The Christmas Diet

Let's talk about 'The Christmas Diet'.

Does anyone else do this? You know where you cut back on all the foods that are good in life and exchange them for the ones that you don't really want but feel that you should have. Like green beans. Today I ate green beans for the first time since I became an adult and realised that my mother couldn't tell me to eat them anymore. And why did I submit myself to this tragic bean eating frenzy? All so I can have that extra slice of turkey on Christmas Day.

It's like food just goes and ups its game when Christmas rolls around. How on earth are you meant to say no to tubs of mixed crisps, foot long jaffa cake boxes and mince pies? Not to mention the advent calendar chocolate, after eight mints and guzzling of glasses of mulled wine.

I love Christmas. I love the twinkly lights. I love the tinsel. I love the music. I love the presents. But most of all I love the food. All of the food. Even brussel sprouts get a look in.....

I have been planning what to cook for my Christmas dinner for weeks now and look forward to it with each passing day, but so I don't put on another stone in weight by the end of the year I decided that the best and most sensible thing to do was to lose a stone now so I can put it back on again.

So my Christmas Diet basically consists of a sandwich and soup for lunch and a reduced sized dinner. It's going to be so worth it though when I tuck into pigs in blankets dipped in bread sauce. Is it ok that my mouth is watering right now? I'm actually struggling to control my salvia flow at the thought of a cheeseboard. So you see its worth eating the green beans. Maybe I'll even learn to love them! Let's face it - Christmas is basically the only time of year that you can eat an entire cheeseboard to yourself and nobody judges.

C x

Keeping up

I feel like I haven't blogged in ages! I have been so darned busy with work and University that I just haven't had the time!

Work has just been mad. I am enjoying it so much but the time just fly by and I am trying to keep on top of all the work. I have never been in a job before where I get in to work, look up and realise that it's lunch time and the morning has flown by. It's really refreshing to be somewhere that I'm not bored 80% of the time and that keeps challenging me. There are so many different events taking place as well as the weekly tours around the school that I have to do for people. This weekend I worked Saturday as we had an Open Day and I spent the whole day rushing around making sure it all went smoothly. We've also had a Fashion Show and we are having a Garden Party next week. It's just all so much fun :)

University has also been non stop. I've just handed in my final essay of the course and now I have just 3 weeks to try and revise like mad for my 3hour exam and I am terrified! I have a massive stack of books to get through and this isn't even half of them:

Looks like I'm going to be doing lots of reading over the coming weeks but I have taken half term off so I'm going to have a few extra days to study! I've also just signed up to my final course in my degree - Advanced Creative Writing and I am really excited that I am finally nearly there and that I am finishing on something fun.

Although I've been super busy I have still found time to make my garden grow, it's amazing that I have managed to keep something alive as I am normally completely rubbish with keeping plants alive.

I have also started my 'I must lose a stone' diet again so I've been making some very yum and colourful dinners. It is hard to stick to all of this when there is a buffet lunch available every day for me but I'm going to try and be good especially with Summer approaching (although I say that optimistically).

Things are ticking along nicely with a holiday being booked soon and another Summer in London approaching.

xxx

Salted Caramel Mini Cheesecakes - Recipe

Today boys and girls is a recipe for something very special indeed which is only right as this is my 50th post on this blog. It is possibly the nicest dessert I have ever made. If, like me, you have already forgotten that you are meant to be on a diet this is perfect…

Ingredients (makes 12) 

Double Chocolate Crust

180g Double Chocolate digestives

60g unsalted butter, melted 

Cheesecake Filling

300g cream cheese, softened to room temperature

130g caster sugar

60g crème fraiche

2 large eggs

100g chocolate chips 

Salted Caramel sauce

200g caster sugar

90g salted butter, cut up into 6 pieces

120ml single cream

1 teaspoon salt

Method to the madness 

First we need to make the mini cheesecakes: 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.

For the crust: In a food processor, pulse the digestives into a fine crumb. Add the butter and pulse until it’s all mixed together. 

Press 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture into the bottom of each liner. You should have enough for 12. Bake for 5 minutes and allow to slightly cool as you prepare the filling.

For the filling: In a food processor mix the cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth. Add the sugar and crème fraiche and whiz on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whizzing on a low speed after each addition. Pour in the mini chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter on top of the crusts until nearly full. 

Bake for 20-23 minutes. The centers may also have risen up quite a bit, but they will deflate as the cheesecakes cool. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature, for at least 1 hour. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to chill for at least two hours or overnight for best results.

Once those are in the fridge it’s on to the sauce. Salted caramel is like pourable sunshine. It just makes me so darn happy with its sticky sweet and salty goodness. I made enough to cover the cheesecakes and also have loads left over so I can just pour it on top of EVERYTHING. 

Heat the caster sugar in a medium NON STICK saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn or you will have to start all over.

