Everyday 14 day diet plan

Something different today.

Before you read or use this post, please be aware, I am not a trained dietician or nutritionalist.  I am just excited to share with you how I have lost 7lbs in weight since starting my New Year diet. This equals a 4cm (1.5 inch) loss around my waist.

I am drinking plenty of water.  Alcohol and fizzy drinks are currently off the menu.  As I would struggle without coffee I am using skimmed milk. Skimmed milk is not my normal choice of milk but I am trying to achieve losing near a stone by the end of January. Some sacfrices are worth it.

In the past I have attended all manner of slimming groups and indeed I began blogging due to being on a Low-Carb diet and seeing the opportunity to share recipes. Low Carb was much more of a complete life style change than a particular diet. There were times when I struggled to stay on track with that lifestyle. More recently I attended Slimming World, which is where I found more comfort with food choices for me on a daily basis. Personally I think whichever you choose is about making some lifestyle changes.  Alas maintaining those tends to be my downfall!

I have included what I think the Syns are for each dish (Slimming World term); however if this is important to you, please work this  out for yourself as I do not have a calculator for SW.

You will see that I repeat my meals, this is purely due to the fact that I live alone but generally cook enough for 3 or 4 portions. In the menu below however, you will find 6 main courses published to help give you enough variety for one week. In the next few days I will be putting together a second fortnight to share with you. I do hope this is helpful and would love to hear from you.

Click on this link to open Fortnight One Diet Sample Menu

I exercise daily which is generally in the form of walking. I enjoy walking and so will walk for a couple of hours at least and walk for around 6 miles on average. If I do not manage to get out to walk then I will exercise at home using low impact You Tube videos. Generally exercising for 30 minutes to an hour.

 

Smooth Butter Chicken Curry

 

As I am sure by now, if you regularly visit my recipe blog, you will see I like a curry. Of course my favourites may not necessarily be the most health conscious choice whilst dieting! However do give this gorgeously smooth butter Chicken curry a whirl sometime.

This is a meal I made a while back and had not got around to publishing yet, but I am so keen to share  it with you, as it is absolutely delicious. As with all recipes I produce for you;  it is important to me to cook, photograph the dish and taste before I share. If I don’t like the look or taste of a dish, it will never appear on here.

Indian Butter Chicken is a very easy to eat mild curry but with a  creamy butter sauce. You will need to let the chicken marinade in a spicy yoghurt sauce, for at least an hour but overnight preferably.

To make this recipe healthier, you can do so by adding fat free plain greek yoghurt instead of double cream, but just be sure not to heat it up too quickly as it may curdle. You could cut down on the olive oil and butter, but of course this is the essence of the dish so the result will be marred. I may try it some time and let you know the results.

For a slightly more euthentic taste, add fenu greek in place of the teaspoon of dijon mustard; however I find fenu greek  loses it’s flavour quicker than I can use it, hence the replacement element of mustard.

I serve with boiled basmati rice and spinach. For a lower carb meal (the curry is only 9 net carbs portion), you could serve with cauliflower rice.

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Butter Chicken Curry

A mild creamy, buttery flavoured curry recipe

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Chicken, creamy,, mild curry
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 527 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1 kg Diced skinless chicken meat breast or thighs
  • 3 tbsp Plain greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala, Turmeric, Ginger paste and salt
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin, Coriander and Mild chilli powder
  • 2 cloves Chopped or minced garlic

Butter Sauce

  • 30 gm Butter
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 medium Finely chopped white onion
  • 1 inch Grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp Ground coriander
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin and Garam masala
  • 400 gm Tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp White sugar
  • 200 ml Double cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

Marinade

  1. In a large bowl place all the marinade ingredients and stir to fully coat the chicken. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

Butter Sauce

  1. In a large saucepan heat the butter and oil and once hot, cook the chicken cubes in batches. Do not cook too much at once, maybe in 4 batches; cook for about 3 minutes on each side and browned. Leave to one side until sauce is finished. Do not clean the saucepan.

