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BBQ but worth mentioning the add-ins:
1 kg ground lamb
fresh ground mixed peppercorns
a few tbls fresh rosemary, chopped very finely
a glug of olive oil
Mix all the above and form into patties. Refrigerate to chill – this will help them hold their shape as lamb tends to fall apart more than beef burgers, in our experience.
BBQ as usual.
We like this with grilled courgettes (zucchini) and a dollop of humus on the side. I found baba ganoush in a can (eggplant dip) but it was disappointing, which I should have anticipated.
If you like it, you could add in some chopped mint (not for me! Yuk) or chopped chilis, and some cumin wouldn’t be bad either. A squeeze of lemon over the courgettes is nice too!
Still using the BBQ most nights, although the weather has take a turn for the worse. Honestly, EVERY other place in the garden is less windy than the EXACT spot where the BBQs live!
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, this one.
1 can of coconut milk (feel free to use the lower fat version)
Thai red curry paste
garlic
In some ways you should figure out the proportions you like for this. I don’t like things spicy hot, DH likes it lethal. I mixed the can of coconut milk (and do make sure you mix it up so you get a good mixture of the thick cream AND the watery “milk”) and what I had left in the jar of red curry paste (which was about 3 teaspoons) Even I could have stood it a little spicier, despite the warnings on the side of the jar to use it sparingly. I suspect the heat of the curry paste will vary greatly from brand to brand. Salt and lots of pepper. Garlic paste or fresh chopped garlic (say a tablespoon for the whole can, maybe even more)
Divide this. Use slightly more than 1/2 to marinate 6 -8 chicken breasts. Then BBQ as normal.
In a pan, mix the remainder of the curry paste and coconut to 2 cans of butter beans. Bring to the boil then mash ( I used a wand blender, which made it quite thin, so added another can on unmashed beans, which gave it a more interesting texture, more chunky than baby food!) Leave to simmer on very low – the action of the thick liquid as it cooks is a bit like molten lava when it bubbles and spurts, so be warned! The only reason to do that is to thicken it. If you use less of the milk mixture you shouldn’t need to, but I’d mixed it up so damn it I was going to use it!
We both loved it.
Now, a bit of a musing on the success of the whole slow-carb thing. A couple of observations. First, I think the rapid weight loss in the first few weeks is what makes people stick with it – that and the fact most people aren’t hungry between meals. I was a champion snacker before, but now I almost NEVER eat between meals, maybe a carrot or a roll-up of a ham slice if I’ve been very stingy with lunch. I LOVE 99% of the meals I’ve made, and I’ve discovered a love for beans that I would have never expected.
BUT, after a rapid drop of about 20 lbs, and with virtually no cheating except on cheat day (very occasionally adding a dollop of sour cream to something, or a sprinkle of a teaspoon of Parm cheese) and making sure I drink water all day long (ok, I DO add a squeeze of lemon to my water and often in my cooking) things have stabilized. DH was keen to try this diet, which I initially dismissed as “crazy talk” but I love the guy and he really wanted to give it a go, so I said OK (despite often having to make 3 different meals, or at least extra elements of every meal to satisfy the kids peculiar needs.)
While I am NOT willing to abandon the plan, I do think that after the first few months you really cannot avoid adding in the exercise program – I have not done regular exercise since I stopped playing basketball and soccer in college. I also worry that so long without enough fruit in your diet cannot be healthy, despite the reference to people in the past not getting fruit all year round and surviving. I also am not convinced that the “unlimited portions” really work. We don’t do the extra 2nd lunch, so maybe that would help make the dinner portions smaller to achieve fullness, and focus the greatest calorie hit during the day when we are most active rather than at night when we aren’t.
I know Tim says you need to experiment on yourself, to take his basic tenets and derive from that a plan that works for you. so I think over the summer I will be tweaking things to suit me – my standard lunch almost every day when the weather is warm is cottage cheese salad (cottage cheese with chopped celery and carrot mixed in, served with ripe tomatoes) and I am going to add that in rotation with the tuna and lentils we love and a large green and leafy salad. I’m also going to consider limiting portion size, esp. of the beans, at dinner. I don’t eat them with breakfast now and am still not hungry till lunchtime, so I don’t think this will matter too much. I will also add in occasional fruit, because I miss it too much. Grapefruit for sure, and perhaps melon and strawberries, and apples.
