Breakfast Eggs with Basil and Avocado

Back home after a fantastic 5 weeks walking the Thames Path in southern Britain and I'm happy to be able to share some amazing photos, ideas and new recipes over the coming months. 

It was lovely to wake up in my own bed, listen to the sounds of the cockatoos and smell the eucalyptus! Home!

Although walking was the main reason my friend Stephanie and I went to the UK, we teemed this with eating; sampling delicacies from Spain and India, vegetables from the Middle East and delicious cheeses from France; croissants, bread, nuts and salads and anything and everything that looked interesting. Plus a whole lot of summer fruit, grown in the heart of England. 

We've eaten in some pretty interesting restaurants too, Rick Stein and River Cottage Canteen  (more about these later) and tried a great mixture of wines, beers and ciders, hic!



Enjoying some of the best food that Britain has to offer comes with one drawback - extra kilos! And while the main purpose of this trip was to WALK, we had to keep the body fuelled and herein lies the problem!

To be able to get into a pair of bathers over summer, without looking like a beached whale, my eating habits have to change and now! Hopefully with some great low calorie recipes, fasting on 2 days a week, reducing portion sizes and increasing exercise I may stand a chance. I need will power!!!!

I'm looking forward to experiencing appetising salads and vegetable dishes and sharing them here, and where possible I will include the calorie count. (If you are in the northern hemisphere - think of this as preparing yourself for next summer)

Some of my worst experiences in England centred around breakfast. Feeding large numbers of people in pubs/hotels must be a bit of a nightmare, but day after day of being offered the same food became tedious.

Eggs, bacon, beans, sausage; a range of pastries, toast and packet cereals. In Winchester, the hotel had tried to make a bit of an effort by  adding a 'smoothie' but the combination of flavours was uninspiring and after one mouthful I left it alone.

I love breakfasts, its a great way to fuel up your body for the day ahead and it's in our best interest to find recipes we can keep going back to; low calorie, easy to make, but damn delicious. 

What's your favourite breakfast food? I hanker after porridge, fruit and yoghurt and now I have bought a Ninja Pro, some great combinations of smoothies.

But wait - I'm beginning to sound really boring - here's something new to start with! Its a quick easy recipe that will have you bursting with energy and your friends green with envy!

 Avocado Eggs with Pesto and Spinach

Ingredients

This recipe is for one person

2 free range eggs

2 tablespoons pesto, home made or shop bought

1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced thinly

Turkish bread

50g baby spinach

1/2 bunch of asparagus sliced vertically

knob of butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

salt and pepper


I buy Turkish bread and slice it into 4 or 5 piece and freeze it, then I'm not tempted to eat too much.
You have to multi task and get all of these elements going at the same time so everything is ready to eat as soon as it is assembled

• Take an average slice of Turkish bread and cut into 2 and toast it
• Take a large pan and fill with boiling water for poaching eggs
• In a non stick fry pan heat a very small knob of butter and olive oil and
• Saute the asparagus for a few minutes and set aside. Now add the spinach and cook until it is wilted
• Crack eggs into the boiling water and cook for around 3 minutes
• Place the wilted spinach on top of the toasted bread,  add slices of avocado 
• Remove the poached eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and put on top of the avocado
• Give a good helping of salt and pepper
• Place a tablespoon of pesto on top of each egg then finish the whole dish off with asparagus spears
• Check seasoning and eat!

This is the yummiest breakfast I have eaten for a very long time.

Pasta Fasta

Federico Fellini once said,  "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." I agree wholeheartedly with him!

The magic for me is to be able to create a pasta dish that is fast to prepare, nutritious, tastes amazing but doesn't stack on the calories. I prefer to make fresh pasta because it tastes so much nicer, but using package pasta is a much faster option. 

Pasta has gotten a bad reputation because of its carbohydrate count. Many people on a weight reduction diet, tend to steer away from it altogether because of this. But following some simple rules you can still enjoy eating pasta on a regular basis. 

• Avoid sauces using cream products as these will increase the calorie count. Tomato based sauces are fine. Adding a little white  or red wine will give a nice flavour too.
• Try to restrict yourself to only 1 cup of cooked pasta at a time (unless you are planning to run a marathon)
• Go easy on butter and cheese. Instead of having cheese based sauces, only add a little to the end dish, a teaspoon of Parmesan Cheese will only add around 20 calories.
• Make sure you add a heap of vegetables to your dish, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach etc.
• Add fresh herbs they make a huge difference to the taste

I have a fairly big herb garden, so I feel justified in throwing in as many fresh herbs as I can, whenever I can. Basil is a particular favourite but I use lots of oregano, marjoram and flat leaf parsley. 

For this dish I made my own pasta because I love fresh pasta and it is fun to make. You do not have to do this, you can use any pasta but I recommend using Penne, Spaghetti or Linguine. If you want to make your own I have included a how to at the end of the post. If you are crazily busy make the sauce the day before.

Keeping simplicity in mind, this recipe for Pasta with Spinach and Garlic will give you around 320 calories per serve and adding a green salad will give you less that 500 calories. Importantly it will also put a smile of contentment on your face while you are eating it. Mangare!

 Pasta with Spinach and Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

375 g Pasta, Penne or Linguine (or recipe below)
Large bunch of English Spinach, washed and chopped (around 380g) 
1 tbls Olive oil
Knob of butter (optional if you need to watch calories)
3 Cloves garlic crushed
4 tbls Parmesan cheese grated
Pinch salt and pepper
3 tbls Flat leaf parsley chopped
3 tbls Basil chopped
4 tbls Pine nuts toasted (dry frypan for approx 3 minutes until golden) 

In a large saucepan of water with salt added, cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in frypan and add crushed garlic, cooking for a couple of minutes stirring constantly, add all of the spinach. You may need to do this slowly and as it starts to wilt add more. Cook until wilted adding basil and flat leaf parsley. Using a stick blender, pulse the spinach and garlic mixture.

When pasta is cooked, drain and put it back into the saucepan. Add Spinach mixture and mix thoroughly on a very low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and a knob of butter. Mix in the pine nuts and serve immediately with a sprinkling of Parmesan. Italians always mix the sauce into the pasta. Serves 4

Pasta Ingredients

2 cups Plain Flour
2 Eggs lightly beaten
1 tbls Olive oil
Pinch salt

Put the flour on your working area and make a well in the centre. Add 2 eggs, salt and oil and gradually work in the eggs, oil and flour together using finger tips. Keep working it until it forms a dough. On a floured board, knead for about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes. I do not refrigerate. This is ready to use either in your pasta machine or to roll by hand. If you find it a little soft, gently knead in a little more flour. Serves 4