A welcome change

Welcome back! Above is the face of a proud little bubby, happily showing her mumma her marvelous creation :)

This is what happens when tissues are left in reach of an ever growing, curious little one and each parent vacates the room for 5 minutes. 

These are busy days indeed! And very cute days too :)

I have titled this post A welcome change for a number of reasons. Firstly, with a cool change hitting, I am once again content. I honestly loathe the several months of heat and humidity a tropical summer brings. With this cooler change, tourists have at last gone home. Living in a beautiful tourist destination has its perks and annoyances. A zillion people everywhere does note make for enjoyable holiday breaks for over tired locals. Hubby, bubby and I went for a late afternoon walk a few days ago in the beautiful, fresh air, and barely ran into a soul. Sigh. Falling back in love with my town all over again.

The cooler weather also makes me feel energised and alive. I went for 2 long walks with bubby, and a gym workout 2 days ago. I am aiming at walking at 7:30 am each morning with bubby. I didn't yesterday- an early airport run followed by an early morning car drop off at the mechanic made that a difficult task. Today, I have had my aqua aerobics with bubby's swimming lesson, followed later on by a 30 minute power walk with hubby and bubby. This weather is just too beautiful to waste. Hubby must agree- gone was his old man strolling pace today- I had trouble keeping up!

Another welcome change is having space again. It's just so nice to walk into our robe and have room, not overflowing baby furniture and clothes everywhere. Bubby has her little room nicely sorted out too. I still haven't found room for all of my sewing material, but at least there is space in the storage above my hanging clothes- I just need to find time to do the sorting. I honestly am loving this new space, neatness and wind down season. I say wind down- not because things are getting less busy. The opposite is true. Wind down because, to me, autumn and winter are lovely excuses to stay indoors more, be creative, bond with your family, relax, and recharge. And make great food! 

I haven't been taking as many sunrises lately. Yes, I broke my 365 days of sunrises. But sleep, glorious sleep wins out, I'm afraid. I have had the wonderful joy of waking up after a lovely 8-8.5hr sleep, grabbing myself a cuppa and having a quiet morning devotion before my sweet bubby wakes. Granted, not every morning, but often enough to help me start to regain my emotional and spiritual strength back. How I have missed this routine. Just got to remember to keep the bed time ritual early for myself! 

Now, take a look at the past few days in pictures...

A lovely salmon salad platter hubby and I shared for dinner a few nights back. Seriously so good!

My refined sugar free banana bread. Bubby loves it, and with only a few basic ingredients, it's certainly a healthier option than buying one.

Cooler days call for baking. It's wrong not too!

I saw this recipe on the I Quit Sugar page and had to try it. It's called Miracle Bread (my title for it), and I'm addicted! I will share the recipe at the end of the post.

Cooler nights mean creamy, comforting dinners, like this coconut, fish curry with lemon creation I whipped up for me and my non teen. Addictive!

I have been seriously trying to cut out on eating processed foods where possible, so I made this gluten free, vegan zucchini slice a few days back. It's a little different- tahini and chia are the binding agents, but I have been enjoying it for dinner with sauteed and fresh veg.

This is a vegan big brekky a few days back. Too filling!

Here is a fabulous, small but nutrient dense lunch I will most certainly have again, and again: Miracle bread topped with boiled egg mashed with fetta, radish, red capsicum and fresh parsley. Yum!

Some beach scenery now. Hubby, bubby and I have enjoyed a few walks together lately. Love the non-crowded local beach. Cooler weather- I love you! 

Our beautiful creek. How could I not love living here?!

No filter necessary when the reality is this beautiful. Walks with bubby just became fun again. Autumn, you rock!

A vegan feast I could eat all day: sauteed mushrooms and onions, spinach, avocado and red capsicum covering a hidden zucchini slice. 

Beautiful Tweed River at Fingal.

Hubby and I went for a little drive after spending a small fortune repairing our car so it would pass roadworthy. Visiting places like this makes you appreciate how blessed we are to have this- for free- on our doorstep.

