Curry of the Thai Variety. Keto Obvs!!

What up homies. Today's post is a yummy curry post......I didn't cook it today though, had it a few days ago and didn't have time to blog. But it was yummy and I ate it all. (Over two meals but still....ALL!....I kinda had the leftovers for breakfast.....sick and wrong? Yes? But oh so right!!! ;) I'm not even ruddy sorry about it!)

So I was knackered and just wanted yummy food and was craving curry, needed to make it Keto though so decided on Thai Curry as it would have lots of yummy coconut milk in! To bulk it out as I wasn't having rice I decided to add green beans in as they're not too bad on the carb scale. I was going to make Cauli Rice but when I took my cauliflower out of the fridge....it was starting to go off. Hmph!! Never mind, I'll save the Cauli rice for another post!

Sooo the recipe!:

Ingredients:
Curry:
- A few splashes of oil (I use coconut oil)
- 400/500g Chicken Boobs....dependent on how many you want to feed (how hungry you are)
- 1 tin of coconut milk (NOT light version....light version has far too many carbs!)
- 1-2tbsps thai red curry paste
- 1 tbsp of peanut butter (if you want lower carb use almond butter like me)
- 100g of green beans
- 1tsp fish sauce
- 1tsp sweetener (I use Stevia as its plant extract rather than that horrific Aspartame!!!)
Courgette chutney:
- 1 courgette diced finely
-1 tsp Stevia sweetener
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- salt and pepper
- glug of olive oil
- chilli flakes or fresh chilli (use as much as your tastebuds can handle!)

Method: 

- Heat your oil in a pan and add the thai red paste. Cook on a low heat for a few minutes to start releasing the flavour from the spices
- add a tablespoon of the coconut milk  and the peanut or almond butter and stir to combine, then add the chicken and green beans and stir until coated
- Add the remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, and sweetener. Simmer gently
- Whilst the curry is simmering, add your diced courgette to a frying pan with a glug of olive oil and cook until soft, add the vinegar and remaining ingredients and heat gently until the vinegar has been soaked up by the courgette and excess liquid has evaporated.
- By the time this has cooked the curry will be ready.

You can serve this with sticky jasmine rice (mmmmm sticky rice how I miss thee!!!) or cauli rice but I found this plenty filling with the courgette chutney served with it. It was yummy I must admit and I can't wait to make it again. Also its mild enough for you spice averters out there (Curtis!) as even my child loved it and asked me to make it for her next time (she eats at her childminders whilst I'm in work!)

Enjoy Peoples! :) xxxx

Not for the Marrow-Minded (I'm sorry!)

Ignore the stupid title.....I'm tired and not so funny today after a crappy day in work! ;)

Ok...... so on my way home from work I was thinking about what I had in my fridge and freezer as what I had planned originally wasn't floating my boat anymore. I wanted some comfort food but still keeping within my Keto principles. I remembered I had marrow......and sausages. So decided on Spicy stuffed marrows. Yum.

After briefly tidying up my mess of a kitchen, (Why can't I be domesticated?!?! Or rich like Nigella to afford a cleaner....one day my friends....one day!) I set about prepping the dinner.

 Spicy Sausage Stuffed Marrows

Recipe:

1 Marrow per person (depending on size!) 

1 x pack of sausages (I used chipolatas as they have a higher meat content, therefore a lower carb content)

1 x tbsp Tomato Puree

2 x tbsp Tomato Sauce (Reduced Sugar and Salt variety for lower carb content)

2-3tsps of Worcestershire Sauce

1 crushed clove of garlic

1 tsp cumin

1-2 tsps chilli powder (adjust to taste)

1 tsp ground ginger

Few dashes of hot sauce (or if you're like me a good glug!)

1tsp coriander

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp of mustard powder (or mustard if you don't have any powder)

2 tsps of Sweetener (I use stevia as it derives from plants) If you're not worried about carbs then 2 tsps of sugar will be fine.

A few Tbsps of soft cheese like philadelphia

Grated cheddar (enough to cover the marrows...I used around 100g)

Method:

- Prehead oven to 180degrees

- Wash your marrows and slice them in half. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each marrow to stabilise it when cooking.

