A healthy barbeque

When I hear the word barbeque I automatically think "RED FLAG DAY" (days where you have events/drinking/over-indulgence which pretty much reverses all the hard dieting and exercising you do the rest of your week), and this weekend J and I played host - Bathurst was on (which I could not care less about) so that means VB, swearing, bogans, steak and sausages. I was determined to make sure there was some healthier options (in the interests of the 12WBT and also for me to try a few new salads out), but still keep it tasty.
The guest list was mostly boys, here for the cars, but I managed to convince a couple of girlfriends to keep me company for the 6.5 hours ish of V8's. One of them even whipped up a delish Zucchini Slice, despite J's protest that it had no place at Bathurst (I had to make she put in the bacon even though she usually leaves it out, otherwise there would have been some serious protesters).

Apart from the standard barbeque fare (chips, sausages, meat patties) I managed to sneak in some more waist line friendly options. To be honest its hard to food match with VB, and to please a bunch of boys who would rather meat and three meats than meat and three veg. But it just means that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow...

Nibbles
Sneak some rice crackers amongst the chippies, as well as some TMX homemade hummus (1 can drained chickpeas, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp oil, juice of 1 lemon), and some carrot and celery sticks, and no one will be any wiser (much).

Kebabs
Put pretty much any vegetable on a kebab stick(pre soaked in water for about 30 mins to avoid burning the stick), with or without meat, and you are on to a winner. Even fruit. I am one of those people who doesn't generally mix sweet and savoury but whatever floats your boat (apricot chicken is just weird...). Onion, courgette/zucchini, pineapple, beef, tofu, capsicum, cherry tomato, eggplant, pumpkin, prawns. The ones I made this time around were beef, capsicum and zucchini.

Salads
I made the standard potato salad to make sure that nobody was too surprised with the options on offer, but here are a couple of (slightly modded) 12WBT salads that are super quick, easy and tasty...
1. Cherry tomatoes (halved, half punnet), roast baby carrots (1 bunch 20 mins at 180 with a light spray of olive oil and some salt and pepper), 1 can drained chickpeas, 2 handfuls mixed salad leaves, cucumber sliced thin, 150g danish feta
2. Cherry tomatoes (halved, half punnet), 2 cans drained baby beetroot, 150g ricotta, 2 handfuls baby spinach, 1 can drained red lentils

Abbie turned up and had a wee tantrum that I hadn't baked despite my last bog's claim that Sunday is baking day, and she couldn't see any baking, so I whipped up a MasterChef Extreme Chocolate Brownie (TMX recipe) served with some raspberry sauce (200g raspberries, 2 tbsp caster sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, bring to boil for a couple of minutes).

One last tip - avoid drinking VB, despite the fact its a BBQ. I can recommend a nice glass of vodka and soda with a hibiscus flower...

The monster bake off

Baking is one of my favorite Sunday activities (picture me in my new pink floral apron - very stepford wife!), and what better excuse than a Bake Off. It means I get to still enjoy baking without having to scoff them all and feel guilty about it later. I also won first prize! (Well first equal with a fellow much deserving coconut cake baker).

I was given a cookie monster soft toy from J after returning from a six week trip to Europe (he is a soft toy fanatic), and since then, Cookie has become my mascot (this pic is from Canada in 2011).

One day I saw cookie monster cupcakes online, and could not turn down the challenge - they were  a hit and tasted great too! Here are a couple of snaps of the ones I made first time around, vanilla cupcake, choc chip cookies....

This time around for the bake off I was a little more pressed for time, so used Oreo's instead of homemade cookies, but here is the step by step for the baking and decorating, as well as the cookie recipe I used first time around. If you have the time to make the dough the day before its better...

Choc chip cookies (I don't use my Thermomix for cookies, the less you mix the batter the better)
(adapted from Jacques Torres recipe)

1 ¼ cups unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 ½ cups plain flour
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
600g chocolate chips/chunks

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add dry ingredients and choc to the buttery-sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Glad-wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours (24-36 hours is best). Preheat oven to 170*C. When dough has had time to chill roll into 50c piece-ish sized balls around 1cm thick and press gently with a fork or spoon. Place on baking paper and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes – until they are golden brown but still soft. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Vanilla cupcakes
(adapted from Edmonds)

125g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup standard plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla (TMX 1 min/Sp 5) until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and baking powder and milk, mixing until just combined (TMX 20sec ish/Sp 4 - if you over mix they will come out tough). Place cupcake cases in standard size muffin tin and spoon mixture in (should make about 18). Bake at 170*C for 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.


