Breakfast Potatoes from Pinch of Nom is a lighter version of an American brunch dish which you can top with a fried egg (as I did) or some avocado. It’s not the quickest to make, so is probably better suited for a weekend.
As a carb lover I enjoyed it, but I much prefer halloumi and smoky bacon hash and hash brown breakfast bake from Pinch of Nom. Alternatively, sausage hash is another fave of mine.
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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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Justine Pattison’s Sticky Pork ‘Ribs’ in Barbecue Sauce recipe uses pork loin steaks rather than conventional spare ribs to keep the calories low. And while it’s a pale imitation of the real thing, kids and adults will still end up with messy fingers and faces when tucking into this!
The barbecue glaze comprising ketchup, clear honey, Worcester sauce and chilli powder wasn’t particularly ‘sticky’, so I suggest maybe marinating the pork steaks in a bowl (covered) for a few hours if you have time. With some home-made coleslaw and a corn on the cob on the side, this US diner classic still comes in at less than 400 calories per serving.
If you love getting sticky with it, check out sticky chicken with coleslaw, sticky mango roasted salmon, sticky chicken drumsticks or sticky pork steaks with coleslaw. As 2020 draws to a close, personally I’m sick of sticky now :-).
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Chicken Tetrazzini from Justine Pattison is apparently an American hybrid recipe. I don’t know what that means but it tastes pretty good, though does require many ingredients and some patience when putting it together.
Creamy chicken, topped with vegetables, breadcrumbs, cheese and spaghetti seems a bit weird to me. But after shoving my lasagne dish under the grill for 5 minutes to crisp up and turn golden brown all was forgiven. I get it now, kind of. This recipe serves 6 for 339 calories per serving, but that’s stretching it somewhat. You might be better dividing this between 4 portions and factoring in the extra calories. Naughty, naughty :-).
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I’m really feeling the love for classic US dishes right now and Philli Cheesesteak from Pinch of Nom is another belter. Steak, cheese and onion in a ciabatta roll – what’s not to like? If you’re not a fan of mushrooms and/or peppers leave them out.
You can use whatever steak you like, but remember you only need 150g (based on serving 2 people) and this is going in a sandwich, so don’t go out and buy fillet. Quick-cook beef sizzler steaks are ideal, however the quality from supermarkets can vary. I get my steak from a local butcher so this meal really felt like a naughty lunchtime treat yet it’s less than 400 calories per serving.
If you love your ‘butties’, check out sloppy dogs and monte cristo sandwich, also from Pinch of Nom.
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Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip is a cheap and very cheerful American bar snack from Justine Pattison, which creates the sticky, smoky flavours you know and love for a fraction of the calories (under 400 in this case, with dip).
You can save yourself some time (and hassle) by not attempting to cut each wing into two meaty pieces. Unless you’ve got a really sharp knife, you might find this tricky, so why not just bake the wings hole and allocate 200g to each person, per serving. I enjoyed these wings with a few naughty chippies and the blue cheese dip. I just forgot to include it when taking the photo, but I’d definitely recommend it with some celery sticks to accompany.
If you’re having some mates round for a big match or fight, or just a girly night in (ladies), why not go all out and make sloppy dogs as well which is equally cheap and wonderful to tuck into. You can start your diet ‘tomorrow’ ;-). Or, if you’re wondering what to do with the leftover cheese, try COBB salad with blue cheese dressing or the equally divine chicken and leeks in blue cheese sauce.
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Sloppy Dogs is Pinch of Nom’s new take on the hotdog, using pork mince, not the manky, calorific hotdogs you get in jars or at football stadiums (though chance would be a fine thing right now). Not many healthy eating cookbooks feature pork mince, but Pinch of Nom’s two books do which make for a welcome change and this recipe is bangingly good.
Pork mince can be cheaper than beef mince in some supermarkets (notably Sainsburys) and this meal works out as just over a £1 per serving. For those who miss tucking into a tasty, lunchtime sandwich on a diet, this is for you. But be warned, it isn’t called Sloppy Dogs for nothing. The filling is likely to spill out and you will get sauce around your chops, however eat this at home instead of at work and no one will know ha ha. The calorie count is 379 per serving, but not all finger rolls are created equal, so do check the calorie amounts before you buy.
