After captivating France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain, Dietbon is coming to the UK! The Dietbon plan consists of a gourmet, calorie-controlled home delivery service, with 4 meals a day, for 6 days a week. This allows for a person to lose weight without feeling hungry or frustrated. Support is also provided in the form of telephone consultations and online meetings from a team of dieticians. Most customers tend to lose up to a healthy 2 pounds a week.
Before I even started the plan I had a telephone consultation with one of their dieticians who answered any questions I might have prior to beginning my week.
I was sent everything I needed with the exception of dairy and fresh fruit/veg for six days, including 12 main courses, 6 breakfasts, 6 snacks, 6 desserts and 28 Day Detox Tea ‘’Morning & Night”. there was also a really in depth guide to the program included along with extra recipes for you to cook for yourself on your "Free" day. I purchased fresh vegetables and fruits for snacks and additions to the regular meals along with some fat and sugar free yogurts. As for the meals themselves, you can choose for yourself what appeals to your own tastes, and requirements. The dishes are all 100% natural, containing no additives, preservatives or colourings, and without any GM ingredients, artificial sweeteners or palm oils.
For breakfast each day I enjoyed a lovely cup of their Vitalize tea along with some pancakes and some fruit. I really loved these herbal teas. (They were also in silk bags.)
The pancakes taste not unlike any other storebought pancake that you can buy and came in single serving packets. They were quite nice.
For my mid morning snack I enjoyed some of their tasty chocolate chip cookies and a small glass of skimmed milk. I really liked these cookies.
Lunches and suppers consisted of one of their Diet Ready-made Meals along with a salad or vegetable of my own choice.
This was the Chicken with Lemon and Thyme and baby vegetables. It was really quite delicious. I actually had no complaints about the flavour of any of their meals.
One of my favourites was the Mexican Meatballs with pasta, vegetables and Tomato Sauce. I enjoyed that along with some of their applesauce dessert. The meals are literally ready in minutes and are all heatable in the microwave, and I found them to be really quite delicious!
Unfortunately by about day 4 my Diverticulitis kicked in and I had to stop, as I was in quite a lot of pain. I do have to say however, that this is not representative of most people's experience in using this diet plan. For me, I don't think I was able to tolerate the high quantities of legumes/peas, etc. I really do need to be careful with these things because I do suffer if I am not.
Even so I did manage to lose 2 1/2 pounds during that week, which I was really pleased about, and I did learn a lot about portion sizes, etc. I thought it was easy to stick too and the food was really tasty. It didn't really feel like a diet. There was no calorie counting, or figuring out what to combine with what. It was quite simple really, and I wasn't starving, like you can be on some other plans. I felt that it was quite maintainable, especially in the long term.
If you would be interested in trying it out for yourselves, I have a special promo-code which can give you a 20% discount on a 1, 2 or 3 months Diet plan. Just use the code KITCHENDB at the checkout.
I would like to thank the people at Dietbon for affording me the opportunity to try out their meals and plan. I really think their food tastes good and I just wish didn't have so many dietary problems so that I could cope with something like this. If you are wanting to lose weight without any of the hassle of counting calories, etc., this plan would work very well I believe. And that's the truth.
Note - although I was sent a selection of meals, etc. to trial, any and all opinions were my own. I was not paid for nor required to write a positive review.
This recipe is one that I found and pinned from this site a long time ago. I finally got around to making it for our Sunday dinner yesterday and it was every bit as delicious as it looked.
Not only delicious, but also very quick and easy as well!
I never used to have time to cook a big meal on Sundays because that was the day I always called my mum.
I really miss those Sunday phone calls (as you can imagine), so it was nice to be busy and cooking so I didn't have time to sit and think. My husband didn't mind. He likes a nice meat and potatoes kind of meal.
I have to admit I am a huge fan of steak and potatoes also. Especially when they are as delicious and as quick to throw together and cook as this one was.
This garlic steak bites and potatoes is an excellent recipe!
