Asian Style Pork and Pickle Rice (WW Friendly)

Inspiration for this recipe came from my "Weight Watchers - The Complete Kitchen" book; the flavour profile came from their Asian Pork Patties with Coriander Rice but I have altered the recipe to make it less time consuming (no need to make patties) and to suit my taste. One serving is 12pp.

I would say that the weight watchers original recipe is mostly Thai flavours; mine has a slight Japanese twist in the rice.

It hits all the taste sensors - sweet and hot from the chilli sauce and spices, salty from the soy sauce and sour from the lime and vinegar. The meat gives you warmth and the pickled cucumber rice is very fresh and light.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For the Pork
225g lean pork mince
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced lemongrass
1 teaspoon finely shredded lime rind
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
calorie controlled cooking spray
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons mango sweet chilli sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce

For the Rice
3 inches cucumber
25ml lime juice (or of half a lime)
25ml rice vinegar
120g sushi rice
180ml water

Broccoli to serve

Method - Pork 

1. Combine the minced pork, ginger, garlic, lemongrass (I use my lemongrass ready minced from a jar), lime rind and chilli powder.

2. On a medium heat soften the chopped onion in 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil (this is strongly flavoured so a little goes a long way. If you need more 'coating' to your pan, use a little calorie controlled spray oil in addition).

3. Add the seasoned minced pork and stir over the heat until the meat is cooked through.

4. Reduce the heat and add the soy sauce, lime juice and chilli sauce and simmer for a minute or two. Your pork is now ready to serve once your rice is ready.

Method - Rice

1.Slice up your cucumber into thin strips (I halved the cucumber lengthways and then sliced it on a slight angle to make elongated half slices) and marinade this in the lime juice and rice vinegar. (As I was cooking broccoli to accompany this dish, I also peeled and chopped the stalk into fine strips and added this to my pickling juice).

2. Add your rice and cold water to a heavy bottomed pan, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. You can stir this, but avoid the temptation of adding more water in (the aim is for the rice to soak up all the water).

3. Turn the heat off, leave the pan covered and just let it sit for around 20 minutes. When you uncover it, it should have soaked up all the liquid and be fluffed up and really sticky

4. Drain the cucumber (leave a little of the liquid on it (a tablespoon perhaps to flavour the rice), but discard the majority) and stir gently into the rice.

Serve with steamed broccoli.

Pro points per serving for this recipe are  12pp (lean pork mince is 5pp, sweet chilli sauce is 1pp, rice is 6pp - the other ingredients are either free, or are in the recipe in such small amounts that they don't amount to a point; ie, 1/4 tsp sesame oil per serving will track as 0pp)

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Review - Greece

My first stop along my "eat around the world" trip during this years Epcot Food and Wine Festival was Greece.

I sampled a Spanakopita - this was basically a filo pastry parcel in a triangular shape, filled with spinach and cream cheese.

This was at the beginning of my journey and I took photos of the receipts.You probably can't see from the photo, but the receipts showed the country, the name of the dish and the price; unfortunately I stopped doing this after about 4 snacks so I will have to rely on my memory alone as I continue!!

This snack cost $4

Review: It was tasty (and from memory, it pulled me out of a slightly grumpy mood) but I did find it a little greasy and there were certainly better snacks for around the $4 mark.

I do think I will try to come up with my own, weight watchers friendly, version of this recipe though. Filo pastry is certainly one of the more forgiving pastries when it comes to dieting as long as you don't cover it in melted butter!

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Review - Introduction

We were lucky enough to spend a day at Walt Disney's Epcot in Florida at the end of October. I took full advantage of the fact that we were there during their Food and Wine Festival (which I understand is an annual event) and I spent a day "eating around the world".

In addition to the usual countries that they have at Epcot (most of which have both counter service and quick service food outlets) during the Food and Wine Festival they set up stalls for lots of additional countries where you can buy a snack (and I think if you're on the dining plan, they mostly cost 1 snack credit). There are also lots of different beers, wines and cocktails which you can taste, though I'm not much of a drinker.

I intend to write a short review about each of the snacks which I tried over the next few days and (where I remembered to make a record) I will include details about the price too.

