WHOLE BAKED FISH WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Don’t get fatter, leave off the batter! Baking fish such as sea bass whole is the very best way of cooking them, as it preserves all the flavour and delicious juices. This is a great dish for sharing – put the fish and vegetables on a large platter, take it to the table and dig in. Ask your fishmonger to gut and scale the fish for you. A 675g fish will probably weigh about 550g once prepared.

SERVES 2

1 medium red onion, sliced

1 yellow or orange pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm pieces

175g new potatoes, cut into 1cm slices

2 tsp olive oil

1 slice of ciabatta bread (about 25g), cut into 1cm chunks

3 sun-dried tomato pieces in oil, drained well

2 garlic cloves, peeled

15g pine nuts (preferably Italian)

handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

handful of fresh basil, roughly shredded

1 whole sea bass, gutted and scaled (about 550g once prepared)

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

417 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Put the sliced onion, pepper and new potatoes on a large baking tray and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Season with a little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Toss the veg together well and spread them out on the tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly browned and beginning to soften.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the stuffing for the fish. Put the ciabatta pieces in a large non-stick frying pan and place it over a medium heat. Cook for 4–5 minutes, turning regularly until the chunks of bread are lightly toasted.

Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips and finely slice the garlic. Add the pine nuts, garlic and tomatoes to the frying pan and toss together over a low heat for 2 minutes more until the nuts are lightly toasted. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes. Add the parsley and basil leaves and toss together.

Working carefully as some sea bass fins are very spiky, slash the fish diagonally with a knife 4 times down each side. Sprinkle with half the lemon juice, making sure plenty goes into each cut and season with black pepper. Take the tray with the vegetables out of the oven and turn them with a spatula. Push the veg into a heap down the centre of the tin and place the fish on top.

Open the fish and spoon the bread, tomato and herb filling inside. Don’t worry if a few pieces fall on to the tray but try to keep them close to the fish or they could burn. And remember that the baking tray will be hot, so watch your fingers. Close the fish and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice and the rest of the oil.

Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the fish is just cooked and the filling is hot. Check by sliding a knife into the thickest part of the fish and peering inside – the fish should look white and a little flaky rather than translucent. Serve right away – nothing else needed.

SPANISH-STYLE CHICKEN BAKE

This is a brilliant recipe and you’ll notice that there’s no additional fat needed – all the fat comes from the chorizo, and the tomatoes make it lovely and juicy. A low-fat fiesta of a dish.

SERVES 4

1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges

1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges

500g new potatoes, quartered lengthways

8 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled

8 medium tomatoes, quartered

75g chorizo (preferably picante)

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

½ tsp dried oregano

1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into strips

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

370 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Put the onions, potatoes, garlic and tomatoes in a large roasting tin and season with sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Toss everything together lightly and roast for 20 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, skin the chorizo and cut the meat into thin slices – 5mm is about right. Put the chicken thighs on a board and carefully slash each one 2 or 3 times with a knife. Season all over with black pepper. Mix the paprika and oregano together and set aside.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven, scatter the chorizo over the veg and turn everything a couple of times. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and chorizo and sprinkle with the paprika and oregano. Season with a little salt and return to the oven for 20 minutes.

Take the tin out of the oven. Holding one corner carefully with an oven cloth, lift the tin a little so all the juices run to the opposite end, then spoon and drizzle the juices back over the chicken. Tuck the pepper strips loosely around the chicken and vegetables.

Turn the oven up to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Put the tin back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the peppers are just softened and the chicken is golden and crisp. As you eat, squeeze the garlic out of the skins and enjoy the deliciously soft and fragrant flesh. Just don’t kiss anyone afterwards!

ROASTED COD WITH PARMA HAM AND PEPPERS

Cod works really well for this recipe, as it has nice firm flesh, but you can use any white fish. Make sure the fillets are all about the same size so they cook evenly. This couldn’t be easier to prepare but tastes really special. It’s so good you won’t miss the chips.

