Lose Weight and Gain Health

Sugar sugar everywhere, nor any grain to eat.  Well I haven’t gone quite that far but I am well on my way.  What a splendid clear out I had.  One of David Gillespie’s recommendations is to get rid of everything in your house that has added sugar.  Even if you have children and a partner who may enjoy them because why not do them a favour too?  Well, I am working my way through different cupboards.  I am astonished at how much sugar there is in my house.  Or should I say, more accurately, there was.

I woke up very early today (bl**dy dog!!!!) and decided to get up and go swimming.  Yes, I truly did :-).  I have been thinking about it for ages and today I did it.  It was great.  I was working from home so I popped on my swimming costume, something over the top and off I went, down the road.  The local pool opens at 6:30 and it was surprisingly busy at that time.  What a friendly crowd the early morning bunch are!  I shall be doing that again.  I was enjoying my swim when I remembered the Ocado cavalry were coming at 7:30 so after 20 lengths I got out showered, and headed home so I was ready for them.  While I waited, I decided to clear a cupboard.  As you do!

This one was my first target of the day and I cleared it out and most of the fridge too.  I was shocked how much sugar there was in products I use quite regularly.  And shocked at how many products I have which I know are full of sugar.

More worryingly is that so many are obviously quite well used! These all contain sugar. This was a challenge to throw out.  I did assume when I bought it, as it came from one of my favourite healthy on-line stores, that it was, well, healthy.  But it has sugar in it and I love it so it definitely had to go.  I must confess though that it was nearly empty so not such a huge sacrifice. Lots of partially consumed bags of dried fruit.  Remember they are not allowed because they are dehydrated so the water to sugar ratio is too low. I was very surprised lime pickle has sugar in it and disappointed because I always add that to a curry.  I won’t in future though. Jams and lemon curd.  All gone. The stem ginger was easy to throw out but I did struggle a bit with the cocktail cherries.  I am a classy old bird and love these in a cocktail.  Or with ice-cream.  Or just on their own.  Sigh. So what did I do with all of it?  I happily gave most of it to my gardening God who works here on Fridays and keeps my garden looking glorious so not much ended up in the bin.

My fridge is looking much healthier.  The soya custard and orange juice are forbidden but they are nearly empty so Harvey can finish those up this evening which leaves that section free from added sugar.  I need to ease the little fella in to a free from added sugar lifestyle. I have kept the ketchup for Harvey too.  I rarely eat it and can easily resist it.  We do not often eat the type of food you would add ketchup to so that is safe from me. I got quite carried away and emptied out the fridge and washed all the drawers and shelves.  It looks so much better in there now.  The only added sugar is in Harvey’s soya yogurts which he can finish and I probably won’t replace.One cupboard and the fridge were cleaned and cleared, Ocado had been and gone, I had swum 20 lengths and it was still only 8:30 am!  A mysteriously long and slow morning.  Curioser and curioser – but occasionally time does pass slowly.  Definitely time for breakfast before starting a very busy day at work.

I wanted to use some of this fabulous coconut butter which I had forgotten about in that overstocked cupboard of mine.  It contains 100% pure coconut.  If you like coconut, you will love this.  Read more about it here.  Coconuts do have a very high fat content but not much sugar within them, even though they taste really sweet. And the smell! Quite the most heavenly scent of sweet coconut. I made porridge and added chia seeds and walnuts for protein and 1 tsp coconut butter for fat plus extra protein, vitamins and minerals.

And some blueberries :-).  First fruit eaten in nearly a week.  I was really excited to have fresh fruit and loved every one.  Did it send me rushing to the bin to retrieve something sugary?  No.  I had breakfast at about 8:45 and was then so busy with back to back meetings, I didn’t get a chance to have anything to eat until 15:40 pm!  I was hungry by then but not climbing the walls and not grumpy.  Just hungry.  So I conclude that a few blueberries, eaten with something substantial do not give me a blood sugar spike.  Phew.

I still had work to do and needed something quick to eat so I cut 3 slices of this amazing loaf of walnut rye sourdough.  It was full of walnuts, dense and chewy.  Fabulous.  David Cameron was on the right track with guessing the price of this.  Definitely North of £1 but well worth it. This lovely Cheddar was calling to me from the fridge.  It is actually very sharp which I like and which is a good thing because I am not tempted to eat too much of it, as I am with milder Cheddars.   I had one slice with Cheddar and one with left over guacamole and a tomato.  I ate the third slice with butter on it while I made up these two.  If you like Rye and are not allergic to nuts, I highly recommend this bread which was delivered by Ocado. After such a late lunch I only needed a light supper.  I had eaten carbs for breakfast and lunch so supper was protein and vegetable based.

I stir fried some broccoli, mushrooms and spinach and then added prawns and a dash of Tamari.  Job done. Quick and easy, light and satisfying. I did eat it with the chopsticks, they are not just there for show.  It helps to slow down how quickly I eat.

A very satisfactory day.
Exercise – tick
Ate only foods with no added sugar – tick
Lots of healthy food – tick
Plus a good clear out and lots of work done too.

Have a good weekend y’all!

Several of you have asked if I am eating fruit.  The answer is NO, not yet.  Sadly.  I really miss it.  I will be able to have some but not while I am a sugarholic.  When I no longer have any cravings I can introduce a little and I should aim for the fruit with the least sugar and the most fibre.  I think I am ready to try some.

David Gillespie says you can have fruit once you are over your addiction. Despite the fact fruit contains arch enemy number 1 – fructose – you can have fruit because it contains a large amount of fibre (soluble and insoluble) and water.  So the fructose effect is reduced.  You have to eat whole fruits.  You can not have fruit juice (no fibre) or dried fruit (no water).

The safest fruits for a sugarholic to eat are those lowest in sugar and highest in fibre which is lemons, cranberries, raspberries, gooseberries and blueberries.  Kiwi fruits and pears are the next best.  Grapes should be completely avoided, you should rarely eat apples, bananas, cherries (boo – my favourite), pineapples and apricots.

To summarise, the fruit rules are:

1. Never have more then 2 pieces a day (adults) or 1 for children.
2. Never have fruit juice or dried fruit.
3. Choose fruits with low sugar and high fibre.

At the moment I am photographing everything I eat.  The exception is during the first 2 evenings I snacked on some Cheddar cheese after I had blogged.  I don’t often put drinks in but I am having 2 coffees with Single Cream, one tea with milk and then herbal teas and water.  So I am being very honest with what I consume so you can see, and I can be reminded when I look back, exactly what I did have.

How did I do today?

Very well.  I was wide awake at about 4:30 so got up as I have loads of work to do and caught the first train to London.  I was there just after 6:30 – still dark!

First coffee of the day and I heated up a portion of last night’s dinner.  I cooked a double portion last night so I had something for today.  People who know me well, brace yourselves for shocks – I actually used a microwave!  I hate microwaves, don’t trust they are safe and avoid them.  But I really wanted something warm and did not fancy cold bacon and cold spinach so I used the microwave, briefly. This is a wonderful concoction and I really enjoyed it.  As a reminder it is onions, green pepper, spring onion, celery, mushrooms, spinach and broccoli with brown Basmati rice and bacon.  Delicious.  That kept me going from about 7:30 am until 2pm and I wasn’t even very hungry then. I went to M&S to buy lunch.  I agree. Another world is possible.  A no added sugar world. M&S have so many delicious sounding salads with excellent wholefood ingredients, such as this one I bought today. But they ruin it by adding sugar to nearly all the dressings.  Why?  I never add sugar when I make a dressing.  it is really annoying. I threw away the dressing and had the salad with a cheese and ham omelette I bought from Frank’s Cafe, just round the corner from the office.  One of my colleagues often gets his lunch from there and recommended it.  He has his with chips but I just had the omelette.  I could have had the chips but I am not literally going to eat anything I can, as long as it is sugar free.  I do want to lose lots more weight so I will save chips for a time when I am struggling with my sugar demons.

I was 10 minutes early for my train this evening so I took a little walk.  Look at how pretty that is? That is one of the sweetest and prettiest murals I have seen. It really brightens up the corner of the street. For supper I made a conscious effort to reduce my portion size.  I have rarely been hungry this week, which is a good feeling.  But I have eaten some very large portions so I am being sensible.  I had 4 falafels which are actually very small.  Look at them compared to the cherry plum tomatoes.  Served with half a mashed avocado (with some fresh lemon juice) and half a medium sized tub of humous.  Perfectly adequate.So there we are.  Another day with no added sugar.  I have ordered some blueberries which will be delivered tomorrow and I am going to try a few to see if I can take them without a sugar rush.  I really want a smoothie for breakfast.

David Gillespie calls people like me “Sugarholics” and I agree.  I think I am addicted to sugar.  I really enjoyed David’s book ‘The Sweet Poison Quit Plan’ and recommend it as a way to quickly read why sugar (specifically fructose) is so bad for you and how to go about getting rid of it from your diet and from your life.

I am now reading the second book I bought called ‘Pure, White and Deadly,  How Sugar Is Killing Us And What We Can Do To Stop It’.  John Yudkin wrote this in in 1972 and this is the new version with an introduction by Robert H. Lustig.  John Yudkin was a British Physiologist and Nutritionist and one of the first scientists to claim that sugar was a major cause of obesity and heart disease.  It is a more serious and weighty tome than David Gillespie’s book but I am enjoying it.

“Sugar also resembles alcohol and tobacco in that it is a material for which people rapidly develop a craving, and for which there is nevertheless no physiological need” (Ludkin, 1972).

