choc protein balls & getting travel ready

This has been a very big few days. My bubby has once again changed her routine. That poses a challenge or two, but as always, we are all learning to adapt. It's a sign that she is indeed growing and leaving her tiny baby ways behind. Happy and sad moment right there. On a positive, except for this morning when she woke up at 4.30 and wouldn't go back to sleep 'til after 9, she is sleeping better over all. Last night was 9 hours without a feed- well done I say! 

Things are changing in a positive way in other areas too. Below is the opening statement I received via email yesterday...

Congratulations!

Dear Marija,

I am pleased to advise that your application to study at Southern Cross University (SCU) has been successful. Please find below the details of your formal offer...

To say I am thrilled is an understatement. I am going to complete my Associate Degree of Creative Writing!!! What made this even better is when I went online to accept the offer and enrol in subjects for next year, I was thrilled to discover that I already have a credit, at a distinction level, for one core first year subject. It also looks like I may not have to do 2 other subjects as they are similar to ones already completed a few years ago. I will confirm this, but at present, I'm already starting with a distinction, so I'm quite happy about that :) I am not sure how I will manage study and the demands of a baby, husband and teens, but I absolutely want this, so it will work. Determination will address any challenges that present themselves.

Another positive step forward. I had training yesterday. I was so encouraged by it- my flexibility has already improved :) It still hurt quite a lot, but I am actually improving. Can't fully express my gratitude for that. A new, improved body is slowly being reclaimed. 

Now, onto getting travel ready. By this stage, the day before embarking on a big trip, I would normally be militant in ensuring the house was spotless and would stay so upon my return. This time, however, I am strangely more relaxed. I am focusing more on having healthy food and enough sensible clothes, not the whole robe with 25 changes each. My cleaner will be here Monday, so the general cleanliness of the house will be covered. The teens will have more than enough quick and easy food, including fresh, homemade banana muffins made yesterday. I may have Mt Washuvius to deal with on my return. I will somehow manage that. It's a small price to pay for a change of scenery.

I have made, and packed, many healthy snacks. Travelling can often mean stopping at servo's for fuel, and dreaded junk food. Not for us! I will pack a coffee thermos in the morning too. No need to be unprepared for epic journeys. Our first leg of the journey is visiting hubby's grandparents. It's a bit over 210k's and 2.5 hrs, depending on the route taken. We are aiming at 3 hours so we don't have to rush. After a visit, we then head to Warwick for the night, just over an hours drive and a little under 100k's. Lots of windy, hilly sections to manage. From there, we are off to hubby's home town, Glen Innes, another 2.5 hrs drive and a bit over 200k's. With a 5 month old, we are prepared for anything! No rushing, plenty of food for bub and adults too. Stress and rushing kills on roads. We aim to enjoy our time away. 

This morning, I made delish choc protein balls as a quick pick me up on the road. Read below to see how they were made, and take a look at the other travel foods I have packed...

The finished product, packed and ready to go :)

Hubby's fruit and nut mix; almonds, pepitas, cashews, sunflower seeds, dried pineapple and some sultanas. Low sodium, high protein and sustained energy for my hubby. Packed in zip seal, reusable plastic bags to minimise waste and be easy to transport. 

Our snacks are ready to go; peanut butter, protein balls, hubby's fruit and nut mix, my almonds and fresh green apples. Why spend extra $'s when this sustained energy, high protein, nourishing food is so easy to transport?

Below is how I made the protein balls. I didn't really follow a recipe, and certainly didn't measure, so I hope this helps, if even a little :)

In a food processor, place a heaped tablespoon of no salt or added sugar peanut butter/ a generous amount of cocoa powder/ 2 scoops of plain protein powder/ some vanilla extract/ a little bit of coconut flour/ a generous dollop of rice malt syrup/ a good amount of chia seeds. Blitz until it resembles crumbs. 

This is what mine ended up looking like after I scraped the rice malt syrup from the sides and re-blitzed.

The mixture should come together like this when molded. Shape into 8 balls and roll in desiccated coconut. The bowl licking after it tells me that these are Ah. May. Zing! 

These are most of the ingredients used. I could have used almond paste instead of peanut butter, or raw cacao and a better quality protein powder. But really, healthy eating isn't about going broke and sticking to trends. It's about small changes every day, and using what you have already available. These are, by far, a much healthier option than a service station chocolate snack. Any day.

