3.3.15

Hi everyone, had some delicious food today was reasonably healthy too so that's a plus!! I'm definatley feeling less bloated since starting this diet. I'm also following Ella Woodwards skin routine which is leaving me feeling very fresh faced in the mornings. You can find details on her blog. I'm obsessed with her blog at the moment! Especially the sweet treats section mmmmmmm!!!

So breakfast was same smoothie as yesterday except the avocado was swapped for banana. I do prefer banana in a smoothie as it really sweetens it up but I try and sneak avocado in sometimes as it has so many health benefits! For lunch I had a chicken and pepper wrap, recipe will be in another post. For dinner I had a homemade lamb burger with mozarella middle served with Romano peppers in balsamic glaze and sweet corn. Was really delicious and I will also post the recipes for these. After dinner sweet was another deliciously ella raw brownie. I made up another batch of 20 of these last night as I think key to my dieting will be having healthy sweet treats on hand so I'm not tempted by less healthy sweets when the cravings hit! Please check out the recipes and let me know your thoughts!! 

2.3.15 semi successful day...

Hi everyone! Been busy today so not much exciting going on food wise! Had a smoothie for breakfast. I'm not a huge fan of fruit so I think this a really quick and easy way to get it in and have a healthy breakfast at the same time. Mine was half an avocado, handful of mixed berries, handful of kale, 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed and some no added sugar squash. This served two. Lunch was same as yesterday ellas crackers and houmous, and dinner was at the mother in laws, pie and mash. So sorry not much exciting to say but I said I'd share my eating so here it is! Gonna try and get serious about this over the next few days and attempt some foodgawker worthy photos! Wish me luck!

Swede and carrot mash

Swede and carrot mash is a favourite veggie side dish of mine. I steam mine in a pressure cooked and it retains the flavour brilliantly. Swede is best eaten when there's frost on the ground, we still eat all year though! It takes a while to cook so needs to be diced small for cooking.  In the pressure cooker it takes around 30 minutes full pressure. If I boil I usually give about an hour. A pinch of Baking powder in the boiling water will speed the cooking. I like to have carrot with mine. When very soft i mash with real butter and salt. 

Roast pork belly

Pork belly is such a delicious and reasonably priced cut of meat. It is fatty yes but cooked correctly its soft and give lots of lovely crackling mmmmmm

And I don't know about you but I'd rather have a tasty fatty bit of pork occasionally than dry pork more often!

Anyway I wouldn't call this a recipe it's just the way I cook it and it never fails!

First make sure your skin is scored well. If this isn't done already then you will need a really sharp knife or a Stanley works great. In a pinch I have broken a razor and used the blade but I wouldn't advise!

After this pour a kettle of boiling water all over the skin. Then dry with kitchen roll and season well. Then the meat needs to be placed on a grill tray over a baking tray with water in. This goes into preheated oven at 230. Cook for half hour and reduce to 170 for further 2 hours. Take out and cover place baking paper over skin. Then put on top another baking tray and weigh down with tins. Leave for half hour. Also give a push down every now and then, it helps fat drop out. Then return to over for half hour more. Your meat should be soft and crackling solid. If for any reason your crackling isn't hard enough you can place under grill. Just keep a close eye on it as ur doesn't take long at all!

I like to take cracking off and serve in a bowl. I then slide the meat into strips. Enjoy!

Parmentier potatoes

These potatoes are so quick and easy to make and a million times cheaper than pre done!

4 medium potatoes (I always use Maris piper)
2-4 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2-3 garlic cloves
Dried rosemary
Dried thyme

Produces 2-4 servings depending on how greedy you are haha!

Potatoes can be peeled or you can leave skin on, both give nice results.
Dice the potatoes into cubes around 2cm

Place in a baking tray add other ingredients, I leave garlic with skin on and remove before serving.
No need to par boil potatoes.
Mix it all around and bake in oven at 180 for around an hour. Stir a couple of times while cooking to brown evenly.

Lemon and corriander houmous

1 can chickpeas
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
Lemon juice, fresh corriander, salt and pepper to taste
Water to achieve desired consistency

In to the blender and your away!
I prefer with seasoning type things to leave you to decide how much, I find it's best to start with a little and add till you get the flavours you desire. Everyone has different tastes and I think this is the best way.
With the corriander you can add near the end if you prefer the pieces to show.

Banana, date and nut butter smoothie

1 very ripe banana (think brown!)
4 medjool dates
1 tablespoon almond butter (or any nut butter)
Milk of choice to achieve desired consistency
Ice cubes to achieve desired coldness

Chuck it all in blender and away you go!
Gives 2 small servings of around 240 calories
Medjool dates are good for blending as they are soft, if you wish to substitute for regulate dates a soak may help.
Superfoods, spices or even greens can be added if you chose.
I personally wanted this one as a treat!

Blog 1 1.3.15 so excited!

It's been a chilled Sunday here and have enjoyed some delicious healthy and not so healthy (ooopps) food!
As I've said its all about balance I believe. So I started my day with a delicious smoothie, as its the weekend I treated myself to something a little more calorific than I would normally go for. It was a banana and almond smoothie, recipe to follow in seperate blog post. Was really lovely, very sweet almost dessert like. Still packed with great nutrients though!
For lunch I had some carrot and tomato crackers that I cooked last night from the deliciously Ella website. I'm so inspired by ella and love all her recipes I've tried so far. With the crackers I had no sunflower seeds so left those out and also subed the tomato purée for passata as that's all I had. I also didn't have oregano so swapped that for a little Rosemary, thyme and mahjoram. As you will learn I'm not one to give up if I don't have the ingredients, I just chuck in what I have and think will work and hope for the best! They turned out lovely, I will say they were a little thick and softer than I expected but I think that's down to me not spreading thin enough, it's quite tricky. They're still so lovely though and I had these with some lemon and corriander hummus? Recipe to follow.. I snacked on a raw brownie, another deliciously Ella recipe. So tasty! Next time I might try them topped with some chopped hazelnuts, will keep you posted! Dinner was a Sunday roast, pork belly. Perfect crackling, soft meat, doesn't get better than that. Had with Parmentier potatoes, swede and carrot mash and peas. Recipes to follow in seperate posts. Dinner was the calorie downfall of the day but so worth it and been pretty good otherwise. Hope you all check out the recipes and have a go! Please let me know your comments I would love to hear them!