Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Monday, 10 March 2014
Diet? What Diet?! 2 Ingredient Banana Pancakes
I just have to share these insane pancakes. They're the healthiest, tastiest pancakes around and best of all they're made from just two ingredients.
Monday, 19 August 2013
Food: guilt free egg fried rice
I'm back after a lovely week in the lakes. This first post was going to be based on our holiday, but having tried the most amazing healthy recipe last night, the lakes will have to wait, and I must share with you a recipe for guilt free egg fried rice.
As an avid reader of the Londoner blog, I always enjoy Rose's food posts and have successfully managed to make quite a few of her recipes.
Having eaten my fair share of naughty foods away last week (think lots of bacon and egg breakfast baps - obviously essential due to all the walking), a healthy meal was long over due.
Rose's recipe uses cauliflower as a substitute for rice. I've read lots recently on using cauliflower as a potato substitute e.g. in mash but I've never actually used it as an alternative to rice. Having recently bought a Magimix, the guilt free egg fried rice seemed perfect.
The end result? Incredible. Honestly, the first healthy recipe I've ever made where I can't believe it's actually healthy. Seriously moreish and very satisfying and carb free and protein and veg heavy.
Feeds 2 very greedy people - Rose used prawns which I don't like so I used chicken instead.
1 cauliflower
2 chillies, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut oil - available at health stores and larger supermarkets. It comes solid, but the heat in your pan will soon melt it.
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 chicken breast, sliced
1 tbsp cornflour
5 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp unsalted raw peanuts
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
salt and pepper
to serve: sweet chilli sauce
1. Begin by breaking your cauliflower into florets.
2. To make your rice, feed your cauliflower through the grater attachment on a Magimix. If it's a little wet, wring it out in a clean tea towel.
3. In a bowl, mix together 1 tbsp soy sauce and the cornflour. Add your chicken and stir to coat. My chinese friend, Ernie, taught me this tip. It makes the chicken wonderfully tender and juicy.
4. Fry the chicken until cooked in a little coconut oil
5. In a wok or large pan, add your sesame and coconut oil and fry the garlic or a couple of minutes.
6. Add the chillies for a further 2 minutes.
7. Add your cauliflower 'rice' to the wok and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the soy sauce, chicken and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper
8. Finally make a well in the pan and crack the eggs into it, one at a time. Allow them to cook away for about a minute, before breaking them up and incorporating them fully into the rest of the rice.
9. Dry roast the peanuts in a separate pan for a few minutes.
10. Serve a hefty portion with coriander, peanuts and sweet chilli sauce.
Because I like you, here's a sneak preview of the next post.
What's your favourite healthy meal?
Having eaten my fair share of naughty foods away last week (think lots of bacon and egg breakfast baps - obviously essential due to all the walking), a healthy meal was long over due.
Rose's recipe uses cauliflower as a substitute for rice. I've read lots recently on using cauliflower as a potato substitute e.g. in mash but I've never actually used it as an alternative to rice. Having recently bought a Magimix, the guilt free egg fried rice seemed perfect.
The end result? Incredible. Honestly, the first healthy recipe I've ever made where I can't believe it's actually healthy. Seriously moreish and very satisfying and carb free and protein and veg heavy.
Feeds 2 very greedy people - Rose used prawns which I don't like so I used chicken instead.
1 cauliflower
2 chillies, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut oil - available at health stores and larger supermarkets. It comes solid, but the heat in your pan will soon melt it.
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 chicken breast, sliced
1 tbsp cornflour
5 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp unsalted raw peanuts
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
salt and pepper
to serve: sweet chilli sauce
1. Begin by breaking your cauliflower into florets.
2. To make your rice, feed your cauliflower through the grater attachment on a Magimix. If it's a little wet, wring it out in a clean tea towel.
3. In a bowl, mix together 1 tbsp soy sauce and the cornflour. Add your chicken and stir to coat. My chinese friend, Ernie, taught me this tip. It makes the chicken wonderfully tender and juicy.
