Vege Fritters - 37 pro points

I made these for dinner last night - and had leftovers for lunch. My husband loved them!

1 onion peeled and roughly chopped into 4-6 pieces
1 carrot, likewise
1 capsicum (bell pepper) chopped into large pieces (deseeded)
1 courgette chopped into 4-6 pieces
2 cloves of garlic peeled
1 cup sweet corn kernels (4 pro points)
handful of frozen peas (1 pro points)
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (20 pro points)
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Water to mix
oil for frying (12 pro points - approx)

Put the onion, carrot, capsicum, courgette and garlic into a food processor and blend until finely chopped. (Or you can grate the carrot and courgette and finely chop the rest.)

Add to a large bowl with remaining ingredients.  Add enough water to make a loose batter.

Heat oil in a pan and fry spoonfuls of the mix until golden underneath, then turn and cook the other side. Makes about 28-30 - plenty for 4 people.

Serve with a lettuce salad.

You can change the vegetables for anything you like. Cauliflower, mushrooms, fresh chilli, pumpkin, potato, sweet potato (kumara), spring onions, anything! It's easy to extend out for more people and delicious any way you eat it.

Serve with yoghurt mixed with mint and diced cucumber if you like. Or chutney would also be great. Make it yours.

Minestrone Soup 28 pro points

1 tablespoon oil (9 pro points)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (around 1 cup)
1 leek, quartered lengthwise, rinsed and finely chopped
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped
2 cabbage leaves finely sliced (optional)
1/2 red capsicum (bell pepper), deseeded and finely chopped
2 carrots, finely peeled and finely chopped
2 rashers bacon, chopped (2 pro points)
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock (4 pro points)
1 teaspoon sugar (1 pro points)
420g can white beans (use cannellini, butter or haricot beans) – drained (6 pro points)
1/3 cup small pasta (risoni, alphabets, tiny macaroni - whatever you can find) (6 pro points)
Fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic, celery, bacon and leek and stir until beginning to soften. Add the other vegetables and cook over a gentle heat for around 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomatoes, stock, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.

When the vegetables are tender add the beans, pasta and parsley and simmer a further 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and add salt or pepper to taste.
Serve sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.

Honey Mustard Chicken

This is yummy. You'll certainly want to add it to your regular menus.

Serves 4
2 large chicken breasts - skinless, boneless (14 pro points)
1/3 cup runny honey (12 pro points)
1/3 cup cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
2 tblsp soya sauce
2 tblsp wholegrain mustard

Marinate the chicken for 2 hours. Heat a little oil in a pan to medium (not too hot as the sugar will burn).
Place breasts in pan - smooth side down and leave for about 5 minutes. When nicely golden underneath, turn over and reduce heat to medium.  Cook until firm (if you are not sure they are cooked through, then slice into the thickest bit of one breast to make sure there’s no pink left).

Remove from pan and rest for 4 minutes before slicing across the grain in diagonal slices.  While chicken is resting, add the rest of the marinade to the pan and boil for a couple of minutes to make a delicious, sticky sauce.

If the residue in the pan is too burnt, then just put it in a pot and boil it up.

Serve with mashed potato and kumara and a green vegetable.

Butter Chicken (Low fat – Really) ( 44 pro points)

OK, so this is no longer a family secret - because so many people have asked for the recipe!

Because it is so often requested, I create a jar of the spices mixed together, so I always have the makings on hand.
SPICE MIX: I buy packets of cinnamon, ginger, chilli and turmeric, tip them into a jar, and then fill one of the empty spice packets with salt and toss that in too. Shake to mix them together. Then I use 1 1/2 teaspoons of mix per breast. 


Serves 4

¾ cup basmati rice ( 15 pro points)
1 red onion – thinly sliced
3 tablespoons canola or rice bran oil ( 9 pro points)
Spice mix: 

• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground chili
• ½ teaspoon salt

2 chicken breasts (boned, skinless) – diced (or the equal amount of chicken thigh) ( 14 pro points)
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup low fat evaporated milk ( 6 pro points)


Rinse the rice then put in a saucepan and cover with cold water about 2cm above rice. Add salt (about ½ teaspoon) and bring to the boil. Once it’s simmering, just keep an eye on it, and when the water level is just below the top if the rice, switch the heat off and put a lid on and leave it alone. By the time you’ve finished cooking the butter chicken, the rice will be ready.  Just take the lid off and fluff it up with a fork.

Heat oil, and sauté onion until soft. Add the spices and salt and stir over the heat until fragrant. Increase heat and add chicken meat. Cook, stirring, until the meat is cooked through, then add the tomato paste and give it a good mix up. Add the evaporated milk and heat gently, but do not boil or the milk will curdle. That’s it, finished.

Serve over rice with a dob of plain yogurt on top, a side of green beans and some sliced tomato.

• You can make it using ghee (clarified butter) and cream instead of oil and evaporated milk– it will taste amazing, but it’s a very high fat meal. 
• I sometimes use sour cream instead of cream or evaporated milk; makes it nice and thick.
• Side dishes could include fruit chutney, peanuts, cashews, diced apple in plain yogurt, sliced banana sprinkled with lemon juice, popadoms, naan bread or roti. 

