Ideas

So I've got a mate who's dieting like crazy with his girlie. Unfortunately, she's more into the idea than the reality of dieting. So I've given him some tips, and I thought it would be nice to have them up here too.

If you have any to add, please do so. I have 3 weeks left of the challenge and fresh ideas will keep me going.

Snack ideas - low fat/low carb
Vegetables (celery/capsicum/cucumber/cherry tomatoes) with ricotta. Or tzatziki. Or any other low carb, low fat dip. This one is also quite nice with ricotta mixed with a little pepper, and a slice of deli meat (turkey, ham, pastrami). Ok, maybe 2 slices of pastrami. Its kinda small.

Ricotta can be mixed with;
mashed egg and cracked pepper
peanut butter
fish/ham/chicken paste.
I'd recommend mostly ricotta with a little of the other stuff just to give it some flavour. Definitely more ricotta than egg. Otherwise it gets a gluggy texture.

You can also bake ricotta. Mix with a little bit of honey and sultanas (this version is not low carb). Or frozen berries. Or cinnamon. Bran with small chunks of banana (again, this one not low carb). Milo. I mix mine with flavoured protein powders and just chuck it in the oven for about half an hour, until the top is golden. Of course, that's hard to tell with the amount of cinnamon I put on it, but even if its undercooked, the middle is still gooey goodness.

Low carb nuts. Just a handful. I don't know about you, but I can't ration them, so I don't have them. Same goes for avocado.

Mushrooms are nice if you can stomach them raw. Serve with a small amount of low fat cheese, 2-3 cherry tomatoes, a few olives and pickled onions.

Low kj cordial or flavoured tea can fill the gaps between snacks/meals.

Chewing gum and sugar free lollies are also good for keeping your mouth busy. But in moderation. They DO have a laxative effect and contain kj, with no nutritional value.

An egg. Seriously. Just an egg.

A low carb protein bar. Just make sure its less than 4g carbs per bar.

Low fat
Yoghurt. I recommend Nestle diet. Seriously, cannot sing its praises enough. No fat, no added sugar. Great, creamy texture and fruity taste. Yoplait 'for me' is also quite good (their apple pie flavour is delish!), but its a smaller serve (150g vs 200g), not quite so creamy, and has a bit of a fake sweetner aftertaste.

Berries. On their own if you want. Or with a small amount of yoghurt. And a sprinkle of oats on top.

If you're a total gym junkie (like me atm) and are into your flavoured protein shakes you can mix a half serve into yoghurt. Its kinda like cake batter and seriosuly nom tastic.

Vita weats are also quite good to snack on. You can put a little low fat cheese on it. Or cheese/tomato/pickled onion. Tomoato/cucumber/mayo. Or slice a pre boiled egg and top with a little dijonnaise. Or just eat them plain.

Fruit - pears, apples etc. I've heard that apples are quite good with a little bit of peanut butter. Or cinnamon (shake on cinnamon, bite. Shake on cinnamon, bite). No banana. Too high in sugar.

Weight watchers fruit snack cups.

2 square of DARK chocolate if you need the sugar hit. I find dark chocolate is more satisfying than milk, and less likely to have you running back to the cupboard for more in 20 minutes. Also, plain biscuits, like milk coffee or arrowroot. Just one serve. 3-4 biscuits.

Meal ideas
Ricotta mixed with lean bacon, fresh herbs and pepper. Sliced mushrooms on top of that. And mixed egg on top of that again.

Chilli mince. With vegetables (capsicum, onion, mushroom). For added kick I put in eggplant basted in peri peri sauce. Muchly hot little bits in my chilli. With beans if you're not going low carb. Seved on lettuce with tzatziki and low fat cheese on top.

Casseroles. On stock or tomato bases. Lots of veges.

Cacciatore - tomato, vege stock, browned chicken, onion, potato (cauli for a low carb option), fresh herbs. Braise. Serve with brown rice.

Home made soups. I particularly like chicken and sweet corn, made with (skinless) BBQ chook.

Lean meats. Marinated. Served with steamed veg (kinda obvious, I know). OR grilled meat with steamed snow peas, cauli, broccoli, beans AND grilled tomato, mushroom, eggplant, onion and zucchini. I call this one my 'fake roast'.

Tuna and salad. With a huge mix of veges (anything you can stomach raw), a small amount of cheese, a few olives (hey, its gotta be interesting), bean sprouts and alfalfa. Dressed with plain balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper.

Stir fry's. 'Nuff said.

Chicken skewers with vegetables. Served on brown rice.

Home made pizza on a wholemeal pita bread.

Recipes

BLUEBERRY, YOGHURT & OAT MUFFINS
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup skim milk
375 ml greek/natural yoghurt
1 2/3 wholemeal SR flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil,
dash of lemon
1 teaspoon salt
2 lightly beaten large eggs
1 tin blueberries

Moisten oats with milk and mix with 125g low fat greek or natural yoghurt. Refrigerate for a few hours/overnight.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Combine yoghurt and oat mix with all ingredients, except bluberries. Mix until smooth.

Drain blueberries and fold into mix. Spoon into muffin cases. Bake until muffins spring back when touched lightly in centre.

Eat. Preferably cooling them if you can wait.

WHOLEMEAL FRUIT SCONES
1 2/3 cups wholemeal SR flour
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
About a tsp of sesame seeds
2 small grated red apples
Sml handful of sultanas/ chopped dates
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients. Flour bench top and knead dough onto it. Roll out with floured rolling pin and cut with a round cookie cutter* or cut with knife.

Bake at 180C until cooked. Eat.

*an appropriately sized cup will do the same thing.

Goal Reached!

Ok. So in my first post I said there were a few things I wanted. Well, among them was to fit into my old jeans. Appropriately. Well, I'm wearing them now!

I'm going to work extra hard this week and I'm aiming to be at 90 kg by this time next week.

I think I'll be living on soup and salads.

Kangaroo and Veg Broth.

1x pack French onion soup
1x pack chicken noodle soup
500g marinated Kangaroo meat (or beef strips if Roo not available)
1x large onion (2x small)
3x sticks celery (with leaves)
1x capsicum
2x carrots
1x tin baby corn
1x broccoli stalk

Bring 2L of water to boil. Add both packets of soup, Reduce heat to simmer. Dice meat finely and add to water. Add drained corn and coarsely chopped onion, celery, capsicum, broccoli stalk and peeled carrots. Finely chop celery leaves and add to pot as well. Fresh parsley and oregano can also be finely chopped and added for extra flavor.

Simmer until meat is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tip: Kangaroo meat is notoriously tough, and very flavorsome. Cooking it in soup tenderizes it, and it gives an amazing flavor to the broth.

Low Fat Creamy Pumpkin Soup

1x large butternut pumpkin
1x pack chicken noodle soup
1x tin low fat coconut milk

Bring approx 2L water to boil and add soup mix. Chop pumpkin into squares. Add to pot. Reduce heat to a slow boil and cover for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Pumpkin will turn to mush as it cooks. When the sop has reached a desired consistency, add coconut milk.

Tip: If desired, double the amount of soup packets and coconut cream. Add a cup of caramelised onion for a sweeter kick.