Chicken Miso Soup - 132 cal

Chicken Miso Soup

25 minutes 
2 Servings
132 calories per serving

Ingredients:

2 x 15g Japanese miso paste sachets

1 chicken breast, skinned and sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ tsp grated ginger

8 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Dash of soy sauce

¼ Savoy cabbage, finely shredded

Directions:

Pour 600ml (1 pint) boiling water into a large saucepan and whisk in the miso paste.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cabbage, and simmer for 10 mins.

Stir in the cabbage, cook for 3 mins and serve.

Notes:

Single serve miso paste sachets are available at brand name supermarkets these days. You could also potentially used the dried powdered miso soup variety, just take care to compare the calories per sachet to the paste and adjust the total calories accordingly. I also found I needed to add a little more water than directed and that the single sachet of dried miso soup was not flavoursome enough, so I ended up using two sachets.
If you have to buy more than 8 Shiitake mushrooms in a pack and feel as though you would waste the remainder, why not consider using dried Shiitake mushrooms instead? They require only a little longer while cooking so that they rehydrate. I recommend throwing them for a little while before the other ingredients so they get a headstart, soak up a bit of the flavour and also so the others do not overcook.
Another thing to remember is because this is in the low 100's, you could possibly pair it with a less than 100 cal item to make up the 200 cal.

Source:
goodtoknow Recipes
Ratings:
Difficulty     (Child's play)
Time           (Super fast)
Enjoyment   (Delicious)
Satisfaction  (Full belly)

Leek, Potato and Pea Soup - 134 cal

Leek, Potato and Pea Soup

45 minutes 
4 Servings
134 calories per serving
Ovo-lacto Vegetarian

Ingredients:

• 2 large leeks (about 500g), well washed
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 30g butter
• 2 vegetable stock pots or cubes
• 1 large potato (about 250g) peeled and chopped
• 100g peas

Garnish:


• 1 medium egg white
• A pinch of saffron threads
• 1 level tbsp plain flour
• Oil, for frying

Directions:

Set aside a 10cm piece of leek for the garnish. Slice the rest of the leek and cook in a large pan with the onion, in the butter, until softened – about 10 minutes. Pour in 1ltr water and add the stock pots/cubes. Bring to the boil, add the potato and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the egg white in a small bowl, add the saffron strands and leave to infuse. Slice the reserved leek and put the separated rings in cold water. Whisk the egg white, then whisk in the flour and seasoning to make a smooth batter.

Blend the soup in a food processor until smooth (or keep it lumpy if you prefer). Season and reheat if necessary.

Heat some oil in a small pan, drain and dry the leek rings, then dip them in batter and fry until golden and crunchy. Drain on kitchen paper. Pour the soup into bowl, add crispy leek rings and seasoning.

Notes:

Make sure you wash your leeks well as dirt quite often gets between the layers. You don't want to have a gritty texture to your soup after all. Try not to go overboard with the saffron, a pinch is sufficient, otherwise it will tend to dominate the flavour of the garnish and subsequently the soup. When you purchase your saffron, go for the real variety. The cheap Asian form you can buy more readily these days, identifiable by its brighter red colour, almost a dark orange, is actually from a different plant and is not true saffron. It's worth spending the extra four or five dollars.
When it comes to blending up hot soup, I don't recommend using a blender or a food processor in batches, it just seems like much more effort and a higher potential for more mess. You want to reduce the burden on cooking rather than increase it. This is why I use a stab blender (hand blender) in the pot I cooked it in. It might take an extra 30 sec to blend, but it's so much easier. The only thing you have to watch out for is pulling the stab blender up too high or putting it on too much of an angle. If you do happen to do this, you will very quickly find splatters of hot soup across your splash-back and hob, and possible burns on your unprotected skin.
The reason why the difficulty is mid-range is because of the garnish. It takes a bit more effort and dexterity to turn them and cook them. But they are a definite welcome addition to the soup.
And sorry, the crusty bread pictured above is not included in your calorie count. Although I did pair this soup up with a serve of the Chinese dumplings to make a 197 cal meal.

