| Dinners |
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An increasing number of lifestyle trends are tipping the weighing scales in the wrong direction. Many of us sit for most of the day. Others skip breakfast, have a light lunch and end up eating more than necessary later on in the evening. Unintentionally we eat lots of calories while absorbed in a television programme as we are hardly aware we are eating.
The problem is that going on and off a diet again and again gets us nowhere in the long term. A far better idea is to reduce normal portion sizes and substitute healthier foods for the less healthy. |
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| There's no need to make drastic unsustainable changes. When we eat nutritionally-better food, we are less hungry. Try these two delicious and healthy dinner recipes as a change from your usual dishes. |
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| Dinner Nutrition Comparisons |
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| | Calories | Fat (g) | Saturates (g) | Fibre (g) | Salt (g) | | Chicken Kiev, chips & peas | 989 | 55.4 | 14.5 | 7.4 | 1.6 | | Carbonara with garlic bread | 935 | 49.2 | 25.3 | 2.6 | 3.0 | | Five veg lasagne (recipe) | 356 | 20.5 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 0.5 | | Stuffed Moroccan chicken (recipe) | 181 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
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| Five Veg Lasagne |
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| Serves 4 |
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 | 1½ tbsp olive oil |
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| 1 large red onion, chopped |
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| 1 garlic clove, crushed |
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| 350g mushrooms chopped |
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| 1 large courgette cut into small cubes |
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| 3 peppers, chopped - red, orange & yellow |
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| 700g jar passata |
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| 6-8 dried lasagne sheets |
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| 400g frozen spinach, defrosted |
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| 250g tub ricotta |
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| 25g grated parmesan |
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| 25g pine nuts |
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Preheat the oven to 180oC. Heat ½ tbs oil in a non-stick frying pan. Soften the onion, garlic and courgette for 5 minutes, then tip them into a bowl. Then stir fry the peppers quickly in the remaining oil for a few minutes. Then mix into the mushroom mixture.
Put half the vegetables into a 20x30cm/8x12in baking dish. Spoon over half the passata and cover with lasagne sheets. Spread the rest of the veg over the pasta, cover with passata, then pasta. Drain any excess liquid from the spinach and mix with the ricotta and half the parmesan.
Spoon over the pasta, then sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and pine nuts. Cover with foil, bake for 20 minutes, uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until browned. Serve with green salad. |
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| Stuffed Moroccan Chicken |
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| Serves 4 |
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| 4 x skinless, boneless chicken breasts |
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| Low fat monounsaturated cooking spray |
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| 50g raisins or dried fruit of your choice |
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| ½ tsp ground mixed spice |
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| 1 tsp harissa paste /spice mix |
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| 1 finely chopped preserved lemon or the rind of a scrubbed lemon |
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| 3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs –wholemeal bread if available |
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| 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (fresh is best but dried will be fine too) |
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Preheat the oven to 190oC and put a baking tray in to heat. Cut a pocket into the thickest part of each chicken breast using a small sharp knife. Heat a large non-stick frying pan until hot. Spray the chicken breasts with low fat cooking spray and then cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes until brown all over. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, mix together the dried fruit, mixed spice, harissa slice mix, lemon rind, wholemeal breadcrumbs and fresh or parsley. Fill each chicken pocket and don’t worry if it oozes out!
Remove the baking tray from the oven, transfer the chicken to the tray, spray with low fat cooking spray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the juices run clear. Serve immediately with mango salsa, some wild rice and a big green salad. |
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| Click here for some delicious dessert recipes. |
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