2 Pots Of Goodness

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Last night I mixed together:

1/3 cup oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp carob powder
1 tbsp protein powder
1 cup almond milk
1 banana, chopped

This morning, hey presto!  Carob overnight oats.  Yummy.

I managed to take lunch to work again too.  Third day in a row I have managed to take in 2 pots of goodness.

According to my macrobiotic book, I need to balance yin with yang and this is a perfect example.  The upward growing and yin celery and the downward growing and yang carrot.  Yes, that really is a carrot and it’s purple.  There is a lot to this macrobiotic lark!

I popped the carrot and celery in to my lunch pot with brown rice.

I added fennel, cucumber and sugar snap peas.

Popped my 2 little pots of goodness in to their string bag and we were ready for work.

I was particularly tired today so I treated myself to a Momouth coffee on my way in to the office – heavenly.  Not at all macrobiotic but needed.

After another long day at work I was home late and made a quick and easy smoothie; mango, almond milk, ice cubes, 1 small avocado, 1 leftover pistachio and cranberry truffle and 1 tbsp molasses.  YUMMY.  It was thick and full of complimenting flavours, smooth and creamy.  How can something so tasty be so healthy?

I am really enjoying this new way of eating and it has helped me become focused on healthy eating again.  Beginning to feel better 🙂

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More Macrobiotics

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

I had made breakfast and lunch the night before so I was guaranteed a healthy and cheap beginning and middle of the day.

I broke my fast with papaya, brown rice and pistachio nuts.  The papaya was lovely and it was a soothing and enjoyable meal.

Lunch was leftover stir fried millet and vegetables.  I made a dressing to take with me which I added just before I ate it: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, juice of 1/4 of a lemon and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce.  It was delicious.

After a very long and stressful day at work I got home shortly before 9pm so made a very simple supper.  1 pineapple

+ some tofu

+ some ice cubes, blitzed in the blender.

Fresh and light enough for having been consumed so late.

Not a perfectly macrobiotic days eating but low fat, nutrient rich, wholesome and tasty 🙂

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Towards Macrobiotics

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I am going to have a go at macrobiotic eating.  I fancy a change and apparently macrobiotics will make me feel amazing and give me a wonderful body.  I realise it will take more than a bowl of brown rice and broccoli before I am mistaken for Gwyneth Paltrow but I have to start somewhere.  This is where I have started.  Millet.

I bought some in Chinatown yesterday and cooked it as per instructions last night.  Tropical fruits are not macrobiotic apparently, unless you live in the tropics, which we don’t.  But this lovely mango was sweet,juicy, ripe perfection so I chopped it up and added it to the breakfast pot.

With millet and black sesame seeds.

Grains are a key part of macrobiotic eating and so is chewing your food 50 – 100 times a mouthful!!!!  I tried it with breakfast and managed 60 chews with one mouthful but then there was nothing left so how on earth can you chew a mouthful 100 times when there is nothing left to chew?

Lunch consisted of more millet, leftover salad and leftover Mozarella.  Cheese is not macrobiotic either but I have to finish up what is in the fridge.  Plus I am not going to be obsessive about it.

I went for a walk at lunch time to buy some vegetables.  Vegetables are a key part of macrobiotics and I love vegetables so that bit is easy.  I was not impressed to read I shouldn’t eat chard or spinach though as it contains too much oxalic acid.  Pah!  I will be eating some.

I didn’t have any leafy green veg tonight though, just some carrot, sweetcorn cut from the cob, tender stem broccoli, sugar snap peas and brown mushrooms.

I stir fried the vegetables in a wok with sesame oil and 2 small cloves of garlic.  After a couple of minutes I added about 2 tbsp light soy sauce and covered the vegetables for about 2-3 minutes so they steamed.

I cooked some brown rice this evening but that will be for tomorrow.  Tonight I had more millet.  I only cooked 1 cup of millet yesterday but it swelled up a lot.  I have some more for lunch tomorrow too so my 1 cup of millet has provided the grains for 4 meals.  This is a very economical way of eating 🙂

So there we have my first macrobiotic meal; millet with vegetables and sprouted chick peas.  I liked it and am feeling excited about eating more grains and vegetables tomorrow.

I am sitting here this evening with a warm drink of vanilla rooibos with the juice from 1/4 lemon and 1 tsp honey.  I read one is supposed to drink a warm drink after the meal rather then with it.  I enjoyed that and everything I ate today. I feel optimistic again 🙂

 

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From The Abyss To Chinatown

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

I have really struggled this week and in terms of healthy eating and dieting I have been in the Abyss.  There is a little self-destruct button in my head which went off this week.  So I binged and ate garbage and felt dreadful.  I need to work out why so it doesn’t happen again.  It was no fun and I do not want to go there again.

