Bucking The Trend

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

We woke up this morning to a light and patchy covering of snow.  Oh my gosh it was cold!  I was going to make a fresh vegetable juice for breakfast but was too cold to do more than dismiss that as a bad idea.  So we had porridge and at Harvey’s request, I left out “those seeds”.  I had mine with coconut nut butter and coconut chips.

30 g oats ( 3 WW points)
100 ml coconut milk ( 1 WW point)
100 ml water
½ a banana
1 tbsp coconut nut butter ( 3  WW points)
1 tbsp coconut chips (2 WW points)

4 of us and our coach braved the icy weather and played tennis this morning.  Are we crazy?  Yes, probably but it was good to get out and hit some balls and run around.

After tennis I went to visit Kath and Matt in Smarden.  I am partly making the most of them before they leave for NZ but today I had a particular mission.  Kath gave me her slow cooker!  It is the only piece of kitchen equipment I have been thinking about buying (well, apart from upgrading my blender).  I love the idea of coming home after a long day out to find a warm meal ready for you.  Now I have one :-).  It even has its manual and a recipe book with it.  Thank you Kath.

Smarden is such a pretty village.  It has 2 pubs in the centre: the Flying Horse

and The Chequers.

As you approach the centre, you get this view of these red rooves, which are beginning to look very old (as indeed they are), as if they are sagging.

you pass this lovely curved wall

which leads to the high street.

The parsonage and cemetery is on the left as you drive by.

I love the variety of architecture there and how old and wibbledy wobbly some of the buildings are.

 

I have seen a lot of recipes recently for buckwheat, which I do not think I have ever had before.  I have been looking out for some raw buckwheat groats for a few weeks and then I found them.  On my doorstep in Vegetare in Cranbrook.

According to the healthy living blogs, you should use raw buckwheat rather than roasted, which is more commonly available.  So having found my buckwheat, I enjoyed searching for a recipe.  One of my favourite blogs, Ashley’s  The Edible Perspective,  has loads of buckwheat recipes and I chose to make the Savory Veggie Buckwheat Bake.  I followed the recipe almost exactly but I used a different cheese.  I did not have any apple sauce either so I chopped up an eating apple and gently steamed it for a few minutes in 2 tbsp water until it softened.  I decided to leave the little chunks of apple as they were, rather than making them smooth like an apple sauce.

To make the buckwheat flour, I used a coffee grinder.

The flour was ready in a matter of seconds.

Cheese and Vegetable Buckwheat Bake

Ingredients (serves 1)

  • 1 large apple
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce (or one apple chopped up and steamed until soft)
  • 2 tbsp almond milk
  • 45 g buckwheat flour
  • 1 tbsp raw buckwheat groats
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 mushrooms, chopped in to small pieces
  • small handful of kale, chopped finely
  • 1 – 2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 1 large tomato
  • 50 g goats cheese or strong cheddar

Method

  • Preheat oven to 180 ° C.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the egg with the apple and milk.
  • Stir in the buckwheat flour, groats, chia seeds, baking powder, salt, garlic and black pepper and mix until combined.

  •  Stir in the mushrooms, kale and basil.

  • Grease the sides and base of a small baking dish.  I used a small pyrex bowl.
  • Pour the mixture in to the dish.

  • Top with slices of tomato.

  • Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the dish from the oven and place the slices of cheese on top of the tomato.
  • Bake for a further 17 – 20 minutes.

This meal has 15 WW points.

I served mine with a mixture of lettuce leaves.  I bought a box of growing salad which I leave on my windowsill and I can snip leaves off as and when I need them.

This was a really lovely lunch and I enjoyed every mouthful.  It tasted of cheese, apple and garlic.  The texture was of a nutty bread and it was moist but not wet and the outside was slightly crunchy and chewy.  The best thing about this recipe is that it will be easy to adapt it to what you have in the fridge.  For example you could use spinach, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes instead of the kale, goat’s cheese and mushrooms.  Or make a sweeter version with raspberries and blueberries in it and serve it with Greek yogurt for breakfast.  Or apple, raisin and cinnamon.  I liked the chunks of apple but I will also try it with smooth applesauce to see how that is.  There are so many possibilities. Thanks Ashley for another fabulous recipe 🙂 .

Supper was a stir fry.  I chopped up carrots, an onion, a red pepper, broccoli and tenderstem broccoli.

I fried the veg, added 3 tbsp of Wagamama Sweet Teryaki Sauce, added the raw king prawns and continued cooking for about 5 minutes.   Quick and easy to make and it was ready.  5 WW points.

The sauce was really sweet.  Too sweet for me but the veg and prawns were lovely.  Harvey enjoyed it and he had his with soba noodles.

I definitely preferred the buckwheat I had for lunch.

