Friday Blues

Well, yesterday was a bust.  I woke up with a scratchy throat that, by 10:00, had manifested into full blown fever, sore throat and cough.  I had to cancel my much anticipated girl's day out.  Boo hoo!!  

I was pretty hungry after fasting on Wednesday so I had eggs and toast for breakfast.  Lunch was a half portion of leftover Somerset Stew from Monday night and tea was some leftover ham and potato soup I had pulled out of the freezer along with warm bread.  Add a few biscuits for a snack and I stayed well under my calorie limit for the day. Isn't it amazing what not feeling well does for the appetite?

Today I am still a bit under the weather so had to cancel my plans to have coffee with Larry's mum.  Not only am I not sure I have the energy to get down town and back but I wouldn't want to expose her to illness. Too bad, really, I was looking forward to it.  This woman is an absolute treasure, very active, feisty, and  still completely independent at 85.

Another easy day food wise, just porridge for breakfast, cup soup, crackers, and two Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles for lunch.  I have to say Morrison's Nu Me Tomato, Red Pepper and Chilli cup soup is really good.  Very thick with a lot of flavour.  I can highly recommend it.  

My boys go to their Dad's for Friday night tea so Larry and I are just having more soup from the freezer.  It can't be helped, I'm not up for cooking.  To be fair, I don't really cook on Friday night anyway.  Friday night is usually Beans on Toast night.  The boys don't care for it but we absolutely love it, so I make it when they aren't home.  I can hear you muttering, "Beans on Toast? What kind of dinner is that for a self-proclaimed foodie?"  Well, I can tell you it isn't just opening a tin of beans, heating it up, and pouring it over toast!  I'll give you my recipe today but can't put up a picture until next week when I actually make it again.  If you make them, let me know what you think.

"Gourmet" Beans on Toast (2 servings of baked beans at 189 calories per serving. I left off the calorie count for the toast because that varies so much depending upon what bread you buy. If you use "diet bread" you can easily fit this meal into your fast day.)

2 Teaspoons butter (you can use less or use a spray if you use non-stick cookware and that would reduce the calorie count)

1 medium onion, diced

1 can baked beans in tomato sauce (any value brand is fine because you are adding stuff to it)

1/4 cup (60 grams) HP Sauce with Guinness

2 Teaspoons demerera or light brown sugar

1/8 -1/4 Teaspoon of chili flakes, depending on your tolerance for spicy

1/8-1/4 Teaspoon of black pepper, 

4 slices of toasted bread

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then sauté the onions until they are cooked to your preference.  For this, we still like a bit of crunch left in the onions so I just cook them for a few minutes.  When the onions are ready, add the rest of the ingredients, except for the toast, and heat through.  Serve over the toast.