Pork and Bean Soup
Posted by Sylvia
I enjoy cooking and I like a challenge – so I decided to keep myself busy by thinking of big batches of low cal dishes I could make for quick meals. I’ve frozen 9 portions in microwaveable containers so I’m never more than 10 minutes away from a decent meal.
The original recipe (mine, based on something from Gourmet magazine according to my notes) includes chunks of cooked pumpkin – I don’t have any (and you can’t buy tinned/canned pumpkin here) so I used roasted peppers instead.
| 800g raw tomato | 144 |
| 100g onion | 52 |
| Roasted peppers | 101.5 |
| Olive oil | 121 |
| Beef stock cube | 21 |
| 226g mild salsa @ 42/100 | 96 |
| 300g pork | 450 |
| 218g black beans @132/100 | 287 |
| 365g black beans | 481 |
| Total Calories | 1,753.5 |
|---|
Cut the pork into small pieces. Gently fry the chopped onion with garlic and once softened add the pork. Once the pork is cooked, add the cored and peeled tomato, crushing the pieces against the side. Add 1 tablespoon cumin, salt, and the other ingredients except the final batch of beans. Top up with water, stirring well. Allow to simmer for an hour or two, keeping water topped up as needed.
Take the second set of beans and mash them or process them into a paste. Add to your soup. Add a dash of vinegar just before serving.
Optional toppings:
- Chopped onion marinated in red wine vinegar
- A swirl of soured cream or yoghurt
- Grated cheese
Makes 10 small portions at 175 calories each.
Once again I forgot to take a photo. I’ll take one of a bowl of soup when I eat one during the week.
Saturday
Posted by Anna
Another day indoors filled with inactivity. The swelling has gone completely, though the foot is still painful. In the past, I would have just gorged myself on comfort foods, like cakes and chocolates. It’s interesting but I don’t feel any craving at all for them. Even when I walk past the shelves of biscuits and the chiller filled with desserts, I feel no urge to get something. It seems to be completely off my radar, which I’m pleased about.
I spoke on the phone to my sister. She’s gaining a lot of weight and even though she’s in the catering trade (a qualified chef), she seemed to have little knowledge of the calorific value of some of her favourite snacks. She was horrified when I told her how many are in a bag of nuts! She started asking me the calorie counts for various items of food and I was surprised at how many I could answer confidently with accuracy…I seem to have stored a lot of numbers in my head!
| Breakfast | Yoghurt | 70 |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-total | 70 | |
| Lunch | 4 mini chicken satay kebabs | 200 |
| Egg salad | 120 | |
| Low fat dressing | 20 | |
| Sub-total | 340 | |
| Dinner | Count on Us Chicken Kiev | 276 |
| Mixed veg | 80 | |
| Gravy | 20 | |
| Sub-total | 376 | |
| Snacks | 20g blanched almonds | 118 |
| 20g cashews | 124 | |
| Sub-total | 242 | |
| Drinks | 2 cups of tea + various 0 cal bevs | 20 |
| Sub-total | 20 | |
| Total Calories | 1,048 | |
Day 168: weigh-in
Posted by Paola
Weekly weigh-in: 1 lb lost (total: 42 lbs in 24 weeks) (0.5kg lost / 19kg total)
The Opposite of a Very Low Calorie Day
Posted by Jennifer
Knowing that I was going to eat out today for much of my food intake, I didn’t eat in the morning. I just drank lots of water until our first meal, which was a late lunch at the local Mexican restaurant. Even though I went way over my normal total calorie intake, and even *more* over the “very low calorie” totals from last week, I don’t feel even remotely guilty. Not only did I more than make up for today’s indulgances last week, but I also split just about everthing I ate today with my husband, which not only saved me money and calories, but is also a far cry from my old eating habits. In the old days, I’d have eaten the full portion of everything listed below, and then some probably. So… even though I technically went over my calories for today, I feel victorious and successful. (And full).
| Meal | Food | Drink | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 2:30pm | 1/2 order of nachos supreme from local mexican restaurant. | 450 |
| I’m guessing (and trying to overestimate) my total on the nachos | ||
| based on the limited information that I could find online. | ||
| Sub-total | 450 | |
| 4:00pm | 1/2 berry sundae (lowfat frozen yogurt) | 250 |
| Sub-total | 250 | |
| 8:00pm | grilled salmon salad (no dressing) | 400 |
| 3 small pieces of whole wheat bread (I’m guessing again at the calories) | 350 | |
| Sub-total | 750 | |
| 10:00pm | small brownie | 200 |
| Sub-total | 200 | |
| Water | 2 + liters | |
| Total | 1,650 | |
Sulky Saturday
Posted by Sylvia
Today I feel really sulky. I have spent the day sick of dieting, sick of counting calories. In the evening, when I realised I’d left out the oil from my stir-fry and was 121 calories more than I thought I was, I really felt like just throwing it all in. I could have rejigged dinner to be less calories but decided I’d leave it. Then I found I’d made too much and couldn’t finish my risotto – but I didn’t know the total weight so I couldn’t subtract the calories I hadn’t eaten. I started to eat it anyway and then thought about how stupid that was. In the end, I traded the last 60g of it for a 6g piece of chocolate as a consolation – but it didn’t really better my mood. I made myself a jug of water with lemon and thyme but then I had to try not to drink it all – I’m trying to drink less in the evenings as I’m waking up twice a night to pee as it is.
This is why I think the system of weekends off makes sense, because it keeps me feeling from so damn hard-done-by, as if someone has taken away everything nice in my life. I know it’s not reasonable nor rational but right now (just before bed, having decided for the 15th time that I’m not going to go get a piece of bread and cheese nor a drink nor a spoonful of cottage cheese nor anything-else-dammit) I just feel like I don’t WANT to swap favourite foods or try to choose between a baked potato vs salad dressing on my salad. I’m going to bed, stomping my feet and muttering “I don’t wanna” under my breath the whole way.
*grumble*
| 11:00 | Milky Coffee & Yogurt | 84 |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-total | 84 | |
| 15:00 | 150g raw lamb filet | 220 |
| 50g egg noodles | 172 | |
| 85g courgette | 14 | |
| 85g onion | 34 | |
| 85g red cabbage | 26 | |
| 85g asparagus | 17 | |
| 1 tablespoon oil | 121 | |
| Sub-total | 604 | |
| 20:30 | 100g rice | 358 |
| 1/2 tablespoon oil | 60 | |
| 50g onion | 20 | |
| Chicken stock cube | 21 | |
| 1 large egg | 71 | |
| 10g parmesan | 39 | |
| Sub-total | 569 | |
| Total Calories | 1,257 | |
