M&S Cod Rogan Balti Review

I was totally sucked in by the marketing on this occasion. Every time I saw the M&S advert for their fuller for longer range recently, I wanted the cod rogan balti...

I happened to be near an M&S yesterday and I knew I was out today with little time to cook, so I treated myself.

Using the NSVs on the package I worked it out to be 9 pro points on weight watchers which is pretty good for a main meal.

I really enjoyed it - there were two fairly large pieces of nice flaky fish; not dried out by the oven cooking as they were sandwiched between moister elements. There was a layer of spinach over a layer of tomato and lentil curry and it was topped with crispy onion and potato topping.

I really thought the topping would be my favourite bit - don't get me wrong; it was good, just not the best bit! It was nice and crispy (one of the textures I love and really miss when dieting) and it was flavourful but the highlight was the tomato and lentil curry underneath. It was slightly tangy, mildly warming and just generally tasty.

Overall a good dish and whilst it's on offer (2 for £6) I would get one every now and again. I might try to replicate it though just so I can bulk it out with slightly more veg (and perhaps I'll try it with chicken for my fish hating husband!!).

Chicken Curry with Rice - 10pp (Weight Watchers Friendly Recipe)

This recipe is for a really tasty chicken curry - it's tomato based so there are very few points in the curry itself. I always serve it with a little side salad and some mango chutney (Add 1pp extra for a tablespoon of mango chutney!). It's a big old serving though - if you prefer a smaller portion, don't add the extra pepper. This is a VERY points friendly dinner at just 10pp for the whole meal - it helps me avoid indian takeaways, which are usually closer to 30pp just for a curry!!

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 Large onion, sliced thinly
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
1 red chilli (deseeded if you want less heat), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
330ml water
2 medium chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tsps ground coriander
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1.5 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala powder
1tsp salt
calorie controlled cooking spray
120g (dried weight) wholegrain basmati rice
Half a mango, diced
6 inches cucumber, diced
small bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Weight Watchers Notes - the pro points per serving are as follows: Chicken breast: 4pp, Spices: 1pp, Rice: 5pp (6pp if you use white rice) totalling 10pp

Method

1. Heat a large pan (I actually use my casserole dish) and spritz with calorie controlled cooking spray. Add the onion to the pan, along with half of the salt, cover and soften. The salt, combined with putting a lid on the pan should mean the onions release their moisture - allowing cooking without oil.

2. Once softened, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for about 2 minutes

3. Add the dried spices and the rest of the salt and keep stirring continuously for 1 minute to allow the spices to heat up and release their oils - do not allow them to burn; this will result in a very bitter curry!

4. Once the pan is smelling very fragrant, add the water and tinned tomatoes and combine. It should turn a more orangey shade of red.

5. Add the chicken and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened a little.

6. Once the chicken is cooked through, add the diced peppers for around 5 minutes. You want them to be heated up but it's nice if they still have a little bite to them, rather than being soggy. Keep cooking the curry until some of the water has evaporated and it's nice and thick.

7. Whilst the chicken is cooking (ie, between step 5 and 6) I usually make a little side salad - this bulks the meal out with for veg without extra points but also adds something cool and refreshing to balance the spice of the curry sauce. All you need to do is combine the mango (trust me on the fruit thing.. think mango chutney), cucumber and mint. I also cook my rice at this stage.

 

8. To serve, make a bed of rice and pile on the curry and salad. I also serve with mango chutney for an extra 1pp.

Pizza Pie - 14pp (Weight Watchers Friendly Recipe)

Both pizza and pastry are some of the things I miss being able to eat without thinking about it. I have created a pizza pie - 14pp for half the pie (or 7pp for a quarter which could be served with salad and some BNS chips perhaps for a smaller meal). It's yummy and ticks the pizza box without being crazy in points and because it has filling, rather than topping, it fills you up more than a pizza would too :)

Ingredients (Makes 1 pie to serve 2 or 4)

1 pack pizza base mix (and water as directed by your packet)

240g wafer thin ham

1 box mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 bag baby spinach

calorie controlled cooking spray

oregano

salt and pepper

140g 50% reduced fat grated  cheese

Preheat oven to 200ºC (or as directed by your pizza base mix pack)

Weight Watchers notes: points per half a pie are as follows: pizza base mix - 6pp, 120g ham - 3pp, 70g 50% reduced fat cheese - 5pp

Method

1. Spritz your spring form pie tin with calorie controlled cooking spray. 

2. Make up your pizza base mix according to the instructions (leave out any optional oil or add points to your recipe accordingly) and after kneading split it into a large portion (around 3/4 of the mix) and a small one (around 1/4). 

3. Roll out the large portion of dough as thinly as you can. This took me a little while as I was using a large spring form tin to cook my pie. Once it's big enough, lay it into the tin and let it fall into shape (pushing it is likely to cause ripping). Leave this in a warm place whilst you cook the filling (although note it's unlikely to rise much, if at all, due to the thinness of the dough - this is fine!)

4. Add the onion and mushroom to a large pan with a little cooking spray and soften (you could also add garlic). Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer until it has a sauce-like consistency. Add salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste (I usually also add a splash of Worcestershire sauce). Continue cooking until it is really thick - too much moisture will give a soggy pie.

5. Wilt or steam your spinach leaves in another pan. Once these are wilted, place them in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can (be careful - this will be hot).

6. Now that are components are ready, it's time to layer up the pie. Start with a layer of ham - cover the base and allow the slices to curl up the side of the pie, overlapping as you go. I used half my ham for this stage. Follow the ham with the tomato sauce, spinach and about half of the cheese. Then add another layer of ham and the rest of the cheese.

