Quick Vegetarian Stir Fry with Sesame Seeds

Here is my quick veg stir fry recipe. This meal is great for those trying to shed pounds as it has approximately 30% protein and 3-5% fats both saturated and healthier fats from olive oil.

After monitoring my diet on myfitnesspal.com I realized that I wasn't consuming enough fats on a daily basis to help me burn calories! I love fats, so go figure! 

For this recepie, you will need: 

White sesame seeds - raw

Steamed green vegetables - I've used broccoli and green beans

Chopped coloured capsicum - I've used red and yellow

Tamarind sauce (picture provided in my earlier post)

Sukiyaki sauce (optional)

Butter - half teaspoon for taste

Olive oil

Crushed Garlic

Paprika powder

Paneer or tofu

In a non-stick pan, dry roast the sesame seeds. Just as the seeds start to turn brown, add a teaspoon of olive oil and half teaspoon of butter. Add crushed garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the steamed vegetables and sauté for  about 3 minutes. 

Add a teaspoon of the tamarind sauce and a tablespoon of the sukiyaki sauce. Add a pinch of salt. Now add the capsicum sauté for a minute more and take the dish off the burner. 

In the same empty pan, add some olive oil. Put a teaspoon of paprika powder and add paneer slices in the pan. You can add chili powder if you want it to be more spicy. Let it cook for about two minutes. Turn off the heat and add over the stir fried veggies. Enjoy! 

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Since strawberries are in season, this smoothie is a great way to incorporate seasonal fruits into your diet, without losing the fibre!

So, to make a smoothie, you will need:

one banana
a handful of strawberries - 3-4 (cleaned and roughly chopped)
half a teaspoon of Whey Protein (you can add more if you are having this smoothie post a workout)
Wheat Bran - I usually add 2 tablespoons - excellent to increase your fibre intake and makes it more filling
Low fat yogurt (Nestle Slim Dahi), 3-4 tablespoons
Milk, half a cup or less, I add in milk to make the smoothie more drinkable
Flaxseed powder - optional
Unsweetened Chocolate powder (80% dark cocoa) - 1.5 teaspoons

Just add all the ingredients in a bowl and blend with a blender for atleast 2 minutes. Drink right away!

Facing the facts...

I have been absent for a while from this blog now. In fact, I've been absent from most events this last year. I've been slowly recovering from the shock of losing my dad. It's been really hard for me to interact with people and laugh on meaningless things or talk about things that don't matter with people I don't really care about. 

So now I feel like I'm in a place where I am ready to take steps to 'return' to the world. I have decided to make time for my workouts no matter what. To make healthy choices. To lose weight slowly but steadily without losing sight of my goal. 

Now for the hardest part, I need to weigh myself and take my measurements. I really don't want to, I'm scared because I don't know how much weight I've lost since the last weigh in of around 75-77 kilos. I know I've slipped back. 

I will weigh myself tomorrow morning first thing. Let's see how that goes. Wish me luck! 

Quick Chicken and Vegetable Soup

So I was looking for a quick and easy chicken soup recipe that incorporated vegetables since I've only ever made plain chicken broth before. 

I saw a few recipes on YouTube which gave me a starting point. I didn't follow any recipe exactly, because none of them were quick enough. The cooking time was two hours for the broth. So here's my quick pressure cooker variation: 

Ingredients: 

Chicken pieces with bone (4-5) 

Diced spring onion 2 pcs. 

Smashed Garlic cloves - 3 

2 large carrots chopped thinly 

Bay leaves 2

Basil Leaves 2 

Salt

Pepper

Dried and Mixed Italian herbs

Method: 

Heat some olive oil in a pressure cooker. Add garlic and cook lightly. Add spring onions, bay leaves, basil leaves and stir for a minute (keep on medium to low flame to avoid cooking the veggies too quickly). 

Add the carrots, chicken and seasoning including the dried herbs. Stir again for a minute or two. Then add water for the soup around 1 litre (make sure the seasoning and veggies are in proportion to the liquid added so that the soup is not too bland). 

Close the pressure cooker lid and place on a small and low flame. Open cooker after 4 whistles. Strain the soup. From the strainer, remove the bay leaves and discard. Add the vegetables back into the soup. Remove the chicken flesh from bone and add flesh to the soup and discard the bones. 

The soup is ready serve! Eat it hot! 

Healthy Breakfast: Feta Cheese and Vegetable Omlette

I woke up this morning feeling very hungry. However, given the fact that I ate all the wrong foods over the weekend, I wanted to have a quick and healthy breakfast on Monday morning! 

So the easiest thing for me to do was pull out a box of chopped mix veggies from the fridge (red and yellow bell capsicum and spring onions). I heated olive oil in the pan, threw in the mixed veggies, added the two whole eggs and sprinkled some salt and feta cheese.

Yummy, wholesome and super quick! 

Comfort Food: Chicken Stir Fry with rice

I find myself constantly craving Chinese stir fried chicken from the hawker stalls in Malaysia. No one can cook it as well as the hawkers...but here's my rendition of the flavours I remember best: sweet, salty and spicy. 

You will need: 

Boneless chicken breasts (200 gms) approx.

Spring onions 2-3 whole stalks (chopped) 

Fresh Red chilies (optional) 

Fresh Basil Leaves 

Red onion - 1 chopped into small pieces

Paprika powder

Vegetables of your choice

Soy sauce

Garlic - 4 cloves - crushed

Tamarind Paste (Real Thai brand - pic is provided) 

Half a teaspoon of honey to balance the flavours

Steamed broccoli

A pinch of salt

Satay stir fry sauce - 1 tbsp.

Boiled rice or noodles to serve with.

Instructions: 

Heat a large non stick pan and pour a generous amount of cooking oil. Add the red onion and sauté till transparent. Then add half of the crushed garlic. Add some basil leaves. Throw in the diced chicken. Now sprinkle a good amount of paprika powder. Add the spring onions and dark soya sauce. Add some water to the mix and cover for about 5 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. 

Once the chicken is cooked and comes apart easily, add half a teaspoon of honey, the tamarind sauce, and the chopped red chilies (remove the seeds if you find them too hot). 

Also add some satay sauce which has sesame oil in it (this is me experimenting). Add a pinch of salt and stir thoroughly. 

Add some more garlic pieces, stir in the rest of the vegetables including the broccoli. Stir for a minute and remove from the flame. 

Now it's ready to eat!