SERVES 4

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks

2 medium courgettes, trimmed and cut into 2cm slices

1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges

1 tsp olive oil

4 x 150g thick skinless cod (or other white fish) fillets

4 slices of Parma ham or any thinly sliced prosciutto

10g dry white breadcrumbs

10g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

2–3 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

224 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Put the peppers, courgettes and onion in a large baking tray and drizzle them with the oil. Season with a little salt and plenty of ground black pepper and toss everything together until the vegetables are lightly coated with oil. Roast for 20 minutes until softened and lightly charred.

Pat the fish dry on kitchen paper and check for any bones. Remove any that you see with tweezers. Season the fish with freshly ground black pepper and wrap each fillet loosely with a slice of ham.

Take the baking tray out of the oven and make gaps in the layer of vegetables to make space for the pieces of fish. Place the fish on the tray. Mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese and parsley and scatter over the fish and vegetables.

Put the tray back in the oven for another 12–15 minutes or until the fish is cooked, the ham has crisped and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Serve hot, drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar.

WEIGHT-LOSS TIPS

Non-stick means less fat. Invest in a really good non-stick frying pan for cooking fish, chicken and other dishes perfectly with the minimum of fat.

The recipes in this chapter are all complete meals with a good balance of protein and vegetables and not much carbohydrate.

Make your own soup rather than buying it so you are in control of the ingredients. A bowl of soup is comforting, warming and nourishing – a perfect lunch with a hunk of wholegrain bread.

Broth-style soups are particularly low in calories but high in taste and you can add loads of green veg – also low in calories.

An omelette is the perfect quick meal. Can be filled with anything you have to hand.

Peppers, courgettes and tomatoes are great in one-pan dishes and have fewer calories than starchy vegetables such as carrots. They create their own juices as they cook so you don’t need to use lots of oil – just a light coating if at all. Using less oil allows you to appreciate the flavour of the food.

PRAWN AND CHIVE OMELETTE

Omelettes are a weight-watcher’s best friend. If you come in from work ravenous and you’re tempted to head for the bread and cheese, knock up an omelette and you’ll be sitting down to a fab meal in minutes. Oozing with prawns and chives, this version couldn’t be tastier.

SERVES 1

3 medium eggs

1 tbsp freshly snipped chives

100g peeled North Atlantic prawns, thawed if frozen

½ tsp sunflower oil, for brushing

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

339 calories

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a large metal whisk. Season with a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper, then stir in the snipped chives. Drain the prawns in a sieve, then tip them on to some kitchen paper to soak up any excess moisture.

Brush a small non-stick frying pan with just enough oil to lightly coat the base and place it over a medium heat. Pour the eggs into the frying pan. As the eggs begin to set, use a wooden spoon to draw the cooked egg towards the centre. Do this 5 or 6 times, working your way around the pan. As the cooked egg is moved, the uncooked egg will run into the gaps and begin to cook.

Scatter the prawns over the omelette and cook for a further 2–3 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Season with a little more pepper, then carefully loosen the sides with a heatproof palette knife and fold the omelette over. Slide it on to a warmed plate and serve with a large, lightly dressed salad.

Top tip:

Instead of prawns, you could add some thinly sliced ham or fresh tomato quarters and a handful of spinach.

MINTED PEA AND FETA OMELETTE

Normally you need to be careful about adding cheese to an omelette as it can really pile on the calories. Feta has such strong taste, however, that you can get away with adding very little and still get the benefit of the fab flavour.

SERVES 1

30g frozen peas

40g feta cheese, drained

½ tsp dried mint

3 medium eggs

½ tsp sunflower oil, for brushing

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

382 calories

Put the peas in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough just-boiled water to cover. Leave for a minute, then drain the peas in a sieve and tip them back into the bowl. Crumble the feta cheese on top, sprinkle over the mint and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Break the eggs into another bowl and beat them with a large metal whisk. Season with a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Brush a small non-stick frying pan with just enough oil to lightly coat the base and place it over a medium heat.

Pour the eggs into the frying pan. As the eggs begin to set, use a wooden spoon to draw the cooked egg towards the centre. Do this 5 or 6 times, working your way around the pan. As the cooked egg is moved, the uncooked egg will run into the gaps and begin to cook.

