Recipe Number 1 – Turkey,Thyme & Leek Meatloaf.

This recipe comes from 101 More Low-Fat Recipes  - BBC Good Food.

                    Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 4 large leeks – sliced
• 500g minced turkey
• 2 thyme sprigs – leaves only.
• 85g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg – beaten
• 2 rashers lean back bacon – fat trimmed – chopped.

Method

1. 
   
   While the oven is preheating to Gas Mark 7 [220C], soften the leeks in a frying pan for 5 minutes with the oil.
2. 
   
   Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. [The recipe suggests a 28x18cm tray but all I could find was a 23cm square tray, as the area was around the same I opted for this.]
3. 
   
   Mix the mince,thyme,leeks,egg and about two-thirds of the breadcrumbs together with a little seasoning. [Bearing in mind the blood pressure situation I just used a little black pepper and NO salt].
4. 
   
   Add this mixture to the baking tray and press down firmly and then use a fork to ruffle the surface. Mix the remaining breadcrumbs together with the chopped bacon and spread over the top.
5. 
   
   Cook for about 15 minutes, then finish under the grill until the surface is crisp and golden. [This is probably a good point to mention that the greaseproof paper really ought to be trimmed back or else when you place it under the grill it may catch fire – yes it did!]
6. 
   
   I served it simply with new potatoes and some [frozen!] mixed veg.  

Although I though that the meatloaf looked a little dry it wasn’t in the slightest. It  tasted very good with the flavour of the thyme and leeks coming through well. Sylvia loved it and so did Victoria who happened to be passing when I was cooking. Poppy gave it a thumbs-up although she did remove the leeks prior to eating and Joey said “Yea”!!
All-in-all a good recipe to start with, if this is eating the low-fat way, long may it continue.

The New Regime.

After returning from the doctor’s with the news that her cholesterol was still too high coupled with an elevated blood pressure Sylvia has decided that we should both go on a low cholesterol diet. In fairness I don’t know what my cholesterol reading is as I have never had it tested but the chances are that with my weight situation, it will not be low. The first stop was a visit to Waterstones bookshop in Cardiff to peruse the cookery section to get some inspiration to kick start the new regime. Unfortunately no books were ready to hand and at W H Smith the story was similar with the exception of two books – Healthy Eating for Lower Cholesterol by Daniel Green and 101 More Low-Fat recipes from the BBC Good Food Series.

Although slightly disappointed by the lack of literature covering such an important area, I decided to use these two books as a base for my cookery exploits over the coming months. This blog will be a diary of these attempts to lower our cholesterol levels and avoid statins. Any input would be welcomed including suggestions for recipes, web-sites, other books – in fact any thing that may be interesting to my readers. Two words of caution, one I am not a chef but an interested amateur, please excuse me if I get the basics wrong. Secondly I am certainly not a doctor and have no medical qualifications so please bear that in mind if you follow this blog. Hopefully I will be able to report that cholesterol levels have started to fall as the project progresses.