I had a very busy weekend so I started the week feeling tired and it was a very busy week at work.

I had to spend a couple of days in Birmingham which is tiring.  On the way up I have to get up at 4:45 am to get to the office by 9 am and after 2 long days I arrive home knackered.

I made a big effort to eat some healthy food such as wheatgrass.

But then I completely over ate on bread and other carbs.  I ate far worse than brown bread.  I pigged out on chocolate.  Lots of chocolate.  And crisps.  And biscuits.  And cakes.

The more I overate the more tired I felt.  As I became more tired and my eating felt out of control I became more miserable.  It is a terrible downward spiral to go on but luckily the weekend arrived and I was able to relax and enjoy myself.  I decided the way up from the abyss was to eat what I liked, as long as it was not garbage (alcohol is not garbage is it?).  And ping!  I felt better immediately.

The weekend got off to a cracking start with drinks at Tanya’s and a group of friends I have not seen since I went back to work.  It was a lovely evening and apart from drinking too much I felt much better afterwards then before I went.

On Saturday morning I was out foraging for green leaves as soon I was up and about.

A lovely green smoothie drunk from my favourite heart glass Gini gave me.  It sounds corny but sometimes we have to remind ourselves to love ourselves.  Eating such a nutritious smoothie was a great thing to do for myself.

Lara was home for the weekend 🙂 so for lunch we had some yummies from the Italian Deli in Cranbrook (2 types of baked ham and mozzarella) with mixed leaves and baby Jersey new potatoes from Turnip.

After lunch my sister Abi arrived and we headed off for a walk.  Having spent all week stuck behind a desk it was so good to be out walking in the beautiful countryside near our home.  The sun was out and it was a lovely warm afternoon.

Oh what dilemmas a young boy faces – shall I cycle through this massive puddle or not?

Oh yes I shall!

Walking, chatting and laughing really helped me relax – thank you Abi.

We then proceeded up the road where we spent a very enjoyable time drinking way too much wine with Annette and David but it had to be done and by the time I toddled off down the hill towards home I felt completely drunk relaxed.  We managed to rustle up a roast pork dinner followed by a raspberry, apple and white chocolate crumble – no mean feat considering how much wine was imbibed before, during and after cooking!

This morning was a very special day.  My gorgeous little boy turned 10 and he chose American pancakes and sausages for breakfast.   Happy birthday little fella.

I made Harvey a chocolate birthday cake and in a flash of inspiration I added a heaped tbsp of blackcurrant jam to the butter icing I was putting in the middle of the cake.  It turned it a deep pink colour and tasted lovely.  A top tip for you to try.

On the top I put a box of After Eights which I melted first in a bowl over simmering water.  After Eights have milk fat in them but not milk protein so Harvey can have them as he is intolerant to the protein, not the fat in dairy.

Harvey’s favourite food is sweet and sour chicken so we headed up to London for lunch and walked up to Chinatown and in to New World where we met my sister Lucy and her family.  New World is a very well known Chinese restaurant on the edge of Chinatown and is famous for its dim sum.  They have traditional trolleys that are pushed around the restaurant and you can stop any of them and sample their wares.  Many of the dim sum trolleys are steamed food but some, such as this one have a hot plate and they cook the food in from of you.

This was pork and prawn on green pepper in a black bean sauce.

You can also order more traditional foods from the menu so Harry chose crispy duck pancakes and Harvey got the sweet and sour chicken he wanted.

It was great.

I had taken the birthday cake and the friendly staff in New World kindly cleared the table and then provided plates, knives and matches so we could enjoy the birthday cake.

Afterwards Lucy took Lara to Kings Cross and we pottered about Chinatown.

Harvey was quite fascinated by the goodies on offer and I bought some interesting teas, seaweed, brown rice and millet I want to try eating.  I have just bought a macrobiotic book and am going to try that for a while.  I will be easing myself in gradually as I totter along the edge of the abyss and hopefully move far away from that dark and horrible place.  Watch this space!

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OA?

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

The first mistake I made today was adding Molasses to my overnight oats.  In with the 1/3 cup of oats, 1/3 cup of natural yogurt, 1/3 cup of almond milk and 1 tbsp of chia seeds went 1 tbsp molasses.  Plus a banana.

 

It tasted like banana toffee and then all I thought about all morning was eating something else :-(.  I went to lunch very early and headed to Konditor & Cook where I made a bad choice of Chorizo pizza.  It was delicious but a diet disaster!  Really delicious actually.  Oh yes, I ate some before I took the photo – it smelt too good to wait for.