Scatter the peas and feta over the omelette and cook for another 3 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Carefully loosen the sides with a heatproof palette knife and slide the omelette on to a warmed plate, folding it as you do so. Serve with a large, lightly dressed salad.

MINESTRONE SOUP

A steaming bowl of this makes a super-satisfying lunch with a slice of crusty wholemeal bread on the side. Low in fat but high in flavour, soup is also a good staple to keep in the fridge. Pop a mugful in the microwave when your cravings get too much for you.

SERVES 6

4 ripe tomatoes

2 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

1 slender leek, trimmed and finely sliced

2 medium courgettes, diced

1.5 litres chicken stock, fresh or made with 1 chicken stock cube

50g dried spaghetti

1 tbsp tomato purée

200g frozen peas

100g curly kale or green cabbage, thickly shredded

25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated (optional)

fresh basil leaves, to garnish (optional)

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

98 calories per portion 115 calories per portion (with Parmesan)

Make a cross in the bottom of each tomato and put them in a heatproof bowl. Pour over enough just-boiled water to cover the tomatoes and leave for 1 minute. If the tomatoes are ripe enough, the skins should shrink back under the hot water. Drain and leave to cool.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan or sauté pan and fry the onion very gently for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring often. While the onion is cooking, slip the skins off the tomatoes and cut the flesh into quarters. Scoop out the seeds and chuck them out. Cut the tomato flesh into rough 1cm cubes.

Add the celery, garlic, leek and courgettes to the pan with the onion. Stir over a low heat for a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, pour over the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Break the spaghetti into short lengths and drop them into the pan. Add the tomato purée and bring the soup back to the boil, then cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas, kale or cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes or until the pasta is just tender.

Season the soup with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and torn basil leaves if you like.

GOLDEN VEGETABLE SOUP

There’s nothing like a bowl of home-made soup on a cold day – it feels properly comforting and sustaining. This hearty soup has a great velvety texture which we both love. Just the thing to chase away your dieting blues.

SERVES 6

1 small butternut squash (about 850g)

4 medium carrots (about 375g)

2 medium parsnips (about 325g)

1 medium onion

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 litre just-boiled water

1 vegetable or chicken stock cube

freshly ground black pepper

low-fat natural yoghurt and freshly snipped chives, to serve (optional)

102 calories per portion

Peel the squash, cut it in half, then scoop out the seeds. Chuck the seeds away and cut the squash flesh into rough 3cm chunks. Peel the carrots and parsnips and cut them into 2cm slices. Peel and roughly chop the onion and the garlic.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan and gently fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until softened and lightly coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir in the squash, carrots and parsnips. Pour over the just-boiled water, crumble the stock cube on top and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat slightly and simmer the vegetables for 25–30 minutes or until they are completely tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and blitz the soup with a stick blender until smooth – or leave it a little chunky if you prefer. Alternatively, let the soup cool for a few minutes and blend it in a food processor, then tip it back into the pan. Warm the soup through, then ladle it into warmed bowls. Season with some black pepper and top with a swirl of yoghurt and a few snipped chives if you want to make it look a bit more fancy.

MUSHROOM, FETA AND TOMATO BAKED PEPPERS

It’s always important for food to look good, whether you’re dieting or not, and these peppers are a delight to the eye as well as the tastebuds. A great vegetarian recipe, this has lots of strong flavours that come together in a beautifully colouful and well-balanced dish.

SERVES 2

4 sun-dried tomato pieces in oil, drained well

2 tsp sunflower oil

175g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and diced

20g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

50g dry white breadcrumbs

½ small bunch of parsley, leaves finely chopped

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

100g feta or soft goat’s cheese, drained

2 smallish peppers, red or yellow

freshly ground black pepper

401 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and stir-fry the mushrooms over a high heat for 4 minutes.

Add the roughly chopped hazelnuts and fry for a further minute until the nuts are lightly toasted. Season with a good grind of black pepper and remove from the heat.

Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley and chilli flakes until thoroughly combined. Break the cheese into small chunks and toss them through the stuffing lightly. Cut the peppers in half from top to bottom and carefully remove the seeds and membrane.

Place the peppers in a small foil-lined roasting tin, cut side up, and fill each half with the mushroom and feta stuffing. Cover the surface of the stuffing with a small piece of foil. Bake for 35 minutes until tender, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes of the cooking time. Serve warm with a lightly dressed mixed salad.

MUSSELS WITH LEEKS AND WHITE WINE

Mussels are a favourite of ours. They’re a great dish when you’re trying to lose a bit of weight, as they are low in calories but high in taste. They take a while to eat too, so help you feel satisfied. And as we all know, the ladies like a man with more muscles than fat!

SERVES 2–3

1kg fresh live mussels

2 tsp sunflower oil

2 slender leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm diagonal slices

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

150ml white wine

4 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche

small handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped

1 tsp cornflour

1 tbsp cold water

2 thick slices of crusty wholegrain bread

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

387 calories per portion (if serving 2)252 calories per portion (if serving 3)

Scrub the mussels really well and remove their stringy beards. Chuck out any mussels that are damaged in any way or that are open and don’t close when tapped on the side of the sink.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or sauté pan – you need something with a lid – over a low heat. Very gently fry the leeks and garlic for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring occasionally. There’s no need to cover the pan. Add a little water to the pan if the leeks start to stick before they are softened.

Pour over the white wine and stir in the crème fraiche and parsley. Add the mussels, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 3–4 minutes or until all the mussels have steamed open, stirring once. Give the pan a good shake now and again. Mix the cornflour and water together to make a thin paste.

Remove the pan from the heat and tip the mussels and their liquor into a colander over a large bowl. Throw away any that haven’t opened, then divide the mussels between 2 warmed wide bowls.

Tip the mussel liquor back into the pan and stir in the cornflour paste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring until thickened. Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste and pour the sauce back over the mussels in the bowls.

Serve each bowl of mussels with a thick slice of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce. Heaven!

COUNTING THE CALORIES

COUNTING THE CALORIES – IT’S WORKED FOR US AND IT CAN WORK FOR YOU

We’ve found a way of eating ourselves slimmer and we want to share our discoveries with you. The secret is to make better choices and use little tricks to reduce your daily calorie count. Calorie counting might have fallen out of favour somewhat over recent years, replaced by all sorts of wacky dieting ideas, but it does work. We’re the living proof. We’ve lost pounds and inches!

We’ve made all the recipes in this book as low in calories as possible while not compromising on the taste. And we’ve had a nutritionist check them out and do calorie counts for each one so you know exactly where you are. If you eat these, without cheating, you will lose weight – and you’ll love us for it.

We have to confess we’ve never really thought too much about calories and the amount of food we were taking in but we know a lot more now. As many as a quarter of us Brits are obese and it’s not good for us, so it seems that many of us are taking in much more than we’re putting out.

Our experts explained to us that in order to lose weight, you have to take in fewer calories so the body has to use its stores – makes sense so far doesn’t it?

The average man needs about 2,500 calories a day and the average woman about 2,000. That does, of course, vary according to how active you are, your build and other factors. For instance, if you work on a building site, you use more calories than if you’re sitting at an office desk.

We were told that to lose a kilo (about 2 pounds) a week we should cut our calorie intake by at least half – to 1300–1500 calories a day – and that’s what we’ve done. Before we started the diet, we kept a food diary for a few days and the results were quite something. We realised that we were scoffing about 3,500 a day before and that was way, way too much.

LOSE WEIGHT WITH US

Cook the recipes in this book, don’t cheat on portion size or extra snacks and you will lose weight too. But we’re not experts – we just know what’s worked for us – so we recommend that you check with your doctor before starting any diet. When you reach your target, relax a little – but not too much – and continue to weigh yourself once a week. The minute the scales start to creep up, get a bit stricter with yourself and get back on track.

Once you’ve achieved your weight loss, treat this book as your maintenance manual, your everyday cook book, to help you keep in shape.

