking tray and leave in a warm place for ten minutes.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until softened. Add the mince, garlic and cumin and fry for 5 minutes. Add the tomato and fry over a medium heat for another 5 minutes. Season.

Spread the pizza bases with the tomato puree and spread the mince mixture on top.

 Bake in the oven for ten minutes then sprinkle with parsley to serve, and squeeze over a wedge of lemon if desired.

Sugar-Free September - Ways to Eat Less Sugar #SugarFreeSeptember

Welcome to Sugar-Free September!

 

It always used to be said that fat is the enemy- recent studies are suggesting that in fact it’s not fat we should be steering clear of, but sugar.

 

Aside from an increased risk of diabetes, a high-sugar diet has been found to increase weight gain; risk of heart disease; risk of cancer – the list goes on.

 

I’m no expert so rather than explain all the scientific theory behind what too much sugar does to your body, I suggest you do your own research on the intranet – here are a few articles and websites I’ve found particularly interesting.


 

The Guardian – the sugar conspiracy
 

I Quit Sugar blog (and book)

 

BBC Good Food – the truth about sugar

 

The NHS (UK National Health Service) – how to cut down sugar in your diet

 

I don’t believe in the demonization of food and that sugar should be Public Enemy #1 – and I’m certainly not going to completely cut it out of my diet. But I do need to lose weight and I think this might help – and we could all do with eating less sugar.

 

Scroll to the end for some links to some of my favourite sugar-free recipes.

 

An old school friend of mine, who writes a brilliant parenting blog called Single Mother Ahoy, cut out sugar for a month last year and saw some really positive benefits. Earlier this year I bought the book I Quit Sugar on her recommendation, and did a good job of cutting down on sugar for a couple of months before my wedding. I didn’t cut it out entirely, as a health professional I visited recommended 5 sugar-free days a week and eating a little sugar on the other two days if I wanted. It’s worth emphasising that this included foods with hidden or natural sugars – from fruit to bread (there can be up to 3g of sugar in a slice of processed bread) and even potatoes – starch converts into glucose when it is digested and potatoes have a very high proportion of starch. So 5 days out of every 7 I didn’t eat potatoes or bread, which meant I had to make some big changes in my typical lunches and dinners!

 

I also was advised to stop eating breakfast as the only way my body would use up its fat reserves but this seems to be quite a controversial point and I’ve read a lot saying you need to kick-start your metabolism in the morning by eating something. I haven’t eaten breakfast (other than rare occasions) for several months now, but I haven’t really noticed much effect in terms of extra weight loss (if everything else in my diet remained the same) so I’m going to go back to having small, healthy, protein-rich breakfasts. But definitely sugar free!

 

Last month Vicky at Single Mother Ahoy asked who wanted to sign up to take part in Sugar Free September with her again this year and I did so immediately. She has a Facebook group specifically for this challenge that you can join to get support and ideas.

 

I post my meal plans on my blog every week and will be sharing a sugar-free recipe every Wednesday, along with some links below to get you started. I’m also going to do a ‘5 sugar free breakfast ideas’ post this Saturday so look out for that if you are struggling to think of ideas!

 

However, if you want to avoid sugar entirely, you might not be so keen on the other recipes on my blog. I want to point out that I normally try to eat quite healthily – I don’t make cakes that often, don’t eat out a lot at the moment, and most meals during the week are healthy. But posting a recipe for grilled chicken and vegetables, or poached salmon and broccoli, isn’t really that interesting – which is why the recipes I post are often more indulgent. Also, I don’t post things right away so there will be some recipes going up this month for things I’ve made previously. I just wanted to point this out so people don’t start posting comments asking why I say I’m doing sugar-free September and then posting recipes that are full of sugar!

 

My blog is designed to be a bit of something for everyone and I think it’s good to strike a balance between healthy eating and occasional treats, so I will continue to share recipes for cakes and other sweet treats while mixing in healthier meals, as I normally do, but with some extra sugar-free recipes this month.

