CORE Mild Curry Chicken HotPot

This curry is mild enough for children. Curry is for flavour, not heat

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 600g chicken thigh fillet, no skin, chopped into cubes approx 2cm
• 1 onion
• 4 tsp curry powder (for mild, more for wild)
• 3 tsp ginger, grated, ground
• 3 cups chicken stock, hot
• 1 1/2 cup raw rice
• 2 cups chopped free vegies like carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, beans (frozen is OK) etc
• 1 cup frozen peas (mint if you have them)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (or tinned)

Method:

Put all into a casserole dish, stir and bake covered at 200*C for 45 mins or until rice is cooked.

Note - if using watery vegetables like cabbage, zucchini or mushroom, put these in half way through or will be very mushy.

This could also be done on stove top in nonstick pan, or in a slow cooker with less fluid

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is 28 points
It is easily "bulked out" with extra vegies

Work Day Lunches in 2 mins

You know how it is - you wake late, or wake on time but have something which delays = no time to pack a "real" lunch to take to work.

What do you do when you:

• have 2 minutes at home to grab what you need
• have a few minutes to prepare at work with a limited kitchen - microwave, kettle and toaster with limited implements

The following suggestions come from the Core boards.

If you have a suggestion, please email dazeydee@adam.com.au and I'll add it in

• Soup
  Grab a can of vegie soup and a wholegrain roll or bread to warm up in microwave
  
• Leftovers
  Grab last night's leftovers to warm up in microwave
  
• Core brick
  When you cook, cook extra and freeze up
  
• CousCous and Tuna (hot)
  Grab 1/3 cup couscous and put in a tub. Grab a small can of tuna in springwater and a bag of the steamfresh vegies. At work - add 1/3 cup boiling water to couscous, microwave vegies, drain tuna, mix up and eat
  
• Tuna/Salmon sandwich
  Grab can of fish and 2 slices of bread (or equiv crispbread), and a tomato
  
• Chick pea salad
  Open and drain a can of chick peas - throw into medium size container with sliced up salad vegies and sprinkle sliced olives on the top.
  
• Banana hot/cold sandwich
  Grab 2 slices of bread and a banana. Mash/slice the banana onto the bread/toast or put in toastie / jaffle machine (if available)
  
• Baked Beans on toast
  Grab small tin of baked beans and 2 slices of bread. Toast bread, warm beans
  
• Miso soup
  Grab packet of miso soup. Grab rice if you have some left over, otherwise bread. Add boiled water to soup mix, nuke rice or make toast
  
• Noodle soup with toast
  Grab packet of Continental "Lots a noodles oriental beef", 2 slices MG bread, 2 tbsp low fat cottage cheese, Marmite. Add boiling water to soup mix. Toast MG bread and spread with marmite then cottage cheese
  

Thanks to the following for their suggestions: JW2008, CATHERINEJ, NZMUM1, LORANCE

CORE IceCream in a Bag

It can be eaten straight from the bag, but I tipped into a bowl so you can see it better.

Yes, you read that right....Core IceCream!

It's a fun activity for kids, especially at picnics and BBQs and there is so little you need to bring, most can be bought on-the-road.

I did this for my nieces at a picnic and they thought it was magic (maybe because I said the salt was "powdered eye of newt" and got them to chant silly "magic" words while they shook it??). They were 3 and 5 at the time and loved making their own icecream from a carton of strawberry milk in the park.

For kids:
Use full cream milk and throw in some baby M&Ms (or buy a carton of flavoured milk)
Maybe an adult should close the bags and they should be shaken outside :)

Serves: 1

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup nonfat milk (I used Pura Tone)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• artificial sweetener, eqiv of 1 TB (4 tsp)

You'll also need:

• 6 tablespoons rock salt (it reacts with the ice somehow)
• ice (about 1 1/2 trays per serve)
• medium size ziplock bag
• large ziplock bag
• a spoon

NB: The snack size bags are a bit small for easily closing with fluid inside. You can use 2 medium bags, with the milk one folded down and ice/salt packed around it.
If it's not a hot day, I suggest wrapping the baggies in a tea towel.

Method:
Put the milk, sweetner and vanilla in the small ziplock back and seal firmly
Half fill the large bag with ice cubes, add rock salt and but the milk baggie in and seal well. Shake it for about 5 minutes or until the icecream inside begins to harden.
Open the bag carefully, wiping the top off first.
Voila! Ice cream in a bag! Dig in!
Enjoy!

