Fantastico!

Another fantastic recipe from Gino - yesterday's spicy fish soup (p81; The Italian Diet, not the one above ). Admittedly, I added a few thin slices of Chorizo (cut into 4 pieces), an addition I saw in another recipe, and that might have made it so super yummy (and more calorific, of course). Definitely got the thumbs up from The Boy - who had seconds. So another three star recipe.

I don't just use Gino's book, of course. One of the problems with dieting (and cooking for the rest of the family at the same time), is that you also want to use up what is in the house, or you really need to use up frozen food to make space for all the soups you're cooking right now for your lunch time meal...

So, some of the time, you just have to make it up as you go along and hope that it's still low fat and low cal. I find that portion control in terms of the stodge (rice, potatoes, pasta) helps, and also my little rule of never using more than a TEASPOON of olive oil - whatever your recipe says!!! Most pan-fried things are most forgiving if you add a tad water if they are too much clinging to the pan. So, absolutely no need to add more oil!

At other times, you have to check your books/notes/the net for what to do with your glut of mangetout/chicken/beansprouts. One of my favourityes for diet recipes that work, are tasty and fast, is Ainsley Harriot's "low fat meals in minutes". This is where I found Wok-it Chicken Chow Mein on page 75, for my ingredients above. Unfortunately, this recipe wasn't as great as others I have cooked from his collection. I loved the way the mangetout are sliced lengthways (looks great and cooks them faster), but all in all, it could have been tastier and moister. Still a 2 stars meal as far as the men were concerned - though they did add salt!

Back to Square 1

I can hardly believe that more than a year has passed and I haven't blogged at all!! Certainly not about food. But even my 'From Brum to Berlin' contributions were rare.

What's much worse though is the fact that, not only have I not lost any weight, in fact, in 2012, the Battle of the Bulge is an even tougher one, as I'm actually back to the grossly overweight state I was in when I was approaching 50. Since then, I had been down somewhat twice, though never all the way to my ideal weight of however many years ago. One might well say that this is the weight my body wants to be but that's just one of the facets.

Now, if I could say that the diet(s) fell by the wayside because I finally addressed all the issues inside and outside this house, then at least SOME things would be all sunshine and roses. But no, the domestic battle front has also not moved one little bit, in fact, it can safely be said that we are well and truly entrenched!

But it's all going to change now, right?!! Right... The self-help books - of which I own too many for it to be healthy - all seem to say that step 1 is to state what you're going to do, and then do it. So, here goes:

1. I'm going to lose weight this year and keep it off
2. I'm going to get the house restored
3. I'm going to put my affairs in order

I've said it, now on to the far more demanding following through...

In terms of the diet, we started last week, and while the men DID have some chocolates over Easter, I managed to abstain. So far, so good.

I'm going to cook a lot from Gino D'Acampo's The Italian Diet. I bought it at a Charity shop and son Nr 2 has been through it, marking the recipes he would like me to try out, and I've got a few favourites of my own.

So far, we've had

• Light Spicy Meat Balls p75

• Baked Stuffed Onions With Sun-Dried Tomatoes p53

Both were delicious, and the meat balls were an absolute treat, my men said. So 3 stars there!

Next week, I'm intending to cook

• Spicy Fish Soup p81
• Fillet Of Cod With A Spicy Red Pesto p132
• Egg & Salami Salad With Toasted Pine Kernels p95