Quick and Easy Tandoori Salmon

The recipe tonight was for tandoori salmon. I really don't like seafood so made it for Em while I had left over chicken from last night.

Quick and Easy Tandoori Salmon
1 piece of Salmon
1 tbsp of yoghurt
1 tbsp tandoori paste

mix the yoghurt and paste and cover the salmon

Heat a non-stick pan on medium for 3 minutes
Once hot cook salmon for 3 minutes, then flip for 3 minutes.

Remove and rest for 3 minutes!

I served the chicken and the salmon with 1/4 cup of brown rice and a rainbow of vegetables. I steamed most in the microwave for 3 minutes. The tomato I put in the same frypan as the salmon until soft.

• Yellow Squash (Steamed)
•  Purple Carrot (Steamed)
• Green Broccolini and Asparagus (Steamed)
• Orange Carrot (Steamed)
• Red Tomato (Grilled)

I put the tomato on top of my chicken and mushed it in and it was really nice! Made a very plain piece of chicken tasty.

Boneless Lamb Loin Fillet

Really quickly! The first day of the challenge asked us to use trimmed lamb steak. The only option I could find on the way home from work was a lamb loin heartsmart fillet, which was expensive but looked beautiful ($40 per kg).

I rubbed rosemary all over it, 2 garlic cloves and pepper, with one spray of olive oil and left it for 45 minutes. Then squeezed lemon juice over it and salted it.

Heated a non-stick pan for 3 minutes on high then cooked it for 3 minutes of high each side, then 3 minutes to rest.

Came out beautiful and rare, slice reasonably thinly over a salad with a bit more lemon for dressing.

Lovely.

Quitter and a Loser

So appoximately 12 weeks ago I became a quitter and now I want to become a loser. I have finally given up the death sticks and can focus on getting the rest of my health in order. It is impossible to know what it is like to be morbidly obese unless you are, so I'll try and save the pity train. I will say though, it is bloody hard being so fat.

So, I have signed up for an 8 week Biggest Loser Challenge, which I am going to try and follow 80% of the time. Yes, yes I know some will judge that I am already giving myself an out, my only comment to that is walk a mile in my shoes. I would prefer to succeed 100% at doing 80% for 8 weeks than to fail after a week of doing 100%.

So wish me luck, I am going to be posting thoughts and recipes from the challenge here. Day 2 and I have stuck to the 1200 calorie intake, now I just need to get the exercise part in as well.

K

Carrot Cookie

* 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (I used buckwheat)
* 1 tsp Baking Powder
* 1/2 tsp Fine-grain Sea Salt
* 1 cup Rolled Oats
* 2/3 cup Walnuts, chopped
* 1 cup Carrots, shredded
* 1/2 cup Maple Syrup or Honey
* 1/2 cup Unrefined Coconut Oil or Sunflower Oil
* 1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated (or a tsp ground ginger)

Method

* In a large bowl, put flour, baking powder, salt and oats and whisk them together.
* Now, add the nuts and grated carrots.
* In another bowl, combine maple syrup, coconut oil and ginger and add it to the flour mixture. Stir thoroughly.
* Take one tablespoon at a time and drop on the baking sheets.
* Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.

Balsamic chicken with fig and ricotta

Biggest Loser Recipes:
Category :Main Meals (Dinners) .
Serves : 2
Preparation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Ingredients

Chicken breast, lean, raw, 350 g Sea salt, 1 pinch(s) Black pepper, ground, 1 pinch(s) Olive oil spray, 1 spray(s) Balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoon(s) Honey, 1 teaspoon(s) Rocket, any type, 3 cup(s) Tomato, 2 medium, sliced Fig, 2 fig(s), sliced Basil, 0.5 cup(s) Ricotta cheese, reduced fat, 40 g

Cooking instructions

Butterfly the chicken with a knife, or use a mallet to flatten the chicken breast so it is about 1cm thick.

Heat a non-stick fry pan over a medium heat. Season the chicken with a pinch of sea salt, pepper and a spray of olive oil. Place the chicken into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes each side, or until golden and cooked through. Remove and rest in a warm area.
Place the same pan back onto a low heat and pour in the balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of water and the honey. Gently simmer for a couple of minutes to reduce and thicken slightly, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Place the rocket leaves on the serving plates and top with the sliced tomato and fresh figs. Slice the rested chicken and lay over the salad, along with the basil leaves, ricotta and a drizzle of balsamic. Serve warm.

Comments:
We used dried figs because there were no fresh ones to be found. This gave the salad the occasional lovely crunchy toffee taste! To soften the figs I steamed them for 2-3 minutes in the microwave (in a steamer dish).
I also used a Mesclun instead of rocket and added in onion and shaved carrot.