The evenings are getting dark, the leaves are turning beautiful bronze , russet & golden shades & autumn has definitely made its presence known. I have a beautiful warming autumnal soup for you to try to warm up the colder days, gorgeous roasted butternut squash. Butternut Squash is notoriously difficult to peel & guess what, you don’t even have to peel it for this recipe – excellent news! This is simple & filling & fantastically low at 0 smartpoints for the whole recipe. This will make a good batch of 5 to 6 servings & can be frozen if you wish. Continue reading
Category Archives: Lunch
Gorgeously Hearty and Healthy, Chunky Minestrone Soup
The russet colours of autumnal leaves are in their full array, there is a distinct chilly bite to the air, warm fluffy fleece blankets and soft woollen socks are back in action and it’s most definitely soup season again. Is there anything more comforting on a cold autumn evening than a big steaming hot bowl of filling and delicious soup, nope there is nothing I know that can fill that heart-warming role to the same perfection. I have a beautiful chunky minestrone soup recipe for you that won’t even require any bread or other accompaniments as the addition of whole wheat pasta and cannellini beans make it a filling meal all in itself. Continue reading
Creamy Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup
Creamy Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup all ready for tomorrow, lunch game is on point! Continue reading
Tummy Warming Roasted Vegetable Soup
Aldi sell these soup mix packs for €1.49. I decided to roast my veg in the oven to make the soup as I feel you get a more in-depth flavour from the vegetables from roasting them. I peeled and chopped all the veggies into equal sized pieces and sprayed a baking tray with spray oil, seasoned the veg with salt and pepper and sprinkled over fresh thyme leaves. I added two cloves of garlic with the skin left on. I roasted these in a preheated oven at 200 Celsius for 30 minutes. 
I transferred into a saucepan with 1 1/2 pints of boiling water and a chicken stock cube. I squeezed the soft roasted garlic out of the skins into the pot. I continued to cook for about 15 minutes to allow the flavours to develop. I blitzed with a hand blender adjusted the seasoning to taste and added a small bit more water as it was slightly thick. And Voilà! A beautiful autumnal roasted vegetable soup easy peasy! Free on all plans & guaranteed to keep you full. I hope you’re having a lovely Thursday x
Sweet Piccolo Tomato & Creamy Mozzarella Grilled Pitta Pizzas with Fresh Basil & Red Onion
Culinary elaborations have their time and place but sometimes the simple quick and easy ideas are best. Pitta pizzas are so versatile you can basically put whatever you fancy on them peppers, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, chicken the list is quite endless. This was lunch today coming in at 7 propoints but you could easily make this for 5pp as I didn’t have any weight watchers pitta breads in the house and these are full fat white pitta breads from Aldi which are 5pp each (you can have this on filling and healthy for just two pro points for the cheese if you use the weight watchers pittas). I hope your Wednesday is wonderful! 
One pitta bread
A squeeze of Passata
1 Tbsp of tomato purée
A sprinkle of oregano
Salt and black pepper
Piccolo tomatoes halved
60g reduced fat mozzarella
Red onion sliced
Fresh basil leaves 
Toast the pitta bread in a toaster or under a hot grill and slice open lengthways into 2 halves, be careful of escaping steam. Mix together the passata, tomato purée & oregano and season with salt and pepper. Spread generously over each half of the pitta bread. Slice the tomatoes and red onion and lay on top. Dot the mozzarella across the pizzas and season with salt and pepper. Place under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Garnish with the fresh basil leaves, devour and enjoy! 
Simple, Filling Potato & Leek Soup
Soup is my ultimate go to lunch, it is the best filling meal by miles for very little points indeed. Variety is key when it comes to soups as if you eat the same one constantly you are going to get very bored of it very quickly. This particular soup is especially filling due to the potatoes. A perfect lunchtime stop gap to erase the hunger pangs and it’s lunch sorted for several days in one go! Happy days! This makes 4 to 5 servings at 2 propoints (it’s free on filling & healthy). Here’s the skinny. 
400 g potatoes peeled and cubed
2 leeks sliced and washed
1 onion finely diced
1 clove garlic
1 chicken stock cube
1 1/2 pints of boiling water
142mls skimmed milk
2 bay leaves
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper 
Fry the onion & leeks in a saucepan sprayed with oil over a medium heat for approximately five minutes until softening. Add the crushed garlic and continue to fry for 30 seconds. Add everything else except the milk to the pot, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Blend with a hand blender and pour in the milk stirring well. Return to the heat, if serving immediately, for a couple of seconds to gently heat through the milk. This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3/4 days, it is also suitable for freezing. Enjoy! 
Fabulously Fluffy Sautéed Mushroom & Tomato Omelette with Fresh Spinach and Creamy Goats Cheese
Omelettes are extraordinarily versatile. It is widely regarded they are acceptable to eat as any meal of the day breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you have a carton of eggs in the house you are always guaranteed a good meal, from just a plain omelette to cheese, ham, peppers, onions the list is endless as to what you can chuck into them to create a filling and healthy meal. I also find it quite pleasant that they vaguely resemble a pizza! I had goats cheese and spinach leftover from yesterday’s caramelised onion and goats cheese pizza recipe so that is what I used to create this yummy weekend brunch. Just 5 propoints (or 2 on filling and healthy). I hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday. 
1 egg
2 egg whites
A dash of milk
Salt and pepper
Mushrooms sliced
Half a red onion diced
1 large handful of fresh spinach
6 cherry tomatoes halved
30g goats cheese
Fresh basil to garnish
Fry the onion and mushrooms in a pan you’ve sprayed with oil for approximately five minutes until cooked. Throw in the handful of spinach and cook for a further minute or two until wilted. Beat the egg and egg whites together with a dash of milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the frying pan over the mushroom spinach and onion and top with the tomato halves and crumble the goats cheese over the top. 
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on the hob then transfer under a hot grill to cook the top for a further 2 to 3 minutes until the goats cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve immediately garnished with the basil and enjoy!
Sumptuous Creamy Goats Cheese, Velvety Parma Ham, Spinach & Balsamic Glazed Red Onion Petit Pain Pizzas
A bit of a posh lunch today! I have made petit pain pizzas before using many variations and decided to give them a decadent twist today using creamy goats cheese and beautiful Parma ham, it is the weekend after all! It’s a little bit of effort caramelising the onions but worth every second. These come in at a very healthy 6 propoints (or 3 pro points on Filling and Healthy). Here’s the skinny: 
1 Weight watchers petit pain
One red onion finely sliced
30 g of goats cheese
One slice of Parma ham
A good handful of fresh spinach
2 teaspoons of Balsamic vinegar
Tomato purée
Salt and black pepper 
Bake the petit pain as per packet instructions and set aside to cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Fry the onion in a medium saucepan sprayed with oil over a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft them add the balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes until the onion is broken down, caramelised and brown. Wilt the spinach in a saucepan over a medium heat this will only take a few minutes. Always put on more spinach than you think you’ll need it shrinks down to nothing. Split the roll in half lengthways with a sharp knife. Spread on a small bit of tomato purée on each half & layer the spinach on top then add a layer of the onion. Arrange the Parma ham on top split evenly between the two pizzas. Slice the goats cheese and & lay on top. Season with salt and black pepper. Grill under a medium heat for two minutes or so until the goat cheese is brown and melting enjoy! 
Ryvita Crackers
Ah good old Ryvita! Who hasn’t gone on a health kick at one time or another & ran out to buy a packet of reliable Ryvita! I was pleasantly surprised when I pointed them all that they work out exactly the same points regardless of the additional seeds/fruit & grains in the different varieties so happy days it’s 1 for 1pp, 2 for 2pp, 3 for 3pp, 4 for 4pp etc so about 1pp each until you hit 9 but who in heavens is going to eat 9 in one sitting so safe to say a point each! My favourite is the fruit crunch with currants, seeds & oats yummy! Perfect topped with laughing cow light, tomatoes & cucumber & perhaps some ham points permitting. They’re quite large crackers too so really good value for your points. Happy Friday I hope you’re having a great day x 
Delectable Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cream Cheese accompanied by Sweet Pepper & Rocket Side Salad with Tangy Orange & Mustard Dressing
A light tea tonight! Delectable Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cream Cheese accompanied by Sweet Pepper & Rocket Side Salad with Tangy Orange & Mustard Dressing. If you’re a fan of Sweet Potatoes you will love this! You can of course substitute ordinary potato either it will work just as well. I love twice baked potatoes & have featured them several times on the blog. They are just so moreish! 8 propoints or 1pp on F&H I made this for myself so it serves 1 but you can easily multiply the recipe if serving more than 1 person. I Hope your Monday evening is great. 
For the Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cheese:
225g Sweet Potato (you can have a slightly larger normal potato if using for the same points 300g)
2 Bacon Medallions Diced Finely
2 Spring Onions Sliced Finely
20g Philadelphia Lightest Cream Cheese
18g Reduced Fat Grated Cheddar
Salt & Black Pepper
Fresh Chives to Garnish
For the Side Salad:
A Mixture of Rocket Leaves & any other Salad Leaves you want
A Small amount Red Pepper Finely Diced
A Small amount Yellow Pepper Finely Diced
A Small amount Red Onion Finely Diced
For the Orange & Mustard Dressing:
Approximately 1 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
½ a small Orange (such as a Clementine)
A Tiny Tip of a Tsp of Dijon Mustard
Black Pepper 
Preheat your oven to 200c and wash the sweet potato well. Place in the hot oven for an hour until soft. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool while you prepare the filling. Fry the bacon pieces in a medium hot pan sprayed with oil for 3 to 5 minutes until fully cooked through & browning. Add the sliced spring onions to the pan stirring for about 30 seconds to a minute until just starting to soften. Carefully slice the sweet potato lengthwise in half with a sharp knife. Carefully scoop out the flesh from the sweet potato into a bowl leaving a small edge of sweet potato in the skin if possible to make it sturdier (don’t worry if it all comes away it will just be a bit extra delicate when lifting. Place the cream cheese into the bowl with the sweet potato & season with salt & black pepper. Mash well with a fork making sure the cream cheese is well combined with the sweet potato flesh. Add the bacon & spring onion mix (I like to reserve a few pieces for the tops of the finished potatoes to garnish) Mix this through gently with a spoon. Place the empty potato shells in an ovenproof dish or on a baking tray that you have sprayed with oil & spoon the sweet potato mix evenly & lightly back into each potato skin. Top with half the grated cheese per potato (add the reserved bacon & spring onion topping at this stage if you are following that step). Return the potatoes to the oven for about another 20 minutes until the cheddar has melted & is bubbling. Meanwhile prepare the dressing for the salad by mixing all the ingredients together very well in a small bowl or glass. Prepare the salad ingredients & lightly drizzle with the dressing. Very carefully lift the potatoes onto your plate with a spatula, top with chopped chives & enjoy!
Skinny Jeans and the Inbetweens 