Wednesday 29 August 2012

The Hairy Dieters Review and a £40 Groupon Voucher Giveaway

Now, being the food obsessive that I am, I don’t suppose it’s much of a surprise that I spend some of my life trying to get myself slimmer after too much cake or chocolate! On a personal level I’ve been thin and didn’t really get any thrill getting into small clothes, so I chose food over being thin. Time moves on though, and like the hairies, I am of an age where if I want to live a good life for many years to come, I’m going to have to rethink and change how I eat, at least some of the time. I really do need to take the little of what you fancy does you good more literally.

The book I’m posting about here is The Hairy Dieters by Si King and Dave Myers 2012 Weidenfeld &Nicolson. The boys have cast aside their erstwhile big appetites to pursue 3 months of eating with the purpose of shifting a bit of weight and in turn tipping the health scales back into their favour. There was a TV series in the UK that accompanied the boys as they tried (and succeeded) to lose some weight. I thought it was well done, it wasn’t always easy, but they kept at it.

So, what do people who love food eat when counting their calories? Answer: the same kind of food they eat normally but with some tweaks to make them more in line with their calorie counts for the day. The recipe chapters are: Breakfast & Brunch, One-Pan Dishes, Grills & Roasts, Pies, Stews, Vegetables & Salads, Fakeaways, Pasta & Rice, Puddings & Cakes and Lunch Boxes & Snacks. There are a good number of pictures and they do make me want to cook them up (something that I’ve not always found in this kind of cookbook in the past). The layout is good, recipes are easy to follow, and the calorie count is given for each recipe per portion.

Many of the dishes have a comforting feel which I love, because if I’m eating less I want comforted more, I’m assuming that isn’t peculiar to me! Some are light and salad-y, and there are a number of fab sounding, gorgeous looking curries. Some of the dishes I have marked to try are: Salmon with chilli Ginger Sauce, Peppered Steak with Mushrooms, Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken, Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip, Lean Lamb Hotpot, Lamb Tagine, Chilli Salad Bowl, Chilli Con Carne, Summer Fruit Meringues and Chewy Cranberry and Apricot Bites.

If you are looking for some recipe inspiration to reduce your calories a bit it’s a good book to add to your collection.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
We made the portions a bit bigger, so it served 3 instead of 4, but still came in at under 500 calories. Wasn’t as great as a full fat risotto, but it was good as a lower cal supper.



Chicken Paprika
A very nice balance of flavours, and a really lovely supper.

Gammon and Parsley Sauce
This one I didn’t like at all. The sauce was just too lacking to be ok. I’d rather have a pineapple ring!

Thai Chicken Curry
This didn’t taste diet at all. I’d halve the Thai spice paste next time, it was very spicy indeed.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Loved this one, worth making even if you were not counting your calories!

Giveaway!
Now to the giveaway (which is totally unrelated to the above book)! I was asked if I would like to either spend some vouchers and review what I’d experienced or host a giveaway of a voucher for Groupon. I chose the second. So I have one £40 voucher from Groupon to giveaway to a reader who leaves a comment saying you would like to be entered on this post before the 5th September 2012 at 12 noon. The winner will be chosen at random, and I will post who the lucky winner is the following day. With thanks to Groupon for the voucher. NOTE THIS IS NOW CLOSED!

The winner is the first commenter Miss C Flash, congratulations and hope you have fun with your voucher. Please get in touch with me and I'll get the voucher code to you :)

Next Up: Lorriane Pascale’s Fast, Fresh and Easy Food

17 comments:

Hello said...

Lovely post, I like the picture of gammon and parsley sauce. I would like to be entered for the groupon prize as I would like another day out having afternoon tea- what an indulgence x

Aby Wilson said...

Hi Kelly - could you include me in the Groupon giveaway? Is there many veggie recipies in this book? I am on a diet just now but stuggle to find tasty veggie dishes - if you could let me know if there are many that would be great!! Another great review from you - it is so nice to have someone who actually tries the recipies and photographs them too! Aby x

Camilla @Fabfood4all said...

Good on you for making up and giving tips on so many of the recipes in the new HBs book.
I would like to be entered into Groupon Giveaway as I've never experienced them!

Sian said...

please enter me! x

Lesley W said...

Oooh yes please, I'd like to be entered in the Groupon thingy (sorry, 'puter faulty so unable to use keys!)to win the £40 gift.

Please Do Not Feed The Animals. said...

I watched the series. I'm not convinced particularly about adapting recipes. I think I just need to eat less cake!
I would like to be entered too - I wasn't convinced until someone commented above that you could use it for a nice afternoon tea- oh yes please! Well, that will help the figure I must say. Tut. ;-)

Noir. said...

love the hairy bikers diet show, it was real which is always nice!! :) i like how they didn't always stick to it as i think sometimes you get sent into a false sense of security with some shows. I didn't know they had a book out too :) x

Grace Lavender said...

Wow the Chicken Paprika looks so lovely, I am starving now!
I'd love to included in the groupon giveaway please :)

Sandsferguson said...

I love the hairy dieters.
Loved the show, wish there was more.

I would like to be entered too please!

Sandsferguson said...

oops email sandsferguson@hotmail.co.uk

Kelly-Jane said...

Thanks for your comments :)

Aby, there are a few pure veggie recipes, I'd try and pick up a book to have a look at before you buy, just to be on the safe side.

Louise, the irony!

thecelticcookinshanghai said...

Great to hear your unobjective views on the book. I just have never been able to like these two on TV. I think there are much more talented people out there and as a result would never be tempted to buy their books. I just find them really annoying. Sorry to all those you love HB's.

Nickki said...

Great review! I've made the chicken korma which was really good and you would have no idea it was low fat. My husband has quite a long list of recipes he wants to try so I think I'll be cooking a lot more from this book over the next while. The paprika chicken looks delicious. I'd love to be entered into the Groupon giveaway please :-)

Maria♥ said...

I would love to be included for the groupon voucher :)

I love the hairy bikers and I definitely need this book! All the dishes look so yummy.

Maria
x

Kelly-Jane said...

Celtic cook, don't be sorry, if we were all the same life would be very boring indeed :)

Nicola, I'm going to try the korma this weekend.

Maria, Thank you.

KJx

Hello said...

So surprised I won, thanks Kelly -Jane x

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