Cheesy Leeks on Toast

I've been back on Weightwatchers for 2 weeks now and really feel like I am on a roll.  I lost just over a pound the first week, and am getting used to the restricted portion sizes.  I am staying sugar-free, but didn't manage to lose weight using that method alone.  I think that may be because I have spent so many years on one diet or another that I just cannot judge portions properly if left to my own devices.

Given that I really do need to lose a few pounds then something had to change.  In fact, let's be honest here, I need to lose about 3 stones (for any Americans reading this, that is 42 pounds, and for any Australians reading this, that is about 19 kg).

For now, I'm still staying off the refined sugar, but am also following Weightwatchers.  I just hope that this time I can stick to it for longer than 8 months - which I think is about my previous limit before the weight started creeping up again.

Anyway, today I'm at home so I got the chance to make my own lunch and spend a bit of time doing so.  I've been really enjoying Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Veg Book and I leafed through that for some inspiration.  There is a rather wonderful looking recipe for a Leek and cheese toastie, but there was a bit too much double cream and cheddar in it for a Weightwatcher's-friendly lunch, so I adapted it to lower the propoints value.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 leeks, finely chopped
40g cheddar, grated
2 tablespoons philadelphia light (or other low-fat cream cheese)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tsp olive oil
4 slices of bread

Method

Fry the leeks in the olive oil over a low heat until soft (it will take at least 15 minutes)
Stir in the thyme, philadelphia and grated cheese (reserving 2 teaspoons of cheese for sprinkling)
Lightly toast the bread, then spread with the leek mixture
Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top
Grill until golden and bubbling (it took 5 minutes under my grill)

Weightwatchers

 8 propoints per serving (using recipe builder on Weightwatchers website)

--> Of course, you could reduce this to 4 propoints per serving by only having 1 piece of toast per person and having a salad on the side

If you're not trying to cut calories, then I'm sure Hugh's original recipe would be even better - his Veg book is available to buy on Amazon.

Sun, running and avocado on toast

The 6 and 4 year old woke up at stupid o'clock this morning. They were over-excited because today was the day a reward chart was completed so they were due a toy. Nothing would induce them to go back to sleep and wait until the sun came up, so they eventually got their toys and then played happily in the lounge.

However I couldn't get back to sleep and was vaguely wondering what productive things I could do when I realised it was my running day and that instead of going for a run after they were asleep this evening I could go this morning.

I've been training for a 5K now for several weeks, using the 5K Runner app, and so far it's going well, but I am still getting used to working out when to fit the training into my day/week.

I'm not sure this morning has convinced me to set an alarm to run in the early morning, but it really was a glorious day to run today.

The sky looked like this:



There was hardly any traffic on the road, and everyone who I passed smiled or said Good Morning.

And to top it all off, when I got home I remembered that there was half an avocado in the fridge, so I could make my favourite sugar-free breakfast for myself:

It couldn't be simpler. Toast some wholemeal bread (preferably with seeds and/or grains in it). Spread liberally with salted butter. Mash an avocado on top (if the avocado won't mash easily with a fork it's not ready to eat).

I truly think it is perfection on a plate.




And here's another picture of the beautiful sky, just because.




Happy Thursday!