- Scoop out the insides of the marrow so you're left with a funky looking boat.

- Place marrows on baking tray ready for baking. They should look like the picture below:

- snip the ends off the sausages and squeeze out the meat into a hot frying pan (my sick perverted sense of humour loves this part....)

- whilst the sausage meat is cooking break it up with a spatula so it resembles a rough mince.

- When its no longer pink, add the garlic

- Add the spices and cook for a few minutes

- Add the tomato puree and sauce and cook for another few minutes

- Add all other ingredients and stir to combine (excluding the philadelphia and cheddar)

- Turn off the heat and start to spoon the sausage mixture into your marrow 'boats'

 

- Place into the oven and cook for around 15 minutes until the marrow is soft, if the top starts to brown too quickly turn down the heat.

- After 15 minutes take out and spoon on the philadelphia on top of the sausage mixture. It doesnt have to cover it completely as it spreads out when cooking.

- Top with grated cheddar and pop back into the oven

-Cook for another 10 minutes or until the cheese mixture is all gooey and bubbly and golden brown on top.

And you're done!!! I served this with some tomatoes and leftover coleslaw from last nights dins (thrifty principles obvs) and it would go perfectly with some gorgeous crusty bread to mop up those lovely sweet and spicy juices (if you're not low carbing).....if you are low carbing...Sorry! ;)

 

I've been gone ever so long...!!

Ok.... finger pulled out. Promise! Has been forever and a day since I last updated. In technical terms that actually means 11 months and a few odd days...I just have a penchant for the dramatic....yes I know....hard to believe huh?!? ;)

So what have I been upto?.....well I'm still a single mum to the beautiful Seren. She is a comedy genius... Like her mother. Obvs. Still working in the charity sector, and still fighting the fat fight.
In fact tis said fat fight that has brought me back to the Blog and my Thrifty Goddess ways..... I have been trying out the Keto diet (High (good) fats and low carb). When I do it properly I lose LOTS of weight, my skin and hair are amazing AND the best part.... all my ridiculous auto-immune issues melt away.... it seems Wheat/carbs/gluten etc etc make my symptoms flare... which isn't nice! I like symptomless Thrifty thanking you!

If you want to know more about Keto.....just have a gander.... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gZfJejOM8fJsX1iCilmnpp1qmT_KncJwWCR4-EsaEHc/edit?pli=1 This is a very informative piece!

Google has lots of resources on it! But if you're not into keto most of the recipes (I say most because I do like the odd cheat day!) Will be Keto/Low carb/gluten free so can suit alot of diets!

Ok so here goes.....first recipes then will just be a 'taster' until I get back on the Thrifty Goddess bandwagon and do it properly. Tonight I have been prepping for tomorrow, so I'm making bacon wrapped asparagus to dip into my soft boiled eggs for breakfast and bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno peppers for part of my lunch. Bacon is a low carbers/Ketoers best friend. Embrace the pig! Not literally. They smell and can topple you before you can say pork chop!

Bacon wrapped Asparagus

I'm not going to insult your intelligence....its all  in the name really. Grab some Asparagus, bend until they snap (you're left with the healthy non stringy part of the asparagus then). Wrap in streaky bacon, cook in the oven until golden brown (or crispy depending on how you like your baaaaaaacccoooonnnn.) Et voila.... a lovely side dish...OR in my case, perfick toast substitutes for dippy eggs. Heaven.

Bacon wrapped stuffed Jalapenos

Ok I can slightly insult your intelligence in this one....as it requires slightly more prep!
- Grab your Jalapenos, make a slit down the centre and scrape out the seeds.
- Fill the peppers with a mix of cheddar and soft cheese (like philadelphia)
- Squeeze the peppers shut and then wrap tightly with streaky bacon, using cocktail sticks to pin if you like for extra security.
- Pop in the oven for around 15 minutes until the peppers are soft and the bacon is cooked. Don't worry if some of the 'innards cheese' melt out of them.


