My New Year's resolutions.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, as I did. I had some fantastic company and received lots of lovely presents! 2012 literally flew by.. Before we know it, it'll be Christmas again! Happy New Year! I hope 2013 brings you and your families happiness. :)

As it's the beginning of a whole new year, it's time to set myself a New Years resolution!

Last year, my resolution was to start and stick to My Fitness Pal (a calorie counting app) to help me lose weight. It makes a massive change to be able to say I stuck to my resolution all year long! I used My Fitness Pal every single day, no matter how good or bad my calorie intake was (apart from one week, in May, I went to Turkey on holiday.. I couldn't get the internet to work on my phone). Of course I'm going to continue to use it, but it's now kind-of a habit, so it's not going to be a resolution of mine this year.


My personal resolutions for 2013 are:

- MAKE THIS YEAR MY THINNEST, HEALTHIEST AND FITTEST YEAR YET. (Basically lose weight, eat clean, get thin/toned).

- MAKE A BIGGER EFFORT TO MEET/CONTACT FAMILY AND FRIENDS MORE REGULARLY.


I have wasted no time and have thrown myself into my resolutions straight away! Today I stayed within my calories - (I know it's naughty, but I had no breakfast today.. I've been nursing a rather bad hangover from the celebrations the night before) noodles for lunch, smoked fish with boiled veg and sweet potato mash (all seasoned with lime juice) for tea and flavoured popcorn, one of my Graze punnets and some black grapes as little snacks throughout the day - all very delicious! Also I have written a letter to send to my Granny who lives abroad. We do contact each other, but not always very regularly. So I'm working on that already. :)

Good luck with any New Years resolutions you've set yourself. Feel free to share your resolutions - I'd love to hear some of them!

Oh, and just in case any one was wondering, I did gain a bit of weight over the festive season. In total, I gained 4 lbs. Not great, but nowhere near as horrendous as I was expecting, considering some of the foods I was eating (mainly chocolate)! It'll come back off easily, I'm sure. :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

"T'is the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la laaaa!"

Today's the day! It's finally here. How exciting?! :D

I'm a little nervous about how much I might pig out on (any dieter would be).. I don't intend to pig out, but Christmas Day is always so hard compared to every other day in the festive period.. With the sweet, homemade breakfast, the big lunch roast dinner with homemade dessert for afterwards, the buffet-style tea and alcohol flowing throughout - it's going to be difficult! But I won't not let myself enjoy it all.. If I want something, I'll have it. But I just won't go stupid and stuff my face to the point where I'll feel I'll need a fork lift to move me afterwards! Then tomorrow, I shall start a fresh. I can't wait for New Year, as it always helps me get back to my healthy eating, a bit more strictly, and gets me motivated to lose more weight!

I haven't been feeling overly festive this past week.. Partially because of family stuff and also because I've been working a ridiculous amount of overtime. But I'm sure when the morning comes, I'll feel just as excited as I use to when I was a child! The pile of presents downstairs is huge, under our twinkling, little Christmas tree. I can't wait to hand out the presents I've bought everyone! Giving can be such a great feeling. :)

By the way, I don't normally stay up until 3am on the computer Christmas morning.. I am writing this in the middle of the night because I'm currently in the middle of baking my family a surprise Christmas Day breakfast, of banana baked oatmeal (the smell is lingering through the house and it smells delicious, mmmm!). I hope they all enjoy it. I seem to be the baking fairy in my home - I always like baking in the middle of the night as a surprise for everyone the next day, especially on people's birthdays!

I wish all of you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all get what you wished for. I'll write soon. :)

Christmas Graze giveaway!

With Christmas only 8 days away now, I thought "why not do a little giveaway for all my lovely readers, as a little thank you?". So here it is!

I have 3 Graze box gift vouchers up for grabs! There will be one winner who will receive a gift voucher entitling them to two free Graze boxes, and two runners up who will both receive a gift voucher entitling them to one free Graze box each. Unfortunately, if you already receive Graze boxes, these gift vouchers won't work - they only work for new customers! Also this is only open to people from the UK - as Graze only delivers to the UK.. I'm sorry!

