CHORIZO MAC AND CHEESE

Mac and cheese is my all time favourite dish - I could eat it every week (or every day)….although that probably wouldnt be the smartest decision health wise considering the amount of cheese I put in. However I do like to cook it every so often as a treat.

My favourite recipe is this mac and cheese with lardons, leeks and spinach although my daughter Arabella and I are quite a fan of the Kraft boxed mac and cheese although I dont think it contains much goodness :-) This is a new recipe I saw on Lorraines morning TV show - it is a completely different way to cook the dish and took about 50 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people (big, healthy portions):

350g dried macaroni pasta
4 uncured chorizo sausage (or a flavour of your choice)
1 red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 x 410g tin evaporated milk
80ml tomato ketchup
1 tsp English mustard
300g Cheddar cheese
1/2 a big pack of cheesy tortilla chips
Couple of drops of hot sauce (we didnt use)

Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4.

Boil the macaroni in salted boiling water according to the packets instructions - mine took 7 minutes and I cooked them al dente. Drain and then set aside.

Chop the onion, crush the garlic and remove the chorizo from its casing and then cut into bite size pieces. Fry in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic and cook for a further five minutes until softened.

Add the evaporated milk, ketchup, mustard, 2/3 of the grated cheese and then stir until melted. 

Season and add the hot sauce if desired.

Stir in the pasta.

Pour into a baking dish.

Blitz up the tortilla chips until they resemble breadcrumbs - I scrunched them in the bag but you could use a food processor. Sprinkle over the pasta and then cover with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I have to admit I was pretty dubious about cooking mac and cheese with ketchup and evaporated milk but it actually really worked and the tortilla chips and cheese topping was amaze balls!! It was a little sweet - I think to enhance the flavour I would serve with a green salad next time. Arabella prefers this version to my one with leeks and spinach….although that is not surprising for a kid….my husband Pascal shocked me by loving this too even though he hates ketchup and milk. We will definitely be cooking this again - it was quick and simple and cheap as well.

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Give Me 3 Minutes And Ill Show You How To Get rid of Weight Fast

Sometimes things come up and suddenly you become extremely motivated to drop a few pounds and you want to achieve it fast. Maybe its an important meeting, a reunion, or an unexpected trip that you will get to take and you just want less jiggle when you are running down the beach on your holiday. No matter what the reason, there are occasion when people want to know how to get rid of weight fast.
Even though there are a number of things that you are capable of doing to facilitate losing weight fast, you should always put health and fitness first. Trying to lose weight quickly can stress your body and will actually be dangerous if you attempt to push it to far and too fast. However, there are some tricks men and women use to support the body inwards shedding pounds and losing weight fast, but dont get sucked into trying a good "overnight miracle" diet.
How to lose weight fast tip
Pay attention to your current inhalation of calories. Losing weight boils down to math. Burn more calories than you eat and you can lose weight. But, first you need to know how a lot you take in during a normal day. There are some fantastic software programs and websites that can assist you track your calories and will help calculate how many calories you burn.
Once you know where you start, set goals to increase your activity to lose fat more quickly and reduce the number of calories you are taking in. As early as you change
this equation your body will act in response and you can lose weight quickly. The bigger the change you create the faster the weight loss will happen.
How to lose weight fast tip
Now that you have a picture of your daily intake, the fastest way to lose weight is to identify those high caloric foods that you eat that are very just empty calories. Replace sugary sodas with water. Toss out the candy bars as well as replace them with fresh fruits as well as vegetables. Eliminate alcohol. Just these elementary changes can often make a big impact in your efforts to lose weight quickly.
How to lose weight fast tip

Reduce anything that is made with white sugar or white flour and replace it with wholegrain foods. These "white foods" are highly processed and have absolutely very little nutritional value. Replacing a slice of white bread with a slice of hearty whole wheat bread will fill you up faster and provide you with a better sensation of being satisfied. Your whole body will also have more nutrients to help nourish it and it will be less likely to continue craving more food even after you are full.

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Indian Chickpeas and Greens

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  We have been experiencing the first real spring-like weather here in Eastern Washington, and I am very much enjoying the sunshine and lighter-jacket-weather.  Kevin and I had quite a few adventures this weekend, including attempting to move our new couch into our apartment.  This attempt ultimately failed, not because the couch was too big, but because our door is at such and angle to the stair railing.  Oh darn!