  2. Add a small amount of water (2 tablespoons) or oil into the saucepan and add the onions. Mix in the residue from the chicken and add the lid and sweat the onions without colouring for about 5 minutes.

  3. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the coriander, cumin and garam masala.Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

  4. Stir in the tomatoes, chilli powder and salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

  5. Blend the ingredients with hand blender or food processor until smooth. Add the cream, dijon mustard and sugar and blend into the sauce.

  6. Return the sauce to a saucepan and add the chicken to the smooth sauce. Cook for 10 minutes for the chicken to absorb flavours and to complete cooking.

  7. Serve with simply boiled Basmati Rice.

Nutrients per portion as per recipe

Calories 527, Fat 28g, Net carbs 9g, Protein 55g

Homemade Mushroom Soup

I seem to have an overrun of mushrooms on hand and they do not seem to store so long at this time of the year so needing to use them up quickly I made myself a Mushroom Soup.

Homemade Mushroom Soup is so much heartier and fulfilling than shop bought, and so very easy to make using 6 basic ingredients; so why not give it a go.

As I am writing this whilst adhering to a low fat diet, I have not included cream into the recipe and therefore the photo will show a slightly darker soup than maybe I would normally serve. I will add a small amount of cream to the recipe as an optional ingredient.

If you are serving at a dinner party, you could add some croutons and it would look nice with some chopped parsley and a swirl of cream on the top of each portion.

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Homemade Mushroom Soup

Plain and simple soup using 6 basic ingredients

Course Lunch, Starter
Cuisine British
Keyword homemade soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 3 portions
Calories 88 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • 1 cal spray oil plus a little water
  • 200 gm Mushrooms roughly cut
  • 1 medium Onion roughly cut
  • 1 medium Potato peeled and roughly cut into 1 cm pieces
  • 2 Bayleaves
  • 200 ml Chicken or Vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 50 ml Single cream Optional to be added at the end once smooth

Instructions

  1. Heat about 10 sprays of one cal oil with a couple tablespoons water and add the onions. Put the lid on the saucepan and "sweat" (cook without browning) for about 5 minutes.

  2. Add the mushrooms and stir, pop the lid back on and cook for a couple more minutes.

  3. Add the potatoes and bayleaves and stir; pour over the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

  4. Check the potatoes are cooked through (they should be soft).

  5. Cool slightly and then blitz to a puree using a blender.

    Take care if using the food processor blender that the lid doesn't burst off from steam build up. I use a folded tea towel (to protect my hands from hot liquid) and press lid down hard when I turn the blender on.

  6. Season according to taste with salt and pepper.

    If you are adding cream, then add it now. Reheat soup before serving.

Nutrients per portion, excluding cream

Cals 88, Fat 1g, Net carbs 14g, Protein 3g

Leftover Roast Turkey Curry

I have now started my post Christmas and well overdue diet.  This January I am reducing my calorie intake, using the Slimming World principles; as this is the diet I have had the most success from in the past.

My biggest issue is that I Love to Eat and I Love to Cook gorgeous food, which generally isn’t helpful to my weight. I have ping ponged through a variety of diets over the years. I know all about healthy foods and the theory behind Low Carb diets, Low fat diets, everything in moderation and that’s where my downfall is, that word, “moderation”.

However whilst I am working my way through January, I will share any recipes that I feel are worthy of a place on my blog. Here is a Curry Recipe for Leftover Turkey. Probably a little late for you all now; however for 219 Calories, 7 net carbs, it is a very simple and tasty curry recipe, in which you could easily replace the turkey with chicken throughout the year. You can make it as spicy hot as you like but it probably suits a mildish curry powder, such as Tikka.

