Poppy seeds

I have started eating more eggs as a source of cheap protein, but I'm not keen on the taste of them, so I scramble them and add other flavourings to help the taste. Whilst looking through our spice rack I found a packet of poppy seeds. I like the taste of them on bread so I experimented with them in my eggs. I was pleasantly surprised with the result, they added a nutty taste that wasn't overpowering.

I decided to investigate these tiny seeds and see if they have any benefits to a healthy diet. It turns out they are packed full of vitamins and minerals. They contain folates, niacin (vitamin B), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K. They are also a good source of calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and zinc.

Be careful though as they are quite high in calories with 525 calories per 100 grams. They also have over 40 grams of fat, although the fats contained in poppy seeds are good for you and help lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol. Studies show that diets high in monounsaturated fatty acids, like those contained in poppy seeds, helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes. There have also been studies that indicate the oleic acid in the seeds help to combat breast cancer.

Ideas for including poppy seeds into a healthy diet 

 

Other than adding them to dishes like scrambled egg, they work well with lemon and other seeds and nuts.  I have also added them to coleslaw and commercial light or low fat salad dressings.

1. Poppy seed & walnut pasta. Melt 30g butter in a pan, fry 2 large garlic cloves (thinly sliced). Once the garlic is just turning golden, add 25g of poppy seeds and cook for a further minute. Then add 25g of crushed walnuts and cook for another minute. Pour over a ribbon pasta, such as tagliatelle, and then sprinkle over finely grated zest of a large lemon. Toss the pasta to coat it in the mixture, this should serve 4 people. This goes well with a garden salad with no dressing as you already have the delicate flavour of the pasta sauce.
2. Poppy seed broccoli. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a frying pan and fry 1 tbsp of poppy seeds for a minute to release their flavour. Sprinkle in 1/4 tsp of paprika and then add enough steamed broccoli for four people and stir well to coat the broccoli in the seeds. Dish up the broccoli and garnish with a teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese.
3. Fruit salad with poppy seed dressing. In a blender or food processor, combine 1 banana, 60ml orange juice, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar, 1/4 tsp olive oil, 30g raspberries, a pinch of salt and pinch of cayenne pepper, and puree until smooth. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. Chop up assorted fruit and dress with the poppy seed dressing. There is enough dressing for about 6 - 8 salads.

One thing to note, other than the high oil content of these seeds, they reportedly can provide a false positive on drug tests for opiates. I don't know if this is a myth or not, but it is worth bearing in mind.

Jerk the Chicken

I spent a few years living in Africa, this is where I had my first taste of jerk chicken. Whilst it is typically known as a Jamaican food, it's roots are found in African cooking. The jerk chicken I first tried was in a Jamaican style restaurant, that had given an African twist to it's menu.

I couldn't recreate the recipe from all those years ago, but this is a pretty close approximation, and with the skin and visible fat removed from the chicken, keeps the calories low. One tip, wear gloves when cooking with very strong chillies as if you get any in your eyes, you will know about it for a long time.

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken thighs
60 ml malt vinegar
60 ml lime juice
1 tbsp dark rum
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, with seeds, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tsp (heaped) dried thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp molasses

How to:

1. Put vinegar, rum, chilli, onion, spring, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and molasses into a blender. Blitz until mostly smooth.
2. Pour lime juice over the chicken and coat well. Add the jerk paste to the chicken pieces and coat well. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Drain the marinade from the chicken into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to use as a basting sauce for the chicken.
4. Preheat oven to 180ºC and cook for approximately 25 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally and basting with marinade. The chicken is cooked through when the juices run clear when a knife tip is inserted into the thigh. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand 15 minutes.
5. Serve with a rice salad.

Serves 4

Week 6

I know at the start of this new healthy life style quest, I decided I wasn't going to gauge my success on the bathroom scales and have therefore stayed away from them for the last six weeks. Today after my shower I wondered how much weight I had lost as I am feeling so much better. I am finding walking is no longer painful and I am now enjoying the occasional stroll round our local village and our out of town giant Tesco. I have not had to take my prescription strength pain killers for my recovering back injury for over 3 weeks now. And my clothes are now loose and next week I'll be opening up the storage boxes to find my older clothes in smaller sizes.

