Friday 3 May 2013

Chat/Diary -- 03 May 2013


Diary -- 03 May 2013

I was away from home last week, so haven't been cooking for a while, which is why there haven't been any new posts recently. The 5:2 diet regime as generally understood seems to be that you fast two days and can eat what you like the other five. I wasn't really happy with the thought of that – it seems to me that the benefits of an improved diet require an awareness of what you eat every day. From the outset, I decided to restrict calories on non-fast days to about 1800, which is enough to lose weight slowly and not undo the weight-loss benefits from fasting.

Weight-loss

About six weeks into the diet I've lost about a stone in weight, but it is now coming off much more slowly than it was at the beginning. I am aiming to lose another stone before switching to a weight maintenance diet.

More Pudding Recipes Coming Soon

I've been surprised that the most-viewed page so far is my low-cal chocolate pot, which has twice as many hits as the second most-viewed page, which is the rye crackers. I'm going to be thinking about more low calorie desserts because it's pretty clear that's what people like to read about.

Carbohydrates and Processed Food

One of the consequences of dieting is that I have become much more aware about what I eat – I am now especially careful with sugar, carbohydrates and saturated fats. I've re-read Dr John Briffa's book 'Escape Diet Trap', and he is convinced that over-consumption of sugar and processed carbohydrates is at the root of many diet associated illnesses, such as diabetes. His thesis in a nutshell is that we should eat foods that we have evolved to eat/digest; which in simple terms is a mixed diet composed of non-processed food, that avoid starchy carbohydrates and sugar. I don't agree with everything he says, but his approach seems to be heavily based on common sense – and that really appeals to me.   

Quick & Easy Mushroom & Sweetcorn Pancakes


Stuffed pancakes make a quick and easy supper. I make a batch of pancakes and freeze the ones I don't use (I roll them up in pairs separated by a piece of baking parchment and out them in a freezer bag). The stuffing is really quick to make so you can rustle up a supper in about 25 minutes. Using soya milk makes the pancakes less calorific and more nutritious than using milk.

Recipe (Makes 8 Pancakes)
Pancake batter
100g Plain Flour
2 Medium Eggs
1 dsp Olive Oil
200ml Soya milk
Pancake Stuffing
200g Sliced mushrooms
1 med Sliced/diced onion
80g Tinned sweetcorn
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 dsp Bouillon powder
2 dsp Corn Flour
1 tbspn Parmesan cheese

Method
Beat pancake batter ingredients together in a bowl. Fry each pancake in a dry non-stick pan until just brown on each side. Fry the mushrooms and onions in the remaining olive oil, add the bouillon and enough water to cover the vegetables. Add the sweetcorn and thicken with the cornflour. Put 2 spoonfuls of the stuffing into each pancake and fold into square parcels. Place the parcels folded side down on a non stick baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little parmesan and bake for 15 mins at 150 deg C. Finish under a grill to brown. For more flavour and few extra calories, serve some of the stuffing mix on the side.

Nutritional Information (Per pancake)
Calories 155
Total Fat 10.9g
Sat Fat 1.9g
Poly Fat 0.4g
Mono Fat 2.8g
Total Carbs 15.9g
Fibre 1.1g
Protein 5.9g