Irresistable Ice Cream Week

Hot, muggy weather, like we've been experiencing over the past few days can be the bane of the weight watcher. Especially if you're trying to exercise! Personally this kind of weather puts me off eating and all I want to do is knock back some ice cold pints of sweet, sweet beer, well that or else eat a bucket of ice cream.  Unfortunately luxury ice cream is pure evil when it comes to calories and fat content....What I wouldn't have given for a tub of fairly nuts or cookie dough Ben and Jerrys this afternoon....droooooooooooooool!!!

But I knew the guilt I would feel afterwards would far outweigh the pleasure. Per 100ml  of Ben and Jerrys there is roughly 15g of fat. A scoop is roughly 100g so if you go for 3 scoops, which, lets face it, is the most popular size, we're talking 45g of fat and it's not even a main meal as much as I wish it could be. We're also talking 270 calories per scoop so in that little  three scoop tub at the cinema there lurks a whopping 810 calories. So a 500ml tub that you would buy in the supermaarket would contain over 1300 calories and 75g of fat. Ouch! But there are a number of alternatives as always and I do have a pretty great low fat ice cream recipe but I will post that later in the week. This blog post is about quick fix solutions to stop your ice cream craving.

First of all, let me get one thing straight...I'm not talkin 'bout none of that frozen yoghurt muck! That's not ice cream and it never will be....I'm talkin 'bout real, creamy, not an ice crystal in sight, ice cream.  Obviously the non luxury brand ice creams are going to be lower in calories...Plain vanilla averages at 100 calories per 100ml and 4.5g of fat.  That's what we would all normally have at home in our freezers, but we can do better than that... Carte D'or have brought out a Light Vanilla Ice Cream and I swear it tastes identical to their normal vanilla ice cream, which is very good indeed. Made with vanilla pods, it's a little pricier than the own brand ice creams available in supermarkets and the likes of HB or Walls but it tastes so much better. Tesco do a lighter choice vanilletta, but they give the game away by not calling it ice cream...it's a "frozen dessert" and it tastes completely gack! So don't be tempted to try it!!

There are only 70 calories per 2 scoops and 3g of fat in the Carte D'or light Vanilla, so I usually have 3 scoops and a topping of some sort, which more often than not is half a snack sized crunchy bashed to crumbs and sprinkled over the top. You'd be surprised how far it goes and it's like having a honeycomb and chocolate ice cream. This also works well with Maltesers or an Oreo. Basically anything chocolatey and crumbley! Nom. Nom Nom!!! Just watch how much you use to keep your calorie count down. I'll also be posting a great low fat/low cal summer fruit sundae recipe during this week that will leave you feeling completely spoilt on only 180 calories!!!

Of course, we're not always at home when the urge for an ice cream hits, but even when you're out and about you don't have to resist if you know your ice cream badies from your ice cream goodies. Generally I stick with ice creams that are made from skimmed milk and sorbet. So if you like them go with a Tangle Twister for only 76cals, an Orange Solero for only 77cals, or a Funny Foot for 83 cals. If you just want an ice lolly then those seriously tasty Fruit Pastille ones are only 58 cals and if you're feeling really saintly but fancy something creamy there are always the old childhood reliable Mini Milks at a mere 31 cals but they are very small! Nothing stopping you having two when they're that low though!

The average chocolatey ice cream lolly isn't terrible in calories and fat if you were having one as a dessert rather than just a snack.  It would be a good choice, in fact... but I'm all about maximising taste for as few calories as possible and you can have a way more indulgent dessert for around the same calorie count with much lower fat.  So if you're watching your weight don't sweat it when it comes to ice cream. Don't bother with the frozen dessert crap, it tastes pants. Avoid the luxury brands unless it's a super rare treat and you're willing to work off all those calories. There is a low calorie/fat option for every circumstance. Think I'll go have a Solero right now!
 