Peppered Chicken - serves 4 - 20 pro points

This is the marinade I use most often. Delicious

Serves 4
2 large chicken breasts - skinless, boneless (14 pro points)
2 tblsp Olive Oil (6 pro points)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1 red chilli - seeds removed, finely diced ( or 1/2 tspn chilli powder)
2 tblsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely diced
Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken for 2 hours.
Place breasts in med-hot pan - smooth side down and leave for about 5 minutes. When nicely golden underneath, turn over and reduce heat to medium.  Cook until firm (if you are not sure they are cooked through, then slice into the thickest bit of one breast to make sure there’s no pink left).
Remove from pan and rest for 4 minutes before slicing across the grain in a diagonal line.
Serve with corn fritters and a salad - or chopped, fresh tomatoes.

Chilli Con Carne Total Pro Points 51 - serves 8

Special request from my older son.

2 tablespoons oil (6 pro points)
2 onions - diced
2 cloves garlic - diced
1 red chilli - deseeded and diced (Optional)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
500gm mince (beef or chicken) (25 pro points)
2x tins baked beans (20 pro points)
2x tins chopped tomatoes
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Saute onions, garlic and chilli in oil for a few minutes until soft, add oregano and spices, and stir for 1 minutes. Add meat and stir until cooked through. Then add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until nice and thick.
Serve over corn chips with grated cheese, add sour cream, top with diced fresh tomato and avocado, or spoon over rice.


Add extra vegetables for extra goodness.
Grated courgette, diced capsicum, carrot, celery -  see what you have in the fridge.

Pea Soup - Pro Points 33

This soup reminds me of winter days; rain on the window, fire in the hearth, and family close to me.

1 cup yellow split peas (17 pro points)
1/2 cup red lentils (7 pro points)
10 cups of water
2 large onions
2-3 sticks celery
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
1 bat leaf
thyme, oregano, allspice
25 gm butter (5 pro points)
1/4 cup flour (4 pro points)
milk, water or vege stock to thin
salt and pepper

Bring peas, lentils and water to the boil in a large pot. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
Adds herbs and spice listed, in quantities to suit your taste, or leave them out if you don't have them.
Simmer mixture until peas are mushy, then blend or push through a sieve.

Melt butter in clean saucepan, then add flour and cook together for about 2 minutes.
Add about a cup of the soup puree, stir until combined, then add another cup, stir until combined, then add remaining puree.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

This mixture will be very thick, and at this stage is suitable for storing in the fridge or freezer.

When ready to serve, thin with a little milk, water or vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, taste and season.

Serve hot with croutons or toast.

Impossible Pie

Impossible because it froms it’s own pastry crust - sort of. 
Easy and delicious.



3 cups of milk (12 pro points)
2/3 cup of flour (9 pro points)
five eggs (10 pro points)
100gm of tasty cheese grated (10 pro points)
any assortment of veges you have including a oniony thing such as spring, red, chives, and some parsley - eg: finely chopped onion, chopped broccoli florets, grated carrot and courgette, grated potato or kumara, diced capsicum, etc. (pro points on some like potato and kumara  - check your book)
Pre-heat oven to 180oC
Mix the flour and milk up with a whisk then whisk in the eggs, then the veges and bit of pepper and salt and then put in a greased dish.
Sprinkle some extra cheese on top.
Bake for approx 40 mintutes or until the middle is puffed and golden on top.

Vegetable Lasagne - serves 6-8 total pro-points 47

2 red or yellow capsicums sliced into quarters - seeds etc removed
2 courgettes sliced long-ways into strips (or aubergine)
1 large kumara peeled and sliced into 1cm slices (4 pro points)
3 teaspoons of olive oil (3 pro points)
2 cups field or Swiss brown mushrooms
1/2 packet (about 200g) fresh spinach, chopped (or use frozen)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red wine (4 pro points)
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, rosemary are good)
2 cups cottage cheese (12 pro points)
1/2 cup low-fat milk (2 pro points)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (6 pro points)
instant lasagne sheets (12 pro points)
Extra cheese (grated) for sprinkling on top (cheddar or parmesan) (4 pro points)
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly brush the kumara, courgette and capsicum with oil and roast for 15 -20 min until soft.  remove and allow to cool a bit.
Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until soft but not browned. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook gently. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, herbs and spices. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the liquid in the sauce has reduced by a third.
While the tomato sauce is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Blend the cottage cheese until smooth, then add the parmesan and the milk. Blend until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
Add the spinach leaves to the tomato sauce, stir in and cook a few minutes until wilted (or thawed if using frozen).
In a deep oven dish, place a third of the tomato mixture. Follow with a layer of pasta, a layer of tomato, a layer of cheese and some of the roasted vegetables. Repeat the layering, finishing with the cheese. Sprinkle the extra cheese over the top of the lasagne and place in the oven.
Cook for 30-40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving with a green salad and bread rolls.