In the last six weeks I have lost nearly 60 pounds. All of this has been achieved through sensible eating, healthy food and slowly increasing my activity levels. At times it has been difficult, but overall I have to say this time round has been the easiest. In the past I have tried Slimming World, Weight Watchers and a number of strange diet plans. Whilst the Slimming World plan is the easiest to follow and you are never hungry and I had great results whilst on their plan, as soon as I tried 'normal' eating, I picked up the weight again.

In reality all diet plans work, they modify what you eat so that your body sheds weight, some rely on restricting calories, others use weak or pseudo science to sell you their plan, which is really reduced calories wrapped up in a fad eating plan. For me I saw them a bit like a course of medicine, complete the course and you are fixed. Which in reality it isn't, I and many fat people like me have underlying issues that need resolving rather than just treating the fat symptom.

For me I need to re-educate my body and food habits. I can do diets but I can't manage the time between them. So my plan is, as I stated 4 weeks ago when I started this blog, I am looking to learn to listen to what my body is telling me. I need to think about what I eat, when I eat and why I eat. It used to be too easy to eat take away, junk food, sweets etc. it was quick and required no effort. I suppose it tasted good, but sitting here now, I probably couldn't tell you what it tasted like, the food was just piled in, in an attempt to fulfill a need. I ate when food was available, I didn't need to be hungry.

I am learning how to tell when I am hungry as opposed to just wanting to eat. I am unlearning the habit of set mealtimes and eating just because it is dinner time or some other meal time. This way of eating might not suit everyone as lots of people fix meals into busy routines, as we don't have kids, we can choose when we eat. To be honest a lot of the food I eat does fall into meal time slots, but I am finding that I eat now when I am hungry, I eat slowly, until am full and then only eat again when I feel the hunger return. This occasionally means I skip 'meals' but if you take a look at my calorie intake for the day, it averages out. I am eating a balanced diet, making sure I eat good food. Already my body has gone a long way to adapting to this type of diet. Last night I ate some chocolate pudding, it has no added sugar and was made up with skimmed milk and calorie wise it is acceptable, but this morning I woke up with a bit of a stomach ache, I feel this is my body telling me that something in the pack mix dessert it didn't like. To be honest although it tasted fine, I have to admit it wasn't that fantastic and I doubt I'll be eating it again any time soon.

It is strange to think that the human body can adapt to different foods so quickly. I know from past experience on the SW plan, which is very low fat, that one time when we were out for a meal and I had saved up quite a few of their 'sins / syns', which are the way they allow the 'naughty foods' into the plan in controlled amounts, I had chips with my dinner and really suffered the following day with what can only be described as a 'fatty hangover'. I was shocked by how much my body rebelled against a food that I had previously thought of as a staple.

So into week six with a positive outlook, and although the sixty pounds gone so far is only the tip of the iceberg, I am feeling positive.

Meatloaf

Although red meat is supposed to kill us all with an assortment of saturated fat, cholesterol, cancer, heart problems and mad cows disease. Research is showing that lean cuts of red meat, as part of a healthy balanced diet are no worse for us than any other meat. Beef contains plenty of protein, B complex vitamins, zinc and iron, which are both easily absorbed from meat.

New studies are showing that the original link between red meat and heart disease were incorrect, the link has now been made to high levels of the bad, LDL cholestrol, typically associated with diets high in saturated fats. Lean cuts of red meats do contain some saturated fat, but the average 100 gram cut of lean beef contains around 5g of saturated fat, which is about one quarter of your recommended daily amount. This of course varies on which cut of beef you use, but if you stick to lean steaks, lean cuts of meat and less than 5% fat mined beef you should be alright.

We picked up a whole pile of reduced price packs of extra lean beef mince a couple of weeks ago in the supermarket and stocked up the freezer and I was looking for ideas for healthy things to do with it. I found a few ideas but decided on trying this meatloaf recipe. The recipe I found was already healthy, but I managed to tweak it a little further to see if it could be even better.

Ingredients:

1 small courgette, grated
½ a red pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
1 tbsp water
1 large egg
2 tbsp tomato puree
4 tsp whole-grain mustard
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried marjoram
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
150g rolled oats / porridge, blitzed to look like bread crumbs
600g lean (90% or leaner) beef mince
2 tbsp barbecue sauce

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Spritz a baking sheet or loaf tin (22cm x 12cm x 6cm deep) with cooking spray.
2. Place courgette, red pepper, onion and water in a microwavable bowl, cover and microwave on high for about 4 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 
3. Drain the vegetables in a sieve, gently pressing out as much moisture as possible; spread out on a large plate to cool slightly.
4. Whisk egg, tomato puree, mustard, Worcestershire, marjoram, salt, paprika and pepper in a large bowl.
5. Add the vegetables and stir together. Next add the oats / porridge and mix.
6. Add beef and gently mix with clean hands to combine with the vegetable mixture, , don't overwork the mixture as it will make the meatloaf tough.
7. Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on the prepared baking sheet, or fill the loaf tin. Spread the barbecue sauce over the top of the loaf.
8. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. 
9. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6.

