Choc Chip Cookie Dough Chocolate Brownies...

We went to Adelaide on the weekend for the Clipsal500 V8 Supercars and to do a few more things at our unit and to see Kirby and to buy Brianna's Deb dress. We achieved everthing we set out to do!
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My girls love choc chip biscuits and chocolate brownies so I just had to make this recipe. Pictured above are the brownies (in all their gooey cookie dough glory) before going into the oven.
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...and this was when they came out. I made a chocolate ganache of 250gms dark cooking chocolate and about 200mls of cream. Place in a saucepan on the stove and gently melt the chocolate and cream until a gooey consistency. Chill in fridge until it thickens them slather it over the brownies.
Yes, you may as well just slather it straight onto your hips because, my darlings, that's where it will end up! Lol!
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I only took half to Adelaide and the other half is in the freezer so at least we didn't scoff the whole lot. I actually only had 3 small pieces the entire weekend. I was pretty good with my 'diet' too.
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I took porridge for breakfast (wow, that sorts out lazy bowels!) and yesterday we had a pub lunch but I chose lemon pepper floured King George Whiting fillets, grilled with a green salad - no fries! Delicious!
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This was my lunch today - a microwaved jacket potato, lettuce, beetroot, tomato, 4 bean mix, carrot, can of tuna in springwater, light sour cream and no oil/fat balsalmic dressing. Yes, I ate it all, followed by a banana and glass of water. Yes, I am overfull and feel like I could explode but it tasted gooood and was gooood for me.
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Bri stayed home from school today because she vomited soon after getting up this morning and has an annoying migrainy-type headache - sorry for all the gory details. She was feeling a little better at lunch time but the headache was lingering still.
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The new kitchen goes into the unit on Wednesday so the girls will be in a right mess for a few days. The flat-pack kitchen will take 2 days (it is being assembled at the carpenter's workshop then delivered ready to install) then the plumber and electrician get stuck into installing new light switches, sink, gas stove, elec hotplates and rangehood, new lighting in kitchen and lounge. The tiler will be in next Tuesday so I hope by the time he finishes, things will be looking quite groovy. We will go back for the Easter longweekend to paint and fine tune things. New timber flooring goes down after Easter. I can't wait to show you some before and after shots. Our credit card is smoking but it will be a good investment in the end!
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I am on the hunt for a good healthy heart/cholesterol-free cook book so I can experiement with some new recipes. I might look on the web too.
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Enjoy your week,

Cheers - Joolz

My cholesterol challenge...

Okay, so I went for my 45-49 year old health check yesterday. I can safely say I am in perfect health apart from............my cholesterol level........... is 7.4 mmol/L !!!
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My (good) HDL is 2.1 - it needs to be above 1.0 mmol/L so thats good
My (bad) LDL is 4.2 - it needs to be 2.5 or less mmol/L
My (ugly) triglycerides are 2.2 - they need to be 1.5 or less mmol/L

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Everything else checked out - BP is 122/69, pulse 92, blood sugar good, urine clear, weight...let's not go there... okay I will ... their scary scales say 74 kgs which means I need to lose those 4 kgs at least!
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My aim - I have 3 months before I get my cholesterol re-tested. In that time, I am going to halve my cheese consumption, halve or cut out butter/margarine altogether on sandwiches and toast, eat rolled oats/porridge and wholemeal toast for breakfast. Eat more tuna, sardines and salmon which I do like. Up to 4 eggs a week are okay - not fried. Cut out processed meats like ham (which I eat a lot of) and replace it with chicken, turkey. Aim to eat lots more fruit and raw vegetables.
I already use the lowest fat skim milk and we eat reduced fat/sugar yoghurt and I like balsalmic no-oil dressing.
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I walk 5 kms each week day morning so I hope to see some improvement in the coming weeks. I'll let you know how I am going.
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This health check was completely free and paid for by the Australian Government and is available to anyone in the 45-49 year age group especially if you have a family history in heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc - the blood work, half an hour with a nurse/consultant discussing general health and well-being, testing bloodpressure, weight, height, eyesight, memory function, social life, diet then half an hour with your doctor to further discuss the blood test results - all free. I am also checked into a skin clinic at the end of the month to have my moles checked for melanoma and abnormalities.
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Breakfast today - porridge with a drizzle of honey, 1 slice wholemeal toast with vegemite - no margarine.
Lunch will be : small can tuna in springwater, lettuce, tomato, carrot, beetroot, 3 bean mix.
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Oh, and did I mention I am making Bakerella's Choc Chip Cookie Dough Chocolate Brownies (thanks Pity Pat) as a treat for my girls? Yup! None for me though...I'll just take some photos!
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Cheers - Joolz