It was so lovely and sunny today that I decided to make us a salad for our supper.  I loosely based the flavours on a traditional Nicoise Salad (which uses Tuna), but used chicken instead and added some potatoes for my Carb Loving husband! 

 

My version was low carb, which meant no potatoes. Instead I had some leftover steamed asparagus that I used and some sliced cooked beetroot. In all truth I could not finish it, and it was delicious!

 

I have only recently discovered that you can roast frozen beans on a baking tray at the same time you roast other things like potatoes or meat.  They come out beautifully.  A bit caramelised on the edges, perfectly cooked, and the flavour is fantastic!

 

To be honest I have never been overly fond of frozen beans, but this way I love them.  We are funny in our family, we like tinned beans . . .  that's what we were brought up on.

 

I had some leftover Rotisserie Chicken from one we had bought at Costco.  This is the chicken I used. You could  could a couple of chicken breasts if you don't have any leftover. But the Rotisserie Chicken is lovely.

 

Roasted fingerling potatoes  . . .  just tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and roasted along with the beans.  Perfect.

 

Ideally you should use Nicoise Olives, but I didn't have any. I did have a mix of Kalamata and Green with small cubes of feta cheese.  This is what I used. Yum!

 

Hard boiled eggs . . .  I always use free-range eggs.  Its the least I can do.  I refuse to support an industry that is inhumane, and if I can find them I use RS PCB approved.  Then I know for sure that they are really produced humanely.  Want to know my secret to perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs. Its a electric egg boiler just like this one.  They turn out perfectly no matter the degree of doneness you wish, every single time.

 

The dressing is a very simple one.  Just lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil,  seasonings and fresh herbs.  A simple vinaigrette.  The original used 1 tsp of granulated sugar, which if you are not bothered you can use.  I am bothered so I used a tsp of sugar substitute. Without it, the dressing would be very tart.

 

 

I hope you are enjoying these new recipes I am sharing. I would really love your feedback. I promise you there will be something deliciously sweet tomorrow. I am trying to stay away from those things as much as possible, but its not fair to punish Todd for my sinful ways. 

 

I was wanting something fresh and crunchy to eat the other day, and then I remembered the Deli Kitchen Skinni Wraps I had in the freezer, so I took them out to thaw and started thinking about what I was going to do with them! 

 

We are always being told to eat a "Rainbow."  A mix of five or more servings of vegetables and fruits in a day.  I have heard as many as 8.  This can be a bit hard to do, but it isn't impossible, and your heart  and body will thank you for it! 

 

I love the Deli Kitchen Skinni Wraps!   The come in plain and multi grain. 

 

They truly are very thin and coming in at less than 100 calories per wrap, they are the wise choice for someone who is trying to low carb it and eat healthier! 

 

Plus they come in a handy packaging which boasts a peel and stick closure, which means they will stay fresh for longer.  They also freeze very well. 

 

They also boast a unique rectangular shape with a pointed end, which makes them perfect for filling and rolling up tightly, no matter what you choose to fill them with! 

 

As you can see I chose a variety of fresh veg to fill mine with . . .  courgettes (zucchini), carrots, red cabbage, mashed avocado, rocket, carrots and two colours of fresh peppers . . . . 

  

I spread a thin layer of hummus over each wrap before I added the vegetables and then I added the crisp and fresh veggies in rows . . .  a beautiful rainbow of colours and textures and flavours!  Because the mashed avocado is a bit wetter than the others, I chose to put it in the middle.

  

Mmmm  . . .  I love mashed avocado and this was lightly flavoured with tangy lime juice, which also helped to maintain it's bright green colour! 

 

I adore hummus also and this was perfect for the base on which to layer everything else.  You can make your own or use a good, well flavoured store brand.  I used a Lemon, pepper and coriander one.

 

Its just loaded with flavour and it is my favourite! 

 

I often eat hummus with crisp vegetables for dipping!  This was kind of like that in a tasty wrap! 

  

It looked really pretty when sliced . . . 

 

And those lovely wraps held everything in beautifully, making these easy to eat and enjoy! 

  

I love eating rainbows!

 

I love these Deli Kitchen Skinni Wraps, both the Multi Grain ones and the Plain ones.  Totally yummy!  You can buy them at Sainsbury's here in the UK.    Their delicious range also includes Sliced Focaccia, Plain Subwich, two kinds of folded flatbreads and three kinds of sandwich thins.  As a diabetic I do try to watch my carb intake most of the time and I have found these thinner, healthier options really helpful in doing that, plus they are also delicious.  I can have my sandwich and eat it too!  You can find their products in a variety of different shops, to find out which products are available where, do check out their website.

