We were supposed to go to a Pot Luck lunch today (Tuesday) but we ended up not going because Todd had had a bad night's sleep.  I ended up with a big bowl of this delicious salad, but no worries. I won't mind having it for lunch for a few days. Its quite healthy, and low in fat, high in fibre and well, just really tasty!

 

I love salads made with Israeli couscous.  Also known as Ptitim , Israeli couscous is a type of toasted pasta shaped like rice grains or little balls developed in Israel in the 1950s when rice was scarce. Outside Israel, it is typically marketed as Israeli couscous, Jerusalem couscous, or pearl couscous.

 

When we lived down South, I used to pick up a butternut squash, couscous and rocket salad at one of the local shops that I really, really liked. It just really lends itself to these types of salads.

 

The recipe is one that I adapted from a newsletter I get from Simple Nourished Living. It is a weight watchers friendly recipe as well as being very high in fibre and diabetic friendly.  She used Orzo pasta. I did not have any orzo pasta, and used the Israeli couscous instead. It worked perfectly.

 

I also didn't have any feta cheese, so I used coarsely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, which worked very well, and it lower in fat than the feta.  It has a lovely salty, cheesy flavour also.

 

Marinated artichoke hearts.  Yum. I adore artichokes.  I rinsed mine under hot water so that I could get rid of as much oil from them as possible. Doing this in no way affects the flavour.  You don't need to do this, its just what I always do.

 

She used whole plum tomatoes, but I chose to use baby plum tomatoes.  I picked up some really lovely ones in M&S yesterday that were lovely and sweet.  I love the vegetables you get at M&S. I know you pay more, but they taste better.  Sometimes its worth it, especially when you are talking about tomatoes.  These were fabulous!

 

I got my spinach at M&S as well.  Look at that beautiful colour!

 

With some spring onions or a bit of sharpness, and a punchy lemon and tarragon vinaigrette, this is a fabulously tasty salad.  I confess, I kept dipping my fork into the bowl, for one more bite.  Naughty me!

 

 

 

I am pretty sure that this recipe could very easily be cut in half. You are just going to love it. Any leftovers can be refrigerated, but bear in mind the lemon juice will cook the spinach leaves a bit. No worries, its still pretty tasty!  Bon Appetit!

I am taking advantage of these last cooler days we are having before the weather gets too hot to enjoy comfort meals such as this delicious Smothered Chicken recipe which I am showing you today.  

 

You might think that as a Diabetic and person who is watching the calories that food such as this would be totally off the menu.  This dish today proves that not only can you eat comfort foods when you are watching the calories and carbs, but they can also be delicious as well as nutritious!

 

Effortless and filled with lovely flavour this is such a simple dish to make and it is bound to become a real family favourite.  Who says tasty has to be high in fat, carbs and calories! 

 

This homestyle chicken dish has no fat or oil added to it at all, unless you count the spritz of cooking spray that you use to cook the onion and garlic in at the start.  

 

Soften them and add water.

 

After that you add boneless, skinless chicken to the pan and allow it to simmer until it is cooked through. 

 

Once it is cooked through you add some chicken stock and continue to simmer it until the chicken is meltingly fork tender.

 

The gravy is thickend with a flour/water  mixture and at the very end you stir in chopped spring onions and parsley for a bit of colour and even more flavour. 

 

Altogether, this is very delicious and nobody will even guess that its actually healthy.  It only tastes naughty!

 

  

Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat until beginning to brown.  Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute or so longer.  Add the first amount of water and cook for a further five minutes. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and add to the pan with the onions, garlic and water. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.  Uncover and stir in the chicken broth.  Scoop out the chicken breasts and set aside. Shake together the flour and water and whisk this into the chicken broth/etc.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Return the chicken to the pan, turning them to coat in the gravy.  Cover and cook over low heat for a further 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in the spring onions and parsley.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required with salt and black pepper.  Serve hot. 

As a diabetic I choose to have mine with brown rice. A complex carbohydrate, which is diabetic friendly and low GI.  My husband, the meat and potatoes man, enjoys his with mash.  And why not.  He shouldn't have to pay for my sins.  Bon Appetit!  

 

I think one of my favourite pasta dishes of all has to be macaroni and cheese.  When I was growing up I cannot recall my mother ever making it from scratch.  We did do the blue box stuff and we were quite happy with that. 

