Weigh In - week 7

Hello,
Sorry I've been quiet this week but it's been half term here.
Well I got onto the scales yesterday, expecting good things and...

Current weight: X stones 11.2lbs
This weeks GAIN!!: 0.2lbs
Total weight loss: 6.2lbs


I was soooooooooooo disappointed. I've not been feeling 100% this week and I didn't have much of an appetite so I've hardly eaten a thing. I cannot believe I have gained weight.
I really must pull up my socks if I am to lose a stone in total by the end of March.
Feeling quite deflated tbh and I am afraid I consoled myself with a cookie (or two...) which isn't going to help me.
Ah well, must try harder.
Have a good week all.
xxxxxxxxxxx

Weigh In - week 6

Hello,
Sorry this post is so late, but I DID get on the scales on Saturday for my weekly weigh in and the scales showed...

Current weight: X stones 11.0lbs
This weeks loss: 0.2lbs
Total weight loss: 6.4lbs

I am not going to say I'm disappointed with that tiny loss, because I am actually relieved that there was a loss at all! These past few days I have had the "munchies" - no, not the chocolate squares, but crisps! I just couldn't seem to satisfy these cravings so ate far too many.
Also, after the disappointment of the courgette cupcakes, I baked some of my tried and tested "normal" cakes (well I HAD to make them to compare, didn't I?!) and I'm afraid I ate a few of those too. *blushes*


I really need to give myself a shake up if I am to reach my goal of a stone lost by the end of March. Must get focused!

I entered a competition last week to win this...

Isn't it lovely? Not only it is it red but the bowl and spoon are heart shaped! As I know it is unlikely I'll win it I thought I'd treat myself to one. I am sure the competition said it was from M&S but I went in yesterday and couldn't find it and it's not online either. *Sigh!* Ah well, I KNOW it's not a practical shape anyway, and I don't really NEED it so never mind.

Talking of competitions, I had a few small wins this week.
On Saturday, I received this mascara in the post...

I also won some earphones and a Creme Egg beach ball! Not received those yet, though.

It has been a very quiet start to the year on the competition wins front so here's hoping my luck has finally changed.

Well, it's half term here so I can't spend all day online so I shall sign off now.

Have a great week.

Toodles.

C xx

American Vanilla Cupcakes

Hello,
I cannot believe we are already into week 6 of the new year.
Here is this weeks recipe which is again from the book Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache.

Ingredients
Makes 12 (180 calories and 1.1g saturated fat per cake)
Cakes:
2 medium eggs
160g caster sugar
300g topped, tailed, peeled and finely grated courgette
180g white rice flour
2tsp baking powder
quarter tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract
Icing:
1 vanilla pod, split sideways with seeds scraped out (I used vanilla extract instead of the seeds though, as it's cheaper!)
170g icing sugar
2 tblsp water
quarter tsp cream of tartar
1 medium egg **white only**
pinch salt

Method
Cakes:
1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or 180c. Put paper cases in muffin tray.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and light, at least 5 minutes.


3. Whisk the courgette into the mixture.


4. Sprinkle in half the flour along with the baking powder and salt and whisk for another 20 seconds. Add the remaining flour and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.


5. Ladle the mixture into the paper cases until they are four fifths full. The mixture will be runnier than a normal cake mixture.


6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.


Icing:
1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir for exactly 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar.


2. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with a hand-held electric whisk for 9 minutes.


3. The mixture is ready when it forms peaks.


4. When the cakes are cool, ice the cakes as soon as possible before the icing sets.

Voila!



