There’s no doubt that my Nan makes the best spaghetti bolognaise, I don’t know how she does it but it always is way better than mine!

There’s something so great about it!! The whole family agrees. So here’s the recipe that she so kindly gave me, it feeds 5 people.

Ingredients:

½ a red onion

1 large carrot

450g mince beef

1 tbsp tomato puree

tin of tomatoes

1 beef oxo cube

a drop of Worcester sauce

oregano

basil

salt and pepper

Method:

Cut up the onion and carrot by giving it a blitz in the food processor and then fry it in a little oil. Add the meat and stir it into the vegetables and fry it off, making sure it is all brown. Add in the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Put in all of the herbs and seasoning. Simmer it for half an hour, if you have a pressure cooker then put it in there for 10 minutes. If not cover the saucepan and simmer it all.

There's always a surprise at the bottom of the pasta bowls, they're all different!

This is the best spaghetti bolognaise you’ll ever have!

"Courgetti"

It feels like it's been ages since I've written a blog post, but it really hasn't, work seems to have just taken over this week and getting back into a routine after being on holiday has to be one of the worst things...

Anyway, let me introduce you to "courgetti". Yes, it is a real thing, 100% credit given to my mum for the name because it simply is courgette spaghetti.
Yet again, I was apprehensive about trying something new but I had a good feeling about this one and just writing about it now makes me want it (though it doesn't help that I've barely had time to eat today).

It is probably the most basic recipe ever and it takes simply minutes to make.
All you need is a courgette, some butter and a clove of garlic.

First of all, you need to get the courgette like spaghetti. At home we have a special peeler that cuts it into fine strands when you peel it. But if you don't have one of these (I suggest investing in one!) then use your standard vegetable peeler to get slices of the courgette then use a knife to thinly slice them.

So you've got your courgette all ready, put a bit of butter in a saucepan with some garlic. Let the butter melt and the garlic soften a bit, just so your breath doesn't smell really bad once you've eaten it...

Once the butter has all melted, add in your courgette and toss it around in the garlic and butter and let it soften a bit, I reckon about 4 minutes should do the trick.

"Mum wait I need to take pictures!" 

Obviously drain away some of the juice or you'll end up with puddles of it.

I may have cheated with the sauce I put with it, I was tired and too hungry to want to make something! These are handy little pouches though and taste great. I heated it up then mixed it in with my courgetti and added some leftover chicken for a bit of protein. 

And the final dish! It tastes a lot better than it looks, and is way more filling than you would think. Plus there's no carbs, I mean how much better can it get than that?

You know it's true!

My Bible for 4 Weeks

Here are the "rules" me and my dad (and when I am cooking something new my mum will essentially be going by them too) are following for the next 4 weeks initially:

1. No wheat - which means no bread or pasta (always the biggest struggle) 

2. No fried food - kind of an obvious one

3. No alcohol out of nights out - I don't go out so often now as I often work late on the weekends making it relatively easy

4. Breakfast smoothies are a must - I'm going to try smoothie bowls!

My weekly plan (roughly)...

I've already found recipes for cauliflower rice (as I've previously blogged about) and "slutty no-carb pasta" (basically courgette pasta) from The Londoner blog which I cannot wait to try as virtually calorie-free alternatives to wheat. 

As well as plenty more recipes I'm going to give a go. I think I'll point out here that when I do try recipes and then blog about them, I will rarely make it the same way or keep the same ingredients as this is where I can be quite creative so I like to do things my own way!

I mean let's be realistic here

I'm going through a phase of wanting to try new things if you couldn't tell. Do any of you have any favourite healthy alternatives to share with me? Or even ways to make the next 4 weeks a bit easier?

This is going to be my first thought in the mornings.