hi all, ive just been diagnosed with a liver problem which is caused due to my weight, so i need to change my diet quickly, im not a big meat eater, but i love pasta, fish and veg, im getting fed up of eating salads, could anyone come up with any recipes that are quick to cook and fairly cheap, any ideas or recipes would be greatly appreciated.

Quorn chilli-

We usually make up four portions and use it for work the next day!

Fry a couple of medium onions with bag of quorn mince. Add mushrooms nd kidney beans and fry off.

Pour a tin of tomatoes, and enough passata to give the desired consistancy.

Add black pepper, salt, chilli powder, grated garlic, tomato puree, mixed herbs, a stock cube and our favourite ingredient, Henderson's.

Simmer for a while, and serve with a jacket or rice.

Truly yummy! Sorry for the inprecise quantities, we just make it how we like it-you can add as much and as little of anything that you want :D If you don't liek quorn, nd don't want to use real meat-you can just use pulses instead.

Good luck losing weight-it's a pain isn't it?

oh thats brill litlemermaid, i,ll give it a go, thankyou very much.

You're welcome-it's my fail safe healthy, lowish calorie meal! It helps that it's yummy too-I can't bear being on a diet if I can't eat something tasty!

And if I can cook it-then anyone can:D

http://www.quorn.co.uk/CMSPage.aspx great recipes on this website (including a similar chilli recipe :) )

Bet they don't put Hendos in though:P

:hihi:

Some of the recipes on there are fab:thumbsup:

Microwaved (between 2 plates) fish fillets (whatever you can lay your hands on cheaply), squeezing lemon juice over them first. Serve with boiled new potatoes (skins on) and a dollop of fromage frais or quark with fresh herbs.

Grilled chicken pittas - slices of chicken, grilled on george foreman or whatever, toasted pittas (wholemeal best), add fresh tomatoes, chopped onion, grated white cabbage, chopped cucumber, and low fat yoghurt/fromage frais with lots of coriander. mmmmmm

If you absolutely have to have something sweet and cake shaped, you can make a banana or date tea loaf and get away with only half an ounce of butter in the whole thing that serves about 8 portions. The only thing that you need to bear in mind is that it doesn't keep so well without the fat so if you aren't going to be able to eat it before it goes a bit solid then you can slice it into portions and freeze it until you want it. It's high in carbohydrates and sugars, but it's low fat and is less bad than most other cakes.

Heat your oven to 180C, then line a 2lb loaf tin (I use one piece ready made liners, they work out at a couple of pence each and save lots of fuss).

Don't bother weighing all the ingredients- I never do and it works fine as long as you use the same measure for everything.

If you'd like date and fruit loaf soak a cup full of chopped dates for half an hour in hot water then mash up a bit and use as alternative to bananas.

6 tbsp SR flour
6tbsp sugar (I like to use brown, but not essential)
0.5-1.5 tbsp soft butter/margarine (works best with 1.5 but can cut down as above)
2 eggs
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup nuts (whatever you fancy- I like pecans)
1 cup dried fruit (again, whatever you fancy- I like dried cherries and cranberries with banana and chopped apricots with dates)
EITHER approx 1lb overripe bananas, peeled (about 4 bananas) OR 1 cup dried chopped dates, soaked in enough hot water to cover them for half an hour and then mashed up together.

Put all ingredients into a big bowl and then whisk together with a hand whisk until you have a sloppy batter then pour into loaf tin and bake for about an hour until set in the centre.

Serve hot with natural yoghurt or custard or eat cold as a cake.



My other low fat favourite is home made chicken and veg soup. Low fat, tasty, very cheap, full of fresh veg and versatile.

Boil up chicken carcass to make stock for an hour then allow to cool, strain and then pick over the carcass to remove the bones but leave the meat and return this to the stock. This part can be done in advance and the stock frozen until you are ready to use if not on the same day as the stock is made.

In a spot of oil gently fry diced onion, celery, carrot and potato (ideally new potato so it keeps its shape) and any other veg you fancy in a large pan. Be generous with the veg- it makes the soup much nicer in the end. After 10 minutes the onions should be mostly cooked and translucent. Pour in the stock, cook for another half an hour and season.

If you prefer just to have vegetable soup then omit the chicken part completely and just make the stock with some Vecon or good vegetable stock cubes, remembering to adjust your seasonings to take account of the salt in the stock.

This soup can be stored in the fridge, batch cooked and frozen in portions or large tubs and can be served on its own or with cous cous or pasta in as a fast and very filling hot meal. I could eat home made chicken soup with cous cous every day for lunch (and it uses up all the veg that's looking a bit past it too!).