Cinderella Had A Ball

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

What a fun few days I have had.  Oh dear me though, quantity and quality of food would not win any dieting or healthy living awards 😦

One notable exception is a delicious soup I made on Friday lunch time.  I knew I was having a rather debauched weekend so I lined up some good nutrients.

I have not used this miso before and was curious about how it would look and taste.

It’s quite thick and solid and then dissolves easily when added to the liquid.

I did make a mistake by adding the miso at the beginning and then bringing to the boil and simmering which can destroy delicate enzymes.  It is better to add at the end.  Miso added a lovely flavour to the soup and a bit of sweetness.

Kale, Butternut and Lentil Miso Soup

Ingredients (serves 4 – 6)

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 8 – 10 leaves of cavolo nero (or other type of kale), chopped
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut in to chunks
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 litre stock
  • 2 tbsps  miso

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion
  2. Add all the other ingredients, bring to the boil and then simmer until the butternut is soft and the lentils are cooked – about 30 minutes
  3. You could eat it like that but I blitzed it in the Vita Mix to make it very smooth.

It was surprisingly sweet and had a lovely rich flavour.  James returned for seconds so it can’t have been bad.  I served mine with some blue cheese and it made a very good lunch.  No bread, just the soup and cheese.  Yummy.

In the evening we went to Casa Mirella’s and I caught up with some of my lovely local friends.

Mirella made a delicious lasagne without the bechamel sauce.  We all know the bechamel is what makes a lasagne so tasty but without it, the fat content and calories were massively reduced and the sauce was so tomatoey and rich, we didn’t miss it at all.  Served with salad it was a great supper.

I was driving so couldn’t drink much.  Unfortunately, I could eat and eat I did: olive bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic, chocolate and creamy pudding and chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate.  It was a good evening 🙂 .

On Saturday I had a wonderful invitation to a ball and headed up to Leicestershire to stay with some very dear friends; BJ and Helen.

My partner for the evening was someone very special indeed.  We met at BJ’s, went for a lovely walk and enjoyed this spectacular sunset.

We glammed ourselves up and enjoyed some champagne before our taxi collected us to take us to the ball. Our lovely host, BJ, with friend Sue

and hostess, Helen with Andrew and Becky.

Who was my partner for the evening?  My completely gorgeous and beautiful daughter.  She hopped on a train from Durham and I picked her up at Tamworth station in the afternoon.  It was wonderful to see her and fun to spend an adult evening together.

The food at the ball was very good.  Smoked salmon with potato salad

followed by a delicious chicken breast in mushroom sauce with potatoes and this cute vegetable bundle.

I like that.

Apple crumble and custard for dessert plus far too many of these.

There was also an assortment of cheeses with crackers, grapes and celery.  I thought I had taken a photo but apparently not.  The cheeses were provided by Sparkenhoe which is a local dairy farm and dairy.  There were 4 or 5 different cheeses, all made close to the event.  You can buy Sparkenhoe Red Leicestershire cheese in Waitrose and I highly recommend it.

My hosts were completely fabulous.  After a lovely long lie in this morning, a cup of tea was brought to my room.  Once I had showered and dressed I was sat down with the paper and served scrambled egg with smoked salmon, orange juice and lots of coffee.

The scrambled egg was made with eggs from the chickens in the garden and had a little bit of cream in it.  Ooooh, it was fabulous.

Today was such a glorious day!  We had a stroll around outside and I confess I am completely envious of the vegetable and fruit garden BJ has planned and which is nearly ready.

I am particularly jealous of this incredible greenhouse.  I want one!  I am looking forward to my next visit to see it completely finished.

Henrietta and James returned from a sleepover at Grandma’s with cute new hats.

It was hard to tear myself away but I did, dropping Lara off at the train station on my way back South.  I am too tired to cook a meal for my family (I am a terrible Mother/Wife sometimes!) so James is on his way to the Raja for an Indian instead.  I had a great weekend and have a lot to do next week to re-stoke my nutrient stores.

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Colours

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

GREY

The lady I was in last night.

Marion, Sarah and I had a fab night out at The Grey Lady in Tunbridge Wells.  It’s a music lounge and on Wednesdays and Sundays Paul Dunton & Guests present local acts such as The Good Ship Band who were particularly good and have previously supported Keane.