CALORIES

A calorie is a unit of energy contained in food – you’ll see the calorie count listed on lots of types of packaged food. We burn calories to produce energy, but if we take in more than we need, they’re stored as fat.

On packages you’ll see calories given as kilocalories, the proper name, but don’t worry, they’re the same thing. On some packages you will also see a figure in kilojoules, another way of measuring food energy. This will be a larger figure (there are over 4 kj in one calorie) so don’t be alarmed. Calories are all you need to worry about for the recipes in this book.

Bear in mind that calorie counts on packaged food are usually for a serving, not for the whole pack, and one brand can vary from another. 

OUR TIPS FOR A SKINNIER YOU

 

• Buy some good scales and weigh yourself once a week. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after you’ve had a wee. We’ve found we can weigh as much as kilo more in the evening.
• Once you’ve reached your target weight, keep checking regularly and go back on the plan if you find you’ve gained a few pounds. It’s a whole lot easier to lose two pounds than two stone.
• Buy a full-length mirror, if you don’t already have one. Get your kit off, stand in front of it and take a good long look at yourself.
• Rethink your eating habits with the help of the recipes in this book. You can still enjoy lots of your old favourites if you cook them in a slightly different way to make them lower in calories but with full-on flavour.
• Reduce the amount of fat you eat – and that means oil as well as butter. There are 9 calories in a gram of fat, whatever kind it is.
• Exercise might not take off the pounds by itself, but does make you feel healthier, fitter and more energetic.
• Make carbs the smallest portion on your plate. Choose wholegrains and cut right down on starchy white carbs, such as white bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. If you’re making a sandwich, go topless – use one slice of bread instead of two. When you make mash, mix in some leeks or cabbage to make it go further.
• Spice things up. Spicy food is full of flavour so we reckon it helps you feel more satisfied. No need for diet food to be bland or boring – the chilli is the dieter’s friend.
• Eat protein. It fills you up and keeps you going. Don’t forget, though, that cheese is fat.
• Be sure to eat breakfast, have a good lunch and a meal in the evening. Make this a habit.
• If you give way to temptation one day and overdo it, don’t despair and give up. Just be extra strict with yourself the next day to make up for it. It’s like your bank balance – if you slip into the red, it’s payback time. Think of your meal plan over a week, rather than day by day.

THE DEMON DRINK

It’s dead hard, we know, but it’s important to avoid alcohol if you want to encourage and maintain your weight loss. All types of alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories – and if you do give in and have a couple of drinks you’re more likely to throw caution to the winds and guzzle down more food.

Instead, drink mainly water; fizzy or still. Add a dash of angostura bitters to your fizzy water when you want a bit of a change if you like. And if you want the occasional low-calorie fizzy drink, such as diet cola, that’s fine too, but limit your diet drinks to just a couple a day or you may find any sweet craving you have could worsen. Look on it as a bit of a sabbatical – time out until you’ve got things under control.

A FEW POINTERS FROM US

We’ve given a calorie count per portion for each recipe and we mean per portion. So if the recipe is for two, don’t think you can eat the whole lot and have the same calorie count.

Weigh all the ingredients carefully and use proper tablespoons, teaspoons and a measuring jug. This is particularly important for these recipes because if you use more of an ingredient than indicated in the recipe, you’ll change the calorie count.

You’ll notice that there are quite small amounts of high-cal ingredients, such as Parmesan cheese. That’s because the flavour is strong and you don’t need a lot. Trust us and don’t cheat.

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

Don’t skip breakfast. If you don’t have time to eat before you leave home, take something with you to work. Try our home-made muesli or granola with some semi-skimmed milk or low-fat yoghurt.

Find something you like and can prepare easily so you don’t have too many decisions to make in the morning. We’ve found that uncertainty can lead to temptation.

Other breakfast ideas: a bowl of porridge, made with water or semi-skimmed milk, is good, especially when topped with poached fruit. Another favourite of ours is half a can of baked beans with a couple of slices of ham – it’s hot and filling with lots of fibre and protein.

Making your own granola and muesli puts you in control – you know exactly what’s in there.