After Kevin and I talked about some of our complaints and needs, we decided we needed to look for a new place.  I have been desperately wanting a new couch for months and months, pretty much since we got married.  Since then we have been using Kevins college futon, which is anything but comfortable.  So, a few weeks ago, Kevin caved-into my request under the condition that we get one at a discounted store.  OK!  Fine by me, as long as I get a couch I can knit and relax on!  We found the perfect one and a matching recliner from Big Lots, but had to wait a few weeks to pick it up.  Well, as the story goes, it was not a success and we ended up having to store the couch at my parents place for now.

Luckily our lease was up at the end of this month (it would have gone month to month after that), so on Sunday we went around town all afternoon looking at places, and finally decided on some apartments that were a bit older than ours, in about the same location, is almost the same in rent, and has way more things we need/want.  (1) A door and angle big enough to fit our new couch and recliner, (2) an in-unit washer and dryer, (3) an on site fitness facility, (4) plenty of parking, (5) everything else our old place has.  Im pretty happy with our new place, and we are both very excited to move (AND HAVE MY DAMN COUCH)!

Well that is what is new with my life, other than this amazing Indian dish... that I have made three times already.  Seriously!  It is that good!  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can fire roasted chiles (mild)
• 1 tsp minced or paste ginger
• 3-5 cups dark greens, washed and well chopped (kale, spinach, green collards, etc.)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 Tbsp corriander
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• salt to taste
• whole wheat naan or brown rice for serving

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend together the canned diced tomatoes, canned chiles, and ginger paste, until smooth.
2. In a skillet on High, bring 1/2 cup of water to a very very rapid boil.  Toss in the cumin seeds, and while continually stirring, let the water boil off.
3. Once the water has nearly boiled off, pour in the pureed tomato mixture and the rest of the spices.  Cook on Medium High at a simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the dark greens, stir them in, and cover for 5-8 minutes, until the greens have wilted down.  
5. Add the chickpeas and simmer on low for 8 minutes, adding more water if need be to maintain a gravy consistency.
6. Serve hot over brown rice or with whole wheat naan bread for dipping.

Amys Notes:

• I have made this dish with a few different types of greens and found that I like baby kale or spinach the best.  Regular kale and collards take a bit longer to steam, and gives the dish a bit more of a greens-bitter taste.  So, if thats what you like, keep that in mind.
• If you happen to have garam marsala in your spice repetoir, I would suggest using 1 tsp of that and leaving out the tumeric, cayenne, and cloves.
• If you would like to make your own homemade whole wheat naan, this is the recipe that I use, but minus 1 Tbsp of oil.
• If you are not a fan of spicy foods, eliminate the cayenne pepper, or replace it with chili powder.  Also, make sure to get a can of MILD roasted chiles.

This was my very first try at making Indian food and all I can say is... IM HOOKED!  I have been doing some research about Indian food and found that a large portion of the population in India are vegetarian.  Im thinking I can hopefully nutritarian-ize a few tradtitional recipes that are already vegetarian. 

Do you have any favorite vegetarian or nutritarian Indian recipes?

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Vegan Red Beans and Rice

While Kevin and I were on our (year and a half later) honeymoon last month, our cruise left out of Galveston, Texas, and we were determined to try some Cajun food before we headed back home.  We planned on staying two extra days after our cruise made it back to Texas so that we could check out the Houston Zoo and NASA Space Center.

The evening after the zoo, we explored a small pier area near our hotel close to NASA, called Kemah Boardwalk.  The little rides and shops were wonderfully picturesque, but unfortunately, it started to downpour with a huge thunder storm passing through.  In the distance about a half a mile from the boardwalk, we could see a place called the Swamp Shack.  With no taxis in sight, we decided to hike it through the storm to get our taste of Cajun food.

By the time we arrived at the restaurant, we were soaking!  We rewarded our daring hike through the storm with a pitcher of beer and ordered some delicious food.  Kevin got a giant platter of crawdads, while I ordered a big bowl of red beans and rice.  These beans were not Nutritarian-friendly and contained meat, but after a long trip, I was happy to have some beans in my system, and boy they were delicious!

