Hi Everyone

So regular readers will know we recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It has been a crazy year, those of you who have followed me for a while will know Mum passed away in August. anyone unfortunate enough to have experienced a loss knows of the severe trauma and the psychological impact this can have. Lets just say there are good days and bad days. I really was’nt feeling great at all coming up to our anniversary.Memories of the run up to the wedding and all the fun we had last year played on my mind, it was bittersweet. Mothers day falling the week before did’nt help either. It was a difficult week to say the least, but I’ve lived to tell the tale and I feel better now. A weekend away in beautiful Connemara was just what I needed to de-stress and have some fun. Of course we had to celebrate being Mr and Mrs Dillon for 365 days

In the station house bar

I had been browsing online for a hotel deal and came across the Station house hotel clifden  I had a look on the website and thought the hotel looked lovely. They have some very reasonable deals on for romantic breaks and for families. Our package included a two night stay with dinner bed and breakfast, and evening meal and two spa treatments. I booked it straight away as I have been to Clifden before and always loved the place.With a name like Conneely Id have to have Connemara connections. My Grandad actually came from Clifden before moving to Castlebar. He came from the railway cottage My Dads cousin rose still lives in the homeplace. I caught up with Rose and her hubby Lawrance for a few drinks during our stay in Clifden. It was great to catch up and have the craic.

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Hi Everyone

Im finally getting through posting these recipes from Last week. The burrito bowl was a very popular one. It’s a low carb version but You could easy add brown rice, homemade wedges or if you are treating Yourself Nachos would be divine. I had mine on a bed of spinach as I was saving my macros for a weekend away for Our anniversary. The burrito bowl was absolutely delicious and definitely one I intend to make again this week. I served it with guacamole, recipe is on here and Glenisk natural yogurt instead of sour cream. But as I said feel free to adapt it to your own taste.

Here it is, enjoy

Love Maria

Low carb Buritto bowl

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Hi Everyone 

I really can’t take the credit for this as I saw it on LovinDublins snapchat. However it’s a great recipe and it was very popular over on my SnapChat. It’s super easy and only takes a few minutes & my god is it tasty. 

Enjoy folks and let me know if You make it.

Love Maria 

Fresh and full of flavour

4 Ripe avocados, they need to be soft and squishy.

1 small red onion chopped finely

1 tomatoe chopped finely 

1 green chilli chopped. I used the jar version as I didn’t have fresh. I used 4/5 slices from the old El Paso jar. 

Chopped fresh coriander.

The juice of a lime

Black Pepper & salt 

Method 

Mash the avocados and add in all the ingredients and mix well.

That it, simple as You can enjoy on its own, with spicy mince or in a salad. Super simple and quick with huge flavours 

Hi Everyone

This is the recipe for the porridge bread I made on snapchat last week. I made two  different versions a savoury and a sweet. They were delicious. I was making two small loaves so I broke down the recipe into half.  Il give You the full version and You can break it down if You need too.

Enjoy

Love Maria xx

cake liner are from homestore and more

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Hi Everyone 

I’ve a little recipe for You all today. It’s a soup I made over on Snapchat. It’s a little bit different with a serious burst of flavours. My Dad gave me a few parsnips from the garden this evening. I used them in this zesty soup. Give it a try and let me know how You get on.

Enjoy 

Love Maria 

Ingredients 

2/3 parsnips diced

2 pink lady apples peeled & diced 
1 onion diced

1lt of veg stock (1 used 3 oxo cubes)

2 handfuls of spinach 

2 teaspoons turmeric,

2 teaspoons of paprika

2 teaspoons crushed chilli (optional)

1inch root ginger diced

2 cloves of garlic 

Zest & juice of a lime

25gchorizo 

Drizzle of rapeseed oil, teaspoon of real butter.

  
Method.

Heat up a lage saucepan & add the rapeseed oil & butter.

Fry off the garlic & chorizo for a minute adding in the onion, lime zest &juice, Ginger. Season with salt & pepper. 

Next add the diced parsnip and diced Apple and sauté for a few minutes.

Next add the turmeric,smoked paprika & chilli flakes, you can adjust these to your own liking. 

Slowly add the veg stock and leave to simmer. You can add the spinach at this stage and cover turn the heat down very low for about 20 minutes.

Leave to cool and blend. I use a hand blender it’s very handy for soups. 

Hi Everyone 

I’m sharing a naughty but nice treat with You all today. It’s not low fat or particularly clean it’s just good old fashioned wholesome food. It’s a tasty treat for all the family without any processed junk or chemical additives. It’s easy to make and can be frozen and used at a later date. I have made this and sliced it up and frozen it in little individual freezer bags. Very handy for the aul portion control. Let’s face it We all need a little treat now and again. It’s nice to have a few simple recipes You can call on from time to time. Most of the ingredients are from Aldi as I tend to shop there most of the time. It’s very low cost to make Your own bread. I don’t really do it to save money as most of You know I love to cook, it’s just a bonus. 

