Stuffed Roast Butternut Squash

The long overdue health kick continues in a tasty fashion with butternut squash stuffed with quorn mince bolognese.

Don't be put off by the Q word! I am a meat lover, but even I think quorn mince is a super tasty healthier alternative from time to time.

What you'll need for 2x BIG portions: 

1x Butternut Squash
2x tbsps olive oil
2x cloves of garlic
1x onion
1x courgette
1x red pepper
400g chopped tomatoes
150g quorn mince
50g reduced fat Feta cheese

This is just as a guideline (adapted from a WW recipe), so feel free to add/omit any extra veg you particularly love.

Preheat the oven(fan) to 180C, before slicing/hacking the butternut squash in half.

Scoop out the seeds...

Crush the garlic, mix with the olive oil and then spread evenly on the two halves. Place in a large roasting tray and put in the oven to roast for an hour.

Meanwhile we need to make the all important filling. Cut up the onion, courgette and pepper and toss in a large frying pan with a  little calorie controlled cooking spray or olive oil.

Once the veg has softened, add the can of chopped tomatoes

Quickly followed by the quorn.

After an hour take the roasted squash out the oven

Pile the filling into the hollow and sprinkle with the feta

And serve 'em up...with a little extra on the side for good luck

Perfect for a hungry bear...

The Governors Ball NYC 2013

Now that Wimbledon has re-entered my life, my recent travels seem all but a distant memory. In fact it's hard to imagine a time that existed prior to this splendid event ;)

However I finally got round to uploading my NYC photos and the fun memories are flooding back in!! 

We started our week in the big apple with a day at The Governors Ball - a three day music festival on Randal Island just East of Harlem- slap bang in the middle of the East River,

It rained solidly for two days before we got there..

so the mud was a lost cause...

Who cares when you're watching Haim, Bloc Party, Cold War Kids...

and you're hanging in NYC Baby

Dimsum, anyone..

Sam could only save one thing, her shoes or her beer....

...the beer was definitely the clear winner

Honda Stage under RFK Bridge

sam and chan living it up

Night fell and the place lit up

Bloc Party 

Amazing event but we called it a day when Kanye arrived...

There's only so much 'arty' filming up his nose we could take!

Give us an M....give us a U

MUZZA we love you!

Third day.....unlucky

Words almost fail me today!

What a day @ Wimbledon HQ! Nobody could have predicted this turn of events!

Tsonga: OUT
Sharapova: OUT
Ivanovic: OUT
Federer: OUTTTTT

and Darcis! - the poor chap that beat Nadal couldn't even play! I think I would play with two broken legs rather than give up my spot at Wimbledon-so he must be seriously injured :(

At least ROBSON is through! Good on her - look forward to watching her again tomorrow. And of course last but not least Mr Murray, still going strong and now with a clear path to the final.....eeeeekk, better not speak too soon....

The way this is going we may be asked to step in! So I've got the troops ready ;)

Who needs Glasto...right??

And so it begins.....

the constant trills, shrieks and general in your face-ness of Glastonbury!

All very well if you're going.....NOT so great if you're left behind at work...

My facebook homepage has already been inundated with countdowns, yelps of glee and an extreme overuse of exclamation marks!!!!!!!

Me Bitter?? Never...OK maybe a tad. a smidgen. a teeny tiny wee bit.....OK A LOT!

I was one of the many who dragged myself, and the rest of housemates out of bed that cold hungover sunday morning in a bid to secure us some tickets but to no avail. So it's time to get over it! and look forward to the other awesome festivals I have lined up.

This year I'm going to Secret Garden Party, Bestival and Lovebox. If only it was more! Any more recommendations??

Bestival is not till September so snap up a ticket if you've not already got one! 

And in the meantime in a vain attempt to alleviate my extreme jealously, I decided to take a browse through my best Bestival snaps and look forward to that instead! :)

ps....anyone else hopes it rains....just a little ;)

WW Caribbean Chicken

I have to admit that post marathon I have been a bit slack with the fitness and health routine! In fairness I have been on holiday for two weeks, and definitely think a well deserved rest was in order after all that training!!

However it has come to my attention that tomorrow marks a month since the marathon! and subsequently also a month since I had run anywhere! I love running so this is just ridiculous and needed to be sorted!!

First five miler last night and it's fair to say it did not got well! For some reason I can no longer turn my neck without a lot of pain!! Good work so far! 

As running home was now off the table this evening - I thought I better kick start my new healthy regime with a healthier diet to make up for lack of exercise! I've been meaning to try this Carribean Chicken recipe from the Weight Watchers Cookbook for a while now so it seemed liked the perfect night to test it out!

*I added some sweetcorn, but without this it came in at only 8 pro points per serving


Ingredients for 2

1tsps Olive Oil
Calorie Controlled Cooking Spray
250g Chicken Breast
300g Sweet Potatoes
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 red chilli, deseeded
1 Red Onion
1 Red Pepper
6 cherry tomatoes
1/2 Banana
4 Pineapple rings in natural juice
1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
Sweetcorn
Salt/Pepper

the main ingredients:

fresh and healthy

Start by preheating the oven to 180C (fan). Next peel the sweet potato and cut into wedges

Place on  a baking tray and coat with the olive oil.

Cook in the oven for approx 30 minutes.

Meanwhile put the garlic, chilli and chicken into a large frying pan,using the calorie controlled cooking spray to lightly grease the surface first.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the sliced pepper and red onion, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients

And then just whack them all in the pan - the pineapple, cherry tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn and banana - and simmer for 10 minutes

Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and  either serve on the side or combine with the rest of the mixture.

and serve up