Join The Hairy Bikers for webchat on Thursday 16 January between 1.45 and 2.45pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Si and Dave last joined us back in 2012 and they're back at MNHQ this Thursday (16 Jan) between 1.45 and 2.45 pm to answer your questions. Since their last visit they've shed a few pounds between them - and furthermore managed to keep the weight off. The secret of their success has been shared in their book, The Hairy Bikers Eat for Life and this month they have launched their very own Hairy Bikers diet club.

Everyone who joins the chat on Thursday or posts a question to the Bikers in advance will be entered into a draw to win a copy of the book and a month's free membership in their club.

[flatbellyfella]

Thanks for your reply boys, Could you not take your good lady with you to the bikers Mecca .?

[SiTheHairyBikers]

[quote Solo]Hi Hairy Bikers from a not so hairy lady biker

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@Reastie

Hellooooooo lord bikers of hairyness.

I vividly remember watching your original hairy dieters series whilst feeling completely miserable about my weight and desperately wanting to lose weight. Fast forward and I'm now sitting here over 7 stone lighter and I can actually keep up with my daughter and run up the stairs without being out of puff (simple pleasures and all that).

However, chocolate is my huge weakness. I was wondering what your food weakness is that you can never say no to and how you manage to resist eating too much of it. A calorie free chocolate pud would be fab too please

In our new book, we've actually got low calorie chocolate mousse. My food weakness is cheese - that's often a diet breaker. If I need to drop a few kilos, I just can't have cheese in the house. But there's nowt wrong with a bit of dark chocolate! Just lay off the milky stuff. Cheers, Dave.

[Solo]

Whoop, whoop!! thanks HairyDave for the answer/s.

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@Rooble

I haven't got a question, but need to say that I LOVE both the books (not a big one for fan mail, so feel privileged!!). Other dieting websites etc tend to have pretty bland and boring recipes, so I ended up having teeny portions of what I'd normally make, but have been doing your recipes for a week and the whole family is loving it! So thank you!

Well thank you very much for your kind words of support Rooble - the whole point of whatever we do is that it should be accessible to all members of the family because - first and foremost - it's great food that happened to be less calorific!

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@flatbellyfella

Thanks for your reply boys, Could you not take your good lady with you to the bikers Mecca .?

I did do, but she doesn't want to visit me in hospital again!

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@thesoupdragon44

Hello I have just been told I need to add more fibre into my sons diet, so as a family is there an easy recipe you can recommend?

I’ve got a corker! I have it every single morning - it is - oat bran with a handful of raisins and a handful of sultanas. It's a porridge-like breakfast but is a really, really good source of fibre - I swear by it.

Lots of love, SI

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@catsmother

Hi Si and Dave!

One of our absolute family favourites is what has come to be known in this house as "Hairy Biker Nuts" .... I don't think that is the official recipe title (it's the chilli and honey one) ... I double, treble, quadruple the quantity of nuts etc because they're so irresistible and get eaten very quickly.

But I know nuts are very calorific. Could you suggest something I might be able to substitute in this recipe for a lower calorie nibble ? (though macadamias are hard to beat!)

Yes - use almonds instead. Macadamias are a highly calorific nut. But nuts, like almonds, are a great source of fibre and calcium - so keep eating the nuts, keep smiling - but dump the macadamias!

[raindaisy]

Good afternoon Gentlemen, what would you say are the main staple cupboard ingredients for healthy eating that can be made into a meal quick

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@DurhamDurham

Oooh looking forward to the webchat.
I actually got a kiss off Mr King in Manchester at a book signing.!He was lovely and although the people with him were trying to hurry us along Si and Dave were more than happy to pose for a photo ( or five, in my case!)
I work in Gateshead, not too far from the Hairy Bikers stomping ground but never clapped eyes on them until a weekend in Manchester.

Well thanks very much - and I enjoyed the snog!

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@izaakjeff

Good Afternoon to you both
I live in France with my family, here they are not really into healthy or veggie foods so no quorn, tofu etc. 2 teenage boys who I try to sneak healthy food into, any suggestions please?

