Recipe: orange baked oats

I found this on Pinch of Nom and adapted it.  I've already posted about it but have deleted that post in favour of this one.

First of all, the original is here (scroll down the bumph until you get to the actual recipe - I guess they have to make their money somehow).
http://pinchofnom.com/recipes/low-syn-orange-marmalade-baked-oats-slimming-world/ 
. . . and I am sure it is absolutely delicious.

But this is what I did
First of all, I halved it all.  For me 40g oats AND two eggs is just too much for breakfast on top of a pot of yogurt, not to mention unnecessarily expensive.

So I used:
20g oats
 a pot of Muller Light orange with chocolate sprinkles yogurt
about half a tsp stevia (but I'm not sure this is actually really needed
one egg
some orange or satsuma zest, finely grated
half tsp vanilla bean paste

Method:
Mix the oats, about half of the orange yogurt, the stevia, egg, zest and vanilla together in a bowl.  Then tip it into a suitably sized oven proof dish.  No need to oil the dish.
Bake at 180C for 40 to 50 mins.  It's not a hurry-breakfast. 

Run a knife round the baked oats and it should come out whole.  As I used a round dish, it came out looking a bit like a big muffin.
Tip the remaining yogurt around the oats and eat straight away.

It's delicious, warming and filling.  And healthy!
It's not cheap though, so one to have now and again.

Not a recipe: beefy drink

I had half a beef Stockpot left over from yesterday and I won't be using it in a meal today so, to avoid wasting it, I popped it in a mug and half filled the mug with boiling water.  A quick stir and it made a warming, beefy, savoury drink that was a lot nicer than I expected it to be.  A little drop of marmite added would have been tasty too.

Stockpots are dear, but otherwise it would have been wasted so it was a frugal thing to do and I'm sharing.

Thursday, 30-11-17

It's the last day of a most peculiar month, health wise, but the eating is well under control now and the finances look good, thanks to continued frugality which is really just a way of saying making the best of what I have.
I started the month feeling so poorly and I finish it feeling so much better there's no comparison.  Happy times.

After yesterday's blowout (which was delicious), here's today's back-to-normal plans:

B:  baked orange marmalade oats
S:  blueberries
L:  toast, soft cheese and marmite
S:  apple or orange
D:  chicken and veg pasta bake without the pasta.  I know that sounds odd but I have some beany veg mixture left over from Tuesday when my daughter couldn't come over for dinner, so I will cook some chicken and some bacon bits (with all the fat cut off) and add it to the beany veg stuff.  I know from experience that I need nothing else with it.


From the freezer:
bread for toast
chicken and bacon - the chicken was some I got from the market on special and I cut it unto chunks and froze it in single portions while the bacon was from a pack of cooking bacon, also frozen in single portions


The frugal factor
Even with the added egg, baked oats is great value and very filling
the toast is home made and I have soft cheese (low fat, of course) that I have to use up as I really don't wish to throw it away
dinner is made with leftovers and meat on special - a full tum for under 50p



I'm trying to use up the multitude of stuff in the freezer.
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
I have gall bladder problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure so am taking myself in hand with low fat, high fruit and veg, generally healthy meals but with plenty of flavour.

Recipe: beef stroganoff from Pinch of Nom

Not my recipe, here's the link, below.  It's delicious, it's easy, it's quick and I am now totally stuffed after having it with 50g (raw weight) of basmati rice.

http://pinchofnom.com/recipes/low-syn-beef-stroganoff-slimming-world/

As always, scroll down past the ads for the recipe

Wednesday, 29-11-17

Good morning!

Yesterday I was NOT frugal.  It's nearly the end of the month and it's been a good month for not spending so I decided to finish it off is style and treat myself to some fruit.  Lavish, eh?

I went to Sainsbury's, which I find very expensive, but I wanted fromage frais and, frustratingly,  I hadn't found it anywhere else.  While I was there, I bought a few extras for Christmas - my daughter's vegetarian Higgedy Pie which she loves, the sausages and bacon to make the pigs in blankets (much better than buying them ready-made)  and some vegetarian stuffing mix.  I splashed out on some blueberries and in the frozen food areas I bought a bag of mixed strawberries and blueberries which will be great with my morning porridge.  As a one-off, I bought some steak too.  Planned but even so, bad me!

So - not cheap but the next bigger shop will be just before Christmas so I don't feel too bad.  I didn't waste any money on snacky, fatty stuff (like the crisps I love so much) because I can't eat them now.

Enough self-justification!  Here's today's plans.

B:  porridge with strawberries, blueberries and natural yogurt
S:  melon
D:  baked beans on toast
S:  blueberries
D:  beef stroganoff (a Slimming World/Pinch of Nom recipe and I'll report back on it later) and rice - definitely not frugal so it had better be worth it!


From the freezer:
strawberries and blueberries
bread for the toast


The frugal factor
even with the fruit, breakfast is still going to be pretty good value, less than 30p
the bread for the toast is home made and the beans are value beans with a shot of ketchup


Back to normal frugality tomorrow.




