Recipe - Veggie Rice with Shrimps and Egg

So today I tried out a new recipe and I have to say, the result was delicious. Healthy, as always, and packed with flavour. Its a rice dish loaded with veggies and protein (from the shrimps and egg). So, here are the ingredients that I used:


100g wholegrain rice
100g shrimps
100g kidney beans
150g frozen spinach
1 tomato, chopped
100g fresh mushrooms
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1 boiled egg

I chopped all my vegetables up into small cubes and got the fying pan heated up with some water (I never use oil, saves the extra calories!) I threw in the chopped garlic first and once that browned slightly, I added the spinach and let that cook away at high heat for about 2-3 mins.

I then added my fresh mushrooms and after they cooked for awhile, I added the shrimps to make sure they cooked thoroughly. I then added the kidney beans which I happen to love because they're low in calories and fat and they can be used with almost anything. The chopped tomatoes went in next, so that they would add some juciness to the dish. I added them close to last because I didn't want them drying up.

After that I added the wholegrain rice (I always use wholegrain as it is much lower in carbohydrates and calories than white rice) and 1 tsp of curry powder as I love a bit of a spicy kick to my food. Here's what it looked like in the pan:

I then left it simmer away for about 5-10 minutes and once it was ready I ladled it out onto my plate and added the sliced boiled egg as a garnish and for extra flavour. I'm glad I added the boiled egg as I felt it really made a difference to the whole dish. Here's a pic of the completed dish:

Although this dish serves one, it's a really filling dish and it can easily be shared amongst two if you're not feeling that hungry. (But you'll probably want to keep it all to yourself, I know I did!)

So, let me know if you liked the recipe and if you tried it out youreslf! Enjoy!

Kayti

A Bit of My History

If someone had to tell me that in four months I would have ditched junk food, exercised regularly and lost 19 kilos I would have laughed in their face and asked them if they were on something. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong but my new lifestyle makes me feel so much better; physically, mentally and emotionally. When I compare my new life to my old one, I realized what a difference the food I was eating made to my overall well-being.

Before, I felt tired and sluggish all the time. I ran out of breath when climbing the stairs or running for the bus. It wasn't that I was really fat or anything but I was unhealthy and close to becoming overweight. I'm not even 100% sure why I suddenly decided to change my ways; I just came to the realization that at some point in my life, the food choices I was making were going to have a negative impact on me, my weight and my health. (Duh! I tell myself now.)

Just to give you an idea of how I ate before, this is what I would have ate on a typical day:

Breakfast: Sugary cereal with lots (I mean lots) of chocolate sprinkles and full-fat milk. I sometimes had double servings if I woke up really hungry.
Mid-Morning Snack: 4 slices of sliced white bread, 2 slices ham, god-knows-how-many slices of cheese and lots of butter
Pre-Lunch Snack: Bag of cornchips, lots of soda
Lunch: Pizza with pepperoni or a spicy chicken burger slathered in mayo (copius amounts of mayo, of course) and ketchup
Snack: Chocolate milk or hot chocolate if it was a cold day, about 4 chocolate chip cookies (more if my parents weren't looking)
Dinner: Macaroni and cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich if I wasn't too hungry
Pre-Bedtime Snack: Cereal bar (in an effort to be healthy *coughtrytoeatmorethanhumanlypossiblecough*)

Yup, there you go. That's a good idea of what I ate, everyday, for years and years. And you know why I kept eating like that? I never gained weight. Or at least I didn't think I was until suddenly my clothes weren't fitting anymore and I was panting just to walk down the road. Not good.
I had tried diets before and I had lasted about 3 days max. before I would throw in the towel and lurch back gratefully to my fat-filled food. And the reason I could never stick to the diets was because I was completely ignorant about eating right. For me going on a diet meant starving yourself. No wonder I never got past 3 days! Now, armed with the right knowledge on how to eat sensibly (thankyou Internet, what would I do without you?!) my daily food intake is much better than what I was eating just four short months ago.

Here's an idea of what I now eat everyday:

Breakfast: Homemade muesli or All-Bran with skim milk and an apple or banana
Snack: 2 slices wholewheat bread with cucumber, tomatos and raw carrots
Lunch: Wholegrain rice with grilled chicken, spinach, colored peppers and mushrooms
Snack: 2 slices wholewheat bread with low-fat cottage cheese and celery or a homemade apple muffin (low-fat & sugar-free) and a fruit
Dinner: Tuna and prawn salad or a yogurt and fruit if I'm not really hungry.

I make sure I get my greens, choose wholegrain whenever possible and stick to low-fat dairy products and lean meats. Basically, what my mother's been telling me to do for ages! Why did I never listen?

Breakfast

Before I started my healthier lifestyle, you could describe my daily eating habits as indulgent, gluttonous, unhealthy...you get the idea. My idea of a snack was a family-sized bag of cornchips and a few gulps of sugary soda, followed by a chocolate and jam doughnut. Lovely. Nowadays, however, I have a better idea of nutrition and I'm much happier with the choices of food that I make, but sometimes I still find myself craving some of the stuff I used to eat before my personal health revolution.

So what do I do? Give in to temptation and stuff my face with whatever comes to hand? No. Instead, I decided to give my favourite meals a mini-makeover, making them healthy for me to eat without the unavoidable guilt-trip, and stifling my cravings all at the same time.

One of my favourite meals of the day is breakfast. I don't know why but there's just something about eating at 7:00 am that calls my name. It's true! The first thing I think about when I get up in the morning is, "What am I gonna eat?" And my favourite breakfast meal: cereal. Yup, plain old boring cereal. But the problem was that I never left my cereal boring for long. I used to choose the cereal that had the most sugar/chocolate/additves etc., add full-fat milk and, as a finishing touch, crushed chocolate sprinkles for that added sugary goodness. (Yeah, I was a serious chocolate junkie.) Well, that was never going to contribute to a healthy diet was it?
So I decided to give my morning breakfast a little (ahem, big) makeover and opted for homemade muesli instead.

Here's a little recipe that I use nowadays for my breakfast (which I like much more than my previous chocolate overload):

2 tbsp oats
apple, chopped
banana, chopped (for sweetness)
almonds, crushed (I like a little crunch in my cereal, much better than chocolate)
grated cinnamon
skimmed milk (200ml) or low-fat yogurt

And there you have it; cereal that makes me want to get up in the morning and which I know we'll keep me going till my next tasty meal (and not a trace of chocolate anywhere!)

Kayti

Introduction to CharmingChow

Hello world!

Welcome to CharmingChow, a blog dedicated to trying out new, healthy, tasty recipes that I've cooked myself and as a sort of food journal on what I eat everyday to try to keep my figure in shape.
In the last 4 months I've lost 19 kilos (or around 42 pounds) all thanks to the change in my diet and lifestyle and I hope to use this blog to share my experiences with anyone who also wants to make healthier (but still delicious) food choices.
Healthy does not mean boring!

Kayti