 

Some people think going sugar-free means cutting out refined sugar so continue to eat fruit; others replace caster sugar with honey or even sweetener. I think at least for this month that defeats the purpose of Sugar-Free September so my recipes will be as purely sugar-free as I can get them.

 

So here are some recipes that you might enjoy, and will help get you started if you are taking part in Sugar-Free September. If you are, let me know in the comments how it goes!

 

Breakfast

(come back this Saturday for some more ideas)

 

Bacon and cheese omelette (note: cheese does have a very small amount of natural sugar)

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/08/bacon-and-cheese-omelette-for-beginners.html

 

Sugar-free coconut milk pancakes

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/04/sugar-free-coconut-milk-pancakes.html

 

 

Lunch

Easy lunchbox salads

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/08/5-easy-lunchbox-salads-you-can-take-to.html

 

Quinoa cheese tartlets

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/quinoa-cheese-tartlets.html

 

Roast cauliflower, sumac and rocket salad

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/04/roast-cauliflower-sumac-and-rocket-salad.html

 

Dinner

Spiralized courgette with carrot, lemon and tuna

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/08/spiralized-courgette-and-carrot-with.html

 

Slow cooker Thai green beef curry

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/slow-cooker-thai-green-beef-curry.html

 

Low-carb fish pie with cauliflower mash

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/low-carb-fish-pie-with-cauliflower-mash.html

 

Spiralized vegetables with broccoli pesto

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/spiralized-vegetables-with-broccoli.html

 

Chicken en papilotte with orange veg

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/chicken-en-papilotte-with-orange-veg.html

 

Butternut squash quinoa risotto

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/05/butternut-squash-quinoa-risotto.html

 

Spiralized salmon and broccoli balls with carrot pineapple rice (leave out the pineapple)

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/03/spiralized-salmon-and-broccoli-balls.html

 

Spiralized butternut squash with prawns and mascarpone (cheese has a small amount of natural sugar)

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/03/spiralized-butternut-squash-with-prawns.html

 

Roasted cauliflower steak with stilton

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/01/roasted-cauliflower-steak-with-stilton.html

 

Prawn Mooli stir-fry

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/01/spiralizer-saturday-prawn-mooli-stir-fry.html

 

Sausage ragu with spiralized butternut squash

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2016/01/leftover-sausage-ragu-with-spiralized.html

 

Chicken topped with homemade houmous

http://www.carolinemakes.net/2015/10/chicken-topped-with-homemade-houmous.html

 

 

Baked Egg and Sausage Buns

This recipe was inspired by one in a Weightwatchers cookery book though now that they've changed the way the Points are calculated I couldn't tell you how many it works out as.... but it's not specifically intended as 'diet food'. Instead, this is a quick and filling brunch recipe that is easy to make but just a little bit different.

You need one crusty bread roll per person- you could make your own, but I bought these fresh from the local bakery. Using a knife, cut a circle in the top then use a teaspoon to scoop out a little of the middle. Preheat oven to 180C.

You can spread a little butter or onion chutney in the hole or leave it plain, then fill with ready-to-eat cooked cocktail sausages. You could also cook a couple of sausages and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Crack an egg carefully into the top and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the white of the egg has cooked.

Serve and enjoy - the yolk of the egg is still runny and the egg softens the inside of the bread roll a little, and the sausages are a treat when you get to the bottom. These made a great brunch!

Weightwatchers Hot Chocolate Cake Flavours

I love hot chocolate and am a fan of the lower fat options like Cadburys Highlights, Skinny Cow and the Weightwatchers brand. So I was very pleased to receive samples of some new Weightwatchers hot chocolate flavours - particularly because the new range is based on cake flavours!

The three flavours available are Chocolate Cherry Brownie, Jaffa Cake, and Cappucino Cream Cake. The flavours are subtle - the chocolate cherry brownie has a hint of cherry, whereas the Jaffa Cake has a tangy orange flavour. The Cappucino Cream Cake is a smooth, creamy coffee and chocolate flavour and all three were lovely.

