I’ve been doing a week of food and here is what one person (me!) eats in a week.
Full sized image at flickr
In Summary
This week I made the recommended allowances for:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Thiamin
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B-12
- Selenium
- Iron
- Phosphorus
The nutrients I need to work on are:
- Zinc (had 60% of recommended amount).
- Calcium (had 70% of recommended amount).
- Magnesium (had 81% of recommended amount) .
- Niacin (had 75% of recommended amount).
- Folate (had 69% of recommended amount).
All up, I don’t think that’s bad going.
If you’d like to do your own nutritional check-up you can use nutrition reports at www.fitday.com
What I Ate
The food
- Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
- Eggplant Moussaka. Another dish which is even better on the second day.
- Nuts in Armour
- Mandarin and banana.
- Simple egg, cheese, lettuce, onion, mustard and tomato sauce burger.
The Calories
There is a total of 1600 calories in these photos which is 75% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).
The following recipe was found in the cookbook Accept with Pleasure.
Nuts in Armour
Take two cups of blanched nuts. Almonds, cashew nuts, pecans and hazelnuts are all suitable – you can mix them or use any variety on its own.
Place the nuts in a warm oven (180C/350F) and stir them frequently until they are golden and crisp. While this is going on you can be making the covering mix for them.
Into one white of egg, stiffly beaten, fold half a teaspoon of salt, a quarter of a teaspoon cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, a dash of tabasco sauce and a dessertspoon of soy sauce.
Roll the hot nuts in this mixture and return to a slow (120C/250F) oven to dry out thoroughly – about three quarters of an hour.
When the nuts are absolutely dry rub them between the hands to separate them and then store in a completely airtight jar.
(Illustration by Claire Simpson)
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Or you can do what I did and just make a small amount and then eat them!
I didn’t have all the ingredients so I just added salt, chilli powder and soy sauce to the egg white. That was yummy. I agree with the author this is an easy and small teaser to enjoy with your drinks before the start of a meal.
If you haven’t blanched almonds before I recommend it as a fun afternoon activity. You just need to chuck them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, rinse in cold and then squeeze the almonds out of the shells. The best bit is trying to catch the nut as they slip out and bounce along the counter.
A book about food written for those who like to share the good things of life with their friends.
I found this entertaining/cooking book in a bunch of old (errr, rare) books we are going to sell on trademe. It’s an Australian cook book written by Patricia Harris and published in 1969.
A couple of my favourite quotes are:
“This is a rather more robust effort than usual, but it will be a sure success with the teenage undergraduate set whose appetites have been sharpened by violent exercise.”
“A few small items to encourage conversation and to provide an accompaniment to the welcoming drinks. These are not intended to fill more than the smallest digestive crannies but rather to prompt a sense of pleasurable anticipation.”
I tried cooking one of the small items suggested in the book called Nuts in Armour and can confirm that while it was delicious not even the smallest of my digestive crannies were filled.
Today we had sun so I sat outside for lunch, enjoyed the weather and pretended it was summer.
Reality hit around 4pm when it started to get cold, fortunately I had a dinner of hot Eggplant Moussaka to look forward to.
What I Ate
The Food
- Surprise! Not porridge. Cornflakes with milk and peaches.
- Egg, lettuce and feta dressing sandwich on soy and linseed bread.
- Mandarin and banana.
- More Mandarins (they’re on special)
- Eggplant Moussaka
The Calories
There is a total of 1555 calories in these photos which is 70% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).
I used to work with a woman who had been a vegetarian all her life. Growing up her family had lots of rituals around food. One of them was having Eggplant Moussaka for Christmas dinner.
This is certainly a special treat meal, it’s too full of yummy richness (read fat) to eat regularly.
There is also a lot going on so it’s good to have a fun kitchen companion to help out.
It took us 2 hours from start to finish.
Did I mention it was extremely yummy?
Vegetarian Eggplant Moussaka
- 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 mushroons, thinly sliced
- 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 (440gm) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup of red lentils, drained, juice reserved
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Topping
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- black pepper to taste
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Preheat oven to 190C (375 degrees F)
3. While preparing the vegetables place a pot of water on the element to boil. When this comes to the boil add ½ cup of red lentil (will be about a cup when cooked). Boil for 10 minutes then remove from oven and set aside. Keep about ½ cup of the cooking water for later.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown eggplant and mushroom slices on both sides; drain. Adding more oil if necessary, brown potato slices; drain.
5. Saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Pour in vinegar and reduce. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
6. In a 9×13 inch casserole dish layer eggplant, mushroom, potatoes, onions and feta and tomato mixture.
7. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine butter, flour and milk. Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smoot. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
9. Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
Based on recipe found All recipes
What I Ate
The Food
- Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
- Huevos Motulenos Whangamata Style.
- Seaweed rice crackers.
- Broccoli, Potato and Pumpkin Vindaloo .
- Walnuts, pecans and dates.
The calories
There is a total of 1408 calories in these photos which is 65% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).
These eggs are our attempt at Huevos Motulenos like we ate a number of times in Mexico.
For two people:
- Cup of frozen mixed vegetables.
- Half a cup of salsa.
- Four eggs.
- 50gms feta cheese.
- 4 slices bread.
Cook the veges. Fry the eggs. Heat the salsa. Make the toast – well-done to avoid sogginess.
Assemble by putting the toast down, followed by the eggs, the vegetables, and the salsa. Sprinkle with the feta. Consume.
What I Ate
The Food
A bit more bread centric than I’d like but we were making bread! The bread turned out ok but not good so we’ll have to try again. Maybe on another rainy day.
- Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
- Mandarins.
- Frittata with red cabbage, broccoli and leeks made by Thomas. I’ve been trying to like cabbage but I don’t. It would have been much better without.
- Peanut butter on soya and linseed bread. I was waiting for the bread to rise and got hungry.
- Homemade bread. Much kneading required.
The Calories
There is a total of 1395 calories in these photos which is 70% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).
This is the perfect winter’s night indulgence. Thomas and I used to make it for dinner instead of dessert so we could eat more!
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
From the “Australian Women’s Weekly” magazine. Serves 6
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup castor sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup milk
- 30g butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 cup cocoa, extra
- 11/4 cups hot water
- icing sugar
Method
Sift flour, sugar and cocoa into a bowl (probably the one you’ll cook it in). Make a well in the centre of ingredients, gradually stir in the combined milk and butter. Beat until smooth. Pour cocoa mixture into a 4 cup capacity ovenproof dish. Combine brown sugar and sifted extra cocoa in a jug. Gradually stir in the hot water, stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce gently over the top of the pudding (it’s important to do this very gently), place dish on an oven tray. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour or until the pudding is well risen and firm to the touch. Serve with ice-cream.