The Weekly Challenge: Our Tastiest Submissions
If you’ve been following along on our social channels, you might have spotted that the Weekly Challenge was back for 2023! Celebrating the launch of Pinch of Nom Enjoy, over the last few weeks we’ve been asking you to share photos of what you’ve been cooking, and we’ve loved seeing each and every one.
Don’t worry if you missed out on any of the action, in this roundup we’ll be putting some of the tastiest-looking submissions into the spotlight!
What is the Weekly Challenge?
For anyone who’s new to Pinch of Nom or hasn’t gotten around to following us on Facebook or Instagram yet, the Weekly Challenge might be unfamiliar. It’s a ‘just for fun’ challenge that we like to run to celebrate the publication of our cookbooks. Each week we look at a new chapter of the book and ask you all to show us what you’ve been cooking (and there’s usually some epic Pinch of Nom goodies up for grabs for taking part).
Throughout January and February we’ve been asking you to get stuck into our latest book, Enjoy, and we’ve loved seeing the recipes you’ve been making.
Breakfasts
Starting strong with breakfast recipes, you lovely lot have been busy cooking up all of the sweet and savoury brekkies from the book. We’re not surprised to see how popular this Creamy Strawberry French Toast has been – how could you say no to the creamy filling, sweet strawberries and crispy bread?
Feast your eyes on this plate made by Debi_R. Perfectly golden and topped with a fresh strawberry, we bet it went down a treat with their morning cuppa!
You might think this Viking Toast recipe looks familiar – it went viral online in January and it’s easy to see why. Inspired by our hit Viking Pork recipe, we’ve made a cheesy toast topping and grilled it until it’s melted and irresistible.
A speedy brunch with bold flavours, take a look at this version cooked up by Julie Campbell. What a tasty way to start the day!
If you like your breakfast fully loaded, get a load of this Fry-Up Frittata recipe. We’ve packed all the best bits of a cooked breakfast into a perfectly cooked frittata that you can slice up and enjoy at home, or on the go.
It’s so easy to make this recipe your own, simply by switching out any bits you don’t like or using vegetarian alternatives to make it meat-free. We can’t take our eyes off the one that Grace has whipped up – it’s so golden and gorgeous!
Fakeaways
We never need an excuse to drool over photos of tasty-looking Fakeaways, and scrolling through the takeaway-inspired recipes from Enjoy has made us feel very hungry over the last few weeks.
Mexican-style flavours are always a winner in our house, so we were hoping this Harissa Chilli with Crispy Potatoes recipe would be a hit – and it didn’t let us down. We’ve loved seeing so many of you making the smoky, spicy turkey mince chilli, paired with those golden, crunchy potato slices.
Add a sprinkle of feta cheese and coriander on top, just like Pam Legge has done. It’s the perfect finishing touch to this quick and easy dinner.
Vegan curries don’t come much tastier than this Chana Masala (even if we do say so ourselves!). Chickpeas simmered in a delicately-spiced sauce, this handy recipe can be made on the hob in 20 minutes, or left to do its thing in your slow cooker all day.
Just have a look at how delicious Megan Benwell’s version turned out, dished up with a scoop of fluffy rice.
Burger night anyone? If you’ve been waiting for a sign to give these Cheesy Nacho Burgers a go, this is it! Stacked up with homemade beef burgers, guacamole, peppers, cheese, tortilla chips and jalapeños, it’s a burger that means business.
Hilary B’s served up their version with a fresh side salad and we’d love to steal a bite! Imagine crunching through those tortilla chips into that juicy burger…
Bakes, Roasts and One Pots
You can always rely on a bake or roast recipe to deliver a plateful of comfort food. That’s exactly why we made sure that Enjoy has a whole chapter full of delicious lunch and dinners that can be made in the oven or in one pot on the hob.
Whether as a side dish or a main meal, these Creamy Bacon, Onion and Potatoes couldn’t be simpler. This unmissable recipe turns cheap and cheerful ingredients into something you’ll want to make every week.
Layers of onions, potatoes and salty bacon, smothered in a rich, creamy, cheesy sauce – what more could you ask for? We can’t get enough of how incredible Catherine Beck’s version of this dish looks. We’ll take a big bowl of this for dinner tonight please!