Fresh fruit juice is high in calories so always dilute juice with water.

Eggs are a great breakfast and keep you feeling full for longer. Try boiled or scrambled egg with a slice of wholemeal toast. You can have egg and bacon, but poach the egg, leave out the toast and hash browns and fill up with mushrooms and grilled tomatoes instead. A slice of ham makes a nice change from bacon.

TOASTED CRUMPETS AND WARM SPICED BERRIES WITH YOGHURT AND HONEY

You’d think crumpets were a big no-no when dieting, but it’s not the crumpets that are the problem – it’s the butter you usually slather on to them. Top your crumpets with this mixture of gooey fruit, honey and yoghurt and you’ll never miss the butter.

SERVES 2

4 crumpets

100g fat-free Greek yoghurt

150g ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced

50g raspberries

50g blueberries

2 big pinches of ground mixed spice

2 tsp runny honey, for drizzling

257 calories per portion

Toast the crumpets in a toaster or under the grill until lightly browned. You don’t want a flabby crumpet, so make sure you toast them well. Put the yoghurt in a bowl and stir until it looks glossy.

Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add all the fruit. Sprinkle with 2 good pinches of ground mixed spice and cook for just a minute, tossing regularly until the fruit is softened but still holding its shape. This will bring out the sweetness without the need to add extra sugar.

Divide the hot, toasted crumpets between 2 plates. Spoon the fruit over the top and allow some of it to tumble on to the plates. Spoon the yoghurt on top and drizzle with a little honey. Eat right away.

CRANBERRY AND ALMOND MUESLI

Making your own muesli is easy and you know exactly what’s in it – loads of good stuff and no rubbish. We find this mixture makes a smashing breakfast and, with a handful of fresh fruit and a good dollop of yoghurt, it really keeps you going until lunchtime.

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

50g flaked almonds

300g jumbo porridge oats

75g unsweetened puffed rice

100g mixed dried fruit

100g dried cranberries or sour cherries

semi-skimmed milk or low-fat natural yoghurt, to serve

assorted fresh berries (optional)

195 calories per portion (without milk)241 calories per portion (with 100ml semi-skimmed milk)

Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the almonds and toast them for 3–5 minutes, turning occasionally. Keep a careful eye on them so they don’t burn. Tip the nuts into a large mixing bowl and allow them to cool slightly.

Pour the oats and puffed rice into a large rubber-sealed jar or plastic food container. Add the toasted almonds, mixed dried fruit and cranberries or sour cherries and mix everything together well.

Enjoy a 50g portion of the muesli for breakfast with semi-skimmed milk or low-fat natural yoghurt and some fresh berries if you like.

Top tip:

Instead of prawns, you could add some thinly sliced ham or fresh tomato quarters and a handful of spinach.

PAN-FRIED BACON WITH POACHED EGG AND BALSAMIC TOMATOES

Guess what? You don’t have to give up your bacon and eggs when you’re dieting – just slightly change the way you cook them. Poaching the eggs and dry-frying the bacon saves on fat and the whole dish tastes just as good. Choose good lean bacon and avoid streaky.

SERVES 2

1 tsp sunflower oil

4 rashers of rindless smoked back bacon

1 tsp white wine vinegar

2 large very fresh eggs (fridge cold)

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

good handful of watercress

drizzle of good-quality balsamic vinegar

freshly ground black pepper

264 calories per portion

Brush a large non-stick frying pan with sunflower oil, using the tip of a pastry brush. Place the pan over a medium heat and add the bacon. Cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned, then turn and dry-fry on the other side for another 3 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, half fill a medium non-stick saucepan with water, add the vinegar and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low, so the water is only just bubbling.

Crack the eggs into the water, 1 at a time, spacing them well apart. Cook for 2½ minutes. The eggs should rise to the surface within a minute. If the egg white sticks to the bottom of the pan, lift it gently with a wooden spoon. Alternatively, you can use a hob-top egg poacher, lightly greased with sunflower oil.

Add the tomatoes to the pan with the bacon and season with plenty of black pepper. Cook the tomatoes for about a minute until just beginning to soften, turning them once. Put a small pile of watercress on each plate.

