Tomorrow, March 1st is the first day of spring so let’s put a spring in our step and some zing into our food.

Winter is over now (meteorologically!) so it would be good to look forward to maybe some lighter meals, more salads and some cold soups!

I find soup for lunch really useful but it’s probably a little early yet for cold soups but would like some ideas for lighter soups. The pea soup recipe I put on the February thread is much lighter if you make it just with peas. I’ll post it again in its original form tomorrow.

Looking forward to some inspiration!

Managed to copy this over! The only change I have made is to remove the spinach and it does make a lighter soup.

This is so quick and easy and full of ‘green’ goodness
Serves 6, approx. 94cals and 7.7g carbs per serving(sorry this includes 100g spinach)

PEA SOUP
1tbs olive oil
2 small leeks or 1 medium onion sliced
400g frozen petite pois
2 vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 800ml water.
85g watercress
sprig of mint or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Sweat leeks in the olive oil until soft.
Add peas and stock and cook gently for 5 minutes or until tender.
Add watercress and mint and wilt down.
Blitz… may need a little more liquid at this point.
Add salt and pepper as required.

You can substitute milk for some of the stock or add a teaspoon of cream or yogurt before serving.

Really easy soup and very satisfying.

Thanks for adding this thread Verano, I found the Feb one really useful for inspiration, although I should probably make more effort to contribute 🙂
I have a question re celeriac and possible substitutions. I’ve pre- made the fish pie for dinner tonight, minus the topping which is mashed celeriac. I have been unable to source celeriac in my local shops (am in Sydney Australia). I found a BBC food article that said butternut squash or sweet potato are substitutes for celeriac, but aside from the carb issue I’m not sure about which would taste “right” with the fish in cream & wine sauce?

I wouldn’t use either of them. Carb-wise they’re challenging and I don’t see their flavors working with the fish in cream and wine sauce at all. I’d go with cauliflower mash.

Of course! didn’t even think of cauliflower – thanks Esnecca 🙂

SueBlue, where are you in Sydney? I am down in the Shire and managed to get some celeriac last week. It did taste good with the fish pie.

South west Sydney Michael. To be honest have only tried Woolies, Coles and Aldi, I’m going to try one of the local fruit & veg shops on the weekend.

Hooray Verano! Thanks for continuing the theme. Great. I just loved your pea soup. Had funeral y’day, buffet lunch, I didn’t eat much but I found I was so sluggish and tired in the afternoon that I had to have a nap! Must be the lunchtime carbs. Amazed they had that effect on me. Hope I remember the feeling next time! X

If you have the recipe book (by Clare Bailey & Sarah Schenker) try the aubergine lasagne and the chicken and mushroom ‘pie’. They are on pages 146 and 148. Both are delish, my hubby even had the pie topping which is cabbage, cauli and leek, one note, steam them first and mash slightly as the recipe says to just put it on top of the chicken but it would take forever to cook through.

The chicken and mushroom pie looks lovely and I’m sure you could adjust the quantities for two. I think that topping would also be lovely on a cottage pie or even a fish pie.

I have now given up on any type of lasagne. I hate all the ‘white sauce’ variations probably because I really dislike cooked cheese of any type but especially cottage cheese etc. I used my bolognese sauce, which I made into courgette lasagne last week, with courgette tagliatelle and parmesan and it was so much nicer. At least it wasn’t swimming in liquid!

Last night I had the last of my fennel with sea bass. The fish was lovely but I’m afraid fennel is just not to my taste. Not sure really why I thought it would be nice as I dislike aniseed!

I now have a yearning for cabbage! I have never made stir fried cabbage as a substitute for rice but I am going to try it tomorrow with left over roast chicken from tonight. I’m just wondering what lightly cooked cabbage leaves would be like as a substitute for lasagne sheets.

I have just found a recipe for ‘unstuffed’ cabbage rolls where you use cooked sliced cabbage as a base followed by raw meat balls and covered with a tomato sauce (not ketchup!), then cooked in a pan. Personally I would cover and bake in the oven. I guess you could use cooked cabbage leaves for hot dishes in a similar way as lettuce leaves are used as a ‘carrier’ for egg mayo etc. That reminds me I’ve not made deconstructed egg mayo ‘sandwiches’ for ages. That’s my lunch solved today!

Verano I LOVE using cabbage instead of rice! It’s delicious shredded, or finely cut (actually I cut mine by hand and it wasn’t too fine!), and then lightly steamed – I did mine in the microwave for about 3-4 mins I think, so it still had a slight crunch. It was delicious on its own with melted butter, but I mainly used it to have with chicken curry (cauliflowers were quite expensive in the shops last week, and I had half a cabbage in the fridge, so thought I’d try it. I’m glad now that I did as I actually preferred it to cauliflower rice 🙂

I made the Moroccan Chickpea salad from the BSD Recipe book today, really delicious. However the carb count for the original recipe was high (60g) so I tweaked it a bit and replaced some of the chickpeas with diced feta cheese instead. Also couldn’t find pomegranate seeds so used raisins – just not 100g! My serving had about 10g. I divided the salad into 5 servings, so in the end my serve was 24g carbs and 270 calories which fitted into my day much better!
I’m going out early tomorrow morning so made some of the chia Bircher porridge from the book. Have made this before and it’s really delicious. Last time I had it with passion fruit, tomorrow am having it with lemon juice & figs.
I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve followed an eating plan/diet and not felt deprived. I’m really enjoying all of the different foods I’ve been trying. I did eat pretty healthily before, knew all about low GI foods etc, ate my 5 + 2, only ate whole grain bread etc, but I realise now I did rely on things like jars of sauces too much when preparing meals (pasta sauce, stir fry sauces etc).
I’ve also really started to enjoy cooking again, which is a bonus.

Sunshine girl, the chicken and mushroom ‘pie’ sounds delicious – that one’s going into my meal plan for next week.
Verano, also love the sound of your deconstructed egg and mayo! Do you just wrap it in lettuce leaves?

SueBlue

I’m not that fussed on cauliflower rice either. Now I’ve discovered creme fraiche in mashed cauliflower that’s the only way I’m eating it at the moment!

It’s only from writing on these ‘food’ threads that I realise that actually I’m a really fussy eater! I don’t like quinoa but like all the other ingredients in the Moroccan salad. Have to think about a substitute for that one.

I love egg mayo sandwiches and so now I make the egg mayo as usual, slice some cherry tomatoes and wrap the egg and tomato in a lettuce leaf! Hey presto deconstructed egg mayo sandwiches.

Verano, I’m with you on the fennel, hate the stuff (and aniseed).

As far as using cabbage instead of lasagne sheets, I think it would work very well.

I have made stuffed cabbage leaves for years (though, come to think of it, haven’t done it for ages, so it may be on the menu next week). Using the large outer leaves, with the tough stalk removed, I roll them around a stuffing (any minced meat / poultry mixed with chopped onions, herbs, seasoning and anything else that happens to be in the fridge or that takes my fancy) a bit like cannelloni, except I tuck the ends in to make neat parcels. Then I lay them in a lasagne type dish, cover with a homemade tomato sauce, cover with foil and bake. Sometimes, 15 mins before end of cooking time, I remove the foil and scatter with grated cheese, then pop back into the oven to brown. This also works really well in a slow cooker – when my kids were young and I was working, I used to turn the slow cooker on in the morning and leave it to bubble away all day. Then, when I got home, too tired to bother cooking, there was a hot, healthy, homemade meal waiting for us all. Of course, if it’s cooked in a slow cooker, and you want cheese, you would have to pop it under the grill before serving.

