Day one started with three grains porridge and berries. as part of me trying to change my eating habits and lose some weight I head back to my Pilates classes today, I haven’t been for sooo long that I actually forgot I have a membership (don’t mention the gym membership….). I haven’t been back to the gym yet but I’m so glad I managed to do my Pilates class, my body felt so cramped and shrunken by sitting next to my computer all day long, the Pilates opened my chest, elongated my legs and reminded me where my tummy was. That was awesome!!!

Exercise makes me hungry… I’m sure I’m not the only one? So thankfully, it was nearly lunch time and I was meeting Elana at my house for work and lunch!!! Hooray, Thai inspired kale salad was on the meal plan for today, I had the ingredients chopped and the dressing in a jar, all I had to do was add the avocado and mix. We added the shredded chicken as protein for the salad – deliciously easy. 

And of course all ingredients are optional and you can swap them for whatever you like or have, swap kale to baby spinach, sugar snap with fine French beans etc.

Prepare all the ingredients and the dressing ahead of time and keep them in the fridge, mix just before you eat.

So here is how we made it:

 Kale Salad 

Makes 4

 Ingredients

• 4 cups baby kale or shredded kale (no stalks)   
• 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• ½ red pepper, julienne
• ½ yellow pepper, julienne
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 150gr mangetout, sliced diagonally
• 150gr sugar snap, sliced diagonally
• 50gr super sprouts
• Tender stem broccoli, chargrilled
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 avocado, diced

 

For the dressing:                                                  

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lemon grass stick, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Tamari
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 limes, juiced

 

Method

• In a jar, mix well all the dressing ingredients and keep in the fridge for later.
• Cut all the vegetables into a matchsticks or juliennes, place in a bowl and toss together.
• When ready to eat, add the avocado, drizzle with the dressing and serve.

 

For dinner, I just had a salmon glazed with miso glaze (ready-made glaze) in the oven, some of the salad left overs and courgettes pasta that I spiralized in the spiralizer yesterday, ready to add to any meal.

 

I recommend you use at least one courgette per person, then toss it in a frying pan with a tiny bit of coconut oil, finely chopped garlic clove (1 per serving), coriander, chilli flakes, salt and pepper – delicious and nutritious dinner!

I’m using a new spiralizer at the moment so will review it after I made the pad Thai on Friday, when I can check how well it copes with sweet potatoes and butternut noodles.

Re: MISO, I will use it at least twice this week, once as a glaze and once as a dressing that can go both on roasted vegetables or any salad really. If you haven’t tried it, miso is a Japanese soybean and grain paste that has been fermented and then aged for up to three years. It is usually made with rice or barley. It’s a versatile savoury soup base similar to bouillon paste or cubes. Look for tubs of miso in the refrigerated section of Japanese food markets, health foods stores, or large supermarkets. Powdered miso is also available, as are powdered soup mixes made with miso and dashi. Boosting the intake of your fermented soybeans (like miso) can also help with insulin resistance, lower diabetes risk and lead to improvements in bone health.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s dinner, Laksa soup in on the menu!

Let me know how you are doing.

Two Healthy Cookies.