Lose Weight and Gain Health

People who know me and the things that really scare me (heights and not having my feet on firm ground) – prepare to be impressed!!

When I met my friend Guy, in Australia in 1989, he used to make us amazing scrambled eggs.  He still does!  Scrambled eggs on granary toast with smoked salmon.  What a lovely way to start the day.

We all got ready to go on a hike today but unfortunately the dogs couldn’t come.  Archie didn’t mind – he likes lieing on the sofa. Gumboots lined up and ready. One day I want to come back here and do a long tramp (hike) but what we did today was enough for now.

There is absolutely no way I am walking over that! See you later guys and I will relax and admire the view from this side.No, I really can not do that.  I did try but the bridge wobbled and it was soooo high I felt tearful and really shaky so I just couldn’t do it.  Be safe and have fun 🙂

Bex wouldn’t let me stay behind.  She was very insistent I walked over the bridge.  She is very  bossy persuasive.  

Look how far down the river is! I loved the view but I really hate heights.Yes, stunned and shocked faces – I did it.  Woo hoo! These are our lovely friends we are staying with; Guy, Bex, Ruby and Jake.  They all bunked off work, Uni’ and school today so we could spend the day together.  Happy days 🙂 The bush round here is so beautiful.  It was grey and drizzly today but to be honest it didn’t matter at all because the foliage is so dense you can’t see the sky anyway.  The scenery is so breathtakingly beautiful.  In the background you hear the water tumbling over the rocks and the gushing of numerous waterfalls.  It was a magical place. The euphoria of having walked over the bridge was then replaced with the fear of having to return back over it.  The return was slightly easier than the outgoing journey.  Shame about the bridge trolls we had to bypass 🙂 This tree fern was a long way below us which provided the opportunity to look down on it and admire the beautiful pattern. Go me, managing to take photos on the way back!Guy treated us all to a lovely lunch at a local vineyard.  There are many vineyards in this part of New Zealand so it seemed appropriate to visit one.
Vines in the background. We all shared some bread, humous and dukkah to start with. Then I had corn fritters with bacon, avocado, chipotle salsa and sour cream which was really good. In the afternoon Guy was very kind and took the children off so Bex and I could indulge in some retail therapy.  We went to Martinborough which is a quaint old town and promotes a lot of locally produced and sourced products. There is a huge wine store where we bought some lovely locally produced wines. I popped in to the library to visit Shirley, who used to live near me at home.  It was lovely to see her again.

The buildings round here are so quaint – it looks a bit like the towns you see in old cowboy films, set in the American Mid West.

Instead of dessert, we went to a chocolate shop called ‘Shoc ‘and bought a selection of choccies.  Yummy.  Sorry but we ate them all too quickly to manage a photo of anything other then the label!  This is the wine we enjoyed tonight.

We had a delicious dinner at home which Guy and Bex cooked; chicken cooked with spring onions and courgettes after being marinated all day in soy sauce, sesame oil and fresh ginger.  Served with rice and salad.  It was delicious.

I can’t believe I walked over that bridge today, twice, there and back!
Another wonderful day in this amazing country with very dear friends.

Every where I go in New Zealand I love.

We arrived at Guy and Bex’s in the dark last night so I was not sure what would be outside.  Well, there are lots of big wide open spaces and animals.

Three cute ponies and Bessie the cow. I was not expecting to see lemons as it seems so much colder down here. Hello chooks.  The mountains provide a dramatic backdrop and some of the peaks still have snow on top.  This all adds to the beauty of this place. After breakfast of peanut butter on toast we headed off to Wairarapa Lake for a walk.  Oh my gosh, it was so beautiful. The sky and the lake were the same colour which just made the big space seem even bigger. The dogs loved chasing sticks and they had 2 happy stick chuckers. All was sunny, calm and peaceful. After our lovely walk we went to Greytown and I had an Asian style chicken salad which was really good.  There was shredded white and red cabbage and carrots with warm chicken in sweet chilli sauce and sesame seeds. Followed by a sweet and crunchy caramel and walnut tart which I had with a latte.  This was the cute Deli we ate in.I am really enjoying being here.  We collected the children from school, visited their hospitable and friendly Grandparents and then got back for a delicious supper.

