Recipe for Spiced Chicken with rice and peppers

A good old classic chicken dish with a spicy little twist! This is another great tasting, low fat meal with the added benefit that it's low in cholesterol too. Like turkey, chicken is a great source of protein and is readily available. For a veggie option, try swapping the chicken for green beans and sliced red onions.

What you'll need:

2 large chicken breasts
1 tbsp sunflower oil (or use '1 Cal Spray' to make it even healthier)
2 tsp curry powder 1 green pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
100g basmati rice (white or brown)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp raisins
85g frozen peas 1 tbsp
chopped mint and coriander
pinch of saffron
4 heaped tbsp of low-fat natural yogurt


based on meal for two, takes 35 mins

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Brush the chicken with 1 tbsp oil ( or use 1 Cal spray), then sprinkle the curry powder over each chicken breast or vegetables. Toss the peppers in a little oil. Put the chicken and peppers in a roasting tin. Bake for 25 mins until the chicken/veg is fully cooked and the peppers are crisp, stirring the peppers aprox halfway through .
2. Rinse the rice, then put in a pan with the cinnamon, saffron, a pinch of salt and 300ml water. Bring the rice to the boil, stir once, then add the raisins and cover. Gently cook for 10-12 mins until the rice is tender, adding the peas halfway through.
   
3. Serve the rice onto your plates, top with the chicken and scatter the peppers over the top. Stir the mint and coriander into the yogurt and serve on the side.

Per Serving (using sunflower oil)- 495 kcals, 45g protein, 63g cardohydrates, 9g fat (2g saturated fat), 5g fibre, 0.39g salt and no added sugar.

Feel fab loves...

1 calorie spray!

Want stir fries with less calories? Yes please! Fry Light sunflower oil or olive oil is exactly as it says...just 1 calorie per spray! Compare this with normal Sunflower oil (which contains 120 calories per table spoon) and you'll see just how easy it can be to reduce the amount of calories in some of your meals.

I use Fry light for loads of 'fried' foods/meals such as chicken or veggie stir fries, bacon, eggs and omlettes to name just a few. Food tastes non-greasy and lighter in general which means no feeling guilty! :-) You can buy it from most supermarkets, it costs about £2.80 and, best of all, it lasts for ages. A cupboard must-have if you're wanting to lose weight!

1 unit or 2?

We all know that alcohol contains plenty of calories (our arch enemy when trying to lose weight!), but do we ever really know how many units it contains? Check out this great guide which shows just how many are in each drink. It can be difficult to know if we're within the 14 units recommended per week (21 for men), so why not give the calculator a go and see how you fare....

http://units.nhs.uk/

Go Pink!

This month is Breast Cancer awareness month, and showing your support has never been easier. There are so many products donating to Breast Cancer Charities this year, from pink Ghd's to Energizer's pink batteries, that even buying simple household products means you're doing your bit. But my absolute favourite product has to be the pink Cadbury's Flake... gorgeous chocolate now in a gorgeous pink wrapper. Go on, treat yourself.... it's for charity!

Recipe for Cajun Turkey

This meal is just scrumptious and is very low in fat, in fact it has only 1.75grams of fat per 100g turkey (skinless and cooked). Turkey is a good lean source of protein and, what's more it's cheap to buy. Simply follow the recipe and enjoy...

What you'll need:

225g of new potatoes
125g runner beans (or green beans if preferred)
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 turkey steaks
1 tbsp olive oil
finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
1/2 garlic glove, crushed
1 tomato, seeded and cut into chunks (or own choice of veg)

based on meal for two, takes 30 mins

1. Boil the potatoes for 8 minutes. Add the runner/green beans, cover pan and boil for further 6 minutes.
2. Whilst veg is boiling, sprinkle cajun seasoning on to both sides of each turkey steak. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large shallow frying pan and fry the turkey steaks (medium heat) for 3-4 minutes each side until they begin to blacken. Add the lemon zest and juice if desired and fry for an extra few seconds. Reduce heat to keep warm.
3. Drain the potatoes and beans and put 2 tablespoon olive oil into the pan. Add the garlic and tomatoes (or choice of veg) and cook for 1-2 minutes, mixing vegetables and potatoes through until coated in the oil.
4. Serve with the turkey steaks, pour on pan juices for extra taste. For a lighter option, serve with small side salad of own choice (no dressing) in place of potatoes.

Per Serving (with potatoes)- 326 kcals, 34g protein, 23g cardohydrates, 12g fat (2g saturated fat), 3g fibre, 0.21g salt and no added sugar.

Feel fab loves....

dry shampoo!

Perfect for those accidental lie-ins or post work-out hair, it acts as a light powder spray which dries out any greasy bits!

But brunettes beware...too much and it will look a bit, well, grey. I find it's best to spray a light mist (at least 10cm from hair), brush through and repeat until hair looks like new again!

There's loads of different ones out there, but Batiste is a personal favourite of mine with a choice of different scents plus it comes in a handy 'on the go' size too!