Today, the two boilers we had installed nearly 10 years ago, and which have caused constant problems are going.  They are being replaced with a new one, which will be properly installed by a plumber and heating engineer we have come to know and trust.  So tonight we should be able to shower and bathe again which I am so excited about!  Thank you to all our neighbours and friends who have kindly availed us of their bathing facilities.  The bathroom guide to our village will be published soon :-).

I woke up with what I have read elsewhere as a “sugar hangover”.  I felt dreadful.  I felt very tired, extremely grumpy and had an unsettled stomach.  So I decided to try and eat a very low GI diet today with as little sugar as possible.

For breakfast I heated up some Nasi Goreng with tofu which was left over from Sunday.

I ate it with chopsticks and chewed each mouthful slowly.  You are supposed to chew each mouthful until it is liquid for optimum digestion and absorption.  Hard to do but beneficial for health.  In fact one nutritionist I met said chewing food until it was liquid was one of the best things a person could easily do to have a significant benefit to their health.  I managed it this morning but the portion was so small I remained hungry.

I had to pop in to Cranbrook to run some errands and went in to the very splendid Campo Vecchio to buy some ham and Mozarella.  I bought 2 slices of ham baked with herbs and one ball of Mozarella.  It is always a pleasure to be served in there, to have Italian spoken to you and be given tasty morsels to try.  One of my male friends on Saturday was saying how all the ladies flock to Fabio’s to be flirted with and then spend vast amounts of money on deli goods.  Well, suck it up chaps and get over it.  It all adds to the shopping pleasure of our lovely local Italian Deli.  The produce is top quality and so well presented.

I put the ham (72 g) and Mozarella (99 g) on a plate with some cherry tomatoes, basil, fresh ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

This may seem like a massive “snack” and in some ways it is.  But it is good quality food which is providing nutrition and helping me feel sated which I need to get over my sugar hangover.  The cheese was 7 points, the ham 2 and 1 tsp olive oil was 1 point making a total of 10 WW points.

I loved every mouthful.  It may seem like a strange thing to eat at 11 am but it was what I wanted and it helped.

I decided to make supper before I went out for lunch so I assembled the ingredients for one of the recipes from ‘ Veg everyday! ‘; North African Squash with Chickpeas.

I then realised the gas was switched off so I had to abandon that idea until later.  This is why I have no gas – my boiler was on the driveway in pieces!

I had a lunch invitation today :-).  I was going to Suzanne’s with Tanya and Jackie and Suzanne’s daughter Charlotte joined us too.  We had a glass of fizz when we arrived and enjoyed looking at the party photos from Saturday.

We had a delicious home made vegetable soup which I had with a piece of Foccaccia with tomatoes on it,

Followed by cheese. I had some Brie and some Wensleydale with Cranberries with half an apple.

Suzanne had a birthday cake for Jackie as we hadn’t sung to her on Saturday so we all sang today instead.  And Jackie blew out her candle and made a wish.  I love birthday celebrations.

I had a small piece of carrot cake with a coffee.

Thank you Suzanne for a wonderful lunch.  I had a great time with lovely ladies.

In the afternoon I made the North African Squash with Chickpea stew, adapted from Veg everyday!

This quantity provides 4 large servings.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 white onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 60 g red lentils
• 40 g green lentils (you could use all red lentils but I ran out)
• 1 400 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 400 g tins chopped tomatoes (or passata)
• Handful of parsley, chopped
• Handful of coriander, chopped
• 300 g squash or pumpkin.  I used a whole onion squash – I didn’t weigh it
• 1 litre stock.  I used chicken but it could be vegetable

Method

1. Heat oil and fry onions over a medium heat until just softened.
2. Turn heat to low and  add the garlic, celery, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and sautee for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, parsley and coriander.  Cook for about 15 minutes.
4. Peel and deseed the squash and cut in to cubes.  Add to pan with the stock.

Veg everyday!’ uses saffron, a bay leaf, dates (optional) and pasta.  I left out the pasta as I didn’t think the dish needed it and that would save some calories/points.  I also dislike eating the liquid pasta has been cooked in as it is too starchy.

5. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes and season to taste.  Eat.

Yummy.  Warm.  Comforting.  Nutritious.  Low fat.  Low calories. High in protein and fibre.  Seriously moreish.

I am posting early today as I am off to have a shower to welcome in our new boiler.  We will not miss the old one.