LE meal ideas and recipes

[eleena2014]

Veg cous cous with tomato and sweet chilli.
Ingredients- cous cous (or pasta) aubergine,courgette,pepper,Onion, garlic clover whole,can chopped tomatoes,tbs sweet chilli.
Method- put 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a roasting tin for 2 min, put in all the roughly chopped veg and roast on gas mark 6 for 40 min. Prepare sauce of can chopped tomatoes and sieve it. Serve veg when done and pour the sauce all over. Not sure on the cals or anything on this.

[eleena2014]

Philly frittata
Ingredients- new potatoes,tomatoes,spring onion,least,sweet corn,3 eggs lightly beaten,philadelphia,cooked chicken peices (optional)
Method - cook chicken, cook the new potatoes for about 7 min and dice them, toss potatoes,chicken and veg together,and fry until warm,pour in the eggs and cook until lightly browned,dot with the Philadelphia and grill until golden.
Again not sure of cals e.t.c

[eleena2014]

Ramen noodle salad.
Ingredients - courgette finely slices,carrots finely sliced,spring onions finely chopped,ramen or other noodles,2tbs of honey,2tbs of Mirin sauce,lemon,tbs soy sauce
Method - combine,honey,mirin and soy sauce in a pan and bring to boil, and let cool,then add a squeeze of lemon.cook noodles and add the sauce and mix together

[bluebonnet22]

Awesome thread guys!

[MyByC]

This is brilliant seph! Thaaaank you

[HopingForHairbows]

This is a great thread! Thank you!! I am only a week and a half in, so I don't have any fabulous recipes. I am still experimenting, and most nights just making regular meals for my family and forgoing the meat personally. I am excited to try some of these

[atomic sagebrush]

Ramen noodle salad.
Ingredients - courgette finely slices,carrots finely sliced,spring onions finely chopped,ramen or other noodles,2tbs of honey,2tbs of Mirin sauce,lemon,tbs soy sauce
Method - combine,honey,mirin and soy sauce in a pan and bring to boil, and let cool,then add a squeeze of lemon.cook noodles and add the sauce and mix together

I am seriously making this!! sounds so good!

Just wanted to mention for Americans reading this:

courgette = zucchini
aubergine = eggplant
Philly or Philadelphia = cream cheese

[eleena2014]

Tomato and onion savoury tart recipe
Ingredients
2tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
375g (1 sheet) ready-made puff pastry
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs thyme
1-2tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onions until soft and deep gold Add the garlic and cook for a further five minutes. Set aside.
Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface until about ½ cm in thickness. Score a rim of about 1cm all the way round. Transfer to a lightly greased upside-down baking sheet and prick the centre of the pastry all over with a fork up to the scored rim. Bake in the oven for five minutes until the edge has risen and the bottom starting to cook through.
Spread the onion mixture over the pastry up to the rim, then top with the halved tomatoes. Sprinkle thyme leaves and balsamic vinegar, then bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and the tomatoes starting to soften. Serve warm.

[stephk]

Gluten free diet plan: the 10 most delicious recipes - Quick and Easy Recipes From Stylist Magazine - Stylist Magazine

If anyone is gluten free. I haven't assessed these for protein and fat, and some contain eggs/meat but it's more for inspiration and what you can adapt

[weeziewoozles]

I've loads to add to this thread! From this sway and the last.

Mushroom risotto -
Chop mushrooms, spring onions, leeks and iceberg lettuce (all Grade A foods for LE) and add one clove of garlic for flavour. Sauté them all using oil spray and then thr0w in arborrio rice or sushi rice etc. Then add a dash of soy sauce and a dash of mirin (a sweet sake used for cooking) and some low fat vegetable stock. Such a delicious veg risotto! Using 75g of rice as a portion, it came to 335 cals, 2g fat and 6g protein. I cheekily had a large chunk of a rustic French baguette with it but no butter!

Asian vegetable noodles -
Chop a variety of veggies into long thin strips (try and use as many girl friendly veg as possible - I use leeks, courgettes/zucchini, mushrooms, peppers) and stir fry them using oil spray (with ground ginger and garlic in) and a dash of water to help steam them. I normally then add soy sauce and mirin, and possibly more ginger, then toss the whole lot in the lowest calorie noodles you can find. I've also done this with rice and with a sweet and sour sauce (mix tomato ketchup with rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce, plus add pineapple pieces if you have them!). I often serve this kid of dinner with a few mini vegetable spring rolls.

