The Biggest Loser Cookbook Part 27

Put a dry frying pan over a high heat and add the pine nuts. Use a wooden spoon to move them about and make sure they don't burn; as soon as they begin to change colour and smell toasted, take the pan off the heat.

Put the warm orange slices in a serving dish, add the yogurt, scatter the toasted pine nuts over it, and drizzle the honey on top. Serve immediately.

B C D.

Allow yourself another teaspoon of pine nuts or 3 more almonds (this adds 35 calories) and also double the quant.i.ty of yogurt (this adds 25 calories)

see all desserts DESSERTS.

Dried apricot fool

You'll feel naughty eating this intensely rich dessert. It doesn't look or taste as though it should be on a weight-loss programme - and yet it is.

CALORIES PER PORTION 255 kCals serves 2 12 dried apricots, finely chopped juice of 1 orange 75 g (3 oz) low-fat greek yogurt 2 tablespoons low-fat creme fraiche Put the apricots in a small non-stick pan with the orange juice. Warm them over a medium heat, stirring, until the juice bubbles and the apricots start to soften. Continue stirring until the juice has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and empty the apricots into a bowl. Mash them up a little with a fork, then leave to cool.

Once the apricots are cool, add the yogurt and creme fraiche to the bowl and stir everything together well. Spoon the mixture into two ramekin dishes or small gla.s.ses, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

B.

If you have a sweet tooth, add 1 teaspoon clear honey to the top of each serving (this adds 25 calories)

C.

Have a brandy snap biscuit as well (this adds 60 calories)

D.

Have 2 brandy snap biscuits as well (this adds 120 calories)

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Nectarines in wine

A light, fragrant pudding for those long summer evenings. And the bonus is that the wine it contains doesn't count as part of your treats allowance!

CALORIES PER PORTION 165 kCals serves 2 3 large nectarines or peaches 175 ml (6 fl oz) rose wine a 2 cm (just under 1 inch) piece of cinnamon stick 3 cloves 1 tablespoon caster sugar Cut the nectarines in half and twist to remove one half from the stone. Cut or pull the stone from the remaining half. Slice each half into 3 segments.

Put the wine, cinnamon, cloves and sugar in a saucepan and warm it over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the slices of fruit and raise the temperature until the wine begins to boil. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the nectarine skins show the first signs of separating from the fruit.

Remove the nectarine slices from the wine using a slotted spoon, and put them in 2 serving dishes. Continue boiling the liquid, stirring, until it has reduced by about half - this will probably take a further minute or two. Remove the piece of cinnamon and the cloves, and spoon the spiced wine over the nectarines. Serve immediately.

B.

Have 1 heaped tablespoon of low-fat Greek yogurt with the nectarines as well (this adds 25 calories)

C.

Have a brandy snap biscuit as well (this adds 60 calories)

D.

As for B and C combined (this adds 85 calories)

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Fruit kebabs

All the desserts in this book are good... but if the team were voting for their favourite, it would have to be this one!

CALORIES PER PORTION 230 kCals serves 2 1 small to medium banana 1 nectarine 4 small ready-to-eat stoned prunes or dried apricots juice of half a lemon 1 tablespoon clear honey 50 ml (2 fl oz) water 100 g (312 oz) good-quality vanilla ice cream Soak 2 bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes (or use metal skewers). Preheat the oven to 220C (425F) Gas mark 7.

Peel the banana and cut it into 8 pieces. Cut the nectarine into pieces roughly the same size. Thread a prune or apricot onto one of the skewers and push it to the end, then fill up the skewer, alternating banana and nectarine along it, and ending up with another prune or apricot. Fill the second skewer in the same way and then put them both on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the lemon juice.

Put the honey in a small non-stick pan and add the water. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes, by which time the honey and water will have reduced to a syrup. Drizzle this over the kebabs, then put the dish in the preheated oven. Bake for 3 minutes, then turn the kebabs and cook for another 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and use a fork to slide the fruit off each kebab into a serving dish. Carefully spoon what is left of the syrup over them (caution: this is very hot). Allow the kebabs to cool slightly, and then add the ice cream. Serve immediately.

B.

Increase the amount of ice cream to 150 g (5 oz) between the 2 servings (this adds 50 calories)

C.

Increase the amount of ice cream to 200 g (7 oz) between the 2 servings (this adds 100 calories)

D.

As for C, and have a fan wafer biscuit each as well (this adds 145 calories)

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Vanilla rhubarb with honey & ice cream

Serve the rhubarb hot or cold, as you prefer, but the hot version melts the ice cream making a lovely gooey mess.

CALORIES PER PORTION 200 kCals serves 2 125 g (4 oz) rhubarb, trimmed and chopped 3 teaspoons clear honey a few drops of vanilla essence 125 ml (4 fl oz) water 150 g (5 oz) good-quality vanilla ice cream Put the rhubarb in a non-stick saucepan and add the honey, vanilla essence and water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes or until the pieces of rhubarb start to fall apart. Mix to make a puree.