View from "Japan" over the Epcot Lake

I sampled delights from the following countries:
Greece, Argentina, Mexico, China, South Korea, the cheese stand, Italy, Hops & Barley (USA), Japan, Belgium and the Desserts stand.

There were also stands, which I didn't visit:
Terra, Caribbean, Australia, Scandinavia, South Africa, Germany, Poland, Florida, Singapore, Morocco, New Zealand, France, Ireland, Canada and Hawaii.

As you can see - you'd really need to visit a few times if you wanted to eat at each country. In addition to the specific festival stands they also sell food in Norway and the UK.

Turkey Breast Nacho Recipe (WW friendly)

This is my new favourite dinner - the recipe has a few parts to it which I will set out separately. I have used turkey breast instead of chicken purely because it was cheaper at the supermarket. I point my recipe at 14pp per serving.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

240g Turkey Breast Steak, sliced
4 Corn Tortillas
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Flat Mushroom, sliced
1 Red Pepper, thinly sliced
1 Celery Stick, thinly sliced
2 Tomatoes
Fresh Coriander, small bunch, chopped finely
2 tablespoons Tomato Puree
60g Reduced Fat grated cheese (50% less fat)
Romaine Lettuce (4 large leaves)
Lemon Juice
Worcestershire Sauce
30g Mexican Spice Mix (see this post for my recipe)
Low Calorie Cooking Spray
2 Tablespoons Extra Light Cream Cheese

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Weight Watchers Notes - I have used Old El Paso Tortillas, you'll need to calculate the points if you use a different brand. I would also check your cheese as low fat cheeses can vary from 30% less fat to 50% less fat. My points are: 120g Turkey (3pp), Tortillas (7pp), 15g Spice Mix (1pp), Grated Cheese (2pp), Cream Cheese (1pp)

The Salsa

This is the most basic salsa recipe. If I had half a small red onion I would also dice it extremely finely and add that too.

Chop 1 tomato into cubes and combine in a bowl with the finely chopped coriander, a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, a dash of lemon juice and a tiny sprinkle of Mexican Spice Mix.

See... Easy!

The Nacho Topping

On a medium heat, soften the onion, red pepper, celery and the other tomato (chopped) with the mushroom in a large pan, using cooking spray. Keep the lid on to keep some moisture in. If it starts to burn or stick, add a little hot water (rather than oil). This steps takes around 10 minutes

When the vegetables are soft, add the sliced turkey and cook through. Sprinkle the Mexican Spice Mix over the mixture then add the tomato puree with some water (2-3 tablespoons) just to ensure it doesn't burn and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes to cook the tomato puree through. Keep the lid on and stir occasionally to prevent it sticking.





The Nachos

You may have noticed that my 'Nacho Recipe' doesn't actually include Nachos in the ingredients list. This is because I had some corn tortillas in the freezer and I didn't fancy enchiladas so I decided to make my own nachos.

The first step is to cut the tortillas into triangles (see picture).

Arrange the nachos on an ungreased baking sheet and spritz lightly with your cooking spray. Put them in the preheated oven.

When they are starting to go brown (mine took about 7 minutes, I'd check on them after 5 though) remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly (they are good to eat warm).

Assembling the Plate

Shred the lettuce and add this to the plate along with the nachos and the nacho topping. Add salsa, grated cheese, the warm nachos and finish with a tablespoon of extra light cream cheese.

Mexican Spice Mix Recipe

I had an aim this week when I did my weekly shop - not to spend over £50.

We usually eat Mexican food once a week - nachos, enchiladas, chilli, fajitas. I usually buy a Mexican spice mix pack from the supermarket to make it quick and easy but I realised that they cost almost 90p per pack. I thought I would have a go at making my own 'bulk' Mexican spice mix in the hope that, in the long run, I could save some money.

I got a cheap airtight plastic pot and after trawling the internet and browsing some spice mix recipes, I decided upon the ingredients I would buy and added a little twist of my own.