Veggie curry -
Chop whichever veg you fancy into chunks. I use brown onions, peppers, carrots and something starchy but low-cal like swede/rutabaga, sometimes I use peas too if I have enough protein left and I often use one of those frozen veg mixtures as it's easier and slightly less nutritious. Now make up a spice paste. This would normally involve loads of oil and freshly ground whole spices. If you would prefer to use a ready made curry paste, then do, just make sure you count the fat! I normally use 1tsp cumin, 1tsp coriander, 1tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3 cardamon pods, 3 cloves and 1/2 tsp chilli/cayenne, all mixed together in a little water (I sometimes add some onion seeds or fennel seeds. Heat a pan coated in oil spray and add your spice paste. Add the chopped onions next and cook until softened, then add all the other veggies and toss them in the spices. After a few mins, add some low fat vegetable stock and a squirt of tomato puree. Thoroughly mix and bring to the boil then reduce to a low simmer for about half an hour. Check that your root veg are soft before serving. I serve with white rice, mango chutney and sometimes a plain nan or chapati (the latter are very easy to make, you gradually add water to some wholewheat flour, stirring until you get a dough. Kneed well for about 15 mins and then leave for about 30 mins to rest. Separate into small balls and sprinkle flour on your surface and roll them out as thin as you can. Put a frying pan on the heat and once hot, add your chapati. Turn and cook the other side. These are so quick and yummy served warm with your curry.)

Roasted vegetable pasta -
Cut peppers, courgettes/zuchini, aubergine/eggplant, red onions and mushrooms into large chunks and cover them with oil spray and a dash of balsamic vinegar before roasting in a large pan. I put them in a medium oven for about an hour but I check and turn regularly. I like them soft and blackening on the tips. Cook whatever pasta you fancy (I like chunky things like penne, rigatoni..) and toss some of the veg over the pasta. You won't miss the meat in this pasta dish. I sometimes serve this with a large green salad or some reduced fat garlic bread.

Vegetarian fajitas -
Chop peppers, leeks, courgettes/zuchini, mushrooms etc into strips. Toss them in fajita seasoning (I use paprika, oregano, coriander and cinnamon, with some lime juice and tabasco/chipotle) and leave to marinate for a bit. Cook in a frying pan, or griddle if you have one as it makes nice stripes, until they're starting to soften (you want some crunch still). Serve with a low-cal wrap/tortilla (I buy Weight Watchers ones or make my own using a similar recipe to the chapatis above) and salad. DH always wants guacamole when we have fajitas so I do still make it, but I have a small spoonful on my wrap as it's sooooo high in fat!

hmmmmmmm..... what else can I think of.....

British Roast Dinner LE style -
Roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, swede, cauliflower, broccoli etc (all the good British veggies!) in oil spray. This doesn't create the amazing roasties that goose fat produces but if you keep checking and turning things, they can work out really really well. Make an onion gravy using thinly sliced brown onions, balsamic vinegar and low fat veggie stock. Serve yourself a huge plate of low cal veggies and a nice large portion of your low-fat roasted carb-rich veggies. If you want to really pretend you're having a roast dinner, you can try to make light Yorkshire puddings. I used flour, fat-free milk (or rice/soy milk etc), water and egg white, and then oil spray in the tins. It didn't rise as much as usual so I might whisk the eggs more and even add some bicarb/baking soda next time. Yum!

Easy freezer ready meal ideas -
To make things easier, I also cook things like vegetable burgers or bean burgers and serve them with reduced fat chips or I make my own chips using my oven and my fabulous oil spray on potato, sweet potato or swede/rutabaga (the latter is very very low in cals). Sometimes I like to pretend I am having a REAL burger by getting a white bread roll or two slices of white bread, adding a some fat-free mayonnaise, crunchy lettuce and ketchup (add pickles or gherkins if you are so inclined!). Not a bad substitute.

Low Calorie Pizza -
Break a head of cauliflower into florets and put in the food processor and blitz until it's fine. Mix with some grated low fat mozzarella cheese, seasoning and an egg to hold it together. Press into a round tray and bake for 15 mins. Then top with a low cal pizza sauce or make it yourself with no fat, some more grated low fat mozzarella and toppings of your choice. Good LE toppings are thinly sliced mushrooms and peppers, and pineapple can be yummy! Bake again till the cheese has melted and enjoy!

Vegetable tagine -
Chop veggies such as sweet potato, squash or swede/rutabaga, onions, peppers and tomatoes into chunks and toss in oil spray and Morroccan spices (I use ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, chili and lemon, or harissa if you prefer). Cook on the hob in a tagine (or casserole dish of some kind) for about five minutes then add in some chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock until you feel you have enough sauce - add a dash of wine if you happen to be opening one! Add some chopped dates/prunes, a lemon cut in half, and if you have enough protein left for the day, chuck in a can of chick peas. Put in a low oven with a lid on for an hour and check that the root veg are soft before serving. If it's too runny, take the lid off for the last 15mins. Serve with plain couscous.

Low-Fat Chocolate Courgette Muffins -
I've posted this somewhere before on here. I made these up last sway and they helped me when I wanted cake. Preheat oven to 350F or 175C and line muffin tins. Beat together 1 cup/240ml soy yoghurt (or any low fat yog), 2 medium eggs and 0.75 cups/175g sugar. Then add in everything else: 2 cups shredded courgette/zuchini, 2.5 cups/300g flour, 0.5 cups/130ml soy milk (or any low fat milk), 30g/4tbsp cocoa, 30g dark choc chips, 1tsp vanilla, 1tsp baking powder, 1tsp baking soda, 0.5tsp salt and 0.5tsp cinnamon. Cook for about 20 mins and try and wait a little until they've cooled before eating them!

OK. Enough from me for now. This is making me hungry! Good luck ladies and please keep sharing recipe ideas x