Sweet potato and chickpea burger (150 cals)
Added some stir-fried cabbage (74 cals)
25ml soured cream (43 cals)
50g mild shop bought salsa (15 cals)
30g medium Cheddar grated (135 cals)
Total = 417 calories
Month: January 2020
Leek, potato and bacon bake – 243 calories per portion
I planned this to enjoy as a side – frozen half of it. I think I might also add a little grated cheese or cheese and breadcrumbs on the top (will count the calories separately).
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour 10 mins
Serves:4
Calories per serving:242.4
Ingredients
Vegetable Stock Pot -1 Pot/28g
Chicken Stock Pot -1 Pot/28g
Water -300ml
Potatoes, Raw -500g
Leeks, Raw – 3 leeks/400g
Garlic Clove – 1 clove/3g
Streaky Bacon – 2 thick rashers, rind removed/55g
Double Cream Alternative -45g
Butter -10g
Preparation:
Trim leeks and thinly slice into rounds. Peel potatoes and thinly slice. Remove skin form garlic and finely chop. Remove rind from bacon and snip into small pieces.
Heat oven to 160C/fan/gas 4.
Method:Put the stock pots and water (boiling) in a large pan, bring to the boil, then add the potatoes and the leeks. Cover, bring back to the boil for 5 mins, then drain well, reserving the stock in a jug.
Meanwhile, using the butter, butter a large baking dish. Layer up the potatoes and leeks higgledy piggledy, seasoning as you go, then scatter the bacon over the top.
Season well, pour over the reserved stock, then spoon over the cream (if using) and cover with foil.
Can be made up to 1 day ahead and chilled. Bake for an hour, then uncover and cook for a further 10-20 minutes so that the bacon crisps.
Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal) 243
Protein (g) 7.2
Carbohydrate (g) 26.3
Fat (g) 12.2
Fruit & Veg 0.8
Fibre (g) 4.2
Butternut Squash & Black Bean Chilli – 163 calories
Butternut Squash & Black Bean Chilli
I enjoyed this low calorie, healthy and colourful chilli with a portion of cauliflower rice (36 calories a portion – Tesco are now doing a convenient frozen pack of ready-to-steam pouches) and a large 30ml dollop of full fat soured cream (57 cals) so the whole meal was just 256 calories!! Enough left for a bowl of Greek yogurt with muscovado sugar….
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Calories per serving: 163.6
Ingredients
Butternut Squash, – 680g
Red Onions – 1 Medium/145g
Garlic, Raw – 2 Cloves/6g
Red Peppers – 1 pepper/128g
Black Beans, Canned, in Salted Water, Drained – 1 Can/240g
Tinned Chopped Tomatoes, in Tomato Juice – 1 Can/400g
Olive Oil – 27ml
Sea Salt – ½ Tsp/2.5g
Freshly Ground Black Pepper – ½ Tsp/1g
Red Chilli Peppers – 2 Servings/56g
Chilli Powder – 1 Tsp/4g
Ground Cumin – 1 Tsp/5g
Chipotle Paste – 1 Tsp/6g
Smoked Paprika – 1 Tsp/5g
Vegetable Stock Pot – 1 Pot/28g
Ground Cinnamon – ½ Tsp/1.5g
Bay Leaves, Dried – 1 Leaf/0.9g
Cider Vinegar – 2 Tbsps/30ml
Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp/15ml
Preparation:
Peel, de-seed and chop the BNS into 2cm chunks. Peel and dice onion. Peel and finely dice the garlic. De-stalk and de-seed the red pepper and cut into chunks. De-seed the dried chilli peppers and finely dice.
Method:Pour 1 tbsp of the olive oil into a large shallow roasting dish and place into a pre-heated oven (200 degrees).
Once the oil is hot, add the cubed butternut squash, stir to cover in the oil, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until slightly browned.
In a large lidded pan on the hob, over medium heat, heat the remaining olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, diced red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are turning translucent.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic, chilli powder, chipotle paste, chilli peppers, cumin and cinnamon, stock pot, water, cider vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the butternut squash, bay leaf, black beans, tomatoes and their juices.
Stir to combine and cover for about 20 minutes until everything is warmed and cooked.
You’ll know your chilli is done when the liquid has reduced a bit, producing the hearty chilli consistency we all know and love.
Remove the bay leaf, squeeze over the lime juice.
Serve with rice or tortillas and a generous dollop of soured cream.
Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal)1 63.6
Protein (g) 6.1
Carbohydrate (g) 21.4
Fat (g) 5.6
Fruit & Veg 3.4
Fibre (g) 5.8
Modifying behaviour around food and its consumption
For me, trying to lose weight without keeping track of what I’m eating is a bit like trying to travel somewhere without a map. You might eventually reach your destination, but it’s likely to take much longer. You might take a few wrong turns, go back on yourself or even end up completely lost.
The food diary is my map.