I completely agree with that statement and accept that I am a sugarholic.  You will be very pleased to hear I have managed another sugar free day so I actually classify myself as a “recovering sugarholic”.

I was woken up this morning by what sounded like a monsoon.  Incredibly heavy rain.  That always poses a challenge for those of us who park in the free car park at the station!

This entrance was completely flooded.

I had bought breakfast the day before and it was in the fridge waiting for me when I got to work.  A mushroom and goat’s cheese frittata.
I ate one for breakfast and it was very tasty.  Plus it kept me going all morning with not even a hint of hunger.  I had the other one for lunch with a similar salad I have made the previous 2 days with the remaining Tzatziki and humous. I had to go to a different office this afternoon for a course and I enjoyed the walk there as it took me past some places I have never been to before.I was in the office I worked in at the beginning of the year and it was really good to be back there in a familiar place.
I really enjoyed the walk back to the station too and was struck yet again by the variety of architecture in the City.  The buildings on this street created a tower of glass on either side. Whereas the Barbican is chunky concrete. The Bank of England is a stunning building.There is so much history here.
Near Cannon Street station is this fascinating mixture of very old and very new, small and tall. I was home earlier than usual so decided to start one of David Gillespie’s rules which is to throw out everything that contains sugar.  His rationale is that if it isn’t there, you can’t have it.  He also encourages you to rid your house of sugar for the benefit of all your family too.  I am not sure my family are going to appreciate this benefit too easily so I am keeping quiet about the sugar clearance.  Today I cleared the door of the fridge.

I have been looking in shops for a sugar free mayonnaise and have not found one!  I don’t use mayonnaise very often at home so I am happy to throw it out.  It does make me appreciate how much hidden sugar I have eaten because so many ready made sandwiches and salads, which I do eat when at work and travelling,  have mayonnaise or salad cream on them which means they all contain sugar too!  The salad creams were nearly empty so that was an easy throw away but the Mayo’ was nearly full which was annoying. The first ingredient in the mango chutney is……..sugar !!!!!! As if mangoes aren’t sweet enough.  So that was out.  Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce is also heavily laden with sugar.  In the bin with both of those. The jam was nearly finished so that was not much of a sacrifice.  The Jalapeno jelly was harder because I really liked it with roasted red meats and BBQs and I bought it in America and don’t think you can buy it here. Oh my goodness, just look at those ingredients.  The first 3 ingredients are forbidden sugars.  So this too is in the bin.  What a relief to clear out that lot. For supper I cooked up a batch of brown basmati rice and some bacon.  I set the bacon on some kitchen paper to absorb fat and stir fried veggies in the bacon fat left in the pan.  I cooked an onion, a green pepper, lots of mushrooms, half a large head of broccoli and then wilted half a large bag of spinach over the top. All served together to make one yummy supper. The portion size is quite modest apart from the bacon – this is 4 rashers.I have another portion exactly like this in the fridge ready to take to work for breakfast.  This sugarholic is determined to recover.

I have done it again and I feel so much better today.  Yes, another sugar free day 🙂  Or to be accurate, since nearly all food contains some sugar, a no added sugar in any of its guises day.

I began with Natural yogurt with ground seeds.  I used the coffee grinder to grind 1 tbsp each of hemp, flax and sesame seeds. I should have put the yogurt in a separate pot to the seeds for the journey to work because by the time I sat down to eat it had gone gloopy.  Seeds contain soluble fibre which is exposed when the seed is ground.  The fibre absorbed some of the liquid in the yogurt turning it in to a wallpaper paste consistency.  So not very pleasant but I ate it. I am really enjoying my coffee with cream in it.  I bought a 300ml pot of single cream which has 190 Kcals per 100ml so 570 Kcals per pot.  I have 2 coffees a day and have so far used about half the pot or .  So I add approximately 70 calories of cream per coffee.  The cream feels like a treat and helps keep me full for ages.  Yesterday I wondered if that was less calories than the lattes I used to swig.  YES, YES, YES!

Even a skinny latte is about 160 calories and I used to have 2 – 3 a day plus tea.  I have switched to herbal teas and just have my 2 coffees a day with a total of about 140 calories from the cream.  I am very happy with that.  The other advantage is that making coffee myself in the kitchen at the office also saves me about £3 a coffee too 🙂  So I am saving pennies and calories.

At lunch time I headed out to M&S Food.  I had brought a salad in from home and was searching for some protein to add to it.  I looked at quite a few products and there is a lot that is sugar free.  So I am going to try and take in the salad and then shop for the protein each day. Most ham has added sugar or honey so is forbidden but I found this packet of Italian Cooked Ham which was very lean, no added sugar and completely delicious.

Look at the ingredients – meat is virtually sugar free.  Which I guess means I won’t be going vegetarian, which I keep toying with.

