Creamy Chicken and Parmesan Fettucine

This needs lots of seasoning to bring out the taste and don’t forget the parsley!

Pasta is a great Friday night option when you’ve come to the end of a working week and can’t summon up much brain power to make a quick, healthy meal. Creamy Chicken and Parmesan Fettucine from Justine Pattison may look ‘naughty’, but the sauce is made from a combination of butter, plain flour and semi-skimmed milk rather than cream to keep the calories low.

While I was impressed with the calorie content (just 374 per serving), the taste was a tad bland for my liking, despite me lashing it with grinds of black pepper. Nevertheless, this is a good example of how you can make two chicken breasts comfortably stretch to feeding four people. For other budget-friendly chicken dishes, check out chicken and mushroom risotto and pollo pasta with pesto.

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Cock and Bull

For an extra bit of indulgence, Pinch of Nom suggest adding a drop of brandy after you have browned the onions and mushrooms

Cock and Bull from Pinch of Nom is a meat eater’s paradise as it combines chicken breast and steak (either sirloin or rump) in one pan with a creamy sauce. I served this with some peas as I felt the meat needed something else to accompany it, beyond the handful of sliced onion and mushrooms which don’t go far between four people. You could add some new potatoes too, but bare in mind that the calorie count is already 436 per serving.

I would make this again but next time would reduce down the sauce as mine was far too runny (user error!). Pinch of Nom just love a creamy sauce and use low-fat cream cheese to make their dishes diet friendly. If you like this, you’ll love creamy garlic chicken and poulet au vinaigre.

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Pulled Chicken Baked Sliders

Less than £1 a head and under 300 calories!

My shoddy photo really doesn’t do justice to Pulled Chicken Baked Sliders from Pinch of Nom. The BBQ chicken, melted cheese in a bun combo transports you into an American diner with the added bonus that this costs less than £1 per head to make. The only thing missing is the fries on the side!

The recipe below is for 9 people (yes, 9), but just scale down accordingly depending on how many you are feeding. There is a long list of ingredients and, although it tastes good, the effort required to make this recipe is disproportionate unless you’ve got copious amounts of time on your hands. From start to finish, this took me about 2 hours, which is way too long to knock together a leisurely weekend lunch.

There are some fabulous recipes in Pinch of Nom’s new book – Quick and Easy. But rather like crispy chili beef (which I featured on this blog last week), some of the prep times are way too ambitious. If you just want a no-faff sandwich or wrap, click here for some ideas.

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Coronation Chicken Salad

Just 233 calories per serving for this tasty low-fat twist

Coronation chicken can be very high in calories but the Hairy Dieters have come up with a substantial low-fat salad version which is bursting with flavour. The sauce for the coronation chicken is made by combining low-fat Greek yoghurt, curry powder and mango chutney and tastes fantastic.

The portion size is more than generous, but you can bulk it out with some new potatoes or even put the ingredients in a wrap. For some more great salad suggestions, click here. Or if you just want a calorie friendly coronation chicken sandwich, see here.

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Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake

Chicken & pasta, topped with a creamy cheese sauce. What’s not to like?

Who doesn’t love a pasta bake? Well, me actually, but my teenage son Will can eat pasta by the bucket load so I knew Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake from Pinch of Nom would be right up his street. Pasta bakes are a genius way of getting children to sample vegetables without them really noticing – in this case it’s sliced leeks and mushrooms, which go brilliantly with the chicken and the creamy, cheesy sauce.

The calorie count for this dish is just over 500, but you can always reduce it by having less pasta. 300g between 4 people is quite a lot and I find that 50g of pasta per person is sufficient. It’s up to you.

If you love this ingredient combination, then I’d urge you to try smashed-up chicken which is one of my all-time favourites, the equally sublime creamy chicken and tarragon pots with rosemary potato wedges or chicken tetrazzini.

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Coronation Chicken Sandwich Filling

Who would have thought that coronation chicken could be healthy?

Coronation Chicken, if bought from a supermarket, can be really unhealthy. But this alternative sandwich filling suggestion from Two Chubby Cubs is much kinder to your waistline and tastes sensational.

