A Comforting Cauli Cheese

Hello lovelies.  And a special hello to Cocojayne a new follower.  Thank you for stopping by.

One of my favourite comfort food dishes is cauliflower cheese, although these days such creamy cheesy goodness is out of the question as it leaps out of the dish and slathers two inches onto my already ample hips.

I was, therefore, intrigued to find that Slimming World had concocted a low syn version of it so today I've given it a try.

You will need:-

One large (as big as your head) cauliflower or two smaller ones. Or a bag of frozen if that's your thing.
One 500ml pot of fat free natural yoghurt
2 eggs - beaten
2 cloves of garlic
One bunch of spring onions
90g low fat cheddar-grated
1 teaspoon of English mustard
Low fat cooking spray such as Frylight

So.  Break the cauliflower up into small florets and boil or steam until tender.

Whilst the cauliflower is cooking chop up the spring onions and garlic quite and spray a frying pan with Fry Light.  Fry the onions and garlic until transparent. I didn't have spring onions (well actually I did. Or they may have been Torontonians onions once)  Sigh.  I used a finely chopped red onion instead as it was more easily identifiable in the bottom of the fridge!

ANY way.

Drain the cauliflower and leave to dry off for a short while before transferring into a ovenproof dish.

Into a bowl transfer the yoghurt, the mustard, and the beaten egg and stir well until combined.

Add the cooked onions and garlic and also three quarters of the cheese. Mix until well combined.  Add seasoning to taste. I use a fab cheapie seasoning which is basically garlic, salt and pepper. It's about a pound for the grindy bottle and I use it over everything, particularly veggies.  Because I'm a rebel I also added a shake of smoked paprika.

Pour the mixture over the cooled cauliflower and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake until golden and bubbling

I was sceptical about the use of yoghurt  but I was very pleasantly surprised.   Next time I may chop up some grilled bacon to mix in for a bit of a twist. I reckon the sauce would also work well with par boiled sliced potatoes for a low fat version of daupinoise potatoes.

This will be served with some lean pork loin, carrots, broccoli and sprouts. No potatoes as I'm avoiding carbs  right now.

For those of you following Slimming World then the syn value is 3.5.  It stares that this is a four person serving but I reckon our huge dish will be divided into at least six portions. I guess you could make the appropriate alteration for your healthy extra A choice.

Weight loss update - 24.5 lbs gone so far. It's the tip of the ice berg really but I've made a good start since 5 January.

Do you have a low fat version of a favourite comfort food?

See you soon xx

Every loser wins ...

Hello beautiful ones!  I trust that you are all fine and dandy and the week is being kind to you. A very warm welcome to my new followers.  It's lovely to `see` you here.

Thanks so much for your lovely comments about the weight loss so far.

At weigh in on Monday, this happened!!

My son has asked me to point out that his thumb plays a starring role in this picture!

I was a little disappointed in just a half pound loss last week, particularly when I have seven trillion stones to lose so I made a few adjustments to my eating plan.  I love them, but at the mere sniff of a potato or a slice of bread and the carbs joyfully migrate to my hips and have a party. And invite their friends.  So although you can eat anything on the plan in moderation, I cut them out completely last week apart from two tiny salad potatoes and a tiny amount of noodles added to a stir fry. I tried as much as possible to eat 'clean' and filled up on lovely fresh veggies, fruit, salmon and chicken. I didn't feel deprived at all and amused my office colleagues by eating a bag of sugar snap peas at my desk. It must look like I'm eating all the time!!  Added to this was lots of water and I replaced my copious cups of tea and coffee with hot water. For my evening treats I've been enjoying a yoghurt and fruit, a low cal hot chocolate drink and the odd curly wurly to assuage any chocolate deficiency!  

All this combined with a couple of power walks at lunch time resulted in a five pounds loss, and so brings my total to date to 22lbs

I achieved my stone and a half award, and was, embarrassingly, slimmer of the week again. It really does prove that if you stick to the plan it will work. I've cheated on diets so many times in the past but the only person I've been cheating is myself. And quite frankly, that just ain't on any more sunshine!

A thought for the week :  Don't wish for it. Work for it. 