I'm trying to use up the multitude of stuff in the freezer.
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
I have gall bladder problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure so am taking myself in hand with low fat, high fruit and veg, generally healthy meals but with plenty of flavour.

Tuesday, 28-11-17

After a good food day yesterday, here's today's plans.

B:  porridge, fruit and yogurt
S:  apple
L:  ham and split pea soup
S:  melon
D:  mixed bean and veg potato topped pie, sprouts, carrots


From the freezer:
chickpeas, butter beans and kidney beans plus mixed peppers, all for dinner
the soup was in the freezer yesterday and was enough for two portions
passata (for the bean and veg mix)


The frugal factor
breakfast and lunch are both very frugal meals
the mixed beans were all bought dried, soaked and cooked before freezing - so much more frugal than buying them in cans
the passata was made from garden produce





I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Recipe: lemon chicken goujons

Another super recipe from Pinch of Nom.  If you scroll past the adverts down to the recipe 'card', there's a useful little gizmo for getting the amounts for however many portions you want.

I didn't change much, just subbed dried herbs for the fresh parsley as I didn't have parsley.  It was delicious, well worth making.  Dead easy too.

Here's the link:
http://pinchofnom.com/recipes/syn-free-garlic-lemon-parsley-chicken-goujons-slimming-world/

And here's my not-wonderful photo.

Monday, 27-11-17

I was so pleased.  After a few days of quite considerable discomfort at times, yesterday was pain free all day and I didn't even take paracetamol before bedtime, even after a couple of roasties (Slimming World style so using minimal oil) for dinner.  Three cheers for a low fat diet.  Here's to the coming week.

Today's plans:
B:  porridge with fruit and yogurt
S:  apple
L:  ham and pea soup
S:  persimmon
D:  Not sure yet; I'll fill this in later.
Much later:  I had lemon chicken goujons, SW chips and a simple salad and it was so, so good.

(apologies for the naff photo)

The freezer challenge:
the ham and pea soup
chicken for the goujons
bread for the breadcrumbs for the goujons


The frugal factor
porridge - cheapest breakfast out and even fruit on it doesn't take it out of the frugal band.
home made ham and pea soup - I looked it up on My Supermarket and the cost of the yellow split peas at today's prices would be 5.5p for two portions, cheaper than I though.  I can see they are going to feature more in my plans at that price, maybe with cooking bacon as I won't always have ham stock to hand.





I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Sunday. 26-11-17

Today's plans:
B:  porridge with pineapple and natural yogurt
S:  apple
L:  toast and marmalade
S:  grapes
D:  slow cooked lamb leg steak, a few roasties (made the SW way!), carrots and peas, then fresh fruit salad and natural yogurt


The freezer challenge
bread for the toast
lamb steak


The frugal factor:
breakfast and lunch are both super-cheap, even with the tinned pineapple counted as I don't have much
The lamb steak wouldn't be frugal if it was my provision, but it isn't  :-)






I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Saturday, 25-11-17

Morning, all.

My plans for today are
B:  porridge with fruit and honey
S:  fruit
L:  toast with either marmalade or marmite
S:  raw nuts
D:  cottage pie, carrots; then stewed apple and custard

From the freezer
bread for toast
mince and assorted veg for the cottage pie
cheese for the potato mash topping (not for me though, sadly)


The frugal fractor
breakfast and lunch are both frugal options, all home made as well (apart from the marmite and honey!)
when I cook the mince, I always add red lentils, oats and plenty of veg; not only do they bulk it out and make it go a lot further, they also add great flavour and thicken the sauce

Thursday was more frugal than expected as my gallbladder was playing up and I ended up only having one meal, half of the fish pie.  However, I have discovered that missing meals is not a good idea in my situation so yesterday I made myself eat small and regular meals despite feeling less than great and I feel so much better again this morning.  Phew.
So now I have half a fish pie and two portions of ham and yellow split pea soup in the freezer which will make life easy next week.



I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Friday, 24-11-17

Today's plans
B:  porridge with fruit and yogurt
L:  toast and marmalade, fruit
D:  not sure yet, probably something chicken based


From the freezer:
bread for toast
chicken


The frugal factor
porridge
home made bread and marmalade
I'm not paying for the dinner food



I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Recipe: ham and split pea soup (no added oil/fat)

Warning - I got caught out on this one.  I thought split peas didn't need soaking but they do and I hadn't.  Instead, I zizzed the split peas to powder before starting to make the soup and it worked a treat.

Ingredients to make one big bowlful
bit of onion, chopped
a bit of celery, chopped
half a smallish carrot, washed and chopped
30g yellow split peas
150mls ham stock** and 150mls water
pepper (no salt, see below)
little bit of garlic puree
pinch dried mixed herbs
a splash of milk

Method
Either:
soak the yellow split peas in water for a day (and use less liquid in the soup)
or:
place the split peas in a blender type thing and zizz them until they are a flour consistency

Place everything except the milk in a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer until everything is cooked.
Zizz to required smoothness.  Taste and adjust seasoning if required.  Add a splashy of milk and serve piping hot.

