Diet dishes so tasty you'll pinch yourself!

As cooks determined to get more fit, we realize how significant it isn't to feel denied in the event that you are going to adhere to your good dieting arrangement. 

That is the reason we started our site Pinch Of Nom, to impart to different slimmers tasty approaches to eat all the more strongly and still make the most of your nourishment. 

In light of this, we chose to solicit what formulas guests to Pinch from Nom needed to see — at that point begin making more advantageous adaptations. 

One of the top solicitations was for lower-calorie forms of takeaways, and these formulas have demonstrated a gigantic hit among the 1.5 million clients who normally swing to Pinch Of Nom for motivation.

Our meals don’t taste remotely like ‘diet food’ and, what’s more, because they’ve been carefully calculated to be lower-calorie, they can all be used to complement many popular weight-loss programmes.

This week, we are exclusively sharing some of our favourite Pinch Of Nom dishes with Daily Mail readers.

You’ll find many of these easy meals in our new recipe book, which is brimming with mouth-watering ways to lose weight without compromising on taste or treats.

Today, it’s the turn of our hit take- away and fakeaway recipes, such as super simple chicken curry, onion bhajis and delicious chicken and mushroom stir-fry.

Try them for yourself and see how good healthy food can taste.

Enjoy! (Or, as we would say, Nom, Nom, Nom.)

How our recipes work 

EVERYDAY LIGHT

These are recipes you can have at any time. They’re easy on the calories, filling and perfect for every day.

WEEKLY INDULGENCE

These recipes have one or two ingredients that make them slightly more indulgent, so should be used in moderation.

 

 EVERYDAY LIGHT

Chicken and mushroom stir-fry

+8

'This chicken and mushroom Chinese-style fakeaway is a Pinch of Nom classic. With fresh ingredients and authentic flavours of soy and oyster sauce, you’ll never need to call for a takeaway delivery again'

PREP TIME: 10 mins

COOKING TIME: 20 mins

CALS PER SERVING: 274

• Freezable

One of the most common requests we receive is for quick and simple fakeaway recipes. This chicken and mushroom Chinese-style fakeaway is a Pinch of Nom classic. With fresh ingredients and authentic flavours of soy and oyster sauce, you’ll never need to call for a takeaway delivery again.

Serves 2

• Low-calorie cooking spray

•  1 onion, sliced

• 2 chicken breasts (skin removed), diced

•  1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced

•  1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced

• Handful broccoli florets

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

•  ½ tsp root ginger, finely chopped

• 6 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

• Handful baby corn, roughly chopped

• 200g button mushrooms, sliced

• 4 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar with a little sweetener)

•  ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

• l 250ml beef stock (1 beef stock cube dissolved in 250ml boiling water)

• l Cooked rice or noodles, to serve

Spray a wok or large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.

Add the onion, chicken, peppers, broccoli, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 3 minutes until the onions and peppers start to soften.

Add the spring onions, baby corn and mushrooms and stir-fry for 3 minutes until they start to colour slightly, then add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and black pepper.

Pour in the stock, stir well and turn the heat up to high.

Simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly.

Check the chicken is cooked through before serving with rice or noodles.

 

 Pinch of nom

WEEKLY INDULGENCE 

SAMOSAS  

+8

'Yes, you read correctly: samosas! Making a simple swap from pastry to tortilla wrap instantly brings down the calories. Filled with fresh ingredients, you’ll be reaching for these time and time again'

PREP TIME: 10 mins

COOKING TIME: 15 mins

CALS PER SERVING: 151

• Vegetarian 
• Freezable 
• Gluten free

Yes, you read correctly: samosas! Making a simple swap from pastry to tortilla wrap instantly brings down the calories. Filled with fresh ingredients, you’ll be reaching for these time and time again.

Makes 6

•  2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm (½in) dice

• 75g frozen peas

•  Low-calorie cooking spray

•  ½ onion, diced

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1 tsp grated root ginger

• Generous pinch chilli powder

• ½ tsp ground coriander

•  ½ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp ground turmeric

• ½ tsp garam masala

• 30g fresh spinach

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Sea salt

• 3 low-calorie, gluten-free tortilla wraps, cut in half

• 1 egg, beaten

• Fresh coriander, to serve (optional)

Cook the diced potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Cook the peas in boiling salted water and drain.