Source:
goodtoknow Recipes
Ratings:
Difficulty      (Regular task)
Time           (Prep first)
Enjoyment   (Tastier than normal)
Satisfaction  (Contentment)

Chinese Dumplings - 63 cal

Chinese Dumplings

50 min
Serves: 2
63 cal per serving

Ingredients:

• 1tbsp cornflour
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 1tbsp sesame oil
• Salt and white pepper
• 25g pork, finely chopped (see tip, right)
• 2-3 Chinese cabbage leaves, finely chopped
• 2-3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 16 pancakes, from a 200g pack of Chinese dumpling pastries

• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted (garnish)
• 1-2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped (garnish)

Method:

• Put the cornflour, soy sauce and sesame oil into a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and white pepper. Stir until just mixed, then stir in the pork, cabbage, spring onions and egg. Mix well.
• Put a heaped tsp of filling on each pancake. Dip your finger into cold water, in a small bowl, and moisten the pancake edge. Fold it over to make a crescent-shaped parcel, press together and make small folds around the edge to seal well.
• Cook the dumplings in 2 batches: arrange them in 1 layer in an oiled steamer, then cover and steam for 20 mins.
• Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds and spring onion. Make a dipping sauce by mixing 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp each rice vinegar and sesame oil and a pinch of dried crushed or fresh chopped chilli.

Notes:

I love love steamed dumplings. These are quite tasty and remarkably low calorie, so they can easily be paired with a soup around the 130 cal mark and still come under 200 cal.
The dumpling pastries are making more of an appearance in brand name supermarkets (in the refrigerator section near the fresh pasta and other items), however you will get the most choice at an Asian supermarket.
I discovered that using the round dumpling pastries was easier to both put together and fit into my steamer. I used a bamboo steamer which sits on a saucepan of simmering water. The first time that I made them, I used square dumpling pastries and found they were difficult to fit the filling in and stick together. The second time I used the round dumpling pastries and found the most efficient shape was as per the one in the photo, however they take up less steamer room when you set them up like a cornish pastie instead of laid on their sides.
I actually forgot the egg in the mix the first time, then remembered it for the second time. I found that the addition of the egg makes the filling taste creamier but was a bit too moist. I prefer the flavour of the first combination.
To ensure you use the correct amount of filling per pancake, lay the required number out on a dampened tea-towel so they don't dry out. You can then evenly apportion the filling and put them all together afterwards.
The first batch I made I carefully lined my steamer with baking paper, cut slits in the paper so the steam would penetrate, but still had some dumplings stick to the side of the steamer a bit. The second time, I noted the description - "an oiled steamer" - and sprayed the steamer with light cooking spray. Not only did the dumplings not stick, I think it did a more even job of steaming them without turning them a bit rubbery.
It takes a bit of practice but after you get the hang of it, it's quite simple - just a little time consuming. I recommend making a double batch, putting them into small microwave safe containers in their serving size and freezing them for future use. This will cut down on the repeat effort and make it easy to just grab your lunch and go, these are too delicious to last for long in the freezer.

Source:

goodtoknow Recipes

Ratings:
Difficulty     (Takes practice)
Time           (Roll up your sleeves)
Enjoyment   (Mucho-yummo)
Satisfaction  (Surprisingly filling)

Baked Aubergine - 81 cal

Baked Aubergine

This dish would work well as a hearty lunch or a side to a main meal

35 mins

Serves: 4

81 cal per serving

Gluten free, vegan

Ingredients:

2 large, firm aubergines (about 450g/1 lb in total)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, crushed
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon red or green chillies, crushed
1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons coriander stalks and leaves, chopped

Method:

Wash the aubergines, prick all over with a sharp knife and cook in the oven, on a high heat, for 20 minutes.
Heat a saucepan, and add the oil, cumin seeds and onions. Stir continuously until the onions are soft and lightly brown at the edges.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin coriander powder, black pepper, chillies and fenugreek, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Scoop out the aubergine pulp and add with the lemon juice and cook for a further 10 minutes on a low heat. Add the chopped coriander. Cook for 1 minute and then serve inside the aubergine skin.

Notes:

I found that the time suggested to cook the eggplant (aubergine) was not sufficient to cook it all the way through. So I was unable to scoop out the inside, and unless you are going to eat the eggplant skin bowl, that just seemed like a heck of a waste of eggplant. So I ended up chopping it all up and throwing it in the pan together with the rest, more like a Ratatouille

I personally found it difficult to find Fenugreek leaves (or even Fenugreek seeds as a substitute, even though they have a different flavour). Instead I substituted Fennel seeds, which would have been alright, but I suggest only using a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. It's quite an overpowering flavour otherwise. 

Aside from this, I found this rather confused in the direction it took with its spice, and plainly unsatisfying as a meal.