Bex made these lovely courgette, rissotto and cheese slices which I will attempt to recreate when I get home and harvest my courgette crop. She also made a salad and roasted potatoes and Guy cooked delicious fillet steak and King Prawns.  This was all enjoyed with a cold New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  Quite perfect.Followed by a chocolate biscuit.

Today has been really good.  Beautiful scenery and lovely people.  I am looking forward to tomorrow’s big open spaces.

Today was our last day in Auckland.  I am really excited about the rest of our trip but also sad to be leaving behind a very dear friend.

Breakfast was a thick smoothie made with frozen avocado and frozen banana to make it really thick, plus an orange and a kiwi fruit.  Topped with chocolate chips.  Well why not – I am on holiday and Kath was baking, they were open on the counter top ….! We packed and Kath worked , time whizzed along so we made a quick brunch before going out; salad, frankurters and scrambled eggs. I don’t know what these plants are but we have seen quite a few in the gardens here.   Quite bizarre. We visited the Auckland Museum.  There was a display of Maori carvings which I really admired.  I like wood and anything made from wood.  These intricate carvings are beautiful.This carving was at the end of a canoe.

There was a brilliant display of life in the oceans around New Zealand.  This is Harvey lieing on a bean bag watching a 3D film.
After the museum we drove up to One Tree Hill in the Cornwall park and admired the views.

These are Pohutukawa trees which line the drive up to the top.

Auckland has 17 volcano craters and this is one of them – no longer active and providing grass for the sheep. Thank you to my lovely friend for such a great trip.

Our final stop before the airport was the ASB Showground which is hosting a 4 day Food Show.  Kath is going to be one of the exhibitors so we went to help her set up.

We had time for a cuppa and an Anzac biscuit or 2 while Kath finalised preparations for the show.

It was very interesting watching it all being set up.

I was very sad to say good-bye but our minds were soon taken off the sadness of a departure by the miniscule size of the Air New Zealand plane which took us to Masterton.  I am standing at the back so this is it.  It seats 19 people and has propellers!  Not the most relaxing plane ride for someone who doesn’t like flying but it did the job.

So our Auckland visit is over and we are now in Masterton, about an hour and half North of Wellington where we are very happy to be with Guy and Rebecca.

Another happy day in stunning New Zealand 🙂

No, we did not have wine for breakfast but it may be said that we woke up this morning feeling less than perky due to the previous evening’s consumption.  But what is a woman to do, when she is in the country that produces her favourite wines?  These were about £7 a bottle so far more reasonable than at home.

A smoothie for breakfast made with an orange, 2 kiwis, a pear and a tbsp of Tahini.  2 slices of banana cake. Then scrambled egg.  That felt better ! We were lucky with the weather again today and set off for Shakespear Regional Park. We walked to a look out point and the views were amazing all the way. Baa! The air here feels so fresh and clean.We definitely felt much better for being outside. We made it to the top 🙂 Then back down again. I love this huge picture frame. Harvey was determined to swim today so we went to Te Haiuhi Bay. It was colder than he expected,  but he did get in and enjoyed a swim.  He was the only one as remember, it is winter here. We enjoyed relaxing on yet another lovely beach. We could see the city of Auckland in the distance. Not a lot else except more magnificent scenery. Our next stop was a walk through the bush to a waterfall.  We had to disinfect our shoes first. These birds are rather comical due to the way they walk along – Pukeko. Any idea what this plant is with the little white flowers?  It is commonly found in New Zealand and used to produce something used around the world. Manuka!  Used by bees to produce Manuka honey which has antiseptic qualities. Tree ferns. ‘Cabbage Plants’. After a morning of walking we drove in to Manly to pick up a picnic for lunch. The Little Cafe served up a decent coffee and we should have come here for food too as they had some delicious looking pies (very popular here), quiches and cakes.  We had already bought sandwiches though in a traditional bakery over the road. We took our picnic to Stanmore Bay. I had chicken and salad in a roll with a latte. Followed by half a Lamington, which is a commonly found in New Zealand.  It is a sponge cake in a square shape, dipped in to chocolate and then coconut. Oh look, another beautiful beach! We popped in to see Kath’s Mum again and she had prepared an afternoon tea for us.  I try so hard to resist cakes but this lot was all homemade and delicious!  At least I had done some walking earlier.In the evening we drove in to the centre of Auckland.  We were going up the Sky Tower, the tallest building in New Zealand.

