App of the month: MyFitnessPal

This month's App of the month feature comes a week late because, as you know, last Sunday I was traipsing around Brussels, doing the touristy thing and I could post the feature as I had planned.  You can read about my Brussels trip here.

Anyway, partly inspired by the fact that I had some changing room let-downs while shopping in Brussels and partly inspired by the fact that the Malta Fashion Week is less than 2 months away and I want to look good in my favourite getups, this last week has been a calorie-counting reality check.  And I find no better way of doing that than through the MyFitnessPal app I have installed on both my iPhone and my iPad. There is also a web-based version which I use at times, but honestly speaking I find the mobile version so much more convenient.

The main reason for this is that I can really check my weight intake on-the-go as the app comes with a 'barcode scanning' feature which allows you to just scan the barcode of the food that you'd be about to have and hey presto! all the nutritional details are logged in on your profile according to the serving size you indicate.  Most internationally renowned and available brands are listed so there's no excuse ... and there is even data for more local items such as Twistees, gbejna or galletti! If there really is an obscure product is not on the list, you can still add the details from the nutritional values table on the product itself (N.B - all products SHOULD have such labels - don't buy anything that doesn't: you have a right to know what's going into your body!)

Another feature which I love about this app (though I use it more on the web in this case) is the 'My Recipes' option.  Cooking is one of my hobbies but I don't always necessarily follow recipes and like to get a bit creative in the kitchen.  When I'm planning such a meal, I log into MyFitnessPal and create the recipe online so I know what the nutritional value of such is, even before I cook it and eat it!

Last but not least, you can track your weight and exercise regimes on MyFitnessPal as well.  This week I've been weighing myself every single morning (this morning's peak was due to an ill-advised Badass Burger fest last night! urgh!) - I know that there are schools of thought which recommend against this, but I find that even the slightest move up or down on the scales motivates me to do better or to get back on track.  I still have to get back into a proper exercise routine but with the Summer time kicking in today (much to my usual confusion) this should come easier as the days get longer.  A great thing about it is that I can link my Endomondo exercise tracker to MyFitnessPal and the two apps do all the work. There's a whole list of apps that can be linked to MyFitnessPal.

For more information on MyFitnessPal, click here.

N.B. This is not a paid or sponsored post and all opinions are my own thoughts.

Recipe Post: Roast Winter Veggies

I can't remember the last time I actually cooked something decent.  My life is so hectic at the moment that unfortunately, I'm just stuffing my face with microwaveable meals and just plain old junk.  I know I'm doing a major disservice to my body and my health in general and I do realise that I need to get back on the right track.

Hopefully, yesterday's little cooking indulgence was one small step in the right direction!  I took a couple of much deserved hours off in the afternoon and managed to be home early enough to actually cook.  I stopped at the green grocer next door who had just brought in all the fresh goodies and got myself some of my favourite winter root veggies and made myself a huge dish of roasted veggies - one of my most favourite winter warmer recipes which is just so easy to make!

Here's how it goes:

Pick up some root veggies - I bought butternut squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes and fennel.  I found a lonely carrot lurking in the fridge and added that to the mix, together with the obligatory onion. You could also add a leek or use it instead of the onion.

I just love the smell of freshly chopped fennel

despite the smiley face, this butternut squash was still a b*tch to chop and peel!

Peel and chop all veggies in thick wedges.  If you prefer the fennel or onion to be less chunky, you can cut them in slices just like I do!

Place all veggies in a dish (I like using Pyrex or earthenware ones) and just about cover with water. Drizzle a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of BBQ sauce.  You can swap the BBQ sauce for Worcestershire sauce - as long as the sweetness of the honey and some of the vegetables is set off with that moorish, rich flavour of either one of these brown sauces, you're good to go.

Place in a heated oven (regular oven at 250degC) and slow cook for about an hour, folding the vegetables every so often so that they cook evenly.  The cooking length is quite dependent on your oven, really, and how crispy you like your veggies! An hour will give you nice caramelised edges with an al dente consistency.