Daily WW Points

Breakfast = 9
Lunch = 15
Supper = 5
Extras (milk in tea) = 2

Daily total = 31

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Back On The Wagon

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Yee-ha cowboy.  She is back.  After a few really dreadful days of overeating and particularly eating too many white refined carbs, I woke up this morning feeling fairly grotty.  White bread, which I ate too much of yesterday, does not agree with me.  It makes me feel bloated, windy and lacking in energy and vitality.

To get myself back on the wagon, I chose to keep my diary clear for the day and not go out.  I chose instead to sit inside, read some healthy living blogs and websites and get my diet mojo back.  While I was doing that I put some goodies in to a jug to soak for breakfast:
30 g porridge oats (3 WW points)
1 tsp chia seeds (1 WW point)
100 ml coconut water (1 WW point)
100 ml water
1 cup of frozen raspberries

The point of soaking the ingredients is so the oats soften which makes them easier to digest and so the chia seeds swell up which makes 1 tsp seem more than it is.  It helps keep you feeling full.

I soaked all the ingredients for a couple of hours, then poured them in to my blender with a banana and blitzed until smooth.  Raspberry pink is one of my favourite colours.  So pretty.

This smoothie was just about right in terms of thickness and a good quantity.  It made about 1 and a half of these glasses full.

I read all morning.   I found some sites about people who “juice feast” i.e. live on fruit and vegetable juices only for a period of time.  One man did this for 92 days!  This is not something I want to do, but reading their blogs, about how their energy levels, emotional wellbeing and overall health improved dramatically served as a powerful reminder that eating well makes you feel well.  It really is that simple.  EAT WELL.  FEEL WELL.

While I was reading I made some chicken stock (see how here ).  I had a carcass left over from the roast I made last Thursday.  I used the stock to make a nourishing and tasty soup for lunch which was perfect for such a cold and grey day.

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

Ingredients (Served 1 hungry person)

  • 1 litre of homemade chicken stock (4 WW points)
  • 150 g parsnip (1 large parsnip, peeled with core removed) (3 WW points)
  • 50 g chicken (picked from carcass after making stock) (2 WW points)
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp tarragon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 100 g cottage cheese (optional) (2 WW points)

Method

  • Pour chicken stock in to a large saucepan and bring to simmering point.
  • Chop the parsnip in to 1 inch chunks.
  • Add the turmeric, paprika and tarragon.  Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until the parsnip is soft.

  • Season according to taste.
  • Pour soup in to blender and blitz until smooth.

  • Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
  • Add cottage cheese and blend until smooth.
  • Serve.

When I decided to make soup for lunch, I did not plan to add cottage cheese.  But when I tasted the soup I felt it lacked something.  The cottage cheese blended perfectly to lose its lumps, which some people dislike.  It thickened the texture of the soup and imparted a slightly cheesy flavour.  An excellent addition.  The parsnip gave the soup an earthy sweetness and the turmeric and paprika gave it a wonderful orange colour.  This was delicious.

I drank mine from a large mug as I was continuing my research and eating soup from a spoon is too troublesome when you are simultaneously engaged in another activity.  Since I was home alone I was perfectly happy sipping my hot soup from a large mug.  Lunch was contentedly slurped and research continued :-).

I was sent a link to a blog by The Fresh Network who I ordered some groceries from last week.  There was a very interesting article about detoxing and I read more and more about it.  I am going to do a one week detox, when the kit arrives. Unfortunately I have to wait 5 to 10 days for it but in that time I can prepare my temple.  I have been sent a useful document about how to prepare yourself for the detox so I am starting.

Supper was leftovers.

I had a portion of the Aduki Bean Chilli  ( 5 WW points) which I made last Monday. I didn’t realise it had been in the fridge for so long but it tasted fine.  I had that with 3 of the Chick Pea Patties (8 WW points)  I made last Wednesday.  Searching for the recipe for them made me realise I had not added them to the recipe index so I will get on to that.  I also had a large tomato which I chopped up and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh basil.  Finally I added 1 tbsp of the Tahini Dressing (3 WW points) I made on January 4th.  I can’t believe I made it so long ago!  It tasted great though and went really with the chick pea patties and juicy tomato.

I braved Weight Watchers tonight.  I was dreading it and could easily have not gone as I knew I had put some weight on.  Plus it was freezing cold outside.  But I had to go to get a measure of how bad it was.  I was hugely relieved to see I had only put on half a pound.  So a gain is not a good thing but this was a small gain following a very stressful week.  I have been weighed, so I know the extent of the damage, which is minimal.

I have spent my time wisely today, reading about healthy eating and rekindling my diet mojo.  I am back on my wagon and looking forward to tomorrow.

WW Points Totals

Breakfast 5
Lunch 11
Dinner 16
+ 2 for semi skimmed milk in tea
Daily Total = 34

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Those Magnificent Men

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

It rained heavily early this morning but by 8 am the sun made a big effort to appear.

