Goat's cheese and bacon salad

This goat's cheese and bacon salad is a favourite of ours. We are eating more intuitively now - listening to our bodies for clues about what to eat. Sometimes we enjoy our food a lot more than usual, so perhaps at these times we've just got the balance right and given our bodies what it needs.

Our goat's cheese dressing helped make this a very low calorie salad. I used 2 slices of streaky bacon per person and crumbled an extra 25g of goat's cheese over the salad leaves. 

There was a small portion of avocado too - which amounted to around 80 calories. I tend to weigh the avocado because it's deceptively higher in calories than you may imagine (100g of avocado is approx 170 calories). 

Add 50g of bread and our lunch was a respectable 450 calories. 

The saltiness of the hot bacon contrasted nicely against the tart goat's cheese. Here's how we made our dressing - at just 60 calories per person:

BEEF - BUDGET BBQ RECIPE

If you've never tried BRISKET OF BEEF cooked this way, then you are missing out! Who would have thought this budget cut of meat could taste THIS good? It's now one of our firm favourites and we love to slow cook this while we are doing other things.

Brisket of beef is commonly used to make pastrami and here in the UK it's generally used for cheap pot roasts. Don't confuse cheap with tasteless - we believe this cut of meat is one of the most flavoursome you will find, and has its own distinct taste.

Asparagus with duck egg

There's nothing quite like new season asparagus. We served ours with a duck egg, watercress and hot buttered toast. A low calorie lunch at around 350 calories if you have one slice of toast. Why not serve with a few slices of ham? Asparagus is quite often wrapped in parma ham and fried.
This dish was ready in no time - so if it's fast food you're after, then here it is.
Later we will be eating a favourite of ours - bbq beef brisket, with roast potatoes, sweetcorn and salad.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

Monkfish with spicy sauce

Monkfish carries spicy sauces well because its meaty and strong. We give this dish 9 out of 10 and the result is up there with our favourite meals. Here's our spicy recipe - with such a depth of flavour, it's worth using the sauce with other dishes such as pasta. You could cook clams and mussels in the sauce too for a perfect light lunch.
We used lots of crusty bread to mop up every last drop of the sauce as it was so addictive. Estimated calories in this dish would be around 350 calories for the fish. Don't forget to add the calories for your bread (and potatoes if using). Here's our distinctive recipe:

Yoghurt for breakfast

Thick and creamy greek yoghurt - just add your favourite fresh fruit. Seasonal fruits are always the best as their natural sweetness means you don't have to add sugar etc. See our tip below if your fruit needs sweetening up. We are anxiously awaiting the English strawberry season. Here's what 80g of yoghurt and 60g of fruit and a little honey looks like - at 150 calories. We're following this with some toast.
As long ago as June 2011 we first posted (here's the link) how we lost weight eating good food - and when it comes to yoghurt we love our full fat greek yoghurt. This was our first blog post, setting out our NON-DIET RULES. We were so excited because we had already lost a lot of weight, which

Goat's cheese salad

Thursday's lunch was an eclectic mix - goat's cheese salad with toasted ciabatta, avocado, and a wheat/couscous roasted vegetable salad.
We crunched our way through a mountain of flavours which we estimate somewhere between 450-500 calories.
I love this type of goat's cheese (with the rind). It works well on toast and you could let it melt more than we did. Why not give it a try instead of using butter or margarine?
It can be time consuming making your own salads from scratch, but it's much cheaper. I roasted the vegetables at the same time as I was cooking something else in the oven. I used this recipe for the wheat/couscous salad.
Losing weight can be difficult, especially when you are eating a restricted diet of foods you are not enjoying. We came up with this method of weight loss that would allow us to continue to eat the foods you love. It's been an enjoyable experience and we haven't suffered any hunger pangs. Anyway who wants to be hungry, irritable and unhappy? So why not take a look at the food and drink you are consuming on a daily basis. Work out the calories each food contains and take control of your eating habits. Take a look at the way we lost weight - it is a very simple method. We now use that method as a general guide, and it's become more of a lifestyle.

