Dinner Friday 13 July - Pastitio

Pastitio
75g macaroni (dry weight)
¼ pack Quorn mince (87g)
¼ red pepper, chopped
small handful fresh basil
1 serving Marinara Sauce
1 serving Veloute for Pastitio

Combine Quorn mince, marinara sauce, cooked macaroni, basil and chopped red pepper. Season to taste and turn into a small casserole dish.

Top with the veloute sauce and bake in a moderate oven until golden and bubbling, about 40 minutes

Makes 1 LARGE (that is, piggy) serving

Nutrition Summary for meal
Calories (kcal) 661.7
Protein (g) 43.3
Carbohydrate (g) 81.5
Fat (g) 18.3
Fibre (g) 8.9

Veloute for Pastitio
200ml vegetable stock
1 tablespoon cornflour
30ml single cream
50g reduced fat Edam cheese, grated

Combine cold vegetable stock and cornflour in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened. Add the cream and cheese and continue cooking until cheese is melted.

Makes 1 serving

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 224.9
Carbohydrate (g) 12.3
Protein (g) 18.6
Fat (g) 11.3
Fibre (g) 0.2

Lunch Friday 13 July - Hake with Broad Bean & Tomato Salad

Hake with Broad Bean & Tomato Salad
1 Young's breaded hake fillet

2 teaspoons macadamia nut oil
juice ½ lemon
10g mustard
20g Manuka honey

2 spring onions, sliced
150g Santini tomatoes, halved or quartered
80g broad beans, cooked
handful fresh basil leaves, torn up
1 rib celery, sliced finely
¼ red pepper, cut into strips
1 bag mixed leaves (120g)

Make a dressing of the oil, honey, lemon & mustard & season to taste.

Combine the onions, tomatoes, broad beans, basil, celery & red pepper and pour over the dressing. Serve on a bed of mixed leaves with the hake fillet.

Combine the
Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 454.8
Carbohydrate (g) 46.8
Protein (g) 25.5
Fat (g) 19.2
Fibre (g) 10.8

Breakfast Friday 13 July - Cereal & Coffee

Special K and coffee, yet again

Dinner Thursday 12 July - Fettuccine with Samphire & Prawns

Fettuccine with Samphire & Prawns
80g samphire grass
110g cooked prawns
1 pat herb butter
70g fettuccine

Boil the fettuccine in plenty of salted water. Steam the samphire until tender, about 5 minutes.

Melt the herb butter in a skillet and add the prawns, samphire and cooked fettuccine. Toss everything together and warm through the prawns. When piping hot, serve.


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 514.8
Carbohydrate (g) 71.9
Protein (g) 33.5
Fat (g) 10.5
Fibre (g) 5.2

Lunch Thursday 12 July - Quorn "Ham" & Cheese Wrap

Quorn "Ham" & Cheese Wrap
1 multiseeded tortilla wrap
2 light cheese triangles
½ pack Quorn "ham" slices
50g Shredded Romaine lettuce
1 fat vine tomato

1 homemade dill pickle
handful pepperoncini

Well, no recipe needed - this is just a tortilla, spread with a

couple of those Laughing Cow low fat cheese spread triangles, some

slices of Quorn "ham", tomato and lettuce.

Lunch is ready!


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 394.8
Carbohydrate (g) 55.7
Protein (g) 28.2
Fat (g) 7.4
Fibre (g) 13.4

Breakfast Thursday 12 July - Cereal & coffee

An awe-inspiring start to the day - Special K, milk, coffee.

Dinner Wednesday 11 July - Stir Steamed Vegetables & Prawns

Stir Steam
Today's selection:

125g broccoli
¼ enoki mushrooms (about 35g)
75g mange tout
75g baby corn
1 carrot
3 spring onions
110g prawns

Basic Stir Steam Recipe

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 315.8
Protein (g) 36.8
Carbohydrate (g) 30.5
Fat (g) 5.4
Fibre (g) 9.2

Lunch Wednesday 11 July - Pizza

Haven't had pizza in ages and I fancied some, so I made one. Next time, I will just go the whole hog and have normal, full-fat cheese. Pizza really needs decent cheese and the half-fat stuff just ain't got the "melt-osity".