Harvey and Lucas took the dogs out for a walk.  For a bit longer than I expected so I was relieved to see them back.

They enjoyed their excursion and I remembered that when I was their age I would go off on my bicycle for hours at a time, playing in the streets of the South London suburbs where I grew up.  They had walked along the cliff top promenade which is pedestrian only so it was safe and they were obviously happy enough to go further along than I thought they would.

Once back it was breakfast time.  It is tricky photographing children.   Sometimes neither of them look at you,

and at other times one of them looks gorgeous but the other is not looking!  So you get what you can 🙂

I had scrambled egg and one rasher of bacon on toast.

Several of our visitors have recommended the RAF Museum at Manston.  We had planned to walk along the beach but the weather was cold and cloudy and threatening rain so we went to the museum.  It was only a 5 minutes drive from the house and is located next to Kent International airport at Manston.

Out side was a doodlebug.

Inside we bought our tickets from 2 delightful gentlemen who were very knowledgeable about the museum.  This is one of those museums the British does so well.  It has been put together by enthusiasts.  People who passionately care about the history of the RAF who served at Manston until 1999.  During WWII Manston was very busy, due to its proximity to France.  The museum has obviously been put together on a budget and relies on donations of artefacts.  But it is fascinating and quirky and well worth a visit.  I think they should increase the entrance fee of £1.50 for adults and only 50p for children!

There is a combination of cute little models of the airport and train network,

and real flying machines.

Some are replicas, such as this WWI ambulance.

Why did Zoe need to take several pictures of an old ambulance?

Aha!

There is plenty you can touch and the boys were particularly fascinated by the ejector seat.

As we walked through the different aircraft hangers, there was plenty to see of interest.

All 3 boys wanted a bullet as a souvenir!

In the afternoon I felt rather out of sorts and after a simple lunch of cheese on toast I actually slept all afternoon !  When I woke up I wanted to bake and cook something substantial as we were all feeling very hungry.

The first thing I made were some cookies.  I was desperate for something sweet and decided to give in.  But by baking something myself, I was able to make sure the ingredients were real food with no additives, flavourings or colourings etc.

Based on a recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies I found on a blog called How Sweet It Is, I made some that were slightly healthier.

Coconut and Rasin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • 112 g butter or dairy-free alternative, at room temperature ( I use Pure Soya )
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup light brown soft sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¾ cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup rasins*
  • ¼ cup coconut flakes, chopped*

optional: 1- 2 tablespoons milk, if dough is crumbly
* instead of the raisins and coconut, you could use 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips (which is what the original recipe uses).

Method

Put the butter and 2 sugars in a large bowl.

Beat with electric whisk until combined.
Add the egg and vanilla essence and whisk.

Fold in the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Stir in the oats, raisins and coconut.
If the mixture is crumbly, add 1 tbsp of milk to bring it together (I didn’t need to).
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 190 ° C.
Place spoonfuls of the dough on a baking sheet.  I use my trusty ice-cream scoop.

Flatten the circle slightly and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until beginning to turn golden.

The consistency is in between a cake and a flapjack.  Moist, chewy and very moreish.

For supper we had a chicken pie.  On Thursday, Harvey and I had roast chicken and I made this pie to use up all the left over chicken.  I added vegetables to it so I did not need to cook anything separate.  The entire meal is cooked on one pot, hence I call it:

Chicken One Pot Pie

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 100 g mushrooms, chopped
  • Cooked chicken, ( I had more then half a chicken)
  • Tarragon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Kale
  • Peas (frozen are fine, no need to defrost first)
  • 50 g butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 200 ml chicken stock
  • 300 ml milk (I used soya)
  • 1 packet ready rolled shortcrust pastry

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C.
Heat the oil in a frying and add the onions.  Fry gently for 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes.

Chop up the leftover chicken.

Add the chicken to the pan with the tarragon, salt and pepper and heat though.

Put the kale and peas in the base of a rectangular dish.

Place the chicken, mushrooms and onion mixture on top of the kale and peas.

Heat the butter in a small saucepan and when it is melted, add the flour.
Cook gently for 2 minutes to make the roux.
Mix the milk with the chicken stock in a jug and add to the roux.
Whisk until smooth and thick.  Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.  Pour over the chicken.

Whisk the egg and brush egg on the top of the dish.
Roll out the pastry and press on to the top of the dish.
Brush egg on top of the pastry and make 3 slashes in the pastry so steam can escape during cooking.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Cut in to 4 and serve.

This is a delicious supper and everything you need is in one pot.  So simple and a great way to use up some leftover chicken.

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A Fishy Tale

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I have had rather a lot going on in my life to have managed to blog for a couple of days but today I am back on the blogging horse 🙂 .

