Orange Soup

This is a real winner when it comes to my family.  Everyone loves it.  On Sunday night I made a big pot of the stuff to get me through the first few days of the week being back at work after a weeks hiatus looking after a sick child.  The perfect winter warmer

Orange Soup

Ingredients
2 onions diced
2 cloves garlic
100g fat removed diced bacon
50g butter
6 large carrots peeled and diced
2 large potatoes diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 oranges juiced

Method
Saute the onions, garlic and bacon in the butter(or a little olive oil if you're focusing on reducing your calorie intake and cholesterol).  After about 5 minutes add the carrots and potatoes and saute for another couple of minutes.  Cover with the chicken stock and simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the orange juice.  Blend with a kitchen whizz into a smooth orange bowl of loveliness.

My go-to dinner when feeling heavy... Tofu Ramen

This is the meal I eat sometimes several times a week when I am feeling heavy.  It is very tasty, healthy and easy to make.  As I have decided to cut out wheat based carbs for the next 2 weeks, I am not including udon noodles in my bowl, but my partner will be enjoying them as per usual.

Tofu Ramen Recipe

Ingredients(for two)

1 block of tofu
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Broth Ingredients
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar or sugar substitute
1 teaspoon ginger
3 teaspoons chicken stock powder

Veg Ingredients
4 slices mushrooms
10 snow peas
1.5 cups bean sprouts
1 big handful baby spinach leaves
1 spring onion

chilli oil
1 packet instant udon noodles

Method

First things first, chop the tofu into decent size chunks and fry until crispy in a non stick frying pan with the sesame oil.  If you are feeling like something more meaty, then some sliced seared rump steak, sliced cooked chicken breast or a handful of cooked prawns also work really well.

Prepare the broth my mixing all the ingredients in a saucepan and bringing to the boil.  Add the thinly sliced mushrooms and snow peas and simmer for a couple of minutes.  Add the bean sprouts and simmer for another minute before adding the baby spinach leaves and removing from the heat.

To assemble the dish, put half a pack of udon noodles in the bottom of each bowl.  Add half the broth to each bowl, and then top with crispy tofu.  I then sprinkle some chopped spring onions over the top before making is spicy with some chilli oil.  The chilli oil I prefer in Asian dishes is the one pictured above.  Very good in small quantities.

Snack Attack

Snacking.  Always a challenge.  Especially when you have been at home in quarantine for a whole week looking after a chicken pox infested pre schooler.  And no wheat based carbs or sugary snacks allowed.  That seems most unfair, but the following snacks have helped me get through the week without feeling as though I'm suffering too much.

Fruit
My favourite fruit of the week is definately the mandarin.  I imagine each sweet segment as being a jelly bean.  They are so delicious this season.  Three cheers for whoever grew such mandarins.  I am currently eating 3-4 of these a day, randomly, in emergency situations when sugar cravings set in.  My other favourite is dried apple rings.  In moderation to the mandarins due to the natural sugar content.

Dried Apple Rings

Miso Soup
Bought in sachets from the asian section in our local supermarket, add the paste to a cup of hot water, and voila you have a steaming cup of miso, very good at dealing with hunger pains and three thirtyitis.

Instant Japanese Miso Soup

 
Hummus
Home made hummus on brown rice crackers, or a blob on a slice of cucumber is very appetising.  I will be posting a separate item on home-made hummus, as it's so good, 'much better than the supermarket' says my hummus-loving 7 year old


Toasted Seeds
Dry fried pumpkin and sunflower seeds are a good alternative to nuts as they taste good, one tends to eat less of them, so less fat consumed.

Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds