PORK TENDERLOIN - CHINESE STYLE

If you're looking for ideas for the weekend, why not try this PORK TENDERLOIN recipe. It's a very economical cut of meat, and goes a long way. Cooking it Chinese style like this gives it a lovely twist. Serve with pak-choi and mash like we did here, or add noodles instead. Very quick and easy to prepare too. 

CHINESE STYLE PORK TENDERLOIN

Ingredients per person

180g mash 

100g pak choi 

200g pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of Chinese five spice
garlic clove
tsp fresh grated ginger

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Marinate the pork in a mix of: hoi sin sauce, garlic, ginger and soy, over night or at least for couple of hours.

Cook uncovered in the oven at 180º for around 20 minutes.

It will take longer to cook according to the thickness and starting temperature. If you take it straight from the refrigerator, it will take a little longer to cook.

Check the pork is cooked through - do not serve pink. You'll find resting the piece of meat for 5 minutes before slicing will also help keep it moist.

TIP: The MASH was made by baking some large unpeeled potatoes (as if making jacket potatoes) then scooping out the flesh. This makes great mash because it's not water-logged and the flavour is more intense. A similar result can be achieved by microwaving the unpeeled potato. Don't throw away the potato skins either - they can be filled with a little cheese and/or sprinkled with your favourite spice. 

We put ours in a plastic bag and freeze until we're ready to eat them, then spray with a good oil and put them into a hot oven to crisp up.

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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.

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.

HARISSA CARROTS - the WOW factor

Roasted Harissa carrots have to be about the tastiest carrots I've eaten. There is certainly a wow factor about them. Here's how my first attempt turned out.
This plate has around 200g of carrots (70 cals) and I would estimate the whole dish at around 160 calories. Eat with meat, fish, other vegetables or cheese.
If I was eating it as a main, I would crumble some goat's cheese on top. The thing I liked most was how easy it was to make:

STEAK & CHASSEUR SAUCE

Chasseur sauce is easy to rustle up, and it's made without cream so all the flavour of the mushrooms comes through. We've come up with a version using less butter than the classic recipe. See our tip about how to prevent the sauce splitting.
Instead of chips you could pan fry potatoes in a small amount of oil/butter, as we did here. Chasseur sauce will go well with chicken too. Use the same recipe to cook chicken legs in the sauce.
We're off out for a walk. It's rained virtually non-stop here so while the sun is shining we'll be heading for Blaise Castle.
Sauces really bring a dish alive, so why not have a go at making this one. The whole dish is around 650 calories and very filling. Here's how we made the chasseur sauce.

STUFFED SWEET RED PEPPERS

We stuffed sweet red peppers with the same spicy risotto mix we cooked with meatballs the other day. The risotto is so versatile, and this was a very tasty way to eat it.
It's packed with flavour and low in calories too (see below).
Just slice the pepper in half and fill with the risotto. Place on a baking tray and cook for around 45 mins at 180ºC, until the top is crispy.
You could top with a bit of your fav cheese and let that melt in the oven for a couple of minutes. We sprinkled ours with Parmesan shavings and served with a rocket salad and chicken.
Here's the recipe for the really spicy risotto.
I've got a feeling we'll be making this stuffed red pepper again too!

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT

Welcome to all our new followers. We hope you enjoy looking around this blog for some weight loss inspiration. Changing the way we think (or see) has had quite an impact on our weight. If you find it difficult to lose weight, why not change the way you think too? 

If you find it difficult to stick to diets - as we once did - why not give this PART-TIME weight loss plan a go? What have you got to lose?

It's been nearly 3 years since our first blog post, and there's now so much content I thought it was time to post a quick overview. I've noticed the blog needs tidying up as some of the links are not working, so please bear with me:

Spicy risotto with meatballs

This budget SPICY RISOTTO is a very quick one pot dish.
You can serve it on its own or with any meat, fish or vegetables.
We served ours with pork meatballs.
I'm sure the leftovers will taste just as good cold. A great lunchbox idea.
We didn't use arborio rice, as we didn't have any, and the end result gave a slightly nuttier texture.
Here's the recipe:

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:

BAKED COD WITH A HERB CRUST

BAKED COD with a herb crust is very easy to prepare and cook.
The dish can be prepared beforehand then all you have to do is turn the oven on and wait. Great if you are entertaining - and a delicious idea for Valentine's Day.
I've found baking cod usual gives a lovely moist result and you are less likely to overcook it.
We took advantage of an amazing offer on at Morrisons at the moment - fresh cod at just £5.99 per kilo. Their website also has a lot of recipe ideas too.
After this very tasty recipe, I'm tempted to eat fish all week - and we'll definitely be making this again! Take a look at how we made it below.
Part of our weight loss success has been down to a bit of exercise - WALKING to be precise. If you're interested, here's something I've learned recently.
WALKING & DEHYDRATION.
We've had persistent rain in the South West for months now. So when we see the odd blue sky we like to take the opportunity to go for a walk. But I wasn't prepared for the strong winds, and we had to battle against the gales which almost took my breath away. After lunch, about two hours later I began to feel quite cold and tired. A quick search on the internet suggested this was probably down to dehydration. It made sense, as the walk had been much more strenuous due to the weather. It's so easy to forget walking is an exercise, but good hydration is just as important as with any exercise.

SPICY SALMON

We couldn't wait to try this SPICY SALMON.  After testing out the spicy CHERMOULA rub (with this fabulous aubergine recipe) we knew we were hooked. You could use TROUT instead.
Middle eastern spice mixes have given our dishes a real boost.
The great thing is, it's more a case of mixing the right spices together, rather than relying on special cooking skills to take your food to a different dimension.
We would estimate this lunch at around 450 calories. This includes the green salad dressed with oil and a scoop of salad grains. The fish was soft and delicate while the grains added a nutty texture. We bought a Marks and Spencer salad - lentil, quinoa and pecan couscous - which went well.
After marinating the fish for an hour, the whole dish takes less than 15 minutes to cook. Here's the ingredients for the Chermoula:

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?

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

I used a tried and tested recipe to make these. I didn't realise it was Yorkshire Pudding day today until I saw Saturday kitchen. What better excuse to make these lovely fluffy savoury puddings. Usually served with roast beef, but despite having pork for our roast today, we just had to make some of these to celebrate.
We think they work out roughly at 80-100 calories each. They rose to the occasion and with some left over, we're going to eat the rest warmed up with a sprinkle of sugar and lemon juice. Lovely. You have to remember the recipe is basically a pancake mix anyway.
To make these Yorkshire Puddings, we use this recipe:
150g plain flour, 2 eggs, 225 ml milk plus 50 ml water (or use all milk). Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the flour, salt and pepper into a bowl and make a well, crack the eggs into the well with a small amount of the milk. Combine with a whisk and gradually add the rest of the liquid. Leave to rest in the fridge for as long as you can. We made the mixture the night before, giving it plenty of time to rest.
We like to cook ours in a heavy based muffin tin - they usually rise really well. Add a small amount of oil (about half teaspoon for each pudding) and get the pan really hot before adding the mix.
TIP: 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.

COLOURFUL PASTA BAKE

PASTA BAKE - great for weight loss at around 450 calories per portion.  We enjoyed ours with a nice glass of red wine.
Roasting the vegetables first helps intensify the flavour of the overall dish. Choose whatever vegetables you like - but don't forget the courgettes (zucchini) as I thought they really made the dish. Here's how we made it: