Having a big weekend menu planned doesn’t mean you have to gain weight or fall off the wagon with your weight loss plan.
Infact you can still cook amazing recipes but they don’t have to be full of fat and calories.  We have created two menus for you below and we hope that you love all the recipes as much as we do!

Menu Choice 1

Pea & Mint Soup

Pea and mint soup is a classic light starter and the combination of the peas, spring onions and mint makes for a vivid green soup.
Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 900g frozen petit pois (or fresh if you can find them, but only use really fresh peas)
• 1.25 litres hot vegetable stock (just put it into a saucepan and warm it over a low heat)
• 1 potato
• ½ small bunch of mint or around 7-8 fresh leaves, picked and finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Method of Preparation:

1. Finely slice the spring onions, leaving one or two spring onions to sprinkle over the top of the soup to serve. Finely dice the potato.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and potato and cook for 5 minutes, without browning, until the onion and the potato have softened.
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the potato is tender and then add the peas. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the peas are tender.
4. Remove from the heat and then put into a blender with the mint and some salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. To serve, heat through in a clean saucepan and divide between 8 bowls. Top with the rest of the sliced onions.

Recipe serves 8. Calories per serving: 113. Serve with some seeded bread or some wholemeal rolls. 

Roast Lemon & Thyme Lamb

This roast lamb recipe looks super impressive, but in reality, is a really simple way to feed your family. The side dishes are also super simple to prepare.
Ingredients:

• 1.75kg leg of lamb
• 3 onions
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 tbsp. light cream cheese
• 3 carrots
• 3 red onions
• 3 parsnips (or sub the veggies for any veggies that you and your family prefer)
• 1 tsp. mixed dried herbs

Method of Preparation:

1. Remove the peel from the lemon. Slice the peel into 20 pieces. Remove the smaller sprigs of thyme from the thyme sprigs, so you have about 20 small sprigs of thyme.
2. Heat the oven to 180C. Thickly slice the onions and lay them in the bottom of a roasting tin with a dash of water.
3. Rub the lamb with half of the oil and season well. Stab with a sharp knife all over, about 20 times, turning your knife as you stab the meat, so that you create fairly deep holes in the lamb.
4. Stuff the holes you made with the lemon and thyme pieces. Place onto the onion rings, then roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. These timings will give you medium to well-done roast lamb.
5. Rest for 30 minutes under foil before carving and serving.
6. For the side dishes: cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds and pith. Lay flesh side up in a roasting tin, season with salt and pepper and cover with foil. Roast for an hour or so at 180C, until tender but not blackened, and then leave until it is cool enough to handle and scrape the flesh out with a fork. Mash with the cream cheese and season well with salt and pepper.
7. Peel the carrots, onions and parsnips. Roughly chop the veggies so they are all of an even size. Toss with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper and mixed dried herbs and roast for 45 minutes or so at 180C until tender.

Recipe serves 8. Calories per serving: 382. Add garlic to the lamb if you like – slice it thinly and stuff it into the holes along with the lemon and thyme.

Chocolate & Pear Puds

Nothing says Easter more than chocolate, and making a pud from fruit and chocolate is an excellent way to lower the fat and calorie content of a more traditional chocolate dessert. It does contain sugar, but it works out to only about 7g of sugar per person.
Ingredients:

• 6 ripe pears
• Juice of 1 whole lemon
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. water
• 50g ground almonds
• 30g Natvia natural sweetener or Agave natural sweetener
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 egg whites

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 140C. Peel, core and finely dice the pears. Put the pears, honey, lemon juice and water into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, cover and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes or so until tender.
2. Spoon into 8 ramekins. Sift the Natvia and cocoa powder together and stir in the almonds. Beat the eggs white until stiff peaks form and then fold into the Natvia and cocoa mixture. Once smooth, spoon onto the pear mixture. Smooth out the tops and then bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping is set.

Recipe serves 8. Calories per serving: 140. Make this with raspberries, strawberries or oranges instead of pears if you like – just adjust the cooking times accordingly.

Menu Choice 2

Garlicky Roast Asparagus & Tomatoes with Olives              

Ingredients:

• 750g cherry tomatoes, vine ripened if you can find them
• 6 garlic cloves
• 24 asparagus spears
• Small handful pitted black olives
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Method of Preparation:

1. Peel and halve the garlic cloves. Snap the woody ends off of the asparagus spears – they will bend naturally where you need to snap them.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Stab each tomato with a fork. Toss the tomatoes, salt and pepper, half the olive oil and halved garlic cloves together in a roasting tin.
3. Roast for 15 minutes and then push to one side in the roasting tin. Toss the asparagus spears with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper and then lay them flat in the roasting tin. Roast for 15 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the dish with the olives, toss to coat the olives with the roasting juices and then serve immediately.

Recipe serves 8, calories per serving: 92. Serve with some toasted pitta bread

Basil Roast Chicken

This simple basil roast chicken is served with a side dish of sweet roasted shallots and tender peas. If you want to use a different herb, omit the basil and use the herb of your choice.
Ingredients:

• 2 x 1.5kg chickens, innards removed
• 800g shallots
• 800g peas (use frozen or fresh)
• 500ml chicken stock
• Small handful fresh basil, chopped
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 170C.
2. Peel the shallots and leave them whole. Heat ½ tbsp. of oil in a frying pan. Add the shallots. Fry for 10-15 minutes until golden and slightly softened. Tip the shallots into a large roasting tin. Stick the chickens on top of the shallots and rub with the rest of the olive oil. Season inside and out, and put half of the basil inside the cavities of the chickens, leaving half of the basil to scatter over the chicken later.
3. Roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the juices of the chicken run clear. Remove the chicken and put under foil to rest.
4. Put the tin on the hob. Skim off any fat, (or put an ice cube into the dish – it will solidify the fat and make it easier to remove) add the stock and then bring to the boil, stirring to remove any stuck bits.
5. Stir in the peas and the rest of the basil. Simmer until the peas are cooked, then serve immediately, topped with the roast chicken.

Recipe serves 8-10. Calories per serving: 415. Remove the skin before eating to keep this dish low in fat and calories.

Silky Chocolate Mousse

This smooth and creamy chocolate mousse tastes so velvety, you’d think it was full of heavy cream – but it’s not!
Ingredients:

• 340g silken tofu
• 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 340g dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1-3 tbsp. runny honey (optional, if the chocolate you use is relatively sweet you won’t need to add any sweetener)

Method of Preparation:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water.  Put the tofu, cocoa powder, melted chocolate, vanilla, salt, milk and honey (if using) into a blender. Blitz until very smooth and creamy then spoon into 8 glasses. Leave to chill in the fridge before serving.

Recipe serves 8. Calories per serving: 140. Serve this with some raspberries or strawberries. If you like, make it with white or milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.
To see our 28 Day Diet & Exercise plans with HEAPS more delicious recipes click here
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