Charming Chinese Style Pork with Plum and Ginger

When trying to lose weight we can get stuck in a rut....sticking to safe foods that we know aren't going to pile on the pounds. This can lead to boredom, which in turn can lead to falling off the wagon big style. I love big flavours, but there are very few dishes that I could eat week after week after week...so instead of going for my usual chinese fix I decided to try something different. I'm not a massive pork fan as I find it can be quite chewy and the stuff that isn't is pretty expensive or very fatty but the pork in this dish is none of those things.  The sauce is sweet and sticky and it's served with lovely creamy mash and fabulous veg. What's not to love. Once again it has passed the taste test and all of the ingredients are easy to come by.

Nutritional Facts: 
Calories: 293
Fat:8g
WWPP: 7.3
Prep time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 

Ingredients: 

• 350g Pork fillet cut into slices (go to the butchers and just get what you need to keep the price down)
• 600g New potatoes peeled and diced
• 1 low fat cheese triangle
• A drop of 1% milk
• 150 g Medium plums, stoned and roughly chopped (about three plums with the stones removed)
• 15g 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 15g 1 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)
• 150g Small broccoli florets or tenderstem broccoli
• 220g Pack pak choi (bok choi) sliced
• Low calorie oil spray
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 50g 3 tbsps plum and Ginger sauce.  (I use Sharwoods)

Method:

1. was your potatoes and make sure they are all roughly the same size for boiling. Make sure you cut them so that each piece is the size of the smallest potatoe. Put in a pot and cover with cold water, add a large pinch of salt and put on to boil/ Check rugularly to see how soft they are.
2. Spray a non-stick frying pan with low calorie spray and fry your thinly sliced pork fillet until it's cooked through and starting to brown...this shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
3. Add the plums to the pan and stir around for a couple of minutes. Add a tbsp of water to pan to prevent sticking if needed.
4. Now is the time to put your veg on...again I like to steam my veg but if you haven't got a steamer then just boil making sure not to overcook your veg. The brocolli will need to go on before the pak choi which only take three minutes in a steamer.
5. Add the plum and ginger sauce, soy sauce, almonds and 25mls (2 tbsps) cold water to the pork in the pan. Heat through until the sauce is sticky and check that  the juices ] run clear with no pink meat remaining in the pork. take off the heat and cover. 
6.  drain your potatoes add the cheese, spring onions and a drop of milk and mash till you get a creamy texture. Really get those lumps out! No one likes lumpy mash.
7. serve everything up together and enjoy. 

This dish doesn't keep well so if you're cooking this for 2 people it's better to just half the ingredients than trying to make enough for two nights. If you're not sure about pak choi or never tasted it before...It has a buttery sort of flavour and is lovely with just a tiny bit of salt sprinkled on.  If you're still not sure an yother leafy green will do fine...such as cabbage or spinach.

Rapid Roast

A lot of people don't think they can cook a roast dinner...all the timing and checking...getting everything cooked to just the right texture etc just puts them off. People also assume that a roast dinner equals indulgence but all readers of The Low Fat Foodie, by this stage must know that isn't entirely true.  Depending on your family's roast dinner traditions the calories can range from about 600 to well over a 1000 and thats only if you have one course! Most roasts are followed up by some custardy, yummy dessert! This version is an unbelievable 350 calories...less than half of the average roast dinner! Granted it's not a big fancy roast with aaaaallll the trimmings but what it lacks in trimmings it makes up for in flavour and I know a 30 year old foodie who can't say no to his mother's roast, who agrees with me. :)

Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 330 - 350 depending on size of chicken leg
Fat: 10g
WWPP: 8
Serves: 2


Ingredients:

• 2 small chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)
• 8-10 new/salad potatoes (Tesco have an offer on at the moment 49c per 1kg bag)
• 1 sprig of rosemary - leaves removed and chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic - chopped
• salt and pepper to season
• 100g of baby carrots
• tsp dried rosemary
• 100g of tender stem broccoli
• 80g of baby leeks (if you can get them)
• 1tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp bisto chicken gravy granules

Method:

1.  Preheat your oven to 250c. Remove excess skin and fat from chicken legs but leave majority of skin on for roasting as this will keep the chicken moist.
2. Place the chicken legs and potatoes in a small roasting dish and pour over the oil. Coat everything with the oil. Use your hands to make sure that there is a film of oil on everything.
3. Add the rosemary and garlic and season then coat everything in this, again, using your hands.
4. cover your tray in tin foil and place in the oven.The tin foil will ensure that it doesn't burn or dry out in such a hot oven. You will be removing the skin later so it doesn't need to crisp up. This will need to cook for 45 minutes but set your timer for 30 minutes so you know when to start the veg.
5. I like to boil my carrots and steam my brocolli and leeks as the carrots take so long to cook through. Put the carrots in boiling water and sprinkle  in the dried rosemary and a pinch of salt. Put the lid on and leave to boil. Check after 10 minutes and if they are nearly soft enough (you want them soft enough to get a fork through with ease without them breaking but you don't want them soggy) put your brocolli and leeks on to steam.  Check after about 5 minutes...they should be done. If you don't have a steamer then just boil them but keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.  Again you want your brocolli stems soft enough to get a fork through with ease and still a nice bright green colour...not faded and wilting off the end of your fork. 
6. Remove the tray from the oven.To make the gravy simply add the bisto to a small gravy boat, jug, mug...whatever you have. Pour in the juices and oil at the bottom of the roasting tray and immediately add water stirring constantly to prevent lumps until the gravy is at a consistency that is to your liking. Just don't have it too thick as gravy can be calorific. 
7. Remove the skin from the chicken and serve it all up. It will fill an average size dinner plate and leave you feeling satisfied. The chicken will be juicy and flavoursome and the potatoes will be soft and tasty with glistening skins that are slightly crispy in places. If you like a bit of a flourish garnish with a little sprig of rosemary.

 All it takes is 45 minutes and the clean up is much quicker as there was no need to boil potatoes or have more than one roasting tray or sauce pans etc.  This is so straight forward...a kitchen novice couldn't mess it up. Not even my little brother and that's saying something! ;)

Because there are so few calories in this you could follow this up with a Low Fat Foodie Cheesecake and still be below 600 calories, 16g of fat and 14.2 WWPP.  Go on....spoil yourself!

Noble Noodles

There are some nights when I just can't stop thinking about a great big dirty take away...one that's gonna leave me feeling so full it's going to take a crack-team of  Oompa Loompas to manouvre me from the sofa!

When ordering chinese takeaway there are three things I crave... Chicken Curry, which we have covered with the Chicken Katsu Curry, Sweet and Sour Chicken which I hope to tackle in a few weeks and Chow Mein, which, as far as I was concerend was the low fat option! How wrong I was! Granted it is probably one of the lowest fat chinese dishes available on our western menus but the average portion still contains 1316 cals per 250g!!
While this recipe isn't an exact substitution for chow mein, because of the added spice it will leave you feeling very full on much less food and feeling like you've had a real treat! I am an evening grazer and after eating this around 7pm I didn't want to eat anything else for the rest of the night...so it really does work. it's also super tasty and fun to eat with chopsticks. It's also great for ehhh.... "clearing you out" if ya know what I mean...which is something dieters can have problems with from time to time.

This recipe is for Singapore Curried Noodles. It's a very cheap dish to prepare if you plan on doing it more than once. The most expensive things in the recipe are prawns, but you can buy a big bag of frozen king prawns and just take what you need from it each time...

Nutritional Facts:

Calories: 435
Fat: 5g
WWPP: 10.5
I don't have info in carbs and protein yet but will add this at a later time
Serves: 4 (If you are making this for two people it's best to just halve your ingredients as it won't keep)

Ingredients:

• 340g/12oz packet of rice flour noodles (very important to get these and not wheat flour noodles as they are much lower in calories - You can get these pre-soaked in Tesco where the bean sprouts usually are)
• 1 tbsp vegtable oil
• 16 king prawns cut in half
• 1 x 150g chicken breast, cut into thin slices (and I mean thin - you just want the slices thick enough to stay together)
• 2 bacon medallions, cut into match sticks
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tbsp medium curry powder (if you don't like a bit of burn just add half this amount)
• 5 tbsp of chicken stock (I like to add more than this to the pan and reduce it down to get a richer flavour but if you're short on time just stick to the 5 tbsp)
• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 spring onions, sliced lengthways into little matchsticks
• 2 big handfuls of beansprouts (when it's safe to eat beansprouts again that is)
• 1 red pepper cored and thinly sliced
• A pinch of sesame seeds to serve

This cooks really fast so it's best to have everything prepped before hand so you can just fling it all in the pan when you need to.

