ABOUT THIS BLOG…
I was inspired to start this blog after embarking on a weight loss endeavour, and stumbling across what was in front of me all along – that calorie counting really works! I also hate to feel deprived, and if I’m told that a certain food is “not allowed” it then becomes all I want!
I’d look up low calorie recipes, healthy recipes, sw recipes, ww recipes, mfp recipes… but few of them caught my interest… when you start telling me I need to eat quark, cashew milk and meat-free everything, I’m outta there, no thank you. If you truly like these items, all well and good, but it’s not for me, and my family would be heading out to the nearest burger joint if I tried to feed them that. I want real food, my family wants real food, I don’t want to have to explain to them that it’s a low calorie meal they have to eat to be healthy… I want them to want to eat what I cook.
I would also get annoyed when a “low calorie recipe” said it “serves 4”, but the finished meal barely stretched to two! They might serve 4 toddler portions… at a stretch! I decided to make sure all my recipes serve real appetites, I won’t manufacture lower calorie counts by reducing the portion sizes!!
So I started altering my own recipes, and looking at ways to adjust “real” food, making reduced calorie versions, to fit into my calorie allowance. I also had a family to feed, so I didn’t tell them I was giving them calorie controlled food… and they never realised (apart from in the beginning when I tried using Quark in Lasagne… sorry guys… I promise I will never do that again!). For the family members not dieting, it’s easy to supplement their meals with additional items to ensure they aren’t in calorie deficit when they don’t need to be.
So here you’ll find calorie controlled recipes that don’t feel like “diet food”. Some are my own creations, some are adapted from other chefs, all of whom are credited so that you can check out the originals and decide for yourself which version you need. But I hope that you’ll enjoy the recipes, and give them a try. If they can help you on your journey to a healthier self, I’ll be thrilled.
ABOUT ME…
I started this blog in 2021…. yes, during the pandemic “how clichéd”… well, yeah maybe, but what are you going to do but make the proverbial lemonade. So this is my lemonade!
I love food. I love eating it, reading about it, watching food shows. I love supermarkets – yes, I do! I’m one of those weirdos who loves to explore the local supermarket when I’m on holiday (my family is very patient with me). I love farmers markets, kitchen shops, I love it all.
Most of all, I love feeding people. I love cooking for family, friends, even my neighbours get fed – especially when I’m testing recipes. Entertaining friends for dinner is one of my great joys. I think nothing of spending the whole day preparing dinner for people I love spending time with.
Recently though, my love of everything ‘food’ crept up on me, and I got to the heaviest weight I’ve ever been. Over the years I would diet on and off, trying all the ‘popular’ programs and plans (a.k.a. branded fads whose corporate goal is to keep you on the program paying your subscriptions). I’d have some success, then fall off the wagon again, and slowly but surely the weight would creep up, jeans got tighter, moving got harder. I even developed my own technique for stretching out my sweaters whilst wearing them so they didn’t cling to my stomach!
It was time to change.
I decided to give calorie counting a try and I love it – the freedom and flexibility to eat whatever I want as long as it’s in my calorie budget for the day. Being short, no spring chicken, and sedentary, trust me… that budget is sma-a-a-ll!! So when I don’t have that much to play with, every calorie counts!!
I started adapting recipes; my own and those I’d see all over the place. I’d make substitutions, reductions, a tweak here and there till I got to a point where nothing would “taste diet”. I wouldn’t even tell people that what I was feeding them was calorie controlled.
My food tends to be a mixture of Asian, British and North American – having lived in each of these three continents over the years. But in general, I cook what I like the look of, and use whatever my local stores have available. Currently living in smalltown Quebec means that my ingredients are pretty basic, but every now and then I’ll get hold of British or Asian products and have a ball in the kitchen! I do hope you’ll like the look of my recipes, and have a go yourself.
Cheers! Jo
DISCLAIMER NUTRITION INFORMATION…
I am not a nutritionist, dietician or health expert. I’m publishing these recipes purely for informational purposes in the hope that you’ll find something you enjoy cooking and eating.
To the absolute best of my ability, I’ve added the calorie counts to all the recipes as a guideline. All the calorie information has been obtained from online calculators such as My Fitness Pal. Obviously, these counts are based on the brands and ingredients I have available, so your ingredients may be higher or lower in calories than published here. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in any recipe I encourage you to calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use, using your preferred nutritional calculator. Under no circumstances will I be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information that may be provided.
Here are some nutritional calculators available for free online use:
Myfitnesspal (I use this one, its free and I love it)
Nutracheck (good for UK foods, but only free if you don’t save anything)
The writers and publishers of this site are not responsible for adverse reactions, effects, or consequences resulting from the use of any recipes or suggestions herein or procedures undertaken hereafter. Readers of this website are ultimately responsible for all decisions pertaining to their health.