So if cabbage works for this, cannot see any reason it shouldn’t work in lasagne – or just make cabbage cannelloni instead. 🙂

I was reading a tip about cabbage. If you freeze the whole cabbage for 48 and then defrost it apparently the leaves go limp so no need for pre-cooking. I’ll let somebody else check that one out!!

I also think that if you used cabbage in lasagne, instead or courgette or aubergine, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as wet.

Verano, I never pre-cook the cabbage leaves for my stuffed cabbage. But, of course, unlike lasagne, the meat filling goes in raw, so the entire dish is cooked for longer.

I can see that the cabbage leaves would come out of the freezer limp though, as would any leafy veg that consists mostly of water, so good tip.

I had the aubergine lasagne and because it was late I didn’t bother to pre-cook anything, the recipe doesn’t say to but I did first time. I was right, the aubergine was still a bit hard and the red pepper was crunchy. I normally roast sliced aubergine and pan fry the onions, mushrooms and pepper and will stick with that next time. It still tasted delish.

Theodora – nice with chard as the wrapper (we get shed-loads in the garden all at once). I do them with a veggie filling, inc mushrooms, onions, celery and any spare veg. They also freeze really well.

My life must be so sheltered , or boring, chard is yet another new one to me!!! I still need to try aubergine!

Last night we ended up having Indian takeaway. That for me means chicken tikka, salad and mint and yogurt. I must admit it does the trick now and despite a lovely well done nan sitting on the table I can resist with no problem!

So tonight it’s roast chicken with just straightforward vegetables, asparagus and mashed cauliflower, probably steamed with plenty garlic, with a touch of crème fraiche. Maybe green beans.

Tomorrow will be left over chicken stir fry with cabbage instead of cauliflower rice. Looking forward to that!

Another tricky weekend. We’ve come to London for a friend’s surprise birthday afternoon tea. Made sandwiches for my OH for the journey. I prepared a tub of no carb ploughmans from the BSD guide book. Worked a treat. Didn’t miss the sandwich. Now for the afternoon tea! I’ll do my best.
Then it’s Pizza Express with the crowd tonight. Hope there’s something I can eat. ! Home tomorrow and then back on track. Have a good weekend everyone.

Eileen27

Enjoy your weekend! I was in Prezzo last weekend and had a chicken caesar which I don’t think was too OTT. Mind you I also had this lovely mini dessert , one scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of hot expresso over the top, delicious!!!

I remembered your choice Verano and had pollo salad, Also a mini dessert – 5 tiny figs in syrup with mascapone cheese and coffee – my favourite. Home today, meatballs with tomato sauce from the BSD book, with roasted cauliflower instead of courgetti. Really tasty. I’m getting braver with the chilli. x

SueBlue, the caulies have been pricey over here (Perth),too. Drew a deep breath and picked up a cut half in gladwrap then saw how yellowed it looked. Rotters had halved the old ones that hadn’t sold, then expected us to pay extra for the privilege! ! Saw one of the bosses looking over the displays, plonked it in his hands, said it wasn’t good enough and walked out. I’m in there at least twice a week, pay a premium for good stuff. If they keep this up I might just as well buy at coles or woolies, save my money. Hmm, rant over.

Last night was the stir fry. I used cabbage instead of cauliflower rice and it was really lovely:

Serves 2
1/2 Red pepper sliced
1/2 Green pepper sliced.
I shallot finely sliced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 red chilli diced
Ginger, plenty finely sliced
120g approx. of bean sprouts
200g approx. of shredded cabbage cooked in microwave for 2 mins
1 stick lemon grass crushed
1 egg omelette shredded
Fried in 1tbsp rapeseed oil
Finished with plenty fresh coriander 1 tbsp sesame oil and soy sauce.

Of course you could add any vegetables. The calorie count was really low but I was so surprised that the carbs were nearly 15g!! Anyway, there was a huge portion for the number of carbs and maybe the recipe should have been for 3!!! I just had it with left over chicken and it was really good, better than any Chinese I could have bought!