 Method:

1. Heat the oil in the wok until it is very hot and shimmering, throw in the chicken and cook until it is starting to turn golden brown then remove from the wok with a slotted spoon or spatula.
2. Next let the pan reheat a bit again before throwing in the chopped onion, garlic and bacon and stir fry for about 2 minutes on the highest heat possible then add 2 tbsp of curry powder and stir fry again for a further minute.
3. Add the stock and soy (which I have premixed beforehand for ease) and stir until it forms a bubbling sauce...give it a few minutes till you are happy with the consistency...you want it to be saucy but not too thick.
4. Chuck in your noodles and stir to coat them in the sauce then add the beansprouts, peppers and spring onions and stir fry for another minute before adding the prawns and stir frying for another minute and then finally add the chicken back in and...yup...you've guessed it....stir fry all of this together for another minute then serve straight away.
5. sprinkle a few sesame seeds over the top and voilá! Get you chop sticks out!

One of the quickets and cheapest recipes on the Low Fat Foodie so far and one of my favourites!

Chaste Cheesecake

If I'm not blogging for a while it means I'm working on some new recipes.  I've got a couple of new ones that I have been working on and tweeking to get them just right before posting them on here. This one, however, was the very first low fat foodie recipe I tried and it is still my all time favourite! I posted this recipe on facebook a few months ago but have made some adjustments since.

When you're trying to lose weight or maintain your weight, cream is the devil itself, but we now have plenty of alternatives to full fat cream that can be substituted without losing any taste.  This recipe is for individual cheesecakes that may look small but I guarantee you that they are so rich and satisfying you will be quite happy with one. Take this as truth from somone who used to use 500ml of cream and 500g of full fat cream cheese in a 9inch round cheescake!

 AAAAaaaaand if you thought you would never be able to make a decent cheesecake...well they don't come any easier than this! Any clutz in the kitchen could whip this up in 10 minutes.

 Nutrional Facts:
Calories: 220
Fat: 6g
WWPP: 5.5
Carbs: 25.5g
Sugar: 13.6g
Protein: 9.5g


Serves:4
Prep Time:10 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 30 minutes minimum


Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 McVitees Light Digestive Biscuits (this brand is on average 15-20 calories and 1.5g of fat less per biscuit than other brands)
• 200g of Extra Light Soft Cheese  (no need to get en expensive brand -Tesco do a version)
• 100g of drained low fat natural yoghurt (If you can get your hands on 0% fat Greek Yoghurt it's even better but I have searched high and low for it in Dublin and can't find it anywhere)
• 2 tbsp of golden caster sugar or fruit sugar
• 1 tbsp of powdered sweetener
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp St Dalfour Sugar Free Jam ( there are other sugar free jams but this really is the best)
• 100g of strawberries hulled and thinly sliced

Method: 

1.  If you can't get the 0% fat greek yoghurt you will have to prepare your low fat natural yoghurt ahead of time. To do this you will need a deep bowl or jug, a sieve and some good quality kitchen roll. Line the sieve with a single ply of kitchen roll and place over the jug. Pour in 200g of yoghurt and leave to drain in fridge for about 3 hours. I know it sounds like hassle but this step is essential if you ar to get a thick, creamy cheesecake...after 3 hours, carefully turn the contents of the sieve into a wide bowl and even more carefully peel off the kitchen roll, then weight out 100g.
2. bash your biscuits in  a sealable plastic bag until they are chunky crumbs...you are not adding any butter to the base so chunky bits are fine. Share this evenly between your four small glasses or ramicans.  
3.  mix together the cream cheese, yoghurt, sugar, sweetener,  lemon zest and vanilla extract until they form a smooth cream. Taste to make sure that it's sweet enough for you. If it isn't add a little bit more sweetener until it is and pour this equally over your biscuit base in the four glasses then place in fridge to set.
4. In the mean time put a tbsp of jam in a mug and stir it around to losen it up a bit then add the strawberries and mix. Place in fridge until  you are ready to serve the cheesecakes.
5. When the cheesecakes are set spoon over the strawberries and serve with a teaspoon. 

