Food Friday : Slimming World Syn Free Falafel & Herb yoghurt dip

Food Friday : Slimming World Syn Free Falafel & Herb yoghurt dip

 


Hello lovelies,

After posting an instagram picture of my home made syn free falafel and dip a little while… I thought I’d share the recipe! Makes around 12 golf ball size patties

Ingredients

1 x can of chickpeas, drained
1 x medium onion
4 x garlic cloves
1 x chicken stock cube
Big handful of mint leaves
Big handful of coriander leaves
Cumin – up to you how much you use
Chilli powder – up to you how much you use
Natural Yoghurt
Lemon juice



Method 

– In a blender, add the chickpeas, onion, garlic, spices, stock cube and half the herbs. Stop at intervals to make sure the contents are well mixed. It should look crumbley but you can easily mould it in to shapes in your hand

– Turn it in to a bowl and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes
– After 30 minutes resting time, roll in to balls or patties and then refrigerate for a couple of hours

– Mix the natural yoghurt with the chopped remaining herbs, salt, chilli and lemon juice to taste
To cook… 

Heat the oven to 180 and bake on a greased tray for 35 minutes or until golden brown
Alternatively, fry each chilled ball lightly in fry light or oil (this will use syns) until deep golden brown


To serve….
Eat alone, with the dip or in stuffed pitta breads. I like to make a more filling packed lunch by having the falafel with mange tout and the yoghurt

Alternative servings…

If you feel like a crunchier coating, you can roll each falafel in uncooked Cous Cous before baking for a super tasty crunch. If your mix is a little wet, this helps bind it.


 

Share:

Foodie Friday : Slimming World Syn Free ‘Dorito’ Crisps

Foodie Friday : Slimming World Syn Free ‘Dorito’ Crisps



Hello lovelies,


I follow the Slimming World plan and I thought I would share some recipes with you that I have picked up along the way over the next few months if you are needing a little bit of SW inspiration.


There has been some debate as to whether this is truly syn free or ‘tweaking’ but I say there’s no harm in giving it a go and if it helps and works for you, then it is what it is.

You can vary this recipe for italian style, indian, mexican or plain.
 

What you will need :

Dried lasagne sheets (each sheet makes 6 crisps so judge how many you want to use)
Salt
Fry Light misting spray
Seasoning of choice.

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees.


In a large saucepan, boil the full lasagne sheets until they are cooked, soft and floppy.

Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Make sure as much water is removed as possible.

Sprinkle each side of the boiled pasta with salt lightly and then your flavouring of choice. For italian, use garlic salts and herbs, for indian, use curry powder and for a mexican twist I like to use the Nando’s Peri Peri. It’s about £1.99 for a 90g shaker.

I cut each sheet in to 3, and then turn each of those 3 in to triangle dorito shapes.


Place on a non stick over tray and spray finely and lightly with Fry Light. 


Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning half way through.



Depending on your brand of pasta, you can play around with timings and whether you use Fry Light or not. It’s entirely down to you.




Twitter | Facebook | GFC | Hellocotton | Bloglovin | Bloggers
Share:

Wynyard Hall – Food + free gifts!

Wynyard Hall – Food + free gifts!

Hello Lovelies, 

Every year, despite being married, we still celebrate the anniversary of us getting together. It falls on December 23rd and even though we have our wedding anniversary to celebrate, it’s nice to take a day out of the Christmas madness and spend some quality time with each other as we are always running around tending to everyone else.



Image from Belle Bridal Magazine


Over the last few years, we have been going for a festive meal at Wynyard Hall in the Wellington Restaurant. For a ‘Christmas lunch’ in such a luxurious venue, we find the prices to be extremely reasonable and the setting, just out of this world.

Greeted with a red carpet at the door, you are escorted through the grand reception rooms of the Hall, all bedazzled and decked with beautiful decorations and on to the restaurant. Sitting in the ante room overlooking the lake and terrace with a pre dinner drink to peruse the menu, it’s like sitting in the set of Downton Abbey.
We have our table all booked already but what landed in my inbox this week? Only a bloomin’ exciting email about a free gift pot luck for all diners! I have done a quick copy + paste for you below.

 Wellington Restaurant Christmas Giveaway

Join us in the Wellington Restaurant for Afternoon Tea, Lunch or Dinner between 23rd November and 24th December 2013 for your chance to win a luxury gift from Wynyard Hall!

On arrival each guest will be given an envelope which (if you’re one of the lucky ones!) will reveal your prize.

Prizes up for grabs include overnight stays, spa treatments, Sunday lunches, afternoon teas and much much more.

