So i figured while i'm in the blogging spirit i'd add another, this one is even easier if you prep it before hand it just needs a final blast in a medium oven on, result.

Cajun Style chicken and sweet potatoes

Serves four people at around 273 calories per person

So you take everything here and pop it into an ovenproof dish with some tinfoil over it to lock in some moisture (this can be removed about half an hour before serving) and leave it to oven cook itself for 2 hours

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1/2 yellow pepper

1 red onion

1 chicken breast or i've found quorn chicken pieces are amazing in this.

1 tsp cajun seasoning

112g frozen sweetcorn

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

pinch of salt and pepper

While this is in in you want to also have a backing tray in the same oven with 1 sweet potato and 2 carrots, peeled and chopped and spitzed lightly with and oil spray (like 1cal or you can buy spray bottles to put regular oil in from most kitchenware retailers now) and let that roast while your cajun stew cooks. And just throw it together to serve, it's kinda like a really really overly chunky soup almost. But very low in calories and fats without tasting like diet food. Enjoy.

Ok so first recipe post eeeeeeppp, this one is great for days when your at home but have lots to do, coz u can leave it bubbling away in a pan with a lid, slow cooker or a casserole pot, the longer it cooks for the better really, but at least a good four hours id let it go for. I like to do this when i'm on a cleaning/household chores day like a sunday and its nice comforting hot food for when your all done and completely worn out from it all, enjoy XD

Chicken thighs with chorizo and vegetable rice.

This recipe serves four,

For a serving of 1 thigh with the rice its around 330 calories per person, add another estimate of 110 calories per thigh if your going to serve more than one per portion XD

Firstly set your oven on high, about 250 degrees so it can heat up good. Place your chicken thighs in the oven, no oil just salt and pepper and after 20 minutes turn the heat down, this process is more to colour the meat anyway. (I would only use 1-2 thighs per person, I make this for four and 1 chicken thigh each is plenty to fill you up when added to all the rice and veg.)

Next take everything in this list, chop into smallish pieces and throw it into a pan with a lid or a slow cooker on a high heat with litre of veg stock using a oxo veggie stock cube to get it bubbling away.

1 medium sized red pepper

1 red onion

100g chorizo sausage

3 cloves of garlic

2 medium carrots

1 400g can of kidney beans, drained

30g frozen sweetcorn (just throw it in frozen)

Now cook 50g of plain white rice, it looks like nothing but it goes a long way i promise.

When the carrots are cooked through (a little softer) add the rice and chicken as well as a tbsp of tomato puree to your slow cooker or transfer the lot to a casserole dish to pop in the oven, you can then leave this bubbling away for hours on a medium heat until your ready to serve. 4-6 hours preferable.

Ok so Christmas is over and it's time to get back into eating healthier. Last June I set my whole family on a calorie controlled diet and where it didn't make too much of a difference to my appearance -as I'm already a healthy weight/size- It did make a huge difference to my skin, how I felt and my parents lost a substantial amount of weight. My mother who stuck to it the best lost 2 dress sizes in 3 months and is now proud to slip into size 10 jeans. The best thing about this is its NOT a diet, I hate diets, this is all the food I love with a few tiny changes that have made a huge difference. For example, I've replaced the following;

White bread swapped for brown and whole-wheat bread

Butter swapped for margarine

Crisps, I've changed to only eating baked variety's of crisps and not as often as before

I already drink semi-skimmed milk, if you can stomach it try skimmed

Grated cheese swapped for a 50% reduced fat version

And where I haven't completely replaced things I'm just eating more of the lower calorie option like in;

Potatoes, On average a medium Sweet potato has 60 calories less than a medium White potato

Also I'm eating less meat by using quorn in heavily flavoured dishes such as chilli

Anyway I'm getting off point, I am going to start uploading my recipes as they're quick, easy and most can be made and frozen which is great for busy people. I usually do the weeks meals in one afternoon on my day off and then I just get each out a night before to defrost, it makes eating well less hassle. Another point is that calorie counting can take a lot of time and effort and as I've already done this I want to share it with anyone who wants it.

So my healthy eating plan goes as follows;

Breakfast is either 2 slices of brown bread toast with margarine OR a small bowl of cereal (roughly 175g, once you've weighed it a few times its easy to see the amount) Avoid sugary cereals and try ones with bran or oats and wholegrains, this should keep you fuller during the day. I love Special K's Oats and Honey or I have branflakes with a bannana. Bringing me to my next point 2 pieces of fruit or smoothies a day. I try to have them when I want to snack. One glass of fruit Juice. For lunch and dinner, well this depends on when you eat and your lifestyle. Ideally you would eat one of the main meals I'm going to post at around 5 or 6 pm so your body has time to digest before you sleep (again depends on your sleep pattern) and you would have soup or a salad for lunch. However some days I switch the two around so I'm eating a less calorie meal closer to bedtime. This also allows me some spare calories in my day to account for those pesky crisp cravings and a small chocolate bar OR starbucks if needed. I should also mention that I drink water and diet coke so these do not factor in hugely to this plan. I know I've talked a lot in this intro but I wanted to cover everything, the next few posts will just be recipes or updates into how I'm doing with this plan. The last point I will make is that this plan covers lots of nutrients and vitamins and is to ensure I'm always under the 2000 calorie a day recommended intake, I should also mention that I'm NOT a nutritionist, this is just something that's worked for me and my friends and family. Enjoy.