Home Made Custard Dukan Style

I love sweet things and I don't think I could live without them. When I bought the Dukan diet I was so surprise that they had some dessert here and there, because when you go dieting is like you are punished without dessert; not in this diet and I am so grateful for it.

Last night I came home late craving something sweet so I made some custard, it has to chill for a while but no one could prevent me to eat the pot left overs. And this morning... well what did you think I did?

INGREDIENTS 

Makes 4 small cups.

• 1 litre skimmed milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 45gr (3 tbs) cornflour 
• 3 tbs sweetener
• Cinnamon stick  
• Vanilla essence 
• Star anise ( totally optional but I love the taste)  

HOW TO

Gather you ingredients 

Get a pot and add all the milk but one cup. Add the cinnamon, the sweetener, the star anise and the vanilla essence. Let it cook at a medium heat for about 14 min taking care that it doesn't boil or it would ruin the other mixture. In the meantime get you other cup of milk and mix it with the cornflour.

I do this a cup because it is much more manageable. You should mix it up really well and then put the mixture in a bigger container. Then, and this is important, incorporate the egg yolks (the yellowish thing) one by one, do not incorporate another until the previous one is not perfectly mixed. I use a hand mixer for this, because I was tired and I am lazy to do it by hand, but both ways should work.

When you have mixed all the eggs add the warm milk. Be careful if the milk still warm, and do it in small bits, if the milk is to hot it will cook the eggs and the mixture will be ruined, so slowly. Add the mixture to a deep bottom pan.

You need about 7 min of low heat and remove, remove, remove. Be careful NEVER let it boil, that is the only thing that can ruin it. Remove creamy mixture from the heat and place it in your chosen container, let it chill for two hour or over night like a did and there you have home made custard.

Add powder cinnamon if you are an addict like me and 

ENJOY :)

Bits and Pieces Omelette

I've been really busy this week, so busy that I almost haven't got the time to go food shopping. So today for lunch I found myself only with some bit of ingredients and decided that I might as well use what my mother call the bits and pieces omelette.

An omelette is always really easy to do and you can almost add anything to it. My mother does pretty round one but I rather move the eggs around, as I am for once not patient (it is faster this way) and normally to hungry to wait.

INGREDIENTS

• Some mushrooms
• Red pepper
• zucchini
• Tuna in brine
• 3 eggs
• Sal and pepper  

HOW TO

Gather your ingredients. 

Star chopping the vegetables, not too big but not too small either remember we cook without oil and if they are to big could burn on the outside and not be cook on the inside which we want to avoid at all cost.

Next step heat up you pan, and add the onion, pepper and zucchini first and give it a couple of minutes for the mushroom as it becomes soft very fast.

While the vegetables are being cooked, beat the eggs I use 3 eggs but i like it very dry if you want it more juicy add more. I add the salt at this point to the eggs, you will see how the change color.

Check that your vegetables are done, how do you know that? Well basically for me it is when the mushroom is done should like something like this.

Now that are done, remove them from the fire and add it to the eggs so you make sure that the egg are evenly around all the vegetable mix and also add the tuna in brine, but without the bine :) I am not a particular fan of tuna in brine I like much better the oil one, but you have to make sacrifices for a healthy living.

Then is back in the pan. I clean it before, but you can go straight to it unless like my mum you want the perfectly stiff omelette in which case I also recommend cleaning and some low fat cooking spray. It will be ready in no time. Some times I also add some fromustard Sauce to it, but that depends on my mood.

Please leave a comment below if you did the omelette or if you want any other recipe I am always happy to oblige, in the mean time

ENJOY :)

Fromustard: the simplest ever sauce

I dont know you, but I eat looooots of boiled chicken since I am on the diet. It is because is simple. And you must think "simple, yes, but... it isn't the most tasty thing ever" and I agree. I have perfected the way to boil it many different ways to give it flavor, but the simplest still water and a bit of sal. But what I do is using this super simple sauce to give it some taste and it really works for me and takes no time whatsoever. Let me introduce you to the Fromustard Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

You get lots out of it... but I think would be enough for two people 

• 0% Formage frais 
• Dijon Mustard
• Whole-Grain Mustard

HOW TO

Gather your ingredients:

Add three table spoons of formage frais ( I love this ingredient works with everything). You can not really keep it for long so just keep it enough for your meal.

Then one tea spoon of Dijon mustard.

I add two tea spoons of whole-grain mustard because I like the texture so much but I guess one will be enough if you are not sold on the texture like me.

