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 

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If you have been following me for a while you will know I have an ongoing weight battle. I lost 42lbs for our wedding earlier this year and have maintained it, thankfully . In July I joined Unislim to lose more weight for our honeymoon in September. I love Unislim and I successfully lost 8 & a half lbs on it. Unfortunately We had a family disaster in July when Our Mum was admitted to hospital in Galway. Mum lost her battle with cancer on 23rd August. This was the most horrific and stressful time we have ever had to endure as a family. I had to take two weeks off Unislim and missed the classes. When I returned after the funeral I had gained 1 & a half lbs.  This wasn’t bad at all, but We were going on our honeymoon the following week. Such a crazy couple of months!!! We decided to go on honeymoon and try to enjoy ourselves as best we could. We had a great time eating and drinking.

March 2015

  
A good few ladies have written to me asking for advice on maintaining their weight. So many times I’ve been told that a tragic event in someone’s life has caused weight gain. I can see why, because struggling through a difficult time is awful. I can see why people turn to comfort food. God knows I’ve done it plenty of times myself. I find attending a class really helps. The weekly weigh in really works for me. Also my Unislim leader Geraldine is very supportive. She also lost her Mum to cancer and knows exactly how it feels. This is a big help and makes all the difference. I attend the Westport group on a Wednesday at the Westport woods hotel. The weigh in and consultation is private so it’s only ever Geraldine that I see.

Click here to view the Facebook page
So that’s it folks, my Monday motivation for this week. If there’s any other Unislim ladies out there get in touch. I’m aiming for 1lb per week for Christmas. If anyone is up for the challenge I’d love to hear from you. As always thanks for reading . As I am using social media to grow my blog I’d appreciate if you could share any of my posts that you find useful.

Love Maria xx

The post Monday Motivation  appeared first on Mrs. Dillon's Diary.

Enjoy, and let me know if you try it. As I am using social media to grow my blog I’d appreciate if you can share my post. Thank you as always.

Love Maria xx

Tasty and guilt free

• 1 pack of stirfry beef strips
• Aldi straight to wok noodles.
• 1 courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion 
• A few mushrooms 
• 1 clove of garlic 
• 2 slices of sweet jalapeño peppers (optional)
• 1 red pepper
• Soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of tomato purée 

Method, chop the veg in fine strips. Sautée the garlic and onion in one cal spray until soft. Add the meat and brown. Toss in the veg and soy sauce and tomato purée stirfry until cooked to your liking. Add in the straight to wok noodles. They are individual packs so add on one packed per person. Mix well and serve.

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Happy Sunday, I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We were out for dinner last night with friends as a “wedding warm up” in Barone Castlebar. The food was Ahhhhmazing. I didn’t take photos as We were out with a group and I thought maybe it was a bit rude. We will go again though and I will review it properly for you all. Our friends Maureen and Neil are getting married next weekend. We are so excited for them. I’ve been doing Maureen’s hair for years and I’m so delighted to be styling her bridal party on Saturday morning. The excitement for any wedding is great but when it’s a good friend and your attending the wedding too, it’s unreal. The wedding is in Breaffy house hotel in Castlebar. I can’t wait. We are staying over too so I will photograph the room and do a post next week on our stay. It’s also Maureen’s birthday today so I want to wish her a happy birthday.

Mr and Mrs to be.

Add Me

Sunday Breakfast

I love this place

Chat soon 

Love Maria xx

The post Sunday Stuff appeared first on Mrs. Dillon's Diary.

Well it’s the start of a new week and We are back to reality again. It’s back to healthy eating, walks and hydration for me. I had to face the reality of the scales today and holy mother of god I gained 7lbs!! I’m not surprised really considering the gluttony of An all inclusive holiday. This made me feel ugghhhhhhh!!! I’m Just absolutely sickened, but hey it’s done now. I’ve faced it head on and accepted it. Shur it happens to us all, right? The important thing is not to dwell on it. Move on get back on track and lose it again. There’s a huge difference between gaining a few lbs because you were living it up on holidays and weight gain from comfort eating. I know because I struggled to break my bad habits. It was a long road and it was really tough but I did it. Believe me I know better than anyone that weight management is a constant struggle. Even after maintaining my weight loss for over a year, it still takes a lot of work not to fall off the wagon. 

Photos like this motivate me

  
I’m a great fan of writing lists, writing down the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining my weight is a favourite of mine. Looking at it on paper helps to set my mind straight and stop me from losing my willpower. Clothes shopping is also a huge motivator for me. I love to shop especially in River Island and the thoughts of my lovely clothes not fitting anymore puts the fear of God into me. 

