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:

Sweet onion puree

I've made chilli con carne for later - it's easy enough to make and very economical. I usually make a large quantity and freeze the rest. If you want something faster than a jacket potato - why not make these quick potato wedges instead?
The weather has turned brighter, so we'll probably take a slow walk to the pub, about a mile away and burn around 80 calories. It all helps keep the weight off. By not dwelling on every last calorie and keeping a rough count has certainly become second nature to us now.
I'm also making a batch of onion puree to use up the rest of the double cream in the fridge. This puree is deliciously creamy, goes well with roast beef, and freezes well (if there's any left over …).

Stripy aubergine

I wondered if this stripy aubergine would taste the same as the dark purple variety.
Cutting it open, the flesh was very white in comparison. The last time we ate aubergine, was with a Chermoula spice mix. This time we chose to spread it with the same Shawarma mix we used for the lamb kebab we made last week.
The stripy aubergine was slightly more expensive at £1 each compared to 75p for the purple variety.
We enjoyed this for lunch today, each having half the aubergine with this very delicious bulgar wheat salad.
It's a very easy and quick recipe to make and very satisfying.
The aubergine was placed on a baking tray, covered with foil and cooked at 170ºC for 45 minutes. The foil was removed half way.
So what was the verdict? Well, we thought the stripy aubergine was much softer in texture with a more delicate flavour (less bitter). It would make a lovely dip.
I think it's worth paying the extra 25p, as the whole vegetable makes two meals. The aubergine is just 25 calories per 100g. Our lunch was packed with some interesting flavours and textures. If I had to guess at the calories in the whole dish, I would suspect this is around 400-450.
After a weekend eating shellfish and beef, it made a nice change.

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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.

LAMB SHAWARMA

This LAMB SHAWARMA was perfect to return home to. After preparing the flatbreads, all we had to do was assemble the dish.
We bought a Shawarma spice mix and rubbed it into a leg of lamb. The meat was then slow cooked.
The filling was onion, tomatoes and cucumber, seasoned then dressed with a little lemon juice and oil, and topped with full fat Greek yoghurt.
The most surprising part of the meal was the flatbread, which we have made before, but this

Salmon salad

This teriyaki salmon salad was very quick and easy to make. And after a weekend of eating out, it was good to see something 'green' on the plate. I'm not sure if I was after the watercress or the fish?
I often wonder if my body tells me to eat something it needs now. Yesterday we went for a longish walk but it was much warmer than anticipated. Perhaps we needed a mineral or two? Watercress is not something I always buy.
We've enjoyed teriyaki salmon before, see this recipe here, where it was served with a very refreshing noodle salad. Today we fancied potatoes and watercress.
The whole dish was around 450 calories and very filling.
This time we used frozen salmon, which we defrosted first. I couldn't tell the difference between the frozen salmon today and the last time when it was fresh.
For the marinade you will need just two tablespoons each of: Mirin, Sake, Soy and sugar. You could always buy a ready made sauce if you don't have the ingredients.

***

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.

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.

WEIGHT GAIN AFTER A NIGHT OUT?

A good night out followed by a takeaway. Why not? Now and again we all like to celebrate.
Next morning, step on the scales - disaster.
We've learned from this, and now we don't step on the scales the morning after the odd night out! Whatever the scales register they rarely make sense, particularly after some takeaways.
It's a situation we have seen many times… not just when we go out, but when we have eaten certain types of food - and we know it's a temporary situation. There are many reasons for weight fluctuation, so it makes good sense to only weigh yourself once a week. Or if you are curious, as we were at the beginning, weigh more often to help recognise there can be fluctuations in weight.
Just ask yourself - have you eaten enough calories to equate to the weight gain (and we've experienced some surprising and unusual big gains).
Knowing that 3,600 calories = approximately one pound in weight, the answer has always been 'no'. Just a rough count of the calories is all you need.
By ignoring these fluctuations in weight which can often be down to water balance, we just carry on as we are. The temporary 'gain' in weight disappears over the next couple of days.
It's helped us lose weight, keep it off and … be relaxed around food, drink and celebrations.

****

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.

SLOW ROASTED PORK (and diets)

Slow roasted belly of pork never fails to please. From the crunch to the meltingly soft pork below - this has to be one of our favourite dishes. By the time you take it out of the oven, most of the fat will have been cooked out. It's the flavour of the meat that's left… see our recipe below.
You can make pulled-pork sandwiches later too, if you have any left that is. We've made this before with a spicy Chinese marinade, but this time we    added cider.
Now SUGAR is finally making headlines, as the

Love bread - hate diets?

Restrictive diets usually limit the amount of bread you can eat. Next thing you know, you're craving the bread you can't eat.
I love bread - and it was one of the things I really missed when dieting. There was no substitute really.  What we did about this problem is probably not what you would expect, but it worked for us and helped us enjoy losing weight.
Dieting was always a negative experience for me - can't have this, can't have that. But we now realise it doesn't have to be like that.

IS YOGHURT GOOD FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Yoghurt is good for weight loss, but…. only if you like it. Are you eating foods you really enjoy - or just filling yourself with food you are being told to eat by the latest diet you are following?
Here's what we ate today - yoghurt and fresh fruit with a drizzle of honey.
In fact we eat everything and anything for breakfast, from bacon sandwiches to yoghurt.
If you eat what you enjoy, you will feel less inclined to pick and snack. It certainly helped stop our cravings. Our philosophy: you only crave what you can't have - so if you can have it, you won't crave it.
After years of yo-yo dieting, spending hundreds of £££££s seeking a solution to weight loss, and eating food that tasted like plastic, we decided to do something different. Diets had the opposite effect on my weight - making me crave food that wasn't allowed.
I craved real tasty food.
So...