Food for the soul

After realising that I can really let my weight creep up over the past couple of years, I joined the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation in May. I’m just starting Week 11, and as of last week I had lost a total of 8.8 kilos since starting the program. I have also incorporated Dry July into my new lifestyle, in fact I have only had about 5 glasses of wine during the entire 10 weeks thus far (with no alcohol at all for the past 6 weeks).

The whole healthy living approach I’ve been taking has fundamentally been healthier eating, portion control, regular exercise and minimal alcohol.

I’ve decided to blog a little about my new-found healthy approach to living, including about the 12 Week Body Transformation, its excellent social media strategies, what I’ve been cooking, etc.

For this first post I’ve decided to share a couple of basic recipes that are really healthy (both just 301 calories per serve!) and easy to prepare.

Chargrilled Beef with Avocado Salsa (adapted from 12WBT Program)

Serves 2
Calories per serve: 301

2 x 110g porterhouse steaks, trimmed (get used to smaller meat portions!)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 avocado, cubed
250g corn (tinned is fine)
1 lime
Fresh coriander

Cook your beef to your liking on a grill pan or barbecue, thus adding no fat to cook with.

Combine your tomato, avocado, corn and coriander in a bowl to make the salsa. Drizzle with the juice of your lime.

Rest meat, then divide your salsa and top each steak with half.

TIP: You can rub some spice onto your meat prior to cooking if desired, I like Moroccan spice mix

Chicken and Broccolini Laksa (from 12WBT)

Serves 2
Calories per serve: 301

Olive oil spray
1 tablespoon laksa paste
500mL chicken stock
250mL Carnation Light n Creamy Coconut Milk
100g chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccolini, cut in the middle
2 cups bean sprouts
Fresh mint
Fresh coriander
Lime wedges

Use a little spray on the base of a medium-sized saucepan. On a low heat, add the laksa paste and gently cook, stirring, until fragrant (about 2 minutes).

Add the chicken stock and coconut milk and stir to combine.

Bring to a gentle simmer (don’t let it boil) and then add the stalks of the broccolini and the chicken. Cook for around 3-4 minutes and then add the broccolini tops for a further 2 minutes.

Divide the bean sprouts into two bowls, the top with half the laksa mixture.

Garnish with mint, coriander and squeeze with fresh lime.

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These are two very easy meals to prepare, very tasty, and of course really healthy!

Stay tuned for more of my healthy living blog posts. I’ll be posting more recipes of my own, updating you with my progress and writing more about the changes in my body, life, thinking and routine.