As winter has settled in for the long haul through to the end of March, now is not the time to eat comforting food and sit on the sofa binge-watching Box Sets. Now is the time to plan a healthy, hearty diet menu that gives you food satisfaction and enjoyable flavours to the mouth.
You can eat good nutritional food that satisfies you and your hunger. If you haven’t got a slow cooker, I do recommend buying one that is sized to accommodate you and your family. You can get all sizes but if you are just cooking for yourself, I would recommend 2-3 Litres and for a family buy one that’s 6.5 Litres.
My perfect chilly winters day diet menu.
Breakfast
For breakfast, I would lightly toast one slice of sourdough bread. Spread a teaspoon of peanut butter over the toast whilst it is still warm. Then cover it with a perfectly ripe chopped up banana. Served with a hot cup of coffee made with soya milk.
Breakfast is a meal to be enjoyed. Your body has woken up in the morning and needs some good easily digestible food to get you energy levels set correctly for the day. Scrambled egg also works well in the morning. But whatever you select make sure it’s one slice of bread. Serve it on a small portion plate and make your coffee large.
Try and avoid boxed cereals if you can as these tend to have hidden sugars and also it’s hard to portion size without getting the scales out.
My breakfast choice is quick to make and doesn’t need anything special done to it as it tastes luxurious just served as is.
Lunch
A rich, tasty, thick homemade soup. With soup, you can make ahead and freeze, but if not, it is easy to prepare on the day. I have two soup recipes to share with you.
My first soup recipe is creamy, roasted tomato soup
Tomatoes
Red Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
A tablespoon of cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Get a large roasting tray, turn the oven on to about 170.
Cut up 5 or 6 large vined tomatoes and place on the roasting tray
3 cloves of garlic sliced and scattered over the tomatoes
1 large red onion, chopped and then mix with the tomatoes
Drizzle a little olive oil over the tomatoes
Baked in the oven until soft
Keep checking the tray and make sure that the ends of the onions do not burn, to avoid this turn over the onions and tomatoes regularly whilst baking.
When the cooking is complete, pour the cooked tomatoes and onions into a good-sized saucepan and blend with an in food hand blender until smooth. Stir in the cream cheese and serve.
This is a filling soup, it is rich and thick, you should not feel hungry after eating this soup.
My second winters soup is a basic red lentil, Lebanese soup.
140 grams of red lentils, rinsed
2 cloves of garlic chopped up small
1 white onion sliced into small pieces
400ml of vegetable stock (I use a low salt veg stock cube)
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
Fry the onion and garlic in a good-sized saucepan until soft
Stir in the cumin powder and cook for a couple of minutes
Mix in the lentils and get the lentils coated in the onion and cumin mixture
Pour in the 400ml of vegetable stock
Cook for about 20 minutes and then blend with an in food hand blender until smooth.
These soups can easily be adapted to suit your tastes, you could add in a few chilli flakes or with the tomato soup crushed basil leaves.
Try and leave out having bread with the soup if you can, but if you really need bread, toast one slice only and do not have any butter on it. Try and fill up on the soup and not the bread!
Evening meal
For me I like dinner, but it needs to be healthy and warm in winter. It is too easy to reach for a takeaway menu and order a pizza or a curry, but with enjoyable food planning, you can make dinner quickly and easily.
Cook up a 'Chilli Con Carne', add in an extra tin of red kidney beans as these are filling and good for you. Serve with plain or brown basmati rice. The microwave rice in a bag is good and if you have rice leftover just add into the chilli mix for tomorrow. I sometimes like to add a small handful of penne pasta to the dish and some vegetable stock to help cook the pasta.
Now for this meal, you need to watch your portion size. You are on a diet so having a plate piled high will just be pointless and you will end the day feeling negative. Always use a side plate for your main meal. It is as simple as that. A dinner plate is too big and if you normally use a pasta bowl then put these plates and bowls to the back of the cupboard and just use a side plate. Make your main meal special. Set the table, add a green salad and have your drinks served in wine glasses.
As with all dieting, you find your mind permanently thinking about what next you can eat. If you plan you could be ready this diet, but if not, you need to be able to shop frequently and never shop when you are hungry.
Let me help you build a great diet plan, contact me for more information about a dieting session.
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