Apologies for not posting sooner – I kept planning to post and then life got in the way – we had a lovely family weekend and so I just didn’t bother with posting up the recent recipes I tried – but I’m back and I have a few lovelies for you all tonight!
My first task was to make a curry for Paddy. We love one pot meals and there is nothing nicer after a busy day to come home to something that is ready to pop into the microwave. So I searched high and low and finally found a suitable packet paste for Thai Green Curry.
It is from a range called Asian Home Gourmet and they are difficult enough to find – I got mine in Nolan’s Butchers in Kilcullen – they of Craft Butchers of Ireland fame – they won first place this year. I have sent an email to the company asking where the sauces can be bought and I’ll keep you posted.
So. Easy peasy.
I heated a saucepan with a little coconut oil in, then squeezed in the paste – I know you should make your own but you know – Tuesday evening – busy lives – I don’t usually have lemongrass and the like on hand! Have a look and you will see – nothing bad in the paste – a tiny amount of sugar in the fish sauce – negligible, so it was okay for us.
Into the paste and veg I threw in about a carton of coconut cream – I had no coconut milk – it didn’t matter – it worked very well.
Then I added my chopped up chicken breasts – I used three small ones for dinner for two. the sauce wouldn’t really stretch to more than that. I watched that it didn’t boil as coconut has an awful habit of separating if it boils vigorously. I left it on the hob at a very low heat – about 3 on mine – for 30 minutes – long enough for the chicken to cook and be tender.
Then I julienned my courgette and cooked it in a tablespoon of coconut oil and served the curry on top of that.
Oh my word – what a tasty dish – I will have to visit my mother again soon just so I can get a few sachets of that sauce – it was really gorgeous and so satisfying. So many people wonder how we can follow this plan with no carbs – everyone says – Oh I couldn’t live without my bread/pasta/potato/rice/noodles. Hello! Meet your sister! Yet here I am 12 weeks later expounding the virtues of courgettini as the noodles of courgette are called affectionately by the banting community! Really. I’m not pretending to like them – they are truly fabulous – and we do not miss the carbs!
This is a new favourite.
Of course while that was cooking I had some chicken breasts left over so I decided to make up my own recipe – so I butterflied the breasts then threw some pesto – I found a suitable one with all the right ingredients in M&S – where would I be without them! Then I loaded them up with my mature grated cheddar from Lidl or Aldi – it’s all a blur – and whacked them into the oven at my favourite temperature of all – 180 degrees fan! They cooked merrily for 25 minutes and were amazing. I had half a breast for lunch the next day with avocado, tomato and leaves – oh and a dollop of Philadelphia – – my workmates were intrigued – and it tasted great and was so filling.
This week I pooched in the fridge and sighed. My husband had an incident with some spinach which had gone off we think – his tummy was a bit wobbly for 36 hours – a great result on the scales mind you – he’s now down over 2 stone – I’m still hanging in at 25 pounds – it is the same with every food plan – men just lose more quickly than we do – and I realised that I had a 500 gm head of broccoli ready to throw away.
Instead I made broccoli and cheddar soup – with some other stuff I found!
I sliced a leek and fried it in a saucepan with a tblsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I chopped the broccoli into pieces and threw it in on top. I did let the leek brown a bit for flavour first. Then I added about a pint of water and a vegetable stock cube. I will be honest and say I don’t stress over brand of stock cube – there is always a bit of potato starch in them but my God that’s okay with me – I am a banter but not an evangelist! I then discovered a courgette that was ready to head for the compost heap any day soon too so I chopped that up as well and threw it in. Oh and I put in some dried mixed herbs. It was so easy. I let it cook until the broccoli and courgette were soft – about fifteen minutes.
I then took it off the heat, poured in 100 mls of cream and blitzed it with the stick blender. when that was done I put it back on the hob and added 150 gms of mature grated cheddar and let it heat to eating temperature. That amount made five portions. It was just gorgeous. I added flaked almonds on top the first time I ate it then didn’t bother after that – it was so tasty and I have had it twice at work for lunch this week – really hearty and very satisfying.
It has been an interesting ten days food wise. I am realising that there is so much food out there that is low carb and tasty – and sugar free. I found a great site called ditchthecarbs.com and have taken a page from their site about the best and the worst foods to eat.
It pretty much sums up what we are doing here. They also have some delicious recipes for you to try out.
Have a great week everyone!
Bantinginireland 