HOT & SOUR SOUP

Now here's a fabulous way to use up your leftover chicken.
This quick HOT & SOUR NOODLE SOUP was  so delicious we'll be making it again soon. It's not difficult to make, and if you don't have all the ingredients, try substituting.
Why not try different versions? Instead of chicken, you could use more vegetables, beef or prawns. Buying a packet of stir fry vegetables is the cheapest option. Use the supermarket deli - purchase a couple of slices of rare roast beef - slice and add to the soup.
After looking through various recipes, we came up with a version that suited what we had in the cupboards. We estimate this soup somewhere around 200 calories. A very warm and inviting lunch or starter, worth giving this one a try if you can. Will we be making this again? Yes! Here's how we made it:

Baked fish & curly fries

This is a light and delicious combination - COD IN BREADCRUMBS with curly fries. Everything was baked, making the dish extremely low in calories too. A great alternative to the fish and chip takeaway.
We cut a 300g piece of COD into four centimetre chunks, then dipped in seasoned flour, egg and white breadcrumbs. This makes the fish go a lot further - and 100g of fish is ample for one portion.  These were then baked for just 10 minutes in a hot oven (180ºC).
The curly fries were made using a Japanese mandolin. We used one large potato per person. They were seasoned with bbq spice and placed onto a greased tray, sprayed with oil and baked for 30 minutes until golden brown.
If you need a little more information about this dish, here's a link to our previous more detailed recipe - cod and chips. You'll be amazed at just how moist and delicious the fish is when baked like this.
So how many calories in this baked cod and curly fries? Well, we would estimate this dish at around 450 calories.

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.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

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

Beef Stroganoff

We wondered what to do with some LEFT OVER BEEF, and after surveying the contents of the fridge, we opted for a simple BEEF STROGANOFF. What better way to use up the solitary green pepper and some mushrooms.
We were undecided whether to use greek yoghurt (and save calories) or sour cream for authenticity. Sour cream is around 200 calories per 100ml whereas the same amount of full-fat Greek yoghurt contains around 135 calories. With little difference in calories - we decided to use sour cream on our first tasting attempt. We estimate the stroganoff recipe below at around 350 calories per portion. Add a small portion of rice (50g dried weight each) at 175 calories and you have a very tasty dish at around 525 calories per portion.However, divide by three portions and you will be looking at a satisfying dish (with rice) at around 350 calories - amazing! Here's the recipe we used and what we thought of the end result:

BARA BRITH

For this fabulous tea-bread - BARA BRITH - we used a recipe from the Great British Bake Off - by Beca Lyne-Perkis. It's a great alternative to a heavy, rich fruit cake. The resulting 1.2 kg loaf is enough to feed the whole family and all of your friends over Christmas! Toast it, or just eat with butter and perhaps a slice of cheese or two.
This Bara Brith contains yeast - but you can also make it without, with a more cake like texture. Either way, the loaf's malty flavour comes from the infusion of strong tea. The mixed spice also gives it a very festive allure.
With regard to calories - this is significantly lower in calories than a fruit cake, and we estimate each medium slice at around 130 calories.
REMEMBER:  - 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.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

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

350 calorie chicken salad

This vibrant salad tasted as good as it looked. CHICKEN SALAD with spicy quinoa, vegetables and nuts.
Lunch was ready in no time at all. So why not pick up a ready prepared salad and sliced meats?
You can add a few more salad ingredients to bulk it out, and maybe a little cheese. We chose to add some shaved smoked applewood cheese.
Choosing a strong cheese means you can get away with eating less of it. The applewood is very strong so you'll experience all of its powerful flavour in just a few generous shavings.
For this salad I used around 10g of cheese, and I would estimate the whole dish at around 350 calories. It's almost three years since we began our weight loss journey - and we are still keeping the weight off. Why not take a look at how we took a different view - ditched faddy diets and started eating everything we wanted.

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.

Cauliflower cheese

Unfortunately I haven't got a good picture of our fabulous CAULIFLOWER CHEESE recipe ...yet, but I'll be making this next week. In any case, the dish is not the most photogenic…. As a temporary measure, I've found this lovely (unusual for our area) snowy winter scene from January last year, which is the view from our front window.
Cauliflower cheese is a great dish which you can make the day before and forget about. It can be eaten on its own or accompany lots of dishes.
At around 830 calories for the whole dish this will serve up to eight people. It's delicious and creamy - but without cream - and will add just over 100 calories to your Christmas dinner.  We love this 'no cream' version:

Carrot and potato soup

If you have a few carrots that need using up, why not try this very simple CARROT & POTATO SOUP.
We thought this was an exceptionally tasty, very fragrant and homely soup. After choosing carrot and potato soup from a pub menu, we though it deserved to be recreated at home.
We came up with this version which we think is very close in taste.
It's not only economical, but very low in calories too.
The ingredients made 1.5 litres of soup, about six portions at around 150 calories each. Serve with crunchy toast or a roll and butter.