You could leave out the chilli pepper altogether giving you a very mild curry or you could use the chilli in the following way:

Mild- just use the tip, no seeds

Medium – deseed and disgard seeds and chop the flesh

Hot – use the lot, seeds and flesh

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Leftover Roast Turkey Curry

A healthy curry sauce to use with cooked turkey or chicken

Course Main Course
Cuisine British
Keyword Leftover turkey
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 2 portions
Calories 219 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • Fry light oil
  • 1 medium Onion chopped
  • 300 ml Chicken stock
  • 1 inch Fresh ginger grated
  • 2 cloves Garlic chopped
  • 1 Green chilli chopped to taste, see note at top of page
  • 1 tbsp Tikka curry powder Or another mild curry powder of choice
  • 200 gm Cooked turkey cubed
  • 1 tbsp Tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp Cornflour
  • 100 ml Reduced fat coconut milk

Instructions

  1. Use the 1 cal oil to coat the bottom of a saucepan, heat and add the onions. Add a little of the stock and then cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Do not brown the onions.

  2. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes. Add a little more stock if needed.

  3. Add the tikka curry powder and cook for 1 minute.

  4. Add the turkey and stir coating the turkey in the flavours

  5. Add the stock and tomato paste and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat to low.

  6. Mix the cornflour with the coconut milk and add to the saucepan, stir until completely mixed in. Bring back to the boil. Simmer until thickened.

  7. I added some spinach as I had some to use up, but you could leave it out.

  8. Taste and season.

  9. Serve with vegetable rice or for low carb diet, serve with cauliflower rice.

Nutrients per portion, not including rice

Calories 219, Fat 5g, Net Carbs 7g, Protein 31g

I have worked out this is 6.5 Slimming World Syns. *

*  Please note all my nutrients and in this case Syns, are worked out manually and should be used as guidance only.

Baked Salmon with Mediterranean Vegetables

Over indulgence of Christmas often leads to a January of weight watching and fitness. I am personally going to in the main, follow a lower fat diet and will share my recipes with you as we go. Hopefully I can inspire you to try some of my recipes and you can motivate me to stick to a dry January, low-fat diet and improved fitness.

My first recipe is going to be simple baked Salmon cooked with a medley of Mediterranean vegetables such as aubergines, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes.  Salmon is classed as an oily fish so has a higher fat content than say Cod; however it is rich in omega-3 fatty acid which is valuable to our diets. It is also very low in calories but high in protein, so you will feel full for longer; perfect to prevent cravings.

In the recipe I have used half a side of Salmon, but you could use Salmon cutlets instead. Although cost wise, I bought a half side of salmon from Lidl for £5.95 – that’s 3 or 4 portions.

5 from 1 vote
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Baked Salmon with Mediterranean Vegetables

Salmon cooked simply in a foil envelope with it's own and the vegetable juices.

Course Main Course
Cuisine British
Keyword Fresh Salmon, Mediterranian vegetables
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 3 portions
Calories 351 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • 2 medium Aubergines (peeled, quartered, sliced) (egg plants)
  • 1 medium Courgette (cut into 3cm x 1cm strips) (zucchini)
  • 1 Red pepper (sliced)
  • 200 gm Tomatoes (cut into 2cm x 2cm pieces) I used baby plum but any will do
  • 1/2 Side Salmon
  • Spray oil (about 6 sprays)
  • Salt and papper
  • 1 tsp Dried Basil

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven on 180 degrees, Gas 4. If your oven is fan assisted you may need to turn down to 170 degrees.

  2. Lay a large sheet of tin foil into a baking tray. You need the foil to overlap the tray as you will use it to form an enclosed "envelope" around the vegetables and salmon.

  3. Use the 1 cal oil spray to just coat the bottom of the foil and then lay over all the vegetables.

  4. Season with salt and pepper and then lay the Salmon on top. Add a teaspoon of dried basil.

  5. Fold the extra foil over the Salmon and vegetable so you have completely covered it. Now this will allow the contents to cook within their own juices.

  6. Pop in the oven and cook for around 40 minutes.

  7. Check the Salmon is cooked through and your dish is ready to serve.

  8. I served mine with a jacket potato, which I cooked in the oven alongside the Salmon.

Nutrients per portion, excluding jacket potato

Calories 351, Fat 14g, Carbs 6g (4g net), Protein 30g

Christmas Gluten Free Mince Pies

Last minute decision to make more mince pies on Christmas Eve. I am making them for my daughter who is celiac. My biggest issue is always the gluten free pastry; I’ve just never found a recipe that works and tastes great.