All you have to do, to be in with a chance of winning, is email:

skinny-wish@hotmail.co.uk

with your name - simple as that. After the giveaway closes, I will put all the names into a hat, mix it up and pick 3 at random. The closing date for the giveaway is Monday 31st December at 11:59pm GMT. The winners will be drawn out and contacted by email between the 1st and 3rd of January 2013! Have any questions? Just ask.

Most people who read my blog will know I pay to receive a fortnightly Graze box. I've now been receiving them since January 2012. They weren't very well known, but are growing more and more popular, they even have their own TV advert now. They send out a box with 4 healthy, natural snacks to people all over the UK. Such a big range of punnets to choose from - there's something for everyone! Rate their punnets with 'Love', 'Like', 'Try' or 'Bin', and even select 'Send Soon' to ensure you get exactly what you like. A very trustworthy company - I have never had any delayed deliveries or any issues cancelling/postponing boxes. Just excellent! Please have a browse of their website to see what all the fuss is about: click here.

P.S. To the winners: these should be one-off boxes, but I am not entirely sure - so just incase, make sure you check online, on the Graze website, after you've received all of your free boxes and if it says you'll be receiving another after that, just cancel your deliveries and you'll never receive them again (I know it's easy to cancel them, as I have 2 friends who have in the past and have had no issues).


EDIT: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED.

Gift inspiration - the dieters edition.

Christmas day is fast approaching (only 2 weeks to go!) and whilst some of us are prepared well in advance, there are a lot of us who tend to leave everything to the last minute - well this post is for you. We all have a friend or two who are forever dieting (I know I'm always dieting and I know lots of other people who are too). If you have yet to get them a gift, why not show your support on their journey by buying them some slimming friendly/themed gifts this year? I've put together this post, full of lots of different types of gifts, to give you some inspiration. Or even to give other people ideas of some things that you'd like to receive this year (or you can just treat yourself)! All of these gifts can be purchased online, and a few can be purchased in stores, and there's something suitable for all budgets! :)

Gifts £10 or less:

1. Union Jack A5 recipe book - £8.75, Paperchase.  2. Back away fatty magnet - £3.50, Really Good Shop.  3. Retro magnetic meal planner - £7.00, Paperchase.  4. Diet cheating fines money tin - £2.99, Amazon.  5. Run Fat B!tch Run paperback book - £8.39, Waterstones. 6. Diet kit - £5.99, Amazon.

Gifts £25 or less:

1. Calorie/jump counting skipping rope - £10.98, Amazon.  2. Jamie Oliver herb display pots - £18.50, Boots.  3. The Nakd Celebration Box - £13.00, Natural Balance Foods.  4. Healthy Food Guide subscription - was £27.00 now £21.99, Healthy Food Guide.  5. Union Jack adult apron - £16.99, Joshua's Harvest Store.  6. Wooden cookbook stand - £16.99, Lakeland.

Gifts £50 or less:

1. Typhoon electronic scales - £29.99, Lakeland.  2. George Foreman 14532 10portion health grill - £44.97, Tesco direct.  3. Biosync fitness set - was £39.99 £29.97, Amazon.  4. 16 jar revolving spice jar - £35.00, BHS.  5. La Cafetiere Titania 1 litre - £26.31, Tesco direct.  6. Zumba Exhilarate DVD fitness pack - was £59.96 £48.00, Tesco direct.

Gifts £50+.

1. Delonghi 18 bar pump espresso machine - £169.97, Tesco direct.  2. Body sculpture cable rower with DVD - £99.99, Sainsburys.  3. Robert Welch signature knife block - £274.99, Lakeland.  4. Kenwood FPP225 food processor - £59.97, Tesco direct.

Another gift you can give this year is a gift card! If your friend has lost a considerable amount of weight, dropped a dress size or two, or has reached/almost reached their ultimate weight-loss goal, then getting them a voucher for their favourite clothing store (mine's Topshop, *wink wink*) will be a wonderful gift. They'll be able to buy some new clothes better fitting to their lovely new figure. Most shops allow you to load up as much or as little as you want onto the card, so another great gift for all budgets. :)

Homemade mince pies!

