Light and crispy spring rolls

Here's what you can do with 54p of bean sprouts, Vietnamese rice paper and leftover veg. We added a little leftover chicken to ours too. The result was a very crunchy and light version of the usual Chinese spring roll and we loved the lightness of this starter.
We were going to buy Filo pastry until we found the rice paper in the cupboard. A quick look on the internet made us wonder if we could use this type of rice paper for frying, as its generally used for steaming.
Our experiment worked well and much much better than anticipated.
We used a double layer of rice paper the result was a crunchy outer layer and a chewy inner layer which was very enjoyable. We will be making them again!
Interestingly, although we weren't looking for gluten free products, we thought all rice paper would be gluten free naturally. To our surprise this wasn't always the case as some also contained wheat - so do check the labels if that's your requirement.
To make 5 extra large spring rolls (10 cm long/4cm diameter - similar to the size in a chip shop) you can cut corners and buy a ready made stir fry mix. We just happened to have some savoy cabbage (10g sliced - couple of leaves), carrot (1), spring onions (2) and mange tout (10). All we had to buy was a pack of bean sprouts and you will only need to use 60g. We thinly sliced everything and added some leftover cooked chicken. This was marinated in a teaspoon of five spice powder, a tablespoon of hoy sin sauce, 3 teaspoons of soy sauce and an inch of grated ginger. We made 5 large spring rolls to enable us to experiment with various coatings e.g. egg and breadcrumb or batter if necessary. As it turned out, au naturelle worked exceeding well and after tasting the first one, we had no desire to experiment further. One is enough to satisfy as a starter (as in the picture), it was very filling and extremely more-ish. OK we did share the initial sample. The remainder are in the fridge to see how they behave overnight.
Down to calories - if these were steamed they would be no more than 100 calories each. Even fried, they didn't seem to soak up the oil and were very light and crispy. As a starter we suspect these will be under 200 calories each - that's not bad in our opinion.

EASY CHICKEN and SWEETCORN CURRY

An easy CHICKEN & BABY SWEETCORN CURRY takes around 10 minutes to prepare. This was a very simple recipe using few ingredients and producing a wonderful depth of flavour.

The bombay potatoes and spinach saag bhaji was very quick to prepare too.

Our flatbreads flavoured with warm spice were less doughy but equally as tempting as any naan bread.

We prepared everything in the afternoon so the meal was ready to heat through within 10 minutes.
Why not save on the cost of a takeaway and enjoy a lovely fresh tasting curry with a lot less calories.

Why not take a look at our easy recipe below:

HERB CHICKEN

HERB CHICKEN. This quick and easy recipe will give bland chicken a lift. The recipe was an instant hit in our household and took very little effort to achieve a wonderful balance of flavours. We love the pattern created by the herbs! Serve it with potatoes and salad or as we did - with crushed new potatoes sprayed with oil and crisped up in the oven.
For this recipe take one large chicken breast around 250g (this will serve two) and slice it lengthways into three. Flatten the chicken slightly with a rolling pin. Place sage leaves on top of each slice of chicken. Season with salt and pepper as you go, although less salt is required because of the ham. Wrap the whole chicken breast in parma ham (around 3 slices per chicken breast). Briefly fry for one minute either side then place in a hot oven (180ºC) for around 15 minutes. We placed the chicken breast on the same baking tray as the potatoes, which took up the flavour of the parma ham. We used a thermometer to check it was thoroughly cooked. Serve with salad or vegetables. Chicken is low in calories (around 1 calorie per gram uncooked weight), so 250g of chicken would work out at 250 calories. Add 100 calories for 3 slices of parma ham. The herb chicken breast would be around 350 calories - and that's between two! It was certainly very filling and would be lovely eaten cold - perhaps as part of a sandwich or salad lunch box.
Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

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CHICKEN BREAST WRAPPED IN PARMA HAM RECIPE

A succulent chicken breast stuffed with watercress, cream cheese and garlic then lightly wrapped in Parma ham. Serve with a velvety full cream watercress sauce and you have an especially tasty dish to wow your audience. And its under 450 calories too, would you believe!
The dish is not too difficult especially as it can all be prepared beforehand.
The cooking time for succulent chicken is all important. You can see from the photograph just how juicy the chicken turned out cooked this way.
The watercress was very peppery and we found ours in Sainsburys. The Parma ham came from Aldi at £1.99 - enough to cover four chicken breasts.
Take a look at our mouth watering recipe below:

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post along our easy weight loss journey 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

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Spicy warm chicken salad

Spicy warm chicken noodle salad - a meal in under 30 minutes. Bursting with fresh and tangy spice. Under 400 calories.
If you're not sure whether you fancy a salad or a hot meal, this is a great way to satisfy both. It's wonderful on a hot day and doesn't quite feel like a salad on a cool day.
There is only one ingredient that needs cooking ahead, and that's the noodles. Cook then cool and marinate in the spices.
What's more you can double up the portions and put some in the lunchbox. Very versatile. Here's the recipe:

CHICKEN LAKSA

Hot and spicy CHICKEN LAKSA is a great way to use up leftover chicken.
Why not ring the changes with this spicy recipe, which takes minutes to prepare and you won't need an armful of ingredients. The soup is extremely comforting, satisfyingly filling yet lower in calories than you might expect.
Here's our quick and easy recipe:
Ingredients - for two large servings
15g Thai red curry paste
600ml chicken stock
1tbsp fish sauce
200ml coconut milk
1 bundle of rice noodles (cooked)
Cooked leftover chicken
Chopped spring onion
Chopped chilli
Fry the Thai curry paste in a little oil for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce and coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Place the cooked rice noodles into serving bowls and pour over the laksa. Garnish with spring onion and chopped chilli.

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Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful weight loss method and a few tips and tricks here: WEIGHT LOSS STORY.

Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

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CAVOLO NERO

We bought a pack of CAVOLO NERO - also called cavalo nero or black kale. I realise it's been a long time before trying this mysterious looking vegetable, but it has quickly become one of our favourites.
I like cabbage to have a bit of a bite, but sometimes it can be tough, especially the dark green leaves. We were pleasantly surprised - the kale gave just the right amount of bite yet was incredibly soft at the same time. The flavour was interesting, not bitter at all, and it was ready in minutes. Just remove the stalks and cut into 1.5cm squares then heat through in a saucepan with a small knob of butter and a couple of tablespoons of water.
After hunting around on the internet, we've seen cavalo nero used in a lot of pasta recipes too. Something for us to try later.
This time we enjoyed eating it with a roast chicken dinner. Follow this link, if you would like to know how to make the lovely chicken gravy. We make our gravy without stock cubes - only using the roasting juices.

***

Be who you want to be.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful WEIGHT LOSS STORY here. Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

This SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN recipe was from Ottolenghi's website.
The interesting technique here was to brine the chicken beforehand. It all sounds very technical, but I can assure you it was easy enough. It's not time consuming either, as you can prepare the brine the night before and leave the chicken to 'marinate' for 24 hours.
One good reason to brine the chicken is so that it remains very moist on the inside. The spicy coating was intriguing and very more-ish. You could easily adapt this so why not experiment?
What's the verdict - for a first attempt too? Does brining chicken make a difference? Would we make this again?

Leftover chicken Thai style

Thai style chicken salad, using leftover chicken was the order of the day. What a tasty way to use leftover chicken (or stretching a pack of pre-cooked chicken) to make a wonderful meal.
We cooked dried noodles - following the instructions on the pack, and cooled them down with cold water. To this we added a selection of crunchy chopped salad vegetables - carrot, iceberg lettuce, red onion, red pepper and cucumber. There was also half a red chilli pepper lurking in the fridge, so we used that and added fresh coriander that we had planned for something else.
The salad was tossed in a lovely Thai dressing - you can buy one or make your own; here's our recipe which we love and keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Make twice as much of this salad/dressing and enjoy in your lunch box the next day - your friends will be jealous!

