tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55668283506923138752024-03-14T07:32:26.340+00:00FatFranGetsFinI'm Fran. I'm FAT. This is my blog where I try to get thin(ner).FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-4348760234763588212013-05-07T16:13:00.001+01:002013-05-07T16:13:11.187+01:00This blog has moved......to Wordpress. <br />
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Sorry - the birds were just starting to bug me.<br />
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You'll find me at <a href="http://fatfrangetsfin.wordpress.com/">http://fatfrangetsfin.wordpress.com/</a>FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-2067728814186423642013-04-30T16:51:00.000+01:002013-04-30T16:51:18.505+01:00Weekly Blog #13This week has been one of my least impressive.<br />
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On Tuesday night I went out for dinner with a friend to <a href="http://fmmangal.net/index.html">FM Mangal</a> in Camberwell. My friend and I had no idea what we were doing so pretty much pointed at the menu and hoped that it would turn out OK. I ended up with a plate of minced lamb - sort of like chopped up koftes - which was mixed up with a tomatoey sauce and little bits of turkish bread with a load of yoghurt on the side. It was nice but it was enormous and I had food envy - my friend had chunks of lamb and chicken with salady things which looked more appealing. I really want to go back, but I need to go with someone who will order good stuff for me. Incidentally, when you arrive they bring a bowl of charred onions and garlic in a deep purple sauce (the whole of the internet seems to be speculating about what's in the sauce - I have no idea but it's delicious) and a basket of bread which is covered in spice and meat juices. The bread is incredible and only gets better and more meaty and savoury as it gets cooler. Frankly, I could happily have gone just for the onions and the bread, but given that they're free, that probably wouldn't be allowed. Anyway, here's a picture of my dinner. It's not going to win any prizes for presentation, but it tasted good.</div>
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I'm trying, largely unsuccessfully, to eat the contents of my freezer to make way for some ice-cream I am making for a dinner party in a couple of weeks. I got a steak out for dinner on Wednesday which I had with salad and rice noodles. I dressed the salad according to a recommendation from <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shedlikesfood">@ShedLikesFood</a> in the comments section of last week's post - soy, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and mirin. It was really good and was a far tastier and healthier alternative to regular salad dressing. It turned out that the rice noodles were surplus to requirements - I left most of them.</div>
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On Thursday, I went to the ballet so my friend and I had a quick bite to eat at Polpo beforehand. Now, I'm quite a fan of Polpo - the food is good, if not incredible, and I just like it there. That said, Thursday's meal was pretty disappointing. The pizzette was undercooked and floppy, the arancini were also undercooked (the mozzarella in the middle was solid), the braised scallops were very sweet and were crying out for a big squeeze of lemon, the sardinian flatbread with lardo was all flatbread and very little lardo and was just DRY. The fritto misto was good though. It was just all a bit sad. I didn't take any photos.</div>
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I was shattered on Friday as I had to go home via B&Q. I'm vaguely considering moving and since the idea popped into my head, I've realised that my flat is looking a little uncared for so I'm forcing myself to do a bit of DIY (hateful, HATEFUL.) Due to lateness and tiredness, I had a fishfinger pitta sandwich and it was AWESOME.</div>
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Saturday was taken up with horrible chores. I sanded down a window frame, painted stuff and then trotted off to get my hair done which is 4 hours of my life I'll never get back. I had taken some mince out of the freezer and, upon rooting through my cupboards, discovered a jar of "Chinese Hot Chilli Sauce" which, on inspection of the ingredients, turned out to be black beans, chillies and sichuan peppercorns and tasted pretty good. Laziness prevailed and I just chucked some of it into the mince, added some spring onions and served over rice. It looks horrible but tasted nice enough.</div>
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Shed came and rescued me from the decorating on Sunday. I had been up at the crack of dawn painting stuff and freaking out Ralphie with the roller. By the time Shed arrived at 12:30, I was pooped and Ralphie was <em>on edge</em>. She came via <a href="http://www.thegingerpig.co.uk/">The Ginger Pig</a> and had bought bavette steak and pork tenderloin. While we were deciding what we wanted to do with the pork, we had a little steak starter of...just steak, actually. Shed ALWAYS wants bibimbap when she comes over (which is fine by me - I can't usually be bothered to make it just for me) so we cobbled it together with random fridge and cupboard ingredients and the last of the <a href="http://www.souschef.co.uk/gochujang.html">gochujang paste</a>. </div>
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Dinner wasn't necessary on Sunday night - I just had some toast.<br />
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Yesterday, my friend Jassy and I went to the cinema. We go to this lovely little <a href="http://www.shortwavefilms.com/">independent cinema</a> in Bermondsey and one of the best bits is getting a glass of wine and a hot dog to take in with us. Cue total devastation: they seem to have stopped doing the hot dogs so dinner last night was a large glass of sauvignon blanc with an 11.30pm supper of scrambled eggs on toast. Not ideal.</div>
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So a largely crappy week where I put on 2lbs. I have to confess, I'm not entirely sure I deserved that - I was expecting to stay the same so I felt pretty sad this morning. I have noticed that on weeks where I'm very Bread Heavy, which I have been this week (lots of lunchtime sandwiches, fishfinger sandwich dinner, scrambled eggs on toast dinner, toast dinner, lots of bread at FM Mangal etc etc) it does seem to lead to a big weight increase. Bread is bad, it seems. Challenge for this week - eat less bread.</div>
FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-44501901546603963242013-04-23T10:32:00.001+01:002013-04-23T10:32:32.687+01:00Weekly Blog #12<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've been trying to capitalise on the success of last week and have made a concerted effort to cook every night.</div>
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A high point this week was my attempt to recreate <a href="http://www.twitter.com/frontlinechef">Neil Rankin's</a> green chilli poussin. He kindly told me the ingredients that I needed and somehow I managed to get it pretty damn close to the original.</div>
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If you can't be bothered to make it, go to <a href="http://john-salt.com/">The John Salt in Islington</a> and get Neil to make it for you. While you're there, make sure you get the red flannel hash as well - beetroot, goat's cheese, roast potatoes and a crispy breadcrumbed egg. Really good. Oh, and the raw beef, pear and sesame. Etc etc.</div>
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I went fish heavy this week. I made sea bream with ginger, chilli, spring onions, soy and a dash of sesame oil. I loved this and it was incredibly quick and easy. </div>
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I also made haddock with salsa verde. I made the salsa verde according to Nigel Slater's recipe in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/25/nigel-slater-classic-salsa-verde">Guardian</a> which was good, but I think next time I would blend half of it first to really get the flavours going and then add back in a bit of chunkiness. It just didn't quite come together enough for me although, having said that, I had the leftovers the following day and it was better.</div>
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My friend <a href="http://www.twitter.com/miss_jordi">Jordi</a> and I went to the ballet at the Royal Opera House on Saturday, but before that we went for brunch at <a href="http://www.balthazarlondon.com/information.html">Balthazar</a>. Balthazar opened a couple of months ago and, in the main, has had pretty terrible reviews. Jordi and I sat at the bar which was lovely; the barmen were friendly and attentive without being irritating. I had a mimosa and brioche french toast with bacon and it was good. It's not fine dining but I don't think it's trying to be. While I probably wouldn't rush there for dinner, it's ideal for brunch or lunch. Plus, the (very good) bread is free.<br />
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That evening, we had a party at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ShedLikesFood">Shed's</a> house. <strong>Vegetarians - look away now.</strong> Shed had got her hands on a tiny French piglet which was pretty darn exciting. She cooked it slowly for around 6 hours and then wrapped him up in foil and a bath towel to rest. The result was the softest, tenderest, most amazing pork I think I've ever eaten. He's not very pretty and you don't get any crackling (his skin is too thin to crackle up) but he was very special. <br />
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On Sunday I was feeling a little delicate after very little sleep (I'm getting old and rubbish at drinking) so I just roasted a couple of chicken pieces with some lemon, garlic and basil and served with fried gnocchi. I'm not sure what I thought about the fried gnocchi, truth be told, although they were very quick and easy.</div>
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Finally, I made Jamie Oliver's <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/indian-carrot-salad">Indian carrot salad</a> last night. It's a while since I've made this and I'd forgotten just how good it is. I made it with minced beef because that's what I had in the freezer and, while it suffered a little for not being deliciously fatty lamb, it wasn't a deal-breaker at all. This needs to go back into my regular repertoire of meals.<br />
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Something that I've noticed this week is that my appetite is waning a little. I'm not finishing everything that I've cooked, for instance I ate only half of the potatoes that went with my haddock, I didn't finish the gnocchi or its accompanying chicken and my portions of fish were smaller than I normally eat. I find it so hard to leave food on my plate - it just feels so WRONG, but I'm trying to do it more and more when I genuinely stop being hungry before I've finished my food. I'm also trying to curb my late night cravings for something sweet - this is easier said than done although I'm getting there...slowly. <br />
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And it's working...2lbs off this week and I don't feel like I've been dieting at all. </div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-23768369167919137282013-04-16T17:10:00.000+01:002013-04-16T17:10:17.275+01:00Weekly Blog #11<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was supposed to have been a busy week but various plans were cancelled so, other than yesterday evening, I have been at home every night so have done quite a bit of cooking including:</div>
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This messy plate of food was my attempt at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thomasblythe">@thomasblythe's</a> recipe for braised chicken with black pudding. It should have been done with chicken legs and chantenay carrots but I got the butcher to section up a whole chicken so I used the breasts and drumsticks. I couldn't get my hands on chantenay carrots at short notice, so regular ones had to do. It was really tasty but I think that the key to it is getting good black pudding - this was from the butcher near my office and it was overspiced with cloves. Just not savoury enough.</div>
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I also made Esther Walker's sausage and cabbage hotpot (recipe <a href="http://reciperifle.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/old-ma-walkers-sausage-and-cabbage.html">here</a>). It's the second time that I've made it and this time I cooked the cabbage leaves for only 3 minutes rather than the suggested 5 and I think it worked better this time; it wasn't wet at all once I shook them off before layering it up. I used Waitrose's extra lean sausages (which lend themselves well to being casseroled, less well to being baked/fried/grilled etc) and Lurpak Lighter, so it's actually pretty diet friendly when served with a few boiled potatoes (I didn't finish them.)</div>
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Finally, a quick midweek meal was gnocchi with courgettes, reduced fat creme fraiche and prosciutto. This undoubtedly works better with pasta (penne or similar) but it was easy and not too fattening as I used only a tablespoon of the creme fraiche.</div>
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My meal out this week was last night when I went to <a href="http://koya.co.uk/menu">Koya</a> where I had the Kinoko Atsu-Atsu with Onsen Tamago (hot udon noodles in hot dashi broth with mushrooms and walnut miso and a poached egg.) I had this the only other time that I've been to Koya but that time I had the Hiya-Atsu (cold noodles, hot broth) and I remember it being much nicer than the food I had last night. I'm not sure whether it was an off night, but my dashi broth just didn't taste of anything. It felt like one of the worthiest meals I've eaten in months which was a bit sad. It looked nice though:</div>
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Overall, I feel like I've settled down a bit. I'm back to eating breakfast every day and taking my lunch into work with me which is half the battle as I'm not tempted to buy crisps and chocolate at lunchtime if I don't need to leave my desk. My evil neighbour made me do two pilates sessions with her which left me barely able to move on Sunday. Overall I lost 2.8lbs this week which I'm incredibly pleased with, especially as I really didn't <em>do</em> very much. Onwards and downwards...</div>
FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-5793732334539691062013-04-09T18:10:00.000+01:002013-04-09T18:10:03.309+01:00Weekly Blog (weeks 8, 9 and 10)<div style="text-align: justify;">
*TARDY BLOG POST KLAXON*<br />
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I've missed a couple of blog posts which is largely down to the fact that I took a holiday - nothing fancy; I went home to spend 10 days being hugged to the bosom of my family which I really needed.</div>
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I did a lot of cooking when I went home. I love cooking but it's just not so much fun in my flat because my kitchen is tiny and not very functional. Over the week I was at home I made a couple of things from Yotam Ottolenghi's <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerusalem-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/0091943744">Jerusalem</a>, including poached chicken with freekeh and buttered flaked almonds:<br />
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This was so delicious. I bought the freekeh quite a while ago from <a href="http://foratasteofpersia.co.uk/shop/food/freekeh-green-wheat/">Persepolis</a> in Peckham but this was the first time that I'd used it. It's a greenish coloured grain that has a texture similar to bulgur wheat but it's really smoky in flavour - so good. You can also buy it online from <a href="http://www.souschef.co.uk/freekeh.html">Sous Chef.</a> </div>
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I also made Ottolenghi's lamb koftes with a tahini sauce:</div>
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That greasy looking stuff is the ghee which is optional - don't bother. It adds nothing at all. </div>