I also bought some humous as I was in the mood for something creamy and garlicky. How much sugar in the humous?  I was expecting it to be quite high because of the chickpeas but I was very pleasantly surprised as I love pulses and humous.  It was low :-). I had half the tub and have put the other half away for tomorrow.

I also had half a pot of Tzatziki to provide a runny type of a dressing. That had more sugar than the humous which I was surprised by.  I assume that is the lactose from the yogurt and some sugar from the cucumber. Plus a bottle of fizzy water.  Not sure why I bought that because I don’t really like it !Today’s salad pot had a whole little gem lettuce, half a yellow pepper, one celery stalk, one spring onion and 2 medium sized tomatoes.  I added half the Tzatziki, half the humous and ate all the ham.  That lot kept me feeling full until I got home.
To be honest I wasn’t very hungry then but last night I made the mistake of not eating anything and then suddenly being hungry and eating some Cheddar.  Also I had half a smoked Haddock to use up today so I steamed that with 2 types of broccoli.  I did add butter.

So, another sugar free day.  It is getting easier and I am feeling better than I did yesterday.  Here’s hoping I continue to feel better each day for a while as I have way to go to feel back to my usual perky and energetic self.

I quit sugar!  That is a very bold statement but one I think I should make and that I hope holds true.  I consume far too much of it and lately it has made me feel a little bit ill.  So it is time to stop.

I am really enjoying David Gillespie’s ‘The Sweet Poison Quit Plan.  How To Kick The Sugar Habit And Lose Weight’.  It has a good balance between research and science and how to go about giving up.  David is an Australian lawyer which I think has given him a good blend of a lawyer’s ability to read a lot of information and put forward a concise statement of fact afterwards and an Aussie sense of fun.  I am finding the balance between fact and how to give up about right.  My only complaint so far is his explanation of which foods to cut out and which to eat, does not include some of the food I like – pulses, beans and lentils.  So can I have them or not?

Giving up sugar is very difficult.  It is difficult having the time and patience to read the labels because so much food has sugar in it.  But it is hardest because of the sugar cravings.  They are quite intense and have driven me quite demented at times today.

This little cafe is under the train arches and has tempted me in the past.  I walk past it to get to the office so stopped to see what they had.

Nothing I could eat as although some of it was healthy, it had too much sugar in it so I just bought a coffee.

Choosing food in cafes and coffee shops is too tempting because they stack muffins and cakes up beside the till so I walked to M&S, a food supermarket.  I bought some instant coffee to make up in the kitchen at work and so save a trip outside.  I bought some single cream to go in it.  This is because in the plan, rule 1 is to eat no sugar and rule 2 is to eat whatever else you like.  On a blog I came across, the recommendation was to have coffee with cream in it so I did.  It was lovely.  Actually the amount of single cream you have in a coffee is not much in terms of calories because you don’t need much.  I was even wondering if it was less than a latte.

While out I also bought a 70g tub of mixed nuts which are low sugar and acceptable, so that was breakfast.

I had been incredibly well prepared today and had taken lunch in with me from home; salad with prawns and salmon, olives and guacamole.  I made it all last night which is just as well because I had to get up at 4:30 am to take Harvey to school.  They were setting off for a weeks outdoor activities in Devon so they wanted to make an early start!  There was no way I could have made it this morning.The salmon and prawns are leftovers from the weekend.  I deliberately cooked extra so I had some for lunch today.  I was glad because the salmon and prawns were delicious cold and it was a pleasure to eat something so substantial and so delicious on day 1 of no sugar.
This lovely pot of oily goodness was guacamole and olives with Feta and tomatoes leftover from last night.  I tipped it in to my salad bowl and it was really tasty.  I don’t need to worry about fat while I quit sugar, especially vegetable/plant sources of fat. In this large bowl was a little gem lettuce, tomatoes, celery, half a yellow pepper and some spring onions.  In the salad dressing pot was some flax seed oil, olive oil and white wine vinegar.  All together that made a very nourishing and filling lunch.  Which was very low in sugar.  The tomatoes were the sweetest thing. So filling and so substantial was my lunch that I do not want any dinner.  I am not trying to be good and cut down.  I actually feel very full so I just had a cup of herbal tea.

Today has been incredibly hard.  I have been feeling very tired and obviously a 4:30am start did not help.  But despite that, I have been tired enough to fall asleep on my trains in to and out of London today.  I also felt very cold, quite shivery, VERY IRRITABLE, and have had stomach ache.  I generally feel completely cruddy.  So I plan to watch last nights Downton Abbey and have a very early night.  But I do feel a little bit pleased with myself too 🙂

I am inspired again.  Hurrah!  I have been looking for a book about giving up sugar for a week or so and last night I selected two.  One is about the scientific and evidence based reasons why sugar is so bad for you and is by a couple of writers I remember reading about previously.  The other is by David Gillespie about how to quit sugar.  I started with the quitting sugar one last night and am hooked.

