Lose Weight and Gain Health

Cake and Bake

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I did not manage a healthy breakfast today because Lara and I set off for Earl’s Court very early today so I just had a cup of tea before we left.

I used to live in Fulham Broadway and regularly travelled along the District Line. It seems so quaint compared to some of the other tube lines.

We had to change at High St. Ken’ as I managed to get on a Circle Line train by mistake – oops. Unusually we were then on an empty tube which was weird.

I saw signs that they are upgrading the District Line. I hope they keep these indicator boards. I have waited on these platforms at Earls Court many times, to see which platform to go from.

We were at Earls Court for the Cake and Bake Show :-). It took ages to queue to get in by which time we were hungry and thirsty.

To go with my smoked salmon bagel and latte I had to have one of these amazing brownies. I had the salty caramel pecan. Worth every calorie.

We met Alison and Andrew there and as always, enjoyed their company. We started laughing straight away as we had both managed to leave tickets at home – well, it was an easy mistake to make :-). Luckily we all got in.

So what do you do at the Cake and Bake Show? Well, they have table settings to look at,

cup cakes you can decorate,

speakers you can listen to

Great British Bake Off contestants you can mingle with

and lots and lots of cup cake and decorating supplies to buy.

We did buy some plus they had a Doves Farm stand so I bought some heritage flour and a proving dish. I try to not have bread at home but on the occasions when we do have it, I am going to make it with quality flour and all natural ingredients.

There was a fantastic display of cakes decorated with a British seaside theme.

People are so imaginative.

We were there early enough to put our names down for a go in this cake decorating kitchen.

Under the guidance of Eric Lanlard, who was extremely charming and helpful,

we decorated a marzipan covered fruit cake. It was a bit daunting sitting in front of the crowds but we really enjoyed it.

So, despite being tempted by cakes, cakes and more cakes, I only succumbed once to a Brownie so I was pleased with that. We headed back to Charing Cross and then set off to look for lunch – at 3pm! We went to Neal’s Yard for a fresh squeezed juice (juice bar closed for staff training) and salad but the Salad Bar only took cash and I didn’t have any. So we wandered back towards the station and in to Wahaca, a Mexican street food restaurant. Those margaritas slipped down very easily! By the way, we had one each, they weren’t both mine.

The food was fresh, spicy and full of flavours. We had guacamole with Dorito style chips,

frijoles (black bean paste) with cheese which was fabulous. I did wash that down with a Sangrita which was a bit like a spicy Bloody Mary but made with Tequila rather than Vodka.

Then we shared a tasting platter which had another black bean dish and a potato wrapped something. These were both delicious and came with lots of salad and veggies.

Followed by spicy coleslaw, chicken and pork dishes plus a cheese and broad bean quesadilla. It was all really good.

We were home by 6pm and didn’t bother with dinner, apart from a glass of the red wine we started the other night. I did have some Green and Blacks Butterscotch chocolate too – we were given free bars at the station! But I left most of it. So a day that could have been a disaster, was not perfect but not too bad.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Pack in the Nutrients

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Feeling bleurgh still so wanting to pack in the nutrients today to help my immune system. Guess what I made?

Yup, beetroot smoothie. I added some natural yogurt too for some protein.

I was hungry later so I had some granola with natural yogurt and blueberries.

I managed to work most of the day, despite feeling so ill. I attended a meeting for over 2 hours round lunch time so I had a late lunch.

We had lots of yummy things n the fridge so I made up a plate of cold sliced pork loin, sun dried tomatoes, olives, humous with pesto and salad made with lettuce, rocket, cucumber and tomatoes.

It was very tasty. Lots of strong flavours which I needed as most things are quite tasteless today.

For supper we added some omegas to the mix with salmon. I like dry spice mixes and decided to try this one I picked up at Borough Market recently.

I sprinkled it over the salmon, let it marinade for about an hour and then lightly fried it in a ridged pan. Served with 2 types of broccoli (tender stem and purple sprouting) and freshly dug potatoes.