  
There’s been a lot of talk lately about hidden sugars and nasties in our food. I think it’s good that We are becoming more aware and thinking before We buy. For me a good rule of thumb is to check the sell by date. If there’s a fifteen month stretch on the best before date, You probably shouldn’t buy it let alone eat it.

We can’t be saints all the time. On occasions and certain times of the year it’s nice to indulge a little, but We can still keep it reasonably y healthy by going for real food. Spending a few minutes extra in the kitchen per day can really improve the quality of of our food consumption and make all the difference to our long term health. Knowing what We are eating is half the battle. The only way to do this is to get creative in the kitchen. 

So anyway here’s the recipe, enjoy it. It’s a perfect one to make for Paddys day or Easter especially if There’s family coming to visit. You can all WOW them with Your baking skills.

Thanks for reading and please share

Love Maria 

Ingredients list

250g of self raising flour

20g of sugar

2 mashed bananas 

1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon of baking powder

50g of chopped walnuts 

30g of chopped hazelnuts

 20g of desicated coconut 

30g of sultanas

300mls of buttermilk 

15g of coconut oil melted 

 
Method

Pre heat Your oven to 180 degrees.

In a mixing bowl add all Your dry ingredients and mix well. 

Add in the buttermilk and mashed bananas until You have a batter similar to pancake mix. 

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave and pour in. (If you don’t have coconut oil you can use real butter) it will do the exact same thing. 

Line a loaf tin with grease proof paper and pour the mix in. 

Scatter some desicated coconut and a few walnuts on the top.

Bake at 180 for 50-60 minutes 

Check by using a skewer if there’s no cake mix on the skewer it’s fully cooked.

Wrap in a clean tea-towel and leave to cool in the tin. This leaves the bread lovely & moist. 

Homestore and more stock these

Hi Everyone 

I’m back today with a really handy recipe for beef curry. It’s a slow roast curry which I oven cook in a casserole dish. It’s a handy one to cook on a day off as You can leave it in the oven for hours. I think it’s a great recipe for this time of year when it’s so cold out. This will last a few days if You make a big pot. You can also portion some up and freeze it. Slow cooking makes the meat lovely and tender and brings out all the delicious flavour. Try it and You’ll see.

For the Unislim folks it’s 3 & 1/2 Yums for the whole recipe. I got 5 portions so it’s less than 1 per portion. 

Let me know if You make this and as always please share. Thanks for reading.
Love Maria xx

  
Ingredients 

2 packets of lean diced steak. I used the Lidl ones in this recipe.

1 large onion 

Red and yellow pepper

1 potato chopped 

Frozen peas

1 tin of chickpeas

Spinach

30g of sultanas 

3 spoons of vegetable instant gravy 

Schwartz hot curry powder

Turmeric, cumin, garam masala, cardamon pods black pepper. Coriander garlic, ginger, chilli powder. 

1 Mango 

Passata

2 oxo beef cubes

Natural Yoghurt 

Method

Marinate the meat first by tossing in spices and natural yogurt. Mix up turmeric, cumin, garam masala, curry powder & black pepper chilli powder,cardamon pods  in natural yoghurt. Toss them in this and leave overnight covered in the fridge. 

When You are ready to make your curry. Preheat your oven first and Brown off the meat and onion on a hot frying pan. Get your casserole dish ready by covering the bottom with a small bit of hot water. Add meat to the casserole dish.

In a blender, blend the mango ginger garlic and passata to make a sauce. Add this sauce to the meat  with 2 pints of beef stock and Stir well.

Cover and place in the oven at Gas Mark 9 or 200 degrees for the first 20 minutes. Then turn down to Gas Mark 3 or 150 degrees and leave it to cook slowly for 2 hours 

After the two hours remove from the oven and add the peppers, chickpeas, peas,peppers , diced potatoes, spinach and 30g of sultanas . Add in the 3 tablespoons of vegetable gravy you can use beef or chicken gravy either. This will thicken the sauce. 

Pop the casserole back in the oven for another hour. Gas Mark 3 

In the meantime get your rice ready. I made egg fried rice by frying some pre cooked basmati rice with 2 eggs and some soy sauce but You can used boiled either. 

I find the best way to cook rice is to just cover it in water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and turn off the heat. Leave it covered for 15 mins or until all the water has absorbed. Then transfer it to a collander and rinse in cold water. This will remove starch and leave it perfect for frying without going soggy. If you don’t want to fry it You can pour boiling water over it to heat it up again. 

(The rice tip is one I learned from my favourite Food Blogger Karen from Kenmare Foodie) You’ll find her @kenmarefoodie on snapchat 

Hi Everyone 

I’m back with another delicious recipe. Chicken dry hot and spicy is a favourite from the Chinese but the fat content is horrific. I attempted this healthy version as our Sunday night fake away. It worked a treat. There was a lot of clean plates in our house after this one. By making a few simple swaps I reinvented this Chinese favourite to make it more slimmer friendly. Give it a try You will be surprised how easy it is and it’s so delicious. My snapchat crew loved it. 

