Travelling home

We've just arrived home after a long weekend of celebrations. On our journey we began to think about what we were going to eat when we were back. We realised we were after something hot, but didn't want to bother cooking. Thoughts turned to takeaway food!! But... after a very indulgent weekend - the takeaway option was a bit OTT. So we decided to grab a spit-roasted chicken from the supermarket and have a hot sandwich instead. It was delicious.

There is plenty of leftover chicken, and we're now making a soup with some of it. So that's tomorrow's lunch sorted out already! This will help us make tomorrow a very 'good' day. We may go for a short walk before it gets dark, perhaps walk off one or two of those celebratory calories? Then maybe we can think about what we will be eating over the next few days too.

Tuna

This is one of our favourite salads. I suppose it's a simple dish that can be assembled quite quickly. We had the salad ingredients, and very little else - until I remembered the can of tuna. If I hadn't had the potatoes, I would have had some bread.
Another 450 calorie lunch - making my 'good' day great so far. I had boiled egg and toast for breakfast (around 300 calories) so I'm left with around 750 calories to play with. With our planned beef casserole for dinner - I'll even be able to squeeze in a glass of wine!
With a jam packed weekend ahead celebrating, we have a lot to look forward to. We'll be joining in with everyone else. That's the best bit about our method of eating while we lose weight - we really do get to eat whatever we want. Quite often, we find that - shall I say - a 'full' weekend can spur on our weight loss. I've no idea how this works - but it does make me smile. Some people call it the 'whoosh' effect. We like to call it 'boosting our metabolism'. Whatever it's called, it has helped us to eat more on our chosen days, without worrying. On Monday we'll be back to being 'good'.

If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Chilli salmon salad

Here's our quick lunch. This was half a pack of salmon (with chilli flakes) and 120g of new potatoes (in a little butter). If I didn't have the time to cook the potatoes, I would probably have bought some ready prepared.
I made a vinaigrette - olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard and honey. It was filling and delicious and the salad came to around 450 calories.
Why not search our blog for other meals and their calorie count. Just type in the number of calories and the meals will be listed.

If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Midweek meals

Today we're having a slow cooked beef casserole using shin of beef in brown ale with pearl barley.  We added some herbs, garlic, celery, leeks, carrot and onion. This morning I skimmed off the fat that had risen to the surface, and I doubt it will need any thickening agent, as the pearl barley has swollen nicely and acts as a thickener. It's now ready to heat through and serve later this evening - we're having some celeriac mash with ours.

Casseroles/stews are relatively low in calories and very filling. Slow cooking also helps tenderise the meat - especially the cheaper cuts. We usually add whatever vegetables we have to hand. Why not take a look at some of our favourite casserole recipes:

Lamb in red wine
Spicy tagine of lamb
Beef hotpot
Lazy beef curry

Our lunch is likely to be either a flaked salmon salad or sandwich.

If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR UNIQUE METHOD.

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Sunday roast and dieting

Part of the reason for this blog, is to show we are eating normal food - and what we perceive to be normal portions. We don't scrimp on our 'days off' and typically on a Sunday we will eat a full roast dinner.
Here's what we ate today - roast chicken. We estimate this to be around 700-800 calories. It's one of our heavier meals! But - when you think that a slice of cake (mmm) or a few biscuits/chocolate can add up to 500 calories before you know it, then this dinner has much more to offer.
This diary may help others to eat well while losing weight. It took a leap of faith to start eating more, and the resulting weight loss came as a bit of a (nice) surprise.
OUR IDEA is so flexible too, and can fit in with most dietary lifestyles.

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Weight update

I touched a new low weight this week. I'm not talking massive weight loss - just a little nudge here and there on the scales. I know my body weight will fluctuate with water content, but I've now entered a new weight 'range'. We tend to bounce around in a new weight range for a while - and as we've more or less reached our target, this range is smaller than it used to be. When we first started out, our weight range could see us fluctuating by as much as 3 lbs heavier/lighter at any point. That's why we would suggest only weighing once per week. We've weighed ourselves more often out of curiosity.  Now we tend to have a much smaller fluctuation - anything up to about 1.5 lbs. Setting the scales to pounds rather than kilos helps us keep a much more accurate picture too.
Our method of weight loss never seems to fail us and over the last 19 months, we have slowly crept down in size. All these small weight losses have added up to a very BIG difference.
The fat has disappeared from all over the body and I've just noticed my slimmer knees! It's not something I suppose I take much notice of, but there is definitely a lot less fat hanging around that area. As everything happens so slowly, it's not readily noticeable.

