Garlic

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One Pot Rustic Chicken in Red Wine

INGREDIENTS
8 slices prosciutto ham
8 large boned and skinned chicken thighs
1tbsp olive oil
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
About 12 shallots or button onions, halved
225g (8oz) shiitake mushrooms
1tbsp plain flour
300ml (½ pint) each red wine and hot chicken stock
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf

METHOD
1 Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each chicken thigh. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the chicken pieces for 8–10min until golden all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2 Add the garlic and shallots and fry over a gentle heat for 5min or until the shallots are beginning to soften and turn golden. Stir in the mushrooms and flour and cook over a gentle heat for 1–2min.

3 Return the chicken to the pan and add the wine, hot chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce and the bay leaf. Season lightly, bring to the boil for 5min, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 45min or until the chicken is tender. Serve with crusty bread.

rustic chicken in red wine

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Halibut Fish Tacos

Another healthy and nutricious meal which includes many of our Must Have Super Foods.

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch cilantro
5 lime, juiced
⅔ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp olive oil, for cooking
1 small white onion, coarsley chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño pepper
½ Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 lb halibut
½ cup white wine
corn tortilla, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Put the cilantro, lime juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, onion, garlic, jalapeño, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor.
Blend until smooth. Put the purée in a bowl and set aside.
Chop the halibut into small pieces. Dry well with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the halibut and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Add the wine and cook until the wine evaporates, about 2 minutes.
Add the cilantro mixture and cook for another minute to heat through.
Heat the corn tortillas in a hot dry pan. Add the fish mixture to the tortilla. Garnish with cilantro, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and avocado.

Recipie courtesy of The Daily Meal

halibut fish taco

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7 Day The Grapefruit Came Before The Chicken and Egg Diet

This diet is based on the numerous Grapefruit and Egg Diets which are out there on the net.  I tailored it to make it as easy as possible to follow and added a few tweaks of my own.  It is repetitive but for me that worked as it stops me thinking about tomorrows menu before I’ve even eaten todays.

Expect to lose 7-10 lbs

Throughout the day you can drink unlimited quantities of herbal teas, tea and coffee with no milk or sugar and water.

On Waking drink a half litre of water, either boiled, chilled, still or sparkling with either half a lemon squeezed into it or PLJ.

Breakfast 30 minutes later

Preferably a grapefruit (but if you really cannot stand grapefruit then 2 apples and an orange) plus a handful of walnuts or almonds.

Lunch

Grilled Chicken (either hot or cold) with a green salad, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper to taste (optional).

150 – 200 gram pot of full fat plain natural yoghurt.  (Try saving  half the tub to add substance to your evening omelette).

Dinner No later than 7pm but preferably before 6pm

In a small frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon of butter and gently fry a sliced tomato, a small clove of of crushed garlic (optional but really good for you) and sweat down some spinach.  Mix well and reserve on a plate.

In a bowl, beat 2 eggs with the remainder of your yoghurt, a dash of mustard and salt and pepper to taste.  Fold in the tomatoes garlic and spinach and return to the pan.  Cook on the hob until golden underneath and then place under a hot grill until golden on top.

Serve with another green salad, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper to taste (optional).

Between now and bedtime drink 4 mugs of green tea.

This is probably the simplest 7 day Miracle Diet I’ve tried and I did lose the 10 lbs.

Sorry but no substitutions other than those listed and no snacking or extras … Remember it’s only 7 days 🙂

Grapefruit, Chicken and Egg Diet

Must Have Super Food Soup

Super Food Miracle Diet Soup

For optimum health this delicious spicey soup should be an integral part of everones diet.

These measurements are only approximate to allow you to use pre-packed freshly prepared vegetables for convenience so don’t worry about adding a bit more or less of each.  This recipe makes nearly 5 litres of soup which will last 3 days in the fridge but can also be frozen.

Let’s start with Our Superfoods:

  • 400 grms of spring greens
  • 400 grms of kale
  • 300 grms of spinach
  • 2 large onions
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 3 green peppers
  • 250 mls apple cider vinegar
  • Cayenne Pepper *
  • Crushed Dried Hot Chilli Peppers*

Now we also need to add the following absolutely beneficial and tasty ingredients:

  • 300 grms carrots
  • 400 grms celery
  • 400 grms (1 tin) tinned chopped tomatoes (with or without garlic, basil, other herbs)
  • 4 stock cubes of your choice
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons crushed black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation and Cooking

  • Prepare and roughly chop all the vegetables that aren’t already chopped
  • Peel the garlic but leave to cloves whole
  • Pour the olive oil into a 5 ltr pan and add the onions and garlic, saute over a low heat for 5 minutes while stirring
  • Next add the green peppers, celery and carrots, stirring as you go until they are all mixed together and lightly coated with the olive oil.
  • Now add the basil, oregano and black pepper and crumble in the stock cubes.  Keep stirring and don’t let anything stick or start to burn … if necessary remove from the heat until everything is well stirred and coated.
  • Add the tinned tomatoes, the apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon each of the Cayenne Pepper and Crushed Chillies … return to the heat and stir through.
  • Add a half litre of water and return to the heat, stirring until you start to get steam.  Reduce the heat so that the you are literally just producing steam but not boiling anything.  Add a tad more water if you need too.
  • Add the chopped cabbage and put the lid on until the cabbage steams down … stir and add the kale until that also steams down … stir and add the spinach until that steams down.
  • Now fill the pan to at least an inch from the top with water and give everything a good stir.  Return to the heat and stir regularly until the soup starts to simmer.
  • Put the lid back on and simmer gently for around 20 minutes then stir and taste.  I find dipping a small piece of bread in is the easiest way to taste.

*Here comes the fun part 😀

We need to add as much additional *Cayenne Pepper and *Crushed Chillies as we can handle.  Add 1 teaspoon of each at a time, stir well, return to the heat for 5 mins before stirring and re-tasting and repeat as necessary … you may also need to add more water to keep the soup an inch from the top.  When you’re all done you can also add salt to taste if you need to.

Now get yourself a nice ladle full of vegetables into a dish and cover with the liquid … while you’re enjoying that leave the pan of soup to cool.

Once the soup is fully cooled it can be blended.  As you fill the blender each time, try to get a good variety of veg and make sure it’s covered by the liquid.  As you blend each jug full empty the soup into a container suitable for either the fridge or the freezer.

I re-use empty spring water bottles, using a funnel.

If you really want to you can rinse out the pan and tip everything back in and give it a good stir to ensure equal ingredients in each bowl full and then re-fill the containers … I personally don’t bother.

Re-heat on the hob until warmed through but not boiling.  If you have frozen any of the soup, defrost it overnight in the fridge and then give it a good shake before use.

Try to fit at least one bowl or  mug of this soup into your diet every day to get the fantastic benefits of all of the Must Have Superfoods we used.

Serving Suggestions

  • Make croutons using rustic bread, rubbed with garlic and olive oil or butter and sprinkled with a melting cheese such as cheddar.  Toast on one side first before adding the ingredients to the other side and toasting.  Float one or two on top of each bowl of soup.
  • Put a dollop of plain live yoghurt into the centre of the hot soup and use a knife to gently swirl a spiral into the soup.
  • For a quick tasty meal, fry minced meat of your choice until browned and then cover with soup and simmer until mince is cooked and soup is thickened.  Serve with rice, tossed through pasta, in jacket potatoes or with hand torn rustic bread and butter.

Have you created your own version of this soup or created any other recipes using it? … Drop us a comment and let us know.