Budgets, binges and butternut squash

If there's one thing I've learnt over the last 16 months of my 'Weight Watchers journey' it's the concept of balancing a food budget.

So yes - today is Friday and I fully intend to eat my fluffy homemade challah with mayonnaise later, along with the requisite gefilte fish, chicken soup and kneidlach, roast chicken with 'all the trimmings' (and those chocolate madeleines to finish!). But if I don't want to end up going overboard, I have to compensate elsewhere - at lunchtime to be precise.

Today's blog offering can't really be called a 'recipe' as such, but rather an indication of how it's possible to eat light at lunchtime, while still starting off with an EXTREMELY full bowl of appetising and very filling food.

To give credit where it's due, the salad dressing below was created by my friend Gina and it has literally reinvented my lunchtime menu - no longer do I need to scrounge around for a propoint to cover a mayonnaise dressing, Gina's dressing is 0pp and it is the perfect complement to practically every salad in existence!

Chef's Salad with Sesame Dressing and Butternut Squash Chips

Ingredients: mixed salad leaves, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumber spears, pickled beetroot slices, sliced baby carrots and 2 pieces Tivall 'roast chicken' style deli slices.

Dressing: Good squeeze of lemon juice, tablespoon of soy sauce, 3 drops of sesame oil, shake of garlic powder. Optional: up to 5g of honey.

Butternut squash chips: Arrange cubed butternut squash on a baking tray and spray with frylight. Sprinkle with hot paprika if you like your chips spicy. Bake for 40 minutes on 200'c and serve with Heinz reduced salt and sugar ketchup

As you can see from the pictures, this meal is enormous - but in WW terms it only 'eats' 2 of your propoints allowance and will keep you full till Shabbos!