My Healthy Appetite

I’m disappearing off camping next week, I’m a little bit excited, I haven’t been camping in years. I hope I can have some time just to chill on my own and meditate.
I made some delish 0 point soup for dinner today, using butternut squash.. yumm. I had to find some 0 point filler after I joined in the danish breakfast fun. One danish is around 10 points- really!! aghh but I think I done ok I took a purdy pic of my soup I made intuitvely but somethings up with the site today and it wont let me post any images

I didn’t stick to the plan so closely but it helped a lot. It was a good guide for me. I feel good about making the effort too which is nice. Here’s what I actually had and here’s my (guide) plan for tomorrow.

Friday is bread and danish (breakfast) morning at my work so I will have to take that into consideration and try to eat just a little danish- crazy high points, about 10 for one danish.. arh! hm. maybe I should try avoid altogether- they are so more-ish! yikes. And then I usually come home to my husband and join him for the same. hmm.. this is the real test for me. I haven’t done to my full points because I just wanted an idea of how I could work this.. my day is all haphazard friday and I have much ‘brunching’ - for most of the day!.. I’m usually so brunched out I don’t feel like dinner!

Serves 3

7 points per serving made with chicken (5.5 points with prawns)

Ingredients

spray lite cooking oil

1 onion- finely chopped

1 teaspoons Thai Red curry paste (or 2/3 teaspoons for a hotter curry)

2 cloves garlic- finely chopped

1 cup lite coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 tin drained finely sliced bamboo shoots or 1 medium courgette

1 large red bell pepper seeded and sliced

1 cup Jasmine rice

6 oz uncooked skinless chicken breast fillets—cut into bite-sized pieces /or 6.5 oz raw peeled prawns

1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) mixed to a paste with 1 tablespoons water if a thicker sauce desired (we like it runny!)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 large fresh basil leaves—finely sliced

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. ADD the curry paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute. ADD the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar and salt, then bring to the boil. ADD the red pepper and courgette/bamboo shoot slices, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12 minutes. WHILE curry simmers, cook the rice. ADD the chicken/prawns to the curry and simmer, covered, for a further 8 minutes. ADD the cornstarch paste and stir continuously until the curry thickens, shortly before serving stir in the lemon juice and basil (or the basil goes soggy and the lemon tastes too cooked..) SERVE on a bed of rice. You can also use a variety of different meats, fish and vegetables, we enjoy it also with zucchini (courgette)  Be flexible and adapt the recipe to make the most of seasonal produce. Yumma!

This is my favorite yummy sweet low point filler, and it’s so inexpensive!

There’s loads of room to adapt this to your own preferences, I sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, you can add raisins, honey, jam, pears, prunes… chocoolatte…

I made it today because I knew it was going to hit the spot- and hit it good that I wouldn’t need to go back for seconds but that I could have more later cos its low in points anyway and great to make in large batches. I left the raisins out because my DH is not a fan of them.

You can finish cooking it in the oven for that nice crusted top or if nice and creamy straight out the pot!

All in all this baby (with the raisins) totals in at only;

2.5 points per serving

Recipe makes 4 servings

What you need:

1 c. pudding rice

3 c. Water

2 c. 1%milk

2tsp brown sugar or honey- or sweetener to taste

pinch of salt

2 tbsp. raisins

cinnamon to dust

Put water, rice, milk, sweetener of choice and salt together in pan, bring to boil for 5min then reduce heat to low. You may have to stir to prevent sticking. Add raisins and simmer until rice is cooked (about 20min)

Dust with cinnamon or topping of your choice

Enjoy!

Filling, Rich and tasty this recipe goes great with baked potatoes and salads, freezes well and tastes as great the next day.. which is a good thing because I’ll be wanting more!

3 (300g) chicken breast sliced or cubed

9 sheets ‘no-boil’ lasagna pasta sheets

2 tin’s chopped tomato’s

100g mushrooms sliced
1 medium courgette

2 onions diced

2tbsp tomato puree

1/2tsp tobasco sauce

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

spray lite to grease dish

medium size about 8″(21cm) x 11″(28cm) rectangular oven proof dish

pre-heat oven at 200°C

For the Sauce;

2tbsp butter

3tbsp flour

2 cups 0-1% milk

4oz non-fat cream cheese

2tbsp grated cheddar cheese

Spray pan with lite oil and cook chicken over medium heat, add onions and mushrooms, when onions are softened slightly add tins of tomato, puree, courgette and tobasco sauce, salt and pepper as desired.

Turn the heat down and allow to simmer while preparing the cheese sauce. For sauce melt butter at a low/medium in a small pan, once butter is melted (do not boil) gradually stir in the flour making a smooth paste- watch that it does not become too dry or the sauce will be lumpy. When the paste is thick gradually add the milk, a little to begin with stirring all the time, when the milk is mixed in well add some more, before it gets too thick (or it will get lumpy) continue this until the milk is used up and the sauce has reached the desired consistency. While the sauce is still hot add the cream cheese and mix until thoroughly melted.

Spray oven dish with lite oil and place the first layer of 3 lasagna pasta sheets. Pour half of meat, tomato sauce on to the sheets. Add another lasagna pasta layer and top with the remaining tomato, meat sauce mixture. Add another layer of pasta sheets and top finally with the white sauce and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.

To cook tent dish with tinfoil and place in a preheated oven at 200 for 25min (or until pasta is soft and can easily insert fork.)

recipe makes 8 servings that total 4points each.

After having lived in Korea I get occasional cravings for seaweed rice roll which I just learned is fairly low in points, 2p for four pieces so off a-making I went… hmm hmm hmmm SO good!

Basically each roll makes about eight pieces minus the end’s. Sushi stores well wrapped in foil and kept refrigerated. For one roll you need:

a bamboo mat to roll sushi with

1 sheet sushi nori (seaweed)

1 parboiled carrot cut into strips length wise but not too cooked, you want it with some chew to it!

1 cucumber cut strips length wise

1 egg beaten lightly with a fork and fried, then cut into strips

1 smoked sausage and/or 4 crabsticks

1tsp sesame oil for brushing

1/2tsp toasted sesame seed’s to garnish

Soy sauce to acompany

You need rice that is sticky, you can use sushi rice or.. what I do- a MUCH cheaper alternative- use pudding rice instead I wouldn’t even know the difference really after even having eaten loads of it in Korea. Rice cookers can cook the rice to perfection, otherwise I think two cups of water to every cup of rice about does it. Once rice is cooked you can mix in some rice vinegar (optional) then put the rice aside and let cool.

meanwhile parboil carrots, and slice all vegetables, smoked sausage, fishsticks, eggs (whatever your filling) in long slender strips (not too chunky)

Put the seaweed on bamboo mat shiny side down and spread rice on about 1cm thick careful not to cover the edges (wetting your fingers with water will stop the rice sticking to them and make rice easier to spread!)

Put the fillings in the center of the layer of rice

Roll using the bamboo mat (this can take some practice first)

Wet the inside of the edge being rolled towards with water and roll firmly over it to seal

Before slicing, brush top with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds

serve with a small accompaniment of soy sauce.

For more on how to roll with bamboo mat see video below.

Enjoy!