Yesterday morning I did a lovely walk with Fiona in the woods.  The sun was shining and the colours in the woods were beautiful.

As I am changing my lifestyle and eating more healthily, I am trying to cut down on refined white carbohydrates like white bread, white pasta and white rice.  But sometimes a bread comes along that just has to be eaten.  I had bought this amazing ciabatta bread with olives in Borough Market the day before.

Big fat full of flavour green olives in a stick of chewy ciabbatta.  I ate it with some foccaccia and duck mousse pate.  Some foods are worth falling off the wagon for and these were definitely worth the tumble.

I felt a little bit “tired” this morning, thanks to a fantastic evening at Jane and Tony’s last night.  I should have taken my camera to capture some of the fun the 10 of us had and the wonderful food we were served.  And so you could see some snippets of Jane’s beautiful home which is like walking in to an interior design magazine.  It was a fabulous evening, in part due to the setting and the food but mainly because of the wonderful company.  Just what I needed after a couple of fraught days.

I was very happy to walk in to the kitchen this morning and see the little fella busy making himself some scrambled eggs.  I am so happy that he is now confident enough to cook a simple breakfast on his own, and does not need my help at all.  Even if it means there are no eggs left for me!

I made myself porridge for breakfast: 30 g oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 100 ml coconut milk, 50 ml water and 1 banana.

It was a bit too thick so I grated a juicy red skinned pear on top which made it perfect.

Harvey and I went shopping in Cranbrook this morning and the farmer’s market was on.  I treated us to some smoked haddock from the fish stall.

I think it it quite expensive but it is such amazing quality fish, it is worth every penny.  It is fish as it should be, bright, shiny, and not at all slimy or smelly.  And not artificially dyed either.

I wanted to eat the haddock with some spinach and kale and I decided to make kedgeree.

Adapted from Delia Smith’s recipe for ‘Buttery Kedgeree’ in the Complete Cookery Course, I made a less buttery but still delicious kedgeree.  Delia’s, and many other recipes include eggs but I don’t think you need the extra protein so I leave them out.

Kedgeree (serves 3 – 4)

  • 500 g smoked haddock
  • 570 ml cold water
  • 50 g butter or non dairy equivalent
  • 1 onion or 4 shallots, chopped
  • 3/4 tsp Madras curry powder
  • White long grain rice*, measured to the 225 ml level of a measuring jug
  • 2 heaped tbsp parsley, chopped
  • Juice from 1/4 of a lemon
  • Black pepper

* I only had paella rice and used that which worked very well.

Method

  • Put the haddock fillets in a saucepan and cover with the cold water.  Bring to the boil, put on the lid and simmer gently for 8 minutes.
  • Transfer the fillets to a dish, cover in foil and keep warm.
  • Pour the cooking liquid in to a measuring jug and remove enough liquid so you are left with 450 ml.
  • Melt 50g butter (or non dairy equivalent) in the pan you just used to cook the fish and gently cook the onion for 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the curry powder and rice and stir to cover in the buttery onions.
  • Add the cooking liquid, bring back to simmering point, cover and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender.
  • Turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes so the rice finishes cooking in the steam.
  • Flake the haddock and stir in the the rice.
  • Add the parsley, lemon juice and black pepper and stir carefully so the kedgeree is well mixed.

Delia adds boiled eggs and another 50g butter but I did not.

I served it with some kale and spinach I stir fried in the water left on the leaves from washing them  i.e. I washed them in a colander, did not shake the excess water off and put them in a hot pan until they wilted slightly.  It was a very tasty meal and the best bit by far was the fish.

In the afternoon we headed to Ramsgate with Harvey’s friend Lucas.  James cooked supper for which I was grateful as I felt exhausted.  We had wild boar and apple sausages which were delicious with carrots and potatoes mashed together.

So giving up the white carbs, which I have been doing really well with, has fallen by the wayside over the last few days.  I need to re-focus my efforts.

Posted in Diet Struggles, Keep It Local, Recipe | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Chicks Peas and Patty

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

First of all I apologise for a briefer than usual blog.  Maybe you will prefer it?  But I am busy today so need to be brief.

Having read more on Sarah Wilson’s blog about quitting sugar, it appears you can eat banana and coconut water.  So I did!

Today’s smoothie was:
100 ml coconut water (1 WW point),
100 g Greek yogurt(4 WW points),
1 tbsp ground flax seed (2 WW points),
1 banana,
1 serving protein powder (3 WW points).

It was runnier than I like them and was like drinking a glass of frothy milk.  Sweet milk.  The flavour was lovely but I like them thicker.

I met Lisa and we had a lovely walk through the woods and round the orchard.  The rain held off and we have a good old chin wag – now there’s a surprise!

