Lunch was truly delicious today despite being leftovers from dinner last night. Or perhaps I should call them planned-overs because I made extra so I would have enough to pack for today.
The cous cous which isn’t really cous cous but cauliflower disguised as cous cous tasted better today than when I prepared it last night and it was good then. I think the extra time in the fridge allowed the flavours to mingle and next time it appears on the menu I hope to remember to make it at least a few hours in advance.
With the cauliflower cous cous I enjoyed baked falafel balls, a tahini dressing and a salad with roasted aubergine and yellow pepper. For dessert an orange and a sneaky medjool date { not supposed to have dried fruit when I’m trying to loose weight tut..tut.! But I didn’t roll the falafel balls in sesame seeds as I usually do because of the tahini dip so I was really very good about sticking to my nut/seed allowance. And I did only have one date, although I did consider packing 2 }.
It wasn’t really my kind of weather for exercising outdoors today, overcast and with quite a cold nip in the air. Still, I decided to wrap up warm and walk over the hills to my favorite pagoda this afternoon (despite having already worked out at the gym this morning).
Sitting here, disturbed only by the sounds of nature and watching the ocean always helps clear my mind and put things in perspective. And I did have a lot to think about especially regarding my weight-loss plan of action or more accurately lack of a plan.
I know what I need to do, it’s just that I don’t like having to do it! And in the grand scheme of things, really, my issues are very very miniscule.
This is one of my favorite comfort fooda, perfect for dinner on a drizzly miserable day like today. I enjoy it in the warmer months too, especially leftovers eaten cold for lunch the next day.
My mum made Shepherds Pie and Cottage Pie often during my childhood and my plant-based version is made to resemble her recipe, although I use cauliflower for the mashed topping and orange or red bell pepper in place of the carrots, tamarind pulp and red wine vinegar instead of the oxo cube and lentils of course, so really it’s totally different but if you squint it looks the same.
A healthier plant-based take on the hearty classic for those of us that are watching our waistlines!
Ingredients
100g onion
130g bell pepper – I used orange to resemble carrots or if not available a red one
150g brown lentils, washed and picked through for stones and debris
50g red lentils, washed and picked through for stones and debris
350ml water – or veg stock if you prefer, you may need more than this amount
100g mushrooms, use any kind of mushrooms I used shitake.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
10g tamarind pulp (re-hydrated in 50ml hot water and pushed through a sieve)
2 tbsp mixed dried herbs – I used sage and thyme and marjoram
Ground black or white pepper, to taste
580g cauliflower
15ml soy milk or other non-dairy milk
Instructions
Chop the onion and bell pepper finely and cut the cauliflower into florets.
Water saute the onion until softened. Add the lentils, water or stock, the mushrooms and bell pepper to the pan with the onion and cook until the lentils are soft.
Add the tamarind pulp and soaking liquid, the red wine vinegar, dried herbs and parsley to the lentils, stir to combine and simmer for 10 minutes. You may need to add a little more water/stock. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Whilst the lentils are cooking cook the cauliflower. I use a bamboo steamer on top of the lentils but do whatever is convenient for you.
Transfer the cooked cauliflower to a food processor together with a tablespoon of non dairy milk and process until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 200c/390F.
Spoon lentil mixture into an oven proof dish.Top with the mashed cauliflower and smooth down with the back of a fork and make pretty patterns on top with the fork.
Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until the top is crispy but not browning and the pie is heated through.
Garnish with a sprig of parsley
Notes
Serving Suggestion:
Serve with peas and a steamed leafy green vegetable.
I don’t always use cauliflower for the mash. I do occasionally indulge in a fluffy white potato topping. Mr Y prefers half cauliflower and half white potato for his topping, so often I use small individual dishes as in the picture below then everyone can have their preferred topping. You could also use sweet potato if you wanted, I tried it once but it didn’t work for me.
One I made earlier (like a year ago lol) with white potato mash
By the way with an all potato topping using the same quantity of potatoes as cauliflower in the above recipe the calories per serving would be 302 compared to 238 - a Shepherdess Pie, not a ShepherdLess Pie.
But then considering cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable and way more nutritious than white potato perhaps it should be called a Shepherdmore Pie .
I’m really thrilled with this weeks weight loss. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact I have decided to start my weight loss journey again and I haven’t made any further changes to my diet or exercise regime/intensity. As long as I get the exercise in I’m happy.
At the end of week 2 I’ve lost an additional 2.5lbs bringing my weight down to:
Looks like I’ll be taking the scenic route to my healthy weight goal!
But it’s all good.
I’m really happy with the amount of weight I’ve lost.
I didn’t expect to see big numbers like those who are swapping from a diet full of processed foods (also known as SAD & MAD for standard/modern American diet or in my case Asian as I live in South East Asia) to Dr Fuhrman’s Nutritarian plant-based plan as I’ve been eating plant-strong for some time now.
My excess weight is a combination of the weight I still had to loose before postponing my weight loss efforts, failing to adjust my food intake when I reduced the intensity and frequency of my workouts and over indulging in nut and starch heavy vegan foods too often!
Week One
Weight at end of Week 1 of Flab to Fab Project
This week was about easing myself gently back to what I call weigh loss mode. I didn’t make drastic changes to my menu or suddenly increase my exercise intensity.
Dietary Focus
Reduced the amount of nuts & seeds consumed to around 28g / 1 oz per day or thereabouts.
Enjoyed smaller servings of wholegrain starches and starchy vegetables.
Exercise Focus
Added 1 extra day of exercise. Exercise was mostly gentle walking in the hills about 30 minutes daily and the exercise bike on level 1-2 for 45 minutes per session.
