One of the best features of winter (in my opinion) is being able to pull out the slow cooker and whip up a batch of piping hot soup.

Nothing makes me feel more like a domestic goddess than serving up something warming and healthy to my family on a cold evening. Soup is also a fantastic meal when trying to lose weight.

Low in calories but nutrient dense, a bowl of veggie soup makes the ideal filling lunch or dinner and is almost devoid of nasties like saturated fat, sugar and excess salt.

Friday night calls for something a little special for dinner.

You’ve made it through another week, and the weekend is just kicking off.

Adults and kids will love these chicken and chickpea tacos, stuffed with a freshly made salsa and topped with cheese.

Tacos are great as they combine the hard, crunchy shells with the hot, spicy and soft centres to create a feast for the senses.

Fill them with nutritious veggies, legumes and lean protein and you’ve got yourself a healthy meal.

Some nights you just feel like something sweet after dinner.

While many desserts are full of fat, sugar and other nasties that would de-rail your weight loss plans – these contain no pastry, flour, butter or sugar.

Baked apples might not look terribly attractive but they do taste amazing.

These are delicious served with a dollop of natural yoghurt or low fat custard on top.

A great way to save money and eat well at the same time is to include soup as one of your weekly meals.

Soups are filling, nutritious and can make the most of fresh seasonal vegetables (or those that are on sale!).

As the weather cools down, we often bring out a few old favourites like this one for our weekly meal planner.

Kids love this soup too as the vegetables give a nice sweet flavour.

Even if you’ve got your main meals sorted (check out our amazing recipe section HERE if you still need some inspiration), morning and afternoon tea or your daily snacks can be more of a challenge.

When we hear the words ‘spaghetti’ or ‘fettuccine’ the majority of us most likely think, ‘bolognaise’ and ‘cabonara’ or some combination of the two!

While spag bol and creamy fettuccine are some of the most common ways to eat pasta, they’re not always the most weight loss friendly options (unless of course you’re using our healthy bolognaise recipe, found here), or even the most interesting.

Nothing makes you feel more like a domestic goddess than serving up scones for morning tea.

And with this tasty recipe you only need 5 ingredients and not one of them is butter!

If you’re going to have a treat, it’s a much better idea to make your own so that you know it doesn’t contain any additives or preservatives that could hinder your weight loss efforts.

Plus you can also teach your kids how to bake – and maybe one day they will be making these for you.

Why not whip up a batch this weekend?

Most of our time is filled with either work or spending time with our kids so time is always of the essence. Preparing a low-calorie, quick and healthy lunch can be extremely easy if you have got the right recipes to follow.

This Salmon Salad Sandwich recipe will help you achieve your weight loss goals without sacrificing nutrition. Salmon is packed with all the essential ‘healthy’ fatty-acids that can do wonders for your skin and overall health.

Not only that, the pumpernickel bread that is used in this recipe is really good for reducing the calorie count of your post pregnancy diet plan. It’s very low in carbs as it is made out of rye, and it is also high in fibre. Pumpernickel is also loaded with lignans which helps to lower the risk of breast cancer.

When the weather cools down a little there is nothing better than tucking into a steaming hot bowl of soup.

And when the soup has this much flavour and this many healthy ingredients, you can feel good knowing that you’re filling up on a nutritious meal.

Lamb shanks really benefit from long, slow cooking like this.

When cooked in this way the meat just falls off the bone and is super tender and tasty.

This soup is all made in the one pot and reheats well the next day for lunch. The picture doesn’t really do it justice – trust me, you will love this one.

If you love the flavour of pesto but don’t love the calories, try this recipe on for size.

The creaminess of the avocado is the base for some amazing flavours which come from the garlic, coriander and lime.

Serve it hot for dinner and then enjoy it as a delicious cold lunch the next day.