I haven’t cooked a new recipe for a little while so today was the day.  I have recently come across a great blog called Scandi Foodie which is written by a Finnish lady who now lives in Sydney.  She has loads of recipes I want to try and today I made Chickpea Patties with Avocado Dip.  Unusually for me, I made them quite faithfully to the original as I had all the ingredients.

Chick Pea Patties with Avocado Dip

Ingredients (made 12 patties)

  • 1 tin chickpeas, washed and drained
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp ground almonds
  • 2 tsp coconut oil (for frying)
  • ½ avocado
  • juice of  ½ lemon
  • salt

Method

Put chick peas in a blender with the sesame seeds, paprika, ginger, olive oil, lemon, egg, salt and pepper.

 Blend until either smooth or coarsely chopped, depending on your preference.
Use wet hands to form small patties of the mixture and place on a plate.

Or if like me you are a gadget queen, use an ice-cream scoop, and you get 12 even sized blobs of mixture.


Put in fridge for 20 minutes so they firm up which makes them easier to handle.
Dredge each patty with ground almonds and flatten gently.

Fry for about 3 minutes on each side.

To make the avocado dip, mash the avocado with lemon juice and salt until as smooth or coarsely mashed as you like.

I served the patties with rocket and a very juicy tomato.

They tasted really good.

I enjoyed making them.   I was very hungry so I used all of a medium sized avocado.  I was horrified to see that my lunch came to 24 WW points !!!  It seems so much for something so healthy.

I am pleased I have 6 left over in the fridge for another day.  But they are so high in points I think I will give them to Harvey.  He will enjoy those in a pitta bread with some Tahini sauce and cherry tomatoes for tea.

I am going to have a small baked potato and a lamb chop.  So I am well over my points today which is irritating as I ate very healthily and have felt hungry most of the day.

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The City

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I wanted to start the day with a boost of vitamins so I made a smoothie:
1 cup of frozen raspberries,
36g of a low sugar protein powder (3 points),
200 ml unsweetened soya milk (1 point),
1 tbsp chia seeds (2 points),
Handful of raw spinach,
Iced water to get to desired consistency.

I really missed not having a banana in it for sweetness.  This may have been good for me but it did not taste very appetising.  I suspect you already knew it would not taste great when you saw the spinach in there didn’t you?  It was drinkable though so I finished it.  On the plus side, it did sustain me very well until lunch time.  I managed 2 of these glasses full of smoothie.

Lunch was a goats cheese and chicken salad in Pizza Express with my dear chum Karen.  13 points.

I then met a Recruitment Consultant who had an office with a lovely view of City rooftops.  There are many new and architecturally interesting buildings in London but also so many very old and beautiful buildings.  Look at this wonderful copper dome and the stonework.

A tip for the next time you are in London (or any other City probably) is to look up.  At eye level you often have walls of plate glass windows to look at.  But look up to appreciate the architecture.  The tops of buildings are often the most ornate.  From this window I could look out on to one of the buildings I worked in many years ago.

Despite the light rain I wanted to walk back along memory lane to London Bridge station.  I had plenty of time and The City is a maze of ancient streets that are a pleasure to walk around.  You don’t see many of these anymore!

It is an old Police phone box, i.e. a phone you could use with a direct link to the local Police station.  It no longer works, like so many of the red phone boxes but I hope they continue to preserve it.

Walking back to London Bridge I passed new builds,

and ancient, such as the very lovely Leadenhall Market.  There has been a market here since the 1st Century!!!  The first covered market was built in the 17th Century when parts of London were rebuilt following the Great Fire.  I used to work very close to here and wander through this market place for lunch every day, usually at Cranks, which sadly closed down years ago.  The market is well looked after these days and often seen in films.

Beside London Bridge is The Monument, which commemorates The Great Fire of London in 1666.

This used to be easy to see for miles around but you only notice it nowadays when you walk past it.

This relief/sculpture round the base is beautiful.  How talented were the people/person who made this!

Walking over London Bridge, The Shard was in cloud.  This is the building that has been controversial because it obscures the view of St.Paul’s Cathedral from some areas of London which previously had a perfect view.

Looking East from London Bridge, you can see HMS Belfast, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  The tall white and grey building to the right of the Tower is America Square where I worked in the 1990’s.

From London Bridge Station, you are at the base of The Shard and another new build, the London Bridge Quarter.

Back at home I felt hungry and heated up 80 g Halloumi cheese (8 points) which I served with an orange.  Sorry it’s such a bad photo but the light was bad and I was too hungry to faff about.  I was actually having a major sugar craving.  It was about 4:30pm and I had just got home.  I really wanted a cup of tea and a piece of cake.  Luckily I didn’t have cake in the house but I could have found something sugary to eat so I am pleased I resisted and had some cheese and fruit instead.