Preheat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Spray a pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened but not browned, then add the spices and cook for another minute. Stir in the cooked potato and mash it slightly with a fork or the back of a spoon before adding the uncooked spinach, lemon juice and peas. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Brush the edges of the halved wraps with the beaten egg. Fold each half into a cone shape and seal the edge, leaving the top open to add the filling. Divide the filling equally between the wraps, being careful not to over-fill. If you do, you will not be able to seal them properly. Brush the open end of the wraps with more beaten egg, leave for 30-40 seconds until it becomes tacky, then press the edges together firmly. You can use a fork to do this, but carefully so as not rip the wrap. Arrange the samosas on a baking tray. Brush each sealed samosa with plenty of beaten egg, then place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Serve warm. You can also allow them to cool, wrap in baking parchment and freeze for another day.

 

EVERYDAY LIGHT

Onion Bhajis

+8

'An Indian takeaway-night classic! Here we’ve used some traditional spices and a clever trick to bake the bhajis in the familiar shape (avoiding calorific binding ingredients)'

PREP TIME: 5 mins

COOKING TIME: 20-30 mins

CALS PER SERVING: 59

• Vegetarian 
• Gluten free

An Indian takeaway-night classic! Here we’ve used some traditional spices and a clever trick to bake the bhajis in the familiar shape (avoiding calorific binding ingredients).

MAKES 12 

• Low-calorie cooking spray

• 3 red onions, cut into thin half moons

• 1 sweet potato, peeled, and grated

• 2 medium eggs, beaten

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp garam masala

• Sea salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6 and spray a 12-hole muffin tray with a decent amount of low-calorie cooking spray. Put the onions and sweet potato in a bowl, and add the beaten eggs, spices and salt and pepper. Mix well until everything is thoroughly combined. Divide the mixture equally among the 12 greased moulds in the muffin tray. Press the mixture down firmly and spray the top with more cooking spray.

If you’re making freeform bhajis, roll the mixture into 12 rough balls with your hands. Space them out on a lined baking tray so they are not touching, then spray again with low-calorie cooking spray. Bake the bhajis in the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on size. About halfway through, turn them over using a spatula and spray again with low-calorie cooking spray. If you want them to be crisp, grill for a few minutes once cooked.

 

 EVERYDAY LIGHT

Super simple chicken curry

+8

'Occasionally, the craving for a good Indian dish is overwhelming. We would all love to have the opportunity to create curry pastes and spice mixes from scratch. At times, though, we just need an easy, go-to curry recipe that can be created in minutes. This is one such recipe. Wonderfully tasty, but so quick to put together, it’ll become a favourite'

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

CALS PER SERVING: 181

• Freezable
• Gluten free

Occasionally, the craving for a good Indian dish is overwhelming. We would all love to have the opportunity to create curry pastes and spice mixes from scratch. At times, though, we just need an easy, go-to curry recipe that can be created in minutes. This is one such recipe. Wonderfully tasty, but so quick to put together, it’ll become a favourite.

Serves 4

•  Low-calorie cooking spray

• 1 large onion, sliced

• 450g chicken breast, skin and visible fat removed, and diced

•  3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 400ml water

• 3 tbsp curry powder

• 1 tbsp ground turmeric

• 1 tbsp tomato puree

• Sea salt and ground black pepper

To serve (optional)

•  Samosas (see above)

•  Cooked rice

Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes until softened slightly, then add the diced chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add all the other ingredients. The water should just cover the chicken but you may need more or less depending on the size of your pan. Leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes. Turn the heat up and boil the curry for another 5 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan — this will thicken the sauce slightly. Serve with samosas or rice.

 

EVERYDAY LIGHT 

Salt and pepper chips

+8

'A Chinese takeaway dish popular in northern England, these spicy salt and pepper chips are a Pinch of Nom classic. They have a really authentic flavour but with far fewer calories. You can even keep the par-boiled and seasoned chips in the freezer for a snack emergency'