My fridge is bursting with leftover cheese but clearly this does not bode well with the whole healthy eating, losing weight mission that naturally follows the festive season.
Cheese has to be my sin of choice. In fact I frequently choose a cheese plate over a pudding when eating out. I kind of consider myself a bit of a cheese snob. No boring old Port Salut or the Christmas standard stilton on my cheeseboard! Favourites on our cheeseboard this Christmas included Ossau Iraty, Sardinian aged pecorino and Cashel Blue. I somehow ended up with the leftover cheese from New Years Eve dinner party where we all brought a course to our friends house. I've been very good not to tuck into any of it this week, but can't stand the fact that it's sitting in the fridge waiting to be devoured!
The leftover New Years Eve cheese was dolcelatte so this is what I used in the soup, but you can use your favourite blue cheese or whatever is lurking in your fridge.
Serves 4:
- 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
- 1 large potato: 350g when peeled and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- Spritz of olive oil
- Head of broccoli, approx 350g.
- 1.5 litre water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- Seasoning
- 60g blue cheese, crumbled or chopped
What to do:
This is quite a quick soup to prepare as it doesn't require much chopping. Get the kettle on the boil to begin with. Then, spritz your saucepan with a little olive oil and saute the onions on a moderate to low heat for a few minutes until soft. Add a touch of water if too dry. Prepare the broccoli by removing the stalks from the main tree. Discard the tree part and then separate the stalks from the florets. The stalks take a bit longer to cook and overcooking the florets will result in a loss of the the lovely green colour so it's best to separate them.
Add the diced potato and the stalks from the broccoli followed by boiling water. Judge the amount of water based on how well it covers the vegetables. You will need approx 1.5 litres. Crumble the stock cube in and add the bay leaf and season. Leave to bubble away for 15 minutes and then add the florets. Cook for another 5-8 minutes until the potatoes and broccoli stalks are tender. Remove the bay leaf and blend. Put the soup back on a low heat and stir in the cheese so it melts.
Serve with 50g wedge of baguette and some freshly ground black pepper.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 3 for the soup, 3 for 50g baguette
I tend to make this a fair bit for lunch using tinned tuna (especially when I have lunch guests) as it's quick and easy and healthy and tasty. Whilst I completely love this dish I always feel ever so slightly guilty when I make it. My husband is not so keen on tinned tuna and although he doesn't complain (that much) I can't help but feel a bit bad.
So this week I decided to splash out on some lovely fresh tuna steaks and up the quantities so we could have it for dinner. Apart from over-cooking the tuna ever so slightly (I am blaming that on my husband for saying it was too thick a steak!) it was really delicious and so full of interesting flavours and textures. Amazingly I also felt much less bloated this morning as it is protein laden with less carbs then other meals I cook. Am thinking this is the way forward....
You'll need for 2:
- 2 fresh tuna steaks - approx 140g each
- 2 eggs
- Half a pack of green beans
- 10 or so olives (in brine if you really want to keep your PP to a minimum)
- 2/3 a bag of salad leaves. I used a mix of rocket, watercress & spinach
- 10 or so cherry tomatoes, halved
- Fat free french dressing
- Seasoning
- 350g new potatoes, halved or quartered if large
- A chunk of cucumber, chopped
What to do:
In a large saucepan place your potatoes and cover with salted cold water. Bring to the boil. Then gently add the 2 eggs. Set your timer for 7 minutes and turn the heat down to medium so it is simmering. After 7 minutes remove the eggs and place in a bowl with cold water to cool. This time will give you ever so slightly soft yolk but if you want it runny, reduce it to 6 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare your salad / veggies. Chuck all the tomatoes, cucumber, salad leaves, olives in a big bowl. Trim your beans if need be but don't put them into the bowl.
Heat a griddle or frying pan. Very lightly oil the tuna and season. The potatoes should take about 18-20 minutes to cook until tender. Five minutes before you think the potatoes are ready (keep prodding with a knife to see how tender they are), get the tuna cooking. It's hard to say how long it will take but keep looking at the steak to see it changing colour. If you like it very rare, just sear on both sides and allow to rest. Remember it will carry on cooking after you have removed it from the direct heat so err on the side of caution (unlike me!)
Carefully peel the eggs and slice in half.
Two minutes before you think the potatoes are ready add the green beans. Drain the potatoes and beans and once dry-ish add to the salad mix bowl. Toss in 2-3 tbsp of fat free French dressing and serve on the plate. Add an egg onto each plate and place your tuna steak on top.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 12
Add the diced potato and the stalks from the broccoli followed by boiling water. Judge the amount of water based on how well it covers the vegetables. You will need approx 1.5 litres. Crumble the stock cube in and add the bay leaf and season. Leave to bubble away for 15 minutes and then add the florets. Cook for another 5-8 minutes until the potatoes and broccoli stalks are tender. Remove the bay leaf and blend. Put the soup back on a low heat and stir in the cheese so it melts.
