Yee-ha cowboy.  She is back.  After a few really dreadful days of overeating and particularly eating too many white refined carbs, I woke up this morning feeling fairly grotty.  White bread, which I ate too much of yesterday, does not agree with me.  It makes me feel bloated, windy and lacking in energy and vitality.

To get myself back on the wagon, I chose to keep my diary clear for the day and not go out.  I chose instead to sit inside, read some healthy living blogs and websites and get my diet mojo back.  While I was doing that I put some goodies in to a jug to soak for breakfast:
30 g porridge oats (3 WW points)
1 tsp chia seeds (1 WW point)
100 ml coconut water (1 WW point)
100 ml water
1 cup of frozen raspberries

The point of soaking the ingredients is so the oats soften which makes them easier to digest and so the chia seeds swell up which makes 1 tsp seem more than it is.  It helps keep you feeling full.

I soaked all the ingredients for a couple of hours, then poured them in to my blender with a banana and blitzed until smooth.  Raspberry pink is one of my favourite colours.  So pretty.

This smoothie was just about right in terms of thickness and a good quantity.  It made about 1 and a half of these glasses full.

I read all morning.   I found some sites about people who “juice feast” i.e. live on fruit and vegetable juices only for a period of time.  One man did this for 92 days!  This is not something I want to do, but reading their blogs, about how their energy levels, emotional wellbeing and overall health improved dramatically served as a powerful reminder that eating well makes you feel well.  It really is that simple.  EAT WELL.  FEEL WELL.

While I was reading I made some chicken stock (see how here ).  I had a carcass left over from the roast I made last Thursday.  I used the stock to make a nourishing and tasty soup for lunch which was perfect for such a cold and grey day.

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

Ingredients (Served 1 hungry person)

• 1 litre of homemade chicken stock (4 WW points)
• 150 g parsnip (1 large parsnip, peeled with core removed) (3 WW points)
• 50 g chicken (picked from carcass after making stock) (2 WW points)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp tarragon
• Salt and pepper
• 100 g cottage cheese (optional) (2 WW points)

Method

• Pour chicken stock in to a large saucepan and bring to simmering point.
• Chop the parsnip in to 1 inch chunks.
• Add the turmeric, paprika and tarragon.  Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until the parsnip is soft.

• Season according to taste.
• Pour soup in to blender and blitz until smooth.

• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Add cottage cheese and blend until smooth.
• Serve.

When I decided to make soup for lunch, I did not plan to add cottage cheese.  But when I tasted the soup I felt it lacked something.  The cottage cheese blended perfectly to lose its lumps, which some people dislike.  It thickened the texture of the soup and imparted a slightly cheesy flavour.  An excellent addition.  The parsnip gave the soup an earthy sweetness and the turmeric and paprika gave it a wonderful orange colour.  This was delicious.

I drank mine from a large mug as I was continuing my research and eating soup from a spoon is too troublesome when you are simultaneously engaged in another activity.  Since I was home alone I was perfectly happy sipping my hot soup from a large mug.  Lunch was contentedly slurped and research continued :-).

I was sent a link to a blog by The Fresh Network who I ordered some groceries from last week.  There was a very interesting article about detoxing and I read more and more about it.  I am going to do a one week detox, when the kit arrives. Unfortunately I have to wait 5 to 10 days for it but in that time I can prepare my temple.  I have been sent a useful document about how to prepare yourself for the detox so I am starting.

Supper was leftovers.

I had a portion of the Aduki Bean Chilli  ( 5 WW points) which I made last Monday. I didn’t realise it had been in the fridge for so long but it tasted fine.  I had that with 3 of the Chick Pea Patties (8 WW points)  I made last Wednesday.  Searching for the recipe for them made me realise I had not added them to the recipe index so I will get on to that.  I also had a large tomato which I chopped up and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh basil.  Finally I added 1 tbsp of the Tahini Dressing (3 WW points) I made on January 4th.  I can’t believe I made it so long ago!  It tasted great though and went really with the chick pea patties and juicy tomato.

I braved Weight Watchers tonight.  I was dreading it and could easily have not gone as I knew I had put some weight on.  Plus it was freezing cold outside.  But I had to go to get a measure of how bad it was.  I was hugely relieved to see I had only put on half a pound.  So a gain is not a good thing but this was a small gain following a very stressful week.  I have been weighed, so I know the extent of the damage, which is minimal.

I have spent my time wisely today, reading about healthy eating and rekindling my diet mojo.  I am back on my wagon and looking forward to tomorrow.

WW Points Totals

Breakfast 5
Lunch 11
Dinner 16
+ 2 for semi skimmed milk in tea
Daily Total = 34