The Real Meal Revolution and Me

My Banting journey.

[mybantingjourney]

Determined to do better!

Determined to do better!

So yesterday was valentines day and I certainly indulged… oops! I made some mean assed homemade pizzas and raspberry possets, but by gosh am I feeling like a bloated balloon today. My tummy feels huge and I could probably be mistaken as being 6 months pregnant! I’ve really only been doing a half-arsed attempt at banting and if I don’t change what I am doing, I’m going to fail. Today I am…

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My neighbours make this amazing chicken rice dish called Pulao, which I finally plucked up the courage to ask for the recipe for the other week. My neighbour very kindly showed me how to make it whilst I wrote down the recipe. I’ve made it the original way with rice and my neighbour gave it a big thumbs up (as did I!), but I love it so much, I don’t want to give up eating it whilst banting; so I thought I’d give it a go but with cauliflower rice instead of real rice to make a LCHF banting friendly version!

The key to the original recipe is that the onions are slowly fried until they are really brown before the spices are added and fried, which gives the rice its deep colour and intense flavour. Then you usually add basmati rice and water and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes until the liquid has been soaked up and the rice is fluffy. Obviously with cauliflower rice, this recipe needed a little bit of an alteration as it doesn’t take as long to cook and doesn’t really require water to cook. I followed the original recipe up until the rice and water stage, where I just kind of had to use my own judgement as what to do next. I decided to add 1 cup of water to the chicken mix and allow it to simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to let the chicken cook and take in all those lovely spices, then I added my cauliflower rice with a little more water (about half a cup) to loosen it up and let it simmer on high for 10 mins stirring occasionally. In hindsight I wish I had added less water and will do next time, and although the taste is good, I still found the cauliflower a little overpowering and it didn’t give me that ratification eating the real Pulao would… I’m not giving up though, I’ll try making it again but next time, half the amount of salt as the cauliflower doesn’t need it like rice does, and also increase the quantity of the spices by half and add less water (or no water when adding the cauliflower). I also just realised I forgot to put a chilli in it!

In conclusion I think if you’ve never had the privilege to eat a real authentic pulao then this dish will rock your boat! It is honestly a really tasty cauli-rice dish, I’m just in a grumpy mood and I guess I was just really craving the real thing! Below is the recipe with the alterations that I now know it needed to have for it to work without real rice!

Ingredients 4tbsp cooking oil/fat 1 onion (diced) 1 tomato (diced) 2 cloves of garlic 1 whole green chilli (sliced in half) 1.5 tsp cumin seeds 1.5 tsp dried coriander 1.5 tsp garam masala cinnamon stick 1 bay leaf 4 whole cloves 1 black cardamon pod 2 green cardamon pods 4  large skinless, boneless chicken thighs (sliced into chunks) 1 large cauliflower (blitzed or grated to resemble rice)

Method 1. Fry onions, chilli (this will melt down into the sauce) and tomato in the fat over a medium heat until onions are soft and the tomato has cooked down (about 10 mins) 2. Add garlic and fry for a minute, then add all the spices and fry for a few minutes until really fragrant, if you need to add more fat to stop things burning and sticking, do so.

3. Add chicken and fry in the spices so that the chicken is all evenly coated in the onion and spice mix (about 5-8 mins) 4. Add 1 cup of water to the pan and give it a good stir to get any of the spices on the bottom of the pan, then simmer for 15 minutes on a medium low heat until the chicken is all cooked.

5. Finally add the cauliflower rice to the pan and give it a good stir so that it is all evenly covered in the chicken mix. Simmer for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked, but not mushy.

6. Eat on its own as it is, or serve with a paneer or veg curry!

  Cauli-Rice Pulao (Indian one pot rice dish made LCHF) My neighbours make this amazing chicken rice dish called Pulao, which I finally plucked up the courage to ask for the recipe for the other week.

