Classic Moussaka - with additional Skinny Version under 350 calories (includes Thermomix instructions)

A classic and comforting dish, full of flavour with flexible options to suit everybody.

Layers of rich meaty sauce, flavoured with earthy Mediterranean spices and herbs, alternating with tender slices of aubergine, topped with a béchamel sauce enriched with egg yolks and cheese.

I like to make up a double quantity of the meat sauce, and freeze it so that next time I just have to cook the aubergines and béchamel before assembling - however, to avoid confusion, I've just put the quantities as you need them to serve six (they're easily doubled if you want to do this too - which is why I've separated the different parts of the dish to make it easier to double up the sauce).
This serves 6 people. If you're counting calories and keeping it lean with the skinny version, then this is from 347 calories per serving with skinny béchamel, steamed aubergines and extra lean beef mince. For a more luxurious and traditional version, it's 566 calories per serving as below, with oven-baked aubergines. You can switch which bits you please to suit you - the calories are split out for each ingredient to help you re-count. See Notes below for some of the variables.

You can make and assemble this a day or two in advance if you like, as it tastes even better the next day, sets nicely and is easier to cut once it's chilled - it will just need longer to cook from chilled.

Oh - and 'The Quick Cheat': If you don't want to faff about layering meat sauce with aubergines and potatoes and all that... well, you really don't have to for a simple supper. Just cook the meat sauce in a large pan which will fit underneath the grill (USA broiler) while you're cooking the aubergines/potatoes, and add in the tomatoes a little earlier (skip the egg white) to reduce down while you make the béchamel, then toss in the aubergines (and potatoes if using). Stir through and cook for a few minutes until the aubergines are heated through, then pour the béchamel over the top, scatter with the grated cheese, and pop under a pre-heated grill (broiler) until it's bubbling and browned (You could even Super-Cheat and just scatter over a block of crumbled feta if you didn't want to make the béchamel sauce, as a tasty alternative!). Set aside for a few minutes to cool, and serve with a fresh green salad (and some crusty bread)!

Skinny Béchamel Sauce

If you're counting calories, then this is a great substitution for full-fat béchamel sauce.

Although technically not a béchamel, as it's not made from a roux base (flour and butter cooked together), it's unlikely most people would be able to tell from tasting it! Also, because it's thickened with cornflour, it's gluten free. 
 
You can also make this LACTOSE FREE by using lactose free whole milk, lactose free mature cheddar and either lactose free spread or butter if you can tolerate it.
 
This quantity will make enough for a lasagne or moussaka for six people. 306 calories for the full quantity, 51 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets]. My recipe for Skinny Moussaka is here, for only 339 calories per portion, and packed full of flavour. Skinny Lasagne being written up...!

Magic Bean Cake

So, the mysterious and legendary 'Magic Bean Cake' has landed...

Dark and decadent, rich, moist and deeply chocolate-y, if you love chocolate, you will love this. It's a real keeper, and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).

This cake is a bit of a sensation - there are versions everywhere now. I originally started off with a version from the Australian Thermomix recipe community (there's even more than one there!) and wanted to convert it and share my version with my friends who don't have a Thermomix or similar (this method also includes the Thermomix instructions in italics - ignore anything in italics if you're not using a Thermomix).

I find that because the cake is so rich and moist, you don't need much - between four of us, we only managed to demolish a quarter, having a couple of modest slices each. It's gorgeous served with raspberries, blackberries or strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream, creme fraiche or thick and creamy yoghurt (we had it with home-made yoghurt made with creamy milk from Jersey cows and little wild strawberries picked from the back garden - yum!), and would be to-die-for with some dark cherries, especially if just simmered down a little with some of their juice and a little sugar... the possibilities are endless (see tips for more ideas and flavours for cooking the cake)!