Now, let me tell you more good news. My muffin top is shrinking-yay! My old capri pants fit snugly still, but with less muffin top. Oh happy days! This healthy lifestyle is working on so many levels. Look below to see a sample of my meals...

Giant salad with fresh herbs (yep- from my fabulous herb wall!), avocado and fresh meat balls. Dressed with olive oil and malt vinegar. It was really really good.

A simple lunch after training; Tomato pesto mixed through grated zucchini with 2 boiled eggs and avocado tossed through. 

My dinner last night; cauliflower 'fried rice'. Half a cauliflower made 2 serves. Last night, I lightly seasoned the plain fried cauliflower, added a raw egg and parsley. So simple, really filling.

And lastly, I want to share how my amazing hubby inspires me. I have been trying to slow down and be present each day, not hours, days, weeks ahead of now. It's too exhausting being that person. Then hubby goes and does this ephemeral art work at Hasting's Point on Wednesday. It was large, but how people interacted with it summed up how some people engage in life clearly. Read on...

This work was large. Pretty hard to avoid kinda large. When hubby's teacher was inspecting it, 2 surfers walked straight through the middle, oblivious to what was on the ground. She commented that it may not have enough impact. Then, another surfer walked along, saw it, then made sure he walked around the outside. My hubby had made a perfect commentary on life; some people barge through without any awareness of what is around them. My translation, but it so spoke to me. 

These last few pictures are from my back courtyard. I am learning to 'see' what is in front of me, and enjoy it, however simple, ordinary or humble it may be. You know what, I love being this person. I also miss her lots. Welcome back hidden parts of me.

I love frogs. many many years ago, I was a member of a frog club in Brisbane; dedicated individuals who replenished native species dogs, cats and development had declined. I'm not so fanatical nowadays, but it still delights me when I find little guys like this in my garden.

This is sweet alyssum, a tiny flower with a divine sweet scent. Such a little, delicate flower that is easily overlooked. I have long forgotten how lovely it is to stop, and smell flowers- even the humble ones. What a calming thing to do. I can't wait to share this experience with my equally sweet bubby.

And lastly, my seedlings have germinated! Still waiting on the jalapenos, but thrilled 7 out of 7 basil seedlings popped up, and 6 out of 7 tomato's did too. When back in 5 days, it's transplant time for these babies. I love gardening- it's so therapeutic.  

This is my last post before our break. Hope this keeps you inspired. I will be back with healthy eating and many tales to tell next week. And hopefully, many photo's of our trip. 

Until then, thanks for reading :)

eating rainbows

The past few days have been wonderfully simple; we are eating rainbows. By that, I of course mean a variety of gorgeous colours of fruit and veg. The weather is heating up, making using the oven far less appealing. Mumma isn't sleeping so great, making preparing big meals too challenging. So, simple and colourful it is. What is equally as fantastic about this is the teens are creating colourful smoothies daily. I purchased kilo's of apples and bananas, and have a regular supply of frozen berries in the the freezer. These make simply delish smoothies. Below is one I made for breaky 2 days ago...

Banana berry smoothy with yoghurt, cinnamon and chia seeds. 

Sunday dinner was rainbow wraps with chicken. Super easy, and very healthy. The pre-grated veg made making dinner a breeze, and in under 15 minutes, everyone was eating what turned out to be a light, filling, yet satisfying dinner.

Last night's dinner for Family Dinner Night was easy peasy; baked, seasoned chicken pieces with, you guessed it, rainbow salad. There was also baked spuds and bread rolls, but I didn't eat those. This was my serve above. 

I may be over tired and desperate for normal sleep, but there is no reason to not eat well. If anything, its more important that I consume plenty of antioxidant and vitamin rich foods, as lack of sleep can impair the immune, so I need to be sure I'm giving myself adequate natural vitamins.

The good food is helping. Yesterday I wasn't so bleary eyed and fatigued. I used that energy to trim the major prunings I did a few days ago so they would fit into the green bin, do 2 loads of washing, clean, sort, go do an Aldi shop with hubby and bubby while my teen had a driving lesson followed by a job interview, then make dinner. 

