Easy-peasy Lamb stew!

This was quite a success. I shared some with my friend Connor and then kept the rest to have again with Kieran at the weekend.
I was cooking at my cousins as I was house sitting for her that week, and to my despair I realised she had no salt, pepper or seasonings. So I made it as simply as I could, which means this is a handy recipe for anyone who isn't that skilled in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
- diced leg of lamb (enough for about 3-4 people)
- one onion
- several cloves of garlic
- two sachets of mint lamb gravy
- roughly chopped carrots (say one per person)
- dwarf beans
- whole mushrooms
- potatoes for mash

I lightly fried the lamb, garlic, onions and mushrooms to soften them up and then made up the gravy to pour on top. I then prepared the veg, threw it in the pot with the lamb and left it to simmer away for an hour. It was delicious served with a big pile of mashed tatties! :)

To store, wait until its cooled down and then put it in a sealed box in the fridge and eat within a couple days. Only reheat once.

Stewing ideas.

I forget to blog here a lot not because I don't often cook but rather because I cook so often, I don't have the patience or the energy sometimes (after working or travelling to see people) to write up all the things on here. This is something I do really, really want to get better at though.

For tonight's dinner, I'm going to be making a "wild lamb stew". The idea for a lamb stew was already... stewing away (oh ho ho) in my brain when I picked up a pack of beautiful looking mushrooms in Morrison's and decided that it was going to have to be a go-ahead for this week. I've invited a couple pals round for it and naturally, I'm going to make extra to give Kieran when he comes to visit at the weekend!

I have a confession to make.

I am beginning to realize that I cannot stick to plans, especially ones involving being strict with food. By nature I'm too impulsive and I tend to make decisions based on how I'm feeling at the time or what kind of mood I'm in rather than what I may have set out for myself. For example, if I'm having a good day, I would be completely on board with it but if I was having a bad day or feeling particularly demotivated, I just didn't care. I also lose interest in things quickly and change my mind a lot, which doesn't help. So, my diet lasted technically about five days but officially two weeks.

However, I have still learnt things from it. It has changed my mindset a little bit which is positive. When planning out meals, I am better at choosing things that are lighter, healthier and more natural and I've stopped eating as much bread. I've been feeling a bit better than I was before too.

Detox Diet Day Five. (Okay!)

Breakfast: One slice of toast, a banana and coffee.
Lunch: Egg mayo sandwich with lettuce and a glass of apple and raspberry juice.
Snack: A cup of carrot and ginger homemade soup and 3 gluten free oatcakes.
Dinner: Beans on toast with BBQ sauce.

I haven't done excellently today. The beans on toast wasn't very good but I didn't have any other food in and seeing as I haven't eaten a lot over all, I guess it's not too bad. I also had a couple meatballs and a taste of a chocolate truffle tart the Head Chef made. Amazing. But I'm not counting them as they were only a couple bites each!

Some of the tasty meals I've had this week.

Cheesy pasta with mixed vegetables.

(carrots, broccoli, green beans, sweetcorn and peas if I remember correctly!).

This was before I started my diet and made a nice wee lunch for Kieran and myself. I only had a little cheese on mine of course. I think this would be a great dish to give kids and was super easy to make because the veg was frozen. I might post the recipe later on.

Lamb kebabs with grilled mushrooms and a leafy salad. This took me ten minutes and was super cheap because I am a wizard at getting good food in the reduced section. 

Venison and mushroom salad.

I didn't make this myself, though I did come up with the idea. One of the chef's at my work made it for my lunch and it was delicious! Flash fried venison and mushrooms tossed with a mixed leaf salad and dressing.   

Baked cod with vegetable "chili" and broccoli.

I baked the cod in the oven with lemon juice, coriander and pepper. The "chili" isn't a real chili but I don't know what else to call it. It had mushrooms, mixed beans and sweetcorn with a splash of Worcestershire sauce in with the tinned tomatoes. I found it didn't have enough flavour though so next time I think I need to play about with more herbs and perhaps some spices.

Scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms for Kieran

French toast with mushrooms for myself.

I love French toast so this made a nice treat and is allowed in my diet!

Seasoned pork chops with carrot and swede mash, corn on the cob, broccoli and salad.

I will admit I never made the mashed carrots and swede myself but it was still delicious and is a perfect example of the kind of meals I can have whilst on my diet. (Meat and lots of veg.)

Detox Diet (Days One-Four)

This is copied and pasted from my Tumblr. :)

Day One (Not successful!): 

Breakfast: Toast with coffee.
Lunch: Homemade veg and bacon soup with toast.
Tea: Chicken and veg pie, with mash and beans.
Snacks: Chocolate, chips, 1/2 chocolate twist, 2 chocolate caramel digestives.

The snacks alone are terrible but the dinner wasn’t very good either because it was basically all the things I told myself I wanted to cut out (pastry, potato, tinned food) but I hadn’t been shopping and I didn’t want to starve. The snacks were just munchied stupidity.

~

Day Two (Getting Better!)

Breakfast: Toast, an orange and coffee.
Break: Courgette and potato soup and 3 gluten free oatcakes.
Lunch: Venison and mushroom salad.
Tea: Baked cod with veg chilli and broccoli.
Supper: Banana scone with golden syrup, a banana and coffee.

Today was much better. The banana scone was a treat for myself because I was struggling at work today to not eat everything in sight. This was a terrible time of the month for me to start this diet (sorry gents, but it was). I drank cup after cup of hot water with lemon which is delicious and very good for you and I highly suggest if you fancy a change. 

I was really, really tired today hence the coffee with supper. I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of coffee during the day, the four hours sleep or the long shift at work.

~

Day Three (Great!)

Brunch: French toast with mushrooms and coffee.
Dinner: Pork chops, mashed carrots and swede, corn on the cob, broccoli and salad leaves.
Dessert: Peach and pear Alpro Soya yoghurt with a chopped banana and grated lemon zest. 

I haven’t eaten as much because I got up later. I also had a cup or two of hot water and lemon. 

~

Day Four (Alright!)

Lunch: Southern Fried chicken goujons with BBQ sauce and chips. 
Tea: Mashed up egg in a cup with salad leaves. 
Dessert: Peach and pear Alpro Soya yoghurt with chopped banana and lemon zest with a mango and passion fruit smoothie.

I was had a hungover tummy today so we went to the Netherinn bar in Dundee for food. I ate the chicken first so I was quite full and didn't need to eat too many of the chips.

I can feel the difference to my tummy already and I feel more healthy and this is good.