Variations that are still Core:

1. Chocolate - add 2 tsp cocoa
2. Coffee - add 1 tsp instant coffee
3. Mocha - add cocoa and coffee
4. Brandy - add a few drops of brandy essence (or other flavour)
5. Banana - put banana and milk mix into blender, then into small baggie and shake
6. Banana Split - as per banana, add 1-2 tsp cocoa
7. Maple - add 2 tsp of sugar free maple syrup (not Core, but 0 pt at this level)
8. Smoothie - put a few TB of diet yoghurt, 1/3 cup nonfat milk and 1/4 cup fruit through blender, then into small baggie and shake
9. Whatever flavour sugar free topping you have....

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 1 point for the milk

NB - it clicks over to 1 point at just under 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup is also 1 point....

CORE Tuna (or Salmon) Mousse / Pate

Serves: at least 4, more as an appetiser

Difficulty: Very Easy

Note - You could substitute 1 1/2 cups of cooked seafood for the tuna, but since I'm allergic to shellfish, I'll leave that testing up to you ;)

Ingredients:

• 425 g can tuna in springwater (or salmon), drained
• 1 tsp chicken stock
• 4 tsp gelatine
• 4 TB low fat cottage cheese
• 2 TB lemon (or lime) juice
• 2 cubes of frozen spinach, thawed (about 80-100g)
• parsley, a few sprigs, chopped, about 3 or TB
• sping onion (leaf only) or chives, chopped, about 3 or 4 TB
• cracked pepper, 1/2 tsp+ (I love pepper and put 3 tsp)

You may wish to add dill - I don't have any

Method:

In a large dry bowl, add 125 ml of boiling water, the gelatin and the stock.
Blend well with stab mixer, add 125ml ice water, blend.
Add cottage, lemon (lime) juice and tuna (salmon) and blend again.
Add the spinach and herbs and mix with spoon.
Put into mould(s) and put in fridge to set

You can set this in jelly moulds, cake tins, ramekins, bowls or something creative (I used silicone patty pans as I don't have little jelly moulds).

It sets like pate - firm enough to slice, yet soft enough to scoop and spread.

Serving suggestions:
On toast, rice crackers, or cucumber. I like Salada 97% fat Free Wholegrain (Core as bread allowance)
As a sandwich spread

If making as pate
You may wish to add a decorative clear layer to top or bottom (depending on whether you are serving in a ramekin with pate knife or inverting onto a plate to be sliced).
Mix 1 tsp of gelatine with 60ml hot water (you may not need all of this mix). You may wish it to be flavoured slightly with lemon/lime juice.
If pouring over top of set mousse, allow mix to cool on counter for half hour.
Make a pretty design with something like: chives or parsley leaves (flat Italian), grated lemon rind, grated carrot, slices of lemon or oranges, canned peppercorns or cracked pepper etc and gently pour gelatine mix over the back of a spoon, so it doesn't disturb your design.
Back in fridge to set.

Once this is set, I do recommend covering it as gelatine products can develop a skin uncovered and also the fish smell in the fridge...

Not on Core? The total points for this is 5 points (not counting toast/crackers etc)

NB: On the tracker, tuna weights is the drained weight - a 425g can drained is only 250g or 4 points, not 7.5!

CORE Chicken Chop Suey

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 500g lean chicken mince (or beef premium mince)
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 3 TB soy sauce
• 2 chicken stock cubes
• 1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice (low GI rice)
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 8 cups waterey "free" vegies
  I use - 3 cups green beans, 1 cup thawed frozen spinach, 2 cups shredded Chinese cabbage, 3 grated carrots, 1 cup bean sprouts
  You could use - cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, zucchini, celery, capsicum etc

Method:
In a large frying pan cook mince and onion in oil. Drain any fat
Add curry powder, chicken stock cubes, 3 cups of water and rice and simmer for 20 mins, adding a little water if it looks dry (it should be a wet without being sloppy.)
Add vegies, mix well and simmer with lid on for 3-5 mins

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 28 points with chicken mince (26 points with beef premium)

CORE Spiced Fruit Cup Jelly

Pictured without banana, will update when latest batch sets
3 June - I ate it without checking the picture quality - they were too dark to use. So meanwhile, imagine some banana floating on the top :)

A lovely jelly for snack or dessert

Jelly with fruit always reminds me of my nanna. She was diabetic and made jelly with bananas every time we came to visit.