Pizza
1 pizza base (see below)
½ portion Marinara Sauce
125 reduced fat mozzarella cheese
few fresh basil leaves

Dough
100g strong white flour
1 teaspoon sugar
5 g yeast
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Mix together the yeast with a bit of hand warm water and 1 tsp sugar. Allow to stand until foaming (about 10 mins). Add the flour and olive oil along with sufficient water to make a stiff dough. Knead thoroughly until smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl covered with cling film and stand in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk (about 45 mins). Knock back and shape into a round. Top with sauce and cheese and bake in a hot oven (Gas 8).

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 672.2
Carbohydrate (g) 79.2
Protein (g) 41.9
Fat (g) 21.0
Fibre (g) 4.0

Breakfast Wednesday 11 July - Cereal!

Well, back to the salt mines on the breakfast from - more Special K, this time with a serving of Horlicks Light in lieu of milk.

(I will use this stuff up, I will use this stuff up...)




As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
== Henry David Thoreau

Dinner Tuesday 10 July - Crab with Samphire & Parmesan

I LOVE samphire grass (seaweed) and it is in season. tried to get some for the Tour de France BBQ, but Steve Hatt did not have any at the time. But, he had some yesterday! So I decided to make this.

Crab with Samphire & Parmesan
75g samphire grass
1 can white crab meat (120g)
10g butter
1 clove garlic
juice ½ lime
handful fresh parsley
20g shaved Parmigiano Reggiano

100g fine beans

Steam samphire until tender; about 5 minutes.

Melt butter in a skillet and add crushed garlic. Cook over low heat for a couple minutes until garlic is soft & fragrant. Add the crab and samphire and warm through.

Stir in the lime juice and parsley, season to taste with salt (won't need much, if any) and plenty of black pepper. Garnish with the Parmesan shavings & serve with 100g steamed fine beans.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 392.0
Carbohydrate (g) 27.9
Protein (g) 36.2
Fat (g) 15.1
Fibre (g) 5.2

Samphire Grass

Lunch Tuesday 10 July - Spinach & Bacon Salad and Pea, Mint & Quark Soup

Spinach & "Bacon" Salad
1 clove garlic, crushed
juice ½ lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
20 g Manuka honey

100g Santini tomatoes
4 spring onions
small handful fresh basil
½ pack Quorn "bacon" strips
100g fresh spinach leaves
Make a dressing of the garlic, lemon juice, oil & honey. Season with salt & plenty of fresh black pepper.

Add the spring onions, basil & tomatoes to the dressing and combine. pile to spinach leaves in a serving bowl, add the tomato & dressing mixture and garnish with the Quorn "bacon".


Chilled Pea Soup with Mint Quark
100g mange tout
80g petit pois
400ml vegetable stock
1 clove garlic
handful fresh mint
125g quark

Cover the, garlic, mange tout and petit pois with vegetable stock and simmer until tender. Allow to cool.

Whizz the cooked peas in a blender or with a hand blender. Add the mint & quark and blend again.

Serve chilled with a sprig of fresh mint

Makes 1 Serving
Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 174.6
Carbohydrate (g) 16.7
Protein (g) 24.3
Fat (g) 1.3
Fibre (g) 4.8


Nutrition Data for meal (soup & Salad)
Calories (kcal) 482.1
Carbohydrate (g) 41.8
Protein (g) 37.4
Fat (g) 18.8
Fibre (g) 12.4

Breakfast Tuesday 10 July - Cereal & apple

Just a bowl of Special K and another Pink Lady apple. They are BOGOF at Sainsbury's at the moment, so it is something like 16 apples for £2.00 - not bad.

Don't recall having seen Pink Lady apples until recently - apparently they are an Australian hybrid from Lady Williams and Golden Delicious apples. Pretty nice, anyway, although if they came from Oz, too many air miles!

Dinner Monday 9 July - Salmon with Vegetables

Salmon with Vegetables

1 salmon fillet (140g)
80g broad beans
2 carrots
200g Vivaldi potatoes

200g spinach
30ml single cream
nutmeg & black pepper

No real recipe; just parboiled and roasted the spuds with a little spray oil. The salmon is roasted with some Montreal Steak Seasoning. The broad beans and carrots are just steamed and the spinach is sauteed then creamed with 30ml single cream and some nutmeg & black pepper.

