Recipe: Kedgeree...ish

I've been really hankering for some fish recently, not sure why as I don't really like it most of the time, but occasionally I get a craving.
Seeing as today has been a fast-day, I knew it couldn't be fried and encrusted in some sort of tasty batter, so I tried to think of the next best way I like fish. Kedgeree!
My mum used to make this every now and then when I was little and I've always enjoyed it, the warm curry spice, the crumbly fish and the creamy egg all go so beautifully together. Perfect for the cooler months.
So, I did the maths and worked out a recipe that was low calorie and incorporated the essential elements of kedgeree.
Sadly, smoked haddock is hard to come by here, but I made do with regular and it came out just as nicely in the end.

Kedgeree: Serves 5

600g haddock (smoked if available) = 444 kcal

370g rice = 477 kcal

200g frozen peas = 136 kcal

3-4 onions = 46 kcal

5 poached eggs = 320 kcal (64 each)

1 tbsp butter = 102 kcal

2 tbsp curry powder

1 clove garlic

salt

pepper

fresh parsley

squeeze of lemon juice

Total = 1542 kcal

Per portion = 308.4 kcal

• Cook rice either in microwave or pan, whatever method you prefer. Set aside until needed
• heat a pan with enough water to cover the fish, with two bay leaves, pepper, salt and a halved onion (you can also do this step with milk or with half milk, half water) until simmering
• Add the fish, simmer gently for 4-5 minutes, remove from liquid and cool slightly before removing skin and flaking (luckily mine was already filleted and skinned so I just had to flake). Set aside until needed.
• Chop onions, it doesn't matter how, I did a mix of very small and very large pieces to add to the texture of the dish.
• heat butter in a pan (use oil if you like but I think butter tastes better in this) and gently fry the onions until softened, then add the spices and fry gently. 
• Add the finely chopped garlic and fry until aromatic, then add the rice and mix through. 
• Defrost the peas by running under warm water in a sieve, then add to the rice mix. 
• Add the fish to the rice and heat through. 
• Whilst heating, poach the eggs making sure they do not over cook and the yolk stays runny. 
• Check the mix for seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice and finely chopped parsley.
• Serve in a bowl with the egg over the top.

You will no doubt find more authentic recipes for kedgeree online, but this was really tasty and who can argue with those calories?!

 

Recipes: Crazy For Quinoa

I seriously need to get my act together when it comes to taking pictures for recipes! But hey, surely it's the actual recipe that counts, right?

Today's meal was the first one I ever made for our first fast-day, a lemony couscous with roasted vegetables, sounds potentially boring, tastes delicious! 

Couscous with roast vegetables: Serves 5

 350g Couscous = 865g cooked = 970 kcal

2 stock cubes = 60 kcal

1 onion = 46 kcal

2 cloves garlic = 8 kcal

lemon zest

salt

pepper

spices

1 tbsp olive oil = 119 kcal

200g feta =  264 kcal

3 Peppers = 120 kcal

1 courgette = 45 kcal

1 pack cherry tomatoes = 36 kcal

2 red onions = 80 kcal

1 tbsp oil = 119 kcal

1 cup mushrooms = 15 kcal

total = 1882 kcal

pp = 376 kcal

• Cut the vegetables into large pieces, leave tomatoes and mushrooms whole
• Put them in a roasting tray with olive oil, salt and pepper
• Put them in 200°c oven for 40-50 mins or until soft and browned
• Finely chop the onion and fry in a pan until softened
• Finely chop the garlic and add to onions, fry quickly until fragrant
• Add the cous cous and mix through the onions, then add the stock, cover with a lid and turn the heat to lowest setting
• After 5 minutes when all the liquid is gone, grate in the zest of 1 lemon, season with salt and pepper and crumble the feta in. Mix to combine and serve with the vegetables

This was how I made it the first time, however today we didn't have any couscous so I went with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It's the first time I've ever had it before and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! It takes a little longer to cook than couscous and has much more of a bite to it but it wasn't unpleasant and I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to couscous in any recipe (although I still prefer couscous).
I added fresh coriander, roughly chopped, into the quinoa this time and served mine with a good dash of hot sauce and some fresh chili! Try and enjoy!

