600 calorie meal 2 - Tomato & mascarpone with wholemeal Penne

My second 600 calorie meal was made using up ingredients from last night's food, with the exception of the pasta. As I previously mentioned food is not cheap, as a family I couldn't afford to be spending ridiculous money on 1 meal recipes the house hold waste would surge. In a very geeky definitely a true foody way I find it nice and  envigorating to experiment and create a recipe which you can use again and again but something which is nutritious healthy and new. 2 things which excite me when cooking is creating that dish which pleases, whether it's me or a colleague better yet a family member or a customer it's very rewarding to know you have made them feel good if not great with 6 or 7 ingredients. Secondly I love making something my own even if it's a variation of a recipe to make it your own and from scratch is unique.

This dish is a both a variation but also unique the sauce I used just like my puff pastry dish last night the sauce contains tomato basil and the kick of olives and anchovies giving the rough bitty texture but yet elegant salty taste.

 

This meal is not just tasty and healthy weighing in at 557Kcal it is also speedy. 10 mins top to toe.

 

90g Wholemeal Penne   215 kcal
3 slices of Pancetta        135 kcal
90g Spinach                     24 kcal
3 slices of Pepperoni        60 kcal
30g Mascarpone               73 kcal
40g Puttanesca sauce        50 kcal
                                        557 kcal

 

So.....get a small pan on the go with cold water small pinch of salt and rapid boil. Once boiling add the pasta stir occasionally, in a frying pan high heat flash fry the Pancetta until crispy, no additional oil the natural fat in Pancetta will lubricate the pan enough. Place on to kitchen roll to absorb the fat, next add the Pepperoni the oils infused in the meat will aide cooking itself with out any other fats required. Once crispy add to kitchen roll and soak up the fat. Carefully wipe out the frying pan with a piece of kitchen roll and return to a gentle heat. Roughly chop the meats into pieces, add the Mascarpone and the Puttanesca and stir in together they will combine into a beautiful smooth paste. Drain the pasta into a collandar and set aside, add the meats back to the pan and add the spinach, spinach will wilt quickly so work quickly and add the pasta back to the pan and stir/toss together and serve immediately.

Due to the olives added anchovies no additional seasoning required so tuck in.

600 calorie meal 1 - Mixed Salmon & Pepperoni pizza puff pastry tart

So as I said in a previous post doing this cleanse I had to eat 600 calories meals once a day, after plenty of research into low calorie foods and a little time spent planning here is the first meal.

All these products were sourced at my local Tesco's.

Ingredients:

Tesco finest Puttanesca sauce - 2 Dessert spoons 28g 30Kcal
Baby spinach                                                         30g 18Kcal
Reduced fat mature Cheddar                                 15g 40Kcal
Pepperoni                                                         2 slices 35Kcal
Smoked Pancetta slices                                    1 slice  40Kcal
Smoked Salmon slices                                   1/2 slice 27Kcal
2 sliced cherry tomatoes                                               30Kcal
Low fat Mascarpone                                               30g 73Kcal
Lower Fat Puff Pastry                                         90g 300Kcal
                                                                        Total    593Kcal


Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees celicius, my oven is fan assisted if yours is not add 10 degrees.

As you can see I have weighed and portioned everything out, you might find this helps, when using pastry its essential to be at room temperature but not over heated or over worked. The minimal effort the better for pastry, line a cold baking tray (non stick) or use some parchment paper. Score a boarder around the edge of the pastry this will help the edges rise, smear the base with the tomato paste, I chose Puttanesca sauce as it contains olives and anchovies which are full of omega 3 oils and are naturally salty so removes the need to season.
           Next arrange the ingredients in a fashion that suits you, I added cheese first then the meats followed by tomatoes and the mascarpone lastly placed the salmon and the spinach.

Pop this straight into the oven and bake for 11 min's.

Meal for 1 or easily in half for a sharing number with a salad.

This meal is genuinely gorgeous but does require a lot of small ingredients which can only be brought in medium to larger quantities so plan ahead and plan meals around these ingredients to minimise waste. You want to make your money go further.

see the scoring around the edge, for perfect rising do not spill over on to this edge

 I HAVE NO DECENT NAME FOR THIS DISH SO PLEASE HELP ME OUT WITH ONE!
Regards

Jeff

Forever C9 Cleanse

My partner took part in a "cleanse" which in part cost her £120.00, I have to be honest I didn't really understand fully why or what it was let alone justifying the initial outlay, to say I was sceptical would have been an understatement. However her 9 day cleanse came and went and she lost a significant amount, following the completion she continued and has since lost a stone, gained an amazing amount of confidence and gained enough positivity to change her lifestyle and pick up a few new skills such as cooking.