We saw 4 great acts in this small and intimate venue and I highly recommend it.

RED

London buses, the only colourful thing on London Bridge this grey and foggy morning.

ORANGE

The juice

and scrambled egg I had for breakfast

in Le Pain Quotidien.  Strange serving it with salad and a salad dressing at 7am!  But this is a lovely space to sit and enjoy a quiet breakfast before another busy day kicks off.

Supper was orange too – a mango, fig and apple smoothie I had for supper.  Oh, and the fruit bread I had from Starbucks mid morning – oops.

WHITE

The pear, endive and walnut salad

and gnocchi with mushrooms I had for lunch at Osteria Del Mercato.  I had lunch out with a colleague who is leaving.  It is a fact of the contracting and consulting world in which I work that people move in and out of your work space quite frequently.  Some times that is a blessed relief but not in the case.  All the best with your next assignment Helen.

We had a table in the window and sat in a delightful arched section of the restaurant.  If you look up, you are sitting under the train track that carries trains from Cannon Street to London Bridge.

MULTI-COLOURED

These wonderful umbrellas, hanging in a little courtyard in Borough Market.

I doubt they keep the rain off effectively but I suspect they provide respite from the sun in the summer.

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Keep Counting

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Counting, counting, keep on counting.

I made breakfast the night before so it was there waiting for me:  40 g oats (4 points), 300ml sugar free almond milk (2 points), 1 tbsp Chia seeds (1 point) mixed with pumpkin pie spice, mashed butternut squash and a small banana.

When I was peckish today, which I was, often, I nibbled on this amazingly juicy and sweet melon.  I am usually quite ambivalent about melon but this one was particularly good.  Nil point!

For lunch I made a good attempt at eating green leaves.  Check these out!

Not for the faint hearted.  This is Cavolo Nero which is quite strong.  My reward for tackling it was this lovely runny perfectly ripe goats cheese.  3 points for 40 g.

I chopped it up and lightly sauteed it in 3 tsps butter (3 points).  When it was nearly cooked, I added a handful of spinach and let it just begin to wilt.

Topped it with the goat’s cheese.

Then a 2 egg omelette (4 points).

It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed every mouthful.

Supper was easy.  It was sitting in the fridge waiting for me 🙂  I had a portion of the black bean salad I made on Sunday lunch time with 70 g of brown rice left over from last night’s dinner.  It was quite high in points but I knew that because I calculated it the night before and so made allowances during the day.  The black bean salad was 9 points (beans =3, pumpkin seeds = 1, oil = 4 and corn = 1) and the rice was 3 points.

Healthy, tasty and easy.

Weight Watcher Totals
Breakfast = 7
Lunch  = 10
Dinner = 12
Other = 4
Daily total = 33

Still counting.

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Watching Weight and Counting Points

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

OK.  The weight gain of recent weeks and weight stagnation of recent months has to end.  It ends right here, right now.  I set up the WW app on my phone today and have been counting points all day.  It was so easy I don’t know why I didn’t do this ages ago.  I confess I feel mildly euphoric to have ended the day 3 points below my allowance 🙂

Breakfast: 40 g oats (4 points), made up to porridge with water, with some butternut squash mashed in, pumpkin pie spice and a banana.  Topped with 1 tbsp Barney Butter (3 points).  Barney Butter is a brand of almond butter that some of the blogs I regularly read rave about.  So I bought some in Florida to try.  Wish I’d bought more than 1 jar!

Lunch was a fresh and tasty salad.

Mixed leaves, carrots, celery, tomatoes with 10 g raisins (1 point).

Served with 2 tbsp humous (5 points)

and an apple.  To keep the apple white I dipped it in fresh lemon juice.  I squeezed the lemon juice in to a bowl, dipped the apple in and then poured the juice over the salad as the “dressing”.

During the day I had cups of tea and a coffee which costs points for milk (4 points) so in the afternoon I had a herbal tea, which doesn’t need milk.  Someone gave me this Mintea but I can’t remember who – thanks whoever you are – it was great.

Dinner was inspired, if I do say so myself.  I had no fixed plans so I made brown rice (4 points for 100g), with broccoli and green beans and Toscana chicken.

