Recipe - Full English Frittata

If a full English Breakfast and toad-in-the-hole had a love child, this would be it. I saw the recipe in this months Style at Home magazine and was super excited that I could Dukanize it. Here's how...

Full English Frittata

45 minutes to make, serves 4-6

Ingredients

Frylights

6 Beef Sausages

6 rashers of turkey bacon

6 large chestnut mushrooms

1 onion

3 tomatoes

10 eggs

125 ml milk

A pinch of Paprika

Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees. Spray fry light in a pan and cook the sausages for 12 minutes until golden. Remove sausages and set aside, then fry turkey bacon and mushrooms for a few minutes until brown and set aside. Cut the onion in to wedges and fry until soft and golden.

Line a roasting tin with baking paper. Lay the sausages inside spread out, hale the turkey bacon and add this in too, then scatter the onion wedges and mushrooms over. Cut the tomatoes in half and add them cut side up.

Whisk the eggs and milk together and season. Pour into the tin and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes and cool for 5. Slice. Serve. Enjoy!!

Week 2 weigh in day!

2 weeks, done and done. And here are the results...

Weight loss this week: 3lbs

Total weight loss: 8lbs

Exercise this week has been mainly walking and running around after my 17 month old son. I'm a big fan of workout DVDs and I have a new one on order which is a selection of intense 15 minute workouts, perfect to fit in while little J is taking a nap. I'm not sure how effective 15 minutes a day will be, but every little bit helps and I will keep you posted. What's your exercise routine? 

Carrie xx

Recipe - Beef curry and riced cauliflower

So I tried cauliflower rice for the first time yesterday - AMAZING!! If you haven't tried it, I really recommend it, it reminds me of cous cous which I also love. 

I used this recipe from the paleo website and dukanised it: http://paleofood.com/beef.htm#primalbeefcurry

Beef curry and cauliflower rice

Minutes to Prepare: 20, Minutes to Cook: 60, Number of Servings: 2-4.

Frylight

1 chopped onion 

1 large celery stalk

3 cloves garlic 

450g diced beef 

400ml canned diced tomatoes 

250ml salsa (I made mine fresh by finely chopping 1 green peppers and 6 cherry tomatoes)

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tbsp chilli powder 

1 tsp ground thyme 

1 large cauliflower

Heat frylight in a large frying pan, then sauté the celery, onion and garlic for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add meat and spice, stirring well, and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and salsa, stir well, and then simmer for at least about 50 minutes.

While the curry is simmering, remove the leaves from the cauliflower head and break in to florets. Pulse in a blender until it resembles rice grains (I did it in small batches). Spray a wok or large pan with fry light and turn to a high heat, fry for 4 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, season with salt and pepper to taste and fry for a further 4 minutes until golden. Serve with the curry and enjoy! Mmmmm.

Sorry no photo yet! Xx

Attack (again)!

Oh hey! Happy 2014 to you. 

I am kicking the new year off by starting the Dukan diet once again. I have just completed a 7 day Attack and lost 5lbs which I am thrilled with.

AHEM...so...confession time... If I could sum up the last year in a montage it would involve me trying, and failing, to lose weight over and over, eating A LOT of very yummy food, paying for a gym membership and barely using it (and adjusting to life as the mum of a very adorable little boy). 

It fair to say that I have neglected my diet and fitness in a big way and have gained a lot off weight on top of not losing my pregnancy weight. In order to lose weight I think you have to be 100% committed to it and last year I really wasn't, but no excuses now! I am back and more determined than ever. 

Blogging was a very important part of my weight loss journey last time, it made me feel accountable to somebody - that's you reader - and very supported! So please stop by and say hello.

I have lots of new recipes to share, weekly dinner menu plans on Mondays and weigh ins will be every Friday, so join me for my next Dukan adventure! 

Carrie xx

Dukan do it again!

