Since many of us know good food when we see it - this is a thread where we can share some brilliant ideas for really tasty things to eat that are not going to wreck our weight loss.

From time to time I will offer one-off bonus points for posting in this thread.

STOP PRESS - ADDITIONAL ONE-OFF WEEK 1 BONUS ADDED
Many people are reporting excellent weather at the minute. I know that lots of people will have some great ideas of things to eat - particularly in good weather that make losing weight in the summer a little easier. It can be a snack or a meal - but the thing is that it must be ok to eat when trying to lose weight. No need to give the calories or anything. Use one of your own favourites from this year or last year - or copy and paste something that appeals off the internet. Put an entry into the challenge Food Ideas thread and I will give you 3 points. You can even do it before the official start of the challenge if you want and start claiming points already.

Last summer I ate a lot of sugar free jelly. They are really easy to make up - you simply add boiling water to crystals and stir then fill up with cold water and allow to set in the fridge. I throw in fruit and it can make a really yummy snack.

The only problem is that here in England you are pretty limited to the following flavours: strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, lemon/lime, orange.

It is great for so long and then you get sick of this small range of flavours.

I found that by getting gelatine crystals and using low calorie squash (making up the squash to water in the proportions on the bottle) and using boiling water for the first half of the water and cold water for the rest - you could make up jelly of any flavour that you could find low calorie squash in.

This opened up a vast range of flavours. Favourites of mine included:
gooseberry jelly with grapes thrown in
grapefruit jelly with pieces of grapefruit thrown in
It takes the whole experience away from the "children's party" flavours of the bought range.

As an extra free idea from me:

In England you can get a range of yoghurt called Shape lasting satisfaction which is low calorie and labelled fat free (it apparently has less than 1% fat in it though).

Anyway I have discovered that if you put it in the freezer for a while (for my freezer it is between 1.25 hours and 1.5 hours but everyone's freezer runs a bit different) it comes out very like ice cream.

I couldnt say how other yoghurts fare - but it may well be worth experimenting with any low calorie low fat ones that somehow seem to be reasonably thick (as the Shape ones are).

I am currently eating these every day.....

I found that since I am the only person in the house eating fruit, sometimes I can't eat it all in time, and I don't want to throw anything out, so I came up with ways to make use of it....helps if you've got a blender or smoothie maker or something, but a simple mixer will do as well.

Take skimmed milk, add fruit to taste (pretty much everything works), and some low fat or fat free yogurt (read the labe and make sure there's nothing added - I was quite shocked to see what some brands add to their 'natural' yogurt ). Mix up, and stick it in the fridge (as a cold drink), or into the freezer to let it thicken (as ice cream). Personally, I like to add some buttermilk to give it a fresher taste, but easy on the buttermilk - loads of calories. It's also quite difficult to get in the UK, I noticed.

I also tried adding low fat ice cream, which makes it really refreshing, and pretty filling as well!

As for the jelly - try putting some fruit in with it. I usually make up the jelly, then put some fruit (like berries or cherries - bananas don't really work I noticed! *lol*) in a bowl and pour the jelly over it while it's still liquid. Try combining it with ice cream on hot days (there are some really tasty lower calorie ice creams out there), or yogurt, or even a splash of custard. That way I even get the rest of the family to eat fruit! *lol*

I'm addicted to slurpees.

In the hot months I used to have a large slurpee pretty much every day, and the rest of the year it was a couple of times per week at least. The big ones have about 570kcal, and 134g of sugar. Oy.

Since I gave them up I have been making my own at home. I crush a dozen ice cubes, and pour on 1-1.5oz of Rose's lime cordial. 40-60kcal total.

And it tastes fantastic.

Not going to get into portion sizes much here on this one, you can adjust according to how much you need to make for yourself.

Chicken, Broccoli, bean sprout stir fry.

