Weight Loss

Healthy recipes for weight loss 

 RecipesGet It's still possible to eat well while losing weight. Check out our lighter lunch recipes & healthy but satisfying dinners, all for 500 calories or less. 

 

Chicken satay salad

Try this no-fuss, midweek meal that's high in protein and big on flavour. Marinate chicken breasts, then drizzle with a punchy peanut satay sauce

• Healthy
• High-protein
• Low carb

  Nutrition: per serving

  Highlight	Nutrient	Unit
  low in	kcal	353
  low in	fat	10g
  	saturates	2g
  low in	carbs	24g
  	sugars	21g
  	fibre	7g
  high in	protein	38g
  	salt	1.6g

  Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tsp medium curry powder
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 tsp clear honey
  • 2 skinless chicken breast fillets (or use turkey breast)
  • 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (choose a sugar-free version with no palm oil, if possible)
  • 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • sunflower oil, for wiping the pan
  • 2 Little Gem lettuce hearts, cut into wedges
  • ¼ cucumber, halved and sliced
  • 1 banana shallot, halved and thinly sliced
  • coriander, chopped
  • seeds from ½ pomegranate

  Method

  • STEP 1

    Pour the tamari into a large dish and stir in the curry powder, cumin, garlic and honey. Mix well. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 fillets in total, then add to the marinade and mix well to coat. Set aside in the fridge for at least 1 hr, or overnight, to allow the flavours to penetrate the chicken.
  • STEP 2

    Meanwhile, mix the peanut butter with the chilli sauce, lime juice, and 1 tbsp water to make a spoonable sauce. When ready to cook the chicken, wipe a large non-stick frying pan with a little oil. Add the chicken and cook, covered with a lid, for 5-6 mins on a medium heat, turning the fillets over for the last min, until cooked but still moist. Set aside, covered, to rest for a few mins.
  • STEP 3

    While the chicken rests, toss the lettuce wedges with the cucumber, shallot, coriander and pomegranate, and pile onto plates. Spoon over a little sauce. Slice the chicken, pile on top of the salad and spoon over the remaining sauce. Eat while the chicken is still warm.

  

  Broccoli pesto & pancetta pasta

  Serve this healthy bowl of pasta topped with cherry tomatoes for a quick and easy midweek meal. It's tossed with broccoli pesto, and takes just 25 minutes to make

  
  

  • Healthy

  Nutrition: Per serving

  Highlight	Nutrient	Unit
  low in	kcal	452
  	fat	14g
  	saturates	4g
  	carbs	60g
  	sugars	5g
  	fibre	7g
  	protein	19g
  	salt	0.5g

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Ingredients

  • 300g head broccoli, broken into florets
  • 300g pasta (we used orecchiette)
  • 1 tbsp pine nuts
  • 1 large bunch of basil
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 50g smoked pancetta, diced
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved

  Method

  • STEP 1

    Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli and boil for 5 mins. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  • STEP 2

    Put the pasta in the same pan and cook following pack instructions. Meanwhile, tip the broccoli into a food processor with the pine nuts, basil, garlic, parmesan and oil, and blitz until smooth. Season with black pepper and a little salt (the pancetta is very salty).
  • STEP 3

    Set a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the pancetta for 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 mins, or until softened. Toss the pasta with the broccoli pesto, tomatoes and pancetta, and loosen with a splash of pasta water, if needed. Spoon into bowls and serve.

  

  Chicken tacos

  Make these healthy chicken and sweetcorn tacos for an easy midweek meal that's full of flavour. You'll also have leftovers to make wraps for lunch tomorrow

  • Healthy

  Nutrition: Per serving

  Highlight	Nutrient	Unit
  low in	kcal	382
  low in	fat	8g
  	saturates	1g
  	carbs	45g
  	sugars	5g
  	fibre	7g
  	protein	30g
  	salt	0.4g

  Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 2 tbsp taco or fajita seasoning (see tip, below)
  • 5-6 skinless chicken breasts, sliced
  • ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
  • 3 limes, 1 juiced, 2 cut into wedges
  • small bunch of coriander, chopped
  • 4 sweetcorn cob, kernels sliced off, or 400g frozen sweetcorn
  • 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 tbsp fat-free yogurt, to serve
  • chilli sauce, to serve

  • Method

    • STEP 1

      Combine the flour with half the oil and a small pinch of salt in a bowl. Pour over 125-150ml warm water, then bring together into a soft dough with your hands. Cut into six equal pieces, then cut four of the pieces in half again, so you have eight small pieces and two large. Roll all the pieces out on a floured work surface until they’re as thin as you can get them.
    • STEP 2

      Heat a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the small and large tortillas for 2-3 mins on each side until golden and toasted (do this one at a time). Leave the large tortillas to cool, then cover and reserve for use in the lunchboxes (see tip below). Keep the small tortillas warm in foil.
    • STEP 3

      Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken in a bowl, and toss to combine. Toss the cabbage with the lime juice, half the coriander and some seasoning in another bowl, then leave to pickle.
    • STEP 4

      Meanwhile, heat two frying pans over a high heat. Divide the remaining oil between the pans and fry the sweetcorn and a pinch of salt until sizzling and turning golden, stirring occasionally – you want the sweetcorn to char slightly, as this adds flavour, so you may need to leave it to cook undisturbed for a bit. While the sweetcorn cooks and chars, fry the chicken in the larger pan until cooked through and golden (you may need to do this in batches).
    • STEP 5

      Tip the black beans and garlic into the sweetcorn and stir to warm through. Squeeze over two of the lime wedges.
    • STEP 6

      Reserve two spoonfuls each of the chicken (about 1 chicken breast) and sweetcorn mix for use in the lunchboxes (see tip, below), then serve the rest in bowls alongside the cabbage, yogurt, lime wedges, remaining coriander, chilli sauce and tortillas for everyone to dig into.https