Forget dieting - it's the food and drink YOU love that's important to you so it makes sense to use that as your starting point.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

MAKING CALORIES COUNT

Lunch was a beef salad with buttered new potatoes - a great start to our week.
Having lost all our weight slowly but surely over the last two years, we tend to use our 'method of weight loss' as a guide now. We haven't put the weight back on, but strangely enough, we keep getting asked if we have lost even more weight. The answer to that is

ROASTED QUAIL

We found the quail in the supermarket and decided to give it a go despite having never eaten it before. After searching the internet for cooking instructions, we came to a conclusion - 20-25 minutes would do the trick. The result was much tastier than we anticipated, which surprised us. Here's our recipe:

LAZY LAMB TAGINE

This lamb tagine is less fiery than a typical curry dish. The fruity ingredients add an underlying sweetness. If you are looking for a warm, slow yet gentle heat, then this is the dish for you. We like our dishes spicy, so we added the whole chilli. For those of you looking for something special without the hassle in the kitchen, this dish should tick all the boxes. Here's our easy recipe:

WHY DOES MY WEIGHT FLUCTUATE

If you've been dieting for a while you will probably have experienced weight fluctuations. It's annoying if you have a weight target in mind and the scales seem to point further away from your goal. Diets can look easy on paper, but in real life they can seem impossible to follow. Diets can also impose a strict regime that may be just too difficult to fit into your lifestyle. Expectations might be high at the start, and you may feel fed up when the weight doesn't fall off. But keep in mind that weight gain didn't happen overnight, so how can you expect it to disappear in a few days. During our weight loss, we noticed our weight could fluctuate

Tandoori style chicken breast strips

Chicken breast - tandoori style. This is a very simple lunch or light dinner idea. The chicken breast strips were kept moist by the tandoori paste. Why not cook more than needed and use the rest for sandwiches/wraps or lunch box salads.
Here we ate approximately 160g of chicken breast, boiled new potatoes in butter with salad, sweetcorn and coleslaw. We would estimate this dish at no more than 500 calories. An average daily calorie allowance for me is approximately 1900 calories. For my other half, it's more as he's physically taller too.
Do you know how much food and drink you can eat each day? Take a look at our link below and find out now. Whether you want to lose weight or maintain weight, knowing how your food and drink fits into the equation, is the secret to success.

Forget dieting and eat the food YOU love. Why not search for our other great recipes and tips. Or, make sure you never miss another recipe and Subscribe to Forget dieting forever by Email.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

SEA BASS with CARROT CRISPS

Sea bass is a delicate fish and like most other fish, it's low in calories.  This is how our sea bass turned out last night, and it's a lot easier to cook than you might think.
The whole meal is around 450 to 500 calories. This time we served with carrot crisps which added a very nice texture and colour to the dish. Here's our recipe:

CRISP FRIED KING PRAWNS IN BREADCRUMBS

For this recipe we used FROZEN king prawns because they were in the freezer and we wanted to use them up. We've eaten this dish using fresh raw prawns, but we wanted to see what the difference was. The frozen prawns were still extremely more-ish, and the only difference

Potato wedges - in a hurry

Losing weight never tasted so good. We've been keeping the weight off too, eating food like this. Potato wedges in 15 minutes - great for those in a hurry, or time poor. Perfect accompaniment to our home made chilli con carne, or anything else you happen to fancy.
Simply scrub a few large potatoes, prick them all over and place in a microwave oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove, then cut into wedges. Sprinkle with

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Mushroom risotto - soft, velvety and comforting. Cooked in two stages, using two types of mushroom; fresh and dried.
The dried mushrooms were soaked beforehand and the liquid was strained and used as stock.
We then went on to cook this in two stages. This enabled us to return to the cooking process later, with only 10 minutes to finish the dish. Great if you are going out and know you will be ravenous when you get home. Our recipe is quite simple, and it's not necessary to

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN NUGGETS

Here's a simple idea I'm sure you will love as much as we enjoyed - home made CHICKEN NUGGETS. This LOW CALORIE recipe (below) is around 300 calories and a great alternative to the deep fried variety, and fun to make.
I'm going to have another try at these as they were so light and crunchy, unlike their deep fried cousins. Next time, I'll try some other flavourings, possibly marinating the chicken overnight too. But for a first attempt,

DAUPHINOISE POTATOES with steak

Dauphinoise potatoes ... if you are hosting a party - here's a great recipe idea. I've wanted to make this creamy potato dish for a while, but when I calculated the calories I began to wonder if we could still have them

BROCCOLI AND STILTON SOUP

Broccoli and stilton soup is a classic and very easy to make. It's not something I would normally think to make either. But I found half a head of broccoli that needed to be used up and decided to make my own version of this soup. I had no Stilton cheese, but I did have some Cornish Blue lurking in the fridge. To bulk out the vegetables, I used a few peas and celery. My aim was to make a quick soup within half an hour - which I achieved - and the result was surprisingly satisfying.

