Sausage Rolls

This is another quick and easy recipe perfect for taster sessions in Slimming World groups. These work out at only 1 syn each for a bitesize sausage roll. It only needs 3 ingredients! It can’t get any easier than that.

You can use any sausages of your choice but remember to find out syns before you make them as sausages tend to be quite high in syns!

I have used the Linda McCartney’s vegetarian sausages which are only 0.5 syn each. I am on the lookout for low syn halal sausages, if you know of any, please comment with what you use.

Sausage Rolls

Sausage Rolls

 

Makes: 18

Syns: 1 syn each

Time Taken: less than 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 6 Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Sausages
  • 3 Kinsmill thins
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

Cook the sausages according to the packet instructions, but don’t fully cook them as you will be cooking them again for a few more minutes later.

Once the sausages are mostly cooked, remove them from the oven and set them aside.

Brush the inside of each Kingsmill thin with the beaten egg. Place a sausage in each half and roll.

Brush the egg all over the outside of the thins and place them in the oven for around 10 minutes (or less) till the rolls are nice and golden.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and cut each sausage roll into 3 pieces.

Chicken Tikka Pizza

A super easy cheat’s pizza ready in less than 20 minutes! This is syn free when using the wrap as healthy extra B choice and the cheese as part of healthy extra A choice. You can add any of your favourite Free Food toppings, I’ve used Haloodies Chicken Tikka slices for this pizza as they are pre-cooked already making this even easier! You can find the syn values for Haloodies products here. The chicken tikka is available in most supermarkets in the halal chilled food section.

I cut these into slices of 8 making it perfect for tasters sessions for Slimming World groups or any other party.

You can get the pizza seasoning from Aldi, I’ve recently picked it up from my local Aldi for a bargain 29p!!! If you can’t find the pizza seasoning then you can use mixed herbs instead as it works quite well too.

I know cottage cheese may sound weird on a pizza but believe me it does not taste like it once cooked. The cottage cheese gives the pizza a lovely effect, it looks like mozarella cheese once cooked!

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chicken Tikka Pizza

Chicken Tikka Pizza

Ingredients

  • 1 Weight Watchers white wrap
  • 20g light cheddar cheese
  • Tomato puree
  • Pizza seasoning or mixed herbs
  • Mushrooms
  • Haloodies chicken tikka slices
  • Cottage cheese
  • Spinach
  • Cherry tomatoes

Method

Spread tomato puree all over the wrap and sprinkle some of the pizza seasoning. Add all of your favourite toppings and a dollop some of the cottage cheese around the pizza before sprinkling the cheddar cheese on.

Bake in a pre heated oven on gas mark 6 for around 12-15 minutes till the cheese is melted and golden.

 

Nadiya’s Samosa Hack!

I thought I’d try Nadiya’s samosa hack from her latest TV show and give it a Slimming World friendly twist!

If you don’t know who Nadiya is, she was the winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2016! A well deserved winner too, all her bakes looked absolutely delicious.

I used potatoes and peas for the filling but you can be more adventurous or just stick to regular samosa fillings such as kheema. Just remember to syn accordingly.

I used mini tortilla wraps from Aldi which are 4.5 syns for each wrap and you can get two samosas out of one wrap, making it only around 2.5 syns each samosa! (See picture below).

Aldi Wrap

Aldi Wrap

You can if you prefer (and can get hold of!) use the Weight Watchers white wraps that can be used as a healthy extra B choice. Your samosas will be slightly bigger though, I prefer using the mini wraps as you can batch cook them and freeze.

If you use any other brand of wrap, please remember to check syns as not all similar products have the same syn values.

Let me know if you’ve come across a lower syn alternative to making samosas!

Adjust spice levels to how spicy you prefer, I made mine quite mild as they were for a taster session in group. Enjoy and let me know what you think! Feel free to tag me in your posts when you’ve made them.

