The best salad in the world....ever.

Yes, it's a big claim, but this truly is

THE BEST SALAD IN THE WORLD.....EVER!

just ask me.......

I have been addicted to this salad since I was pregnant with pickle #2 and he just turned 7.

 Trust me, once you try this, you'll be addicted too.

I'm not claiming this to be my recipe, as it's a very basic salad that many people would have already made, but, it IS my favourite of all time.

It couldn't be simpler to make.

Here's how:

Lightly toast some pine nuts in a dry frying pan (be careful as they can burn very quickly)

Wash and spin dry as much baby rocket as you can want for your salad.

Dress salad with splashes of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (go easy on the vinegar)

Throw in your pine nuts & shaved parmesan.

Give it a toss and serve.

See, told you it was easy.

Would love to know if you make this, what you think.

Oh, and BTW, I've finally gotten an iPhone and joined the instagram community. I'm still working it all out, but if you'd like to follow me (promise to follow you back, of course) my little follow button is in the sidebar.

See you soon with some more yumminess.

I can't believe it's not cheesecake! {recipe}

Yep,

this is low fat, low carb and high in protein.

And it tastes DIVINE!!!!

I think it tastes like cheesecake.

I love that it doesn't wreck my weight loss efforts.

It's simple to make too.

Just put some tinned (or fresh) peach slices in a bowl.

Dollop on some low fat ricotta.

Drizzle over a little honey (just a tiny amount, or skip it)

Dust with a touch of cinnamon.

Sprinkle on some chopped walnuts.

 I have this after dinner instead of my afternoon fruit. I don't eat it often as I don't want to get into the regular dessert habit again, but I think it's OK, now & then.

More healthy, yummy recipes coming soon.

Chicken Schnitzel Wrap

Wraps are now a favourite in our house. They're so easy to make and you can put just about anything in them. This chicken schnitzel wrap is delicious and works well if you make it the night before and keep it the fridge for lunch the next day. You could toast this too, just like my pizza wrap (recipe here).
This probably won't be the last wrap you'll see here on this blog. 


Ingredients:

• Wrap/Flatbread. I used Spinach & Herb from the Mission brand that I got from Coles.
• Pre-made chicken schnitzel from the deli department
• Baby spinach leaves
• grated carrot
• grated tasty cheese
• cucumber slices
• sweet chilli sauce

I panfried the schnitzel on glad bake paper and then cut into thin slices.

I then arranged all of the ingredients down the middle of the bread, tucked in the ends and tightly rolled together. I wrapped in cling wrap and put in the fridge to chill.

*If storing overnight, make sure the sweet chilli sauce is in the middle layer, in between other ingredients, to avoid bread getting soggy.

I'd love to hear what combos you make.

Chicken Souvlaki & Tzatziki Sauce {recipe}

A favourite in our house. Easy & healthy too.My husband (Mr3P), who is from Greek heritage tells me that souvlaki means "on a stick"...it's his VERY loose translation. In fact he tells me that if you can poke it with a stick, then it's souvlaki (in his mind anyways). This is a family recipe that was given to me. Yes, it's simple, but aren't some of the best recipes?

Chicken Souvlaki

Chicken breast fillets

Lemon juice

Crushed garlic

Olive oil

Dried oregano

Salt

• Cut chicken into cubes and place in a non-metalic bowl
• Add other ingredients and mix well
• Allow to marniate for as long as possible (at least 15mins) or you could freeze them at this stage
• Meanwhile, soak wooden skewers in water (this will prevent burning the skewers later)
• Thread the chicken onto the skewers. You could freeze at this stage too.
• Pan fry or bbq, turning occasionally until cooked through. In the pan, I like to use glad bake or similar (like here), this prevents the marinde from burning and clean up is easy.

Tzatziki sauce

Greek yoghurt

1/2 cucumber, peeled and finely grated

1 BIG teaspoon of crushed garlic

salt

finely shredded, fresh mint

• mix ingredients together
• best made earlier, so the flavours can get to know each other a little better
• yummy as a dip, served with veggie sticks.

You can also serve with pita bread (my recipe here).

I'd like to start a link party for healthy, wholesome recipes for the family. Would you be interested in joining in? I'll be back a bit later. to get it started.

linking to 

Cream of Sweet Potato, Garlic & Leek Soup {recipe}

Low fat, low GI and low carb.

Great for a weight loss plan.

The secret is to make the "cream" with skim milk powder.

