So today, although it was Saturday, I was working, albeit from home.

So it was lovely, I went to the gym first thing and had lots of energy, not too sure why, I think it’s from all the water I drink these days.

Anyway, back from the gym, I had a banana and a pear, banana mainly for potassium and because they fill you up, pear because they are high in fiber, nearly in season (only two months early!), and most of all they taste nice. And I also had some echinacea and rapsberry because it tastes really sweet, while I was cooking.

Something with proteins

So basically I was going to have prawn and mussel kebabs and my local store was running out of mussel meat. I absolutely wanted something with proteins because I had done some weights at the gym. Eggs didn’t appeal, chicken always comes in massive, family packs, and so do beef and lamb, and the fish was looking a bit sorry for itself. I managed to resist cheese and sausages are a no-no, but came across those chorizo slices which are really really thin slices and thought to myself that there couldn’t be so many calories in them if you only had a few slices + they would not need seasoned or whatever and would add flavour to any meal. Turns out, the calorie count is about 80 per 25 grams, which gets you about 7 slices. Real treat.

Something carbo-hydrat-y

So then I thought I’m going to be working this afternoon, so I need carbs of some sort to have the energy to concentrate, so I bought a small potato. They are not bad for you, contrary to what diet sites tell you, but as for everything, they need to be eaten in moderation. So one is enough. By then I decided I was going to make a vegetable and chorizo roast, so I got lots of things for roasts, like garlic, onions, and parsley, plus in-season stuff such as cabbage, swede, and leek. I bought a lemon for the flavour, and I cheated, I got some oxo cubes, but to make up for it, i didn’t buy oil or butter, and resolved to cook my roast without any cooking fat whatsoever, as chorizo has some fat in it anyway.

So in the end, my shopping list for one plate of the stuff, with the corresponding calories, would have read:

• 7 thin slices of chorizo (proteins + fat): 80 cals
• 1 potato (carbs, fiber, and vitamins if you keep the skin): 130 cals
• various vegetable (vitamins and minerals): 70 cals
• 1 oxo cube (nastiness + taste!) diluted in water: 15 cals

So oven is on on mild heat, and because you are not going to use any fat, use a good cooking tray, to make sure things don’t burn or stick at the bottom.

Cut the veg, sprinkle in lemon juice, lots of garlic and herbs, leave in the oven for 30 minutes, then things will start to get crispy at the surface, so you need to add half an oxo cube diluted in water, leave for another half an hour, then add the chorizo, and leave it to cook for another half an hour, so altogether it’s 1.5 hour cooking time. But that’s for a real treat, and for weekends. And while it’s cooking you can get on with your life.

All this goodness for less than 300 calories - it was really hearty and kept me warm all afternoon!