To make a reservation for the Wellington Restaurant, book online or call 01740 644811 Option 2.

 

I thoroughly recommend Wynyard Hall for a special lunch or a perfect afternoon tea with your girlies or loved one in the run up to Christmas.

Twitter | Facebook | GFC | Hellocotton | Bloglovin | Bloggers

* This is not a sponsored post. I am a customer + receive email offers as such.

Share:

Food Friday :Christmas with Grosvenor

Food Friday :Christmas with Grosvenor



Hello Lovelies,

Last week I was invited along to a Christmas party preview event held by Grosvenor, a casino in Newcastle.
After attending last year with Laura, we put on our glitziest lippy and took ourselves off to the venue.
After a champagne reception and a quick chat with our other fellow guests, we were taken up to the poker room on the first floor which would be great for a private party as you are away from the hustle and bustle of the gaming floor, but thanks to the floor to ceiling windows, you are afforded a view of the melee below.
With crisp white linens and sparkly centre pieces, we were then spoiled with an array of food on a tasting menu with perfectly paired wine offerings to really show off the calibre of the onsite kitchen. Maybe the Casino isn’t the first place you’d go for a posh 3 course dinner but never discount the unknown eh!

Please excuse the following photos, I hadn’t planned on taking photos and once I decided, I realised I was sitting under a veritable floodlight and it wasn’t kind to my usually perfect camera phone skills!
For our first tasting course we had a prawn and salmon timbale with Marie Rose sauce. Ram packed with prawns, if this is the taster, think of the proper starter! Fresh and chilled, complimented by what tasted like mass produced sauce. No big deal but ‘home made’ would be great.


To follow the prawns were brie and cranberry parcels. First resembling a plate of Chinese wontons, on the first bite you are reminded it’s Christmas time. With a fair mix of strong brie and tender sweet cranberry, it is a perfect small plate of Christmas loveliness. The strong flavoured brie was cut through with the cranberry with a perfect balance. I think I will be stealing this idea come party season when we have friends round.


Just when we thought we couldn’t take another morsel, out came the fish course! Unfortunately I don’t eat Salmon so this I over to Laura to taste test! Perfectly cooked, the small pave of salmon was served with a creamy but not overpowering, delicious sauce and a slice of obligatory lemon! I only managed half of this generous piece but as a main, I would have no problem devouring this whole piece!

Last year, I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to sample the actual ‘Christmas dinner’ aspect of the party menu. Its as though the chefs heard my telepathic pleas and this year we were served up a Christmas dinner sampler! With a thick slice of juicy and moist turkey, adorned with stuffing and doused in meaty gravy, it was a great treat to behold. The first official Christmas dinner of the winter – YES! Served with al dente carrot batons, sprouts and tender stem broccoli, the inclusion of the ‘posh’ broccoli really elevated the experience. No stodgy mush veg here guys!

After a small breather, and more wine for those who were drinking (not us unfortunately!) out came the sticky toffee pudding. My Achilles heel in the pudding world! Moist and covered in toffee sauce, this was just a delight. Unfortunately the 2 bite portion didn’t last long enough to write anything else about it! Delicious!

As our final, hard to manage course, a lemon and lime mousse tart was presented with a sharp tangy raspberry coulis. The pastry was crisp and perfect, the mouse was on the right side of citrus and the coulis cut through all the flavours to stop it tasting ‘soapy’ which I find some citrus desserts can do if over done with flavouring.

The food was absolutely delicious and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone in the area looking for somewhere to book their Christmas event, or even check out a local Grosvenor to see what they offer. Last year, after attending the preview, my small 2 person work force took ourselves off there for our modest “party” and even got to see a Lady Gaga tribute act to boot!


This year, I have promised to take Mr T and Laura back to the Grosvenor for our 2013 Christmas Party. Blimey, running my own company is going to be expensive this year!
Prices start from £20 per person and you can find more details for the Newcastle Grosvenor Party plans HERE 
Twitter | Facebook GFC | Hellocotton | Bloglovin | Bloggers

* I have not been paid or asked to write this review, but I was invited to the event.
Share:

Christmas hampers from Harvey Nichols

Christmas hampers from Harvey Nichols

I love autumn + winter. I’m not going to lie. Anything from Harvest Festival, to Halloween, Christmas, right up to early year snow. Yep. Love it.

When birthdays,  house warmings and any kind of event that you’d give a gift for, I like to pack beautifully curated hampers. Whether it’s a baby basket, an epicurean delight or a well stocked bundle of beauty products, I just find that there is something cossetting and comforting about a hamper. As you dig out more goodies from inside, it really is the gift that keeps on giving!

View Post

Share: