So, it seems that being on a diet and having a sweet tooth don’t mix.
Since Monday I’ve been trying to lose weight by keeping a food diary, doing 30 minutes of yoga every day and avoiding all “junk” food, ie; crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks, cakes etc as well as aiming to keep my calorie intake under 1500k per day (recommended daily for women is 1940k, 2450k for men) but anything under 2000k a day is good by me, as long as it’s the right types of food; fruit, vegetables, lean meats etc.
Unfortunately for me, trying to avoid sweet things is like asking a dog not to bark! So I’ve been on a mission for the past couple of days to find a healthy but tasty treat to make, and here’s what I found; Banana Flapjack.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still a high calorie snack, but the combined calories for the batch is about 2000k and I plan on getting about 10 slices out of it, so at 200k per piece it’s roughly the same calorie content as a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar, but lower fats, saturated fats and salt (in fact, no salt at all). Not to mention that flapjack is much more filling that a packet of crisps so likely to quash hunger pangs for longer, as well as being a high energy combination, good for after a work out.
The calories break down (roughly) thus;
- 75g margarine (I used butter) = 500k
- 2 tablespoons honey =150k
- 75g soft brown sugar = 400k
- 1 large banana mashed = (I used 2 medium) = 180k
- 200g rolled oats (porridge oats) = 800k
Would you believe that the highest calorie count is the oats at 800k for 200g!? Since keeping an eye on calories, I’ve been astounded by the high calorie count of most high fibre foods, eg; 1 slice of granary bread is approx 150k, a 50g bowl of muesli with nuts/raisins is around 300k. I’m trying not to get too bogged down in counting every calorie, and if I don’t know the exact figures I’ll just guesstimate but it does make you take stock of what you’re eating and whether you need to of not.
The flapjacks are currently cooking in the oven and smell delicious and hopefully will do the job of substituting chocolate and sweets for a while.
Please add a comment if you know any other low-cal recipes that I can try.
Lally.