12 Tasty, Slimming-friendly Recipe Ideas You Need to Try This Spring
It’s official – spring has finally arrived! Even if the sun isn’t shining just yet, the promise of brighter, lighter days is on the horizon. After a long, cold winter eating hearty stews and warming soups, now’s the perfect time to start thinking about switching up your weekly menu.
As well as adding in some dishes that use up the best fruit and vegetables that the season has to offer, it’s always nice to celebrate spring with vibrant flavours that’ll see you through to summer. We’ve rounded up 12 delicious dishes you’ll love eating through spring and beyond!
Eating seasonally
In March and April we usually see the supermarket shelves full of locally grown green goodness. Leeks and spring onions are some of the earliest crops to be harvested, and the light, fresh flavours are exactly what you want to be eating as the weather warms up.
Cooked until they release their natural sweetness, leeks are the star of the show in this creamy Cheesy Leek Risotto. Ideal for enjoying in springtime, it’s warming enough to eat on chillier days, but it still brings a lovely freshness to the table.
You might also notice purple sprouting broccoli has started to appear on the shelves over the last couple of weeks. Cheapest while it’s in season, this colourful veggie is packed with antioxidants, and has a lovely nutty, slightly peppery taste.
Use it in any recipe where you would usually add normal broccoli – it’ll work just as well. We like to sub it into this Baked Garlic Salmon in place of tenderstem.
New potatoes are a spring essential. The little baby spuds are harvested much earlier than their full-size counterparts, and the sight of a bowlful of Potato Salad is a surefire sign that the season is underway.
Whether you dish it up with a leafy salad, or spoon some onto your plate with chicken or fish, our lighter recipe is delicious. Instead of the full-fat mayo that shop-bought potato salad is made with, we’ve coated ours in a quark and natural yoghurt combo. Trust us, it cuts down on the calories without compromising on the creaminess.
You can find out more about which fruits and vegetables are in season during March and April in our seasonal recipe roundup article here.
Fresh flavours
After a winter of heavy, rich dishes, it’s nice to add some lighter recipes into your meal plan over the spring months. With zesty lemon and seasonal spinach in the mix, this Lemon Chicken and Spinach Pasta is a tasty transition from winter to spring.
The silky sauce is made by combining light spreadable cheese with Parmesan, to get a taste of luxury, without all the calories of a cream-based sauce. In fact, you can twirl up forkfuls of this filling tagliatelle for just 276 calories per serving.
Spring and lamb go hand in hand, with it being a popular choice for serving over the Easter period. Throw in some mint and you’ve got a flavour combo that will liven up your midweek menu every time.
These Minted Lamb Kebabs are made from chunks of tender lamb, marinated in a mixture of mint and yoghurt. Threaded onto skewers with onion and peppers, they’re quick to cook and they pair perfectly with rice – or you can make an even lighter meal and serve with a fresh green salad.
Lamb isn’t the leanest meat, so it’s easy to think it can’t be slimming friendly. These kebabs use fat-free Greek yoghurt and lots of veg so we’re not adding too many extra calories – perfect if you’re trying to eat healthily!
Wondering what to serve for Easter dinner this year? Our Lamb Steaks with Redcurrant and Rosemary Gravy are just the showstopper you’re looking for. We’ve used juicy redcurrant jelly to give our homemade gravy its irresistible sweetness, and simmered the steaks until tender to serve with plenty of tender, crunchy veggies and creamy mashed potatoes.
Gather up all the spring vegetables from the supermarket and turn them into this Chicken and Spring Vegetable Risotto. With leeks, spring onion and chopped spring greens, it’ll make the most of the harvest, while filling your plate with creamy chicken and arborio rice.
Like any risotto, this one takes a little bit of effort and patience, but it’s well worth it for the light, delicate flavour. For 316 calories per portion, this slimming-friendly recipe is a must-have addition to your meal plan for March, April and beyond.
We love to eat fish any time of year, but there’s something about the flavours of this Filo Fish Pie that make it especially delicious in the springtime. The cod, haddock and prawns are cooked in a melt-in-the-mouth sauce that’s oh-so-creamy, even without full-fat milk and butter involved.
With leeks and peas in the mix, you get the freshness of spring vegetables, all topped with a light, crispy filo pastry. Who said pie had to be a stodgy winter comfort food?
Thai recipe is exclusive to our Quick and Easy cookbook (you’ll find it on page 175!). If you don’t already have a copy, you can pick one up here.
Spring soups and salads
Caught between winter soups and summer salads? Mix and match a bit of both into your menu for the next couple of months, and you’ll be prepared for whatever weather the Great British springtime decides to bring!
This tangy Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Soup is perfect for chillier days; filled with goodness, really flavourful and just 168 calories. It gets a sweet, smoky taste from roasted red peppers and tomatoes, which pairs beautifully with the crumbly, salty feta cheese.
If you need something even heartier, put those seasonal leeks to good use in this warming Chicken, Leek and Barley Soup. Perfect for lunch, the high-fibre pearl barley will fill you up and keep you going right through until dinnertime.
This is such an easy recipe that’s on the table in under an hour. At just 126 calories per bowlful, spring dishes don’t come much more slimming friendly than this one.
On the days when it really feels like spring has sprung, you might fancy a plateful of crunchy, fresh veggies. Thanks to handfuls of fresh and store cupboard herbs, this Herby Chicken Salad is just the ticket.
The lemony chicken is also flavoured with sumac – a spice with a really refreshing citrus taste. Cooked until tender and juicy, it brings the whole salad together. Easy and speedy, this is a lunch option you’ll turn to time and time again.
Sometimes you need a salad with a little more substance to it. Because everything tastes better when you add pasta, we love to mix it into our favourite salads to bulk them out and make them more filling. While you could make yourself this tasty Greek-style Pasta Salad, we think this Tuna Niçoise Pasta Salad is perfect for spring.
With hard-boiled eggs and tuna, this salad packs in the protein to balance out the pasta. You’ll love the light, yoghurt-based dressing we’ve made to keep this slimming friendly: it gives you all the creaminess, for far fewer calories.
Tell us which of our 12 tasty, slimming-friendly recipes you try this spring!
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