I am purposely making myself wind down and appreciate being home more. We purchased a giant fish tank yesterday for my one, very spoiled, every growing Mrs Zippy the goldfish. I have online ordered some accessories and in a few days, look forward to landscaping said tank. I need green around me to feel calm. To this day, I absolutely struggle with close living situations- I love space, lush trees and rolling hills. But until that day arrives where I walk outside my own front door to postcard country views, I aim to make the most of what I have. Grateful we scored a brand new tank on a special. 

I miss creating and writing so much. However, my sweet little bubby makes some activities near impossible at present, so a hobby is the next best thing. She is growing in leaps and bounds- this clingy, demanding stage isn't forever. This stage does have its perks though- such as adorable firsts. Wouldn't rush it for the world! 

And now, as promised, the recipe for the divine, nutty bread. My version, of course...

Miracle Bread (I call it miracle bread because I'm amazed it stays together and tastes so good!)

(aka Life-Changing Loaf of Bread)

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup fibre mix (flaxseed/oat bran/psyllium mix)

1/2 cup almonds

1.5 cups rolled oats

2 tbsp chia seeds

4 tbsp psyllium husks

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tbsp rice malt syrup

3 tbsp coconut oil

1.5 cups water

Method:

Grease and line a loaf tin.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

Whisk rice malt syrup, oil and water, then mix this with dry ingredients.

Press mixture into lined pan, firming down and smoothing out as you go.

Let it sit on bench for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 175 C.

Place loaf on middle rack and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove from pan, place it upside down on a rack, return to oven and bake for another 30-40 minutes.

Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

Allow to cool completely before carefully cutting into thin slices. 

Store for 5 days in fridge, or individually sliced and stored in freezer. 

Yum, yum, yum! Make this- you won't regret it!

Thank you, My New Roots for this amazing recipe!

There you have it, your lot for probably another week. Hope you found something of interest here. 

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Salad days, sunrises and a health warning.

Hello all! It has taken me a little longer than planned to get back to blogging. I have had a rather challenging health week. But before things get intense, enjoy this lovely sunrise!

I said no more chocolate after Easter. However, there ended up being so much more available. Temptation got the better of me. Then it happened- my pancreas reacted unkindly. For those of you unfamiliar with pancreas pain- It.Is.Intense. I must be honest- haven't had a pain that bad for years- not since my liver disease really. And I certainly haven't had pain last that long. This went for over 36 hours. For most of a day, it was almost debilitating, made me feel ill, food hurt to consume, and my abdomen screamed in as much pain as my back. Fun indeed. At that point, I realised why I am trying to eat healthy. To not suffer like this ever again! By the next day, food still didn't look overly appealing, but as I was feeling a little dizzy, I kept up the low fat, small portions. My abdomen was still a little tender, but not as bad as the previous day. 

This was a humbling experience. Since being successfully treated for my liver disease, I have assumed I could eat anything I liked. But that just isn't the case. Alcohol doesn't like me, nor does too much over indulging in rich foods, ie: heavily processed, overly sugary or too much fatty rubbish- like fried take-aways. The time has come to acknowledge my limits and eat accordingly. So this week, I have been overdosing on salads. And how do I feel? Honestly, a million times better almost instantly! What we put into our mouths truly does impact our health and well being so much.

I also found out, during a family Dr's visit, that my thyroid function has been a little low. Only sub-clinical level, but enough to make me feel constantly fatigued. Waiting on news of further blood tests. 

This all happened while my sweet bubby, and then hubby, came down with terrible, snot factory head colds. Bubby had 2 near 12 hour sleeps, then 2 restless nights as she battled with a blocked nose and bad cough. Thankfully, her sleep is improving again. With good sleep, lots of cuddles, and healthy fruit and food, she is recovering well. Still congested, but happy and active.

To cheer you up a bit, I'll change the subject and let you look at some photo's, of when I was a good girl this week :)

A quick and tasty salad of leftovers: quinoa tabbouleh, stuffed peppers and mixed leaves- easy and satisfying.