Changing room selfie

Healthy snacks are great to nibble on between meals

The holiday bulge

Thank You for reading this post, I hope it brings you some Monday motivation. Please hit the Facebook or Twitter icon under this post to share it on Your social media account. I appreciate all your support.

Chat soon, Maria xx

The post Facing up to the Holiday lbs. appeared first on Mrs. Dillon's Diary.

I haven’t done a recipe in a while, so I thought I’d share one with you today. Sunday evening is a great time for a “fake away” I’m a big fan of home cooking. I love taco fries and they are really simple to make at home. I went for the healthy version but you can easily adapt the recipe to suit your own taste.

You will need,

100g unislim gorge Us chips (per person) or make your own homemade oven chips.

1 pack of extra lean mince (typically less than 5%) I used the Aldi one.

1 red&yellow peppers chopped

1 onion chopped

1 Clove of garlic minced

2 Tbs tomatoe purée

1 stock cube (beef)& 1/2 cup of hot water

4/5 slices of sweet jalapeño peppers.

30g cheese (per person)

Extra light mayo & no added sugar ketchup & 1/2 teaspoon of mustard. Mix together to make the taco sauce.

Method

Preheat the oven and cook your oven chips according to their instructions.

Fry off the onion, garlic & peppers in one cal spray. Add the mince once it’s browned add the jalapeños then add in the 1/2 cup of beef stock and simmer for 10-12 mins until cooked through. Add in the tomatoe purée and simmer for another 5 mins on a low heat. 

Once your oven chips are ready spoon the meat sauce over, & sprinkle with cheese. Add a dollop of your taco sauce on top & voilà delicious Taco fries without the guilt.

Guilt free food porn

Well I hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday Evening. We are off to New York in the morning on our honeymoon. I doubt very much if there will be any healthy eating done, but hey that’s what holidays are all about. Il get back on the bandwagon once we return. I will keep you all posted of our antics in NYC. 

Enjoy the taco fries,

Love Maria xx

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So great news I lost 3& 1\2 lbs last week. Of course 2lbs of that was the gain I had from Alcohol the week before, so technically I’m 1 &1\2 lbs closer to my target. I’m delighted as that is a total of 8 &1\2 lbs down since I started 5 weeks ago. I’m really loving the Unislim Plan as its easy to fit into my lifestyle. I have often referred to myself as “The slut of slimming clubs”  as I have tried them all. This is by far the easiest plan to stick to long term. Its pretty simple really, You just have to measure the carbs, buts its very easy to do. Heres a few examples.

Breakfast 30g, =1 slice wholemeal bread or 30g cereal, 1\2 wholemeal bagel

Lunch 60g = 2 slices wholemeal bread, a medium baked potato, a wholemeal wrap.

Dinner 60g= Wholegrain rice\ pasta\noodles 60g dry 180g cooked. Home made oven chips.

There’s great freedom with this plan as all lean protein is totally free. As are all veg, salad & most fruits, along with eggs, sugar free beans, chickpeas, some fat free yogurts etc. There are loads of recipes on the Unislim website so there’s no need to get bored of what I’m eating.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, We are going through a tough time as a family at the moment. Our Mum is in hospital in Galway so I have been driving up and down at least fives days a week to see her. This is a very testing time, and I have been known to use food as an outlet for stress in the past. Keeping to my unislim plan and making time to attend my class every week has really helped me not to fall off the wagon. Il admit there have been loads of times when I have craved chocolate brownies. Thank God I’m holding on for dear life and not giving in to temptation. There have been a few times when I’ve been driving home late at night and really wanted to stop at Supermacs in Ballinrobe. Ive managed to avoid the chipper though and wait until I get home and make myself a toastie on wholemeal bread.

I have eaten out in Galway a few times, but I’ve managed to make healthy choices. Check out my Blog post on Lunch at 56 central. I find it easy enough to eat out on this plan. A chicken salad with a slice of brown bread, or a ham salad wrap, a bowl of soup, are readily available most places. If out for dinner, I stick to maybe fillet steak or a stir-fry. I’ve eaten in the canteen in the Galway clinic a few times and there are  healthy choices available, fruit, fat free yogurts, salads, soup, brown bread etc. I tend to take  my own sandwich from home where possible but if I’m stuck I’ll eat in the canteen. As far as hospital food goes its fairly good.

