Lose Weight and Gain Health

I left my smoothie at home this morning so I bought a green juice with a wheatgrass shot.  It had spinach and parsley in it plus apples and a kiwi.

I was having a late lunch and my juice didn’t keep me going that long so I popped out and bought a mango and passionfruit Bircher muesli which I enjoyed with a large Rooibos tea. I was taken out for lunch by my recruitment consultant who I have never met before as he is based in Manchester.   We speak regularly so I was looking forward to meeting him.  Especially when he said I could choose where to go for lunch.  I chose Roast in Borough Market. If you click on the link, the main picture is what I had for lunch :-).  Roast is on the first floor of the building so you can look down on the market. We had seats beside the window in a corner so we had fantastic views. Roast is renowned for its meat so I chose a meat dish rather than a fish dish.  I went for the slow roasted belly of pork with mashed potato.  I wish it had been served with vegetables but apart from that, it was amazing.  The potato was perfectly creamy and smooth, the pork tender with well flavoured stuffing, sweet apple sauce and a rich gravy.Matthew had a very large portion of fish and chips which he said was really good.  It looked great.
I was completely sated after my main but I did manage to squeeze in an apple and rhubarb crumble and custard which was really good.

Neither of us had any alcohol.  I had 2 Diet Cokes which are not healthy but at least they are calorie free.

I had no intention of eating anything at home but the children had made cookies – it would have been rude to not try them!

So I ate too much today but it was a special occasion and I really enjoyed my lunch in Roast.  Thank you Matthew.

2 posts today.  Double dose.

Tuesday was spent in Birmingham which involves an early start with the alarm set for 4:30am.  On the train from Euston to Birmingham I had a green tea and a Camden Food Co Superfood smoothie which had lots of berries in it and nothing too sweet.

During the morning I ate the smoothie I had brought from home which I prepared the night before. I had lunch with my colleague Mitchell.  We ate in EAT and I chose 2 small salads, both of which were delicious. We then decided to have a half hour walk round Birmingham City centre which is gorgeous, particularly in the sunshine with all the flowers out.  The New Library in the background opens in September.  I am quite intrigued by it and intend to visit. Flowers galore.

I had a productive trip to Birmingham but a very frustrating trip home and I was stupid and had 2 small bags of peanuts and then a chocolate muffin on the train which was ridiculous.

I went to my cousin’s for supper and Fee cooked us a delicious tuna steak which was marinated in chilli and coriander and served with salad and new potatoes.
Followed by a panacotta with berries on top and then we had some Lindor round red chocolates.  I did manage to restrain myself to having 3.  

After a lovely supper (thank you Fee), I returned home and had some work to finish so another very late night for me followed by an early morning again!

I gave up tea and coffee on Saturday, relatively easily and had drunk none since i.e. 4 days without.  However, I was so tired this morning and had so much work to do that required careful concentration, I treated myself to 2 Monmouth coffees.  Much needed today, trust me. Late morning, the stress began to recede and I went to the organic juice stand and bought 2 smoothies; 1 for breakfast which I had not had time for and one for lunch.  There was a green vegetable smoothie with wheatgrass and an Acaii berry with fruit juice.  Both were slowly sipped and kept me going until I got home.  Apart from these 2 juices and 2 coffees, I just had water and herbal teas throughout the day.
Lettuce for supper. Look how perfect this is. I feel such a massive sense of achievement for growing this. Served with 2 radishes, tomatoes, avocado oil and a large dollop of humous.  Perfect. I made tomorrow’s smoothie with a pink grapefruit, blackcurrants, a banana and some almond milk. I made enough for 2 and popped them both in the freezer. 

Everything seemed to come in twos today, including 2 posts in one blog.  Double bubble.

I was organised today and took breakfast in to work this morning.  A small bag of local cherries which are delicious.

A pot of the smoothie I made yesterday with pineapple, blackberries, kiwi and banana.  I made a double portion and froze one for today.  With a green tea. At lunch time I walked over London Bridge to the north side of the river to do some clothes shopping.  You forget how hot it is outside, when you just glimpse the sun from your air conditioned office. I would like to do a bus tour of London and was wishing I was doing that today instead of heading back to the office. City workers made the most of the sunshine. Just a few minutes sitting outside beside the river is a pleasure. I bought a salad from M&S. This is delicious.  It is made with quinoa, beans, nuts and vegetables.  Really tasty.  Followed by a nectarine. Back at home my first job is to water the garden which I really enjoy.  I like to see how things are growing and become reconnected to the earth.  Quite literally as I like to go out in bare feet.  I really like the feel of the cool grass beneath my hot feet.