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We ate a lot of comfort food because it was so cold - shepherd's pie, chicken and mushroom potato topped pie and sausage casserole. My mum and I went out for dinner in York to the Dean Court Hotel's restaurant, <a href="http://www.deancourt-york.co.uk/restaurants/dinner-menu.asp">DCH</a>. It's a slightly strange restaurant in that it's often lacking a bit in atmosphere but the food is really good. My scallops with herb risotto and pea puree were lovely and so pretty:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl0qaKWWXOg/UV7Oe9ePKWI/AAAAAAAAAmY/aJKhYBGxJmk/s1600/scallop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl0qaKWWXOg/UV7Oe9ePKWI/AAAAAAAAAmY/aJKhYBGxJmk/s320/scallop.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since I've been back in London (after a brief diversion through Norfolk and Essex), I've just gone off the boil. I'm finding life a little bit tough at the moment with one thing and another; I'm feeling constantly tired and worn out and my diet has slipped down my list of priorities. All my good habits have (temporarily) vanished - I haven't been eating breakfast and I haven't brought my lunch into work since I came back last Tuesday so I have resorted to rather unpleasant plasticky sandwiches from Pret and I haven't really been cooking. I've been eating a lot of toast.</div>
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I've also had a couple of great meals out, the first at <a href="http://thecloveclub.com/?cat=1">The Clove Club</a>, which is one of the best meals I've had in months. Such pretty food, amazing, simple ingredients and clever, clever cooking. I know that a lot of people have been left a little cold by The Clove Club but I can't wait to go back. Here's a little collage of some of the things we had, clockwise from top left: radishes with gochuchang mayonnaise and black sesame, leeks, smoked mussels and spinach puree, blood orange, sheep's milk mousse and wild fennel granita and rib of beef (aged for 9 weeks!!), ramson and potato. OHMYGOD - that rib of beef was the best I've ever tasted. So meaty and the fat was like butter. Incredible.<br />
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The following day I was feeling a little hungover and was very susceptible when <a href="http://www.twitter.com/DanDoherty_">@DanDoherty_</a> tweeted that he was trying out a new waffle stack at <a href="http://duckandwaffle.com/">Duck & Waffle</a>. After very little persuasion by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shedlikesfood">Shed</a> that we should go, Dan kindly saved a table for us and we dropped by for an early dinner. The new waffle stack, which I stupidly forgot to take a photo of, is <em>technically </em>a breakfast menu item but he'd kept one back for us - potato waffles, crispy bacon, cheese, fried duck egg and truffle mayonnaise...proper hangover food. We ordered lots of other stuff including the all-day breakfast (brioche, home-made nutella, bacon, foie gras and a fried quails egg - rich but GOOD) the octopus salad (both pictured below, the octopus looks a little scary) plus some nduja bread, crispy pig ears and we were gifted some amazing pollock balls in a lobster cream sauce. We left feeling painfully full but feeling happy and deeply unhealthy - we didn't consume a single vegetable. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8DfGQHvSMQ0/UWRIuLiON7I/AAAAAAAAAmw/MjWleHn1JmM/s1600/duck+and+w.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8DfGQHvSMQ0/UWRIuLiON7I/AAAAAAAAAmw/MjWleHn1JmM/s320/duck+and+w.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love Duck & Waffle. Incredibly tasty, slightly dirty food with an amazing view of London.</div>
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And so here I am, 3 weeks later and 3lbs heavier. I actually think that's pretty good going considering my terrible behaviour. This week I will try to get back into my good habits of eating breakfast and bringing in my own lunch. I also have a diet related excursion planned...but I'm going to keep the details of that close to my chest for now. </div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-53873417838519416702013-03-19T10:40:00.000+00:002013-03-19T10:40:03.716+00:00Weekly Blog #7<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week has been a strange one. It started with some news that I could have done without which plunged me into a slightly dark place. I continued to feel generally under the weather and very lethargic which was bad timing as it was a pretty demanding week.</div>
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On Tuesday I made a quick meal of smoked paprika squid with orzo, chilli and garlic, once my Ocado delivery arrived. I used the wrong smoked paprika - hot rather than regular - so this totally blew my head off, and I'm no wuss when it comes to heat.</div>
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On Wednesday I made another quick meal because I was due to have my second pilates session with my neighbour - I was delighted when she postponed because I was Too Tired. In honour of the new Pope, I had spaghettini with broccoli, anchovies, chilli and garlic.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-ifdPmRPf8/UUHPVB6ab-I/AAAAAAAAAkY/ndVJamRvyok/s1600/pasta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-ifdPmRPf8/UUHPVB6ab-I/AAAAAAAAAkY/ndVJamRvyok/s320/pasta.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Thursday was rubbish. I had a work thing which went on until late so I wasn't able to eat until I got home when I just had scrambled eggs in a pitta bread.</div>
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On Friday I went to the ballet at the Royal Opera House so we popped around the corner to Polpo for a few plates including fritto misto, meatball piadina smash (meatballs, tomato sauce and cheese in a tortilla served with a pretty delicious coleslaw), cauliflower and fontina gratin and this gorgeous pizzette which was topped with goats' cheese, crispy kale and pine nuts.<br />
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On Saturday I was feeling tired and lazy so simply cooked a steak and made orzo with chilli and garlic again. Super fast and tasty.<br />
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Ocado came again on Sunday (I'd managed to smash a kilner jar of flour all over my kitchen and it turned out that Ocado had kilner jars on special offer - win!) and brought me a chicken which I had with broccoli and a jacket potato. I didn't quite manage to throw away <em>all</em> of the skin.<br />
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On Monday my evening plans unexpectedly fell through so I went home and made the ultimate comfort food - a chicken, mushroom and tarragon pie. No, not terribly <em>diet</em> but not too bad either and I only ate half of it which is definitely progress. <br />
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This has been another week where I didn't really care that much and I didn't count my points at all. I just can't stop eating nutella which is SO STUPID. Somehow I've managed to stay exactly the same weight as I was last week, so in total I've lost 10lbs which works out as 1lb per week. It's OK but it's not great. I think that what has bedded in is a general attitude towards things like oil/butter - I just don't use anything like as much as I would have done before. My portions are smaller. There have been definite mental shifts which seem to be making a difference even when I'm not being very good and that can only be a good thing...it makes me hopeful that when I do finally lose all of the weight, then it may be possible to maintain that loss.<br />
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-39426291429044950602013-03-12T10:54:00.000+00:002013-03-12T10:54:59.881+00:00Weekly Blog #6<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week I needed comfort food because I've had a cold and have been feeling very sorry for myself. On Tuesday I made the sausage hot pot thing that my sister made for me a few weeks ago. It's basically sausages (Waitrose does some surprisingly good extra lean ones), onions, carrots, savoy cabbage and potatoes and chicken stock cooked for an hour before dotting the top with a little (reduced fat) butter and leaving to crisp up. It looked revolting when I served it up so here's a picture of it when it was still a work in progress:</div>
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On Wednesday I made Fuchsia Dunlop's pock-marked old woman's tofu, aka mapo tofu. I was feeling very full of cold and very pathetic and very much like I couldn't be bothered to cook, but the beauty of so many of the recipes in her book, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Every-Grain-Rice-Chinese-Cooking/dp/140880252X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362677881&sr=8-1">Every Grain of Rice</a>, is that they are incredibly quick and easy to make. Most of the ingredients are store-cupboard things and tofu seems to last forever in the fridge. Now, I know that tofu is a bit of a love/hate thing - I really don't like the stuff that is fried and spongey and has the thick brown skin thing going on - but I used firm silken style (i.e. soft and mushy but doesn't break apart if you're fairly careful with it) and it was really delicious and very satisfying:</div>
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On Thursday I was feeling lazy so I had scrambled eggs and prosciutto in a pitta bread. <br />
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On Friday I found myself in a tricky situation - the previous night's laziness meant I had no lunch with me and I had to go hunting. My colleagues have been raving about <a href="http://www.pilpel.co.uk/menu/Default.asp">Pilpel</a> for ages so I decided to try it. It was amazing. Falafel, salad, proper houmous, aubergines...the only problem was that it was far too big and I gave up about two thirds of the way through (NB: this is progress; before I would have powered on through.)<br />
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It was a bit of a rookie mistake because it meant that I wasn't properly hungry that evening when I went over to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shedlikesfood">@ShedLikesFood's</a> place where we were having Steak Night. How she managed to perfectly cook four types of steak (rump, onglet, fillet, prime rib) for 13 hungry men and women, I have no idea, but it was fabulous. Look at this mound of meat!<br />
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I left Shed's house feeling very full but, amazingly, sober. I spent the weekend either in bed or under the duvet on the sofa watching TV. Did I mention that I'm ill? I made Fuchsia Dunlop's gong bao chicken with peanuts on Saturday evening which was a hit except for the fact that I discovered after a couple of mouthfuls that the peanuts had turned a bit rancid so I had to pick them all out, happily saving a load of points in the process.<br />
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On Sunday I made pork and fennel meatballs from the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/POLPO-Venetian-Cookbook-Of-Sorts/dp/1408816792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362996392&sr=8-1">Polpo</a> cookbook, except with veal mince.<br />
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Delicious but I couldn't finish them because I had naughtily made some feeling-sorry-for-myself scones in the afternoon which I had with some amazing strawberry and vanilla jam made by the lovely <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ginandting">@ginandting</a>. Actually, scones really aren't <em>that</em> bad - each scone had 1 ounce of flour, 1/4 ounce of reduced fat butter, 15 mls of skimmed milk and 1/8 ounce of sugar making them 4 points each. Let's not think about what the toppings added...<br />
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On Monday night I had my first pilates session with my neighbour. She's a personal trainer and is doing some sort of pilates qualification and is using me as her case study. I feel truly sorry for her as she has to put up with my wingeing and moaning for 12 hours. We're aiming to do two sessions a week, if possible, and I'm hoping that it will be habit forming so that I get off my arse and DO SOME EXERCISE. I'm not expecting miracles here - I'm hardly about to start running or turning into Forrest Gump, but maybe doing the Zumba for the Wii a couple of times a week would be a start. I need to do <em>something</em>, I feel so unhealthy. Anyway, after pilates I reheated leftovers of the meatballs and had with some rice as I'd had pasta at lunchtime. They were even better the following day.<br />
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So another fairly crappy week. I'm just not bothering to count my points at all. I'm <em>sort of</em> being more careful than if I was Not On A Diet as I'm eating a little less and I'm not eating a ton of fried crap, but it's still not really good enough. What I haven't mentioned is that I also had toast and nutella at least 3 times this week, which is why I patently don't deserve this week's weight loss of 1.4lbs. I'll take it though.<br />
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-36656414622191192432013-03-05T10:48:00.000+00:002013-03-05T10:48:21.016+00:00Weekly Blog #5<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week has been catastrophically bad in so many ways. My anxiety levels have been off the scale. I have cried a lot, felt sick a lot, slept badly and generally lost the plot. The diet went out of the window completely.</div>
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On Tuesday I had what would turn out to be my only healthy meal of the week. Chicken and pearl barley casserole (recipe below).</div>
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On Wednesday I went to the cinema. I had good intentions but my hunger beat me into submission and I ended up having a hot dog and a glass of wine (no photo, the cinema was dark.) On Thursday I went to Silk Road in Camberwell with a couple of friends where we ate amazing aubergine, cabbage, dumplings and "medium plate chicken" - basically pieces of chicken, potato and belt noodles in broth. Utterly delicious; we finished all but one noodle.</div>
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On Friday I was invited to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ThePloughSW11">@ThePloughSW11</a> where we were the first to sample Brewery Fresh London Lager by Meantime Brewery which is apparently aged in a cask or something...I was a bit blinded by science. Something to do with nitrogen vs. oxygen pushing it through the pipes...nope, no idea what it was all about, but it tasted good. We were also given some pretty special burgers which are apparently all the rage in America...all hail the Boston Burger:</div>
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That yellowy/brown stuff on top of the burger is peanut butter. DON'T HATE! It's actually really good. </div>
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My mum was supposed to be staying for the weekend but unfortunately she wasn't very well, so a friend came to stay instead. On Saturday, we went down to Brockley Market where we shared a pork schnitzel sandwich (recommendation: ask for it without the fruit compote which was unfortunately just too overpowering), a Hix fishdog (basically a very small and rather expensive fish finger sandwich) and a sub roll with pork cheek and coleslaw in it. Here's a snapshot of the latter:</div>
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We spent the rest of the day watching terrible chick-flicks, drinking prosecco and eating Walkers French Fries. On Sunday we ate ALL the dim sum at Hong Kong City in New Cross. I thought I'd never be able to eat again but, funnily enough, by 7.30pm I was feeling rather peckish and knocked up a plate of orrechiette with chilli, garlic, anchovies and cime di rapa (broccoli rabe) which was the nicest thing I've cooked in ages.</div>
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So nice that I ate the bit that I'd reserved for Monday's lunch. I WAS STRESSED OUT AND ANXIOUS, OK? Monday night's dinner was toad-in-the-hole, admittedly made with low fat sausages (waitrose's are surprisingly OK) but still. Not <em>diet.</em></div>
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Overall, a truly horrendous week. Regardless, I went ahead and weighed myself this morning and, totally unexpectedly, there is no damage. I have stayed EXACTLY the same as I was last week. What the hell is the deal with my body?? I'm more than a little bit confused. Does anxiety make you thin? Or will it show up on the scales next week? That's my guess. </div>
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<strong><u>Chicken and pearl barley casserole</u></strong> (serves 2)</div>
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<u>Ingredients</u>:</div>