Saturday lunch

Sausage, egg, beans and tomato with a slice of buttered toast. We buy good quality sausages from the butcher - with a much higher meat content. This lunch is approximately 600 calories, which is higher than our evening meal is expected to be! Generally our calories will balance out nicely by the end of the day. Today we get to eat more... enjoy our weekend and relax with some good food. I aim for 2000 calories and my partner 2500.
If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

Copyright © forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Weekend plans

For dinner tonight we're going to make stuffed pork tenderloin with black pudding and figs in Marsala sauce. Sounds exotic, but it's very easy to make. It can be prepared beforehand - all ready to go into the oven. We picked up some very ripe figs - so they should be nice and sweet. Hopefully I'll get a better photograph this time!
As the pork dish is quite low in calories, we'll have something else, either some cheese and biscuits or may just have this blackberry and apple dessert again (if we can get the blackberries).

Tomorrow we're having a Sunday roast - chicken this time.

I'm not sure what we are doing for lunch today? It's going to be something quick and easy - probably beans on toast or a sausage sandwich.

Curry

LAZY BEEF CURRY

Cooking method: Slow cooker

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 6 - 8 hours in slow cooker (check manufacturers guide)

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 kg stewing beef - cubed **

3 medium onions - diced 

couple of garlic cloves - crushed

one whole chilli 

1 tsp turmeric powder

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

500ml stock (chicken or vegetable)

 (2cm) chopped ginger

10-20g of honey 

salt

pepper

Begin by making the dry spice mix. Dry fry the cumin, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, seeds in an oil free pan until you can hear the seeds popping. Remove from pan and grind into a powder. Add the turmeric powder.

In a separate frying pan add the diced onions and sweat in a little oil on a low heat. Cook until translucent. Add the crushed garlic and chopped chilli and cook for a few minutes. Place this onion mixture into a large saucepan and add the tomatoes, stock, ginger, and the dry spice mix. Simmer for around 15-20 minutes.

BLEND the whole mixture add the honey (to taste) and sweeten with salt and pepper. Depending on what stock you use will depend on how much seasoning you need.

Brown the pieces of beef and add to the slow cooker. (You may also like to add some more chunky onions at this stage to add texture).

The curry can be slow cooked overnight - check your manufacturers instructions. Or cook for 6 to 8 hours on a medium setting until the meat is tender. 

We estimate this will make 8 portions of beef curry at around 360 calories each. 

Serve with rice.

**We often use a cut of meat called 'skirt' as in this recipe, but if you can't find this you could use 'brisket' or stewing/braising beef. 

TIP: If freezing it may lose its flavour a little so once defrosted season to taste. Also a good spoonful of full fat yoghurt and a dash of smoked paprika helps give some freshness to the dish.

TIP: The dry spice mix can be made ahead of time. As we use it quite often we make a large batch and store in an air tight container.

If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.

Pastrami

Here's my gorgeous pastrami and cheese salad. With the (shop bought) new potato salad, this plateful is around 350 calories. Easy to assemble and quick to prepare.
I've put a touch of olive oil on the salad and seasoned well. I had mine with a slice of bread and butter - bringing the meal to a more respectable 450 calories.

LUNCH and a LOW FAT debate

So finally the LOW FAT debate is out, and suggests that low fat foods are not quite as they seem. Well, that's one of the things we ditched (low fat processed food) when we set out on our weight loss experiment around 19 months ago. Losing 6.5 stone in weight has been amazing, and best of all, we get to eat whatever we want. Here's what we said about LOW FAT PROCESSED FOODS earlier this year.

Today I'm quite busy, so it was great to have some home made soup in the freezer. It was as delicious as ever. Here's the recipe for our HAM WITH EVERYTHING soup at just 200 calories per portion. I've sprinkled some full fat strong cheddar on mine today. This soup helps fill us up and as it's full of great ingredients, and so tasty and really satisfying.
Just remember - we ALL have a calorie allowance, and I try to use mine on really good nourishing food. If I'm busy, I'll buy something, but always choose wisely.
Tonight I may have a pizza with some salad or some fish and chips - not sure just yet.

If you would like to know more about how we have achieved over 6.5 stone weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA

Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

Copyright © (c)forgetdietingforever 2012, all rights reserved.