Hi there! Well after a looooong period of eating pretty much whatever I like, I'm back on the Dukan diet and back to this blog. Ummm, so what else is new? Oh yes, I have an adorable 6 month old son - he is awesome! I absolutely love being a Mum, but I don't love my Mummy tummy (or my mummy thighs and bingo wings for that matter). So here I am, on a mission to be a yummy mummy and look fabulous by the time I go back to work in July.

I've joined a swanky gym at the local golf club, but sometimes I struggle to find the time and energy to go. My aim is to go twice a week from now on and lots and lots of long walks with baby J.

Wish me luck!

Carrie xx

2012 Update - Happy New Year Everyone!

In case you're wondering where I've vanished to, I thought I better fess up to the reason for my absence. I stopped following the Dukan diet in November last year because I found out that I'm pregnant with my first child!

In the Dukan book it does mention that it's safe to follow the Cruise phase during pregnancy and this is what I intended to do, however mini me had other ideas. Morning sickness made it fairly impossible for me to eat anything other than toast, plain crisps and ginger biscuits - so not Dukan! My plan is to stick to a healthy balanced diet, once I'm feeling better, and try not gain any weight above what is generally expected during pregnancy. So far due to the morning sickness and lack of appetite I've actually lost weight since stopping Dukan!

So that's my news, providing all goes smoothly our baby will be arriving at the end of July and I'm super excited to become a Mum. You know exactly how I'll be planning to lose the baby weight, so I'll be back to my blog later in the year - you'll all be skinny minnies by then!

Goodluck everyone! xx

A good week - minus some cupcakes

On the whole, this week has gone well. I lost 2lbs and mainly stuck to my menu plan, I did heaps of Zumba and I'm definitely noticing that my body is toning up. Even my hubby commented that my arrms felt very toned the other day.

About those cupcakes.... well I was at a babyshower, it would have been rude not to! I seemed to be one of the only people without a baby or a bump - so I didn't want to single myself out any more by refusing a cupcake or two.

Anyways, here is my menu for the week ahead....

Monday (PV) - Thai Chicken Curry
Tuesday (PV) - Pizza Express - Pollo Vedure Salad
Wednesday - (PV) - Steak with mushroom sauce and vegetables
Thursday (PV) - Chicken with tomato salad
Friday (PV) - Bolognaise
Saturday (PP) - BBQ
Sunday (PP) - Ham omlette

Hope everyone has a good week xx

Menu plan Monday

At the start of the diet I always planned a menu for the week ahead and I think this is a big part of the reason for my success. I've got out of the habit of doing this, so I'm going to try and re-introduce it by posting each Monday on my blog. So here's my dinner menu plan for the week:
Monday (PV) - Mexican Chicken salad
Tuesday (PV) - Dinner out @ Pizza Express, Pollo Vedure Salad
Wednesday (PP) - Extra lean beef Meatballs in a creamy dukan sauce (gravy and 0% fat cream cheese)
Thursday (PP) - Chicken wrapped in prosciutto with cottage cheese and gherkins
Friday (PP) - All day breakfast (beef sausages, turkey bacon and scrambled eggs)
Saturday (PP) - Steak and eggs
Sunday (PP) - Garlic Roast chicken

Plus lots of water and my daily quota of oatbran (which I have also gone off track with)! I'm looking forward to a great Zumba workout tonight too. xx

One year on!

So it's been over a year now since I made one of the best decisions ever and started on the Dukan diet. I can't believe that this time last year I was carrying around 4 extra stone.

I have finally managed to implement a non-negotiable 3 days a week (at the very least) exercise plan and that seems to be really helping to keep the weight off. I bought Zumba for the Wii the other day and I am loving it, it's completely hilarious - the cats look at me in a confused manor whilst I jump around like a total loony.  

Despite the strict exercise regime, I'm not being as strict with the diet. It's naughty I know, but after a year sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit to avoid boredom. All I really want to lose is another stone, but I just can't seem to do it - the weight comes off so much slower than it did before, it's so frustrating. This weekend I vow to put together a menu plan for dinners next week and stick to it, I'll post it up here so there's no getting out of it!   

