Tag Archives: #healthyfood

My Journey back

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Week 13

My Good and Bad Food Habits

Ever since I started my weight loss journey, I had to change my diet. I came across several articles which look at the good and bad food eating habits. Before I share the articles, I wanted to share my good food habits and the bad food habits I had to say bye-bye to.

My 5 Good Habits

  • Tracking my food, use an app to write what I have eaten or plan my meal. This app kelps track how much protein, carbs and fat I have consumed.
  • Drinking water-Before I started my weight loss journey, I used to skimp on water, will go one day without drinking more than 750ml of water. I have changed that habit and I drink at least 2000ml of water. I try to drink at every hour. 
  • Exercising-I am happy to say I have been exercising for several years and my aim is to keep exercising until I am old.
  • Eating Breakfast- I have never skipped breakfast. I always make sure I have something to eat. The advantage of being a morning person is you wake up early and make breakfast. I sit and eat my breakfast.
  • Not dep frying my food- stopped frying my food and started grilling, steaming, or boiling. 

My 5 bad Habits I had to stop

  • Drinking soft drinks–stopped drinking soft drinks such as juice or sodas. I only drink them when I am invited for dinner or lunch, but I usually go for water.
  • Junk food–stopped eating junk food every Saturdays, I eat healthy foods and on my cheat days I don’t overindulge. Junk food is a once in a lifetime thing now.
  • Eating the wrong food after exercise. Many years ago, I used to exercise in the afternoon and have a biscuit after a workout or a slice of cake… yeah, that is bad. I now usually have a banana if I exercise in the afternoon. I changed my exercise routine to morning workouts and have a proper, notorious breakfast.
  • Mindful eating. Had to stop scrolling my Facebook page when eating.

Articles

8 good and bad food habits. https://blog.healthmatters.io/2016/03/10/8-good-and-bad-food-habits/

9 bad eating habits and how to break them. https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/bad-eating-habits-and-how-to-break-them.aspx.

Top ten worst eating habits. https://wordpress.com/post/romaynepavan.com/3691

Eating for better health.https://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/dpc/eatright.html

Spicy Sweet Potato and Chicken Wings

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Yesterday I decided to experiment and made spicy sweet potato.  Loved this dish because it has both the sweet and spicy taste and delicious.  The spicy taste comes from the cumin, coriander, chilli and the sweet taste comes from the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.  I combined the dish with salt and pepper chicken wings.  Yes, it is plain but you don’t want the food to have too much spicy or it will overtake the flavour. of the spicy sweet potato.

To Make the Spicy Sweet Potato

2 medium sweet potato or  1 large sweet potato

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

¼ tsp chili flakes (add more for a Spicer kick)

1 lemon

Salt for seasoning

To make chicken wings

10 chicken wings

2 tbsp. oil (feel free to add more oil)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

To Make chicken wings

Preheat 0ven to 180ºC

Mix chicken wings  with oil, salt and pepper.

Line baking tray with non stick baking paper.  Add chicken on the tray and place in the oven.

Bake chicken wings for 30 minutes or until crispy.

To make the spicy sweet potato

Preheat oven to 180ºC

Chop sweet potatoes into wedges.

In a bowl add all the spices and lemon.  Add the sweet potato and combine with the mixture.

Place sweet potatoes in a baking tray and bake for thirty minutes or until cooked.

Notes

This dish serves 2

You can have spinach or a salad on the side

If you don’t have mustard seeds add 1 tsp. of mustard powder.

Try these spicy dishes or sweet potato dishes

Lamb Cutlets with Spicy Potatoes

Paprika Chicken and Sweet Potato Chips

Mexican Bowl

Spicy Chicken Salad

Roast Chicken

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Made roast chicken for the first time.  I usually roast chicken highs, breast, or drumsticks but never a whole bird.  One of the things I learnt about roasting a whole bird is that it is quiet simply, you marinate it, put it in the oven for 1½ hours and you are done.

Ingredients

½ a tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 lemon

2 tbsp. olive oil (add more if it is to lumpy)

Salt and pepper

720g baby potatoes

 

Method

Add the garlic, smoked paprika, paprika, cumin, coriander, pepper and salt in a bowl add the olive oil.  Mix to a smooth paste. Pour on the chicken and massage and marinate for 4 hours or longer.  Place chicken in the fridge. (You can even do it the night before.)

Pre heat oven to 180°C.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and squeeze lemon over the chicken.  Massage chicken with the lemon juice.  Place a piece of lemon in the cavity.

Place the chicken  in a baking dish, breast facing upwards, and wrap aluminum foil over the chicken so the spices don’t burn.  Bake chicken for 1½ hours. or until cooked through.  Press skewer through chicken thighs to check if the thigh juice runs clear,  If it runs clear it is cooked.  Leave chicken outside to rest for 15 minutes, uncovered.