**  I only had 150 mls of the stock left so made it up to 300 mls with water.  It was a flavoursome stock from boiling a ham earlier in the week.  No need for extra salt, even though the ham was unsmoked.
If you don't have ham stock, you can use any other stock; then it will be split pea, not ham and split pea soup.  Adjust seasonings accordingly.

In a Thermomix, zizz the peas until they are reduced to a flour consistency.
Add everything else but the milk and cook for 20 mins, 100C, speed 4.  Then zizz for about 20 seconds.  Add a splash of milk and reheat to 98C just before serving.
I don't have a soup maker but I guess the process would be very similar.


This makes a smooth, creamy textured soup that is very filling, nourishing, warming and delicious.   It is also a great use of leftover ham stock and is inexpensive to make.  You can be flexible with seasonings too - a bit of a spice kick would be nice.

Post script!
Edited to say that now it has cooled, it has set quite solid.  I could almost slice it!  I suspect that 50g of dried split peas (which is what I used) is too much and I have edited the ingredients to say 30g instead.

Thursday, 23-11-17

Everyone knows how to make oven chips so I won't reproduce the recipe but just to say the crustless quiche with a few oven chips and a simple salad was an absolutely delicious dinner last night.

Today's plans
B:  poached egg on toast (no butter)
S:  banana
L:  fish pie with potato/parsnip mash topping, side salad
S:  melon
D:  ham and split pea soup

I've swapped lunch and dinner round as Thursday evenings are always busy.

From the freezer
bread for the toast
fish
peas (for the fish pie)
(better than yesterday's freeezer efforts anyway)


The frugal factor
home made bread - always cheap and delicious too.
just one egg - one is plenty
the fish was YS fish - I'm almost at the end of the YS fish now, sadly
split peas are great value and the ham stock is like yesterday's - saved from boiling up an unsmoked joint on Monday.  I'll make the soup like yesterday's lentil soup but with the split peas instead of the lentils.


Update.  Lovely, scrummy, filling fish pie.  I could only manage half so the rest will be frozen after it's cooled.

I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Recipe: crustless quiche

Crustless quiche is really just what it says - quiche without the pastry crust
I found this one on the Slimming World site and because I'm not doing Slimming World (far too fussy and fancy) I felt no guilt about modifying it.
Here's the original:  http://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/bacon-and-mushroom-crustless-quiche.aspx

And here's what I did.
I cut out the bacon.  I reckon with cottage cheese and egg, that's plenty of protein.
I used onion, mushroom and baby corn for the filling because that's what I had.
I thirded the egg mixture because it was three eggs to serve two (awkward) so I used one egg, 50g cottage cheese and a bit of quark.
I didn't have parsley and I forgot the garlic, ooops.
I finely grated 20g of not-parmesan (vegetarian friendly, you see, so that's what I have in) and added it to the egg/cheese mixture.

It's turned out really nice.  I made it this morning because I won't have time to faff around this evening so can either have it cold or just warm it up.
And 1/3 is plenty for one as you can see (apologies for the terrible photo though)!

(and my fingers are crossed that the cheese doesn't cause any painful reaction)

Recipe: ham and lentil soup (no added fat/oil)

This makes enough for one pretty hungry person and is very, very easy.

Ingredients
1/4 onion, chopped
a bit of celery (same amount as the onion), chopped
half a smallish carrot, washed and chopped
30g red lentils
300mls ham stock**
pepper (no salt, see below)
little bit of garlic puree
pinch dried mixed herbs

Method
Place everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer until everything is cooked.
Zizz to required smoothness.  Taste and adjust seasoning if required.  Serve piping hot.


**  I had some ham stock from boiling a little ham on Monday.  As the ham was 'green', it wasn't too salty and the stock was just right.  If it's too salty, it will need diluting before use.
If you don't have ham stock, you can use any other stock; then it will be lentil, not ham and lentil soup.


In a Thermomix, put everything in the bowl and cook for 20 mins, 100C, speed 4.  Then zizz for about 20 seconds.  Reheat to 98 just before serving.

5-12-17
Edited to add that I used a bit of cooking bacon (all fat cut off) today instead of stock and it has come out beautifully.  I also added a bit of low fat soft cheese for added creaminess and it needed a bit of salt.  Gorgeous

Recipe: lemon chicken traybake

Here's the link
http://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/lemon-garlic-chicken-rice-traybake

The only things I changed were that I used skinless chicken thighs and I added extra veg - some mushrooms and some baby corn.
I was doubtful about the sprouts but they were lovely.
I found that there was too much rice for me and will reduce the amount next time.

It was delicious

Wednesday, 22-11-17

Yesterday's new recipes were very successful and I will definitely do both again.

