Category: Low fat

Broccoli soup (5:2 day recipe)

IMG_0690 (600 x 450)We’re back in Turkey following two weeks in the UK, main-lining pork products, rhubarb crumble and hot cross buns, not to mention quite a lot of Old Speckled Hen in Robin’s case!

Today is rainy, so no walks for us, making it an ideal day for a super-strict 5:2 fast. Because we’ve done so much walking this winter, we’ve found it a struggle at times to stick to our calorie limit on our fasting days, so we’ve resolved to get back into the swing of things over the next few weeks. Very soon, we will be entering the short period of the year where it is too hot to walk anywhere other than high up in the mountains, but the pool is too cold for swimming, so the pounds will soon start to pile on if we don’t keep our wits about us. Continue reading “Broccoli soup (5:2 day recipe)” →

Asian ‘lobby’ rice pot

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My brother loves a ‘lobby’. The kind of thing where you just lob everything into the pan and hope for the best. Despite his enthusiasm for throwing caution to the wind, I tend to be marginally more scientific about it – I start with a recipe, pick it to pieces, keep the bits I like the look of, and change everything else. I don’t apply this principle to baking, I hasten to add – in that case, I would definitely try the recipe first, then make modifications. Continue reading “Asian ‘lobby’ rice pot” →

Kind-of-healthy appetisers

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We had friends over for dinner on Saturday evening and I was trying not to sabotage our weight loss efforts too much. I rarely serve a first course these days, but I wanted something we could have with drinks pre-dinner. We recently visited some friends in the UK, who served some delicious hummus varieties they’d bought from M&S. Continue reading “Kind-of-healthy appetisers” →

Raining lemons and limes

IMG_0468 (2)Disappointingly, we awoke to the patter of rain this morning. Rain rarely patters here – it normally falls in sheets, accompanied by swirling winds and much thunder and lightning, and it sneaks in through cracks in window panes and underneath doors. Today was a much gentler – almost English – affair, but it deterred us from our planned walk and I have passed the day catching up on a few household chores.

A big chunk of the afternoon was spent on the phone, trying to get through to Thomas Cook, who have most helpfully cancelled the return part of our flight when we go back to the UK for a couple of weeks at Easter, and have now put us on a flight two days earlier with no consultation or option to say ‘no, thank you.’ I cannot, apparently, deal with this online, I have to actually speak to a person – none of those people, according to Thomas Cook’s answering service at their call centre, would be available to speak to me for at least 60 minutes and we would be the ones swallowing the phone bill for that wait, from here in Turkey. Grrrrrrr. Continue reading “Raining lemons and limes” →

Spicy soup for a cold day

Pumpkin soup.jpgFirst of all, a confession – I got so carried away with the need to eat this that I completely forgot to photograph what I was doing as I went along. But it is all pretty simple – I am sure you can visualise chopped veggies – so I’m going to give you the recipe anyway, as it is pretty yummy, particularly served with hot garlic bread.

Today has not only been extremely cold, but it is a diet day, so that’s a double whammy. Robin and I have been following the 5:2 diet, quite successfully, for about three years. We no longer count every calorie, as we’re really just concerned with maintaining our new weights rather than losing any more kilos, but we try to eat very lightly on 5:2 days and sneaky glasses of wine are strictly forbidden. Continue reading “Spicy soup for a cold day” →