Low Cal Sunday Lunch

The one thing I always miss when watching the calories is a Sunday Lunch. I'd end up going without simply because all the things I love about it are so fattening or having one now and then and worrying about good work I had undone in one meal. So, with this in mind I decided to try and find a way to get a tasty version, close enough to the "real" thing to get away with it but without the calories. Some things are obvious to do like having a less calorific meat. Chicken or turkey are the obvious choices, personally I dislike turkey so opted for chicken.

The Meat - 226 cal per serving.

1 appropriately sized chicken.
1 whole onion
fresh or dried herbs, sufficient to sprinkle over chicken.
salt and pepper.
1 cal oil spray

The Vegetables - Per serving the roast potatoes come in at 143 cals, everything else as normal.

Appropriate amount of potatoes suitable for roasting, try to be exact as extra are too tempting to leave!
1 vegetable stock cube, use the lowest cal one you like, I use knorr stock pots.
Appropriate amount of carrots
Other vegetables as per taste

Sage and Onion Stuffing - Serves 4 - 85 calories per portion (Made in smal sponge tin and cut into four)

3 slices eight water bread
2 tsp agora light suet
1 small onion finely chopped
1 - 2 tsp sage
pinch thyme
pinch oregano
salt and pepper
1/2 egg

Onion Sauce - Serves 4 - 40 cal per serving

200ml semi-skimmed milk
10g Cornflour
1 small onion chopped
season to taste


Peel the onion and place it whole inside the cavity of the chicken, if it is a small bird you might need to halve it first. This is just for flavour and to help keep the bird moist. You can substitute this for a pricked or halved lemon if you prefer that flavour. Give a couple of sprays over the breast of the chicken and then sprinkle your herbs over. If using lemon tarragon is good as the "main" herb. The oil is only really being used to create a better surface for the herbs to stick to the skin so you don't require much at all. Place the chicken in your roasting tin and cover with kitchen foil to create a domed "lid", this is to almost allow it to steam inside and will keep it nice and moist. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes to crisp the skin up and baste using the juices.

For the potatoes, peel and cut to required size and then boil in water with just over half the vegetable stock pot for around 10 minutes, just enough to soften the outsides, not cook through. Drain the potatoes but keep the stock water. There are two methods for the roast part, pick the one you lim best. You can either put them into a roasting pan, season and throw in a couple of cloves of garlic, no oil, if you do this then where the potatoes are touching the bottom of the tray they will stick slightly and go crunchy, use a metal spatula half way through to slide and turn them, that way you keep the crunch without breaking them up. Alternatively you can put a grill insert into the pan and place them on top so that they are not touching the bottom of the tray. I prefer to turn them half way. By boiling them in the stock first it adds extra flavour but something in the stock stops them from going dry and the results are more like proper roast spuds. Put the potatoes in to cook when you remove the foil from the chicken and turn the heat up higher. When the chicken is finished remove it and leave it to rest then turn the oven up to 220 (Electric), you will see when they are done when the outside looks "right".

Repeat the same process with the carrots as with the potatoes. You can use the same stock water that you used to boil the potatoes in or make fresh with the remaining cube/pot. Note that the carrots will take very little time to cook, maybe only 10 -15 minutes if that.


For stuffing, blend 3 slices of weight watchers bread (If you use the heel ends they are thicker so 2 or less is needed, 2 tsp of atora suet (If you use the light version the calories will be less, i used original), 1 small onion finely chopped, 1-2 tsp sage, pinch thyme, pinch oregano, salt and pepper then bind with 1/2 egg. The mixture will look rather dry still but once cooking the suet will bind it so don't worry. You can either roll into balls or put into a oven proof dish covering the base, gently pat it down, but not too hard, it shouldn't be solid. When the top is golden brown it is cooked, usually 15 - 20 minutes for tray bake, less as balls. I find cooking it in a flat cake tin gives the best results, it only covers about 1 inch in height.

As much as I love proper gravy it is rather calorific so use your favourite granules, I use bisto made with the water saved from the potatoes. I also tip the chicken and let the juices from the cavity pour into it, this just adds a little more flavour.

For the onion sauce, chop the onion and then simmer in the milk until soft and thoroughly cooked, then mix the cornflour with the bare minimum of either the veg stock water or a drop of milk and then add to the onion milk stirring al the time. Season to taste and thats it.


Hope this helps someone!