Mince pies are one of my favourite Christmas treats. The taste of mincemeat is just gorgeous! The only downside I can think of when it comes to mince pies is their calorie content, which is pretty high! So I was very determined to find a low-kcal mince pie recipe to help me and my waistline out this year. Luckily for me there was one in my new issue of Healthy Food Guide (Winter 2012 issue, page 72/73). I can't tell you how excited I was just thinking about making them! So as soon as I got paid I went out and bought all the ingredients I needed so I was prepared (I had to work a lot though, so I couldn't make them straight away..). My sister and I made them together earlier today. They were a lot of fun to make and they tasted absolutely wonderful. Such a Christmassy, heart warming taste. Mmmmm!

These taste great both warm and cool. They could be served as a pudding, eaten as a cheeky snack, put in yours or a kid's lunchbox or even leave some out on Christmas Eve for Santa and his elves! ;)

This recipe makes 12 mince pies and is apparently 164kcal per mince pie, but I make it out to be approx. 183kcal. So I'm not sure, but I'd go bang in the middle (178kcal), to be safe. They're best eaten within two days or can be frozen for up to three months, then defrosted at room temperature.

Ingredients:
(for the pastry)
- 125g Flora Light (the original recipe uses Flora Original, but I chose to use Light)
- 275g plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten
(for the filling)
- 175g mixed dried fruit
- zest and juice from 1 lemon
- 50g dark muscovado sugar
- 1.5tbsp rum or brandy (I used dark rum)
- 1.5tsp mixed spice
- 1 small dessert apple, coursely grated and excess juice squeezed out
- 1 tsp icing sugar, to dust (optional - I chose not to)

Method:

1. In a bowl rub the Flora into the flour and baking powder until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix the egg with 2tbsp cold water. Reserve 1 tbsp and add the rest into the flour mix. Bring the mixture together to make a smooth dough - you may need to add a little more cold water or a little more flour. Wrap in clingfilm, and chill for 20 minutes.

2. Put the filling ingredients into a saucepan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until the apple has broken down a little. Leave to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 190°c/fan 170°c/gas 5 and grease a 12-hole muffin tray, or fill the tray with 12 foil mince pie cases (which is what I did). Roll out the pastry on to a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out 12 x 7cm discs/circles and use to line the tins. Spoon the cooled filling into the pastry cases.

4. Cut out 12 x 3-4cm stars from the remaining pastry and put on top of each filled pie. Brush with the reserved egg mix and bake for 18-20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and dust with icing sugar (optional). Enjoy! :)

Let the festive countdown begin!

Christmas lights decorate the streets of Salisbury (taken 6:30am today)!

Happy 1st day of December everybody! Only 24 more days until Christmas! And only 30 more days until New Years Eve - it's crazy how fast this year has flown by!

Being a dieter/calorie counter is a struggle at times, but I find December is the most difficult month of the year. There are so many temptations everywhere you look! Scrummy Christmas drinks in coffee shops, chocolate and cake offers everywhere you look in supermarkets, advent calenders to open throughout the month (I've got my Mars Bar advent calender!) and of course hundreds of alcohol and parties - and hardly any of it's low kcal, boohoo! This can all be a bit too much for someone who has been minding what they eat for so long.. But stay strong! I'm not saying don't indulge at all, as it's Christmas - you can't forbid yourself a few treats around Christmas time (mince pies are a massive weakness of mine, this time of the year), it's just not natural! I'm just saying don't over-do it, as when you do your dreaded after Christmas/New Years weigh in, you will kick yourself! Everyone's bound to put on a few pounds though - I know I will, but you don't want to be setting yourself back too much. But even if you did, don't beat yourself up too much about it. Use it as the push you need to get back into the dieting game! Maybe even make it a New Years resolution to lose the weight plus more?

I have some great thoughts for festive posts in my noggin that I'm hoping to share with you all over the course of this wonderful, wintery month, so keep your eyes peeled! First one should be posted on Monday (if all goes to plan)! :)

My experimental bean burgers.