Toscana Chicken (1/3 is 8 points)

Ingredients (serves 3)

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 handfuls button mushrooms
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 jar of Biona’s Toscana pasta sauce (other pasta sauces would work too)

Method

  • Heat oil in a frying pan
  • Add onions, fry gently for about 5 minutes and then add mushrooms, fry gently for 5 more minutes
  • Move vegetables to side and add chicken, fry until browned all over
  • Pour over Toscana sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes

We had the first fire of the Winter today.

3 happy boys who all love a fire.

Weight Watchers points totals:

Breakfast  = 7
Lunch =  6
Dinner = 12
Other =  4
Total = 29.  Ta daaaaaaa 🙂

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Posted on November 12, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

This is a well written article reminding us it is apple season and why apples are so good for us, written by a lady I was at college with.

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Nutrient Density

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Big aim of the day is to start eating much healthier.  I am going to focus on foods that are nutrient dense.

Nutrient Density is used to measure how many nutrients are in a food compared to how many calories they contain.  Foods with a higher nutrient density value contain more nutrients for each calorie consumed than foods with a lower nutrient density value.  A site I often use to check the nutritional value of foods is The World’s Healthiest Foods.  They give a basic explanation of nutrient density here.

Wholefoods Market uses ANDI scores – “ANDI stands for Aggregate Nutrient Density Index. An ANDI score shows the nutrient density of a food on a scale from 1 to 1000 based on nutrient content. ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities”.  You can look up the ANDI scores on the Wholefoods website here.  It is very interesting.  The highest scores are some of the green leaved plants: mustard, turnip and collard greens and kale and watercress.  So I am going to make sure I eat lots of those.  Where can I buy collard greens?

The ANDI score is very interesting but be aware that you must also eat some of the foods that have a lower score because they have calculated the score against calorie values.  Some of the lower scoring foods, such as healthy fats are essential for health.  Being mindful of that, I am going to try and add more of the higher scoring foods in to my diet on a daily basis and also ensure I include the healthy foods even though they have lower scores.

So, having said all that, how did I do today?

I began the day with a green smoothie.

A huge handful of spinach (especially good for vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, tryptophan, calcium and potassium).

4 dates (useful amounts of fibre, copper, calcium, potassium).

1 cup of cottage cheese (low fat source of protein and useful amounts of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus and selenium).

1 cup of hemp milk (good source of protein, essential fatty acids, iron, magnesium and zinc).

1 cup of frozen berries (excellent source of vitamin C plus vitamin K, manganese and fibre).

Le voila, a green smoothie, that came out brown again!

For lunch I made a black bean salad recipe from WH Foods and you can find their recipe here.

Black Bean Salad

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 2 shallots, very finely chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely pressed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp walnut oil
  • juice from 1 lemon (approx 3 tbsp)
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 large or 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
  • kernels from 1 corn cob
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • salt and pepper

To make it you put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and serve.

I served this with mixed lettuce leaves and some of the butternut squash I roasted the other day.

I completely enjoyed this lunch.  It was very tasty, colourful, good variety of textures and I knew it was packing in the nutrients.  This would be suitable for vegans.

The male members of the family had a small portion of black bean salad with a chicken and mushroom pie.  Left to their own devices, they would have been perfectly content with pie alone.  However, we negotiated.  I said they shouldn’t have pie at all as it is unhealthy so they had it with salad.  I thinks that’s a good compromise.  I was really pleased when James asked if he could have some more black bean salad 🙂

I bought some cranberries last week as several of the magazines I brought back from Florida had cranberry recipes in them.  Not just because it was Thanksgiving but because it is cranberry season.  I had noticed 2 recipes fro cranberries with pork chops and we were having pork chops.  I didn’t have the correct ingredients so I made up my own sauce and served it with the pork.

Cranberry and Orange Sauce

Ingredients

  • 200 g cranberries
  • pith and juice of 1 orange
  • 1 star anise
  •  ¼ cup of brown sugar

Method

  • wash and drain cranberries and place in small saucepan
  • add pith and juice of orange, star anise and brown sugar
  • bring to the boil, simmer for 15 minutes with lid on, stirring occasionally
  • turn off and leave with the lid on to cool

Cranberries and orange pith are so vibrant.  Cranberries are an excellent source of phytonutrients and antioxidants.

Star anise adds an interesting flavour.

