Fast eat all you want flapjack...

First a short disclaimer, this isn't the yummiest recipe ever, but it is quick, lo cal, high thermic, and gives that kick of cake if you need something with your afternoon tea....
The foundation of the cake is lentils (er yes that's right), however once baked they just bulk out the content you can't taste them

1. Put a couple of cups of soaked, cooked lentils into a bowl.
2. Add a cup of chopped nuts or sunflower seeds, sesame or other small flavoursome seed or nut
3. Add a handful of rasins and a handful of wheat bran
4. Add a table spoon of molasses or black treacle
5. For more sweetness half a teaspoon of dried stevia leaf (not too much as it is REALLY sweet) and a dribble of agave nectar
6. Add an egg to bind the mixture
7. Roll in to balls and bake for about 30 minutes on a low heat

To eat more than two of these is like a man versus food challenge, but if you are preparing for Summer bikinis and everyone else is eating cake, this is a totally guilt free alternative!

Recipe update, left these on the table and Bert (dog) ate all of them, not sure if this is a compliment to the chef. But I'm out of my weekly batch of lentils and will have to cook up another saucepan full and start again.

Coffee and Sweets...

We have a regular haunt in the Caribbean, it is a tiny island that has to import everything from surrounding islands (which in turn have to  import from US or Europe) consequently, sausages cost as much as filet steak, since the biggest cost of any product is shipping, not the item.

What they have had to do is make food go a long way, so there are lots of tiny highly flavoured portions on offer. And despite the fairy portions, you never feel hungry or unsatisfied.

A more unusual dish is coffee and sweets, it is offered on all of the dessert menus and is basically just a coffee with tiny taster sized bites,  with coffees on average about 8 euro and this option about 12 euro, it is probably the best value on the menu.

I thought that I might use my multicoloured Carolyn Quartermaine coffee cups and adapt just such a dish for the Thermic plan.  It is quite important that the tiny portions are presented in a pretty way, on a normal plate you would feel short changed and want to eat more.

There are lots of flavours, it looks quite substantial and the whole thing is 200 calories tops, and it has a high Thermic index thanks to the chopped nuts which is the base of one of the mini puds.
This has nothing to do with cooking, it is more like flower arranging and tests you ingenuity with what you can produce in super quick time from cupboard leftovers.

This trio is a lemon curd and meringue, frozen summer fruits with a sprinkling of dried stevia leaf, chopped nuts covered in dark chocolate chips (the smaller the chunk, the larger the total surface area vs weight, the more punch it packs on the taste buds)
Took about 1minute to prepare and I am looking forward to eating after bath and chicken salad with large glass of white wine (and hopefully Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple or similar on TV).

PS I have the last few sets of these CQ coffee cups and saucers at the Spirit of Summer fair they come as sixes, all different colours and each one is covered in (hand stuck) diamonte crystals, so you couldn't present food or coffee in a prettier way (and I am selling off the last of them for £20 for 6, they were originally £80!)

Another meal from nothing...

I still haven't made it to the supermarket, but managed to make a completely different supper from more or less the same ingredients and other left overs.

This time I boiled the bean mix and carrots and then fried bacon and dry bread together to make croutons.

The unappetising looking dressing was actually quite nice; grated parmesan from a chunk lurking in the back of the fridge, 4 (!) roasted garlic cloves, couple of tea spoons of low fat mayo and balsamic vinegar.

Low fat, low cal, high thermic energy food that keeps the tummy satisfied for most of the evening.

 My sous chef...