Diet Cookie

Mock 'Kebab'

2015-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

We really fancied a kebab on Sunday night but we didn't fancy all of the calories!

So the below is our makeshift kebab which we served with a pitta bread and some garlic mayo.

As usual you can have mountains of veg if you wish, cabbage, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.

The chips were made in the airfryer and cant stress enough how good these are considering they are made with just 1 tsp of oil!

For the chicken the marinade was left on for an hour (when we went out for a walk) this was made by mixing 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp allspice and 1 tsp dried oregano.

Once marinaded this was fried with 2 sprays of olive oil in a griddle pan on a medium heat until cooked and it was delicious!

Cookie x

Balanced dinner!

2015-06-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

This meal was a good balance of tasty and healthy.

A salmon fillet fried in a spray of olive oil.
Boiled broccoli (a little over done!) and asparagus.
200g of airfried new jersey royal potatoes (0.5 tsp olive oil used)
pickled cucumber to cut through the olive oil used in the dish and add a nice sharp flavour

Importantly this dinner was delicious and fairly low fat and low calorie (<500)

Cookie x

A well Balanced Lunch

2015-05-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is my lunch from yesterday, Yummy and really fairly low in calories

Here's how to make it - it's very simple

Calories - I used MyFitnessPal and the backs of packets, etc to get a rough figure of 316 Calories which is pretty good value, you have your protein, carbs and a serving of veg.

Ingredients

5g Schwartz Grill Mates Cajun Marinade (you can use any other spice mix you like)

1/2 Tsp Olive Oil

I used a fairly big chicken breast and split it between my boyfriend and I, it was approx. 90g each

50g Wholewheat Pasta

40g Tender stem or ordinary broccoli (tender stem is good for dipping)

Instructions

1. Marinade chicken - I put the chicken breast into a food bag, added the Cajun spice mix and the tsp of oil and them sealed the bag and gave it a shake around to ensure even coverage. - I cooked mine until the chicken was cooked through in my Airfryer, you can use a frying pan, grill pan, oven or whatever you like to cook the chicken.

2. I boiled some pasta until al dente

3.I also boiled my broccoli - a little too much on this occasion unfortunately

4. Then its time to assemble, you can chop your chicken broccoli and mix them in with your pasta if you like, I went for the simplest option and placed them in the container and voila! Enjoy!

You can get sandwiches out there that are similar in calories but I just feel that these are better value calories, more diverse in nutrients, cheaper and very convenient!

Cookie x

WHAT!! Colmans burger sauce continued!

2015-05-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

I went to Tesco to stock up on 'The Sauce', and stock up I did.

Tonight we ran our of our previous sauce and I reached to the cupboard for one of the new ones, at first I thought Oops, I've bought the wrong sauce.. But no, there is more than one variation of the sauce. - it says flavour 2.

I really don't know what this is all about, but
I didn't see the original one in store? Also, I tried this one an initially I thought, YUM its sweeter, but then I had another dip in the other sauce and thought there really isn't much in it.

I actually cannot decide which I prefer, having stocked up I'm just glad it tastes just as good. Looking forward to getting some burgers for this :-)

Cookie x

The Sauce! - Colmans Chunky Burger Sauce

2015-05-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

This sauce was on sale at Tesco last week for £1, so I thought well that sounds nice, yes.. I'll try it.

Rating: 10/10

I have tried similar 'Burger Sauces', none of which were as I had hoped...

..But
this sauce is different, its lovely and tangy with chunks of gherkin and onion.

Me and my other half have consumed almost a whole bottle this week. Every lunch has included it in someway. We've had it on rice, pasta and even in potato salad.

I will be returning to Tesco on Sunday and I shall be stocking up, especially if its still £1.

great for BBQs and just for every day life really!

Cookie x

Oh yes! Chicken :-)

2015-05-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to see my dinner, I was certainly happy to see it. It was fairly ow calorie I believe, I would guestimate approx 500ish.

So we have 120g chicken breasts, I made a marinade for this using 1 tbsp of

runny honey, 1 tsp whole grain mustard and 3 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper. I mixed it all together and then cooked with a little spray oil in my grill pan. It was divine!

The chips are made using my airfryer (AKA best friend), 250g maris piper potatoes and 1 tsp olive oil.

