Derby driver Maria makes special delivery with exclusive frozen meal available in Iceland

Maria Rusolo, 31, who has lost 3st with Slimming World, took inspiration from her Italian heritage to enter a national competition as part of the organisation’s Free Food Festival campaign. Her recipe came out on top, beating members from across 13,000 groups in the UK and Ireland.

Maria’s Hunter’s chicken risotto has now been made into a frozen meal as part of Slimming World’s Free Food range, which is exclusively available at Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores.

Free Food Festival celebrates Free Food – the concept at the heart of Slimming World’s healthy eating plan. Free Foods are those foods that are lower in calories for their weight (lower energy dense foods), so help to fill you up and keep you satisfied for longer. These include everyday favourites, like pasta, potatoes, fruit, lean meat and veggies. All products within Slimming World’s exclusive food range at Iceland are made with Free Food, so slimmers can be guaranteed top quality flavours and ingredients and that the meals are in line with Slimming World’s plan.

Maria struggled with her weight from a young age, and as she got older lost a lot of confidence as a result. In 2020 she joined her local Slimming World group in Derby, after seeing her cousin’s weight loss. Maria says: “I’d always been sceptical about joining a slimming group, I was convinced I’d be restricted to salads and foods I didn’t particularly like. Then my cousin told me about all the foods she was eating. I was surprised when she mentioned pasta – one of my favourite foods. Being half-Italian, and a real foodie, it was enough to convince me to join!”

She continues: “I was nervous walking into the group the first time – I’ve always been quite shy and reserved, so was particularly anxious about going in on my own. I had no reason to be though. My Consultant Nina and the other members in the group were so lovely – their warm welcome immediately put me at ease.”

Maria embraced Slimming World’s eating plan straight away and started incorporating healthier habits into her daily routine. She says: “I’ve always loved cooking but tend to struggle with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), so I loved that there were loads of everyday recipes I could pick from, that I could easily adapt to my needs. We love pasta in our family, and found the Slimming World App really handy for inspiration for different dishes I could experiment with. Now I like making my own pasta sauce rather than relying on shop-bought jars and like to batch cook for the month ahead when I can.

“As a delivery driver, I’d often find it difficult to eat balanced meals when I was working long hours, but I’ve picked up some great tips from the other members in the group and they’ve really helped me to incorporate healthier habits while I’m on the road. Now I prep the night before and even bought myself an electric lunchbox so I can heat up my leftovers for lunch the next day. I also love that I can pick up a side dish from the Slimming World Food Range, like the Slimming World Chips, and prepare it easily at work to enjoy with my lunch.”

When the Free Food Festival campaign was running in Slimming World groups earlier this year, Maria was inspired to create something for her group’s taster session, which see members each bring along a dish to share with their fellow slimmers to encourage members to try new recipes and pick up new food ideas. She says: “I love taking part in the taster sessions we often have in group and am known to experiment with various pasta dishes. I knew I wanted to create something different this time though – something that I hadn’t seen before. I decided to make a fusion of two of my favourite meals – a Hunter’s chicken lasagne and bolognese risotto, and incorporated the flavours from both dishes to make the Hunter’s chicken risotto. I tested it on my mum and stepdad before I took it that week and they loved it, so I was hoping it’d go down just as well with the rest of the group.”

Maria was announced as her group’s winner before winning the overall competition in June. She says: “It’s still quite surreal to think my recipe is now a meal that people can buy in a supermarket. I’ve never won anything like this before, and I couldn’t quite believe it when my Consultant Nina called me to give me the news. The reaction from the other members in the group when they found out was lovely too.”

Since losing weight, Maria’s confidence has soared and she now enjoys travelling around the world. She says: “I feel like a different person now, I have so much more confidence now and started travelling solo – something I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do before losing weight. Slimming World has helped me get a better understanding of what a balanced diet looks like, and it’s just a part of my lifestyle now. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”

The Hunter’s Chicken Risotto ready meal is available now as part of the Slimming World food range in Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores nationwide, and online at Iceland.co.uk.

You can view a video of Maria's story here.