Oh so quiet!

Well where did July go? The time seems to be going by so incredibly quickly, it's scary. I have been bending the dukan rules of late - hello beautiful fresh Strawberries and hot chocolate with marshmallows - oh and did I mention cocktails galore at our annual summer party! All I can say is oops.

However, there is a small matter of my impending holiday to Florida ( 5 weeks to go!), so I need to be disciplined again. I'm not sure why I'm finding it so hard at the moment. Anyway on Monday it's back to the straight and narrow, I'm going to up the exercise as much as I can before I hit South Beach!

Hope all is going well for you guys. xx 

Melt in the middle BBQ burgers - yum!

Here's a Dukan(ish) recipe I made up last night, it was pretty good if I do say so myself, so I thought I would share it with you guys.

Ingredients (Makes 4)
500g extra lean beef mince
1 small onion diced
2x spring onions
1 egg beaten
1 small chilli chopped
4 mini babybel lights
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce (not very dukan sorry)
Salt and pepper


Method

1. Add the mince, egg, onion, spring onion, chilli and BBQ sauce in to a large bowl, season to taste and mix together thoroughly with your hands.
2. Create a round patty about 1cm thick, place the mini babybel light in the middle then make a similar size patty and place it on top. Repeat this to make 4 burgers.
3. Spray a large pan with frylight and fry for 6 minutes on a fairly high heat, alternatively grill for the same amount of time.

4. Enjoy...

This can be eaten on a PP day and on a PV day you could grill some large field mushrooms and use as a bun!

Race for life

On wednesday I donned a pair of flashing bunny ears and joined my mother-in-law and 2000 other women running 5K to raise money for Cancer Research. It's something that I've always wanted to do, not only raising money for such an important cause, but actually running 5K!


Post-race with my Mum-in-Law!


This time last year, it's safe to say that I would not have been able to do it - I couldn't even run for more than 5 minutes without needing to walk, so it felt great collecting my medal at the end of the race!

Now I'm thinking perhaps a 10K next year...

The good, the bad...

Well the good news is that, as promised, I have staved off alcohol so far, I'm getting over my cold and have managed to get out running again (twice this weekend) - the bad news is that I had a chocolate explosion (I think that's the only way I can describe it) Toblerone AND homemade chocolate brownies.

I haven't put any weight on, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it too much. Plus, I have to stop eating all together at the end of the week for a medical check-up, maybe that will help me drop few lbs, every cloud has a silver lining I guess.

I'm considering trying a Zumba class soon, anyone tried it?  xx

Change is good!

They say that change is good, so I thought it was about time to revamp my blog. There's still a few additions to come, but I'm happy so far. I'm stuck indoors with a nasty cold today, so I thought I would make the most of my down time! Let me know what you think.

I'm afraid I must confess I had 2 raspberry martini's last night, however in my defence it was a very sunny Friday evening. Oh dear, I must try harder. I'm going to try not to drink another drop until our summer party in late July. I promise to actively ignore the champagne chilling in our fridge (wedding anniversary present) until I am celebrating reaching my true weight. xx

The final countdown

Ok guys - the countdown has begun! 13 weeks till I have to wear a bikini on Miami beach.
So for the past few months I have been merrily maintaining my weight loss - a few naughty treats here and there, I have succumbed to some bad habits I'm afraid. Emotional eating, it's always been a downfall of mine. Why do I think chocolate will solve my problems? 2011 has been a stressful year so far, work has been tough and health issues have really got on top of me. But I going to try and be positive and stop feeling sorry for myself, because dieting is hard when you don't feel 100%.

So here I go full throttle to lose the last few lbs and you never know, I may just find the courage to post a photo of myself in my bikini on Miami beach.

I'm going to be making a few changes to my blog too soon, so watch this space! xx

Just checking in...