Not sure what tonight will bring, but just one day of this week on the challenge left, so whatever it is it will have to be within my 800/30!

Have a good day.

Had baked cod and chorizo parcels last evening. I’m sure I added too much chorizo. The BSD recipe says 1 chorizo sausage – no weight included. How long is a piece of string? Today I bought a pack of 7 chorizo baby sausages. Perhaps I should have used one of these instead of chopping a large one in half! I could do with more guidance on weights in the book as well as more accurate calorie count. Does anyone else feel a bit confused about this? Pork ( chops) in mustard sauce tonight. Will try quinoa, a first for me ! X

I had no spaghetti bolognaise last night, just the sauce and a green salad. I’ve realised I don’t actually like pasta, just the toppings, so this is one change I’ll stick to.

I used to love pasta but I’ve not had it for 8 months but I do wonder how I would feel about it now! You have given me an idea for tonight though…. bolognese, out of the freezer, with courgetti and parmesan. Nice quick easy meal!

Last night had a Greek meal which fits with well with BSD. I no longer look longingly at the pitta bread just content myself with a few olives as a starter and chicken kebab as a main. No crispy potatoes or rice just salad! Amazing how your tastes change!

I need to get back to the recipe book for some new ideas. Although I will be making ‘cabbage’ something in the next day or so. I tried deconstructed stuffed cabbage leaves a few nights ago. Not a great success. I think I had too much sauce, tinned cherry tomatoes with mixed peppers and some home made tomato sauce. The savoy cabbage was ‘lost’ in the bottom of the dish. Maybe not enough cabbage or maybe wrong type. Will try again as it was a good one pot dish served with mashed cauliflower.

Have an avocado that needs eating so that could be lunch … we’ll see.

Verano – how about this instead of cabbage?
I tried brussels sprouts slaw last night, adapted from Jamie’s Super Food Family Classics.
75g brussels sprouts
75 g carrots
1/2 apple,
2 spring onions,
Push all this through the fine grater/slicer on a food processor then stir in
1 tblsp yoghurt
1 tsp whole grain mustard
15g goats cheese
1/2 satsuma juice

I worked it out at 175cals, 16g carbs, but added fresh tuna at 120 cals, so it was a really satisfying meal. The brussels sprouts slaw was really very very tasty. I’d make it again. I guess you could use cabbage or kale.

We’re having a Chinese at the weekend. Anyone any good BSD ideas which I can order? Thanks
x

Although I’m not a ‘slaw’ lover that does sound nice Eileen.

I always find Chinese the most challenging. Maybe duck but without the pancakes, ask for lettuce. If they have Tom Yum soup that’s not too bad with chicken or mushrooms. The stir fry vegetables may or may not be ok sometimes very oily and can be quite carby. Maybe you’re just going to have to go knowing it’s not going to be a very friendly BSD night and enjoy it!!!

Hello,

I’m following the food suggestions with enthusiasm though must admit I’d probably prefer white or red cabbage in my slaw though at the moment I’m laying off it because of the carbs. Pity. We all love it.

What I wanted to ask was does anyone have any ideas for veggie curry? I used to make a couple which included potatoes but obviously they’re a thing of the past and I’m not a big fan of squash. Every curry recipe I have looked at features carbs in some form or other. OH is away and I’m having a massive freezer fill….

For a chinese meal out, how about steamed beansprouts and a meat (or tofu) dish and leave most of the sauce?

Chick peas are really good in curry and very filling. Cashew nuts are lovely too, but it’s easy to eat too many of them.

I’ve started adding spinach to my curries, not because of carbs, just as a way to eat more veg. It looks odd in a pale coloured, creamy type and might spoil the flavout if these are very mild, but is excellent in anything darker coloured or tomato based.

Angela06 I have a lovely chickpea and butternut squash curry recipe but it is quite high in carbs. It’s a Nigel Slater recipe. I’ll try and find a link and post it here.

