Notes:

Super simple and low calorie.  There are no actual measurements on this, just throw in what you like, but you won’t need much vinegar or olive oil – probably no more than a tablespoon of each for a reasonable sized bowl.  If you don’t like something, e.g. anchovies, leave them out.  I’ve added a tablespoon of capers instead to give it some piquancy.

Servings: 1-6

Ingredients:
• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Black olives
• Capers
• Anchovies
• Fresh Basil
• Sundried tomatoes
• White wine vinegar
• Olive oil

Directions:
Blitz them all together in the blender, and then serve with crudités.

Submitted by:
Juliette

Notes:
A delicious, thick and healthy soup which is both easy to make and low cost.  The lentils add protein without meat, fish or dairy.  You can have it made and on the table in less than half an hour. If there is any left over, it can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated.  10 minutes preparation and 15 minutes cooking.

4 Generous Servings

If omitting the olive oil, each serving will have about 168 cals.

With olive oil each serving will have 198 cals

protein 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 4 g, saturated fat .5g, fibre 5g, salt 0.25 g

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons cumin seeds (or 2 teaspoons for a less spicy soup)
Generous pinch of dried chili flakes
600 gm (21 oz or 4 packed US cups) carrots, washed and coarsely *grated or diced (no need to peel)
150 gm (5¼ oz or 1 US cup) split red lentils
1 litre (4¼ cups) hot vegetable stock (using stock granules or cubes is okay)
125ml (½ cup) milk – 2% / semi skimmed milk, or use low cal/low fat coconut cream if you want a dairy free version.
1 tablespoon olive oil (you can omit this, but it does add flavour and richness to the soup)

Plain yoghurt to serve

Directions:
1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry (no oil) the cumin seeds and chili flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan.

2. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside for the garnish.

3. Add the carrot, lentils, stock, milk and oil to the pan and bring to the boil.

4. Turn down heat, cover and simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened. Check and stir every 5 minutes. Add more stock or water if necessary.

5. I use a hand held wand blender and blitz the soup until smooth, but if you prefer you can leave it chunky.

6. Season to taste and finish with a spoon of yoghurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices on top of the soup in each bowl. If you don’t have yoghurt, don’t worry, just sprinkle on the toasted spices which you can stir in as you eat. I don’t put the spice garnish on soup for younger children as they may find it too hot.

Serve with warmed naan or pitta breads. The coriander naan breads you can buy in any UK supermarket go especially well. Choose the low cal version. Hot, crusty rolls go really well as well, but I find the smell of just baked bread too tempting when I am on a diet.

You can also add some diced cold cooked chicken. Make sure it is fully heated through before serving. If you are counting calories/points you’ll need to adjust for the chicken. I've also added chunks of chorizo, sausage and franks at times, where it becomes almost like a stew.

If reheating from frozen, you may need to add extra stock or water.

Submitted by:
Juliette

Notes:
Traditional dish from Provence, but a lighter version using less oil. Can be eaten hot or cold, as a side dish or main course.  Good with couscous or rice, but still great on its own.  Can be refrigerated and eaten over several days, and, like chili it is even better on the second day. You can multiply the ingredients to make a double batch, then use it when you want something to snack on, as one serving has only 105 cals, or 75 cals if you substitute 1 cal spray instead of the olive oil.

Recipe has also been put into Calorie Counter.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 large aubergines/eggplants
3 medium courgettes/zucchini
2 medium onions
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 red or green capiscums/peppers/bell pepper
4 large tomatoes, or 1 x 400 gm (14oz) tin plum or Italian tomatoes, well drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil or use 1 cal spray and save 30 calories per serving
6-8 fresh basil leaves, roughly torn, or if you prefer use Herbes de Provence (thyme, basil and parsley)
salt and fresh black pepper

Directions:
1. Wash the aubergines and courgettes as you will be leaving the skin on.

2. Slice the courgettes and aubergines into 2.5 cm (1”) slices. Slice each aubergine slice in half.

3. Put them into a colander or sieve and sprinkle generously with salt. Press them down with a plate that fits inside the colander, and put a heavy weight on top. If you don’t have time to do step 3, don’t worry, however your Ratatouille may be a bit thinner than normal.

4. Stand for about 1 hour – the salt will draw out any bitterness along with excess moisture.

5. Roughly cut up the onion. Don’t cut the onion into thin slices as this is a hearty peasant dish.

6. Deseed the peppers and chop up roughly.

7. If using fresh tomatoes, skin these by putting them into boiling water for a couple of minutes. Then quarter them, take out the seeds and roughly chop the flesh. If you don’t think the tomatoes will have a rich enough flavour (e.g. hot house tomatoes) then add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.

8. If using tinned tomatoes, chop them into quarters and add. Italian style plum tomatoes give the best flavour. Reserve the juice as you are unlikely to need it in this recipe.

9. Gently fry the onions and garlic in the oil over a low heat in a large saucepan for 10 minutes, then add peppers. Dry the pieces of courgette and aubergine with kitchen paper towel, removing as much salt as possible.

10. Add basil some freshly ground black pepper. stir once really well, then simmer very gently, covered, for 30 minutes.

11. Add the tomatoes, taste to check the seasoning and cook for a further 15 minutes with the uncovered. Don't overcook. Vegetables should be not be mushy.

Note: Although olive oil gives the best flavour, and a normal recipe would have four tablespoons instead of the one tablespoon in this one, you can use 1cal spray to sauté the garlic and onion and save 30 calories per serving.

