Tasty ... but wouldn't fill a hole in your tooth!!!

Spurred on by last night's weight loss, I have yet again kept within my points for today even though I was our for a working lunch!

It wasn't to anywhere fancy - just the local Brewers Fayre and being organised I looked up their menu online to choose something relatively healthy in advance! To my surprise there is a document on their website which lists all the nutritional information in all of their dishes - a real help when deciding what to have.... and a real eye opener!

I am allowed 32 points a day. So I want you to guess how many points are in the following?

Grilled gammon steak with eggs

Oven roast chicken and bbq sauce and jacket potato

Beef Burger with chips

Tomato and Roast Vegetable Pasta

The answers are at the bottom of the post! So I opted for the Chicken and Bacon salad for a modest 11 points - first bit of meat since January and it was delicious! My lunch is usually only about 6 points and as a result I didn't have as much to play with tonight.

Thai Fried rice with toasted cashews

Tonight's meal was Thai fried rice with toasted cashews and while it was very tasty the portion size was quite miserable. I would have doubled it but decided to have a large side of sugar snap peas instead - which did the trick nicely! If you're really hungry I suggest you make double! Also this is probably the most fiddely recipe I've cooked in a while.... just to let you know in advance!

Serves 1

6pp per serving

50g thai jasmine rice

Low fat spray

1/2" piece of root ginger, cut into strips

6 cashew nuts

1 tsp soy sauce

2 spring onions, sliced diagonally

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 lemongrass stalk, peeled and chopped finely

1/2 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped

For the dressing

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp lime juice

a large pinch of caster sugar

1. boil the rice until cooked. When cooked spread on a baking tray and leave to cool

2. heat a non stick pan and spray with the cooking spray. add the ginger and fry until it becomes crisp and golden. remove from the pan and set aside

3.put the cashew nuts in the pan, spray with the cooking spray and toast over a medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, shaking frequently. Add the soy sauce and coat the nuts, cook for another minute then remove from the pan and set aside

4. wipe the pan, spray with the spray and stir fry the white part of the spring onions, garlic, lemongrass and chilli for a minute. add the cold rice, turn it to break up any lumps and combine with the other ingredients.

5. mix together the soy, lime juice and sugar and pour the mixture into the pan, stir and heat through. Stir in the green part of the spring onion - top with coriander, cashew nuts and crisp ginger.

Answers:

Grilled gammon steak with egg = 24!

Oven roast chicken and bbq sauce and jacket potato = 30

Beef burger and chips = 34! More than my daily allowance

Tomato and Roast Vegetable Pasta = 20

Anyone fancy this recipe for Chinese New Year? Another version of Chicken satay - but with nooooooodles!um um ummmm