#u500

[kindrasuploads]

[theslimmingstudent-blog]

Vegan Smoky BBQ Tacos

157 kcal per taco

After tonight I can officially confirm that there is no elegant way to eat a taco. I have come to the conclusion however that if you are in the company of a person who does not appreciate the art of taco consumption, they are not worthy of it. I decided to use tortillas for these tacos as opposed to normal corn taco shells because I just think they're yummier and more wholesome. Unfortunately my local supermarket doesn't sell mini wholemeal tortillas or I definitely would have opted for some. Be wary when you recreate these (if you are vegan) not to use Quorn mince as this contains egg, however a lot of supermarket own brands provide good quality meat-free mince that tastes good (I think better) and is usually better value.

You'll need (for 6 tacos):

150g meat free mince (chilled, not frozen if possible)

2 peppers, chopped (1 red and 1 green works well)

100g sweetcorn, drained

1 whole white onion, chopped

6 mini tortillas

A bowl of lettuce, chopped

1 tspn cumin

1 tbspn smoked paprika

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 tspn onion powder

1 tspn dried oregano

Chilli powder to taste

1 tspn salt

2 tbspn BBQ sauce

Low calorie cooking spray

Salsa and plain soya yoghurt on the side (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat up a large frying pan and spritz some low calorie spray in the pan. Once it has heated up, brown the onions for five minutes, followed by the peppers.

2. Add the sweetcorn and meat-free mince. After a couple of minutes add all of your seasonings including the BBQ sauce, then turn down the heat.

3. To get your tortillas into taco form, grab yourself a high sided baking tray or roasting tin, then stand them up in 'taco shape' so they span the width of the tray, leaning against each other. If you have too much trouble with this, my boyfriend pointed out this hack that works really well. Bake them for 10 minutes or until they have taken form without turning into a big taco crisp.

4. Serve them all up! Alongside your lettuce, salsa, plain soya yoghurt and fresh chillies if you want.

Photo cred: Jake

[wolveshowlatnight]

One gossipy, old lady to another gossipy, old lady: "Hey, did you hear? Old Granny Smith forced her cat onto that nice Hale-boy to take care of it, when she went to the hospital for her hip surgery. Poor boy just doesn't know how to say no." "You don't even know the best of it yet. You know how massive that monster of a cat is? Yeah, turns out, wasn't massive at all, just pregnant. Word is the Hale-boy has now 15 kittens crawling around his apartment." "15? Oh boy . . ." And then there was silence while the two gossipy, old ladies imagined that young, well muscled Hale-boy with kittens climbing all over him. (They are lucky Derek didn't hear them, he is getting kind of fed up with all these rumors. Granny Smith didn't force Sunbell on him, he volunteered 'cause the nice, old lady, who keeps making him the most delicious brownies ever, couldn't afford a pet hotel. And yes, Sunbell might be a little too well fed, but "massive" is an unfounded and mean exaggeration and she certainly doesn't deserve to be called "monster" just because she has an assertive personality. Aside from that, there are only six kittens, which is a completely reasonable litter size for a cat of Sunbell's age and experience. So if everybody would just shut up and move on, he would greatly appreciate it.)

[theslimmingstudent-blog]

5-a-day salad

476 kcal vegetarian

365 kcal vegan

First of all, apologies for the absence -- I've just moved into a new flat in London with my boyfriend a week ago (eeee!) and last night arrived home after a few days of backpacking in Norway with him (even more eeeee!). After finally settling in and getting to grips with my wonderful new kitchen I've got this wonderful salad to share with you. It has all of your five-a-day on one plate, and if that's not reason enough to try it, it's also vegan if you just don't have the feta cheese. It's super easy to do, and took me less than ten minutes to make from getting everything out of the fridge. For vegans and veggies it's got your protein and your mono-unsaturates to keep you nice n' healthy!

You will need:

½ courgette

½ avocado, chopped as desired

1 tbspn pine nuts

salad leaves (I like rocket, spinach & watercress)

60g pomegranate seeds (grapes work well too!)