A warming Autumn salad with baked beetroot and pumpkin, tossed over some leaves and topped with red onion, avocado, pepitas, fresh parsley and fetta, then drizzled with a little olive oil- my fave this week!

A regular brekky this week: half an avocado, pear, almond milk, spinach and cinnamon smoothy. Divine!

A share of a brekky with hubby- an omlette for protein.

Another rainbow salad. Loving pepitas with salads at present, and lots of crunchy ingredients too.

This is another dish I created this week.

One pan filled with veg ready to fry: red cabbage, red onion and celery...

...and another, filled with: potato, carrot, zucchini, garlic...

Chopped tomatoes went in towards the end of cooking the veg. Then all the veg was added to 4 eggs, a cup of tasty cheddar and 1/2 cup of chia seeds, some curry powder, salt and pepper, then baked for 45 mins in a moderate oven. It has seen me through the past few days- so hearty and satisfying.

Hubby needed food for uni, so I made a dense, wholemeal flour based thin crust pizza. It was very filling and saw him through a huge day/night at uni.

Preservative free, natural ingredients make the best meals- you know what's in it.

And now, another beautiful morning. I have been slack on sunrises with a sick bubby, and bad days myself. So I will enjoy the ones I do witness, and share them with you of course :)

I took this from my sweet bubby's room. She gets the best morning views.

Speaking of my bubby, guess who is nearly walking?! We are all so thrilled. She made it several steps yesterday and today, and is getting braver. She also has 2 new top teeth. Thought they would never show! Now they are in, those chompers will help her eat the solid food she craves. Not feeding her purees is lovely. It now means I just portion off a little of our evening meals to her. Or, if it's a bit too spicy, or something she doesn't like, I have back ups on hand. And at long last, I have found a sippy cup she will use. It's only taken months! My little girl is growing in leaps and bounds as a big 11 month old. Proud mumma right here.

Proud mumma for other reasons too- despite the poor health attacking our household this week, I have managed to sort out the bedrooms, baby clothes and all. Yep- they are packed, excess goods donated, things sorted, clothes folded and hung... Downstairs has been blitzed too. Sigh. I heart being organised. All is right with the world again :)

That is your lot for today. Hope it keeps you satisfied for a little longer. Lets hope next week is kinder and I can get back to you sooner.

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Farewell dinner, so many sunrises and no more chocolate!

A beautiful pink and purple tinged sunrise to say 'Welcome Back!' dear readers. I am so glad to be sitting here on my posterior, having a cuppa and telling you all about my Easter and past several days. 

This morning, we fare-welled possibly our last ever home stay student, which was emotional as always. Once back, we had an arduous task- rearrange three bedrooms. Just saying it makes me feel tired. Thank goodness Autumn has finally arrived! If we had to do this in the heat...! Add to this a flooded dining room from someone forgetting she was draining the fish tank to clean it (oops- that would be me!), and you've got a megga clean, sort, move furniture, mop, sit in the corner and hide until it all gets done by magic kind of day. 

I may still have 25 zillion items of clothing to sort and keep/throw, but what an impressive effort by all. I may not have made it to gym for the week. Really though, today's effort was more than I would have pushed out at gym anyway. Go me!

Now, let me take you through a pictorial of my week, in non sequential order... 

An example of some non chocolate consumption (miracle-I had a meal without it!)- dinner last week: zucchini slice served on rocket with creamy sauce (see below).

Always trying to come up with new ideas, this one was based on available ingredients... spuds, sweet spuds, fresh parsley, onion, celery, a hint of garlic and carrots.

I cooked these with butter/olive oil, added some chicken (1 breast which I cooked separately), cream, curry powder, salt and pepper...

Placed it in a quiche flan, added a huge amount of creamy mashed sweet and normal spuds on top, before baking in the oven til lightly golden. 

Easy peesy chicken and potato pie.