Supper was delicious and hit the spot perfectly.

Grilled lamb steak with fat cut off (5 points), steamed leek and tender stem broccoli which I had with 2 tsp butter.

I don’t often eat a chunk of red meat and rarely fancy eating it.  But I did today and it was delicious.

I am still struggling with sugar cravings but I beat the cravings today.  Thank you to Therese in Australia who sent me a link to Sarah Wilson’s site.  She has written a book about quitting sugar.  I haven’t bought it but I may do.  For now I am looking through her blog which has many sugar free or low sugar recipes and suggestions on giving it up.  The comments pages on some of the posts are very interesting as they are written by people who are trying to give up/cut down on sugar too.  All these resources and my determination will help me beat this addiction.

Posted in Diet Struggles, History | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Bean Chilli

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

It’s bean chilli tonight.  And it’s been chilly today 🙂  I love the English language, you can have so much fun with it.

Ok, so I am on a major mission to rid myself of the sugar cravings that resurface at every single opportunity I give them.  I have a sugar overload, such as the lovely tea-party on Friday, and I then battle really strong sugar cravings.  It’s so hard.  To knock them back down again, I am having a week of no added sugar and low carbs.  So I will try and avoid starchy carbs like potatoes, rice and pasta all together.  I will however eat pulses, beans, lentils and vegetables and some fruit.

I started well with a 2 egg omelette with 40 g Halloumi cheese and some wilted kale.  That came to 11 WW points (2 for each egg, 4 for the cheese and 3 for 2 tsps oil).

I went shopping at lunch time for some black trousers because my old ones are just too baggy 🙂 .  I am having lunch with a friend in the City tomorrow and even though I have known her for donkeys years and she won’t care what I wear, I want to look smart, not like some country bumpkin.  I bought some.  What was particularly exciting about my new trousers, was the fact I bought them in a regular High Street shop.  Not a glamorous or expensive shop but an ordinary shop.  This is exciting to me because for years I have been restricted to shops that sell clothes in larger sizes.  Not any longer.  I was thrilled and am looking forward to wearing my ordinary trousers tomorrow because to me they are really special.

I got back later than I had planned so I just had a quick lunch of 110 g ham (5 points) and an orange.  I had some Brunswick ham which is a smoked German ham.  It’s very lean and tasted delicious.

The orange was lovely too.  Citrus fruits are fantastic at this time of year, sweet and juicy.

I then set about cooking supper.  I got out my beloved copy of Veg Every day! and flicked through until I found a recipe I hadn’t made before and fancied for today.  On page 23 I found Pinto Bean Chilli.  Adapted, as usual, to use the ingredients I did have, I made:

Aduki Bean Chilli

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 10 mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 400 g tin of tomatoes
  • 400 g tin of aduki beans, washed and drained (or any can of beans you happen to have)
  • 100 ml red wine
  • Handful each of parsley, coriander and oregano, chopped
  • 200 ml water
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan, add onions and sweat, stirring occasionally until soft.
  2. Add the garlic, cumin and cayenne.  Stir and cook for a minute.
  3. Add the mushrooms and red pepper and stir to coat in the spices.
  4. Add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, aduki beans, red wine and herbs.
  5. Pour over 200 ml water and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Simmer gently for 25 – 30 minutes until the veg are tender.
  7. Taste and season.

I made it far too spicy for my family and that is having left out the green chillis!  So I put half in to the freezer and served myself one portion.  It was delicious.  1 portion, i.e. ¼ of the above recipe, has 5 WW points.

Hugh F-W suggests serving this with guacamole, shredded lettuce, soured cream and cheese. Plus rice and flatbreads.  I did not have all that to hand.

I served mine with 40 g Cheddar (5 WW points),

Half an avocado I mashed in to the juice of 1 lime with salt and then added a large chopped tomato ( 4 WW points),

and 30g Greek yogurt (1 WW point).  I needed that to manage the heat.

I am happy with how I ate today and I have ended the day having used up all my points but no more.  Plus I have 5 activity points in the bank from a lovely walk I did with Lucy in the forest this morning.

As my friend Laura in Canada said, “Make It Happen Motivational Monday”.  I did make it happen and I am pleased with that.  Sugar craving – be banished!

 

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Seals, I See You

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Good morning Ramsgate and thank you for a glorious sunny morning 🙂

Cooked breakfast because it’s Sunday: 2 rashers of bacon, half a large tomato and 2 eggs scrambled in some butter.

I had a little companion here today 🙂

We headed off to the Pegwell Bay Country Park which is about a 5-10 minute drive away, towards Sandwich.

There are walking trails, information boards

and a large bird hide.

From here you can sit on the bench and look out over the bay at a very diverse bird population.  And seals at the mouth of the River Stour.

We didn’t expect to see these here!