I'd say this serves 16, if you cook in a ring tin and cut into slices about 1.5 to 2cm (as in photo), and have a couple or so per serving. 160 calories for a 16th of the cake serving on this basis. Or if you just want a little treat, have the one small slice instead of two, for 80 calories! [Calories in square brackets below]

Mushroom Stroganoff (Thermomix)

How to cook a seriously tasty, mushroom stroganoff in your Thermomix, with optional cauliflower rice steamed in the Varoma to go with it...

A very healthy, easy, low calorie recipe which has proved enduringly popular and loved by everyone who has made it, so I've converted it to the Thermomix - and as well as being low calorie (and of couse, delicious), it's also very easy to make, and you can tweak it to suit you. (For the non-Thermomix recipe and method, click here)

If you're not after a low calorie dish, then feel free to use full fat crème fraiche, and throw in a good knob of butter with the onions and garlic, and then serve it with a healthy helping of straw potatoes, rice, or even mashed potatoes or flat noodles. If you are eating lean, you'll still find this is packed full of flavour and tastes much more creamy and indulgent than it really is! I use full fat Greek yoghurt instead of soured cream to make mine, to cut the calories but keep the flavour, and with a generous serving of cauliflower rice it's from a mere 234 calories for a large and filling dish full of tasty food! If you're eating with someone else who isn't cutting back, just halve the amount of cauliflower rice for a single portion for you, and give it to them with a healthy helping of carbs, as above.

Serves 2, calories per serving as follows for the stroganoff alone:
If using 0% fat Greek yoghurt  -  148
If using full fat Greek yogurt - recommended*  -  160
If using half fat crème fraiche  -  182

*I use 'Total' brand Greek yoghurt, full fat, as my preference
 
Add on 86 calories per serving for a portion of cauliflower rice, and another 11 calories per serving if you use wine.

Ten-minute Trout, Asparagus and New Potato (Warm) Salad

Simple, quick and satisfying and ready in minutes - a delicious dish with minimal effort.

If you prefer, substitute salmon fillet(s) instead, from the tail end where they're flat and triangular, which will be equally delicious - ready-to-eat smoked trout fillets would work really well too, if you don't want to cook the trout yourself. A nice addition which combines perfectly with the other flavours is a boiled egg with a creamy yolk, quartered and nestling on top.

Serves two, 315 calories per serving - easily halved or doubled (calories in square brackets if you're counting). Add another 88 calories for a UK medium sized egg (58g).

Carpaccio of Beef with a Mustard Dressing, Rocket, Capers and Parmesan

Greaseproof paper and a rolling pin means that you don't have to have the world's best knife skills!

Wafer-thin fillet steak is tender to the point of almost melt-in-the mouth consistency, when prepared this way and perfectly complimented by the rich mustardy dressing, peppery rocket, slivers of salty parmesan and tiny capers that give little bursts of flavour in your mouth.

Simple to make, no cooking necessary (although you can optionally quickly sear the very outside of the beef, see method) and an elegant dish which could be a light lunch, or a delicious starter.

This serves two people (but is easily doubled), at 265 calories per serving (if you're counting - calories in square brackets).

Braised Okra (Bamies) - Greek-style in Tomato Sauce (with Thermomix method)

If you like okra (aka ladies' fingers, bhindi, bamia etc.), you'll love this easy and delicious Greek dish, with its comforting rich tomato sauce...

Good hot as an accompaniment, or even as a main dish (if you're a real okra-freak - you could crumble a little feta over the top for some protein if you're having it as a meal), and also at room temperature - it would be a nice part of some mezze dishes to pick at - it's certainly very more-ish. I never used to like okra, but this is now one of my favourite ways to have it.

Serves six people as a generous side dish. 130 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets if you're counting - for a more filling meal, you'd probably want double this]

We sometimes enjoy this as a side dish to my Lamb Kleftiko (slow roasted lamb, marinated in lemon, garlic, herbs and olive oil - click here for recipe - around 300 calories a serving) with lemony roast potatoes.

