I woke up to rain today which is good for the garden, especially the little seedlings which have sprouted this week.
I only planted the radishes, borage, lettuce and mizuna last Saturday (9 days ago) and they are already looking good. If we have the warm Autumn we are forecast they should grow to an edible size. You can also see baby leeks (top bed under the chicken wire – they look like grass) and Japanese spinach in the front right hand side.
Was it swimming weather though?
It was more of a challenge today because it was very overcast and actually raining so going for a swim in the sea did not seem very appealing but we decided to go for it regardless. 
Obviously we were the only ones on the beach!
The sea was VERY lively and I wouldn’t have gone in alone but as we were together, we both swam. And it was absolutely marvellous. 
E-X-H-I-L-A-R-A-T-I-N-G. Getting in and out was quite a challenge as the waves were high and when they crashed to shore the pebbles all swirled around but once you were out a bit deeper it was great fun, bobbing about out there.
I had porridge for breakfast (HE B) made with soya milk (HE A), with 2 bananas and 1 tbsp of hazelnut butter (4.5 syns.
I seemed to miss lunch (breakfast was late) and for supper I made a bit of a family favourite; Roasted Cauliflower with Lebanese Lentils. This is one of my favourite recipes from My New Roots. My New Roots is a brilliant book (and instagram site and website) written by Sarah Britton, a Canadian holistic nutritionist who now lives in Copenhagen. It’s not 100 % vegan but very close. The recipes are imaginative and arranged seasonally which I really like.
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 tsp oil for basting on the cauliflower
- Salt and pepper to season
- Half a cup of quinoa, cooked
- 1/2 cup of green lentils, cooked until soft (I soaked mine for about 2 hours and then simmered for 20 minutes)
- 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorns
- 1 stick of cinnamon (optional. I didn’t use one but if you do, add whole while you fry the onion and other spices and then remove)
- 2 large onions
- Veg stock for “frying”
- Zest of 1 orange
- Juice of half an orange
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Handful of chopped fresh mint and parsley
- Heat to oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray.
- Cut the Cauliflower into steaks and place on the tray, baste with oil and season.
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat 1 small ladle of veg stock in a large saucepan and fry the onion and spices. I don’t like chunky spices such as whole seeds so I blitzed mine to a powder in a coffee grinder first. Add more stock as needed.
- Once the spices are fragrant and the onion is soft (takes about 15 minutes), remove from the heat and add the lentils and quinoa and mix well together.
- Whisk dressing ingredients together and mix in to the lentils and quinoa .
- Place the lentils in a bowl and top with the roasted cauliflower.
I served mine with a large tomato. This is a very flavoursome dish and I really enjoyed it. It looks a bit dry in the photo but it wasn’t at all. It’s warm and gently spiced with hints of orange and mint.
I don’t feel as if I ate much today but I managed to use 14.5 syns, mainly from the oil in the cauliflower and lentil supper as I ate half the amount I made.
I walked 5,000 steps so short the 10,000 I aim for but I think the swimming added to the exercise total so not bad for a day. And the swimming was great fun and the supper delicious so I go to bed satisfied with diet and exercise and happy as I had a chance to enjoy the company of 2 dear friends today.
Lose Weight and Gain Health 