There is some interesting history in this area.  During WW1 and WW2, this was the landing and embarkation site of the train ferry, which transported trains across the sea to France.

We saw some more seals on the banks of the River Stour.

It was a lovely walk.  Not very long but interesting.  Bizzarely, the nature reserve was overcast and windy.  Back in Ramsgate, there was only a gentle breeze and the sun was out.  The yachts bobbed about in the marina, sparkling in the sunshine.

I was busy with chores but hungry from the walk so lunch was not diet friendly or healthy.  I had 2 bagels.  One with Apricot kernel butter and another with Gouda and garlic sausage.  Not healthy at all.  Eek.

Supper was better.  Some salmon on a bed of kale and tender stem broccoli.

This was really tasty.  I then ate a bowl of Greek yogurt with honey and dried fruits and nuts.  Too much sugar again 😦

I have eaten too much since Friday but my points start again from tomorrow and I will revert to tracking everything again.  Sugar addiction is a terrible thing.  I am going to try to eat no added sugar and low carb all week, to get that sugar craving back under control.

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Slices of Quince

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter.  This is her first birthday I have ever not shared with her and I felt very sad about it this morning.  Lara always has pancakes for breakfast on her birthday.  They are American pancakes which are thick and light and fluffy and served with maple syrup.   It is her favourite food and we make the birthday pancakes from a wonderful book called The Heritage of Southern Cooking.  This is one of my favourite cookbooks for reading through as it is quite chatty and has lots of information about the heritage of some of the dishes and photos from the South in times gone by.  How can you not love a book with recipes for “Charleston Cream of Oyster Soup”, “Old Seelbach House Perfect Chicken Hash”, “Clouds in Chocolate Cream” and”Tender Coconut Custard”?

We made these pancakes over Christmas, so in honour of my daughter, I share this wonderful recipe with you all today.  Lara had to make her own pancakes today (which she did 🙂 ) and these are pictures of some we shared a few weeks ago.  I have been eating American pancakes as long as I can remember and this is the best recipe by light years.

These pancakes can in no way be classified as diet friendly or healthy.  They are loaded with refined carbs and sugar and fat.  But they taste so amazing, everyone should eat these at least once in their lives and enjoy them.

They are not the quickest to make so take heed of the introduction to the recipe in the book:

American Pancakes

  • 7 tbsp unsalted butter
    2 ½ cups / 375 g plain flour
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 2 cups / 400 ml milk*
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
    Banana (optional)
    Crispy bacon (optional)

* we have made these with soya milk and they work very well.  Use your preferred milk.

Method

  • Gently melt 7 tbsp butter over a low heat.  Set aside when it is melted.
  • Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in to a bowl and set aside.
  • Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and blend.  Add the milk and blend again, either by hand or with an electric whisk.
  • Add the dry ingredients (flour etc) and blend gently but thoroughly.
  • Gently stir in the melted butter.

  • Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.  Gently fold in to the batter mixture.

  •  If you can bear to wait, let the batter stand for 20 – 30 minutes.  We have never managed to wait and they taste great!
  • Melt the solid buyer with the oil in a small saucepan and use to cook the pancakes.
  • Heat up a heavy based pan and add a small amount of the butter oil mix.  Brush the butter/oil over the pan base.
  • Add batter to pan – 3 – 4 tbsp for each pancake is plenty.
  • If you want a banana pancake, push slices of banana in to the pancake as they are cooking.

  • When the underside is brown, turn the pancakes over.  You can tell they are ready for turning because the pancake can easily be pushed around the pan and the top side has lots of air holes.
  • Serve at once with butter and maple syrup.  Bacon is good on the side if you have any.

These pancakes are a little taste of heaven – try them 🙂

I did not have pancakes today.  I had a ham omelette with spinach.

While the omelette was folded over in the pan, I put the spinach in the other half of the pan so it could wilt slightly.  A very tasty and sugar free and low carb breakfast.

We went out for lunch with Kath and Matt.  They are preparing to emigrate to New Zealand ( 😦 😦 😦 ) so we are trying to make the most of them being round the corner.  I had asked Matt in the week to help me with something for an interview I have next week.  Yes of course he said.  All come over for lunch and we can chat.  So we did.

 We did not dine on mince but we had wholewheat pasta with chicken and vegetables with some cheese on top.

Followed by slices of quince in a crumble and custard.  Eaten with a silver spoon – we couldn’t find a runcible one.

At the moment, they live in Smarden where several of their neighbours have quince trees.  If you have never had a quince then look out for them.  They are a a member of the apple family and look like a small lumpy yellow apple.  But they are incredibly hard and inedible raw.  Kath baked them in the oven until they were soft and then peeled them and made a crumble with them.  They turn a lovely reddy brown colour when they are cooked and taste delicious.  So delicious I had a second helping.  Which was really naughty but I couldn’t help it.