Lamb Kleftiko (Arni Kleftiko)

After marinating overnight, this tasty dish pretty much takes care of itself with a long slow roast...

Named after the 'Klephts' - Greek bandits of the countryside who would allegedly steal the odd lamb or goat and cook it in sealed pit ovens, to avoid the smoke being seen - lamb kleftiko is usually cooked slowly on the bone after marinating in lemon juice, garlic, herbs and olive oil.

Needless to say, like many classic dishes from around the world, there are many versions - everything from cooking single lamb portions or cutlets with vegetables in filo pastry to the whole leg or shoulder roasted in a clay pot, sealed as tightly as possible. If you want, you can add potatoes to this dish for the last hour of cooking to cook in the lamb juices, but I prefer to cook them separately if I'm serving it with potatoes, so that they have their own individual flavour.

Kleftiko is delicious served with flatbreads or pitta, Tzatziki and Greek salad (click on highlighted text for my recipes); or if you fancy having it as your 'roast dinner' it's delicious served with roast potatoes (I like to parboil, and then roast them with a little lemon zest and olive oil for this, or use whole baby/new potatoes, parboiled then roasted with whole, unpeeled garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs - roast for about half an hour, or as mentioned you can put them in with the lamb for the last hour), and roasted Meditteranean vegetables, or something like my braised okra in tomato sauce (bamies) which is also popular in Greece (more side dishes to come!).

This serves six - go for the heavier weight if you're serving people with big appetites! However, the quantities can also be halved for a smaller joint (see to the left of the photo above - there is a small, rolled, boneless shoulder joint). Takes 3 hours to cook, and needs to marinade overnight (or at least for several hours).

Calorie wise, (if you're counting) roast lamb shoulder is around 205 to 230 calories per 100g, if you trim the fat off your portion, plus add on another 20 to 40 calories for a drizzle of the juices/gravy. I'd say a portion of around 120g (roughly equivalent to the weight of your average chicken breast) would probably suit most people with normal appetites (especially as lamb is so rich-tasting) so you're looking at around 300 calories with juices/gravy (provided you have that weight of lamb without the fat).

Thermomix Teriyaki Chicken or Salmon Meal with Sesame-Miso Green Beans or Asparagus, Cucumber-Radish Pickles and Rice

Cooked in twenty minutes, with only a few minutes of preparation...

You choose whether you have chicken or salmon, and green beans or asparagus (I like green beans with chicken, and asparagus with salmon), and substitute as suggested to suit your diet. If you have time to marinade your chicken or salmon for half an hour first, that's great - but if not you could just steam it and toss it in the sauce at the end and it will still be tasty.

This serves two people, at 304 calories per serving for the teriyaki chicken (breast), green beans and cucumber-radish pickles, plus 76 calories if serving with 200g cauliflower rice per person (380 calories in total), or add on 175 calories for a 50g (raw weight) serving of rice (479 calories - although I find that I can only eat half of this quantity of rice with everything else on the plate, so it's 391 calories for me!). Oh and 3 calories a serving for the spring onion with the rice, if you're counting... ;)

For the teriyaki salmon, it's 409 calories for the salmon, pickles and vegetables, plus the rice as above.

Teriyaki Chicken Meal with Sesame-Miso Green Beans, Cucumber-Radish Pickles and Rice (or Cauliflower Rice)

If you want a guide to cooking the whole meal in under half an hour, here it is...

Obviously, the time might vary a little depending on a couple of things, but there's really not that much to do, and it can certainly all be cooked in under 20 minutes once you've prepared your ingredients.