This Christmas I decided not to bother even trying and so bought pre-made, pre-rolled pastry; however it was so tough I couldn’t eat it. Such a waste of ingredients. I’d used my  Home-made Christmas Mincemeat to fill them but they  just had to go in the bin, the pastry was just aweful.

So this morning I searched the Internet for ideas to make GF pastry and came across “My Gluten Free Guide” by Laura Strange .

Well I made the pastry just as explained by Laura and it is actually amazing! The best GF pastry I’ve ever made.

You can find the original recipe here https://www.mygfguide.com/easy-gluten-free-shortcrust-pastry-recipe/ . You should look her website up, she has some fabulous ideas and I cannot wait to try some of them.

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Gluten Free Mince Pies

Shortcrust pastry pies with homemade mince meat

Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Sweet Mince Pies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 20 Small pies
Calories 177 kcal

Ingredients

  • 140 gm plain gluten free flour
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 70 gm unsalted butter very cold
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 jar mincemeat shop bought or homemade

Instructions

Make the pastry

  1. Place flour, xanthan gum and sugar into a bowl.

  2. Grate the butter into your flour using the large side of the grater.

  3. Gently coat the butter in flour by mixing around using a fork.

  4. Using your hands, gently rub the butter fully into the dry mIxture so it resembles breadcrumbs.

  5. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg and add about half of it to the mixture and stir through, using a fork trying to distribute throughout the mixture.

  6. Add a tablespoon of water and using your hands, bring the mixture together to create a smooth dough. If it is still crumbly then add a little more water, no more than a tablespoon.

  7. Place the dough on a large rectangle of grease proof paper and press down slightly. Fold the grease proof paper over the top so your pastry is enveloped inside. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Make the pies

  1. Pre-heat oven on 180 degrees or gas 4.

  2. Roll out the now chilled pastry on a floured board to about 4 to 5 mm thick.

  3. Cut out 10 x 8cm rounds and 10 x 6cm rounds. Place the larger ones in the patty pan, being careful not to break them.

  4. Into each pie, place about a dessert spoonful of mincemeat mixture.

  5. Pop the smaller round on top.

  6. Use the remainder of the egg to brush over the pies and sprinkle a pinch of caster sugar on top.

  7. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they are golden.

Nutrients per pie

Calories 177, Fat 7.5 g, Carbohydrates 25 g, Protein 1 g

Traditional Gingerbread Men

I love Gingerbread Men any time, but of course they must form part of the Christmas Fayre. These cute little figures are so easy to make and great fun for involving the kids.

I have only decorated mine with white royal icing, but why not buy some coloured sugar balls and the kids can decorate however they like.  You could go to town and add some edible glitter to make them even more Christmasy; or colour the icing. You can find in the bakery section of your supermarket an array of decorations, including icing pens.

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Gingerbread Men

Cute little snappy spicy biscuits

Course Snack
Cuisine British
Keyword Biscuits, Crunch, Spiced
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 9 minutes
Servings 40 biscuits
Calories 80 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • 350 gm Plain flour
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Ground ginger
  • 125 gm Unsalted butter cut into small knobs
  • 175 gm Soft dark brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp Golden syrup
  • 1 Large Egg

Decoration

  • Royal Icing
  • Writing Icing
  • Other decorations as required

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven on 160 or Gas 4.

  2. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda cinnamon and ginger together in a large mixing bowl.

  3. Add the butter, and rub in with your hands until you have mixture resembling breadcrumbs.

  4. Thoroughly mix in the sugar.

  5. In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg and golden syrup together and then add to the dry mix.

  6. Bring the mixture together to form a dough. Once the mixture has started to clump together it may be easier to turn onto a clean work surface and knead it to incorporate all the mixture.

  7. Place the dough in the fridge, covered or popped into a plastic pot with a lid. Leave to chill for at least 30 minutes.

