Tuna salad

OK, so this might look like the tricolour salad I made yesterday, but it's completely different!

Mostly, it tastes very different because instead of fresh herbs and lemon I made a Chinese inspired dressing. I used almost 1 Tbsp each of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sweet chilli dipping sauce. Mix well, and pour over the salad. The dressing makes enough for two or 3 - I'll keep what's left for later in the week.

One of your Five a day

I've become a bit obsessed with books and TV programmes about healthy living, food and exercise. This is partly to educate myself about what's happening to my mind and body, and also so that I can separate myth from fact when it comes to claims and hype.

I watched a program last week about the "5 a day" claims that many manufacturers use on their packaging. Now I'm a big advocate of getting my 5 a day getting all of mine from fresh fruit and veg, so imagine how horified I was to find out that chocolate biscuits and fruit bread could be labelled as a portion!

It appears that the government logo for 5 a day (shown here) is very restricted in its use - the food must contain at least the equivalent of 80g of fruit or veg from the prescribed list, and only limited amounts of fat, sugar and other calories, whilst there is no restriction on manufacturers making up their own logos and adding them to any food containing fruit or veg - and they can label anything from 1/2 a portion (i.e. 40g fruit or veg) and can disregard the sugar and fat content.

So a manufacturers' claim that something "contributes to your 5 a day" doesn't mean it's a whole portion, or even that it's good for you! Very much a case of buyer beware.

If you want to see the program, it was in the Dispatches series on C4, and you can find out more here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/myths-about-your-5-a-day-reporter-feature

Well done to Jane Moore for brining this to our attention.

Salad days again

At last! The sun has come out and it's begining to feel like summer is here. And the things I love most about summer are fresh fruit and salad.

So here's tonight healthy dinner - tricolour salad. Not intentional, but most of the things in my salad drawer turned out to be red, white and green. If only there was more blue food, I could be more patriotic in time for the Olympics.

Tomatoes, red and green pepper, lettuce, cucumber, radish, spring onion, avocado and some fresh herbs made the bulk of the salad, with a little lemon juice and some chicken breast. Again, no carbs tonight - I think having carbs at luchtime rather than the evening is working, I'm certainly not hungry and don't feel full or bloated at bedtime.

Now I'm off to find some water - I'm sure I'm not drining enough anymore, ever since I stopped measuring my water intake it's been getting less and less, and I'm now probably having less than 1 ltr a day, so that has to be increased again!

Enjoy!

Back on the regime

Back on the regime and it's more Chinese inspired food for me.

I decided to go for a swim tonight, with an Adult's only swim session from 6-7. As it was about 5pm when I decided to go, I thought I'd prep dinner before I left so that I wouldn't be tempted to have a sandwich when I got back.

So this is what I left for myself - tuna steak (fresh from Bury market today, yum!) with lots of fresh veg and asian condiments.

I swam for about 30 mins - but much harder and faster than I used to. In one way, it's a bit more difficult than it used to be as I don't float as well now that I don't have an inbuilt lifejacket - but on the other hand I have much more energy.

I felt very virtuous when I got back home, and very glad that my dinner was almost ready - it took me about 5 mins to stir fry the veg and sear the tuna, which I rolled in 5 spice powder first for an extra kick.

The veg was bolstered by some fresh garlic and ginger, and then some oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and some fish sauce (1 Tbsp of each). No carbs, but with the protein of the fish it's very filling!

Holiday

Well, it's been a while since I posted, as I've been on holiday and busy at home.

We went to Sussex to stay with some friends we hadn't seen for 18 months - and I hadn't told them I'd lost weight, so it was great so see their surprised faces.

Being from Middleton, we had to visit Middleton-on-Sea when we saw it on the map, and here I am, by the town side. Apparently, I need to treat myself to a smaller windproof - this one is a size 20 and buries me!

The weather was kind to us, and we saw a fair bit of sunshine, and at least no rain to speak of, so we did lots of walking. It still surprises me how far and how easily I can walk these days - I can go for miles without getting tired and without my feet hurting. It's great!

The one thing about being on holiday though, is that you do tend to relax a little and let your hair down (and your guard!) I definitely had too many of these ...

Cakes, cream teas, home baking (curse my friend who is an excellent cook and baker!) which far outnumbered the calories burnt off walking the Sussex countryside - but hey ho! Thankfully, I don't go on holiday very often.

Back on the hard regime when we get home (after the scales).

Suit You Sir...

Love my new suit!

I wanted something lighter for summer and found this trouser suit in Mary Portas (I'd only gone in for a look, honest!) It's probably one of the most expensive suits I've bought - and that was at half price in the sale!

I wore it for work yesterday and had lots of positive comments - and I felt great wearing it. Think that will be a regular for my work wardrobe (at least until I spill coffee on it!).

Eating Healthily

Inspired by Gok Wan's new TV cookery programme, I've decided to make more Chinese food. It's tasty and healthy, and provided you get organised, it can be very quick.

Tonight I made Super Speedy Noodles with Pork. It took about 10 mins to prep (see photo of all the ingredients) and about 5 mins to cook - and it was very tasty! I made an extra dish of brocolli and beans, to boost up the green content.

I worked this out to be about 450 calories.

And this is the finished dish - it did look just like the picture in the book!