BROCCOLI AND CHEESE SOUP

Ingredients

Broccoli - we used 150g

One large potato (180g) - cubed

40g blue cheese

40g peas

one stick celery

half small leek (if you have one)

one onion, chopped

400ml stock - we used vegetable 

120ml whole milk (or cream)

knob of butter

***

Sweat the chopped onion, celery and leek in a small amount of butter. 

When soft, transfer to a saucepan - add the broccoli, potato and stock. 

Simmer for around 15 minutes. 

Add the peas (if using) and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Leave to cool slightly.

Blend.

Add the milk or cream, cheese and a little water to achieve your desired consistency.

Taste - and adjust seasoning if necessary.

***

A lot of the traditional broccoli and stilton soup recipes won't use leek, celery or peas, but as I didn't have enough broccoli I needed to add something. We couldn't detect any difference in the final taste either. I also used less cheese than some of the recipes available, this wasn't to save calories - it was merely a taste preference. We like strong flavours, yet we found 40g of cheese was sufficient. The milk added a sweetness which I thought balanced the flavours nicely.
This recipe yielded just over 900ml of soup, enough for three very generous portions - at around 175 calories each. It would easily make a great dinner party starter and serve four good portions. Swirl with cream if you wish. We served ours with hot buttered toast. It was an unexpectedly 'nice' bowl of soup, and we're definitely going to make it again.

***

EAT the food you love - like we do and ... forget dieting. You'll feel much more satisfied and it may just stop you snacking or craving something you feel you deserve.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

CAJUN CHICKEN

Cajun chicken breast - why not add a touch of spice to your meal? The secret to succulent chicken is not to overcook it. If there are only the two of you, marinate half a chicken in cajun seasoning then place in a pre-heated hot oven (around 180ºC).
Last night we served ours with buttered new potatoes, sweet corn cob and a dressed salad for a meal under 500 calories. Add coleslaw and beans if you're hungry.
Ring the changes and experiment with different spice mixes - barbecue, harissa, peri-peri or tandoori.
If there is any left over chicken, you can use this for sandwiches and lunch boxes, but it won't hang around long and is great to come back to after a few drinks with friends...
We all know protein is expensive, and cooked chicken breast in the supermarket is very expensive. Our half a chicken cost £2. If we were planning salads, soups or sandwiches, we would have cooked the whole chicken.
Here are my tips for cooking succulent chicken and saving money:

• Always weigh the chicken and calculate the cooking time according to the packet. 
• Take the guess work out of wondering if the meat is cooked. Use a thermometer to test if it's cooked through. It's a godsend - we are using this more and more as we've achieved some spectacular results using it. 
• If you like the skin crispier - put it under a hot grill and give it a blast.
• Don't prick the skin to let the juices escape (as a friend of mine used to do), you want all those lovely juices to sink back into the meat adding to its succulence.
• Let the chicken rest for a good five minutes.

EAT the food you love - like we do and ... forget dieting. You'll feel much more satisfied and it may just stop you snacking or craving something you feel you deserve.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

HOME MADE PASTA

We had some home made pasta for dinner. It was deliciously low in calories and we've eaten it in various guises - just take a look at our recipes.
Sometimes we experiment and go beyond our expectations - but mostly we keep it simple. Spaghetti bolognese, tagliatelle and prawns or just plain tomato sauce and parmesan. Our latest pasta dish was a bolognese sauce using quite a lot of red wine - hence the dark colour. This was really filling and we would estimate between 450-550 calories.
You can eat PASTA while following this weight loss method. As you will have probably realised - you can eat anything! If that helps liberate you from any pre conceived ideas about 'dieting' then that's a great step forward for you. Freedom to make your own choices and working out what's in your food will help you sustain weight loss too. But, once you begin looking at your food and drink, and working out what's in it, you may just find you become interested in the subject just like we did.