So there are a few quick and easy Keto recipes my loves. I will be posting lots more in the coming weeks as I'm on #operationfatcowfullthrottle as I hurtle startlingly fast towards my impending 30th. I don't want to talk about it. Honestly I don't know why you even brought it up!! ;)

Fatty needs protein!!

Good evening all, I hope you're all well! I have spent the whole day Christmas shopping and I have to salute the die-hards amongst you that are out every weekend doing it. It was hell....hell on ruddy middle earth!! But I got alot done, however I'm thinking I'll do the rest online!! Unless one of you guys wants to pay for my botox bill? As I'm pretty sure Christmas shopping in a city is severely ageing!!
But I digress the truth is I've been naughty of late. I have kind of fallen off the 'Operation Fat Cow' wagon... I haven't put any weight on but with no exercise in 3 weeks! 3!!!! Means I need to stop being a numpty and get back on it! Sooooo after a few bad weeks of eating I'm back on it today....hence tonights' dinner: Spatchcock Chicken and Tenderstem broccoli with Feta.
If you've never spatchcocked a chicken.....then do it!! Its so simple and when you're in a rush its a must as the chicken cooks ALOT faster!! (also great for barbies!!.....that'll be a good few months off yet though!!)
Quite simply to spatchcock a chicken all you have to do is take out the backbone of the chicken. You can use a very sharp knife to cut either side of the backbone to take it out or you can be a cheat like me and use a good pair of kitchen scissors. Once the backbone is out just flatten the chicken, use the heel of your hand to flatten the thighs so the meat is all one 'level/thickness'. You can be all posh and spatchcock it properly by putting in skewers on the diagonal through the thigh, breast and wing....which is fine. But I couldn't be bothered with that! Et Voila! You have one cockily spatched chook!!!

So for the recipe!

Recipe:
- One whole chicken (spatchcocked)
- 2 cloves of garlic...or more if you want to ensure that the weedly-assed vamp Robert Pattinson doesn't darken your door!
-lashings of olive oil
-Tenderstem broccoli OR courgette ribbons...whatever you fancy really!
- Lemon Zest and juice
- Paprika, salt and pepper
- Block of feta! (I'm a feta addict!)

Method:
- preheat oven to 180degrees
- place tenderstem broccoli in baking tray and cover in lashings of olive oil and crushed garlic, mix it all up so the broccoli is evenly coated.
-Place spatchcocked chicken on top of the broccoli, cover the chicken in salt pepper and paprika, a bit more olive oil and rub in. Then add the lemon zest and lemon juice (I forgot to buy a lemon so had to use lemon out of a bottle....if you have a lemon though the zest would be MUUUUUCH better!!)
- Put in oven and roast for 30mins
- Take out of the oven and crumble over the feta
- Cook for another 10/20mins depending on size of bird
- take out and EAAAAT!!

I served mine with some left over ratatouille in wholemeal pitta bread. I will warn you because of the
Crumbled feta its not the prettiest of dishes. But I really do lump the feta on. I love it! Melted feta is just too scrumdiddlyumptious not to have all over the chicken and broccoli!! I'll add a pic to show how I served it but seriously, even though its not that pretty its absolutely stunning and just so scrummy! Plus easy and pretty thrifty!

The thrifty one returns!!

Helloooo lovelies. I cannot believe its been 7 months........7 months!!!! Since my last post! Life well and truly took over! Its mainly because I started working full time.....its been a roller coaster ride but i'm happy, i'm healthy and i'm doing good! I've also moved home AND trained for a half marathon....busy busy!
One of the hardest things (apart from seeing my daughter less of course) is not being able to cook as much :( I miss it so much! By the time I come home from work i'm so tired and since Seren eats tea at the childminders I only have myself to cook for. But recently i've picked up my spatula again and re-found my love for cooking and baking (reignited by the recent Great British Bake Off and new Nigellissima series)!
So today I have spent the majority of the day in the kitchen, helped by my handy helper (little Seren Mai) and have two treats for you....Chicken Makhani and Coconutty flapjacks! Yum.
Firstly I make no such claims that my Chicken Makhani is authentic....or original. Its loosely based on the recipe as I really do like to make things to my taste! Ooo how selfish of me! ;) Luckily little lady likes it too...which helps! She also discovered she likes anchovies last week BONUS! Gotta love a kid who likes food! :)
Here's little miss enjoying her flapjacks and milk after dinner....I think it went down well!