Serves: 2-3

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 sachet diet raspberry jelly
  
• 12 grapes
  
• 1 small banana
• 3TB frozen berries
  
• allspice or cinnamon
  
• 1 tea bag, English Breakfast
  

Method:
Pour 1 cup boiling water into jug or bowl. Jiggle tea bag 4 - 6 times and remove.
Dissolve jelly in tea.
Add a pinch of all spice or cinnamon.
Top up with 200 ml water.
Get out 2 or 3 small tubs or glass bowls.
Cut grapes into halves, removing seeds if necessary and add to bowls.
Slice banana into bowls
Add 1 TB frozen berries to each bowl.
Pour in jelly, stir and set.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 1.5 points, or 1/2 point per serve

Note 1 - because of the banana, this should be eaten in 1-2 days

Note 2 - No fresh fruit? Add 2 TB of drained tinned fruit to each bowl.
If using tinned fruit, cut water down a little more to 400ml total or it may not set very firm

CORE Lamb & Rosemary Mini Meatloaf

Tasty mini lamb meatloaf or terrines are cooked in muffin trays or friand trays (oval muffin trays) and wrapped in ham

Hot = mini meatloaf
Cold = terinne, "a luxurious cold meatloaf"

Serves: 4 people (2 mini meatloaf / terrines each)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 500g of premium lamb mince (5% fat)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 2 tsp dried rosemary (fine)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 125 g frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 slices thin smoked ham (approx 200g), needs to approx 20 cm long - eg Virginian
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp crushed garlic

Method:

Mix all apart from ham together in a large bowl with your hands
(Hint - try leaving the mince out of the fridge for awhile first. Trust me, mince straight from the fridge is cold, especially on your knuckles)
Get out your half cup capacity muffin / friand tins (or ramekins) and drape a slice of ham across each one. (I do not grease as the shrink back from the 5% fat means they will pop out easily)
Divide the meat mix into the 8 trays, push into the tin with the back of a spoon and fold ham over the top.
Cover tray with alfoil and put a baking tray on top to weigh down any bits of ham which don't want to stay flat.
Slide into a cold oven and put a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven.
Turn oven on to 180*C and cook for 1 hour (including the preheat time). Remove alfoil and bake another 15 minutes
If having hot as meatloaf, why not throw some potatoes in to roast? 100g potatoes (whole) will cook in the same time as the meatloaf (ie 1 h 15m)

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 20 points

Options:

Prefer beef?
Change lamb for beef (I bet you couldn't guess that) and rosemary for mixed herbs or basil.

Hate spinach?
Change spinach for 2 medium grated carrots

Hate ham?
With no ham the total for this recipe is 16 points

CORE Laksa Soup (Thai)

Serves: 3-4 as lunch (4-6 as starter course)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup left over vegies or frozen vegies
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 1 tsp coconut essence
• 1/4 cup skim milk powder
• 75 g rice stick noodles (vermicelli)
• 100-150 g left over chicken (or beef), or 1 small grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 4 cups of chicken stock (or beef if using beef)
• handful of beansprouts (if you have them)
• 1-2 tsp dry Thai herb mix (I use crushed herbs from fridge section of f+v - 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp coriander and 1/4 tsp lemongrass)

Method:

Bring stock to boil. Add noodles and vegies, cook 2-3 mins, add chicken and herbs. Turn off heat and stir through the coconut essence, skim milk powder and bean sprouts (if using)

Optional - serve with a little chilli

Not on Core? The total for the recipe is 7.5 pts
(assuming 150g roast chicken breast no skin, Trident rice stick noodles and all veg except corn is point free)

Core Apricot and Pineapple Cake / Muffins

Serves: 12+
This mix makes enough for :

1 x 20cm square/round tin or
1 loaf tin and 6 American muffins (the 1 cup type) or
12 large American muffins
24+ regular muffins

These keep well in the fridge, as the fruit keeps them lovely and moist. 30 - 45 secs in the microwave and brekkie is ready.
I double bagged the muffins in freezer bags as rough edges of the oats can snag the cheap freezer bags (OK, it was a medium bag, twisted, pulled back over and tied - for some reason I can't buy homebrand small freezer bags and mediums are cheaper than the small namebrands?!?)
Also freezes well - thaw on bench for an hour or 2, or microwave on LOW or DEFROST (high setting will make the fruit too hot and you might burn yourself)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 200g oats
• 200g All bran
• 1 x 410 g tin apricots in juice
• 1 225 g tin pineapple pieces in juice
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 TB baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 TB vanilla essence
• sweetener, equivalent of 1/4 cup sugar