Besides meat, fish and vegetables, we have eaten a lot of pasta, potatoes and bread, so CARBS have not inhibited our weight loss. One day we decided to start making our own pasta and we were pleasantly surprised at just how delicate it tasted. We love it so much we prefer to eat fresh pasta any day (time permitting).
Whatever recipe you choose - and there are plenty out there, the general rule of thumb is to use one egg per 100g of flour.
I would recommend a pasta roller - or you may find it difficult to roll the dough thin enough.
Usually we mix the dough in a bowl, but one day we thought we would try making it like the professionals do - straight onto the work surface. Alas, the egg went everywhere! THEN... we discovered the well wasn't wide enough for the eggs - so this time around, we made it bigger - see the picture above. It's those little bits of information they leave out.
Buy the correct flour too as we've tried a few varieties, and in our opinion you get better results. A little goes a long way, so it's good if you are budgeting.
Take a look at our PASTA label - and you'll find some lovely sauces and recipes to go with your beautiful home made pasta.
Go on, give it a go! You may end up experimenting like us and making something like this RUNNY EGG PASTA.

EAT the food you love - like we do and ... forget dieting. You'll feel much more satisfied and it may just stop you snacking or craving something you feel you deserve.

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

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

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.

Curd cheese

CURD CHEESE - topped with honeycomb (cinder toffee) and a good drizzle of honey. Usually made using goat's curd cheese, but we couldn't find this and tried cow's cheese instead. Incidentally, a 225g tub of cow's curd is around £1, compared to goat's cheese which is almost four times the cost.
A delicious combination of flavours. We enjoyed this lovely sweet starter over the weekend.
It was the first time I had eaten curd cheese, and I'm not sure what I was expecting, as cottage cheese sprung to mind.
But, the texture was nothing like cottage cheese at all, and in fact it was soft, fluffy and so creamy. Once tasted, I thought it contained far more calories than it actually did.
Having unsuccessfully scoured many supermarkets for goat's curd cheese for this recipe, we opted for the cow's curd instead which I would imagine is slightly sweeter.
Surprisingly this generous 75g serving is approximately 90 calories. Then you add the honeycomb and a good drizzle of honey....
Our home made honeycomb didn't rise quite as much as expected - but it still added a nice crunchy texture against the fluffy cheese.
We served ours with toasted brioche - firing our tastebuds onto alert for the next course.
I'm unsure why the bicarbonate of soda failed to work it's full magic? Looking at the BBC recipe, I'm not sure it needed to rise that much more, so we were not disappointed. The bicarbonate of soda was in date, although I suspect it had succumbed to dampness from steam, not sure really? We kept it in a cupboard just where the kettle boils.
To make this delicious starter, you can either buy CINDER TOFFEE or find a good recipe online. We like this recipe .
It's just a case of assembly! Break pieces of cinder toffee over goat or cow's curd cheese and drizzle with honey. Serve with toasted brioche.
I'm still searching for goat's curd, and will let you know when and where I find it in Bristol.

Forget dieting. Lose weight eating the food YOU love!

REMEMBER: This is not a diet. Everyone has a calorie allowance - (see our page on calories) and we like to post our main meals to show you what we are eating. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

Read about the UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how we have lost weight eating the food we love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Sea bream - Ottolenghi inspired north African dish

Sea bream with harissa - here's how this Ottolenghi north African recipe turned out on Saturday night. The recipe came from his book Jerusalem. If ever there was an explosion of flavours in one dish - this has to be it.
The spicy hit from the freshly made harissa sparred with the sweetness of the currants and delicate fish. It certainly gave our tastebuds a full body workout.
We served ours with barley couscous. The fish fillets were quite big and the dish was incredibly filling. I would recommend no more than 100g of fish per person.
Forget dieting. Lose weight eating the food YOU love!
REMEMBER: This is not a diet. Everyone has a calorie allowance - (see our page on calories) and we like to post our main meals to show you what we are eating. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go!

Read about the UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how we have lost weight eating the food we love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.