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After standing out in the freezing cold garden enjoying some fireworks, head back inside and warm up by tucking into one of these comfort recipes – they're sure to go down well with the whole family!
Toad in the hole
Serves 4 - 323 kcals per serving
Kcals |
323 |
Fat |
11.3g |
Sat fat |
4.1g |
Carbs |
33.4g |
Sugar |
7.9g |
Fibre |
3.4g |
Protein |
23.1g |
Salt |
1.96g |
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 8 thick low-fat pork sausages
- Low-cal cooking spray
- 100g plain flour
- 1 medium egg
- 300ml skimmed milk
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper, to season
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6.
- Tip the onion into a small shallow non-stick tin.
- Arrange the sausages on top of the onions, then spray lightly with the low-cal cooking spray and roast for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make your batter. Sift the flour into a bowl, drop the egg into the centre and beat in the milk a little at a time until it makes a smooth batter.
- Stir in the mustard and thyme and season.
- Pour the batter into the hot tin and return to the oven for 40 minutes until the batter has risen and is golden.
Pulled pork baps
Serves 6 - 497 kcals per serving
Kcals |
497 |
Fat |
17.5g |
Sat fat |
5.9g |
Carbs |
46.8g |
Sugar |
16.7g |
Fibre |
5.8g |
Protein |
41.2g |
Salt |
1.73g |
Ingredients
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1kg pork shoulder joint, boned with rind attached and tied
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 heaped tbsp tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
- 4 tbsp barbecue sauce
- 6 medium wholemeal rolls
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C Fan/Gas mark 3. Mix the mustard powder, paprika, salt and pepper, and rub this all over the pork, making sure you rub it into all the crevices.
- Scatter the onions and bay leaf in the bottom of a large roasting tin. Place the pork, rind-side up, on top of the onions.
- Pour 200ml water into the tin, wrap well in tin foil and cook for 4 hours.
- Mix the ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar together.
- Remove the pork from the tin and pat dry. Place the roasting tin on the hob, pour in the ketchup mixture and heat for 10-15 minutes until starting to thicken.
- Remove the bay leaf and pour the sauce into a food processor; blitz until smooth. Smear half the sauce mixture over the meat.
- Grill the pork for 10-15 minutes on each side until a little charred.
- Place the pork on a large plate and remove the string. Peel off the skin and then using a pair of forks, shred the meat into chunky pieces.
- Add the barbecue sauce to the meat and toss everything well to coat. Pile into rolls and serve with extra sauce.
Slow cooker bean chilli
Serves 4 - 482 kcals per serving
Kcals |
482 |
Fat |
6g |
Sat fat |
1g |
Carbs |
92.1g |
Sugar |
11.2g |
Fibre |
12.6g |
Protein |
18.1g |
Salt |
0.82g |
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin kidney beans, drained
- 1 tin borlotti beans, drained
- 80g mushrooms
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- Salt and pepper
- 300ml water
- 300g dried long grain rice, to serve
Method
- To a slow cooker, add the olive oil, onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and borlotti beans.
- Tip in the mushrooms and spices, then season well. Top everything up using the water.
- Stir well. Cook on a low heat for a few hours.
- Just before serving, cook rice according to pack instructions. Serve with a generous ladle of piping hot chilli on top.
Pumpkin curry
Serves 2 - 366 kcals per serving
Kcals |
366 |
Fat |
15.9g |
Sat fat |
7.3g |
Carbs |
48.5g |
Sugar |
16.1g |
Fibre |
8.4g |
Protein |
10.4g |
Salt |
0.19g |
Ingredients
- 120ml half fat crème fraîche
- 1 tsp cumin
- Handful of chopped fresh coriander
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 medium pumpkin
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 8 cauliflower florets, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 100g mushrooms, diced
- 50g spinach, roughly chopped
- 200g cooked basmati rice
Method
- Mix all the spices with the crème fraîche and leave the mixture overnight.
- Hollow out the pumpkin and bake the pumpkin shell in the oven for 30-45 minutes at 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6, until softened.
- Dice up the flesh and once the shell has been cooking for 20 minutes, add this to the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
- Whilst the pumpkin is cooking, heat a saucepan over a medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the cauliflower, onion, garlic and mushrooms and fry for 8-10 minutes.
- When the pumpkin flesh is cooked, add it to the other vegetables along with the spinach.
- Get the crème fraîche sauce out of the fridge and stir into the vegetables for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
- Mix in the cooked rice and spoon the mixture into the pumpkin shell to serve.
Fudge & apple cookies
Serves 16 - 128 kcals per serving
Kcals |
128 |
Fat |
5.1g |
Sat fat |
3g |
Carbs |
19.6g |
Sugar |
9.9g |
Fibre |
0.8g |
Protein |
1.7g |
Salt |
0.03g |
Ingredients
- 75g soft butter
- 100g demerara sugar
- 1 large egg
- 125g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 70g fudge pieces
- 125g Bramley apple, peeled and finely diced
- 60g rolled oats
Method
- Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
- Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and fudge pieces and mix them into the creamed butter mix.
- Add the apple to the mix quickly after dicing to stop it discolouring.
- Take two large pieces of cling film and sprinkle a line of oats down the middle of each. Scoop half the dough onto each and sprinkle with more oats, before using the cling film to roll the dough into a 1-inch wide sausage shape.
- Freeze for 20-30 minutes or chill in the fridge for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Take the solid cookie dough out and unwrap it before slicing each log into 8 pieces.
- Place the pieces on the baking paper and top with any remaining oats. Bake for 12-14 minutes in the centre of the oven. The edges will be set but the middle should be a little soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Nutritionist Beth Furness (ANutr), holding a BSc in Nutrition and Health, is deeply dedicated to applying evidence-based knowledge to all aspects of nutrition. Her passion lies in fostering healthy relationships with food, ensuring that everyone maintains a balanced and sustainable approach to nutrition.