Method:
In a large bowl, combine the oats, All bran, milk and juice from the cans and leave to sit for 20 mins to soak
Meanwhile, turn on the oven to preheat at 180*C and cut the fruit pieces into quarters
Add the eggs to the bran/oats mix and stir with a wooden spoon, then add other ingredients.
Spoon mix into oiled tin(s)
Cook at 180*C for approx:
35 mins for muffins
45 min for loaf
50-60 mins for large tin

Two "are they ready" tests - (1) stick a skewer/toothpick in, should come out clean (2) if you press gently on the top with your finger, it should bounce back.

Not on Core? The entire recipe is worth 30 points (1 "serve" = 2.5 pts)

Almost CORE Cheesy Pepper Chicken CousCous

A tasty meal ready in 5 minutes!

NB - this recipe uses a small amount of low fat Cheddar cheese, which is not Core (1.5 pts)

Serves: 1

Difficulty: Easy - ready in 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 125 g chopped Smoked chicken breast fillet (or strongly smoked lean ham/bacon)
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup dry couscous
• NOT CORE * 20g grated low fat cheddar (eg Coon Light and Tasty 1.5pts)
• 1 1/2 cups of left over vegies or frozen vegies (I used frozen spinach and mixed veg)
• 1 spring onion
• ground pepper (coarse)

Method:
In a nonstick pan, warm the milk and milk, add vegies and simmer for 2 minutes before adding the chicken/ham. Simmer another minute, then add the couscous and as much pepper as you can take. After 2-3 minutes, the couscous should have absorbed the milk. Turn stove off and stur though the cheese and spring onion.

On Core? This is 1.5 pts for the cheese

CORE One Pot Chilli with Barley

It's a bigger serve than it looks - about 2 cups worth (serving 4)

Serves: 4 - 6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 500 g lean beef mince
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pearl barley (or brown/white rice)
• 2-3 cups of mixed vegies, chopped to 1cm cubes
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 can kidney beans or mixed 4 beans, drained and rinsed (or baked beans)
• 3 tsp cumin
• 2 beef stock cubes
• chilli - amount depends on your taste - start with 1 tsp for mild, more for wild

Method:
Fry mince, onion and garlic with oil.
Add tomato and barley, stock cube and 1 cup water. Cook at medium (covered to stop the tomato volcano mess) for 25 mins, stirring occassionally and adding more water if necessary
Add vegies, including tinned beans, and stock and cook for 5 mins until tender.
Add chilli to your strength (I use 3 tsp crushed chilli for medium) and cumin and cook for another 5 mins

Optional - serve on a bed of bean sprouts or baby spinach

Not on Core? This recipe total is 23 points
(assuming the 2-3 cups vegies are "free vegies")

Serving idea (great for kids)
Get a bread roll (grain of course for Core peoples) and make a hole in the side towards the top with a knife or apple corer. Pull out some of the bread, fill with warm chilli mix and put plug back in (use a toothpick to hold in if needed). Put in hot oven for a few minutes until crunchy and serve on a paper towel/serviette.
PS - A great way to "hide" the vegies for kids
PPS - Great for party finger food, using dinner size rolls
PPSS - Freeze the bread gizzards for next time you need breadcrumbs

CORE Smoked Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

This colourful pasta has a very subtle flavour. If you don't have smoked chicken, try with bacon for a stronger flavour, it's still nice.

Leftovers are great cold as a salad

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 250g Smoked Chicken Breast Fillet, skinless, sliced thin
• 250g dry pasta
• 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
• 200g green beans
• handful of baby spinach
• 150g low fat creamed style cottage cheese (I use WW)
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1tsp wholegrain mustard
• 8 basil leaves shredded (or dried)
• 2 spring onions
• can of asparagus cuts
• Coloured vegies - some bright vegies are needed to break up the green. I used 100g frozen corn and a grated carrot. You could use red capsicum, halved cherry tomatoes etc.