So all in all I’m pretty proud of myself, I’ve managed to stay on track through a very difficult time. So far so good anyway. I’m just taking one day at a time and trying to plan as best I can. I’m getting great support from Geraldine my Unislim leader, every week, this helps a lot. I haven’t had time to exercise and I miss my walks, I just cant fit them in at the minute. I’m hoping I’ll get back to it soon.

That’s all for now,

Thanks for reading,

Love, Maria xx

The post Unislim week 6 appeared first on Mrs. Dillon's Diary.

What I hadn’t thought about was How is my relationship with food during tough times??  Well this one really made me think!!  In times past, I would have used food as an outlet for stress, that sweet sugary taste would have helped me to overcome my anxiety, with each gorgeous little bite. Every time I felt upset, fearful, out of my comfort zone. A cappuccino and maybe a maple pecan plait or an apple turnover, maybe a Galaxy bar would always comfort me through those difficult moments making it all ok. Really???  Its amazing what a little learning curve can do. 

Well this week I really put to the test. I was worried, anxious, terrified, emotional, and guess what I actually managed to eat properly. I’m  very proud of myself because I didn’t let everything go to rack and ruin. I accomplished two big tests this week and I didn’t succumb to temptation. On Friday night I was in Supermacs with my Husband and Son, they were both getting food and I didn’t get anything for myself. I had eaten my dinner earlier so I wasn’t hungry. A few years ago I would have got food anyway just for the sake of it. My second test came today. I had ordered cupcakes in Enrica’s in Westport as a present for someone. Now if You haven’t tasted these cupcakes You could never understand their deliciousness. They are amazing!!! So this was the ultimate test for me, but I passed. I went to Enrica’s picked up the cupcakes and I didn’t buy any for myself. I’m delighted with myself for these two major victories in the war against sugar.

 I went to my weigh in today and I was 2lbs up, to be honest I expected it. After being out on Saturday and again Monday night I had a few drinks for the first time in weeks. I knew the alcohol would have me up on the scales. You know what though, I don’t care, I had a horrible week and I deserved to go out for dinner on Saturday night. I deserved to go to the Galway Races and have a bit of fun. I enjoyed my treats and I got straight back on the wagon Tuesday morning. Back to the healthy breakfast, drinking water and salad for lunch. A few good days will soon undo the damage. a few words of encouragement from Geraldine helped me too.

When I look at photos like this one it reminds me of how far I’ve come, & no matter how tough things get I’m never going back. The photo on the left was on Rena’s hen in November 2012. The one on the right was last month just before I joined Unislim. I’m still not at my target but I’m not far off it. A little slip is normal, once You acknowledge it and move on.

My lovely friend Rena

So here’s to another great week on Unislim.

Thank You for reading,

Love, Maria

xx

The post Unislim one month in. appeared first on Mrs. Dillon's Diary.

So I threw myself into the Unislim plan with full force. I really want to lose a stone for Our honeymoon in September. We got married in March and opted to delay Our honeymoon for six months . I decided not to use my treat allowance for junk food on my first week. I still used them on Saturday & Sunday but I chose to make a Yummy Sunday brunch of pancakes with maple syrup instead of indulging in alcohol, chocolate or crisps. I meal planed everyday and took my lunch with me to work. I also insisted that Mr Dillon join me on my unislim journey. It helps when there’s two cooking & eating the same thing. Sarah who works with me in the salon is also on unislim so this helps too, We keep apples and plums in the salon to snack on throughout the day. I made oattyberry bites from the unislim website, they are lovely with a cup of tea and only 1 yum each. My allowance is 7.

Check them out here

http://unislim.com/recipes/sunshine-picnic-bars/

I walked for an hour three times during the week, I counted and tracked every bite all week. Its not always easy to have perfect weeks & I’m sure I’ll have weeks where things don’t go so well. For now I’m going to keep my head down and try to be as good as I can. From past experience I find the first month on any new plan is where I can make the most headway. I use little mind tricks to keep me motivated. Writing down goals can really motivate me, I make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of reaching my goal. It sounds silly, but hey whatever works eh?  I wont be complaining when I’m on the beach in Cancun now will I?

I hope You have enjoyed this post, If anyone is interested in joining Unislim have a look on unislim.com for a class near You. I go to the Westport group but there is one in Castlebar on Saturday morning at the tennis club.

Thank You for reading, & have a lovely Sunday,

Love Maria xx

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