Cranberry sauce – such a vibrant and jewel like colour.

Pork chop, cranberry sauce, Hasselback potatoes, green beans, carrots and broccoli.

Hasselback potatoes are made by thinly slicing the potato about 3/4 of the way down, basting with melted butter and oil.  They take about an hour to cook in a hot oven (200 ° C).  They are crispy on top and soft potato near the bottom.  Delicious.  High in fat for a healthy diet but as a little treat, delicious.

To be healthy we have to exercise and today was perfect walking weather.  The Autumn leaves were absolutely stunning.

 

 

This must surely be the most colourful time of year!

 

 

 

Don’t let the sunshine,  shorts and t-shirt fool you.  It was only 5 ° outside!

But someone can not resist jumping in puddles.

He nearly fell this time but managed to regain balance just in time.

We didn’t suddenly walk in to a low cloud – Harvey was steaming!

Walking in the forest today was incredibly beautiful.  The colours were so intense and the air was so clear.  It was stunning.  I ate really well, apart from the wine I am enjoying just now.  Cheers 🙂

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10/11/12

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I went for another green smoothie today as I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them. 1 ½ cups coconut milk, 1 cup spinach and 1 cup kale,  ½ cup frozen raspberries, 3 dates, 1 tbsp Udo’s oil and ½ tbsp Tahini.  I intended to add the banana but I forgot and it was sweet enough without it. Not as tasty as yesterday’s but definitely green and certainly enjoyable.  I made one for Harvey too but added cocoa powder and peanut butter to his instead of the Tahini.  So he thinks he had a chocolate and peanut butter smoothie and is happily oblivious to the raw kale and spinach he had.  Smoothies are such a good way to pack vegetables in to children. Today we went to Ramsgate to check the house over.  We have just let it for 6 weeks to a firm of divers which is great but it means we can’t stay there ourselves. It is so relaxing sitting in this window, watching the happenings in the harbour, even on such a grey and dull day as today. I really like sleeping in this bed, with that view just inches away.  It is so pretty at night time, looking out over the inky black sea with all the harbour and boat lights twinkling away. We will have to wait until January, which is when the house is next available.  If you are interested in staying in this lovely house with its stunning views, enquire  here .

We planned to walk to Broadstairs for lunch and the tide times favoured us being able to walk along the beach which is one of my favourite walks.  Unfortunately, the rain was relentless so we had to abandon the idea of a walk and instead drove round to a cafe I had wanted to walk to.

Oscar’s Festival Cafe

This is a tiny little place along a residential road, just set back from the Bandstand in Broadstairs.  There are 5 tables inside.

4 tables were occupied when we arrived so we were lucky to get a table but we stayed a while and it gradually emptied so I could capture the gorgeousness of it.  I don’t like taking photos of people in cafes and restaurants.

I had a latte while I browsed the menu.

I chose from the specials board, which I always try to do as the specials are usually the best meals available that day.  I went for the winter vegetable tart with salad.

It was really good.  It tasted homemade and was full of vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and courgette.  The salad was fresh and the coleslaw also tasted homemade.

They have homemade cakes under glass domes and of all the things I love to eat but shouldn’t, I think home made cake is the hardest to resist.  I failed to resist and had the lemon syllabub cake.  Yummy.

With a pot of tea.

While we were enjoying tea and cake, the lady who knitted the tea cosy came in and was chatting.  She belongs to a knitting group that meet every Thursday evening in the Queen Charlotte Pub in Ramsgate.  This is a wonderfully quirky and unique pub, very close to our house which I previously blogged about here.

Oscar’s Festival Cafe is really quaint and charming.  The owner was very welcoming and the service was very attentive.  The food was all good too so we will be going back here.

We shared a tub of popcorn in the cinema while we watched Skyfall and then a mango, raspberry and yogurt smoothie for supper.  We didn’t need anything else though as lunch was so substantial.

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It’s a Colourful Life

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I did so much better with my food today = happy happy happy.

Breakfast was called a “green” smoothie.

Made with 1 1/2 cups hazelnut milk, 1 cup kale, 1 cup spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries (you could use fresh) and 4 dates.  Just look at these wonderful nutritious foods.