Once we got home, I knew I would be able to recreate the Red Beans and Rice in a vegan version.  After doing some research on red beans and rice, I came up with my own recipe.  WOW!  This will be a new regular recipe for our household for sure!

Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Prep time: 12 hours, or 1 hour quick-soak
Cook time: 2.5 hours
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
        1 lb dried red beans, soaked over night or using the quick-soak method (see directions below)
        1 medium sweet/yellow onion, finely chopped
        1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
        3 celery stalks, finely chopped
        4 cloves garlic, minced (approximately 1 Tbsp)
        4 cups vegetable broth
        2 cups water
        1 Tbsp chili powder
        1 tsp smoked paprika (or add regular paprika and a drop or two of liquid smoke)
        1 tsp thyme
        1/2 tsp oregano
        1/2 tsp parsley
        2 bay leaves
        1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
        Fresh ground black pepper to taste

        Cooked brown rice or whole grain of your choosing
        Sliced green onions to top
        Favorite hot sauce to top

Instructions:
    Bean Pre-Soak:
        1.)  In a colander, rinse the dried beans and pick out any sticks, stones, or wrinkled beans.
        2.)  Place the sorted beans into a large pot and add water until the beans are covered by two or three inches of water.  Allow to soak overnight, or do the quick-soak.
        3.)  If you are choosing to quick-soak, bring the pot of beans and water to a boil.  Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and cover.  Allow to sit for 1 hour.
        4.)  After pre-soaking with either technique, drain the beans and rinse with cool, clean water.

    Red Beans and Rice:
        1.)  In the empty pot that the beans were soaking it, water saute over medium-high heat the finely chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic for several minutes, until fragrant and tender.  Add small amounts of water to prevent the veggies from sticking to the pot.
        2.)  Add in the spices, vegetable broth, water, and beans.
        3.)  Bring to a boil on high heat, then turn to low, COVER, and simmer for 2 hours.  Make sure to maintain a good simmer, increasing the heat as needed.
        4.)  After cooking for 2 hours, the beans should be very tender.  Cook for 30 minute increments at a time and test if they are not.  When tender, use an immersion blender or a hand-potato masher to mash some of the beans.  Do not puree the whole pot, you want most beans to remain intact.
        5.)  After lightly blending or mashing, allow the pot to simmer for 30 more minutes with the lid off, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent the bottom from burning.
        6.)  Serve hot with a hefty serving of the beans in a bowl and top with a few scoops of rice, green onion, and your favorite hot sauce.

Amys Notes:
The traditional southern dish of red beans and rice, obviously, comes with rice, but feel free to use whatever whole grain you want.  I would suggest trying brown rice, wild rice, barley, farrow, or quinoa!

Feel free to make this dish as mild or as spicy as you want it by adding more cayenne pepper while cooking, or hot sauce when serving.

This recipe could work perfectly for a dinner party with vegans and non-vegans alike.  It would be really easy to cook up some andouille sausage on the side for meat eaters, like my husband, to add in to their liking.  some excellent side dishes could be corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and corn bread.  Yum!

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BUTTERBEAN AND CHORIZO HOTPOT 5 2 DIET

As I have mentioned, probably several times, I follow the 5:2 diet. I am a creature of habit however I do sometimes get a little bored of the endless soup, stir fries and salmon that I eat on "2" days and so I decided it was time to try something new. This is a recipe which I found in the Daily Mail and it took around 30 minutes.

Ingredients for 2 people:

30g chorizo, finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Handful of coriander, roughly chopped, to serve

Heat a medium-sized pan and gently fry the chorizo to release its colour, oil and flavour. 

Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until they have softened (about 5 minutes).

Add the butter beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 2 tablespoons of water or a little more, if the pan starts to look a little dry.

Finally serve between 2 bowls with some chopped coriander.

This comes to a total of 249 calories per portion - I weighed the two bowls so I made sure each portion was equal. As I was sharing it with my daughter, Arabella, she added some crusty bread and goats cheese to bulk out her portion. I really enjoyed it - it certainly did not feel like diet food and was really tasty and filling. Arabella was not so keen - too many onions  - but it wasnt the worst thing she had eaten apparently!!

Dont scrimp on the coriander, it really makes the dish. A great recipe for a "2" day.