Need:
Boneless breast of chicken (sliced up or cubed)
Broccoli
Bean sprouts
Soy sauce (low salt variety works too if you are watching your sodium),
Clove or two of garlic (crushed, I cheat and use the jarred minced most of the time)
A few slices of ginger root
Chicken stock or buillion (I've used the 99%fat free kind and it works very well)
veggie oil (I prefer sesame or peanut oil, but olive oil works in a pinch)

optional: rice or rice noodles


Heat a large skillet or Wok (if you have one) with a small amount of oil, some of the ginger root and a little bit of the garlic. throw in the chicken and turn over until just cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Adding a bit more oil to the pan, along with a little more of the ginger and garlic, stir fry the broccoli next until it is slightly browned but still crisp on the outside.

Add back in the chicken, the soy sauce (go easy at first, you can always add more later for taste), the chicken stock, bean sprouts, then cover the pan. Let it simmer until the broccoli is at the desired tenderness for you. I usually go for about 5- 10 minutes, I like it to stay crisp. I wait until the last step here to add the bean sprouts because they have a tendency to get limp very quickly.

Notes:
If you are trying to limit carbs, eat it as is. If carbs are not a concern, it is very nice served over rice or rice noodles. The fat content is very low, the protein is fairly high from the chicken breast, and it's tasty. The combination of ginger, garlic and soy sauce really works well together.

Indian Vegetable Curry

I love this recipe and it has 2.2 portions of your 5 a day so its perfect for this weeks challenge too!
Its also not that hard to make

Ohh and also something I am going to try for breakfast tomorrow

Weetabix with low fat yoghurt and strawberries. Sounds YUM!

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

2 cups of rice (I used brown) In the bottom of a baking dish
Chicken slightly cooked on each side (however much ya want/need)
A package of frozen broccolli
2 cans of mushroom soup (i mixed up the cans with water)
Dump the liquid soup both cans over the chicken, broccolli and rice
Cook on 350/400 for however long it takes,lol, you can tell by looking.

Other than the sodium in the soup Id say it is a pretty healthy recipe. My whole family ate this up like there was gonna be no tomorrow, lol. And I have a teenager and a kindergartener, LOL!

One of my favorite things to pack for lunch at work, Gives you that crunchy/sweet/salty thing..........very tasty!

1 can water packed tuna
1 Tablespoon Kraft Mayonaisse w/ Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon sweet pickle relish
2 med slices of red onion, diced
~~~~
2 Wasa Multigrain Crackers

Drain Tuna of water
Mix all wet ingrediants together
Fork on top of crackers
ENJOY!!!

Kimberly's entry moved to the food ideas thread - so that we find it when we are looking for something yummy to eat.

SECOND ONE-OFF WEEK 4 BONUS
A great way of serving vegetables in the summer or for a buffet is with a dip. Kimberly suggested a dip may be a great way of preparing avocado. With this in mind – if anyone posts a healthy diet friendly dip recipe in the food ideas thread – I will give a further 4 points.

CURRY DIP

This recipe was given to me by my friend Teresa. Her curry dip is always very popular at Slimming World parties.

500g fat free fromage frais
4 level tablespoons mango chutney
Curry powder to taste (1 tsp is what she uses)

Remember that if you leave it in the fridge the curry will get stronger.

Here's a nice kind of a dip - not a classic creamy kind of dip, but more of a seasoning or additive, almost. Good on vegetables or rice. Can be added to soup, or salad dressing. No fat but kinda salty.

Soak and then shred/mince/whatever 1 cup of nori and mix it with
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water

Put it all in a saucepan and cover, then simmer until the liquid gets absorbed.

It turns into a kind of paste, almost.

Another use for nori - if you grind it up good in a coffee grinder or similar, you can use it as a salt substitute.

I love hummus, which is a Middle Eastern dip. tahini is a sesame paste, and you can make hummus w/out it. I like to garnish with sesame seeds and a bit of olive oil.

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (optional)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.