I am not sure why I went up the Sky Tower because I hate heights.  I particularly hate glass bottomed lifts and this one made me feel quite peculiar.  I really couldn’t look through it.  Harvey had no such qualms.I made it to the top and immediately wanted to go back down but I managed to walk round once.
I certainly couldn’t go near the edge. I was happier hugging the central part of the tower and disliked Harvey standing on the edge which is so ridiculous because it is solid glass so he can’t fall out. Going at sunset was good timing as it was interesting to see the City lighting up as the sky darkened. Just when I thought it was ok to leave we stepped in to a lift that went even higher to the upper observation deck.  That really was enough for me so we had a very fast walk round that one and I didn’t go anywhere near the edge. Matt joined us for supper at The Food Truck Garage which is close to the Sky Tower.
The Food Truck is a popular programme on TV here.  The chef takes standard takeaway meals such as burgers and hot dogs, and creates very healthy versions of them.   Lager and Tamari nuts and seeds to share. Baked potato, swede and beetroot “chips”. Spinkin (spinach and pumpkin burger with sprouts) and herby slaw. It was really good quality and tasty food.  Excellent.

I can’t believe how much we packed in to today or how much cake I packed in to myself.  I am not trying to lose weight while I am on holiday but I do want to go home weighing the same as I did when I left.  The exercise was good today but I must eat less cake!

I enjoy travelling because I like to see different landscapes, cultures, architecture and people and to try different food.  I particularly enjoy getting to know a different county from the perspective of the people who live in it.  So one of the main pleasures of staying with Kath is the opportunity to get to see her New Zealand.  We had a lovely day, visiting people and places close to where she lives.  Like me, Kath appreciates good food and wine so the day had a foodie theme to it.

What a happy start to the day – a full fruit bowl to select some goodies from for a breakfast smoothie.  I was going to have the pear on the side but I was full after the smoothie so didn’t have it.  But everything else went in to the Thermomix with some ice to make a delicious smoothie.  The pot contains some home made cashew nut butter which is really good.

A perfect start to the day. We visited so many places today!  First stop was Kath’s brother Peter’s house which he is renovating in Bayswater. It is all being done to a very high spec and is quite stunning.  I have kitchen envy.  The wooden floor is completely fabulous and the view from here is beautiful. Beyond the lush vegetation is the sea and there are steps down to the sea so you can keep a boat here and pop out for a sail when ever the fancy takes you. Having had a little look around Bayswater we set off for Matakana and stopped on the way at the Honey Centre.  This wall gave us a glimpse of the lives of the bees making honey which was fascinating. They make many different flavours of honey here and you can try before you buy.  Which we did ! There is a cafe next to the Honey Centre which makes all the food on site.  They make wonderful looking cakes so to make sure we did not over eat, Kath and I shared a salmon and cream cheese quiche which was served with a salad. Followed by a latte and for me, a chocolate caramel slice which was fabulous. We continued on to Matakana where we stopped to admire the architecture. An ‘Opportunity Shop’, known locally as an ‘Op’ Shop’ is what we call a ‘Charity Shop’ in the UK. Matakana’s unusual public toilets.

Our next stop was Omaha Beach.