Once the sugar is completely melted (like the above), immediately add the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added and stopping to try and take photos is not advisable…..

Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted, about 2-3 minutes and then very slowly, drizzle in the cream. 

Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute before removing from the heat and stiring in 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow to cool down before using.*

 Pour into a jam jar to keep

Right before serving, top each cheesecake with salted caramel and additional chocolate chips, if desired, I used cookie crumb sprinkles. 

 Cover the cheesecakes tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store cheesecakes (without caramel) in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Admire your masterpieces.

 xxx

*(You can cover the caramel tightly and store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Warm the caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe).

Coconut Chicken Soup - Recipe

I don’t really like soups. There I said it. I don’t know what it is but I just can’t get on board with liquid for a meal, it doesn’t feel like I have eaten. What I do like however is broth. Basically, flavoured water with food in it. There is a lovely Thai restaurant in the Leicester Sq area that does a beautiful coconut chicken and mushroom broth and I crave it so much I thought I would try and make my own and do you know what – I think it’s almost as good. 

Ingredients

100g brown rice

1.2l chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 tbsp finely root ginger (or cheat like I did and get it out of a jar)

1 stalk of lemongrass, thinly sliced (same as above)

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

250g skinless boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced

175g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

The juice of 2 limes

2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

200ml carton coconut cream

a handful of chopped spinach

NOTE: I have included rice in the ingredients for this recipe but when I made it originally I didn’t make it with rice. Instead I just kept it as a brothy soup for a light lunch. Later in the week I cooked rice and added to the soup so we could have this for dinner and it was a bit more filling. It is gorgeous whatever your soup preference.

Method to the madness

(If using cook the rice in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes, until tender, then drain and set aside).

Meanwhile, heat the stock in a large pan, add the lemongrass, galangal or ginger, lime and chillies and simmer for 5 minutes. Next add the chicken and mushrooms and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lime juice, fish sauce and coconut cream and simmer for 5 minutes more. Scatter over the spinach and serve (with a little cooked rice spooned in if desired).

Honestly the best soup in the whole world. Try it and you will see!

xxx

White Chocolate Cheesecake - Recipe

I know that I should be blogging about salads and soups but I made this delicious cheesecake for my family at Christmas and I just have to share it with you. So if like me you are starting your diet 'next week' you might want to try this simple but delicious dessert.

Ingredients

300g philadelphia cream cheese

250g mascarpone cheese

300ml double cream

2 x 300g white chocolate bar. You can use any type of chocolate and even use less

500g biscuits e.g. digestives

200g butter

Mixed fruits for the topping

Method to the madness

Crush the biscuits until completely ground. Add butter (either in food processor or gently heat on hob) until desired crumbly consistency. The trick is to use the right amount of butter to bind the biscuit together; too little, and it will be really crumbly; too much and it will become soft, so make sure you add it a little at a time. Add the biscuit mixture to a cake tin and pat till flat. Leave to set in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.

Begin melting the chocolate in a glass bowl over a a small pan of hot water on a low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Mix the philadelphia and mascarpone cheese together with a whisk; hand or electric. Add double cream and whisk. Finally, add melted chocolate to the mixture and whisk. 

Spoon the mixture over the cooled and set biscuit base. Return to the fridge to cool and set overnight.

Finally decorate with fruit or other topping.

xxx

Weighty Issues

Something new readers will not know is of my continued efforts to lose weight and eat better.

Last year I was doing really well. I had dropped a stone and half, I was going to the gym 3 times a week (which I still hated but forced. I don't think I will ever like the gym.) and I was feeling much better about myself....And then I climbed over a park gate, my dress got stuck at the top and I fell with my ankle twisted under me and a with a rip in my dress.

I didn't break it but I did sprain it VERY badly meaning that all my hard work and gym time had to stop and with it the weight piled back on and I avoided the scales.

My saviour came in the form of a very lovely girl called Sarah who needed someone to do a case study on for her nutrition course. I volunteered and promptly set to work cutting out all white carbs, most sugar and all the fun things in life. Keeping a food diary meant that I had to look at the food choices I was making and realising that someone else was going to see those 5 babybels I ate in a row made me stop.

I have now been eating brown rice, weighing my cheese and scoffing down fruit for 12 weeks. I have managed to lose a very respectable 13lbs or 5.8kg for the Americans/Australians/Anyone else. I am 1lb off a stone and I have been promised a present so I am very eager to see how I've done at my weigh in tomorrow.

So far I haven't been indulging in exercise, my ankle still twinges a year on so I need to be careful but I have said to myself that once my exam is over I will make a real effort to work out and hopefully keep losing.

I am doing this to be healthy and happy and because I need to do this now before I become old, or pregnant and I can never get my body the way I want it. I still have 34lbs or 15.4kg to go but I am optimistic that I will have lost this by the end of the year and I will finally be satisfied that my body is a happy place. xxx