Hi, newbie with no cooking skills!

[**Ella**]

I've just joined, both here and Slimming World (again) and have to say this forum has been a great read. There's so many recipes and tips here that I have never heard at my meetings in the past and I'm hoping I can keep it up this time with the amoount of recipes in this forum to play with.

However, I can't cook! I've tried lots of stuff but it ends up tasting rotten so I usually stick to the same few meals and I get bored.

Today though I made the syn free BBQ Sauce and the cheesecake and have to say the sauce turned out great but the cheesecake not so much. I couldn't find the Alpen light bars so tried it with weetabix but the bottom was so soggy I ended up scraping off the top and now have it in the fridge.....any ideas what else it would taste good on? It's the Quark and Options version and I have to say it's delicious even on it's own!

 

[Aston]

If you really can't cook then have a look at the HExB list of tinned soups, because even if you've already used up your HexB on other things then they're still low syns.

I don't eat meat but our Consultant said that those shake the seasoning in the bag things for chicken (the ones with the really annoying adverts on tv!!) aren't high syn, and that's minimal cooking, just putting it in the oven with superfree veg and it's done. You could have that with boil in the bag rice, because I find they're one of those foods where the cooking times are actually reliable, so the Uncle Ben's ones are done after 10mins on the dot if you boil the water in the kettle first so it's definitely hot when you start.

What are you looking for, dinners or just ideas? The magazine's meant to be quite good. I haven't been on it for long, only on my seventh week but you get more ideas as you go along. The first week I didn't stick to it at all because I had no ideas, second week I ate mostly the same things, and now I have all sorts of different meals so it does get better!!

Good luck

 

[**Ella**]

Thanks Aston. I'm just attempting some of the recipes I see on here and winging it on other things. I've the smash pizza base in the oven now and have just had to fight with it to get it to unstick from the foil hopefully it tastes ok though. I think I just need to keep trying to make things and spend more time in the kitchen and eventually I'll learn to make edible food. I'm too used to convenience food and take aways but I'm enjoying the food so far this week.

Thanks

 

[JackieN]

There are lots and lots of simple recipes on here where you can't go wrong.

What sort of foods do you love to eat then we can help you?

 

[**Ella**]

Hi Jackie, I'm just after simple easy recipes that don't involve lots of prep. I'm seeing lots of recipes on here that look easy enough for me so I've a while list of stuff written out to try in the week ahead.

That smash pizza is one I'll never attempt again though.....I didn't get it right

 

[reginaphalange]

Have you tried pasta quiche? I use packet of bachelors pasta and sauce, 3 eggs, tub of ff cottage cheese mix with half pint of water and lots of veg. Bake in the oven on a highish setting for about 30 mins and you're done. Great hot or cold

 

[Aston]

That sounds really nice.

I tried a couscous omelette, which was just a cup of plain couscous with boiling water which just sits until it gets soft (so no cooking Laura ) then mixed in eggs, cottage cheese and loads of veg until it was thick but passable to pour and cooked it like an omelette finishing it off under the grill. It's basically the same as the pasta one I suppose, but maybe a bit quicker if you're in a rush. You could also put HExA cheese on top, I bet that would be lovely.

It was nice because you could cut it into a wedge and eat it with some salad, as it's got more hold than a regular omelette. I suppose you could use low syn flavoured couscous and it would be even better. Keeps in the fridge too for lunch.

 

[JackieN]

Hi Jackie, I'm just after simple easy recipes that don't involve lots of prep. I'm seeing lots of recipes on here that look easy enough for me so I've a while list of stuff written out to try in the week ahead.

That smash pizza is one I'll never attempt again though.....I didn't get it right

practice makes perfect you can do it.

Not sure if you eat meat or not but what about

Chicken wrapped in bacon? ie chicken breast, wrap bacon round it (cut fat off bacon first) wrap in foil and bake at around 190 for about 40 mins ish, then take foil off and bake for 10 mins to crisp bacon (some put cheese between the bacon and the chicken ie HEXA)


chilli - extra lean minced beef - brown the mince, drain all fat, add one diced onion, two diced carrots, a diced courgette, diced pepper (i use green for this recipe) add water, 2 tsp of mild chilli powder, 1 oxo cube, 2tbsp tomato puree (1 syn) and simmer and serve with rice, or jacket spud, or sw potato wedges?

or a really simple meal sw chips, frylight fried egg , and baked beans or mushy peas

homemade burgers - extra lean mince in a mixing bowl, add finely diced red onion, 2 splashes worcester sauce, tiny bit of chopped parsley, 1 garlic clove or 2 crushed. (I used fresh parsley) mix together, (you can add one beaten egg if its not binding together well) form into balls, flatten into burger shapes and grill until cooked. You could serve in wholemeal roll HEXB with sw chips and salad. These are yummy, mine loved it when I made these, I made mini burgers and popped 3 in each roll, 1 rasher of bacon cooked, and all fat removed, lettuce tomato cucumber, it was lovely

 

[**Ella**]

Thanks for all the advice guys....it's really helpful! I shouldn't have come in here when starving because that Chicken and Bacon idea is making me drool! That will be made on Wednesday (shopping day.....need chicken)

 

[JackieN]

Thanks for all the advice guys....it's really helpful! I shouldn't have come in here when starving because that Chicken and Bacon idea is making me drool! That will be made on Wednesday (shopping day.....need chicken)

The simplest to make yet so yummy

 

[joedenise]

I'd suggest getting a slow cooker. You can just bung in prepared veg, meat and stock and let it cook all day. It takes a bit of time to do the prep but then you just forget about it until you're ready to eat - so no real cooking to do.

I'd be totally lost without mine.

Denise