Thursday, January 29, 2015

Big Bowl of Beef Pho!



Have had another successful week of trying out new dinners! Its amazing how easy it is to fall into a boring routine and how much better you feel when you are truly excited about and enjoying your meals. I found a recipe for pho among my weight watchers magazines and was instantly excited - unfortunately the recipe I found seemed lacking so I used it as a base and added lots more. The result was delicious and so good on a cold and windy night! Its so quick to put together, the only thing that really takes any time at all is the chopping! 

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Zed's Signature Burger!



I love a good burger and I have been playing around with my recipe for the past year or so and I believe I have finally perfected it! The burger itself is only 3pp per burger and is F&H or Simple Start friendly. The key to the burger for me is how finely you chop the onion and garlic. It should be close to a paste to really incorporate it well throughout the mince. I have been known to use a food processor to make sure its really chopped well. The burgers are juicy and succulent and full of flavour and never fail to disappoint. 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

It's London Baby!


This weekend I was in London with 6 other girls, so its safe to say I was way off plan all weekend! It was worth every second though! I did weigh myself on Friday morning before I left and I was down another pound. Usually I would hop on the scales  as soon as I get back and check again twice a day and one of two things happens; it scares me into getting back on track straight away, or it gives me a false sense of security and it takes me a while to find my groove. This time I decided I am not going to weigh myself until my scheduled weigh in day saturday morning. Full confession, I got back on Sunday evening and only just got back to tracking this morning, but I am back at it and have nothing to throw me off this week at all.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Chicken Jalfrezi & Brown Rice






I am off to London tomorrow for a weekend away with the girls and I am so excited! I have been extra strict food wise this week to allow for some indulgence this weekend! I have kept up my goal of keeping dinners interesting and mixed things up this week. But last nights dinner was the best so far. This is s recipe from an old weight watchers magazine. It calls for a can of cherry tomatoes which I thought I would have todibatitute for regular chopped tomatoes, but they had cans of cherry tomatoes in tesco and if you can get them the add a bit of sweetness to the dos.


Serves: 2
SmartPoints Per Serving: 8
SmartPoints on NoCount: 0
Propoints per serving: 9pp
Suitable for filling & healthy and simple start
Ingredients:
2 x 125g chicken breasts
I can cherry tomatoes
1cm piece of ginger grated 
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 onion sliced 
I green pepper cut into strips
I red chilli deseeded and chopped
2tsp garam masala
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp vegetable oil
100g Brown rice
Handful fresh coriander 
1 tbsp 0% fat greek yoghurt

Cook the rice according to the pack instructions. 

Whe the rice is cooking, mix the spices, garlic, chill and ginger with 1tsp water to make a paste, season well. Cut slashes in the chicken breasts and rub the paste into the chicken. Set aside to marinate. 

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the pepper and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes, turning once. 

Add the tomatoes with 2tbsp water. Bring to the boil them cover and simmer for 15 minutes, turning the chicken once. 

Remove the lid a simmer for 3 more minutes to let the sauce reduce. Serve over the rice, sprinkle the fresh coriander on top and serve the yoghurt alongside

Super easy and a really lovely midweek dinner!! 

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops


I had a great week last week. I stayed on plan 100% and despite the fact I couldn't do any exercise I felt really good about my weigh in this Saturday morning. And the proof was in the pudding (that I didn't have), and when I did weigh myself I was down 2 out of the 4 lbs I gained over Christmas. I had a few treats this weekend and then back on it. 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Welcome to 2015!!



Its already January 6th, so I am a little late wishing you all a Happy New Year. I'd like to say I was really busy over Christmas which is the reason for my lack of posting, but the reality is I was really just enjoying doing nothing. I had a whole 10 days off work, and despite being busy until the 27th, I took things really easy after that. Things had been so crazy in work that I spent most of my days sleeping and just chilling out, and that included a fair amount of eating. I enjoyed everything I ate and I didn't go over the top too much. I had planned to do a lot of exercise over the break but that plan went totally out the window and while I did head out on Christmas morning for a run, I haven't been out since.