Snack Time! (Low - GI series)

Adapting my breakfast to a low GI one has been a success! I only slipped one morning when my sons corn flakes just smelt too good. Other than that I have been enjoying my breakfast and trying to have it within 20 minutes of waking up.

This bit is going to be the hard part. I am a serial snacker. Snacks are my ever end. I snack on chocolates, chips, cakes, biscuits, ...... It all just tastes so good. I hope I'm going to make it through this week. So these are my top 5 picks for snacks:

1. Apples, available all year round. And remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away 

Apple gadget from Kalahari.com

2. Raw nuts. They're just creamier.

3. Biltong, preferably ostrich

4. Boiled egg, shelled ;). Oh so filling.

5. Tomatoes. These ones are so juicy and cute.

Wish me luck!

*The experiences shared in this blog are my own and should not replace medical advice

5 easy ways to enjoy Royal Dansk

Royal Dansk cookies are pure butter biscuits in the old school tin. It reminds me of my gran's kitchen. It reminds me of tea time and everyone gathered around the table on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy a cup and a biscuit or two.

Now I have to confess that I am not a teatotaler (gasp!) and neither do I saviour a cuppa (say it ain't so). So I've come up with 5 ways that you enjoy Royal Dansk in your home.

1. 3 minute, 3 ingredient cheesecake (recipe here)

2. Banana, Caramel and cream topping

3. Ice cream topping

4. Dunking in coffee (for hubby of course). Love the nifty silicone coffee collar

5. Saving the best for last.........on it's own.

Happy Royal Dansking!

Meet My New Breakfast Buddy (Low- GI recipe series)

You get to a point where you say enough! The point where your fat, fat clothes are tight! The point where your baby is officially a toddler (The "I just had a baby excuse" can't be used anymore).

So from today I have a new breakfast buddy. His name is Lowgi (yep like Low-GI)

Enough of my cheesy humour (you laughed right? Even though it was at me it still counts!).

I attended a talk a few years ago by Gabi Steenkamp (Like the Guru of Low GI). What I took away from the talk was that your plate should consist of a fist size of protein, a fist size of carbs and 2 fists of vegetables. Now I've never been the diet type person, but I always try and keep my meals healthy and allow myself 1 cheat a day. I know that sounds alot to the lay person, but to me that is like torture.

This is the start of my weekly series, something like CSI. (Cue Horatio, "Except all that dies here, is the fat.")

Lowgi Breakfast Buddy (serves 1)

Ingredients

1 x medium sized banana, Peeled and sliced
3 x tbsp low GI muesli (I use vital)
1/2 c low fat plain yogurt

Method

1. Combine in a bowl and serve.

I must admit that my cravings were reduced by about 70%. I even had a block of chocolate just to test my resistance and didn't crave anymore. 

What meals or recipes help you keep the cravings at bay?

Leftover Lasagne (Recipe Alert)

In our culture we cook for the occasion and lots of leftovers. From Eid's leftovers alone I picked up a few Ks (3 to be exact). 

Some dishes are best eaten in their natural form, for e.g. beryani. It also helps to be able to recycle leftovers so that you don't have to have the same old thing every day, for e.g. 

- roast leg of lamb pitas with tzatsiki (recipe for tzatsiki here)

- left over chicken pizza (recipe for pizza base here) or cheat with Anat pizza bases available @Checkers

- And my favorite and most versatile leftover dish:

Leftover Lasagne (serves 8 - 10)

Ingredients

Tomato sauce

1 x chopped onion, braised in butter
1 x chopped garlic clove, braised with onion
2 x roma, ripe tomatoes, grated
1/4 tsp mixed herbs
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
15mls hot water

500g leftover meat (in this case chicken), shredded or cubed 

1 x portion white sauce (recipe here)

Approximately 10 lasagne sheets


Method

1. Add grated tomatoes, spices and water to saucepan. Simmer on medium heat.

2. Prepare white sauce (a friend of mine suggested ricotta sauce as a cheat)

3. Your sauce will like the picture when done. Skim off the oil.

 
4. Add cubed chicken and mix evenly

5. Start by greasing your lasagne dish with butter or Spray and Cook. Then add a thin layer of the white sauce to the dish. 

6. Add a layer of lasagne sheets to that.

7. Add another later of white sauce

8. Add a layer of chicken mixed with tomato sauce

Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8

9. Add cheese or cheeses of your selection. I've used Gouda and mozzarella. Finish off with a sprinkle of mixed herbs and freshly ground pepper. 

10. Let it stand for 45 minutes, before baking for 30 minutes in a 180 degree preheated oven. (be guided by instructions on the box)

There's just something about grilled, stringy, warm yummy cheese

Share with us your favorite recycled leftover dishes.