[New shoot]

I know healthy eating and winterval are not natural partners in most minds - including mine, but OH has been on a diet for months now after a lecture from the doctor.  He's done really well and lost loads.  He's not supposed to drink and finds this easy to stick to, but keeps saying it is food he misses  

A few treats are allowed, but anyone got any good ideas for indulgent seeming dishes that are actually pretty harmless  

[compostqueen]

Yes.  Home made soups and casseroles. They can be made cheaply too with in-season vegetables, bulked out with pulses and or some low cost meat cuts. 

I love lamb and lentil casserole served up with a fluffy root mash, using whatever the lotty throws up, be it swede, squash or celeriac, or even a parsnip 

If you plan the meal around what the allotment or garden has to offer you can usually come up trumps 

Dessert wise, tonight I am making a WeightWatchers bread pudding which is so darned tasty you'd never think it was healthy eating. Everyone loves it and I dish it up with low fat custard

[New shoot]

Good ideas    I bulk out all his meals with carbs and veg these days and put pulses into lots of things.

Can I beg the bread pudding recipe as he loves that and its on the illegal list at present 

[mumofstig]

weightwatchers Apple strudel is nice although the filo can be a fiddle 

I used a big cooking apple instead of the 2 eating apples in the recipe
http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=55681

[mumofstig]

ooh just found WW treacle puds 
http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/food/rcp/index.aspx?Renovate=1

[New shoot]

They both look good 

[LilacSandy]

You could also try the Hairy Dieters Cupcakes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/skinny_lemon_cupcakes_15650

[New shoot]

Ooohhhh I've got that Hairy Biker's diet series on the Sky box - must get around to watching it as they have some good ideas as well.  Just found this on the BBC site you posted a link to LilacSandy    OH adores pies and is missing them a lot 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/low-fat_minced_beef_and_34423

[LilacSandy]

I have just brought the book but all the recopies they feature are on the website.  The pies are great, I make them up and freeze them and I am having one tonight.  The marinated chicken is delish.

[compostqueen]

I made the WW bread pudding for tea using some spelt, fig, walnut and orange bread I made the other day, and it was lush. My husband had low fat custard on his but I had a bit of coconut yogurt    My son had a portion and he said that no way was it a skinny recipe 

I'll go and find the recipe and post it here in a mo

[compostqueen]

Spiced Bread Pudding        Serves 8

1 orange,75 g raisins,75 g currants,50 g ready to eat dried apricots, diced.
200 g WW thick sliced wholemeal bread, crusts removed, 275 ml skimmed milk
25 g sunflower spread,1 large beaten egg, 50 g soft dark brown sugar
2 tspn mixed spice

Finely grate the zest from the orange and set aside.
Squeeze the juice from the orange into a large bowl
and add the raisins, currants and chopped apricots.
Cut the bread into half inch (1 cm) pieces and place
in a bowl with the skimmed milk. Leave to soak
for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 160 fan oven or 180  Gas 4
Line the base of a 2 lb loaf tin (the recipe calls
for a l lb tin but my mixture overflowed!)
Just before the 30 minutes bread soaking time is up
melt the sunflower spread (gently) and add it to the
dried fruit, soft brown sugar and mixed spice, orange zest
and the beaten egg.  After the 30 minutes is up add this
mixture to the soaked bread and stir to combine.
Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 1 – 1h 15 mins
until golden and just set. Leave to cool completely.
Remove from the tin and slice into 8 pieces

[New shoot]

Thank you 

[chrissie B]

we did the rosemary conerly diet yeard back and they have cake and recipies that are just like regular food .
chrissie b

[Trillium]

I used to make loads of tarts, pies and cookies but haven't bothered much in the last few years. Just make a batch of shortbread because it's a seasonal treat. Everything else was just too much fat and sugar that we didn't need, and frankly, now we don't miss it. I've been buying more fruit and snack veg like carrots and celery for snacks, and real fruit juices and we all feel better for it.

The main meal for that day is just roast turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, cranberry sauce and hot biscuits, and everyone is too full to even want to hear dessert mentioned. Works for me 

[Madame Cholet]

how about some rally good quality dried fruit, exotic stuff like dates, apricots, figs and mangoes. I've just bought a bulk load from the wholefooders no comparison to the supermarket stuff.