Pinch of Nom’s January Recipe Roundup

The first chapter of the year is all about using the power of food to bust those January blues, so we’ve been hard at work crafting day-brightening dishes you can count on time and time again. From a dreamy Biscoff breakfast to hearty one-pot warmers and oh-so-cheesy oven bakes, this is your cue to grab a pen – you’ll definitely want to scribble these in the diary pages of your Family Meal Planner!

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Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Lasagne

Topped with golden, melted Cheddar, our Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Lasagne hits the spot every time. We love rising to the challenge of putting a twist on a classic, and we’ve definitely outdone ourselves by putting a creamy chicken spin on Lasagne. 

Just as cheesy as the traditional dish, we’ve baked our pasta layers together with a velvety filling of tender chicken pieces, mushrooms and leeks. Every forkful is so silky and satisfying, you’d never guess we’ve prepared it without an actual pot of cream in sight.

The flavours alone will make you feel like celebrating, so it’s no surprise that it’s a part of our Special Occasion category at 542 calories per serving!

Biscoff and Banana Porridge

If you’re struggling to get out of bed on darker, colder mornings, our Biscoff and Banana Porridge is pure motivation in a bowl. The perfect way to make the most of the jar of Biscoff spread sitting in your store cupboard, we’ve topped cinnamon and vanilla-infused oats with dollops of spread and slices of fresh banana. 

While we’ve used oat milk to keep the calories lower, there’s nothing to stop you swapping in your preferred milk alternative. Just remember to work out any additional calories, if you’re counting.

It’s no secret that we love any opportunity to work Biscoff into our slimming-friendly routine. We’ve got a full list of recipes to make with Biscoff here!

Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings

What even are January blues? It’s easy to forget they exist when our Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings is bubbling away. Whether you’re following a resolution to eat less meat or enjoying a vegetarian diet full time, this dish will warm you up without taking you off track.

It’s up to you whether you simmer your stew in the oven or the slow cooker; either way, the sauce will be irresistibly rich and creamy and your veggies will be cooked to perfection.

The real winners for us are the fluffy, cheesy dumplings. They add a new layer of wholesome comfort…

Cranachan

With a dram of Scotch whisky in the mix, our take on Cranachan was made for grown-ups. Thanks to a clever combination of cream cheese, honey and light double cream alternative, there’s no need to miss out on one of Scotland’s most popular puddings. 

Alongside bursts of sweetness from fresh, juicy raspberries, every spoonful has a moreish crunch from our topping of golden, toasted oats. Not bad at all for 250 calories per serving!

This isn’t the first Scottish-inspired classic that’s received a Pinch of Nom makeover. Our go-to recipes for slimming-friendly Burns Night celebrations are here.

Chilli Bombs

If Chilli con Carne is a midweek staple in your household, you’ll love taking things up a notch with our Chilli Bombs. While each of our chilli-loaded parcels comes bursting with flavour, we’ve made sure they’re lighter than you’d expect at 329 calories per serving. 

Using low-calorie tortilla wraps to form our crispy, oven-baked shells, we’ve not skimped on the all-important cheesy topping either. 

They’re an instant winner served on their own, or you can bulk them out with a side of leafy greens or oven chips – it depends how hungry you are!

We’ll take any excuse to crack out the sour cream and salsa; we’ve thought of even more delicious ideas to level up your leftover portions of chilli here.

Chicken, Leek and Barley Soup

We’re firmly embracing soup season with our Chicken, Leek and Barley Soup recipe. Made with tender chicken, flavoursome leeks and filling pearl barley, this nourishing broth is begging to be enjoyed with a crusty wholemeal bread roll.

By adding pearl barley to our pot, we’ve made sure every spoonful leaves you feeling fuller for longer. Pop it in your soup flask for a lunchtime treat that’ll definitely see you through until it’s time for dinner.

Meatball Stroganoff

An oldie but a goldie, it’s no surprise that our Beef Stroganoff is still a firm favourite in our Facebook group. We wanted to find a whole new way to appreciate the same rich, creamy flavours, and that’s how our Meatball Stroganoff began. 

By using juicy meatballs instead of beef strips, we’ve added an extra-special touch to a familiar crowd-pleaser. A freezer-friendly dream, it pairs beautifully with rice, steamed veggies or mashed potatoes. We know what we’re having for dinner tonight!

Chocolate Swirls

This puff pastry delight only uses two ingredients (yes, really!). The perfect pairing with a cuppa, our Chocolate Swirls will satisfy your sweet cravings every time. Using light puff pastry and lower sugar chocolate syrup, we’ve recreated a bakery-quality treat for a fraction of the calories.

At 82 calories per swirl, we’d say rustling up a batch is well worth donning your apron. The trick with swirls is rolling the pastry straight from the fridge – it’s ten times easier to handle when you work with it from chilled.

Pesto Chicken Orzo

Fast becoming our favourite pasta variety, we can’t let a week go by without popping orzo in the pan. You can always trust orzo dishes to be big on flavour for next to no effort, and our Pesto Chicken Orzo is no different.

The rice-like orzo pasta gives the whole dish a risotto-style silkiness, without the need to keep stirring and stirring. Once the succulent chicken thighs, juicy roasted tomatoes, crunchy green beans and pesto are combined, your oven will do most of the work for you. 

This one-pot wonder is hearty enough to enjoy on its own, but we won’t say no to a piece of Cheesy Garlic Bread if we’re feeling extra indulgent.

Bolognese Quesadilla

We had so much fun reinventing our stroganoff, we went and did it all over again with another batch-cook wonder: Spaghetti Bolognese. Inspired by Mexican street food, we’ve given spag bol night a crispy transformation with our Bolognese Quesadilla.

To keep the calories lower without compromising on fiesta-style deliciousness, we’ve used low-calorie tortilla wraps and reduced-fat cheese.

The best part about this recipe is that it’s always simple and quick to make, even if you’re preparing the bolognese filling from scratch.  

Breakfast Traybake

You might not think your oven can help you with the washing up, and yet our Breakfast Traybake begs to differ. With eggs, sausages, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast all in one dish, you’re set to spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your day. It’s not just low in dirty pans and dishes – it’s lower in calories too! 

Once your oven has worked its magic, your fuss-free brekkie is ready to enjoy (you might notice we’ve sliced our toast into ‘soldiers’ to ramp up the fun!). 

Tuscan Chicken Macaroni

If you love the flavours in our Creamy Tuscan Chicken dish, this Tuscan Chicken Macaroni is truly exceptional. You can tell just from looking at it that it’s seriously cheesy, and we’ve added pops of colour with juicy roasted tomatoes and leafy green spinach.

Even though we’ve not been stingy with the Parmesan, every portion still comes in at 430 calories. Try it on its own or plate it up with a side of green veggies – getting on your way to 5-a-day never tasted so good!

Psst! It’s also super tupperware-friendly, so you’ll definitely want to save your leftovers for lunch the next day.

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If you’ve got a minute, why not pop by our Facebook group to let us know which of our latest recipes you’ll be cooking up first? There are almost 1 million members in the group so it’s the place to be for slimming inspiration, motivation, recipe ideas and more!