3 Down 18 More to Go ... with some Cucumber Cups along the Way!

Those who have read my earlier post 2013 – Some New Some Old know what I am talking about. For those who don’t – from 1^st Jan to 21^st Jan 2013 I am on a soup n salad / steamed vegetable / sautéed vegetable diet without any refined sugar.

The last three days have been a BIG learning experience, today day # 4 I am handling the diet a little better.

Day #1 #2 and #3:

For the last 3 days my meals have been pretty much similar.

Breakfast is bowl of fresh fruits varying from oranges, pomegranate, pineapple, apples or sweet limes.

Mid Day Snack- Is green tea/ herbal tea with a fruit 

Lunch: Is another bowl of stir fried vegetables, I tried steamed veggies on the first day but dint like it much as it lacked the crunch and I really wanted to chew something. So I ditched steaming and went ahead with sauteing vegetable instead.

I sauté the vegetables in minuscule amount of oil just till they start to glisten (leave water) remove from heat and season with salt n pepper.. that’s it.

4 pm snack: Another cup of green tea and some more fruit / or raw salad seasoned with chaat masala.

Dinner: Has been a bowl of thick hearty vegetable soup, I made a mixed vegetable soup which I had posted earlier here.

None of the first three days have been easy, Day #1 was a big let down personally, I had severe withdrawal symptoms as there was no sugar intake. Towards the second half of the day I could not take it anymore and had a piece of my Tunisian Orange and Almond Cake.

I really kicked my self hard for this blunder (the worst is the guilt afterwards), there was no point pondering on this, what was done was done.

The second day I was able to get the sugar out of my mind, cause I added some pineapple to my stir fried veggies to curb my sugar cravings and it helped.

But unconsciously I popped 4 bakharwadis with my green tea, I just wanted something tasty and not bland ….so Day #2 also saw a big blunder.

Day #3 was ok, but I feel the fruit consumption is on the higher side as I am constantly craving sugar or chat-pata things.

Hopefully as the days pass by I will be able to handle these cravings better J will keep writing and tell you all how am getting by.

Now.. just because I am on a diet I cannot starve people around me .. so I made something which is healthy, NOT SWEET and FAST!!

I had one piece of these delicious Cucumber Cups and kept the rest for hubby dear. Here’s this super easy recipe.

Ingredients	Quantity
Tofu / Paneer	200 grams
Olive Oil	1 tsp
Cucumber	Two large cucumbers with skin
Walnuts	5-6 toasted and roughly chopped
Hung curd	1-2 tsp
Cumin	1 tsp
Red bell pepper	Half bell pepper finely chopped
Yellow bell pepper	Half bell pepper finely chopped
Salt	As per taste
Freshly ground pepper	As per taste
Mint / Coriander leaves	To garnish

Serves – 2-3 people

Preparation time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 5 minutes

Method:

• Take a non - stick pan add oil to it, once the oil is hot add the cumin and let it splutter.
• Scramble the tofu with hand; add it to the pan and sauté for a minute.
• Add the chopped bell peppers and sauté for another 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and let it cool.
• Once cooled add hung curd and chopped walnuts, the curd helps to get the mixture together, don’t add too much or else the mix turns runny.
• Wash the cucumbers, wipe them, cut the ends and core the center (remove the pulp)
• Cut the cucumbers into equal portions and fill the stuffing.
• Garnish with mint or coriander leaves.
• Enjoy without guilt!

Sending this to Kalyani's Magic Mingle # 13 - Jan 2013 - Walnuts and Cucumbers