If you love tucking into a bap, wrap, sandwich or toastie (or whatever else you call them), check out monte cristo sandwich, also from Pinch of Nom.
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Cobb Salad from Justine Pattison is an amazing, belly-busting US salad which will provide a filling lunch as well as a main evening meal. It’s great with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or a blue cheese dressing which you can make in a couple of minutes using light mayo, buttermilk or fat-free natural yoghurt, white wine vinegar, Roquefort cheese (or any blue cheese will do) and a dash of salt and pepper.
Struggling to remember the ingredients? As Justine says, just think ‘Eat Cobb’ – egg, avocado, tomato, chicken, onion, bacon and beetroot. My mouth is watering just typing this! One of the most satisfying, healthy salads you’re likely to have.
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You tend to think of loaded potato skins as being really unhealthy and invariably they are. In contrast, Buffalo Skins from Pinch of Nom are a revelation – just 68 calories per spud, really tasty and these can be enjoyed by vegetarians, too.
This recipe went down well with my wife, son and daughter who is a vegan. Personally, I wasn’t happy with my execution of it. Some of the sweet potatoes were still hard after 10 minutes in the microwave, so as the book suggests it’s a good idea to check and, if necessary, leave them in for longer. And as a result of the potatoes being hard, it was trickier to scoop out the flesh which in the end made for a frustrating exercise.
If you love the concept of this, check out Pinch of Nom’s first book as they have a calorie friendly bacon and potato skins recipe in it, which I’ve yet to try but it looks great. Alternatively, cajun sweet potatoes by Jamie Oliver is a doddle to make, even for me.
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Southern-Style Jambalaya, heralding from Louisiana USA, not Essex, is a proper feast from the Hairy Dieters that combines loads of protein and vegetables in one-pan. It contains some of my favourite food – chicken, chorizo and prawns, and pays homage to some lesser regarded items such as celery and green peppers which help to bulk this filling meal out.
While there a lot of ingredients in this, a number of them are spices, which you’ll use over and over again if following a healthy eating plan. And even if you’re not, just make this anyway because it tastes absolutely fantastic. Continue reading “Southern-Style Jambalaya – a one-pan feast from Louisiana”
I’m slowly working my way through Tom Kerridge’s Lose Weight for Good book (I’d recommend it!). Following the success of Scrambled Cajun Eggs, yesterday I decided to continue with the theme by making Cajun Prawn and Kale Salad. This is apparently a classic US gumbo dish originating from Louisiana.
This is a really gutsy salad with bold flavours that fill you up for only 220 calories. I didn’t have all of the recommended ingredients to hand and had to make do with standard king prawns rather than raw tiger prawns, a regular red chilli instead of Scotch Bonnet and I omitted the celery. That did save me a couple of quid in costs, but in contrast the end result wasn’t as good had I followed this recipe to the letter. When life returns to ‘normal’ I’ll be giving this another go. Continue reading “Cajun prawn and kale salad – classic US gumbo dish on a diet”
Introducing more vegetarian based dishes is an excellent way to add balance to your diet and reduce your calorie intake. I’d happily eat meat seven days a week and the thought of eating more ‘greens’ seemed initially alien to me. However, there are lots of excellent vegetarian and vegan meals so I’d urge even the most passionate meat eaters to give them a try.
Black-eyes peas and greens from the Hairy Dieters was a good starting point for me. I love all types of beans, and pulses are a nutritious and cheap way to bulk out meals and fill you up. This dish apparently originates from the southern regions of the United States, so I’d be interested if any American readers can vouch for its authenticity.
I was amazed by how much I could eat for only 207 calories per portion, and while there are more imaginative vege-based dishes out there, as a week-night meal this fulfilled the brief perfectly. The Hairy Dieters recommend accompanying this meal with some corn bread – you’ll find the recipe in their ‘Fast Food’ book. Continue reading “Black-eyed peas and greens from the US!”
Flatten Your Curves 