Another big change has been learning that every trip out of the house doesn’t have to involve food!
Once upon a time, a trip into town would probably have included lunch. A visit to the garden centre would have meant coffee and cake.
Now, I’ll often plan — or even prepare — what I’m going to eat when I get home before I leave the house. It might be a salad waiting in the fridge, for example. That means I can walk through the door knowing exactly what I’m going to eat rather than standing in the kitchen wondering, “What do I fancy?” Inevitably, what I “fancy” when I’m hungry tends to be something involving high-calorie carbohydrates that won’t necessarily keep me full for very long!
Something else I found helpful was making a list of all the reasons WHY I wanted to lose weight. Keep yours somewhere safe — perhaps stuck to the inside of a kitchen cupboard door — and look at it occasionally, particularly when you find yourself raiding the kitchen looking for treats.
One question I’ve learned to ask myself before eating something particularly calorific is:
“Do I really want to eat this more than I want to lose weight this week?”
That moment of thought can make a huge difference.
Am I genuinely hungry? Am I bored? Am I fed up? Have I simply seen something tempting and suddenly decided I want it?
Sometimes I’ll have a glass of water, wait five minutes and then ask myself whether I still want whatever it was I was about to eat.
Because once it’s been snaffled down, it’s too late!
And if you then feel cross or disappointed with yourself, that feeling can last considerably longer than the few minutes of enjoyment you got from eating the treat in the first place.
I also remind myself how fantastic it feels to see a loss on the scales at my weekly weigh-in. That wonderful feeling can last for days. Remembering it when temptation strikes can be a surprisingly powerful motivator.
I’m writing this as someone who struggled with her weight for most of her life, from about the age of nine.
I have a significant physical disability which affects my mobility, and I use a wheelchair outside the house. I’m also only 4ft 8”, so my body simply doesn’t require the amount of food that someone taller and more active might need.
It wasn’t until I was 49 and started logging absolutely everything I ate and keeping track of the calories I was consuming that the truth really hit me between the eyes:
I was eating FAR TOO MUCH for a very short, sedentary person.
Once I understood that and began changing not just what I ate, but my whole relationship with food and the way I behaved around it, everything finally started to click into place.
At 57, I’m healthier and fitter than I was 20 years ago.
I just wish I’d discovered what worked for me years earlier.
But perhaps that’s the most important thing I’ve learned: this hasn’t really been about “going on a diet” at all.
It’s been about learning a different way of living — one small change, one decision and one bit of practice at a time.
Healthy dinner – 531 calories
After the excess snacking of Christmas, it’s nice to get back to “normal”
A 100g salmon fillet (196 cals), brushed with a little avocado oil (24 cals) and topped with cajun spice (9 cals).
A third of a rice/grains pouch – lime and herb (112 cals)
Shredded spring greens (9 cals)
Roasted butternut squash (94 cals)
Stir-fried yellow pepper, red onion and mushrooms (using 4ml of olive oil) – 87 cals
Protein (g) 31.6
Carbohydrate (g) 43.6
Fat (g) 26.2
Fruit & Veg 5.3
Fibre (g) 8.4
Cheese Scones – 106 calories each
I decided to make these today – baking isn’t usually my thing. But a friend makes them regularly and they make a great portable snack or meal if you’re on the go. The reason why there are three different cheeses is because I was using up scraps from the cheese dish! 
But any sort of cheese will do, the stronger the better. A little of a strong flavoured strong cheese means you can get away with using less of it.
To avoid temptation, I tried one (buttered) whilst just warm and out of the oven but have frozen the remainder.
Cheese Scones – 106 calories each
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 12-15 mins
Serves:17
Calories per serving:106
Ingredients
Baking Powder -15g
Self Raising Flour -220g
Salt, Average-2g
Extra Mature Cheddar
Cheese, Manchego-60g
Hard Goats Cheese -30g
Cayenne Pepper -¼ Tsp/0.5g
Milk, Semi Skimmed – 150ml
Butter -55g
Method
1. Preheat oven with the lined baking tray inside to 200.C (slightly less for fan ovens). In a medium-large bowl sift together the flour, salt, cayenne pepper and baking powder. Sift again to make sure the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes, place in the bowl with the sifted flour and then mix with your fingertips to make breadcrumbs.
3. Sprinkle the grated cheese (keeping back about 20g for sprinkling on top) into the breadcrumb mixture and mix gently until the cheese is evenly distributed.
4. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in enough milk to give a fairly soft but firm dough. Do not pour in all the milk at once as you may not need it all to get the right consistency.
5. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough to approximately 1.5-2cm thick. Cut out the scones with a medium cutter and then place on the hot oven tray. Glaze the tops with a little milk and sprinkle the remainder of the grated cheese on the top of each scone before putting in the oven.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal) 106.0
Protein (g) 3.5
Carbohydrate (g) 10.2
Fat (g) 5.7
Fibre (g) 0.4