Five easy flavour-packed recipes to help you lose weight and feel good

Weight Watchers began nearly 60 years ago as one woman's weight-loss support group in New York, finally landing in Australia when the company held its first meeting in Sydney in 1969.

Now known as WW, the program expanded around the world, attracting millions of members and encompassing all aspects of health, from healthy eating habits to dietary preferences, fitness, sleep and water tracking, plus an app, workout videos and even meditations.

Here are five easy recipes from WW's new cookbook, Weight-loss Success.

Green breakfast bowl

Flavour-packed, with a perfectly poached egg perched on top, this tasty vegie and grain bowl is guaranteed to make you feel good.

INGREDIENTS

• 200g cup mushrooms, quartered
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ cup (100g) cooked quinoa
• 120g baby spinach leaves
• 2 eggs
• ½ medium avocado, sliced
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto
• lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

1. Lightly spray a large non-stick frypan with oil and heat over medium heat. Cook mushrooms, stirring for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add quinoa and baby spinach. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Half-fill a large, deep frypan with water and bring to a simmer. Carefully crack 1 egg into a cup, then slide egg into water. Repeat with remaining egg. Poach eggs gently for 3-4 minutes, until egg whites are set and yolks are still soft or cooked to your liking.
3. Divide quinoa mixture and avocado between 2 bowls and top each with a poached egg. Spoon pesto over eggs and serve with lemon wedges.

Tip Replace quinoa with cooked brown rice, if preferred.

Serves 2

Nikki's blackforest breakfast slice

With oats, dates, nuts and fruit, a piece of this hearty chocolate-cherry slice is perfect for a sweet breakfast. Halve some slices for an afternoon tea treat.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 2 cups (180g) rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1½ tablespoons sugar-free drinking chocolate
• ½ cup (75g) self-raising flour
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (250ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (150g) cherries, pitted and chopped, plus 12 extra
• ¼ cup (20g) flaked almonds
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160 fan-forced (180C conventional). Lightly spray a 20cm x 25cm deep baking tin with oil. Line base and sides with baking paper.
2. Process dates and 2 tablespoons boiling water in a small food processor until a paste forms.
3. Combine oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa, drinking chocolate, flour and ½ teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together banana, eggs, almond milk, vanilla and date paste. Add banana mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold through chopped cherries. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and smooth top. Sprinkle with almonds.
4. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand cake in tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar. Serve sliced, with extra cherries.

Tip If fresh cherries aren't in season you can use frozen pitted cherries, available from supermarkets.

Serves 12

Roasted veg and chicken grain bowl

With a tangy dressing and crispy kale for added crunch, this colourful, vegie-packed bowl ticks all the boxes for a tasty and nutritious lunch.

INGREDIENTS

• 200g butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 button squashes, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 cup (30g) coarsely chopped kale leaves
• ¼ cup (45g) quinoa, rinsed
• ¼ cup (60g) 99 per cent fat-free
• plain yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch ground turmeric
• 90 cooked skinless chicken breast, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh
• flat-leaf parsley

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Toss pumpkin, zucchini and squash together on prepared tray, then spread out evenly. Lightly spray with oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, turn vegetables over and add kale to tray. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and kale is crispy.
3. Meanwhile, cook quinoa following packet instructions, until just tender.
4. Stir yoghurt, lemon juice and turmeric in a small bowl to combine. Layer quinoa, vegetables, chicken and parsley in a shallow bowl. Drizzle over yoghurt dressing to serve.

Tip Kale stems can be quite tough. To fully remove stems, lay a leaf upside down on a cutting board and cut a V shape along both sides of the stem, leaving you with just the leaf. You can freeze the stems and blend them into soups for extra flavour and nutrients.

Serves 1

Gnocchi with ham and shredded greens

Sauteed for extra flavour, here we team tender, pillowy gnocchi with tasty ham and greens for a guaranteed dinner winner that's ready in just 20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g fresh potato gnocchi
• 1 cup (85g) savoy cabbage, shredded
• 1 leek, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 100g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 200ml hot chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube
• 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
• 90g lean leg ham, shredded
• ¼ cup (20g) finely grated
• parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. Lightly spray a large non-stick frypan with oil and heat over medium heat. Cook gnocchi for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate.
2. Lightly spray same pan again with oil. Stir-fry cabbage, leek, Brussels sprouts and garlic for 5 minutes or until just tender and lightly golden.
3. Stir in stock, mustard and ham. Simmer for 2 minutes, then return the gnocchi to the pan and cook, stirring, for a further 1-2 minutes until combined and heated through.
4. Serve sprinkled with parmesan.

Tip If you're not a fan of Brussels sprouts, leave them out and bump up the quantity of cabbage.

Serves 4

Harissa steak salad

So much more than your average salad, this colourful combo of tender steak and vegies with a spicy hit of harissa and creamy feta will have your tastebuds humming.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g baby potatoes, unpeeled, halved
• 200g broccolini, trimmed, halved lengthways
• 150g green beans, trimmed
• 1½ tablespoons harissa paste
• 550g lean beef rump steaks, fat trimmed
• ⅓ cup (80g) 99 per cent fat-free plain yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped
• fresh chives
• 80g mixed salad leaves
• 200g roasted capsicum (not in oil), drained, sliced
• 50g reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled

METHOD

1. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 15 minutes, then add broccolini and beans and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, reserve 1 teaspoon of harissa paste, then rub remaining paste over steaks. Lightly spray a large non-stick frypan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Cook steaks for 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking, transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil. Set aside for 10 minutes to rest, then slice into thin strips.
3. Combine reserved harissa paste with yoghurt, lemon juice and half the chives in a small bowl.
4. Arrange salad leaves, capsicum, potatoes, broccolini, beans and steak among 4 serving plates. To serve, sprinkle with feta and remaining chives, then spoon harissa yoghurt over the top. Season with freshly ground pepper.

Tip Change it up by swapping in lean lamb steaks to replace beef.

This is an edited extract from Weight-loss Success by Weight Watchers Reimagined (WW), Macmillan Australia, RRP $39.99. Photography: Rob Palmer; WW International. Buy now