Morning all, looks like somethings going on with Foodlovers this morning.

So whats your foodie plans for 2018?

Mine are as follows...

*LOL to lose 5kg through eating less - yep this is an on ongoing one
*To eat simply and spend less by buying sushi ect when Im out with the kids.
*To eat more homemade lunch at work - Id love to make fresh sushi and poke at home.
*To have more wine free nights
*To avoid after dinner snacking
*To eat more vegetables
*To eat less
*To have more routine with meal times instead of just eating when I feel the urge - like always!!!!1

ARGH big goals

I spent a few days with a friend and her family up north. They were so much more controlled with their eating ( maybe not their drinking ;-)) and my kids didnt ask for food after dinner like they do at home and they actually ate breakfast when they got up instead of complaining they werent hungry. Its amazing what a change of scene can do!!!!

Vanessa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2018 09:44PM by Vanessa45.

Oh Vanessa I need your list. Things have changed at home kids moved out or doing shifts so sometimes only hubby and I. Being veggie and hubby not makes mealtimes when cooking for 2 challenging ! I have just completed a week of pre making bits to put together for lunch. Worked well re ease just repetitive! Which apparently is good for weight loss...

I try and keep an iceberg lettuce in the fridge and cut or tear up with salmon, or chicken, or sausages etc with tomatoes, seeds, vegies etc. It has been so muggy and hot here in Hawke's Bay so salad at night just the ticket

Ive started buying the high protein yoghurt and using it to make creamy dressings and I added it to a butter chicken for the kids tonight.
For the dressing I added garlic granules, mustard and some apple cider vinegar.
Works a treat and has so many uses.

Vanessa

Vanessa, what has been added to the yoghurt to make it high protein? What brand is it? Where do you buy it? Lots of questions, but I always thought yoghurt, being a natural dairy product, was already high in protein.

Here is the ingredient list for Anchor Protein +. The only protein booster would be the milk powder.

[www.anchordairy.com]

And here is a description of the thickener: Acetylated distarch adipate (E1422), is a starch that is treated with acetic anhydride and adipic acid anhydride to resist high temperatures. It is used in foods as a bulking agent, stabilizer and a thickener.

Vanessa like you I plan to eat more vegetables this year.
Once I get around to making a lovely salad such as Raw Energy I do eat loads of it but often by dinner time I can't be bothered with the effort.
This year I am making that effort to eat a rainbow most days not some days.
My other goal is to reduce my stomach fat/flab. I am pretty sure it comes from sugars and refined carbohydrates so will see if I can change this.

That's interesting, TPANDAV, because I buy either Hansells or EasiYo mixes (whichever is on special) and I always add two tablespoons of milk powder, otherwise there is so much whey by the time the solids have been eaten. However, the whey isn't really a problem for me because I use it in smoothies and in some gravies or sauces where the tang of the whey adds extra flavour.

There is special pizza in my menu tonight. I am going to have freshly prepared lettuce, broccoli, spinach and Maccroni, tomatoes as topping. Wow, I cannot resist the taste!

Interesting to read your comments about whey, Lorna. In Rick Stein's 'Long weekend' series he visits Iceland, where they have historically used whey for preserving, as salt was a scarce commodity, and also in sauces and other dishes. It obviously makes the traditional cuisine very distinctive, and I'd now like to try some of the recipes.

Karena, I like your comment about whey being used as a preservative in Iceland. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of effective ways to preserve feta cheese once the packet has been opened.

I've tried putting it in salted water, which only works for a few days unless the water is changed often. I've tried it in Olive Oil, the oil being used later in salads, etc. But unless it's refrigerated, it's not really safe, and trying to get feta out of the oil straight from the fridge is difficult. I never remember to remove it from the fridge before I need it! I might try using some of the whey from my yoghurt, see how that works.

And the same for tofu. Living on my own, I can't finish a whole packet of either feta or tofu before they start to show signs of sliminess and even tinges of pink.

Lorna, you can freeze feta. The texture becomes slightly more crumbly but that doesn't matter.

Thank you TPANDAV, I hadn't thought about freezing it as it's such a small quantity and I know once I put it in the freezer it will probably be forgotten about. I will give it a go and try to remember to take it out on the morning that I need it. I don't mind it being crumbly, that's one of its good characteristics - crumbled over a salad is better than cubed!

Lorna just out of interest you might like to read Cooks Illustrated experiments on storing feta cheese in several different ways. They found the olive oil way was the most successful. [webcache.googleusercontent.com]

I found it interesting reading and thought that the salt water brine was a good idea, until I read the result of using too much salt in the brine. It seems if a home-made salt water brine is used, it would need to match in strength of salt that of the brine which originally surrounds the feta when you first open it, so that a little bit of taste testing of the two brines would need to happen to get it right.
Regards,
Dawn.

For feta I have used both the brine method and also freezing to make sure I get full use of the cheese. I think you are right about having to change the water if you use the brine method. I find it far easier to freeze and crumble when I need it. Mine doesn't get lost in the freezer although lots of other things do.
I now have some left over mozzarella, the white, soft style, to be used and I am wondering if there is some way to keep that, otherwise I will be having another caprese salad very soon.

Thank you for the link Dawn, I will save it and have a good read when I've got a bit more time.

I tried to implement this last year, and this year want to do more consistently: splitting what we would normally eat as a main course over two nights and accompanying the meal with a vege soup or salad. We eat a massive amount of veges anyway but more is always good and of course it's good for the waistline. I have to say that this definitely creates more work in the kitchen - easier for me than many, I know, as I don't have kids and I work from home, but I try to minimise the work by making one big soup or salad and eating it over several days (I find salad lasts really well if you don't dress it). You can always freeze soup in portions, of course, but I find it a hassle remembering to get it out and we don't mind eating the same thing several nights in a row.

Thank you so much

CarolynC Im totally with you with your suggestions.

Recently Ive been making soups with chickpeas, frozen vegetables and tinned tomatoes - really delicious and healthy and super easy for lunch and dinner.
It also lasts ages.

Tonight I had a bowl of that plus 2 small BBQed chicken thighs and feel really satisfied plus it was a super easy time friendly dinner.

Having move vegetables and salad is totally the way to go for keeping the weight in check and being mindful of meat and carbs.

Another thing I find really useful is a spiralizer - it makes my salads interesting with lots of carrot strings, sometimes courgette too and I love making courgette spaghetti - its amazing with chilli, tomatoes, lemon, garlic.

Vanessa

The List Of Foods sooperchef.pk:Chicken Tender Recipe,Shami Kabab Recipe,Finger Fish Recipe,Chicken Quesadilla Recipe,Strawberry 2 Ways Recipe,Kastoori Boti Recipe,Egg Cheese Toast Recipe,Galouti Kebab Recipe,Fried Chicken Legs Recipe,Chicken Tender Recipe,Navratan Pulao Recipe,Shami Kabab Recipe,Finger Fish Recipe,Chicken Quesadilla Recipe,Strawberry 2 Ways Recipe,Kastoori Boti Recipe,Egg Cheese Toast Recipe,Galouti Kebab Recipe,Fried Chicken Legs Recipe,Chicken Tender Recipe,Navrata...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2018 02:28PM by sooperchef.