Recipes: Vegetastic

Today was another diet day, my first at home, and even though I made one last week, I fancied a curry.
However, I knew one thing, I wanted rice too!
The curry I made last week was chicken and vegetables, but the chicken added a lot of calories which meant we had to eat it on its own, and no matter how tasty it was (and it was very tasty!) I missed the presence of soft, fluffy rice in my bowl.
So this time it was simple, leave out the chicken!
I have never felt it necessary to always have meat for a main meal, a belief that was not shared by Arjan when we first started dating (there were many shopping trips that would end in arguments over whether or not we had to have meat for dinner and as poor students, it was not always something we could afford) as the Dutch are a very 'meat and two veg' kind of people.
My family are always happy to have a vegetarian meal every now and then, so long as it tastes good and fills them up, so I find I generally cook at least one meat-free meal whenever I come home, be it pasta, curry, risotto or soup.

Back to the curry!

One of my favourite dishes we order from our local Indian takeaway is called Bhindi Bahji, a fairly dry, heavily spiced okra curry, and when I found okra on tesco.com whilst doing a big shop for ingredients for me to come home to, I instantly decided they were going to be the star of this dish!

Okra Tikka Masala: serves 5

50g Patak’s Tikka Masala Paste = 132 kcal

1 tbsp Groundnut oil = 119 kcal

100g Passata = 320 kcal

300g Mushrooms = 66 kcal

350g Okra = 108 kcal

200g Frozen spinach = 55 kcal

200g Frozen peas = 136 kcal

5 boiled eggs = 385 kcal (77 kcal each)

total sauce = 935 kcal + eggs  = 1320 kcal

Per portion sauce = 155 kcal + egg = 232 kcal 

370g basmati rice = 477 kcal

Per portion rice = 95 kcal

Total per portion = 327 kcal

This amount of sauce will serve 6 but the eggs and rice was calculated for 5 so you will need to add another 75g uncooked rice and one egg for the 6th person. apologies for the confusing display of the calculations but I couldn't think of a better way to illustrate what adds on how many kcal so you can easily leave something off or add something on. 

• Heat oil in a pan, add the paste and fry for a minute, pour in passata and simmer
• Chop mushrooms into quarters if large or halves if smaller, button mushrooms can be left whole if desired (it’s purely a textural thing, do what you want with them really!)
• Wash and dry okra thoroughly, top and tail, chop into thirds or 2-3cm pieces (they will release a sticky slime, it will go away while cooking) I would add more in the future as I love them so much
• Rinse the peas and spinach under warm water to defrost slightly and remove large chunks of ice (use fresh if you can! I just had to empty out the freezers and these were already in there)
• Add all the vegetables to the sauce and stir to spread through, simmer for at least 30-40 minutes before serving (or until vegetables have softened) you can also make this ahead and switch the heat off then reheat for 15 minutes before serving.
• 20 minutes before serving place the peeled, boiled eggs on top of the curry, turn them half way through so they become coated in the sauce and heat evenly. 
• For the rice: add twice the volume of boiled water that you have of rice (e.g. 1 cup rice - 2 cups water) add salt and any spices you want (I used turmeric, cumin and a tiny pinch of cinnamon)
• Bring to the boil and cover, simmer until most of the water is gone and the rice is almost cooked then remove the lid, stir and allow to dry out a little. 
• Alternative rice recipe: add 1 part rice, 2 parts boiled water, salt and spices to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and microwave on high for 14 minutes (this is my preferred method but our microwave is broken) 
• optional: serve with chopped coriander, indian pickles, yoghurt, naan and chopped chili

Home-laid: a selection of eggs from our chooks, look at that pretty speckling and the blue eggs!

In to the pan!

 My parent's have a whole collection of Le Creuset pans, I love cooking in these 

A healthy dose of coriander and chili freshens this up beautifully

This was SO GOOD! I know I should be more modest, but I LOVE curry and I think this combination of vegetables is really nice; the peas add a slight sweet 'pop', the spinach seems to thicken the overall texture of the sauce, the mushrooms give that bite that could almost trick you into thinking it's a piece of meat and soak up the spices and the okra are just awesome!

Please try making this if you can! It's not a spicy dish (hence the added chilli) and you can alter the curry ingredients to suit your tastes!

Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow for cats!

Recipes: Fire in the hole!

Today marks another successful fast-day on the 5:2 diet and has been finished with a delicious (if I do say so myself), low-calorie meal.

On today's menu: Thai Green Curry with prawns!

Now I'm not a big fish person, unlike my boyfriend (for some of you this may conjure visions of the creature from the black lagoon, but less excitingly, I mean I don't enjoy the flavour), with the exception of sushi and fish'n'chips there are few fish dishes I will eat and enjoy. I don't mind prawns though, depending on what they're in, and considering that they are a fairly low-calorie protein source they're perfect for diets.

I am however, a huge fan of spice!! I've grown up with cream-cheese and Cholula hot sauce sandwiches in my lunch box and my tolerance and enjoyment of chili heat has only grown over the years and Thai Green Curry is one of my favourite dishes.
I would normally make this with chicken but considering that 500g of breast is 860 kcal (compared to 526 kcal for prawns) and coconut milk adds a lot to the calorie count, I'm saving chicken for later in the week.
Whilst we're still on the topic of spice, I realised I made a bit of a mistake while cooking this dish. When I say I like a hot green curry I kid you not, I'm talking lips humming, nose running, occasionally-makes-you-cough kind of hot. My mother-in-law does not like spice at all, though she did enjoy green curry a surprising amount last time I made it (albeit a watered down version). This time I may have forgotten who I was cooking for and used the normal amount of paste, until I tasted it and found it to be hot enough for me... I managed to rectify this slightly by adding a little water to the sauce, thinning the flavour a bit. Oops.

This is a fairly flexible recipe, you can add whatever vegetables you fancy and whatever meat (although I do recommend chicken, particularly thigh meat as it stays juicier) so you can adapt it to what you can find in your area, although it's fantastic with aubergine and this is the traditional vegetable to add.
I would normally make this with a selection of the unusual types of aubergines we could find at our local exotic grocer in Brighton, and sometimes add fresh shiitake mushrooms (if I can get them) which have a wonderful chewy, meaty texture.
Little mange tout stay beautifully crisp and sweet if added to this at the last minute and green beans (as I used today) perfume the curry with their light, beany flavour.

Prawn Thai Green Curry: Serves 5

500g Prawns = 526 kcal

400ml coconut milk = 720 kcal

500ml chicken stock (from a cube) = 20 kcal

1 large aubergine = 87 kcal

250g mushrooms = 40 kcal

250g green beans = 78 kcal

50g green curry paste = 70 kcal

1 tbsp sunflower oil = 120 kcal

1.5 tsp sugar = 24 kcal

total = 1685 kcal

Per portion = 337 kcal

• Prepare your prawns in whatever way necessary (peeling, deveining etc).   
• Heat oil in a large pan, stir fry the paste until fragrant then add half the coconut milk.
• Add the prawns to the pan and cook briefly.
• Add the rest of the coconut milk and the stock.
• Chop the aubergine into large chunks, half the mushrooms (quarter for bigger ones) and chop the ends off the beans.
• Add the vegetables and simmer until softened.
• Add the sugar and season to taste.

Us dieters ate this on its own like a soup, the non-dieters ate this with rice. (I would normally serve it with sticky, sweet, delicious coconut rice which you can find recipes for online) Keep in mind that the calorie count per portion was probably fairly generous as there was more than exactly 5 portions of this.

It's hot, fresh, filling and full of goodness! I would eat green curry once a week if I could and never get bored. This comes with my highest recommendations! Enjoy!

Recipes: Healthy, Happy, Hungry....

I have officially caught the blogging bug. I woke up in the early hours today and found myself completely unable to get back to sleep, my head swimming with ideas for future posts full of witty remarks and brilliant advice! I couldn’t wait to grab the laptop and start tap-tap-tapping the keys.

Luckily after a snuggle with my big spoon I managed to get a couple more hours of shuteye.

During my nocturnal musings I struggled to choose which post I would, essentially, christen the blog with. Should it be fashion, food, make-up? Well fashion and make-up were quickly disregarded as I currently have a massive cold-sore and I’ll be damned if there’s a camera going anywhere near me right now! 