I promise this cheesecake won't leave you feeling bloated and overly full, It will simply leave you satisfied and feeling like you've had a real treat for 220 calories! This is a great one to serve at dinner parties. no one will even realise that they are low fat!

These will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, so if there is just one or two of you you can still make four and treat yourself to a saintly dessert for a few nights in a row.

Almost Angelic Alcohol

We all know that alcohol is pretty much empty calories, but like many of you I enjoy a social drink and enjoy the taste of beer and wine and some spirits. When people are trying to lose weight they often try to avoid going out for dinner or to the pub as it can be hard to limit yourself to just one or two....lets face it how easy is it going to be to say "No thank you mine's a diet coke" before everyone has even arrived. So here are a few tips that I have learned over the years.

Wine: we're probably all aware that wine is considered a lighter alternative to beer or spirits but this is not always the case. Strong reds from hot countries like Riojas or Chianti, which, unfortunately, are both favourites in our house, are going to be higher in calories than their cooler climate cousins.. Of course the higher the alcohol content the higher the calories but the fermenting process for these wines results in a higher sugar and alcohol content. A better option would be a nice Californian Pinot Noir a beautiful Burgandy or even a Chilean Cabernet. Merlot is a bit of an inbetweener but one I generally try to avoid anyway just because I've never tasted one I actually like, so why waste calories drinking something yuck!

With white wine it's a no brainer that dessert wines are gonna be higher in calories...I don't know anyone that drinks dessert wines...but even so this would be a lighter calorie option than tucking into a dessert after a meal out. If you're choosing a bottle of wine as a gift for a dieting friend a good rule is to stay away from these and fortified wines like port, maderia and sherry. Try to avoid late harvest Reisling, Muscats, Noble Rots, but check the labels of most Hungarian and German wines as they tend to be very sweet, . Try to stick with dry white wines.Chablis is heavenly and while Chardonay is currently out of favour, a good unoaked bottle is still rather yummy and my all time favourite Sancerre, tho pricey, is worth the calories and the money. A wine to be sipped and savoured. If you're on a budget well you can't go wrong with a decent Pinot. It's a good hard working white wine, widely available and on the lower calorie end of the scale. Just steer clear of the really cheap stuff of course as this will often have a higher alcohol and sugar content to mask a not so great taste. Champagne is a dry white...so no need to feel guilty if you have something to celebrate! Or if you're on a budget then try a nice Prosecco which will be far superior to a cheap champagne!  ;)

Beer has a bad rep. yeah, some are really bad but they shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush. The calorie content of beer varies wildly, much more so than wine and if you're talking calories per ml Beer is much lower. So called "light beers" are anything but  with a pint of Coors Light coming in at 204 calories compared to a pint of Miller at 186! Bud light comes in at a staggering 227...so forget about light beers and check out some fabulous Bavarian Weiss and Weizen Beers, namely: Erdinger at a saintly 125 cals for a 500ml bottle Schofferhofer (my personal favourite) at 135 cals per 500ml and while Francizkaner and Paulaner are 165 per 500ml that doesn't compare to calorific Heineken (227), Stella (256), Cornona (296) and pretty much anything else available on tap. Guinness sort of hovers in the middle at 210 but at least it doesn't claim to be light!. I have a whole list that I've spent a week compiling so if you want to know the calorie content of your favourite brew let me know.

Not forgetting the cider drinkers out there a pint of Bulmers/Magners clocks up about 210 calories so, the same as a pint of Guinness. While it's not the healthiest option, it's not the worst either and I have it on good authority that Bulmers Light is pretty tasty but comes in at an Angelic 160 cals per pint beating all but Erdinger and Schofferhofer in the beers list.


Spritis can be great for those watching their weight but if you're planning on being out all night its probably best to really pace yourself or start off with something a little less potent! Obviously the best drink options are Bacardi and Diet Coke (57-60 cals) Gin and Slimline Tonic (84 cals) Vodka and Diet Lemonade (60 - 64 cals) even a Southern Comfort and Red Lemonade, which, with its sweet flavour would be considered by some to be a no no, is only 73 calories! A JD and Diet Coke is only 63 so the main thing to think about with spirits is your mixer, keep it diet and slimline and you should be ok... Spritis are a no brainer if you have a bit of self control and deep pockets.