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2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken thighs, cut into chunks</div>
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2 echalion (banana) shallots, finely diced</div>
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A large leek, cut into chunks</div>
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2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks</div>
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2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks</div>
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80g pearl barley</div>
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Chicken stock (enough to cover) - a stock cube will do</div>
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Pinch of dried thyme</div>
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Salt and pepper</div>
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1 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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1. In a large saucepan, brown off the chicken in a little oil and set aside.</div>
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2. Add a little more oil to the saucepan and saute the shallots for a couple of minutes before adding the carrots, leeks and potatoes and stirring in the pearl barley. </div>
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3. Return the chicken to the pan, add the thyme, a decent grinding of black pepper and some salt (depending on the saltiness of your stock cubes) and pour in enough stock to just cover everything. Pop a lid on top and leave it on a gentle simmer.</div>
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4. After 20 minutes, test the pearl barley - it should be just about cooked by now. Check the seasoning and pour in the cornflour mixture and cook for another 10 minutes when it will done.</div>
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This is a pretty generous portion for two people; those of you with sparrow like appetites could make it stretch to feed three.</div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-886016215086942532013-02-26T10:03:00.001+00:002013-02-26T10:03:47.042+00:00Weekly Blog #4<div style="text-align: justify;">
So last week was bad. I went into this week with new rules:</div>
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(1) Fix the kitchen scales and weigh EVERYTHING - I have no concept of portion sizes at all and I need to be more strict.</div>
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(2) On bad days (i.e. days where I'm eating out), try to choose carefully. Accept that I can't have three courses. Accept that I can't order the thing that's deep fried, but equally don't force myself to eat a salad with no dressing either. Compromise is key - choose the middle-of-the-road thing so it's not <em>terribly</em> bad but also not totally depressing.</div>
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(3) Given that there are going to be bad days, make sure that I over-compensate on good days. Don't consume all my points (this is not recommended by Weight Watchers BUT I DON'T CARE).</div>
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(4) Don't have a bad day on a Monday, the day before I weigh in.</div>
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Food-stuffs this week:</div>
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Smoked paprika squid with lemony couscous and broccoli. The whole plate of food was 12 points which is pretty low and it was fairly tasty. I should have pimped up the couscous a bit more, perhaps.</div>
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On Wednesday night I went out for champagne at Bob Bob Ricard (love that place) and dinner at Roti Chai. It never occurs to me to eat Indian food unless someone makes me...I'm so glad that I was made to go to Roti Chai because it was amazing - absolutely the best meal I've had in ages. The chilli paneer was incredible and there was delicious lamb curry, chicken curry, spicy chicken wings, crispy chicken thingies, dhal and roti followed by pistachio kulfi, all for £25 including wine. Amazing. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/miss_jordi">@miss_jordi</a> took the top photo - I was too busy eating.<br />
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Thursday I had a friend over for dinner which meant that the dolsot stone bowls were put to use...BIBIMBAP! I really love bibimbap but I also really love the fact that it seems enormously impressive when it really isn't. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JanieStamford">@JanieStamford</a> made this lovely photo collage and, after eating it, is pining after a pair of bowls for herself. </div>
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I made burgers and chips on Friday night - I was gently hungover and super hungry. The chips have only 2 teaspoons of oil on them, the minced beef was lean and the cheese is reduced fat. Really satisfying although still pretty pointy. </div>
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On Saturday, I went to the John Salt. I failed totally on point (2) above as I didn't take care over what I ordered at all. Hey ho, we only live once. Star of the show for me was the green chilli poussin, as it was for <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ginandcrumpets">@ginandcrumpets</a> who went very quiet and trance-like while she was eating it:</div>
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I was mildly hungover again on Sunday so I made bibimbap again, this time with chicken, extra vegetables and a smaller portion of rice. I think I'm obsessed.</div>
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I tried to claw it all back on Monday with Jamie's butternut squash/prosciutto salad, of which I took the most out of focus photo ever:<br />
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And, astonishingly, it worked! I lost 1.2 lbs this week. Not a <em>brilliant </em>weight loss, but I would have been happy if I had only stayed the same.</div>
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That said, where I really went wrong this week was by drinking on three nights. Clearly alcohol makes you fat in itself, but it also affects what I'll eat at the time because I'm tipsy and care less about the fact that I'm dieting plus it also screws with the following day because it makes me want to comfort eat in excess. I've really cut back on how often I drink - my basic rule now is that I never, ever drink at home alone, largely because it screws up my sleep and that makes me get very sad. Consequently, my body isn't really used to drinking much any more. </div>
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This week I'm out quite a bit. Cinema on Wednesday where I MUST NOT DRINK WINE, dinner with friends on Thursday and then my mum is coming down for the weekend so we're out to dinner on Saturday too. I'm trying not to let the fact that my weight loss has slowed down stress me out too much. I have to remember that I'm in this for the long haul and that it doesn't <em>really</em> matter how long it takes to lose it. I just have to lose it.</div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-45328238470090731872013-02-19T10:17:00.001+00:002013-02-19T10:17:31.946+00:00Weekly Blog #3<div style="text-align: justify;">
This hasn't been a good week for so many reasons. It started on Pancake Day when I had my pancake party. We had buckwheat pancakes with pulled pork and pink pickled onions or cheese & ham followed by normal pancakes with nutella, lemon & sugar or rhubarb & ice-cream. And lots and lots of booze. Fizzy booze...flat booze...you name it, we had it. I forgot to take any pictures.</div>
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The following night I was too tired (aka hungover) to do proper cooking so I made pitta pizzas. I think I ate a lot of these when I lost all my weight a few years ago. They're ridiculously easy and satisfy a craving for stodge. I spread the pitta breads with a mixture of tomato puree and harissa and topped with sauteed mushrooms, sliced mini pepperamis (don't judge me) and grated reduced fat cheddar cheese. These work out at 7 points each which is pretty pleasing.</div>
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My least favourite day of the year (other than my birthday) happened this week - Valentine's Day. I KNOW that it's crap and commercialised and total nonsense, but it does hammer home the fact that I have nobody to be scathing about it with. It's a bad day for me anyway but coupled with the fact that I had virtually no food in my flat, I went into a bit of a meltdown and worked myself into a major grump. How I didn't resort to getting myself a big fat takeaway, I don't know, but I didn't. Instead I made pasta with prosciutto and creme fraiche (the creme fraiche was a hangover from Pancake Day). This was a pretty generous portion and cost me about 17 points which is quite a lot for dinner, but I had enough to cover it and it was delicious. I got some of my 5-a-day through pudding - blueberries and bananas. </div>
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I was away for the weekend at my sister's. She cooked this delicious sausage hot pot thing on Friday night - it doesn't look particularly pretty (sorry T) but was tasty and rammed full of vegetables - carrots, cabbage and potatoes. I'll definitely be getting the recipe from her.</div>
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After that it all went a bit wrong. On Saturday we went to a rare-breeds farm where they make delicious soups, homemade bread and cakes. I started off OK with a bowl of soup (although there was a really good bread roll which I smothered in butter) but I truly fell of the wagon when I had scones on the way out. They were DELICIOUS but scones, butter, jam and cream are simply not diet-friendly. Here is one done The Wrong Way Round - the jam should clearly go under the cream.</div>
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For dinner, T cooked from Thomasina Miers' cookbooks. We had mushroom and sweetcorn quesadillas, black bean tostadas with feta and roasted salsa and chipotle chicken tostadas with avocado and pink pickled onions. They were utterly delicious and I ate far more than I needed to.</div>
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Sunday was exceptionally naughty. Toast for breakfast. Fish and chips at the seaside. A token nod to vegetables via the medium of mushy peas. Crumpets and wine for dinner. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And last night, I came home to a freezing cold flat with empty cupboards and ordered a takeaway. I may not have finished it all and I ordered more sensibly that I would have pre-diet, but it's still BAD. My justification was that I knew that I'd have put on weight this week so what harm would it do? <br />
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And the damage? I have put back on everything that I lost last week - 3 pounds of fat for a few days of taking no care over what I ate. I barely counted my points at all this week and it makes such a difference - it's easy to turn a blind eye to the bit of butter you use or the extra slice of bread when you're not logging it all in the weight watchers app. I also feel like crap - I haven't eaten nearly as many fruit and vegetables and have eaten far, far too much bread and toast and have drunk alcohol far more than I have become accustomed to. I feel sluggish, unhealthy and FAT. And miserable. And I know that this week is going to be difficult to navigate as I'm out for dinner tomorrow and Saturday. It's sad that eating out has ceased to be a treat and has become such a source of anxiety for me. </div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-17582556957002489882013-02-12T10:26:00.000+00:002013-02-12T10:26:19.808+00:00Weekly Blog #2<div style="text-align: justify;">
After the success of last week, I went into this week with the knowledge that I have a mere 4 1/2 stones to lose to get to my goal weight. EASY. This week has been rather easier as I haven't had much in the way of social plans - no meals out and having a friend over for lunch on Saturday meant that I could feed her food that worked for me (Jamie's butternut squash, prosciutto and pecorino salad again...except I forgot that pregnant people can't eat prosciutto. Whoops.)</div>
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This is what I've been eating this week:</div>
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A noodle soup made from the delicious stock from last week's roast chicken. I managed to get the stock tasting like BoneDaddies' tonkotsu stock (a feat in itself, given that it comes from an entirely different animal) and promptly ruined it by adding WAY too much chilli. I love chilli, but I managed to blow my head off .</div>
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The noodle soup was pretty low in points and I needed to save as many as possible to test drive my new crepe maker which I bought for my Pancake Day party next Tuesday. Pancakes, it transpires, are not too bad on the old diet, so long as you don't use a lot of oil. Happiness. </div>
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I found some orzo in a jar on my shelves - I'd totally forgotten that I'd bought it. I had it cold for lunch with some sugar snap peas, leftover chicken and a sauce made from a little bit of pesto and some light philadelphia - scuzzy as hell, but I like it. In fact, I like it so much I had it 3 times this week, the other two times the sugar snaps were replaced by mushrooms which was actually far nicer. Perfect stodgy comfort food.</div>
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Dim sum at home - I got these from Ocado. Not nearly as good as the real thing, I grant you, but pretty tasty nonetheless and insanely low in points. All these dumplings came to 9 points.<br />
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Thursday night was the low point of my week. I'd taken a steak out of the freezer in the morning which was still rock-solid when I got home. I was in a bit of a crappy mood anyway (it's been a bad week for me, mood-wise) and my instinct was to throw in the towel and get a takeaway until I remembered that I had to spend a minimum of £10 to get them to deliver. There was just no way that I could order a relatively healthy takeaway for £10, I'd have had to order extra food that I didn't need...so I gave myself a good talking to and made boiled eggs. They patently were not steak. However, it meant that I got to have the steak the following night after my first crochet lesson. I didn't get home until 9.30, hence the slightly strange but quick accompaniment of orzo with chilli, garlic and olive oil. It was DELICIOUS.<br />
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Another roast on Sunday and a new discovery - white pepper! It's DISGUSTING. I discovered that it both smells and tastes of farmyards after I'd liberally applied it to my mashed potato (I'd run out of black peppercorns) which rendered it fairly inedible, so I saved a good few points there. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_35_uEhV9I/URjMmPx2c1I/AAAAAAAAAek/TcjfkEPPBHQ/s1600/chicken+roast.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_35_uEhV9I/URjMmPx2c1I/AAAAAAAAAek/TcjfkEPPBHQ/s320/chicken+roast.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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My final meal of the week was a far tastier noodle soup than the one that had started the week. I didn't add any chilli or coriander and I chucked a couple of eggs in instead which were the best bits.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-txrlqoBwTX4/URoXOuOMyfI/AAAAAAAAAe4/WFHF7PHKo1c/s1600/soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-txrlqoBwTX4/URoXOuOMyfI/AAAAAAAAAe4/WFHF7PHKo1c/s320/soup.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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My real breakthrough this week was coming to the realisation that the stress and anxiety of thinking about what the hell I could buy to eat if I didn't take my own lunch into work actually outweighs the hassle factor of making lunch the night before. It's entirely possible to make lunch in 10 minutes flat, including cooking noodles or pasta (so long as you choose the right shape e.g. orzo or soup pasta or giant couscous), chopping vegetables up into tiny, crunchy and appealing pieces AND making a sauce of sorts. It's true. I did it in 8 minutes on Thursday night and that included washing up as I went along. Step over Nigella, I am the true domestic goddess.<br />