Ok so now to the recipes...first up Chicken Makhani! I made my 'rubber chicken' today so had lots of lovely moist chicken meat to make a few meals, I made a chicken stew but you've seen that recipe before so no need to include it on this post, I also have enough chicken for my yummy buffalo chicken which i'll have for lunch this week.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
- Chicken, raw or cooked. I had cooked and would say I used approx 500g
- 1tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1-2 tsps of chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2tbsps natural yogurt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala

 Sauce:
 - one onion diced finely
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 inch piece of ginger grated or made into a paste with pestle and mortar
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 4tbsps melted butter (ghee preferably)
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2tbsp ground almonds
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
- 2tsps cumin
- 2tsps coriander
- 1/2 tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
-  200ml double cream or a tin of coconut milk if you like the coconutty flavour!
- 1tsp garam masala

Method:
- mix all marinade ingredients together and add chicken, stir to coat and then put in the fridge for at least an hour
- Heat butter in a pan, add onion and fry gently until soft, then add the fenugreek seeds, when they start sizzling add garlic and ginger and fry for a few more mins until softened.
- add the dry spices (except the garam masala) and cook for a few mins, then add the tomato puree again cooking out for a few mins
- add the tin of tomatoes and simmer for 10minutes
- add the ground almonds and sugar and simmer for another 10mins
- at this point add the chicken and stir to combine, if raw cook until cooked....if cooked then simmer very gently for 5-8minutes until cooked through.
- Add the cream and garam masala

Serve with whatever accompaniments you like. We had brown rice, mango chutney and poppadoms. I also served mine with natural yogurt and another sprinkling of garam masala.

Here's little lady enjoying her curry with gusto!

Lastly are the delicious flapjacks I made. They are from Sophie Dahls recipe and I followed it to the tee apart from the sour cherries and mango as didn't have any...so mine are the less fancy plain old coconut flapjacks. And yummy they were too!!
Here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/goldenflapjackswithm_93620



And here's the final product: 

I cooked them for 10 mins less than Sophie Dahl's recommended time however as I love em chewy!!!

Well that's it....I hope you enjoy!

Sunshine, frolics and best-o the Pest-o!

Wow what a B-E-A-utiful day today!!!! 18degrees in Cardiff....a welcome relief from the cold! I love Britain when the sun comes out! It's like we've never seen it before....we emerge from our dens all bleary eyed and pale skinned, yawning as we look in the sky astonished at what's before us....What is this round yellow disc thing in the sky? Why am I blinking more? And why do I suddenly feel roasting in all my layers? Oh yes that's right its only bloody sunshine! Woop! And thus the madness ensues. We all flock to the beach with barely anything on, rubbing factor 30 into our skins (the old school among us still do the horrific baby oil/vegetable oil trick. WRONG!) ferociously and still praying for a tan!
I am afraid one of those people (not a veg oil rubber!) but rather someone who goes crazy once the sunshine comes out! I'm glad I have a daughter because if I didn't I'm not sure I could be accountable for my actions!.....I just want to frolic and play! (sounds so wrong...it basically means I want to spend the day in a beer garden in the country getting tipsy!)
As soon as I saw the weather report this morning I went straight into my bathroom, doused myself in fake tan (and my entire bathroom too.....i'm so glad I don't have a partner because if I did I could imagine them kicking off at our new 'orange' decor!! ;p), then donned a dress and some big ass sunglasses, got my daughter ready and spent a hedonistic (not really) 6 hours in the sunshine!
This is me in my dads back garden today, soaking up even more sunshine  after cycling around probably half of Cardiff and visiting a few play parks with the kiddo!

