Leek, mushroom and nut Wellington – 590 calories

My healthy Christmas dinner this year was a gorgeous nut, leek and mushroom wellington, served with sweet roasted carrots and parsnips. It’s a naturally vegetarian dish, and with a tiny tweak it becomes fully vegan too.

It looks wonderfully indulgent on the plate, but it’s surprisingly easy to pull together – especially if you prep the filling ahead. And because it all comes together in one pan, you still get that Christmas magic without the mountain of washing up.

Leek, mushroom and nut Wellington

Preparation Time:     30 mins

Cooking Time:     30 mins

Serves:     4

Calories per serving:     589.5

 

Ingredients

Ready Roll Puff Pastry                                                               –   320g

Cavolo Nero                                                                                 –   60g

Leeks, Raw, Trimmed                                                                –   200g

Garlic, Raw                                                                                   –   2 Cloves/6g

Chestnut Mushrooms                                                                 –   200g

Chestnuts, Whole, Roasted & Peeled, Vacuum Packed      –   180g

Stuffing Mix, Sage & Onion, Dry                                             –   25g

Nutritional Yeast Flakes                                                           –   1 Tbsp/15g

White Miso Paste                                                                       –   1 Tbsp/15g

Soy Sauce                                                                                     –   1 Tbsp/15g

Olive Oil                                                                                       –   10ml

Eggs, Medium (for pastry glaze)                                             –   ½ Egg/28g

Nigella Seeds                                                                               –   ½ Tsp/2.5g

Walnuts, shelled                                                                         –   25g

Pecan Nuts, shelled                                                                   –   25g

Preparation:

Remove any tough stalks from the kale and roughly slice.  Chop the leek finely and wash thoroughly.  Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves.  Wash the mushrooms and finely chop them.  Roughly chop the chestnuts, walnuts and pecans.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

 

Method:

Pour the oil into a large frying pan or wok and heat over a medium heat.

Sauté the leeks, kale and garlic in the oil for 10 mins until soft, stirring regularly to avoid burning and sticking.

Add chopped mushrooms, continue cooking, stirring regularly, until browned, and the moisture is gone.

Stir in miso paste, soy sauce, nutritional yeast and stuffing mix. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then allow to cool.  Once cool, add in the chopped chestnuts, walnuts and pecans.

Roll out the sheet of puff pastry.

Lay the cooled mixture in the middle (lengthwise) of the pastry sheet and fold over the sides to make a long parcel (or sausage). Seal the edges well, along the long edge and the ends.  Use a little water to ensure everything is tightly sealed.

Score the top lightly in a diamond pattern (do not cut all the way through the pastry) to allow steam to escape. Brush with the whisked egg (or milk), sprinkle with nigella seeds

Bake on a lined baking tray in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy.

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The filling can be made in advance.  The Wellington can be assembled ahead of time and stored refrigerated until required.

Mounjaro Journey – Weeks 28 & 29 (7.5mg every 5 days)

I’m back from my Winter sunshine break feeling very refreshed, relaxed, bronzed… and a little heavier!

As I explained, I didn’t expect to be able to continue losing weight whilst away from my routine of logging all my food, counting all my calories, and unable to do my 45-minute exercise routine. Plus, I am much (much) less active on holiday, being away from the household routine, enjoying sitting in the sunshine and reading my book.

I was also sleeping really well, usually 7-8 hours a night. The beds were comfortable, and it was very peaceful. Plus, we were opposite a piano bar that played live piano music each evening – very relaxing and conducive to sleep.

During the first week, my partner (Mike) was quite poorly, quite possibly man flu.  He spent most of the day and night coughing and spluttering, feeling quite under the weather and exhausted much of the time.  Whilst he coughed and spluttered, I sat in the sun on our sun terrace and enjoyed the sunshine and my Kindle.

We also experienced Storm Emilia, which brought torrential rain, high winds and huge waves to Puerto Mogan and Gran Canaria. Being on the sheltered south side of the island, we definitely got off lightly.  We had a whole day of torrential rain.  I occupied myself brushing up on my video editing skills!

The north of the island experienced high tides and floods. Tenerife even got snowfall in the Teide National Park and had to get their snow plough out! I was very surprised to learn they had one on the island.

Once Mike was fully recovered, we were back to enjoying evening meals out, the odd glass of alcohol (you should see the size of their gin measures!) and more sunshine.

The Mounjaro definitely made a difference. I was often unable to finish my plate of food. For the first week, not a single drop of alcohol passed my lips, and there was no snacking.

I always skip breakfast, lunches were self-catered (meats, tinned tuna, local cheese, pickles, tomato, salad, avocado and freshly baked bread. Dinner was taken at one of the local restaurants.

The first week I collected us takeaway foods – a Chinese and an Indian meal. But to be honest, the meals I enjoyed the most were the lunches taken at our apartment in the sunshine.

I had taken my Mounjaro pen with me and was taking a 7.5mg shot every 5 days. I weighed myself the first morning after my return and….. no surprise, there was a gain of 2kg (around 4lbs). I can take that!

A holiday like this in the past would have looked very different. Evenings would usually involve half-litre jugs of sangria, daily ice creams or desserts, and plenty of evening snacking on turrón and crisps. Two weeks away typically meant returning home 7–9lbs heavier. This trip felt a million miles away from that. The difference wasn’t about restriction or willpower — it was about genuinely different habits, a calmer relationship with food, and feeling in control without feeling deprived.

As from today, I’m straight back to logging food and calorie counting and sticking to my calorie deficit. I am confident that by Friday’s official weigh in, most of that 2kg will be gone.

Weight this week: 59.7kg (about 9st 5½lbs)

Two weeks ago, 57.7kgkg (about 9st 1lbs)

Gain: 2kg (about 4½ pounds)

To goal weight: 2.7kg (about 6lbs)