Ooh yummy, some more strawberries are ready for eating. These are my favourite types of lettuce and they are perfectly ready just now so I picked one for eating.  You can cut the outer leaves off and they keep growing but I like to pick the whole lettuce as I enjoy the contrasts between the outer leaves and the really crispy little inner leaves. About 8 weeks ago I planted a row of radishes amongst the sweetcorn and now they are ready. They are multi coloured radishes. It is such a delight to come home and pick the main ingredients for supper from your garden. I added the leftover Greek salad and roasted vegetables from yesterdays BBQ.  Apart from the cucumber which had gone watery and rubbery (and which I left on the side), it was really good.  The lettuce was the star of this little show.

I am up and out very early tomorrow as I have to be in Birmingham but I want to eat healthily and lose weight.

I discovered a local farm that grows blackcurrants which I love.  I remember reading somewhere they are one of the best sources of vitamin C.  They are not too sweet either which is good because at this time of year it is too easy to eat too many sweet fruits, which I have been doing.  I added about a cup to the blender to make in to a smoothie. I added half a punnett of strawberries, a banana, some coconut water and some vegan protein powder. That is now in the freezer, ready for my 4:30 am start !

I am really pleased with my eating today.  I didn’t get to bed until nearly 2am as I had some paperwork to do.  That is 3 – 4 hours later than usual.  Being tired is usually a trigger for eating sugary carbs for me but I didn’t today so I am happy and pleased with myself.  I often tend to eat badly too when I have had a bad day of eating the day before so I had 2 reasons to be worried today but I defeated my Demons.  Phew.

The day began with so much healthy eating and then descended in to a pudding fest.

I made one of my favourite smoothies for breakfast; pineapple, blackberries, kiwi fruit, banana and fresh mint.

I had fewer blackberries than I wanted so I added some raspberries too. Delicious.  When you don’t add any liquid, the smoothie is thick like soft ice cream. I also made a batch of green juice with 3 apples, 5 sticks of celery, 1 cucumber, 2 carrots and a heap of kale. Not bad at all.  I had half late morning and took half to my sister’s in the overly optimistic expectation that I could drink this instead of over-eating! I snacked on some local cherries which are amazing.I made a Greek salad to take along as a contribution for lunch; tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red pepper and mixed olives.  I added the feta cheese before serving. I was going to abstain from drinking but on arriving I was handed a glass of Pimms which was lovely. My lovely BILs. I had also brought along some pork rillettes and French bread which I was not going to eat but everyone raved about it so much I had to try it.  Then another and then another! My main course was very healthy; Greek salad, couscous with roasted vegetables, a green salad with a garlicky yellow split pea accompaniment and some corn on the cob.I enjoyed all this with a crisp white glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  This was a very delicious lunch.  There was a BBQ too but I was not in a meat mood so I just stuck to the veggies. There was no special occasion today other than an opportunity for me and my sisters to get together with our families.  Abi hosted today and she invited her lovely friends, Alison and Andrew who brought 2 of their children with them; Lydia and Kit.

My nephew Harry had made everyone a lemon cup cake which was delicious and he made his Aunties a pot of lemon curd each.  The cake and lemon curd were fantastic. Andrew brought a large batch of wicked chocolate, Crunchie and peanut bars.  I find them totally irresistible. He also brought a pecan and lemon cheesecake which I ate with another chocolate square. Abi made a fantastic pavlova which is probably my favourite pudding of all time and her meringue is amazing.  Crispy and chewy.  Just perfect.  So I had some with another chocolate square.  I even had one more chocolate square after that with a cuppa.  They are small but even so, that was total pudding piggery. Having gorged ourselves we sat and chatted and relaxed.  Well, I gorged myself, the others were probably much more restrained than I was. I love relaxed days like this as people mill around, inside and outside, swapping seats and by the end of the day, everyone has talked to everyone else.We didn’t want to leave but we had to.  Another busy week ahead for some of us.  Thank you Abi and Jim and all the chefs for a lovely day.

So, a day with lots of healthy foods but then a complete pig out with the puddings.  Why can’t I control myself?

Today I gardened for about 3 hours.

Today I played tennis for 3 hours in 80 heat!

Today I only ate fruits and vegetables.