I don’t feel any real need for cheese other than cheat day, other than Parm or Grana as a condiment, so still keeping to that. And cheat day is hitting me hard every week, so this may need an every other week rotation or maybe more of a big cheat meal and a treat but breakfast and one of the other meals more “diet”.
I would dearly love to drop at LEAST another 20 lb, and 30-40 would be excellent. I’d like to see what I can tweak to get the scale moving downward again – I am bloody tired of losing the same 3 lbs every week!
Is it me or have I noticed that more and more people echo these thoughts? The enthusiastic people who are over the moon about their weight loss all seem to be the ones in the first month or two. But women like me, over 50, having had multiple kids, seem to struggle – I suppose I should be happy I dropped any at all, to hear some of them talk! Having said THAT, I am constantly surprised when people say “I never cheat and I’m not losing weight” then list all the things they add in, like nuts and chocolate and loads of diet sodas and protein shakes full of sweeteners. Heck I said I didn’t cheat then went on to mention the things I add! Minimal to be sure, infrequent to be sure, but nonetheless NOT strict adherence to the plan Tim laid out (which worked great for HIM, for HIS level of fitness, for HIS body chemistry, for HIS lifestyle). I think some of the basics are sound, I do love the taste of the food, and have not tired of the meals, but I think it is unrealistic to stick to a plan as close as we have while seeing no changes. And yes, inches and all that – sorry, no, most of my clothes are looser, about as loose as you would expect 20 lbs to make, but no more.
So now I will enter a real experimentation phase and see what happens. Either I will start dropping weight again, or I won’t. If the weight creeps up, I will know that the tweaks aren’t working, and I am pretty sure that exercise and smaller portions are the next tweak to try. We shall see.
Oh, and EVEN MORE WATER….
sorry that turned into a massive ramble.
I don’t throw food away easily. Oh, sure, if it has been lurking in the fridge for too long and greets me when I open the door, yes, in the bin it goes. But I hate tossing out food and love turning leftovers into something that you actually WANT to eat!
After our BBQ we had a fair bit of food left over. One of our mates brought a couple of packs of lamb kebabs (the ones that are ground lamb, not chunks) and we dutifully BBQed them but by then everyone was full of burgers and dogs. They sat in the fridge and we wondered what could be done with them. This was so tasty I feel like I could make it from scratch with proper ground lamb and it would be even better.
I took the lamb kebabs (already BBQed so with a nice smoky flavour) and stripped them off their skewers. I sautéed a 1/2 bag of pre-chopped onions that DH had bought for a meal that we didn’t finish in a little bit of olive oil with some garlic and added the meat.
When that was hot, I added about a cup of chicken broth and a couple of spoonfuls of some random Patak’s Curry Paste from the back of the fridge (coriander and cumin on the label). I let that bubble away for a bit then stirred in a couple of cups of frozen peas. Bubbled away again for about 10 minutes till the peas were cooked and the juice reduced. I squeezed in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and if I had HAD any fresh cilantro I would have added that, but I didn’t so I didn’t!
While it cooked down I made a couple of besan fritters, with just garlic and sliced green onions in the batter. Fitters on the plate, a ladle full of the curry over top and dinner was served. It cried out for a dollop of yogurt but that was a no-no. I’ll admit to adding a SMALL dollop of sour cream because it needed using and it tasted good with it.
All from stuff in the fridge and not entirely out of the slow-carb realm. Winner.
Sorry, I’ve been slack this week as DH has been working hard and not home for dinner much. The fall back on those sorts of days, when I am cooking for myself or things that suit DD as well, tend to be roasted chicken or the sautéed pork chops or a pizza-treat for her and leftovers (usually chicken!) for me.
But last night was a rare night this week in that we were all home for dinner so I wanted to make something a bit nice, hopefully that everyone would eat, with leftovers for lunch.
8 chicken breasts (not massive)
1 tbls. olive oil
1 tbls garlic
finely chopped shallot
Saute the chicken, garlic and the shallots in the oil till the chicken is lightly browned. Don’t let the garlic burn!
Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and cook it on hight till the vinegar reduces and glazed the chicken breasts. Remove the chicken.