The Easter Bunny did visit our house. I cut myself some slack, enjoyed my bounty, later regretted it but had a brilliant Easter all the same. My little sweet bunny got some Peter rabbit books- thanks to my family respecting my 'no sugar' stance for her until she tries birthday cake- in one month from today!

Love, love, love this photo- big and little sis both on their laptops. Truly too cute!

My beautiful non teen made Easter awesome. Love her company.

Easter feast, again, non chocolaty: Roast rosemary lamb with baked pumpkin, veg, gravy and my special spuds (5 large steamed spuds-cut into quarter with 1/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream & 2 tbsp my pesto mix). The best lunch/dinner I've had for a while :)

Easter Monday brekky- rocket with omelette, grilled tomatoes and pesto. Trying to bring healthy back.

A picture of the first cool morning this Autumn- and a misty one too.

I like this sunrise- pretty colours with a fluffy sky.

Hubby and I went for a much needed walk a few evenings ago. We haven't been there since the boardwalk was being replaced. Not sure if they ran out of time and/or money, but it looks, well, interesting now. Still, leads to views like this. 

That same evening, I managed to snap this from my bedroom window. Such a gorgeous sunset!

And this is what we got a few minutes later- beautiful colours and evening sky. Autumn, you may have come late, but what a show!

Even out back, the gorgeous skies could be clearly seen. Love this time of year :)

The next morning, I slept later (only because a certain little person woke me at 2:30!), and this is what I snapped.

Yesterday, I decided that seeing the chocolate temptation had been removed (by consuming it quickly), I would now prepare myself real food. The above is my quinoa tabbouleh- which I had a with lunch today topped with a poached egg. 

I saw these mini sweet peppers on sale, and couldn't resist grabbing them and turning them into stuffed snacks. I used cottage cheese, but any soft filling works.

Again, these red capsicums were on special. Instead of wasting slightly older veg, I grilled them, peeled them, coated them in a hint of salt and vinegar and have a tasty salad ingredient on hand. 

This is the dinner table last night, just before adding the miso (but tasted more like ramen) soup. 

And this is my attempt at rice paper rolls. Ok, not particularly flash, but definitely delish. They were filled with chicken slivers, red capsicum and some dry coleslaw mix, and dipped in either sweet chilli sauce (a rare treat) and honey/soy. Amazingly different dinner, and one our sweet German teen appreciated.

Before ending, I shall tell you of recent events/ revelations. First of all, I didn't get the job. I did get a lovely personal email informing me on Easter Monday. While a little part of me was a bit sad I wouldn't be socialising with arty types, I realised that this isn't the right time. My sweet bubby was unwell for a few days, then broke out in mystery rash for another 2. We had 2 doctor visits and lots of snuggles with a sick little bunny. How could I go to work at this stage? I know women who do, and I respect that, but when a sick bubby needs her mumma, I will always be there for her.

I also realised that I don't want to be extreme with my diet. I still loathe most processed foods, but seriously, if I didn't have formula to feed my baby, she would have failed to thrive months ago. I do like honey, fruit and some dairy. Many extreme diets eliminate everything- I can't do that. No one in our home is gluten intolerant, so as much as I can afford good quality, we will eat gluten at times. Thankfully, I make my own bread at times, which eliminates needing to purchase chemical laden bread. Hubby and I don't each much bread anyway, and bubby likes a wide variety of foods, including omelette, cheese and fruit, so bread needn't be a major part of her diet.

Dairy is another one. Dairy isn't evil! Over processing is. I will use the best quality I can afford. Anyway, as a Christian, I believe in saying grace, and praying the food is blessed to our bodies. I had this revelation a few days back, and it gave me peace. I feel a balanced world of eating coming on! That's the best example I can give my sweet little girl.

Before I close, I should tell you that my blogging may need to be weekly from now on. Life with a turbo tot who is nearly walking is hectic. I also want to get back on the scales (not just yet- let Easter be a distant memory first!), and keep tabs on how my health is going. I still comfortably fit my jeans, so I know the weight gain hasn't been too serious-phew!