Seeing the impact this had for her I felt obliged to research and look into the "cleanse" the Aloe Forever C9 cleanse in their own words "can make you look and feel better in just 9 days". Can it or is it written crap? "The programme is designed to help to jump start your journey to a slimmer, healthier you. The effective, easy to follow programme will give you the tools you need to start transforming your body"

The programme is 9 days long, there are of course after programme sales and add ons but no hard sell. Day 1 you measure parts of your body, waist, chest, hips, biceps, calves & thighs. you weigh your self.......easy right, days 1 & 2 your diet consists of the following. Breakfast - 120ml of aloe Vera gel, 2 x forever Garcinia plus softgel tablets and 1 x Forever Therm tablet, and 30 Min's of a low intensity exercise. Mid-morning you get a little treat, a water soluble Forever Fiber packet mixed with water. For Lunch, you repeat breakfast except you have 1 scoop of forever lite ultra protein mix, mixed with 300ml of skimmed milk. Dinner you have 2 more Garcinia softgels and another dose of 120ml aloe gel. before bed 120ml of Aloe gel and a glass of water.

Now, let me tell you honestly about my day 1.........its about discipline and breaking habits, I am a chef I work with food, I taste, test and nibble. I am also a police officer where food can be quite minimal depending on how busy the shift is, when you do eat it can be rushed and normally quite unhealthy such as is fast food. My day 1 I struggled I really struggled, I progressively got hungrier as the day moved on. By the end of the day I felt rubbish, I felt defeated I was an angry guy with no control of my emotions. My partner found this hilarious as she found her day 1 easy. I battled through and went to bed.

This programme cleanses you, it kicks starts your metabolism by means of a good old flush, this so, the amount of water you drink times the tablets it literally explodes your bladder. You will never urinate as much as day 1 of this in your life!

Day 1 I also struggled with the Aloe gel. 120ml x 4 is a lot, you have a 60ml cup so 2 doses each time, not a problem ordinarily how ever the Aloe gel has the texture colour transparency of well, sperm. the smell is one of a very clean hospital ward, disinfectant! the taste is indescribable its one I would never want to experience again, my first shot I gagged swallowed and threw up a chunk.

Day 3 weigh in day, I lost 4lbs in 2 days, I lost 1 inch off my chest, 1.5 inches off my waist, 2 inches off my thighs and a half inch off my calves. 5.5 inches total, not bad for downing a litre of disinfected sperm!!! You continue then on by having the following - breakfast 120ml aloe gel, 1 x scoop of forever lite protein powder and 300ml of skimmed milk, the 3 tablets as before. Mid morning snack of the soluble fiber powder, Lunch the tablets and another shake, Dinner 2 softgels as before plus a 600 calorie meal, followed by a final glass of water.

I am currently on day 5 weigh day tomorrow, I am still struggling a little but mainly with mismanaging food, my first 2 days meals were not researched or planned out I scraped by with a wholemeal pasta  and stuffed peppers on day 3 and an omelette's with a cous cous salad last night. Today was a rest day so I had time to plan meals and do some shopping. with time, a little patience and a good shop its easier to plan properly, research and resource low calorie foods which can make a substantial meal.

So why forever cleanse.........

I am 30 years old, 6ft 15 stone 4 lbs, I am very self conscious of my body weight, shape and size, my weakness is discipline I struggle to keep to diets, I struggle to eat healthily. with no real motivation for the gym or regular exercise I really needed something to educate me. So far I am pleased with the progress and development, I have a better understanding of meal patterns which might sound stupid being a chef for 15 years but through this and nutritional help from my boxing mentor I know now what I have been doing wrong in terms of a structured meal plan and skipping meals.

I am a little excited about my weigh in tomorrow day 6, I am looking forward to completing this next week. The discipline involved goes a long way and instantly can see and feel I will continue forwards after with more control in mind, I wont miss the Aloe gel nor swallowing the horse tranquiliser sized tablets, I will increase my calories after too but will  monitor what and when I eat. I shall be continuing the protein shakes and using them in place of a skipped meal or as a snack.

One thing about this cleanse is the support, its sensational my contact is a lady called Claire Summerton, you purchase the kit, extras and everything you need from her, I was added to a social media group where at first I felt a little apprehensive and I thought it was a little patronising, but the intentions from these supportive strangers were in the best interests. I had 3 or 4 notifications from random's giving me morale support and wishing good luck, I felt like an addict, I thought I was in a circle of strangers and I had to stand up and say hi my name is jeff and I am addicted to food! the reality was after 1 day It was good to vent and talk to these random's who had actually been there or were going trough the process, suddenly my sceptical mind was at ease.

Claire is both supportive and knowledgeable but also considerate and caring, I feel at ease to talk to her even though I have never met her.

I will post a blog at the end of the cleanse and update on the final losses and views but I 100% recommend if you have any doubts, you need a kick start or even a crash diet before a holiday you try this.

Facebook - search Bee Forever Aloe
email - clairesummerton86@gmail.com

if I feel brave enough I will post before and after shots too!!
keep and eye out for 600 cal recipes.