Monday evening, 02-09-24 - garlic infused oil and an informative podcast

Good evening, everyone!  

Given that I am using quite a lot (comparatively) of olive oil and garlic now, I decided to have a go at making garlic infused olive oil.  It looked dead easy and I made half amounts first time because evoo is expensive and a cupful is a lot if it doesn't work!

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2-3 thyme sprigs (optional) - I didn't this time but I will at some point
2 small dried chilis (optional) - ditto

Directions

In a saucepan place all the ingredients.
Cook over very low heat for 5 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the oil registers 180ºF (that's around 83C).
Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely at room temperature.
Transfer in a bottle and seal the lid.
Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Copied from here where there's lots more info.   https://paleogrubs.com/garlic-infused-olive-oil

It was easy, didn't take long to get up to temperature or to cool own, surprisingly and when I brushed it over the focaccia for lunch, it was lovely!   Not strong, just a hint of garlic.  Just what I wanted.  I suppose it will get stronger with time as the garlic cloves are in the bottle with the oil.
Now to research lemon garlic oil!

What I ate today

The yogurt is pink because it has a bit of skinny syrup stirred in and the brown bits are pumpkin seeds while the fruit is melon, strawberries, raspberries and a plum.

One syn for the pumpkin seeds.

Oh, my, the tuna and bean dip was so delicious, as were the focaccia fingers toasted with a brushing of the garlic oil.  Bulgur wheat does go so nicely in a general salad.

When I made the dip, I worked out how much it would be with the focaccia and wrote the total down.  I can't itemise it, you will just have to take my word for it, please.

Six and a half syns and half a B.

A little bit later I had a nectarine and a small apple.

Dinner was absolutely lovely.

This is the recipe:

https://www.cannedfood.co.uk/recipe/theo-michaels-cod-on-beans/

and I adapted it slightly - for a start, I used garden tomatoes and extra tomatoes on the side and I added the leftover bulgur wheat (so good).

I worked out that for the amounts I used, it was half a healthy extra B and five syns for oil and a tiny bit of honey (which was plenty).

No room for any pudding.

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

twelve and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  toasted bagel with avocado, scrambled eggs and tomatoes on the side

L: lemon and olive baked salmon, side salad; fruit

D:  chicken and chickpea traybake, quinoa; fruit

Exercise:  none today.  I have a doing at the dentist and I reckon I might need to chill afterwards.

The extra bit.

I was re watching a ZOE podcast yesterday that I first saw at the turn of the year and thought I'd summarise it here.  Apologies if I already have elsewhere and just can't find it.

Here's the link - if you're interested and have seventy five minutes spare!!  It's long but worth a watch if that is your thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGY05t_sImc

How to eat in 2024:  seven essential strategies.

1.  Food is more than fuel.  Choose abundance, not restriction, and celebrate it.

2.  Fat is not your enemy.  Some fats are necessary and essential, some are not.

3.  Eat more plants - in the widest sense.  Aim for around thirty different types each week.

4.  Reduce ultra processed foods - read labels carefully and be mindful

5.  Reduce your blood sugar spikes.  This impacts on many diseases and has a positive effect on well-being.

6.  Eat fermented food to nourish your gut biome - these include cheese and yogurt as well as more exotic kinds.

7.  Stick to an eating window - give your gut a rest and a chance to recover.