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Recipe #1 - Chicken Pasta 'Alfredo' (approx. 500Kcal per serving)


We all love good food, am I right? (I mean, of course I'm right, it's something we live with every day so you have to enjoy it). 


One thing I've done on my journey is to find ways to eat the dishes I love, but tweaked to fit in with the new lifestyle we're enjoying. If it feels more like a regime than a lifestyle then it's tougher to stick to.


I love chicken pasta alfredo. Creamy, cheesy pasta, spiced chicken breast and a mountain of parmesan. Big, hearty and welcoming. Problem is that the requirements to make a creamy, cheesy pasta is a lot of cream and a lot of cheese. Butter too. Delicious it is, healthy it ain't.


Here's the good thing - every so often it's fine to have the full fat version as an occasional treat. If you're wanting to fit these things into everyday, then you need to be a bit clever and this one is my own recipe. We replace the cream and butter and the like with fat free yoghurt. It's not quite the same but it's more than good enough. It still feels comforting and by using a really strong parmesan to get as much flavour in with as little cheese as possible, you still get a great cheesy kick. Broccoli goes really nicely with this (particularly tenderstem broccoli) which adds a portion of veg to this too. 



This serves three (I cook for two but always make sure there's leftovers for lunch the next day)


2 medium sized chicken breasts, skinless, any bits of fat trimmed off

175g dry pasta

4x heaped tablespoons fat free natural yoghurt

1x heaped teaspoons low fat butter style spread

2x shallots, finely diced

3x cloves of garlic, finely diced

200ml chicken stock

1x teaspoon (heaped) cornflour)

Grated parmesan (the stronger the better)

Splash of skimmed milk

Tenderstem broccoli

Chicken coating:

Smoked paprika

Onion granules

Garlic granules

Salt

Pepper

Dried Oregano


METHOD:

- Trim and butterfly your chicken breast. Use about 1tsp of your herbs and spices and lightlycoat the chicken in them. Season and fry in a frying pan on medium heat with a couple of sprays of 1 calorie cooking spray. Fry on both sides til slightly charred and cooked through then transfer to a plate, cover with foil and leave to rest.

- Cook your pasta in salted boiling water as per packet instructions.


- Fry your diced shallots in the chicken pan with another spray or two of spray until translucent and add your garlic. Add a teaspoon of dried oregano.

- Add the heaped teaspoon of low calorie butter spread and the cornflour, mix well. Add your stock and a splash of skimmed milk. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and leave for 2-3 minutes to thicken.  Season with salt and pepper

- Add your parmesan to taste into your sauce and stir well. Be sparing with it as we'll top the finished dish with a little parmesan as well for flavour.

- Remove your pan from the heat and set to one side.

- Once cooked, add a couple of cooking spoons of pasta water to your pasta sauce and stir in. Drain your pasta and keep it to one side. Boil a kettle

- Two tablespoons at a time, add your fat free yoghurt into the pasta sauce. Taste, adjust seasoning and stir your pasta through. Put back onto a very gentle heat to warm through again. 

- Fill your pasta pan with water from the kettle and boil some tenderstem brocolli for three and a half minutes on a rolling boil.

- Slice your chicken. 


- Plate your pasta, top with some of the sliced chicken and a small grating of parmesan and plenty of black pepper. Top with your broccoli

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