Info all Articles

Last night I made myself a really delicious meal. I started by using this:

I’d picked up these mini cans of reduced fat coconut milk from my local asian supermarket thinking they would be perfect for making single serving curries. I came up with this recipe:
Coconut Veggie Curry for one (vegan)

• Coconut oil (or a neutral frying oil)
• Handful of broccoli, chopped into small florets (I used organic calabrese broccoli)
• Handful of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
• Small onion, very finely chopped
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli (I used lazy chilli from a tube)
• 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 cup of roast butternut squash
• 1 small tin of reduced fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon of desiccated coconut

Begin by melting a teaspoon of oil in a large wok over a high heat. Stir fry the broccoli and cauliflower until tender and set to one side. Reduce the heat, add another teaspoon of coconut oil and gently fry the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and spices taking care not to burn them. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and butternut squash to the wok and toss the veggies to coat well in the onion and spices. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes then add the desiccated coconut. Serve and devour!

I served mine with steamed chard and brown rice. This tasted amazing! You could easily add some chicken or turkey, beans for whatever veggies you have in the fridge.
For desert I made:
Grilled Pears with almond maple crunch

• 1 pear, cut in half with seeds scooped out
• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
• 1 heaped teaspoon of ground almonds
• 1 heaped teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs (a crumbled digestive biscuit, grape nuts, another cereal, or oats would probably work too)

Heat a grill to a high heat. Place the pears on some foil and pop under the grill while you make the topping. In a little bowl mix together the syrup, ground almonds and crumbs. Top each pear half with some of the mixture. Return to the grill until the pear is warmed through and the topping is golden brown. Serve as it is or with vanilla ice cream or greek yoghurt.

Yum! So simple so good, I can hardly believe I managed to make such a tasty meal all by myself!
Going back to some of the thoughts I’ve had around eating with a picky partner, the alternative meal I made for the hubby was Turkey Tikka Masala using pre jarred sauce with brown rice and steamed broccoli on the side. He’s not a desert or fruit person so didn’t have any of the grilled pears. He probably would have liked the curry but would have wanted some meat in it! I may get him to give it a try next time.
Breakfast this morning was a super green monster containing: 2 kale leaves with stem removed, 2 spring green leaves with stem removed, 1 frozen banana, 1 pear, teaspoon of maca powder, tablespoon of ground flax and nut mix, soy milk and xanthan and guar gums. I served it in a bowl topped with Rude Health Granola.

I’m really enjoying experimenting with different greens in my smoothies instead of the usual spinach. Thanks to Alissa for the advice! I’m hoping these are going to give me lots of energy.
Mid morning I snacked on some peanut butter hummus with cauliflower and carrot for dipping. Lunch was a huge salad containing spinach, romaine lettuce, carrot, cucumber, red onion and sesame almond tofu with a big tablespoon of homemade green tomato chutney mixed in like a dressing.

So filling, I love a plate full of veggies! I also had a satsuma and a plum.
Before heading off to the gym I had a slice of apple and parsnip loaf to keep me going.

I did 20 minutes of my new tougher intervals on the step machine and 10 minutes of intervals on the rowing machine (as all the cross trainers were taken) I also did my abs and core exercises and my 30 minute spin class which I’m still loving!
For dinner I made my fabulous Veggie Chilli with added mushrooms and served it with some brown rice and steamed broccoli plus a sprinkling of toasted seeds.

This was a perfect meal for such a cold and blustery evening! Desert was a big bowl of protein ice cream made with some frozen mixed fruit salad, soy milk and a scoop of Fruitein powder.

Secret Santa!
A little while ago I blogged that I would be happy to coordinate a UK bloggers Secret Santa. If you would like to take part here’s what to do:
Email me at keepingslimgettingstylish@gmail.com including:

• your name
• postal address
• web address for your blog
• details of any restrictions or preferences – e.g gluten free, veggie etc.

The deadline for emailing me is Sunday 14th November, 9pm.
I will then pick names out at random and send each person the details of who they are going to be a Secret Santa for. I think a £10 limit for the gift is reasonable. You can then check out that persons blog to get a feel for what gift they might enjoy – why not get as creative as possible! You will need to be able to post it off no later than Friday 3rd December to ensure they get it.
When you receive your gift it would be great if you could do a blog post on it, then I can do a lovely big post with links to everyone who has taken part.
As always I feel awful about this but I think the only realistic way we can do it (taking into consideration postal costs and postal time etc) is to make it UK based bloggers only, sorry international readers!
I hope a few of you are up for it – I look forward to getting your emails, this should be fun!