Today's plans:
B:  porridge with cinnamon and grated apple
S:  fruit
L:  lentil and ham soup
S:  fruit
D:  crustless quiche, salad, home made oven chips, yogurt


From the freezer
Nothing today which is Not Good
I need to get my act together with regard to the freezer challenge, don't I?


The frugal factor
Porridge - cheapo!  And the apple was a gift
The stock for the soup is the water that I boiled the ham in on Monday, which often gets thrown away
I have bits of onion, baby corn, pepper and mushroom that need using up so will add them to the quiche
I'll also be using some cottage cheese that needs using fairly soon in the quiche
The oven chips are very simple and frugal (and very low fat)




I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Tuesday, 21-11-17

Over the last week, I've been trawling the internet for low/no fat recipes and have found some treasures.  One of the is the oddly named 'Pinch of Nom' which I found after a friend joined me to the facebook group of the same name.  Today's breakfast comes from there and dinner from a Slimming World blog (so I have linked them) and it is all as low fat as I can make it after yesterday - maybe, in retrospect, having a roastie yesterday was not a very good idea!

Today's plans
B:  orange marmalade baked oats
S:  banana
L:  beans on toast
S:  grapes
D:  lemon garlic chicken rice traybake, followed by a yogurt


From the freezer
not a lot, just the bread for the toast


The frugal factor
home made marmalade
porridge = frugal as well as very healthy
savers baked beans and just a third of a can - I find that's plenty
home made bread
using chicken thighs instead of the chicken quarter of the recipe.  Cheaper - I checked.  Also more flavour!  Especially when on the bone!



I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Monday, 20-11-17

Today's frugal, low-fat menu is . . .
B:  porridge with fruit salad left over from yesterday
S:  apple
L:  roast ham, roasties, parsnips, sprouts (my grandson is round mine before going back to uni!)
S:  persimmon
D:  beans on toast (no butter)

The freezer challenge:
runner beans
peas
bread for toast

The frugal factor
porridge!
savers beans and home made bread
sadly, there won't be any leftover ham as grandson will be taking it all back with him!  On the other hand, it is a smaller joint and was very good value.


I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Sunday, 19-11-17

Today's plans are . . .

B:  porridge with stewed apple and honey
S:  fruit
L:  toast and marmalade
S:  fruit
D:  steal and kidney (probably), potato, carrots, peas


The freezer challenge:
eating the stewed apple instead of freezing it
bread for the toast
steak and kidney
peas

The frugal factor
still not paying - can't beat that!



I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for sensible frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but need to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Recipe: potato chickpea mash

This is hardly a recipe really.  Just a way of using leftover mash.  Nicer than it sounds (or looks) and quite filling too.

You need
mashed potato (or boiled or even roasties - if you ever have leftover roasties!)
some cooked chickpeas
some soft cheese (I used lower fat garlic and herb soft cheese)
seasonings

Method
Take the skins off the chickpeas by squashing each one in your fingers: the skin just slides off.  A bit fiddly but not difficult.

Mash the chickpeas into the potato.  I used a fork.

Add the soft cheese and continue mashing it all together.  Taste and season.  I used a tiny bit of salt and more pepper.

Heat to piping and serve.

Ever so nice.

Saturday, 18-11-17

The most frugal meals are those you don't pay for.  This weekend is packed with them.  I'm making some of the meals, just not paying for them.  No complaints here!

B:  porridge with berries and honey
S:  fruit
L:  toast and marmalade
S:  fruit
D:  chicken casserole, potato and chickpea mash, broad beans

The freezer challenge:
bread for the toast
chicken
broad beans

The frugal factor:
see above - can't get more frugal than that, can you?


I have an overloaded freezer and have challenged myself to take out much more than I put in!
I want to make the most of my hard earned pension so am aiming for frugality in my meal planning and making.
However, I have recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but am aiming to go very low fat.  
Is it possible?  No idea, but I'm giving it a good go and sharing the 'journey' in here.  Thanks for reading and any comments you would like to make are very welcome.

Recipe: carrot cake baked oats

It's a weird one, this, as the title makes you think 'cake' but I know that baked oats are really just like a stiff porridge with a crust on the top.

This was nice though.  I didn't have any cinnamon (how could I run out of cinnamon?) so I subbed some mango powder but it wasn't the same, of course.  Nor was the sweetener (stevia), if I am totally honest, but I think that's worth working on. 

And I made half amounts because two eggs, 40g oats AND a big pot of yogurt . . . way too much, both frugally and in amount.  Half quantity was easy, filling and lasted.  I had breakfast late and it kept me satisfied almost until dinner time.  I have to admit that by late afternoon my tum rumbled a bit but I managed to hold out!
I shall do this one again!

I'm not posting the recipe here because you can find it on the wonderful Pinch of Nom site, here. 
There's lots of other baked oats recipes there too.  I want to try the orange marmalade one next. 

And overnight oats - now there's a thing that I want to try too.  Good old oats should be great for my cholesterol levels (I hope)!

Friday, 17-11-17

First of all I need to apologise.  I have missed replying to some comments in October.  The reason is that Real Life got very complicated but that's no excuse and I do hope the sender isn't offended and will continue commenting.