This lovely bowl of strawberries came from a local garden so they have never been sprayed and contain no nasty chemicals.  Just pure lovely strawberry goodness. I pu them all in the blender with some basil and a frozen banana. Cold, super smooth and tasty.  The basil goes well with the strawberries. I made a juice for lunch from kale, spinach, celery, carrots cucumber and sugar snap peas. Very green! I found a shady spot to sit in the garden and sip my juice. It tasted quite unpleasant to be honest but I persevered as it is s good for me. I would have preferred Harvey’s lunch but stuck with my juice. In the afternoon I had an hours tennis coaching with Suzanne and then played a tennis match with Annette.  It went to 3 sets so took us 2 hours to play.  3 hours tennis.  It was hot out there.  Very hot.  With virtually no breeze and the hard court giving off more heat than the sun (so it seemed anyway), it was very much an endurance event.  The tepid Seaweed and Arnica bubble bath helped me recover after the tennis.

Supper was another juice but I was not up for a green juice so added lots of sweet apples and carrots.  Plus celery, kale and half a yellow pepper. This was much more palatable than the first one. Quite nice actually.

I am pleased with all the gardening I did and the tennis I played.  I am delighted with my light eating, which I maintained even though I had to prepare meals for Harvey.  Quite an endurance but it has left me feeling happy and relaxed.

I have overeaten too many times in the last few weeks and have been feeling very depressed and anxious about it.  So, today was a new day and it began (and ended and middled) with new resolve.  I was working from home today so had no excuse to eat rubbish and it was easy to eat healthily.  My objective was to eat only fruits and vegetables.

I made a smoothie with watermelon, mixed berries, a banana and coconut water which was refreshing. At the end of the bed full of sweetcorn is this chaotic looking tangle of pea plants. I wish I had kept the seed packet or noted down what they are because this plant is a mixture of green and purple pods.  The green pods are particularly large which is a bonus for me – read on! They look really pretty.

This is my first pea crop of the year.
You may think it is rather pointless to grow peas as they are so cheap to buy from the supermarket. They are a bit of a bother to shuck/pod/peel to get out the little green gems although I find the activity pleasurable.  Eating them raw is pleasurable too! The reason why I grow them is to get the pea pod.  Yes, the pod.  I use it to make pea pod soup which is a sweet and gentle and totally delicious flavour.  Fresh picked pea pods are sweet and crunchy and as long as you remove the stringy part, they are tasty in a salad too. I was curious to know what colour the peas inside the purple pod would be.  They are green. The purple pods were quite tough so I put them in the compost along with the stringy parts and tops of the green pods but I ate the rest of the crop.

Having removed the peas from their pods I steamed them for a few minutes and enjoyed them with a tiny bit of butter.  Ooh yes, they were lovely.  This picture reminds me of a biology lesson on genes when we were introduced to alleles.  Some peas are wrinkled and some smooth.  Extraordinary the stuff that ones memory retains!

To make the soup, I chopped up and lightly fried the last of the shallots from the garden. Roughly chopped and added the pea pods. I reserved the water that I used to steam the peas which interestingly went purple!  I also added 1 tsp of Marigold vegetable stock.  Let it simmer for about 20 minutes and then blitzed it until it was smooth. It was a bit stringy so I sieved it and then it was perfect.  Sweet and mild in flavour and very moreish.  My quantity of peas and stock made a couple of large mugfulls and I enjoyed them both. I did have a glass of wine.  I wasn’t going to but I was invited to have a glass when I dropped Harvey’s friend off.  It was a lovely warm summer evening, Harvey was invited in for a swim and I had a lovely chat and glass of vino.

On the way home I was wondering what to have and had decided a salad would be perfect for me but I would have to cook something else for Harvey.  When I got home there was a lovely surprise.  My gorgeous girl had made dinner for us, having guessed I had stopped for a chat and that we would both return home hungry.  I was thrilled as this plate of roasted vegetables was perfect.  Thank you Lara.

So, a day of eating fruit and vegetables, the only exceptions being some coconut water and oil used in cooking.  Oh yes, and a glass of wine – thanks Ginny 🙂

I really enjoy sunny mornings in London.  I enjoy them anywhere actually but walking to work in the early morning sunshine is so much more enjoyable than walking though the dark in Winter or enduring inclement weather.

Early morning (7:30 – 8 am ish) the market is quiet, peaceful and empty.

On a Wednesday more stalls are open than at the beginning of the week and they have their deliveries dropped off early.  I like the juice bar but it is always closed on a Monday and Tuesday.Outside Turnip, the fruits and veggies are sorted and labelled up ready to be delivered to various restaurants.

It would be quicker for me to walk behind Southwark Cathedral to get to my office but then I wouldn’t walk past the coffee Mecca would I?

Hello Monmouth! I resolved to not have any lattes today. I had an Espresso instead and it was gorgeous.  I do prefer lattes but this was saving loads of calories. I would have liked to sit in but I usually have a takeaway and I did so again today. So I left the Baristas to it and went to work. I had a fruit pot from Pret for breakfast. After a couple of hours I was hungry so I got another fruit pot and another Espresso, this time from EAT. I didn’t get out for lunch until 2:30 by which time I was very hungry.  I walked back to the market and bought some peaches to take home and a nectarine to have for lunch. A lovely red apple. A green juice made with celery, spinach, apple and parsley plus wheatgrass. I had an apricot too. As soon as I got home this evening I went out to play tennis for nearly an hour and a half. I was really hungry when I got back so I made a broccoli and mushroom omelette.

I was rather pleased with a low calorie day of eating and some enjoyable exercise.  I just need to be sensible again tomorrow.

London’s burning.  Not as in being burned to the ground but burning as in so freaking hot!  Which is wonderful when you can stroll through the market and then sit beside the river having a cold beer but not so much fun when you are working.

MONDAY

Breakfast – I love London

Cherry granola and yogurt.

Lunch.

Delicious Falafel wrap from Hoxton Beach. Cheeky little ice-cream.  The cone was filled with melted chocolate and then topped with Bounty ice-cream and liquorice ice-cream.  Not so kean on the liquorice but the Bounty was lovely.

Dinner.

Drink with Lucy at The George. Then supper at Del Mercato.  I had a green salad and ravioli stuffed with Mozarella and tomatoes and served with an aubergine sauce.  It doesn’t look very appealing but it tasted delicious.  All helped along with a bottle of white wine.  It was a lovely evening and one I hope to repeat very soon. TUESDAY

Breakfast

Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. Lunch

I walked over London Bridge to do some shopping on the North side.  I would have enjoyed being on one of those boats on the river today. Shopping completed and time to head back to work. Cheese and salad baguette with a chicken soup. Dinner

A large bowl of kale, a ripe peach, a frozen banana, a heaped tbsp of cocoa powder and Tahini, a tsp Acaii powder and a generous splash of almond milk.Choco-Kale Shake.  Yummy and so nutritious.

Today was a very entertaining day.

I had some of my lovely neighbours coming over for supper but was out for most of the day so I prepared what I could ahead of time.

I began with dessert.  In a neglected part of the garden grows a very large rhubarb plant.  It doesn’t look very inspiring does it?  Or even very edible?

Gigantic rhubarb leaves. Once the leaves were cut off and the stalks were washed and cut, it looked more edible. I cooked it with some orange juice and sugar and set it aside to make in to a rhubarb fool in the evening. This recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘The River Cottage Family Cookbook’

Rhubarb Fool

Ingredients (serves 4 – 6)

• 350g rhubarb stalks (no leaves)
• Juice from 1 orange
• 40 g caster sugar
•  227ml double cream
• 15 g icing sugar

Method

1. Trim the ends off the rhubarb and cut in to half finger lengths
2. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with the orange juice and sugar
3. Gradually bring the fruit to a gentle simmer
4. Check regularly to ensure it does not turn to a much.  It is cooked when it is all soft
5. Set aside to cool
6. Place the cream and icing sugar in a bowl and whisk until thick
7. Stir in the rhubarb and mix gently together

The Family Cookbook recommends serving this with shortbread so I made some of that too.  I made a double quantity and cooked it in a foil lined shallow baking tray which measured 34cm x 23 cm.  The ingredients below are for the double quantity.

Shortbread

Ingredients (makes 20 pieces)

1. 250 g plain flour
2. 60 g rice flour
3. pinch of salt
4. 200g unsalted butter
5. 100 g caster sugar plus 2 tsp caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 ° C
2. Sieve the flours and salt in to a large bowl
3. Cut the butter in to cubes and add to flour with the sugar
4. The recipe says to rub together until resembling breadcrumbs.  It is actually much easier to tip it all into a food processor and use the S blade until it resembles breadcrumbs which just takes a few seconds.
5. Line the baking tray with foil, leaving some foil over the edges (to make removal easier)  and tip the breadcrumb like mixture in to the tin.
6. Press with your hand until all the crumbs are firmed down.  Be quite vigilant round the corners and edges
7. Place the tin in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the shortbread begins to take on the faintest trace of colour
8. Remove from the oven
9. Leave the shortbread in the tin for 10 minutes to harden up
10. Using the foil edges, remove the shortbread from the tin and place on a large carving board
11. Sprinkle the shortbread with the remaining caster sugar and cut in to squares
12. Allow the shortbread to cool completely so it becomes firm

We were going out for a BBQ and I assumed our neighbours would have eaten a substantial lunch so would therefore not be expecting a huge evening meal.  I prepared as much as I could of a light supper before going out.  Using Hugh’s ‘Veg everyday!’ cookbook, I chose a couple of “hearty salads”.