Thai dressing

1 tablespoon of oil (we used sesame but use whatever you have)

teaspoon of honey

juice of half a lime (you could add some zest too if you wish)

coriander - I used a good sprinkle of dried as I had no fresh

half a red chilli - deseeded and chopped
salt (or a drop of fish sauce)

Finishing touch
add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds

***

Be who you want to be.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful weight loss story here.
Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

HOW MANY CALORIES IN CHICKEN CHASSEUR

CHICKEN CHASSEUR is a hearty casserole yet  light on calories - and a great budget meal.
Eat with fluffy mashed potatoes or crispy roasters for a bit of crunch.
With a small amount of preparation, this one pot meal will take care of itself in the oven. We leave most of the skin on the chicken while the dish is cooking, as this helps keep the meat moist and adds flavour to the sauce. Just trim off the excess fat underneath the thigh.
Be careful with the tarragon, as a little goes a very long way.
We've maintained our weight loss by keeping an eye on 'calories'. Estimating calories has worked for us - keeping our weight stable, without having to resort to precise calorie counting. When we eat out we can only guess at the ingredients, and try to make an informed estimate based on what we've learned about calories. This dish has such a complexity of flavours, you would possibly imagine it is loaded with calories as a result, but it's not. We would estimate this dish at around 450 calories.

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011.
You'll find our first blog post (here).

Read about our successful weight loss story and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you really prefer.
Here's the chicken chasseur recipe:

SMOKED CHICKEN CURRY

We loved this smoked CHICKEN CURRY recipe.
We couldn't be bothered to chop the chillies and garlic so we used what we had. It may not be authentic but it tasted great.
The dish was ready in under 30 minutes - and we would happily pay good money for it!
The secret ingredient surprised us - and turned the curry into something very special.
We would estimate this plateful at under 500 calories.
We both agree 'this is about the best curry we have ever made at home'. So forget the takeaway - give this a try.
Get creative in the kitchen, which means - for us at least - thinking outside the box and using what you have available. We just happened to have the following ingredients - and wanted to create a quick and easy curry. The resulting plate of food was unexpectedly and extremely tasty, and one we will be making again.

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began this blog in June 2011.
You'll find our first post (about our successful weight loss method here).

Read about our successful weight loss story and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Take a look at our recipe:

LEFTOVER CHICKEN

What a great way to use up leftover chicken.
I forget just how tasty CORONATION CHICKEN is. When I'm making a sandwich, this filling doesn't always spring to mind for some reason. But… what a great way to perk up leftover chicken.
Eat as a sandwich or use as a filling for a tortilla wrap or chapati. You could also pile it onto crunchy salad leaves and enjoy as a salad. Or use as a topping for a jacket potato.
For the Coronation Chicken, just mix together a tablespoon of mayonnaise (or yoghurt and mayonnaise) with a teaspoon of curry powder. Add a little salt and pepper if you wish. You could add sliced almonds, herbs, raisins - whatever you fancy. We added lettuce and chopped spring onions.
The sandwich (or wrap) is around 400 calories each.

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REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

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Chicken satay skewers

Chicken satay is one of our favourite takeaway dishes. As we already had chicken breast in the fridge - we thought we would try making our own satay sauce. The results were surprisingly satisfying - and as you can see, the chicken went perfectly with the egg fried rice.
We certainly saved a lot of money and I'm sure we saved many calories too. We would estimate this plateful at around 600 calories.
If you are going to make your own egg fried rice, you'll need to think about this earlier in the day. Take a look at our egg fried rice recipe here to find out why.
After looking at a number of different recipes, we had some idea of the basic ingredients - some of which we didn't have available. So we used what we had, as like most people, we don't own every ingredient.
Despite deviating from all recipes, we loved the taste of this dish. Here's our 'store cupboard' recipe:

THAI RED chicken curry

Another quick and easy recipe - THAI RED CURRY - with chicken and vegetables. This meal is under 500 calories and very quick to make.
If you are time-poor and don't want to resort to takeaways or ready meals, this authentic tasting home made dish is a great alternative. It was ready in no time.
After buying the Thai green curry paste and making this delicious chicken curry a few days ago, we were so impressed, we just had to buy the red curry paste.
We made enough to feed four - and just followed the directions on the tub. By adding extra vegetables this time, we stretched the meal to make four very good helpings. Our ingredients included two chicken breasts and a pack of stir fry vegetables - baby corn, green beans, and broccoli plus a few mange tout and sweet red pepper. We added a big red chilli, seeds and all, for a bit of extra heat. We thickened the sauce at the very end with a little cornflour. The flavours developed overnight, and the whole thing was thoroughly reheated, giving a very economical and tasty second helping!