Today's food plans:
B:  carrot cake baked oats (interesting name, I will let you know!  A slimming world recipe)
S:  apple or banana
L:  broccoli soup
S:  apple or banana
D:  savoury mince with boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage followed by fresh fruit salad with honeyed 0% fat natural yogurt.  And jolly nice it all was too!


From the freezer:
broccoli for soup


The frugal factor:
carrot and oats - can't get much more frugal than that!
the soup will be made from the stem and the bits that have dropped to the bottom of the bag and anyway, home made soup is great value
didn't pay for dinner.  The ultimate frugal!

Recipe: no fat hummus

(no added fat, anyway!)

I've just made this in preparation for and I'm very pleasantly surprised.  It is lacking the oil, of course, but it's delicious and I'm looking forward to lunch.

Ingredients
50g cooked chickpeas (take off the skins for a smoother texture)
30g quark (o% fat soft cheese)
a good splash of lemon juice to own taste (from a bottle is fine)
1/2 tsp garlic puree (I use it from a tube)
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper

Method.
Take the skins off the chickpeas.  Yes, it's a bit of a fiddle-faddle but I had read somewhere that you get a much smoother texture without the skins and you certainly do.  If you like a rougher texture, leave the skins on.

Place the chickpeas in a small blender (because it is only a small amount) or in a stick blender bowl.  Zizz them until they are like fine breadcrumbs.

Add the quark, the lemon juice, the cumin and the garlic puree and zizz until it is all smooth.  Then add a bit of salt/pepper, zizz and taste, adjusting, if necessary, to suit your taste.  You might also want to add some more lemon juice.  Then zizz again.

This makes enough for one good portion and I shall have it with carrot batons, maybe a slice of melba toast, and a side salad.

Now, I wonder what other flavours I could add next time.  Tomato puree?  Bit of curry powder?  Lime juice instead of lemon juice?
Ideas, please . . .

It helped to make a very nice lunch, packed with veg.

Thursday, 16-11-17

Today's plans

B:  beans on toast
S:  fruit
L:  home made hummus, melba toast (maybe), carrot batons, salad
S:  small portion of raw nuts (give them a go and see if they cause any problems)
D:  smoked salmon pasta


From the freezer
bread for toast and melba toast
chick peas for hummus
smoked salmon
peas
broccoli


The frugal factor
the bread, as always, is home made
ditto the hummus
the chick peas for the hummus were bought dried, soaked, cooked and open frozen before bagging so they are loose and I can take out just as much as I need.
the nuts were a gift from my dad
the broccoli was on special at Aldi but I didn't need much of it so I cut up and froze the rest, including the stem.  I've noticed that the florets have more or less gone now so I will use the remains to make a nice soup another time.  Broccoli soup is wonderful!





I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff
I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  
Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Recipe: a sort of lasagne

Not your authentic, cheesy, swimming in fat, totally, unctiously delicious thing but I gave this a go with a vague memory of reading somewhere that you could use cottage cheese.

Ingredients for one portion, made in a single portion dish
one portion of my savoury mince and veg, as described here (scroll down a bit)
two sheets of lasagne (I needed two sheets but didn't use all of it)
1 heaped tbsp no fat cottage cheese
1 heaped tbsp quark
about 1/8 of a tub of lower fat soft cheese with garlic and herbs (Morrisons does this)
seasonings
a titchy bit of oil for the bottom of your oven dish

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180C fan

Boil a kettle.  Place the lasagne sheets in an oven dish just bigger that they are and pour over the boiling water.  Swill them about a bit to make sure they are not sticking together.  Leave for five or ten minutes.  This softens the sheets enough to cut them to the size you want with a pair of scissors (thank you, Mary Berry, for this splendid tip).
Of course, if they are just the right size or fresh sheets, leave this out!

Mix the three cheeses together and either mash well or zizz a little bit.  It doesn't have to be totally smooth but just to get out most of the lumps.  Season if you wish.

Take out the softened lasagne sheets and pat them dry.  Then cut them to the size you need.

Oil the bottom of the lasagne dish.  Construct the lasagne like this, spreading each layer out evenly, if necessary.
Half the mince mixture, one sheet lasagne, half the cheese sauce.  Repeat, finishing off with the the cheeses - spread them carefully over so that everything is covered.

(At this point you could top it with a bit of finely grated parmesan or similar but not for me at the moment)

Place on a baking tray and into the oven for half an hour or so until the lasagne is properly cooked and everything is bubbling.  It will brown a bit on top.

Conclusion:  it was pretty good, I enjoyed it and ate it all.  However, I did miss the cheesy flavour and the sauce on top was a bit dry after baking.  It cried out for a sprinkling of strong cheddar which it wasn't going to get!

I remembered to take a photo.

Shame it was after I'd polished it off.

