Low Calorie Meals - Mainly 300 and 400 Calorie

Fish or Seafood Pie. Serves 2 - 400 cals/ portion

Ingredients

250g of plain white fish

250g smoked fish

80g thinly sliced onion

100g sliced Mushroom

270g potatoes for mash

80g Fat free fromage frais

30ml Skimmed milk

Fish stock

30ml white wine

½ teaspoon of dried parsley

Optional V small pinch tarragon

2 tsp cornflour

Seasoning

clove of garlic sliced and cooked with onions for last few mins of their cooking

60g green beans cut in half

0r  60g leaf and tom salad

 If available I use a 3 fish pie mix of salmon, white fish and smoked fish from ASDA which made 380 cals instead of listed fish but add 45g raw prawns. Prawns are low calorie and more would be nice maybe 90g.

The cornflour in the fish stock is important as is cooling in the method. It means that when the white wine is stirred in it will not split and the quark (I use a seasoned one) will not split either.

Preparation method
Remove fromage frais from fridge. Start the potato for 25 mins

 Heat splash of oil in a sauté pan and gently fry the onion for a 7 or so mins, until soft.. Add garlic and mushrooms part way through. Remove from pan and set aside.

 Season fish on each side with pepper and steam in covered sauté pan for 8mins in mix of water and a little milk. Set fish aside and clean pan. Break into chunks when cool.

  In a saucepan add a little boiling water stir in ¼ of fish stock cube, dissolve stock cube and add milk. Heat slowly.  When hot but not boiling, add 2 tsp cornflour mixed with a little milk, heat stirring until thickened – do not boil. Leave to cool for 10 mins.

 Mash potatoes after seasoning with pepper or or pinch of nutmeg or other spice and a teaspoon of butter and Parsley. (I used dried for this)

 Put onions etc and fish in small oven proof dish.

 Add  white wine to cooled sauce and then Quark or fromage frais, stirring well. Pour over fish and onions and top with potato mash.

 Bake at 200 for 40 or 45 mins. About 5 mins before the end of cooking time turn oven down to 110C and put green beans to cook on the hob in boiling water. Remove bake and set aside whilst warming plates. When beans have been in for 10 mins dish up.

Chicken and Vegetable Tray Bake. Serves 2 400 cals/ portion

Ingredients

240g large salad potatoes

2 large ripe tomatoes 200g

120g red onions

120g  pepper

100 g mushrooms thickly sliced

300g skinless chicken breast

2 cloves of garlic

¼ bunch of fresh thyme

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Tbsp olive oil

Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Could use chicken thighs. If leaving skin on reduce oil to 6ml, add a splash of water and reduce potatoes to 160g.

Preparation method

Cut the Chicken into thick chunks and marinade in a little oil along with any preferred additions for 30 mins to help prevent it drying out during baking.

 Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

 Parboil potatoes for 10 - 15 mins. Cool and slice.

 Quarter the tomatoes or maybe in eighths and place them in a large 10’’ base baking dish or roasting tray (roughly 25cm x 285cm) and add mushroom.

 Peel the onions and cut into large wedges, then deseed and roughly chop the peppers. Add all these to the tray along with the chicken but not marinade oil .

 Squash and peel garlic cloves, rough chop and add to the tray, then pick over the thyme leaves, sprinkle over with the paprika.

 Add Tbsp Balsamic and Tblsp oil, a good pinch of sea salt if desired and black pepper. Toss everything together really well to coat, then spread across the tray, making sure the chicken isn't covered by the vegetables and push potatoes to bottom.

 Roast for around 35-40 mins or until the chicken is golden and cooked through, turning and basting it a few times during cooking with the juices from the tray. Time depends on oven.

Hi Catherine, I was waiting to see if there was interest before I put more up. Will put another up today then.

Beef Stew and Dumplings  Serves 4 -  409 Cals.

OK, slight cheat in the title as probably better described as cobblers rather than 'dumplings'. The recipe for the dumplings is based on one by Brian Turner.

Ingredients

400g Braising steak, cut in cubes

200g Onion, sliced

200g carrot, sliced

200g Mushroom, sliced or quartered

200g Salad potato, thick sliced

40g celery optional and I rarely use

2/3 Beef Stock cube in 700ml water

60g red wine

2 desert sp flour

1tsp olive or veg oil

Oregano, couple bay leaves, splash Worcester Sauce

For the Dumplings (these are for 2 portions to make 4 dumplings) If for 4 as per main recipe then double. I make for two and freeze half of main stew portion and later do dumplings to suit.

135g Flour (wholemeal or plain)

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1tbspn chopped flat leafed parsley

1 tbsp chopped chives

Optional 5 tsp chopped thyme

65ml skimmed milk

10ml olive oil (2tsp)

Preparation method
Put 1 desert sp flour in a plastic bag, grind in several turns of black pepper. Add half beef and toss to coat, repeat with desert sp. Plain flour and pepper for other half.

Set oven to 180 to preheat.

Add tsp oil to a large sauté pan on high, and after 2-3 minutes add the beef. I do beef in two lots. Stir for 2 minutes, then once the meat has sealed, set aside and  add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes and any remaining flour in bag and stir. Add wine and deglaze pan. Why does wine seem to deglaze better than water? Then gradually add stock. Stir until thickens.

Pour into a casserole and cook for ¼ hour to get the casserole pot going and turn down to 160C for further 2 hours.

After the stew has nearly cooked, make the dumplings: Sift the flour into bowl add tspn baking powder, pepper. Make a well in centre add the oil 2blspn each of chopped parsley and chives add milk slowly whilst mixing with fork to soft dough. It may look as if all flour will not incorporate but it will. Kneed dour in hands to seal any cracks. Moisten hands with oil and place dough onto lightly floured surface and knead slightly into 4 balls . Place the dumplings on top of the stew, raise temp to 180C and cook uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes until they are cooked with a light crust, but still soft. Turn dumplings half time.

Please do Tammy. Some Notes.

In all my recipes' spoon levels are for level spoonfuls unless otherwise stated.

When I make a casserole I usually make a day before I require it as I find it improves with standing. I divide the casserole into two portions for two people and usually freeze on half. I am pretty careful to roughly divide meat, tats and carrots fairly equally. When I reheat the half portion I usually do so for an hour or a little less at 160c and turn up to 180 15 mins before the end prior to uncovering and adding dumplings. During this time I sift my flour and make dumplings. Ovens vary and I use mainly a small combi oven. I find that for me 35 mins allows for my dumplings to be properly cooked and not doughy. You can always check one if first time with the recipe by removing and halving.

Although I use a larger earthenware casserole for cooking the main when I reheat I find that a 6'' internal diameter casserole is just right for 4 dumplings. For 8 dumplings (4 people)  I suspect that an 8'' or 9'' would suffice. It is possible instead of forming into dumpling the mix could be rolled out to make a crust.

Often I do not use a recipe as such but rely on my Excell spreadsheet to work out the calories for me. Last night for example was pork steak with apple onion and cider gravy, baked potato and a mixture of cauli and broccoli. Worked out at 415 cals.

Anyway another recipe to add and a favourite of ours

Well the above recipe we will be having today or tomorrow. Wednesday and Thursday are our lower calorie days and so 300 calorie evening meal. I think that we will be having Lemon Curried Chicken Stir Fry on the other day but it might be a bolognaise. Not decided yet.

All these recipes are ones that I have made a number of times over the last two years.