Another thing cooked in the airfryer was aubergine, I simply cut it, added 1 tsp oil per person and mixed together. I then put this in my preheated airfryer at 165degrees for 8-10 mins or until soft, and it was lovely. I saved a little bit to go in some pasta along with some more honey mustard chicken for tomorrows lunch!

Cookie x

Phileas Fogg Campaign

2015-05-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

..And the campgain begins. 56 days left to complete some activities

I have only tried on flavour so far, as per my previous post I enjoyed it very much and I am really looking forward to trying the others, but I am trying to pace myself for obvious reasons!

I have purchased some salsa for the other 2 that I received as I don't feel it's necessary but I reckon it will compliment the flavours so I will be able to give an opinion on flavours with and without the accompaniment.

The next flavour I want to try is Louisiana sweet & Smokey BBQ which sounds right up my street.

Watch this space for reviews of Louisiana sweet & Smokey BBQ and Smoky Chorizo Spice & Red Pepper flavours.

I would have loved to try Cool Sour Cream & Onion too, but I may have to grab these next time I go food shopping!

Cookie x

Phileas Fogg - Cheese and New York Deli Relish

2015-05-16T07:37:00.003-07:00

Phileas Fogg - Cheese and New York Deli Relish

Rating : 9/10

Diet and all I was really looking forward to giving these bad boys a try :-)

Portion control, see below 163Kcal for 30g of crisps, not bad value really, I usually have a 25g bag of potato crisps for 132Kcal.

These went down a treat, the flavour was very nice, they did have a slight taste of prawn cocktail but were rather good. The texture was spot on with a great crunch to them! the only downside is that they didn't last very long :-( and with them being in a large bag the temptation is great. What would be perfect aswell as the sharing bag would be individual 30g bags.

Cookie x

FitBit One

2015-05-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

My lovely man bought me a FitBit ONE :-) I have been contemplating buying one for a while because I currently use the app on my phone. The app is great, it logs your walks etc and maps them too, calculates calories and all that great stuff, however my phone battery has not done well out of the experience and barely the day. Also the app does tend to crash, but perhaps that is attributed to my phone, not sure.

So now I have the real thing I can't wait to try it out properly. I don't do as much exercise over the weekends so I wont be able to do a proper in depth review until next weekend but in the meantime I can talk about the product, its features and what I hope it can do for me.

Features (taken from Amazon)

Tracks steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed
Monitor how long and how well you sleep
Wakes you (and not your partner) with a silent alarm
Syncs automatically to your computer or select smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth 4.0
Set goals, view progress, and earn badges
Share and compete with friends throughout the day
Free iPhone and Android App
Small and discreet - wear in pocket, on belt or bra
Log food, weight and more on Fitbit's website or Apps
Sweat, rain and splash proof

My goals are simple

I want to lose 5Kilos and keep my weight down whilst toning and building a healthy amount of muscle.
I'm intrigued by the sleep tracker so I can't wait to give that ago and hopefully take a positive approach to improving the quality of sleep that I have.
I love to track things such as goals and records met, this will hopefully keep me motivated.

The above photo gives a snapshot of what is included in the box:

A leaflet giving directions to the website for instructions on how to set up, the black arm band to be used for the sleep tracker, the charge, the bluetooth usb connection, the clip and of course the fit bit one itself! - in burgundy as my other half knows I love pink and this is the closest they had.

Close up of the clip

The FitBit One in the clip showing my step count

The FitBit, the clip, the charger and the bluetooth device

More recipes from BzzAgent / Phileas Fogg - BBQ

2015-05-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

The book and vouchers

The lemonade looks very refreshing and delicious!

I can't wait to have a go at cooking up the Patatas Bravas!

The steak kebabs look pretty lovely too.

And these 2 recipes are right up my street, if and when I try these I will post up the results!

Cookie x

Burger recipe

2015-05-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

As promised here is the awesome recipe that I was provided with as part of the Phileas Fogg BzzCampaign

And again, here is the result and yes it was gorgeous!!

Cookie x

More goodies from BZZAGENT!

2015-05-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

So typically when the diets going well you get an offer that you cant refuse! The lovely BzzAgent has given me the opportunity the try this product absolutely free. I am going to wait for the weekend before I break into these bad boys, maybe tomorrow.

the kit contained 3 bags of crisps to try along with a great little recipe book, one of the recipes which was for a burger I have already tried. see below! I will take a pic of the recipe book and include this in the next post.