Click on Sweet Poison to get to the website if you want to know more.  David’s first book, ‘Sweet Poison Why Sugar Makes Us Fat’ explains why sugar makes you fat.  I am reading the second one, ‘The Sweet Poison Quit Plan’.

Sugar is in almost EVERYTHING.  It is shocking.  Fructose is the sugar that is causing damage and if you read ingredients that say “sugar”, that means sucrose which is half fructose.  The foods containing sugar that surprised me today were ham and mayonnaise.   I could not find any ham or cooked chicken in my local Supermarket that did not have sugar added.  So I bought beef instead as the only ingredients were beef and salt.  Helmann’s mayonnaise has sugar in it too, so that is out.  I am going to have to read labels very carefully indeed.

So what have I had today?  For breakfast I had some left over cooked potatoes which I gently heated with some freshly picked kale and tomatoes.

Served with scrambled eggs for a filling and tasty breakfast. I really enjoyed watching Harvey play rugby today and I then enjoyed a lovely coffee when I got back.  I did have milk in it.  Apparently a little lactose (milk sugar) is ok. For lunch I had some more fried potatoes with sprouting broccoli and smoked haddock.  I wouldn’t usually eat fried potatoes but while I am coming off my sugar addiction I am allowed to eat anything I like, as long as it does not contain sugar – so I am 🙂Tonight my lovely neighbours are popping in for drinks so I have carefully planned what I can eat.  And what I can drink.   I am allowed dry white wine, red wine or spirits if I have zero sugar mixers.  I have to be up very early Monday morning so I am setting a target of 1 glass of red wine.

By 6pm, I was not at all hungry and even when I prepared nibbles for the drinks party, I did not even try anything.

If you give up sugar you have to read all ingredients and look for sugar.  This traffic light system helps.  This was on the olives which are high in fat and salt but low in sugar so they tick the box and I can eat them.

I mixed them with some fresh baby plum tomatoes and Feta which we nibbled on.  Delicious and there is some leftover for lunch tomorrow. The mixed olives worked well in this, adding colour and flavour. We had celery, tortilla chips, pretzels, home made guacamole, humous, olives, tomatoes and Feta and Philadelphia with sweet chilli sauce.  I could eat everything except the Philadelphia and chilli sauce. My kind, generous, funny and lovely neighbours We had a very relaxed evening, nibbling, drinking and chatting round the little table. Thank you all for coming. So how did I do?  Very well actually.  By only serving food I could eat (except the sweet chilli sauce) I was able to relax and enjoy what I had.  There was so much I could eat I was not tempted to have the little I was not allowed.   I did have more than 1 glass of wine but apart from that, I was good.

Here’s to the week at work and hoping I can cut out the sugar there too.

Across the land young adults are packing up and heading off to University.  My very own young adult was heading back on Friday after being at home for 4 lovely long months.  A sad day for me as I miss her so when she is away.

I had a smoothie for breakfast full of every superfood I could think of with only blackberries for sweetness.  For lunch we had some home grown potatoes for the first time all year.  They were perfect and no evidence of slug damage which is always a possibility.

I had forgotten how quickly fresh dug potatoes cook so they were a bit overdone but still tasted wonderful.  Served with salmon and salad.  A nutritious meal to send Lara on her way. I went to University tonight too.  I met up with 2 of my friends I made whilst at University many years ago.

I went to University in London but had not visited the campus for a very long time.  I was amazed to see Wright’s Bar was still there.  This is a cafe rather then drinking bar. We met in the 3 Tuns, the University bar, which has been renovated and changed considerably since our day.  Then it was dark with only tiny windows and after a good night in there you could hardly walk across the floor as your feet stuck to all the spilt beer and goodness knows what else!  I can not remember when Laura, Jez and I met up without partners and children and I must say, it was extremely enjoyable.  Lovely as our families are, it was fun to be able to reminisce and talk about people we used to live and study with, without being interrupted by children or feeling we were boring our partners. After a few drinks we went for a little wander around.  Much has changed but some remains the same.  I am sure this was the exact sign we used to have on the door.  It is a very long time since I have played squash which I really enjoyed. There was definitely no fancy lighting in our day! We went for dinner in Cote.  I enjoyed the Cote in Cambridge so much I was pleased to find one nearby.  We went to the Cote on Tavistock Street, Covent Garden.

Endive, walnut and crouton salad with Roquefort dressing was delicious. Slow roast belly of pork on mashed potatoes with caramelised apples was excellent.  I followed this with frozen berries served with a warm white chocolate sauce.  So far too much food and definitely too much to drink but what a lovely evening.  We should do that again 🙂A big thank you to the 2 kind people who drove me back from the station last night.  I was definitely over the limit so could not drive and there was a really long wait for a cab.  I would have had to wait until 1am!  I was contemplating calling James when the couple sitting opposite me on the train offered to drop me back.  A random act of kindness from one stranger to another.  It was VERY much appreciated – thank you.