So having rung up to ask a favour, we ended up being fed and I was given a gorgeous suit and jacket too.  You can see why we love these guys!!

We are in Ramsgate for the rest of the weekend.   I had bought some salmon and loads of veg for supper but I am so full that I have decided to not eat anything else until tomorrow.  I am enjoying a lovely glass of red wine though.  We may go and hold hands and dance on the sand in the light of the moon.

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Vintage Tea Party

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I had a campaign for today.  A plan of attack. A strategy.  To prepare for an afternoon treat, I had a lightish breakfast and went on a very long walk.

Breakfast was 40 g porridge oats, 100 ml soya milk, 150 ml water, blueberries, apple and cinnamon.  I put all the ingredients, except the apple, in a pan and brought to the boil then simmered for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.  I then grated the apple in, stirred and served.

The apples and cinnamon go with porridge perfectly and the blueberries added some vitamins and a splash of colour. After I had served and photographed my bowl, I added 1 tbsp of coconut nut butter for protein and fat.

After dropping Harvey off at school, I drove further than normal as I wanted to go on a walk with a measured distance.  There is a forest about 15 minutes away with a 9 km trail for cycling and walking along.  I know I am quite a slow walker but I want to know my walking speed so I wanted to know how long it would take to walk this distance.  Unfortunately, there was a long diversion as parts of the forest were out of bounds due to logging.

I am not sure if that made the walk longer or shorter!  I know I walked for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

I think this is where the Gruffalo lives.

No wonder these trees topple in the wind – their root system is incredibly shallow for such a tall tree.

This fallen tree has a new tree growing in its base!

Not many ducks or geese on the lake today.

The dogs both barked at this monkey statue which made me laugh.

I enjoyed my long walk but when I got home I was really hungry.  I had some Cranberry sauce left in the fridge from Christmas.  I made this using a recipe from Oh She Glows.  It was really easy and only contains 3 ingredients: fresh cranberries, maple syrup and salt.

I ate some Knekkebrod with cottage cheese and cranberry sauce.

It was delicious.

Unfortunately it was a bad lunch choice because I felt really hungry after my walk and ate more then the 3 pictured.  I also ate 2 with cheddar and 3 with butter and Marmite.  Unfortunately these knekkebrod are so delicious and moreish I need to get them finished and not make any more for a while!  I should have eaten a more substantial lunch, rather then pick at these.

I spent the afternoon at a Vintage Tea Party.  It was fabulous.  Mirella and I went together to The Tower House in Tenterden which is a beautiful Georgian house built in 1750.  It is run as a B&B by the owners who collect and furnish their beautiful home with all manner of vintage wonders.  Look at their website and click on the 2 magazines they have been featured in recently to see how gorgeous this house is.  If you ever fancy a trip to this part of Kent, I can not recommend this as a place to stay highly enough.

This afternoon (and tomorrow, but I am afraid they have sold out), Pippa is hosting a Vintage Tea Party which is a slightly eccentric way to spend an afternoon.  It was bonkers in a brilliant way and Mirella and I had a fantastic time.

We were greeted by Pippa and Stella,

who showed us to our pretty table set beside the fire.

We knew it was our table :-).

The table was set so beautifully.

The first delight to come our way was a “Poinsettia” cocktail.  I can’t remember what was in it apart from Prosecco.  It was delicious and I loved the original Babysham fawn that was on the tray.

We were given a tower of amazing savoury and sweet delectables.  The bread was homemade and cut very thin.  We had cucumber sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, salmon blinis, prawn choux buns and mini salmon tarts.  It was all so elegant.

On the sweet layer was some fruit cake, a chewy yummy something, mini meringues sandwiched with cream and fresh raspberries, strawberry and cream shortcake, scone with cream and strawberries and white chocolate choux buns.

Then there was a miniature sherry trifle.  So retro.  Love it.  It was very sherry 🙂

It was so beautifully presented and ALL tasted as wonderful as it looked.  Visitors were seated in the pretty dining room or the double sitting room.  We were in the sitting room which had several tables set up in it.  We chatted to our neighbours who enjoyed their tea as much as we did.  This afternoon was English tradition with an eccentric twist at its best.

We had a choice of teas served in a vintage teapot (we went for Darjeeling) and finally a choice of about 5 different cakes.  I had the carrot cake which was yummy.

I think I ate about a gazillion points/calories today.  I have no idea how to count those points so I am not going to.  This afternoon was a one off and not something I can do often.  I love a traditional afternoon tea and this was a fabulous one.  It was a fun afternoon and I don’t regret any of it.  Thank you Stella and Pippa for an amazing tea and please invite me to your next special event.

I am too full from this afternoon’s feast to need anything for supper other than another cuppa.  More tea Vicar?

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