Fabulous Fish Friday!

We usually have fish - in some shape or form - about 2 or 3 times a week these days.  Packed with protein, minerals and omega 3 and low in fat, it's a great addition to a weekly menu if you're trying to improve the overall 'health' of your diet like we are! 

Tonight we had one of our favourite, easy fish dishes - fish in tomato and thyme sauce.  There are several recipes available online, so do have a browse to find one you like, but we've found this is a quick and easy recipe :-

1 onion, chopped

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp soy sauce

a few sprigs of fresh thyme - strip the leaves

spray oil

For the two of us, we add 2 white fish fillets - e.g. cod, pollock, etc. - but the sauce recipe will be enough for 4 people, just add 4 fish fillets! 

Using a large, lidded non-stick frying pan, use some spray oil and fry the onion gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar, soy sauce and thyme leaves for 1 minute, add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Lay the fish fillets on the top of the tomato sauce, cover the pan and continue to simmer for approx. 10 minutes until the fish is cooked and flakes easily (time will vary depending on the thickness of the fillets - don't overcook or it will start to 'toughen' up!).

We had ours tonight with some steamed rice and brussel sprouts - the baby sprouts were steamed, and then some salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper, a sprinkle of mixed herbs and 1 tsp of butter stirred through. 

Yum! 

Creamy carbonara-style pasta - but low fat!

I do love pasta, particularly with creamy, rich sauces - preferably with plenty of garlic and cheese. However, when we're trying to eat a little more healthily, and more conscious of what we're consuming, I decided to try making a carbonara-style pasta, with plenty of taste, but less of the calories!  A good, quick and easy meal - and low fat.

So, for two people:-

I chopped 4-6 smoked bacon medallions (these have the fat removed, but you can always remove any that's left).  In a large non-stick frying pan, add a little spray oil and fry 2 chopped shallots gently until softened.  Add 2 or 3 crushed cloves of garlic according to taste, and fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped bacon and continue frying gently, stirring regularly, until the bacon is cooked and starting to crisp.

In a mixing bowl beat 2 large, free range eggs, two tablespoons of quark and plenty of seasoning. A good tip when using quark in cooking, is to let it come to room temp before adding to your recipe - it helps to prevent splitting!  Then stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan.

Cook dried tagliatelle or linguine pasta - amount according to appetite! - following packet instructions, until al dente.  Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, I added half a cup full of frozen peas - but you can always leave those out! 

When the pasta is cooked, drain - reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Return the drained pasta & peas to the pan, along with the cooking water. Stir in the cooked bacon/garlic, and then quickly stir in the egg/quark mix while the pasta is still hot. Keep stirring to ensure the pasta is evenly coated with the egg mixture and, if necessary,  put back over a low heat for a minute until the egg is cooked (but before it begins to turn into scrambled eggs!). Whilst the pasta is still hot, and to make it extra creamy, stir in two light Laughing Cow cheesy triangles until melted! 

Serve in hot pasta bowls, with a good sprinkle of parmesan and freshly ground black pepper. I had mine with a portion of steamed tenderstem broccoli, but a nice crispy side salad would be good. 

Enjoy! 

Back soon,

Kim 

More fish please!

We've gradually gone from a couple who ate virtually no fish (except me occasionally, as I love it!), to eating it 3 or 4 times a week, with very little meat in the diet, and lots of vegetables. It can only be for the good!
Last night's dinner was a delish plateful of yummy goodness! We had a pan-fried cod fillet, on minted pea puree,  with spiced potatoes and steamed asparagus. So tasty! All very low fat but high on taste and protein.

We find recipes from all over the internet, and usually adapt them according to what's in the fridge/cupboard/freezer and to make them user friendly for us - so often reducing the fat content, etc. I'll start adding recipes or links to where we've found them if you're interested! 

Kim x 

Delicious Waffles!

Now eating waffles when trying to lose weight might seem like a bit of a problem! But we bought a great little electric waffle maker from Aldi last summer and it's brilliant for a relaxed weekend brunch of waffles with fruit. My favourite recipe came from several instagram blogs, but is basically :-

25g self raising flour
1 egg
2 dessert spoons of fat free yogurt
1 tablespoon granulated sweetener
Vanilla (or coconut or almond!) flavouring

Beat all the above together well and then either cook in an electric waffle maker (according to instruction), or use a silicon waffle mould in the oven.

We love ours with plenty of fresh fruit, some fat free Greek yogurt and a drizzle of Sweet Freedom fruit syrup - yum. They're also delicious with flavoured yogurt (I particularly like fat free coconut flavour yogurt!).

Do you like waffles? How do you like yours? 

Kim x 

Moroccan style couscous

I love food that has a Middle Eastern style and flavour to it. So after seeing various recipes online for couscous, I made this one!
I oven-roasted peppers, courgette and red onion (after spraying with a little oil). The couscous was prepared with vegetable stock, some spices and then, when ready, I added the roast vegetables, peas, sweetcorn, some soaked raisins, spring onions, chopped coriander and mint, and grated lemon zest. Then to serve, added a few pomegranate seeds and flaked almonds. Yum!
Very low fat, vegetarian/vegan and delicious. It was lovely on it's own, or we had some the following day with a little feta cheese!

Back soon,
Kim