Day 19

Mass: 97.2 Kg 
Mass-Loss to date: 5.8 Kg 
Mass-Loss Remaining: 11.2 Kg 
Phase: Cruise

Today is ANZAC Day (for those outside of Australia/New Zealand, it stands for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps, and we take the day to remember those who served in war). I'm not at work, so Meghs and I are off to friends to play some board games. I will fill you in on the end result at my other blog, but I will describe my preparation here.



 Eating out at a restaurant is fine, because you can order what you want and your friends can eat what they want. However, eating with friends at their place seems to be a bit more daunting. Fortunately, it is a veggies on day and our friends offered to make a stew of beef and veggies. However, when you're board gaming, it's nice to have a snack or two. This can be tricky! Snacking is probably a bag thing in itself, but if you're around people who are snacking, it's nice to have something safe to eat so that you aren't tempted by the forbidden fruit.

 Firstly, I've made a platter of veggie sticks. Cucumber, Carrots (purple and orange) and capsicum. Lots of colours, lots of variety. With this, I am serving some home-made tzatziki-ish dip. Yoghurt, Garlic, Cucumber and some dry-fried spices. It's pretty tasty- I hope the others agree. I'll be dipping veggies in it, but they're welcome to dip chips and whatnot. 

Taste the rainbow!

For something a bit sweeter, I made a cheesecake. I used the Baked New York style cheesecake from the Dukan website, but a made a few modifications. Firstly, I used low-fat ricotta. No-fat cream cheese doesn't seem to exist in Australia, and the low fat stuff is really expensive. Ricotta is much cheaper, and lighter. I also added a  bunch of lime zest and a touch of juice to the recipe. I also added a base, made from oat bran and a syrup I made by dissolving sugar-free butterscotch in water. It's an approximation of a traditional biscuit base, but I think it should do alright.

Out of the oven

Inverting- you can see the base. A bit uneven...

I sprinkled more lime zest on top of the cake, and this morning I'm pretty pleased with the results (visually, anyway). I guess the proof will be in the pudding (zing!). I also made a lime syrup for any sugar-wanters. Just sugar, water and lime juice (I dyed it so people know it's lime flavored). I think it's more of a cordial, but it should go nicely with the cake.

Ready to go!