Place some bacon and tomatoes on the plates and drizzle with a dash of balsamic vinegar. Take the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them on top. Season with a little more pepper and tuck in right away while it’s all lovely and hot.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SMOKED SALMON

This is a treat – light but tasty and packed with protein. It takes next to no time to prepare and makes a really special weekend breakfast or brunch. Shows that you can breakfast like a king and still keep the calories under control.

SERVES 2

4 medium eggs

1 tbsp freshly snipped chives, plus a few extra to garnish (optional)

15g butter

4 slices of smoked salmon (about 75g)

1 English muffin, cut in half

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

354 calories per portion

Beat the eggs with a pinch of flaked sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Use a metal whisk and make sure you beat the eggs really well. Stir in the chives if you’re using them.

Melt the butter in a medium non-stick saucepan over a low heat. Pour the beaten eggs into the pan and cook very gently for 2 minutes, stirring slowly until the eggs are softly scrambled. Remove from the heat and stir for a few seconds more – the eggs will continue to cook for a while.

While the eggs are cooking, toast the muffin and put 1 half on each plate, cut side up. Spoon the scrambled eggs over the muffins, add the slices of smoked salmon and season with a little more black pepper. Garnish with extra chives if you wish. Serve immediately.

FRESH FRUIT COMPOTE WITH HOME-MADE GRANOLA

We find a bowl of this compote, topped with some of our special crunchy granola and a spoonful of low-fat yoghurt, sets us up a treat in the morning. It’s like sunshine for your insides.

SERVES 6

Home-made granola

300ml apple juice (we prefer the cloudy type)

150g jumbo porridge oats

15g flaked almonds

50g mixed dried fruit

Fruit compote

2 Bramley cooking apples (about 150g each)

4 fresh ripe plums, stoned and cut into quarters

75g golden caster sugar

200g strawberries, hulled

200g raspberries

200g blackberries

6 tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt (optional)

243 calories per portion (without yoghurt)252 calories per portion (with yoghurt)

To make the granola, preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

Pour the apple juice into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue boiling until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds and is syrupy. It’s really important to get this bit right, as the apple syrup needs to be thick enough to lightly coat the oats.

Add the oats and almonds to the pan with the apple syrup and stir until well combined. Tip everything on to the baking tray and spread out thinly. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and scatter the dried fruit over the top. Turn and mix everything with a spatula or spoon and put the tray back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the oats are crisp and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray, then tip the granola into an airtight tin or jar. This mixture is best eaten within 2 weeks.

To make the compote, preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Peel the apples and cut them into quarters. Remove the cores and slice the apples thinly. Put the apples with the plums and half the sugar in a shallow ovenproof dish – a lasagne dish is ideal. Cover loosely with a sheet of foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Take the dish out of the oven and add the whole berry fruits to the dish. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and toss lightly together. Cover with foil and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the fruit is soft and juicy but still holding its shape – it will continue to cook once you’ve taken it out of the oven. Leave the compote to cool, then tip it into a bowl and cover with cling film. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serve the compote in bowls, topped with a couple of spoonfuls of the granola and some low-fat yoghurt if you like.

BAKED HADDOCK, SPINACH AND EGG POTS

Full of protein and really tasty, this is a luxurious weekend breakfast or brunch dish. We eat it with thin crispbreads, which only have about 20 calories per piece, so you can have a couple for dipping into the egg. Thinly sliced pumpernickel bread is also delicious but will add extra calories to the dish, so go easy.

SERVES 4

200g young spinach leaves

1 tbsp cold water

150g skinless smoked haddock, cut into 2cm cubes

125g half-fat crème fraiche

4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

2 tsp cornflour

sunflower oil, for greasing foil

4 medium eggs (fridge cold)

grated nutmeg, for sprinkling (optional)

freshly ground black pepper

very thin rye crispbreads, to serve (optional)

187 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Place 4 x 200ml ramekins on a baking tray. Put the spinach in a large saucepan with the tablespoon of cold water and cook over a medium heat until the leaves are wilted, stirring often. This will take 2–3 minutes.

