28th January 2011 facebook email

Success comes in CANS not CAN'TS!

Well I’ve just watched Gino cook naked on this morning! It’s on playback on Iplayer, you don’t see anything tho, it’s all very tasteful ;-) But the dish he cooked was scrumptious even if it works out at 22pp a portion, I’m sure about 5pp could be shaved off that if I used half the amount of butter and olive oil.
A member last night had been to M&S for her lunch and picked up a can of butternut squash soup, got back to the office and after working it out, realised it had 12 ProPoints in! She didn’t eat it, especially after thinking a MacDonalds Big Mac is only 13 ProPoints, I know which I’d rather have!

Anyone who likes Pink & Whites, they’re only 59p in Home Bargains, 2 ProPoints per wafer, or indulge yourself and have 2 wafers for 3 ProPoints, one time when the rounding up/down works in your favour.

I love Fridays because I don’t have to rush to get to a meeting, I can do my paperwork at my leisure, walk the dog for as long as we both fancy and generally take my time with everything, which is lovely after the rushing round constantly all week. I fancy cooking something new today so will have a look through my books, something with chicken in though as I bought 4 of them yesterday reduced to £2.30 each in Co-op! I can feel some batch-cooking coming on! Co-op have also got the new Weight Watchers ProPoint products on half price, pizza for £1.40, yogurts 4 for 79p not bad eh.

So it’s Friday, almost the weekend and most of us get to chill out a bit, and the majority of you struggle to stay on track because you have more time on your hands, you want to have a drink, maybe a takeaway. Personally I’ve realised the takeaway thing isn’t that great, it’s something we desire because we relate it to a treat, but when I had a Chinese two weeks ago and actually sat, focused and tasted the food, it wasn’t that great. The Nigella’s 40 garlic chicken recipe I made yesterday and served with mashed butternut squash & julienne carrots was much more tastier, and it all took exactly 30 minutes to prepare then I just left it in oven for 90 minutes. My mate had a portion for her tea instead of her weekly weigh night Chinese and she agreed, her actual words on my facebook wall were;

“Ohhh marr goshhh
That chicken was superb!!!! Better than any dodgy china !!! Thankyou x

So if you’re tempted by the take away, ask yourself why, is it really the convenience of not having to prepare food (microwave ready meals can be just as quick, as tasty, cheaper and lower in ProPoints) or is it that you want a treat, again ask yourself is it really a treat wasting a tenner on something that isn’t that tasty or that good for you, could you make your own better version at home. I just shared this recipe on facebook with a member, it’s so quick (ready in 15 minutes), huge (Makes lots, plenty for 2, enough for 4!) and super tasty plus the entire dish is only ProPoints which means you have some left for something else, a drink or a bar of chocolate

Keema Concoction serves 4 at 5pp each

2 sprays of ww oil spray (2pp)
350g pack of quorn mince (9pp)
1 bunch spring onion(s), chopped
250g chopped mushrooms
1 yellow pepper, chopped
125 g cooked frozen peas (3pp)
3 cloves garlic
1 piece ginger, 2cm, fresh and grated
2 tbsp curry powder (2pp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
300ml vegetable stock using 1 oxo cube
2 tbsp chutney, mango (4pp)

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the mince, add the garlic, ginger and onion and stir, then add mushrooms, and peas stirring well. Continue frying gently for approx 5 mins. Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further minute, then mix in the cinnamon. Add the stock or water & chutney. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 5- 10 minutes until cooked.

Why not serve with 100g oven chips each for an additional 5pp.

So this weekend before you indulge in something whether it be a takeaway or a Greggs steak bake, or a bar of galaxy, ask yourself why you really want it, is it about the flavour or is it for another reason, such as “because its not fair that I can’t have it”, “because it’s a treat”, whatever your reason.

I know when I was at my heaviest, my favourite excuse was, “I just like food”, that wasn’t actually true, the truth was, “I just ate food often”, I didn’t really taste it, I just ate it. These days, I enjoy flavours, I focus on my food and I really, really enjoy food.

Have a Foody Friday xx