We put pie back on the menu with these slimming-friendly Creamy Vegetable Pot Pies from Enjoy. The vegetarian pies can be filled with just about any kind of veggies: they’ll all taste amazing coated in our silky, creamy sauce. Topped with ready-rolled puff pastry, these are on the table in just 45 minutes.
Coming in at 397 calories each, we think Becca has the right idea, serving them up with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and some extra vegetables on the side.
These moreish Mini Chicken Kyiv Balls definitely deserve a spot on your midweek meal plan. Stuffed with tasty garlic and parsley ‘butter’, we’ve covered them in a crispy, golden breadcrumb shell and baked them in the oven or in an air fryer.
Take a leaf out of Paige O’s book and plate them up with a nice, fresh side salad. Don’t they look totally irresistible?
Soups and Stews
If you’re cooking your way through the Enjoy cookbook, the Soups and Stews chapter is a great place to start. With some of our easiest and tastiest recipes in it, you’ll be sitting down with a delicious bowl of something hearty and warm before you know it.
Soup for lunch is a no-brainer, and this Garlic Mushroom Soup might be one of our all-time favourites. With a luscious texture and serious garlicky flavour, you’d never know how slimming friendly it is (just 125 calories per serving!).
Ideal for the middle of the day, we bet this bowlful made by Pam Legge went down a treat. The only question is, did they add a bread roll on the side to mop up every last bit?
If you like your meals nice and spicy, you won’t want to miss out on our hearty Chicken Gumbo recipe. Inspired by the dish that originated in Southern USA, we’ve used the gumbo ‘holy trinity’ of green peppers, onion and celery as the base of our flavourful tomato sauce.
This spicy stew is so good spooned over a simple side of fluffy basmati rice, just the way Megan Benwell has served it. How badly do you wish this was in front of you right now?
It’s no secret that most food is made better when you add cheese, so it makes complete sense that this Butternut, Bacon and Cheddar Soup has been pretty popular! It’s the perfect combo of vegetables, salty bacon and smooth Cheddar, blended until silky smooth and creamy.
Don’t forget to copy Andria Padgham and sprinkle even more grated Cheddar cheese over the top, plus a few fresh thyme leaves, right before serving.
Sweet Treats
Shhhh…we won’t tell anyone if the first thing you do when you get your hands on a new Pinch of Nom cookbook is flick straight to the Sweet Treats at the back. Your secret is safe with us (we’d definitely do the same thing).
One of our favourite recipes in the whole of Enjoy, these Banana Bread Brownies come in at just 128 calories per serving. We love to get two desserts for the price of one, and there’s no denying that chocolate and bananas are a heavenly combo.
Laura Speight’s brownies look so gooey and inviting, we’d have to put the kettle on immediately!
We might be biased, but we think this Blueberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding is the ultimate comforting dessert. The feel-good pud is a fruity twist on the retro classic, and you can even make it in your slow cooker.
We love that Ann Richards has wasted no time whipping this one up, and their creation has really got us feeling hungry. Imagine tucking into this after your Sunday dinner…
Pancakes are too good to save for Shrove Tuesday, so we came up with these S’mores Pancakes to enjoy all year round. Inspired by the popular campfire treat, we haven’t scrimped on the fillings, loading them up with chocolate spread, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and crumbled cookies.
Bobbi has got the right idea – look at that perfect drizzle of chocolate over the top and a good swirl of low-fat aerosol cream to finish it off. Perfection!
Keep on sharing!
Just because the Weekly Challenge has come to an end for now, the photo-sharing fun doesn’t have to stop! The Pinch of Nom Gallery is a dedicated space for our community to share and browse photos. When you’re after a little bit of inspiration, it’s the place to be!
You’ll also find loads of photos posted over in our Facebook group. With almost 1 million members, there’s always plenty of ideas and inspiration to help you along on your slimming journey.
Psst…if you liked this article, you’ll love exploring the rest of our blog. Browse any time you need a little bit of inspiration for recipe ideas, kitchen equipment, money-saving tips and LOADS more!