Once your chicken is cooked, it’s just a case of mixing together light mayo, mango chutney and a dash of curry powder together and sprinkling over a few sultanas. Yummy! For more fast sandwich and wraps ideas, check out the relevant section on this blog here.

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Creamy Mustard Chicken

Shiitaking the piss? If you have someone in your family who doesn’t like mushrooms, try them with a fancier variety like shiitake, oyster or forestiere

I’d been meaning try to Creamy Mustard Chicken from Jamie Oliver ever since buying his ‘5 ingredients’ book, but my son’s refusal to entertain mushrooms placed this on the backburner. However, I decided to buy some fancy shiitake ones and slice them thinly which thankfully he was prepared to stomach without protest. Progress or just a fluke?

This meal is very quick to make but it does need something else to accompany it. I used up some spare sweetcorn but green veg would work well, or even some cheeky mash if you’re not watching your weight. For other ‘5 ingredient’ inspiration, click here for other ideas.

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Chicken and Banana Curry

Please note, this recipe does contain nuts (ground almonds)

I thought I’d tried most Indian-based dishes, but Chicken and Banana Curry from Pinch of Nom is a new one for me. This mild, fruity recipe tastes a bit like a Kashmiri which sometimes contain mango and lychee. Or if you’re ordering from my dodgy local curry house a tin of supermarket fruit cocktail, much to my wife’s annoyance as she expects them to use fresh fruit, which always amuses me. In fairness, her gripe is valid when you’re paying over £7 for a main course per person!

The beauty about Pinch of Nom’s ‘fakeaway’ is that it costs as little as £1.27 per serving to make yourself (without rice or naan) and it’s something a bit different. If mild curries are your thing, check out chicken korma, low-cal chicken tikka masala, chicken biryani and chicken bhuna which are all simple to recreate.

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Mega-Eggybread Club Sandwich Stacks

You’ll need to cut this in half, or even in quarter, if you want to get your chops around this

Mega-Eggybread Club Sandwich Stacks from Two Chubby Cubs feels like a proper naughty treat, but it still comes in at under 500 calories so it’s just the ticket for a lazy weekend brunch / lunch.

To ensure your toastie doesn’t disintegrate when you come to fry it, the Cubs recommend that you make it up the night before, tightly wrap it in clingfilm and then chill in the fridge so the ingredients remain pressed together. This ‘sarnie’ is so tasty with the Dijon mustard and smoked cheese and you could even sprinkle over some chilli flakes if you’re feeling brave. I challenge anyone to still be feeling hungry after scoffing this!

If you want an alternative toastie suggestion, then have a look at monte cristo sandwich which is lower in calories but does require more ingredients.

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Hunter’s Risotto

Just use 100ml of red wine which will be cheaper than Marsala or Madeira wine

Hunter’s Risotto is Justine Pattison’s take on the well-known French dish, chicken chasseur, which I’ve already featured on this blog from the Hairy Dieters. Personally, I prefer this version from Justine because it includes smoked bacon and mushrooms – two personal fave ingredients of mine.

The recipe calls for the addition of Marsala or Madeira wine, but Justine suggests you could also add sweet sherry, Martini Rosso or even red wine if you prefer. I opted for the latter because invariably we’ve always got red wine in the house, and once the bottle is open…..

If risotto is your thang, have a bash at these less prep-heavy recipes: sea bass and miso risotto, chicken and mushroom risotto or chicken & chorizo risnotto (that isn’t a typo, view the recipe to learn more!). Or, if you want a more conventional pub-meal style dish then hunter’s chicken is for you.

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Paprika Chicken

This recipe hails from Romania

Trying to avoid eating peppers on a ‘healthy eating plan’ is a bit like trying to avoid getting wet when you’re outside and it’s raining – it ain’t gonna happen. And it is for that reason that I bypassed making Paprika Chicken from the Hairy Dieters for so long. My teenage son hates peppers, even when I cut them into miniscule pieces, we still have ‘pepper gate’ when he huffs and puffs when shuffling them around his plate at the dinner table.