Anybody who knows me personally will probably know that I love I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! I have been watching it everyday! The other day, after watching Rosemary Shrager (TV Chef and one of celebrities in the jungle this year) turn their boring beans into mini bean burgers, it inspired me to give bean burger making a go. I decided to try it without looking for a recipe in books or online, just to see what I'd come up with. Unfortunately the burgers I created didn't stick together as planned. It started off as a circular burger shape, but ended up as more of an oval shape.. But they did taste really good! In my opinion, they tasted like sage and onion stuffing - yum yum! So if you like stuffing, you'll most probably like this.
Here's what I did:

The way I have made it below serves 2 people and is approx. 125kcal per bean burger (without the cheese on top).

Ingredients:
- 1 big tin of three bean salad (contains cannellini beans, flageolet beans and adzuki beans)
- pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
- a small splash of Worcestershire sauce
- a pinch of dried mixed herbs (or herb(s) of your choice)
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 20g of low fat grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Method:
1. Empty the entire tin of beans into a sauce pan, place on the hob and cook for about 4-5 minutes - do not allow to boil. Once that's done, drain the beans well and then put them back into the sauce pan.

2. Get a masher and mash up all the beans until they're mushy. Season to taste and add the Worcestershire sauce and herbs to taste too (if you're comfortable with it, give the beans a little taste before adding each thing to make sure they taste alright, plus you might like the taste without the herbs/Worcestershire sauce).

3. Place a frying pan onto the hob and heat up the oil.

4. (This step is messy). Now, using your hands, mould the mushy beans into 2 burger shaped "balls". Once moulded, place these onto the frying pan.

5. Fry these for approx. 10 minutes, turning often, until golden on both sides. (Turning them over is where it all went wrong and crumbly for me. They squished back together, but not into the original shape).

6. Once finished, transfer these onto a plate and serve with a bit of cheese on top (optional). You can serve these alone, in a roll/sandwich, with vegetables, with your Sunday roast, etc. - whatever you fancy!

Enjoy!

If you know of anything I could do or add into my little experiement to make these bean burgers stick together better whilst frying in the pan, pleeease let me know - I'd be soooo grateful! :)

Skinny lemon cupcakes with drizzly icing.

Whoever thinks you can't enjoy a spot of cake whilst on a calorie counting diet is very wrong! You can most definitely enjoy it, but in MODERATION. It also helps if you can find a low-kcal cake/cupcake recipe! Here is a lovely little recipe I have tried from my new "The Hairy Dieters" cookbook - the "Hairy Dieters" are Dave Myers & Si King (most well known for being "The Hairy Bikers"). They use to be pretty hefty blokes, but now they have slimmed right down! They've made a lovely recipe book packed full of healthy recipes (with calories per serving included - yaaay)!

These cupcakes taste gorgeous! They are very sour though, because of the lemon icing (if you don't like sour things, you can always replace the lemon juice in the icing with water). As great as these taste, try not to be tempted to sit and eat the whole batch! Remember: moderation is key.

This recipe serves 12 & is approx. 167kcal per cupcake.

Ingredients:

- 200g self-raising flour

- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- 75g golden caster sugar

- 100g blueberries

- finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

- 2 large eggs

- 150ml low-fat natural yoghurt

- 2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

- 50ml sunflower oil

Lemon icing:

- 100g icing sugar

- 4-4.5 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°c/Fan 180°c/Gas 6. Line a 12-hole deep muffin tin with some non-stick paper cases or folded squares of baking parchment.

2. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar, blueberries and lemon zest. Make a well in the centre.

3. Beat the eggs with a large whisk until smooth, then beat in the yoghurt, milk and oil until well combined. Stir into the flour mixture with a large  spoon until very lightly mixed.

4. Working quickly, divide the batter between the paper cases. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16-18 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen and golden brown. Transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool.

5. To make the icing, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth and runny. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over the cupcakes and leave to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Low-kcal twist on the traditional English breakfast.

