RECIPE: Sweet Potato Skins with Bacon & Cheese | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 1
How much does it cost? This cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? It counts towards one of your five a day, is high in fibre and high in antioxidants.


I’m not exaggerating when I say that stuffed potato skins are one of the greatest things to come out of America.

Whether they’re served as a wicked restaurant appetiser or a “Mum’s-gone-to-Iceland” picky tea, potato skins are always a winner 👌

The idea behind this one is to elevate these little pockets of heaven to a more nutritious place where your body can reap the benefits as much as your tastebuds. My sweet potato twist with low fat cheese is still totally satisfying, I guarantee you, but it also helps count towards your five a day too.

Honestly, these are SO tasty and well worth a try. Cheese and bacon is a pretty tried-and-tested flavour combo – believe me, it works! – but the bacon can easily be swapped for onion, chives or black beans for a veggie alternative. Also, give it a try with some chilli flakes or fresh jalapeños for a feisty kick.

These sweet, crispy skins are packed with salty bacon and strong cheddar cheese to bring out the fantastic flavours of the USA 🇺🇸


INGREDIENTS
1 Sweet Potato
1 Slice of Unsmoked Bacon
Handful of Low Fat Grated Cheese (approx 30g)
2 tbsp BBQ Sauce
1 tbsp American Mustard

SEASONING
Before the potato goes into the oven, rub a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper over the skin. When your combining the flesh with bacon and cheese, make sure to add a squeeze of BBQ sauce and American mustard to the mix, as well as some more salt and pepper to season. These are simple flavours, but they all work really well together.


So, this is how I did it…

1. Sweet potatoes can be a bit gritty, so wash and prick them properly. Then rub a teeny drop of oil, salt and pepper on the skins, wrap very loosely in foil and pop into the oven at 220°C. I had an absolute BEAST of a potato so it took ages in my rickety old oven, but usually they take between 45 – 60 minutes to cook.

2. For the last 20 minutes of cooking, add a slice of bacon to the tray and oven cook this as well, flipping over halfway until it goes all crispy 🥓

3. Remove the potato and bacon from the oven. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to a bowl, then scoop the potato flesh from the skins and chuck it in there too. While you’re combining this all together, stick the skins back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

4. Mix together the bacon, sweet potato, almost all of the cheese (leave a little!) as well as a squeeze of BBQ sauce, American mustard and salt and pepper for seasoning. Remove the skins from the oven and scoop the mixture back into them.

5. Switch on the grill, sprinkle what’s left of the cheese on top of the skins and stick them under the grill for a few minutes, until the cheese bubbles and the skins are crispy 🍠

potato skins angle EDIT

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SERIES: My Journey to a Healthier Lifestyle #8 | #ThisGirlEats

11AM: Sometimes you just feel like you need a decent meal to see you through the day. When you know you’re going to be working until 9PM almost every night this week (yep, that’s right…) that sort of pushes you to feel like it’s one of those times. Because of that, I’ve opted to have my main meal of the day right now – a fry up. YUM. Meal of champions.

4:25PM: This wrap is gross. I don’t think that’s a sentence I’ve ever said before… 😦 To be fair, it wasn’t the delicious wholemeal tortilla’s fault – it’s because I tried to use up what was leftover in the fridge before it went off, and turns out that’s too much processed meat for one day. For me, anyways.

FOOD DIARY

Breakfast
🥓 Cup of green tea

Pre-work meal
🥓 An (almost full) English breakfast – two slices of bacon (fat cut off), two pork and apple sausages, one fried egg, baked beans and wholemeal toast

Lunch
🥓 Sausage, bacon and salad wholemeal wrap (not good, got thrown away)
🥓 Walkers Honey BBQ Sunbites
🥓 Fibre One brownie bite
🥓 Bottle of Diet Coke
🥓 850ml water
🥓 Dairy Milk bar

Late night snack
🥓 Cup of tea
🥓 Chocolate buttons

RECIPE: Bacon, Pepper and Avocado Salad | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This cost me less than £1 per person
What are the benefits? This recipe is low in carbs, low in sugar and mounts up to 2 portions of your 5 a day


I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really been a big salad person. I suppose it really depends on what else you put in with it, because I can’t imagine anyone loving just a few limp lettuce leaves!