4. Fry the chicken until cooked in a little coconut oil
5. In a wok or large pan, add your sesame and coconut oil and fry the garlic or a couple of minutes.
6. Add the chillies for a further 2 minutes.
7. Add your cauliflower 'rice' to the wok and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the soy sauce, chicken and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper
8. Finally make a well in the pan and crack the eggs into it, one at a time. Allow them to cook away for about a minute, before breaking them up and incorporating them fully into the rest of the rice.
9. Dry roast the peanuts in a separate pan for a few minutes.
10. Serve a hefty portion with coriander, peanuts and sweet chilli sauce.
What's your favourite healthy meal?
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Life: self assessment
I've been pretty uninspired with cooking lately which is odd.
Normally I have back log of recipes that I'm dying to try. I think I've been relying too much on the same food - quinoa for example - and I've stopped coming up with new and exciting methods of cooking with it. I've been eating far too much quinoa and sweet potato which, although delicious, loses some of its enjoyment when you've had it for lunch 5 times in a row.
When I did our last shop, I therefore decided to just buy what I wanted to eat - like ingredients for brie and grape sandwiches. Not as healthy as I would have liked, but sometimes you just have to get exactly what you fancy. It's odd too, in that the I've been wanting to eat far more naughty things: Party Rings, white chocolate buttons, truffles to name a few and I've been allowing myself. Although I'm eating all these things, my appetite in general has decreased so I reckon I'm eating less overall, the problem being that everything is far less nutritious.
It's almost like I've temporarily lost interest in food. I keep meaning to bake some bread, make some apricot crumble slices and chickpea crisps but I haven't been bothered to yet. I just need to force myself to do one of these things and then I'll be back to my old self.
I've also been a little lack lustre with exercise.
I'm usually quite a gym bunny - I'll do cardio and weights mixed in with yoga and pilates at least 5 times a week, but after a self assessment I realised that I wasn't very happy with the results. I'm quite petit and naturally muscular and was finding that squatting, lunging and using kettlebells was giving me really muscular legs. Being quite short, I realised that this wasn't the look I was aiming for. I was also beginning to beat myself up a bit if I missed a day of training, which is definitely not a good thing.
The odd thing about both of these things is that they're not caused by my mood. Usually, I would have said that I was feeling this way because I'm miserable, but that's not why for two reasons. Firstly, if I'm miserable, I have a tendency to overeat, and secondly, I've been feeling great lately (Cornwall and Tuscany have a lot to do with this).
Being away may have contributed as this has meant a change in routine - no gym going and far less regimented cooking at home. Whilst I was away, I completed quite a few hefty hikes. I realise how much more I enjoy this type of exercise rather than dragging myself out for a run (which I really hate). Coupled with my desire to do less weights, I've decided to pare back my exercise to mainly yoga and pilates with a couple of my favourite classes thrown in. I really love Body Attack as it's so fun (although it was far less fun last week when the air con broke in the gym and it was 34 degrees! I had to stop half way as I thought I was going to pass out), but I'm definitely going to avoid Body Pump. I've also stopped sprinting on the treadmill to be replaced with more cross training (which I also hate), but it will be less impact on my legs.
I'm hoping that with all these changes that I'll soon find my exercise and food groove again.
Does your appetite vary? Have you ever lost your desire to cook? How do you find your 'groove' again?
Normally I have back log of recipes that I'm dying to try. I think I've been relying too much on the same food - quinoa for example - and I've stopped coming up with new and exciting methods of cooking with it. I've been eating far too much quinoa and sweet potato which, although delicious, loses some of its enjoyment when you've had it for lunch 5 times in a row.