40g feta cheese (if not vegan)

a handful of mint leaves

1 red bell pepper

a couple of slices of fresh chilli

low calorie cooking spray

1. Heat up a griddle pan and spritz some of your cooking spray, and heat up your grill or oven. Line a baking tray with foil and put the pine nuts on. Stick them under the grill or in the oven and let them toast for 5-8 minutes. While they are toasting, with a potato peeler, peel your courgette into slices, lengthways (down the courgette) so you get long slices of courgette (as thick as possible as you can get with your peeler). 

2. Griddle them in the pan; they only need a minute or so on each side. Add them to a plate with your salad leaves on.

3. Chop up your pepper into desired chunks and griddle them with some cooking spray, then add to the salad along with your toasted pine nuts.

4. Chop up your feta (if using it) and add to the salad along with the pomegranate, avocado, mint leaves and chilli.

5. Season with some salt and pepper and serve!

[theslimmingstudent-blog]

Banana breakfast bakes

116kcal each

If you're a student like me, you probably have a parent similar to my Mother in that they were terrified you wouldn't have enough of one certain food at the start of term. Some people have more pasta than they can physically fit in their cupboards, while my Mother made sure I had enough porridge oats to get me through the apocalypse. As I have so many 9am starts, I'm guilty of skipping breakfast occasionally. I didn't want to buy breakfast biscuits as they are fairly pricey and all processed and pretty unappetising, so I decided to make my own! These bakes are a little like oat cookies but instead of your classic egg/flour/hefty helping of butter and sugar recipe, I've used mashed banana to bind the ingredients together! I'm actually amazed at how well it worked, I'm so pleased. Healthy, unprocessed and wholesome breakfasts you can grab and go. You need to try it to believe it!

You will need:

320g porridge oats

65g mixed dried fruit and nuts

3 medium bananas

50ml semi-skimmed milk

1 tbspn melted olive spread/margarine

1 tbspn honey

60g dark chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Mash the banana with a potato-masher or a fork in a large bowl. Pour over the melted marge and the milk, followed by most of the oats and honey.

2. Add your nuts and dried fruits to the mixture and mix well.

3. Spoon into 16 balls and flatten slightly on a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking tray. Sprinkle over the remainder of the dry oats.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. Leave to cool, and melt your chocolate. I like to do this by putting it in a bowl which is itself placed in boiling/boiled water instead of microwaving it to ensure you don't burn it.

6. When the bakes are cool, drizzle chocolate over the top and leave it to set.

7. Transfer to an air-tight container to dig into every morning (or every time you fancy one!)

[theslimmingstudent-blog]

Eggy basket salad

400 kcal

You may or may not believe me, but I'm serious when I tell you it took me a little over five minutes to make my tea tonight! And even though it was super quick and super easy, it was so so so tasty. I've been wanting to make eggs in a basket for a while and I decided that day had come, so I came up with this to integrate it into a meal for any time of day. Because it's so quick you could make it in the morning for breakfast, because eggs + toast + avocado = a pretty good morning. Another thing that makes this EVEN better is that it cost barely anything to make! Everyone has eggs and bread, then I got 3 avocados for £1 from the market along with a £1 massive bag of spinach. It really does tick all the boxes.

You're gonna need:

½ Avocado, sliced

Fry Light

1 Egg

A slice of bread (I used organic wholemeal)

Your salad of choice, I'm using spinach

¼ Cucumber, sliced

Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

1 Tbspn yoghurt & mint dressing (optional but tasty)

1. Get a frying pan heated up on a medium-high and using a mug, press a hole into a slice of bread and pop the middle out. Don't throw it away, you can toast it and use it to mop up all the yummy eggyness. Chuck your salad onto a plate along with sliced cucumber and sliced avocado.

2. Spritz some fry light in the pan and fry the holey bread on both sides until golden. Spray some more fry light into the hole and crack the egg into it. 

3. When the egg has nearly cooked through (just a little runny on the top) flip it over and cook for about thirty seconds.

4. Season with salt, black pepper, balsamic vinegar and anything else you fancy. I used a yoghurt and mint sauce that I picked up from the 99p store (yep)

5. Enjoy!!!!

[fuckyeahunimogs-blog]

NEXT-GEN 2013 UNIMOGS IN ACTION!

Oh, Daimler; you tease...

