Are you back to working from home? Love it or hate it, WFH is back and, temporarily, here to stay. But what do we do with all this extra time on our hands? Skip past the commute and enjoy a lunchbreak entirely to yourself, let’s take a look at some of our favourite winter warmers, perfect for anyone with that bit extra time on our hands.
Get Festive with our Christmas Pack Hacks
Festive Gingerbread Men Pancakes (250kcals)
What’s Christmas without gingerbread men? If you’re looking for a low calorie alternative to this classic Christmas snack, look no further and try out these Gingerbread Men Pancakes!
What you’ll need:For the pancakes
- Gingerbread meal replacement shake
- 150ml water
- X1 egg
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Metal gingerbread cutter
For the topping
- Fat free natural Greek yoghurt
- exante Maple Syrup Flavour Drops
- Empty your shake into an exante shaker
- Begin slowly adding water, stirring as you do so, until you have a thick batter (you may need more than the recommended water)
- Add the egg and baking powder and combine
- Pour the mixture into a hot pan, spreading it across to make one large, thick pancake
- Heat for around 3 minutes on one side, flip and cook for a further minute
- While your pancakes are cooking, combine your yoghurt with a few drops of our Flavour Drops
- Carefully remove the large pancake and use the gingerbread man cutter to cut out smaller, gingerbread-shaped pancakes
- Plate up and top with the yoghurt
Gingerbread Mug Cake (271 kcals- without chocolate chips)
Sticking with the gingerbread theme, we're trying this super simple 3-ingredient mug cake!
What you'll need:
- Gingerbread meal replacement shake
- Milk of your choice
- X1 egg
- X1 Tsp of baking powder
- A small handful of chocolate chips (optional)
Method:
- Tip the shake into a microwave-safe mug
- Crack and add the egg into the mixture
- Add a splash of milk and mix
- Add in 1tsp of baking powder
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips and give one final mix
- Microwave for 30 secs-1 minute depending on desired texture
Irish Cream ‘Cheesecake’ (200kcal)
Irish Cream liqueur is one of our absolute favourite festive drinks, but have you ever made it into a cheesecake? Kate's delicious health-friendly Irish Cream Cheesecake is the perfect festive treat that can be enjoyed as a meal replacement or as a low calorie treat, after all, it is Christmas!
Method:
- ½ a Stollen meal replacement bar
- ½ Irish Cream meal replacement shake
- 150ml cold water
- Gelatin gel sachet
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
Method:
- Chop up your bar into small pieces and crush in a ramekin or dish
- In a separate bowl, add the cold water, shake and gelatin sachet
- Pour the mixture into a pan and gently heat the mixture until it’s nearly boiling
- Take the mixture off the heat and allow it to cool slightly
- Pour the mixture on top of the crushed bar
- Place in the fridge to set
- After the mixture has set, sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon
- Enjoy!
Like what you see? Read more of our Festive Pack Hacks here
Fancy something a little more filling?
We’ve got plenty of yummy winter warmers that are sure to keep you full during long work from home days. Check them out...
Moroccan Style Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 600g Chicken thighs boneless skin off (Roughly 5-6)
- 160g carrots (2-3)
- 500ml Chicken stock
- 400g Tinned tomatoes
- White onion
- 10ml oil
- 1tsp Gravy granules
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 scotch bonnet or any hot pepper
- Tomato puree
- 40g Raisins
- 5g Mixed herbs
- Peri peri seasoning (no added salt)
- 3g paprika
- 5g tsp of salt
Method
- Start by removing the excess fat from chicken thighs. Then season with paprika and piri piri seasoning. Place seasoned chicken into a container and leave in the fridge to marinate.
- Dice your onions and carrots, crush garlic cloves.
- Heat a large deep saucepan or medium pot on a medium flame.
- Add 10ml of oil and sweat off your onions for 1min then add the garlic and carrots. Add tomato puree and coat the vegetables turning gently. When the puree has been mixed thoroughly, add chopped tomatoes, stock and mixed herbs. Simmer gently on a medium heat.
- After 20 minutes, start to pan fry your chicken thighs in a separate pan, browning them nicely for about 2-3 mins on each side. Then place the chicken thighs into the sauce and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes with a lid on.
- Depending on your spice preference, place the Scotch bonnet into the pot with the chicken or 5 minutes before the dish is finished. Slightly score the scotch bonnet with a sharp knife - be careful not to cut completely in half
- In the last 5 minutes place your raisins into the dish and cover and switch off the heat.
- Check the thickness of the sauce, add more stock if too thick.
- Serve with your choice of carbohydrate; rice, pasta or cous cous and a portion of vegetables such as broccoli, spinach or green beans. Following recommended portion sizes will result to a dish under 500 calories and low in salt.
For more tasty recipes from Chef K, check out our blog
For more tips and tricks on how to stay on track while working from home in winter, be sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook pages. Need a little extra support? Why not join our exante family and meet likeminded people from the wider community on our Facebook Closed Group. Don’t forget to tag us in all your wonderful winter creations, we love to see what you’re cooking!