 

Samosa

Samosa

Makes: 16 samosas

Syns: 2.5 syns each

Time Taken: 45-60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 pack Aldi mini tortilla wraps
  • 2 medium potatoes, boiled
  • handful of frozen peas, cooked
  • 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red chilies
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

Make samosa filling by boiling the potatoes first. Once the potatoes are boiled and cooled, slightly mash them or you can chop the potatoes in little cubes and boil them if you prefer your potatoes quite chunky rather than mashed.

Mix in cooked peas, ginger/garlic paste, cumin seeds, salt, chilli and garam masala.

Cut each wrap in half so you get a semi-circle shape.

Shape each wrap half into a triangle shape and fill it with your filling. Use the beaten egg to seal all around the edges and egg wash the top of the samosa.

Once all the samosas are filled and egg washed, bake them in a pre heated oven at gas mark 6 for around 12-15 minutes or until they are nice and golden.

You can freeze them once the samosas are cooked and cooled.

Tip: Watch the video here on how to fill the samosas.

Turkey & Egg Cups

Super easy and syn free snack perfect for picnics or breakfast!

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Turkey & Egg Cup Ingredients

Turkey & Egg Cup Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 slices of Najma Wafer thin Turkey slices
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Pop each turkey slice into a muffin tin and crack an egg into each one.

Pop them in a pre heated oven for about 15 minutes or longer if you prefer a fully cooked yolk. Once cooked season with salt and pepper.

Turkey & Egg Cups

Turkey & Egg Cups

 

Ferrero Rocher

I absolutely love Ferrero Rocher, they are one of my all time favourite treats. These are so easy to make and much lower in syns compared to the real thing!

Serves: 16

Syns: 2 Syns each

Time Taken: 1o minutes, plus chilling time

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 Weetabix
  • 5 level table spoons of Nutella
  • One Options hot chocolate sachet (flavour of your choice) for dusting

Method

Mix your Weetabix and Nutella together.

Roll your mixture up into Ferrero Rocher sized balls and then roll in the hot chocolate powder. The mixture can be quite sticky so it is worthwhile dusting your hands with hot chocolate before rolling each ball.

Place into mini cake cases and leave to stand in the fridge for at least one hour.

 

Epic Sandwich Fillings

Whether you’re a cheese and onion fan or more of a tuna and cucumber devotee, we all love a good old sandwich. The great thing about Food Optimising is that bread isn’t a ‘banned’ food (as it is with many other eating plans). Below are some popular bread choices you can choose from to enjoy your sandwich. You can get a full list of all the latest healthy extra options on the Slimming World website.

Popular Healthy Extra ‘b’ bread choices include:

  • 60g wholemeal roll
  • 2 slices of wholemeal bread from a small 400g loaf
  • 3 slices of Kingsmill Wholemeal No Crusts
  • 1 BFree Foods Multigrain Wrap
  • 1 Kingsmill Wholemeal Sandwich Thin

If you use up your healthy extra B choice with other options, you can still get the same great sandwich taste, for Free! Here is how:

  • A ‘wrap’ made of firm lettuce leaves, such as iceberg or romaine
  • A thinly cooked omelette takes the place of a high-Syn tortilla (an average wrap is 9 Syns!). To make the omelette lightly beat 1 egg in a large measuring jug and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the egg mixture into a non-stick pan and tilt it around. Cook for 1½ minutes on each side or until the edges turn golden then loosen with a palette knife and slide on to greaseproof paper.
  • Grilled Portobello mushrooms make delicious, veggie-friendly burger bun replacements. Just grill them on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
  • A jacket or sweet potato, piled with your favourite sandwich filling.

As for Free fillings, anything goes! Use your imagination! Comment below what your favourite fillings are.

Prawn and rocket – juicy pink prawns, rocket and homemade Marie rose sauce (1tbsp quark, 1 sprig finely chopped dill, 1 tsp tomato puree and seasoning)

Tuna melt – tuna, green peppers, tomatoes and sweetcorn sprinkled with reduced fat cheddar cheese (40g is a Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and grilled.

Mushroom, cherry tomato, mozzarella & basil – slices of mushrooms (cooked in low calorie cooking spray), cherry tomatoes (cut in half),  50g mozzarella (Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and basil leaves.