And then the afternoon spiralled down in to an overeating binge.  I am too embarrassed to say what I ate but it was a lot and it was all rubbish.

So back at the ranch I made something healthier for supper with tomatoes, chard, spinach and plenty of black pepper

cooked with some butter and 2 eggs

plus a glass of mango smoothie.  Just mango and Greek yogurt.  Yum.

A simple but tasty supper.

I have not lost weight for ages and today was a complete disaster.  What’s the number for Overeaters Anonymous?

 

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Light and Dark

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

This was the scene in my kitchen late last night.  Breakfast and lunch made for the next day.

Breakfast was 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 orange, 1 pistachio and cranberry truffle crumbled on top.  Taken to work and eaten at my desk.  Rather yummy.

Lunch was a salad made with smoked mackerel, sprouted chickpeas, sugar snaps, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and celery.  With such fresh and tasty ingredients, there was no need to add a dressing.

I sprouted the chickpeas last week when I made the hummus.  After soaking them for nearly 2 days I kept some aside for sprouting and they are now ready.  They are packed full of nutrients so really good for you.

For supper I fancied soup and remembered my whizzy blender makes soup from scratch.  I put in to the blender 250 ml milk, 1 cup cauliflower, 40 g Feta, 1 tsp cornflour, 1/4 tsp bouillon, 1 shallot.

Put it all in the blender and blend on high for 5 minutes.  It comes out at perfect eating temperature!  It did not need heating as it heated itself while it blended.  So smooth.  And so white.

But I didn’t like it that much.  The overwhelming flavour was of raw onion and being so white made me think it would taste sweet but it didn’t.   I ate it but will not be making that again.

Harvey and I wanted a pudding so I made something else with a mango, frozen banana, half an avocado and some cacao nibs.

Then decided it was not chocolatey enough.  I didn’t have any chocolate in the house but I did have carob and Molasses so I added about 1 tbsp of each.

This was thick and dark and ……

strange.  I liked it, Harvey didn’t.  The texture was fantastic.  It did seem puddingy and rich but had a strange tang to it.  However, I enjoyed it and my body will appreciate the nutrients.

A strange old dinner then, the first half light, the second dark.  My eating today has been very healthy so I go to bed feeling good about myself.

 

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Moules et Frites – treat

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

The morning after the night before was ok:
it was sunny 🙂
I didn’t have a hangover 🙂
clearing up didn’t take long at all 🙂

I decided that I had got off lightly and would aid my not-really-needed recovery further by having a very nutritious breakfast which means a smoothie.  Starting with one of these little balls of nutrition which are too crumbly to enjoy on their own but perfect in a smoothie.

I popped it in to the blender with some spinach, chard, avocado, strawberries and almond milk.

This came out really well.  The consistency was like custard.  It was incredibly smooth with a lovely mild flavour.

We had to go to Ramsgate to do a change over which I was not in the mood for at all.  Especially on such a lovely day but needs must so off we went.  The marina looked wonderful in the sunshine – this is the view from my bedroom.

I love how green the water is there.

We decided to treat ourselves to a good lunch.  We saw these little guys on the way to the marina.   Quack.

Down by the marina are lots of restaurants.  One of our favourites for a coffee or a drink and snack is Miles.  It wouldn’t be my first choice for a meal with the exception of their  wonderful moules so having checked they had some we settled down at a table and ordered moules et frites.

The mussels are so meaty and the sauce is full of wine, garlic and cream.  Very rich but delicious.

The frites are perfect too.

I enjoyed this lunch treat and noted that I couldn’t finish it all, even though we ate lunch late and I had been up and busy since 6:30 am with just a smoothie.  A year ago I would have eaten all the mussels and slurped up all the sauce and I even used to have it with bread on the side.  So while I may still make poor food choice sometimes, I eat less of them and choose them less often.

I did make bad choices twice in one day though.  We got home at 7pm and I was tired.  There was a box of brownies that I should have served last night …….

which went down perfectly with a cuppa.  So perfectly I had two.  So what was I saying about eating less?  I either lied or I was deluded.  I’m going with deluded!

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The Reindeer Hut

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

Today was all about the reindeer hut.  Or rather my wonderful neighbours who were coming over to spend the evening in it and they would need feeding.  I have been looking forward to cooking some different foods and my inspiration was the Middle East.  I have recently enjoyed food from Arabica and thought some BBQd meat with a creamy dip, hummus, pitta and tabouleh would be the way to go.