We ate this with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and fried onions. 

Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are actually seeds from the fruit of the Bertholletia excelsa tree, or to give it its common name, the Brazil nut tree. The fruit looks like a coconut husk, in that it is around the same size and hard and woody. Eight to twenty seeds are contained within, arranged like the segments of an orange.

They are well known for their high levels of the antioxidant selenium, with one or two nuts providing you with 100% of your daily requirement. Studies into selenium indicate that it may help prevent both breast and prostate cancer, but early results are inconclusive. The antioxidant also helps fight coronary artery disease and liver cirrhosis.

They are also a good source of omega-3 which the body needs to stay healthy. In addition to omega-3 fatty acid, they are an especially good source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which are used by the body to lower the bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol levels. According to scientists from the Department of Psychology at the University of Wales in Swansea, a deficiency in selenium, may be associated with increased anxiety, depression and fatigue.

Brazil nuts are a great source of vitamins E, B complex vitamins, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. They are however very high in calories, so you should be careful how many you eat, as 100 grams of the nuts contains 656 calories. But the good news is that our digestive systems don't seem that well adjusted to eating nuts, and that up to a third of the cells within the nut, pass through us completely intact, which means the fats from the oils remains trapped inside the intact cells, effectively reducing the calorie content by around 30%. Even with this reduction you should still make sure you keep an eye on how many you eat.

The high calorie levels do mean that they provide a great energy boost, in a small package, fitness trainers suggest that they make a good snack both before and after exercise. Make sure though that your exercise is more than walking to the shops, we don't need a snack for that.

Brazil nuts in their husk

They do have one really negative side, they are very high in saturated fat, that is the really bad fat everybody says we should avoid. As with any food, good or bad, moderation is the key, and one or two nuts daily, gives you all the benefits with the minimum problems. Personally I have a couple with a handful of raisins each evening once I feel my dinner wearing off. This snack keeps me out of the biscuit box and makes sure I don't go to bed so hungry that I end up chewing on my pillow.


The Science:
Biological Psychiatry; David Benton & Richard Cook. 1991

Look before you eat

You have heard the saying your eyes are bigger than your stomach, well there is some truth to the phrase. We are conditioned from an early are to eat up everything on our plates, and the larger the plate, the more we eat.

So the obvious solution is choose a smaller plate. But it is not that simple, studies have shown that when people were given the same sized meal on large plate and then on small plates, the people who ate the meal on the small plates reported feeling more satisfied than those who ate off the larger plates. This is due to our perception, a meal will look smaller if served on a large plate, and we feel that we should be hungry as we didn't eat a full meal, whereas the subjects who ate the same amount of food, off the small plate, perceived their plates to be full, and therefore a complete meal. The research went on to show that when people were given smaller plates containing less food, they still reported the same level of satiation after eating.

We also think we have a larger drink when it is served in a tall glass, so if you have to have a non diet friendly drink, either soda or wine and beer, try a smaller drink in a tall glass, you will trick your mind into thinking you had more. This goes for deserts too, you will feel more satisfied with your sundae in the tall dish over the squat wide one.

The research also went on to discover that the colour of your plate and also influence your choice when serving up your food, and then eating it. Dr Wansink's research showed that when people served up food on plates with little or no contrast to the colour of the food, they chose to load the plate with more food. When given a plate that had a strong contrast with the colour of the food, they typically chose to serve up a smaller portion. As we can't all have a range of plates to colour match to each meal, dark blue tableware was deemed to be the most effective in reducing serving sizes.

So now we have the perfect small, dark blue plate, what should we be putting on it? To maintain a healthy balanced diet, we need to get a good ratio of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables. The simple rule is half of your plate should be vegetables and or fruit, one quarter protein and one quarter starch or carbohydrates. If you are struggling with knowing how much you should be eating a simple guide to remember is one serving of protein is the the size and thickness of one palm of your hand for a woman, and 2 palms for a man. Once you know this, the rest of your meal is served up in relation to your protein.