So, I packed in the nutrients today and drank lots of water. Hope I feel better tomorrow.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Beetroot, Hummus, Olives, Raspberries | Leave a comment

Wine to Ice-Cream

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Don’t worry, I didn’t have wine for breakfast. We had it the night before and as it was such a special bottle it deserved a photo. Last summer Lara spent several weeks learning how to make wine at All Saints in Australia and this is one of the bottles she brought back with her. She just found out she had passed an exam so we celebrated and celebrated in style. This was one of the best wines I have ever had the pleasure of. Full complements to the fabulous wine maker 🙂 And check out the cork – a cute glass one. That’s a keeper!

Overnight oats for breakfast. I love this breakfast as it is delicious and so easy.

The night before I put 1/2 cup of oats in a container with 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup of natural yogurt. 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and raspberries and blueberries. Yum.

Lara made lunch for us ( I worked from home) – broccoli and cauliflower cheese with bacon.

Awesome 🙂

For supper I am ashamed to say I had ice-cream. Taywell’s honeycomb which is completely amazing and some chocolate fudge. What possessed me to eat this you may ask? Well I bought it because Harvey had a tooth removed this evening and it was an easy thing for him to eat and I couldn’t resist it. Plus, I am full of a terrible cold with a very sore throat so too tired to cook, too ill to feel hungry and this was easy on the throat and no cooking required!

Well, you did ask!

Posted in Diet Struggles | Tagged Oats | 4 Comments

Back To It

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Back to it today. Back to eating what I like. Well, determined to lose weight and be healthy.

The first cuppa in a week was so gooood.

Breakfast was some cherry tomatoes lightly sautéed in a smudge of butter and 2 scrambled eggs. I really enjoyed it.

Mid-morning I had a coffee and gave in to temptation and had one of the birthday cupcakes. And then 2 more. The caramel icing was just too irresistible. They are really small but undoubtedly 3 was 3 too many!

For lunch I made 4 rashers of bacon, 1/2 a can of beans and some Cheddar. Just a sprinkling of Cheddar.

Since lunch didn’t have any vegetables with it, in the afternoon I snacked on a nectarine

and a pear.

For supper we had wholewheat spaghetti with roasted vegetables (red peppers, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn and courgette) and goats cheese.

I had approximately 70g spaghetti and 75 g goats cheese. This was simple to make and really tasty.

Unfortunately I then succumbed to a packet of Hula Hoops leftover from the party. I really need to not have this stuff in the house.

I went to Weight Watchers tonight for the first since June. I have put on 4 pounds which I felt really disappointed about. So, I need to get back on track and start focusing properly on losing weight. We are going on holiday in a months time and I want to be the next stone down so I am going to work hard at eating less and exercising more. Back to it 🙂

Posted in Diet Struggles | Tagged Goat's Cheese | 3 Comments

The Seventh Day

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Thank goodness this detox is virtually over. It has been hard work. The actual detox plan works well and is easy to follow. But detoxing when you have to work as hard as I have lately is tough. But I am proud of myself for sticking to it and grateful to Lara for doing it with me.

Breakfast was a shake.

Instead of adding the powder to a juice I made a smoothie so I could combine the shake I should have had at 7am with the fruit I was allowed to eat mid morning. It was a bit thick but ok.

When detoxing you are supposed to relax but that has not been possible this week. However, I am so tired I needed some down time so today I cancelled my original plans of shopping in Brighton and bunkered down at home. I made time to listen to the radio and indulge in my new hobby.

Knitting.

I am making Lara a blanket in pink and grey. I am using a simple but not the most straightforward pattern so I have to concentrate a bit but not too much. I find it very relaxing.

Lunch today was a salad. I picked these beauties from the garden.

And added them to lettuce, rocket, peppers and cucumber.

Dressed with olive oil, cider vinegar and lemon juice.

And on the side, corn on the cob. Not so good without butter but still enjoyable.

I walked for just over an hour this afternoon and came home to make a dinner which was delicious.