As I said, the recipe is quite easy, though it does take some time in terms of preparation ... and the butternut squash is a b*tch to chop and peel! So if you can get your green grocer to chop it up at least, it'll help. But on the whole, it's so easy and delish! You can use it as a main vegetarian dish, topped with some goats cheese or as a side to your Sunday roast ... a change from the regular roast potatoes!

Let me know if you give this a try and whether you like it or not! Bon appétit xx

Diet no-brainers

Oscar Wilde infamously said 'I can resist anything but temptation.' I don't know if good old Oscar was on a diet when he said this, because temptation is at its least resistible when one is on a diet.

And when the temperatures are soaring, and the humidity reaching breaking point, it is so easy to fall victim to temptation in the form of an ice-cream or a summery hobża biż-żejt. For us Maltese, this most basic and ubiquitous of bread stuffed with tuna, olives, capers, tomatoes and a whole host of other delicacies, is possibly symbolic of our tuck shop lunches back in our school days. A snack, which like the equally traditional and ever available pastizzi, we keep returning to over and over again. 

But not when we're on a diet. 

Well, not exactly. If you extract the bread factor from the hobża, and limit the lashings of olive oil, you're left with a nice hearty salad which you can have with rice cakes or cracker bread. I know, I know, it's not the same. But it does go some way into satisfying the craving for a 'workmen's bar' bought hobża or ftira with something equally tasty but with half the calorie count. 

As a post gym treat today I did just that: I used half a can of John West chilli and garlic infusions tuna and chopped up 3 cherry tomatoes, a gherkin, a couple of black olives and a handful of green ones (I'm more partial to green olives). 

I also added some capers and tossed all the ingredients in a bowl until they were combined well. Because of the reduced oil in the tuna, I didn't need to add any, even because it would have diluted the spicy flavour, and added unwanted calories. I didn't season either since there was enough saltiness in the capers and pickle and the chilli gave the necessary peppery kick. 

According to myfitnesspal.com, this light dinner totals to just about 240 calories which I think is pretty neat for a diet-friendly twist to a traditional snack. Don't you think? Would you give it a shot? 

I've some other tricks up my sleeve on how to turn traditionally fatty food into light meals. Give me a shout if you want to hear more! 

skinny eats #000001

being on a diet, it is sometimes difficult to come up with filling, delicious recipes which fit into the allocated calorific intake.  this has sort of been my mission for a very long time and seeing as this blog is partly dedicated to food (and my dieting hits and misses), i'm going to start sharing recipes of various meals every now and again.

today i feel like patting myself on my back for this concoction.  it's really simple to put together and perfect for summertime ... and, wait for it ... it's less than 200 calories! how's that for a light, yet filling lunch or dinner? it also follows the food combining rules i mentioned last time and it's suitable for vegetarians.

the ingredients are listed in the image below, together with their indicative respective calorific value. this is a screen shot of my personal myfitnesspal account.

as you can see from the numbers on the top of the screen, i can see how i'm faring against my goals at every moment of the day, including how many calories i've left for snacks and dinner - it's friday so i'll be out and about soon and i made it a point to leave a good share of my calories for dining out.

all i did was grill the aubergines, zucchini and peppers and layered these with chopped cherry tomatoes, creating a sort of vegetarian lasagna tower kind of structure.  i fancied myself a michelin 5* chef today so i glammed up the serving plate with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.  i sprinkled the chopped sun-dried tomatoes randomly across the plate while i placed the cucumber, olives and ricotta in a pretty way to make it more appetising. oh, of course, a sprig of mint just had to be included to finish things off!

so here's what the finished dish looks like ...

will you be giving this a try? do you have any skinny meals you'd like to share? let me know xx

confession #000061

... or, strawberry fields forever

this morning started off in one of the most idyllic ways, at least for the city girl that i am.  freshly faced and clad in my rather bourgeois fred perry stripes, ankle-grazing skinnys and ballerinas, i hopped over to the farmer's market which is actually just round the corner from our apartment in krakow.  the 10 minute trip put me in a good mood and i figure i should adopt this as a bit of a habit ... though getting this done before the 07:30 start of work day schedule may seem a bit gruelling ...

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