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Beef Bourguignon

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset Beef Bourguignon is a deliciously rich French stew (I seem to have a slightly French theme this week, maybe because I’m pining to be back in my favourite country…) that is made with a ratio of more wine to stock, which when slow cooked creates tender, melt in the mouth beef (made from a super cheap cut of meat). I used chuck steak from a butchers at my local…

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Slow-cooker Ratatouille

I’ve been rather very absent for the last few weeks, partially because I’ve been crazy busy, and partially because I’ve not been cooking anything blog worthy… or at least not a banting blog worthy! Pancake day was yesterday and after indulging in pancakes 3 different ways, I am definitely using lent (regardless of my lack of religion) as my excuse to get back to banting! Since I’ve been out…

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Why I can't eat your healthy balanced diet.

Why I can’t eat your healthy balanced diet.

I would just like to make something clear about some of the reasons I am doing this diet. Yes, first and foremost I want to lose weight, I want to feel good about my body and myself. Secondary to this however, is the fact that I already cut out a lot of these foods due to my IBS. There are many foods that I have narrowed down as my personal triggers, for example a few things I know if I eat them…

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My first blip...

My first blip…

So as people may or may not know I am currently studying a masters degree. Having chosen to start Banting at the beginning of January probably wasn’t my smartest idea since I had a 3000 word essay about English grammar to write. So, this might not have been a problem if on day 6 I hadn’t started feeling the symptoms of ‘keto flu’ or ‘carb flu’; essentially my body went into withdrawal overdrive…

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Carb Free Cauli-Wraps

OK, so I meant to post this recipe over a week ago, but I’ve been too busy with my uni work. It’s worth the wait though, I promise.

This recipe requires a bit of patience and a gentle touch (and a funny ingredient that unless you’re already LCHF you probably won’t have in your cupboard), but oh my gosh are they amazing?! The first time making these I had them with a delicious butter chicken curry and they worked so cauliflower and curry are already a match made in heaven, but the wraps don’t really taste of cauliflower and they had the texture of a chapatti. YUM!

The recipe can be easily halved (I halved it when I made it and it made 4 wraps)

Ingredients 800g of cauliflower – cut into florets 6 tbsp psyllium husks (I bought mine from amazon) 2 eggs ¼ tsp salt Plenty of coconut flour for dusting

Method

Steam the cauliflower until it is very soft.

Drain off any excess moisture and place into a food processor, add the eggs and psyllium husks and blitz until smooth.

Leave for 15 minutes for the psyllium to do its thing and turn the goop into dough.

Dust your surface with plenty of coconut flour.

Split the dough into 6/8 balls.

Very VERY gently roll out your dough to the size of your frying pan, try to get them as thin as possible, remember there is no gluten in this dough so it will break apart if you are too heavy handed. Add more coconut flour when you need it as you are rolling. I used quite a bit, and kept flouring my rolling pin too!

Heat your frying pan on a medium heat and dry fry your tortilla until cooked. You won’t be able to flip these like a pancake; you’ll need a spatula!

Use in the place of tortillas, chapattis or naan in any recipe, these can even be used to make enchiladas, YUM!

Carb Free Cauli-Wraps Carb Free Cauli-Wraps OK, so I meant to post this recipe over a week ago, but I’ve been too busy with my uni work.

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Chocolate Fat Shake

Ok, so this really is just as it sounds, it's a fat shake with chocolate. It tastes surprisingly indulgent. I'm still kind of in a transitioning mindset, I've read and watched documentaries about t...

Trying my first fat shake, tastes good and has filled me up so I guess it’s doing its job!

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Bacon fat cherry tomatoes with basil and mozzarella

This morning marks the first day of my mission to get fit and healthy - starting with getting healthy! I've started the day with possibly one of the simplest yet most delicious breakfasts I've eate...

