Sticky Mango Chicken with a Lemon Potato Salad...

Ok so I'm a little but obsessed with the recipes in this book at the moment but I love cookbooks that show me what the final result should look like when I'm finished cooking... and you could really lick every page of this one! 

    

This week... Sticky Mango Chicken with a Lemon Potato Salad! The mango chutney in this recipe gives the chicken a fab sticky glaze... Plus any excuse to eat salad after the soup fest over the last few months yeah?! *drools* 

The only change I've made from the book is I used spray oil on my potatoes instead of olive oil... mine were left overs and just needed crisping up... 


Whats in it?

4 breasts of chicken - 16PP ... 4PP per portion
75g mango chutney - 8PP ... 1tsp = 1PP
500g baby potatoes - 10PP ... 2PP per portion
2 tbsp tomato puree - 1PP
   The recipe uses tomato ketchup I just prefer puree...

ZERO HEROS
Spray Oil
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli
Lemon, zest and juice
Salt'N'Pepper

Total ProPoints serving 4 - 35PP
Total ProPoints per portion - 9PP

How?

Warm up the oven to gas mark 6/200C/180c Fan ... If you're cooking your potatoes from scratch, par boil them first then spray with oil, season and get them in the oven... 

Lightly spray a non stick pan and pop your chicken in to cook... 

I've used chicken strips, same weight as 4 breasts 

but looks like so much more on your plate!

Assemble your goodies in a bowl... I had no fresh chilli so I used crushed ones... 

and give them a good mix... 

get your chicken onto some foil... 

then brush the mixture liberally all over... 

Then under the grill for 10 mins, glazing as you go... 

Once the coating starts to caramelise, you want it all sticky and sweet... 

start to assemble! 

Lots of salad leaves, your crispy baby spuds, the yummy sticky chicken 

and a squeeze of lemon juice... finger licking good I tell ya! 

Quite the feast for 9PP! 

Now to find someone to do the washing up eh?!

Continue Reading

My birds aren't fat...

The birds in my garden aren't fat... they're very well fed... in fact they're pretty spoiled! I feed them in the morning whilst I'm boiling the kettle... I buy them nuts and seeds... I hang up tasty little balls of suet fat for them, where neither the magpies nor the neighbours cat can get at them... they have a fresh bird bath ever week... and for the winter the BBQ becomes a runway for my feathered friends... in fact I have a little robin who is getting a little demanding right now.... and isn't one bit afraid of me! Chirping away in protest when something isn't to his liking!

But he's not fat.. despite having a full buffet in front of him every day... he knows when to stop!

He fluffs about all day ... chirping ... sometimes just sits on the fence in the morning sun with his eyes closed which I just love to see ... he has his own little routine and it's fascinating to watch, but he knows how to stop eating when he's full... he listens to his body... Something he is teaching me!

It's WAY to easy to be over weight these days, that's not an excuse, convenience food has been the demise of our health... it's cheaper to buy 4 large sausage rolls at the deli counter than a punnet of fruit... we can eat strawberries in December, which taste NOTHING like the ones ripened by the sun in the summer and not bat an eyelid... Life is so much faster now... not so long ago, everyone had seasonal fruit and veggies... for a reason.. they're fresher... cheaper... they taste better... anything that has to be forced in a greenhouse and fed isn't in it natural form...

My birds are very picky.. took me ages to work out why some weren't eating certain nuts whilst the blackbirds devoured them.. they only eat what is good for them.. they only eat what they need... and in winter its kinda tough so my little bird house just helps them along, but it's not a binge-fest!

Maybe if we listened to our bodies more.. took a day off from 'DEAR GOD IT'S 1PM I MUST HAVE LUNCH!' and had lunch when we were actually hungry and ate what we really, REALLY wanted... just listened to our bodies, no one would be on a diet! We don't really want chocolate.. our bodies have been conditioned to want chocolate, especially my generation... TV dinners were magic when I was a kid.. space food no less! But my mum always had stew in winter.. salads in summer... and because money was tight junk food didn't feature in my diet until I had to fend for myself!

I recently read a book by Michael Pollan about 'Food Rules'... and it's something my grandmother could have told you... only eat what is in season... if something has an ingredient you can pronounce it's not suppose to be in your body... anything with more than 5 ingredients isn't fresh and is officially called 'processed' .. how many of our grannies had processed food? and this is less than 50 years ago... Chocolates were a treat, not a daily snack to keep our energy up... coffee wasn't on tap... maybe today be like the birds and listen to what your body needs and wants... 

Continue Reading

Feel Good Soup...

I'm bored of making soup... no I am... I had this very conversation with my weigh-in buddy Mary in class last week... who would have thought we'd be craving salads in March!?!? 