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Lentil and Wild Rice Pilaf

Pilaf... isnt that a fun word to say?  Pilaf.  A pilaf is essentially defined as a rice dish cooked in a seasoned broth which may also include vegetables (yay!) and meat (yuck! lets go with lentils instead.).

Last weekend Kevin and I took a trip north to Vancouver, BC for his Birthday (Ill share pictures in another post this week).  We had a great time, but probably spent a bit too much on dining out and at attractions, so we went into money saving mode this week.  For me, that means using up all the food in the fridge and being creative with our pantry staples on hand before thinking about grocery shopping.

Voila!  Lentil and Wild Rice Pilaf!

Lentil and Wild Rice Pilaf
Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus 30 minute soak)
Pressure Cooker Time: 5 minute saute, 9 minutes at high pressure, natural pressure release
(OR) Stovetop Cooking Time: 5 minute saute, 40 minutes simmering, 10 minutes resting
Servings: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
    Rice and lentils: soak the following for 30 minutes before cooking      
        1/2 cup black or green lentils
        1/4 cup brown rice
        1/4 cup black rice
    Vegetables:
        1 cup sliced mushrooms
        1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
        1 stalk celery, finely chopped
        3 cloves garlic, pressed/minced
    Spices:
        1 Tbsp italian seasoning blend (no-salt added)
        1 tsp fennel seeds
        1 tsp dried coriander
        1 bay leaf
        1/2 tsp ground black pepper
        1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
    2 cups vegetable broth

Pressure Cooker Instructions:
1.)  Combine the lentils and rice in a medium bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 30 minutes before draining and rinsing thoroughly.
2.)  In the pressure cooker, saute the vegetables over high heat for 3-5 minutes, adding small amounts of water as needed to prevent burning.
3.)  To the pressure cooker, add the lentils, rice, spices, and vegetable broth.
4.)  Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure.  Cook at high pressure for 9 minutes.  Once time is up, cancel the warming feature (IP) or remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally.
5.)  After the pressure has released, stir the pilaf.  If liquid remains, allow the pilaf to sit for 5 more minutes uncovered before serving to absorb more liquid.  Serve alongside fresh or steamed vegetables.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:
1.)  Combine the lentils and rice in a medium bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 30 minutes before draining and rinsing thoroughly.
2.)  In a medium/large sized saucepan, saute the vegetables over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, adding small amounts of water as needed to prevent burning.
3.)  To the saucepan, add the lentils, rice, spices, and vegetable broth.
4.)   Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once a boil is reached, turn the head down to low to maintain a simmer for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes, remove from heat keeping the lid on and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
5.)  After 10 minutes, stir and serve alongside fresh or steamed vegetables.

Amys Notes:
I have made this recipe in my pressure cooker, so have not tested out the stovetop cooking instructions first hand.  You may need to monitor the stovetop version to add more water while cooking.

Fennel seeds are one of my new favorite spices, but if that doesnt float your boat, try adding 1 tsp of your favorite dried herb instead, such as rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, or oregano.  The fennel seeds are not overwhelming, but if even just a tiny bit isnt your thing, go with something else.

This recipe can be adapted to use just about any type of rice, so if you dont want to scare of some non-ETL-ers away with the dark color, try just using all brown rice.

For this recipe, I used homemade vegetable broth, but feel free to use store bought instead.  Just make sure to watch for the excess sodium in some store brands.

Health and Happiness,

Amy

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Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis GRAND results before and after pictures

It is nearly 6 months since I started TAM now. I started in February with a little bit of DC and mat DVD. Then I started Meta on 20th of February. I finished it on July 28th. Yes, it took me waaaay longer than 3 months. 5 to be precise. So Meta took me longer to finish. But I did in the end. I am now on to Continuity, but that is all a different story.

Today I wanted to share with you some of my Meta results. Long promised. Long awaited. As I mentioned before, I was a bit reluctant to post anything, as - well truth be told - I was not eating my best in the past 2 months of Meta. Dont get me wrong, it was mostly healthy (with very very very rare food binges), but it was not really a diet - i.e. it was quite a lot of food in the end. But then, I am addicted to good food. I love it. I cherish it. I cant live without it. So being in Switzerland for a month, I just could NOT not eat cheese cheese and cheese. All the raclettes, fondues, cheese platters... Plus my bf was taking care of me - which he did absolutely amazing, anyone can envy me - but it meant we ate a little more than i normally eat. And he also spoils me like crazy - so I had M&Ms and Raffaellos almost every day. Sigh. 

