Weight Loss Recipes to Try

We get asked for weight loss recipes all the time, so here’s a selection of healthy, tasty and nutritious meals that will fit into any healthy weight loss plan.

The principles of how to eat healthily are set out in our healthy weight loss plan and there are the basics of how to plan your meals in our page on free weight loss meal plans.

Here though are some more recipes to try that we really enjoy and which may give you some ideas of your own.

If you’re following a formal diet, then you’ll need to know that these weight loss recipes are:

Moderate protein

Low fat

Low carb

Low GI

Some Weight Loss Recipes for You to Try…

All these weight loss recipes serve 4 and as a guide there’s a nutritional breakdown per portion.

Some make great main meals, others can be eaten as light lunches, snacks or starters. Some are meat free.

Chilli and Garlic Chicken

2 tbs olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 finely chopped red or green chilli, more if you like it hot!

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1. Mix together the oil, lemon juice, cloves, chilli, salt and pepper.
2. Place the chicken in a bowl and coat well with the marinade. Cover, put in the fridge and leave for at least one hour or overnight.

3. Preheat the grill, remove the chicken from the bowl and grill on each side for around 6 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with a salad and a few new potatoes.
208 cals, 22g protein, 7g fat (1g saturated fat), 0g carbs (with potatoes 20g carbs), 0.5g salt, 0g fiber

Thai-style Beef and Cucumber Salad

2 sirloin steaks, each about 125g (4.5 oz)

1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced

1 cucumber, halved lengthways and cut into thin strips

1 cos lettuce, torn into chunks

For the Dressing

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)

1/2 tsp sweetener

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

Large handful of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

1. Pre-heat the grill and grill the steaks for 3-4 minutes until medium-rare and leave for 10 minutes. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Thinly slice the steak, add to the bowl with the other ingredients and pour over the dressing. Coat well and serve.
105 calories, 15 grams protein, 3g fat (1.5g saturated fat), 3.5g carbs, 0.6g salt, 0.5g fiber

Grilled Salmon Fillets on Puy Lentils with Herbs

200g (7oz/1 cup) puy lentils

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large handful of chopped, fresh coriander (cilantro)

1 large handful of chopped, fresh mint

1 large handful of chopped, fresh parsley

2 tbsp low-fat creme fraiche

Juice of 2 limes

1 vegetable stock cube

4 salmon fillets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the lentils in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, add the stock cube and cook for 30 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
2. Whilst the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and sautee the onions until clear and slightly browned. Add the lentils when cooked, the herbs and creme fraiche. Season with the salt and pepper. Stir in a third of the lime juice.
3. Preheat the oven to a medium heat (180c). Sprinkle the remaining lime juice over the salmon, season and bake for 7-10 minutes until cooked through. Spoon the lentils on a plate and serve the salmon on top. Serve immediately with some salad leaves.
650 calories, 35g protein, 20g fat (4g saturated fat), 26g carbs, 0.2g salt, 5g fiber

Spinach and Chickpea Curry (one of our favourite meat-free weight loss recipes)

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 red oinons, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 chopped chilli

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam massala

400g (14oz) can of chopped tomatoes

2 x 400g (14oz) cans of unsalted chickpeas, drained

250g (9oz) spinach

1 large handful of chopped fresh coriander

Juice of half a lemon or lime

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and fry gently for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the spices, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and chick peas. Bring to the boil, add the stock cube, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Stir in the spinach, add the lemon juice and season to taste. Cook for a further two minutes and serve. Keeps well in a fridge and can be frozen and reheated.
270 calories, 18 g protein, 6g fat (1g saturated fat), 38g carbs, 0.5g salt, 10g fiber

Tuna and Bean Salad

2 x 400g (14oz) tins of cannellini beans, drained

20 cherry tomatoes

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 spring onions, sliced

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves, shredded

2 x 200g tins of tuna in brine, drained and flaked

For the Dressing

2 tsps coarse grain mustard

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lime

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mixed salad leaves to serve on

1. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the other ingredients and toss well then serve over the salad leaves.
343 calories, 35g protein, 10g fat (1.5g saturated fat), 36g carbs, 0.2g salt, 13g fiber

Hopefuly these weight loss recipes will give you a few tasty ideas to try. Use them as a guideline for inventing some of your own weight loss recipes.

The key is to use fresh ingredients and to keep recipes simple, so they’re quick to prepare and the natural flavours come through.

Flavour your food well, using a few herbs and spices and vary your meals so you’ll never get bored.

Enjoy these weight loss recipes and bon appetite!