Make pasta sauces with pureed vegetables. Work on the flavour and spices and you can hide the veggies quite effectively. Some recipes, like our low calorie chicken korma, there's no cream, but the texture is done with pureed onions. You're going to have to become a tofu smuggler - you might end up a Quorn-star! Good luck, Dave x

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@JustGettingOnWithIt

Really impressed with what you've done for helping blokes of a certain age in particular, to address food weight health issues, without having to lose out.
Lots of my friends are from either bike or music industry, all high octane living.
Most of them male, middle aged and too well padded, to many suffering the effects of carrying too much weight for the lifestyles, sadly there?s been a few ?body say no? funerals too. I?ve ended up in a wheelchair so exercising it off is less of an option, and keeping an eye on calories is now a boring necessity.
Trying to talk about habits and how we use ?food as love? or consolation eating has been made a lot easier, thanks.

I reckon you?re missing a trick though. There?s a huge market for veggie recipes/combined cookbooks, if you know how to deal with not having blood (what gives meat dishes flavour and body) as an ingredient.

I used to have a stall at Kent with a side outlet providing filling veggie food for an awful lot of very big and hairy bikers so they could avoid the rip of hamburger lot and spend the difference on my bike products.
Back then veggy was often a dirty word in those circles, and tbh calories were something we added for weekend energy!
It?s a challenge but I know it can be done, balancing out high calorie ingredients against low for good appetising healthy results.

Male friends all want it in a book with pics and pre sorted for them.

In a financial downturn it?s not only a health/weight/lifestyle market but a financial one too. Can be marketed separately or combined, spin offs abound.
Anyone for a two wheeled veggie food of the world tour? (gis a job, I?ll trike the banger for it!)

So have I sold you it, and 'official question'; can I get you thinking about hale and hearty, tasty, but lower calorie veggie food and not just a couple of recipes in a meat filled book, (like everyone else) because the time is so right?

All of the issues that you've highlighted are always on the top of Dave and I's agenda because we want to make good food accessible to all, no matter what your budget. We strive to cater to everyone's needs - hope that helps!

Lots of love, Si x

P.S. If you're into music - here's a band for you from Newcastle - they're called Let's Buy Happiness, you'll really enjoy them, I'm sure!

[shelley72]

We love watching the hairy bikers. On the last series spent my time wishing I had Si' s kitchen and Dave's dog!

Anyhow would your book tempt into losing my baby weight? Baby is now 6 months and still not back to normal. How can I stop myself wanting to eat biscuits and cake all the time? Can't keep using feeding the baby as an excuse! What 'clicked' for you and made you decide to eat more healthily?

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@raindaisy

Good afternoon Gentlemen, what would you say are the main staple cupboard ingredients for healthy eating that can be made into a meal quick

Our cooking sauces are great for this. They have a long shelf-life, and basically as long as you've got them, you can add your protein of choice and will end up with a very tasty, quick, nutritious meal (and no graft!). Dave x

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@shelley72

We love watching the hairy bikers. On the last series spent my time wishing I had Si' s kitchen and Dave's dog!

Anyhow would your book tempt into losing my baby weight? Baby is now 6 months and still not back to normal. How can I stop myself wanting to eat biscuits and cake all the time? Can't keep using feeding the baby as an excuse! What 'clicked' for you and made you decide to eat more healthily?

What clicked for us and stopped us eating those cakes and biscuits was seeing an all over body scan of our bodily composition. I was 40% fat, Si was 42%, most of it hanging round my heart. It was a real wake up call - that and a 49" waist! That was enough motivation to stop the picking. Good luck and congratulations on your baby. Dave x

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@NigellaPleaseComeDineWithMe

Hi bikers - loved the Bakecation series - all those lovely breads and beers etc. What was the most astonishing 'new' bread you found on the travels? How can we encourage more artisan bread to be sold / bought / home baked? Do we need all this red tape about being approved - why not allow home bakers to sell their stuff - very low risk and I think those that do it as a passion take far fewer short-cuts.

Will you be doing another ride?