Finally presentation is also worth the effort, top restaurants and advertisers know that we eat first with our eyes and imagination. If a dish looks sumptuous and delicious we have already decided that we will enjoy the meal before we have tasted a single bite. Look at the image below and decide which meal looks like it would taste nice.

Take a few minutes to make your food look nice on the plate, your taste buds will thank you for it.


The Science:
Wansink, Brian (2006), Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think, New York: Bantam–Dell.

Don't cry for me

Forget the tears, onions are another great health food, often overlooked as just an ingredient. Onions not only contain high levels of vitamin C, but they also improve how your body handles vitamin C, so you get more benefit from the vitamin C in your other food, which improves your immune system.

The unsung hero of the kitchen not only adds flavour to your cooking, but it can prevent some forms of cancer, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cataracts amongst other common diseases. It even contains antibiotic chemicals that can reduce the risk of food borne illness from microbial contamination.

The onion is however one of the calorie heavyweights in the vegetable world, with 40 calories per 100g. In reality this isn't that high when compared with a take away pie and chips with gravy, but it is worth remembering if you are calorie counting. Onions however, like most veggies contains no fat and very little sodium and 100g will provide you with 1.7g of fiber, 12% of your RDA vitamin C as well as some calcium, iron,B-6, magnesium and chromium which helps your bodies insulin work effectively.

There are several varieties of onions and below is a list of the most common and ideas on how you can use them.

Yellow Onions (every day onions) are full-flavored and are a reliable staple for cooking almost anything. Yellow onions turn a rich, dark brown when cooked and give French Onion Soup its tangy sweet flavor. It works well raw in salads, and is delicious dry fried with burgers, pulled pork or any meat.

Red Onions, with their wonderful color, are a good choice for using raw or grilling and roasting. They taste great in salads and on kebabs.

White onion, not very well known in the UK, but they have a sharper taste and more pungent aroma. They are the traditional onion for classic Mexican cuisine.

Spring onions are a salad staple, but they can also be used to add a subtle flavour to coleslaw, Chinese recipes and can also be eaten raw with dips as they have such a mild flavour. 

Sweet Onions lack the sharp, astringent taste of other onions and really do taste sweet. They are great thinly sliced and served in salads or on top of sandwiches. They can range in colour from white to yellow and often have a flattened or squashed appearance.

Finally a couple of tips on how to cut onions with less tears.

Use a sharp knife as it will cause less damage to cell walls, and fewer irritants will be released.

Cold onions release less propanethial S-oxide, as it is this chemical irritant that causes tears when it evaporates.

The video from Chow also shows you the 'right way' to chop onions, this works as most of the onion's cut surfaces are not exposed, reducing the surface area from which the irritants can evaporate.

Baked beans

The unassuming baked bean is an unrecognised food super hero. It is low in fat, less 7% (1.9g saturated fat) and full of protein and fiber. It has a low GI index, which means your body takes longer to break it down into usable energy and so keeps you full longer.

They can help lower the bad LDL cholesterol, the tomatoes used in the sauce contain lycopene, an antioxidant shown to help prevent heart disease and prostate cancer. They also contain a whole host of essential vitamins and minerals, that contribute to a healthy diet. They are a good source of iron, and when combined with the vitamin C from the tomatoes, the iron is more easily absorbed by the body. Baked beans do however contain a relatively high level of sodium at 422mg per 100g, so it you are eating them with a meal, you really don't need to add salt to either the cooking or your plate.

So apart from throwing them on a slice of toast, what else can we do with them? Well as a side dish to many different meals is the obvious answer but below are a couple of ideas for baked bean recipes.

For those of you who don't like the powdery kidney bean in chilli, throw in a tin of beans instead.

Baked bean & pasta soup, quick and simple, fry off some onions and a bit of garlic, add the beans, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, oregano and a splash of water and simmer till cooked. Stir in the cooked pasta and server with a grating of cheese and a twist of black pepper.

Curried beans, dry fry curry powder, chopped onion then stir in the beans and heat through, goes well with BBQ

Chilli bean dip, dry fry chilli, minced garlic, chopped onion and cumin, stir in the baked beans and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Blitz in a food processor and serve as a dip.

Stir into the mince when making cottage pie, bulks up the meal and keeps you feeling fuller longer.