Everyone loves a good traditional English breakfast (also known as a "fry-up"). But they are often very fatty, greasy and full of calories.. So I thought I'd take it upon myself to try and come up with a healthy, filling version of the breakfast, with as few calories as I can possibly make it. So here it is! This breakfast serves 1 person and is approx. 200kcal (if made with the "meat" product I chose).

Ingredients:
- cooking oil spray (such as "Fry Light")
- 2 egg whites
- a dash of Worcestershire sauce
- 60g spinach, washed
- 50g mushrooms, sliced
- 105g baked beans (e.g. 1/4 of a big Heinz baked beans tin)
- pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
- your choice of meat product*

*I chose 1/3 of a pack of "Quorn pepperoni style slices", but you could also use 1 Quorn/meat-free sausage, 1-2 rashers of Quorn/meat-free bacon, 1 lean meat sausage, 1-2 rashers of lean bacon, with the fatty bits cut off.. Whatever you want really, but remember to adjust calories accordingly!

Method:
(You will need to be good at multi-tasking, and own a lot of pans, to get everything timed just right).
1. If using sausages/bacon, stick these in the oven first, at a medium-high heat, for however long the packet says, turning over halfway through cooking.
2. In a sauce pan, pour in the baked beans and place on a low-medium heat. Stir this occasionally to be sure the beans don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
2. Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with the cooking oil spray. Place on a medium-high heat and place in the sliced mushrooms. Keep stirring these often to get them nice and evenly cooked.
3. In another sauce pan, place in a splash of water and all the spinach and put a lid on top, keep an eye on this, as once it's all wilted it will be cooked and ready.
3. In another frying pan, spray all around with the cooking oil spray and place on a high heat. Add in the egg whites and quickly add in a splash of Worcestershire sauce (this is optional, but I just think it gives it that extra something) and season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. This will cook relatively quick, so be sure to turn it over once it begins to go quite white - don't let it burn!
4. With any luck this should all be cooked and ready to plate up at roughly the same time! Serve immediately with your choice of sauce (although, personally, I don't think it needs it!) and a cuppa on the side. ;)

Enjoy!

Baked fig and hazelnut salad.

This is a recipe I was eager to try! I found it in my November 2012 issue of Healthy Food Guide. It's a baked fig and hazelnut salad. I love figs, but noone else in my household does, so I invited my Nan over to enjoy it with me. It's quite an unusual, but very tasty, combination - I would have never thought of putting all these ingredients together myself, but it does work nicely! It's very sweet, but the cheese stops it from being too sickly sweet. I really love the taste of the juices with the salad leaves - yum yum! My Nan absolutely loved this meal too. As well as being a very healthy dish, it is also "diabetes-friendly" - neither of us are diabetic, but it's something that everyone can enjoy!

I switched up the recipe a bit (as you all have probably noticed I do quite often)! I halved everything on the original recipe, as instead of wanting to feed 4, I only needed 2 servings. I also swapped actual blue cheese for Dairylee light blue cheese triangles. The recipe also only used rocket, but I threw a bit of spinach in with it to bulk out the salad leaves. The recipe below serves 2 and is approx. 330kcal per serving. 

Ingredients:
- 4 ripe black or green figs
- 75g ricotta
- 2 Dairylea light blue cheese triangles
- 30ml agave syrup
- 1 tbsp ground hazelnuts
- 1/2 tsp hazelnut oil
- 25g whole hazelnuts
- salad leaves, such as rocket/spinach, to serve

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c/fan 160c/gas 4.
2. Cut a cross into the top of each fig and squeeze between your fingers to open. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, Dairylea blue cheese triangles, half the agave syrup and the ground hazelnuts to form a thick paste, then season with a pinch of sea salt an black pepper.
3. Spoon the ricotta mix into the centre of each fig, then put them into a roasting dish just large enough to fit tightly. Drizzle over the remaining agave syrup with the hazelnut oil and roast for 20 minutes. Scatter over the hazelnuts.
4. Serve warm with the salad leaves, spooning over some of the pan juices.


I hope you enjoy this as much as my Nan and I did! :)