VERDICT: As I was making these I was unsure how they would turn out with courgette in them. I thought they may have a greenish tinge or there would be noticeable bits of courgette in them and taste of courgette but they didn't (see pic at the end of this post which shows one cake sliced in half). I found the texture of the cake much heavier than the usual cakes I bake. I don't think I whisked the icing for long enough (and yes I did time 9 minutes and had soft peaks!). I felt it wasn't set properly and still a little squidgy. The cakes seemed to stick to the cake cases. Now I don't know if this is becuase they don't contain fat but it was a nuisance having to peel bits of paper off them. Again I omitted to tell my family that they contained a vegetable! Their verdict was that they were okay but not as good as my usual recipe. I'm afraid I must agree with them. They are okay but nothing special so I will not be baking them again. I even threw 2 of them away and believe me leftover cake is not something that EVER happens in our household!
I was unsure if I should post this recipe but felt I should post both my successes and failures. It could even be something I've done incorrectly and if any of you try them I would love to know what you think.

Weigh In - week 5

Morning,
Well I got on the scales yesterday for my weekly weigh in and the scales showed...

Current weight: X stones 11.2lbs
This weeks loss: 0.6lbs
Total weight loss: 6.2lbs

A very small loss but I am very bloated this week so it was somewhat expected, in fact I wasn't expecting a loss at all so any loss is a bonus. I'm aiming to lose at least 0.8lbs next week so that I hit the 7lb total loss mark.
The ladies over on Misi Slimathon are donating £1 for every lb lost to MacMillan Nurses so, even though I can't join their group, I shall join them in their donations. It is a good cause and also a good incentive. If you are interested in their fund raising and weight loss efforts, there is a link to their blog on my favourite blogs list.
I still haven't done any exercise *blushes* so I really must make the effort as I am sure that will help no end. Good luck for anyone else trying to lose weight.

Well, I think a blog post should always try to have at least one picture so here is something I bought this week...


Yes, that is how exciting my life gets - posting a pic of a dustpan and brush on my blog! Lol. Anyway, I thought it was sweet and as it was just £1.50 in Morrisons then I couldn't let it get away! :-)

Wishing you all a happy week ahead.
Toodles.
C xx

Forbidden Chocolate Brownies

Hi,
Well here is the recipe for week 5 of my recipe challenge.
Last week I received a new cookery book so decided to try a recipe from there. It's called "Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache" by Harry Eastwood and she says it is the "ultimate feel-good book of natural cakes that taste naughty".
All bar one of the recipes in the book contain hidden vegetables and for those of you with gluten allergies, she uses Rice Flour instead of wheat flour.
Although the recipe is called "Forbidden Chocolate Brownies" they do not contain any added butter or margarine which is quite unusual for brownies.

Ingredients
Serves 12
400g top, tailed and peeled raw beetroot, diced into 2cm pieces
100g hazelnuts
3 eggs
220g light Muscovado sugar
quarter tsp salt
150g dark cooking chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids) broken into squares
2 tblsp white rice flour
70g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration:
30g chopped hazelnuts

Method
1. Preheat oven to gas mark 3 or 160c. Line base & sides of a 27cm X 20cm X 5cm brownie tin and then lightly brush paper with vegetable oil.

2. Cook the diced beetroot in the microwave for 10 minutes with a splash of water and cover the bowl in clingfilm.


3. Whilst the beetroot is cooking, grind the hazelnuts to a powder in a food processor.


4. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt with an electric whisk for 5 minutes.




5. Once the beetroot is cooked, drain the water and blend to a puree. Add the chocolate squares and recover with clingfilm. The beetroot needs to be piping hot in order to melt the chocolate. If the beetroot has cooled then heat it for 1 minute in the microwave before adding the chocolate.


6. Next beat the powdered hazelnuts, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract into the egg mixture.


7. Once the chocolate has melted, stir into beetroot to combine.


8. Add beetroot mixture to egg and flour mixture and fold in until fully combined.


9. Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle the 30g chopped hazelnuts on top. (One of my sons hates nuts, hence why half has none on top!) Cook in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes.


10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before cutting into pieces.


Voila!