Wednesday, 15-11-17

Yesterday was the first day I felt my appetite was properly back.  I finished off the soup and thoroughly enjoyed dinner.  And no pain!  Not even discomfort from the gall bladder although things were a bit Purple Ronnie all morning!
Dinner was so nice that I have blogged the recipe in a separate post.


Here are today's plans:
B:  porridge with apple and yogurt
S:  melon
L:  beans on toast (no butter)
S:  orange or banana
D:  I'm going to try a lasagne with some zizzed cottage cheese and quark on top rather than a fat laden cheese sauce.  It might work, it might not, but I shall give it a go and see.


The freezer challenge:
bread for toast
cooked mince for dinner and I will probably add some chick peas to the mixture


The frugal factor
porridge - say no more
the apple is one that's a bit old and wizened and I wouldn't want to eat it raw but it should be fine cooked in porridge, much better than chucking it away
the beans are Savers, 1/3 of a can (so just 9p) and the bread is home made.  A lunch for 11p-ish has got to be good!



I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff
I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues (with an op at some time in the future), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  
Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Recipe: minty lime chicken

I got this from a book called 'The Best Ever: Low Fat'.  It's been adapted a bit because I'm not going out to buy special ingredients!  The original serves six.  This is what I did.

Ingredients to serve 1
a bit of mint sauce -
10mls clear honey
10 mls lime juice (from a bottle)
salt and pepper
(just use what you think, taste and adjust)
chicken.  The recipe states boneless, skinless thighs; I had breast already cut into chunks before freezing so used that.


Sauce
25g low fat thick yogurt
bit more mint sauce
some grated citrus zest.  It says lime, I used orange zest as I used an orange in my fruit salad.  It was really nice


Mix the mint, honey and lime juice in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the marinade and mix well.
Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least half an hour.  I left it about four hours.

Heat up a non-stick pan and tip in the chicken and marinade.  Stir and turn it until the chicken is cooked through (takes very little time), then spoon out the chicken and as much of the marinade as you want.

Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients in a bowl.  Serve the chicken with the sauce to dip and a side salad with a lime based dressing.

My side salad was simply grated carrot and watercress and I made a no fat dressing that was lime juice, mint sauce and honey and it was absolutely delicious.

Definitely one to make again.  It was so fresh and tangy and tasty.

Tuesday 14-11-17

Yesterday was another comfortable day with no reaction from my poor old gall bladder so I think I can safely assume that Eggs Are OK (hooray) and a little bit of low fat soft cheese is also friendly.

Here are today's plans:
B:  fruit salad, yogurt and maple syrup
S:  melon
L:  leek and potato soup - that soup just goes on and on!  I may just have to freeze one portion aftewr all
S:  more fruit salad (and yogurt)
D:  minty lime chicken with grated carrot and watercress salad (from a book - will let you know!


From the freezer
not so great today - just the chicken


The frugal factor
again, while not terribly expensive, frugality doesn't shine out today apart from the soup which I sort of started off making thinking it would do two days but because the portions are small, it's lasting a lot longer
I won't use loads of chicken for the dinner and the ingredients are all what I have in so no getting anything special.




I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Recipe: fish pie

This is a very adaptable idea:  you can use different veg and different fish, your own amounts and seasonings and your own topping.

This is what I did.

I had some mixed potato and sweet potato mash in the freezer so used that as the topping. 

I used a smigeon of olive oil from a spray bottle (because I'm supposed to be as fat free as possible) with a splash of water and dry-fried onion, a baby corn cut into chunks, a spoonful of frozen peas and two mushrooms sliced. Other veg would be fine - broccoli or green beans would work well, for example.

Then I added the chunked fish (it was pollack but you could use anything or a mixture, prawns would be nice) and some skimmed milk - not a lot. 

It simmered for a few minutes, then I added a bit of marigold vegetable stock (any stock would do really but marigold is powder so very handy), some pepper, a little bit of salt and a sprinkle of dried herbs. 

I thickened it with some thickening granules and finally added just a very little bit of low fat soft cheese for creaminess. Stir it well, check your seasonings and bob's your uncle! It's a lot nicer than it sounds written here.

If you weren't being either low fat or frugal, you could use goodies like cream and white wine but not in my fish pie, thank you!

I poured the fish, veg and sauce into my little oven proof dish.  I spread the two-potato mash over the top and baked in at 170C (fan) until the bottom was bubbling and the top was 'colouring'.   It won't go 'golden' as there's no fat in it.

And that's it!

It leaked, didn't it?  No worry, it tasted jolly good and I might very well try a wee bit of soft cheese in the mash next time, seeing as I had no pain problems after eating this.  It might go brown then.

It is frugal because the fish is one of the cheaper kinds, I didn't use very much of any of the veg, there's no expensive fancy-pants ingredients, just what I have in and there's no added cheese or butter, etc.

Monday 13-11-17

After a much more comfortable day yesterday, I shall try a few things today.

