First day of Cruise - and another recipe

Hi Guys

Today is day one of the Cruise Phase! I can't believe how quickly 10 days flew by! I'm so glad we stuck it out for 10 days, my husband and I both lost over 5 kg.

So yesterday I went vegetable shopping, perhaps I went overboard a little from all the excitement! 

This morning stared off with an omelet with bacon (reduced fat), roasted mini tomatoes and large brown mushrooms, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it!

And for snack time today, I've planned vegetable crudité with aubergine dip, unbelievably yummy! You know what that means - another awesome recipe to share with you!!

The original recipe comes from my sister-in-law, but I tweaked it somewhat to "Dukanise" it. :)

Aubergine Dip

• 2 large aubergines
• 1/2 tub of smooth fat free cottage cheese
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• zest of half a lemon
• one tablespoon of chopped coriander (cilantro)
• one tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 1 large or 3 small cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Wash the aubergines and dry them with a paper towel.  Put them on a baking tray sprayed with non-stick spray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.  After baking, place them in a glass bowl and cover with clingfilm to sweat a little until they're cool enough to handle.  Now make a slit in each and scrape out all the contents with a spoon.  Transfer to a bowl into the refrigerator to cool.

No for the tricky part - you have to get as much water out of them as possible.  I used a piece of muslin cloth to wrap them up in.  I then progressively twisted the loose end side of the muslin "bag" until no more water came out of the aubergines.

At this point put them in the bowl of a food processor, along with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth.  There is no reason why you can't just use a hand held stick blender to mash the dip up in a bowl. :)  Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy with absolutely anything you like, I'll be dipping some crudité into mine!

For supper tonight, I haven't put much thought into the protein for tonight with all the veggie excitement!

I'm making a nice hearty bowl of roast vegetables with rosemary and a gorgeous salad of a bed of rocket topped with thinly sliced baked and cooled beets topped with fresh thyme leaves and crumbed fat free feta. :)

Oh my goodness, I'm salivating while I'm typing this, better go dip some crudité!

Cheers and God bless!

Janie B