New potato and asparagus salad

If you love new potatoes - as we do - why not add them to a warm green salad.
These lovely Pembrokeshire new potatoes added a new dimension to one of our favourite green salads. They are very similar to a Jersey Royal.
A few crushed walnuts added extra texture. The Pecorino shavings adding a salty touch, although you could use Parmesan.
This plate contains 150g of boiled potatoes and works out at around 300 calories. That includes the chopped walnuts, Pecorino, lemon dressing (see below) and cooking oil for the vegetables. Here's the recipe for the lemon dressing:

Creamy smoked trout salad

We love this SMOKED TROUT SALAD as it's quite easy to put together. With all the ingredients to hand, it's more of an assembly job, apart from boiling the potatoes.

I added a little more horseradish sauce to the dressing today. 

Smoked trout is cheaper than smoked salmon, and makes a nice change. If you can't find trout, you can always substitute with hot smoked salmon. 

We've used a very thick and creamy Greek yoghurt for the dressing. It really helps give the dish a velvety richness, without using mayonnaise (which can often taste too oily).

This dish comes in under 300 calories - and it is so filling, you would never believe it. Room for something else…… Here's our recipe:

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.

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.

Easy leek and potato soup

This was our first attempt at LEEK & POTATO soup. Leeks are now in season and should taste at their best or sweetest. You'll know when something is in season because it'll be cheaper.
I chose to make mine without cream to start with, just to see how it turned out. I also used a ratio of half potato to leek - making the recipe is easy to remember.
Why not take a look at the other great soup recipes here?
Here's how I made the soup, together with a rough count of calories and what we thought of it:

275 calories - hot smoked trout salad

This HOT SMOKED TROUT salad tasted as if it had a lot more calories than it actually did. It was packed with flavour and it gave my tastebuds something to think about.
It was the perfect lunch, and a great way to eat potatoes. Just 275 calories too. You could always substitute the trout for hot smoked salmon.
We've always aimed for a lunch at around 400-500 calories, so I'll be eating something else between now and dinner. There's no need to experience hunger to lose weight. You don't have to deprive yourself of anything. Why put your body under stress?
Here's our fabulous recipe:

Beef with orange spiced carrots and onion puree

This was our dinner party meal - which we enjoyed experimenting with.
Yesterday I posted how to make the balls of beef, and today I'm concentrating on the ORANGE SPICED CARROTS which will compliment lots of meals.
The dinner is more time consuming than technical, but the bonus, especially when you are entertaining, is that a lot of the components can be prepared beforehand.
Besides the melody of beef, the sweet onion puree and orange spiced carrots were a firm favourite. Even if you are cooking a simple beef dish - dressing up the vegetables like this is easy to do.
Take a look at this fabulous recipe for the

Smoked trout salad

Today we had smoked trout salad with new potatoes for lunch.
If you are dieting and want to make a real difference to your weight (forever) then why not take a look at our weight loss method. We've managed to lose 7 stone between us, and have kept the weight off without any problems. Our philosophy is to eat ALL foods - nothing banned eg if you love fish and chips - have them. This is what we fancied today.  Our meal was under 450 calories and very filling/satisfying.
You can buy pre-packed cooked, smoked trout fillets in the supermarket. Ours came from a Smokery, as we were passing the shop. Smoked trout is quite a subtle tasting fish and makes a nice change from eg smoked salmon. Great with a creamy potato salad, or simply with brown bread and butter.

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).

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! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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.

Budget slow cooked beef

If you are looking for a really rich and meltingly soft beef dish, why not try BEEF CHEEKS? You can buy these from the butcher - and we estimate one cheek would weigh around 350g AFTER it's been cooked. That's a lot of rich meat - and one cheek was plenty for us to share. However we cooked two at the same time with the intention of making a pie and using some for sandwiches.
The flavour is much stronger than shin of beef, and as a result (we think) you'll find you can't eat quite as much. It's low enough in calories as it is, but because you can't scoff it down quickly (well, you might...), you should end up with a low calorie meal under 500 calories.
We served ours with creamy mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables this time. If you fancy giving this a try, here's our fabulous recipe:  BEEF CHEEKS which we served with wild garlic GNOCCHI and celeriac mash, just a little more special (great if you're entertaining).
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).