[fuckyeahunimogs-blog]

What To Expect From The Next Medium-Range Unimog

Yes, Motor Authority has some neat spy shots of what appears to be a new development of the UGN-series (think U300/U400/U500) Unimog. When it comes to anything other than a brief visual description, the blog passes the buck, saying essentially technical advancements are surely coming -- after all, when are they not? Thankfully, if you choose to read between some of the lines of Daimler's own press materials from late last year, you have a decent indication of what's in store. Here's a quick run-through of what we can expect from the UGN's first major makeover in 13 years.

New Nose: The UGN/405 broke quite a bit of new ground, especially cosmetically. The upright cab, positioned in a semi-COE position, required virtually no conventional hood – what was left was almost vestigial; a small, tapering remnant that covered only some extraneous driveline accessories. 

That’s no longer the case. Early spy shots show a nose that’s longer, taller, and bulkier than before. Judging by the hood’s shape, side air intake, and grille design, it appears as if designers are trying to visually tie the mid-range Unimog to its larger UHN (U3000/U4000/U5000) siblings.

Keen eyes will also note the composite cab is slightly reshaped: a large hump above the windshield provides space for the windshield wiper motors, which were previously located beneath the windscreen. 

New Bumpers/Lamps/Connectors: Every spy shot – including a couple of preview photos issued by Daimler itself – show the new Mog boasting headlamps in the bumpers.

Okay, so that’s not exactly news, but this time, the Unimog gleans small, individual projector lamps in lieu of the large, rectangular composite assemblies previously used.

This new, smaller footprint also allows room for front hydraulic circuit connectors to be placed in the bumper instead of at the leading edge of the hood. In fact, the 2014 UGN chassis Daimler showed at last year's Frankfurt show boasted these hydraulic connectors tucked neatly into a square-shaped bumper opening just inset of the headlamps. And, speaking of bumpers, the front bumper gains a tube-shaped surround that incorporates steps on either side of the implement mounting plate.

New Engines, New Emissions: So long, 904/906. Benz plans on offering the mid-range Unimog series with four- and six-cylinder turbo-diesel engines yet again, but in slightly different forms. The OM 904 -- a 4.3-liter I-4 offered on the U300 and U400 -- will be replaced by the OM 934, which is a 5.1-liter turbo-diesel I-4. The OM 906, a 6.4-liter I-6 optional on the U400 and standard on the U500, will give way to the OM 936, a massive 7.7-liter I-6.

Both the 934/936 are DOHC engines, boast new crossflow cylinder heads, four valves per cylinder, and variable cam phasing -- allegedly a novelty of sorts on diesel engines. Power ratings haven't been released, but Daimler says the six-cylinder 936 will broach the 300-hp mark for the first time, and crank out close to 1200 Nm of torque. Considering the high-output OM 906 emitted but 286 hp and 1120 Nm, these represent healthy increases over the UGN model range. Better yet, they're all compliant with Euro VI emission standards.

Predictably, packing this sorts of power -- and these sorts of upgraded SCR exhaust catalyst systems -- requires some pretty heady cooling system modifications. There's apparently some considerable re-work to the radiators (mounted behind the cab steps, since the engine is essentially placed in the middle of the chassis). There's also some revision on the passenger's side of the truck; the fairings that appear to enclose both battery boxes and AdBlue tanks look slick. Still, we have to wonder about heat dissipation -- the new truck isn't any larger than the current UGN (in fact, its length shrinks by 8 cm), and Daimler wants to avoid having the Unimog grow porky and portly. Given those size requirements, there's only so much radiator you can package in so much space...

Carry-over Transmission: Daimler just says the new 'Mog will use the "well-known Unimog transmission." As such, expect the present semi-automatic gearbox with 8 forward speeds and six reverse speeds to remain standard. An extra pair of reverse gears (ideal for Hy-Rail spotter use) will probably remain optional, as will eight crawler and eight low-range "working gears," respectively. 

New Chassis? This remains a bit of a mystery. A complete departure from the existing UGN frame is rather unlikely, but Daimler does note the new engines, cooling systems, and emissions hardware do add weight to the mixture, which can negatively affect payload. Expect to see additional lightweight tricks employed throughout the vehicle – Daimler hints at placing “apertures on the frame” (i.e. ‘swiss-cheesing’ mass out of it) and using aluminum wheels, and also says it's fortified the existing portal axles to withstand an increase in power and weight. Daimler says the truck's maximum permissible GVW has increased, but by what margins still remains unknown.