7. Roll out the remaining dough to form the lid and place this on top of the filling, folding the existing sides into the middle and over the top. Use a little water as 'glue' to stick the sides to the lid and add a few slits in the top with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Spritz with a little calorie controlled spray and sprinkle lightly with salt. Put the pie in the oven for around 25 minutes or until the crust has turned golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then remove from the spring form tin before slicing and serving. Yum!

How to Make Butternut Squash Chips (BNS Chips) - 0pp

Butternut Squash (commonly abbreviated to BNS in the weight watchers community) is a firm type of squash which has 0pp. I remember first joining weight watchers and having to google "what is BNS".. I also had no idea what to do with them!

Some members use 0pp soups to keep them full and satisfied when their dailies and weeklies have run out. Others, like me, use BNS chips! You can also make some lovely creamy feeling soups out of them, but that's for another day.

Now, don't be fooled.. they don't actually taste like chips. Even the texture is slightly off. But once you've had them a few times you might learn to love them; I cover mine in vinegar and salt to trick my brain though! I tend to do them as a snack where no amount of water will fill me up and I feel like I've eaten enough fruit, where I fancy something savoury or as a nice accompaniment to a ready meal on the odd occasion I have one. 

Ingredients

Butternut Squash

Calorie Controlled Cooking Spray

Salt and Vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200ºC

Method

1. Peel your BNS. I tend to use half at a time - in these pictures I used the 'neck' end and you get more chip-like chips. If you're using the bulbous end, you need to scoop out the middle including the seeds and pith as well as peeling the squash. This will make wedge style chips. 

2. Cut your peeled squash into the desired size and shape. I mimic the size of thick cut oven chips. Lay these out onto a baking tray which has been lightly spritzed with calorie controlled cooking spray. You need to have space between each chip for them to cook properly. 

3. Place them in a preheated oven for around 40 minutes or until they start to catch. I like a bit of blackness around the edges of mine. They won't go crispy or crunchy but will retain their shape even when soft and cooked. 

4. To serve, simply top with salt and vinegar

Sorry!!

I have hardly posted at all since New Year - I must apologise. I decided to have a spring clean (for spring clean read "empty every single box, drawer, cupboard and bag into the middle of the sitting room and reorganise from there").

It has taken me over a week to get it sorted but finally I feel like my life is organised. I actually enjoyed doing my kitchen cupboards, but then the fun factor kinda ran out. Everything in my kitchen is now super accessible though (and I've even thrown out the tins of food that were out of date.. why did I ever buy tinned carrots?!).

During the week of tidying I have kept to pp pretty well - I used my weeklies for a take away curry last weekend (although I have a low pro point curry recipe to share soon) and this week I have managed not to dip into my weeklies too much, just a few here and there for maltesers so I'm hoping for a good loss. My next aim is to start putting some exercise back into my life as I haven't done anything more than walk around the supermarket since before Christmas!

So there is my apology - lots of good recipes coming up over the next few days though, enjoy!

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Review - Belgium

I had a Belgian Waffle next (which I shared with my husband.. oh so romatic!). It was yummy and small. I feel like my reviews have been kinda negative since Argentina (which, let's face it, was only the second review.. oh dear!). Literally, the size was the only let down here.

Review: There's not much to say here.. it was a waffle (sweet, light, fresh and warm) with cool whipped cream and fruit compote. The fruit had good big chunks of fruit in and was pleasantly sweet and sticky. My only complaint was that I wanted more for my money!!

New Years Resolutions - Tips for new Weight Watchers

I am starting weight watchers again. I say starting again because I have been a bit rubbish for the past few weeks with Christmas etc so I'm going back to basics. I'm guessing there will be some new starters and some returning weight watchers like me so I thought I'd share some things that have been helpful to me in the past.

1. Empty your cupboards (and the fridge/freezer... Hiding places?) of all the food you won't want around to tempt you as you start tracking. I know we're all taught not to waste food, but honestly putting more weight on or making yourself miserable because you know it's there and you can't have it is worse. The first time I did this two years ago I filled a bin liner. This week it will be limited to half a packet of cookies!

2. Buy some digital kitchen scales. They don't have to be official weight watchers ones, but you do need to weigh everything you eat. I bet what you think is 30g of healthy cereal is actually more. You might eat very healthily but just be eating more than you thought - try pouring a bowl of cereal and weighing it.. Guessing is not an option!

3. Plan and shop for at least your first week. If you're going back to basics or just getting started out and working your way through the plan it can take longer to sort an evening meal out than normal... Coming home one night and having nothing in the fridge or planned for dinner is a 1 way ticket to "I can't be bothered to cook, let's just get take away". Yes, it will take a long time the first time you do this but I promise it gets easier and as you get used to the plan and the pp of your favourite foods/meals.

4. Don't take too much on. It's probably unrealistic to say you'll start weight watchers and join the gym (going three nights a week of course) and start a new skin care regime etc etc all atone. You're not a superhero - I know it's new year and the temptation is to use this one chance to sort everything out, but if you try to take too much on it will be much more difficult and you're more likely to fail. Sort out your eating first, just concentrate on tracking and pointing for a month or so. Then add in some extra exercise when you're on top of everything - it'll be much easier to stick to if you only have one challenge at a time!

5. Don't stress out. We're human - we eat cake, we stay the same weight one week, gain a bit the next and lose weight another week. As long as the overall trend is down, don't beat yourself up and don't put too much pressure on yourself to lose weight too quickly... It'll happen if you just stick at it.

6. Last but not least, be honest to yourself. If you had a chip or two off your OH's plate, it's fine AS LONG AS YOU TRACK IT. Earn an activity point if it took you over, but don't just pretend it didn't exist!

Now to practice what I preach... Happy New Year!