I also aim to keep eating well as I have confirmed that I am starting uni next year after deferring this one. I don't need poor nutrition brain fog when trying to study on top of being a full time mumma and devoted wife. I have proven before that it is possible to be overfed and poorly nourished by eating high carb, sugar laden treats that promise loads of energy but end up (a) giving you a brief sugar rush, and (b) wreaking havoc on your immune system and overall health. I so don't want to be that person anymore. I may have got down to 56 kilo's when last at uni 6 years ago, but this time, I'm aiming for sustained energy and good health with my (hopefully) good grades :)

Hubby, bubby and I are off for a brief holiday this Friday and will be returning next Tuesday. I do aim to be more on top of our daily diet after that point. Due to hubby's exhibition, us both hitting walls, and really, desperately needing a break, I have been a little slack with daily documenting. But fear not, I shall get back into it very soon. We have both been aware of our daily diet, but I am also being made aware that men's needs are far greater than a woman's, especially as hubby towers above me. We don't have the same nutritional requirements.

At this point, I would usually do a spell check, but that just isn't going to happen! So, that is your lot for the day. I endevour to chat before we depart :) Until then, thanks for reading.

high protein zucchini & chia slice, steak and veg

I may be a day late, but it comes with more good news :) I had my first few hours of paid work today after waaaay over a year off, and it felt good. It was humble cleaning. Honestly, I loved it. I wanted to make that church sparkle and shine and hopefully, make people smile when they walk in tomorrow. My cleaner makes me smile after her 2 hours every 3 weeks. I hope my one off 3 hours is equally as impressive. I know that in the PC-ness of today, we reward all effort, but I was raised by the standard that if you do something, do it well, and with all you have. I applied that today. The only thing letting me down was a not quite fit enough body.

Now, cast your mind back to my last post. My make-over shop was last Thursday, and what an initially terrifying, but ultimately fun experience that was. Terrifying because I was going for a complete new style. Comfort zone- gone! What did amaze me was clothes that I would normally have ignored made me pop and look simply fantastic. I mean- WOW! However, dear readers, I can't reveal a thing just yet. The shop is not yet complete, and the big reveal shall be early in November. I can't wait to show off my fab new style :)

Friday was my second courtesy training session. I left a little deflated- my pain and inflexibility is frustrating. I do have to remind myself- I will get better and my strength will improve. Small steps can be the most difficult things to accept when you want results yesterday, but it didn't take me 5 minutes to end up in this mess, and it won't take 5 minutes to recover. But recover I will!

Now, onto hubby and me. We have been eating so much better overall. I haven't been keeping a detailed list of daily meals. Trust me- we have been quite good :) Have a look through the pics to get an idea of the types of foods we are eating...

Late lunch on Thursday- salt and pepper steak and salad with olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

Had to throw these in- a gift today from my sweet hubby :) He brought them along when he picked me up from the church. It was the nicest way to be greeted after a few solid hours of cleaning.

I finally found some reasonably priced zucchini's, so I can show you my high protein zucchini slice at long last. And just in time- we ran out yesterday. The ingredients are simple and the slice is easy to make. Start by grating 2 medium zucchinis and thinly slicing a quarter of a brown onion.

A refreshing afternoon drink: mineral water with a chunk of lemon squeezed in. 

In a bowl, place 1/2 cup almond meal, 1/4 cup unbleached self raising flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and half a teaspoon each of salt and white pepper. Mix together.

To the flour, add 5 eggs and 1/2 cup olive oil. Beat together.

Mix in the grated zucchini and onion, add 1/2 cup grated cheese and mix well. Spread into an oiled,  long baking dish and cook at 180 degrees celsius for around 35 mins. I had to cover mine for a further 10 mins to cook it thoroughly.

While that was in the oven, I grated some veg: zucchini, carrot and beetroot, ready for sandwich fillings, wraps and salads.

The finished slice, minus one piece. It was good! When cool, slice into 12 pieces. Can be stored in the fridge- covered, or frozen. perfect as a snack with pesto spread on top. It can last for days, if it isn't eaten first!

Dinner tonight was a simple rice noodle, beef  stir fry. Since getting the magic bullet as a gift, my teen has been making herself daily smoothies, and I'm trying to keep the healthy eating up by making appealing, veg filled dinners.

This one fed 3- a hubby and 2 hungry teens. I grazed as I cooked, and had a plain veg stir fry for myself. 

Slice 300gms of beef steak thinly. Fry in a pan and remove to a plate when cooked through. Add a little more olive oil and butter to the steak juices. Add chopped broccoli, onion, carrot and fry until just tender. Add soaked and drained rice noodles and steak again. Season with soy sauce and rice malt syrup. 

That is your lot for today. I forgot to mention, that though my weight is barely below 65kg currently, I was able to wear some size 8, even one size 6 top! And my bottom half could manage mostly 10's, and only 1 size 12. I am one very, very happy girl. This healthy eating is paying off. Can't wait to show you the proof soon :)

Until next time, thanks for reading. 