You just get a bit fed up of the same thing over and over... so no more butternut squash for me till autumn! Sadly the weather isn't exactly on our side at the moment and soup is SO filling... I've raved about the Fusion & Street Soups before... All the points and flavours are >>> HERE<<< and ready made soup can be a life saver when you're just in the door and starving! Great for heating up in work too! So check out Avonmores' Feel good range... VERY low points for really filling flavoursome soups! Available in Dunnes, Tesco and some Supervalu stores... 

Avonmore Feel Good Mediterranean Vegetable - 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 1PP

400g carton - 3PP

Avonmore Feel Good Tomato and Basil, my favourite! 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 1PP

400g carton - 2PP (for the lot!!!)

Avonmore Feel Good Garden Vegetable! 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 2PP

400g carton - 4PP

Fusion and Street 'A taste of Mexico' 

Tomato soup with Coriander, red beans and corn 

100g - 1PP 

400g carton - 3PP

Fusion and Street 'A taste of Marrakech' 

Vegetable soup with put lentils, cumin and ginger

100g - 2PP 

400g carton - 7PP

Check out the other Fusion and Street flavours >>>

http://theskinnydollsjourney.blogspot.ie/2013/04/not-all-soups-are-created-equally.html

Continue Reading

One foot in front of the other...

Time to set a goal... Now, I know some people have weddings... communions... jeans to get back into ...  and all sorts of goals but try one of these... 5k... with your pals for a good cause! Over 40K women do the Dublin Mini Marathon every year, for all kinds of charities and it's great craic! 

Pick one that's closest to your heart... sign up... if you're worried about doing it on your own don't be... I'll be lurking at a few of them and honestly I need a good training buddy! You'll be surrounded by fellow walkers who are up for fun and getting fitter more than beating Sonia O'Sullivans time! Remember, it's not the Olympics, so don't fret about it and most of us can walk 5k but challenge yourself... Maybe set a small goal for yourself... 'I'm going to walk this under 60 mins... 2 hours..' whatever and go for it... you'll feel so good after I promise!

I'm never going to be a runner... unless I'm on fire and running towards a half naked fireman holding a calorie free G&T, it ain't happening... my pals from bootcamp will vouch for this... I whinge the entire time about running but I know plenty of people who are addicted to it! But I'll be walking in a good few of these this year because I need something to focus on so I keep getting out for my walks so I don't need paramedics at the end of any of them! 

It's just one foot in front of the other... and get competitive with your pals... you'll encourage each other... who ever clocks up the most miles on their pedometer doesn't pay for the cocktails at the end of it... there is cocktails right?!?! re-hydration and all...  

Put on your trainers... open the front door and walk out... keep going for 10 mins... turn around... you have to come home! There's a 20min walk! DONE! If its raining bring a brolly... look at the country we live in... it rains all the time, it really shouldn't be a surprise! C'mon you get a medal!!! 

Anyone wants to stomp the tarmac I'll be at some of them! I'm not fast, I'll chat the entire way around but if someone feels they can't do it for what ever reason... just shout out, I bet someone reading this will want a walking buddy too! I'm overweight, slow and probably gonna be the last to cross the line but at least I'll do it! AND with a smile on my face!  

A charity close to my heart, Pieta House Darkness into Light Walk is on Saturday the 9th of May a fantastic cause to raise awareness of suicide and depression in Ireland... it's all about hope... http://dil.pieta.ie 

A charity close to my boobs... The Great Pink Run is provisionally set for Saturday 29th of August and its brilliant! I stomped it out at my own pace plus you get to wear pink! There are some particularly fetching men in tutus running this! 

http://www.greatpinkrun.ie 

ALSO check out http://www.pinkribbonwalk.ie for local walks around the country... 

Run or Dye I mean seriously... channel your inner hippy... wear white and have a blast, in full blow colour! Registration is open for Galway on 12th of September! Dublin date to be announced! Mr Q are you reading this?!?! http://www.runordye.co.uk

Others to check out... 

The Great Limerick Run which has a 6 mile course... http://www.greatlimerickrun.com

The Pink Ribbon Walks http://www.pinkribbonwalk.ie  around the country... 

And of course the Dublin Mini Marathon! http://www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie

If you know of any more, please comment below and we'll all get moving! 

Continue Reading

V8

Juicing... the word almost fills me with me with dread... I've tried lots of juice diets, cleanses, uurrgghhh, nearly ALL of the juice fads going... and to be honest I've never lasted the course... now I'm talking the kind of juices that you have to hold your nose whilst your downing it... I'm pretty sure everyone's given them a try... yes, I love smoothies... yes, including the skin and using the whole fruit makes them very low in ProPoints so I'm not against 'juice' per say... Now, before anyone shouts how delicious and yummy and good for you they are... I know... I know... I know exactly how good they are for you and honestly I'm not against the fruit or the veggies, for me it's when they're combined! I'm a probably a juice snob... and can I also note, I'm not going to down a shot of wheat grass ever again either... no way! PLUS cleaning a juicer is second only, to my other most hated chore, ironing!