Optional - Parmesan

Method:

Boil water in a large saucepan, add pasta (note - I assume pasta is 9/10 minute to cook pasta, adjust timing if is the quick 6 minute type)
After 6 minutes, add broccoli, corn and beans and cook for 3-4 mins
Pour vegies and pasta into a strainer, rinse with a kettle-full of boining water (stops sticking together) and leave to drain.
In same (now empty) pot, add cottage, milk, and mustard and stir over low heat.
Add chicken, spring onions, basil and cracked pepper to season.
Add pasta back to pan and stir vigourously to mix, then add asparagus and stir gently for 2 mins.
Turn heat off and stir through the spinach and grated carrot just prior to serving.

Optional - serve with 2 tsp Parmesan for 0.5pts

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 21 pts, or 5 per serve.

Core Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

By request, I have Cored up a cheesecake! It's not as creamy as a regular cheesecake, because funnily enough there's no cream cheese in it. However, it is sweet with a nice smooth texture.

Serves: depends on how big a piece of cake you want!
At least 4 decent sized serves - I made it square, approx 12 x 12cm and 4cm high

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

Cheese layer:

• 1 sachet diet raspberry jelly (or try orange flavour for Jaffa fans)
• 100 g Yoplait ForMe Vanilla (1/2 tub single serve tub)
• 250g low fat Ricotta (I used Perfect Italiano Light)
• 2 TB cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• artificial sweetener, equivilant of 2TB sugar (if you like it sweet, double this)

Base Layer:

• 2 cup Weeties
• 1 1/2 tsp gelatin
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• artificial sweetener, equivilant of 2TB sugar

OK, first thing to know - I moved house recently to co-hab with almost-hubby. 2 kitchens' worth of stuff into 1 kitchen meant many boxes haven't been opened. So I haven't found my cake tins, so I made this upside-down in a sandwich size lunch box so the rounded corners would be on the top. If you have a cake tin, then by all means, please do the conventional way with the base on the ummm....base :)

Second thing - this makes a very small cheesecake (a-h not fond of, so only made as much as I was happy to eat). You may wish to double it as this makes one about 12cm square and about 4cm high.

Method:

Cheese layer:
Mix jelly with 60ml boiling water with a stab mixer.
Add rest of ingredients and blend.
Pour into a plastic tub, or cake tin and fridge for a couple of hours

Base layer:
In a tall narrow container, use stab mixer to reduce Weeties to crumbs (big bowl = mess!)
In a bowl, mix gelatin with 1/3 cup boiling water, add vanilla and sweetener.
Stir in the Weeties crumbs.
Top the cheese layer with the crumbs layer and smooth down (hint - do this with wet fingertips!)
Fridge until base is set.
Loosen from container (I use a butter knife around edge, then flip onto a plate and tap base. I find it easier to get jelly stuff out of flexible plastic rather than the dip-in-hot-water method used with metal moulds/tins)

Optional - Garnish with some berries

Alternatives:

• Jaffa
  Substitute orange jelly for raspberry jelly
• Chocolate
  Substitute 2 tsp gelatine for raspberry jelly and increase cocoa
• Mocha
  Substitute 2 tsp gelatine for raspberry jelly. Mix with a 60ml shot of espresso instead of water (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 60ml boiling water)
• Berry
  Omit cocoa, mix through 1/4 cup of crushed/chopped berries.

Not on Core? The total for this whole recipe is 7.5

CORE Hedgehogs (Meatballs)

Hedgehogs are beef meatballs with raw rice mixed in. As they cook, the rice absorbs fluids and puff up so they look like hedgehogs :)

These are great for kids and parties (For finger food - drain off the tomato soup and cook for a couple of minutes extra to "dry out")

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 onion, grated (or 1tsp French Onion Soup powder)
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 2 eggs
• 500g extra lean mince
• 1/4tsp nutmeg
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 cup water

Optional - use a tin of crushed tomatoes, 1/4 can water and basil/Italian mixed herbs instead of the 1 can water. For kids, best to stick to the soup. For adults, a little chilli or Tobasco sauce in the sauce adds a zing!

Optional 2 - Add potato to the sauce for lovely Italian style potatoes in tomato. In picture is 1 can soup, 1 can crushed tomatoes, 1/4 can water, Italian herbs mix and a 100g potato each, cut in half.

Method:

Mix above ingredients excluding water & soup.
With wet hands, shape into golf ball sized balls and put in casserole dish.
Mix water & tomato soup together and pour over meatballs
Bake covered at 200*C for 1 hour to 1h 15m.

