The weekend I turned 30.....{Fish Pie Stew}

Well I made it to 30. Amazing! I had a fantastic weekend with lots of fun and laughter and I can honestly say I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

So now that the celebrating is over its time for me to put my head down and overhaul my lifestyle a bit. I have been trying to loose weight for so long and I always put it off or had an excuse. Time to get focused and get exercising!

This is a new-ish recipe that has become a really nice staple evening meal. I started off by making the original but I've changed it around a bit to make it a really nice alternative to fish pie, It's also much less time consuming so there's that as well...

Fish Pie Stew 

Inspired from the recipe here 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

3 sticks of celery, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

175ml white wine

300ml chicken stock or vegetable stock if you prefer

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp cold water

200g raw prawns 

300g fish pie selection (the one I used had smoked haddock, cod and salmon)

small bunch flat leave parsley, chopped

300ml half-fat crème fraîche

150g new potatoes, already boiled and slightly squashed with a fork

heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and celery until soft. add the garlic and cook for another minute them pour in the wine and simmer until most has disappeared. p

our in the stock and cornflour mix and simmer for 5-10 mins, stirring often until thickened. season, then add the fish, new potatoes and most of the parsley. simmer for a few mins until piping hot, then stir in the crème fraîche. serve with a sprinkling of parsley. you could have this with some bread, but I find that the addition of potatoes makes this plenty filling. 

Finding my stride...... {Week 2 Couch to 5K}

Week two of couch to 5k is complete! And when I think about it the fact that I have now done six runs in two weeks makes me feel pretty accomplished - I'm coming from nothing here guys! I found this week pushed me harder but getting into my groove was a lot easier. There's a repetitiveness to jogging that this week I started to fall into - where you don't even think about your breathing you just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other... I just can't wait for the day when I can do this for even longer periods of time! 

Bought myself some new running gear and H bought me a new pair of running trainers so I'm all ready for week three! Bring it on! 

Hosting a Spa party at Home {My Temple Spa Party}

Here in the UK there is great company called Temple Spa  who make some lush products - that are really great for the skin! The best thing about the company is that their representative comes to your house and you have a mini facial as you learn about the products. Its a great chance to get the girls together and have a girly pamper!

When I was organising my party I knew that the food had to be important and look great. In fitting with the night I also made sure it was all super healthy! Here's how it looked:

The Spread!

The Food:

 Kale Crisps 

Bake kale in an oven with some S&P and a little olive oil until crisp

Baked Tortilla Chips and Dip

Cut Tortillas into triangles and put under a grill for a few minutes until golden and then turn and do the same. Serve with guacamole and salsa

Salmon on Rye

Cut some Rye bread into small squares, top with extra light soft cheese, some smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon and some black pepper

Mushroom Pate and Rosemary Biscuits

not going to lie - i bought these
Hummus and Crudites
I bought the hummus and cut up celery, peppers and carrots to dunk 

Chocolate strawberries

melt some dark chocolate and dunk the strawberries in. Chill and then serve 

Fruit Kebabs

Cocktail stick with cubes of fruit and grapes - easy! 

The food was a hit and the fact that it was guilt free really helped!  I decorated the table simply with fresh flowers and little tags saying what each item was. I think its really easy to go overboard with these sorts of things so I tried not to make to much and kept it to little nibbles. Once I came in from work I only had an hour or so to get ready so it had to be quick! 

Chocolate strawberries - everyone's favourite

The Drinks:

Prosecco - Our favourite

Raspberry Fizz

Prosecco with a fresh raspberry

Ginger Lemonade 

Sparkling water with freshly squeezed lemon juice and slices of fresh ginger 

Spa Water 

jug filled with water, ice, lemon, lime and cucumber

Ginger Lemonade ans a bit of the spa water!

And there you have it, my ideas for throwing a Spa party. You could always do your own and do face masks, pedicures and manicure.... Although its much easier when someone comes and does it for you!

The Healthy Way to do Chilli

Spicy Turkey Chilli

I've been adjusting my eating habits for a quite a while now and I'm now approaching the two stone mark on my weight loss journey... makes me happy and quite proud, although these things take time. I try not to deprive myself (see my dinner on Monday) as I think that leads to failure and I hate to fail.

One thing I look to do is to make healthy versions of my favourite meals or to replicate great healthy meals that I have out. Chilli is a favourite of mine and I used to love eating a really slow cooked chilli full of beef, chorizo and red wine smothered with sour cream and cheese and preferably served over a jacket potato. Hello calories, fat and carbs....  and I wonder why I put on weight. Duh!

So here is my alternative- a yummy chilli made from turkey mince (which is a great ingredient for all you dieters out there). Mine is pretty spicy so adjust the spice ratios if you want it a bit milder. Feel free to add whatever veggies you like to bulk this up - its a great way to clear the contents of the veg drawer.  I served this with gem lettuce leaves (zero carbs and means I can justify a small sprinkling of cheese) but other healthy alternatives would be a baked Sweet Potato or some Bulgar Wheat.

Turkey Chilli 

Serves around 4 to 6 depending on how hungry people are!
300g Turkey Mince 

2 onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

1 fresh red chilli, chopped finely

1 Green Pepper & 1/2 Orange Pepper, cut into chunks

1 carrot, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped

2 TBSP Tomato puree 

2 TSP Cumin

2 TSP chilli powder 

2 TSP Paprika 

1 tin chopped tomatoes 

200g Kidney beans, drained 

Olive Oil

S&P

Simmering away in the pan 

Fry off the onion, garlic and chilli, add the pepper, carrot and celery and allow them all to soften. Add the turkey mince and cook for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Once the mince is cooked then add the spices and puree and cook for a few minutes. Season. Add tomatoes and then leave to cook for 30 mins or so - simmering over a low heat. Add the drained kidney beans and cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve with gem lettuce leaves, some Greek yoghurt and a sprinkle of cheese. 

