After all the garbage I ate at the weekend I was actually craving healthy food today.  I really was.

I started with black tea and lemon to reduce the dairy I consume.  I made 2 cups with 1 teabag to reduce the caffeine I consume too.

Followed by a green smoothie.  I used half a pot of the Coconut Yogurt I am loving at the moment.  This one had mango swirled through it.  Really yummy. Plus kale, a banana, hemp seed milk, Matcha and Spirulina. It was good.  Not excellent but good.  Quite high in calories though at 415, half of which came from the Co Yo. Mid morning I munched on 2 apples. For lunch I wanted a huge bowl of raw vegetables so I rummaged around in the fridge and produced 3/4 of a red pepper, a red cabbage, a large carrot and a Brussels sprout.  I never keep tomatoes in the fridge as it kills the flavour.  I keep them in the fruit bowl.  That will do!Snuggled up next to the herb pots was the mustard micro greens I planted last weekend.  They look ready to me so I snipped some of those too.
Having chopped up all the veggies, I added a boiled egg and nearly 100 g of Tzatziki left over from last weekend.  Dressed with nothing other then salt and pepper. I really enjoyed this big crunchy bowl of goodies.  The still warm egg and creamy and herby tzatziki went perfectly with it all.  Delicious.  Even better, this bowlful had just under 300 calories 🙂

Sad to see some casualties from the dogs racing round the garden but at least I can enjoy them inside. The dogs chase each other over one particular flower bed which is full of daffodils and they end up with crushed stalks, lieing on the ground. I made a red lentil dahl for supper.  I was planning to make it yesterday but felt too full to want to cook in the evening when I returned from the beach.  However, the recipe book said it would only take 15 minutes to prepare so I actually prepared it while I munched my way through all that salad.  It really was quick to make but it does take a long time to cook so start early.

This was in The Slow Cook Book.

Red Lentil Dahl

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbs sunflower oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 6 curry leaves, crushed
• 175 g red lentils
• 400 g can chopped tomatoes
• 600 – 700 ml vegetable stock
• juice of half a lemon (optional)
• handful of fresh coriander

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion for 3-4 minutes.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and cook for a couple more minutes.
4. Add all the spices and curry leaves, stir well and add the lentils and stir so they are coated in the spices.
5. Tip in the tomatoes and stock.  Bring to the boil and transfer to the slow cooker.
6. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

You could make this in a casserole dish in a conventional oven but add approximately 200 ml more stock and cook on a low heat for 1 hour and a 1/2, stirring occasionally.

The entire amount of dahl is approximately 900 calories.  I had about a third because I dod not have it with rice.  So a third of the dahl plus the buttered leeks made my supper about 500 calories.

You could serve this with rice or chapatis and a spoonful of yogurt on the side but I served it with 2 leeks which I sauteed in 10 g butter.  The dahl was thick and had a rich and spicy flavour.  The leeks worked with it really well too.

I am delighted I managed a whole day of very healthy eating and I feel much better for it.  My entire days calories, including cups of tea and snacks f apples was just under 500 calories so I am really happy with that.  Here’s hoping I crave healthy tomorrow too!