Serving hint - serve on a bed of garlic mashed potato, drizzled with the tomato sauce and lots of vegies.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 24 points (without potato), and it makes about 24 golf ball sized meatballs

CORE Pasta Bolognaise Bake / Mock Lasagna

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Fairly easy

Points on Core: some for the white sauce, but minimal

This dish is best served as individual servings in ramekins or soup bowls holding 2 cups. If making a large dish, please let cool for 5-10 mins before serving.

Ingredients:

Base

• 300g of small size roundish or flatish pasta. eg elbows, penne raviolini. Large pasta like shells do not work, there is too much room for air.
• 2 eggs

Sauce

• 600g lean beef mince
• 1 onion
• garlic - 1tsp
• tomato based pasta sauce
• 2 tsp olive oil

Topping - 2 Options (both have some Points)

Option 1 - white sauce

• 1 cup Skim milk
• 3 TB of flour (1.5 point - you won't need it all)
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

Option 2 - grated tasty cheese

• 20g Coon Extra Light Tasty Cheese (1.5pt) for WWers, can add more for others.

Method:

Boil water and cook pasta until firm and not quite cooked (about 2 mins from al dente)
Drain and rinse well in cold water until pasta is cold. (This stops pasta sticking together) Leave to drain for at least 15 minutes
Meat layer
Heat your olive oil, add onion, garlic and mince and cook well.
Add pasta sauce and stir through. You may need to cook off some moisture - with lid off, have pasta sauce simmering away and stirring until the liquid drops a little below the solids and little bumps of meat stick make it look lumpy. Put aside to cool.
Option 1 - white sauce
If you don't have a nonstick saucepan, I suggest you do this in the microwave.
Mix flour with a few TB of water until it makes a thick paste which is more liquid than solid.
Heat the milk until it bubbles, then turn down low. Add about 3/4 of the flour paste and the mustard to the warm milk and whisk through. Simmer milk mix, strirring often until it starts to thicken - we want it to get to a consistency like cream. If after simmering for about 5 mins, it isn't thick enough, add the last bit of the flour paste and stir as it thickens.
Building the bake:
If making a large dish, you need eggs to bind the pasta (for individual serves I skip this). Whisk eggs in large bowl and toss (cold) pasta through. Pour into casserole or ramekins and push down gently with a spatula (potato mashers are great in round ramekins).
Pour over the meat layer, smoothing across the pasta
Add final layer - the white sauce or grated cheese (or both for something truly special)
Bake at 180*C for 20-30 mins until top is browned.
Allow so sit and serve with salad.

CORE Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

This recipe was given to me by a friend almost 20 years ago who was an apprentice butcher.

Serves: 4-6 depending on size of roast

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg leg of lamb (or whatever size to suit your family)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Rosemary, fresh or dried

Method:

With a sharp thin knife, pierce the lamb about 10 times.
Using a skewer, push a slice of garlic into each slit with a leaf or 2 of rosemary (if using dried rosemary, spray the garliced lamb with oil and rub rosemary in)
Cook at 180*C
How long?
For every 500g of roast, 20-25 mins for rare, 25-30 mins for medium, or 30-35 mins for well done
ie a 1.5 kg roast 1 - 1/4 hours for rare, 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 for medium or 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 for well done

In the last 45 - 60 minutes, add vegies to pan or a seperate pan.
My Roast Vegetables with Sea Salt and Rosemary is lovely with this recipe

Dietary Guidelines and Serving Sizes

These are the minimum suggested daily requirements. Each dot point equals 1 serve in that category.

Fruit
2 serves

• 1 medium piece of fruit
• 2-3 small pieces of fruit eg 2-3 apricots
• small bunch of grapes
• 1 cup chopped fruit or tinned in juice

Vegetables
5 serves

• ½ cup cooked vegetables
• 1 medium potato
• 1 cup salad vegetables
• ½ cup cooked legumes (chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans)

Cereals
5 serves

• 1 slice of brown or grainy bread
• 1 medium bowl (45g) high fibre cereal
• 30g raw rolled oats
• 1/2 cup cooked pasta, noodles or rice

Meat, Poultry and Eggs
1 serve

• 95 – 150g raw meat or poultry
• 120 - 180g raw fish
• 2 small eggs
• 100g raw tofu
• 1/3 cup nuts
• 1/4 cup raw seeds

Dairy
2 serves

• 1 cup skim, non-fat or low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk
• 200g diet, non-fat or low-fat yoghurt
• 30g reduced fat cheese
• 100g low-fat cottage or ricotta cheese

Why Drink 8 glasses of water a day?

