In my book, if you're going to have pancakes, you need a whole stack. 
Just because we are following a weight loss plan, or maintaining our weight, there is no reason why we can't enjoy a fabulous dessert like this one. I've just applied some of my Slice-of-Slim magic to make it all possible.

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My stack of 8 pancakes, filled and drizzled with white chocolate sauce is only 8sp/6pp/approx.250kcal per portion.
You can have a half portion for 4sp/3pp but somehow it's just not the same!

***

I've added a banana to my pancake mix to sweeten and make it go further, plus a few sugar-free marshmallows for extra sweetness and decadence. Then, I've mixed extra light cream cheese to some melted white chocolate to create a white chocolate drizzle you will dream about!

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You Will Need : (For 4 servings)

For The Pancakes:

1 Medium Banana
6 Sugar Free Marshmallows
1 Medium Egg
125g Self-Raising Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon



300ml Alpro Light Soya Milk with Vanilla
(Or Semi-Skimmed Milk)

*

For the White Chocolate Drizzle:

40g White Chocolate
30g Extra Light Philadelphia
A small amount of Soya Milk/Skimmed Milk

*

To Serve:

Raspberries
Blueberries
1 Teaspoon Icing Sugar

***


The Pancakes



Start by blending the banana with the marshmallows in a food processor. The banana should look creamy. Don't worry if small chunks of marshmallow are visible.



Add the egg, sifted flour and cinnamon.
Mix well.



Leaving the food processor switched on, slowly pour the milk into the mixture until you have a lovely batter.



The trick with making pancakes is to organise your workspace. Heat a medium frying pan, mist with some Frylight Oil. Create an area of kitchen paper to place the cooked pancakes onto and have your batter at the ready.



Once the pan is really hot, dollop the mixture  using a measuring tablespoon to make the pancakes. I make 4 at a time to prevent overlapping and risk of them burning.



As soon as bubbles appear on the surface, flip them over using a spatula. (Look at those blobs of marshmallow!) Work quickly as they cook in 20-30 seconds.



They should have a beautiful golden colour.



The second side only needs 10-20 seconds. Once cooked, transfer to the kitchen roll. Mist the pan with Frylight Oil and repeat the process until you have made 32 pancakes. You can pop them on a plate covered with foil in a low oven to keep warm, or reheat in the microwave for a few seconds when you are ready to serve.

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The White Chocolate Drizzle



Melt the white chocolate.



Add the extra light Philadelphia, mix well then heat gently for a few seconds.
(You can do this in a microwave but watch carefully).



Add a tiny amount of Soya milk/skimmed milk to loosen the sauce.
It needs to be thick but 'drizzleable'.

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Assembling The Dessert

Now for the exciting part!



Choose a pretty dessert plate. Make a stack of 8 warm pancakes in the centre. I like them uneven and haphazard as it gives
a homemade, wonky appeal.



Using an apple corer, cut a hole through the centre of the pancakes.



Dot the little offcuts of pancake around the plate and fill the central tube with 1/2 a tablespoon of white chocolate drizzle.



Pop 3 or 4 blueberries into the filled tube. Don't worry if the sauce oozes out.



Decorate the rest of the pancake stack and the plate with raspberries and more blueberries.


Using another 1/2 a tablespoon of the sauce, drizzle randomly all over the fruits and around the plate.



Top with a light dusting of icing sugar for a spectacular finish.
(Click HERE for details of Twist and Sprinkle Icing Sugar).



Close your eyes, tuck in and remember that low fat eating has nothing to do with deprivation!

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Pancake Paradise in White Chocolate Heaven.

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PRINT RECIPE HERE

***

TIP



You can make the pancakes and the sauce in advance. Reheat gently before assembling.
You can even freeze the pancakes
for up to 1 month.

Well...I learnt something really interesting today while researching these little Tuscan meatballs. I learnt that in Italy they are NEVER served with pasta!

Having said that, my version of this dish is one of those beautifully versatile recipes. These tasty meatballs are baked in the oven in a delicious tomato and mushroom sauce. You can serve them as little appetisers,(as shown above), or with lashings of sauce on pasta, rice or with vegetables. (I won't tell anyone if you serve them with pasta!)

***

I've been making meatballs for many years and I've tried various methods. This one wins hands down for me because I pack so much flavour into the beef mixture, that the meatballs infuse with the sauce and the sauce infuses with the meatballs to make a truly delicious match made in heaven! I don't pre-fry my meatballs as they go hard like pellets. My trick is to put all the ingredients into a food processor to blend the mixture really fine, then literally form and drop them into the hot sauce to poach and bake in the oven. This way they have a roasted top but stay really moist.

***

This recipe works out to
19sp/20pp/approx.1231kcal for the WHOLE AMOUNT.

I've worked out some multiples for you....