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REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved

THAI GREEN CURRY

This THAI GREEN CURRY was very quick to make - perfect if you are time poor, and looking for something you can rustle up in no time.
Rather than buy a ready made curry, we wanted to see how easy it was to make our own.
We bought this Thai green curry paste - by Thai Taste - and followed the recipe on the pot. It was less expensive than some other brands, and the 200g pot makes 10-12 servings. Not bad. But that's not all, I was very surprised at how few calories the paste contained.
I haven't been asked to write a review about this product. It's just that when I find something that really 'works' for us, I love to spread the word.
For this recipe - which serves two hungry people, but will spread to three, I picked up 2 chicken breasts and a pack of baby sweetcorn/sugar snap peas. We used 80g of dried basmati rice between us. A rough calorie count (using 60g of the Thai paste) works out at under 500 calories each if sharing between two people, or 360 calories if sharing between three people for a light lunch perhaps.
And the flavour - well, we were quite taken aback at just how good this was. The authentic Thai flavours with its gentle heat soon had us emptying our plates. I'm sure we'll be eating this again very soon, and trying it with chicken thighs or prawns.

***

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved

Spicy tandoori chicken

We love spicy Tandoori Chicken so decided to have a go at making the spice mix, rather than buying a ready made paste.
We wanted to see if it was worth making our own spice mix, how long it would take and if the results were worth it.
We have quite a lot of spices in the cupboard already - as we like to make our own curry. So why not use them!
Here's what we found:

Thai coconut chicken stir-fry

This Thai coconut stir-fry was very quick and easy to make and very tasty. We've been trying out a few ready-made sauces, and this was one we enjoyed so much, it's already on our 'must make again' list.
Like a lot of people, when you are rushing around, it's difficult to know what to cook. Then once you have an idea, buying ingredients takes time. I tend to shop little and often to save wasting anything.
I popped into the supermarket and picked up a pack of ready made stir-fry vegetables, and a sachet of M&S spicy Thai coconut sauce. I fancied something creamy but not heavy, and this sauce was surprisingly low in calories too.
We had a chicken breast to use up, so the meal was sorted. All we had to do was boil a few noodles, add a bit more spice… and enjoy!
We went for a walk beforehand, and were more than ready to tuck in on our return. I've found when we're hungry, the food really tastes so much better.

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Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

Here's the method that helped us to lose weight and how to FORGET DIETING. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without my express permission.

Tasty party bites

These tasty morsels went down a treat. Tandoori chicken party bites. I was going to serve them on their own, when I came up with this idea.
They were very refreshing and packed with flavour.
Each 'bite' was around 50 calories - so they won't break the calorie bank account.
They were very quick and easy to make too.
Just marinate the chicken in ready made Tandoori paste and yoghurt, fry until cooked. Put some yoghurt - we use Greek yoghurt - onto lettuce leaves, add sliced onion and wrap around the chicken. Secure with a cocktail stick. We added a dash of sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lemon. We served ours hot, but if you're rushing around, you can always serve them cold. Just make earlier in the day and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

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Our blog isn't just about RECIPES!

Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

Here's how to FORGET DIETING. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without my express permission.

Thai chicken noodle salad

Easy weight loss couldn't get better - this THAI CHICKEN NOODLE salad was packed with flavour.
I've made a similar salad before - using prawns. Take a look here Thai prawn noodle salad.
Not only was this salad so tasty, but it was very satisfying and more than filled a hunger gap. I couldn't believe the number of calories.
What's more the dish is portable - easily fitting into a lunch box. Just cook more chicken than you need, and save some for tomorrow's lunch.
The ingredients provide enough for two good portions, which I estimate at around 400 calories each!
Here's my deliciously spicy recipe:

BUDGET CHICKEN

Roasting a chicken is easy enough, but when there's just one or two of you, it can be more economical to buy a whole chicken and roast just half.
Sliced chicken is incredibly expensive. The cost of this half chicken weighing 1 kg was equivalent to a 100g pack of sliced chicken breast (£3). Making your own is worth the effort.
The chicken takes less time to cook and depending on the size, there should still be some left over for soup or sandwiches.
Last night we sprinkled some cajun and piri-piri seasoning over the skin and rubbed it in with a little oil. So what's the secret to juicy chicken?