• Water naturally suppresses the appetite
• Water helps the body to metabolise or burn stored fat
  The kidneys need sufficient water to function properly. When kidneys aren't working at full capacity, some of the kidney's load is shifted to the liver. The liver's primary function is to covert (metabolise) the fat stored in the body into usable energy (this is how you lose excess fat). If the liver is doing some of the kidney's work, it can't work efficiently to convert as much stored fat, so more fat remains stored in the body, and weight loss slows or stops. For this reason, apparently an overweight person actually needs more water than a slimmer person (approx 200ml extra per 10 kg overweight).
• Water helps the body to eliminate waste
  While losing weight, there is more waste to get rid of (where do you think that metabolised fat goes?)
• Adequate water can prevent or relive constipation
  When the body doesn't get enough water, it gets what it needs from internal sources, including the colon, which leads to constipation. Normal movements return when the body has enough water.
• Water also helps prevent saggy skin that often follows weight loss.
  Shrinking cells are filled with water, making the skin clear, healthy and “plump”.

CORE Oats and Yoghurt Slice

This is similar to those yoghurt slices - Alaskan Slice??

Serves: 2 for breakfast or dessert

Difficulty: Easy

Alternatives: Mix up your flavours. I used peach and apricot because that's what I had.
Try raspberry jelly and strawberry yoghurt, melon jelly and vanilla yoghurt, port wine and vanilla yoghurt, orange-mango jelly with mango yoghurt, lemon jelly and vanilla yoghurt (it's "almost" a lemon cheesecake)
I don't recommend lime - bright green is so wrong if you are out of junior primary school!

Ingredients:

• 1 peach apricot diet jelly sachet
• 1 x 175g tub Yoplait Forme Apricot (or 3/4 cup of Core yoghurt)
• 75g Rolled oats
• 1 cup water
• liquid sweetener (or powder), equiv 2tsp sugar

Method:

Dissolve jelly in 1 cup boiling water
Add oats and sweetener
Microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to cook oats
Add yoghurt (is OK if still hot) and stir
Pour into a rectangular tub.
Set in fridge overnight
Run a blunt knife around edge to loosen, tap out onto a plate.
Cut in half and eat.

This sets quite firm, you could wrap in Gladwrap and eat in hand, rather than on a plate

Not on Core? The total Points for this is 5, or 2.5 per serve

CORE Berry Pancake

Serves: 1 for breakfast
This is a very filling breakfast, the equivalent of a big bowl of porrige for brekkie

You could make in egg rings as a dessert and serve with low fat ice cream (points)
NB - Cereal is limited to once per day. If you've already eaten cereal, you'll need to count the oats

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• rolled oats or quick oats - 1 x 34g sachet or 1/3 cup
• 1/2 cup diet berry fizzy (I use DietRite Cranberry Boysenberry) or 100ml diet lemonade and 25ml diet cordial (maybe a splash of the diet Ribena?)
• 1/3 cup frozen berries
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp olive oil
• 100g Yoplait Forme Vanilla to serve

Method:

Mix egg, soft drink, baking powder and oats with a stab mixer.
Add the berries, still frozen, reserving a spoonful or 2.
Mix with Spoon - do not blend the berries!
Put pancake mixture in fridge overnight, same for remaining berries.

In the morning:
Heat a small nonstick skillet to medium high, add the oil and turn back to medium.
(I use a skillet about the size of my hand with the fingers spread)
Stir the pancake mixture and pour in
NB - these are moist pancakes (not stodgy) and take longer to cook than normal pancakes. The batter is also "heavier", so turning them too early will break them.
It's time to turn when there is a 2cm "ring" around the outside, and when you tilt the pan, the batter moves very little. (You'll see what I mean)
Use a wide egg flip, slide it gently under to make sure it's not caught, then flip quickly and cook the other side. It will not take as much time as the first which cooks about 75%. Second side will also not be as brown.
Serve onto a plate, add the reserved berries (including the berry juice), 1/2 tub vanilla yoghurt.

Optional - sprinkle with artificial sweetener (1 tsp equivalent) to tone down the tartness of the berries

Feedback from Almost Hubby:
"Mmmmm.....doesn't taste like diet food. You could feed this to my nephew [9 years old] and he'd love it."

Not on Core? The total Points for this is 5

This recipe is based on a lemonade pancake recipe posted by MTHERESEN