Roasted Courgettes with Pinenuts and Cottage cheese

Most people say they fail on their healthy eating habits because they get home from work late or don't have time to cook fresh. I know it can be hard but cooking from scratch really does not take that long. I came home from a yoga class at 9.45pm too starving to go to bed without food. Yet this was made in 10mins and popped in the oven so that by the time I'd had a shower it was ready.
Not great to eat late but with something so light it is fine.

Ingredients
1 large courgette
1 large Beef steak tomato, chopped
2 tbsp of cottage cheese
1/2 red pepper chopped
Handful of fresh basil and fresh mint
1tsp of pine nuts

Slice the courgette in two vertically and cut out the inside. You won't be able to get it all out this way without breaking the skin so do the rest by using a teaspoon and gently scraping out.
Squeeze liberally with lemon juice or even an orange if that's all you have got to hand. Then fill with the chopped up vegetables, herbs and pine nuts. Top with cottage cheese, season and pop in the oven 200 for around 15-20mins.

Spicy Mustard Seed Stir Fry

When you make an attempt to change the way you eat, particularly if you're trying to diet, portions can sometimes seem small. But don't be tempted to pile more on your plate - eat first and you can always add more. If your plate is full to begin with though, you're likely to eat it even if you're not hungry.
This dish is a case in point where it can at first seem like there is not enough - trust me, it's filling enough.

Ingredients
Birds eye chilli, finely chopped (use as much/little as you like)
Garlic, finely chopped
Broccoli, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
2dsp of chick peas
red pepper, chopped
1tsp of mustard seeds
sprinkle of sesame seeds
tamari or soy sauce to taste
orange segment

Saute the chilli, garlic in the juice of the orange - add a bit of water if needed to prevent it burning and becoming acrid. Add the veggies with the tamarai or soy sauce to taste. Cook until softened but the veg should still have bite.
Serve with quinoa if you are on the first four weeks of Fitbitch or with an omelette if you are on the maintenance.

Rainbow breakfast

After you've been exercising in the cold, wintry morning - or you've rolled out of bed - you might feel like all you want to eat is a big mound of baked beans on toast. But it is possible to do healthy, warming brekkies with a hint of summer all year round.
Try this Muesli with natural yoghurt and pineapple, raspberry and cinnammon compote.
To make the compote, heat a tablespoon or so of frozen raspberries and a desert spoon of pineapple (don't go overboard on the pineapple if you're on the four week eating plan - it is sweet!). Add cinnamon to taste and serve over muesli with yoghurt and chopped apple. Delicious!
(excuse the quality of the picture - having problems with my camera!)

Spicy Celeriac & Black Onion Seed Fritter

So many women fall down - or taking a flying leap - off the healthy eating wagon in the evening. More often than not it's because you come home late from work or you're exhausted from looking after the kids and assume you haven't got time to cook. Solution? Fast food or a takeaway.
The truth is though if you're prepared to experiment with cooking you can always rustle something up in less than 30mins. And it tastes damn good by that time. This was my post yoga meal using leftovers in the frige (shoot me if I sound like Nigella - agh!)

Ingredients (makes five)
Celeriac, 2 inch thick grated
1 carrot, grated
Tin of chick peas, mashed
1/2 onion chopped thinly
1 tomato, diced
1/2 slice of rye bread, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
1 chilli finely chopped
1tsp of black onion seed
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
Polenta/cornmeal for coating
Combine all the dry ingredients and then add the egg until it is moist enough to pick up and mould. gently mould into thin patties - it will be delicate so don't worry about this. Coat on a plate covered in cornmeal and then place in a hot - oil free - pan. It will crisp up lovely. Serve with salad
Admittedly, pic is not good!

Why no olive oil?

When most people start on the Fitbitch Stage One eating plan, they always ask why they can't cook or use oil in dressings. Or rather they don't ask, they just ignore it and carry on regardless.
That is totally up to you as Fitbitch Boot Camp is not about being prescriptive, making you feel guilty or ordering you to do something. You have to make your own conscious decisions about the way you eat and exercise. But it's worth being informed and many people don't realise just how calorific olive oil is - or how much we use.
Have you ever tested how much olive oil you pour into a pan? Try it. It's quite shocking as a small, innocent little slick in a pan when you pour it out can amount to around 2 desert spoons. And that's not to mention how much you glug over a salad.
Of course, nutritionally olive oil is fantastic but that doesn't mean it is good for your waistline if your aim is weight loss.
And now here's the sums...in two teaspoons there are around 84 calories. Have olive oil for breakfast with your eggs, for salad at lunch and to make your dinner and that's 252 calories right there.
Olive oil is delicious though and who would want to cut it out forever? It is worth eliminating it for at least four weeks and finding alternatives though and then you may find you don't need to use it as often.
Scan down the archives for the Fitbitch healthy dressing and sauce alternatives.

Cod with spicy celariac & carrot salad

Ingredients
cod fillet
Juice of 1 lime, 1/2 lemon
2inch piece of celeriac
1 carrot
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 chilli
Nam pla fish sauce
Rice wine vinegar
tamari

Wrap the cod fillet in tin foil after squeezing with the lemon juice and seasoning with salt and pepper. As it is roasting in the oven start cooking the quinoa and add the broad beans in the last five minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile grate the carrot and celeriac. In a separate bowl make the dressing by finely chopping the chilli and garlic, then adding the fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and tamari. Finally add the lime juice. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Add the poppy seeds, dressing and mint and combine. Serve with the quinoa and fish when ready.

Add the poppy seeds to the salad and pour over the dressing.

Sweet potato & Spinach soup

Here at Fitbitch Boot Camp, we love a soup. They're delicious, low calorie and blimmin' filling! This is the perfect lunch time soup - or top with a poached egg for something more substantial.
Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic
1 birds eye chili
bunch of broccoli
3 large tomatoes chopped and diced
big handful of baby spinach leaves
1 sweet potato, chopped
dsp fenugreek
2 dsp ground coriander
sea salt
pepper
Yoghurt to serve

Bung the garlic, chilli, broccoli and sweet potato in a pan, cover with water. Season with the spices and salt and pepper and leave to simmer. Once the potato has cooked through, add the spinach and stir in. (add water at any stage when it becomes too thick or looks as if it's going dry). The spinach will take seconds to cook through. Whizz with a handheld processor (make sure it's under the level of the soup!) Check for seasoning and serve with a spoonful of yoghurt. Delicious!
Sorry, no pic as it wouldn't upload!