Baked bean burrito, Dry fry some onion, garlic, chilli and cumin then add the beans and cook through. Serve in a soft flour wrap, with a little low fat cream cheese, shredded lettuce, spring onion, tomato salsa.

I've even heard that one of my friends blitzes up a tin of sausage and beans to form a thick paste, and uses it as a sandwich paste.

Pulled pork sandwich

When I first started looking into recipes for pork, I kept finding pulled pork recipes cropping up over and over, but I always assumed that it was high in fat and calories so at first dismissed it. But after the pouting reaction from my wife, who loves pork, I read more, on what is now my favorite sandwich of all time.

When stripped of the fat and crackling pulled pork is actually lower in calories and fat than chicken, it's only downfall is it is high in salt. I was very surprised to find that it contains half the fat of chicken and half of the saturated fat. Pulled pork is also half the cholesterol of chicken at only 35mg (11%) per 100g opposed to chicken at 64mg (21%) per 100g. Pulled pork also contains 1.2g of fiber per 100g and vitamin A, B-6, B-12, C, Calcium and magnesium.

Ingredients:

1kg lean shoulder of pork
4 cloves sliced garlic
1 roasting bag
crusty wholewheat rolls
shredded lettuce or baby spinach
dry fried onions

Rub
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp mustard powder
ground black pepper

BBQ sauce
1 finely chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
100g tomato puree
100g malt vinegar
75g honey
1 tsp mustard powder
100ml beef stock (1/2 oxo made up with 100ml water)
Juice from roasting bag with the fat drained off.

Spicy coleslaw
50g shredded cabbage
75g grated carrot
50g finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp low fat mayonaise
2 - 3 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp lime juice (or lemon)
1 tsp soy sauce
ground black pepper


How to:

Pulled pork

1. Combine the rub ingredients well and rub into the pork shoulder and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
2. Place the meat in the roasting bag and sprinkle the garlic slices over the joint. Seal the bag as per the manufactures guidelines and roast in a cool oven at 140-150 degrees for 5 hours, turning the bag once an hour to baste the meat.
3. Carefully open the bag after cooking to test if the pork is easily shredded with a fork, allow to sit in its juice for 20 minutes.
4. Drain off the roasting juices and allow the juice and fat to settle, discard the fat.
5. Pull into shreds with a couple of forks and serve.

BBQ sauce

1. Sweat the onions and garlic in a small pan until just transparent. You don't need oil, just a non stick pan and frequent stirring.
2. Add the vinegar, tomato puree, honey or syrup and stock to the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes till the sauce thickens.
3. Just before serving, pour in the retained roasting juices (minus the fat) into the sauce and simmer for a further 2 minutes.

Spicy coleslaw

1. Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix.
2. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.

To make the sandwich, cut the rolls in half and toast the cut side. Load the open sandwich with a layer of lettuce, a layer of pulled pork, a layer of fried onions and a spoonful of the BBQ sauce. Serve as an open sandwich with a side of spicy coleslaw salad.

I like making this with Tesco Walnut rolls as the nutty taste works well with the flavour of the sandwich.

Serves lots, we got seven good sized portions of meat from the joint.

Meaty balls

Meatballs and pasta is one of those dishes lots of people like, but seem to think that it is a lot of effort to make, so don't bother. I was the same to be honest. This recipe is simple and although not the quickest meal to prepare, it does freeze well, so can be made in bulk in advance.

I prefer to serve this with white spaghetti, but in an effort to eat plenty of fiber, we usually eat with wholegrain pasta. To reduce the calories even further in this dish you could substitute half of the minced beef for Quorn mince as it is lower in fat 0.5g per 100g.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
500g lean Beef mince (or 250g beef & 250g quorn mince)
1 egg
2 beef Oxo
1 italian Oxo
1tsp basil
1tsp oregano
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Squirt of fry light

Sauce
2 chopped onions
1 chopped sweet red pepper
500g Passata
400g Tin chopped tomatoes
1 chopped clove garlic
1 chopped red chilli / ½ tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp granulated sweetener
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

How to:

1. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together thoroughly.
2. Form in to approximately 24 small, firm balls. 
3. Dry fry in a pan till your balls are nicely browned, use a squirt or two of fry light if needed in the pan. 
4. Dry fry your onion, peppers, garlic and chilli until just soft. 
5. Next add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to the boil. 
6. Cook the sauce for 2 minutes then add your balls back into to the pan. 
7. Simmer for a further 12-15 minutes. 
8. Serve over pasta with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves  5 - 6