This is a perfect beach with white soft powdery sand. The water proved irresistible to someone!  Auckland’s winter is far milder than ours.  Today it was 18 ° so very pleasant to be outside in but not warm enough for me to want to swim. This is a popular place for wealthy Aucklanders to own a holiday home, known as a “Bach”.  An abbreviation of ‘Bachelor pad’, they used to be basic dwellings in attractive locations but I think these developments are not as basic as they used to be. I would happily own one of these and enjoy the short walk down to Omaha Beach. There is a lot of farming in NZ and along the roads it is quite common to see little stalls set up to sell the local produce.  This one was selling oranges, lemons and kindling.We drove along a little beyond Matakana to visit Heron’s Flight, a vineyard specialising in Italian grape varieties.

Harvey has gone native already.  New Zealanders like to go barefoot, even to school and even in winter, lots of the kids are barefoot all day.

Sangiovese vines.
We went inside to pick up some grape juice.  I do mean grape juice, as in a non alcoholic pressed juice from grapes.  Kath is friends with the owner, Mary.

You can also taste wines at Heron’s Flight and there are several places in side and out side where you can sit. Mary is going to start serving some food to eat with the wine, such as these little cheese crackers.  We also tried a single bite sized serving of a vegetable quiche.  I particularly liked the cheese crackers.I coud very easily have enjoyed sitting out here with a sample of wine but we were well behaved and didn’t try the wine.
We drove on a little further to Carmel’s, another beautiful NZ home in another stunning setting. Virtually everywhere we went had amazing views.  The scenery here really is so spectacular!  I feel like I have spent all day commenting on the stunning scenery. Harvey was delighted to find a skateboard ramp and board to ride on !These make life easier for the postman!
Our final visit for the day was to Kath’s Mother who lives opposite Orewa Beach which we visited yesterday.   This is the view from her verandah towards the Ocean.  From here she can walk to the shops or straight over the road to the beach for a swim, which she regularly does in summer. We had a cuppa and a fresh baked cheese scone which was really good. Before the sun set we had a walk down to Orewa Beach. This is a good idea.  An electric BBQ on the beach so you can meet up with friends and family, have a BBQ and a day on the beach.  More exciting than a sandwich! Come on boys, time to go home.

For supper Kath made us a beef casserole, which she served with brown rice, carrots, broccoli and silver beet leaves.

Another lovely meal in a another beautiful NZ home.

What a journey!

1. Car trip to local train station (thank you Annette)
2. Train to Charing Cross – 1 hour
3. Tube to Heathrow – 1 hour
4. Check in and wait at Heathrow – 3 hours
5. Fly London to Kuala Lumpur – 12 hours
6. Wait at KL – 4.5 hours
7. Fly to Auckland – 9 hours
8. Drive to Kath’s – 1 hour

So with a 12 hour time difference, and all that travel, we left home at 5pm Friday and arrived Sunday lunch time.  It was so good to get here 🙂

I think the worst part of the journey was the hour on the Tube because it was so hot and so humid and so crowded!

Malaysian Airlines did a good job of taking us to the to the other side of the world, especially the London to Malaysia leg of the trip which was on an Airbus 380.  Such a huge plane and so modern and comfortable, it didn’t really seem like a plane.  The entertainment package was so good it was hard to decide what to watch!