Nutrition Values

Per Serving (4 servings per recipe using olive oil)
Calories 105
Fat 4.3
Carbs 12.9
Protein 5.55

Submitted by:
Juliette

Notes:
I make up a big pot of this for the whole family and use it for lunch, a soup, a side dish or base or topping to jazz up just about anything.  

You can also put it through a blender, adding stock or water as required and make a soup. It is super simple, is very low calorie and sometimes I eat it on its own because it is so tasty.

It is not expensive, and you can vary the ingredients depending on your preferences, what is in season, what you have on hand and cost. 

You can also make up smaller batches or larger ones and freeze it. 

I also take some of the thickest mixture, add plenty of chili, and use it as a salsa or dip for carrot and celery sticks.  It is a great low-cal alternative when you want a snack. 

 Depending on what you add, it works out about 60-70 calories per cup serving, unless you add a lot of potato, then it could be 100 calories per cup. 

Servings: 2-16

Ingredients:
• 2-4 small (440gm/14oz) or 1-2 large (907gm/2lb) cans chopped peeled tomatoes. Put the tomato, plus any juice into a large pot. If you have whole tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, just skin and chop them.

The following ingredients are all optional. They are just an example of what you can add, but you need to put something in to make it interesting enough to eat! If you like a particular vegetable add more if you wish, or if you don’t like it, omit it. You can cut the vegetables as finely or chunky as you like. Obviously chunky ones will take longer to cook.

• 1-4 cups diced celery
• 1-4 cups diced carrots
• 2-8 cloves crushed/minced garlic (gently frying it in a teaspoon of olive oil first brings out the flavour. You can do this in the big pot and then add the tomatoes, but it is not strictly necessary to fry it).
• 1-4 cup diced onions or spring onions/salad onions/scallions

Optional: Once the other vegetables have softened, add:

• 1-4 chopped capsicums/peppers/bell peppers (try a variety of colours)
• 1-2 cups button or sliced mushrooms.

You can also add mushrooms, broccoli, courgette/zucchini , corn, etc to only that portion of the sauce you are heating up. That way they will keep their colour and bite.

You can also add:
• Fresh herbs as desired, e.g. parsley, oregano, chives, lemon grass, coriander/cilantro, etc. I am not a fan of dried herbs, but if you like the taste of them, why not add your favourites to a portion of the sauce.
• Want a bit more kick? Add chopped chili, Tabasco, cayenne or chili powder or spice to taste. Check calorie content first if you use pre-made chili or other spiced sauces are quite calorific.
• Salt and Pepper if required, but see if you really need it before adding

Directions:
If you wish you can gently saute the garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil in a large pot. If you don't want to use oil, or don't have the time, just add the garlic to the tomato mixture at the beginning of the cooking.

Put the tomato, plus any juice into a large pot. If you have whole tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, skin and chop them first.

You can cut the vegetables as finely or chunky as you like. Obviously chunky ones will take longer to cook, so add these (except peppers and mushrooms) first. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer until vegetables until the vegetables have almost softened.

If you are using peppers and mushrooms, add these towards the end of the cooking time.
You can also add mushrooms, broccoli, courgette/zucchini etc to only that portion of the sauce you are heating up. That way they will keep their colour and bite.

You can add chili, dried herbs, etc at any time during the cooking period, but you may choose to wait until it is cooked, then split the mixture into batches and add chili, herbs etc to just a portion. I'd recommend adding fresh herbs just when reheating or serving as this will keep the colour and flavour.

Check seasonings and add salt and pepper if required.

Submitted by:
Juliette

Notes:
This is a really good tofu dish that I created. Just keep in mind, these fritters seem small but they are very filling! I was content after 1 or 2.

A package of tofu contains much more than what you will need to this unless you have a really big family. I suggest only using half of the block of tofu and saving the rest for something else.

Servings: 5

Ingredients:
1/2 package firm tofu
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
1 clover of fresh garlic
1/4 - 1/2 cup of flour (whole wheat preferably but use whatever you have)

Directions:
Drain the water out of the tofu box and lay the tofu on some paper towels. Gently squeeze and drain all the water you can out of the tofu itself. This makes the tofu much easier to cook and deal with. You probably wont be able to get all the water out of it because it takes a lot of paper towels but just do your best. Mash the tofu with a spoon or utensil. Mix the mashed tofu with 1/4 - 1/2 a cup of flour in a mixing bowl. This serves to clump the tofu. Mix until everything clumps together and add whatever fresh seasoning you would like. I added some basil to mine but you can use any seasoning in the world that you like. Heat up a skillet to medium heat and put a generous amount of olive oil in the pan. Add some salt and diced garlic in the pan and let it simmer into the olive oil for a few seconds. Take a ball of tofu in your hand and squish it to a thin patty (the thinner you make it, the faster and more thorough it will cook). Put some patties onto the skillet and let "fry" on each side until it is golden brown on all sides (It takes about 5 - 8 minutes on each side). These can burn easily so monitor them closely. Once they are done, put each patty on some paper towels and lay another paper towel on top of them and press them to get the excess oil out. Then slap on a bun or some bread and add your favorite condiments.
Grab some of the washed mushrooms and throw them into your skillet and sautee them for a few seconds. (Remember that the longer you cook vegetables, the less nutrients they contain)
Throw some of the mushrooms on each burger and enjoy!!!!!

Submitted by:
Jenna

Notes:
This raw, vegan soup has a very savory, earthy feel. It’s very good for you, too.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:
3 raw mushrooms (rinsed)

as many walnuts as desired

a small piece of ginger root

1/2 C of water
Optional: A sprinkle of thyme and table salt

Directions:
Thoroughly blend in a food processor

Submitted by:
steph