Beyond Beeton» fabulous food

Speedy mini post: Vietnamese Prawn Salad

Rachel — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:29:34 +0000

I recently mentioned Emma Knowles' Vietnamese Prawn Salad recipe which was posted at Gourmet Traveller.

Vietnamese Prawn Salad

I made it for dinner last night, with a few changes to reduce the calorie content.

Firstly, I used snow peas instead of snake beans, because the snow peas looked great at the local greengrocer whereas the beans looked a bit tired.

To cut down the fat I didn't fry the prawns - I bought extra-large boiled prawns to go with the cold salad. I just peeled and de-veined them (leaving the tails on). I used more prawns than the recipe specified - prawns are low-cal and low-fat and 4 per person just didn't seem enough.

Coles now stocks palm sugar in my local supermarket (in the asian foods aisle, right on the top shelf) but you can use brown sugar instead.

If you like the look of this, you can click through to get the recipe for Vietnamese Prawn Salad.

Leftovers magic:

While I was fiddling about with the vermicelli and prawns I also peeled some prawns completely and wrapped them into some rice paper rolls with finely sliced cucumber, cooked and rinced vermicelli, coriander, vietnamese mint and thai basil. They were delicious eaten immediately, dipped into hoisin sauce.

Easy low fat dessert: Turkish yoghurt cake

Rachel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:18:04 +0000

This easy recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law along with a huge supply of lemons. I believe she pinched the recipe from the venerable Claudia Roden.

photo credit: Bucket of Lemons

This cake is made from very basic fridge/pantry items so you won't be trekking all over for exotic ingredients.

It also has the advantage of being light and indulgent without being high in fat. If you make it to serve 8 people, one slice is less than 4.5g fat, which means you could safely enjoy seconds.

The taste is reminiscent of a baked cheesecake and it is very popular in our house!

Ingredients

4 large eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
3 TB plain flour
400g strained Greek yoghurt
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.

Beat egg yolks with sugar to a thick, pale cream.

Beat in flour, then yoghurt, lemon zest and juice, until thoroughly combined.

Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold into yoghurt mixture.

Pour into a round, non-stick 23cm baking tin greased with butter.

Bake 50-55 minutes until the top is brown. The cake will puff up like a souffle and then subside.

We tend to serve this with fresh berries but you could certainly eat it plain or drizzle with a little citrus/sugar syrup.

Bathroom scales and a kilo or two of guilt

Rachel — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:05:12 +0000

Extra kilos always seem to come with a bonus helping of guilt, repulsion and self-pity. For many people this is of course a vicious cycle - a higher weight than expected on the scale results in pity relieved by excess consumption, which results in guilt and there we go all over again.

Those feelings are normal for many but they're not constructive. Bashing yourself over the head with a sugary stick, no matter how delicious, is not going to motivate you.

photo credit: Christi Nielsen

I weighed myself today for the first time in a long time. I have to admit to an "oh shit" moment and bashing the scales about a bit (just to make sure they were operating properly, you understand).

However, I've decided that I'm not going to cut out the food I love, I'm going to cut out the guilt. Today is the first day of an awesome attitude to food. Eating for pleasure, not sorrow, eating for sustenance, not boredom and enjoying every minute of it.

I have a lifetime of fabulous food ahead of me - I'm not going to waste it on rubbish. Scott from Life Spotlight wrote The Zen of Real Food: Keeping Eating Simple over at Zen Habits and I think this concept is key. You can't go wrong eating fresh, whole foods. Is this perhaps the easiest diet in the world?

photo credit: just.K

I am going to stuff up sometimes. I'm going to pick up a pack of kfc chips in a moment of weakness every now and again. I'll realise I didn't enjoy it all that much and that the calories weren't worth it. I'm going to allow myself not to be perfect - I'm going to accept it and move on. But I'm not going to eat a block of chocolate to make myself feel better for eating chips.

So here we go. I'm not going to make any excuses about water retention or the fact my ringletty hair is almost down to my waist and weighs an awful lot. Today I weigh 67.9 kilograms. That gives me a BMI of 24.9 which means I'm in the healthy bracket by the skin of my teeth. That also gives me plenty of room for improvement on my small frame.

I'm using free website Calorie King to track my weight and progress. It also has useful features to check the calorie and nutrient values of a range of foods (including commercial products). I'll also check in here every week to keep myself accountable. You're welcome to join me.

Check in soon for some low calorie, minimally processed, healthy meal ideas, or offer your own suggestions in the comments.