BFree Brown Seeded Bloomer

I was sent a BFree Brown Seeded Bloomer to sample and I was pleasantly surprised when I received the bread. The bread was sliced length ways, as opposed to width ways. This means that there are much larger slices than your average gluten free bread. 

I tried the it several ways: toast, sandwiches and in soup. I can truthfully say, I enjoyed the bread on all counts. It was one of the better brown breads that I've eaten. 

To say the slices were large, it was surprising to find out they were only 68 calories per slice.

All in all, I would try this bread again. The texture and taste is good for a brown seeded bread and is a bit healthier (in my opinion anyway).

If you like brown seeded bread, then this is definitely up there as one of the best!

Meal Plan WC 23/02/14 - 01/03/14

This weeks meals are a bit of a mixed bag, I've got some leftovers from last week to use up (I didn't strictly follow last weeks plan as it was a bit of a manic week), but I've also got some items that I found on offer at Lidl.

I'm really looking forward to trying steak on Friday, as it's not very often we have it.

The other half is also still following the 5:2 diet, but if he gets a  bit fed up of soup then I might change the meals up a little bit.

Meal Plan W/C 23/02/14

Curried Carrot Soup (5:2)

Spaghetti Bolognese

Leftover Beef Rissoles with Onion Gravy, Green Beans, Carrots & Broccoli

Broad Bean Risotto

Broccoli Soup (5:2)

Rib Eye Steak & Wedges

Leftover Christmas Ham Quiche with Baked Beans

Breakfast: Porridge, Cereal, Toast, Eggs

Lunch: Sandwiches, Leftovers, Super Noodles (these are for the other half)

Snacks: Fruit, Carrot Sticks

Leftovers : Broad Beans, Rib Eye Steaks, Wedges, Bread

Shopping List

Milk £1.00

Bananas * 4 (0.58 kg) £0.39

Tangerines £3.00

Apples £0.00

Yoghurts £0.80

Mousse strawberry £0.65

Peppers £1.45

Bisto Best £1.80

GF Bread £1.99

Smoked Bacon £1.45

I cant believe its not butter * 2 £1.80

Bacon Joint £3.00

Free Range Eggs ( 12 * Large) £2.50

Tuna * 2 £1.80

Baked Beans £0.25

BBQ Beef Super Noodle * 3 £1.50

Sweet Thai & Chilli Chicken Super Noodle * 3 £1.50

Tilda Rice £2.00

Tomato Puree £0.30

Salad Cream £0.80

Orange Juice £0.75

Tomato Ketchup £1.00

Total 29.73

Easy Broccoli and Celery Soup

The other half has been following the 5:2 diet for a few weeks now. Whilst this is not my 'thing', I still want to support him and have been trying to cook low calorie meals on this 600 calorie days. I've found soups to be amazing so far, as it's a good way to use any vegetables you have lying around but tend to be quite healthy and low in calories (so long as you don't add too much cream or cheese etc).

I found this vegetable soup easy to make, took hardly any time at all and if you keep broccoli in the freezer, then you always have this soup to fall back on. It was really good to have this warm, comforting soup while it's so cold outside. 

Serves 2:

250 g Frozen Broccoli Florets

1 Celery Stick, Sliced

Approx 300 ml Chicken Stock (you could use vegetable, just make sure its gluten free)

2 Cloves Garlic, Sliced

1 Tablespoon Oil

Pinch of dried mixed herbs

Celery Salt

Pepper

Method:

1. Slice the garlic and fry on a low light for a couple of minutes in the oil. 
2. Add the stock to the pan, then add the Broccoli florets and Celery. 
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the Celery and Broccoli are soft.
4. Whizz up with a hand blender or in a blender.

I really enjoyed this soup, it tasted great on its own but if you do have some calories to spare then why not add a sprinkle of leftover cheese? It could be anything from cheddar to blue cheese, they will all add a slightly different taste. 

You can also add potato to give a bit more body to the soup.

Feel free to share any low calorie soup recipes that you have.

Meal Plan 09/02/14 - 15/02/14

I've only got 5 meals planned this week, as the other half is going to cook us a meal for valentines day and were going out for the day next Saturday (although I'm not entirely sure where yet). I've tried to keep most of the recipes fairly low cost, as well as fairly low in calories.