So after a bit more thought it hit me. It’s the start of the new year. What is the one thing people are most obsessed with at this time?

Health! Gyms experience roughly a 30-40% increase in members as a result of new years resolutions, the internet is heaving with juice cleanses, detox diets and tummy tightening work-outs and people are desperate to shed that Christmas-dinner-induced weight gain.
I too am a sheep in this desperate flock, and though I didn’t actually gain weight over Christmas (internal cheering and fist pumping ensued when I first hopped on the scales after the holidays) I am not exactly feeling my best.

So along with the bf and my father-in-law, I embarked on a quest to become a better me! After some careful consideration and plenty of research we decided to try out the 5:2 diet, which seemed a lot less faddy than others and, although it doesn’t promise any huge, immediate weight loss, looks like a diet that can really become a part of day to day life for the long haul.

The idea is that 5 days of the week you eat completely normally (we’re not talking burgers and deep-fat fried everything now, but a normal balanced diet) and for 2 non-consecutive days you fast and eat 500kcal for women or 600kcal for men. That’s ¼ of your daily recommended intake.

It’s been one of the most popular diets of 2013 and for a reason. Because it’s only two days a week, the fasting days don’t seem like a struggle and the hunger feels oddly empowering because you know it’s good for your body to have that recuperation time.

It has however been testing my basic mathematical skills, which have been little exercised since university.  But I enjoy taking the time to plan out a delicious and super healthy meal that everyone can enjoy together twice a week, and so for any other 5:2ers out there looking for food inspiration, I will be sharing my recipes for fast day dinners!

On Monday we had a delicious lemon-y couscous with roasted vegetables and just a sprinkle of crumbled feta, for tonight’s menu I’m making a chicken stir-fry with noodles and what I think is technically referred to as a ‘butt load’* of veg.

Chicken veg stir-fry: serves 5

270g dried Mie (egg) noodles = 945 kcal (cooked)

2 cloves garlic = 8 kcal

1 tsp 5-spice

1 tbsp oil = 119 kcal

1 chicken breast = 260 kcal

1 onion = 46 kcal

3 Peppers mixed colours = 120 kcal

1 large carrot = 30 kcal

2 cup mushrooms = 30 kcal

1 large leek = 54 kcal

3 tbsp soy sauce = 14 kcal

1 knob ginger = 19 kcal

1 tbsp honey = 64 kcal

1 chicken stock cube = 20 kcal

1 tbsp corn flour = 55 kcal

total = 1784 kcal

Per portion = 357 kcal 

·      Boil the noodles for however long stated on packet, drain, run under cold water to stop cooking and set aside
·      Boil 300ml water in a pan, stir in stock cube, honey, cornflour, soy sauce and grated ginger. Simmer until thickened to desired consistency then remove from heat.
·      Thinly slice (Julienne) carrots, peppers, onion and leek into matchsticks. Chop garlic into fine pieces. Slice mushrooms thinly.
·      Cut chicken into very thin slices and then into strips (this will make one breast go through the whole stir fry without adding too much of those calories).
·      Heat oil in wok or frying pan, add garlic, chicken and 5-spice powder (or whatever seasoning you choose), cook till chicken whitens.
·      Add vegetables and cook briefly to retain nutritional value.
·      Add noodles and sauce, distribute evenly in pan and heat through.
·      Serve with thinly sliced spring onion as a garnish and add hot sauce or chilli powder if you like.

(note: This recipe was calculated for 5 people, 2 of whom were not on the 5:2 diet and were eating larger portions, so the Kcal per portion were lower than stated for dieters and higher for non-dieters)

I have literally just finished eating and I must say, I was impressed by how tasty ‘healthy’ can be! There was a mountain of veg, so I did need to split this all up between two pans whilst cooking. I had mine with a sprinkle of chilli pepper and the bf had his with sambal, the heat really works and chilli is good for the metabolism, so win-win! All washed down with a hot mug of jasmine tea and I feel perfectly satisfied! (I skipped lunch today so I also have enough kcals left over for a pre-bed snack if necessary)

I hope you give this recipe a try even if you’re not on the diet!

*fun fact: a buttload is an actual unit of measurement used for wines and alcoholic beverages!

P.S. Apologies for the photo quality, my camera battery charger is currently MIA.