Hairy Dieters Week 2

I’ve just completed my second week of meals (and about to begin the third) from the Hairy Dieters cook book and so far it’s all been very tasty and very simple. The second week comprised of Harissa chicken with Bulgar Wheat, this was delicious, i’m a huge fan of Harissa and i’d never had Bulgar Wheat before so was looking forward to seeing how it turned out. The Bulgar Wheat texture was great and once it had all of the flavours from the salad added to it it tasted great, I’ll certainly be using it as an accompaniment to food in the future, my only slight concern with the dish was the amount of lemon juice, i’d possibly turn that down a little next time. I also added half a corn on the cob (an extra 70 calories) as we had a...

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Hairy Dieters Book Week 1

For those of you who know me you’ll know I got married back in April and that between booking the wedding in November and tying the knott I lost two stone in weight then put about half a stone back on, which I’ve since lost and I’m now aiming to loose another 2 stone. I did it with the help of The My Fitness Pal which logs the calories you are eating vs the exercise you are doing and keeps a log of everything . I also upped my exercise to going on my cross trainer 3 to 4 times a week for 45 minutes  and upped the setting on the cross trainer to the one with most resistance as well as trying to get out and do as much walking as possible The hardest thing for me is keeping mealtimes interesting and filling as well as healthy, It’s all to...

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Cold Moor and Urra Moor from Chop Gate.

This is another one of those walks we seem to to quite a lot, it’s got lots of nice scenery and some stunning views. It’s got a couple of nice bits of ascent and descent to get the heart going. The weather was sunny with a slight breeze for the most part although for the last 2 miles the heavens opened and we got our share of the recent torrential rain. We also had to make two small detours, the first on our way up to the Wainstones as there were lots of cows blocking the gate, so we skirted round the edge and hopped over the gap in the fence to re join the path. Secondly the path over Urra Moor was undergoing some restoration work so we followed the way markers that ran parallel to the path and crossed over the stream slightly further up the...

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Hutton-le-Hole, Bank Top and Lastingham Walk

With the cancellation of the Great Yorkshire Show we we’d both taken a day off so were at a bit of a loose end and decided to try a new walking route out up on the moors and then visit Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub 2012 The route is a shortened version of a 20mile walk I had planned for a day when we have more time, it can easily be extended to visit Rosedale, Appleton Le Moors and Cropton. There are also lots of options for paths once you hit Ana Cross some are boggier than others, we followed the wide sandy track due to all the rain we’ve been having lately. Length: Just over 10 miles Start/Finish: SE 706 903 (or the car park in Hutton-le-Hole at SE 705 901) Refreshments: Tea rooms and the excellent Crown Inn at Hutton-le-Hole, Cafe’s and...

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My favourite spaghetti bolognese recipe

Bolognese is a hotly discussed topic on many blogs, everyone seems to have a different recipe and everyone has their opinions on what should be  in the sauce, so after lots of experimenting and borrowing bits from various places around the web I’ve finally got a recipe that I want to make again and again and again. It’s taken a fair bit of experimenting with the herbs but the hardest decision was whether to use white wine or red wine…the white seemed to give it a lighter, sweeter flavour and the red more meaty and robust. I took the star anis out after about 6 hours just so I didn’t forget to take it out at the end. I also made the decision to make it all in a pan then put it in the slow cooker on medium for about 8 hours just because I...

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Haddock with creamed leeks, samphire, crayfish and smoked bacon.

Firstly, sorry it’s been so long since I posted on the blog things have been hectic with the new self employment status and also getting married (blogs about both of those to come shortly) This recipe was inspired by a dish I had on honeymoon in Cornwall, It works really well with Cod, Haddock, Pollack or Monkfish, the cream can also be replaced with proper full fat cream, it’s also quite nice with a squeeze of lemon over the fish too. The only place I’ve found Samphire locally is Asda, It’s well worth getting if you can…if not try some thinly sliced green beans. Depending on the thickness of your fish and the size of your potatoes they should be cooked at about the same time. Usually 10-15minutes. Serves two. Ingredients 2 x haddock...

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Goathland to Grosmont Walk

We managed to get out for a couple of short walks over the Easter break, this was the longest of them (and even included a visit to a beer festival afterwards), It’s a walk we’ve done a couple of times before and a walk we love doing. Parts of the route can get busy but there’s quite a few options for taking different paths and avoiding the crowds. Length: 8.5 Miles. Start/Finish: We parked on the grass verge just near the Mallyan Spout Hotel  in Goathland(Grid Ref NZ 826 006) There are also 2 paid for car parks in Goathland and plenty of places to park just past the hotel. Refreshments: This walk is blessed with lots of places to eat and drink there’s the Mallyan Spout Hotel at the start and finish, then there’s the excellent Birch...

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