Cant wait to try them!

My gorgeous burger and chips. the chips are surprisingly low calorie. About
250 grams of potatoes each and 1 tsp of oil and all made in the airfryer. Perfect!

Cookie x

Good feeds continued

2015-05-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend made this gorgeous chocolate orange cheesecake.. how could I refuse?

Protein pancakes, I used part flour part soya protein (http://www.pulsin.co.uk/pulsin-protein-powders/soya-protein-isolate-1kg) powder along with an egg and they were lovely, then smothered in yogurt for more protein and chopped banana and agave nectar for a little something sweet. A really beautiful and surprisingly low cal and high protein brekkie!

My Birthday lunch :-) NOM!

some good feeds!

2015-05-15T14:10:00.002-07:00

The above are my favorite fish dinners that I have had since starting eating healthily. The first picture is haddock and the second 2 are haddock and fish is such a great source of low to medium calorie protein.

As you can see I am eating chips but the other 2 meals are rice based and I am not going to get into the habit of denying myself something that I want to eat as I find this is where diets slip.

Cookie x

Im Back! :-)

2015-05-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

I am back, I will try to post once per week atleast. So what diet am I on now you ask? I am simply eating less calories and burning more. How simple does that sound? I will post photos of my favorite meals since I started this. How much have I lost? well, Almost 9KG.. almost 20 pounds! So I am now back at my weight that I left myself get to before I then decide that I need to go on a diet, so yes I have a long way to go and I cant believe I let myself get that fat! How long has it taken? these things cant be rushed and we all know its not good to do these things too quickly. It has taken exactly 3 months, and we have had valentines day, easter, pancake day and a few trips away in between = lots of chocolate and meals out. Aside from that we have had a takeout every week but it's worked because I have made sure that i make up for these things by doing some exercise, whether a walk or session at the gym and I have been compensating with healthy meals at work and at home monday - friday. How far will I go? My goal weight is in 5/6 kilos time! Best bit? there is no gimmick, no strict guidelines its as simple as eating less and moving more. I am aiming for approx 1200 calories per day but am probably averaging about 1500/1600, and I am walking during my lunch hour and some evenings, (racking up an average of 7 miles a day!). Thanks for reading! Cookie x

Lamb for tea!

2015-03-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

One great thing that has come out of this tesco campaign is that it has encouraged me to try some different meat. I tend to stick with chicken, steak and diced lamb for stewing.

I was choosing meat from the 3 for £10 range and came across lamb leg steaks, i love the taste of lamb but as i usually stew it theres usually a long cooking time. For a quick mid week meal I thought i'd give these a try, I'm really glad I did and I have included it in my weekly shop for the last 3 weeks.

It's so simple to get juicy and tender and so far I've achieved this each time, I am having this for my dinner tomorrow and I am looking forward to it already.

I ignored the cooking instructions as the grill on my oven isn't great. I used my griddle pan on the gas hob. I took the meat out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking, took the vacuum packed plastic off and let it get to room temperature. I seasoned with a little Nando's Peri Peri salt which I purchased from Tesco. A spray of oil and a hot pan later and I was ready to add the steaks, I did about 4 minutes on each side and let them rest for a further minute. When I plated up they weren't bleeding but were lovely and pink in the middle. Just perfect.

They are priced at £4, so when not it the deal they are still reasonable to buy, I served with a dressed salad, sweet potato fries and some mushrooms. I would say the cost of the ingredients per head totaled less than £4 which isn't bad for a substantial piece of meat, I have paid considerably more for a nice piece of beef and in my opinion I possibly prefer the taste of lamb.

A key factor which has influenced my decision to repurchase this item is the time factor - 8 minutes in the pan, I can cook the sweet potato fries in my airfryer in approx 15 minutes, steak and chips in less than 20 minutes is pretty good going!

Cookie x

Midweek favourites!

2015-02-10T12:23:00.002-08:00

I was lucky enough to be chosen to try tesco's meat for free. For the campaign I received a £10 voucher, and the meat is always on 3 for £10. With my voucher I purchased some beef mince, skinless boneless chicken breasts and pork chops.

