Since moving in with my vegetarian cousin, I've opted to cut down on meat dishes, mainly out of respect. Although, she doesn't appear to mind if I have meat in the fridge, or cook it in the house, I figured that because her reasons are that of animal protection, it would be insensitive to just be bringing it into the house all the time. Therefore, I've had to find alternative recipe's to use up the dozens of vegetables in the fridge, get my 5 a day, and eat healthier all in one. I was hoping for some inches off as a result, but in fairness, I'm still picking during the day.

Last night, we opted for a vegetable paella. It was very simple, we had all of the ingredients at hand, and it resulted in a tasty meal that both of us could enjoy and that wouldn't make me feel hungry or that I'm missing something in my diet.

Ingriedients
2 teaspoons of cooking oil or 10 sprays of low cal spray
250g easy cook rice
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
2 onions
Half a mug of frozen peas
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of dried parsley
800 ml of vegetable stock
Salt & Pepper

1. Fry up the onion for 2 minutes
2. Add the peppers and continue to fry until the mix is tender.
3. Make a nice well in the middle of the mix and add the chopped tomatoes
4. Pour on the paprika
5. Add the peas and shake around the pan for approximately a minute or 2.
6. Add the stock and the rice and mix well.
7. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. After 15 minutes of simmering, add the dried parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.

There is also the option of adding saffron, which apparently makes the paella perfect. We opted not to do that, and what resulted was a nice tasty dish that wasn't too spicy, not too heavy on the stomach and had just enough calories to keep you on balance if you are trying to lose pounds. It was almost like a nice savoury rice, but one that you don't get from Asda in a 59 pence packet of garbage. The recipe was slightly moderated from one that I saw on the BBC website. For alternatives that include chicken, seafood, or other vegetables, BBC's Good Food guide is probably one of the best websites to choose from.

Hope you get a chance to try this, and hope to get your feedback if and when you do.