21 and counting..

It’s been a while world, and for that I can only apologise. The new year bought new challenges for me, and I had a ridiculous amount of work to do – finding internship opportunities and all sorts. 

I’ve made a few recipes along the way…

  

HOME BAKED ONION BHAJI = dream come true 😍

   TURKEY STACK OF DREAMS 😘

  

LOW FAT COTTAGE PIE?! 😧😍

Anyhow, the recipes will follow in the coming months – I have exams to study for!

But let’s not forget I turned 21 recently. 

  

And how did I celebrate? 

Well, with food. 

  

Loch fyne SEAFOOD GRILL

 
Loch fyne SQUID TEMPURA WITH CHILLI JAM

  

And, following loch fyne, a family wagamama. 

  

But let’s not forget Gordon Ramsey’s beef Wellington. 

Well wasn’t that the most delicious birthday I’ve ever had. 

  

And don’t forgot the cake! (Or soufflé in this case)! 

Henrietta x

Is this even real?

Every so often I bump into some one who I haven’t seen in ages and they mention my weight loss. It’s nice. It makes me feel like I’ve achieved something.  

  
I can’t help asking myself if this is real. Have I really done this? 

I’m half expecting to wake up from a dream I’ve had since I was 5 years old.  But here I am, weighing 74kg at a height of 173cm – making me a healthy weight. 

The other day I even managed to fit into a pair of jeans I bought about a year ago because they were the only size in stock. (Ridiculous, I know – but I wanted them and they gave me a goal.)  My point is: I’ve done it and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.. And I think that comes down to my frame of mind. 

I’ve had such difficulty losing weight in the past – so what made it easier this time? 

Shortly after I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic I was watching an episode of Jeremy Kyle, in which a mother worried for the health of her son. He was 30 years old (10 years older than myself), weighed 30 stone (again, more than me at the time by 12 stone) and he was being urged to lose weight as he was…

At risk of developing diabetes.

At risk? 

AT RISK?!! 

I was sitting there feeling highly offended at the fact that he was at risk of developing type 2 diabetes yet I already had. 

Well I can’t lie – that hurt a little bit.

Sometimes I wonder.. If I hadn’t had watched that episode of Jeremy Kyle would I have changed? Honestly, I don’t think so. I would have shrugged off my diagnosis and continued consuming everything in my path. 

So thank you to the Jeremy Kyle show for somehow making my dream a reality.    Fat-free frozen yogurt to celebrate, anyone? 

Henrietta x 

Guilt-free pasta bake

A pasta bake is a dish that uses minimum effort but gives a big reward.   

I mean, come on, look at that?! 

Often pasta bakes are largely smothered in cheese and not as healthy as we’d all like them to be. 

Well not today. 

No one will stop me from eating whatever I want, I will find a way of enjoying every fat-filled dish in a low fat form.    
So a good pasta bake sauce is obviously required for a pasta bake – if you feel confident making your own then go for it! But I have only recently become aqainted to the pasta bake, so I have used pre-made sauces. Low fat only though! These jars serve four, but I use them to serve six. As far as I’ve noticed, it doesn’t make the bake dry so it makes more sense than buying two jars and being tempted to use all of the contents. 

  
Smokey bacon and chicken pasta bake 

Serves 6.

Ingredients 

500g dried pasta of your choice – cooked

Pasta bake sauce (home pride or dolmio is good – I’ve used dolmio tomato and cheese) 

12 smokey bacon streaky rashers (the ones I used had 2.5g saturated fat per 2 rashers)

225g chicken breast fillet (it’s not a lot but there’s plenty of bacon to add meat)

100g bread crumbs 

Parmesan to finish 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

2. Ensure that the 500g of dried pasta is cooked. 

3. Chop chicken and bacon into small pieces, just under an inch long.

4. Fry the chicken in a pan with a little oil for 5-10 minutes, until browned. Add the bacon to the pan and fry until the bacon looks cooked (about 5 further minutes) with the chicken. 

5. Add the pasta and pasta bake sauce to the meat and stir until there is an even distribution of meat throughout the pasta. 

6. Pour contents into an oven proof dish. Flatten for an even surface and evenly spread the breadcrumbs on the surface. 

7. Cook in the oven for 25-35 minutes – until bread crumbs have gone golden.

8. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and enjoy! 

 

With 2.5g saturated fat from the bacon, less than a gram from the sauce, 0.7g (roughly) from the chicken, and a very small amount from the pasta and breadcrumbs – you’re looking at a total of around 5g saturated fat per serving in this dish. Much less than your typical pasta bake.

Happy cooking!

Henrietta x 

New year’s motivation

This year is going to be the year I buy my first bikini, after hopefully sorting out my extra skin first. 

Not going to lie, it’s not a great feeling losing all this weight to improve your health but to be left with this loose, sagging skin hanging off my body. 

