I’ve managed to lose half a stone during the month of November, but unfortunately most of these were pounds that I seem to have acquired over September and October! Such is weight loss, I’m afraid. Sometimes life conspires against you….
HOWEVER, I happened upon a really excellent Blog today which inspired me to up-date my own!
Growing vegetables, discussing and cooking food…. this is MY kind of blog!!!
Fast days are a bit more of a struggle during the Winter months than they are when the weather is warmer. Not fuelling the body sometime leaves me feeling chilled to the bone. I’m fine up until midday and then I seem to just feel cold all over. This is a weird and alien feeling for me, as I am usually always far too hot! Winter days and nights seem much longer and I am certainly spending more time sat inside… this time of years thinking about and planning for Christmas, which also involves what we will eat over the festive season! I do have to remind myself that Christmas is just ONE day and of the weight I have lost. So much hard work could easily be undone in just four or five days of eating “differently” (I won’t call it “normally” as I will never return to my old ways!)
Todays Fast was broken with an unusual but delicious meal. 120g Tesco frozen “sweet chilli marinated basa fillet” (only 125 cals!), 250g each of butternut squash and aubergine with 75g of red onion roasted in the oven for 45 mins with 10 squirts of spray oil, 30g of feta cheese and 15ml of sweet chilli sauce…. 382 calories. Lush on a plate!! Enough calories for some satsumas and a coffee before bedtime…
Aubergine and butternut squash have become two of my staple vegetables. I love the flavour and they are so low in calories. 100g of butternut squash is just 30 calories, 100g of aubergine just 14 calories! These two vegetables really lend themselves to one another when it comes to visual appearance and taste. But an absolute MUST for me is that they be ROASTED! I use a low calorie spray oil, which does the trick at a fraction of the calories.
Aubergine and Butternut Squash Bake
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 3
Calories per serving:152.9
Ingredients
Onions, Red, Raw, Average – 203g
Butternut Squash, Raw – 796g
Aubergine, Raw – 794g
Oil, Olive, Extra Virgin, Only 1 Cal, Spray, Fry Light – 35 Sprays/7ml
Preparation:
Put the oven on to pre-heat at 200 degrees. Peel, de-seed and cut butternut squash into 2cm chunks. Peel and finely dice red onion. Take stalk off aubergine and cut into 1cm chunks.
Method:
Squirt 15 sprays of spray oil into a roasting dish and add all the vegetables. Spray another 20 sprays pf spray oil over the vegetables and place roasting dish in oven.
Roast for around 45 – 50 minutes, stirring thoroughly every 20 minutes until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown.
This is a really versatile low calorie and filling recipe! Use alongside meat or fish, or serve with pasta and some grated cheese.
Thank you for mentioning my blog today and I am really glad you enjoyed reading it. I am taking a bit of a break from blogging over Christmas but I will be re-posting some of my older posts for the next few weeks that somehow seem to get lost but they have loads of good info included (especially as Christmas is coming). I will be back blogging in January though. Hope you have a lovely Christmas