Meal Plan 09/02/14 - 15/02/14

Corned Beef Hash

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Everyday Lentil Curry 

Spicy Mince & Lettuce Cups

Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

Shopping List (from Sainsbury's unless stated otherwise)

Item Price 

Milk £1.00

Bread £0.80

Gluten Free Bread £1.99

Tangerines £3.00

Pink Lady Apples £0.00

Bananas £0.70

Yoghurts £0.80

Porridge Oats £1.69

Baked Beans £0.25

Corned Beef £2.00

Strawberry Mousse £0.65

Broad Beans £1.25

Lemon £0.30

Chopped Tomatoes £0.35

Garlic £0.35

Tomatoes £1.60

Asafoetida £1.60

Light Brown Sugar £1.40

Lime £0.30

Mint £0.80

Coriander £0.80

Minced Pork £3.00

Smoked Gammon £3.00

Smoked Bacon £1.45

Butter £1.00

Green Lentils £0.70

Chickpeas (Asda) £0.60

Total £31.38

Meal Plan 02/02/14 - 08/02/14

I've tried to use up some of the leftover gammon, as well as keeping the rest of the meals pretty low in calories for the week. I may end up having some of this weeks meals left over as I still have some food left from last week. 

I've also stocked up on a few items that I was running out of, so the cost of this weeks plan is a little higher than it should have been.

We're eating out once this week, so we have 6 meals planned.

Meal Plan 02/02/14 - 08/02/14

Gammon and Cheese Quiche

Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

Spinach, Avocado & Prawn Salad

Tangy Tuna Burgers

Jamie Oliver's Sizzling Beef

Celery and Leek Soup

Breakfast: Cereal, Toast, Fruit

Lunch: Leftovers, Turkey Sandwiches

Snacks: Fruit, Yoghurts

Leftovers:  Cereal, Mousse, Green Beans, Sweetcorn

Shopping List:

Milk £1.00

Gluten Free Bread £1.99

Oranges £1.50

Apples £1.50

Bananas * 2 £0.24

Milk Powder £1.05

Beef Rump Steak £6.00

Ginger (120 g) £0.48

Spring Onions £0.75

Coriander £0.80

Black Bean Sauce * 2 £1.00

Garlic £0.35

Soy Sauce £1.00

Limes * 3 £1.05

Eggs £2.10

Chopped Tomatoes £0.34

Mediterranean Vegetables Frozen * 2 £2.50

Spinach £1.00

Avocados * 4 Basic £1.75

Tuna £1.80

Mayonnaise £1.40

Salad Cream £0.80

Garlic Powder £1.00

Oregano £1.00

Celery £0.90

Leek * 1 (205 g) £0.55

Chicken Stock Cubes £0.25

Celery Salt £1.00

Sweetcorn £0.60

Small Chicken £2.59

Peanut Butter £0.65

Yoghurts £0.80

Prawn £3.00

BBQ Sauce £1.25

Total £43.99

Meal Plan 26/01/14 - 01/02/14

I've now started shopping at Sainsbury's for one reason or another, so all of the below prices will be from Sainsbury's unless detailed otherwise. There are a couple of missing items, but I'll probably call into Asda on the way home form work for these.

The missing items are lamb kidney and bread rolls, I'll freeze mine but prefer to get the regular rolls nearer to the time so they are fresh. We're also having company on Thursday, so will be making Lancashire Hot Pot.

These are the upcoming meals (not in order):

Chicken Soup

Broccoli, Sweetcorn, Parsnip & Chicken Bake (Roux Sauce & Mustard)

Lacashire Hot Pot

Sweetcorn Chower

Tuna Sweetcorn Jacket Potato

Bacon, Beef and Brie Burgers

Brie & Cherry Tomato Spaghetti

Shopping List:

Milk £1.39

Bread £0.80

Gluten Free Bread £1.99

Tangerines £1.50

Rubens Apples £1.00

Bananas (4 - 0.525 kg) £0.41

Lamb Shoulder £6.10

Carrots 1.5 kg £0.89

Basics Onions £0.95

Potatoes 4 kg £1.90

Dripping £0.75

Parsnips £0.90

Broccoli (300 g) £0.87

Chicken Legs £2.19

Spring Onions £0.75

Salted Tortilla Chips £0.50

Sweetcorn £0.60

Tuna Chunks £1.80

Half Swede £0.60

Cherry Tomatoes £1.00

Brie £1.15

Smoked Bacon 250 g £1.40

FF Bread Roll £2.19

Organic Minced Beef 500 g £3.48

Lettuce £1.00

Cucumber £0.80

Chocolate Mousse £0.35

Savoy £0.80

Chicken Wings £1.84

Flora Buttery £1.00

Lemon Mousse £0.65

Celery £1.00

Eggs £0.93

Total £47.18 (All of the above were bought from Sainsburys)

The other half has started the 5:2 diet, so I'm trying to support him by having lower calorie meals twice a week. I personally don't want to go on this diet, so I'm continuing to go to the gym and trying to get fit and hopefully lose a bit of weight that way.

Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup

A slight change to the soup on the meal plan for this week, but we still had all of the ingredients in for it so it wasn't a problem. 

The smell of this cooking was really good, the spices really came through and made the kitchen smell wonderful! To make it even better, it's low in calories and fat. I also didn't feel as though I was eating too little as the soup was pretty thick.

I just loved the flavour of the dish and it was pretty speedy to make, the leftovers will be taken for lunch the next day too. 

It's so simple and quick to make, as well as being low in fat and calories, but really full of flavour. I think this is definitely one the list to make again.

You can find the recipe on the BBC Good Food website here.

Meal Plan 12/01/14 - 18/01/14

We'll be having a roast beef dinner this week for a change, which I'm looking for and also I do like the leftovers it gives. One of the best parts for me is the roast beef pie, which the other half really likes as well! 

Meal Plan

Roast Beef, Beans, Parsnips, Carrots, Roast Potatoes

Red Lentil, Chickpea and Chilli Soup

Roast Beef Pie

Gratin of Carrots & Root Vegetables

Leftover Beef  and Green Lentil Cottage Pie

Pork Mince Chilli with Cheesy Nachos

Tuna & Sweetcorn Jacket Potatoes

Breakfast: Cereal, Toast, Eggs, Porridge

Lunch: Ham Sandwiches, Leftovers

Snacks: Bananas, Citrus Fruit, Yoghurts

Leftovers:  Chickpeas, Chopped Tomatoes, Red Lentils, Butter, Flour, Frozen Beans, Beef, Porridge Oats, Eggs

Shopping List ( I shopped at Sainsbury's this week on 11/01/14)

Milk £1.39

Bananas* 5 £0.56

Easy Peeler Box £2.50

Activia Yoghurts 8 £1.50

Active Health Yoghurt Drinks x 6 £1.50

Bread £0.80

Gluten Free Bread £2.00

Red Onion £0.16

Vegetable Stock Cubes (Sainsbury 10) £0.90

Coriander £0.80

FrozenMixed Vegetables £0.75

Parsnips Basics 750 g £0.90

Carrots 1.5 kg £0.89

White Potatoes 2.5 kg £2.09

Garlic £0.35

Rosemary £0.80

Light Elmlea Double  Cream £0.85

Honey |Roast Ham (16 slices) £3.00

Pork Mince 750 g £3.00

Kidney Beans * 2 £0.54

Tortilla Chips £0.50

Abbey Mature Cheese 400 g £2.00

Basics Crunchy Peanut Butter £0.62

Tomato Ketchup £1.00

Weetos £2.69

Onions * 2 £0.31

Celery £1.00

Total £33.40

Start as I mean to go on...

I don't know about you, but when it comes to food I always have the best of intentions when it comes to food wastage. I buy food items for recipes, always trying to keep my budget as low as possible, but then I'll find some hidden things lurking in the depths of the cupboard. 

I'm always looking for ways to lower our budget and to make better use of what we have and I can only do that by being organised. So with that in mind, I intend to do the following during this year:

• Clean, sort and organise all of the kitchen cupboards (I've already made a start on this).
• Go through the house and throw out anything that I do not need (I'm particularly terrible at hoarding food magazines...)
• Fix the things in the house that need fixing

I figure this is a good start to where I need to be, basically getting the house organised and not so cluttered. I figure this will help me make better use of the things that I do have and save me money in the long run (it means I will not buy double!).

If I've not wished you it already, have a happy new year.