Tip the spinach into a sieve and press it well with a ladle or the back of a wooden spoon to squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer it to a bowl and add the haddock, crème fraiche, spring onions, cornflour and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Mix well and divide the mixture between the ramekin dishes.

Cover each dish with lightly oiled foil and bake for 15 minutes until bubbling. Take the dishes out of the oven and stir each one well. Make a dip in the centre of each haddock mixture with the back of a spoon. Break an egg into each ramekin and season with a little ground nutmeg if you like.

Cover with the greased foil once more and put the ramekins back in the oven for about 8 minutes or until the eggs are almost cooked. The egg white should no longer look transparent, but the yolk should be runny. Take the dishes out of the oven, leave the foil in place and allow to stand for a further 2 minutes or until the eggs are almost set. Serve hot with crispbreads.

HOW TO LOVE FOOD AND LOSE WEIGHT

Food isn’t just fuel for us – it’s our life. We spend most of every day cooking, thinking about food and coming up with recipe ideas, not to mention eating! Great-tasting food is our passion and we’re not about to give that up.

But we have to admit that we’ve overdone it a bit. Years of enjoying endless gorgeous meals has taken its toll and we’ve piled on the pounds. Like many middle-aged blokes – and ladies – we found that we’d got too hefty and our health was suffering. It was time to face facts and take a good hard look at ourselves so we took a deep breath and got on the scales. Ouch! It was a long time since we’d weighed anything except ingredients and it was a shock. We were both a couple of stone or more overweight and over 40% of our body mass was fat. It was time to diet.

Now we have to be honest, we’re never going to be skinny minnies and we don’t want to be. It’s just not us. But we’ve made the effort to lose weight to stay healthy and enjoy life to the full. We want to be walking up hills and down dales without getting out of breath, and to be riding our big bikes when we’re 70 so we need to keep mobile and trim. And that means every now and again watching what we eat and reining it in a bit.

Okay, we’re not going to diet for ever – we’re still greedy and we’ll always love our pies and curries – but our weigh-in was a wake-up call to act before we got dangerously big. Losing weight has been quite a journey for us but we’ve done it and we’re proud of ourselves. Now we know we can drop the pounds when we need to and this will help us keep a check on things in the future. If we can do it so can you.

Look at losing weight as an investment in yourself and the people you love. The benefits far outweigh the sacrifices.

Si: “I was always chubby, even as a lad. I ate for comfort after my dad died when I was only eight years old and the weight just continued to pile on. I didn’t know when to stop. I got teased at school, but I kept on eating. At 11 years old I was 11 stone. By my 12th birthday I was 12 stone. And then when I got into this game, I had every excuse to eat the most fantastic food whenever I wanted.”

Dave: “ I was quite skinny as a kid, but my mam and dad and me all loved our food. But my dad had a physically demanding job in a paper mill and he burned it all off. My life has been very different, but I’ve gone on eating the pies and hot pots and big roasts, as well as the fine dining all around the world. When you’re on the road a lot like we are, it’s hard to eat sensibly and all too easy to stoke up on rich fatty food. I’m never going to be skinny again but I don’t want to be obese either.”

SO THIS IS WHAT WE DID

We didn’t want to sacrifice the pleasure of cooking and feel deprived or hungry so we knew we had to come up with meals that we would enjoy making and eating if we were to stick with the diet.

With the advice of healthy eating experts, we discovered that by making small changes in our cooking habits we could still enjoy big flavours and the food we loved while dropping the pounds. And it’s true. We’ve shed weight and we feel the better for it. Our blood pressure and cholesterol levels are down, our waistlines have shrunk, we have more energy and we look HOT – but not as sweaty as we used to!

And even more importantly, we’ve done all this while still eating some of our favourite, great-tasting dishes that we now cook with less fat and sugar, but bags of flavour.

We think our recipes are fantastic. Yes, they’re lower in fat and sugar but they still taste amazing and we’re still just as enthusiastic and creative about our cooking as ever.