Eatbetterers part 3 -gather around healthy people !

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Third thread of healthy eating, no calorie counting just good, healthy food for us and our families.

Shortaris - I have a fab coconut dhal recipe.

200g red lentils
450ml stock
1 green chilli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thumb fresh ginger, grated
1 large or 2 small onions, sliced
200ml coconut cream
2tsp hot curry powder
chopped coriander to serve

Simmer lentils in stock for 20 mins. Meanwhile fry onions on high heat for 10 mins until getting really brown, add chilli, garlic and ginger and turn heat to medium/low. Continue to fry until lentils are cooked. Stir curry powder into onions and cook for 1 min. Stir onion mixture into lentils. Stir in coconut cream and coriander and serve.

I loooove this recipe. Sometimes I stir some spinach in at the end. If you can't get coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk will do, but the dhal will be a bit more runny.

bramshott the cauli, squash, and coconut soup was great, thanks. DP is out of hospital and its been quite gruelling really. He seemed to be recovering super speedy and then a sudden nosedive. He can only eat soft food for a while (i actually passed mash through a sieve today!)

this is the red lentil soup that never gets turned down...by anyone. I put a sweet potato in it every time and its ace.

I also do a popular red lentil loaf..I'll try to dig out the recipe - its also a rose elliott (which are a pain to find online)

Thanks for those links/that recipe. As soon as this weekend is over I MUST get back to using recipes as it's been good but a bit quick and easy lately. I'm in retail and I'm late today and a LONG day tomorrow so no point in planning anything complicated as I know I'll be shattered!

Sorry that your husband is struggling still that sounds tough.

Mmm - it's all about the soup for me atm! Carrot and coriander seed yesterday and I think I'll make my favourite red lentil for lunch today. Anyone else got any tried and tested favourites which aren't too time-consuming to make?

Hi. I've been AWOL due to Christmas shopping and decorating. Food wise I feel I'm doing ok. Definitely less of an issue than usual. No idea why.

Off to read what I've missed. Hope you are all well.

Hello

Sorry I've been awol again, combination of busy and if I post what I've been eating recently I'll get cross with myself

I've just made really delicious spiced pumpkin soup, it came out really well as I had real chicken stock, I'm really stuffed now!

I'm finding the cold weather hard as I'm hungry ALL the time, really need to get back into making soups.

Hope everyone's ok

It is quite something because even when things get tricky my attitude to food has changed quite a bit over the last year. Dp is recovering after surgery. It was hard last week but getting better now. I had to be weighed recently and I've lost a stone since the summer. That takes me out of obese and into the overweight category.

dame can I suggest Bramshott's cauliflower, squash, and coconut soup- it was lovely and easy!

Thanks, will give it ago

Good for you, Still! I feel that my attitude to food has changed too. I look back at how I was post-dc2 and think that although my weight and my eating habits fluctuate, I know I will never go back to that (unfit and 2.5 stone heavier than I am now).

Am hopefully about to take the plunge and attempt to come off my bp meds, maybe next week - good to know that exercise and eating better have paid off!

How is everyone feeling about the impending gluttony of Christmas? I'm planning to just try not to go overboard on the sweet stuff and to really enjoy my main meals but not pick at festive snacky stuff in between.

I am also considering a booze-free, or at least nearly booze-free Christmas . I'm still hovering around the idea of quitting altogether, but it never quite happens (although I don't drink much these days).

Hello . How's everyone doing? All set for Christmas?
My sweet tooth is putting in an appearance but I'm trying not to go overboard.

I'm sure I've put on about half a stone since we moved. But I stop work after Christmas (thank god) so will have more time to exercise and cook better. The unexpected immediate post-move job combined with the new puppy who's not allowed out until the 22nd December and a new house to get sorted have not been terribly conducive to an organised, healthy or calm existence .

Sounds crazy but fun, Holmes.
My dd has caught chicken pox so we will not be far for the next few days either!

Evening all, I'm getting organised for my late shifts, doing a casserole in the slow cooker tonight to take in. Mains are okay and there's LOADS of soup on the go but am eating quite a lot of the sweets that are kicking about at work and having LOTS of crackers and cheese. I'm enjoying it all though and haven't put much weight on so it's not too bad. Only got one day off at Christmas but got some time at New Year so much booze will be consumed no doubt.

Sorry to hear about your daughter Neeko sooooo itchy for her!

Thanks Shortaris. Think we are over the worst of it now and she has been so good .
Sounds like you have a good attitude to food this Christmas. I'm also trying to eat sensible mains and just not go overboard with the bread or treats. Damn you all for getting me to switch to butter as it tastes soo good on seeded wholemeal bread .

Hello all. How are we faring with the festive food? I have succumbed to bad habits but don't feel too out of control. We have so much on over the festive period with meals with both sides of the family and birthdays etc that it's really challenging to exercise restraint. I've decided to just go with it and get back into normal eating on Monday when I go back to work.
I have managed to do some exercise most days though.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

Hello everyone!

A few days of major over-eating here, although not too much sugar/choc which is my own personal bugbear. I made a batch of that squash, cauliflower and coconut soup yesterday which has helped a lot with feeling healthier. I swapped the squash for sweet potato and the cauliflower for cabbage because that was what I had, and it's still tasty.

I got both the HFW Light & Easy book and a slow cooker for Christmas so am looking forward to an eat-betterer January!

Must get back into exercise though, that has really slipped recently with the busy period and the kids being off school.

Hello, I had to seek this thread out again!! DP
Has now got shiny new arteries. He's healthy food wise but always room for improvement. Ds has realised the error of the school canteen habit too. So intentions are good here. Sometimes it can be helpful to reach a limit of festive treats as your body is then crying out for something more healthy (hopefully anyway)

Well done on the exercise front neeko - I got new running shoes as Xmas and birthday present. Christened them yesterday but out for a longer run tomorrow.

Hello everyone! Need to get back into good habits. I've been sluding downhill with the eating better since we moved in October, and Christmas has compounded that. On the upside, I didn't drink much festive booze!

Although I still remember my Michael Pollan-based eureka moment, and saying I will never go on a diet again, I think I really need some ground rules....

So I am going to be strict about cutting out sugar and processed carbs during the week, but allow myself a little treat or two at the weekend. And get back to lots of good meat, fish, eggs and veg. And drink more water - I am bad at that!

Stilllearnin - well done on the run! I'm getting my running mojo back on too. Have just signed up for my first half marathon .

Ah Holmes. Once again we are on the same page with the eating ground rules and the exercise. I am already feeling better today for cutting back on the sugar and upping the water today.
I have also joined the running thread to get me out there more often.
Minestrone soup for dinner tonight. Yum

Indeed, Neeko. I was feeling better, then got to my four o'clock slump and inhaled two white chocolate snowmen. Now I feel slightly queasy and have a horrible cheap-chocolate aftertaste . I hate the post-Easter and post-Christmas chocolate surfeit. It's the one thing I find really hard to resist if it's in the house.

Me too Holmes. It was a relief to get to work today although there were quite a few boxes of chocolates doing the rounds. Managed to resist.

I still have quite a bit of chocolate left too.

It's funny Holmes isn't it. I've done a January diet most years but this year, between finding this thread and doing weights I don't need or want to!

Found a fab Food Planner app (called just that) for my new Kindle and loving it. You can import recipes and it syncs ingredients from there to your shopping list. Beyond excited about it as I was having one of those moments when you think 'What do I usually eat?!' when I started meal planning earlier!

Glad to hear DP is on the mend still