Monkfish with Garlic and Ginger (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 large monkfish tail, cur tin to 2 lengthwise
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 square inch of fresh ginger, finely grated
1/2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Combine garlic and ginger in a bowl with the oil
Mix to blend well
Spread over the fish and leave to marinade for an hour

Grill for 10-15 minutes until cooked through, turning once.

This was served with courgette, carrots, red, yellow and green pepper which was cut in to matchsticks and stir fried lightly.

I also made guacamole, from perfectly ripe avocados, kaffir lime and a light sprinkling of salt.

This meal was delicious, full of flavours which went really well together.

So enjoyable, eating something so tasty and knowing it is s good for you. Nearly as enjoyable as knowing that tomorrow I can eat what I like 🙂

Posted in Grow Your Own, Recipe | Tagged Avocado, Fish | 4 Comments

Climbing The Walls

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Day 6 of the detox. Thank goodness it is nearly over. I had a shake first thing and a pear for breakfast. We were heading out for the afternoon but had a simple vegetable soup before we went, made with parsnip, carrots and leeks. Followed by some grapes.

4 months after the event, we held Harvey’s birthday party today. We took 7 of his friends climbing at Harrison’s Rocks near Groombridge. We were blessed with perfect weather for an outdoor event.

They climbed with Adam who works for Kent & Sussex Climbing and I highly recommend them. We met Adam and the boys donned their helmets and listened to a safety talk. Well, all the boys apart from mine of course!

First of all they did some bouldering. Get me with the rock climbing lingo!

They all did so well and were soon scrambling up the rocks.

This was a great way to get them warmed up and ready for higher climbs.

Thirsty work all that walking and climbing.

So this is what they are going to climb! Adam set up 2 ropes next to each other.

Ready for the first climb. They worked in teams of 4. The 3 in the cave hold the rope for the 4th person who does the climbing. They all worked so well in little teams, taking it in turns to climb and holding the rope for each other for safety.

Go on Harvey, you can do it. Climb over to the ledge,

wriggle along the ledge,

up a bit

he’s alive 🙂

on the top 🙂

The rope holders did a great job.

The second climb had them inching along a narrow and high ledge. This involved a lot of communication between the climber and the rope holders because if they pulled the rope too tight the climber could have been pulled off the rock. It was excellent watching them all working together.

On the way back they visited some caves.

8 happy boys heading home.

We all enjoyed our day out at Harrison’s rocks and I highly recommend it for a visit. Whether you want to climb or not, it is a beautiful place to go for a walk.

Back at home we had sir fried vegetables and brown basmati rice for supper.

The vegetables were lightly fried with ginger and lemongrass in sesame oil. I confess we did add some soy sauce.

Today’s detox was hard because the boys were eating lots of yummy goodies, including some chocolate caramel cup cakes Lara made in the morning. There was so much to resist. Despite often feeling hungry today, we stuck to the regime. One more day and then this detox is over – can’t wait.

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Salad Days

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

What a day! I had so much work to do today, I logged on just after 8am and worked almost non stop until 11 pm. I was amazed I could do it and I put that down mainly to the detox. Today I did indeed feel bright and alert. Still not euphoric but that is probably because I spent all day working. If I was able to relax and so fun things, maybe I would have felt euphoric.

Harvey wanted me to blog his breakfast. I insist my children have fruit or vegetables with every meal. Harvey struggles with breakfast on a school day because he is never hungry first thing. So he had a soya yogurt with mashed strawberries and raspberries. I love the fact that he decorated it with a raspberry on top 🙂

We girls had melon.

A Piel de Sapo melon, apparently. It was fabulous. At this time of year melons are wonderful. Sweet, juicy and full of flavour. Mmmmmm.

We forgot the pineapple mid morning. It is amazing we weren’t hungry. I am sure people get fat because they eat food low in nutrients. Their brains tell them they are hungry because the brain knows it is missing vital nutrients so you keep eating and do not get the “I am full” signal because your brain is waiting for nutrients. I think that is why the world is getting fatter. The food is becoming less nutritious so we get fatter. Simple really!

Anyway. We were so excited about lunch. A salad !!!!! Amazing to think we could be so excited about a simple salad. It was fabulous so I will share the recipe which came from Home Detox Box.

Raw Vegetable Salad (serves 1)

Leaves from different varieties of plants/lettuce
10 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cucumber diced
1/2 avocado
1/2 yellow and 1/2 green pepper, diced
1 finely chopped spring onion
Fresh alfalfa sprouts
Fresh herbs

Garlic and Ginger Dressing (serves 4)

1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
5 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp olive oil

Blend together until throughly mixed. Pour over salad and try not to choke to death as you stuff yourself with the first real meal in 5 days !

In the afternoon we had cucumber and carrot crudités with guacamole which Lara kindly made for us.

For supper we had something cooked. Woo hoo – hot food. Just a roasted fennel but hey, hot is hot.

Another salad, with roasted fennel on top and the same yummy dressing we had at lunch time. You see, it made 4 portions so that was perfect 🙂

A probiotic and glass of water and we were done for the day.

Posted in Recipe | Tagged Salad | 2 Comments

Detox Day 4

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I slept well last night and woke up feeling not exactly euphoric but happy and alert which was a good feeling. I bought 2 bottles of juice to make the morning shake. I chose juice with vegetables to try and reduce the sugar.

I am a nomad at work and today had a desk with a spectacular view.

At 10 am I was excited to actually eat something. My first food since Sunday was half a melon. It tasted fantastic.

A little later I had half a pineapple which I enjoyed too. At lunch time I went to the market to buy some more fruit. I have never seen these before and I bought some to try.

I can’t believe it is Autumn already.

Look at these whoppers!

I would have liked to try these different plums but they weren’t on the menu today.

This was, a delicious pear

and some grapes. These were very sweet with a delicate flavour. Really good, even though they had pips.

Late afternoon I had a banana and some raspberries and supper was more grapes and a fresh fig.

I could drink herbal tea and water all day. I am pleased I am sticking to this detox and even more pleased I can eat again. Looking forward to the salad we can have tomorrow 🙂

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Day 3 Starvation

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

OK, I exaggerate, we are not starving, but today was not easy. Apparently I should feel “euphoric” and have “moments of mental clarity”. I can’t say I noticed either of those today and I felt hungry.

So I followed the same regime as I have the past 2 days but in the office. My colleagues were not tempted to try a clay shake! There was only one place to go for lunch.

Not this place! I like Turnips but I think this colourful display of juices is rather cheeky. You would assume, because they are served in the same type of container as the juice bar next door and because they are a fresh fruit and vegetable stall, that these are fresh juices. But they are not. They are just poured from large bottles which are then all removed from view. To be fair to Turnips, they do not claim to be fresh juices. But they give the impression they are.

Not for me though. I followed this sign.

Total Organics Juice Bar!

I decided to go for the ultra healthy. I included a Wheatgrass shot

which came in the Green Deluxe, along with spinach, cucumber, parsley and apple.

It’s very green! I took it back to the office to mix the shake powder in by which time my colleagues were convinced I really was insane 🙂 . It was OK actually.

I drank a lot of orange juice today as that is all the canteen at work sold so that became a bit boring. I can eat real food tomorrow – fresh fruit which I am really excited about :-).

As requested by Harvey, because he is missing her so much, here’s another picture of Beryl!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Green Smoothie | 1 Comment

Detox Day 2

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Well, I did wake up feeling better today than I felt when I went to bed last night. We (I am doing this with Lara) had to follow the same regime today as yesterday. 5 shakes water, herbal tea, enzymes and probiotics. That is all 😦

Yesterday we mainly had bottled juices but we made more of our own today.

They look lovely but then we have to add the clay and husk powder.

I worked from home again today which helped. I would have struggled today in an office, partly due to so many trips to the Ladies thanks to all the fluid intake! I felt exhausted mid afternoon – a stroll round the garden, burning a scented candle and drinking more water helped.