The food was very passable too.  Supper was a salad of I am not sure what, beef Rendang and rice, a strawbwerry mousse cake and cheese and biscuits.  Accompanied by white wine.  They also handed out a really good snack box with biscuits and nuts in it. Breakfast was a carrot salad, chicken with noodles and vegetables, yogurt and cheese with a roll. We finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur’s very modern airport. We had a 4.5 hour wait which we spent shopping, reading and drinking.  And eating Toblerone – oops! I enjoyed a latte in Dome and we played cards to pass the time.The second plane trip was on a much older plane and unfortunately the entertainment system did not work.  We did catch up on some sleep.
Plenty of food to eat.  Supper was a smoked ham salad, fish with pasta and vegetables, creme caramel, cheese and a roll, chocolates and a glass of wine.
Breakfast this morning was amazing.  Coconut rice with boiled egg and a spicy prawn and dried shrimp curry with peanuts.  I also had a fruit salad, strawberry yogurt, a croissant with jam and a muesli bar. This prawn and shrimp curry with peanuts was excellent.  I would have happily paid good money for this dish in a restaurant. We finally arrived in Auckland and Kath was there to meet us – yippee 🙂  Kath moved back to NZ after about 30 years in England.  We have really missed her and her family who used to live close by our house and we saw each other regularly.  We had a lunch of salads, bread, home made humous, crisps, olives, Feta cheese and miso soup.

So finally, there we were, at Kath’s, in Silverdale which is a suburb of Auckland.After lunch we were taken out for the afternoon.  Our first stop was a village called Puhoi which has a fantastic cheese factory, shop and cafe where they also sell ice-cream.  I had a delicious chocolate ice-cream.

We sampled some of their delicious cheeses. These 2 lovely boys who haven’t seen each for 16 months got on brilliantly and immediately which was wonderful. The buildings here are so pretty; white weatherboard with red corrugated iron rooves.  This is the village library – so cute. You can hire a canoe from Puhoi and sail out to the ocean which would be a fun trip. The church was made of the same materials and also had pretty stained glass windows. Can you see this clever bench built in to this fence?  What an excellent design. We then drove over to Orewa beach which was so beautiful. It is winter in New Zealand but their winters are definitely milder than ours!  A few hardy souls were in the water but I think they all had wet suits on. Most visitors to the beach were just walking along the beach, enjoying the sound of the ocean on the shore and the spectacular views. We drove a little further and watched the sunset over Big Manly Beach, another beautiful beach in Auckland. It was supper time by the time the sun had set and we ate out but I was not hungry so I just had an apple and feijoa juice which was very refreshing.  I think it is the jet lag killing my appetite but I am not complaining about that.

So our very long journey has ended and our holiday has just begun.  Harvey and I are surprisingly feeling ok.  We are tired but have managed to stay awake all day so hopefully an early night and a good night’s sleep will get us over the 12 hour time difference.  I am so excited for tomorrow, waking up in New Zealand, at Kath’s, with more beautiful places to visit and interesting food to eat.

Due to being extremely busy, I was not going to post a blog yesterday or even take any photos.  After working all day I had a date at the theatre with my husband and when I looked up the location of the theatre, I saw it was near Buckingham Palace (ish) so I got there early and walked down to see the easel.  Yes I did. I walked though London, in extreme heat and humidity, carrying my lap top and work files on my back, to see an easel.  I looked like a snail and walked along at about snail’s pace.

I have never noticed before that Admiralty Arch curves towards you from both sides.  Here it is from The Mall. This is from the other side!  I always assumed it curved towards you from one side and away from you the other.  It is going to be opened as an Armani Hotel in 2015, apparently. Walking down The Mall. Looking up The Mall towards Trafalgar Square, from the Victoria Memorial.Buckingham Palace from Victoria Memorial.

The gates in to Buckingham Palace. Crowds looking at Buckingham Palace from the beautiful Victoria Memorial. The Queen’s guards at Buckingham Palace. I do not envy them those woollen uniforms! The easel announcing the birth of the 3rd in line to the throne. There was a lovely festive and sociable atmosphere around the Palace last night and I was very glad I had gone to see it and to briefly, be a part of it.
I was so hot I would have loved to actually just jump in to this water at the base of the Victoria Memorial The world’s media are lined up opposite the Palace so when the presenter does his/her piece to camera, they have the palace in the background. I enjoyed my stroll down The Mall and back again and once again marvelled at how lucky I am to be working in one of the greatest cities in the world. The theatre was hot too so no respite for me but it was very enjoyable.  I really like John Simm and it was good to see him on the stage. Some of the audience sat behind the stage!  I have not seen that before.