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! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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.

Spicy potatoes

How to transform your potatoes:  SPICY CHORIZO, a few onions and 20 minutes later, we were devouring this very more-ish rustic dish.
It was the perfect partner for our fish. We had bought two whole sea bass, not realising quite how big they were, so we've ended up with two separate meals. Yesterday, we baked the sea bass, which gave the fish such a lovely soft texture, so we baked the fish again the same way today.
Pair fish with this spicy potato and you'll wonder (like us) why you've never cooked it before. We think - no - we're certain we'll be eating this again very, very soon - probably (tomorrow) with a fried egg.
The dish is so easy to cook, very versatile, and we can see it turning up on daytime television (...again), complete with our tips (see below)!
Thanks to the way we cooked these potatoes, the whole dish (including fish) was surprisingly under 400 calories! Take a look at how we cooked this - here's our recipe:

Duck with cherry sauce

Dieting can often be a bland experience especially if you have developed a great palate for food and drink (like us).
If you've only ever thought weight loss was possible through dieting, then why not take a look at how we lost all our weight.
This CRISPY DUCK WITH CHERRY SAUCE was served with fondant potato, savoy cabbage and bacon. Take a look at how we cooked our fondant potato too!
Some dishes, like this one, look more complicated than they actually are so why not try this recipe.
Don't be put off by those TV chefs (we know who you are) who often use an endless list of costly and fancy ingredients. We like to suggest alternative ingredients and tips, as with this recipe. This delicious cherry sauce was used in our

Crispy potato wedges with chicken

We've had a bit of an eclectic weekend with our food due to decorating the house. Although our motto is to be prepared - we found it easier to dial a takeaway. So our weekend has been peppered with snatched meals.

After a chinese takeaway on Friday evening, our weight was significantly higher (than the amount of calories consumed would suggest) the next morning. It's happened before, so we weren't too bothered and 24 hours later, our weight had adjusted back to normal. We can only put this down to water retention and a salty meal. Weight does fluctuate (see what we think about this here), and we've learned this, so no longer panic.
After a couple of hours painting, it's nice to be waited on. The exercise will offset the additional calories consumed, and as takeaways are something of an occasional treat, we tucked in. I suspect we are 'calorie neutral' after all our efforts. Today we cooked a small whole chicken, eating one hot meal with crispy wedges, using this quick potato wedges recipe, and the other meal as a salad.
As you can see, we eat everything and anything. Our weight loss was never dependent upon 'special' foods or meals. We lost weight eating the food we love.

REMEMBER: YOU have a daily calorie allowance - do you know what that is?

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).

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! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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.

WILD GARLIC GNOCCHI

Walking through the woodlands, we came across a distinct smell of garlic. You couldn't miss it. Further on we found this carpet of wild garlic which seemed to cover everything.
Having never cooked with wild garlic before, we thought.... why not pick some. We knew it was edible and decided to make WILD GARLIC GNOCCHI with crispy sage. The leaves are long and silky and can be used in a salad, or cooked like spinach. The white flower has a hint of garlic and we ate those too. Great decoration if you are entertaining. Here's our recipe and how it turned out.

Chicken strip salad

This spicy peri-peri chicken strip salad was quick and easy to make. I bought the chicken already cut into strips, but found there was a sinew running through each piece. You should remove the white sinew as it is very tough.
The chicken was marinated for a couple of hours in peri-peri seasoning to which I added a little oil. They took less than five minutes to cook and a couple of minutes to rest.
I've been waiting to eat the Jersey Royal new potatoes - and this was the perfect moment.
My meal consisted of 150g of potatoes (dressed with a little butter/salt and mint), 180g of chicken strips and a mixed, dressed salad. All the flavours were very satisfying and the meal was around 450-500 calories (if that).
Despite all the bread/potatoes yesterday, lunch was two types of cheese and tomato on toast, which I would estimate around 500 calories. I wasn't going to have bread, but after reading about the latest news, I began to hanker after pizza! There was an article about a new pizza which would supply you with all the necessary nutrients. The seed was planted, hence the cheese on toast. Mind you, when I was thinking about what to eat at lunch time, I still went with my intuition (which was tomatoes and cheese) before turning them into what I had been thinking and reading about.

