Tasty food experiments.

 I'm a real creature of habit and I have so often cooked dishes that have been handed down to me and I learnt and have eaten since I was a young child. I don't usually stray from safe recipes. Experimenting with low fat, high protein meals is interesting enough, but trying to do that on a budget is even more of an experiment. I thought I would show you all how I turn very cheap and fat free Quark in to soft cheese. I just let it drain for 24hours and then add crushed garlic and dried parsley. I stir it all together and eat with meals as part of my protein. Today we had spicy chicken, lettuce, celery and garlic cream cheese for lunch.

 I use the roasting bags as it removes the need for any oil. I used a tablespoon of paprika and the same again of cumin with a sprinkling of chilli flakes, I added some water and cooked it for 30 minutes. The results were really tasty. We both had that for lunch today and there is enough for tomorrow too.

 Stir fried beef for supper, flavoured with ginger, chilli and garlic. I finely dice the spices even further so they mix really well. The beef is 'minute steak', which is cheap but not the tenderest, so I put it inside a plastic bag and beat it stupid with a rolling pin and then slice it to stir fry it. It's really filling so you don't need much.

 I came across some veggie bargains in Morrisons and we had two packs of the stir fry veggies with our beef.

Dinner to two, DB had the bigger portion.

 The end result was low fat, high protein and relatively low in calories. I liked the way the juices came  out of the meat and made a kind of spicy gravy in the bottom of the bowl.

Oat bran galette

I almost forgot to photograph dessert!!! I made oat bran galettes. For each galette I used 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran, 1.5 tablespoons of quark, one beaten egg and 1 tablespoon of splenda. You stir it all together and then dry fry in a non stick frying pan. It's a real stuffer and you feel as if you've eaten something huge. I often have one for breakfast and it can also be used as a base for 'pizza'. The oat bran has wonderful qualities, as well as making you feel stuffed (although that's not a sensation I enjoy!) it also lowers cholestrol (I have low cholestrol any way) it's rich in dietary fibre, but best of all, it's a carbohydrate that doesn't sugar!

I'm beginning to real enjoy what I'm eating and find I need less and less every day. The best part of this and the best way ever to save money, is it switches off the constant hunger I usually suffer from, along with a growling stomach and those symptoms have gone. That's got to save me money.

It's now time to go out and walk and vote before the polls close, if you've forgotton, please get your coat on and go and put your cross in a box.

Until tomorrow,

Froogs xxx