In fact it was a real treat for us.  And of course in my Uni years, I ate plenty of the blue boxed stuff also as it was cheap, cheap, cheap.  You could buy 10 boxes for a dollar if I recall correctly!  Sometimes we would stir some ketchup into it to make it taste better.  UGH!  College kids eh?

 

I don't think I had proper Macaroni and Cheese until I was married.  I tried out a recipe in one of my BHG cookbooks  and I thought it was quite nice.  

Then one time my sister shared a recipe with me for a stove top mac and cheese and that was also very tasty.  It was something we all loved.

 

I also used to make it like my friend Leona taught me, which was to cook macaroni (al Dente)and add chunks of cheese, salt and pepper and cover it with some milk and then buttered crumbs. 

 That was also really good, because you got large gooey chunks of cheese in it.  The more cheese you put into it the better it was. 

That was kind of like a Scalloped Mac and Cheese.  No worries about calories and fat in those days and I was a skinny minny too!

 

I have been on a quest to lower the fat and carb content and increase the fibre content of my favourite mac and cheese without compromising on flavour.  

I adore Cauliflower Cheese too  . . .  and I thought to myself, cauliflower is very low carb . . .  why not combine macaroni and cauliflower.  And if you use whole wheat  pasta then you are also increasing the fibre.

 

 

Carbs are where we get our energy from, so they are not totally bad for you.  

In using whole wheat pasta and then cutting down the amount by replacing some of it with cauliflower, I am using good carbs and increasing the protein and fibre in the dish in a good way.

 

The sauce uses low fat evaporated milk, instead of cream or full fat milk, which means that is is rich.  The addition of some low fat cream cheese also adds to the richness.  

A bit of Parmesan cheese, which really has a lot of flavour, means that you don't have to use as much cheddar as you normally would.

 

I also chose to use a strong low fat cheddar, which meant I was still getting plenty of flavour but less fat.  This sauce was rich and well flavoured. 

 I always like to use some hot pepper sauce and dry mustard powder to give my cheese sauces more of a kick.  And I also used onion and garlic powders for additional flavour.

 

I had some leftover ham and added some of that, but you don't need to if you don't have it.  We did and it was an excellent way to use it up.  

It also meant that my husband (the pasta hater) didn't feel as deprived as he normally would have done.

 

A final smattering of cheese on top and some sliced tomato, add  colour and plenty of eye appeal.  Altogether this made for a really tasty dish.  Good news also, you can easily cut the recipe in half for fewer people.  

I did that today and we each had plenty, with some leftovers for me to enjoy tomorrow, while I feed him something he likes that I can't eat.  Everybody wins!

 

 

Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil.  Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Lightly spray a rectangular casserole dish with low fat cooking spray.  Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour, mustard powder, onion and garlic powders.  Cook for about a minute.  Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk.  Cook whisking until it begins to thicken and bubble.  

 Whisk in the cream cheese, hot sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Stir to melt the cheeses.  Add half of the cheddar and again stir to melt.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper. If you think the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with a bit more milk as needed.

Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to the package directions, adding the cauliflower florets the last 3 minutes of cook time.  Drain well.  Stir into the cheese sauce, along with the ham.  Pour the whole mixture into your prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over top.  Place the tomato slices evenly over top and sprinkle them lightly with some salt and black pepper. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through, bubbling and golden brown.  Let stand for five minutes before serving.  A mixed green salad goes very well with this.

 

I served this with a green winter salad. It was just chopped romaine, rocket leaves, thawed baby peas, spring onions, cucumber and my favourite homemade dill vinaigrette. (1 TBS low fat mayo, 60 ml each olive oil and cider vinegar(1/4 cup each), salt, pepper, dry mustard powder, chopped dill and a pinch of sugar).  This (to me) was a great meal.  My husband didn't complain overly much, lol.  Bon Appetit!

 

I have always loved potatoes. They have long been my favourite vegetable.  As a type 2 Diabetic however, these days they are more than often off my menu. I have had to rethink a lot of my old favourites and try to create new favourites. Oddly enough new potatoes are not as bad for you as old potatoes, and sweet potatoes are actually the wisest choice of all the potatoes. High in fibre and vitamins, they are also considered to be low GI, which means they won't spike your blood sugars as much as regular potatoes.  Great news for me, because I also love sweet potatoes!

 

And by that I don't mean the sugar and marshmallow laced variety that you will see on some tables, I like them just plain, with a bit of salt and pepper, nothing else needed . . .  well sometimes a bit of garlic and some parmesan cheese, but I am more of a savoury sweet potato lover rather than a "sweet" sweet potato lover, if that makes sense.