So... well. Bottom line - diet was NOT the best last 2 months. But then it all showed me how much the Meta workouts can do for me to keep up with what I achieved. So obviously I did not lose any weight in the past 2 months (which is fine with me - I already reached the upper boundary of my goal weight). I also think I became less skiny. But then, I also feel I became more shapely in the right places, muscley - also in the right places, but not bulky at all. You cant really see the muscle, but I - I can feel it! Yeay! :) 

All in all, great good Meta did to me. I did not stress too much about missing days at times, and repeating levels when necessary. Meta made me more organised, and hell - now I know I can do it. The first 2 weeks kilos were running away from me - honestly! The energy, the strength, the confidence that I feel now are so great, that even if I did not lose any kilos, I would have still loved it. :) But I did, and I am happy. I also lost at least 1 size in clothes - Im wearing confident 34 now, and very tight 32. Before it was 36-38. People notice that I lost weight, and tell me so, even though I didnt really need to lose so much. And I think the biggest change happened somewhere mid-way (even though I was already off diet), because even the least observant people noticed the change in me - the main reason for that was that finally my face caught up with the weight loss, and became a bit less round. :)

I love the way i look in a bikini. I bought TONS of new clothes - and what a pleasure it is to buy closes smaller and see them fit you well and nice! I love the new dresses I bought - and coming soon the dirndl! Will show you the pretty little thing I bought for the Oktoberfest I am going to in September. 

So pictures are bellow. :) I am so proud of myself, I cant stop beaming. And today the workout was great, I added wrist and ankle weights for MS, what a pleasure!

The love handles became so much smaller, and now they are kinda cute... Not hanging, but sexy. :) My butt has never looked like that - it is round and out there. I never had a round butt! Im honest. I thought I would live my life with a flat butt. And here you go: a cute round butt!

All in all I lost around 9 cm in the waist and hips (each), 2 - in arms, around 10 in bikini area, and 8 in thighs. It might not be so visible, but I did have to buy new jeans - all the old ones were hanging on me! I love that I am toned, but not over-muscley. The only thing that I still want to work on is the thigh area,esp inner-thighs. :) Omni Continuity it is :)

Good luck to everyone who are only starting or in the middle and not getting results - you will! I love how TAM works, and am going for now to continue doing it. :)

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BAKED POTATOES WITH FETA CREAM AND CRISPY CHORIZO

My daughter Arabella loves a jacket potato and often has them for lunch at school - she has been asking for them at home now but I am not really a potato fan. However as it is now barbecue season I thought it would make a nice alternative to salad (plus I make her eat lots of things I like and she doesnt). 

The problem with jacket potatoes is you need to be organised as they take an hour to cook in the oven so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time. 

Ingredients for 3 people:

3 large jacket potatoes, scrubbed
150ml sour cream
100g feta cheese, crumbled
Pickled jalapeños, 6 slices from a jar (I left this out as we dont like spice)
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
120g chorizo, chopped or bite sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 200C / 180 C fan / gas mark 6.

Prick the potatoes with a fork and then put them in the oven for 60 minutes or until tender.

About 15 minutes before the potatoes are ready, you need to make the sauce. You can either whizz together the feta and sour cream in a food processor or you can mash them together really well in a bowl - I chose this option as it meant less washing up!

Stir in the jalapeños (if you are using) and the chopped coriander.

Fry the chorizo in a dry frying pan until crisp - this took about 5 minutes.

Once the potatoes are ready, take them out the oven and then cut in half.

Divide the feta cream between the potatoes and then top with the chorizo and serve.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this recipe - I absolutely loved the potatoes with the feta cream and chorizo. Arabella liked it but prefers a more simple butter and grated cheddar topping. I will definitely be making this again - it is a simple recipe and something you can easily do for just one person or for many (such as at a dinner party). To make this slightly healthier you could use sweet potatoes and serve it with a green salad rather than a burger!

The moral of the story is I should definitely listen to my daughters supper suggestions more often!! 

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