Bake potatoes for 30 minutes or  until crunchy in a separate dish.

 

Note

Serve 4

Feel free to use Italian herbs or other vegetables.

 

Try these grilled dishes

Roast Beef

Chicken Tikka with Steamed Veggies

Chili and Honey Barbeque chicken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tropical Fruit Salad

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There is nothing more refreshing than a bowl of fruit salad on a summer’s day morning.   I combined mango, banana, kiwi fruit and grapes to make my tropical fruit salad and added yogurt and a drizzle of passion fruit.

Ingredients

1 banana

½ a mango

Handful of grapes fruits

1 kiwi Fruit

2 tablespoons yogurt

1 table spoon passion fruit (feel free to add more)

Method

Chop all the fruits and add into the bowl. Add yogurt and drizzle with passion fruit.

 

Note

This dish serves 1

Feel free to add pineapple instead of kiwi fruit, or papaya.

 

Try these breakfast dishes

Fruity Panna Cotta

Banana Pikelets

Apple breakfast crumble

 

Apple Couscous

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Apples one of my favourite fruits.  This breakfast dish keeps you full through the morning. The sweetness from the apple, the crunch from the walnuts and a dash of cinnamon make this delicious.

Ingredients

¼ cup couscous

1 red apple diced

2 tablespoons natural yogurt

20g walnuts

Dash of cinnamon

Method

Cook couscous according to packet instructions.

When couscous is ready. add cinnamon, diced apple, walnuts and yogurt.

Note

This dish serves 1

 

Try these breakfast dishes

Apple breakfast crumble

Banana Pikelets

Tropical Fruit Salad

 

 

 

 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

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This dish is perfect if you have any left over chicken. For this healthy alternative, I used leftover chicken, BBQ sauce and pitta bread instead of pizza dough.

 

Ingredients

1 medium size wholemeal Pitta Bread

1 tbsp. Pizza sauce

1 tbsp. barbeque sauce

Leftover chicken

Handful parmesan cheese

Handful spinach

Dash  of Italian herbs

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 ºC fan force

Place Pizza sauce on the base

Add barbeque sauce and a dash of Italian herbs on the base

Add spinach, chicken and cheese

Bake for 15 minutes or to your liking.

 

Try these dishes

Roast Chicken Pizza

Vegetarian Pizza

Leftover Chicken Salad

 

 

 

 

 

Pasta with Pesto and Meatballs

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For  a quick pasta recipe combine pasta with the delicious Nutty Pesto, grilled tomatoes, thyme mushrooms and meatballs mixed with herbs and parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

For the Pasta

Nutty Pesto

120 g Fettuccini Pasta

200 g mushrooms

200 g cherry tomatoes

1 tsp. thyme

 

For the Meatball

500g beef mince

2 tbsp. Almond meal

I tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Italian herbs

1  tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 egg

 

Method

For the pasta

Boil fettucine according to packet instructions,

Preheat oven to 180ºC  fan force oven

Place baking pager on tray.

Place tomatoes on the tray and sprinkle olive oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until bruised.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and cook mushroom until it is brown.

Once mushroom is done sprinkle thyme and set aside.

In the  same pan add a tablespoon of olive oil and put the pesto and cook gently in the oil for a few minutes.  Make sure Pesto doesn’t burn.

Add the mushroom, cherry tomatoes and pasta in the pesto.

 

For the meatballs

Preheat fan force oven to 200ºC.

Line tray with baking paper.

Add all the ingredients in the mince meat and mix with hands, until well combined.

Roll into balls and place on the trays.  (Make 12-16 balls).

Bake for 25 minutes or to your liking.

Add the meatballs to your pasta.

 

Try these pasta dishes

Rigatoni with Chicken and Broccoli

Poached Chicken Meatballs

Sardines & Chilli Linguine

 

 

 

 

 

Moroccan Eggs

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Nothing beats a healthy breakfast on a Saturday after a long jog. Chickpeas cooked in tomatoes, coriander and Moroccan spices with poached egg served with almond bread.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 capsicum
1 onion roughly chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chilli flakes (optional)
2 crushed garlics
100g canned tomatoes
2 eggs
400g canned chick peas
Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt and pepper

Method
Heat olive oil on a pan. Add onions, cook until it’s soft.
Cook Capsicum for minutes. Add garlic and spices and cook for a minute or until fragrant.
Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add chickpeas and stir. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Make a well in the middle and add eggs. Cover with a lid for 7-10 minutes or to your liking.
Sprinkle coriander

Note
You can use fresh coriander instead of ground coriander.
You can use 1/2 a chilli or jalapeno instead of chilli flakes.
You can add more tomatoes.
You can add two extra eggs in the mixture.
Enjoy with almond bread or your favourite bread

Try these Moroccan dishes

Moroccan Cauliflower Rice and Lamb Curry

Lamb Tagine with Rice

 

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