Random piece of information:-  I have 19 kiwi fruit in my kitchen. I think they're breeding. 

Non-foody treat purchase this week:- an infusions bottle, more about this soon. 

Something I'm looking forward to:- a dirty Romantic weekend away with me fella in Gloucester  

See you soon! 

Weekend catch up

Hey guys

How lovely of you to visit me here at Peapods.

It's been very cold here in the Black Country this week but although icy we've had no snow.  The sunrises over the field have been stunning.

I'm so lucky to have such easy access to the canal towpath near to where I work. I never get tired of it.  It's odd. I feel a real affinity with it and the barges make me very wistful.  I often wonder what it would be like to live on a barge.

The canal has been iced over for days and the wisps of smoke hanging in the still morning air from the barges smells delicious.

As part of my self imposed 'get fit for fifty' regime, I've been trying to do at least forty minutes walking during my lunch break. If I can walk away from the office for twenty minutes then that allows me twenty to get back and still have time to grab some lunch.  It's baby steps right now but everyone has to start somewhere and at least I'm doing something rather than sitting vegetating at my desk.  So far I've lost 17lbs since 5 January so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.  Stones and stones to go but again, it's a start.

During my walks I have seen coots, moorhens, Canada geese, ducks and a pair of swans who I'm really hoping will nest somewhere neat and raise a family. They've been around for a few weeks now so I'm hoping so.

This week I bought my fellow secretaries a bunch of daffies each as a cheer up token. I think we were all feeling a bit 'February-ish' so the splashes of gold around the office really brightened things. You can't feel glum with a pot of daffs on your desk!

I saved mine for home and mixed them with iris and hyacinths. Very springy!!

See you soon. Xx

Snowy Sunday and Substantial Sustenance!

Hello lovely readers

I'm sulking because my week off has come to an end.   (insert grumbling, groaning, general gnashing of teeth and childish poutiness here).

Ok. Rant over.   Chin up there girl! **dabs eyes with tissue** Sniff.

Like most of the Country, the snow hit the Black Country hard late yesterday afternoon and settled quickly, giving a considerable coverage by 9pm.  This morning however was a different story.  The semi-thaw had set in and turned the snow into horrible grey slush. 

The field was already thawing by the time the Hooligan and I went for a wander.  He loved it last night and , like a small child, was very reluctant to come in!  He was chasing snowballs and snapping at snowflakes for ages, bless him.  He's not seen snow before as he'd only have been a tiny pup when we had the heavy snowfalls of 2010/11.

On these cold mornings us dieters need something warm and substantial inside us to set us up for the day! (keep it clean now!).   I've been hearing about these 'oaty yoghurt pancakes' for a while now on the various Slimming World forums/Facebook pages I waste time on   frequent.  They're very simple and very filling.  Simply empty a muller (or indeed any fat free yoghurt) (I used a vanilla one today) into a bowl, add 35g of porridge oats, give the mixture a good stir, and leave in the fridge overnight.  Next morning, you can either eat it straight from the frridge or heat this gently in the microwave for a nice smooth porridge ... or... even better -  beat an egg and add to the mixture.  Spray your frying pan with good old Fry Light, heat until you get a decent sizzle, then drop dessert spoon fulls of the mixture into the pan. 

Turn down the heat a little and cook the pancakes slowly.  After 2 - 3 mins, you should be able to flip the pancakes over to cook the other side without them breaking up (best to do this with a fish slice) then cook the other side for 2 - 3 mins or until they're golden brown and firm.  They'll resemble little American pancakes. 

Here's the finished article topped with fresh blueberries and a spoon of natural yoghurt.  Seriously yummy, filling for yer tummy and something I'll definitely be repeating tomorrow!

Happy face-filling! ;)

Marketing

Friday greetings fellow bloggers.

How cold is it where you are then?  It's been around minus 4 here for most of the day but we've also been blessed with the most beautifully crisp, blue skies and brilliant sunshine.  Thank goodness the chickens are now fully clothed again after their recent moult.  I did feel sorry for them running around looking bedraggled and bare necked.  I should have crocheted them some little chicken scarves shouldn't I?!  Haha - there's an image for you and a plan for next year!   Betty Chicken is back in lay now after her wintery rest and her crest is becoming the most beautiful bright red once again.  Hattie and Princess Leia are not laying again just yet and their crests remain a rather insipid pink colour, but as the light levels grow I'm sure it won't be long before we're a three eggs a day family again! 