I’ve had a pretty poor week this week food wise so will just have to pull myself together. Have been eating 60g of carbs plus a day since Tuesday but need to stop that now. Think most of it is out of boredom! Tonight will be roast chicken with some sort of vegetables. Not very exciting but healthy!!!

Hi Angela I had posted this on the Fab food for February thread. Try http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/9056. I use a 400g can of chickpeas instead of the dried ones and I don’t add the mustard seeds. It’s a lovely recipe but a bit carby. I usually have it as a side with chicken or something but that would be no good for a vegetarian!!

Chinese was quite easy. I couldn’t count calories or carbs but the meal was quite ‘sloppy’ with lots of veg- bamboo shoots etc so it wasn’t a heavy meal. I avoided the rice, pancake rolls and prawn crackers so I am encouraged that it doesn’t ‘seem I have put on any weight. I’ll have to be careful today though to make sure! I missed breakfast yesterday and I’ve missed lunch today so hope that helps.
I have at last mastered Fat Secret! It has taken me a while but I’m beginning to be obsessed with it. !!
Have a good week everyone x

I love Chinese – I usuallly choose a combination short soup (wonton soup) or a vegetable omelette.
I made the Pecan Chia porridge from the recipe book last night, and had it for breakfast this morning. Instead of using Earl Grey tea though I used Loganberry and Strawberry tea, it was lovely. As it only has 12.5g rolled oats per serve the carb count is a bit lower.
Lunch was a salad recipe that I found online – I have loads of cans of different beans so was looking for ways to use them. I cooked some tri-coloured quinoa. Then sautéed canned black beans with onion and cumin for a few minutes before mashing it. I put this into a lunchbox container along with the quinoa, some zucchini noodles, chopped tomato & roasted red capsicum strips (the original recipe had corn on the cob). For the dressing I mixed Greek yoghurt with a small amount of tahini, coriander and chilli. It was really delicious 🙂
I made it last night and just warmed it up at lunchtime.
Tomorrow is a work lunch out, but it’s at a cafe where there are some salad options, so I’m not too worried.
I was thinking of making the Hungarian Goulash from the book later this week – trying to make at least one new dish a week.

That dressing sounds lovely SueBlue will definitely try that.

Sorry about the curry Angela I have just notice you don’t like squash!!!

I have just got the Tom Kerridge book and I must say it’s really interesting. Lots of spicy foods and some great rubs/marinades. Some of his recipes are really carby but then quite a few have honey in them which add over 12g per tablespoon. I’m sure they can be altered slightly to drop the carb count.

It’s cabbage stir fry for us tonight with lots of vegetables and left over roast chicken. Somebody posted their ‘go to’ Asian sauce but I can’t find it. If it was you can you repost please!

That was me, hi! Reposting it here.

My go-to dressing for Asian-style dishes is 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce (I use Huy Fong brand but there are several other Asian hot sauces/pastes which also have no sugar), one minced garlic clove, the white and light green parts of a scallion (about 10 grams), finely chopped, 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger or a teaspoon fresh, minced.

The whole batch is 133 calories, 5 grams carbs, and it’s easily four servings. I’ve used it on salads, stir fries and my favorite kelp noodle “lo mein.” It’s got a little kick to it from the chili sauce and ginger, which you could ramp up or reduce according to your preference.

I make a similar dressing, but it is soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and chilli (either a little paste or fresh red). Have never calculated the cals and carbs though. Wont’ expect it to be disastrously and of course, you only need a little to get an impact.

Thank you both sound lovely. Might add lime juice to your sauce Esnecca and finish with some fresh coriander! Mmmmm feeling hungry!

SunnyB, since there’s no oil in your sauce, the calorie count for your version is sure to be very low, and there’s nothing carby in the ingredient list, so the carb count is likely negligible too.

Verano, I have a genetic predisposition to hate coriander leaves (it tastes like soap to me), but I’m sure that fresh, lemony taste will be a fine addition for your dressing. It should complement the lime juice wonderfully.

I tried the prawn and tuna cauli rice from the recipe book last night and added the same sort of condiments as you chaps. A splash of sesame oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, chilli sauce. And I was impressed, it tasted good and had the right kind of texture etc. And there was a decent amount of it (always important to me!)

Last night I made your sauce Esnecca with SuunyB’s lime juice and my own coriander and it was lovely. I think coriander is a bit of a ‘marmite’ item. I love it !

Bissell do you cook your cauli rice? I’ve not made it for a while I was finding it a bit too ‘grainy’ for my liking. I may just be doing it wrong.

Out tonight at a Turkish restaurant so it will be feta salad and chicken kebab for me. We also ate Turkish on Sunday and I had sea bream but it was too overcooked for me. I adore fish but hate it overcooked and usually when it’s done on a barbeque it is overcooked!!! Never mind better luck tonight.

Have a good day.

Turkish sounds lush Verona, I could eat a kebab right now!
I grated the cauliflower (making a complete mess of my kitchen as usual) and then added it to the pan for a couple of minutes before the final beaten egg, so it wasn’t really grainy. I know what you mean though, it can be undeniably raw cauliflower if it’s not cooked a bit.

I’m having fourteen people for a sit-down dinner tomorrow night. They will be eating mainly BSD food. The menu is Imam Biyaldi (aubergines stuffed with lamb mince), cauliflower couscous and a Lebanese pumpkin salad with a yoghurt dressing. The non-BSD additions will be nibbles beforehand, pide (Turkish) bread and dessert. I think I will just avoid the additions and hopefully sail through.

Sounds like a lot of work! But also sounds delicious. Have a good night!

Thanks Verano. It was a good night. People loved the dishes, especially th cauliflower couscous and stuffed aubergine (eggplant). No one realised it was BSD food.

Good morning

Looks like Marvellous March has turned into Mediocre March!! I’m sure it’s just end of winter blues.

So ….. Spring is here and time to turn our thoughts to salads and fresh foods even though it is still cold and hearty soups feel more appealing!

Today I’m making some ‘green soup’. I seem to have miscalculated the amount of vegetables we would eat last week possibly because I’d forgotten we were out quite a bit. So I now have asparagus, flat beans, carrots and watercress that all need eating. Thought I may make a soup with asparagus and watercress, also possibly carrot and coriander and maybe just have the beans as a vegetable tonight. Have never made asparagus soup before so off to find a recipe.

Hope your March meals are still turning out to be Marvellous!!!

Good idea to make soup with your surplus veg, Verano. I too have some, so I may be joining you, and freezing the resulting soup as we go away for a few days tomorrow. Love asparagus soup in fact, like you, I have a bundle lurking in my fridge.

One of my go to concoctions (too easy to call it a recipe), which I tend to serve as a starter and I love it so much, such simple ingredients which I always have in the fridge. One day last week, however, o/h was out and I decided to double up the quantities and have it as my dinner, served with a big plate of salad.

Baked Eggs – main course portion, serves 1

Line an individual shallow dish with sliced tomatoes (I used 6 cherry), putting them towards the sides. Break 2 eggs into the centre “dip”. Season well. Dollop on a couple of tablespoons of full fat natural yoghurt, cover with a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese. Bake in a bain marie at 180 degrees for approx. 10 – 12 mins, depending upon how you like your eggs cooked. Serve with side salad.

The base can be mushrooms, prawns or anything else low carb which takes your fancy, but I really like the tomatoes.

Delicious, really easy to cook for one (though easily halved / doubled), takes all of 3 mins to prepare, and depending upon size of eggs, and choice of base ingredients, type of yoghurt used etc this comes to approx. 311 calories, 8g carbs, 21.75 fat, 20.52 protein. Halving the ingredients would make a great lunch with only 155 calories and 4g carbs. Enjoy.