Friday 12 February 2010

Sweet Yoghurt and Fruit


I watched the first episode of The Biggest Loser Masterclass online the other day. The Masterclass episode gives hints and tips on training, diet, exercise and healthy eating and it was quite good. Hopefully this means that they won't be subjecting us to The Warehouse this year, since that's kind of at odds with what they are telling the contestants during Masterclass.

Generally, I have an issue with the magazines and dieticians when they tell you instead of the giant, 600 calorie Caesar salad you should choose a Grilled Chicken Salad with Chickpeas because it's only 360 calories. While I agree with it in principle, the reason why I chose the chicken Caesar in the first place was probably because I was after something creamy and cheesy, and a simple lime vinaigrette doesn't really satisfy that kind of craving. It's the same as when they tell you to drink a glass of water instead of soft drink. Yes, I do understand that water is far healthier for my body and my teeth, but I'm not drinking soft drink because I'm thirsty.

I'm not quite sure why those kinds of things bother me so much. While it may not always be reflected in this blog, I generally eat healthy food and I don't eat much of my own baking. I do know that I need to increase my vegetables because I don't always get my five servings each day, but I don't do too badly. We don't eat takeaway too often and we watch our fat and sodium intake. We eat a lot of chicken and lean cuts of meat, but our problem is exercise - or lack of it. We are working on our fitness though, and things can only get better. I do have times where I want something creamy or cheesy, and the magazines don't often address why I want the foods I want. I have a wonderful book from Weight Watchers that did do this and aimed to address why you were having the cravings. I'm going to find it now actually.

Okay, it's an hour later and I couldn't find it. It must be packed away somewhere. I did find that I have two books on the Mediterranean Diet and one on the MediterrAsian Diet, so I am now feeling hip and cool and two years ahead of The Biggest Loser.

This article from SheKnows.com is kind of what I'm talking about, but the book was better. I wonder where it is?

Anyway, comments on Masterclass aside, I did enjoy the recipes that they made. They made this recipe as a healthy snack and it was less than 200 calories. I had a lone pear sitting forlornly in my fruitbowl and some low fat Greek yoghurt in the fridge so I thought I'd give this a go.

It was great. The honey and the cinnamon really give another dimension to the yoghurt. My Greek yoghurt was quite tart so there was a pleasant sweet/tart contrast throughout. You could make it a gentler tasting meal by using a normal yoghurt, but since I had this for breakfast I liked that it woke up my tastebuds a little. The great thing was that you didn't need a lot of honey either, just a little was enough. I will definitely do this again.

Sweet Yoghurt and Fruit
from The Biggest Loser Masterclass

1 pear
3 tbs low-fat Greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cut up the pear, dollop on the yoghurt, drizzle over the honey and then sprinkle with cinnamon. Easy!

2 comments:

  1. Yoghurt + honey is a great combo! I'm with you on how annoying the "healthier" choices are when they're nothing like the original!

    There's a show on Lifestyle Food that you might like called Cook Yourself Thin. They even have a Chicken Caesar Salad recipe you could try (372 calories). :)

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  2. Oh wow, that show looks really good! Gosh, I wish we had Foxtel sometimes.

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