When we came out of the theatre, I noticed the fountains in Trafalgar Square were blue to celebrate the birth of the new Prince.

We are having such lovely warm evenings we are sitting outside until rather late.  It is wonderful and fresh outside compared to inside which is rather warm by the evening.

I worked from home today – so happy to miss 3 hours of commuting 🙂

A pink grapefruit was the star of the breakfast show. I made a smoothie with chia seeds, natural yogurt and Maca powder.  Sadly it tasted quite horrid (sour and unpleasant) but I consumed it anyway as I hate wasting food and at least it was nutritious. But I did not enjoy the experience so it wasn’t long before I had a Gala apple and some Stilton. Followed by a Pink Lady and some more Stilton. A light lunch with some lettuce, peas, nasturtiums and radishes from the garden, with cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, cucumber, pine nuts, humous and anchovies. A bowl of varied yumminess. It was hot so I snacked on a Fruit Pastille ice lolly. Then some nuts, seeds and I added raisins.  I was in a really picky mood this afternoon. Harvey requested Tacos for tea but I couldn’t find any so we had Nachos instead.  I only had a few and I used the lettuce instead to wrap up the spicy minced beef.  Very tasty and another meal enjoyed outside.

So, a very exciting 2 days of Royal baby news.  I wish HRH Prince George of Cambridge and his parents long, healthy and happy lives and hope the media will now leave them in peace to enjoy getting to know each other.  Privately.

Sunday morning was sunny and I had almost a free day ahead of me.  I had loads of chores to do but also wanted to spend some time preparing healthy meals and I had plenty of time available for once.

For breakfast I had half a melon and some strawberries to use up as they were about to turn so they were destined for the blender.  I soaked 1 tbsp hemp seeds in water for about 2 hours first.

I also put in a packet of silken tofu and a huge heap of kale. It made 2 and a half smoothies which Harvey and I shared.  It was creamy, thick and very drinkable. A very healthy start to the day. For lunch I wanted to make a frittata I previously blogged about here.  The original recipe was kale and sweetcorn in a millet crust.  I didn’t have any millet so I thought I would try quinoa.  I rinsed it and cooked it according to the packet instructions, then pressed it in to a greased deep flan dish.  I used coconut oil so the dish remained dairy free. I picked some more Swiss chard from the garden and chopped the leaves separately to the stalks. I gently fried some onions in coconut oil and then added the chopped stalks and mushrooms. I added the Swiss chard leaves for just a couple of minutes and cooked them until they began to wilt.  Once the quinoa crust is cooked I piled in the vegetables, plus I added some sweetcorn.  Then poured the whisked eggs over the top.  You can find the recipe on my recipe page within the vegetarian section and the original was called ‘Kale Frittata in a Millet Crust’.  Or click on the link above. It turned out perfectly.  I think the secret is to not overcook the egg or it would become rubbery. The quinoa held its shape perfectly and this is a much healthier alternative to pastry. I served it with Cholula, a pepper sauce I am very fond of. A side salad would have gone well with it but to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered!We all enjoyed it as it was and there were no objections from these 2 that there was no salad today.
Late afternoon I headed up the hill to have a game of tennis with Marion. What fun it is to play on grass.  It was hot and thirsty work playing on her lovely court.   So refreshments were required.  Quite a lot it would seem.  Sarah joined us too and we did have a splendid natter in the early evening sunshine. Oh dear!  One drink seemed to flow endlessly in to the next.  And on we chatted and drank and chatted some more.  And then some! Oh very dear!  Never a good sign if I am eating Pringles. I don’t even like them much but I seem to remember consuming rather a lot :-(.  We watched some hot air balloons sail peacefully overhead.  I am very fond of my over the road neighbours, each and every lovely one of them.

I am not so fond of how I felt when I woke up this morning though!

