I am going back to basics this week which means tracking i.e. weighing and measuring everything.  This time next week I want to have smashed through the 3 stone weight loss barrier.  Well, I am finding it a barrier at the moment.  I have been close to getting there for a few weeks so now I need to do it.

I had a smoothie for breakfast made with lots of the berries I have in the freezer (raspberries, blueberries and marionberries) with silken tofu and almond milk.  It was only 4 WW points and I had 2 glasses full.

It was so thick I had to eat it with a spoon.  Delicious.

I did a walk today of about 4 and a half miles.  I had some errands to run in Cranbrook and decided to walk there and back so I knew how far I had walked.  When I walk in the woods and forest, I am never sure how far I have gone as I do not know my walking speed.  So I saved the environment a little car ride, saved some pennies and got some exercise in.

Having been away for the weekend I fancied cooking today and turned to an old favourite I have not had for ages.  Based on one of Rose Elliot’s recipes from ‘ The Classic Vegetarian Cookbook ‘ I made Spinach Dal.  The recipe serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 white onions, peeled and chopped
• Fresh chilli (to taste), deseeded and chopped finely
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 3 crushed cardamom pods
  1 inch of fresh ginger, finely grated
• 125 g brown or red lentils*
• 400 ml water
• 200 g spinach
• salt and pepper

* If you use red lentils, you get the gloopey consistency you may be used to in an Indian restaurant.  I didn’t have any and used brown lentils today.  They don’t go mushy and retain their shape and texture.   They both work well but are quite different.

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 10 minutes until soft.
2. Add the chilli, garlic, cumin, turmeric, cardamom and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the lentils and the water.  Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
4. Add the spinach, stir in to the lentils and cook together for about 5 minutes.
5. Season to taste.

I served this with 100 g rice, 25 ml Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp mango chutney which came to a total of 16 WW points.  This is a simple meal with gentle spicing and earthy spinach.  It all works really well together, especially when served with creamy yogurt and sweet chutney.

For supper I made a roasted vegetable and ham omelette with baked sweet potato slices.  Each portion had 13 WW points.

I chopped up and roasted a red onion and 3 peppers in 1 tbsp rapeseed oil.  I put them in the oven at 180 ° C for about half an hour.

I also scrubbed and washed a sweet potato and cut it in to thin slices which I brushed with oil and sprinkled with cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  I laid the slices on a baking sheet and baked them in the oven for half an hour.

For each omelette I used 2 eggs.  When they were nearly set, I added 2 slices of chopped ham and half the roasted veg.

And served it with half the sweet potato.

This was a successful diet day.  I exercised and ate within my allowance.  It feels good to be in control again after a couple of weeks over-eating.  Good to be weighing and measuring.