However, when all I had in my fridge was some peppers and chicken thighs, it was time to bite the bullet. And….. both my wife and my son really enjoyed this meal, despite ‘pepper gate’. So, the moral of the story is…… actually, I don’t know, but perhaps it’s something along the lines of don’t always assume that your kids are going to hate a meal and it’s good to try them with different recipes. I think I’ve just had my Jamie Oliver ‘turkey twizzler’ moment ;-).

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Hit ‘n’ Run Traybaked Chicken

15 mins of prep and then literally just bang everything into the oven and put your feet up

I’m not keen on the naming given to Jamie Oliver’s Hit ‘n’ Run Traybaked Chicken recipe, but both the flavours and the concept (that you can bang the ingredients together in the oven for an hour and put your feet up) is appealing. The flavours from the tomatoes, peppers, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in this come together really well.

You can serve with some crusty bread to mop up the juices, or if you don’t trust yourself to be ‘good’, maybe a side salad or a small portion of rice or couscous (as I used) would fit the bill, but factor in the extra calories.

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Creamy Garlic Chicken

Low-fat cream cheese and chicken is a wonderful combination

After my car crash attempt at making Asian pork meatballs, I needed to bring my ‘A game’ back to the kitchen and Creamy Garlic Chicken from Pinch of Nom was just the tonic. This is so easy to make and tastes amazing with a few new potatoes and/or some veg to go with it.

Low-fat cream cheese is a dieter’s best friend and can give otherwise bland tasting dishes a more luxurious feel. For other ideas, check out chicken and leeks in blue cheese sauce, one-pot creamy leek & sausage bake, chicken & chorizo risnotto and poulet au vinaigre.

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Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip

You could use this recipe for a BBQ when the weather is nice

It’s really easy to bring plain chicken to life with some spices or a marinade. Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip from the Hairy Dieters is a healthy, flavoursome twist on boring chicken and chips.

Don’t worry if you don’t have / or don’t want to buy cumin, paprika, thyme, oregano and cayenne pepper to make the spice rub – just use some regular cajun spice / seasoning which will create roughly the same effect. You can then use the cajun seasoning to make cajun dirty rice, cajun sweet potatoes, cajun prawn and kale salad or scrambled cajun eggs with spinach and kale. Basically, your cajun spice won’t go to waste! ;-).

Note, you can have this dish with a few home-made chips, the emphasis being here on a few to keep the calorie count low. The suggested portion size isn’t the biggest (boooooo!), so I’d recommend serving this with a green salad on the side, or some home-made coleslaw as I did – see sticky pork ‘ribs’ in barbecue sauce for the recipe.

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Hunter’s Chicken

Why is Hunter’s Chicken called Hunter’s Chicken?

Hunter’s Chicken is a British pub classic – chicken wrapped in bacon, cooked in a tomato-based sauce and finished off with melted cheese on top. Mmmmm. Pinch of Nom have created a lighter version using bacon medallions and reduced-fat cheddar and it tastes as good as anything you’ll enjoy in your local boozer.

PON’s recipe comes in at 343 calories, but this doesn’t include any accompaniments. So, in the interests of following UK government advice and turning this into a ‘substantial meal’ (I shouldn’t even joke), I served mine with a few peas and naughty chips. But to keep the calories down, I suggest having it with some green veg and/or a very small portion of healthy mash (using low-fat crème fraiche).

If you’re currently stuck in a tier 3 or tier 4 area and are missing some classic British home-cooked food, check out the pub classics section on this blog here. The only downside is you’ll have to cook them yourself ;-).

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Tandoori Chicken Burger

If you can fit this into your gob well done, but seriously, how big is your gob?

Burger and a bhaji, what’s not to like? Tandoori Chicken Burger from Two Chubby Cubs feels really naughty, but even with a full bun it’s just under 500 calories, so treat yourself and don’t feel guilty.