1 polpettine=1sp/1pp/approx.37kcal

2=1sp/1pp/approx.74kcal
3=2sp/2pp/approx.111kcal
4=2sp/2pp/approx.148kcal

5=3sp/3pp/approx.185kcal
6=4sp/4pp/approx.222kcal

***


(For approx. 32-33 Polpettine)

For the Sauce:

1 tin Cherry tomatoes

1 700g jar passata

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs thyme

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1/2 tablespoon artificial granular sweetener

Small punnet of mushrooms

Optional:

1/2 tablespoon Piri-Piri seasoning 

or a pinch of chilli flakes

For the Polpettine:

2 cloves garlic

1 small onion

Mixed fresh herbs; sage, parsley, thyme

6 spring onions

60g chorizo

450g Extra lean minced beef

***

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

Put a large, flat pan on the hob. Add the tomatoes, passata, sweetener, puree, thyme and bay leaves.

Add the sliced mushrooms and chilli flakes or Piri Piri seasoning if you want your sauce to have a little kick.

Slowly bring the sauce to the boil while you make the meatballs.

Put the onion, garlic and fresh herbs into a food processor. Blitz until finely chopped.

Add the spring onions. Blitz.
Add the chorizo. Blitz again until really finely chopped.

Add the extra lean ground beef. It's really important to have chopped the herbs and garlic mixture and the chorizo before adding the beef, or you will not be able to blend everything evenly.

Blend until you have a really fine mixture. It should look like sausage meat. This ensures no large lumps of meat in the polpettine and all your seasonings and flavours will be evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Using a measuring spoon, scoop a flat tablespoon of mixture for each polpettine, before rolling by hand into a ball. This will ensure that each one is exactly the same size so you can propoint accurately.

Drop each one gently into the hot sauce. You need to handle with care at this stage as they are soft until cooked. They squash easily.

Give each meatball its own space in the sauce.

Gently spoon a little sauce to cover each polpettine.

Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 50-60 minutes. Don't touch it, don't stir it. I went for a walk with the dog while these were cooking!

Check they don't burn, but they should look like this-just 'catching' on the top. 

You can eat them at this stage, but if you have time, cover the pan with foil, turn the oven off and let them 'sit' in the sauce for as long as possible. This kind of dish is always better "the next day".

If you decide to serve them as hot little appetisers like this, then you will have a wonderful zero-propointed mushroom and tomato sauce to have another time with pasta or vegetables. If you serve them in their sauce, remember to add any propoints for pasta or rice.

***

TIP

If you find your sauce thickens up too much, especially after a day, loosen it off with some boiling water when reheating.

***

Perfect little polpettine.

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PRINT RECIPE HERE

Here's my crazy Halloween idea for this year!

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These tantalising tangerines look just like miniature Halloween pumpkins.
However...once untied and unrolled, they magically TRANSFORM into evil little edible bugs!
They are a
TRICK and a TREAT
all rolled into one! 

Great fun and easy to make with the kids and each one is only
4sp/3pp/approx.150kcal

***

YOU WILL NEED :
(Makes 4 Trick-or-Treaterpillars)

4 tangerines
20g plain chocolate
20g white chocolate



4 tablespoons sugar sprinkles 
(I used these orange & black Halloween ones)



12 white micro marshmallows



2 liquorice laces cut into short strips
(either strawberry or black-I cut the black ones from liquorice pinwheels)

***



Start by gently slicing through the peel of the tangerines about 1/3 of the way down the fruits. Try not to cut the flesh.



Take off the top section of peel and discard.



Repeat on the other side then make one cut through the peel so that you can open it up between 2 segments.



Leaving the strip of peel attached, gently separate each segment so that they sit in a pleasing line.



Roll the fruit back up then melt the chocolate. Pop the sugar sprinkles in a small dish.



Holding the tangerine together firmly, coat the exposed fruit with melted chocolate using a teaspoon.



Dunk straight into the sprinkles.



Repeat on the other end of the fruit, then immediately unfurl onto greaseproof paper to set. Repeat with the rest of the tangerines.
This recipe gives you enough chocolate to make 2 dark and 2 white bugs.
Make sure you have a little chocolate left for final decorations.



Cut the marshmallows into tiny pointed 'teeth' using scissors.



Using a teaspoon, coat the front of the first segment of each fruit with chocolate.
This will become the face of the Trick-or-Treaterpillar.



Make 2 dark chocolate and 2 white chocolate faces. Before the chocolate sets, press the marshmallow 'teeth' along the edge.



Make 2 blobs for eyes. Use white chocolate on the dark faces and dark chocolate on the white.



Using the end of a skewer or a cocktail stick, blob a contrasting colour of chocolate to make the eyes come to life.



Don't worry about making them too perfect-they look more comical if they're a bit wonky!



To make legs, simply dip one end of the liquorice strips into melted chocolate.



Wedge the legs into the base of the segments of the tangerine.
Arrange in pairs down the body of the bug. Make about 4 pairs per bug.



When you have finished decorating, pop them  onto greaseproof paper.
To use up the remaining chocolate, randomly 'flick' it in all directions from a teaspoon over the bodies of the bugs. The higher you hold the spoon, the finer the lines will be.
Pop into the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to set firmly.



Once set, roll the bugs back up. Secure the gap with a little masking or washi tape.



Tie with a piece of rustic string to finish.



Arrange on your serving dish.



As each person takes their bug, they perform their own trick by untying the 'pumpkin'...



...and letting the cheeky
Trick-or Treaterpillars
loose before scoffing! 

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Happy Halloween!

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PRINT RECIPE HERE