Hello Dukan Dieters! Just a quick update to say that all is going well on the Dukan, still losing weight and I'm now at a healthy BMI - I've lost 4 stone in total.

The weight certainly doesn't come off as quickly as it did before, but despite a carb-filled holiday to France, Easter Eggs and a cake-fest this weekend in aid of the Royal Wedding I'm maintaining my weight loss fairly easily.

Who could resist a croissant or two, with this gorgeous view from the balcony of our cottage in France?!

With one last push to lose another 18lbs before my holiday to Florida (which has been postponed till September) I need to be much stricter and stop allowing myself to succumb to chocolate.

I'm now running 6km a few times a week training for my charity race which is helping to tone up the wobbly bits.

Hope all is going well for you all. xx

A typical day in food.

For Lauren (and anyone else who might be interested in what I've been eating) here is what I eat on a typical week day:

Breakfast: Activia fruit fat free yogurt
Snack: mini babybel light
Lunch: 4 thick shavings of meat (usually turkey or beef)
Snack: Activia fat free vanilla yogurt
Dinner: Turkey meatballs in a creamy sauce made with fat free cream cheese and stock (pp) or chicken wrapped in prosciutto with carrot and swede mash and red cabbage (pv) followed by a chocolate and cherry galette (using activia low fat cherry yogurt and low fat cocoa - yum!)

Drinks: heaps of tea and coffee, plus 1L water and 1/2 cans of Diet Coke
Exercise: 1.5 hrs of walking per day

At the weekend I usually have my galette for breakfast and something different for lunch like a salad if I'm PV or a selection of cured meats and fresh roast chicken if I'm PP. I sometimes cheat a bit at the weekends too with a glass or wine or some chocolate or a tiny bit of dessert if we have a dinner party, but I try to compensate for this by doing more exercise, today I went for a half hour run.

I've just started training for a 5K run to raise money for cancer research in June, so I shall be stepping up the exercise as soon as the weather gets a bit better! xx

Hello world!

I'm back! Firstly apologies for my very long absence from this blog, my husband and I were both every ill with flu for weeks over Christmas and then I suppose I just got out of the habit of blogging.

I haven't fallen off the wagon though, luckily I have been much more successful with the diet than I have been with the blog! So here are my current stats:

Total weight loss so far: 52lbs or 23.6kg
Current weight: 160.5lbs or 72.9kg
Target weight: 136lbs or 61.8kg

The Dukan diet has well and truly changed my life, I feel and look like a different person. Before Dukan I thought that I would just have to accept that I would be overweight and miserable about it for the rest of my life, a very scary prospect. Now I'm going on holiday to Florida at the beginning of April and I'm actually looking forward to shopping for a bikini and some cute little shorts. Bring on consolidation! xx

Let it snow...

I wished for snow and it obliged, perhaps a little too much! This is what I woke up to this morning:

You can't tell from the photo, but that snow is well over a foot deep and getting deeper by the minute. It was only predicted to be very light, so I wasn't really prepared for it. I'm stranded at home, with hardly any food in the house, let alone Dukan friendly food, and I have already eaten 2 biscuits : (  Oh dear...

Three times a charm!

Week 17 - Weight loss 3lbs (Total lost 42lbs)

Yay mini goal no 3 achieved, 3 stones!

Well a combination of being sick with a nasty cold and having very little food in the house has helped my to achieve mini goal number 3 (despite eating a naughty chocolate cookie yesterday). That means I can get my third charm for my bracelet when I go Christmas shopping next week : ) I'm thinking something festive like a little snowflake.

I'm so ready to be at consolidation right now, but I have to keep plugging away for another 2 stone before I reach my true weight. Realistically, taking Christmas in to account, another 12-15 weeks on the cruise phase.

I know it will be worth it in the end, but sometimes it's so hard to stay motivated sometimes.Especially now it's sooooo freezing cold, I'm longing for soup and a bread roll or stew with dumplings!