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So I’ve created one that’s brilliant for me and works with the things I love to eat, as well as still being quite healthy – who knows, it could be perfect for you too!

It’s a great low-carb lunch option, if that’s what you’re after. Not to mention, it also contributes to your five a day, and avocado is full of healthy fats to help keep you full all day long. 


INGREDIENTS
4 Slices of Back Bacon, Chopped
1 Avocado, Peeled, Stone Removed and Chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced 
Half a Bag of Pre-Prepared Salad

SEASONING
There wasn’t too much seasoning involved in this one, just some black pepper and garlic added to the frying pan last-minute. You don’t even need salt as the bacon does that for you, but you could add some salad dressing for extra flavour if you wish.


So, this is how I did it…

1. Firstly, spray a frying pan with cooking spray or a small drop of oil and allowed it to heat up before chucking in the chopped bacon and cooking for roughly 10 minutes, until the bacon is all lovely and crispy.

2. Add the peppers to the pan after about 5 minutes of cooking the bacon, just enough so they aren’t raw but still have a crunch, and cook for about 5 minutes.

3. The chunks of avocado go into the pan for the last minute or so of cooking – this is optional, but I prefer my avocado to be warm here, so I cooked it for just enough time to simply warm it through. At this point, also add some black pepper and dried garlic to the pan for flavour.

4. Take the ingredients from the pan and add to a bowl of salad, stir it all through and you’re done!


Tips & Tricks

  • You know what else would go great with this? Halloumi, of course. It’s great with everything, and could turn this into a veggie-friendly salad.

 

  • If you’re feeling adventurous, you don’t have to buy a pre-packaged salad – that’s just laziness on my part! Make your own up and create the absolutely perfect dish for you.

 

  • It makes a great lunch, but you could also shrink this down to a small side salad or bulk it up for a full dinner meal. The choice is yours!

My Sure-Fire Hangover Cure (Well, One of Them!) | #ThisGirlEats

Hangover cures vary far and wide. Everyone has their kick-starter food after a night on the town (or a night on the sofa “accidentally” drinking an entire bottle of Pinot Grigio to yourself while hurling unnecessary abuse at 18-year-old X Factor contestants, there’s no judgement here). Personally, I know of several.

I have an aunt who absolutely swears by Diet Coke. My partner won’t get out of bed after a drink unless a full-on fry up is on offer. Someone I work with even says tuna does the trick, apparently.

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My saving grace after a hangover

One of my personal hangover cures is a bacon and fried egg sandwich. For me, it’s perfect for those post-drink mornings when I need something a bit greasy but my stomach can’t quite face a full English. It’s certainly not the most nutritious breakfast but, you know, alcohol does funny things to a girl.

If, like me, you’re partial to a bacon and fried egg sandwich, I’ve managed to trim the edges a little.

 

 

 

These are my top tips:

  • If it doesn’t make you want to vomit in your fragile state, then try cutting off as much fat from the bacon as possible before cooking it.

 

  • Always grill instead of frying; as good as fried bacon smells to your numbed senses, grilling gets rid of way more fat and grease.

 

  • Use cooking spray when you fry your eggs instead of pouring big glugs of oil into the pan.

 

  • As appealing as a thick chunk of white bread looks on the morning after, stick to wholemeal for a more beneficial breakfast. Your body will thank you.

 

  • Don’t use butter! Sounds weird, but if you’re going to squeeze a healthy dose of ketchup or brown sauce on there anyway, that along with the egg yolk should make the sandwich moist enough without having to add butter to the mix.

 

And there you go! Those are my little tips to make a greasy hangover cure a little easier to digest. You probably already feel bad enough after those drunk texts to your ex anyway…