Smoked salmon, lemon & chives – put 40g of smoked salmon trimmings in a bowl, 4 tbsp quark, a sprinkle of chives and a squeeze of lemon.

Houmous & red pepper – a thick layer of homemade red pepper houmous topped with Peppadew Mild Piquante Peppers (available in most supermarkets).

Sausage buttie – two frozen Linda McCartney’s Red Onion and Rosemary sausages (syn free) and ½ medium onion cooked in low calorie cooking spray. For a mustard mayo, mix 1 tsp mustard powder with 1 tbsp cold water. Add 1 tbsp fat-free fromage frais, and whisk until smooth. Serve with grated carrot and red cabbage. Add 1 tbsp ketchup for 1 Syn.

Tuna Marie-rose & cucumber – tuna canned in water or brine mixed with marie rose sauce (1tbsp quark, 1 sprig finely chopped dill, 1 tsp tomato puree and seasoning) and a few thin slices of cucumber.

Egg & tomato – sliced boiled egg with spinach and sliced tomato.

Pastrami, gherkin & pepper – mix together ½ tsp mustard powder with 3 tbsp fat free fromage frais and spread on the bread. Top with pastrami, chopped gherkins and 1 bottled roasted red pepper in brine, cut into slices.

Cheese & onion – grated red Leicester (30g is a Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and slices of red onion.

Toasted sandwich – filled with any topping of your choice with 40g Light Cheddar cheese (healthy extra A choice).

 

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

You can make these scotch eggs syn free if using the Linda McCartney’s Red Onion & Rosemary sausages, I prefer the ones that are 0.5 syn each (pictured below).

Makes: 3

Syns: 1 syn each

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Linda McCartney Sausages

Linda McCartney Sausages

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of 6 Linda McCartney Vegetarian Sausages, defrosted overnight
  • 3 boiled eggs

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

Method

Place the sausages out of the box in a bowl to defrost overnight in the fridge.

Once the sausages are defrosted, mash them all up.

Boil the eggs to your liking, I keep them with a soft yolk as the eggs will go in the oven later and I don’t like overcooked eggs!

Once the eggs are boiled, peel them and use the vegetarian sausage ‘meat’ to wrap around each egg. The sausages will stick to your hands a bit but keep wrapping it all around the egg. 2 sausages are enough to cover 1 egg.

Once all the eggs are done, place them in a pre-heated oven and cook for around 10-12 minutes, turning them halfway.

Crustless Quiche Muffins

I love making this SW crustless quiche recipe. There are so many variations to it but this one has to be my favourite. The basic essentials you need are eggs, cottage cheese and Pasta ‘n’ Sauce, you can then add anything you want to it –  any veg or meat/fish of your choice. The possibilities are endless! I made them into muffins but you can easily just make a large one and then slice it up before eating.

Makes: 15

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Packet of Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce Cheese & Broccoli flavour (0.5 syn for whole pack)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tub of cottage cheese
  • Any veg of choice – I used mushrooms, 1/2 red pepper and some spring onions

 

 

Basic Quiche Essentials

Basic Quiche Essentials

Method

Cook the pasta in 350ml of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Pre heat the oven at gas mark 6.

Blend the cottage cheese with the eggs in a large bowl and then add the veggies you are using.

Once the pasta is cooked, mix in the cottage cheese mixture with the veggies and place the mixture in silicone muffin cases.

Bake in the oven for around 20-25 minutes till cooked. If you like you can also add some cheese from your healthy extra A choice before placing the muffin cases in the oven.

 

Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche

 

Snacks & Nibbles

I absolutely love this feature on the SW website, which I’ve included below, that is all about snacks & nibbles! This is perfect whether you’re in need of a tasty lifesaver to keep you going, a mid-morning munch or simply a healthier alternative to a high-Syn snack, for when a ‘nibbly’ moment comes. Some need no cooking at all and some are simple to cook in advance and keep in the fridge ready for those times. Please do share using the comments box below what your favourite snacks & nibbles are.

Speed Free Food snacks
Snack on these for the BEST weight loss results. The more Speed you choose the more weight you’ll lose!