  8. Your dough will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

  9. Roll the dough out to about 0.5 cm. Use cutters to cut out your required shapes and lay spaced out on a baking tray onto which you have laid parchment sheet or baking paper.

    I made about 40, but of course this will depend on the size of your

  10. Bake for around 9 minutes. The biscuits will be browner but still soft. Place carefully on a baking rack to cool and they will then crisp up once cooled.

  11. Decorate as required.

Nutrients based on 40 biscuits

Calories 80, Fat 3 g, Carbs 15 g, Protein 1 g

Fabulously Fresh and Simple Stir Fry

This is a very quick, tasty and simple recipe for stir fry. The base is really a vegetable stir fry; however I added roast pork to mine as I had a little left over from a roast dinner. You could add chicken or turkey also, but it must be pre-cooked.

My recipe and nutrients will include Chinese Egg Noodles; however if you are Low Carb then you could use Zoodles instead. Leave out the pepper as peppers are 6g sugars! By my calculations, using MyFitnessPal, you have a very low carb tasty meal of 6 net carbs for the stir fry plus another 6 for the Zoodles.

What I enjoy about this recipe is the simplicity and the freshness. I always use fresh vegetables for this dish as for me, that’s what makes the dish so tasty.

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Simple Stir Fry

A fresh vegetable stir fry with the option to add a little meat if desired.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword fresh, quick, simple, Stir Fry
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 510 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 300 ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp soya sauce
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 2 pak choi finely sliced
  • 2 medium carrots finely sliced
  • 1 red pepper sliced
  • 1 courgette sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 100 gm egg noodles
  • 100 gm roast pork shredded

Instructions

  1. In a saucepan cook the noodles as per the instruction on the packet. When cooked strain off the water and set aside. Your noodles can be cooking whilst you are preparing the stir fry.

  2. In the wok heat the oil and add the garlic, carrots and pak choi. Stir to coat in the oil and on a medium heat, cook the vegetables for a couple of minutes then add the rest of the vegetables. Add half the stock, all the ginger and soya sauce.

  3. Give the wok a stir up every minute or so to avoid the bottom burning.

  4. After 5 minutes the veg should be cooked. If it’s not to your preference then cook longer. If you are adding meat then add now and stir in. Cook for a further 2 minutes. This should be enough to thoroughly heat the meat.

  5. Add the rest of the stock and the egg noodles. Give it all a good stir up and then serve.

  6. I do not add salt or pepper as the stock and soya flavours are enough for my taste, but as with all cooking, you should taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Nutrients for the above recipe per portion

Calories 510, Fat 16g, Carbs 50g, Protein 32g

Carbs are high due to the egg noodles which account for 35g

Gluten Free Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding will keep in a cool dry cupboard for at least 6 months, so you can prepare well in advance. The traditional day for making a Christmas Pudding is the Sunday before Advent begins. This day is affectionatly known as “Stir Up Sunday”. Every member of the household should give the pudding a stir and make a wish. My Mum used to put an old sixpence in the pudding. It is believed that whoever found the sixpence on Christmas Day would enjoy wealth and good luck in the following year.

You can vary the fruit amounts between the different fruits, so if you haven’t got enough of one thing then top it up with another. For the sake of guidance however I will list my exact ingredients.

Also the recipe does not have to be gluten free and you could replace the gluten free flour with self raising flour and omit the xanthan gum.

You need to start this the day before you want to complete and cook as you will need to soak the fruit overnight or over a couple of days.