Today I will focus on the mince. I was looking for beef mince with a nice long date on it and with a deep red colour. I was successful on both points, I would never pick up browning or grey looking mince. When it came to using the beef the next day it still looked nice and fresh, I have experienced meat that has browned in the fridge slightly before and it puts me off even cooking it. I made a rich and traditional bolognaise, it was delicious and the sauce was lovely. This owes to the quality of the meat, one hood thing is that when cooked it didn't release excess water or fat. It was a great meal and my boyfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Chicken thighs next, watch this space they're currently marinading in a delicious satay style sauce. Cookie x

Curry night

2015-01-11T13:24:00.002-08:00

Friday and Saturday nights seem to be when we have the least will power and absolutely have to have a takeout, were usually tired from work and just want to sit down and have something a little naughty and flavorsome.

I now have an airfryer, my favorite christmas present last year.

So I thought id try an indian takeout style meal. I marinaded chicken thighs in a paste made from crushed garlic, garam masala, curry powder, ground ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground turmeric mixed with a tablespoon of tomato puree, lemon juice and greek yogurt.

This went into the airfryer at 180 degrees for 12-14 mins to start in off and brown it a little, I then put these in the oven to finish off whilst i used the airfry for some aubergine cubes.

I put the aubergine ad some fried onions and mushrooms in my saffron rice, and I served the lot with some yellow lentils which I cooked with onions, some of my curry paste as above and some creamed coconut.

It was delish! just a little more effort than a takeout, the trick is commiting the night before, i.e marinading and doing some of the hard work ahead of time.

Thanks for reading,

Cookie x

Teryaki Chicken and noodles

2015-01-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

A quick and simple dinner. I just marinaded my chicken in teriyaki sauce and honey and stirfried some peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, carrot and spring onion with noodles and a sachet of amoy hoisin stir fry sauce.

17 minutes in the airfryer at 180 and the chicken was lightly charred in the sticky areas and succulent in the middle. All in all a good mid week dinner, not too much fuss or too many dishes and relatively healthy.

Tonights dinner

2015-01-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight I gave the Airfryer a little rest, sort of.. I seasoned a chicken breast with a little fajita seasoning to give a barbecue flavour and put this in my preheated (180c) Airfryer for 16 minutes. I turned halfway through. I was sticky and flavoursome, I cut this into little pieces, mixed with a little reduced fat mayo, I added this to a sandwich made with small wholemeal bread (60cal per slice) for tomorrows lunch.

For dinner I had beef stroganoff, which I made using thin steak strips, mushrooms, onions, spring
onions, chives, paprika, olive oil and sour cream.

It was yummy! I served it with 50g of basmati rice.

Cookie x

New beginings.. AGAIN

2015-01-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

So new year new me.. new diet? No, I am giving up on dieting. I would like to lose weight because, yes I am fat again, but I haven't had much success with diets in a long time.

I am not going to restrict myself too much, I will simply be a bit cleverer in my choices and cook a little slimmer.

A big part will be cooking, and not reaching for the takeaway menu which we know is all too easy!

This Christmas my other half bought me two new gadgets, one is a spiralizer and the other is the Phillips Airfry (I bought him pizza slicer and a cheese cutter..)

So far I have made a few goodies in the Airfry and im loving it, so you will probably find that a few of my posts and meals will revolve around this wonderful tool!

Pork, Spring Onion and Ginger Gyoza, filling put into defrosted store bought pastry sheets, sealed with water and a fork, then lightly brushed with oil prior to air frying.

3 mins in the Airfry at 190, turned and then on for a further 2 to 3 mins

New Years Meal; Home Cut Airfried Chips, Gyoza, Pork Patties, Tzatziki, Raita, Houmous and Veg Crudites

Cauliflower Crunchies, Sweet potato, Carrot and Parsnip Chips and Mac Cheese

These are made by boiling cauliflower, draining and mashing with salt and pepper and a handful of cheddar, I also added a handful of breadcrumbs. I refrigerated, rolled in flour, egg dipped and dipped into some finely crushed panko breadcrumbs.

Sprayed with olive oil on both sides and put into the preheated Air fryer at 200c

I just had to have the tinned mac and cheese, it acted as a good dip for the chips and the crunchies, they were a little dry but had good flavour.

I only had half a tin a s I cook for two, so as a quick side 182 cals isn't too bad

Thanks for reading, any questions or comments please drop me a line. Good luck to all the new year dieters and those of you embarking on a weight loss challenge!

