Farmersgirl Kitchen

Bulgar Wheat Salad

When I'm trying to lose a few pounds, I like to have something nice and filling for my lunch but without too many calories or too much fat. Somehow, many of the sandwiches that are fit the healthy remit don't seem to fill me up. So I made this Bulgar Wheat Salad, the wheat fills you up and the vegetables add the taste. You can vary the vegetables and the dressing add chickpeas or kidney beans to add a bit of interest.

Bulgar Wheat Salad

200g Bulgar Wheat

1 whole cucumber, deseeded

4 tomatoes, deseeded

2 sticks celery

half a red pepper, deseeded and chopped

half a yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 teaspoon olive oil (I used some chilli infused oil which really added to the flavour)

juice of half a lemon

Put the wheat in a bowl and cover with boiling water, about half an inch over the wheat. Leave for 30 minutes to absorb the water, the wheat will swell. Add the oil and lemon juice while the wheat is still warm. Leave to cool.

Chop the vegetables to small even pieces and mix through the wheat.

Labels: Bulgar wheat, Food Bloggers Diet, lemon, oil, Vegetables

Prawns in Black Bean Sauce

In my quest for thin-dom, or at least thinner-dom, I have been cooking with minimum fat and maximum vegetables. No need to lose out on taste or to feel hungry!

This recipe was inspired by a Rosemary Conley recipe, but I have changed some of the ingredients and used more of a casserole technique rather than stir fry. So pretty much all that is left is the name and even then I have used prawns which were not in the original! If you don't eat fish or meat, this would still be good without, just add a few more vegetables, perhaps courgettes or deseeded cucumber.

Prawns in Black Bean Sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

200g raw tiger prawns

3 small aubergines

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into large pieces

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

Jar of blackbean sauce

2 tomatoes, chopped

seasoning to taste

1. Gently saute the onion and garlic in a tsp of oil until soft. Add the diced aubergine and cook for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook slowly for about 30 minutes until the aubergine is cooked and soft.

3. Add the raw prawns and cook for a few minutes until they turn pink.

4. Serve with rice or noodles.

Labels: asian, Aubergine, black bean sauce, Food Bloggers Diet, prawns

Pork Fillet with Honey and Mustard Glaze

In keeping with my Food Bloggers Diet, I am trying hard to keep to a healthy diet. I had to try extra hard today because tomorrow, I am going out for afternoon tea for my friend's birthday. That is sure to include scones and cakes and it would be rude not to eat them!

My diet guru of choice is Rosemary Conley, mainly because her diets actually include proper recipes and only occasionally include artificial sweeteners and I just avoid those recipes. I picked up a copy of the Rosemary Conley magazine in the supermarket and it featured this pork recipe. As it will be copyright I can't give you the full details, however here are the basics.

The pork fillet is seared in a hot pan, then you add honey and Dijon mustard to the pan and cook for a few minutes, then put in the oven and baste the pork with the glaze until it is cooked about 10-15 minutes. You can then add a little stock to make a sauce or just serve with the glaze. Easy, peasy and very delicious indeed! I served the pork with mashed potatoes with only a little milk added (no butter) and broccoli.

Labels: Dijon Mustard, Food Bloggers Diet, honey, Pork, Rosemary Conley

Baked Potato with Roasted Tomatoes

I thought I'd share this simple recipe which I made for my lunch yesterday.
It's a simple baked potato (done in the microwave but finished off in the oven for crispy skin)topped first with a dessertspoon of low fat greek yogurt and then baby plum tomatoes which I roasted in the oven while the potato finished off. They were roasted with just a couple of sprays of olive oil spray. A few grinds of black pepper and lunch was ready. It was blindingly good for something so simple.

As this is another use for left over yogurt I'm entering it for Kate's No Waste Food Challenge.

I'm also featuring my Food Blogger's Diet badge for the first time. This isn't a diet and it isn't challenge, it's just me cooking healthy, lower fat, lower calorie food.

Labels: Baked Potato, Food Bloggers Diet, No Waste Food Challenge, roasted tomatoes, tomatoes

The Food Blogger's Diet and a Giveaway

When you love food, love to cook and also love to eat, it's easy to put on a few pounds. It's even harder for Food Bloggers we love to share what we cook with others and we are also tempted by all those challenges we take part in.

As Spring is definitely here, I have decided that it is time to do something about those extra inches so I will be bringing you recipes and food ideas that are lower in calories, lower in fat and suitable to eat when trying to reduce your weight. This won't be 'a diet' and I won't be boring you with details of how I'm getting on, but I will be sharing the recipes.

I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to try Popchips and to offer a hamper containing a selection of 24 packs as a Giveaway to one lucky winner. These snacks are 'popped' using heat and pressure rather than fried or baked, which means that they have less than half the fat and fewer calories than the usual type of crisps. There are less than 100 calories for more than 17 crisps in each 23g bag which sells for 69p. There are five different flavours: original; barbeque; sour cream and chives; salt and pepper; sea salt and vinegar.

So what are they like? As you can see in the photo at the top, they look pretty much like the usual puffed potato snacks, however they are not greasy and there are no artifical flavours. You can buy Popchips at Waitrose and online from ocado.com and amazon.co.uk I do think they are quite expensive for what they are, but I did enjoy the Popchips, particularly the Original flavour and compared to some other low calorie snacks they definitely have a more natural taste. Enter my giveaway to try them for yourself.

This Giveaway is open to UK residents only

More information about Popchips is available on their website popchips.co.uk

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Farmersgirl Kitchen

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Bulgar Wheat Salad

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Prawns in Black Bean Sauce

Saturday, 31 March 2012

Pork Fillet with Honey and Mustard Glaze

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Baked Potato with Roasted Tomatoes

Monday, 26 March 2012

The Food Blogger's Diet and a Giveaway

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