Asian Style Pork Chops on Wilted Asian Greens

This is pure agony!!! As I type and look at the photos of this meal my belly is rumbling.  I didn't think that I was hungry, but obviously my stomach thinks differently!!!

Why is dieting so hard?  Why can't I just use zen thoughts to whittle away the kilos??  How long am I going to have to deprive myself for??

I know, it's all of my own doing - the love of food ultimately leads to an increase of girth, but why, oh why is it so hard to remove those few extra indulgences?  Why cant, say one week of really hard dieting remove - oh 5-10 kilos!!  Wouldn't that be nice???  I have been really good this last week, but the numbers coming off are oh so slow!!  I am finding myself during late afternoon almost beside myself.  "The Darlings" come in from school and cook up popcorn, have chocolate paddle pops, or whatever, and I just want to gnaw off my arm at the elbow (but then I have to tell myself - that isn't going to help - it's protein, and you will just have to have less at dinner time!!!)  So I console myself with a cup of miso soup, and countless glasses of water in an effort to distract myself from thoughts of real food.

Finally dinner time rolls around, here is what I had the other night!

Asian Style Pork Chops with Wilted Asian Greens
Adapted from Taste.com.au

Serves 4-6

8 Pork Cutlets
2 tbs brown sugar
8 whole star anise
2 tbs finely grated ginger
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup light soy sauce

Wilted Asian Greens
1 bunch asparagus, cut in half
1 bunch gai choy, ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
1 bunch bok choy, ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
1/2 wombok cabbage, shredded
1 tbs sesame seeds

Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, star anise, ginger, vinegar and oil in a large ziploc bag.  Add the pork, and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours, or longer if possible, to allow the flavours to develop.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.  Place the pork chops from the marinade, and place in a disposable foil baking tray (gets you out of the kitchen faster - less washing up!!!).  Place the reserved marinade in a saucepan.  Place the pork chops in the oven, and cook for 20 minutes.  ** Remove from the oven, and cover with foil to keep warm while you are cooking the veggies.

 **Add approximately 1/4 cup of water to the marinade, and bring to the boil.  Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened slightly.

To cook the greens, heat the wok over medium high heat, and gently toast the sesame seeds.  Remove to a plate.

Add the chopped green vegetables, and a small amount of water.  Toss gently until they are just wilted.

Place the wilted greens on a plate, sprinkle over the sesame seeds, then top with a pork chop.

For those not counting their carbs, add a serving of steamed rice.

So did this put the monsters to bay?  Yes, having a huge amount of veggies certainly fills up the belly in the short term - but I find after a while I am hungry again - so my remedy - clean your teeth, and off to bed to read!!!

It's only 60 more days til I go away, will I last?

So Dear Readers, do you have any diet tips, or recipes you would like to pass along?  Please share!!!!