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Good Friday and carb overload

Not a recent pic, I confess. I put it up as I miss beach walking at this time of the day. Something magic about walking barefoot in the sand, smelling the salt air, listening to the waves lap the shore all while welcoming a new day. Hope to get back to this soon.

Here is another non recent pic. Just so glorious seeing the sun rise this way.

My sweet bubby has been quite ill this week. Her temp soared, her tummy wasn't good, and her little spark dimmed. That was the most heartbreaking. She still smiled and was adorable- like above, when before dozing, she had to pull down several nappies, just in case :) But her little body wasn't well. 

We haven't had much sleep these past three nights. Thankfully, her little personality returned today, with a better appetite, and hopefully, her sleep will be better too.

As you can imagine, with an unwell bubby, and recovering from feeling blurk myself, I haven't been incredibly motivated this week to create blog worthy meals. I have made bits and pieces though, like a tweaked version of my cottage cheese protein balls...

One of the freshly made protein balls. Not super sweet, but chewy and a perfect cheats brekky when I'm too tired to eat much but still need energy.

I also made my zucchini slice but as a main, not snack. Here it is, topped with some fresh, dairy free basil pesto and accompanied by a simple salad topped with cashew mayo and lemon juice. Perfect healthy dinner for myself a few days back :)

Here is my sweet, then unwell bubby snuggling her big sissy. The only perk of her being sick was lots and lots of snuggle time.

As I haven't been sleeping well, the sunrise photo taking has been a tad erratic. This was as close as I got to a sunrise one morning after a rough nights sleep.

This morning's sunrise was a subtle, cloudy beauty. Not all mornings are showy, but all are welcome and beautiful in their own way.

Today, Good Friday, has been a wonderful carb overload kinda day. My non teen purchased far too many hot cross buns (so I thought!) and all 6 of us- including my sweet bubby, enjoyed them as a late brekky together.

At the other end of the day, there are none left!

I only eat hot cross buns once a year. I'm glad I wait, because, as always, I feel so bloated, I am happy to wait another year before I touch one again.

The above picture is today's lunch that also became dinner- a simple quiche with dots of cream cheese and plenty of veg, but only 4 eggs. Very nice indeed.

So good to see my sweet bubby with an appetite again. Here she is smiling through a mouthful of hot cross bun :)

Her energy levels soared after eating this too- she was back to attempting to take steps again. So far- one is her limit before face planting. Mind you, as she is not quite 11 months, I will be genuinely surprised if someone isn't walking by her first birthday. She is even adept at falling well-most of the time- a great skill to have at this wobbly leg age.

To add to dinner, I made a simple, carby side: warm veg and spiral pasta salad with mayo. Yes, today was a total carb overload, but I got to share it with the people I love the most- my family. 

And tomorrow is a 'hit the gym and carb detox' kinda day :)

I managed to make it to gym 2 days this week. My workouts aren't hard but designed to slowly re-strengthen my body and help heal my sciatic issues. Still, any kind of exercise feels so good. Especially after days of eating like this.

This Easter is set to be a busy one, but that is a good thing. My non teen is staying over tomorrow night. Sunday is celebrating at church, then hopefully, a catch up with hubby's fam. Monday, we head to Brisbane to visit my dear dad and possibly, my brother and his gorgeous fam too. I am really looking forward to it.

Next weekend, my sweet bubby moves into her own room. What makes this bittersweet is the fact that the current occupant will be leaving. Our lovely German teen is heading home Thursday morning. It's going to be an emotional week for sure. I already cried tonight when after a trip to the markets, she presented me with a beautiful gift- a handmade body scrub with natural coconut oil and lemon. Honestly, it is a privilege to welcome people from all over the world into your home. And how brave are these youngsters, moving in with a real family in a country nothing like their own?! I am constantly amazed and impressed. Good-byes aren't fun though. We will make this week a good one.

No recipes tonight. Don't worry though, I'm sure the coming days will produce some for sure! Happy Easter, and thanks for reading.