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Anyway, I lost just shy of 3lbs this week which means I've lost a grand total of 11.2lbs in 5 weeks. I'm pretty pleased with that. I just wish my clothes would start feeling a bit looser and my face would get a bit thinner. HURRY UP.<br />
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-63416838742923882652013-02-05T12:14:00.000+00:002013-02-05T12:14:23.408+00:00Weekly Blog #1<div style="text-align: justify;">
I decided, in the depths of my misery last week (I'd put on 3lbs), that if I am to have any chance of losing weight, I need to be accountable to someone or something. Yes, I know that I should be doing this for myself - and I am - but it turns out that I'm very good at cheating on myself. I've become very good at turning a blind eye to my bad behaviour and it just leads to greater destruction. I need to 'fess up when I've done something bad so that I register the fact that I am ultimately the only one that can make me better.</div>
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Going forward, I'll be doing a round-up every Tuesday, my weigh in day, of the preceding week - a summary of the things that I ate, what I did well and should be repeated and what I didn't do so well at. </div>
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<strong><u>Week 1</u></strong> (29 January to 4 February)</div>
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This week I have eaten bibimbap (twice! Once with champagne with <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ShedLikesFood">@ShedLikesFood</a> who kindly brought with her some fabulous <a href="http://www.thegingerpig.co.uk/">Ginger Pig</a> fillet steak, and again the following day, just because it was so damn tasty.) At 17 points it's not the lowest point thing that I could eat but it's BIG (which always makes me happy), spicy, tasty, sizzlingly hot, filling and takes ages to eat. Brilliant stuff.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F1xrBSJdUUY/UQvoXo4AlAI/AAAAAAAAAck/pYm2cOItoSM/s1600/bibimbap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F1xrBSJdUUY/UQvoXo4AlAI/AAAAAAAAAck/pYm2cOItoSM/s320/bibimbap.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Next up was Jamie Oliver's butternut squash, prosciutto and pecorino salad which I make with significantly less fat and cheese than he does. This salad is a freaking lifesaver. I'd wanted to go under my points on a number of days this week following the 3lb increase last week and because I was going out for dinner for Shed's birthday on Friday...this is certainly one way to do it. The entire salad, which includes a whole packet of prosciutto and a large butternut squash, only counts as 11 points, and 4 of those are from olive oil. Butternut squash is FREE. Nil points. I reiterate: LIFESAVER.</div>
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While I was roasting my squash, I made a peanut noodle salad (recipe below) for Friday's lunch. I was pretty excited about it and pretty sad the following day when I left it at home by mistake. So sad that I stropped out completely and just didn't bother eating at all. I had it for lunch on Saturday instead and it was still really good, although I strongly recommend taking it out of the fridge a good couple of hours before you want to eat it to bring it up to room temperature. Freezing cold noodles aren't especially lovely.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C4Yq_IYKTYk/UQvsoyTTX5I/AAAAAAAAAc8/amPOv-HWDwQ/s1600/peanut+noodles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C4Yq_IYKTYk/UQvsoyTTX5I/AAAAAAAAAc8/amPOv-HWDwQ/s320/peanut+noodles.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I ate dim sum, duck and salt & pepper squid for Shed's birthday. Although a bit naughty, I had so many points left after not eating lunch that I think it was OK. I also managed not to drink very much either which is both unusual and welcome.<br />
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I keep forgetting how great fish is on Weight Watchers because it's so low in points. I've really gone off fish over the last year or so and there are now several fishes that I find actively unpleasant: cooked salmon and trout, plaice, mussels and I'm starting to dislike oysters too. I do still like cod loin though so I made this cod parcel which is ridiculously quick and easy to make and has the added benefit of generating virtually no washing up. This photo is of it in its raw state as the cooked version was a mess.<br />
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Sunday I roasted a chicken, mainly because I need the leftovers for lunchy salady things. It nearly killed me, but I managed to remove the skin and throw it in the bin without eating it. <br />
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The bones were used to make an incredible chicken stock which would have been made into Monday night's ramen-esque chicken noodle soup, but I went out for dinner with a friend instead (Silk Road in Camberwell - phenomenal) so I'm having them tonight.<br />
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And that was last week. Not too bad - a couple of lows, namely Friday night's meal out and Saturday evening when I was SO HUNGRY (fish isn't filling) that I ate 3 bowls of crunchy nut cornflakes (I wanted to eat quavers and crumpets with nutella - CN cornflakes were my compromise as they're not actually very high in points) but generally, I think it was a decent week. I was a bit worried that eating out on Monday night would affect my weigh in, but I've managed to lose 2 pounds this week, so I'm happy. </div>
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<strong><u>Peanut butter noodle salad</u></strong> (serves 1)</div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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1 nest of medium egg noodles, cooked and rinsed in cold water</div>
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1 small carrot, peeled and cut into small, thin batons</div>
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About 5cm hunk of cucumber, cut into small thin batons</div>
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4 radishes, chopped into 8ths<br />
6 sugar snap peas, sliced</div>
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75-100g protein - I used some fillet steak that was leftover from the bibimbap</div>
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Some sliced red chilli</div>
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Handful of chopped coriander</div>
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Sesame seeds to serve</div>
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For the sauce:</div>
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15g of peanut butter</div>
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2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce</div>
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Dash of sesame oil</div>
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Juice of 1/2 of a lime</div>
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Combine the sauce ingredients, adding a bit of water if it seems too thick. Combine with the dry ingredients and smugly chuck it into a tupperware box, sprinkling over a few sesame seeds.</div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-50083348516037168232013-01-17T23:34:00.001+00:002013-01-17T23:34:32.377+00:00Granola and an epiphanySo it’s 2013 and it’s safe to say that the year didn’t start with a big bang. I spent New Year’s Eve alone watching truly atrocious telly and eating a thoroughly screwed up “celebration” meal that made me feel pretty sick. <br /> <br />The following week fared rather better. I was actively glad to be back at work, if only because it meant that I wasn’t in the MouseHouse™ for extended periods of time. I even filled up the entire weekend (friends will know that this is Very Unusual as Fran Doesn’t Do Sundays) with a trip to Medlar on Saturday and dim sum at Dragon Castle on Sunday.<br /> <br />And on Monday? That’s right folks, I re-started Weight Watchers. <br /> <br />Now, I lost 3 stone in 4 months on Weight Watchers several years ago, so I know that I can actually do this diet if I set my mind to it. The problem being that I haven’t managed to set my mind to it even once in the last 4 years. And therein lies the rub…I have to confess that even whilst sticking to the diet to the letter last week, if I was really honest about it, I fully expected to fail again, just as I’ve failed on everything else I’ve tried over the last few years. Looking a year ahead into the future, I still saw myself as an unhappy plus-size porker.<br /> <br />And then I had my epiphany. I’m trying not to go out much at the moment – my finances can’t take it and it’s far easier to eat sensibly if I’m at home in the evening – so I was sitting on my sofa, bored out of my tiny mind and trying to distract myself from thinking every little sound was another mouse and I decided to explore the Weight Watchers app. <br /><br />The main function of the app is to track what I eat every day but one of the other features is called “Success Stories” and shows a number of people wearing godawful clothes who have lost substantial amounts of weight. Person 1: lost 3st 2lbs. PFFT – easy*. Person 2: lost 2st. WHATEVER. Hang on…Person 3: lost 5st 5lbs which is not dissimilar to what I hope to lose and they did it in 10 months. 10 months…that’s half a stone a month…just over 1.5lbs a week. That’s good, steady weight loss. <br /> <br />I suddenly realised that If I lost half a stone a month, which is totally achievable (and is the rate of loss that my doctor wants me to aim for), I could theoretically be thin by the end of 2013. Like the big girl's blouse that I am, I burst into tears <i>in a good way</i>. For the first time in years, I have realised that I can actually do this if I am determined. By the end of this year, I can (will!) be in nice clothes that come from normal shops. I won’t feel disgusting and fret that my sizeable arse is going to knock things off tables as I squeeze past. <br /> <br />And so to my latest discovery that is helping me reduce that sizeable arse: granola! I have always liked the idea of granola but there is one fundamental problem with it: dried fruit. So I’ve made my own, adapted from the recipe my sister wrote in her last Weight Watchers cookbook. And by adapted, I mean that I read 3 teaspoons of honey as 3 tablespoons…whoops. I've ditched the dried fruit to even it out. It's all good. <br /> <br /><b>Granola</b> (approx. 9 servings at 4 points per serving)<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/01/17/1888.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/01/17/s_1888.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> <br /><ins>Ingredients</ins>:<br /> <br />300g porridge oats<br />25g sunflower seeds<br />25g pumpkin seeds<br />25g flaked almonds<br />3 tablespoons clear honey (or 2 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tbsp of golden syrup is delicious)<br /> <br />Heat the honey/syrup in a small saucepan until it is very thin and runny.<br /><br />Mix all the dry ingredients together and pour in the honey/syrup in a slow trickle, mixing all the time so that all the oats are coated and the mixture clumps together a bit. It won’t really clump a lot as this is still quite a small amount of honey for a lot of oats, but go with it.<br /><br />Line a baking tray with some of that non-stick baking parchment stuff and spread the mixture onto it evenly.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/01/17/1889.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/01/17/s_1889.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Pop the tray into the oven which has been preheated to 170c (fan) and cook for 6 minutes. <br /><br />After 6 minutes, the oats on top and at the edges will have gone brown so mix it all up and cook for another 6 minutes when it should be done.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/01/17/1890.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/01/17/s_1890.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Let it cool and it will then be nice and crunchy and a little bit sweet.<br /><br />Serve 40g of the granola with 75g of low or zero fat greek yoghurt (1 point) and some fruit – blueberries or bananas are good.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/01/17/1891.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/01/17/s_1891.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> <br />I’ve eaten this every day and I’m not getting tired of it at all and it keeps me full for hours. I never normally eat breakfast but I find myself looking forward to this. Even better is that it's dirt cheap to make and stays crunchy for at least 10 days in a Tupperware container. <br /><br />*I know it's not easy. Shhhhh. <br /> <br />FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-67462428949392302802012-12-31T18:02:00.000+00:002012-12-31T18:02:51.636+00:002012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">What has
2012 given me? It’s been a bit of a mixed
bag of a year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In January I joined weight watchers. That was extremely short-lived albeit
successful during that brief period.
January also gave me food poisoning and a fear of oysters which lasted
for most of the rest of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In February I waved goodbye to my sister and
her children who moved to Australia, permanently. A low point for me, a huge adventure and a
potential for amazing lives for them.
February also found me getting very drunk in Quo Vadis with my friend
Andrew and spotting Gary Barlow. He’s
very handsome...and very short. I also
visited friends in Broadstairs and wished momentarily that I could leave London
for a better kind of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">March saw me drunkenly kiss a friend’s
flatmate. That was a mistake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">April saw me head off to Australia for three
weeks – good and bad times there but I was happy to find that I could
understand why my sister needs to live in Melbourne even if she is so far away
from the rest of us. I also got to see
Little Penguins parade out of the sea, over the beach and up to their sand-dune
beds. Pretty magical. I was also able to visit my oldest friend and
my godson who I haven’t seen for years and meet her (at that point) latest
addition to her family. I haven’t been
lucky enough to meet her actual latest addition who was born a couple of months
later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In May, I did a lot of socialising. I discovered Little Lamb on Shaftesbury
Avenue for hot pot. Go. I worried about my finances. I probably did that in every other month too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">June was a bad month. It saw the worst depressive dip I have ever
experienced. I hunkered down, cancelled
all my plans and did everything I could to keep my head above water and I got
through it. I was, however, lucky enough
to meet two brand new babies for the first time in June, so even this terrible
month had its moments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I hate July.
It’s my birthday month. I’ve
never understood why people like their birthdays – I never have, even as a
child. At my age, all a birthday does is
make me older and less likely to meet someone and have children before it’s too
late. I hate July. Despite that, I went to Burgundy with my
friend Andrew and it was great. We saw
the Tour de France fly past us in approximately 10 seconds, ate some terrible
food (what is it with the French and their obsession with tinned vegetables?)
and drank some pretty rough wine, but it was fun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">August saw me crash a moped and injure myself
and vow never to get on a bike ever again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In September I went and drank alone in a
crowded pub for the first time and found that I didn’t care what people thought
of me. In September I also realised that
a particular friendship in my life was unhealthy and causing me unhappiness and
huge amounts of stress. I needed to
limit it and I have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In October my mum visited twice. My mum visiting is one of my most favourite
things. We did culture (Hedda Gabler at
the Old Vic, Uncle Vanya, the bronzes at the Royal Academy) and did <u>good</u>
food (Alyn Williams at the Westbury, Jose, Inside in Greenwich, dim sum). In fact it was a good month for food as I
also went to Duck & Waffle and Zoilo.