Cookie x

Oops

2014-08-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have had a few days off from writing about this diet. I have one or two little slip ups (nothing major like a take out or chocolate), the naughty things are as follows - 4 9 bars a week rather than 2, uh oh! and 5 slices of spelt bread throughout the week rather than 2 slices. I have had 2 thirds of a ristorante pizza as a treat, and last Thursday I stole 2 pieces of my other halfs pizza. Also, I had a few sausages! Eeep, its like confessions innit. All the rest of the time I have been eating pure, however I haven't lost anything infact I have pit on 0.7kg

so here as some of my delicious meals!

Sausages and root veggies, they were mini sausages and I used some the next day for a pasta salad (made with brown rice pasta of course!)

Sausage pasta salad

I love middle eastern food so one night I dug out my favourite recipe book and made middle eastern spiced sautéed sweet potato with a little basmati rice, spiced chicken and butterbean hummus.

The next day we had rice salad with hoemade babganoush (aubergine dip)

Main meal- smoked mackerel, salad and a baked sweet potato

Lunch - m and s salad, about the only one that's almost 100% ok, along with pineapple, apple, lemon and spinach juice!

My deliciously naughty pizza

Scrambled eggs and salmon for breakfast

A sunday roast of chicken and veg

Homemade spelt bread - was nice but heavy and cakey, but hey im not one to complain!

Thanks for looking

Cookie x

the past few days

2014-08-10T04:54:00.001-07:00

Today (sunday) is my last detox day and tomorrow I will start with my milkshake and 6 capsules.

Although I have had a couple of small hiccups along the way I have managed to shift 5.5 inches from all-over which is a good start. I will have a weigh in tomorrow and report any loss at that point.

Friday

Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs x3 on a spelt cracker and a fruit smoothie

Lunch was Tuna with homemade mayo and cucumber

Dinner was butternut squash and coconut soup with goats cheese, tomatoes and a spelt cracker

Saturday

I had work so I started the day with my fruit smoothie and x 3 scrambled eggs.

Lunch was tuna pasta salad made with brown rice pasta and fruit

Snacked on a 9 Bar

Dinner was chicken and homemade coleslaw and salad

Sunday

I started with my fruit smoothie and x 2 scrambled eggs, having less as of tomorrow I will be substituting this completely with a shake, so don't want to feel too hungry.

I have asked on the JP group on Facebook what I can have post detox and to be honest it sounds the same as detox except I am substituting 1 - 2 meals per day with a shake. Ooh and I can now have peanut butter and perhaps corn on the cob as a treat, and from what I have read each week I can have a treat snack which can last 15 mins and a bigger treat which I assume is a meal and can be eaten over 1 hour.

Tomorrows lunch that I am preparing is a Quinoa salad, I have never had Quinoa before and will let you know my thoughts.

Tonight's dinner is a bit of a cheat, it is lamb shanks which have been seasoned and prepped from M&S, they have root veg with them and no potato or wheat which is a bonus. I may roast or boil some cauliflower to have with it, I would normally love mash, so may do cauliflower mash!

and here it is... Gorgeous!

Wasted day..

2014-08-06T12:56:00.001-07:00

Today was a good day diet wise, but it seemed to go so quick and I hardly left the house (only to the butchers down the road.. Oops!)

Is started the day with a smoothie of a whole small pineapple and some chia and flax and beetroot powder and coconut milk.

Lunch was scrambled egg with spring onions and the leftover raita from the other night with some cucumber to dip.

Snack - half a honeydew melon blended with some filtered water

For my dinner I had a baked sweet potato and bolognaise style mince. (I have some of this left so will either have it for dinner tomorrow or the next day either with roast veg or with spelt pasta, which I am yet to try)

Snack - fruit and nut 9 bar, it was ok but I need to start baking and being a little more adventurous to see if I can come up with something better.

Thanks for reading

Cookie x

day... ?

2014-08-05T14:28:00.002-07:00

Just a quick one as im on my phone.

breakfast was a fruit smoothie and banana pancakes made with 2 eggs 1 banana and a tsp of rice flour.

lunch was tuna and homemade mayo on a spelt cracker.

snack . Some dal from yesterdays dinner

dinner was a veg stir fry with a little teriyaki sauce naughty but nice

snack . Fruit smoothie

cookie x