And then ... well... shake it baby, shake it... and you are done!

I know it is not a great pic (but what can I do with an almost ten years old digital camera) but the sauce it is fantastic so I hope you

ENJOY:)

Tip- If you don't have fromage frais you can always use 0% greek yogourt.

chicken "non-pasta, pasta like" Chinese style

I don't know you, but me, when someone tells me "you can't it this" I want it the most. Pasta always reminds me of home meals and I must say in a diet like Dukan  is the thing that I miss the most. So I came up with a solution, as we can not eat the real thing, let's eat something that looks similar. Dr. Dukan has specifically allow surimi on the diet and even though I was reticent at the beginning I must say that with it I have found a great ally. It is experimenting with it that so many of my "non-pasta, pasta like" dishes have come to be. Let me introduce you to my chicken "non-pasta, pasta like" Chinese style.

  

INGREDIENTES

Ingredient for one really hungry or two not som much, suitable for pure proteine day.

• Chicken breast ( I use the full breast)
• 8 surimi sticks 
• soya sauce 
• garlic powder 
• cooking spray (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Gather your ingredients as you can see there are not many to grab.

Get the chicken and cut it in cubes, I dont like the pieces two small but you can do it as you feel more confortable.

Get a small bol and add some soya sauce (make sure your is not too salty otherwise will be more salt than taste) and you chicken cubes and let then rest for a couple of minutes so the chicken gets all the flavor of the soya sauce.

While your chicken is soaking take your surimi sticks and unroll and break them into little long pieces so they look like small spaghettis. They are tiny, but... nothing is perfect.

 

Then it is pan time, I normally use a wok, just because it is confortable for me, but any pan would do. Put some cooking spray if you want (I do) and add the marinated chicken. This is the point that I add the garlic powder, but I must confess that I crazy about garlic you don't need to do it.

 When they become pink you should add the surimi piece, be aware that at this time the pan can be a little bit dry and you might want to add either some more soya sauce or a bit of water.

 Stir every once in a while to make your it doesn't burn at the bottom of you pan and let the surimi take all the juices.

And that is it, you have made yourself a "non-pasta, pasta like" dish in no time for proteine day that is tasty and fast. 

Make sure to serve hot !!

ENJOY ;)

Green Lovers Soup

Although Mach is supposed to bring warmth to this lands, here in Ireland still quite cold, at least for my taste and there is nothing better than a soup to warm you up and also to give you the extra vitamins your body needs to look as beautiful as you do. Let me present you the Green Lovers Soup:

The good thing about this soup is that you can eat it warm it you are freezing like me or cold if you are in a warmer weather ( I envy you for that)

INGREDIENTS

• Broccoli floret 
• half zucchini
• some mushrooms ( I add about 6)
• three leaves of celery
• sal and pepper to taste
• optional some fat free formage frais

  INSTRUCTIONS

As you know we are following the Dukan diet  so we only will used allow vegetables. First gather your vegetables

I start by cutting the Brocolli . I cut only the small florets and dimiss the rest, you can cook it if you want to but it would take a bit more to get tender so bear it in mind if you decide to add them.

Then cut the zucchini in half and proceed to cut it into small pieces, they do not need to be really small because we are going to smash it later but still it helps to go faster.

Next step, do the same with the celery. The celery help to give your soup a refreshing taste. To be honest I am not a fan of celery myself but I love the touch that gives soups. I use just three leave because otherwise it overcomes the taste of the broccoli. 

Then it is the turn of the mushrooms. I use quite a bit because it gives a nice consistency to the soup and you don't want it to be super watery.

Next step put some water to boil on the kettle and add all you ingredients together in a pot. Add enough water to cover the vegetable but not more we want it to be thick not watery and turn the heat to the maximum. This is the time to add some salt if you want, I normally add it at the end but that goes on taste.

Let it boil for over 20 minutes, we want most of the water to evaporate and the vegetables to be as tender as possible, then it is time for the blender. I have a hand one but you can use whatever you have.

You have to blend it until it is consistent and smooth. If your blender is awful as mine it can take some time if it is a good you will have it in minutes.

Finally it is the time of pepper and fat free formage frais, you can skip this step but a love the contract in textures, I do not want to think that I am on a diet, I want to think that I am eating great tasty food and those little details help me

And that is it, fool proof soup. Get a plate and prepare to have a fantastic tasting experience.

Let me know if you liked it and don't forget to subscribe to be notified about new recipes and news 

ENJOY ;)