Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Chicken Tikka Masala

I'm trying very hard to get my eating habits back into a good place recently. I'm following a simple, healthy eating plan during the week which helps me to indulge over the weekend. I find 80:20 is the key  - I've lost 6lbs in just under a month. As a result I'm cooking Slimming World dinners during the week. A little while ago I was invited along to see the new launches of Slimming World products in Iceland. I'm already a huge fan of the range so was pretty excited to see they've introduced two new sauces to help make things a little easier in the evening. A chunky tomato and tikka masala - both which can be adapted to make so many different dishes. This recipe taken from a booklet available in the Iceland stores was a surefire hit and one I'm going to make time and time again. I've slightly adapted it to pop in my favourite veggies.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 pots of Slimming World Spicy Tikka Masala Sauce, cooked according to packet instructions*
1 courgette, cut into chunks
1 onion, sliced thinly*
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips*
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips*
1 bag of ready cut butternut squash and sweet potato
1 can of butter beans
1 pack of cherry tomatoes*
200g of baby spinach*
Frylight
Brown rice to serve

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees/ Fan 200 degrees/Gas mark 7.

2. Start cooking the brown rice.

3. Spray a large roasting tin with frylight and scatter the prepared vegetables. Season to taste, toss well and pop in the oven. Roast for about 20 minutes, remembering to turn halfway through.

4. Meanwhile, tip the cook tikka masala sauce into a large saucepan, add the butter beans and heat through over a medium heat.

5. Add the cooked roasted vegetables and spinach to the mixture in the pan, simmer until the spinach is wilted. Add some water if you want a thinner sauce.

6. Serve with brown rice and tuck in!

As always I would love to know if you decide to rustle it up. Drop me a tweet to let me know!

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Review: Mangal 1.1, Shoreditch

A few weeks ago I was invited along to try the newly launched Mangal 1.1 Turkish restaurant in Shoreditch. Located inside the Bedroom Bar, the cosy restaurant is the newest eatery in the company. Mangal already has a fierce reputation in the city and is well known for it's delicious, mouth-watering dishes. So I knew I was in for a very tasty night night indeed.

I met Lily outside after work and we settled down for a Turkish feast and to put the world to rights. What a feast we were treated too! First a selection of delicious mezze with endless chunky warm bread. Dishes of creamy hummus, cucumber and yogurt cacik and a spicy tomato ezme salata were eagerly moped up with the bread.

It wasn't long before a fresh salad was placed on the table and a generous portion of juicy seasoned meat appeared. Lamb koftas, chicken cheese, lamb chops, spicy chilis and slabs of tender beef were all piled high on a plate with floury wraps for us to make our very own kebab. The meat was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth. The lamb chops were a personal favourite.

The meal was finished off with sweet baklava. Layers upon layers of crispy, sweet filo pastry filed with syrupy pistachio nuts. Just the ticket to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Mangal is expertly priced especially for Shoreditch. It's a great place to go with friends, we never felt rushed and as a result managed to have a long-awaited catch up. I really do dislike this 2 hour limit on tables in London. They also offer a takeaway service so you can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home.

Thanks for such a lovely evening Mangal 1.1. I'll be back!

 68 Rivington St London, Greater London EC2A 3AY

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Alternative advent calendars

Over the last few years the trend for alternative advent calendars are really seemed to pick up. Chocolate ones are becoming old hat. Arran Aromatics* have brought the perfect one for beauty fanatics. What a fabulous treat it was!

Filled with 25 gorgeous smelling miniature body lotions, candles, soaps, bubble soaks and shower gels, it's the perfect daily treat. The calendar retails at £40 but it has a value of £60, making it great value for money. I can't wait to light the candles - the grapefruit one smells amazing! Available both online and John Lewis, you best be quick treating yourself to one as only 1000 are available.

Another advent calendar is a tea one from Victoria Mae Designs*. Oh my gosh, the smell when I opened this package was intense. I wanted to gulp them all down at once!

Priced at £19.50, 25 gorgeous teabags come packaging in a cute little brown box. All the tea is sourced from a local British tea company and comes in handmade paper pouches. A lovely little treat to start each morning with in December.

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