No-check (low-fat/low-cal) Gazpacho

Take 6 over-ripe or full-flavoured tomatoes, quartered
1 small or 1/2 a large cucumber, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar (white or cider can be substituted)
1-2 cloves of garlic (to taste)
1 cup of water
1 tsp lemon juice

Blitz veg in a blender, add the water, season with salt and pepper and chill for 1 hr.

(Traditional gazpacho is the same bar the addition of olive oil)

Serves 6, 38 calories per serving or free on PEP (Scottish Slimmers)

Sparkpeople

My top tip for this week is a website: http://www.sparkpeople.com/
There's loads of help for slimmers including a recipe calculator to evaluate the nutritional information of your favourite dishes.

Smoked Mackerel Pate

Recipe share...

Smoked Mackerel Pate

50g low fat cream cheese 50
50g smoked mackerel 175
lemon juice trace (free on PEP)
flavour:
either chives or horseradish trace (free on PEP)

225 cals or 9 checks

combine ingredients and serve with celery or melba toast for a healthy lunch or supper

10 easy changes...

1. Portion control. Buy smaller cuts of meat and measure things like rice and pasta so you don't make to much - too tempting to eat leftovers, best to make only what you need.
2. Freeze leftovers or throw them in the bin. Temptation gone!
3. Drink less alcohol and more water or herbal tea. Buy low-cal beer and use it to make shandy with diet lemonade as an alternative.
4. Do some housework. 200-400 calories an hour depending on how vigorous you're working!!
5. Park further away or leave the car at home.
6. Take the stairs.
7. Play with your kids or a pet in the garden.
8. Do some gardening.
9. Substitute fatty sauces for low-fat or no-fat. For example, I use no-fat yoghurt instead of mayonnaise with tikka masala spice mix or mint to make dips. Substitute for cream and mayo in loads of recipes.
10. Leave your rowing machine (or whatever) out in front of the tv and use it every advert break - if you don't have one, do some sit-ups.

Exercise and Fitness DVDs

I've dug out some I already own for my first DVD/video review post. The first is Tone, Lift and Condition by Anthea Turner circa 1999 and it's brilliant because there are 3 levels. The first level takes just over 10 mins, the second about 15 and the third 20, so it fits into your day really easily and it's not a soft option. The exercises are toning exercises rather than cardio but it gets you a bit warmer than standard yoga or pilates. It's easy to follow and I used it years ago really successfully. Unfortunately it's never been rereleased on dvd so you'll need to trawl ebay or amazon for second hand copies of the video but have a look at the reviews they're all really positive.
The second dvd is Inch Loss Yoga by Susan Fulton and David Morgan. Now I have a few yoga videos and this is the best. The instructions are easy to follow, it's suitable for all levels and it is a continuous workout rather than one position after another which can be boring. I don't know how effective this one is but I really like the way I feel afterwards: stretched and relaxed. The presenter is clear, soothing and easy to follow without being patronising and she really describes each move well which is so important in yoga.

First post!

OK my first recommendation is http://www.my-calorie-counter.com (this is not an affiliated link). It's free to use but you need to register. Once you do, you add foods into your daily journal and it tots up the calories, fat and other nutrional content. It's brilliant and I can't find a free UK equivilant. The main downside is it's American. Brand names are all American and some foods have different names. What you can do, however, is ADD your own food. So if there's something you eat all the time then just give it a name and input the nutrional info and there it is for future use. You can also add exercise and your weight to your journal.