Couscous Salad with Herbs and Walnuts

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 – 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 200g ‘giant’ couscous
• Bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 75 g walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

• Cook the couscous according to the packet instructions and set aside
• Put the cumin and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium heat, shaking the pan often, until fragrant (2-4 minutes)
• Tip in to a mortar and when cool, grind to a powder

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan and sauté the onion, celery, fennel and garlic over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

• Remove from the heat and add the ground spices, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, walnuts and salt and pepper
• Mix together with the cooked couscous
• Just before serving, add more olive oil and lemon juice according to taste

Having prepared lunch we set off for Dad’s and he cooked us all a BBQ which was lovely. I have many happy memories of sitting in the garden and eating one of Dad’s BBQs. I had a steak with potato salad and salad plus bread and butter.  Delicious. Followed by apricot tart and cream.  There is always cream in Dad’s fridge! Having been entertained and fed so splendidly, we were entertained some more buy watching the Murray match together.  What an exciting afternoon that was!

After the match we hopped back in our cars and set off back for home and arrived just before our neighbours did. Luckily, most of supper was sitting in tupperware boxes in the fridge so they just needed to be served.

This was also from ‘Veg everyday!’ and is called ‘New Potato Salad Tartare’ and is new potatoes, boiled then mixed with capers, gherkins, spring onions, parsley, salt and pepper and boiled eggs. Couscous Salad with Herbs and Walnuts A kind of Greek Salad, made with tomatoes, red onion, cooked and cooled green and yellow beans, sundried tomatoes and Feta cheese.  I serve the cucumber separately as James hates it but the rest of us like it. This was an interesting mix of flavours and textures.  I enjoyed it very much and am pleased there is just enough leftover to take to work tomorrow for lunch. Bon Appetit! It was still warm enough to sit outside. We sat outside until nearly 10 pm. The rhubarb fool and shortbread were good too. Top tip though – if you ask your child to whip the cream while you get the rest of dessert ready, either check them regularly or tell them you want a just thickly whipped consistency.  Or you may end up with butter! 

We had a lovely day today.  We were entertained by Dad and then Murray during the day and in the evening we were able to entertain David and Annette.  Good entertainment.

So another school year has ended and for my little man, that will mean a new school with different friends in September.  I felt quite sad turning up for the last time to collect him.

And so it ends, after 3 years he is off to pastures new. Today was going to be busy so I had a healthy start.  I made a smoothie for myself and Harvey with frozen berries, coconut water and cacao and almond butter. It was really good.

To celebrate his friendships and have a chance to say good-bye properly, Harvey had a leaving party.  Thank you to David and Annette for lending us the water slide 🙂

This large piece of waterproof membrane, washing up liquid and a hose, kept 12 boys amused for many hours.I sometimes moan about my sloping garden but today it really came in to its own.

I am not sure who laughed more – the boys whizzing down the slide or us enjoying watching them, sliding and slithering around. They eventually wore themselves out so it was time to light the BBQ. They had chicken kebabs but then couldn’t wait for the sausages before tucking in to the marshmallows. We were so lucky the weather was so perfect.  When parents arrived we were able to sit outside, relax, chat and have a little drink.

It was good to catch up.
The boys had a brief sit down in the shade. Then they were back at it again.  For many more hours.  That water slide was in almost constant use from just before 10 am until about 5:30 pm.   It was an easy party for us to arrange and really enjoyable for the boys.  So we were all happy. I hadn’t eaten all day since the smoothie so I did enjoy a Malteser banana.  I cut a long slit in the side of the banana, squished some Maltesers in, wrapped it in foil and popped it on the BBQ for about half an hour.  The banana and Maltesers had gone all squidgy – yummy.

We managed to keep one of the lovely boys overnight which is great, so for Harvey his party has gone on a bit longer then he expected.  After clearing up, we all had a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce, ham and cheese.  Now a whisky with ginger ale.  Cheers to my special little man and all his lovely friends.  What a fun day we all had.