The original recipe called for flank steak cut against the grain. Flank can be rather hard to find over here, so I used rump steaks, which worked beautifully.
Rump steaks are also nice and tender when cooked properly. I am not sure what the North American Equivalent is. I think it might be sirloin.
I also used the last of the garden potatoes. They were starting to just show signs of sprouting, so it was really fortuitous that everything was in place to use them up.
The steak is sliced and marinated in a soy/srirachi marinade while you cook the potatoes.
This is a tiny bit spicy and a tiny bit salty. In short delicious.
I cut down on the amount of fat used altogether, and it worked out quite well. The thing with the potatoes, is not to agitate them.
Just bang them into the pan, one cut side down and then leave them (medium heat) for about 6 minutes or so until golden on that side, and then flip them over to the other cut side and do the same on that side.
We can be such impatient creatures sometimes and mither (agitate) things while they are in the pan . . . just leave them, and you will get much better results.
I tend to go off and do something else so I am not tempted to keep flipping things.
The original recipe suggested that you could also par-boil the potatoes if you wanted them to cook quicker.
I didn't think this was really necessary and as you can see I got beautifully golden brown potatoes. My patience was rewarded big-time!
I chose to do the steak in batches, browning only half of the steak strips at a time. I figured that if you tried to do them all at once the first ones you put into the pan would be overcooked by the time the last bits were done.
It was just common sense to do them half at a time . . .
The end result was perfectly cooked bits of steak. There is nothing tougher than an over-cooked piece of steak! Not appealing in the least!
Unless you happen to like your steak well done . . . we don't. Medium rare is how we usually enjoy it!
We both really, really enjoyed this meal. It went down a real treat!
Yield: 3 - 4
Garlic Steak Bites & Potatoes
prep time: 10 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 25 mins
This simple recipe goes together in a flash. You can be enjoying tender juicy and flavourful steak and potatoes in very short time. All you need is a salad or vegetable on the side and dinner is served!
ingredients:
- 650g rump steak, sliced into 1/2 inch strips against the grain (1 1/2 lb)
- 65g baby potatoes, cut into quarters (1 1/2 lb)
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS butter, divided
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp each dried thyme, rosemary and oregano
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- crushed red chili flakes (optional)
For the steak marinade:
- 80ml soy sauce (1/3 cup)
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS Sriracha sauce
instructions:
- Whisk together the steak marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the steak strips and set aside to marinate while the potatoes are cooking.
- Heat 1 TBS butter and olive oil in a large skillet until the butter begins to foam. Add the potato wedges, one cut side down, and cook for about 6 minutes or so until golden brown on that side, then carefully turn them over and cook for a further 6 minutes or so until golden brown on that side and the potatoes are tender. Remove carefully and keep warm.
- Add the remaining TBS of butter, garlic, dried herbs and red chili flakes if using. Add the steak strips (work in batches if necessary) and cook over medium high heat for about one minute before flipping over and browning the other side. (I did mine in two batches) Pour any reserved marinade over top and return the potatoes to the pan. Heat through. Adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I dare say this would make a tasty addition to a Valentine's Dinner Menu if you
were so inclined, and were looking for something that was delicious, but not
too time or labour intensive. I have always thought you can't go wrong with steak and potatoes! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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I am a real lover of the flavour of lemon and this is the time of year we have them in abundance in our shops, being imported from Spain, which is a country that grows lots of lovely citrus fruits.
Oh I do so love to see them. I like to keep my lemons in a bowl on the counter top. I smile every time I walk past.
Double Lemon Drizzle Loaf. I wanted to share a fabulously tasty recipe with you today for a Lemon Drizzle Cake that is quite different to all of the rest that I have seen out there. I do so love lemon anything, don't you?
One of the favorite things my mother would make for us when I was growing up was Lemon Meringue Pie. She always used a mix, but we loved it.
That cold jelly like lemon filling with the soft billows of meringue on top. She always made a separate bit for my brother outside of the pastry because she thought pastry was not good for young children.
