Minestrone Soup

Eating soups and salads are a great way to lose weight and to eat your 5 different types of vegetables a day. However, when choosing a salad or soup beware of some of the more fattening ingredients. For example, I would not consider a caesar salad a low fat option as it often includes bacon, croutons, lots of cheese and a creamy dressing (definitely not a health food!!). So when eating in restaurants, check the ingredients in your salads and soups before taking that option.

I've found 2 great healthy recipes from Jamie Oliver, who is always a hit in our house. Here they are....

Early Autumn Minetrone Soup

• 200g cannellini or borlotti beans, fresh, or dried and soaked overnight
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tomato, squashed
• 1 small potato, peeled
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 4 rashers smoked pancetta or bacon (I think the additional fat in this recipe is far outwayed by the health benefits of the other ingredients!!)
• 2 small red onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• half head of fennel, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves and stalks separated
• 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
• a glass of red wine
• 2 small courgettes, quartered and sliced
• 200g chard or spinach, washed and roughly sliced

Add your fresh or dried and soaked beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf, squashed tomato and potato - this will help to flavour the beans and soften their skins. Cook until tender - check by tasting. They must be soft. Dried beans can take up to an hour, but check fresh ones after 25 minutes. Drain (reserving about half a glass of the cooking water), and discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato. Now season with salt, pepper and a spash of oil.

While the beans are cooking, make your soffrito. Heat a good spash of olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped pancetta/bacon, onions, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and the finely sliced basil stalks. Sweat very slowly on a low heat, with the lid just ajar, for around 15-20 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add the tomatoes, courgettes and red wine and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Now add the chard or spinach, stock and beans. Put the dried pasta into a polythene bag, squeeze all the air out and tie the end up. Bash gently with a rolling pin to break the pasta into pieces. Snip the end off the bag and empty the contents into the soup. Stir and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.

If the soup is looking a little too thick, add more stock or some reserved cooking water to thin it down. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Jamie adds to sprinkle with basil leaves (great), extra virgin olive oil (not great) and parmesan cheese (definitely not great!)

Moorish Crunch Salad

• 300g carrots pealed
• 150g radishes
• 2 crunchy eating apples
• 1 small handful raisins or sultanas
• 1 handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon tahini
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in the oven

(Sorry Jamie, I have halved the oil, vinegar and tahini for a healthier option).

First of all, finely slice your carrots into matchstick-sized batons. Finely slice your radishes - you can leave a little of the tops on if you like. Quarter your apples, remove the cores and finely slice. Add all these to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, apart from the sesame seeds. Toss together, carefully checking the seasoning, and serve with the sesame seeds sprinkled over the top. Eat straight away. Serve with grilled chicken or fish.