And I have a lot of it. Though I like to think I tuck it in and hide it away in my photos quite well. 

  
So before Christmas I made it to having a healthy BMI, but then I gained 2kg over Christmas (boohoo) so it’s time to get back on the diet. 

I hope everyone had an indulgent Christmas, it’s the least we all deserve! 

Happy 2016! 

Henrietta x 

Chips just got interesting..

So it was my partner’s 21st birthday the other day and he wanted a tefal actifry. Don’t ask why – we’re like an old couple really, we like kitchen appliances. 

So today I used it. I got him the tefal actifry express XL because he is hell bent on having something that’s ‘future proof’ and it was on offer for Black Friday. (It’s normally £250 but I got it for £160).

I highly recommend it, but a cheaper model perhaps. The actifry mini makes two portions and is frequently on offer at £99.99. 

  
So it’s chip time, and I cut up 150g peeled Maris piper potatoes into chip sized chunks. 

  
Oh they do look good.

  
So I put them into the actifry like so… And I only put one portion worth in there but the capacity is 1.5kg if anyone’s interested on this particular model! 

  
So it’s famous that 1kg of crispy chips only needs 1 spoon of oil – as I was only making one portion I used a minimal amount of oil. 

  
For a single portion of chips in the express actifry I set it for 20 minutes to create crispy, beautiful chips. 

  

 
So they started looking quite nice and crispy. 

  
And can I just say how impressed I was with this machine! It’s amazing. These chips are genuinely crispy and seriously 100 times better than any chips I’ve ever had from a deep fat fryer before.

  
Hey fish and chips – looking good. 

Henrietta x 

Baked chicken nuggets for those Macdonalds moments..

Now I have to admit, I used to eat a hella amount of macdonalds. 

Macdonalds chicken select was my favourite. Mmmmmm yes. 

So how do I combat a macdonalds craving? 

Baked chicken nuggets. Good ones. 

  

All I have to say is: you’re welcome. 

Ingredients: serves four.

16 oz (2 large) skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into even bit sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp olive oil

6 tbsp whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

2 tbsp panko

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

olive oil spray 
Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray.

2. Put the olive oil in one bowl and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another.

3. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then put in the bowl with the olive oil and mix well so the olive oil evenly coats all of the chicken.

4. Put a few chunks of chicken at a time into the breadcrumb mixture to coat, then on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the top with olive oil spray then bake 8 – 10 minutes. Turn over then cook another 4 – 5 minutes or until cooked though.

Recipe found from skinnytaste.com. 

Henrietta x

Weigh-in Wednesday: 3 Kg until Healthy.

Today marks 29 weeks since I began my weight loss journey, and today I hit the 6 stone mark. Not only did I reach the -6 stone milestone, but I can now officially say that I am 3 kg away from healthy. A healthy weight, a healthy BMI, and a healthy life.

Obviously I’ve somewhat adopted a healthy life for myself since my journey began 29 weeks ago but, as some one who has been overweight for 15 years of my life, I can safely say that this milestone will be my biggest accomplishment to date. I’ve trekked through the Himalayas, fallen off waterfalls in the Amazon Rainforest, had lions invade my camp on safari in South Africa and survived it all – but none of that mattered. None of that would have meant a thing if I died too young to tell my story. 

Morbidly obese and unhappy – thats who I was. Today I stand, marginally overweight, with 3 kilograms to go until I am officially “normal”. Freedom on an empty beach.

My diabetes? Still present, as far as I’m aware. Life is never perfect. But I’ve had a my life full of torment from people who thought they had the right to judge me for simply being different from them. 

I may well be an ex-fatty, but I will always be that fat girl at heart. I will never forget what every individual ever did to my self-esteem and, despite being healthy, I will never see myself as complete. I will probably always be fighting to be a better version of myself due to the insecurities placed in my mind by the snide comments, rude remarks, public torments, and broken dreams.

This post began as a positive one, and I hope I’ve not put anyone off completing their own weight loss, or healthy lifestyle, journeys. I simply state this.

Don’t lose yourself when changing your appearance. There are so many people I’ve met who would have been much nicer if they were social outcasts. 

I may not have transformed into a swan just yet, but I intend to remain as charismatic as the original ugly duckling.

Henrietta x

The Jean catastrophe

With university starting again, the deadlines have hit me and I’m working on them full speed ahead.. So I’ve been fairly absent from blog posting.

Yesterday, however, I woke up to my doorbell ringing. Naturally, I grabbed the first pair of jeans I could find and ran down to get my delivery, holding the jeans up frantically as I did this.

To my surprise there were two HUGE parcels for me that I couldn’t carry one-handed, so I let go on my jeans and took the parcels.

Only my jeans then fell off infront of the delivery man.

