Sunday, 24 February 2013
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
Keralan Style Fish & Butternut Squash Curry
Serves: 2
Calories: 319 per serving (with my exact food weights)
(sorry, not a great photo)
This dish is like a fish chowder but with a good kick of spice and very aromatic. I love Keralan dishes, especially with fish.
As with my previous recipe, I have rounded up or down the measurements but have also included in brackets, if different, the exact measurements I used for the calorie account above.
If I was to award this dish a number of chillies out of 3 to indicate spiciness, I’d probably go with 2 but you can easily adjust the level of spice to suit your own tastes.
I also used frozen haddock but you can use any firm white fish (skinned & boned), frozen or fresh. King prawns would also be nice. If you use fresh fish, just hold off adding it to the dish for a further 5 minutes and for prawns, I’d recommend using raw and adding 5 minutes before the end.
Ingredients:
250g Frozen haddock (not smoked) cut into inch size chunks
200ml reduced fat/light coconut milk (we used Kingfisher – different makes have different calorie count)
330g Butternut squash, peeled & cut into bite size chunks (328g)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 green chilli, seeds removed & finely chopped
1 flat tsp/10g of easy ginger paste (can use fresh ginger)
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp dried curry leaves
1/2 tsp chilli powder
flat tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
8 sprays of sunflower fry-light
Cup of spinach (sorry I forgot to weigh it)
10 spears of asparagus
Spray a saucepan with the fry-light and, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop add in the curry leaves, shallot, garlic, ginger and chillies. Fry while stirring until shallot is soft then add the butternut squash.
Tip: you need to keep stirring if you are using fry-light and on a lowish heat otherwise the oil evaporates and the ingredients burn
Mix the chilli powder & turmeric with a little water to form a paste then add to the pan. Stir for another 3-5 minutes then add the cherry tomatoes, the coconut milk then the fish.
Tip: I poured the coconut milk into the vessel I used to mix up the paste to not waste any of the spices
If the sauce is a little shallow add some water, I added approx.. 100mls.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is soft.
Stir in the spinach then serve.
I served with the steamed asparagus (included in the calorie count), mainly because it was in the fridge and needed using but it worked together quite nicely. Feel free to substitute for your own preferred veg if you wish but remember to check the calorie count. If not keeping to a calorie controlled diet, you could probably share this between 3 and add rice.
If you try this dish (whether dieting or not, I’d love to hear how it went so please comment).
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Dream: The Big Hairy Tarantula
Last night I had a vivid and rather interesting dream that I thought would be worth analysing.
I was looking at a plant of some sort. I think I was inside and there was a window behind the plant. I noticed some amazing webs attached to the plant. Really thick and large. Then I noticed a large black spider jumping into the centre of the plant.
I will point out at this point that I am not scared of house spiders though I am a little uncomfortable with particularly large spiders that jump – especially if they are funny colours. I would, however, like to hold a tarantula one day.
So, continuing with the dream. I was a little nervous of the large spider but also fascinated and wanted to watch and take a photo when I noticed that beneath it in the plant but clearly stalking the black spider was an even bigger and hairier orange and black tarantula. It was amazingly beautiful. It then pounced on the black spider to kill and eat it. Again, I wanted to get a photo and so stepped back to do so but then realised I needed to tell someone about this as it was dangerous.
Within the same room, which appeared to be in a kind of warehouse conversion, was a large double bed, which was my bed. Then behind the bed was a partition wall that only went halfway up to the ceiling. Behind that partition were government people in a kind of office set up.
I decided to tell the government people about this. They denied all knowledge and made out I had made it up and hadn’t seen it. They were covering it up. I went back to my room to tell the person who was there (can’t remember who they were now but think they were male, may have been my husband but can’t remember). As I was telling him, two different government agents came past and grabbed my hand and really hurt my palms as some kind of warning that I shouldn’t tell anyone about this spider.
I think I must have continued to investigate these spiders and found myself at the other end of the warehouse floor. At first, you couldn’t see anything but then my eyes caught the elaborate spider web construction that went from plants to lampshades and to a rotary washing line with clothes on. Again, this orange and black tarantula was there. I don’t think anyone else walking around could see it or the webs, which were really massive silk spun constructions.
I can’t remember too well what happened here but I returned to my bedroom where the other person was and I had loads of bleeding cuts down my legs as if I had scratched them on razor sharp plants and vegetation as if I’d been walking through a jungle (though I hadn’t but this is what I thought when I looked down at my legs and saw the cuts and blood).
***********************************
I’ll look at analysing it later, for now I just wanted to get it written down before I forgot it as I was already starting to forget bits.
If you like analysing dreams though and have any thoughts about it, I’d love to hear.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Friday, 1 February 2013
A 5:2 Update After 4 Weeks
I’ve been living the 5:2 lifestyle now for 4 weeks so here is a reminder of my starting stats and then my stats today.
Starting:
Weight: 10st 12.2lb
Body fat: 16.6%
BMI: 24.4
Chest: 35”; Waist: 37”; Hips: 42”; and Thigh: 23”
Today:
Weight: 10st 7lb (same as last week)
Fat: 16.8% (more than when I started)
BMI: 23.6
Chest: 35”; Waist: 36.5”; Hips: 42”; Thigh: 23.5”
OK, interesting results! It appears the half an inch I lost from my waist went to my thigh and I actually have more fat than when I started!
How do I feel? Tired and run down. I’ve had a mild but niggling sore throat all week and my right gland is swollen.
Hmmm, I’m not a great ambassador for this am I? I’d be interested to know what is happening on the health front! I really need to arrange those blood tests!
On the positive side, my bouts of insomnia have stopped and brain activity during the day seems to have improved (see post over on my other blog) – whether either of these were down to following the 5:2, who knows.
I have lost weight though so I will give it another month or two and see what happens. I am aware that I’m not starting from too bad a position to begin with. I am within ‘healthy’ weight range and normal BMI. However, my flabby belly is still there and I know I would not like myself in a bikini.
My target weight is 9st 12 which is what I was before getting pregnant with Callum and what I got down to in the summer of 2010. I remember getting to that weight and trying on a bikini and being happy with what I saw so that is why I think its the best weight for me. I hope to get there by June.
I can’t believe I’m posting this but this is me in said bikini on holiday. See, not ‘perfect’ but acceptable and, in my opinion, healthy!
I’ve been too exhausted to exercise this week (except a walk 1.5 miles to Southbourne and back carrying Millie in the sling) but plan to get back on it next week.
I feel comfortable with the Fast days so I’m happy to continue for the time being. My diet on non-fast days has been average. Not over-indulging ‘too’ much and drinking 3 nights a week (once upon a time, pre–Millie it wasn’t unusual to drink most nights if not every night). As I am losing weight not inches, I believe it is the exercise that I need to focus on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)