Serve with Brandy Butter

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Gluten Free Christmas Pudding

A moist traditional pudding for you Christmas Day

Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Christmas Pudding
Prep Time 1 day 30 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Servings 8 portions
Calories 385 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

Flavour development

  • 150 gm Raisins
  • 75 gm Currants
  • 75 gm Sultanas
  • 75 gm Chopped dates
  • 50 gm Mixed peel
  • 80 gm Dried cranberries
  • 1 Large Orange zest and juice grate the orange zest finely
  • 75 ml Cold black tea
  • 100 ml Brandy
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp Mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Combine the ingredients

  • 50 gm Flaked almonds Toasted and then chopped
  • 2 Eating apples such as coxes grated
  • 100 gm Soft brown sugar
  • 70 gm Dark soft brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Treacle
  • 50 gm Gluten free self-raising flour
  • 50 gm Gluten free breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tsp Xanthan Gum
  • 100 gm Gluten free suet Tesco Vegetable Suet is gluten free
  • 2 Large Eggs

Instructions

Flavour development

  1. In a large bowl place and mix well all the ingredients listed under flavour development; dried fruit, spices, orange, tea and brandy. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight - no need to refridgerate. If you are short of time, leave at least 1 hour.

Combine ingredients,

  1. Into the fruit mixture add the grated apple, chopped almonds, treacle and sugar.

  2. In another bowl mix together the flour, xanthan gum, breadcrumbs and suet.

  3. Mix in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and then add to the fruit mixture.

  4. Grease the pudding bowl well with butter and pour in mixture.

  5. Turn slow cooker onto high.

  6. Cover the bowl with baking paper with a pleat in it; then place foil, also with a pleat, over the baking paper. Secure in place with string, make a type of lifting handle with the string which will make it easier to lift the pudding when it has finished cooking. Cut off excess paper and foil.

  7. Using either a slow cooker or a large saucepan, place a trivet in the bottom. This could be an upturned old saucer; a tin jam jar lid, or a small metal pan lid.

  8. Place the pudding into the pan or crock pot onto the trivet. Fill half way up the bowl with boiling water.

  9. Simmer for 8 hours; this would be be same for either cooking pot. Make sure you keep the water level topped up.

  10. Once cooked, remove from the pan / pot and leave to cool.

  11. Turn upside down to turn out, remove all paper and foil and wrap in fresh and store in a cool place.

Serving on Christmas Day

  1. Steam or boil the pudding for 2 hours.

  2. Turn onto a serving plate. Warm some brandy. Pour over the pudding and taking care, set light to it.

  3. Serve with Brandy Butter

Nutrients per portion

Cals 385, Fat 16 g, Carbs 53 g, Protien 4 g

Sweet Red Pepper and Carrot Soup

This week I received carrots and red peppers in my vegetable box. I am not a lover of carrots served as a vegetable, however I quite like them in a soup or raw in a salad or as a crudite.

This soup recipe is very simple; cook the vegetables until cooked and then blitz in the blender. The peppers I used were particularly juicy, red and ripe, which therefore made the soup quite sweet. I added quiet a bit of black pepper to balance the sweetness, but of course this would be a personal choice.

You could also roast your peppers and onions in the oven rather than cooking with the carrots in the stock. This would give a slight baked flavour. Lay on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and cook on 180 / gas 4 for about 20 minutes or until soft and tender. Then add to the cooked carrots and stock, and blend either with a hand blender or liquidizer.

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Sweet Red Pepper and Carrot Soup

A sweet full of freshness light soup.

Course Soup, Starter
Cuisine British
Keyword Carrot and Red Pepper Soup
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 3 portions
Calories 159 kcal
Author SharonBye

Ingredients

  • 1 medium Onion roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 500 gm Carrots roughly sliced
  • 2 Red Peppers roughly chopped
  • 500 ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
  • Salt and Pepper seasoning to taste

Instructions

  1. In the saucepan, heat the oil, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft but not brown.

  2. Add the rest of the vegetables, stir, put the lid on and sweat the vegetables for just a couple of minutes.

  3. Add the stock and a little salt and pepper.

  4. Cook for 20 minutes until the carrots are cooked and soft to the touch of a knife.

  5. I recommend you leave to cool slightly to avoid scalding yourself when blending or to prevent built up steam blowing the top off the food processor blender.

  6. Blend to a smooth consistancy. Check and adjust the seasoning to your own taste.

  7. Soup is now ready to heat when required. Serve with bread of your choice.

Nutrients per serving

Cals 159, Fat 5.4g, Carbs 25.5g (net 18g), Protein 3.5g