Though most people would be ashamed for life at this – I wasn’t. I looked up at him blankly and said ‘I’ve lost six stone, sorry.’ And he chuckled. I had a huge hoodie on so its not like he could see anything but my hideously hairy legs..

So here I am, standing in my UK size 22 jeans, proud to say they are FAR too large for me.

Hello UK size 14, I’m almost there on my journey to a 10. 👌🏻🎉

Henrietta x

Viva la lasagne

I don’t know about you but I love lasagne.

Just like Garfield.
So how can I find a low fat lasagne recipe to die for? 

Well, I start with one thing. Google.

BBC good food recipes always have low fat options if you search for them, and this recipe didn’t disappoint. 

  
You just may want to use the right sized dish so you don’t get curling, overspill like I did. 

  

  
Look at that beautiful spilling lasagne sauce. 

So good. 

So here it it. Pork and rosemary lasagne for champions. 

Ingredients 

1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing400g lean minced pork (less than 5% fat)

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 tsp dried rosemary

150ml white wine

425ml chicken stock

2 tbsp tomato purée

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp cornflour

2 x 250g tubs Quark (easier to find than I though! So isle placement to Philadelphia and other cream cheeses in supermarkets.)

250ml skimmed milk

freshly grated nutmeg

10 dried lasagne sheets, about 175g/6oz in total

15g/½oz freshly grated parmesan (about 5 tbsp)

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the pork and quickly fry until starting to become brown and crumbly. Add the onion, celery, rosemary and wine and bring to the boil. Cover and gently cook for 10 minutes, until softened.

Add the stock, tomato purée, canned tomatoes, and season. Stir well, then bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes by which time it will be nicely pulpy. Blend the cornflour to a paste with a few drops of water, then add to the pan and cook briefly until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.

Tip the Quark into a bowl. Give it a stir, then stir in the milk, nutmeg, seasoning.

Brush a 1.4 litre/2½ pint oblong dish with a little oil. Spoon a third of the meat over the base, then cover with 2 sheets of lasagne, breaking them to fit, if necessary. Try to avoid overlapping. Spread with a third of the sauce, a little parmesan, then 2 more sheets of lasagne. Repeat layers twice more, omitting the last layer of lasagne and finishing with the sauce.

Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and tender.

Super easy and super tasty. Now excuse me whilst I go eat some more.

Henrietta x

 

Who ate all the LOW FAT pies?

Oh, those were the days when I would be walking down the road and the group of teenaged boys behind me would chant ‘who ate all the pies?’ when I slipped on the ice infront of me. 

Winter wasn’t my friend.

But why does pie have to be associated with fat people? 

Yeah, I know, buttery pastries and all that can be fattening. Apple pies can be fattening. But why are all pie associated with fat?

I like pie and it is my right to eat it when I want. So the challenge was finding a low-fat pie recipe so that I don’t have to be called a fatty for eating pie. 

  

Enter this beautiful recipe I found from BBC Good Food, a low-fat chicken pie which I substituted with turkey breast which is supposedly leaner.

  

Ingredients (serves four)

For the filling

450ml chicken stock, from a cube (I use Kallo, organic)

100ml white wine

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 thyme sprigs

1 tarragon sprig, plus 1 tbsp chopped tarragon leaves

225g carrots, cut into batons

4 skinless chicken breasts, 500g/1lb 2oz total weight

225g leeks, sliced

2 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

3 tbsp crème fraîche

1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

1 healed tbsp chopped parsley

For the topping

70g filo pastry (three 39 x 30 cm sheets ideal)

1 tbsp rapedeed oil 

Method

1. Pour the stock and wine into a large, wide frying pan. Add the garlic, thyme, tarragon sprig and carrots, bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 3 mins. Lay the chicken in the stock, grind over some pepper, cover and simmer for 5 mins. Scatter the leek slices over the chicken, cover again then gently simmer for 10 more mins, so the leeks can steam while the chicken cooks. Remove from the heat and let the chicken sit in the stock for about 15 mins, so it keeps moist while cooling slightly.

2. Strain the stock into a jug – you should have 500ml (if not, make up with water). Tip the chicken and veg into a 1.5 litre pie dish and discard the herb sprigs. Pour the stock back into the sauté pan, then slowly pour in the cornflour mix. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche, mustard, chopped tarragon and parsley. Season with pepper. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

3. Tear or cut the chicken into chunky shreds. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture, then stir everything together.

4. Cut each sheet of filo into 4 squares or rectangles. Layer them on top of the filling, brushing each sheet with some of the oil as you go. Lightly scrunch up the filo so it doesn’t lie completely flat and tuck the edges into the sides of the dish, or lay them on the edges if the dish has a rim. Grind over a little pepper, place the dish on a baking sheet, then bake for 20-25 mins until the pastry is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately.

  
I actually shoved in whatever vegetables I had in my fridge which worked quite nicely! 

Happy cooking!

Henrietta x