While I drank my hot water with cayenne pepper and lemon juice this morning, I flicked through MORO The Cookbook.  I was inspired by many of the recipes.

I made porridge for breakfast with 1 tbsp chia seeds, 35 g Jumbo Oats, 150 ml unsweetenened almond milk and 1 banana (which came to 7 WW points).  As I munched I wrote a shopping list.

Going food shopping makes me VERY hungry.  But I was feeling strong and determined to lose weight so I stuck to my list and mainly packed my trolley with fresh fruits and vegetables.  These 3 ingredients inspired my lunch.

Having prepared the salad ingredients and cooked 2 rashers of unsmoked back bacon, I made up my salad.  I put the lettuce, chopped tomato and carrot batons on a plate.

To which I then added bacon,

beetroot which I chopped and mixed with 1 tsp mayonnaise,

and half ( a small half) a medium sized avocado.

It was tasty enough and I ate it without needing to add dressing.  I would have liked dressing.  I have not become a diet saint over night, but I wanted to save points for dinner.

The entire meal was 9 WW points.

In the afternoon we began preparing supper.  I wanted to get the sauce and salad ready in advance because I thought they would taste better if the flavours were allowed to develop.  The recipe was adapted from a recipe in MORO The Cookbook,  called ‘Cod Baked in Tahini Sauce’.

Cod with Tahini Sauce and Chick Pea Salad

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp light tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 5 tbsp water
• salt and *white pepper to taste

Method

1. Mash garlic in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt.  Put mashed garlic in a small bowl.
2. Add the tahini and whisk in the lemon juice.
3. Add water until you have the consistency of double cream.
4. Taste and season.

Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 small garlic clove, minced
•  ¼ red chili
•  ¼ red onion, finely chopped
• squeeze of lemon
• ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g can cooked chick peas, rinsed
• ¼ cucumber, chopped
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• small bunch of coriander, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Put the garlic, chilli, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl and stir to mix well.
2. Add the chick peas and mix.
3. Add the cucumber, tomatoes and coriander, adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

I made the chick pea salad by following the recipe, but did not add the cucumber, tomatoes or coriander until just before we ate.  Having made the rest of the salad in advance, the chick peas were able to absorb the flavours.

Baked Cod

Ingredients

• 150 g cod per person
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Heat oil in a non stick pan.
• Season and fry cod for about 4 minutes on each side, depending on how thick each piece is.  The cod should be white and flake easily but not be opaque.
• Serve cod on the chick pea salad.

• Pour the tahini dressing in to the pan you cooked the cod in and warm through gently, just to take the chill off.  Serve.

The flavours in this dish were quite strong.  The garlic, chilli and lemon I used were very highly flavoured.  Too much so for Harvey who ate his cod with rosti, tomatoes and cucumber instead.  I really enjoyed mine and would definitely make the tahini dressing and chick pea salad again.  But I probably wouldn’t serve it with lovely fresh cod because the strong flavours in the salad and dressing meant I couldn’t taste the delicate flavour of the cod.  I like fresh fish to be the focus of a meal’s flavour.

Cod with tahini sauce and chick pea salad was 14 WW points.

Lara had some friends over this afternoon and they made a chocolate cake.  I couldn’t resist completely but only had a tiny sliver of a slice which I put down as 3 WW points.  She has now, at my request, hidden the rest of it!

I went one point over today which I have taken from my weekly extras so today counts as a good diet day 🙂

I enjoyed my MORO meal today.  No idea what to have tomorrow.