B:  poached egg on toast (does the egg cause any problems? I know the toast doesn't)
S:  pear
L:  leek and potato soup (made yesterday)
S:  apple
D:  fish pie.  I shall make it with white fish, peas, mixed peppers, mushroom and onion and I shall try a white sauce made with milk and a little bit of lower fat soft cheese as it doesn't seem to cause much problem in small amounts.  That will probably be enough as my appetite isn't getting any larger yet (cheers).

The freezer challenge
bread
fish
peas and mixed peppers
also I will be using the soup rather than freezing it

The frugal factor
home made bread is always cheap
ditto for my leek and potato soup
the fish is some cod that was on special so I bought some and froze it




I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Sunday 12-11-17

Today's plans
B:  porridge - I like it, it's healthy, it's frugal and it doesn't cause discomfort so I'm sticking with it.
S:  orange
L:  home made soup of some kind, maybe leek and potato as I have what is needed for that
S:  banana
D:  chicken in a veg/tomato sauce with rice


From the freezer
tomato and veg for dinner
chicken for dinner
and I threw out those banana pancakes from the other day - don't want to take the risk as it wasn't nice Thursday and Friday


The frugal factor
porridge, of course
home made soup is not only cheaper, it tastes a whole lot better too
some of the veg is from the garden/allotment
and the portions are still small; I can't cope with bigger portions at the moment.




I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Recipe: spaghetti with smoked salmon

Generally speaking, leftover smoked salmon is an unknown quantity in this establishment but let's assume there is some or that you've bought a pack when they were reduced and split it into four portions before freezing it.


Ingredients for one:
spaghetti
smoked salmon, cut into shreds
about 1/8 of a pot of soft cheese with garlic and herbs (I use Morrisons lighter soft cheese that was 5% fat and crossed my fingers) - or another flavour if you prefer

Method
Cook the spaghetti, drain and return to the pan, retaining a little cooking water.
Chuck in the salmon, the soft cheese and a bit of the water and stir it well.  Serve piping hot.

Ever so easy and quite nice.  You could add more, of course - onion, more herbs, etc, but this was perfect for me.  You can make as much or as little as you like - just adjust the quantities.

Saturday 11-11-17

Another not very well day yesterday so I didn't eat very much.  I managed a small dinner though and it was nice so I will share it in a separate post.

Today's plans (with crossed fingers):
B:  porridge with sultanas
S:  apple
L:  either beans on toast or home made tomato soup, depending on how I feel
S:  banana
D:  cottage pie, runner beans; maybe some natural yogurt


From the freezer:
passata if I made the soup, bread if I make the beans on toast
mince for cottage pie
potato and sweet potato topping for ditto pie
runner beans


The frugal factor:
porridge is cheap and the sultanas are savers ones
the passata and runners are from the garden
the mince is laden with vegetables, lentils and oats, not just to bulk it out but because they all give a jolly good flavour.

And it all looks pretty low fat so fingers crossed!





I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Friday 10-11-17

I'm going to stop numbering the days.  It seems daft really, given the multi purpose of each posting now, so I'll just date each one.
Yesterday morning was a bit uncomfortable:  I actually missed lunch and most of dinner because of the discomfort.  I'm not sure if it was the pancakes so will give them just one more go in a few days and see.  A shame to have to chuck them but they're a waste of space if I can't have them.

Today's plans:
B:  porridge with fruit and maple syrup - maybe a bit of yogurt too.  I know I'm OK with porridge.
S:  fruit
L:  beans on toast
S:  fruit
D:  fettucine with smoked salmon (one I have found in a low fat recipe book) except it is more likely to be spaghetti or pasta shapes than fettucine

From the freezer
bread for toast
smoked salmon
bits of broccoli

Into the freezer (during yesterday)
8 portions of savoury mince and veg, wonderful, flavoursome portions with minced beef (less than 5% fat), onion, celery, peppers, courgette, peas, corn, mushroom, lentils, oats, stock cubes, home made passata (from garden tomatoes) and some seasonings (bay leaves, mixed herbs, garlic and tomato puree).  Oh - and salt and pepper.  And absolutely no added fat whatsoever.  Quite a lot of the veg plus the passata came from the freezer anyway.
quite a lot of cooked chick peas

The Frugal Factor
porridge - no more needs to be said
beans are Savers and 1/3 of a can
pasta stuff tends to be frugal, even with bits of smoked salmon - if it is nice I will post about it.
bread for toast is home made and that's always great value (as well as tasting wonderful)



I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

The freezer challenge, day 56

After yesterday's chopping and changing, let's see if today can stay as planned.

B:  banana pancakes* with natural yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup (it was going to be toast and marmalade but I accidentally got out the pancakes instead of pikelets for dinner yesterday - oops)

And very nice too!






S:  fruit
L:  boiled egg and toasty soldiers (no butter), seeing as yesterday's poached egg was OK on the old gallbladder, watercress
S:  fruit
D:  poached smoked haddock, peas, mixed potato and sweet potato mash; stewed apple and either custard or natural yogurt

*I'll give these a go as I have a stack of them in the freezer.  It they cause discomfort, I'll ditch them.