It was a fat month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">November saw me start Dukan in my desperation
over how fat I had become. I stuck it
out for a mere three weeks...three horrible weeks. I felt stressed, depressed and didn’t like
myself very much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In December I gave up Dukan and accepted that I
am going to see out 2012 significantly fatter than I saw it in. I ceased caring about dieting for the rest of
this year and ate and ate. My parents
left for a long visit to Australia and I had my first ever Christmas without my
family around me. The year has ended on
a spectacular low where I feel unhappy and ill-at-ease in my previously
much-loved flat since Ralphie brought a mouse into the sitting room and
promptly lost it, but where I am at such a low ebb that I don’t want to see
people at all. I also discovered that
some friends go above and beyond the call of duty and will literally pick you
up when you are on your knees. Those
ones are definitely keepers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Overall, it hasn’t been the best year. I’m not sure whether it’s been the worst
either, but I don’t remember there being a lot of happiness in 2012. Looking back at it, I feel empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">And now we’re on the corner of 2013. Ordinarily, I feel quite positive at New
Year, feeling that the next year HAS to be better than the preceding year. This year, I’m limiting my expectations. I’m just going to hope that it isn't worse. My resolutions:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Deal
with the mouse phobia (I’m already On This and have some NLP lined up)</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Be
less self-destructive (I don’t have high hopes, but we can try...)</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lose
enough weight to not have another Fat Summer</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Stay
at home more and learn to live alone contentedly</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Take
lunch to work at least twice a week</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Look
into evening courses – pottery? Wine?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">De-clutter
the flat (fewer hiding places for mice)</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Paint
stuff – doors, walls, windows</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Once
ready (i.e. thinner!) consider trying internet dating again </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Learn
to meditate/relax (been on my list for years – I never manage this)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Spend
less. New buying mantr</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">a: do I need it? Can
I live without it?</span></li>
</ul>
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And those, folks, are my aims for 2013. No “get happy”. Nobody is happy 100% of the time. No “lose 5 stone” – the huge figure is too
overwhelming. Just little changes, many
of which I know already I won’t make. I
haven’t painted those doors for 6 ½ years – it’s not likely to happen in
2013. But we can hope, right?</div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-28815477875085197002012-12-21T00:17:00.001+00:002012-12-21T00:17:05.358+00:00Mad, sad or bad?<br />I've thought hard about whether I should publish this blog post. The answer? Probably not, but fuck it. <br /><br />I should start by saying that I know I don't have the worst life. Not by a long shot. Terrible things happen to good people: children die, people get ill, legs get blown off, people lose all their money and sink into a rotten mess.<br /> <br />None of this has happened to me. I'm incredibly fortunate - many would consider me lucky. I own my own flat. I have a secure (I think!) job in a terrible job market. I have the most wonderful family. My friends are astonishing - I regularly wonder how the hell I've managed to meet them and keep them and have them care for me in the way that they do which, in the main, seems fairly unconditional...which is more than I expect from anyone and I fear is more than I can give. So yes, in many ways I'm lucky.<br /> <br />Yet on the flip side I suffer, and I mean SUFFER, from this horrible thing called depression. What the hell is depression? I think that most people think that depression is merely a bit of sadness – they'd possibly think that I'm just a bit down and blue…but that's not right. Unfortunately I think that most people don't understand depression at all. Lucky them, frankly. <br /> <br />Depression...mad, sad or bad? I'm inclined to think it's somewhere between the first two. My madness makes me sad. I become overwhelmed by this feeling of complete emptiness and loss of hope - it's physical, like the bottom of my stomach has fallen out and my heart literally aches. The world feels like a vile place, filled with happy people being happy who just make me so angry at everything. And the anger just makes me hate myself. It's so very destructive. I'm not bad though. I try hard not to be bad and, despite feeling like crap, I drag myself up and out to work every day. It's a matter of pride to me that I won’t let depression defeat me and ruin my professional life and leave me in a heap on the floor. I have a strangely strong and stubborn sense of self-preservation. In this sense, I am genuinely lucky – so far I’ve managed to beat that side of it. Others aren’t so lucky and can’t get up from the sofa and get themselves out and let themselves live. I hope that that doesn’t happen to me.<br /> <br />However, despite every concerted effort I make, the misery does filter through occasionally and, as a result, after being diagnosed nearly 5 years ago, last week I finally told my managing partner that I have depression. It's safe to say that he was pretty stunned. He had no idea and I'm kind of proud of that fact - that I have functioned for five years, never taking a single day off sick with my depression...I feel like I've done something pretty exceptional. He said that knowing it meant that he could make concessions where necessary - NO. That’s not what I want and that isn't why I told him. I told him only because I know that sometimes I retreat into myself, become hard to engage with and I know it affects others. Quiet is my way of getting through the day. I'm not especially unpleasant, I'm not shouty or demanding...I'm just quiet and unreceptive. And I felt that finally it needed to be explained.<br /><br />When things are bad, which they are at the moment, I don't have any coping mechanisms. Everything becomes my personal Everest and I'm easily defeated. Tonight I received a letter which kind of floored me and has just reinforced how much my life disappoints me in every way. The flat, the job, the friends and family...they cease to mean anything because I'm just fundamentally unhappy. I don't really know what you do with that. <br /> <br />I wish I could make my depression go away but, try as I might - and I have - I can't. So instead I carry on and occasionally I'll be lucky enough to stumble across a book like Matthew Johnstone's “I Had a Black Dog" (buy it) which reminds me that I'm absolutely not alone in this and I'll suddenly feel quite normal again. <br /><br />FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-77833325275639295912012-12-01T21:52:00.001+00:002012-12-01T21:52:47.876+00:00A day in the life of a Dukan suffererI'm now nearly 3 weeks into Dukan. I've reintroduced alcohol although I'm not drinking every day by any means. I've stuck to the diet to the letter but I'm finding it incredibly hard and I've had many moments of misery. <br /><br />Days when I can eat vegetables (PV days) are great - I can roast up some butternut squash and pretend it's carbs, I can get some flavour from tomatoes and spring onions and make stir fries full of crunchy vegetables. Pure protein (PP days) aren't so much fun. They start with yogurt, which I've learnt to love and am just damn grateful that it's not more meat. Lunch is where I struggle. I don't have any cooking or heating facilities at work so I just have a horrible pile of protein with nothing else - you wouldn't believe how unpleasant it can be to just eat a pile of ham or dry chicken breast stripped from the carcass with, at a push, a spoonful of plain yogurt or low fat cottage cheese to make it a little more palatable. There just isn't any way to make things taste nice on a PP day. I tried taking into work an oat bran wrap that I'd made the night before but it just wasn't nice; cold, soggy and a bit stale tasting. I want sauce like mayo or pesto or something creamy and lovely to have with the crappy dry protein. Even a tomato sauce would be good but I can't have that on a PP day. I can't have <i>nice</i> sauce ever. It kills me.<br /><br />I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday. I lost a lot of weight in the first 6 days on Attack but, since then, I'd lost absolutely nothing. I went up and down around the weight I'd achieved at the end of Attack stage which, annoyingly, was bang on X stone (nooooooo, I'm not telling you how much I weigh!!) All I wanted was to lose a pound or half a pound to take me into a new stone bracket, to a smaller number. But the scales have defied and frustrated me and I've lost a lot of motivation and generally just feel hugely demoralised. Oh - except I got home from a night out last night, from eating many delicious skewers from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bincho.co.uk/menu-soho">Bincho Yakitori</a>, drinking plenty of wine and sake and weighed myself...HELLO NEW STONE BRACKET!! Go figure.<br /><br />So I'm thinking about ditching the PP days and making every day a PV day. In theory this should slow down my weight loss but I'm not losing any weight anyway, so why not try it? I think I'd find it easier and less stressful. And surely if I'm still eating protein and vegetables with virtually no fat and no carbs, that should work, shouldn't it? I'm desperate to lose weight and I am, at last, willing to do it and do it for the long haul, but I'm not sure it should make me quite this miserable. No other diet has made me this miserable. <br /><br />Anyway, here's a day in the life of a happier Dukaner: a PV day.<br /><br />Breakfast of scrambled Burford Brown eggs with fried mushrooms - so delicious and NOT MEAT! And not yogurt! An excellent change from the norm.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/12/01/1840.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/12/01/s_1840.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Lunch of an oat bran Dukan pancake with fried mushrooms and prosciutto.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/12/01/1841.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/12/01/s_1841.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />To make one pancake, whisk together 2 tbsp oat bran, 1 tbsp wheat bran, 1 egg, a splash of skimmed milk and a pinch of salt. Heat up a very non-stick frying pan and wipe with a little oil and pour in the pancake. Reduce the heat so it's medium to low - these pancakes have to be cooked slowly so that they're cooked through and don't fall apart when you try to turn them. You may need a good 3-4 minutes before you can turn it and then let it cook for a couple of minutes on that side before serving.<br /><br />These pancakes are genuinely delicious. They're great with eggs on or topped with some quark and ham and made into a wrap. Today's was the best though, spread with a touch of quark and topped with mushrooms and prosciutto. I had a very happy face after this. <br /><br />Incidentally, you have to eat oat bran every day on Dukan to help keep you...ahem...regular. These pancakes are awesome and my favourite way of getting the oat bran into me. Trust me on this and make them. <br /><br />Dinner was an Asian meatbally broth - this recipe was found by @<a target="_blank" href="www.twitter.com/supergolden">supergolden</a> on the BBC Food website (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1775645/asian-broth-with-meatballs-and-winter-greens">linky</a>) but I adapted it a bit for a hungry Dukaner who didn't have all the right ingredients.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />250g minced beef<br />2 spring onions, sliced finely<br />A good chunk of ginger, grated<br />2/3 of a red chilli, chopped finely<br />Very finely sliced coriander stalks<br />1/2 teaspoon of cornflour <br />A shake of sesame oil<br />Salt and pepper <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/12/01/1842.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/12/01/s_1842.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Mix these ingredients together and form into bite size balls. Wipe a hot non-stick frying pan with oil and brown the meatballs.<br /><br />1 beef stock cube<br />1 chicken stock cube<br />500 ml boiling water<br />1 star anise<br />Chunk of ginger, sliced<br />Juice of half a lime<br />Green beans or other green vegetable<br />1/2 red chilli, sliced<br />2 spring onions, sliced on a slant<br />A shake of sesame oil<br /><br />Make up the stock (I didn't have any fresh so decided to make a mixture of chicken and beef) and simmer with the star anise and ginger for a few minutes. Pop in the browned meatballs and simmer for 5 minutes. Add your green vegetable - I used some halved green beans - and the lime juice and simmer for another 5 minutes, adding the red chilli 30 seconds before the end. Stir in the shake of sesame oil and serve with the spring onions sprinkled over and some coriander leaves if you have them (I didn't) and a wedge of lime if it's really salty. DO NOT ADD SALT. Stock cubes are salty sods and you definitely won't need any extra unless you have some weird deficiency. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/12/01/1843.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/12/01/s_1843.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Pudding: another oat bran pancake (I didn't have any oat bran yesterday) made as above, but replacing the pinch of salt with a tsp of granulated sweetener. Top with lemon juice and granulated sweetener. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/12/01/1844.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/12/01/s_1844.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />So it's been a good day. I feel healthy and happier than I have in a while on this diet. I think I just need to plan, plan, plan and make sure that I don't just resort to chunks of protein on their own. It gets tired very very quickly. Can I do this until I've lost my 5 stone?? That's the big question. <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-12052667010040489442012-11-21T11:36:00.000+00:002012-11-21T11:36:09.860+00:00The One Where I Cured Some Fish<div style="text-align: justify;">
Did I mention that I'm on dukan? That pretty much all I can eat is lean meat, fish, eggs and low/zero fat dairy? That I can eat these foods in unlimited quantities? </div>
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Did I mention how butt-clenchingly expensive it is????</div>
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The thing with dukan is that you naturally gravitate towards meat and poultry because it feels like they will be the most substantial and filling things and you also feel like you get a bit more value for money. The problem with eating meat all the time is that it makes you feel a bit sluggish and heavy because everything you're putting into your body is heavy and substantial. Psychologically you crave lighter things like vegetables, eggs and fish. </div>
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I like to have smoked salmon or smoked mackerel at lunchtimes because it just feels a bit more...<em>correct</em>. To me, eating a huge lump of meat at lunchtime is like eating a curry at lunchtime - a bit weird and wrong. The problem is that fish is expensive. There isn't really such a thing as cheap fish in the sense of battery vs free range in the land of the chicken; it's just all expensive (unless it's crabsticks) and when I found myself woofing down a £4 pack of smoked salmon in just shy of 90 seconds (I have three siblings, if you didn't eat fast, you didn't eat... [name the American sitcom I nicked that from]) I realised that something had to give. </div>
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Quite by chance, <a href="https://twitter.com/NatanyaAbrahams">@NatanyaAbrahams</a> was talking on twitter about curing salmon and it occurred to me that maybe this was something I could do. I scooted on over to Ocado and found that their wild Alaskan salmon was half price! "It's fate!" I thought and popped a couple of large pieces in my basket along with an array of curing ingredients. </div>
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Now, what would ordinarily happen at this point is that my order would be delivered on the Friday evening with everything but the salmon. I'm just not one of life's lucky people...but luck struck and my salmon arrived all orange and pretty on Friday night and I set about curing it. </div>
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I was already a <em>little</em> practised at this because, as well as not being one if life's lucky people, I'm also not one of life's serene and patient people. I want INSTANT gratification, therefore I'd bought a couple of regular tiny Tesco salmon fillets on the Thursday which I had started curing that night. </div>
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<u>For the dry spice rub (for 2 small fillets</u>):</div>
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A good handful or so of Maldon sea salt</div>
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1 tsp toasted coriander seeds</div>
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1 tsp fennel seeds</div>
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1 tsp cumin seeds</div>
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1/2 a star anise</div>
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1/2 tsp white peppercorns</div>
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Crush all the spices up into a powder and mix with the salt. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QnLrXKOaPKY/UKy1V_z2tTI/AAAAAAAAAcA/K1MfMCURAnE/s1600/A+spice+rub.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QnLrXKOaPKY/UKy1V_z2tTI/AAAAAAAAAcA/K1MfMCURAnE/s320/A+spice+rub.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<u>For the beetroot marinade (for around 800g of salmon fillets):</u></div>
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200g sea salt</div>
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2 raw beetroot, grated</div>
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A pack of dill, chopped</div>
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A slosh of gin</div>
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Mix all the ingredients together. </div>
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Lay the salmon fillets skin side down on a large piece of cling film and coat each fillet with just under half if the mixture, pressing down hard. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtMMzCPOT_w/UKy1W0G0BtI/AAAAAAAAAcE/u-fi5juFDgI/s1600/A+spiced+salmon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtMMzCPOT_w/UKy1W0G0BtI/AAAAAAAAAcE/u-fi5juFDgI/s320/A+spiced+salmon.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Turn one upside down onto the other so that the flesh sides are together with the marinade/rub in the middle. Try to match the thick end of one piece with the thin end of the other piece. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bBFsNqerCBE/UKy1QPY3tMI/AAAAAAAAAbY/WQnydRgPLV4/s1600/A+beet+salmon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bBFsNqerCBE/UKy1QPY3tMI/AAAAAAAAAbY/WQnydRgPLV4/s320/A+beet+salmon.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pat any remaining mixture around the sides of the fillets. </div>
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Wrap the fillets up tightly in lots of cling film and place the parcel in a tray with another tray on top of the salmon weighted down with tins. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyqH1ghYvQI/UKy1SOsc7rI/AAAAAAAAAbo/brJ_BcwTaqs/s1600/A+couple+of+parcels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyqH1ghYvQI/UKy1SOsc7rI/AAAAAAAAAbo/brJ_BcwTaqs/s320/A+couple+of+parcels.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pop it in the fridge and forget about it for a bit. Do the washing up and revel in the murderiness of the water...mwahahahahahahaha</div>
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A day later, take the trays out of the fridge, turn the parcel over (pouring away any liquid that may have leaked out), reapply the weighted tin and pop it back in the fridge for another day when you'll give it another turn. </div>
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In total, you should let the salmon cure for at least 3 days - my beetroot had 3, the spice rubbed one had 4. </div>
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After the 3 days, take the salmon out of the wrap and brush off all if the marinade/rub, washing it if necessary. </div>
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The salmon should be ready to eat. Cut very thin slices on the diagonal and eat with a squeeze of lemon over it to cut through a bit of the saltiness. It's interesting how different in texture the two types of salmon were. The cheaper small salmon in the dry rub is far denser than the beetroot, which is softer and wetter and a bit scarier (raw fish still creeps me out a bit. Yeah, I know. Leave me alone.) I prefer the cheap stuff, but then that's me all over.</div>
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Now. Confession time. I actually don't like the beetroot cured one all that much - it tastes muddy and unpleasant to me <em>but </em>I'm not the greatest fan of beetroot at the best of times whereas most people seem to love it. This may seem spectacularly blonde (because it is) but I kind of just thought that the salmon would go purple and pretty without actually tasting of beetroot (and dill - I HATE dill; how did I forget that?!) which is why I made it. The moral of this story: the salmon will actually taste of the things that you put on it. Duh.</div>
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Despite not adoring the salmon that I made, I loved doing it and I think it's simply a matter of getting my marinade right and adding flavours that I like. Next time I'm going to try salt, fresh coriander, garlic, ginger and chilli which is more up my street. If you have any suggestions for marinades, bring them on. </div>
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I've decided that curing salmon is going to be My Thing. Spectacularly easy but really quite impressive. Again, that's me all over.</div>
FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-45861733620283961682012-11-19T11:38:00.000+00:002012-11-19T11:38:04.400+00:00Who can? DUKAN!!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've neglected this for a while, mainly because I've been busy eating as much as physically possible in preparation for my latest foray into the world of FatFranGetsFin. On my list of things to be certain to eat Pre-Diet were:</div>
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- toad-in-the-hole;</div>
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- pasta with crumbled sausages and cream;</div>
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- dim sum (fail - had to get a new telly delivered so made the garlickiest, butteriest poussins instead);</div>
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- sausage sandwiches;</div>
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- instant noodle sandwiches;</div>
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- tasting menu at Alyn Williams at the Westbury;</div>
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- buttered toast;</div>
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- chocolate pudding with cream;</div>
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- roast potatoes; </div>
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- mashed potatoes;</div>
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- buttery rice;</div>
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- more buttered toast;</div>
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- salt and pepper squid.</div>
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It was pretty amazing but it had the effect of increasing my (already sizeable) heft by around 10lbs in just shy of 4 weeks. Which is quite a lot. It also meant that I started the New Diet being approximately a stone heavier than ever previously recorded. Go me! </div>
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And the new diet? Dukan. That's right everyone - despite all my waxing lyrical about how I disapprove of any diets that cut out entire food groups and that it's far better to be able to eat everything in moderation (yada yada yada) I'm embracing the French fad and am cutting out carbs, fat, alcohol and, let's face it, <strong>fun</strong>. </div>
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Dukan is divided into 4 stages, the first of which (Attack) is a short, sharp kick up the arse in an effort to shock the system and get a big weight loss fast. It is pure protein. It's also bloody difficult and lasts between 2 and 6 days...I had to do it for the full 6. "What's so hard about eating lots of meat?" you might ask...well yes, but what on earth are you going to eat for breakfast? And what for lunch when you have no cooking or heating facilities at work? What will you have with your evening steak? Remember, this is <strong>pure</strong> protein. No vegetables allowed. Fat free dairy is permitted and where I once hated yogurt, it has become my lifesaver. It is, after all, not meat. </div>
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It's been very hard. Breakfast has largely consisted of fat free fruit yogurts with oatbran muffins (you have to eat a little oatbran every day to keep you pooing). Look at my cinnamon muffins! They're actually really pretty good, satisfy a sweet craving and it takes minutes to knock up a batch. </div>
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Lunch is a killer for me. Cold meat, cold fish, cold eggs. I may have mentioned this before, but I do not like cold food. It's wet, boring and, well, COLD. I tried making a chicken and quark quiche (no pastry, obviously) but rendered it in edible with excessive use of tarragon. That lunch ended up in the bin, as have several others. I'm convinced that this diet partly works because it makes you hate food a bit. As an aside, don't ever put chicken into a quiche - it doesn't taste of anything. Bland, bland, bland. My first Dukan lunch was prawns in Dukan mayonnaise - possibly the most heinous thing I have ever eaten in my life: </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Yf5SI5Z1Ik/UKoSZykeplI/AAAAAAAAAaE/8n90bQNBjwY/s1600/prawns.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Yf5SI5Z1Ik/UKoSZykeplI/AAAAAAAAAaE/8n90bQNBjwY/s320/prawns.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Appetising? No. For the love of God, never make Dukan mayonnaise, it's filth. </div>
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Leftovers for lunch have worked a little bit better, as has dinner. I made a delicious spicy meatloaf (below) which I had with a plain yogurt dip, steak and eggs and I've had a pretty tasty chicken soup with shirataki noodles. These noodles are weird and bouncy but they're a lifesaver for bulking things out a bit and making you feel that you're having a carb. Downside is that, like meat and fish, they're very expensive but, I think, worth it. Here's the meatloaf:</div>
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I know it looks disgusting, but it was awesome - meaty, spicy, oniony and when served with yogurt it rocked my world a bit. It's actually impossible to make meatloaf look pretty so I didn't even try.</div>
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A strange side-effect of meat, meat meat is that I've found myself desperately craving sweet things. There are lots of recipes for sweet things in the Dukan recipe book but most require gelatine and I have no idea how to use it plus, for me, a sweet craving requires instant satisfaction - there's little point having a pre-prepared pudding in the fridge because there is a high chance that I just won't want it and it will go off. The very wonderful <a href="http://www.twitter.com/RishaEats">@RishaEats</a> has been a mine of Dukan-based information and inspiration and suggested freezing yogurts which is INSPIRED. New favourite thing. I've also turned into a toddler and have embraced sweetened milk to satisfy the craving. </div>
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So. I made it through the 6 days. It was very difficult, it was pretty miserable at (lunch)times, but I did it. And I am 10 1/2 pounds lighter at the end of it which is, frankly, brilliant. There is absolutely no doubt that this diet works. It requires iron will but I've got that for the first time in years. Rather than go straight onto Dukan, I settled back, read about it, took in as much information as I could, PLANNED and ate myself silly to the point where I was ready to change. And it's worked. And I'm happy.</div>
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And my reward? I can now eat vegetables again every other day.</div>
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HELLO CABBAGE!!!! Hello Stage 2! Let's Cruise...<br />
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-24430730939302409572012-09-25T18:05:00.000+01:002012-09-25T18:05:53.071+01:00Migraines and tomato sauce...only one of these is good<div style="text-align: justify;">
In my life I've had only a handful of migraines. They usually start in the middle of the night and a couple of times I've had an "aura"; for me, this is a sort of visual fizziness. Not quite fireworks, but more a display of sparkles...a little like the thing you get when all the blood has rushed out of your head and you're about to faint. It sounds pretty, right? In reality, it's stressful because I don't know how long it will last and I can't make it stop. Eyes open, it's there. Closed eyes, it's there. I can't turn on the light because that makes me want to vomit. I become EXTREMELY sensitive to light and become a bit "Hollywood swooning diva". </div>
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After the migraine itself has ended, I feel like my head has been consumed by a fog which is expanding in my skull, threatening to burst it open. I'm overwhelmed with exhaustion and nausea and have to lie very still in a darkened room for as long as possible. </div>
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Last Sunday I had a migraine in the middle of the night. I woke on Monday feeling like death so swapped my day working from home and did what I could from the sofa in my dark sitting room. Tuesday morning came and I knew I wasn't going to make it in again...another day working from the sofa in a dark room. By Wednesday morning I was bored so I dragged myself up and onto a bus as I couldn't manage the 12 minute walk to the station - by this point, I was feeling very pathetic and getting quite worried - the after effects have never lasted so long before. Thursday, I still felt utterly appalling but made it out for a client dinner where I had a couple of glasses of wine. Error. I didn't sleep a wink. Friday I just wanted to die. The nausea was so bad I couldn't face lunch (I KNOW! Can you believe such a thing?!) All week I was looking ahead to the quiet weekend that I had planned, a chance to rest up and get better...except that went belly up because of these little blighters:</div>
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Check it - it's a maggoty thing. It's actually the larvae of the pantry/larder moth and is plainly revolting. So instead of my relaxing, quiet weekend, I had to do an uber-cleanup whilst desperately needing my bed. This was a highly stressful exercise involving much ladder-climbing, many binbags, lots of soapy water, chemical pest spray and plenty of squealing and shaking from me every time I came across the maggots...which was a lot. </div>
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Roll on this Monday morning and, after a slightly strange night which was riddled with insomnia, I got up feeling exhausted but otherwise ok. At about 2:30pm <i>another </i>full on migraine struck. I literally crawled under my desk to get away from the lights, moaned, groaned, donned sunglasses (useless) and somehow managed to get home where I fell asleep for hours. And now it's the early hours of Tuesday morning, I'm crying from fatigue and nausea and just feeling so under the weather for what is becoming a prolonged period of time. I'm feeling VERY sorry for myself.</div>
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Anyway. I'm moaning and it's really dull. And this is *sort of* a food blog. So, back to food! In a brief moment of not feeling bad over the weekend, I made some incredible polpette from Russell Norman's Polpo cookbook and a fresh tomato sauce. I shan't recount the polpette recipe for obvious reasons (I don't think he would appreciate it and you should buy the book - it's very lovely) but they were the pork and fennel ones. So pork mince, fennel seeds and the other usual suspects in a meatball. Delicious. They made me smile inside. </div>
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All mine though was the sauce. As you may know, I vehemently do NOT like tomatoes...or so I thought. I now think that I just I don't like tinned tomatoes*. They're strong and acidic and don't actually taste of tomatoes. So, to the sauce!</div>
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<u>Ingredients</u>:</div>
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A pack of cherry vine tomatoes, cut into quarters</div>
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One small red onion, finely chopped </div>
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1 fat clove of garlic, crushed</div>
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A pinch of dried chilli - not too much, you just want a teeny bit of background heat </div>
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Salt</div>
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Black pepper </div>
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Olive oil</div>
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Over a lowish heat, heat up a decent slug of olive oil with the onion and garlic. I always heat the oil up with the garlic in it because the garlic is less likely to burn and you don't want to burn it because burnt garlic is pretty ming. Add the chilli flakes, a good bit of salt (around 1/4 tsp minimum) and lots of black pepper. Stir for a few minutes until everything is soft. I highly recommend that you don't take this opportunity to take out the maggoty binbags. Chances are you'll burn everything and have to start again...which isn't irritating AT ALL.</div>
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Once the onions are soft, add the tomatoes to the pan, another slug of oil, heat until bubbling and then pop the lid on and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick. </div>
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After 15 minutes, it should be all soft and the tomatoes should have broken down. Let it cool a little and then blitz it with a stick bender until smooth. Check for seasoning - it should be delicious and sweet and pretty darn perfect. </div>
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Russell Norman suggests that you part-cook your meatballs in the oven and then poach them in the sauce. Given that these were the best meatballs I've ever made, I now recommend this too. Mine had 15 mins at 200 in the oven, turning every 5 minutes and then 10 minutes of poaching in the sauce with the lid on. </div>
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I drained my pasta, reserving a bit of the cooking water and then tossed the pasta, pasta water, meatballs and sauce together. The result was utterly delicious and strangely light because the meatballs were made with pork rather than the traditional beef, and the sauce was so much lighter and sweeter for being made with gorgeous fresh cherry tomatoes. </div>
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This is the sauce on the pasta:</div>
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but you can't really see it, so here it is sans spag:</div>
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Undoubtedly, this tomato sauce is far more expensive to produce than one made with tinned tomatoes...but I will eat and enjoy this one, which makes it totally worthwhile in my books. </div>
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I shall be making a batch of these for the freezer so that on under-the-weather days, I can just pull a portion out and have a pretty healthy meal. *Happy piggy face.*</div>
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*actually still hate sun dried tomatoes, sun blush tomatoes, those freaky massive beef ones which are sort of fluffy and make me gag, not keen on tomato purée...you get the picture. </div>
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad</div>
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-20309864206459579712012-09-01T19:00:00.001+01:002012-09-01T19:14:50.502+01:00Bib bib bibimbappety bapSo I'm doing pretty well on my "diet" at the moment. The aim was to work to 1400 calories a day which I did really well at for 2 weeks, then I had one bad week where I just couldn't really be bothered and I was doing a bit of comfort eating after my bike crash* and I put a little bit of weight back on. Then I heard about the 5:2 fasting diet. <br />