I scaled this up, but the basic recipe mix was as follows:

1 1/2 teaspoons hot chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion granules
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
a good grind of rainbow peppercorns

Then I shook the spices all together - it smells amazing.

First test was on nachos (recipe to follow) and it was good - spicier than the store bought packet mixes though - you could maybe use a third less and still get the flavour overall. The cocoa really adds some depth and a little bitterness (I know it sounds a little weird, but it doesn't make it taste like chocolate at all!). If you want it a little less spicy, I'd cut down on the chilli and cumin - perhaps to 1 teaspoon each.

Anyway, even with spending around £8 on spices (I did already have salt, pepper and cocoa powder at home), I still managed to get my weekly shop under £50. I will be able to make substantially more than 10 dishes out of the Mexican spice mix which I now have stored so I have saved money in the long run too. I also still have plenty of spices left in the original jars for other dishes or to replenish my stocks.

Apple and Custard Tart Recipe

Most definitely not a weight watchers recipe I'm afraid - this was a weekend treat and I have to say, I was very proud of it. I went out determined not to spend more than £5 on ingredients in order to do some baking, both to keep me occupied and to serve as a tasty supper during some Call of Duty action!! The result was yummy.

Apple and Custard Tart

I did skimp a little on my pastry, which I wouldn't do next time - all butter puff pastry is better but they didn't have it in the shop so mine was made with margarine :s. I already had sugar and a vanilla pod in the cupboard, but the rest of the ingredients cost less than £5 (and I still have enough ingredients left to make another pie so it probably only cost around £2.50 really).

Ingredients (serves 8)

4 cox apples
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry (you probably won't need all of this)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
50g caster sugar (plus a little extra for sprinkling)
1 batch of custard (see below)
Double cream (whipped to soft peaks) to serve

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Custard
For the custard, I did make my own - but not with my own recipe. I googled "extra thick custard recipe" and found this recipe, so credit goes to jarichaust.

The ingredients are milk, eggs, sugar, cornflour and vanilla (I substituted a vanilla pod for the vanilla essence though).

Method
1. Core your apples (or, if like me you do not own a corer, cut into quarters and just remove the middle) then slice them up into thin, even wedges.

2. As you chop, add the apples to a bowl containing the lemon juice and just swish them around a little to coat them - this will stop the apple slices from going brown.

3. Add the sugar to the apples and leave them to marinate for a little while.

Apple slices in sugar and lemon

3. In the meantime, make your custard (mix your eggs, sugar and vanilla and add part of the milk containing the cornflour, heat the rest of the milk gently and then combine it all together, heat until it gets really really thick and then allow to cool.). Alternatively, you could probably use ready made custard, it will just result in a wetter tart overall.

Custard ingredients

4. Lay some grease proof paper on a baking tray and then cut your ready rolled pastry to cover it (leave at least an inch of paper at the side so it's easy to remove later).

5. Spread the custard (which should be completely cool) over the pastry leaving a border of around 2cm (see picture below) and then lay your apples out over the custard in one layer, in whatever pattern you like. Sprinkle the apples with a little caster sugar (there will probably be a fair amount of 'syrup' left in your bowl from the marinating - you could pour this over the tart before serving if you wanted).

Apple and Custard Tart

6. Put the tart in the fridge to cool. I just did this for around 5 minutes or so, to make sure the pastry wasn't too warm before going into the oven. Once cooled, place in a preheated oven for around 25 minutes, or until the apples have started to caremelise and the pastry has puffed up around the edges. I would advise checking on the tart after around 20 minutes as your oven may work better than mine.

7. Remove from the oven, slice into pieces, serve with whipped cream (or more custard) and enjoy :)

Red Lentil Soup Recipe (WW friendly)

My first Weight Watchers friendly recipe - red lentil soup. I had this for lunch and it filled me up nicely. Because it has lentils in it, I generally find I don't need to have bread with it as it's substantial enough on it's own (especially good for a cold rainy day like today!)

This works out at 4pp per serving. Preparation time was around 5 minutes (it's just chopping a few vegetables, cooking time was around 15-20 minutes and washing up time was about 5 minutes)

Ingredients (Serves 1, generously)

1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 small stick of celery, finely chopped
40g split red lentils
450ml boiling water
Half a stock cube (I use a low salt chicken cube, any would work)
A dash of Worcester Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Fresh coriander (around 5 leaves)
Salt and Pepper
Low calorie spray

1. Spritz your pan with low calorie cooking spray and, on a medium heat, soften the onion, carrot and celery.

2. When softened add the dried lentils (I rinse them first) to the onions, carrot and celery along with around 300ml of the hot water.

3. Add the seasoning (a dash of Worcester Sauce - I can't get enough of this!, the Cayenne pepper and the crumbled stock cube) and stir in.

4. Leave to simmer for a few minutes. After about 4 minutes or so, I found that the lentils had soaked up most of the liquid and it was at this stage that I added the additional 150ml water. You may not need so much, you may need a little more - just make sure that the lentils are covered in liquid at all times.

5. Simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the lentils are completely soft and fluffy looking. Blend mixture with a hand blender (I partially blend mine so I still have some small pieces of carrot in there for bite) and season to taste

6. Finely chop a few fresh coriander leaves (I used about 5) and stir through before serving.

All in all, I find this a quick, tasty and filling soup. The red lentils, to me, have a slightly spicy feel anyway and the Worcester sauce and cayenne pepper give it a mild warmth. The coriander just adds a little freshness which you get every few mouthfuls or so, although you could leave this out if it wasn't to hand.

Super Easy Chocolate Mousse

How do you make chocolate mousse without eggs? How do you make chocolate mousse without melting chocolate.. I can help!

(By the way, this is most definitely NOT a weight watchers recipe!!) To be fair, it's probably not technically "chocolate mousse" but it's definitely tasty, looks yummy and is very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

175ml double cream (chilled)
20g caster sugar
2 tsps cocoa powder

(yes.. it's really that simple!)

Method

1. Put all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine
2. Taste the mixture - you can add a little more sugar/cocoa if you prefer a sweeter or more chocolately dessert
3. Whisk the cream, sugar and cocoa until the cream forms soft peaks (I do this by hand with a balloon whisk because I am too lazy to wash up the beaters of an electric mixer!)
4. Serve

You could sprinkle a little icing sugar/cocoa powder over the top to make it look pretty. Best eaten immediately



(For anyone following weight watchers, just out of interest, I would estimate that 1 serving of this is around 14pp so definitely one for weeklies, not every day!. The serving is fairly big though - if you split it into 4 mini puds it would be around 7pp per serving.)

Let me know what you think if you try it out!!

An Introduction

I decided I needed to do more with the things I love. The things that make life worth living. A blog seemed like a good place to start.

I doubt the things I love are any different from most people - I love my family, but that part of me I will keep private. I'll happily share my other interests though - I enjoy reading, music, films, crafting, cooking (and eating!!). In fact, I predict that 90% of my blog will end up being about food...

It's the eating that gets me into bother you see; I've been trying to lose weight (actually quite successfully) for a little over 2 years on Weight Watchers. So far I've lost 55kg (just over 8 and a half stone) and i'm trying to lose another 14 kg (over 2 stone). Perhaps one day I will make it and become a weight watchers leader?!

I intend to post recipes that I make up to try and keep losing weight. No doubt, the odd recipe I add will not be Weight Watchers friendly (no-one's perfect)!! Hopefully someone, somewhere will find them inspiring. They're normally pretty easy and generally don't require crazy ingredients. My husband does not need to watch his weight, so I try to cook food that will keep him satisfied too.

As for the crafting side of things, I like paper crafting best. I did all of the stationery for our wedding and I have been making cards for birthdays and Christmas for years. I'm also a fan of making homemade gifts (again, fairly often food based!!), painting and sewing so these projects may crop up too. The idea is to keep a record for myself of what I've done, but on the off chance that I get a reader (!!) it might give someone else an idea to try out for themselves.

Anyway, I guess that'll do for an introduction :)

P.S Mori means forest in Japanese. I forgot to mention I also love the woods, forests, geocaching, camping and growing things (with limited success!) and that I have a bit of a fascination with Japan - I will visit one day!!

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