I needed a Monmouth fix but I was there before it opened.  It opens at 7:30 so not long to wait.  The man with the blue hat and little dog is there every morning.  I wonder what his story is. I stood outside an open window and breathed in the aroma of coffee, a devotee standing beside the coffee temple.2 lattes were required to get me going this morning.
Mid morning I was hungry so I headed out to EAT, determined to not give in to temptation and buy the sugary carbs my hungover head was telling my body it wanted.

Ta daaaa!  I did quite well and bought a mango and passionfruit Bircher Muesli with some orange juice.  Refreshing and fruity. At lunch time I tried a new Mexican takeaway and cafe called the ‘Flying Burrito’.  I swerved the burritos (which looked really good) and instead ordered a chipotle chicken salad which I took back to the office and consumed with a peach iced tea.  I enjoyed them both very much. It was hot in the City today and very humid and muggy so I was very relieved to get home, shower, wear something cool and potter about in the garden, watering the veggies and deciding what to have for supper.  The garden is looking so good.  Breathe deep and relax.

I picked a lettuce and then foraged in the fridge and found cucumber, spring onions, celery, tomatoes, olives, sundried tomatoes, a smidgeon of humous and some marinated anchovies. I added no dressing.  The olives, sundried tomatoes and anchovies came in oil and that was dressing enough.  It was delicious.

Having made my salad I enjoyed it while I sat in the garden, writing this blog, listening to the sheep baaing and distant church bells.  I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world, with so many lovely people near by.  The hangover is but a distant memory but I enjoyed looking at the pictures and remembering our lovely afternoon and evening.

It was hot and sticky in town today but now, sitting in my garden, it is cool.  I ate well today and feel healed and now relaxed.  Have a good evening.  Cheers by the way – I am enjoying an ice cold beer 🙂

Did any of you (in the UK) see the programme in the week called ‘ Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead’ ?  It was about Joe Cross, an Aussie who is well known for his ‘Reboot’ programme of juicing as a way of healing and losing weight.  He was, as the title suggests, over weight (over 300 pounds), sick with Urticaria and felt like he was nearly dead.  So he went on a 60 day green juice fast.  He lost about 90 pounds and gradually built up exercising while he did it and felt fantastic.  This was done under medical supervision and after his juice fast the Urticaria had cleared up for the first time in years and he was off all his meds.  He met other people and encouraged them to try, who had great results if they could stick with it.

I am tempted to try this in the Autumn.  60 days may be too ambitious so I will start with 10 and see how I go.  I have been trying various green juices this past week and surprisingly you don’t feel hungry.  They are not all pleasant to drink but I expect you get used to it.  It is healthier to have as low sugar (i.e. minimal fruit and sweet veg like carrots) as possible.  I wanted to try 2 meals of juicing today to test it out.  I am testing in advance as I will invest in a new juicer.  Mine has been going for about 25 years and is a good juicer but not great with green leaves and as it shakes and judders along, I am thinking it may be about to conk out on me.

So this is what I juiced today.  The first Swiss Chard from the garden, kale, celery, cucumber, carrots, melon and an apple.

All chopped up and ready to go. Some of the end result.  The quantity of produce I juiced made 3 large glasses of juice which I drank over the morning and early afternoon. This was not an ideal day for living on just juice as I was in Ramsgate cleaning the house which is exhausting as it is a 5 storey house so there are lots and lots of stairs to keep going up and down.  After 5 hours I was exhausted and relieved to sit in the dining room beside the window, enjoying the view while I finished my last juice. The little fella was a champion today.  He is saving up for a hand held gaming device and came along to help and earn some money.  He enthusiastically hoovered and dusted every room, emptied all the bins (11!) and mopped floors.  A genuinely superb effort so that was money well deserved. So what happened next?  Well, as you can see from the next photo, the juice fast came to an abrupt end.  We had planned to head for the beach but the recent spell of sunny weather came to an abrupt halt the minute I took my beach bag out of the cupboard!  So we went shopping instead as we all needed some things for our holiday.

