no count lunch

No Count Pizza

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No Count Pizza

I do enjoy making pizzas using the WW wraps on No Count, but I decided to try these as I wanted a thicker, ‘breadier’ base. I never thought I’d see the day when I was using yogurt as an ingredient in pizza but the two-ingredient dough has really taken off and you can make it No Count by using oatmeal instead of flour. I made this for one person and, even though it was a small pizza, it was too filling for a lunch so you might want to share this between two

This is free on No Count.  If following WW Freestyle, it’s quite high at 12 points because of the oatmeal used.

Ingredients (makes 1 or 2):

For the base:

  • 100g oatmeal
  • 100g low fat natural yogurt
  • a pinch of salt
  • a tsp of dried oregano

For the topping:

  • 15g tomato puree
  • a tin of tuna in brine
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced
  • sweetcorn
  • 26g Protein cheese
  • 4 olives

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Mix all the ingredients for the base together.
  • Spray a frying pan with low-cal spray and put the mixture into the pan. Use a spoon to spread it out until you’ve made the shape of a pizza base.  (It is very sticky at this stage.)
  • Turn on the heat and cook for a couple of minutes. When it’s firm enough, turn it over for another minute. (You don’t want to cook it the whole way through as it’s going to go in the oven as well.)
  • Cover an oven tray with greaseproof paper and put the base on top. Spread over the 15g tomato puree before adding the other toppings.
  • Place in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes.
  • Serve and enjoy!

This is the oatmeal I use – it’s free on No Count:

This is the part-cooked base, before adding the topping:

Falafel and Butternut Squash Salad

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Falafel and Butternut Squash Salad

I haven’t been tempted to try falafel before but I’m going to try a few more meat-free meals, I am so glad I did!  It’s a very filling lunch and so delicious too!  I trawled through the Internet to find a falafel recipe and then combined a few of them although I am aware that this recipe could probably be out there somewhere:-)  It’s ideal for days like today!

This salad would be free on No Count, and free on WW Freestyle too if you use a calorie-controlled spray instead of olive oil.

Ingredients for the falafel (makes 10 which can serve 2):

  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • a 400g tin of chickpeas
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs
  • the zest of a lemon
  • an egg, beaten

Method:

  1. Heat the oil and fry the onion for a couple minutes, until soft.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes.
  3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put in a bowl. Use a fork to break them down into smaller pieces (or you can blitz them in a food processor if you’d prefer a smoother falafel).
  4. Add the onion and garlic and mix it all together.
  5. Add the cumin, herbs and zest and mix in. Season to taste and then mix in the egg.
  6. Divide the mixture to make 10 balls and then place on a non-stick, or greaseproof papered, baking tray. Leave in the fridge for half an hour.
  7. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  8. Remove from the fridge, spray with Frylight and bake in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes. Turn a couple of times to ensure they are cooked all the way through.

I roasted butternut squash and cherry tomatoes at the same time as cooking the falafel, with a bit of paprika sprinkled on the butternut squash.

Served with a mixed salad and a tbsp of Aldi lighter than light mayonnaise.

Enjoy!

(These can be frozen.  Just take them out when you are ready and let them defrost before warming them up in the microwave.)

No Count Garlic Flatbread

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No Count Garlic Flatbread

I’ve had a few goes at trying to make some sort of bread with oats but none of them have ever been edible:-)  However, I decided to give it one more try this week, as I really fancied some garlic bread to go with my soup, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome – adding the garlic has made all the difference. I will definitely be making this again, and hubby enjoyed it too, but it might not be to everyone’s taste.  If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think.

(The whole recipe works out at 10sp if tracking.)

Ingredients (serves 2 people):

  • 100g oats, blitzed in food processor (or you can use oatmeal)
  • 100g low fat natural yogurt (use 0% if tracking)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp garlic puree or 2 garlic cloves, crushed (you can adjust this amount to taste)
  • 10g plain flour for rolling out the ‘dough’ (5g per person is free)
  • Frylight, or a similar alternative, for cooking

Method:

  1. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, salt and garlic together.
  2. Mix the oats with the baking powder before pouring into the yogurt mixture. Stir until it’s all mixed together and you can form this ‘dough’ into a ball using a spoon.
  3. Sprinkle the flour onto a pastry board and put the dough on it.

You now have two options:

  1. Using a knife, cut the dough into four pieces and roll each one out. You do need to make sure the rolling pin has flour on it as the dough can be very sticky.  Place the four pieces into a frying pan that has been sprayed with Frylight, and cook on both sides for a couple of minutes.  Once cooked, I cut two of the pieces into triangles purely for aesthetic purposes. J (See the first photo above.)
  2. Alternatively, you can split the ‘dough’ into about 10 pieces and roll each of them out into thin strips, in your hands. Place the strips into the frying pan and cook them on both sides for a couple of minutes.  As I turned them over, I did flatten them slightly with a spatula. (See the second photo above.)

I’m looking forward to trying these with the hummus and beetroot dips which can be found at: lovingnocount.com/bruschetta-and-dips/

NB: If you haven’t read the information about blitzed oats, please do so.  It’s on the FAQ page under the ‘No Count Explained’ section.

You can use 10g plain flour to help roll the dough out – this is the tricky bit so make sure you smother the rolling pin with it:-)

I have since made this ‘flatbread’ using oatmeal which is free on No Count and it’s just as good taste-wise.  The mixture is even stickier though but I’ve found that if you mix the ingredients together and leave it to stand for ten minutes, it is slightly easier to flatten into small pieces using your hands – no need for flour and rolling.