Add two cups of hot chicken stock and 1 cup of red lentils. I added a handful of chopped basil at this point too. And lots of fresh ground mixed peppercorns.
Now here is where I have a problem! My pack of lentils (from Sainsburys) says to boil them for 10 minutes then simmer for 20. Rubbish. I know from past experience that these red lentils take nothing LIKE that long to cook! So I just bring them to the boil in the pan, add back the chicken and any juices that have come out on the plate, cover, and simmer till the chicken is cooked thru (about 20 minutes for normal sized breasts. I might try it in the oven next time, but it was quite warm today and in the oven, much hotter than needed for the chicken I already had a tray of the long, sweet red peppers and onions, tossed with olive oil and garlic and salt and pepper roasting. My word they were good! in a single layer, at least 200C up to 220C, for about 20 minutes, or until the edges of the peppers and the onion start to char. Sure, they would be better out on the grill, but this works in a pinch.
On a bit of steamed spinach, it all worked together very well. Add hot sauce if you like. I think green lentils may have held their shape a bit better (and remember that was well less cooking time then the red lentil pack suggests) but I do love red lentils. Further experimentation required!
Sometimes, the simplest things are perfect.
I have taken to popping a chicken in to roast on a weekday (!) and then getting two meals from it. First meal is the roast.
Cut up a couple of carrots, a large onion, a couple or stalks of celery and maybe a leek and make a little bed in the bottom of a roasting tin. Wash and pat dry the chicken, put it on the veggie bed and drizzle with oil then season the chicken as you like – we love the “chicken seasoning” from the Indian food aisle here in the UK.
Roast as per you usual method till the juices run clear. I like to turn it on it’s breast for the last 20 minutes so the bottom skin gets crispy too.
Skim the fat from the pan juices – the veg should be soggy with the cooking juices but a bit crispy and caramelized from the long cooking. They will taste A-MA-ZING. You can do a couple of things at this point:
- simply mix up a can of flageolet (or any other) beans with the drippings and the roasted veg and serve on the side
- with a stick blender whizz up all the yummy pan goodness, adding a bit of water or chicken stock if it is too thick, to make a rough gravy with all the flavour but no flour
- toss in the beans and mashed them up with the pan juices, with or without the veg
It’s all good. Sure it takes time, but it’s mostly all in-the-oven-cooking-on-its-own time so not something that has to wait for Sunday lunch (although it’s great for that too!)
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about meal two from the leftovers.
Not bad for £3.33.
We tend to eat spinach simply prepared, just wilted in oil or butter, as much of what I cook has other strong flavours, but this was something I tried out and liked:
washed and picked spinach
sliced leeks
vinaigrette dressing
Saute the leeks in the dressing and add the spinach to wilt for 5 minutes or so.
We were having roast chicken for dinner, with a butter bean mash (so lovely when the beans are mashed with the de-fatted pan drippings!) and it gave an added flavour-boost to the meal. The dark colour of the mash is from the well browned pan juices and the seasonings.
I had a couple of packs of the 3 for £10 beef from ASDA and wanted to make something nice. This is what I did:
1 tbls olive oil
2 onions very finely diced
1 tlbs cumin seed
600 to 700 gm stew beef
1 tbls garlic puree
1 tbls ginger puree
1 tbls lemon grass puree
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbls ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 400 ml can coconut milk
Saute the onions for about 10 minutes then add the cumin seed and saute for a minute or two more.
Add the beef and saute till it is browned. You can remove the onion and add a bit more oil and do this in two batches if you like.
Add all the spices and saute for a minute or two. Salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
Put it all in an oven-safe casserole and put it into a low oven (about 120c) for 2 hours, checking it every so often to make sure there is enough liquid.
Add in a bag of washed and stems-removed baby spinach for the last 30 minutes so it wilts down.
DH thought it needed more heat. I served it with a cauliflower mash, basically this recipe but with the florets steamed till soft then blended with the oil and turmeric, and the onion seeds added last thing. DS and I liked the mash, DH prefered is as florets. Two to one – he loses! I’d make it again with even more cumin and garlic, I think.
Doesn’t look very appealing in the photo but it was very tasty. I added a little sprinkle of ground almond on the top.
A rare no-bean meal!