I dislike out of town shopping centres immensely and always try to avoid them but today necessity took us to Westwood Cross Shopping Centre which is between Ramsgate and Margate.  Having purchased what we needed we noticed the M&S had a huge and very enticing cafe.  I have never been in an M&S cafe before and I will go again.  It was great.  A large, spacious, well lit area with pleasing decor and comfortable chairs.  They focus on providing a range of sandwiches and cakes, toasted sandwiches and jacket potatoes.  I had a toasted ham and cheese with salad and it was really good.

This was refreshing to drink. Regular readers and those who know me, will know by now that I have zero willpower for resisting many types of food but especially cake.  I noticed many people around me having a high tea, served on one of those tiered cake stands.  I love those and everything that goes with a high tea.  I did not order one as I was quite full from the toastie but the carrot cake won me over.  It was perfect and worth every naughty calorie.  It was moist, sweet and nutty, just as it should be.  Enough icing but not too much to make it sickly.  Carrot cake heaven! Well done M&S for a decent cafe and a pleasant alternative to the ubiquitous coffee shops proliferating on our high streets and in our shopping malls today. So back to the test on juicing.  If I was to juice all day, I clearly can not be let loose in a cafe or any other food emporium.  I must also make sure I make enough juice in the morning and work out a way to carry it round with me so when I am hungry, I have something to drink to sustain me. I need to make them less sweet too as the sugar in the melon creates blood sugar spikes which have to be avoided.

After the cafe we went in to the food hall and bought lots of fruits and veggies.  But by the time I was peckish in the evening, and feeling very tired, I wanted some cheese and wine instead.  Which I enjoyed in front of the TV, catching up on some quality drama that has been recorded with no time to watch it recently. I had 2 crackers (they are very large) with butter and for me,  a modest amount of cheese.  I think a year or two ago, I would have eaten considerably more.  

I am learning to eat much smaller portions of high fat food and cut right back on sweet high carb foods.  I still have a long way to go but looking at what I consumed yesterday, which these days is classified as a bad days eating, it is considerably better then a bad days eating would have been 2 years ago.  So it is not hopeless and as I write this on a Sunday morning, I am not despairing and giving up.  I enjoyed what I ate yesterday.  I learned some good lessons for my potential juice fast.  And I thoroughly enjoyed 2 glasses of quality red wine with some cheese.  I will not be having any today though.

I picked today.  All day long.  So I am feeling disappointed in myself.

I started ok with some very juicy melon.

I added some almonds to sustain me. But I wanted more so I had some Shreddies with yogurt and almond milk. I was working from home and had been invited to Sarah’s beautiful home for lunch.  I volunteered to take a salad. All of this came from the garden except the tomatoes. In the salad bowl are: lettuce, radishes, pea shoots, fresh and finely sliced pea pods, nasturtium flowers and cherry tomatoes.  Sarah had a delicious salad dressing which went with it perfectly. Everybody brought something .  I really like lunches like that so you get a lovely mixture of flavours and tastes and styles. I was quite good at lunch time.  I tried 2 of the flans; one was roasted onion and the other a completely delicious Ricotta and tomato.  I had a generous serving of my salad, tomato and basil and a lovely lentil and spinach salad.  Yummy. Yummy like this group of yummy mummys.  Unfortunately I had a 1:30 meeting so I had to munch my lunch quickly and head home and I then worked until 7 pm.  It was so hard to leave and I really didn’t want to but at least I was able to go for a short amount of time. I picked again in the afternoon.  I had a chunk of Cheddar with an apple, then some almonds and dates.

For supper Lara cooked us fishcakes which she made with sweetcorn, mashed potato and tuna.  They were really good.  Served with a salad and mayonnaise. I enjoyed this cider style drink with supper.  I am guessing Appeldryck is apple drink but not sure what the Hjortronsmak is!

This was followed by Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough ice-cream.  Which I did enjoy but shouldn’t have eaten.

So not a great days eating for weight loss so hopefully tomorrow will be better.