Week 6 - Ups and Downs

Good news this week and bad news.
I lost another 2½lb this week, but Marino managed to put on 2lb, :-( xxx
Anyway, I have now lost 14lb = 1 full stone and Marino has now still lost 9lb, so still good.
I am now 10 stone 8½ lb and Marino is is 17 stone 11lb.
We are both persevering and trying to be positive about the whole weight loss/gain thing.
I am very focussed and trying not to be too obsessed with the whole 'diet' regime.
To be honest, I thought I wouldn't lose much this week, but how wrong was I?
Anyway, I am on half term holiday this week and have been enjoying cooking some nice meals.  Poor Marino is still having to go to work, so I have been taking him his lunch and cheering him up at the Garage.

We went to wine tasting again this week and yet again, I volunteered to drive.  This always works to keep you off the alcohol.  As we all know, too much to drink = lack of determination... and eat loads... oops...

I made a lovely Pesto stuffed Mushrooms dish and served it with Pasta, which was nice. On Saturday we had a Chinese take away and I chose very wisely.  I had Mushroom Chow Mein and stir fried mixed vegetables.  Both dishes were only 10 pro points.  And, I couldn't eat it all, I was so full.  So what I ended up doing was having half on Saturday night and the other half for Sunday lunch, so win-win...

On Saturday daytime we went out for a nice drive to a local village and popped into a lovely rustic charmed pub, with log fire to boot.  I chose a Lamb Casserole with Barley and new Potatoes - and it was absolutely delicious.  I guess-timated the meal as 15 points.  My favourite dish this week had to be the Bang Bang Chicken which was gorgeous.  Very different and a Thai type dish with noodles and chilli's.  I even managed another Asparagus risotto which I had frozen from the other week and I had it with some mixed salad leaves and some Mushrooms dry fried in garlic.  Yum.

So, as you can see, we're certainly not starving and our variety of food is just great.

My leather trousers will now fasten and I can even sort of sit down, but still not too comfortable yet.  But, you know me, watch this space.  Only time and more weight loss will tell.

I will give you the recipe for the Bang Bang Chicken as below and then you can try it for yourself:

Bang Bang Chicken
Serves 2 - 10 mins Prep, 15 mins Cooking. (nice and quick for busy lives)
Serve it with a cucumber salad: cut ribbons of cucumber, lay on a plate, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 5 mins.  Rinse and pat dry before serving alongside the chicken.

2 x 140g (5oz) skinless boneless chicken breasts, halved into two long pieces
500ml (18 fl oz) chicken stock
1 piece lemon grass, tough outer stalks removed, halved lengthways
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, halved and de-seeded (I left the seeds in for a bit hotter version)
125g (4½oz) dried fine rice noodles
2 heads of pak choi, leaves separated
60g (2oz) baby corn
20g (¾oz) roasted salted peanuts, crushed
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, to serve
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Place the chicken pieces in a shallow, lidded pan and pour over the stock. 
Add the lemon grass, ginger, garlic and one piece of the chilli.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes until cooked through.
Scoop out the chicken, lemon grass, ginger, garlic and chilli and keep warm.
Add the noodles, pak choi and baby corn to the stock left in the pan.
Simmer gently for 5 mins until warmed through.
Finely dice the remaining chilli.
Serve the noodles and vegetables in a shallow bowl topped with the chicken pieces, peanuts, chilli and coriander.
Voila!!!
Enjoy

See you next week

Sharon and Marino
:-)

Here is a pic of me and Marino, This was a couple of years ago at a family wedding.
I will try to get some new pics of us as we are now.