TKR: Two Years and Counting… Fighting Disability


Do you ever wish you could turn back the clock? Two years ago my life changed and not for the better. The total knee replacement I pinned my hopes on that would allow me some modicum of normalcy aka would allow me to rejoin Pilates and Yoga, Zumba, walks on the beach and go body... Continue Reading →

It’s Hot Hot HOT in Portugal


Trying to motivate myself to garden today in nearly 38C when there is also a strong Southerly desert wind is like ... is like trying to climb Mount Everest in Flip-flops. Not that I'm ever likely to attempt to climb Everest or indeed anywhere else for that matter, but there you go. The air quality... Continue Reading →

The Keto Diet – Good or Bad?


When the surgeon informed me I must lose weight before my replacement knee operation in order to aid a quicker recovery, I wondered where to start. AND, I got the usual COVID lecture re obesity which puts me at higher risk. Great! How can you lose weight when you can only move at the pace... Continue Reading →

Wheels for Feet


The day finally dawned when Hubby accepted my disability and the fact that despite nearly one hundred sessions of physio over the past two years to help with reoccurring bouts of tendonitis, numerous sessions of acupuncture to help control the pain, and a meniscus op, he agreed to let me buy a wheelchair so I... Continue Reading →

What’s for Lunch? Let’s Get Creative With Egg Muffins!


Since trying to maintain a gluten AND lactose free diet, plus attempting to lose weight, I've struggled with snack lunch ideas beyond fruit and lactose-free yoghurts. In the past, I've either eaten Ryvita style crispbreads or sandwiches with various fillings, so as you can see my imagination has struggled to find alternatives that do not... Continue Reading →

Delicious Cumin-spiced Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup


I haven’t cooked this delicious low calorie soup for a while so as I have some butternut squash in the freezer that needs eating what a great excuse. I have cooked many recipes from this book and they’ve ALL been delicious!

A Creative Spirit's avatarPiglet in Portugal

This recipe is courtesy of Greedy Girl’s Diet: Eat yourself slim with gorgeous, guilt-free food with permission of the author, Nadia Sawalha

I am always keen to try new recipes especially those which are filling and with not too many calories. My biggest problem with losing weight is that I only have to look at food and I pile on the pounds! I tried this recipe from the “Greedy Girl’s Diet” book and it was absolutely delicious!

Despite Mr. Piglet’s moaning and “tutting” the whole time I was cooking the soup that he did not like ginger or cumin, even he, despite his earlier reservations, agreed it was absolutely scrumptious!

Cumin-spiced carrot and butternut squash soup Cumin-spiced carrot and butternut squash soup

199 CALORIES PER SERVING

SERVES 4
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped or crushed
1 red chilli (optional) deseeded if preferred and…

View original post 190 more words

The Weekly Smile


I was sorting through some old photographs this week when I came across this picture of a sign posted outside an Italian restaurant. It reminds me or the daily conversation we have in our house before I've barely opened my eyes, and I'm still considering breakfast: 'What's for dinner today?' 'I don't know'. 'Will it... Continue Reading →

Simple Pea and Mint Soup


  I am always keen to try new recipes, experiment and adapt, so I was encouraged to discover the culinary delights of pea soup. For some reason, in all my xx years,  I've never eaten pea soup, yet alone attempted to make it. After I made a sample batch I tripled the quantity and made... Continue Reading →

Delicious Low Fat Fish Pie – One Pot Meal


I created this low fat fish pie with the idea that it was a complete meal in one dish. Okay, I may have used every pot in the kitchen to prepare it (Mr. Piglet humour) but at least I had time to wash up and clear away while it was cooking. the recipe is still... Continue Reading →

Piglet’s Porkers Diet Support Group


Are you on, or contemplating going on a diet and need moral support? Do you have a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at yourself?  If so,  I have started a fun FaceBook support group called Piglet's Porkers for like-minded people. This is not a formal group selling a particular diet. Which each... Continue Reading →

Ugly Duckling to Swan


As the autumn evenings draw in, my thoughts turn to log fires and battening down the hatches in readiness for the long winter nights ahead. Summer clothes are now packed away and replaced by winter woolies, thermal PJs and of course my faithful 'onesie'  which was a present from a friend. Not the most flattering... Continue Reading →

Diet in Denial


Today my friend gave me a nice top she’d bought on a whim but then decided it ‘was not her colours’. Great I thought, until I got it out of the bag – it was huge! Convinced it was going to swamp me I tried it on. REALITY CHECK!!! I could barely get it over... Continue Reading →

FitBit and Senior Moments


I accept I'm not the sharpest tool in the drawer when it comes to mastering technology and digital gizmos, but even I had to groan at this particular 'senior blond' moment. Wanting to lose weight I invested in a FitBit Charge HR. So far so good. Much to everyone's surprised snickers I managed to 'set... Continue Reading →

Fat Clothes for Fat People


Or should that read Outsize clothes for Oversized people? I'm sorry if this is not politically correct but I'm fat. I also come from an age where we did not cloak the truth in jargon as in: "I'm bodily challenged". The harsh reality is that I'm a porker a porklet of grand proportions and I've... Continue Reading →

Eat Less and Move More…


As I'm in "D" crisis after piling on the pounds, a good friend recommended: I Eat Less and Move More... However, in my case it has proved to be: Move More and Eat More. I understand the principle: the more you move the more calories you burn, but you try explaining that to my growling... Continue Reading →

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it?


In January I started my diet (RUDE word, but needs must). My goal: lose 42lb in 21 weeks. Achievable? Climbing Everest is achievable! My personal trainer convinced me it was possible "Anything is possible if we put our minds to it." That's diet of course, not climbing Everest, which of course would not. She's obviously... Continue Reading →

Winey Chicken


This recipe is courtesy of Greedy Girl's Diet: Eat yourself slim with gorgeous, guilt-free food with permission of the author, Nadia Sawalha I am always keen to try new recipes especially those which are filling yet with not too many calories. My biggest problem with losing weight is that I usually only have to look... Continue Reading →

Is Language a Barrier to Social Integration in Portugal?


Moving to a country where English is not the first language definitely has its disadvantages if you are not a natural linguist. Some people are fortunate to learn a language purely by osmosis, but not me - I have the retentive memory of a gnat. In the past I’ve spent a small fortune on Portuguese... Continue Reading →

Delicious Cumin-spiced Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup


This recipe is courtesy of Greedy Girl's Diet: Eat yourself slim with gorgeous, guilt-free food with permission of the author, Nadia Sawalha I am always keen to try new recipes especially those which are filling and with not too many calories. My biggest problem with losing weight is that I only have to look at... Continue Reading →

Beetroot and Orange Salad


I wanted something to serve with basic tinned tuna. Yes, I know it is better to eat fresh but I’d been out all day so this is my interpretation of a healthier “ready meal”. Ingredients 1 small cooked beetroot 1 orange Fresh chives Ground black pepper Method Peel and thinly slice orange and beetroot and... Continue Reading →

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