I was definitely not feeling too fresh this morning!  So I headed out to the garden to forage for something very nutritious to consume.  The Swiss Chard continues to grow huge green leaves with colourful stems so I picked some of those.

I wanted a mega dose of vitamins and minerals so I juiced up the pineapple, Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce and 2 oranges. I felt better just looking at these lovely green leaves and the orange. I only juiced half the pineapple and everything else in the pictures.  It made 3 glasses full of liquid goodness which I sipped during the morning.  It tasted good.  It genuinely did taste very good.

Feeling slightly revived I went to Cranbrook to the Farmer’s Market.  I have been slack lately about supporting my local shops by using an on-line delivery service from a Supermarket so I must get in to the local shops more.   It was good fun too.

Luckily I bought another Butternut Squash because this one I was planning to eat for lunch was inedible! Quite a fascinating amount of mould there! Harvey had one of his old school friends over for lunch which he really enjoyed and he always asks for Spaghetti Bolognaise when given a choice.  I made the bolognaise with beef and lots of vegetables; onions, garlic, mushrooms and red peppers in a tomato sauce.  I had mine on mashed squash rather than pasta. For supper I made a stir fry with broccoli and red pepper and used the Zat’ar on the salmon. I cooked up the prawns too. A delicious and low sugar supper – salmon cooked with Zat’ar, broccoli, red pepper and prawns with soy sauce.As long as I manage to resist snacking this evening, I will have managed a low sugar day – the first time for ages.  I am getting back on track.

This blog actually spans 3 days.  We finish off our delightful trip to Cambridge, skim over a day in London and arrive in Edinburgh.

One of my favourite aspects of Cambridge were all the little alleyways and doorways.  You peer in and are not sure what lovely view you will have next. I did not take any notes as I went around Cambridge so I hope I have remembered the names of the colleges correctly.  I apologise if I have made any errors – they were not intentional.

This is Emmanuel College (hopefully). Yet another stunning building. One of the windows of the dining room was open so we had a cheeky little peek inside.  I would love a meal in here.  What an experience to live in such a beautiful place. Back near the City Centre, King’s College Cathedral was bathed in sunlight.  What a stunning building !

We couldn’t resist one more college.  This is Corpus Christi. Yippee – more choral singing. The Old Court contains some of the oldest buildings in Cambridge – some were built in the 14th Century! We then set off on a punt which is a traditional Cambridge activity on the River Cam.  What a very pleasurable activity it is, being punted along by a charming young man who entertained us with tales of the colleges.

This is Clare College. St.John’s College. The Bridge of Sighs is in the background. We could have been in Venice.  I did not expect the buildings to be in the water like this.  It was very beautiful to look at. The Bridge of Sighs close up. Another beautiful bridge. I think this is Trinity. Back on land we headed off to Harriet’s Cafe Tea Rooms for afternoon tea. A very naughty but delicious treat.  We didn’t manage to finish it all so Harriet’s packed it up and we took it home and finished it later.

Having eaten and drunk too much over the weekend and definitely too much sugar, I was determined to be better on Monday and have a very low sugar day.  I did but as I had not prepared in advance, it meant I ate a lot of protein and not enough of anything else.  But it was at least a low sugar day – Yee Hah 🙂

I had some salmon for breakfast and snacked on almonds during the day.  I only drank black coffee and herbal tea (and water) to save on calories and milk sugar. Lunch was ham and the Greek Salad. I took the tomatoes home. I had some with scrambled egg and a cup of Rooibos tea.  A much better day of eating, need to add non sweet vegetables!

Today I came to Edinburgh.  At the airport I did have a sausage in a bap from Jamie’s as I had not realised BA provided breakfast on the plane.  I then ate the omelette, sausage and bacon but left the rest.

Today was very stressful for various reasons and at lunch time I went for a short walk and decided to sit in a cafe and eat lunch slowly and have a relax.  I can not remember the name of this cafe but it was lovely.  The quiche was full of vegetables and served with a tasty salad.

In the evening I went for a walk.  It was dark and drizzling so I didn’t go far.  Occasionally a place like this vegetarian Volunteers Forest could have tempted me but not tonight.  I was not in the mood to sit somewhere grungy full of well meaning and potentially interesting people.  I wanted to find something healthy, go back to my room and eat it, all alone and in peace and quiet.

Hurrah.  A Health Food Shop.  I love places like this. I bought for supper some seed crackers which were made with flax seeds, Brazil nuts, germinated buckwheat, carrots, pumpkin seeds, garlic, rosemary and salt.  I bought some fresh hummus, raspberries and herbal tea. Who put that there?  It would appear I also enjoyed a large glass of NZ Sauvignon Blanc and some pumpkin seeds 🙂

My final birthday celebration was a weekend away in Cambridge which was all researched and booked by my beautiful daughter – thank you Lara, it was wonderful.

I had never been to Cambridge before which is why Lara chose to take me.  I want to go again!  It is a beautiful City and one small enough so you can walk around it.  It is steeped in history and full of beautiful architecture, shops and eateries.  Quite the perfect weekend destination.

We arrived early Saturday morning, checked in to our hotel and headed off for brunch.  At a cafe called Sticky Beaks I had a latte and Bircher Muesli which is what Lara had too.

This picture sums up Cambridge for me; bicycles, pale yellow stone buildings and beautiful gates leading in to extraordinary places of learning.
There are bicycles everywhere.  How refreshing to see that they can be padlocked to railings and left on streets here.  Plus there are parking sites for bikes too.  Other Cities should take note and copy. This is the view inside the little Round Church. One of many churches open to the public.People have lived here since at least Roman times and the history here is breathtaking.
Of course the most famous thing about Cambridge is the University and you are allowed to look inside many of the colleges.  This is one of the flower borders inside Magadelene College. The formal dining room at Magdalene was set up for a dinner.I loved the architecture in this and many other colleges.
We continued walking towards Castle Hill and we realised we were in for a treat.  Once a year Castle Hill hosts an open day and it was this Saturday.

Inside the curved building to the right of the Car Park sign is a Nuclear Bunker! We stepped through the very thick door to see what was inside.  I remember CND very clearly and went on quite a few marches myself in the 1970s so I found it fascinating to be reminded of a time many people, such as my own children, know nothing about. The bunker is today owned by Cambridge County Council who store archaeological finds here such as the Roman coins Harvey was allowed to touch and was quite fascinated by. Archaeological finds are stored here and in a salt mine in Cheshire! We continued wandering around.  This is the cute little St.Peter’s Church.

Inside it is tiny and very spartan.We went to Kettle’s Yard, looked round the art gallery and the walked up to Kettle’s Yard House which was the home of Jim Ede, who was the Curator of the Tate in London.

Jim collected art and opened his house up once a week to exhibit it.  He was well known for simple displays of objects such as these pebbles.  Unfortunately no one told Harvey NOT to play with the pebbles.  Oops!  Hopefully no harm was done.

This simple and quite bare house was one of my favourite places I visited in Cambridge.  The house felt very calm and peaceful and I loved the light and the simplicity here. This old bathroom reminded me of a few from my childhood! I have come home with an urge to paint it all white and remove the last few carpets to display floorboards.

Time for lunch.  Knowing we were out for a special dinner we popped in to Cote for a main course only.

When in Rome …..  or even in a French restaurant in Cambridge …. Pernod and Cassis. Roast chicken in mushroom sauce with frites and salad.  Yummy. We went to visit more University Colleges in the afternoon.  This beautiful building is part of St.John’s College. The sculptures are so good they look almost lifelike. How very talented some people are to create such beautiful objects. Unfortunately Trinity College was closed to the public so we had to make do with admiring the door way.  We learned today that the statue of Henry VIII is holding a wooden chair leg !  Apparently he was originally holding a Sceptre but some students climbed up and replaced it with a bicycle pump.  After about a year the College decided it was not very respectful so replaced it with a wooden chair leg! Another college I really wanted to visit was King’s.

King’s College was open and the chapel was not only open but a large group of 200 choristers were practising.  I was delighted.  I love choral music and to hear it in such an extraordinary place was very wonderful and quite emotional.

I could have sat here all afternoon.
It is very hard to capture the scale and beauty of this amazing place. How did they build this in the 15th and 16th Centuries? I can spot 2 familiar little faces here 🙂 I managed, for the sake of my children, to tear myself away!  This is two sides of the large square that form part King’s college, the chapel being one of the sides.

This is the chapel seen from the outside and you can see how small the people look as they walk beside it.  Big is not always beautiful but it is at King’s Cambridge. This is the view of King’s and Clare colleges from one of the bridges over the River Cam and to the left is a field of cows!  It gives an idea of how majestic and magnificent the college buildings must have appeared as they rose above the surrounding fields when they were first built. This is the Corpus clock outside Corpus Christi College in the City centre.  It was reveled by Stephen Hawking in 2008.  The three concentric rings display the seconds, minutes and hours by a backlit blue light.  If I understood it correctly, it is quarter past four. Time for a drink.  The next item on our itinerary was a beer in The Eagle, the pub where Crick and Watson discussed the structure of DNA as they were realising what they were studying and where they first announced their discovery.   The Eagle was built in 1667.Cheers 🙂

In the evening we had one of the most extraordinary meals I have ever had.  We went to a Michelin starred restaurant – Alimentum.  The location was not great as it was on a main road about 20 minutes from our hotel so we had to take a taxi rather then walk.  I was not a huge fan of the decor either – a bit red and black and urban for my liking.  But oh my goodness !!!!!!  The food was extraordinary.

We began with a complimentary salt and vinegar popcorn with cheesey puffs (they had a fancy name but I can’t remember it!). I have drunk many cocktails in my time and this was definitely one of the best and I love, love, loved the presentation.  It was a smokey Bourbon with an orange twist, pecans and maple syrup.  A- MAZE-ING! Next was some home baked bread.  They were very attentive to Harvey’s dairy intolerance and he had different bread (ours had some milk) and oil to dip his in to instead of butter.  A complimentary amuse bouche of carrot veloutee with coriander ice-cream (exceptionally good) and caramelised carrots). Harvey was served a mini grouse burger with cute mushrooms.My starter was Quail with pak choi, lime, broccoli and peanuts.  My least favourite dish but still enjoyable.
This was brilliant.  Pistachio glazed halibut on creamed cabbage with butternut puree and other bits and pieces.  Blimey, I won’t earn my living by being a restaurant critic will I? It looked beautiful and every mouthful was a pleasure.  I could have eaten this dish again and again. This was another complimentary dish and I am really struggling to remember what was in this.  I remember a pineapple chip and some yogurt ice-cream.  It was good but I forget what the waiter said it was.  I think the Bourbon and wine had rendered me fairly senseless by then. This was very intriguing.  The bit that looks like cling film was apple jelly. Underneath were blackberries, hazelnuts and apple semi-freddo.  It was very small but perfectly formed. There are 2 tables here which look in to a window in to the kitchen.  Some people may not like that but we enjoyed it and I was particularly fascinated.  We had an early booking so were one of the first to get through our menu so quite soon worked out when they were preparing our dishes.  It was fascinating watching it come together.  Well done Lara – that was a fantastic meal.  Expensive but very memorable and enjoyable so worth it.

This is such a long post I am going to blog about Sunday’s fun tomorrow!

I have not been quiet because I have been away having some kind of operation or extreme weight loss therapy.  I have been working very hard and had visitors over the last 2 nights for dinner which left no time for blogging.  But thank you for those who showed concern.  We had these lovely girls over one night; Hannah and Laura who live next door.  Between Hannah and Lara we had a delicious supper.

We were all pleased to see them.

Last night we had our lovely neighbour on the other side over, Frances.  So way too much eating from me.

My package finally arrived.  It is a L’Equip Omni Juicer, just like this one here.  Or indeed here in this picture !  I worked from home today and got up early to get it all set up and to start juicing.

This is a single augur juicer so it takes longer than the centrifugal juicers commonly used on TV shows by excitable Americans but retains more of the nutrients in the fruits and vegetables. You have 2 jugs, one to collect the pulp and one the juice.  I did initially set them up the wrong way round but that was easily corrected. I wanted Harvey to share the first juice so it was more fruits than veggies; an apple, an orange and some spinach. Chug, chug, chug. You end up with a jug of pulp and jug of juice.  This is so much easier to clear up than my old one, I loved using it except you have to hold the ‘on’ button down which makes juicing slightly challenging and you really need 3 hands. As you can guess by the small size of my glass, harvey loved it so I only had a small glassful.  The flavour are wonderful compared to my old juicer.  Much fresher and cleaner tasting.  Excellent. I made myself a scrambled eggs with spinach and fresh tomatoes. I have wanted to do a weeks juice cleanse to break my sugar addiction which is really bad at the moment after 2 weeks of very lovely sugar coated birthday celebrations.  Due to work and social engagements, I have not even had one clear day to do that so I did my best today during the day.

At lunch time I made another juice and added some blue green algae.  Some of my kale has survived the rabbits and caterpillars so I juiced that. I juiced it with 2 sticks of celery, spinach, a cucumber and some strawberries. The tube you add the fruits/veggies in to is quite small so I have to cut the produce up more than I wanted to. This was quite challenging.  It was a horrible sludgy green colour and tasted a bit earthy so I added an orange which really helped. I also made good use of 2 courgettes from the garden and some halloumi. I sliced the courgettes thinly and a modest amount of halloumi and placed them in a ridged frying pan with some salt and pepper on top.I cooked them over a gentle heat for about 5-7 minutes before turning them for another 5 minutes,Served with juicy tomatoes it made a simple and delicious lunch.

My day then went a bit wrong and after an aborted Cheese and Wine evening I arrived home stressed and exhausted and hit the sugar big time.  One huge bar of chocolate and red wine.

I really want to do a juice fast, quite a severe one for a week to break the sugar habit and then add protein such as beans, sprouts, eggs, fish and lean meat to a juice and raw vegetable based diet.  I really need that time through to break the sugar habit and give myself a boost of a quick weight loss.  The weekend and week ahead look very busy but in a weeks time I think I can have a go then.  I really hope so!