Each serving has just 38 calories or 1 Weightwatcher ProPoint. The pouches are resealable and contain eight servings, and cost £1.49 per pouch or two for £2.50.
They should be available in selected supermarket chains and independent stores now.

Yorkshire Curd Tarts

 

 I was flicking through a Weightwatchers recipe book called the Book of Recipes (see what they did there?) looking for some healthy meal ideas, and I came across a recipe for Yorkshire curd tarts. As the letter for Alphabakes this month is Y, and my boyfriend's mum was coming to dinner and we are both on a January diet (or semi-diet in my case!) I thought it would be a great idea to make for dessert.

It's a traditional Yorkshire dessert - a pastry tart with a filling made from butter, sugar, milk and egg and raisins or currants. As this is a Weightwatchers recipe it uses cottage cheese - but don't be put off!

To make a dozen small tarts, you need:

125g shortcrust pastry (I used Jus-Rol)

125g cottage cheese

finely grated zest of 1 lemon, or a dash of lemon juice

25g sultanas

25g soft brown sugar

pinch of ground nutmeg

1 egg

Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out the pastry and cut out circles and place in a tin. I used a whoopie pie tin but you can use a mini tart tin or a shallow cupcake tin. I sprayed the tin with Dr. Oetker Cake Release first.

 

 

Push the cottage cheese through a sieve into a bowl and beat in with the lemon, sultanas, sugar and egg.

Divide the filling between the pastry cases and bake for 20 minutes.

They've risen and gone golden brown on top.

 They were very easy to remove from the tray thanks to the Cake Release. These are bite-sized and if you are following Weightwatchers, the entire recipe has 31 ProPoints so it depends if you get more tarts out of your mixture and how many you want to eat!

I'm sending this to Alphabakes, the challenge I co host with Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker, as the letter she has chosen this month is Y.

I'm also sending this to the One Ingredient Challenge, hosted by Nazima at Franglais Kitchen, and Laura at How To Cook Good Food, as they are looking for healthy recipes this month. This is a Weightwatchers recipe that uses cottage cheese to make it lower in fat, which is definitely healthier than a lot of desserts!

I'm entering Maison Cupcake's Dead Easy Desserts challenge for the first time, which is for any dessert that takes less than 30 minutes to make.

January's Four Seasons Food, hosted by Louisa at Eat Your Veg and Anneli at Delicieux, has 'virtuous' as its theme this month. I always feel virtuous when I cook a Weightwatchers recipe!

Stuffed Baked Squash

My mum recently gave me half a baby pumpkin she had bought - at least I think it was a baby pumpkin rather than some other kind of squash, but either way it seemed quite appropriate for this time of year.

I found a recipe in Weight Watchers Simply Autumn for a stuffed baby squash which I decided to adapt to suit the ingredients I liked and had in the house.

I began by scooping out the seeds inside the pumpkin and roasting it in the oven.

I prepared some cous cous

Mixed the cous cous with onion, red pepper and cottage cheese

Spoon the filling into the pumpkin and bake again for another 20 minutes. Enjoy!

The Weight Watchers recipe has 3 points but mine might be different as I adapted it; I believe it would be free on Slimming World as long as you use the low-fat cottage cheese, depending on which plan you are following.

I am sending this to Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Cook Almost Anything, and this week hosted by La Cucina di Cristina, as they accept recipes using any herb or vegetable.

Halloween Fiesta, hosted by Cooks Joy, is welcoming recipes using pumpkin or squash this month so I am entering this recipe.

Cooks Joy is also hosting a Diwali Bash where the theme is also pumpkin:

Pumpkins are most definitely in season so I am sending this to Simple And In Season, an event created by Ren of Fabulicious Food and this month hosted by Franglais Kitchen.

Franglais Kitchen is also the host of this month's One Ingredient Challenge, created by How To Cook Good Food, where the ingredient is - helpfully - also pumpkin!

I am also sending this to Calendar Cakes, hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and Laura from Laura Loves Cakes, as their theme this month is Halloween. You could serve this stuffed pumpkin for dinner on Halloween or any time around that period.