To decorate you will need...
Approx 3 cups of icing - I use Buttercream Icing (200grams unsalted butter, whipped until pale, add 2 tbsp milk and approx 3 cups icing sugar until desired consistency)
White choc buttons
Dark choc drops
Blue food coloring (around 1-2 tsp)

 Before coloring the icing, use a small drop on each white choc button to stick the dark choc button for the eyes - you will need one pair per cupcake.


Once the cookies and cupcakes are cool cut a small slice out of the cupcakes and insert one cookie into each. The slice/cookie should only go about halfway into the cupcake.



Use a large star fitting for piping the icing - if you don't have one a plastic bag will give a similar effect - you are trying to have a messy effect anyway. Place the eyes on before the icing dries.


Enjoy :)

12 Week Body Transformation - Week 3 Bloggers Challenge

1. What do you think were the three most important changes you have made so far? For me, writing down what I eat every day, not just sometimes, has made me stick to the healthier options. Secondly, making my exercise a non negotiable (its something you just automatically do, like brushing your teeth!), and thirdly not beating myself up for having wine or chocolate occasionally - I have worked hard to get where I am, and if I need to it just means tomorrow I will work harder.
2. How have these changes to your food, exercise or mindset impacted on the rest of your life? Overall I am much happier and healthier, but I need new clothes!
3. What did you have to do in order to make sure these changes happened? For me the key has been sticking to my commitments, and a couple of weeks back I revisited and adjusted my goals to make them even harder so I don't get slack as the finish line comes in sight.
4. What difference have these changes made to your body transformation? By making the changes in my lifestyle, I am getting the physical changes I want from myself - I will fit back into my skinny jeans! But ironically, by then it will be summer and too hot for jeans...
5. Have these changes been hard or easy for you to make? Why? Easy - I know the difference between right and wrong, it just sometimes helps to have it pointed out to you...
6. Would you recommend others make these changes to their lifestyle too? Why? Yes - why wouldn't you, nothing frustrates me more than a person who complains about their health/weight but doesn't try to do anything about it. And I pay hefty medicare levies every year for people like that!
7. What do you think the next things is going to be that you will have to change? My summer wardrobe!

The perfect steak

The first thing J asked me when I told him I wanted a Thermomix "because it does everything, cooking, mixing, steaming, slicing and dicing", he asked me if it could cook a steak (it's funny how this is so important, I'm sure if I demoted him from the BBQ it wouldn't go down so great anyway)... well no, no it doesn't, but it does do a perfect mashed potato and coleslaw to compliment a steak!

On my last trip to the markets I purchased a whole piece of eye fillet steak (an amazing $18 per kg!), and got the butcher there to slice it up into pieces about 2 cm thick. There's probably a good 5-6 meals worth in what I got (in saying that J will eat two steaks per meal), so it stocks my freezer too.

Steak is one of those things that once you stuff it up there's no going back - you have a chewy mess.... here's what I do to avoid that

Steak, Mash and Coleslaw
(Skip the mash to make it more 12WBT friendly!)

1/4 red cabbage
1/4 green cabbage
1 green apple (quartered)
250g potatoes (peeled and halved)
125ml milk
1 tblsp butter
Salt
Parmesan -grated  (optional)
Chives - chopped (optional)
Oil spray
3 x steaks (I recommend eye fillet but whatever floats your boat)

Have your steak out (on the bench, covered) a couple of hours before you intend to cook it if possible, salted and oiled. Roughly chopped cabbage (mix red and green) and put with apple in TMX, and chop 3secs/Sp 5. Put in a bowl to the side. Rinse TMX bowl, and put in potatoes milk, butter, a pinch of salt (I always use rock salt, 1 or 2 twists with the grinder) and cook at for 25 mins/100 degs/Reverse sp 1. When the timer on TMX is at about 15 minutes, heat up your oil sprayed bbq or pan till it is searing hot.When the timer is at about 8 minutes throw on the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes each side. Remove from heat and wrap in foil and set aside to rest. Once the potatoes are done, add the Parmesan and or chives and mix 30sec/Sp 3-4. Serve! Best enjoyed with a big glass of red wine ;)

The Dinner Club

Week three of the challenge has begun, and I am looking today as a fresh start, the weekend involved a few too many bottles of wine... although one worth a mention - an amazing bottle of red from Redbox Vineyard (http://www.redboxvineyard.com.au/) out in Kangaroo Ground just out of Melbourne - they make an amazing Cabernet Sauvignon, the couple who run the place are gorgeous, they have awesome cheese platters, and have a homemade Cabernet Jelly that's delish. Well worth a visit (below pic of Abbie enjoying amazing platters/wine etc on site at Red Box Vineyard hosted by the lovely Mrs Spencer, maker of the previously mentioned delish Cabernet Jelly).

