Winning This Losing Battle

I have managed to lose the same as last week, I'm down another 0.6kg. I have now lost a total of 5.7kg (12.56lb) but have still got over a half  stone to go to reach my mid-summer target weight.

The running is going well, I even celebrated by doing 3... yes 3 10K runs today, just for funsies! Well in honesty it was a fitness test for myself to see how far my endurance and stamina has come along. I completed them but yes they did hurt, but that's all part of the masterplan... the masterplan is big, it will rock the foundations of my determination and grit... my will-power and fitness, however I cannot share with you right now as it is still being planned and will be announced soon enough!

the healthy eating is still going well and as always if you only use some imagination in the kitchen, the healthy option can tickle any taste buds! 

Well that's all I'm gonna go on about this week because I'm hurting from the inside out at the moment :) A good pain tho... a pain that says I have done something worth doing!

Here are some more new healthy recipes, and my healthy recipe page has finally been updated... phew!

 Steak with Low Fat Pepper Sauce

Homemade Prawn Fried Rice

Steak with Low Fat Pepper Sauce

Steak with low fat Peppercorn Sauce

A good steak of your choice is relevant here. To make this even more low fat trim as much of the fat off the steak as u can before cooking and serve with some healthy sweet potato wedges instead of chips. It’s lean, filling and packs a punch! Fillet steak is naturally leaner but naturally more expensive too so if you’re on a budget this is the route to take.

Serves 2:

2 medium steaks (fat trimmed optional)

2 shallots finely chopped

100g low fat soft cheese

100g crème fraiche

A splash of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of coarsely crushed peppercorns

Olive oil

Method

Ø   Place a pan on the hob and turn on to high heat. Preheat oven to 180ºc.

Ø   Massage a drop of olive oil onto the steaks and season both sides with sea salt. When pan is screaming hot place steaks on. Give them 2-3 minutes then turn them over for about 2-3 minutes. Take off the pan and place them in oven dish and bung into a medium/high oven to finish cooking if you like them well done, otherwise wrap in tin foil to rest.

Ø   Add the shallots to the pan and fry until softened, 3 minutes should be enough. Lower heat a little and add the stock, soy sauce, soft cheese and peppercorns and blend it all together with a spatula and simmer for few minutes until slightly thickened.

Ø   Remove steaks from oven and plate up, pouring the sauce over or serving in a gravy boat.

Homemade Prawn Fried Rice

Homemade Prawn Fried Rice

This dinner is a great homemade and healthy alternative to a Chinese takeaway. Please don’t feel like it is only prawns that can be used… as I say all recipes can be altered to suit your own taste. You can use chicken, turkey, beef, pork or whatever else tickles your fancy.

Serves 2:

120g of brown or wholegrain rice

Fresh large prawns, about 6/8 each- peeled and deveined

1 clove of garlic

1 large shallot

1 medium egg

1 slice of cooked ham (optional)

A small head of broccoli

A handful of peas

2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

Method

Ø  Cook the rice according to the packets instructions. Cut the broccoli into small flowerets, finely chop the shallot and garlic and shred the ham if using it.

Ø  When the rice is cooked, allow it to steam dry in a sieve. On a hot/wok pan add a little olive oil, add in the garlic and shallot and fry off for a minute without colouring it. Then add in the prepared prawns. Fry these off for 2 minutes until coloured all over then pick them out with tongs and set aside.

Ø  Add a little more oil to the pan and crack in the egg, move around and break it up with a spatula until cooked then add in the broccoli and peas. Fry all this off for 3-4 minutes before adding in the cooked rice.

Ø  Continue stirring the contents of pan/wok for a minute then add in the soy sauce, ham and prawns, give this all a good mix around for another minute then serve up into warm dishes.

Better Late Than Never

17-5-2013

This year I have left everything so much later in the garden Than I did last year. In hindsight last year was not a great year at all for growing because we had a great spell over Easter and I got carried away and started sowing and planting out like a mad man, then came a month of wet, cold, windy, weather that numbed and stunted everything.

I do learn my lessons and as I'm always saying 'its all about trial and error' so this year I controlled mt urges to get everything rolling early even with the great spell of weather we had before Easter again this year... It was like carbon copy because yet again we got a clod wet and windy month after Easter. So I am comfortable with my decision to hold off this year and not go nuts!!

So the Salad bed is starting to come alive, we got radishes, lettuce, spinach and rocket in here with room to sow more then these ones get up a bit. Peas are starting to come too and will grow up the trellis.

Salad bed

Peas

 The garlic was planted out a few months ago along with the potatoes and onions as not much would faze them at all. i had strawberries in this bed last year but gave them a new location in containers this year.

Garlic growing

Strawberries

Potato drills and Raspberries

Onion bed

 I made 2 new raised beds this year, one is for my carrots and parsnips ant the other is for cabbages and cauliflower, I have left posts sticking up so I can easily net off to keep out the butterflies.

Kitchen garden

 In the greenhouse everything is going well, homemade paper pots for the sweetcorn so the whole thing can be planted out. I also put beds into the greenhouse this year because I find the growbags can dry out very quickly in there.

Sown sweetcorn

Tomato plants

Young leek seedlings

This is really the start of it and it is not too late for anyone else wanting to grow your own, make a start now and fall in love with a great new hobby.