Most soups have high nutritional value, but if you are really looking for a soup that is going to be hearty and good for you, then you will want to try the beef, water chestnut and rice soup recipe. Although it turns out tasting like a gourmet meal, you only need a few basic ingredients and a couple hours to prepare this dish.

The nutritional value of this soup is very high, especially if you use fresh ingredients. It is a great soup to serve for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 350 g lean beef
• 1 liter fresh beef stock
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 2 star anise
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 115 g water chestnuts, drained and sliced
• 175 g cooked white rice
• 1 tsp zested orange rind
• 6 tbsp orange juice
• salt and pepper
• strips of orange rind and 2 tbsp snipped chives to garnish

1. Carefully trim away any fat from the beef. Cut the beef into thin strips and then place into a large saucepan.
2. Pour over the stock and add the cinnamon, star anise, soy sauce, sherry, tomato puree and water chestnuts. Bring to the boil, skimming away any surface scum with a flat ladle. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the beef is tender.
3. Skim the soup with a flat ladle to remove any scum again. Remove and discard the cinnamon and star anise. Blot the surface with absorbent kitchen paper to remove any fat.
4. Stir in the rise, orange rind and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through for 2 to 3 minutes before ladling into warm bowls. Serve the soup garnished with strips of orange rind and snipped chives.

“Omit the rice for a lighter soup that is ideal starter for an Oriental meal of many courses. For a more substantial soup that would be a meal in its own right, add diced vegetables such as carrots, bell pepper, sweetcorn or courgette”.

Fruit pies are not only delicious but are healthy for you too. They give you a great way to get the nutrition of fruit but with the sweetness of a pie. A lot of fruit pies are boring, but paper thin fruit pies are definitely not and they are small enough that you can eat them as a snack throughout the day.

You can basically include whatever types of fruits you want in these pies, but for the basic paper thin fruit pie recipe you will need an apple, pear, lemon juice, apricot jam, orange juice, and a few other ingredients to prepare.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 medium apple
• 1 medium ripe pear
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 60 g low fat spread
• 4 rectangular sheets of filo pastry, thawed if frozen
• 2 tbsp low sugar apricot jam
• 1 tbsp unsweetened orange juice
• 2 tsp icing sugar for dusting
• low fat custard to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Core and thinly slice the apple and pear and toss them in the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
2. Melt the low fat spread over a gentle heat.
3. Cut the sheets of pastry into four and cover with a clean, damp tea towel (dish cloth). Brush 4 non stick Yorkshire pudding tins (large muffin pans), measuring 10 cm across, with a little of the low fat spread.
4. Working on each pie separately, brush 4 sheets of pastry with the melted low fat spread. Press a small sheet of pastry into the base of one tin (pan). Arrange the other sheets of pastry on top at slightly different angles. Repeat with the other sheets of pastry to make another 3 pies.
5. Arrange the apple and pear slices alternately in the center of each pastry case and lightly crimp the edges of the pastry of each pie.
6. Mix the apricot jam and orange juice together until smooth and generously brush over the fruit. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with low fat custard.

“Other combinations of fruit are equally delicious. Try peach and apricot, raspberry and apple or pineapple and mango. Yummy!”

Everyone loves spaghetti, but why not spice up your boring old spaghetti recipe? Vegetable spaghetti with lemon dressing is definitely not your typical pasta dish, and best of all it is one that the kids will love too. You only need a few ingredients to prepare this dish including celeriac, carrots, leeks, and red and yellow pepper, as well as a few spices and of course your spaghetti.

This dish is quick and easy to prepare, and one of the best things is that you can save the leftovers and then reheat them at a later date and it will taste just as great. You can even fry up the leftovers in a pan with some oil and add even more of a twist.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 225 g celeriac
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 medium leeks
• 1 small red pepper
• 1 small yellow pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp celery seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 300 g spaghetti
• celery leaves, chopped to garnish

Lemon Dressing

• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp low fat natural fromage frais (unsweetened yogurt)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp snipped fresh chives

1. Peel the celeriac and carrots, cut into thin matchsticks and place in a bowl. Slice the leeks, rinse to flush out any trapped dirt, then shred finely. Halve, deseed and slice the peppers. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Add these vegetables to the celeriac and the carrots.
2. Toss the vegetables with the celery seeds and lemon juice.
3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well and keep warm.
4. Bring another large saucepan of water to the boil, put the vegetables in a steamer or sieve and place over the boiling water. Cover and steam for 6 to 7 minutes or until just tender.
5. When the spaghetti and vegetables are cooked, mix the ingredients for the lemon dressing together.
6. Transfer the spaghetti and vegetables to a warm serving bowl and mix with the dressing. Garnish with chopped celery leaves and serve.

“Celeriac is also known as celery root or celery knob. Celeriac is fat and cholesterol free, low in calories and sodium, and a good source of fiber”.