These frozen berries look too good to eat.  They should be in an oil painting, or a photograph.  Oh good, they are 🙂

My green smoothie turned our rather, erm, brown! Tasted really good though.  If you are apprehensive about a green smoothie but intrigued enough to try one, then try this one – it’s lovely and the dates plus banana make it quite sweet.

Lunch was simple.  I sliced, deseeded and roasted a butternut squash in the oven.  No fat added, just some salt and pepper.  I covered the roasting tray with foil for about 45 minutes and then baked it some more without the foil for another 15 minutes.

I added the baked squash to a salad of lamb’s lettuce, cherry tomatoes and 1/2 an avocado which I topped with Blue Cheese Dressing and tuna in mayonnaise.

This was so colourful it was a pleasure to eat.

That is the end of the Blue Cheese Dressing I made a few nights ago so I will have to make some more.  It’s very easy and really good.  I found this Delia recipe on the internet and adapted it for what I had.  Thank you Delia.

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients (enough for about 8 servings)

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 level tsp English mustard powder
  • 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 150 ml sour cream
  • 40 g blue cheese, crumbled ( I used Stilton)

Method

  • Grind garlic and salt together in a pestle and mortar until it becomes a paste.
  • Blend in the mustard powder, then the lemon juice, vinegar, oil and sour cream.
  • When it is well blended, crumble in the blue cheese.

Delia also added a couple of finely chopped spring onions but I left those out.

I worked from home which makes healthy eating so much easier and saves 3 hours commuting time of which I spent 2 hours working and 1 hour collecting Harvey from school.  Happy again.

This was my view this afternoon from my kitchen table I worked from.  That Copper Beech is certainly living up to its name.

I had a spag bol for supper which I made earlier and am now going to a local hotel, The George in Cranbrook, with Suzanne, Mirella and anyone else who is going to take us up on our open invitation.  I declined a lift so I can walk.  It is about 1 1/2 miles so that will earn at least one drink.  Have a good evening.

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Turkish Autumn Salad

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I apologise for the lack of photos today and the quality but I was a little bit ditsy today.  I completely forgot to photograph my breakfast of yogurt, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, hazelnut milk, blueberries and banana.

I went out with a colleague for lunch.  Something I rarely do but the work is calming down very slightly.  We are still very busy but I had time today to pop out for 45 minutes.

There is a Turkish restaurant on Borough High Street, near London Bridge, called TAS.  We didn’t go there though :-).  A few doors along is the TAS Deli where they do wonderful wraps and salads to take away.  Alternatively, do as we did and eat in.

I chose falaffel and humous with 3 salads.  There was a tabouleh, a chick pea salad and a spinach and apple salad.  They were all really good.

It was good for the soul to get out and hopefully work will stay more “normal” so occasionally I can go out in daylight, especially at this time of year.

Supper was easy.  I reheated a portion of the chicken and sweet potato dishes I made earlier in the week.  The chicken and sweet potato dishes both reheated very well but it all looked rather brown so I added some lambs lettuce, one of my favourite greens.

It looks like a Shepherd’s Pie but it is actually chicken casserole.

I managed to avoid cakes, sweets and chocolates all day 🙂

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Feeling Fresh

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I really enjoyed my breakfast this morning.  It tasted so fresh and alive.  I put 1/4 cup of oats and 1/4 cup oat bran in a tupperware pot with 1 tbsp chia seeds.

I added hazelnut milk, blueberries, a grated apple and a few pecans.  When I ate it at work about 2 hours later, the oats had absorbed the milk and the chia seeds had plumped up a bit.  Blueberries, apples and oats go really well together.  It was excellent.

At lunch time I was headed in to Green Market

when I saw Turnip was open which was unexpected on a Wednesday.

I do like squash and pumpkin season.

And I bought a spit roasted pork sandwich for lunch plus an apple.  It had been cooked with fennel which I think goes really well with pork.  Served in a Ciabatta roll with apple sauce and rocket it was delicious.

Not so bitterly cold today so I enjoyed the sights of London more.  Really liking how they light up the bridges.  This is Southwark Bridge

which I got to see close up because I walked over it to get to Cannon Street station.

Salad for supper: lambs lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, sunflower sprouts and home made blue cheese dressing.  Delicious, juicy, full of flavour and fresh.

It would be a really good day, if only I hadn’t eaten a Snickers bar this afternoon 😦

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