Savoury

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Veg crudités – carrot, peppers, celery, sugar snap peas, and dips like homemade houmous
  • Sweet baby cucumbers
  • Roasted butternut squash chips (cooked in low calorie cooking spray)
  • Pickled beetroot, gherkins, cabbage and onions
  • Slimming World quiche muffins packed with your favourite Speed Free Foods

Sweet

  • Fruit bowl favourites – apples, satsumas, pears, peaches
  • Melon chunks – pop in the freezer for a cool nibble
  • Fat free Greek-style yogurt mixed with 1 tsp sweetener and top with strawberries and raspberries
  • Apple wedges dunked in your favourite syn free yogurt
Other Free nibbles include:

Savoury

  • Boil or bake a fresh corn on the cob, season well – I like to add chilli powder to it too
  • Hardboiled eggs

    Boiled Eggs, Clementines & Activia 0%

    Boiled Eggs, Clementines & Activia 0%

  • Seafood sticks dipped in soy sauce
  • Lean turkey, chicken,  chicken drumsticks (skin removed)
  • Sweet potato chips
  • Drain a can of tuna in spring water and blend with lemon juice and quark to make a pâté. Mix in chopped chives and spring onions, and serve with veg sticks
  • Asda Chosen by You Vegetable Chilli, from a 400g can, topped with a dollop of fat-free natural yogurt
  • Whizz roasted red peppers in brine from a jar with fat-free natural fromage frais and paprika, then use as a dip for cooked and peeled prawns.
  • Mugshots – my favourite one has to be the Cajun pasta flavour. Be aware that if you buy this flavour in a sachet it is 0.5 syn! The pot is FREE.

    Cajun Pasta Mugshot

    Cajun Pasta Mugshot

Sweet

  • Fat-free yogurt. Not all fat-free yogurts are Free eg. Onken Fat Free Yogurt Vanilla is 5 Syns per 450g pot  (double check your favourite flavour in Syns Online to protect your weight loss)
  • Freeze an Activia 0% strawberry yogurt in an ice-cube tray and enjoy like frozen sweets
  • Ice cream: Chop a handful of cherries and stir into two pots of Activia 0% (or similar) cherry yogurts and a large tub of fat free fromage frais. Pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally
  • Fresh pineapple chunks
Healthy Extra bites – If you’ve got your Healthy Extras left, tuck into one of these super snacks!
Hifi Light Bars

Hifi Light Bars

  • Cereal bars – 2 Hi-fi Light or Alpen Light bars (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)
  • 4 Ryvita Original/Dark Rye (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice) topped with 4 Laughing Cow Light Triangles (Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and mixed pickles like gherkins and onions
  • 60g of any wholemeal bread, toasted (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice), topped with 40g reduced fat Cheddar (Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and halved cherry tomatoes
  • 30g bag Ryvita Minis, all varieties (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)
  • 500g cooked rhubarb (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice) topped with fat free Greek-style yogurt mixed with 1 tsp sweetener
  • 35 pistachio nuts (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)

Cauliflower Cheese Patties

I had a tub of cauliflower rice that needed using up and normally I only ever make pizza (see full recipe here) with it but thought I would try something else to have with the chicken we were having.

I used pretty much similar ingredients to cauliflower pizza but made patties out of them. I didn’t measure anything out, just added everything randomly! This is what I used:

  • Tub of cauliflower rice with parsley
  • Garlic granules
  • Chilli flakes
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 20g light cheddar cheese (half healthy extra A choice)

I dry fried the cauliflower rice in a large frying with the spices for about 5 minutes. Once done, I removed it from the heat and transferred to a mixing bowl and let it cool. I left it for about an hour as I had gone out! Once back home I added the egg and cheese and mixed it altogether. In the frying pan I sprayed lots of fry light and added a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture making a round shape. I used a ring on top of the frying pan so I could get a perfect round shape. I cooked the patties for about 5 minutes on each side. And that was it!

This is what I had it with!

Cauliflower Patties with Piri Piri Chicken & Salad

Cauliflower Patties with Piri Piri Chicken & Salad