Healthy & Happy but unlikely to be lighter!

20^th August 2013

 

When you choose to forgive those who have hurt you, you take away their power.

 

Well I’ll be amazed and chuffed if I manage a loss today, bearing in mind all the medication I've been taking, plus the lack of movement but whatever the outcome I’ll continue with the healthy & happy approach because I know it’s good for me.  My necks still swollen and painful but I’m a bit better in myself so I can at least work, wish the antibiotics would take the damn swelling down though.

 

My tracker looked like this yesterday;

 Breakfast – strawberry & red berry squash smoothie - 0pp

Brunch – 2 crumpets, tinned tomatoes, poached egg - 7pp

Tea – goulash & sweet potato mash – 13pp

Supper – pancake (5pp), banana, raspberries, blueberries, 0% greek yogurt, drizzle honey – 7pp

Glass wine 6pp

 

Total 33pp

 

Chilled again yesterday but did manage to walk Alfie and also I cooked the beef goulash from a recipe which was to die for, I served mine with sweet potato mash because that’s what was in the house, my beef was £12 because I went to Co-op as I didn’t wanna drive far, but it was delicious and made six portions, so about £2.50 a portion but I’m sure you can get beef cheaper elsewhere!  Here’s the recipe;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Co-op pancakes is 5pp or 3 of the Warburton's Scotch Pancakes, depends what you fancy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Goulash

Serves 6, 7pp per serving, or completely F&H

 

1kg good braising steak, preferably chuck steak (35pp)

1 tbsp sunflower oil (4pp)

3 medium onions, cut into 12 wedges

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp hot smoked paprika

1 tbsp paprika (1pp)

1 beef oxo stock cube

600ml cold water

400g can of chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree (1pp)

2 bay leaves

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 orange pepper

Flaked sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat over to 170^oC/Fan 150^oC/Gas 3.5.  Trim any hard fat off the beef and cut the meat into rough 4cm chunks.  Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper.

 

Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish.  Add the steak and fry over a high heat until nicely browned all over, turning regularly.  Tip the onions into the pan and cook with the beef for 5 minutes until softened.  Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minutes, stirring regularly.

 

Sprinkle both paprikas over the meal and crumble the beef stock cube on top.  Add the water, tomatoes, tomato puree and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper, stir well and bring to a simmer.  Cover with a tightly fitting lid and transfer the dish to the oven.  Cook for 1.5 hours.

 

While the beef is cooking, remove the core and seeds from each pepper and chuck them away.  Cut each pepper into chunks of about 3cm.  When the beef has cooked for 1 ½ hours, carefully remove dish from the oven.  Stir in the peppers, put the lid back on and put the goulash back in the oven for a further hour or until the beef is meltingly tender. 

 

Serve with small portions of brown rice (for extra ProPoints) and spoonfuls of soured cream if you life (for extra ProPoints), but don’t be too generous soured cream contains less fat than double crem but still has 1pp per tablespoon.

 

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At least I don’t have to cook today, will have a portion of goulash with rice, I did pick up a chicken reduced to £2 which I shall cook in one of those bags, I love a bargain.

 

Here’s to a fast day J not one for rushing through life but I’d like to forward my week until I get my neck back to normal size, don’t like taking painkillers especially when they’re not working that well!  I’m sure my members will take my mind of it though and lift my spirits.

 

Eat Gorgeous, got cook the goulash & remember to BeYouTiful. x