When I did our last shop, I therefore decided to just buy what I wanted to eat - like ingredients for brie and grape sandwiches. Not as healthy as I would have liked, but sometimes you just have to get exactly what you fancy. It's odd too, in that the I've been wanting to eat far more naughty things: Party Rings, white chocolate buttons, truffles to name a few and I've been allowing myself. Although I'm eating all these things, my appetite in general has decreased so I reckon I'm eating less overall, the problem being that everything is far less nutritious.
It's almost like I've temporarily lost interest in food. I keep meaning to bake some bread, make some apricot crumble slices and chickpea crisps but I haven't been bothered to yet. I just need to force myself to do one of these things and then I'll be back to my old self.
I've also been a little lack lustre with exercise.
I'm usually quite a gym bunny - I'll do cardio and weights mixed in with yoga and pilates at least 5 times a week, but after a self assessment I realised that I wasn't very happy with the results. I'm quite petit and naturally muscular and was finding that squatting, lunging and using kettlebells was giving me really muscular legs. Being quite short, I realised that this wasn't the look I was aiming for. I was also beginning to beat myself up a bit if I missed a day of training, which is definitely not a good thing.
The odd thing about both of these things is that they're not caused by my mood. Usually, I would have said that I was feeling this way because I'm miserable, but that's not why for two reasons. Firstly, if I'm miserable, I have a tendency to overeat, and secondly, I've been feeling great lately (Cornwall and Tuscany have a lot to do with this).
Being away may have contributed as this has meant a change in routine - no gym going and far less regimented cooking at home. Whilst I was away, I completed quite a few hefty hikes. I realise how much more I enjoy this type of exercise rather than dragging myself out for a run (which I really hate). Coupled with my desire to do less weights, I've decided to pare back my exercise to mainly yoga and pilates with a couple of my favourite classes thrown in. I really love Body Attack as it's so fun (although it was far less fun last week when the air con broke in the gym and it was 34 degrees! I had to stop half way as I thought I was going to pass out), but I'm definitely going to avoid Body Pump. I've also stopped sprinting on the treadmill to be replaced with more cross training (which I also hate), but it will be less impact on my legs.
 |
| Tuscan trekking |
 |
| impromptu rock climbing in Cornwall |
 |
| more yoga is definitely in order |
Does your appetite vary? Have you ever lost your desire to cook? How do you find your 'groove' again?
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Food: Initial thoughts on new food changes plus fruit nuggets recipe
It's been an interesting few days giving up refined sugars and processed carbs. It started with our big weekly food shop. On an average week, our trolley starts out healthy enough - a reasonable mix of fruit, vegetables and chicken. Then all my good intentions fail when I inevitably add a mixture of the following to trolley: Kit Kats, shortbread, any Cadbury's chocolate, bagels, Ben and Jerry's etc etc etc. Martin is much better than me. He never craves these high sugar foods, he'll eat them if they're around but he won't be pushing for their inclusion in our trolley.
Firstly, I'd like to say that it has been much easier than I anticipated. I thought I'd be craving sugary food but I've realised that as long as I make an effort to make/eat tasty alternatives, then I really don't feel like I'm missing out. It's no wonder people fall off the bandwagon when they only have lettuce to look forward to for dinner. However, if you create a delicious quinoa salad (quick and easy to do), then not only are you rewarded with a tasty meal but you also feel very full. So far I've made homemade quinoa, granola bars, chili con carne and fruit nuggets. With such tasty food, this food change can hardly be called a diet!
 |
| Our latest food shop |
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
First Quinoa Recipe
 |
| quinoa |
Today, the term 'superfood' is constantly thrown about and I've always been quite reluctant to get on board. Many superfoods are over priced and I'm still doubtful as to whether they convey much higher health benefits than their less expensive alternatives. The goji berry is the perfect example. I stumbled across this small pink, oblong berry in a mix of other dried berries. After taking a handful of berries I was surprised by the over riding bitterness and endeavoured to sample each berry individually to work out which one was causing it. It was the goji berry. I've now made a mental note to never eat goji berries again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)