White pudding with scallops

If you are looking for something a little bit different for the festive season, then why not try this WHITE PUDDING & SCALLOPS.
It's a wonderful zesty, spicy and fresh starter.
Unlike black pudding, white pudding has a meatier texture: it's made of pork and has lots of spice which works well with the scallops.
This starter won't break the calorie bank either. Such a lovely combination and worth trying. Here's our recipe:

Beef & mushroom fried rice

Tonight we chose BEEF & MUSHROOM fried rice with pak choi.
People we speak to say one of their greatest aids to weight loss is being prepared. We agree and we are now more likely to plan ahead for the next few meals.
Having prepared some of this dish earlier, we were able to go about our busy day, and return to a meal which was ready in less than 10 minutes. We doubt we could have eaten sooner if we had chosen a takeaway!
The mushroom, egg fried rice was very delicate, and the whole dish was around 400-450 calories - which was pretty amazing. Here's how we made it:

FESTIVE HOT OPEN SANDWICH

What a great idea for a quick festive treat! This hot open sandwich reminded me of Christmas - cranberry, parma ham, chicken and melting mozzarella.
You can use sliced chicken or turkey, but we chose to flatten a chicken breast and flash fried. Spread the ciabatta toast with cranberry sauce, top with chicken and parma ham. Grill for a minute before adding the cheese, then continue to heat under the grill until crispy. Serve with a light salad and you have a delicious hot lunch around 450 calories.

EAT GREAT AND LOSE WEIGHT.

Do you know how many calories you can eat 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.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

JAMBALAYA

Tonight we're having a JAMBALAYA - it's an easy, spicy dish to make, and always disappears fast.  We estimate each portion at around 500 calories per serving. This is a good alternative to a curry, and for using up bits and pieces in the fridge. Our version was more a case of what was available in the fridge - rather than following an authentic recipe. 

 JAMBALAYA

Ingredients to serve 4 

50g chorizo - sliced

300g chicken breast - cubed

large tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)

2 peppers - we only had green ones, so used those

1 large onion (finely chopped)

stick of chopped celery

2 cloves garlic

1 large chilli - we used a red one and removed seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 tsp cajun powder

250g basmati rice

750g chicken stock / water

dessertspoon olive oil

150g of prawns if using them

handful of peas (that's all we had to hand)

****

Fry the onion and celery in a little oil for 5 minutes, then add the sliced peppers, garlic and chilli. Continue frying for couple of minutes. 

Add chicken & chorizo slices and fry for a further 5 minutes. 

Add tomatoes, rice, cajun, turmeric and stock/water. Cook until tender, but not dry. 

When almost ready to serve, add the peas and prawns (if using) and heat through for a couple more minutes. Don't forget to taste and season with salt and pepper!

****

EAT GREAT AND LOSE WEIGHT.

Do you know how many calories you can eat 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.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

BREAD & WEIGHT LOSS

Lunch was a tasty BEEF, EGG & ONION sandwich, and it certainly hit the spot. (See how we made it below).
If you love bread, why give it up to lose weight? We carried on eating bread and believe this actually helped us. If you stop eating foods you are likely to crave, you might just find you eat more of it. Perhaps you'll find yourself skulking around the bread bin, sneaking a slice of bread here or there? Why go through the torture.
Embrace bread and try different flavours, like we do. Just keep a balanced approach, vary your diet and enjoy your food.
We counted the calories in this tasty sandwich

Thinly sliced pork loin

I've quite often seen THINLY SLICED PORK LOIN sold in packs in the supermarket and wondered what I could do with them. Our recipe certainly turned the pork into something much more interesting. 

You'll find this very simple way of serving pork will make it go further too! The stuffing infuses the pork and helps keep it moist and tender. 

There's a similar recipe on our blog using tenderloin of pork.

Serve however you like; we chose a salad and potatoes. No need for a sauce, however, a nice dollop of this apple sauce went very well with it. It's easy enough to make. Here's our recipe:

Good old sausage and mash

Who doesn't love sausage and mash - a great comfort food for those cold days. If you need to rustle up something quickly, then why not make plenty of mashed potato and freeze ahead.
It's the time of year when time or lack of time can often lead to stress and takeaways.
Even if you don't have any prepared mash, you can always buy some. Being very busy ourselves and having to cut corners we thought we would buy our ONION GRAVY. After  surveying a few ready made gravies on the market, I found this gravy, which turned out to be so tasty, we'll be buying it again soon.  The complex flavours just lifted the dish entirely.

Takeaway chicken

The flavour of this chicken coating was as close as we could get to takeaway fried chicken - without frying anything!
The chicken and sweetcorn were cooked in the oven.
We posted the BBQ bean recipe yesterday - and would recommend you give this a try. You can make it at a fraction of the cost of its commercial equivalent. Why not feed your family for less!
The chicken had a very punchy flavour - close to a popular brand on the high street.
We estimate the whole meal (including our fabulous home made chips) at around 600 calories less than the takeaway deep fried equivalent. See how quick and easy it was to prepare and make: