Lose Weight and Gain Health

I am certainly making good use of my weekly train ticket as I went up to London again on Saturday.  I took my little wild life to see some other wild life.

First though we began the day with a healthy breakfast of egg with tomatoes, spinach, onions and mushrooms with coriander.  Yummy. Followed by a walk with the dogs in the still wet and muddy woods. We went up to London to meet James’ sister Anne and family, to go to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the wonderful Natural History Museum.  Entry to the exhibition is £12 adult and £6 child and it is advisable to pre-book.  Entry to the museum though is free and there is so much to see it is worth visiting.  In the 3 hours we were there before going to the photography exhibition, we only saw a small amount of what is on offer.  Another bonus is the beautiful building it is in.

I felt ashamed that I hadn’t brought Harvey here before, especially when I observed that he was so interested in everything.  We will definitely be coming back. We had a bite to eat in their excellent cafe.  I had a chicken club sandwich on brown with a latte. Not the lowest calorie choice but I was relieved I resisted the very tempting cakes. We then queued for the dinosaur exhibits.Time went really quickly and it was a pleasure to be in this magnificent hall.
The architecture here is stunning. The dinosaur exhibit is well worth visiting.  It is free but you have to queue because it is so popular. It is well worth it though.You are not allowed to take photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition so we respected that.  It is excellent so go and see it if you can.  I would recommend going before the 5pm session though as we were a bit rushed at the end as the museum closes at 6pm.  I might be tempted to get first tickets of the day and hope it is not so crowded.

We headed off in to South Kensington and had a good curry at Shikara in Bute St.  Not diet friendly though despite the portions shown here as I also had a pint of Cobra, poppadoms with accompaniments, more of the main and quite a lot of probably the very best Peshwari Nan I have ever had.
I did at least resist sweet things today and got a lot of walking in so not the worst day for eating recently by a long way. If you can, treat yourselves and go to see this fantastic exhibition.

Loving London 10 : dieting 0.

I have not managed to post many blogs recently.  partly because I have been very busy, both at work and socially and also because I have been eating some really bad things and not been in the dieting zone.  So here is a quick round up of some of the best or most interesting things I have seen this week.

I am enjoying walking round the West End.  Wednesday was particularly good as it was so sunny from very early.  It is very uplifting to step off the train and enjoy London in this glorious sunshine.This is one of my favourite buildings; the Coliseum which is the home of the English National Opera.

Remember to look up when you walk around London or you will miss these beautiful sights.
When you look down or along the street you see some unusual things, such as this white tank on Monmouth Street which was there one day, outside Monmouth Coffee. I did eat some healthy meals, such as this black eye bean salad but meals such as these were in the minority this week. But I had far too many of these.  Milky lattes and sometimes I enjoyed them with an almond croissant or even a brownie.

This latte was enjoyed in The Table which I had been recommended but never got round to trying when I was working at Bankside.  The coffee was definitely worth a trip. The huge cooked breakfast was great too. Yesterday I went to a part of London I have never been to before, even though it is so famous.  I have seen photos of Lady Justice so often but never stood before them. This is the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, more usually known as the Old Bailey because of the name of the street it is on. Hear hear. I was working for the day in an office directly opposite the courtroom.  I literally popped out for 5 minutes at lunch time to make a phone call and saw Rebekah Brooks walking past.  No surprise really since her trial is currently on at the Old Bailey but I was surprised nevertheless and in my haste to take a photo managed a series of very out of focus photos.  I don’t think I can give up my career and become a papp’! I admire these cameramen and photographers who stand outside all day, in the cold and wet to bring us the pictures we have come to expect when we watch the news or read the papers.  I don’t admire the ones who intrude on people’s private lives by they way. So quite an eventful day and I am pleased I now know where Old Bailey is as I have never walked up there before. In the evening I went to Rebecca’s leaving drinks.  I will miss this lovely lady and her little dog, Beryl.   I will also miss this charming and quirky house. With its cosy corners to sit and chat in.

But life moves on. Onwards, onwards, ever onwards so I wish you well Rebecca and Beryl.

I hope March brings a return to the resolve and determination with my diet I enjoyed in January but which mainly evaded me in February.

Today was my first day in our new office.  I was almost hyperventilating with excitement when I realised exactly where it was.  When I realised it was literally a few metres away from one of my favourite urban streets on the planet.

About a 3 minute walk brought me to Seven Dials 🙂 Which is in the middle of my shopping Nirvana.  Even the stone in the road is attractive here. Yes, it’s Monmouth Street.  I absolutely love, love, love  Monmouth Street. I like the funky and unusual clothes shops – at least 2 of which sell things I can buy.  This could get expensive. This was a disappointment.  A pop up chocolate shop.  I hope it pops down soon because I was lured in, given a free bar of chocolate and tempted to try others.  All very delicious but not the thing for a weak woman on a diet. I’ll stick to clothes and homeware shops as they have far fewer calories. Beauty product shops are acceptable for lunch time shopping.  Can you see what is next to Kiehl’s? Monmouth Coffee Company !!!!!!  This is the one I discovered first (before the one in Borough Market) and I used to drop in on my way to classes when I was studying Nutritional Therapy. I popped in for old time’s sake – it had to be done!I needed somewhere for lunch and wandered hopefully in to Neal’s Yard.  It is so bright and funky you can not fail to smile and feel cheery in here.

I decided to try the Wild Food Cafe which ticks lots of boxes as it’s organic, has lots of raw and vegan foods and seems to be very fresh.  It only had a very limited menu and was expensive but I tried it anyway.  The staff were friendly and efficient and the cafe was bright and colourful but I had to get back to work so I ordered take out. I would have enjoyed sitting in though.Sprouted humous on sourdough with green salad.

Then one of the best brownies I have ever had. It was moist, dense, nutty and had an amazing fudgey topping.  Plus probably a squillion calories, particularly as it was a huge slice.

This is meant to be a weight loss and getting healthy blog, not a blog about Zoe’s shopping aspirations and moist brownie addiction.  Well the weight loss has suffered a major setback although I have eaten some really healthy and delicious meals recently.

Such as a poached egg on spinach and tomato for breakfast yesterday. And the wonderful chicken soup I made with chicken, swede, carrots, split peas, onion, celery, leeks and parsley. Cooked for hours in the slow cooker.  I then blended 2/3 of it to create a thick soup but left lots of chunks of chicken and vegetables, plus I added sweetcorn near the end of the cooking time. It was really delicious, although my photo does not do it justice.Unfortunately I have also eaten LOADS and loads of really naughty things.  I have been socialising too much which is not an excuse as everywhere I have been I could have either abstained or eaten a healthy option. But I rarely did.

For example on Sunday I went to Sally’s for lunch.  She had made a delicious butternut squash casserole which I could have had with salad but I had a sausage and then seconds as it was all so lovely. For dessert I could have had fresh fruit but I didn’t.  Well I did, but I also had roulade. And chocolate cake !I missed getting weighed last week as I opted to go to the pub with Jackie and Stella instead which was great fun but naughty.  I knew I would have put on weight last week so I didn’t go.  This week I knew I had put more on again but I made myself go.  It was bad, really bad.  I put 6 pounds on which is stupid.  Really stupid.  I have eaten too many sugary foods and done very little exercise.  I am going to put that right tomorrow by getting up earlier and walking before I get to work.  I am going to take food in too as I was doing well when I took my lunch and breakfast in.  This dieting lark is difficult!

What a busy few days I have had.  I have been incredibly busy at work, making the most of the last couple of days in Bankside and enjoying socialising.

Thursday was my last day in the Bankside office and I made the most of being so close to Tate Modern by visiting it at lunch time.  It is an enormous building, much of which is left empty which is unusual, to be in so much space. There was a big exhibition of Surrealism and I was delighted to see a Dali painting. When I was a much younger woman, and we decorated university rooms and bedrooms with posters, many of my friends had a poster of this picture.  I didn’t have this one, I had ‘Sleep’ but seeing this painting brought back so many very happy memories of a time that suddenly seems so long ago.  I think this painting is fantastic and it seemed a real honour to be standing in front of it.  It is surprisingly small! There was so much to see but so little time. I will miss the views of Saint Paul’s but I am sure our new location will have a whole new panorama for me to enjoy. I whizzed in to Albion on the way back to the office.  I will miss this place.  It opened when I moved here and it has been a pleasure to see it becoming more and more popular. Roasted vegetable and chicken salad.  Delicious. In the late afternoon I ran over to the lounge at Citizen M for a cup of tea with Gail.  It was too rushed but at least I managed to see her and enjoy being in this lovely lounge, albeit briefly,  before I left.In the evening I enjoyed a delicious pizza with my sister Lucy and her family.  We went to Mosaic, an Italian restaurant and Pizzeria in Archway which was excellent.
I did weaken and enjoyed a huge and cheesey pizza. Since then I have eaten some extremely healthy meals such as this huge bowl of kale cooked with onions and mushrooms. Topped with some brown basmati rice and an omelette. Sardines with rice and raw vegetables. A smoothie made with mixed berries, cashew butter, coconut water, Maca powder and protein powder. A very healthy lunch today made with brown Basmati rice, black eyed beans, yellow pepper, tomato, celery, carrot, parsley, basil and coriander.  No dressing, just salt, pepper and some chilli.Unfortunately I have also eaten some cakes, chocolate and we had a curry for supper tonight.  I have put on a few pounds which I am disappointed about. I need to be in more and prepare meals and be less rushed and busy.  Next week is looking ridiculously busy too but I will do my best to eat well and exercise.

We are gearing up to move offices so this will be my last week in our current location.  I have worked on the South side of the river, near Borough Market and at Bankside for 2 years now.  I have become very fond of this part of London and will miss it but I am excited about new location too.

This is the part of Bankside I have been working in since August last year.

The little house in the foreground featured in a tv programme recently about interior decorating.  It is one of the almshouses.
I really like the mixture of modern buildings and old in this part of London. This is my current office – known to us, not very fondly, as “the concrete bunker”.  There are few windows and phone reception inside is terrible but the location is good. An old favourite for breakfast; oats, almond milk, chia seeds and a banana.

343 calories. The office looks out over Blackfriars station which is covered in solar panels. At lunch time I set off on a walk to my favourite part of London.  I initially went past Borough Market to More London Place. I was on my way to get to pod for my favourite lunch of the moment. Another part of London with lots of extraordinary architecture. Chicken nori wrap.  Yummy.  187 calories. On the way back to the office I took a detour round Borough Market.  I will really miss this place. This foodie haven, crammed in under the railway lines. I popped in to Turnips and treated myself to three types of mushrooms to have for supper.Not many places go to that much trouble to display their wares.

Then back past these familiar and lovely buildings which I may not get back to for a long time. I ended my walk by walking along the riverside. Back to the bunker. Where I ate the other half of my lunch – a pod supergrain side salad.

238 calories. At home I tackled those lovely mushrooms.  I cooked them with some chopped onions and spinach and made an omelette. It was delicious.  The mushrooms added an earthy flavour and meaty texture and the spinach went with it perfectly.

453 calories.Bye bye Borough.  I will go back but I am not sure when.
I had some nuts while I was writing this – 340 calories.