Food glorious food...

16^th September 2017

You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.

Long day ahead for me today and I woke at 4am – yay, thanks for that universe!  Thankfully we had an early night, it’s been a strange week really with workmen here, missing my meetings and doing other stuff.  It was lovely to do my meeting last night though, really was and I’ve just looked and we had over 2lb average lost per person, how fab is that! 

I tried to eat healthier, I think I managed it until I found moms biscuits, what the hell and I get weighed today, I was doing so well too, I’m hoping the not so good hasn’t done too much damage this week and I still get a loss since the last time she weighed be.  The rest of my day wasn’t so bad, I had toast for breakfast, then I managed to get to the cooker to make a delicious omelette with onion, peppers, tinned potatoes and tomatoes for lunch, then for my tea I had 5 biscuits and a small portion of this that my sister made;

Cheeseburger pie! (27sp total, 7sp per serving, serves 4) 

500g 5% fat minced beef (12sp) Chopped large onion Seasoning 2oz grated mature cheddar (9sp) (or 6sp) Cathedral city lighter)

2 whisked eggs (4sp) 1/4 pt skimmed milk (2sp)

Fry mince and onions in pan with spray oil
Spread in bottom of baking dish
Whisk eggs, stir in milk and grated cheese
Pour over minced beef
Bake till firm

It wasn’t bad at all, my sister and I agreed it needed more eggs.

I love seeing food ideas like this, really helps to change up meals, I had some coupons from Waitrose the other day and there was a delicious looking Lentil & tomato stew with chicken recipe in there.  Here it is;

Lentil & tomato stew with chicken, serves 4, 5sp per portion, takes 35 minutes

Gluten Free

1 tbsp olive oil (4sp)
500g pack British chicken breast fillets, sliced (5sp)
2 Red Onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can Plum Tomatoes
400g can Lentils In Water, drained (6sp)
75g Pitted Black Olives In Brine, drained and roughly chopped (3sp)

1. Heat the oil in a large shallow saucepan for frying pan and gently fry the chicken and onions for 10 minutes until browned, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute.

2. Add the tomatoes, lentils, olives and 150ml water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 12-15 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (no pink meat) and the sauce has thickened slightly. Season to taste and serve.
 

You could make it less by not using the oil, but I’d be inclined to keep it for taste, on No Count, the oils your daily allowance, so you’ll only be pointing the olives, I need this in my life when my kitchen is sorted.

Here’s a hearty soup one I’ve just found on their website whilst looking for the last recipe, it’s No Count too! 

Spiced cannellini and lentil soup

Preparation time: 25 minutes, cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4, 4sp per serving (14sp total)

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1½ tbsp tomato purée (1sp)
• 2 tsp medium curry powder (1sp)
• 2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (11sp)
• 60g red split lentils, rinsed (1sp)
• 1 litre fresh vegetable stock
• squeeze lemon juice
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• pinch dried chilli flakes

1 Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large deep pan set over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sweat for 12 minutes, stirring every now and again, until soft and slightly golden.

2 Add the garlic, tomato purée and curry powder to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Set a handful (about 75g) of the beans aside to garnish, then add the rest to the pan with the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid ajar for 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Blend the soup to a smooth consistency and season to taste.

3 In a small bowl, mix the reserved cannellini beans with the remaining 1 tsp olive oil, the chopped parsley and a small pinch of crushed sea salt. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the reserved beans and a sprinkling of chilli flakes. A dollop of natural yogurt makes a good topping, too, if liked.

Right now I’m hungry I’m off to get ready for work, catch some of you in a little while…