Healthy Summer

Since coming back from Italy I decided that it was finally time to lose some weight. I haven't been happy with my weight for a while now and that isn't helped by the fact that I love the experience of cooking and eating tasty food. However, my family still need to be fed, and eating healthily doesn't necessarily have to be boring. Here are 4 recipes I've found (2 soups and 2 salads) which are all under 310 calories, still taste amazing and are extremely filling! 

Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

INGREDIENTS
(serves 2, 200 cals/serving)

1 garlic clove
1 onion
1 stick celery
1 carrot
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp dried basil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp double cream/creme fraiche 
handful of fresh basil

METHOD
1. Chop onion and celery, grate carrot and crush garlic clove. Cook in olive oil until softened and sprinkle over dried basil.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minutes
3. Whizz ingredients in a blender, stir in double cream and add fresh basil.

NB. Only add cream and basil if eating straight away. Otherwise, refrigerate and then heat, add basil and cream before eating. 




Carrot and Coriander Soup

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4, 105 cals/serving)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
450g carrots
4 tbsp ground coriander
2 pints vegetable stock
large bunch fresh coriander
salt and pepper

METHOD
1. Chop onion and carrots thinly. Heat oil in a pan and cook onion and carrots until starting to soften.
2. Stir in ground coriander and season. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10/15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
4. Whizz ingredients in a blender and add fresh coriander

NB. Only add coriander if eating straight away. Otherwise, refrigerate then heat and add coriander before eating.



Griddled Chicken & Corn on the Cob Salad

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4, 236 cals/serving)

2 skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
juice 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
2 corn cobs
large handful lettuce leaves
1/2 cucumber 

METHOD
1. Cut the chicken breasts into strips. Mix the garlic, paprika, cumin, lime and 1 tbsp of oil with some seasoning and cover the chicken with the marinade. Leave for at least 15 mins.
2. Heat a griddle pan to high and cook the chicken for 3/4 mins each side until cooked through. Brush the rest of the oil over the pan and griddle the corn for roughly 5 minutes until evenly cooked. Remove from pan and cut off kernels. 
3. Mix the lettuce and cucumber, top with corn and chicken and your choice of dressing. 




Chicken with Couscous Salad

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4, 304 cals/serving)

200g plain couscous
1 red pepper, diced
4 spring onions, sliced
50g raisins
300ml chicken stock
2 tbsp pine nuts
juice of 1 lemon
2 skinless roasted chicken breasts
salad leaves

METHOD
1. Put couscous, spring onions, pepper and raisins into a heatproof bowl. Pour over the chicken stock and cover for 10 mins.
2. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and stir in pine nuts and lemon juice.
3. Season and serve with the chicken and salad. 




All four of these recipes are filling and delicious - two words a lot of people wouldn't normally associate with healthy meals. I found all of them on the internet (BBC GoodFood) but have adapted them ever so slightly which is why I haven't just posted the direct links. I know it's summer and soup is more of a winter dish, however for me it's a really quick, easy and filling meal and adds a bit of variety to "boring old salads". Try them for yourselves and let me know how it goes!