It’s cosy season, so dust off the slow cooker and casserole for these winter warmers.
The brand-new cookbook from online slimming sensations Kate and Kay Allinson, AKA Pinch of Nom, is out now, and is packed with deliciously easy dishes.
From a full English casserole to a soul-soothing chicken broth, these “chuck-it-all-in-and-leave-it” recipes will make Pinch Of Nom All In One a must-buy.
So, pop it on your Christmas list, and in the meantime, give these family-friendly meals a go.
Even better, as all Pinch Of Nom recipes are low in calories, it’s the perfect meal planner for that post-Christmas period.
Our favourite has to be the Spanish chicken traybake…
Slow Cooker Chicken Broth
“We’ve started with a classic vegetable soup base of celery, carrots, leek and onion to rustle up this really easy, nutritious broth. Don’t worry if you’re short on time – you can always skip the veg prep by using a ready-made soup pack instead.”
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 4-8 hrs
Cals 241
Carbs 29g
Ingredients
*300g skinless, boneless whole chicken breasts
*1 onion, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
*150g carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
*150g swede, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
*2 celery sticks, trimmed and sliced
*1 leek, trimmed and sliced
*100g pearl barley
*1L chicken stock (2 chicken stock cubes dissolved in 1L boiling water)
*2 dried bay leaves
*Handful fresh parsley, chopped
Method
1 Put all the ingredients, except the parsley, salt and pepper, in the slow-cooker, keeping the chicken breasts whole. Cover with the lid and cook for 4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low.
2 At the end of cooking time, remove the chicken breasts from the slow-cooker pot and place on a plate. Using two forks, pull the chicken apart into shreds. Return to the pot and stir in the parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper if required. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
3 If you don’t have a slow cooker, alternatively, cook this in a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Sauté the vegetables first in a little spray oil, then add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes with the lid on, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables and barley are tender and softened.
Full English Casserole
“A hearty cooked breakfast is always a good start to the day, but it can often leave a massive pile of washing-up afterwards! To cut down on pots and pans, we’ve taken inspiration from the all-in-one Middle-Eastern-style dish shakshuka, except we’ve left out the spices to make our version nice and mild. Underneath the tomatoey baked eggs, you’ll find all the most delicious bits of a Full English, from sausage, bacon and mushrooms to sliced new potatoes and even baked beans.”
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 40 mins
Cals 360
Carbs 32g
Ingredients
*Low-calorie cooking spray
*4 reduced-fat pork sausages
*1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
*4 bacon medallions, cut into 1.5cm-thick strips
*100g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
*1/2tsp garlic granules
*200g passata
*200ml water
*200g new potatoes, cut into thin slices
*420g tin baked beans
*8 cherry tomatoes, halved
*1tbsp Henderson’s relish or Worcestershire sauce
*50g baby spinach leaves
*4 medium eggs
*Handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve
To serve
*1 medium slice wholemeal toast 37g (+84kcal per serving)
Method
1 Spray the casserole dish with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the sausages and onion and cook for 6-8 minutes until nicely browned, then add the bacon, mushrooms and
garlic granules and cook for 2 minutes.
2 Add the passata, water and potato slices, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
3 Stir in the baked beans, cherry tomatoes and Henderson’s relish or Worcestershire sauce, bring back to a bubble, replace the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked. Stir in
the spinach until wilted.
4 Use the back of a spoon to make 4 wells in the mixture and carefully crack an egg into each, season with pepper and replace the lid. Cook for 6-9 minutes, until the egg whites have set and the yolks are cooked to your liking.
5 Remove from the heat, remove the lid, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve!
Spanish-style Chicken Traybake
“For flavour without any fuss, look no further than this lovely all-in-one traybake that uses a medley of Spanish-inspired herbs and smoky spices. It starts with marinating chicken thighs in a home-mixed, mildly spiced rub, and then baking them in the oven with lots of colourful veggies, until they’re tender and juicy.”
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins, plus 30 mins marinating
Cooking time 55 mins
Cals 355
Carbs 26g
Ingredients
*4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 150g each)
For the marinade:
*2tsp smoked paprika
*2tsp garlic granules
*2tsp dried oregano
*Pinch cayenne pepper
For the roasted veg:
*Low-calorie cooking spray
*400g new potatoes, cut in half lengthways (quartered if large)
*2 medium red onions, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
*1 medium red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunky pieces
*1 medium green pepper, deseeded and cut into chunky pieces
*200g cherry tomatoes, halved
*40g ready-sliced chorizo
*50g pitted black olives
*2tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Method
1 Mix the herb and spice marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Make two or three cuts diagonally across the tops of the chicken thighs. Place the chicken on a plate and sprinkle over half of the herb and spice mixture, rubbing it into the cuts and over all sides. Leave to marinate, covered in the fridge, for 30 minutes.
2 Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Spray a large roasting tin or oven tray with low-calorie cooking spray. Add the marinated chicken, potatoes, red onion wedges and pepper pieces, nestling the vegetables around the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining herb and spice mixture over the vegetables and season the chicken and vegetables well with salt and pepper. Spray the chicken and vegetables with low-calorie cooking spray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the vegetables halfway through and spoon the juices over the chicken. You may find you need to add a splash of water at this point, if it’s drying out.
3 Remove from the oven and add the tomatoes (cut-side up), the chorizo slices and olives. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes are wrinkling around the edges and the chicken shows no sign of pinkness (and the juices run clear). Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. The dish will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
One-Pot Sausage Bolognese
“Once you try this all-in-one spag bol, there’s no going back to a hob full of pots and pans! Rather than the usual beef mince, we’ve used reduced-fat pork sausages. As well as keeping the calories nice and low, the sausages cook really quickly, so you can add your spaghetti straight to the pan, leave everything to simmer together, and be ready to serve dinner, all in less than an hour.”
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 45 mins
Cals 431
Carbs 59g
Ingredients
*Low-calorie cooking spray
*1 onion, peeled and finely diced
*2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
*2 celery sticks, finely diced
*2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
*400g pack reduced-fat pork sausages, meat squeezed out of the skins and skins discarded
*2tsp dried oregano
*2tbsp tomato puree
*500g passata
*1 red wine (or chicken) stock pot
*1tbsp Henderson’s relish or Worcestershire sauce
*500ml boiling water
*200g dried spaghetti
*Basil leaves, to garnish (optional)
Method
1 Spray the deep sauté pan or frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and fry for 10-12 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the sausage meat and cook for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add the oregano, tomato puree, passata, stock pot and Henderson’s relish or Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
2 Add the boiling water and spaghetti to the pan (you can break the spaghetti in half to make it easier). Stir well, until all the spaghetti is separated and well mixed into the sauce. It will look a little watery, but don’t worry, the spaghetti will absorb the liquid as it cooks, and the sauce will thicken.
3 When the sauce starts to bubble, replace the lid and cook for 12 minutes, stirring halfway through.Season with pepper and serve, garnished with basil leaves, if using. The bolognese will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Slow Cooker Vegetarian White Chilli
“This slimming-friendly vegetarian chilli adds a creamy twist to the midweek staple, without compromising on Mexican-inspired flavours – and it’s ready in four simple steps! We’ve served tortilla chips on the side, but there’s nothing to stop you using them as a spoon!”
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 3.5-6 hrs
Cals 331
Carbs 35g
Ingredients
*1 medium red pepper, deseeded and diced
*1 medium green pepper, deseeded and diced
*1 medium onion, peeled and diced
*1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
*1 celery stick, diced
*4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
*400g tin cannellini beans in water, drained and rinsed (drained weight about 235g)
*400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed (drained weight about 235g)
*215g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed (drained weight about 130g)
*1tbsp ground cumin
*2tsp smoked paprika
*2tsp mild chilli powder
*2tsp garlic granules
*2tsp dried oregano
*1tsp ground coriander
*1/4tsp freshly ground black pepper
*1 vegetable stock pot
*1tbsp tomato puree
*250ml boiling water
*Juice 1 lime
*200g reduced-fat cream cheese
To serve (optional):
*10g lightly salted tortilla chips (+ 48 kcal per serving)
Method
1 Put all the vegetables and beans in the pot of your slow cooker. Sprinkle over the herbs and spices. Add the stock pot and tomato puree to the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Pour over the vegetables and beans. Stir, cover with the lid and cook for 3 1⁄2 hours on high or for 6 hours on low.
2 The vegetables should be soft. Add the lime juice and cream cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt to taste and serve.
3 If you don’t have a slow cooker:
Alternatively, cook this in a large frying pan. Spray it with low-calorie cooking spray, add the vegetables and fry over a medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes until softening. Add the spices and fry for a further 2 minutes until fragrant, then add everything else to the pan, reduce the heat right down and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and sauce thickened. Add the lime juice and cream cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt to taste and serve.
What is the NHS’ advice for helping children stay a healthy weight?
THE NHS has tonnes of advice on their website about helping children stay a healthy weight.
They say parents should:
- encourage your children to do some kind of activity every day. It can be a good idea to find something they like doing, such as sports or playground activities, and encouraging that
- try to give them a healthy, balanced diet that includes fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, protein and dairy
- use rewards like stickers for when your children reach their activity or food goals
- make yourself their role model by staying active and eating healthily
- help them get enough sleep. By enforcing a regular bedtime routine, and removing technology from their bedrooms, you are helping them stay healthy too
