Friday, July 26, 2013

GM Diet: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Okay, so this is one of the most amazing soups I have ever made. Not that I've made a lot of 'em. :P

But STILL. Seriously.

I should start with an apology, because we were so excited that I didn't have time to take a picture of the soup. I only have one picture - the red peppers and tomatoes in the tin before roasting. I wish I had gotten a picture after I pulled them out of the oven - the slightly charred skins of the peppers were beautiful!

2 Red Peppers, de-seeded and roughly cut up
1 large Tomato, roughly chopped
1 tsp Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper


Toss everything into the baking dish, work the olive oil, salt and pepper into it, try and arrange as flat as possible. Pop into a 200 degrees C oven for around 20-25 minutes, constantly checking and turning so that every bit gets slightly charred.

Pop into a processor and blend away. I also threw in a chicken stock cube with some hot water, for some extra flavour. I think vegetable stock is more commonly used.

So simple, so delicious.

GM Diet: Cabbage Wraps with Mushrooms

This has to be the best diet-friendly discovery we have made. Cabbage wraps! Just like momos! And mushrooms.. YUM. Meaty and savoury, fulfils all our cravings, and cooked so simply!

1/2 Chinese Cabbage
250 g finely chopped Button Mushrooms
2 chopped Onions
1 chopped Tomato
1 tsp Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper


In a baking dish, mix the veggies with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at around 200 degrees C for around 20 minutes, or till all the water is gone. Keep mixing it once in a while.


Boil the chinese cabbage till it turns bright green. Lay out each leaf on a plate, place one spoonful of the mushroom mixture in the center, and fold up the four sides like a burrito.


Top with a dash of soy sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar. YUM.

GM Diet - Green Pea and Spring Onion Soup

Pea soup is somewhat of a favourite at my parents' house. To suit our diet, we tweaked it a little bit, subtracted the butter and cream and cheese.

Green Peas
Spring Onions - white and light green parts only
Salt
Pepper

Boil the peas in water with a few stalks of the spring onion. When soft and tender, blitz in a processor with roughly chopped spring onions and water, salt and pepper as required.

Ta-da.


Paired the soup with simple oven-roasted vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, onions - dressed with lemon juice, a little salt and pepper.


GM Diet - Raw Papaya and Cucumber Soup

So we've been trying to do the GM Diet - Its a seven-day regimen which allegedly makes you lose weight, inches, and detoxifies and cleanses your system. We're on Day 4 already, and its frustrating but we seem to be making it work. Updates and specifics can be found on my online journal here - 


While I'm documenting our GM journey on the journal, I'm posting some recipes here, of the food we've been eating and modifying to suit our diet. The first day of the diet was fruits-only, and by dinnertime we were CRAVING something savoury. Here's a really easy, really quick soup that we whipped up in an effort to satisfy our cravings.


1 small raw papaya (green)
1 cucumber (or 2 if you prefer)
2 small hot green chillies
5 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
salt
pepper

Its super simple. Peel and roughly chop the papaya, make sure the seeds (if any) are removed. Boil (or pressure cook - 2 whistles) for about 15 minutes or until tender. Blitz in a food processor with the cucumber roughly chopped up, the green chillies, garlic and lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper as required.

The papaya is largely tasteless - it basically provides a medium for the other flavours. This succeeded in giving us the lemon-y chilli hit we had been craving all day.

I topped it with 2 teaspoons of dry-toasted dessicated coconut. Okay, so its a little cheat, but ah well.