This morning marks the first day of my mission to get fit and healthy – starting with getting healthy! I’ve started the day with possibly one of the simplest yet most delicious breakfasts I’ve eaten in a long time, and it’s safe to say I didn’t feel like I was dieting eating it and I felt totally full afterwards.

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The things I want to achieve in 2016...

I don’t usually make these things because I decide before I do that I’m going to fail. This year I’m writing them down so that maybe, just maybe I won’t. I can look back at them and remind myself why I want to do all of these things.

1. Lose weight. 
 I need to get to my ideal weight by August 2016 - 9 stone 7 lb. I do NOT want to look fat in Megan’s wedding photos, and I don’t want to feel embarrassed about the way I look in holiday photos. Actually keep the weight off and remain ideal weight by next Christmas!

2. Change lifestyle. 
To be able to lose the weight I need to change my lifestyle and not think of it as a diet. Change my diet to at least 90% paleo - cutting out sugar and bad carbs and reducing alcohol consumption (obviously allowing occasional indulgences for special occasions, I won’t beat myself up about lapsing as long as there is a good reason!) I want more energy and to feel better about myself.

3. Jam in the pub on my flute! 
Practice, practice, practice. Get good enough to be able to move my fingers fast enough to be able to play traditional Irish folk tunes that people can jig to!

4. Get better at climbing.
 Actually go climbing, aim for at least once a week to start with and then after a few months try and get to the works twice a week. Train. Use the finger board - it’s in the bedroom there’s no excuse to not! Go to the gym and use weights - improve overall body strength.

5. Use my gym membership until it runs out. 
I’ve already wasted approximately £300. How ridiculous is that. Seeing it written down actually makes me feel kinda sick. Make use of the next £120 woman!!! You need to to be able to achieve number 4 and 6 anyway…

6. Run a half marathon. 
 Yeah to do this I’m actually going to have to run. I don’t currently like running but I used to! I think the hills in Sheffield have something to do with this. I don’t need to do it as fast as Sam, I just want to finish.

7. Exfoliate and moisturise more.
 I have good skin and don’t wear much make-up, I’m 25 this year and I’d like to keep having good skin and keep wrinkles at bay for as long as I can!

8. Budget better. 
OK, this should probably be number 1. I am too wasteful with money and I don’t earn enough of it to be. I need to put some money away each week and save for once in my life! I want to go on holiday this year and it’s not going to happen if I don’t stop being frugal!

9. Get out more.
 I find it too easy to say no. I need to start saying yes! Go for that walk, go to the cinema, go out with friends that you’ve not seen in a while. (Just do it on a budget haha).

[mybantingjourney]

Before I begin...

Today is new years eve eve, and my house is still full of all the deliciously indulgent foods I bought over Christmas. I can't bring myself to throw away any food, so today begins a serious task - eat all of it. Or at least attempt to and give the rest away. I realise eating it is pretty counter productive, but I'm planning on going completely cold turkey with regards to carbs (the red ones anyway).

A few months ago my S.O. and I tried the paleo way of life, it took me 4 weeks to overcome the withdrawal symptoms but when I did I felt great and kept it up for about 4 months. It all went downhill when we moved house, at this time I also left my full-time job teaching to begin studying a masters degree; so it was all systems go at this time and I didn't really have the time or patience (or indeed willpower) to cook meals from scratch using good ingredients every day.

My aim will be to follow the Banting way of life as closely as possible, and be totally strict (meaning no alcohol) for the first 4-6 weeks to overcome the withdrawal symptoms. I want to lose weight (about 2 stone to start with), get fitter and generally feel better within myself. I have IBS and I've read that eating this kind of diet, because the foods are low inflammatory, helps to reduce or even diminish symptoms. Wouldn't that be nice?

I am new to this so anything I learn I will post, as well as keeping you up to date about my progress (the good with the bad). I've decided that writing a blog might encourage me to be stronger and stick to it (just in case anyone actually reads it haha).

See you on the 2nd January (I'm definitely going to be hungover on the 1st!)