Vertical herbs, a kite, some curry & banana muffins

I'm back! Days 2 & 3 are done and dusted. Dusted being the operative word- it is so windy! Hubby, being the optimistic fellow he is, turned the wind into a chance for fun- buy buying, and attempting, to fly a kite. Bubby loved watching daddy from her front row seat. 

I must say, I admire hubby's love of making each day full and fun. Personally, I'm a complete diva in the wind. Hate hate hate it. But after watching my loves enjoy a brief play in the field out back, I decided to get over my self and try to embrace the wind too. So, I walked to mother's group today; mother's group, by the beach, where if it's windy here, it's blustering there. Sure, I did come back with feral curls. And yep, I did sneeze a bit. But did I actually have fun (after a little bit of whining?). Strangely enough, I did. The company was far more enjoyable than my discomfort. Bubby had a wonderful time when she woke, being very social, and then enjoying talking to the leaves when plonked on a blanket under the trees. So worth making the effort for. 

The following is a brief photo journey of the past two days...

The completed vertical herb garden :) I must say, so excited for harvest time- fresh herbs straight from my own mini potted plot.

Hubby and bubby enjoying the wind together.

Tonight's dinner, cheats curry- the base was out of a packet. I  added fresh spuds, frozen veg and chicken breast.

The ingredients weren't as horrific as some pre-made ones are. Ok, some sugar, but not a lot. And sunflower oil :( I made sure it had plenty of veg with the chicken. I'm certainly not always going to cheat like this, but when days are huge, one meal that's easy to cook won't kill us. It's called choosing your battles.

Bubby's first taste of sweet potato and potato. She hates them plain, so I discovered, and only ate it after 3/4's had been mixed with Farex. Even though experts say wait til 6 months to start solids, bubby has been devouring bottles two hourly. I'm no expert, just a mum, and my instincts told me- start solids! She loves eating, but is limited to mainly Farex with small tastes of other veg. So far, fruit is a no go- she hates it. One step at a time with first tastes. After all, I want the experience to be positive. It has been a positive for me- she is down to 5-6 bottles a day and maybe one a night- yay!

I promised my teens I'd make them banana muffins days ago. I finally got around to it today. They are super basic: mash 4 overripe bananas, add honey (or omit- I just added honey for my fussy teen). Mix in some vanilla extract and 30gms melted butter. Then add 2 eggs and beat in. Add a quarter cup of desiccated coconut and approximately 1 cup of unbleached self raising flour. Mix. If too wet- add more flour. Place in greased muffin trays and bake for around 30 mins in a moderate/ hot oven.

The girls shared one for dessert- they approved :)

An update on hubby's sugar detox. So far, the positives are no more artificially sweetened cordial, just bottled water (our water does taste interesting, but I am used to it, hubby is not). He is eating more apples and having some protein with it, mainly peanut butter. He is having a small bowl of cereal for breaky, but being a guy, the sugar content isn't drastic. He did have a pizza blow out last night, but I did when on my first 30day challenge. 

I have made a zucchini bread/ slice that I planned to remake and document, but for some reason, zucchini's have been out of stock for 2 days, and yesterday, only exorbitantly priced organic ones were available. I'm just not that keen to show you when that is all that's on offer. Hubby and I have been eating it as a morning tea snack. Very yummy, high in veg, not so high in carbs and quite satisfying.  

I have been eating much better overall since the weekend. Plenty of healthy snacks on offer, and ready made breaky's really make a difference. 

Be excited for my next blog- I will have had my make over shopping experience (tomorrow!!!!!), and started my training to become a healthier, stronger me again. Can't wait to share it. 

Until Friday, thanks for reading :)

Starting again with some gardening and good food

You may be forgiven for thinking I fell off the face of the earth for a while. It wasn't that serious, I just hit a wall. And then that wall fell and trapped me underneath it for a few days. How ambitious was I, thinking I could cater for an exhibition, look after a bubby, run a household and deal with an understandably very stressed hubby and still blog? Well, I admit, I am pretty darn amazing, but not quite superwoman. Working on it though :) 

How about we take a brief look at what has happened up until today. I haven't photo logged everything, just snippets. We had our monthly picnic on Sunday, adding to the weekend of catering, which is also why I didn't start re-blogging yesterday. 

