I’ve had a hand held spiralizer in my kitchen drawer for a while now and it hasn’t come in too handy, mostly because the noodles it produces are rather thin and flimsy! After having a whirl on an amazing table top Hemsley and Hemsley Spiralizer at a recent Weight Watchers photoshoot I knew I had to have one (albeit mine looks the same but was £12 from The Range).
My other half loves chicken satay from the Chinese takeaway, but knowing how naughty it is, it’s not something we have very often. I’ve therefore wanted to make my own healthy version of satay chicken for a while now and this week I decided it was time to give it a go.
This was a recipe made for me by my lovely best mate’s OH and it was so nice I bought the recipe book to make myself a smart point friendly version. It’s from Jaime’s Ministry of Food (original recipe here) and comes in at a very reasonable 12sp each. It’s a nice change to have a different stir fry sauce like black bean and the addition of rice instead of noodles makes another welcome change!
I’m a huge fan of Chinese duck pancakes but often find the standard shop bought hoisin a bit plain and dull. This recipe (an adaptation from a good food recipe) spices things up a bit and takes hoisin to a whole new level, The mango slaw adds a whole new element to the mix and really was a revelation, such a low point accompaniment and so fresh and delicious, it will become a regular in our house with many dishes from now on. I served this dish with 2 Chinese pancakes per person (you can buy these in Waitrose, 10 for £1.19, 1sp each) but as my OH likes his carbs I also bulked the meal out with a little rice.
I got a Ching-He Huang Chinese cookbook a while back and I pick it up at least once a month with the intention of giving something a whirl. This week I actually did it and had a little trip to the Chinese supermarket to get in all the supplies I didn’t have. The Chinese supermarket was great, everything was in much bigger portions and MUCH cheaper than a normal supermarket (especially for sauces and herbs and spices!!). A lot of the ingredients listed are store cupboard lovelies, so whilst you may have to buy a few things to start off with, they will last you a good while! I really fancied a new oriental dish and tastes totally different to anything else I’ve made before so if you are a fan of a good old Chinese takeaway, this is one for you. You can find Ching’s original recipe pre WW friendly adaptation here.
My friend made a gorgeous curry for me one night while I was at uni (feels like a lifetime ago now!!) and when I later asked for the recipe,she couldn’t find it! The only thing she could remember were the spices that were in it. It was so nice that I fiddled about for a while and came up with my own version of the recipe and it was even better!!
This is a recipe that I found in last year’s Slimming World calendar and whilst it is totally ‘syn’ free, it is also a yummy low pro points recipe (and you get a giant portion!!!). My OH loves this as it tastes nothing like a diet recipe and it is absolutely delicious! I haven’t made many changes to the original recipe other than to add an element or portion control (which SW sadly lacks) and lots of lime as its my fav!