Finally, I'm gonna leave Cocktails well enough alone until I've had time to do some more research and perhaps try some out on a few guinea pigs...I'm sure I won't be short of volunteers. :) Sláinte!

NOTES:

While it's important not to binge drink we have all had more than our RDA at times so be prepared. Even if you are watching you weight don't forgo essential food calories for alcohol calories.  If I know I'm going out for drinks at the weekend I will save 100 - 150 calories a day through-out the week and make sure I eat something substantial before heading out. A Rice dish would be perfect as this swells in your stomach and will slow down the absorbtion of alcohol.

Not so Sinful Snacks 2: The Cinema

Going to the cinema can be a bit of a mine field for dieters...the smell of the popcorm, or the nachos, or the hot dogs...the giant share size bag of chocolatey sweets that, lets face it, we don't always share, the oh so tempting sahara nuts and lets not even talk about  the Ben and Jerrys counter! A trip to the flicks, while ultimately about seeing a great piece of cimema is also an honours level exercise in self control and I'm telling you now I am in the remedial class in this subject! But there are ways of addressing allllllll of our cinema food cravings.

First up: Hot Food...So lets rip the band aid off first....ya just can't have nachos at the cinema  there are over a 1100 calories in a portion, 59g of fat and 131g of carbs!!!!! What you can have though, is a hot dog. Not a foot long...a normal sized hot dog. It's not the best thing for ya to have but it's only 242 calories 14g of fat and 13g of carbs... and sure aren't onions good for ya? :) Just don't start loading it with cheese!

This is probably a good option if you're coming from work and haven't had time to have dinner. It won't make you feel full the instant you've eaten it but give it 20 minutes and it will deal with your hunger.

Popcorn can be hard to resist as well...especially when it is lovingly SMOTHERED in lovely, lovely butter! A small popcorn without butter already has 400 calories in a bag. It is covered in butter before they even ask you if you want more because it is popped in butter! So if you are coming from work the best thing to do is  just share a small bag with whoever you are with. If you are coming from home well then you can air pop your own popcorn in the microwave. all you need is a paper bag, about 2 cups of  kernals, and 1 cal spray oil. Put the kernals in the bag, give it a few sprays of oil and stick it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. You will hear it popping and like normal microwave popcorn (which is also covered in oil or butter) ya just wait for the popping to slow down before turning the microwave off. Season with whatever you want...but I like using onion salt. nom nom nom. It's not ideal but I don't mind bringing stuff with me to the cinema and it saves a fortune. They charge so much these days for even a small!  Ya just have to plan ahead I guess.

Ice Cream is my weakness at the cinema, that Ben and Jerrys stand  calls to me from the car! This isn't a problem anymore though as they now do some low fat options!!! A scoop averages around 160 calories but only 3g of fat. To be honest though, if there is a freezer I will check to see if they have Soleros as these are by far the best value for calories and fat. Super tasty and only 99 calories and and 2.2g of fat. If you need a chocolatey ice cream fix then most of the chocolate bar ice creams ...like crunchie etc are ok apart from Mars, snickers and toffee crisp. As a rule anything with caramel in it is worth avoiding. It's easier to pick just one ice cream instead of trying to have only one scoop! one scoop just feels mean, one ice cream feels normal.

And lets just deal with those share sized bags of sweety goodness. Just buy a normal sized bag and we all know that "Maltesers are the lighter way to enjoy chocolate" with 187 cals in a normal bag they are way ahead of the pack.

      

If you want to be all romantic and share just get the king size bag. If you're gonna go for the pick and mix just remember there is an average of 20 calories per sweet and 3-6g of fat. So you can have some just no more than 10 which really doesn't seem worth it in all honesty.

And of course if you are eating one, or a combination, of the above you do not want to waste calories on fizzy drinks so just stick with water or diet coke...even the diet versions of all other drinks are higher in calories. Flavoured fizzy waters are ok too.

So there you have it, just a few little changes and you can enjoy a treat at the flicks without the major guilt fest afterwards.