Vegetarian Carbonara Pasta

Hubby made this pasta for lunch today. We are now trying variations to our diet because we wanted something tastier, and this was indeed so as hubby also added sambal into the pasta. It gave the pasta an extra "oomph" factor.

Chef Jonker's Egg Pie

On Saturday afternoon, hubby created this recipe of egg pie. What sparked the egg pie was that initially he wanted to make a hearty omelette. He wanted to add bell peppers as well as long beans to the omelette. He came out with the idea to make a baked omelette instead. He mixed the beaten eggs with corn flour and vegetables, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.

The egg pie was simply delicious. A variation of our diet meal; healthy and mouth-watering. I would say this is our best diet meal!

Diet Food Diversified

This morning for breakfast I had porridge instead of cereal. I made Knorr's instant mushroom porridge (bubur cendawan) and it never tasted so good due to my abstinence from it for two weeks. I added vegetarian anchovies (ikan bilis) and rucola on top. 

In the grocery store further down from our penthouse, I bought this biological mint plant (or at least that is what the label said) for only 99 Euro cents. It smelt very fresh and I can now make mint tea as and when I want - direct from the plant.

I used to buy mint without the plant from the Turkish supermarket at 50 cents a bundle. It was a big bundle but the mint withered very quickly eventhough it was kept in the fridge. So now I get fresh mint from my plant. I have to remember to water it every day though. Good things come with some effort.

For lunch when hubby was at work, I "tapaoed" sayur lodeh and kidney beans for lunch. In my mind, I was deliberating whether or not to keep up with the usual salad. I was kind of bored of it after nearly two weeks of eating the same food for lunch. For a noodle and rice-eater for lunch, it was too much ... ahem... "suffering" to undergo.

Yet I did try. I went to the usual grocery store to buy salad vegetables. Only thing was luck was not on my side.  The shop was closed for renovation until late March. So I had to walk further to another grocery store where I did manage to get the salad vegetables.

On the way home though, I passed the Indonesian economy rice shop. I just could not resist. I had my lunch with me but it felt so unappetizing compared to sauced and stir-fried vegetables. So I gave in to my tummy and went to "tapao".

Since I "tapaoed" just the sayur lodeh and kidney beans, I mixed them with my own salad vegetables and I had them for lunch. Needless to say, this meal was much tastier than salad alone.

 

We had this Italian pasta with vegetables topped with rucola for dinner yesterday for two days in a row.

Diet Meals

One day for dinner, we were extra hardworking. Following the book, we prepared, or rather hubby prepared the spicy chilli rice. He added sambal from Malaysia so it was extra tasty.

For another day, hubby made pizza. He added the toppings on top of the pizza base.

The pizza; ready from the owen!

One day for lunch, we had grilled vegetables. I called it salad also but hubby said we were not following the diet properly with grilled vegetables. Nevertheless it was a tasty meal. Easy for me as I do not have to cook for lunch now. I just make salad.

Diet Meals

For our two week diet, we ate cereal or omelette for breakfast; salad for lunch and pasta or pizza for dinner. This pasta photo was our last non-diet meal as we had it a day before we started our diet officially.

We had salad for lunch everytime if possible. It was easier for me to keep to the diet as I was at home almost every day but for hubby, he had no salad for lunch at work. His office provides bread with cheese and ham. So he had that. I think it is healthy as well and non-fattening.

For me, it was quite difficult at first because I am a noodle/rice eater for lunch. I normally cook my own noodles with vegetables and meat for lunch. I felt I suffered the first week for a good cause. Now into the second week, I am quite comfortable with salad.

Hubby makes me omelette for breakfast when he can because I prefer it to cereal. It makes me feel more full too!

Two Week Diet Programme

Back in the Netherlands now after a month sojourn to Malaysia, we decided to embark on a diet. Not just any diet of whim and fancy, but based on the famed Dr Mehmet Oz’s book titled “You – The Owner’s Manual”. What prompted our diet was that we felt it was about time for a healthier alternative to our lifestyle. This diet claimed to be easier. No need for elimination of chocolate or coffee. It encouraged eating five times a day. Hubby was happy with this. He loves to snack. The book gives us recipes which we follow whenever we can.

A 30 minutes walk everyday for two weeks is also a must which we have followed for the past two days. We have to do stretching exercises three times a week for a duration of twenty minutes which we have also done.

So far we are on day two of our diet. Will keep the blog updated with photos of our food once we reach home. For tonight, no dieting as it is Valentine’s Day. We are off to a romantic dinner in Almere!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to all and may love grow and grow; everlasting with passion and excitement! Wink.