 

A casserole I used to love was made using lightly fried potatoes and onions . . .  and cheese, all mixed in and baked until ooey gooey fabulous.  Maybe with a bit of bacon scattered over top. You can well imagine how very tasty it was.  But not so good for you.  This is my rethink on that dish.

 

I switched out the regular potatoes for sweet potatoes, and I didn't fry them. Nope. I cut them into chunks and par boiled them.  I didn't fry onions either. I finely chopped some red onion and mixed it into the sweet potatoes, along with a bit of salt and pepper.

 

I nixed the bacon and replaced it with another "B" word, broccoli, which we also happen to love in this house.  Cut into florets and lightly blanched, it works perfectly in this.

 

I use a lower fat cheddar cheese. Get a whole block and crumble it yourself. It melts better and you get nice gooey nuggets which are really pleasing to the tongue.

   

Half the sweet potato, onion mix is layered in a baking dish  and topped with half of the crumbled cheese . . . repeat and then bake until hot and bubbling.

 

This is really REALLY good.  In fact I like it better than the old version.  Colourful, delicious,and filled with lots of fibre,  it is helping on my road towards better and healthier eating. I don't feel deprived and I am eating a delicious rainbow of taste. Nom Nom!

 

 

This was so delicious I can't quite remember what I served with it??  Whatever it was, it obviously paled in comparison to this delicious bake. The leftovers the next day served with some salad were also mightly tasty.  I hope you will give it a go!  Bon Appetit! 

 

I have always loved sandwiches.  Put  a tasty filling between two pieces of bread and I am all over it like a rash. I am like my Aunt Freda in that respect. She also loved sandwiches and watching her enjoyment in eating one was an experience in pure and utter joy. Having been diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic several years ago, I had thought that sandwiches would be off the menu for me forever.  I recently discovered the joys of sandwich thins however and I am back enjoying what I have always loved!  Yay!

 

They come in several flavours . . .  white, brown, seeded, and high protein whole meal. You can also get gluten free ones. 

 

Today I used a brown one because I was all out of the protein whole wheat ones. (Actually I haven't been able to find them lately in my shops)  There is an additional 4g of carbs in a brown one, about the same as a white one.  Did you know that the only difference between white and brown bread is the colour?  Yep!  Brown bread is simply white bread with brown colouring added.  It is not any better nutritionally than white bread.  If I continue to have a hard time finding the whole wheat ones, I am going to have to figure out a way to make my own . . .  sigh . . .

 

This Curried Chicken Salad filling is delicious and very low in fat.  Using both low fat sour cream and a tiny bit of low fat mayonnaise, it is filled with flavour.  The Curry powder adds some lovely spice, and there is a bit of sweet from some chopped raisins and crunch from the use of celery and spring onions.

 

I like to add a hefty layer of salad greens to the middle of mine, which adds plenty of colour and additional nutritional value.  (Crunch too!)

 

Today I used superfood salad greens, which includes baby kale, spinach, rocket, peppercress, beetroot and baby chard.  Lots of colour and lots of crunch.  I love them!

 

You don't need to worry about the bread getting soggy if you are eating this right away, which is usually a problem with sandwiches that are going to be held for a long time prior to eating. If this is the case, and you are wanting to take this to work, I recommend bring the filling separately in a small container and spreading it onto the bread just before eating. That way you can get around the added fat and calories of adding a bread spread.

 

Altogether this makes for a very satisfying and delicious sandwich. with plenty of flavour, colour and crunch!  I hope you'll want to try it out. You could leave out the raisins and add the equivalent in chopped dry roasted nuts, but I like the little hint of sweetness from the raisins myself.

 

  

Blend the sour cream, mayonnaise and curry powder together.  Stir in the chicken, celery, onion and raisins.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required with salt and pepper.  Use to fill your sandwiches. 

As a Diabetic I like to use whole wheat sandwich thins.  I put half of my serving of chicken salad on the bottom sandwich thin, and the other half on the top sandwich thin.  I add a hearty layer of salad greens and then put the two sides together, with the filling sandwiching the greens in the middle.  Yum!

 

Todd had his on a long buttered Brioche torpedo roll, without the salad. (He is not a salad lover.)  I didn't feel hard done by with what I had, in fact, truth be told I felt I had the more delicious of the two sandwiches!  Bon Appetit!