Calories (kcal) 540.6
Carbohydrate (g) 54.6
Protein (g) 50.8
Fat (g) 15.0
Fibre (g) 14.4

Lunch Monday 9 July - Leftover Mushroom Stroganov

Leftover Mushroom Stroganov
75g Mezzani pasta


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 641.2
Protein (g) 27.1
Carbohydrate (g) 89.6
Fat (g) 19.6
Fibre (g) 7.2

Breakfast Monday 9 July - Special K and Apple

Well, moving on in the cereal hoard, I now turn my attention to a box of Special K. So, I had a bowl of Special K with milk and a Pink Lady Apple.

Lunch Sunday 8 July - Tour de France Barbecue

Went to Welling and we walked through Bostall Woods to see Tour de France!

Afterwards, had a big BBQ at Lisa's. I brought a bunch of marinated veggie kebabs, some Green Goddess dip & Roasted Aubergine Dip. And I got to be "BBQ Chef" for the day - a smoky job!

We had:

• Marinated Veggie Skewers
• Marinated Salmon & Veggie Skewers
• Barbecued corn
• Crudite with Green Goddess Dip And Roasted Aubergine Dip
• Artichoke hearts
• Cheeses
• Lisa's Pear, Walnut & Gorgonzola Salad

Lisa has also made some marinated chicken (which I cooked but did not eat, of course)

plus various other nibbles and bits plus wine and glorious weather on the patio.

I ate loads and we had a very pleasant afternoon.

Did not bother with any dinner as stuffed full of BBQ.

Breakfast Sunday 8 July - Raspberries and Tour de France!

Had a quick breakfast of raspberries and cottage cheese before heading off to Kent to visit Lisa and watch the Tour de France pass through!

Started in London and now heading through Kent on it's way to France. I have been a fan for years, so had to go and have a look, despite all the doping scandals etc that make it less than it was in the days of "The Badger" Bernard Hinault & Greg LeMond.

Dinner Saturday 7 July - Wild Rice Salad with Tofu & Black Bean Dressing

Wild Rice Salad with Tofu & Black Bean Dressing
1 thumb ginger, pared & grated
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 green chillis
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons black bean sauce (about 50g)

50g (dry weight) wild rice, cooked
160g tofu
80g broccoli, separated into florets and lightly steamed
½ red pepper, cut into strips
100g sugar snap peas, blanched
2 spring onions, sliced

Wrap the tofu in paper towels and place between two plates. Weight the top plate with cans or something else moderately heavy and leave for 30-40 minutes. The idea is to gently press the moisture out of the tofu and firm it up, not to squash it!

Slice the tofu into slabs and fry in a non-stick pan sprayed with a little oil until golden brown on either side. Cut into cubes.

Make a dressing of the ginger, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, chillis and black bean sauce.

Combine the cooked rice, prepared tofu, broccoli, red pepper and spring onions. Add the dressing at toss to combine. Garnish with the sliced spring onions and serve.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 528.2
Carbohydrate (g) 68.3
Protein (g) 37.3
Fat (g) 12.1
Fibre (g) 7.3

Lunch Saturday 7 July - New Potato & Bean Salad

New Potato & Bean Salad
10g mustard
2 teaspoons macadamia oil
juice 1 lemon
10g Manuka honey

150g courgette
100g fine beans
80g broad beans
150g new potatoes

50g romaine lettuce, shredded
100g cherry tomatoes

Make a dressing of the mustard, oil, honey & lemon juice.

Cut the potato into bite sized chunks. Cut the beans into bite sized lengths. Steam the green beans, potatoes and broad beans until tender and combine them with the dressing while still warm.

Cut the courgette into disks and fry in a non-stick pan sprayed with a little oil. When they are lightly coloured on either side and tender, add them to the potato mixture and combine.

Line a plate with the shredded lettuce and mound the potato & bean salad on top. Garnish with sliced cherry tomatoes and serve.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 336.8
Carbohydrate (g) 46.4
Protein (g) 12.3
Fat (g) 11.8
Fibre (g) 12.0

Breakfast Saturday 7 July - Raspberries & cottage cheese

Continuing a theme of fruit & cottage cheese, but this time raspberries.