Creamy & filling....tastes like the full fat variety....but it's totally guilt free...so go ahead & enjoy your veggies.

I hope you like it.....

This recipe serves about 4 people. 

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 leek, trimmed, washed well and sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chicken (or vegetable) stock

salt & pepper

water

1/4 cup skim milk powder

In a pot, heat olive oil and then gently soften the leek and garlic over low heat.

Add sweet potato, stock powder and enough water to cover.

Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer until vegetables are tender.

Stir occasionally so leeks don't stick to the pot and burn. Top up water if needed.

When tender, remove from heat and puree. I use a stick blender....although I usually make a mess. 

Add skim milk powder and more water if needed to make a creamy soup.

Serve with crumbled ricotta and freshly ground pepper.

Would love some tips on what you use to puree soup.

Baked Ricotta {recipe}

Back to good cooking habits after the weekend baking attack here & here. I still managed to lose 500g over the weekend, so that's good......


Onto today's lunch...I hope you try this recipe, it's very simple to make and can be adapted to suit what you have in the garden/pantry. Today I only have parsley and eschallots growing, so I used those and some dried oregano, but you can use whatever tickles your fancy. The great thing about this recipe, besides being low in fat & carbs and high in protein is that you can make it for one, two or however many people you like. Simple and quick. I made it for 2 today...I ate one and have kept the other one for tomorrow's lunch.


I love making this for lunch and it works well for the lunchbox too.

makes 2

150g fresh, low fat ricotta (from the deli department)

20g fetta (optional, but I like it for some zing...I used Danish fetta)

sprinkling of fresh &/or dried herbs (I used dried oregano, fresh parsley)

2 tablespoons finely chopped red capsium

2 tablespoons finely chopped eschallots/spring onions

1 clove finely grated/crushed garlic

salt & freshly ground pepper 

Mix ingredients together and press into lightly oiled muffin tin.
Bake at 180C till set (about 20-25 mins)
Serve hot or cold with salad

I like to make a simple dressing for my salad...just a little olive oil & some balsamic vinegar.

More low fat, low carb, high protein recipes to come.

Be good.

How to eat pizza & still lose weight

Are you on a low carb, weight loss program, but still want to eat something yummy like pizza? You can.

Here's how......

Ok, ok, so it may not be an actual pizza, but it tastes just like one...without the added fat, calories and overload of carbs.

And it couldn't be easier to make.

Firstly, lay out a piece of Mountain Bread.

Then layer with your favourite (healthy choice) toppings, some low fat cheese and a sauce.

On this one I have used:

• fat reduced ham 
• thin slice of low fat, tasty cheese
• mushroom
• capsicum
• olives
• a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce

Heat up your frying pan and place the folded wrap in. I like to use the trusty Glad bake to prevent it from sticking and saves me time doing the washing up.

Now this probably looks a little weird, but it works really well.
Place a metal saucepan lid on top of your wrap to cook. It flattens it a little and makes a nice crispy crust. No need to go and buy one of those sandwich presses.
Don't forget to flip it over and cook the other side!

Serve it up and enjoy a yummy pizza treat without ruining your weight loss program.

PS: Don't forget to enter my Schwarzkopf giveaway (go here). 

It's drawn on Thursday, so get a wriggle on!

Linking to

Lose the carbs and still enjoy dinner...simple

Looking for something simple, healthy & tasty for dinner tonight?

This is such an easy dish to put together and if you're watching the carbs like I am, then it'll be perfect for you and the family.

Garlic Chicken & Steamed Veggies with Sweet Chilli Sauce

Cube some skinless chicken breast. I do this in the morning and throw it in a ziplock bag into the fridge..I can then make portions of this dish quickly and without a lot of mess, especially great when Mr3P and Pickle#1 are at soccer training and I feed myself and the 2 remaining pickles early.

Take a bag of frozen stir fry veggies out of the freezer. (told you this was simple) I like the Stir Fry veggies from Aldi, but I use whatever is in the freezer....or use fresh veggies, but that's a little more work...lol

Pan fry the chicken.  I like to use the Glad Bake to brown the chicken, much like I do with the bunless burgers (here). I will drizzle about 1 teaspoon of good olive oil over the chicken and then add some salt and a good heaped teaspoon of crushed garlic. Give it a toss and add the veggies. Heat them through.

Drizzle a small glob of sweet chilli sauce over the chicken and veggies and serve.

Simple, healthy and tasty.