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To say I was sceptical about 5:2 is a bit of an understatement - how can fasting for two days a week be good for you? Except it's not total fasting; you get to eat 500 calories if you're a girl, 600 if you are lucky enough to be a boy. So I decided to watch the Horizon documentary "Eat Fast and Live Longer" by Dr Michael Mosley (it's on YouTube) and see what it was all about. I came away feeling excited and totally convinced that (a) it is manageable and (b) that it's actually good for you. Seriously, the documentary is pretty compelling. Watch it.<br />
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Around the same time, the lovely <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.twitter.com/souschefnic" target="_blank">@souchefnic</a> launched her fabulous website: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.souschef.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souschef.co.uk</a> I can't stop drooling over it. For me, the thing that it's best at is providing hard-to-buy Asian ingredients which rock up a day or two later wrapped in beautiful tissue paper. Heaven. <br />
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I love Asian food more than any other cuisine. I love that it's spicy and salty and comforting and that it can be incredibly low in fat. It's the perfect cuisine when you're dieting. So, the first thing that I bought from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.souschef.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souschef.co.uk</a> was this beautiful <a href="http://www.souschef.co.uk/tableware/dolsot-stone-bowl.html" target="_blank">dolsot stone bowl</a>. It's pretty - it has naturally sparkly bits in the stone, see?<br />
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The purpose of this heavy beast? BIBIMBAP. Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish and goes a little bit like this...<br />
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<ins>Ingredients:</ins><br />
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1 portion of cooked basmati rice (around 60g);<br />
Spinach: a couple of decent handfuls cooked down, water squeezed out and then mixed with a little sesame oil and a few sesame seeds;<br />
1 carrot: sliced into sticks, stir fried for a couple of minutes and then tossed in soy sauce;<br />
1 courgette: cooked in the same way as the carrot;<br />
1/3 of a cucumber, chopped into sticks, salted for about 20 minutes and rinsed and patted dry;<br />
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts;<br />
1 tbsp red pepper paste (available <a href="http://www.souschef.co.uk/gochujang.html" target="_blank">here</a> from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.souschef.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souschef.co.uk</a> **);<br />
1 whole egg;<br />
Sesame oil.<br />
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While you are preparing the vegetables, put the cold stone bowl into a cold oven, turn it on to 200c and heat up. You can leave it in the oven for another 20 minutes or so to get really really hot. Never ever put the cold bowl into a hot oven, it will probably crack and then you will cry. <br />
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Once hot, remove the bowl from the oven (with oven gloves - stay safe kids) and throw in a teaspoon or two of sesame oil. Swill it around to coat the bowl and put in your cooked rice. The idea here is that the rice should get a crispy crust but it didn't really work for me. I asked Nic how to do it and she says that you should put it on a direct flame and let it sizzle away for 5 mins and that makes for a better crust. <br />
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Place all your veggies in pretty piles around the edge of the rice along with a good dollop of the pepper paste and then crack an egg into the middle.<br />
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When you get to the table (or to the sofa with your tray if you're me) grab your chopsticks and mix the whole lot together and eat!<br />
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It's so tasty. Spicy, crunchy, delicious. If I'm honest, the only thing that it was missing is a bit of meat. Sorry vegetarians. Next time I'll add a bit of beef or chicken to the mix. Incidentally, you can use ANY vegetables you like. You really should put a rehydrated shiitake mushroom in there too, but I didn't have any at the time. I do now. Once you've eaten it! Wash the bowl in hot water with no soap so that you're effectively "seasoning" the bowl more and more each time you use it.<br />
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This isn't a 5:2 fasting day meal but it's a damn fine pretty healthy meal for one of the feed days. I urge you to try it.<br />
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Next time: kimchi. <br />
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* remember how I said in my last blog post that I was going to buy a scooter and my life was going to improve enormously? Well I went on a training course, found it utterly terrifying and then crashed the bike into a bollard, flinging myself into the middle of the road rendering me battered, bruised and unable to walk for a couple of days. I've recovered now but I shan't be getting a bike. I've got an iPad instead. *safety first face*<br />
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** I promise you that Nic isn't paying me! I just bloody love her website. <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />
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FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-16007608131725544512012-08-08T22:14:00.000+01:002012-08-08T22:14:31.739+01:00Positively back on the wagon<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">It's been 2 months since my last blog post and life couldn't be more different.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I’m in an
annoyingly good mood most of the time.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I
saw my doctor yesterday and I was bouncing off the walls – he looked positively
surpirsed...but delighted.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">As am I.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I’m in a good place for a number of
reasons.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Work is going really well and I
have some lovely new colleagues, my kitten adores me, I'm learning to ride a scooter at the weekend and I’ve finally, FINALLY
climbed back on the diet wagon.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">OK, it’s early days – day 6 to be exact – but I’m
feeling really good about it. I’ve
decided to try something new. Well – two
things. Firstly, smaller plates. This is going remarkably well;</span> I have already
reduced my evening portion of carbs by 50% and by trying to eat a bit more
slowly, I'm still feeling satisfied. Secondly, I’m
calorie counting rather than trying to adhere to a strict diet plan. I’m not being
religious about it. I’m allowed around
1,400 calories a day – some days I’ve gone way under, on one I went a bit over, but I’m
not going to worry about it too much. When I see
how I eat within 1,400 calories, I figure that I must have been consuming a
minimum of 3,000 (probably more) every day, so anything has to be better
than that.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I’m going to try and get my head around this
being a long haul thing. No quick
fix. I’m not going to be a size 12 in 3
months. In fact, I’ll never be a size 12
– my boobs and hips and arse simply won’t allow it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So the “diet” is as follows:-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">ALWAYS
eat breakfast.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Currently I’m eating Rude
Health’s Morning Glory Porridge and it’s brilliant – delicious and it fills me
for ages.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Stop
buying lunch in the City.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Everything is
horrible, mayonnaise filled, overly bready.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The last couple of days I’ve had a Food Doctor pot – they’re fairly horrid, b</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">ut I like the idea of easy
bulgur wheat salady things.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">And I am
also teaching myself this: I DON’T HAVE TO LOVE EVERY MEAL TO THE POINT OF ORGASM.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">I really don’t.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Sometimes I should just eat for fuel, whilst
remembering that dinner will be delicious.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Dinner:
quick and easy, protein and carbs and veggies.
I’m firmly against cutting out any food groups. It makes me miserable.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So here are a couple of things that I’ve made
this week. Both have made me happy. They both serve one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Smoky squid with giant couscous<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ingredients:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">150-200g squid bodies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Smoked paprika<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Oil (something flavourless, ideally)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">60g giant couscous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">½ chicken stock cube (I like the maggi ones)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">1 banana shallot, diced very finely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tomatoes, around 3-4 smallish ones, probably 8
cherry, chopped small<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">½ large can of mixed beans or chickpeas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Lemon juice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Smoked salt and pepper</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPpMken130w/UCLUin5lCCI/AAAAAAAAAYo/Mp-xX-pJmuo/s1600/squid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPpMken130w/UCLUin5lCCI/AAAAAAAAAYo/Mp-xX-pJmuo/s320/squid.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Open
out the squid bodies so that they are flat and score diagonally both ways to
make little diamonds. It’s best to use a
blunt knife for this so it doesn’t slice all the way through the squid. Drizzle over a little oil and then coat the
squid in smoked paprika. I went a bit
wild and used A LOT – I’d go a little lighter if I were you. Leave it to marinate for as long as you can.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Put
the couscous in a small saucepan with a tiny bit of oil and fry for a few
minutes so that some of the grains go golden and it smells a bit toasty. Add 120ml of chicken stock, reduce to a
gentle simmer and cook with a lid on for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it – when I did it yesterday
it had absorbed most of the stock after 7 minutes so I added a little more
water.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">While
the couscous is cooking, very very gently fry off the shallots, again in a tiny
bit of oil. When they’ve softened, add
the tomatoes and cook down for just a minute or two, add some smoked salt and
black pepper and the mixed beans and leave to one side.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">When
the couscous is nearly ready, heat up the griddle until it is smoking and throw
on the squid bodies. These should take a
matter of minutes – probably around 3. Turn
them a few times as they’re likely to curl up a little bit. </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Stir
the tomato and bean mixture into the couscous (which should have absorbed all
of the stock), add a squeeze of lemon.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Serve
the couscous with the squid on top with a wedge of lemon. And a big glass of something crisp and
refreshing (I had diet coke. SHOOT ME
NOW.)</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Incidentally, I made this with steak in place
of the squid last night...man alive, it was delicious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Za’atar chicken with crunchy quinoa salad<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I first had za’atar when I was in Israel over a
decade ago. In most restaurants we’d be
given a basket of bread and, instead of the usual dish of oil and balsamic
vinegar, we were presented with two dipping bowls; the first contained oil and
the second za’atar. Za’atar is a spice
blend which usually contains sumac, oregano, thyme, sesame seeds and salt. It tastes lemony and fresh and it’s
delicious. I’ve never found it that easy
to get hold of and was very lucky when the gorgeous <a href="http://twitter.com/miss_jordi">@miss_jordi</a> gave me a bag
to take home (although I had The Fear that I was going to get stopped by the
police, it looked like a big baggy of weed) but it’s now readily available at
this absolutely brilliant new website run by <a href="http://twitter.com/SousChefNic">@souschefnic</a> - <a href="http://www.souschef.co.uk/">www.souschef.co.uk</a>
(I warn you, this website is dangerous – I want everything. I limited myself to a bibimbap bowl today but
I have an extensive wishlist!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hzZctknwaWw/UCLUkKgA0hI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8yIrVA_-22o/s1600/zaatar+chicken.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hzZctknwaWw/UCLUkKgA0hI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8yIrVA_-22o/s320/zaatar+chicken.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ingredients:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">1 chicken breast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Za’atar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">60g quinoa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">½ chicken stock cube<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">2 medium tomatoes, chopped small<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A handful of sugar snap peas, each sliced into
around 5 pieces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Lemon juice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Salt and pepper</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Butterfly
out the chicken breast, coat with a little bit of oil and pat over a generous
amount of za’atar.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Leave to marinate for
a little while.<span style="font-size: 9px;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Wash
the quinoa and put it in a pan with 120ml of cold water. Bring to the boil, crumble in the chicken
stock cube, stir and then simmer gently with a lid on for 20 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">When
there’s about 5 minutes cooking time left for the quinoa, griddle the chicken
on a seriously hot griddle pan, turning every minute or so. It won’t take long because it’s so thin, but
check that there’s no pink in the fattest bit of the fillet before serving.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Stir
the tomatoes and sugar snap peas into the quinoa with a good squeeze of lemon
juice and lots of black pepper. </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Serve! The crunch of the peas works really well in
this. Plus they taste so much better
when they’re raw.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I’ve rediscovered my love of chicken breasts
through this recipe. I always think they’re
dry and boring...and often they are. You
HAVE to cook them like this – make them thin and griddle them fast and they
stay so tender and moist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-67270469339451332302012-06-18T17:18:00.001+01:002012-06-18T17:18:34.322+01:00Salad and thanks<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Well, I got through it and I am a hell of a lot better than I was a few weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hunkered down, avoided alcohol (it's a depressant, innit?) and friends (generally not depressants) and stayed at home with Ralphie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched a lot of TV and did some snuggling, I did a lot of knitting - she did her best to eat as much wool as possible - and I tried to cook myself some healthy meals and get some early nights.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
And slowly, it worked. Each day I got a little better until now, I'm <em>almost</em> back to my normal. I'm still a little bit flat, but I'm much more myself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
People have been unexpectedly kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots and lots of people have asked after me, which I greatly appreciate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friends have been incredibly supportive and, thankfully, didn’t take offence when I told them that I didn’t want to see them for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shout-outs here particularly go to @misswhiplash, @miss_jordi, @vhatyoutalking, @ginandcrumpets and, last but certainly not least, @janiestamford who, either through the medium of text or, more recently, in the flesh, have all been brilliant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
So during my hibernation, I have embraced knitting for babies and salad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It transpires that it's leaves that I'm not wild about b</span>ut apparently salad doesn’t have to be about leaves!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are a couple that I made:<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zl5GOlQItIY/T99T03d9_bI/AAAAAAAAAYY/DCU7gLaf2KE/s1600/carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zl5GOlQItIY/T99T03d9_bI/AAAAAAAAAYY/DCU7gLaf2KE/s320/carrots.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZcKHNzDreE/T99TzYh_idI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/05E2C_9qTCs/s1600/BNS+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZcKHNzDreE/T99TzYh_idI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/05E2C_9qTCs/s320/BNS+photo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
I really need to expand my repertoire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
So.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s that, for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I managed and dealt with it and I’m a lot better than I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will happen again – it always does – but hopefully I’ll get a bit of respite for a while. And while I have my respite, I'm going to do my best to enjoy myself and be as happy as I can be.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-12898956724782171242012-06-03T19:18:00.000+01:002012-06-03T19:18:04.368+01:00Black Dog<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">My Black Dog
has descended. He’s something that I
fight every day of my life but, perhaps twice a year, he moves himself in and I
can’t, for love nor money, get rid of him.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The world
becomes a very scary and unpleasant place when he’s here. I find myself sitting in silence and staring
into space for hours on end. When I’m
not doing that, chances are I’m crying.
The sort of crying that physically hurts and feels like it will never
stop. My stomach becomes this tight ball
of anxiety and anger...the anger is the worst part for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I hate
anything and everything – including you, probably. I grew up in a family where anger was never
expressed and it’s something that I now fear because it is such an unfamiliar
emotion and I’m scared of the consequences of it bubbling over and showing its
face. I see everything as a personal
slight. Friends who are out and about having
fun clearly don’t care about me at all...how dare they get on with their lives
when I’m on my knees? Everything makes
me angry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I know that
I’m not being rational – clearly I’m being insane and unreasonable and
unpleasant. I know all of that. I become this vile, bitter person. So very bitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I am
alienating everyone right now, including the person I probably care about most
in the world. I’m just being so bloody
horrible to him and he inexplicably sticks around despite the fact that I’ve
done this to him several times now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I’m not
sure of the purpose of this post. It’s
not one that I’m sending to facebook or twitter, so it’s not one that I’m really
putting out there to be read. I think it’s
probably just my way of explaining to my friends that might stumble across it,
why I’m disappearing for a while and why I’m cancelling the things that we’re
supposed to be doing together. It’s my
way of apologising for being like this.
Believe me, I don’t enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-37363151308255561862012-05-30T17:12:00.000+01:002012-05-30T17:12:39.792+01:00I'm a cheat...AND a chicken<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a cheat and a fraud. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My current twitter profile picture (I think the cool kidz are calling this an "avatar") is of me at my friend's wedding nearly 4 years ago. I don't see the point in being modest about this...I looked HOT. I had lost 3 stone, I could wear a flippy silk dress, I HAD A WAIST. I had a boyfriend too - granted, he was a thoroughly crap one that told me that I was still too fat, but I could pretend to myself for a bit that he liked me and that made me like myself a bit more (yes, I really am that shallow.)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTr0xSQfhSE/T8Y-d-MHrZI/AAAAAAAAAXY/fj1ogQaGXN0/s1600/Twitter+avatar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTr0xSQfhSE/T8Y-d-MHrZI/AAAAAAAAAXY/fj1ogQaGXN0/s1600/Twitter+avatar.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I see this avatar more than a dozen times a day. Sometimes I let myself click into it and I do a happy sigh because of my tiny waist (it's teeny!) and my small(er) boobs that fitted into pretty chocolate brown, spotty bras. The picture makes me happy but I really do feel like a massive fraud, because it's just not me any more. People who "do" twitter will know that it has an unintended secondary function as a free dating site and that the opportunity to flirt with total strangers is one that is regularly taken up. I've had countless direct (i.e. private) messages from guys who, if they knew what I really look like, simply wouldn't have bothered. And I feel bad about it because the picture is a big fat lie. (For the avoidance of doubt, I've never dated anyone from twitter. NEVER. So don't judge me, <i>yeah</i>?) </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, part of the reason I've put Hot Pic on twitter is to counteract the misery which has been induced by the result of my recent enforced work photo session. I'd been in Australia for three weeks and arrived back at the office to find 3 new members of staff (this is about 40% of our entire staff), one of which informed me that I was having my photo taken for the firm's website the following day. Dude. Not the best way to get on my good side. This resulted in a total sense of humour failure on my part. 3 weeks in Australia had made me even fatter - yes, it's actually possible! WHO KNEW???! A 24-hour flight had left me shattered with puffy eyes and dark circles, crappy skin, bent double through back pain...I'd completely lost my smiles. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm pretty good at Faking It. I do this a lot of the time, for example, doing my best to shelve my sadness when I'm around others. I failed to Fake It on photoshoot day. I was grumpy, embarrassed by my heft and chins (plural), angry that a proactive new colleague (I would just like to say at this point, he's lovely) was inflicting Fat Website Photo on me. After the pictures were taken, I legged it to the loo and cried for ten minutes. Not minor sniffles - full on sobbing. I was devastated (again - yes, I really am this shallow.) I never let people take my photograph...it's a self-preservation thing. I can kid myself that whilst it's clear that I am fat, it's not <i>that </i>bad, and then I see a photograph and it hits me like a punch in my stomach and I see what other people are seeing and it's both genuinely devastating and surprisingly shocking every time. I won't look at my firm's website at all now, I just can't bear it. I'm mortified and embarrassed that clients that I've never met now know what a slob they deal with every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep telling myself that I'm really going to start dieting. I've started eating porridge in the morning (Rude Health's Morning Glory is AMAZING, try it) and I'm trying to take sandwiches in for lunch. I went so far as to buy these ridiculous things called Slim Sticks which I suspect are utter bullsh*t and certainly taste bloody terrible. I keep finding that I diet brilliantly for a day and then the next I'm just rubbish.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ANYWAY. Last weekend I made Hainan chicken. It's healthy and amazing and I've been asked for the recipe by several people, so I said I'd blog it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>For the chicken bit</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Medium chicken - get a good one, you're going to poach it and make a stock soup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A big knob of ginger, sliced - don't bother peeling it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The green ends of a bunch of spring onions, the bits that you'd ordinarily throw out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A banana shallot or a few regular ones, peeled and cut into chunks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp of whole black peppercorns</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 star anise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fish sauce </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>For the rice bit</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basmatic rice - I had about 300 mls (see point 6 below) - this makes loads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A clove or two of garlic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(A little vegetable oil...maybe - see below)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>For the finished dish</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cucumber, sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spring onions, sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coriander, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sesame oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Light soy sauce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HOT chilli sauce. You could make this, I couldn't be bothered so bought some from the local shop.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UuYRzvjLWck/T8ZBLUNnNYI/AAAAAAAAAXo/LuOGf0pwdPw/s1600/ingredients.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UuYRzvjLWck/T8ZBLUNnNYI/AAAAAAAAAXo/LuOGf0pwdPw/s320/ingredients.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I forgot to take this before I'd put the chicken in the pan...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Untruss your chicken and cut off the extra bits of fat around the neck hole. DO NOT THROW THESE AWAY. Stuff the chicken cavity with the spring onion greens and the ginger slices. Put the chicken into an enormous lidded pan, cover with cold water, add the peppercorns, star anise, shallots and a huge shake of fish sauce.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bring the chicken to the boil, skimming off the manky white stuff and put the lid on It should like a bit like this:</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9DPOx7NBUfs/T8ZB3fK848I/AAAAAAAAAXw/EIhztM5te1E/s1600/chicken+in+pan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9DPOx7NBUfs/T8ZB3fK848I/AAAAAAAAAXw/EIhztM5te1E/s320/chicken+in+pan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cook it at a very gentle simmer for about 45 minutes. I thought it would take longer than this, but mine was falling apart and blood free at this point so I whisked it out of the water, popped it on a plate, extracted the stuff from the cavity and put that back in the stock and covered the chicken with foil to keep it a bit warm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This next bit is boring. Taste the stock - it's a bit watery and boring, yes? You need to reduce it like crazy. Take the lid off and boil it furiously. This takes FOREVER. I think I watched a whole episode of The House of Eliott while I was reducing my stock. (I love The House of Eliott. I'm so old.) Keep tasting it so that you don't turn it off too soon; I know, it's really tempting because this bit is soooooooo dull, but it's worth it in the end, I promise. Oh, and keep adding more fish sauce. It tastes good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once your stock almost tastes like something you could drink (you're going to drink it later), start on your rice. Remember that chicken fat that you saved from earlier? You need to render that down in a smallish saucepan. If you haven't got enough fat or can't be bothered to do this, just use a little bit of vegetable oil. Try to avoid eating the crispy chicken skin. I TOTALLY avoided eating the crispy chicken skin.*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Measure out your rice in a jug (there is a reason for this, honest). I think mine was came up to the 300ml mark. Pour the rice into a sieve and rinse it thoroughly to remove the starch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crush the garlic cloves into the chicken fat, cook for a few seconds and then throw in the rice. Fry this off for a few minutes and then add 600 ml of the now-tasty chicken stock. This is why you measured the rice in the jug - you need double the volume of liquid to rice. It should bubble furiously then turn the heat down as low as it can go, put the lid on and let it cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT TOUCH THE LID.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After 20 minutes and another 1/3 of an episode of The House of Elliot (I'm obsessed) have a look at the rice. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID. I hope to god that you have a glass lid otherwise you're going to be a bit screwed at this stage. Assuming that you have a glass lid, tip the rice to the side LEAVING THE LID ON to see if there's any liquid remaining. There was in mine so I cooked it for another 4 minutes and crossed my fingers. If there's no liquid, turn off the heat, LEAVE THE LID ON and let it sit there for 10 minutes, becoming delightfully fluffy in its own steam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chop up your vegetables - thin slices of spring onion, half slices of peeled cucumber, chopped coriander. Carve up your chicken - it should still be a bit warm but it doesn't need to be, nor should be, hot. Drizzle it with a tiny bit of sesame oil and a little soy sauce. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take the lid off the rice and fluff it up with a fork. Taste it - it's AMAZING. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serve it as you see fit. I shaped my rice in a bowl (because I'm a git) and sliced up a whole chicken breast. Pour yourself a cup of the soup to drink too because it's pretty delicious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically, you've got the hot rice, warm chicken, cool crisp vegetables and drops of hot hot chilli sauce on top with the refreshing soup to drink alongside. Look, see? </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7WVSMvYAcI/T8ZDv2dMZlI/AAAAAAAAAYA/nyU2A3XA60o/s1600/plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7WVSMvYAcI/T8ZDv2dMZlI/AAAAAAAAAYA/nyU2A3XA60o/s320/plate.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is pretty close to my food heaven which is strange as it's actually pretty healthy. I didn't get to this size by liking healthy food. However, as much as I love it, it's a little time consuming. It's not something you can cook when you get home from work - it's definitely a weekend recipe. My main problem during the week is that I'm always so tired and I just don't have the energy to cook anything spectacular after work...which is when I turn to the takeaway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So. I challenge YOU, my readership of 3, to send me your super-speedy, low-effort, inexpensive, salmon-and-tinned-tomato-free recipes that I can prepare in minutes in the evening. (Oh, and since I ate weever fish at the weekend, I've gone off fish a little bit unless it's mackerel or cod-type-fishes. Or shellfish. Or squid. Meaty fish now freaks me out, so none of that thanks.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And seriously, make this. It's a goodun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>* I ate the crispy chicken skin.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5566828350692313875.post-50562133596013917272012-03-14T17:05:00.000+00:002012-03-14T17:05:11.748+00:00Strange timesI haven't blogged for ages. This is largely for the following reasons:<br />
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(a) I haven't really cooked anything for a while; and<br />
(b) I'm just getting fatter and fatter.<br />
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I find myself in a very weird and uneasy situation: one where I'm totally unhappy with my life, with myself...hating the way that I look and feeling that my weight is responsible for a good 80% of my misery (I have been thin - I KNOW it's good being in that gang) and yet I'm seemingly powerless to do anything about it. <br />
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I arrange nights out. I eat anything and everything that I want when I'm out, taking no care to avoid the bit that's fried. I invite people over for lunch and cook them onglet with beef dripping chips and mayonnaise. <br />
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Our systems went down at work today and I went out to do various bank-related stuff. On the way back to the office I noticed that FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER there wasn't a queue around the block at Chilango, so in I walked. Burritos aren't even really my thing. I could have had a salad. I could even have had a relatively healthy burrito, but no. I looked at the array of sauces and cheese and guacamole in front of me and I pretty much thought "What's the way of making this the most unhealthy it could possibly be? Get it all in there." And so I did. <br />
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I'm out of control and I truly, truly don't know why. Confession time - I've been having counselling recently (it's finished now) and my therapist asked me why I wasn't taking action over a couple of issues that we've been focusing on. Inaction over one of the things was completely clear to me - scared of change, fear of rejection and all that jazz. But this? Why am I doing everything in my power to screw myself up even more? Why can't I just stop eating? I just don't know. I really can't figure it out.<br />
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It's making me so unhappy. There's an event on next week and I'm probably going to bail out because I'm ashamed of how I look right now. I don't want to meet people looking like this. I'm horrified that I haven't lost the weight I'd intended to lose before going to Australia. We're going to the Sydney Races - I'll have to wear a skirt or a dress...this is disastrous.<br />
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I don't really know why I've done this blog post. <br />
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I've just revisited my list of New Year's Resolutions. I have resolutely failed on all of them except I HAVE given up smoking (go me!) and I have cut down my alcohol intake significantly. Although now when I do drink...woweeeeeeeeee....it's not a good look. <br />
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Anyway. Sorry for the moan. And to my actual, real-life friends, I'm sorry I'm such a miserable bastard right now. You've been so good to me.FatFranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128736504509337139noreply@blogger.com8