A yummy, high carb breaky to fuel my body before embarking on lots of cooking: mashed banana topped with natural yoghurt, 6 whole walnuts, rice malt syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon. Oh My Gosh- soooo good!

The day of the exhibition, a treat: savoury french toast (made with leftover olive ciabatta)  topped with freshly grated parmesan. 

One of the pesto's in preparation- spinach, basil and parmesan. 

The start of my first attempt at horderves- mini savoury pancakes. Forgive me if I have brutalised  the spelling.

And top those mini pancakes with cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill. As addictive as they are simple.

The finished cheese cakes. Not at all happy with the result. The cream cheese I used was so smooth and not as firm as the previous brand I'm used to. It really affected the taste and firmness. Still, they got devoured, so not many people cared apparently :)

A simple spread: Home made cheese cakes, pesto's- sun dried tomato and spinach/ basil. A zucchini bread slice topped with tomato pesto, salad sticks, crackers, chorizzo and cheese, olives...

Mini meatballs with sweet chilli dipping sauce and my smoked salmon horsdervers. A full table of nibblies that satisfied many (approximately 60-80 guests) for over an hour and half. 

And now, onto today...

As I was climbing out of the wall that hit and crushed me, I realised I needed a place- outside of the house- to retreat too and calm myself down. Hubby's projects needed his full attention, and every available bit of space, so my living area was restricted to my bedroom and lounge room. That's it really. And that was getting to me, especially as it's warming up rapidly, as tends to happen when daylight savings hits. Another challenging factor is neighbours that often like to gather and talk outside my unit. It's impossible not to see or hear them clearly when sitting in the front lounge, or even my room. These places were not designed with sound proofing of any sort, and privacy is extremely limited too- especially for us in the middle units. Hear me clearly- lovely people, just very, very social. When I haven't slept and need time out though, this isn't something I enjoy.

So, after hubby's artworks went to the exhibition pre-opening night, I cleaned the back courtyard like a woman possessed. And out of that madness, a clean corner was created :) We had breaky there the morning of hubby's exhibition. It was just lovely.The budgies have a new place in the garden, and seem to love it too. I have an out of the way, shady little place to sit, relax, think. Honestly, something that simple has lifted my spirits immensely. 

Follow today's pics and see how the day went...

A healthy breaky after a not so healthy picnic/ bbq yesterday: soaked chia seeds in natural yoghurt, topped with raspeberries. Tangy and not too bad :)

Part of my peaceful corner. These bromeliads were transplanted from a large bunch growing under my corner palm tree. I originally found a discarded plant on one of my morning walks. Now, I have so many, I can separate them and place around my little courtyard for a  shady green screen.

Today, hubby and I went to Bunnings with bubby. She loved it, and we did too. This picture shows hubby at the beginning of creating my vertical herb garden. As you can see, we don't have much of a backyard. In fact, you are looking at most of it. But that's no reason not to create a place to grow herbs. It still gets several hours of morning sun a day, which is ideal for a tiny, potted garden. 

Before I knew it, hubby was up to the legs. He is quick! 

There you have it- a standing frame, ready for pots.

Nearly there. Just need to purchase more pots and start planting. I love it! My hubby rocks! I hope these pots are big enough, but only time will tell. Not too worried if not- they only cost 65 cents each.

Now, to dinner. I have walked a lot today, pushed a demented trolley through a packed hardware store for nearly an hour, cleaned and more today, so dinner needed to be easy and healthy. It was family dinner night after all. So, I made 2 basic dishes, cheesy veg and egg bake, and sun dried tomato, chicken and couscous. The above is the veggie bake just prior to the oven. I used fresh broccoli, pumpkin, onion and frozen peas. I cooked the veg in a pan with minimal olive oil, seasoned it, then placed them in a lightly oiled baking dish. I covered this with 4 eggs that had a large tablespoon of flour and a quarter cup of milk beaten in. This was poured over the veg, which was topped with grated cheese.

A simple, satisfying spread that fed 5 adults with leftovers. 

I hope that leaves you satisfied for now. I am also sad to say that I shall probably only be blogging 3 days a week for a bit- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Hubby has started his healthy eating from today, but unlike me, he is cutting back on sugar slowly, as he can't afford the side effects of a drastic diet change after the extreme amount of physical work he has been doing. One step at a time. But don't worry, I will be preparing yummy, healthy meals and snacks a few days in advance, so you really won't be missing out on too much at all. 