BBQs always need meat so we had chicken and pepper kebabs which I brushed with a shop bought BBQ sauce,

butchers sausages

and lamb kebabs.  This recipe was from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s wonderful Family Cookbook

Lamb Kebabs

Ingredients (makes about 12 kebabs)

  • 1 leg of lamb, boned and cut in to cubes
  • Juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, with the little leaves pulled off the stem
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
  • A small bunch of fresh oregano, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Method

  • Place the  lemon juice, herbs, garlic and oil in a large bowl.
  • Add the lamb and mix well so the meat is covered in the herbs, oil and lemon juice.
  • Leave in a cool place to marinate for at least an hour.  We left it all afternoon.
  • Thread on to kebab sticks and BBQ or grill until cooked.

This is a great recipe but these will only be as good as your lamb is.  We bought this lamb from Wilkes in Cranbrook where they took it off the bone and chopped it up and it was lovely.  Tender and not too fatty.

To go with the meat I made a Tabouleh with couscous to which I added olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, flat leaf parsley, cucumbers and very juicy tomatoes.

We had pitta breads with the hummus I made the other day and this delicious feta and herb dip which is very easy to make and so yummy I will make this again.  The saltiness of the feta, creaminess of the yogurt and freshness of the herbs goes superbly with BBQd meat.

This recipe and the 2 which follow came from a fantastic blog called Gourmande In The Kitchen.  I have not made any of her recipes before.  I read the blog regularly to admire her wonderful photography but now I have made 3 of her recipes I will make some more. I simplified the feta and herb dip from the original and I am giving you my recipe.  For the original click here.

Whipped Feta and Herb Dip

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 g Sheep’s Milk Greek feta
  • The juice of one fresh lemon, divided in 2
  • 2 Tablespoons thick Greek yogurt
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • ¼ cup (one handful) fresh mint
  • ½ cup (2 handfuls) fresh flat leaf parsley, divided (1/2 finely chopped for cucumber salad)
  • ¼ – ½ cup extra virgin olive oil or as needed, divided
  • finely ground black pepper, or more or less to taste
  1. Rinse and gently pat dry the feta and place it in the bowl of a food processor.
  2. Pulse together with half of the lemon juice and the Greek yogurt until smooth and creamy.
  3. Remove and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  4. Clean out your food processor bowl and place the other half lemon juice, garlic, mint, parsley, oil and pepper inside. Pulse until finely chopped.
  5. Mix to combine and place in serving bowl.

Gourmand drizzles the herby mix on top but I stirred mine in.

This was delicious.

For dessert we had macaroons with a chocolate and coconut dipping sauce, fresh strawberries, orange, pistachio and cranberry truffles and some Konditor & Cook chocolate brownies which I forgot to serve so they are sitting on top of the fridge 😦 .

This recipe I have copied exactly from Gourmand in The Kitchen.

Macaroons and Coconut Chocolate Sauce

INGREDIENTS

  • For the Cocoa Chocolate Sauce:
  • ¼ cup/ 60g unrefined sweetener – I used honey
  • ½ cups/ 120g coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup/ 40g natural cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • fine sea salt
  • For the Macaroons:
  • 2 large egg whites
  • ¼ cup/ 60g full flavored honey
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ¼ cups/ 180g unsweetened shredded coconut
  • fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Make the Chocolate Sauce:
  2. Heat the coconut cream in a small heavy saucepan over low heat until just simmering.
  3. Meanwhile stir the sweetener, cocoa, and salt in a bowl. Gradually stir in the hot coconut cream, stirring constantly until the mixture is shiny and smooth. Stir in the butter one Tablespoon at a time until completely incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
  4. Sauce may be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to a week.
  5. Make the Macaroons:
  6. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  7. Stir together egg whites, honey, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until combined. Stir in coconut until completely moistened.
  8. Roll coconut mixture into small balls between your hands, then place about 2 inches apart onto baking sheet.
  9. Bake until pale golden in spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I didn’t have any shredded coconut as I buy coconut chips so I just cut them up with a mezzaluna.

The little macaroons were lovely.

Toasted and chewy on the outside and moist and sweet on the inside.  The chocolate sauce was fantastic, especially when it was warm.

To use up the egg yolks I added another egg and made scrambled eggs with chard from the garden. A simple and yummy breakfast.

I also made some truffles, again from Gourmande.

