Hello Dear Reader,
Who else is tired of the grey skies and lack of daylight. I'm beginning to crave a crisp winter's day where I can wrap up and walk on the beach before heading off for a coffee from the flask! In this weather, we need to inject as much healthy food and colour into ourselves as possible. We owe it to ourselves to take care of our own health and eating well is essential. I'm not in the position to not be able to choose what I eat so I continue to eat thriftily and frugally for our own budget.
To make this for supper, you will need. (serves 2) - All ingredients are from Aldi.
1 butternut squash, cut length ways and seeds removed - 75p 135 calories each
100g (half a pack) of feta cheese - DB will have the rest for lunch tomorrow and Friday - 65p - 132 calories each. (I had 30g of feta so my calories were 79 - I don't like it, but men are allowed more calories than women!)
2 red onions - 20p - 29 calories
1 chilli - seeds and pith removed and finely chopped - 10p
4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped - 4p
6 sprays of olive oil - 3 calories each
1 little gem lettuce - 20p -8 calories each
1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes - 45p - 25 calories each
Total price £2.47 and £1.24 each - 332 calories each - way better than yesterday!!!!! (279 calories for me)
Here is how I made it:
1. Set the oven to 200
2. Chop and prepare ingredients.
3. Halve and prepare the butternut squash
4. Spray squash with 'frylight' and bake for 20 minutes.
5. When squash is soft enough, spoon out flesh and leave to one side
6. 'fry' the onions, garlic and chilli - take care not to burn
7. Spoon ingredients back into the butternut squash skin and arrange cubes of feta onto the veggies.
8. Place in the oven.
9. Place the cherry tomatoes on the same baking tray and spray with oil and sprinkle with salt.
10. Bake everything for 10 - 15 minutes.
Serve with lettuce or green beans or any veg. If you wanted to stretch this to hungry people then add spicy rice or chunks of homemade bread. We're watching the calories so we've made this as 'light' as possible.
I hope I'm not letting down the frugal faithful. This came to £1.24 per person but everything is fresh. You could save this recipe until you've grown some squash, salad and onions or if you see feta on offer. You can buy 'Greek style' cheese but I like the genuine Greek cheese which is about 30p a pack more.
I try to eat significantly fewer calories on two days a week, I don't consider this to be fasting as I'm still eating. I had a 200g fat free Greek yogurt for breakfast - 110 calories, this for supper and an apple and banana for lunch. It feels like enough food for the day. I'm glad that's only 2 days a week though. I'm eating healthily on every day but halving my calories on two days a week.
Over to you Dear Reader, who else is cutting their food back for two days a week? Who is watching the calories and trying to eat healthily? Who else is finding it hard to balance eating thriftily and healthily? I find it a juggling act and I wonder who else is finding it difficult?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxx