Thursday 15 August 2013

A market and a recipe


Hello people,

Sorry I have not written earlier I have been busy! Busy! Busy!

Anyway I have been doing a little research on free range chickens and what ‘free range’ actually means and I have discovered that when the RSPCA has their stamp of approval on free range chicken it is because there are 1500 chickens per hectare which is only about the size of an A4 sheet of paper per chicken! I was totally blown away by that. I had this image in my head of chickens running around freely all day and was sad to realize that isn’t the case. However there is another group called the Free Range Farmers Association (FRFA) and in order to get their stamp of approval on packaging there has to be less than 750 chickens per hectare. I did some research and Woolworths and Maxi Foods supplies FRFA approved chicken, my Coles doesn’t but I did read that some Coles do. I will include a picture of the logo for you so you know what to look for. It is only little so you have to have a good look.

I went the Collingwood farmers market at the Colingwood children's farm. I loved it! The atmosphere was really warm and welcoming and the animals seemed relaxed and happy-not at all frightened of all those people! I brought some awesome organic produce and you can really taste the difference. I also brought some free range eggs (FRFA approved) called 'Dan's Eggs'. He was a nice guy to. I had been researching his products the night before so I almost felt a bit giddy meeting him because he seems famous to me because I saw his face on the net! hahaha.

The no sugar is coming along ok. Food that I thought was boring is actually getting a lot tastier which is nice. I once stayed off sugar for 5 weeks and someone offered me a twisty and all I could taste in it was sugar. I think we get desensitized to it.

Another thing I realized is that I often use food as a weapon against myself. When I was having a shitty day I used to go straight for sugar knowing that I would feel crappy after it. I haven’t been doing that lately obviously but my it is tempting!

I have a ‘I-can’t-believe-it’s-not Butter Chicken’ recipe for you. It’s from The Michelle Bridges 12 week challenge, which I am doing at the moment.

I-can't-believe-it's-not Butter Chicken
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 5 min | Cooking time: 45 min | 312 Cal per serve
Butter chicken gets a long overdue makeover in this tasty recipe from Deb.
Ingredients
1 Medium Onion (89g)
1/2 400g Cans Canned Tomatoes (200g)
200g Raw, Lean Chicken Breast
1 Tablespoons Tandoori Paste (15g)
80g Canned Red Lentils, Drained
1/4 Cups Light Cream (65g) 1g
Olive Oil Spray

4 Medium Pappadams (40g)
1/4 Cups Liquid Vegetable Stock (64g)
Preparation Tips
• Dice the chicken
Method
1. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until light golden.
3. Add the curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
4. Add the tomatoes, stock and lentils and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft and the sauce thickens. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute or until heated through.
5. Lightly spray the pappadams with oil and cook on a sheet of paper towel in the microwave for 45 seconds or until puffed.


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