This serves two people, at 304 calories per serving for the teriyaki chicken (breast), green beans and cucumber-radish pickles, plus 76 calories if serving with 200g cauliflower rice per person (380 calories in total), or add on 175 calories for a 50g (raw weight) serving of rice (479 calories - although I find that I can only eat half of this quantity of rice with everything else on the plate, so it's 391 calories for me!). Oh and 3 calories a serving for the spring onion with the rice, if you're counting... ;)

Teriyaki Chicken

Simple, quick and tasty - with an authentic Teriyaki marinade made from only three ingredients

There's really very little to this - the beauty of it lies in the simplicity of the ingredients. You can use breast meat for the lighter option, or chicken thighs for flavour and succulence - or if you want to make a vegetarian version you could use quorn chicken-style fillets or firm tofu and press it for half an hour before marinating then cooking (or go here for Teriyaki Salmon cooking instructions).

This is delicious served with my sesame-miso asparagus or green beans (59 calories per serving) and some quick and easy cucumber-radish pickles (14 calories per serving) accompanied by some rice (or cauliflower rice if you're avoiding carbs) and you can knock all of these dishes up in under half an hour if you're canny about it (I'll post a method for cooking the whole meal as a separate blog).

This serves two people, at 231 calories per person for chicken breast (or 292 calories made with thigh meat).

Teriyaki Salmon Meal - with Sesame-Miso Asparagus, Cucumber-Radish Pickles and Rice / Cauliflower Rice

If you want a guide to cooking the whole meal in under half an hour, here it is...

Obviously, the time might vary a little depending on a couple of things, but there's really not that much to do, and it can certainly all be cooked in under 20 minutes once you've prepared your ingredients (not naming any names of people with un-realistic cooking times, or anything like that!).

This serves two people, at 409 calories per serving for the salmon, asparagus and cucumber-radish pickles, plus 76 calories if serving with 200g cauliflower rice per person (485 calories in total), or add on 175 calories for a 50g (raw weight) serving of rice. Oh and 3 calories a serving for the spring onion with the rice, if you're counting... ;)

Teriyaki Salmon

Simple, quick and tasty - with an authentic Teriyaki marinade made from only three ingredients

There's really very little to this - the beauty of it lies in the simplicity of the ingredients. Salmon goes so well with soy and sweet flavours and takes minutes to cook.

This is delicious served with my sesame-miso asparagus (59 calories per serving) and cucumber-radish pickles (14 calories per serving) accompanied by some rice (or cauliflower rice if you're avoiding carbs) and you can knock all of these dishes up in under half an hour if you're canny about it (I'll post a method for cooking the whole meal separately).

This serves two people, at 336 calories per person.

Healthy Granola - to suit you!

Everyone loves a healthy, tasty and filling breakfast...

...and the great thing about this granola recipe, is that you can tweak it to suit your own tastes and diet!

Your choice of seeds, nuts and dried fruit - you can switch around the ingredients every time you make it, so it's a little bit different.

Makes 30 portions (approximately 50g each), around 259 calories per portion. Easily halved. Keeps well in an airtight container or re-sealable sandwich bag. Very easy to make!

Sesame-Miso Asparagus or Green Beans (...or Broccoli?)

Add a taste of the Orient to your green vegetables, with this delicious dressing, full of nutty, toasty, umami flavours

You can serve this hot, warm, or cool. It's fantastic as a side to Japanese dishes such as Teriyaki, Yakitori or Kushiyaki, or as part of a vegetarian spread or a Bento box and there's really nothing to it other than cooking your vegetables, and giving the dressing ingredients a stir before tossing them all together.

I love to have asparagus served this way with Teriyaki salmon (well, I'm always after different ways to eat salmon and asparagus together - they're two of my favourite things!); or make it with steamed green beans if we're having Teriyaki chicken, both served with my cucumber-radish pickles and some rice (or cauliflower rice) tossed with sliced spring onions, and maybe a splash of toasted sesame oil...

I have a little recipe plan for making Teriyaki chicken/salmon/tofu with rice, the above and cucumber-radish pickles all in under half an hour including preparation time, which I'll post, as it's great to be able to make something tasty, varied and a little bit exotic in a short amount of time if you organise how you do it!

Serves two, 59 calories per serving.