 

I've had a pretty busy day today.  I went to the grocery store this morning and picked up a bunch of things to make my granola and a few other bits.  It amazing how much a few bits can add up to these days, especially if you are trying to eat healthier. 

 

 

It shouldn't be that way really.  They should make junk food more expensive and healthy food cheaper, but that makes sense, and most things the shops do hardly ever make sense.  I think my main beef about fresh fruit and vegetables is that it only lasts a couple of days once you get it home, depending on where you buy it. 

 

I find if you shop in the more expensive shops it tends to be of a better quality and fresher, but my days of shopping in expensive shops are long gone now I am not working full-time.  So I tend to have to pick up less and go more frequently, rather than do a weekly shop, only getting in what we can eat within a couple of days so that nothing gets wasted.

 

Today I gave Todd leftovers from yesterday for his dinner.  He had chicken and a baked potato and some tender-stem broccoli.  He was quite happy with that. (I'll be showing you the recipe for that chicken tomorrow.  It's a real winner/winner!) 

 

I had a lovely Tuna Salad Wrap with plenty of raw veg and some of that tender stem broccoli. I did take mine out well before it was finished cooking.  I only just blanched it. Todd likes his well done. 😖  We are all different.  I'm just lucky I can get him to eat broccoli at all. My father never would. 

 

We were both happy with our dinners.  The Tuna Salad is a recipe I pinched and adapted from a Weight Watchers site.  Theirs was pretty plain.  I added a few things for colour and crunch. 

 

Things like spring onions and red pepper strips.  They had their red pepper chopped.  I didn't want it chopped. 

 

I also added a layer of fresh baby spinach leaves . . .  both for colour and for nutrition . . .  and for the crunch. 

 

I spread my filling out really thinly and then laid the pepper strips and spinach on top of it before rolling the wrap up really tightly. 

   

I then refrigerated it for about an hour so that I could cut it into neat little slices.  That would be the perfect way to serve it in a lunch box to take to work.  So pretty, and easy to eat. 

 

In all truth I could not eat the whole thing and so I wrapped the remainder up and put it in the fridge for tomorrow.   I don't know what's happening to my appetite lately.  I get filled up a lot faster, and I just don't seem to be able to eat as much as I used to, which isn't exactly a bad thing when you think about it!  Bon Appetit! 

 

Food like can be difficult for a Diabetic.  I am a Type 2 Diabetic and my husband is not.  He can eat whatever he wants and never gain an ounce.  In fact he has a difficult time keeping weight on.   So in this house it is a fine dance between making sure he gets what he needs to eat and keeping me in line with what I should or shouldn't eat. 

 

As you know, I do bake him lots of treats and try not to overly deprive him without overly tempting myself.  It is very difficult at times and I admit, I do taste far more than I should sometimes, but thankfully my blood sugars stay within the guidlines most of the time. I can tell when I have gone overboard because my vision gets blurry and that's when I start drinking lots of water. Thankfully it doesn't happen very often. 

 

 

There are some very good sugar and syrup substitutes out there  that are sugar free and not too bad tasting.  Sukrin make some very good sugars (brown and white and icing) and I found a company here in the UK that makes wonderful calorie free and sugar free syrups. 

 

Of course whole wheat bread is very diabetic friendly because it is low GI and so long as you keep your amounts down, you can enjoy that as well on occasion. (Eating foods that have a low score on the glycaemic index can keep blood sugar levels steady and can even help your body metabolise fat more efficiently) 

  

I ordered a few different syrups from the Skinny Food Co a few weeks back. Some Ketchup, some Maple Syrup, and Vanilla Syrup.  Unfortunately sugar subs like this tend to be very expensive and never really come up to the satisfaction level of the real thing.    But at least they make it possible for you to be able to enjoy a treat every now and then. which is a heck of a lot better than not at all!

 

With the addition of fresh berries this was really good and made for a lovely quick breakfast that I totally enjoyed.  You simply mix everything together, pour it into a mug and then quick cook in the microwave, stirring it halfway through the cook time.

 

It wasn't even rubbery like some of these microwave goodies can be.  (Most microwave cakes are kind of rubbery, I find . . . but maybe I am just too picky.)

  

The original recipe called for egg substitute instead of an egg, but I don't think an egg every now and then will hurt.  We don't have egg substitute over here in the UK, at least not that I have ever seen.

 

Craving indulged, I can feel good that I am sticking to my Diabetic guidelines, which is really important this time of year when we are surrounded by tons of goodies that we can't have!  I got some pancake mix from the company also, which I hope to enjoy one day.  You would just die if you saw how much I got and how much it cost.  I was not impressed, and actually a bit disappointed when I saw it,  to be honest, so I am saving it for a really special occasion!  

In any case this is quick, easy and delicious! Bon Appetit!