A few months ago a couple of girlfriends and I started what we call 'The Dinner Club', taking turns hosting dinner at home. It is a great concept, it gives you a chance to have a good gossip and try out new recipes (J is a meat and three veg kind of guy, so I have to save the gourmet for the girls). It was my turn to host on Sunday, and my three course extravaganza (it has become quite competitive) included Prawn, fish and macadamia cakes, Vietnamese beef salad, and Ricotta, apricot and walnut baked pears. All were massive hits!

Prawn, Fish and Macadamia Cakes with Mint Yoghurt

(adapted from Australian Macadamia Society recipe)

500g uncooked prawns (I used the bigger ones with the tails still on, less effort required to peel!)
400g boneless fish fillets (Basa is good)
100g (2/3 cup) roasted macadamias, chopped (dry roast raw ones in TMX for 20mins/Varoma/Sp1 then chop 4 sec/Sp 7)
1 tbsp green curry paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped (TMX 3 sec/Sp 7)
Olive oil spray
2/3 cup greek yoghurt
2 tbsp chopped mint

Combine mint and yogurt and refrigerate. Peel and devein the prawns. Place in TMX with fish, and blend 20 sec/Sp 7. Add the chopped macadamias, curry paste, lemon juice, and coriander to the TMX bowl and mix 20 sec/Sp 5. Roll into small balls (I made bite sized, they cook quicker and you can just use toothpicks to eat them). Heat a non-stick frying pan, lightly sprayed with olive oil. Add balls and cook until golden on each side or just cooked through. Serve with yoghurt and mint dipping sauce.

Vietnamese Beef Salad

1kg steak (I used eye fillet)
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¾ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup caster sugar
150g thin vermicelli rice noodles
1 large carrot, peeled, finely shredded
2 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 cup mint leaves
Fried shallots and chopped chilli to serve

Place steak into a glass bowl. Add 2 tbsp fish sauce and garlic. Toss until well combined. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour. While this is marinating you can prepare the dressing - combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to the boil. Transfer to a bow to cool then add remaining fish sauce. When you are close to ready to serve, place noodles into a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and stand for 5 minutes or until soft and transparent. Drain. Heat a non-stick frying pan, or heat your barbecue. When hot, add steaks and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until medium rare. Transfer to chopping board. Cover and stand for 10 minutes. Diagonally slice. Place beef, noodles, carrot, cucumber and mint leaves on serving plates. Drizzle with dressing and serve with chilli and shallots on the side.

Ricotta, Apricot and Walnut baked pears
(adapted from Michelle Bridges recipe)

For these I just whipped up some ricotta and dried apricots in TMX (10 sec/Sp 7), spooned on to some halved pears, sprinkled with walnuts (crushed in TMX, 3 sec/Sp 7), and baked in the oven for half an hour.

The ingredients for the meal were all fresh from the markets, which is worth the trek for, they just taste so much better, especially the meat. Although it can be a pretty intense experience, and should not be tackled whilst hungover! I usually go to the Queen Vic markets in the city in Melbourne, but have been known to brave the Preston Markets on days I am feeling up to the battle of the bigger crowds there as they tend to have better prices.

Rising to the challenge

Into week two of this boot camp thingy and I am feeling good about it - it's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it! I have reset my goals too to make it a bit more of a stretch for me for my November 18 target (For 12WBT week 2 bloggerschallenge - my reward will be a new summer wardrobe if I meet my goals!). I also can't believe how much food you can actually eat on a 1200 calorie per day meal plan if you don't go out for dinner every night (this probably seems like a natural connection for most people, but even things like sushi and salads can be full of stuff that adds up really quickly). So the past week we have eaten every night at home - pretty sure this is some sort of record for me, we usually have at least 5 meals a week not homemade, there are so many fabulous eateries in Melbourne, we really are spoilt for choice. Some of my favorites for a quick bite include Huyen Linh in Pascoe Vale (super fresh and fast Vietnamese, not upper class but cheap and tasty), in the CBD there's Sushi Burger (self explanatory), +39 (pizzeria), and Manchester Press (pictures of boobs in your coffee, and best bagels EVER), Hellenic Republic in Brunswick (George Calombaris from Masterchef's joint, do the banquet if you are a first timer and you get to taste all the best bits)... I could keep listing but we will be here a long time. So eating at home has meant I have had to make time to do groceries and cooking, which I had a bit of a whinge about at first, but so far so good.
Also this week J decided we needed a Costco membership which I was a little against at first, but once he dragged me in there I was convinced - very much worth it! 850g punnet of strawberries? YES PLEASE! Plus lots of other things in bulk it will take a whole year for the two of us to get through, but so many bargains.
One thing that was still pretty expensive was bread - the price of bread these days is crazy, especially for one little loaf of '12WBT friendly' Burgen at around $5 (or two for about $8 at Costco). Since I got the Thermomix I have been trying to make my own. Back in the 90's it was all the rage to have a bread-maker, I used to love staying with my grandparents and waking up to the smell of fresh baked bread. This one is a little healthier and it a great way to get back into baking your own bread (if you don't have a Thermomix, get one, as you are missing out. Or just mix/knead like you would usually for bread)...