If Your following Unislim there is 5 Yums in this recipe. I made this dinner for 4 people so I Yummed it at 1.5 Yums per portion.

Enjoy 

Love Maria xx

Ingredients for the Chicken

100 mls Buttermilk 

1 clove crushed garlic 

Salt & pepper 

1-2 packs of chicken mini fillets 

Spices, turmeric, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, paprika.

1 egg

60g White flour

2 slices whole meal bread blended into breadcrumbs.

Fry light chilli oil.

Method 

Marinade the chicken mini fillets in the buttermilk, garlic, salt & pepper for 1-2 hours before cooking. 

Mix the flour and spices together. Beat the egg. 

When ready to cook, spray a roasting tray with Frylight.

Take the chicken pieces one by one. Dip in a bowl with the beaten egg, next dip in the flour, next dip in the breadcrumbs. Lay on the roasting tray.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 mins or until golden. 

Ingredients for the spicy onions
3 large onions, 

Frylight,

Turmeric 

Sweet jalapeño peppers 

Sauté the onions in the Frylight and add in 1 teaspoon of turmeric and as many jalapeño peppers as you wish. 

Once the chicken is cooked toss the spicy onions over the top for a few minutes before serving.
Ingredients for the Curry sauce

3 cardamom pods, turmeric, garam masalla hot curry powder, 2 tablespoons of instant chicken or veg gravy. 1 pint of boiling water. 

Method.

Add the spices to the hot water and cook for 5 mins on a low heat.

Add the chicken gravy to thicken and remove the cardamon before serving. 

For the Egg fried rice. 

Basmati Rice 

2 eggs

Dash of soy sauce. 

Add the rice to a saucepan with a pinch of salt. Cover with water that’s just off the boil. 

Bring to the boil again and when it’s boiling turn it off and put the lid on. Leave it for 15 mins to soak up all the water. Take and rinse with cold water in a collander. Set aside until ready to fry. 

When ready to fry add the rice to a heated pan with Frylight. Add two eggs and stir into the rice. Add a dash of soy sauce. It’s ready to serve. 

  
I also made a cooling dip to go with this FF natural yoghurt with a teaspoon of mint sauce stirred through. 

Hi Everyone

Yesterday I tried out a recipe for Pulled Pork. I recorded it over on snapchat. It was a great success and I’ve had loads of requests for the recipe. I bought a small packet of pork pieces in Aldi to try this recipe.You can easily adapt it for a larger piece of Pork but the cooking time will be longer. I served this with baked potato and salad but it would be lovely with rice or chips or in a whole meal roll either. I used a gas oven but you could easily use a slow cooker either. Anyway here’s what You need. 

Lean pork, I used the Aldi pack it’s 320g next time I’d buy 2/3 packs and make a bigger batch.

1/2 carton of passata

1 golden delicious apple

3 tablespoons of smoked paprika

3 tablespoons of woster sauce

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons of soy sauce 

1 onion 

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 red pepper

1 onion 

A few mushrooms 

Salt & pepper

Method. 

Take a roasting tin (you need a lid) and just cover the base with a splash of boiling water. This will prevent the mix from sticking. Add in the pork and season well with salt pepper, paprika, woster sauce, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. 

In your nutri billet or blender, blend the peeled Apple, onion, 2 cloves of garlic and passatta.

Add to the meat. 

Add in the chopped pepper and mushrooms. 

Place is the oven at a low heat I used gas mark 3

Check after 2 hours and stir, to make sure it’s not burning or sticking. 

Place back in the oven for another hour. 
Check again in an hour. Stir the mix again. The meat should be starting to fall apart at this stage. This gives a lovely texture, hence the name “pulled pork” As I said the portion of meat I used was only 320g if You are using more meat it will take longer. 

Enjoy,

Love Maria xx

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Hi Everyone,

I think half the country is doing the same thing today. Healthy eating, exercising, ditching the alcohol and chocolate, drinking water. Yes We are all in the same boat, but lets not pretend its easy. Truth be told its hard work weaning ourselves off the treats and its even harder again to stick to it. Its always worth it though, like the saying goes ” summer bodies are made in the winter” Lets face it, we all know the weeks will simply fly by. Next thing it will be Valentines day and We will all want to be skinny so We can purchase something sexy from the new Spring collection to wear. Before we know it Paddy’s day and Easter will be upon us and it will be time to ditch the black tights and bare our legs. I am keeping those thoughts in my mind to help keep me focused for the next two months. January and February are great months in which We can achieve some of our weight-loss goals. I’ve put together a list of a few tips  that I found helped me to lose and maintain three stone for our wedding last March. 2016 is a fresh start and a great excuse to banish old habits and create some new ones. Have a read and let me know what You think.

*Disclaimer I am no expert in health or nutrition. These are just a few things that helped me.

Please share this post with anyone You think may find it helpful.

Thank You for reading,

Enjoy

Love Maria xx

Dubai 2012 with my sisters

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