Source:

goodtoknow Recipes

Ratings:

Difficulty     (Regular chore)
Time           (Time not equal to result)
Enjoyment   (A confusion of spices)
Satisfaction  (Tummy rumbler)

Wild Rice and Mushroom Risotto - 194 cal

Wild Rice and Mushroom Risotto

60 minutes (+ soak time)
4 Servings
194 calories per serving
Gluten free, vegan

Ingredients:

Mix A:

• 1 cup of uncooked wild rice
• 1 cup of uncooked sticky rice
• 4 cups of vegetarian broth

Mix B:

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 and 1/2 shitake mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of baby oyster mushrooms
• 1 and 1/2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk beverage
• 1 cup of chopped red cabbage
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Place the two kinds of rice in the rice cooker alone with the veggie broth and cook until ready. (Make sure you soak the stocky rice before you use it. It usually need 2-3 hours of soaking in hot water.)
• Heat up the coconut oil in a pan and roast the garlic.
• Add the coconut milk beverage and the chopped mushrooms.
• Add the salt and pepper, and then red cabbage.
• Let it simmer on low heat for 5 minutes and then incorporate the cooked rice. (You should have about 4 cups of cooked rice now.)
• Mix well and serve warm.

Notes:
- Wild Rice can be expensive, I made a minor detour from sticking explicitly to the recipe and instead used a mix that was approximately one part wild black rice to two parts long grain brown rice.
- Sticky rice, sometimes called Thai Rice or glutinous rice is readily available in Asian supermarkets, health food stores and some generic supermarkets. Google it to find out how to identify the correct rice. Yes, it makes a difference, it's how you get the risotto consistency without all the effort.
- I don't have an electric rice cooker, instead made it in a microwaveable Tupperware rice cooker. If you don't have either of these, you can still make rice in the microwave or on the stove.
- As I understand it, the unsweetened coconut beverage is a type of milk similar to almond milk, sold readily in the US, however can be difficult to find here in Oz. I substituted natural UHT Coconut Milk (no added sugar) which can be found in small 400ml cartons in Asian supermarkets, Costco, health food stores and some generic supermarkets. From what I have researched, the unsweetened coconut beverage mentioned above actually has some additives in it which are possibly not good for you. Always read the label and understand the kinds of things you are putting into your body.
- Although low in calories, it is quite high in carbohydrates, something to be aware of when you are remembering moderation.

Source: 

Ratings:
Difficulty     (Easy-peasy)
Time           (Quicker than expected)
Enjoyment   (Delicious)
Satisfaction  (Full belly)

5:2 Eating Plan Introduction

If like me, you are adding size to your waistline as you get older and your metabolism slows down, you may be wondering what you can do to improve the situation. Anyone can throw out random statistics about weight gain/loss and what causes/rectifies it to support any argument. However, from what I have gathered (and I am by no means an expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt), an average of 80 percent of weight loss is effected by eating a healthy diet and getting a healthy amount of sleep. The other part is exercise. Don't mistake me, exercise is definitely important for a healthy, balanced lifestyle. It improves your metabolism and sleeping habits, it also releases endorphins and is proven to increase a general sense of well-being and regulates moods. But if you are exercising and then "rewarding" yourself with large amounts of unhealthy foods that do nothing to nourish your body or give it the fuel it needs, you are going to find that path to good health and a fit body a ridiculously steep uphill battle.

When it comes to food, popular media just loves a good fad. They constantly throw out buzz words like "Low GI" and "Super-foods", convincing you that these specific items alone are the absolute answer to your weight loss issues. They sell you the story that if you just keep having nothing but these kale and chia seed smoothies, cut all fat and carbs and sugars out of your everyday diet, that you will lose weight. And you might... but as soon as you introduce other foods again, do you quite often find yourself either heading back or already back in the position you started in? Don't even get me started on the detox diets! The only "buzz word" that you need to remember when it comes to food is quite simple really: Moderation. Everything in moderation. This is something that my brother would be (and is) an advocate of. Your body needs some of all of the food groups to have enough fuel each day.

The problem is that people don't tend to know what moderation means. Many people think that it means to reduce carbohydrates to an almost non-existent level. What happens to most people is that they then crave carbs and the next time they have them, they binge on them. Which is not so moderated is it? Serving size also plays into the moderation theme, if you keep eating larger meals, stretching your stomach, you will likely feel dissatisfied with moderate serving sizes. I recommend that people speak to a nutritionist or dietitian about healthy eating habits and moderation. I am not trained in this field and the only advice I give are borne of information I have gleaned from my brother (a trained nutritionist/dietitian), from personal experience and also a general average of all the pieces of information that I have researched.