The culture of baking in the UK is alive and well when it comes to cakes and biscuits. However, I absolutely agree that we should continue to raise the profile of the many gifted artisan bakers that we have in the UK. I'm sure you will agree, there is nothing better than artisan or home-baked bread.

I think TV shows can help raise the profile, but I think what would be better is to break down the bureaucracy that people face when selling their products. Long live the village fair, county show and small bakeries!

Hope that helps. Lots of love, Si x

[Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme]

Ooh ooh I love you guys!

I love the regional stuff you do, going round the country making gorgeous regional dishes with local ingredients. Are you doing any more travelling again soon? Last time you came to Suffolk you visited Jimmy Butler and his pigs in Blythburgh. That's just up the road from me!

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@mrst1209

Helloo!

So I love everything you do! Every recipe I've ever made from your books have all worked...not that they wouldn't but I find they are simple to follow and everything tastes amazing unlike some of my attempts at recipes from other books!

I do a lot of baking and try all sorts of new things with my kids for lunch, dinner and dessert but I've always found breakfast a bit boring! I flit between cereal and toast with the occasional bagel never anything too exciting. I was wondering if you had any ideas that could make breakfast time a bit more interesting that is also quick and simple?

See our cookbooks! We're great fans of crumpets at breakfast time - no butter, but toasted served with fat free yoghurt and berries. Try it, it's really good! Or how about a breakfast salad? Roast off a truss of cherry tomatoes, serve on a bed of watercress, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, a couple of lean rashers of bacon and a poached egg on top. Will be under 300 calories. Hope this helps. Love Dave x

[MarmaladeBatkins]

Oh and if you do anything else like the Bakeation again, please come to the Black Country! No-one ever seems to mention our faggots and peas! :(

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@thesoupdragon44

Hello I have just been told I need to add more fibre into my sons diet, so as a family is there an easy recipe you can recommend?

Baked beans are a salvation! And now the bean companies put less sugar in, they're healthy too. Half a can of beans, a slice of wholemeal toast, two slices of lean boiled ham –it's my low calorie version of pork and beans for breakfast in the morning. Beans are the future. Love Dave x

[SiTheHairyBikers]

@clare8allthepies

Hi, really excited about the diet club as I'm a big fan of your books and have loads of weight to lose!

Like the others in my situation (constantly breastfeeding an 8 week old baby) I'm craving sugary carby foods, especially in the early hours of the morning. Would you recommend trying to avoid these altogether, or try to cut back on other meals to still have biscuits to get through the night feeds?

Please can you include lots of calorie free biscuit recipes for the diet club, cheers!

The best thing to do is seek advice from a nutritionist because you will need to eat more while breastfeeding, and to be honest, Dave and I aren't qualified to give you specific dietary advice during your breastfeeding program. The simple fact of the matter is - we're not equipped to breastfeed, so it would seem wrong to advise you otherwise! But we're really pleased that you're excited about the Diet Club - it's ram-packed full of great recipe ideas and guidance.

Lots of love - and congratulations on your new arrival! Si x

[DaveTheHairyBikers]

@Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme

Ooh ooh I love you guys!

I love the regional stuff you do, going round the country making gorgeous regional dishes with local ingredients. Are you doing any more travelling again soon? Last time you came to Suffolk you visited Jimmy Butler and his pigs in Blythburgh. That's just up the road from me!

Yeah, and Jimmy's wife cooked us a shoulder of pork –she is the Goddess of Crackling - give her my love! Dave and Si x

[izaakjeff]

thanks for that Guys, will give it a whirl!

[DayZ]

Hi Si and Dave,

My two young daughters love to cook with me but one cannot have wheat, so we have been trying some of your curry recipes - I made the Biryani on Sunday and we all loved it.

Do you have any tips/recipe ideas for good, flavourful but non-spicy meals which aren't necessarily curries?

Thanks.

[LondonBirdLucy]

Quick question; what would you recommend as a show stopper main meal for the family. My son has asked for something special for his 6th birthday. Im thinking a crusty pie. What our your thoughts. Thanks big fan here :)