Grainy-Awesome Bread
(adapted from TMX basic bread recipe)

Makes 1 x 30cm(ish) loaf

30gm Be Natural 5 Whole Grains cereal
500gm boiling water
1 sachet dry yeast (about 2 tsps)
310gm bakers/unbleached flour
30gm olive oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
180gms whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons poppy, sesame, linseed, flax seeds, mixed
Olive oil spray

Put cereal and boiling water in TMX. Reverse/20secs/soft. Leave to cool until 37 degrees. Add yeast and leave for 5 minutes. Add 150gms bakers flour, oil, sugar, and salt, 15 secs/sp 3. Add remaining flour, knead/90secs/closed lid. Add a little more flour if needed. Cover the dough with a clean dishtowel and let it rest for 15-30 minutes somewhere warm. Knead on a lightly floured board until smooth, add more flour if it's sticky. Oil spray a large bowl and place the dough inside and cover with the dishtowel. Let the dough rise again until it's doubles in size (about 1 hour). Knead again on lightly floured board for a couple of minutes, then shape into a loaf. Sprinkle a baking sheet with half of the seed mixture and place the loaf on top of the seeds.Spray with water and sprinkle remaining seeds. Please in cold oven in the center. Bake for approx 30-35 minutes at 170 (fan forced) or until cooked through.

TIPS if you have a TMX - substitute 100gm of the bakers flour for 100gm of your own milled flour from whole wheat (mill for 1 min/sp 9).

12 Week Body Transformation - Week 1 Bloggers Challenge

As part of the 12 Week Body Transformation (Michelle Bridges program) I have signed up for, this was one of our challenges....
1. Describe yourself in less than fifty words. What is it you want us to know about you?
I’m 28, blonde, extremely clumsy. I love wine and food. Mostly wine, actually anything alcohol, which is often dangerous when combined with my clumsiness! I grew up in New Zealand and currently live in Melbourne, but not a day goes by where I dont miss Aotearoa!
2. This program is called a transformation. When you signed up for this round (whether is your ninth round, first round or somewhere in between) what was it about yourself you wanted to transform?
I think I know what I do wrong but I need someone to tell me again to confirm it. I also think when you pay for something you are more likely to do it haha. Its my habits, particularly my drinking, that needs transforming - the rest will just happen :)
3. One of the phrases Michelle Bridges says that has struck a chord with me is that we should be striving to be the best version of ourselves. To me that means we don’t have to change ourselves completely in order to have a successful transformation. What is it about yourself you are happy with right now? It can be related to your mind, body or soul, and of course there may well be more than one thing you are happy with.
I’m so happy and ridiculously in love with my boyfriend, everything about our relationship makes me smile - he is amazing. Although he is not so excited about the calorie counting etc on this program - but has promised his support, which is what matters!
4. What aspect of this program do you think will present you with the toughest challenge. What are you going to focus on to ensure you feel successful at the end of the twelve weeks?
Alcohol. Its empty calories. I was going to try to do the 12 weeks with no alcohol. Week 1 is up and I have had alcohol 5/7 days... not a great start. Promise to myself to do better next week! I will focus on only drinking when its a particular occasion.
5. What is it you look forward to the most in the next twelve weeks?
Seeing the results. Fitting into old clothes, getting comments from people around me. Getting into a bikini. Now theres a scary thought!

6. You’ve now completed at least three days of the program. What has surprised you the most about how you’ve coped with any challenges so far in the twelve weeks?
I had a pretty good pre-season, losing about 5kg, which was awesome! I also had the first 3 days of the program while holidaying in NZ (see pic - me, my sis and a friend - wine in hand as usual....), so was expecting to pack on the kilos but despite the pies, I stayed the same, which is good - all that snowboarding kept it off.
7. Can you describe what you want to see, think and feel when you look in the mirror on Sunday 18th November 2012.
I want to see a happy healthier me. In a bikini! With good habits and a good outlook too :)