When you are married to someone who likes REALLY spicy food, and you don’t, it’s always a struggle to come up with something that pleases both people. The default is to make things NOT spicy and let DH tart it up with lashings of hot sauce, and believe me, he has a lot of choices there:
This was maybe slightly hotter than I would like it to be, especially without yogurt or rice or potatoes to help tame the fire, for me, and not hot enough for him. Still it was pretty tasty with the meat. I just took the same spices and the lemon juice and oil to make a marinade for the steak (cumin, coriander and turmeric plus about 3 tbls of oil and the juice of a big lemon, about 3 tbls.) then let it marinate all day and cooked it under the grill. Even DS liked it – so much he has sliced leftovers for his lunchbox treat today!
Spicy Beans
1 big onion, cut in thin slices
1 tbls olive oil (I use garlic infused OO)
1 tbls fresh grated ginger or ginger paste
1 tbls mashed garlic or garlic puree
hot sauce or a de-seeded not too hot chili, minced
1 tbls ground cumin and 1 tbls cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
3 tbls lemon juice
1/2 cup water
I only had coriander puree in a tube but will try fresh cilantro/coriander leaves next time
Seems like a lot but it really isn’t complicated.
Fry the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes till it is all soft and brown.
Add the hot sauce or minced chili and all the spices and stir to combine.
Add the ginger and garlic and the lemon juice and water and cook for about 5 minutes.
To this basic mix you can add whatever beans you like. I had cannelli and black beans on hand so I added a can of each.
Cook for 10 minutes then add the coriander/cilantro leaves. Taste, then salt and pepper.
I only added two cans of beans but I think that more could have been added. I wonder what the result would be if I used my wand blender to make a sort of mash from the bean and onion mix?
And I suspect DH would have enjoyed any leftovers scrambled with eggs in the morning…with hot sauce, I’m sure!
It was DHs birthday and not a cheat day so I wanted to make something a little bit special. I roasted a chicken, seasoning it with Rajah Chicken Seasoning, and defatted the pan drippings. Putting it in a smaller pan I boiled it down till it was nearly syrup-y in consistency and added a can of flageolet beans. I added a spoonful or two of the “gravy” (sans beans) back to the roasting pan and put a bag of baby spinach, covered it with foil and popped it into the oven to wilt.
Served up, chicken with the bean/gravy over the top, and the spinach on the side.The caulifllower with turmeric on the side, and dinner is served.
I have a recipe from my mate’s DH for Stracatto (italian beef, slow cooked) that I adapted for this. As with most of my food photos, it looks a bit messy but I assure you it tastes fab!
1 small bottle of red wine (the lunch/individual serving size, 1.87 CL I think)
2 lbs. flank steak
2 tbls. olive oil
one carrot, stalk of celery and medium red onion, finely chopped
couple of cloves of garlic minced
2 bay leaves
1 tbls. each sage and italian mixed herbs
1 400 gm. can of chopped tomatoes
Marinate the beef in the wine for 8 hours if you cn manage it – but even 4 hours would be good. Take it out of the wine (but save the wine!) and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat well on both sides in the olive oil – you want a good dark colour overall. Take out the beef and fry the carrot/celery/onion in the same pan, for about 10 minutes, then add the garlic ad fry briefly but don’t let it brown. Add the reserved marinade and cook down till it coats all the veg. Add the tomatoes and the other herbs and bring to a boil. Put the meat in a covered casserole, pour over the veg and tomato mixture, add the bay leaves. Cover and cook in the oven, very low heat (about 140C) for 3 or 4 hours till the meat falls apart. You may need to add a bit more liquid, water, wine or even beef stock, if it seems to be drying out.
Remove the meat chunks and stir some Beluga lentils into the thickened sauce. Serve with spinach or other assorted veg.
Other meat will also work well – chuck steak, pot roast, whatever. The long slow cooking will leave you with tender meat that flakes apart with a fork. Cannelli beans would also work with this. You could turn it into more of a stew by adding more liquid (say 2 cans of tomatoes and/or 500 ml of beef broth) and add in the lentils and the spinach towards the end of the cooking, breaking up the meat in the casserole, then heat through and serve in a bowl. A squeeze of lemon at the table lifts the flavours, and adding chili flakes adds a kick to it.
