Forget dieting forever: December 2014

Monday, 22 December 2014

BEEF PARTY BITES under 50 calories

Here is a very simple recipe for leftover beef - and will keep your party guests happy too! You'll never believe these weigh in at under 50 calories each. If you are on a budget, these work out at around 2p each plus the filling - whichever you choose.
We used a mini muffin tin, making 18 beef party bites with this batter recipe:
75g plain flour, 1 egg, 115 ml milk plus 25 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 egg into the well with a small amount of the milk. Using a whisk, gradually add the rest of the liquid. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour - the longer the better.
Add a very small amount of fat (such as goose fat or lard) to the muffin tin. The tip of a teaspoon should be sufficient. Put the muffin tin into the oven while it's heating up.
Bake in a very hot oven 200ºC for 20 minutes.
Make a hole in the top of each pudding and insert (reheated) beef with a touch of horseradish sauce. If you prefer you can fill with freshly fried pieces of steak. We reheated brisket of beef in the microwave oven and added a dash of hot gravy too. Season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, fry beef chipolatas and put slices of these inside.

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Be who you want to be.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful WEIGHT LOSS STORY here. Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

SPICY PASTA WITH FETA

Pasta with feta with a refreshing yoghurt and pea dressing.

Losing weight eating great food is also our secret to keeping the weight off.

Give you body a good balance of everything to help eliminate cravings.

Eat regularly, but most of all enjoy what you are eating.

Calories in - calories out may sound too simplistic (and boring), but at the beginning of 2011we developed this simple equation into a very simple and successful WEIGHT LOSS PLAN, which helped us to lose over 7 stone between us. We learned there is no need to starve and no special foods are required.

Maintaining the weight seems to have surprised a lot of people - and almost 4 years later, we've continued to keep the weight off. Unlike lots of diets where the weight just piles back on once the diet is over.

To make this pasta dish, there are two stages - the yoghurt dressing can be made first and you can set it aside until you are ready to make the rest. We doubled up on the yoghurt dressing so we can use it again. In fact, you can double up on all the ingredients, as this is delicious eaten cold. Take it to work and your friends will be jealous of your tasty salad bowl.

Here's how we made this dish, adapted from an Ottolenghi recipe.

SPICY PASTA - serves TWO
Yoghurt dressing

60g natural yoghurt

25ml olive oil

50g frozen and defrosted peas

crushed clove garlic

salt/pepper

Blend yoghurt with 25ml of the olive oil, 50g of the peas and crushed garlic. Add salt and pepper.Mix until you have a pale green sauce. Set aside until later.

Spicy pasta

120g dried pasta

100g frozen peas

15g pine nuts (or chopped hazelnuts)

20 ml olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes (if you like it hot, use half teaspoon)

15g fresh basil leaves

50g feta cheese

salt/pepper

Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Add the frozen peas for the last couple of minutes.Drain well because the shells fill up with water, then very slowly, add the pasta to the sauce (so it doesn't split).

Place the 20ml oil into a small frying pan. Add your chilli flakes and pine nuts. Cook gently until golden brown - 4-5 minutes.

Tear basil, crumble the feta and mix into the pasta. Top with the pine nuts and drizzle with the chilli/oil.

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Be who you want to be.

Eat great and lose weight.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

Tuesday, 9 December 2014

CAVOLO NERO

We bought a pack of CAVOLO NERO - also called cavalo nero or black kale. I realise it's been a long time before trying this mysterious looking vegetable, but it has quickly become one of our favourites.
I like cabbage to have a bit of a bite, but sometimes it can be tough, especially the dark green leaves. We were pleasantly surprised - the kale gave just the right amount of bite yet was incredibly soft at the same time. The flavour was interesting, not bitter at all, and it was ready in minutes. Just remove the stalks and cut into 1.5cm squares then heat through in a saucepan with a small knob of butter and a couple of tablespoons of water.
After hunting around on the internet, we've seen cavalo nero used in a lot of pasta recipes too. Something for us to try later.
This time we enjoyed eating it with a roast chicken dinner. Follow this link, if you would like to know how to make the lovely chicken gravy. We make our gravy without stock cubes - only using the roasting juices.

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Be who you want to be.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful WEIGHT LOSS STORY here. Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

Monday, 8 December 2014

How to make sausage rolls

If you want to get ahead for Christmas, here's a very simple cheat's SAUSAGE ROLL recipe. It's one of our favourites and we make these ahead and freeze uncooked. Look out for good quality sausages with a lower fat content, as these will not only taste more meaty, but will also be lower in calories. Why not try flavoured sausages too?
You may have to make double the quantity because they are irresistible and disappear quickly! Here's the recipe:

FESTIVE SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients

500g of good sausages with a high meat content

500g packet of ready made flaky or puff pastry

one beaten egg (or milk)

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Roll out the pastry and cut into strips wide enough to take the sausage meat.

Remove sausage skins, roll sausage meat into a longer sausage about 1.5-2cm diameter.

Place sausage meat onto the pastry.

Wrap pastry around the sausage meat and seal the edges with a little milk or egg.

(At this stage, you can freeze on a tray provided you have used ingredients not previously frozen).

Brush the top with beaten egg or milk.

Cut into whatever size you want and cook in a hottish oven, around 180ºC, until brown (approximately 20 - 30 mins).

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Be who you want to be.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Our very first blog post about our weight loss journey - back in 2011.

You'll find our successful WEIGHT LOSS STORY here. Tweak what you eat and lose weight.

Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.