VERDICT: Well this was the first time I had baked sweet things with vegetables (apart from carrot cake!) so I was unsure how this would turn out. I deliberately haven't told any of the family they contain beetroot because I knew they would turn up their noses if they knew. They loved them! I loved them! They are very rich so I ended up cutting the 12 pieces into 24 pieces as that was more than enough for me. They are extremely moist which I think must be due to the beetroot. These will definitely be made again. For those watching their weight (me!) if you divided this into 12, then each brownie does contain 260 calories and 13g saturated fat. As I said, they are very rich and chocolatey so if you go for half a brownie then you are having a mega choc hit for 130 cals which I don't think is too bad. If you give them a go, please let me know. I found Rice Flour in the speciality/international foods section with the Indian ingredients. Oh, I think the only downside to this recipe is that the mixing bowl is not so yummy to lick! lol

Weigh In - week 4

Hello again,
Well I got on the scales today for my weekly weigh in and the scales showed...

Current weight: X stones 11.8lbs
This weeks loss: 1.4lbs
Total weight loss: 5.6lbs

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

I'm happy with that as I had the "munchies" yesterday. It started with a trip to the cinema and a bag of popcorn and then went downhill from there - a few too many Wotsits, etc. Film was good though - It's Complicated starring Meryl Streep (I love her - great actress!) and Alec Baldwin.
I am going to try for another 1.4lbs next week to try and hit my first half stone BUT it may be harder next week due to the monthly hormones kicking in, so any loss will be good.

I won another competition prize this week - well my son did. It was a Wii game so he was chuffed with that.

Nothing else to report, so I wish you all a great weekend.
C xx

Chorizo Frittata & Flame-grilled Tomato Salsa

Hello!
Here is the recipe for week 4 of my recipe challenge. I again chose a meal this week rather than baking.
This recipe is from "Economy Gastronomy".

Ingredients
Serves 4
Salsa:
4 beef tomatoes
1 red pepper
2 yellow peppers
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
juice & zest of 2 limes
3 tblsp chopped coriander
half tsp dried chilli flakes
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

Frittata:
180g chorizo sausage
up to 30ml olive oil
8 boiled, peeled new potatoes, diced
8 eggs
2 tsp paprika
2 tblsp soured cream
4 spring onions, finely sliced

Method
Salsa:
1. Place the tomatoes and peppers whole onto a griddle pan. Allow them to blister and colour before turning over. It is fine to let them blacken in places on the outside. The tomatoes will take approximately 20 minutes and the peppers 30 minutes.




2. As soon as they are blackened and blistered remove them from the griddle and allow them to cool. Then scrape off the skins, cut open the peppers, remove the seeds and stalk and dice the flesh. Skin the tomatoes and dice.

3. Put them in a bowl and add all the other ingredients apart from the olive oil.


4. Stir ingredients together and then slowly stir in the olive oil until the mixture is loose and wet. Season to taste.



Frittata:
1. Preheat oven to gas mark 3-4 or 170c (150c fan oven). Choose a pan of at least 25cm diameter to cook the frittata in.

2. Peel the chorizo and cut into bite size chunks and fry in a little olive oil. When they are lightly coloured, remove from the pan but leave the oil from the chorizo in the pan.


3. Fry the potatoes in the chorizo oil until they colour and then remove from the pan. Clean the pan and line the base with greaseproof paper if needed.


4. Crack the eggs in a bowl, whisk them and add 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 tablespoon soured cream. Whisk again.


5. Tip the chorizo and potatoes into the empty pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the spring onions on top.


6. Pour on the egg mixture and place in the oven. Cook until slightly firm and golden brown in colour - about 15 minutes.


7. Serve with a dollop of the soured cream with parika sprikled on top and with the salsa.


Voila!



VERDICT: Another thumbs up from the family, much to my relief! I will certainly make this again (yes, I know it's just a glorified omelette, but still...). I had loads of the salsa left over so, for my family, I think I could halve the quantities and there would still be plenty. I also "blitzed" half of the salsa in the food processor before serving as I knew my family would prefer it less "chunky". I didn't blitz it all as I didn't want be left with a complete puree so half and half worked well.

I've got a new cookery book so next week I shall be baking something from that. It is something different so it may not go down so well with my brood - watch this space...