I love fruit, I think it's one of the reasons I've been so successful on the ProPoints plan, I don't over dose on it but I love snacking on it, and using it to flavour other foods like porridge, making popsicles, and adding them to my baking, blueberry muffins anyone? 

Honestly, I admire people who can drink carrots and celery, not that I don't love carrots and celery in their natural form I love my veggies I just can't drink them! Until now... and I think that's because they're mixed with fruit! 50/50!

V8 have come to town with their V-Fusion juices and I'm giving them a go! There's two in to choose from... Raspberry & Beetroot or Passion Fruit, Mango & Carrot... The Raspberry & Beetroot one is just gorgeous... it's not gloopy nor does it smell like stewed veggies (see I'm a snob) ... the fruit really gives it enough sweetness, to drink it like a lady out of a proper glass! I'm a massive raspberry fan, I used to pick them as a teenager near my grandmothers house and most of the time I had hives from eating too many... This is sweet enough to drink and the hint of beetroot is just enough to give you the healthy buzz! 

1 PP per 100ml / 3PP per 250ml serving

Low fat and free of artificial sugars means you're still getting all the good stuff without the additives! PLUS you get two of your five a day in one 250ml serving! If you're looking for a more tropical taste... the Mango & Passion fruit one is DEFINITELY worth a try! I had this one the other night at a party as I was the designated driver and in a cocktail glass no one was any the wiser! Smells so good too... and so much better than bringing a litre of diet coke for the night... I know 3PP sounds like a lot but when you think of how good it is for your insides and if you struggle to eat fruit and veg, and many people do, it might be the way to start getting the goodness into you! Water it down if you're struggling, it'll be like a cordial! 

0PP per 250ml serving 

V8 Vegetable Original juice is big in America and that too is available here... it's been produced there since 1933 and the recipe hasn't changed from day one... 8 ingredients -  tomato, celery, carrot, beetroot, parsley, lettuce watercress and spinach... all the good guys.. 100% pure vegetable juice and 150ml glass counts as one of your five a day! Bonus!

The Original Vegetable juice, not really for me, like I said I'm a bit of a juice snob... BUT it's the perfect ingredient to make Bloody Marys! See the way my mind works! AND I'm going to add it to my Zero PP soup this week to see how that works! *crosses fingers and toes*

If you can't be doing with the peeling, chopping and all that palaver... and if you don't have juicer, or one that only needs to be cleaned for an hour afterwards or if like most of us you don't have the time to make your own... these are the business! 

These are available in Dunnes and Tesco... €2.69 for 1 litre of the Original and €2.99 for 750ml of the V8 V-fusion! 

check them out >>> HERE <<< www.v8juice.com 

Continue Reading

Bring it... Motivation Monday!

One of the worst things you can do when you're trying to lose weight is give up over one bad day / weekend / weigh-in... Learning how to draw a line and put it behind you is one of the hardest things... we give ourselves SUCH a hard time... 

Life is to be lived... going around miserable isn't part of the bigger plan! Did you have cake at the weekend? Did you enjoy it? Then don't be hard on yourself... we all have wobbles... we all lose the plot after the pub and head to the chipper... but its only when you give up that you fall back into old habits and struggle and feel tired and miserable that we need to get tough on ourselves... 

Here is a line... 


                         ____________________________________________________



Now step over it... and whats done is done, you can't change it and I hope you enjoyed every bit of it! 


And here's to a fresh start... planning and feeling well in your own skin and being kind to your body, so you can have another slice next week without all the guilt! 

Have a good week x

Continue Reading

Stick with it...

I hear from people all the time, 'I've followed my plan for a WHOLE week and it doesn't work... ' so ... that's that! 

I always tell them... give it a chance... just because Mary loses 2lbs every week... doesn't mean you will too... good for Mary... but don't write healthy eating off because you're not superhuman... Mary will plateau too, Mary will struggle at some point... everyone does... but bunny hopping from one diet to another never worked for anyone... healthy eating.. treating your body well... nourishing it... feeling better in your own skin... all the reasons you want to change your attitude towards food...  if you stick with it... you will feel it.. whether its on the scales or not... you will have more energy... sleep better... less sugar cravings... you can crave fruit too.. who knew?!?!

Just don't give up on yourself...

As the L'Oreal folks are always reminding us, You're worth it! That. Is. All! 

Continue Reading

Dressing...

Salad season is here! Lovely tomatoes that TASTE like tomatoes! Spring onions... crispy lettuce... radishes.. beetroot... and dressings... some good some not so good... 

I know I advise against Hellmanns Mayonnaise (82PP per jar people!!!) But they've mastered the salad dressings with these two little beauties! Both are 0PP for the amount you would use... if you want to be a martyr then take a point off for the bottle... but it'd be worth it... they are fab! 

My leader did a taste test with these a couple of weeks ago and I promise, you'll love em! 

 

The vinaigrette is FAB over baked potato... and if you love any balsamic the one below is for you... 

At the moment in Dunnes and Tesco they're a 2 for €3! Stock up!

Continue Reading