Vegetables….

Roasted Carrots with cumin and sesame seeds, topped with crumbled feta cheese


























RECIPE

303 calories per serving, serves 2
Garlic, Raw, 1 Clove/3g (crushed)
Cumin, Seeds, Whole  – 1 Tsp/2g
Oil, Olive, Extra Virgin, Spray Oil, Average – 30 Pumps/6ml
Feta Cheese  – 150g
Salad, Watercress, Spinach & Rocket – 90g
Sesame Seeds  – 2 Tsps/4g
Method
Preheat oven to 190°C. 
Peel larger carrots and cut into quarters lengthwise. Wash baby carrots and remove stalks. 
Peel and crush garlic. Spray 15 spays of one cal olive oil spray onto a roasting dish. 
Add carrots, cumin and garlic and toss, spray with another 15 sprays of one cal spray. 
Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time. 
5 minutes before the end of cooking time, sprinkle with the sesame seeds. 
Arrange salad leaves in a bowl. Top with the roasted carrots and crumbled feta cheese. Scatter the coriander over and serve. Add salad dressing of choice. 

I didn’t have any coriander, but I think it would make a wonderful addition!

                                                                                                                                        

This week, I weighed in at my LOWEST weight yet.  9st 4.4lb!  Amazing given the scoffing I did at the girlies weekend I enjoyed last weekend!  Two fasts sorted out the over-indulgence!

Griddle pan – give vegetables a whole new dimension….


Vegetables have become very much a staple part of my intake each day.  Luckily I love them!  I have started to experiment with different ways of cooking them to change the flavour and texture, and roasting and griddling most definitely are the way to go!  I use a griddle pan like this:  just a tiny amount of oil and on a low heat for about 30 minutes turns courgette, mushrooms, asparagus and many other vegetables into a caramelised mouthful of heaven! 


I have developed a huge love of roasted butternut squash. No need to peel (the skin softens), but cut up into 2cm chunks, take seeds out, spray baking tray with one calorie olive oil spray, add butternut squash BNS, spray again and bake for 30 mins at 200 , turning half way through. 250g of it cooked in this way is only 88 calories! I serve it alongside my meal instead of potatoes/rice/pasta.

In fact, all kinds of veg are delicious roasted… roasting really intensifies the flavours – carrots and parsnips become super sweet and courgette cut into thinnish strips and roasted in the oven caramelises takes on a whole different flavour of its own.

Cauliflower – how’s about pureed cauliflower (in place of potato) or….. (and I keep meaning to try this recipe) – cauliflower steaks? 

http://www.bonappetit.com/reci pe/cauliflower-steaks-with-olive-relish-and-tomato-sauce

or 
http://www.thekitchn.com/recip e-chipotle-lime-grilled-cauliflower-steaks-recipes-from-the- kitchn-204490


(oohhhhh now I’ve looked at those recipes I am even more determined to use one of them!)

Sweet potato – bake it in the oven, leave the skin – it looks a bit yukky but tastes divine….. Serve with a salad! Well, salad makes a nice change to regular “veg”.

Plenty of low calorie vegetables is certainly the way to go for me since I’ve been on 1,100 calories a day – even with the fasting and exercise! 

Convenience foods also play their part in my diet.  Earlier in the week I enjoyed “Creamy Chicken & mushrooms” made from scratch with Philadelphia Stir and Serve Garlic and Herb sauce, served with a big pile of swede (150g) and savoy cabbage(130g)! Whole meal (big plateful, and one whole chicken breast) was just 311 calories!!!

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