Sunshine, curry sauce & taking time for me!

20th July 2016

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.  Andy Warhol.

There's a lovely breeze blowing through my window this morning, much welcome after yesterdays heat, looking at the forecast, we may be getting ourselves a bit of a storm later today.  You've gotta love the British weather!

I stuck with No Count, scrambled egg and crumpet for breakfast, a Weight Watcher Chicken & Mushroom bake for lunch (free on No Count) and for tea after we were talking about coleslaw in the meeting, I had to stop on my way home, the second Tesco garage I went too had a pot but it was full fat so cost me 3sp for a tablespoon - ouch.  It was worth it though, a lovely salad with cottage cheese and potato salad, a bit of chicken, perfect. 

Need to make my own No Count or at least lower version of Coleslaw, coleslaw is really only shredded cabbage and carrots with low fat mayo, you could add grated apple to it for a bit of a twist.  Potato salad again is potato and mayo, nice to add spring onion, or diced onion, maybe chives or parsley.  You could add a bit of mustard, maybe diced bacon medallions, that'd be nice!  It isn't until I have potato salad I realise how much I like it.  I also like cottage cheese a lot, served with fresh pineapple it's delicious.

We sometimes forget the foods we enjoy, which is why it's always good to have a browse round the supermarket occasionally, of course make sure you're not hungry or having one of those days when you just want to eat!  It's a great time to do it at the moment as they're cooler than outside.

Just skimming through old cook books and I've found a good recipe I've made in the past that's tasty, No Count curry sauce (the whole recipe is only 2sp), I know curry isn't the first thing that comes to mind in this weather but...

No Count Curry Sauce

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh root ginger (I'd use frozen)

2 teaspoons madras curry powder (I'd use whatever curry powder I'd got!)

200g can chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons artificial sweetener

25g virtually fat-free fromage frais

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Spray a large saucepan with the cooking spray, add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute.  Add the curry powder and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until it smells fragrant and the onion mixture is coated in the curry powder.

Add the tomatoes, 2-3 tablespoons of water and the sweetener.  Stir well and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes until thickened.

Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, or mash with a potato masher.  Return to the pan and add the fromage frais, fresh herbs and seasoning.  Stir well, and heat through very gently before serving (do not boil or the fromage frais will split the sauce and make it look curdled).

I'd be tempted to make double quantity and freeze some, tastes great on No Count actifry chips or with a breast of chicken on a bed of brown rice.

Right better get ready for my day, not sure what's on the menu, thinking tinned tuna with something, I'll have a mooch in the cupboard when I go down.  Liking the fact all I have is good food, so I haven't got to over think it.  I do need more salad though now.

Here's to a healthy day folks, make sure you're not neglecting yourself whilst your making your way through this thing called life.  I realised making time for my meeting last Friday didn't just help to get me on track, it also instilled in my head that I am important enough to prioritise, to move other things around for, yep I matter too.  Do you?