Apparently there is no such thing as a free lunch.  All I can say is that my lunch was provided for me today in a hotel!

Knowing I was spending the day in a hotel with colleagues brainstorming stuff, I took in a slightly more substantial breakfast than yesterday to help me feel sated for longer.  125 g mixed berry Co Yo, 20 g oats, mashed banana and 1 tbsp chia seeds.  It was a bit gloopy but tasted ok.  444 calories, including a large cup of tea.

After a couple of hours in the usual office I stepped outside and enjoyed a walk in the Spring sunshine round to the hotel where I was to spend the rest of the day working with a large number of colleagues.

On arrival there was coffee and Danish pastries.  I had a filter coffee and resisted all these pastries.  Yes indeed, I truly did.  Not one morsel passed my lips.

I had these instead 🙂

After working all morning I was prepared for the usual tragic round of wilting sandwiches to come out .  I was wrong!  We had a delicious hot buffet instead.  I picked a small portion of all the healthiest things on the menu: a slice of roast lamb with mint sauce (which was actually so chewy I left it), half a chicken breast ( I didn’t eat the skin), a small piece of cod, a rollmop herring, 4 anchovies, carrots, red cabbage, green beans, rocket, cucumber and a tomato and onion salad.

The reason for such an eclectic mixture on my plate was I selected foods from the starter selection and main meals to eat at once.  We only had half an hour for lunch so there was not enough time to have 3 courses.  Everything tasted very good, even though the flavours did not go well together.  Hard to be accurate but I estimate 662 calories for this lunch, which includes my dessert.

I managed to resist the Creme Brûlée, chocolate tart and profiteroles and instead had a small serving of fruit salad.  I was impressed by how good I was.

We finished slightly early and I had half an hour to wait for my train so I used the time walking.  London does have some unusual buildings.  I love seeing the variety.

Not sure I’d fancy living in this goldfish bowl.

From the other side of the street I thought this was made from wood but up close I could see it was made from stone.  I rather liked it.

This livened up the dull side to a building.

I love the detail on this building.  Really beautiful.

A different angle of the boat.

Not sure about this. 

This is a peaceful spot to sit and relax.

At home the rest of the family had designated it curry night but I was on a healthy eating roll.  When I am in the healthy eating zone, as I am at the moment, I don’t want to leave it.  I genuinely do not want to add bad foods to my body.

I have been germinating these broccoli seeds since Sunday and they were ready today so I put 1 tbsp in the blender.

With a frozen banana (helps make the smoothie thick), half an avocado, a handful of spinach, the juice and pulp of one lime and a passionfruit.

I wanted to add some additional nutrients and since I had passed up the chance to have chocolate for lunch I had some for supper.  1 tbsp cacao nibs and 1 tbsp carob powder.

Plus 1 tbsp Acai powder to add some extra antioxidants. The consistency was perfect – thick and smooth, just how I like it.  The flavour was ok but not amazing.  It was surprisingly filling though and I felt very virtuous, eating/drinking this while the others enjoyed a curry.

I ate so many really healthy foods today and I feel really good about it, particularly because I could have eaten so many bad ones.  They even had bowls of sweets on the tables and packets of yogurt coated raisins and dried fruit in the room we were in.  I am so pleased I resisted it all.

I ended up slightly over on nearly everything i.e calories, carbs, fat, protein and sugar.  But they were healthy sources of those food groups so I feel no shame or regret.  The amount of sugar in fruits is so high and the recommended daily amount is so low that if you have 2 pieces of fruit, you are over your limit!  So I don’t worry too much about the sugar total if I have eaten fresh fruits.  The small calorie excess won’t cause me to lose any sleep either as I have been under for the last 2 days so my average so far this week is below the maximum.  I am chalking this one up as another successful day of healthy eating.