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Day 3, white choc cheese cakes

I don't know how I managed to wake up at all after a sleep like that. Yet I found myself able to cook up a big, satisfying breaky from yesterdays leftover chicken before 7am. But right after breaky, I hit a wall. Big Time. I am ridiculously tired, lacking motivation, and would just like to crawl into a dark, soft corner and sleep for a very long time please. But we all know, that just ain't goin' to happen. So I have no choice but to pick myself up, find some strength (through prayer) and keep going. Seriously, without God, I'd be up poo creek without a paddle, as my dear mum would say, but perhaps not so delicately :) 

I have purposely over eaten a bit this morning for two reasons. Firstly, I am super tired and need the energy, and secondly, when this tired, I don't want to be tempted to eat bad food. Yes, I may be a bit of a hypocrite and be making this bad food, but I still don't have to consume it myself due to my personal convictions. 

This is what I aim to be making today- bite sized, sweet morsels of creamy, chocolaty yumminess. Considering I have made about 25 zillion of these in the years gone by, I don't even need a recipe anymore. 

But, dear readers, I will only share the basic ingredients, and not exact quantities, unless I get 10 comments and/or requests. 

But first, lets start with breaky. There was a good amount of meat left over from making yesterday's chicken stock. I felt like a savoury morning meal, so decided to attempt some chicken fritters.

I shred some chicken, added an egg, a little too much grated cheese (1/4 a cup), a hint of polenta (a teaspoon) and a splash of milk. I lightly fried it in a little olive oil and butter. The cheese made it a bit too sticky and hard to flip.

Breaky was served with some slices of tomato. Oh so yum- even if they were deformed :) 

After a big breaky, and a suitably large morning tea, I started the epic first stages of my mini white choc cheese cakes. The process is as long as their name! Follow the pics for the stages...

I started by massacring a village of tiny teddies. Then I buried them in desiccated coconut and some cocoa powder.

The next step was hiding the evidence. This was done by warming (not boiling) some butter and condensed milk...

...Mixing this into the remains...

...Creating a concrete mix....

...And lining the bottom of the trays as a suitable burial site. 

Just to be sure, I stuck them in the fridge.

That actually worked up an appetite, so I made myself something else with the left over chicken, 

...a pesto, mayo, chicken and veggie wrap. 

It was time to finally cover the evidence properly, so I mixed some cream cheese with a hint of natural vanilla extract, brown sugar and white sugar. When combined, I added some thickened cream, gelatin and melted white choc separately, keeping the food processor going the whole time.

This mix was carefully poured into the waiting molds and put back into the fridge.

After this stage, it was dishwash-a-thon number 2. These babies aren't easy to clean up after. But then, what crime scenes are? Hubby and I decided it was time to take an unsettled little bubby down to the beach for a bit of a break. It was another perfect Kingscliff day after all.

Bubby experiencing her first paddle. Despite the chilly water, she loved it!

A nice walk with daddy to check out the pelicans on the creek.

When back, someone was hungry again. So I made myself another green smoothy.

This time, I added some ginger, mint, a kiwifruit and only 1/4 of a green apple and blitzed. 

As the kiwi fruit was slightly under ripe- tangy is the word! Refreshing though :)

Dinner for me was different to my fams. They had baked steak and potatoes with a garlic bread side. I had the below...

I made some zucchini 'pasta' and along with a little thinly sliced red onion, I lightly fried it in my usual- a little olive oil and butter. When it was cooked to my liking, I portioned it between 2 pasta bowls,

I added a hint more oil and cooked the chicken I started marinating yesterday. I seared the ginger side first and let it cook for a few minutes before flipping. then I cooked the second side for a minute or two before covering with a glass lid and turning the heat down. I left it for 5 more minutes, then checked that no pink bits remained.

One half of the double breast per bowl- the perfect sized dinner. I completed it by squeezing half a lemon over the top. Oh my gosh- I'm in love...with this meal! Yep, making it again.

Phew- that's a lotta cooking, and I didn't even show you the fams dinner. Now, onto food consumed by me this sunny day...

On waking: large, milky cuppa at 6am

Breaky: 2 chicken fritters at 7am

Morning tea: large banana and half a coffee at 8:30am
Lunch: left over chicken, pesto and salad wrap at 11:30am, plus a small cuppa
Afternoon tea: green smoothy at 2:15pm
Dinner: Zucchini 'pasta' and marinated chicken at 5pm.

Tomorrow will include more; cheese cake detailing, pesto making and more. Until then, thanks for reading. And remember- 10 comments from different people for an exact cheese cake recipe :)