Now onto the topic of this introductory post. Some of you may have heard or are even trying the 5:2 eating plan (also known as the Fast Diet), but for those who don't know it, in a nutshell, it's essentially partially fasting on two non-consecutive days out of every seven by having a quite restricted calorie intake. Basically it's supposed to be capped at 500 cal per day for women and 600 cal per day for men. This eating plan was made more well known and popular by an English doctor and scientific/medical journalist Michael Mosely when he tried it out with surprising results. He liked it so much apparently that he wrote a book about it and started up a webpage:

http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

You would think that it is quite difficult to do, however many people have allegedly reported that although the first few instances can be a little difficult when you don't know what to expect, but they settled quite readily into it and even found it quite refreshing to their systems. I am trying this eating plan to see what happens, as my weight gain has most definitely been caused by an imbalance of my food intake. I know that find it incredibly difficult to control calories every single day (I tend to forget), but two days out of every week should be achievable. I, as well as a few of the people that I know who are trying this eating plan, are sometimes finding it hard to find appropriate recipes online that are low calorie. I also work, which means that during the week, if I have a Fast day, I don't have a lot of time or motivation to prepare an intricate dinner. Simple and quick recipes are preferable. I decided I would collect them from several different sources that I have researched and collate them all in one place for anyone who is interested. I will also give them ratings which are my own personal experience and opinion. The ratings will cover: difficulty level, time required, enjoyment factor and satisfaction level. I may alter this as I go along, but for now, that's a good start. I will create a 5:2 Fast Recipes page, which will have a link to all of the recipe posts so that you don't have to trawl back through the blog to find them.

I am not qualified to recommend this eating plan to you. I am not advertising for it, nor am I claiming ownership or responsibility for the recipes. I am simply collecting them in one place for my and other people's convenience. If you are considering trying it, it's probably a good idea to consult a doctor and a nutritionist/dietitian first.

As always, I welcome your comments.

M
xo

New Year's Resolution - 2015

I don't normally "do" New Year's Resolutions, after all, they never stick. But this one just has to be done. I'm replacing my wardrobe essentially. I'm going to huck out all the ill-fitting, old and worn out clothes and replace them with stuff that fits, is my taste and hopefully is cheaper than just going out and buying a new load of clothes. Certainly less trouble than trying on a thousand tops and dresses and shorts and pants just to get three that fit or look good.

So below is my first lot. I've gone shopping at the Spotlight After-Christmas sales and gotten a certain percentage off. My original thought was to make a nice hankerchief singlet top with wide straps for comfort (and to cover up bra straps, thereby increasing the number of bras that can be worn with because you don't have to worry about matching colour to thin spaghetti straps.

I couldn't find the exact pattern that I wanted (you know when you get that idea in your head that is just clear as day, you know what you're looking for?), so I got the closest couple of things. Below is a McCall's pattern for hankerchief tops. I'll be making pattern A for both materials. 

Spotlight bargains for McCall's pattern M6121

The leafy material is a soft spandex, which I will use a pink thread matched to the darker pink frond leafs for contrasting pop, and I have bought matte charcoal grey metallic beads that I will hand bead a'la the first grey pictured pattern A top. I have slightly larger beads and smaller beads for a nice contrasting size. I decided against clear bling-like beads due to the pattern of the material. It would likely have been a bit too busy with sparkly beads, the matte and darker colouring of them will help to tone down the fabric and thread.

The red and white, almost American-patriotic material is a Jersey-Cotton mix, soft and stretchy in one direction. I think I'll try and use the stripes vertically, but it will depend on the width of the material vs how much the pattern demands (the pattern needs 150cm width and I think the material was only about 130cm). White thread so as not to detract from the overall pattern.

The second sets of tops are just a pattern that caught my eye when I was looking for the hankerchief singlet tops. I have bought two comfortable cotton materials that I think will look nice with my colouring and work well with the patterns. At a later date I might investigate using the patterns for the flowing pants as well, I must admit that I'm running short on comfortable pairs of pants that fit and can be worn out of the apartment (other than yoga pants, and there are some events that you just can't wear those to!).

Spotlight bargains for Butterick pattern B4238

First is a nice deep blue paisley material with a matching thread. I immediately thought of a paisely when I saw the pattern for the top D. What a plus that it was easy to imagine what the top would look like when the pattern example is blue too! I just have to work out how to make the tie for the side. I thought of just buying a cord but was carrying four bolts of cloth at the time and just wanted to get out of the shop, so put it off to a later date to investigate.

The last material that I bought was rather geometric with softer colours. I picked a darker thread so that it wouldn't stand out as much and ruin the pattern as a lighter one. If I sew straight across or diagonally it should just blend in with the already marked lines delineating the different triangles. This material is matched to the pattern for top A.

So there you have it. First project commenced for the year. I will update the progress by posts, let me know what you think in a comment below!

M xo