GLORIOUS! I don't know why but the sunshine absolutely knocks me out so tonight I wanted a nice simple easy dinner. I had lots of coriander in my fridge so I thought i'd knock up a nice coriander pesto as a change from the usual basil. I must admit I've never tried coriander pesto before...I was a bit dubious as Coriander is such a strong herb. But I needn't have worried. It was gorgeous. I cannot wait to make this again and use it in different recipes. SOOOOO yummy!
The actual recipe is an adaptation of a BBC food one I saw. I added a couple of ingredients and also omitted some of theirs to make it healthier and the result was an amazingly fragrant zesty beautiful sauce that I could've just eaten on its own, in fact mine and Seren's fingers kept 'accidently' dipping in the yumminess.
Anyways... enough of me salivating over it AGAIN here is the result and the recipe follows :)

Coriander Pesto Pasta served with balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes

Recipe:
2cm piece of ginger grated
1 garlic clove crushed
1 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped (I used a few tsps of chilli flakes as had no fresh in)
20g Fresh Coriander Leaves 
Zest and juice of one lime (I used bottled lime juice...again no fresh in!)
2tbsps of Soy Sauce
1tbsp of Olive oil
1tbsp of grated parmesan
1/2tsp Caster Sugar
Cherry Tomatoes
Balsamic Glaze
Olive Oil for drizzling....oooo drizzle!

Method:
-  Preheat oven to 200degrees
- Place all pesto ingredients (that's everything bar the cherry toms and balsamic glaze) into a food processor and blitz up! (I have a hand held blender and that worked fine)
- Place cherry toms on a baking tray, drizzle on olive oil and balsamic glaze and pop into the oven
- Put your pasta onto boil and cook until al-dente, I used wholewheat fusilli which took about 15mins
- When the pasta is done, drain and mix up with your pesto.
- Take the toms out of the oven and serve on top. I also made up a big side salad and drizzled on even more balsamic glaze (I'm addicted to the stuff!)

And that's it... Simples and done in less than 30mins!!!! ENJOY :)

I am NOT a bean eating veggie hippy.....ok maybe a little!

As part of my healthier lifestyle and of course to get little monster (daughter) to eat veggies I try to have a few meatless meals per week.....I am a big fan of beans and peas. Love em and not just talking about the Heinz variety (as lovely as they are!) I love any kind, butterbeans, kidney, cannellini etc etc. Ok lets face it, I just love food! (except Fennel....that's the devils vegetable...I'll come to that another time)

So tonight I was really looking forward to making chickpea burgers. I love chickpeas, they're such an unassuming food item, don't really look much but look at what they give us! Falafels, hummus etc! YUMMY.
So I started caramelizing my onions ready for the burger, I went to the cupboard to get the chickpeas out.... and what did I see. Bloody nothing. Forgotten them hadn't I?!?!?!!!.....I swear to god I am dippier than a bloody chicken dipper sometimes! Luckily lurking at the back of my cupboard like a troll under a bridge was a tin of butterbeans. WINNER. I love butterbeans just as much as chickpeas and luckily they'd work in this recipe just as well so job done!
I was also wanting something yummy that'll satisfy my 'why aren't you feeding me junk food witch!!!' cravings from the belfry. I saw something the other day that I wanted to try. Its a healthy adaptation of TGI Friday's Deep Fried Green Beans. You know the ridiculously moreish ones that come in a little bucket with an amazeballs dip and you just wanna dive right in there like Tom Daly at the olympics? Yea those ones. I can honestly say the healthy version is absolutely gorgeous. Don't just take my word for it....try em!
And of course I HAD to follow up with a sweet since it would be rude not too with all those veggies flying around. I can't be 100% good now can I...that would just be sick and wrong!!! (however dessert was actually quite low fat too! My aren't I good??) ;)

So here we go! Piccies and Recipes below!!

BBQ Butterbean Burgers with seasoned Sweet potato fries and Crispy Green Bean Oven Fries

Burger Ingredients:

(Makes 4)

One can of Butterbeans, drained, rinsed and mashed

1/2 chopped onion (red or brown...you decide i.e. whatever you've got in!)

1 medium carrot peeled and grated

1/2 clove garlic crushed (or more if you wanna keep minging Edward Cullen at bay...Team jacob! ;p)

1tsp Paprika

1-2 Tbsps BBQ sauce (Shop bought is just fine!)