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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).

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! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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.

Jacket potato, beans and pork

I love jacket potatoes using 'waxy' potatoes but my other half prefers the fluffy varieties - eg King Edward.
TIP: I was experimenting with the cooking times for the potatoes and cooked them in the oven at 180ºC for half an hour - then I turned the oven off. I found they had cooked nicely in the residual heat, and we ate them about an hour and a half later. Saves on the fuel bills!
We enjoyed this meal, and were able to use up the leftover bbq pork. We heated the pork through until piping hot.
Today I'll be cooking my Jersey Royal new potatoes and having them with a salad and meat. After lots of bread/sandwiches yesterday, I'm hankering after some crunchy vegetables.

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).

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! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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.

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

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

Home made burger and chips

This time I've made CHICKEN burger and chips. It's nice to know you can eat whatever you fancy - and still lose and/or maintain weight. Believe me - we've been eating like this for a couple of years now.
In my old 'diet obsessed' mindset, (thankfully long gone) I would never have contemplated food like this: chicken burger and chips!
One day I asked myself was I really enjoying life eating 'diet alternatives' such as

LAMB RUMP with cherry sauce

Various components of this dish were made beforehand. I suppose that's what they must do in all the fancy restaurants.

LAMB RUMP WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Ingredients (serves two)

Lamb rump (150g per person)

Jar of morello cherries (in light syrup or juice)

Shallot

Garlic

Port

Water

Take the meat out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature.
CHERRY SAUCE. This can be done earlier. Drain the cherries. The juice can be used to cook the cherries, but if you've bought a jar of cherries in syrup, then replace the liquid with enough water to cover. Save the syrup, as you may want to use a little of this to sweeten the sauce. Add a dash of port, chopped shallot and crushed garlic to the cherries and water/juice. Boil for around 20 minutes then blend and pass through a sieve. If you want to save a few of the cherries to decorate your plate, then feel free (we forgot today).
Fry the lamb, brown all sides then place into the oven to finish cooking. We put ours in the oven for 5 minutes as we like it pink. Rest the meat - this is the most important part of the process.
We served ours with minted pea puree - literally blend some cooked frozen peas with some mint and salt/pepper. Put into a saucepan and reduce to your desired consistency.
Our fondant potatoes - strangely enough we cook ours the wrong way, but they taste great. We boil the potatoes in stock until cooked, then when we're ready to eat, we fry them in butter/oil for just a few minutes either side until we see a nice looking crust/crunch!
We like to do a QUICK calorie count, and we work on the lamb being two calories per gram. That's 300 calories for the meat. If we estimate 650 calories at most, this dish is well within our WEEKEND calorie allowance.
Losing weight eating the food we love!
REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - 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 UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how we have lost weight eating the food we love.
Copyright © forgetdietingforever 2013, all rights reserved.

Bubble & Squeak

If you are on a budget then this bubble and squeak is a great way to use up leftovers! On Sunday we made more mash than we needed, so we mixed it together with a little of the leftover cabbage. Each potato cake (approx 160g) was fried in the same pan as the sausages until cooked. We used good quality sausages from our butcher, so there wasn't a lot of fat running out of them. We estimate the meal at around 600 calories.  We could have added baked beans, tomatoes and mushrooms too.
Until the sausages went into the pan I wasn't sure I wanted this (after having a bit of a cold). But, the smell of the fat cooking seemed to stimulate my appetite. It reminds me of when you go past a fast food outlet, and suddenly you feel hungry. Why does it happen? Is it because we are programmed to search out certain types of foods?
If you would like to know more about how we have achieved our fabulous weight loss eating all this wonderful food - see OUR IDEA
Read how we put 'our idea' to the test  -  Our Experiment

We keep mentioning CALORIES - see why!

COPYRIGHT © forgetdietingforever 2013, all rights reserved.

We all have a calorie allowance - 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!