Messy but yummy!

This Dish has been picked as a featured favourite for Delicious Dish Tuesday! Thanks so much guys.... I encourage everyone to get involved - its a great link up!

Linking up with Alesha for Delicious Dish Tuesday

Sunday Walk #3 - Otford Circular Walk, with a new gadget!

Beautiful Kentish Countryside

Ah, a walk post. Its been a while. We have been walking, its just I always seem to forget to take my i-phone camera when we go on our walks. I remembered this time though which meant I take photos of my favourite new gadget, my trusty pedometer, my Ozeri 4x3motion Digital Pocket 3D Pedometer with Tri-Axis Technology to be completely exact (try saying that after a glass or two of wine).

 

Now before you raise a quizzical eyebrow I have had many pedometers in my time but this is by far the best one I have used. I choose the yellow colour as I find black a bit boring and its nice and bright. When you first get it, its really easy to set up so it is personal to you and means it is more accurate when it comes to your results. It doesn't need to be clipped to your belt, which can be annoying; you can either have it around your neck as it comes with a strap or put it in your pocket (as I tend to do)

 

Back to the walk,  with said pedometer in my pocket we set of on our Sunday walk, I thought it would be quite easy as it was only a six mile walk, but my goodness it was a tough six miles, with lots of steep hills. Steep hills are not my friend.

I found these steps a bit daunting (in my defence there were about 200 of them)

 

 

But getting to the top felt pretty good.....

 

There were lots of muddy fields to traipse through with lots of lovely views of the beautiful Kentish countryside which I am getting to love more and more as we have our Sunday walks.

We walked for around two and a half hours and my trusty pedometer told me lots of interesting facts like how many steps I had taken and how many calories I had burned.... it was a little off on the distance we had walked but that's not the main reason I have this. I love the design and the way the data is so easy to read and how it is displayed which even a novice like me can understand.

**While I was sent the pedometer to review by the lovely people at Ozeri, all opinions expressed are of course my own.**

A Surprising Dish

 

 

Apparently all great chef's have a "signature dish" the one dish above all others. Perhaps If I had a signature dish it would consist of lentils....lentils?! I hear you say. Yup, lentils. It's the dish that whenever I make it, people want the recipe, the one where there they say "My husband doesn't like lentils but he loved this dish", the one that surprises people. I'm kind of relaxed about the ingredients list, I add things to it all the time - any vegetables can be thrown in especially Mediterranean ones. Eat it with some chicken, or a piece of grilled salmon or its fab on its own! Sometimes with the leftovers I just blend it up and add a bit of stock to make a creamy lentil soup which tastes great!

Rachy's Lentils

1-2 onions, chopped (I use red or white)
1 red chilli, finely chopped (use less if you want less heat)
pinch dried red chillies (use more if you have no fresh chillies or just omit completely if you don't want it spicy)!
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (again use as much or little as you like)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 -2 carrots, diced
1 stick of celery, finally chopped
around 300g red lentils, rinsed
1 cartoon passata
1TSP paprika
Some stock, I used low sodium vegetable but you can use chicken if you want
S&P
Any other vegetables you want - this time I added some diced aubergines and yellow peppers

Put a bit of olive oil in a pan, add the onions, chilli and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the celery, carrots,  red pepper and any other vegetables you want to add. Cook until softened. Add the lentils and stir for a minute or so. Add the passatta and as much stock as it needs to cover the mixture by about an inch. Leave to simmer, it takes about 30-45 minutes and if you need too you can add more stock.

If you wanted a richer dish add more passatta rather than stock, if you want an even healthier dish add water rather than stock!

An unusual vegetable .... And my 2014

.... or Okra if we want to use its correct name.

Okra, or ladies fingers

I love Okra, I often order it when I'm having an Indian takeaway. I am not having takeaways any more. It doesn't fit with the "new year, new me" kind of thing. No processed food, no cheeky cigarette (yeah i do that), more exercise - who am I trying to kid?! I've actually started exercising, no sugars, just good clean food. Maybe this will become a more "healthy" eating blog. Maybe. I've lost 7lbs in two weeks it makes standing on the scales not as scary as it used to be. Add to this dry January. Dry as in no drinking alcohol. I haven't touched a drop since New Years Eve; that in itself is intoxicating. And surprising.

The boyfriend has made a chart - I get a blue dot sticker everyday that I go without booze and every Sunday I get a purple sticker for the weight loss. I'm not sure what that makes us but it works for me, I like seeing progress. Those 12 dots on there this morning made me happy.

Back to Okra. A healthy curry for you to enjoy which is pretty simple to make.

Okra Curry

3 DSP Vegetable oil
125g Okra, cut into pieces
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 green chilli, sliced thinly
1DSP ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1" fresh ginger, finely chopped
1DSP Garem Marsala
1TSP Cumin seeds
1TSP Turmeric
1TSP Hot chilli powder (go for mild if you want less of a kick)
300ml water
4 small or 2 large tomatoes, diced

Heat 2DSP of the oil in a wok and add in the Okra, I know this is technically frying but you only use a bit of oil and the rest of the dish is so healthy that this is a small niggle only. Plus you have to fry okra so its not slimy! Cook for around 7-9 minutes and then add the coriander and cook for a further couple of minutes. Take the okra out of the pan and then add the rest of the oil along with the chilli and onion. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic and ginger. After another few minutes add the rest of the spices and the tomatoes and water and then let it simmer for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes or so and then its all ready. I served with a baked chicken breast