The Natural Chef.

2012-01-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

DIY CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD

Try this amazing chicken caesar salad; a much better version for you, and oh so tasty!

Chicken Caesar Salad
400 calories, serves 2

Chicken Caesar Salad

1 bunch of baby cos lettuce (enough for 2 large bowls)
2 eggs
150 g or 6 rashers of short-cut bacon
1 chicken breast (200 g)
2 slices grain bread (we used Burgen's soy & linseed)
Fresh parsley

1 garlic clove

Dash of olive oil

Dressing:
2 tbsp natural greek yoghurt (Black Swan)
2 tsp dijon mustard (Masterfoods)
Good squeeze of lemon
1 garlic clove

1. Slice the chicken breast in half. Rub with a small amount of olive oil, fresh parsley and half the garlic clove. Add to a hot non-stick skillet.

2. Cut all visible fat off the bacon and add to a small hot pan. Cook until desired crispiness. Set aside.

3. Hard boil the eggs by placing them in a pot with boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes, set aside to cool and remove the shell.

4. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil onto both pieces of bread. Top with some chopped parsley and garlic. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until crispy. Cut into small squares and set aside.

5. Once the chicken is done, set on a chopping board and cut into slices.

6. Mix the dressing together into a bowl. Add washed lettuce leaves and stir to combine. Add the chicken, toasted bread and bacon.

7. Serve into 2 bowls. Slice the egg and set on top. Drizzle a bit more dressing onto the salad and top with fresh parsley.

2012-01-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

AMAZE-BALLS. LOW CALORIE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE!

This is an insanely good, rich chocolate cake. No flour and light on calories, only 200 for a mind-blowing serve. Just make sure you share!

Low calorie flourless chocolate cake
200 calories, serves 10

Organic flourless chocolate cake

125 g organic dark chocolate (Green & Black's 70% cocoa)
100 g raw sugar
100 g butter (we used Harmonie Organic)
50 g cocoa powder
50 g ground walnuts

5 egg whites

Optional: Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius and lightly grease a 20cm cake tin. Also dust with a tiny bit of cocoa powder.

2. Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a saucepan with boiling water.

3. Once melted, remove from heat and add sugar, cocoa, eggs and walnuts. Stir then pour into pan.

4. Bake at 150 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. Optional: dust with icing sugar.

Hint: Reheat cake for 15 seconds in the microwave before serving leftovers.

2012-01-06T03:44:00.000-08:00

AMAZING DESSERT UNDER 150 CALORIES!

So I just made the best dessert I've had in ages.

Whilst the low fat custard may not be the best choice, it's really good for a sweet treat and is very low calorie.

Apple & Cinnamon Decadence

147 calories, serves 1

Apple, Cinnamon & Custard

120g Apple, cored, no skin, thinly sliced (Sundowner, 60 calories)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Sugar (Masterfoods, 10 calories)
100gm low fat custard (Pauls, 77 calories)

1. Put the thinly sliced apple in a small saucepan and cover with water. Put on a mid-high heat.

2. Once the water has been absorbed and the apple is soft (continue to add small amounts of water until the apple is soft; for me, it's usually around 1 full cup of water).

3. Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar.

4. Put in a bowl and cover with 100g custard.

2012-01-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

CALORIE COUNTING TO THE MAX...

So this is what I've been doing for the past week. It is driving me insane; however, I've replaced all the diet soft drinks, light dressing, sugary yoghurt with healthier, natural foods.

Whilst it's working and I have lost weight, it's extremely hard to keep up. However, I'm going well, and it's prompting me to really think about my portion size - that is the most important reason why I am still counting calories.

This is what I ate today - and yes, I weighed most of it.

2012-01-06T01:33:00.001-08:00

HEARTY, HEALTHY BEAN & RICE CONCOCTION - FOR 300 CALORIES?!

This truly was a tasty meal. I was trying to find something low calorie but still as natural as possible and most of all, as delicious as possible.

Cannelini beans are great and so easy to use. Brown rice is full of fibre and I'm just rediscovering how delicious and versatile celery is. Mixed with subtle tomato, garlic and chilli flavours, this dish is a quick and easy option for a low calorie mid week dinner.

Tasty Beans & Rice
300 calories, serves 2

Tasty beans & rice

1 can of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed, usually 240gm left)

120gm of uncooked brown rice

2 tomatoes

1 large garlic clove

1 tbsp fresh basil

1 tbsp fresh chives

1 small red chilli

2 cups celery (or any finely chopped crunchy veg)

Salt & Pepper

Optional:

- Olive oil

- Dressing, made of stirring together 1 tablespoon natural greek yoghurt; 1 teaspoon of lemon juice; 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard; dash of crushed garlic, salt and pepper.

1. Put the 100gm of uncooked brown rice in a pan and boil for 25-30 minutes depending on your preference.

2. Finely chop or mash the tomato and crush the garlic. Heat this up in a small pan.

Note: I don't like chunks of tomatoes, so I blended the tomato with the garlic at the start. It formed a nice pink sauce, hence no chunks of tomato in the photo.

3. Add the basil, chives, chilli and cannellini beans. Season with salt and pepper. Let this simmer for 15 minutes. Add some olive oil if you aren't restricting calories; I didn't, but it would be even more amazing if you did.

3. Once the rice has absorbed all the water, add the cannellini mixture and the 2 cups of chopped celery. Stir to combine. Optional: Top with a drizzle of olive oil and yoghurt dressing.

2012-01-06T01:32:00.001-08:00

A REVELATION!

Guess what? Life is so not about a constant struggle with dieting!

No more low fat foods with ingredients you can't pronounce, no more 'diet' soft drink, no more 'lite' salad dressing, no more fake sweetener.

That stuff is all bad for you! You know what the secret is to eating healthy and losing weight? Real food. Natural food. Amazing food. Food from nature.

I totally believe the secret to extending our lives, increasing our energy and jolting our happiness out of this world, is to eat natural whole foods!

I'm usually making good choices, however portion size is my downfall. Recently I embarked on a rather time-consuming diet of counting calories, weighing everything and tried to stay under 1300 calories a day.

All whilst thinking, "Diet Coke has no calories, isn't that great? And I wonder which chocolate bar has the lowest calories..." when I thought, there is NO way that doing this can any better for me than eating lots of natural foods from the earth.

Sure, it's okay to eat stuff in moderation, but the basis of the foods we eat in our everyday lifestyle need to be simple, easy to prepare foods that are packed full of goodness.

The purpose of this blog is to create low calorie yet still delicious meals, and share them on here.

And if no-one reads this, well at least I have a great digital recipe book!