Orange, Pistachio and Cranberry Truffles

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup / 60g raw pistachios
  • ¾ / 90g cup raw almonds
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • 6 large, soft pitted medjool dates
  • Zest of half an organic orange
  • 1-2 tsps Cointreau or Grand Marnier (for an alcohol-free version substitute same amount of orange juice)
  • ¼ cup / 30g dried cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place a ¼ cup of the pistachios in a food processor and process until finely ground. Set aside in a small shallow bowl.
  2. Put the almonds and remaining ¼ of pistachios in the food processor with the salt and process until finely chopped.
  3. Add the dates, orange zest and Cointreau and process again until the mixture begins to clump together. Add the dried cranberries and pulse briefly until just mixed. Small chunks of cranberries should still be visible.
  4. Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of the mixture into the palm of your hand and squeeze and roll into a ball. Repeat until all the mixture has been formed into “truffles.”
  5. Roll each ball in the ground pistachios and chill for at least 1 hour before serving to firm.
  6. Store in a sealed container for up to one month in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

Mine didn’t combine very well so I had to press them firmly in to an ice-cream scoop and then tip them in to mini muffin cases.

The flavour was lovely but they crumbled when you bite in to them.  I have some left over so will use these in smoothies or add to yogurt for breakfast.

So what is a reindeer hut?  It looks like a summer house from the outside.

The antlers are a bit of a clue.

Inside you could be transported to Scandinavia – I believe these come from Finland.

In the middle of the hut is a fire pit and there are benches around the outside which can seat 14 and are lined with reindeer fur.  Hence the name of the hut which was coined by Sarah.

We used to call it the BBQ House but I prefer ‘The reindeer Hut’.  This was a spur of the moment decision and we love it.

I couldn’t wait for everyone to arrive.  Ben came along to keep Harvey company and they enjoyed catching up on world affairs while the adults behaved badly in the garden.

It is so much fun and so sociable to sit round in a circle

eating and drinking

chatting and laughing.

Cooking food together with no one left standing alone to man the BBQ.

I enjoyed preparing all the food (James did the lamb kebabs) and enjoyed even more another fun night inside the reindeer hut.  Thank you all for coming 🙂

 

 

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2 Lovely Ladies

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

In the last couple of days I have enjoyed spending time with 2 lovely ladies.  Last night ‘Vegetable Grower Up The Road’ was in London and we met at Madison, a champagne and cocktail bar with an amazing view of St.Pauls !

We had a citrus Mojito which was wonderful.

Cheers!

When it became cold and windy we wandered over the river to Borough Market and in to Fish! for supper.  I had halibut with salsa verde, vegetables and chips which was delicious.

We had a lovely evening and it was so good to be able to go out to some of the wonderful places near where I work with a home friend.  If anyone else wants to meet me after work, I would be delighted  to see you 🙂 .

When I woke up this morning, I didn’t hear rain on the roof for the first time all week.  I was actually able to enjoy walking to work, past this very smartly painted building

down clink street.  Check out the dappled sunshine on the walls.  Lifts the spirit doesn’t it?

 

This was the view from my office at 7:30am this morning.  Yes, I was in very early as I had a lot to do.

I wanted to get an early start because JP was meeting me for lunch :-).  We met way back in 1990 when we worked together and we have been good friends ever since and it was lovely to see her.  Shame it wasn’t for longer but I could only take an hours break.

We went to Le Pain Quotidien, which I have had takeaways from before but never eaten inside and it is a lovely building with a calm and quiet but busy ambience – perfect for lunch.  I had a smoked chicken salad

which was delicious.

For supper I made a smoothie with some raw buckwheat groats which I had soaked all day

blueberries

plus a banana, 1/4 tsp matcha and a drizzle of maple syrup.  The consistency was thick but the texture was a bit gritty which some people may not like.  I didn’t mind it.

Now I am thinking I would like a glass of wine and some cheese.  So glad it is the weekend.  Hope you have a good one.

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All White

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Breakfast:

1/3 cup unsweetened Alpen
2/3 cup almond milk
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix together the night before.

In the morning, mix in a chopped banana and blueberries.
Pop in bag and take to work.

At lunch time, rush out of the office without camera and buy a cheese and pickle sandwich and a cup of tomato soup.

Come home and find a Graze Box.
Open up and admire the presentation, the little welcome notes and the attractive packaging.

Decide to be a good diet girl and a kind Mummy and save it for your little boy to enjoy.

Choose a very weird combination of food to eat for supper.

Boil the cauliflower for 5 minutes, pull the fish off the bone, put on plate with a dollop of hummus and a little bit of butter.

Think about what a strange meal that is but how strangely you enjoyed it.  And observe how unappetising an all white plate of food looks.

Write blog, collapse on sofa, feel unusually tired.

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