From the freezer:
pancakes for breakfast
bread for lunch
haddock (I know it only went in yesterday so doesn't really count)
peas
mash

Into the freezer
chick peas

The Frugal Factor
the banana pancakes were made with YS bananas to replace the egg - ever so cheap
a boiled egg is always great value for what you get
the apple was a gift
smoked haddock isn't cheap but I portioned the fillet into three so it's less than it could be




I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge' which is to use up all the old stuff

I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  

Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress that I am sharing with you.

Shopping and the freezer challenge

The freezer challenge just took a tumble.

I needed to get some lean protein while I am attempting to eat as much low fat as I can for health reasons.  I know it's not possible to go totally zero and one does need some of those 'good' oils so I bough the following

under 5% fat mince
chicken breasts (no skins)
salmon fillets
smoked haddock (undyed)

Tomorrow I am going to cook the mince with tomatoes, lentils, oats, masses of vegetables and whatever else to make a mix I can freeze in single portions
I have halved the chicken, cut the haddock into single amounts and individually wrapped it all and it's now freezing, taking up less room than I thought it might.

I'm short on pulses too so there's a bag of chick peas soaking in the kitchen which will be cooked and frozen tomorrow.  I'm going to try to open freeze them so I can pour out what I need rather than second guessing portions.

Poor old freezer, but it's all in a good cause and I shouldn't need to buy any more meat/fish for the rest of the month.

Recipe: quick smoked salmon pate (not frugal)

The idea came from a Readers Digest book, Low Fat: No Fat and I adapted it.  It's jolly nice and a great way to use up bits and bobs.


a few 'white beans' (e.g. cannelloni, haricot)
a bit of smoked salmon
lemon juice (from a bottle is fine)
titchy bit of light mayo
pepper and a bit of salt (maybe)

It also helps to have a mini chopper/blender

In the bowl put the beans, smoked salmon and some lemon juice.  Zizz it up together.  Add just a little bit of light mayo as it helps the texture.  Zizz and taste, adding more lemon juice if you like and a bit of pepper and, possibly, salt.  It depends on how salty the salmon is really.

If you have some fennel fronds or similar, that would be nice but I didn't.

Heap into a bowl and serve.  I had it with watercress and a couple of small slices of bread I baked in a coolish oven until crisp and crunchy.  It was delicious!

All change

After browsing through Low Fat No Fat . . .

B:  porridge with sultanas
S:  fruit
L:  smoked salmon pate with melba toast
S:  fruit
D:  poached egg on pikelet with baked beans

The book says that you can use white beans instead of soft cheese to make smoked salmon pate.  I have some smoked salmon that has been in my freezer for longer than I care to admit so HAS to be used (or chucked) and I can cut it into portions while it's still frozen.
I know salmon is an oily fish but it is the 'good' oil that we all need so I am hoping that it won't cause any more pain.
I'll let you know.

From the freezer:
smoked salmon
bread for melba toast
pikelet

Into the freezer
three individual smaller portions of smoked salmon

The Frugal Factor
no bean waste
using the old smoked salmon rather than chucking it


Edit later:  It was very, very nice indeed.

The freezer challenge, day 55

I have an overloaded freezer, hence 'the freezer challenge',.
I also have a tendency to frugality, recently diagnosed gallbladder issues, cholesterol and high blood pressure.  Oh, and more than a few lbs to lose.  I like flavour but have to go very low fat.  Possible?  No idea - we will see.  It's a work in progress.

Yesterday's food went well.  No extreme reaction, just some slight aches/twinges.  If that's the worst, I can cope.

Today's plans:
B:  porridge with sultanas and maple syrup
S:  apple
L:  poached egg on either a pikelet or a slice of toast
S:  fruit
D:  I have some haricot beans and some baked beans left and am just wondering whether my system could cope with a curry.  Nothing too heavy or hot, just a bit of mayflower sauce in a tomato base, with rice, of course.  I wonder . . .   Then some yogurt for afters

From the freezer:
pikelet or toast
haricot beans
bits of veg for the curry

Into the freezer
yesterday I made potato and sweet potato mash and the rest is in the freezer - two portions!  Can't throw it away, after all.

The Frugal Factor
porridge - always frugal!
pikelet or bread - both home made.  
using up the beans that I defrosted yesterday together with the baked beans as the main protein for dinner

Recipe: apple meringue

Not a pie, nothing so complicated, but I had an egg white to use up.

I stewed apple with just enough sugar until it was soft.  This can be done earlier.

I whisked up the egg white with a hand held electric whisk until it was white and soft peak-ish.  I added two tbsp caster sugar in small amounts while continuing to whisk.  Last of all I whisked in half tsp cornflour.  It took almost no time at all.

I put the apple in an ovenproof dish and spooned over the meringue, teasing it into peaks.
I baked it at 180C for about 30 mins-ish, turning the oven right down after about 20 mins.

Lovely!  Low fat (not low sugar though) and one of my five a day.

Frugal because I didn't waste the egg white and the apple was a gift.