Method:

- Fry off onions on a very low heat with a couple of pinches of sugar for around 10-20 mins until they're soft and getting wonderfully caramel in colour (I used fry light but you can use olive oil, butter, oil etc)

- at this point add the grated carrot and cook off for another few mins

- Take off the heat and combine all ingredients together, shape into burgers (Should make around 4) and then put on a plate to chill in the fridge for around 30 minutes so they firm up. (If yours are sloppy then add some flour to your mix)

Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries ingredints (this is enough for two....chop up more pots for more people)

One sweet potato sliced into chips/fries

1tsp chilli powder

2 tsps garlic granules/powder

1tbsp Paprika (smoked preferably)

1tsp oregano (mixed herbs if you don't have it)

2 tsps Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2tsp Cumin

Method:

-  place all ingredients in a bowl...stir until combined and all potato fries are evenly coated...Simples!

Crispy Green Bean Oven Fries Ingredients

One pack of trimmed green beans (around 200g...I only used 100g though as there's two of us)

2 egg whites beaten

2 slices of wholemeal bread turned into breadcrumbs 

A couple of Tbsps of wholemeal flour (plain if you don't have any wholemeal)

1Tbsp Cornflour

1Tbsp Garlic powder

1Tbsp Paprika

2tsps salt

1tsp pepper

2tsps mixed herbs

Method

- Blanch the beans (Boil for 3-5 mins until bright green and then drain and plunge straight into icy cold water to stop them cooking. Then drain again)

- Mix the breadcrumbs, cornflour, garlic, salt, pepper and herbs in a bowl and make sure evenly combined.

- Add the flour to a sandwich bag and chuck in the beans. Give them a good shake to  ensure they are all coated evenly.

- Take the beans out one at a time, shake off excess flour, dip in the egg whites and then put in the breadcrumb mixture, toss about a bit to make sure they have enough coating and then line up on a baking sheet. Continue this process for the rest of the beans.

Now to cook! 

- Preheat oven to 180degrees. When ready pop in the burgers and the seasoned fries. 

- After 10 minutes add the beans on the shelf below

- Cook everything for a further 15-20 minutes until everything is looking crisp and done!

- Serve up the burgers with whatever you want on them! We had Slices of cheese and loads of bbq sauce on top and salad.

- I also whizzed up a quick garlic mayo...Mayonnaise and a clove of crushed garlic and a splash of lemon juice. Was a perfect dipping sauce for the Green Beans and we wolfed it all down!!!

Now the best part...........Dessert!

Chocolate Philadelphia 'No Bake' Creme Brulee

Fruit...Chocolate....and sugar that makes the most amazing crack as you smash through it eagerly with your spoon. I think I died and went to heaven....I hope this isn't heaven as my house is still a tip!

Ingredients:

Tub of Chocolate Philadelphia (I only used around half as was just making the one....If I made anymore I would've been tempting (fat)e. 

2Tbsps of Greek Yogurt (You could use natural yogurt but due to the more liquid consistency the brulee wont be as 'set')

Berries...as many as you want! I had some frozen fruits of the forest in the freezer so just used a small handful of those and defrosted them!

2 Tsps granulated sugar

Method:

- put choc philly and greek yogurt in a bowl and heat gently to combine til you have a velvety smooth mixture (Please refrain from putting your face in at this point....as tempting as it may be!)

- Layer your fruit at the bottom of your ramekins and pour on choc mixture

- Put into fridge for a good few hours for the mixture to harden up (note it won't be as set as a traditional creme brulee as you don't have the fat from the eggs to harden it...but it still goes quite firm)

- An hour before ready to serve, take out of the fridge and top with your sugar, use a blow torch to carmelise the sugar...If you don't have a blow torch; heat your grill on its highest setting and place the brulee's under there until its melted. Then pop them back in the fridge for around an hour before serving.

Et voila you have a low fat gorgeous creme brulee that really does hit the spot!! I swear to god I could've eaten ten of them....then i'd be moaning at you all about getting fat again! So glad I only made one! 

My favourite part!!! Getting your spoon and smashing through that thick sugar layer to reveal the creamy goodness underneath.... Small things :)