I wonder if he remembers that? Mom wasn't much for baking us sweets and things outside of special occasions. She didn't want us to over indulge on sugary and fat filled treats.
On the other side of the coin however, she would give us jello/jelly for dessert, sprinkled with sugar and topped with milk. I still have a fondness for jelly with sugar and milk on it. The milk would be dyed whatever color of jelly we were eating.
I have vague memories of our mother having ladies over for tea on occasion. She would make lots of tiny sandwiches and give us the crusts to munch on.
They tasted so good with their little scrapings of filling on them. She would also bake tea loaves or breads, much like this lemon loaf I am sharing today.
I have shared several different recipes for lemon loaves/breads/drizzle cakes on here through the years. Can there ever be room enough for one more???
I think so! I am always keen to try a new recipe for lemon anything! Especially when you are talking about a cake like this, a drizzle cake with a lush pound cake texture.
I saw this recipe for a Double Lemon Drizzle Cake on the Sainsbury's recipe site the other day and instantly wanted to try it.
What really compelled me to want to try it was the fact that a whole lemon, cooked until soft, is used in the batter. Say what??? Has to be good!!!
It was very easy to cook the lemon in the microwave and then puree it in my blender. The rest of the cake was a real doddle to throw together. Easy peasy.
When I took it out of the oven it looked fantastic, but then I noticed when I started to poke the toothpick into it for the lemon and sugar drizzle it was sinking in the middle a bit.
Uh oh . . . I thought. It can't have been cooked in the middle. The skewer was coming out clean, but . . . you never know.
So I popped it back in for a further 5 minutes or so.
The end result was that that lemon syrup kind of candied on the loaf, which was a delicious surprise, and not at all a bad thing.
It was a happy mistake, as it were, turning lemons into lemonade!
In looking at the photo on the Sainsbury's site, they have covered the center completely with candied lemon slices. I am thinking that perhaps this is a cake that sinks a bit in the center.
I quite like how it looks actually. Dip in the center and all.
And as you can see, it cuts beautifully once cold. I added a lemon and icing sugar drizzle, which I thought looked really pretty.
Its a lovely moist loaf, filled with LOTS of lovely lemon flavors.
Flavors from the pureed cooked lemon in the loaf, to that candied lemon syrup sinking into the cake and lightly coating the surface. Not to mention that lovely lemon icing drizzle.
I could quite as easily have just seen this as a failure and thrown it away, but I didn't.
I think my mother would have approved of this . . . making lemons into lemonade.
Every pun intended.
Mmmm . . . this went down really well with a nice hot drink. I like herbal teas but I am sure it would taste just as nice with a regular hot cuppa.
Yield: Serves 10 - 12
Double Lemon Drizzle Loaf
prep time: 15 minscook time: 50 minstotal time: 65 mins
A happy and most delicious accident.
ingredients:
For the loaf:
- 1 small thin skinned lemon (pick one that is heavy for its size)
- 200g butter softened (7 ounces) (7/8 cup)
- 200g caster sugar (1 cup + 1 TBS)
- 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
- 250g self raising flour (1 3/4 cup)
For the drizzle:
- the juice of 2 lemons
- 75g caster sugar (6 1/2 TBS)
For the glaze:
- 130g icing sugar (1 cup)
- the juice of 1/2 lemon
- finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line a medium loaf tin with baking paper. Set aside. (8 inches by 4 inches)
- Prick the lemon all over with a fork. Place into a small bowl, cover with plastic cling film and then cook in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until tender. Cut into quarters. Remove and discard any pips/seeds. Place into a blender along with any juices and puree until fairly smooth.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs. Stir in the flour and the lemon puree. Spoon into the prepared loaf tin, smoothing the top and then bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- While the loaf is baking whisk together the sugar and lemon juice for the drizzle until smooth and the sugar is dissolved.
- Take the loaf from the oven and prick it all over with a toothpick. Spoon the drizzle over top, letting it soak in. Return to the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes, until glazed.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin completely. Once cold, tip out onto a wire rack and turn right side up.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Drizzle decoratively over the cake. Sprinkle with the lemon zest if using. Allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I love it when what are seen as accidents or failures actually turn into happy things and successes, don't you? Bon appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Blueberry Cake for two. This is a cake that I made for us last week. With there only being two of us in the household and no company expected I wanted to bake us a dessert, perfectly sized for the smaller family.
This blueberry cake recipe was perfect for us. I am trying to job my memory as to where I got it from.
I am pretty sure it was Bunny's Oven. (which is an excellent food blog by to follow by the way and she's a really nice person!)
The fact that it was built just for two people is what really appealed to me . . . that and the fact that it was Blueberry.
I adore blueberries!
You can use fresh or frozen berries for it. I always happen to have fresh in the refrigerator so that is what I used.
I often have frozen berries as well. Blueberries are a storecupboard staple for me.
When I first moved over here to the UK, blueberries were not something that was readily available. If you could find them, they were really expensive.
Its interesting the things you miss when you cant get them anymore. or are difficult to find.
Blueberries were something that grew wild in our back yard in Nictaux, NS, and I remember my parents having a favourite blueberry patch that we would go to pick them when I was a child.
It was on a dirt road off the main just past a small village called Paradise. Blueberries grew in abundance there.
Long about the middle of August, they would pack us up into the car and off we would go to pick berries. Ice cream buckets full, which my mom would freeze to make blueberry pies with in the Winter.
It was back breaking work as wild blueberries grow close to the ground and you need to crouch to pick them.
Bears also love blueberries, and I can remember being quite nervous while we were picking . . . . always a tiny bit afraid that a bear would come out and eat us along with our berries!
My father delighted in hiding behind bushes and pretending he was a bear to frighten us. We laugh about it now.
There is something really special about the flavour of a wild blueberry . . . all of that natural sweetness has been concentrated into a smaller fruit, and packs a real wow factor.
Cultivated berries never quite come up to the flavour of a wild berry but alas . . .
Beggars can't be choosers and I am just happy that they are more readily available now. Most coming from Poland in the warmer months, and incredibly from Peru in the winter months.
You can also buy them frozen.
We have our own blueberry bushes here as well, right in our back garden. Each year they produce a little bit more.
One year I might even have enough to make a pie! And I won't have to fight the bears for them!
In any case these are very delicious little cakes. Quick and easy to put together, using fresh or frozen berries. We enjoyed them warm with a little quenelle of clotted cream on top.
Yield: 2
Blueberry Cake For Two
prep time: 10 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 40 mins
This delicious, simple blueberry cake is packed with blueberries and perfectly sized just for two people. You can easily double and triple the recipe if desired.
ingredients:
- 35g plain flour (1/4 cup all purpose)
- 45g castor sugar (1/4 cup fine granulated sugar)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 60ml milk (1/4 cup)
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 150g of fresh blueberries (1 cup)
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- a sprinkle of demerara sugar for the top (turbinado)
- clotted cream or ice cream to serve (optional)
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter two 285g (10 ounce) ramekins and set on a small oven tray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk , melted butter, lemon extract and ground cardamom. Put 1/4 of the blueberries in the bottom of each ramekin. Divide the batter between them and then top with the remaining berries, dividing them equally. Sprinkle with a bit of demerara sugar.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Serve warm with or without some clotted cream or ice cream. (I like to dust mine with some icing sugar for appearances, but it is not necessary.)
Created using The Recipes Generator
I am thinking it is a good thing that there was only two of these as I would have been hard pressed to stop at one serving, they were that tasty! Now in my favourite recipe rotation for sure! If you like berries and you like cake, you are sure to love these! I am thinking other berries, like raspberries or blackberries would also work well! Bon Appetit and Happy Ground Hog Day! (Will he see his shadow do you think???)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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