The list of ingredients might seem a lot initially, but most of them are spices which won’t go to waste if you’re a regular follower of this blog (use the search option on the right hand side of this page to find other recipes). My photo above doesn’t do this justice, primarily because I overcooked the bhajis which I’d be more mindful of avoiding second time round. The Cubs recommend putting the onion bhaji mixture in a muffin tray to make them easier to cook. As novel as the concept is, I’d be happy just to scoff the tandoori chicken burger on its own – you’ll save time and calories and it still tastes fabbbuuuuuulllllloooouuuuussss, to quote John Barrowman.

Love a burger? Then you’ll bloody love these: chipotle pork burger, the gorgeous satay burger (also from Two Chubby Cubs), mediterranean beef burgers and turkey burgers and chips.

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Speedy Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pies

Pie in the sky. This ain’t a pie.

I didn’t find Speedy Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pies from the Hairy Dieters particularly speedy. Nor did they remind me of pies. But apart from that, this chicken and vege recipe is a decent feed and just 267 calories per portion.

The filo pastry topping is a clever, lighter way to create a pie-like crunch when you bite into it, but let’s not get carried away, this definitely isn’t a pie in the conventional sense. I couldn’t be arsed to divide the filling into 4 individual pie dishes – that might have accounted for why it took much longer than the suggested 24 minutes of cooking time to ensure the 500ml of chicken stock had sufficiently reduced down.

Still pining for a pie? Check out mince and vegetable pie with tumbled spuds, cottage pie, or the quirkier tortilla chilli pie.

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Southern-style Chicken with Potato Salad

KFC on a diet? The Colonel might not lose any sleep over this recipe, but it’s a good low-cal version

As a former ‘respected’ KFC employee (I lasted three weeks, and quit when they wouldn’t let me have Saturday off to watch Sheffield United vs Bolton), I was looking forward to trying Tom Kerridge’s twist on the Colonel’s secret recipe. Southern-style Chicken with Potato Salad might be missing fries and sides, but this lower calorie imitation is healthier and cheaper than the real thing. And it tastes damn good, too!

Don’t let the long list of ingredients put you off. Granted they are off-putting, but most of them are spices and herbs which you’ll use again. The southern-fried effect is created by coating the chicken thighs in low-fat buttermilk and flour and then marinating them for at least four hours (or preferably overnight).

My version turned out reasonably well, although I was little too frivolous with the flour and forgot to shake off the excess before baking them in the oven. Apart from that aberration this was a decent attempt, with the accompanying potato salad being the unexpected star of the show.

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Chipotle Chicken and Slaw

If you leave out the optional corn on the cob, this will cost less than £1 per serving

I might sound like a broken record, but chicken drumsticks are excellent value and make for perfect, hassle-free weekend meals. Invariably once coated in your preferred marinade, all you need to do then is bake them in the oven for about half an hour.

Chipotle Chicken and Slaw from BBC Good Food will appeal to heat freaks, but it’s not too hot to put off those who have more sensitive palettes. The slaw, comprising red and white cabbage, avocado, carrot and lime zest is quite fancy, but there are simpler and cheaper home-made recipes, such as sticky chicken with coleslaw.

For other chicken drumstick recipes, check out sticky chicken drumsticks, fusion tandoori chicken, chicken tikka drumsticks and lemon chicken with honey and rosemary. They should keep you going for a bit!

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Lemon Chicken with Honey and Rosemary

Mamma Mia this is good! And for less than £1 per head!

Lemon Chicken with Honey and Rosemary is the first Gino D’Acampo recipe that I’ve featured on this blog and it’s a cracker from the Italian chef turned celebrity. Lemon, honey and rosemary makes for such a delectable combination and they made the chicken drumsticks and potatoes taste delicious after being slowly baked in the oven.

This is such a simple, wonderfully tasting meal that you can make for less than £1 per head. Chicken drumsticks are fantastic value. The ones from supermarkets are ok, but you’ll get more meat for your buck from a butcher if you can afford it.

Want more drumstick ideas? Have a butcher’s at chicken tikka drumsticks, sticky chicken drumsticks and fusion tandoori chicken. Wondering what to do with any spare rosemary? Creamy chicken and tarragon pots with rosemary potato wedges have got your name on it!

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