Sorry for the chicken booty shot - they wouldn't keep their pecky heads still long enough for me to show you the difference in the colour of their crests. Tut! 

I took them some warm sweetcorn this afternoon for a little treat.  Spoilt rotten they are!  Their water was frozen solid again from this morning so their water feeder was topped up with hot water which would have cooled down within minutes in the sub zero temp.  They've shuffled off to bed now and i'll pop up shortly and lock them up for the evening. 

We had a chance to pop up to Brierley Hill, (a local Black Country market town which struggles to survive alongside the behemoth which is Merry Hill shopping centre situate less than half a mile away) today to do our shopping.  We decided to get all of our veggies from one of the little independent greengrocer's shops and came away laden with: 2 punnets of strawberries, a punnet of grapes, a bag of lychees (mmmmmmmm!!!), satsumas, Cox's apples, 2 punnets of blueberries, a sweetheart cabbage, two leeks, two little gem lettuce, 2 parsnips, 1 swede (breathe), 2 cucumbers, a pack of three peppers, 2 large heads of broccoli, 2 bunches of spring onions and a big lemon! - all for the princely sum of £13.40.  Not bad really eh and will do us for at least a week.  I do love having lots of lovely fresh produce in the house.

Here you go - looks wonderful doesn't it?  I can't wait to get into the allotment again - I'll be able to grow most of the above, weeds and weather permitting!

Incidentally, on a slimming forum I frequent, a poster on there was bemoaning the price of fresh fruit and veg.  Being on a limited budget (aren't we all these days?) as a single Mum with two small kids, she had rocked up to the till of her local supermarket with a punnet of strawberries and some grapes for their lunch boxes, the sum total of which was £3.48.  She simply couldn't afford it so had to put them back.  She then went next door to the Poundstretcher shop and picked up an 8 pack of crisps for just 50p.   Is it any wonder that there's an obesity epidemic when junk food is so cheap compared to fresh? No wonder she was cross.

Moving on.

From the indoor market we bought a good size piece of shin of beef - which makes the best stew ever incidentally - for approximately £3.00 - so we're all set up to get snowed in tomorrow now!!  Suits me Sir!  

We went for a wintery walk over the field with the hooligan this afternoon.   I wanted to photograph pussy willows and catkins and snowdrops - and couldn't find one of either of them!!!  How bloody rude is that?!  Just acres of dun fields and skeleton trees...

Also, I'm going to have a grumble about the farmer too cos he's ploughed all over the paths butting up to the fields which makes for flippin' dicey walking conditions, particularly when the ground is frozen so hard.  We really had to concentrate on where we were walking for fear of turning ankles.  This accompanied by being rendered semi blind by brilliant sunshine and hyper sensitive myopic eyes and being unable to readily see my feet due to being rather over-blessed in the boobage department - I was glad to get home I can tell you!!

Harvey thought it was hilarious.  I was not impressed.

Burger and chips for dinner this evening!  Good old fashioned dieting food yes?! Well.  Yes actually!!

I made the burgers with lean minced beef, red onion, garlic, a stock cube and a tablespoon of burger relish - all mixerated up in the mixery thingie (technical culinary term obvs.), then either mould burgers in your own fair hands if you prefer a more rustic look, or use one of those plastic burger presses to make them all  profesh and uniform looking.  Chill in the fridge for a while until needed.  The burgers.  Not you. 

Here's some I made earlier (tee hee!) using a very old plastic burger press which is probably insured against Viking raids.

Griddled burgers topped with a melty extra light Laughing Cow triangle each, salad and a couple of small tatoes cut into chips, par boiled, drained, sprayed with Frylight, sprinkled with paprika and baked in a high hoven(!) until crispy. 





Bloomin lovely, comfort food for a Friday evening and no synning involved.  As Man is off to work this evening there'll be no synning later either.  Tsk.

Have a wonderful evening!