Day 23, devils food cake and spag bol

Today was a very naughty day- food wise I mean. I started making my daughter's birthday cake, a devil's food cake. I was actually shocked at one point at how much sugar it contained. It made me feel nauseous just looking at it. Seriously, one and a half cups of sugar alone, not including the other ingredients. That's quite a ridiculous amount. I'm glad I don't desire to consume that anymore.

My day is easier to tell in pictures. It's my cheats blog 'cause this girl is tired! 

This amount of brown sugar- one and a half cups!

This is the result of melting a third of the brown sugar with a cup of milk and a third of a cup of cocoa powder. Then, it was removed from the heat and had 100gms of dark chocolate stirred through until melted.

This cooled chocolate mixture was added to 125gms of whipped butter, the rest of the brown sugar and a vanilla bean. 2 egg yolks were then beaten through, and 1 and a half cups of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of bi-carb were stirred through. When this stage was complete, I added 2 beaten egg whites and folded them through.

The mixture was placed in  a greased and lined spring form tin, and placed in a moderate cool oven for approximately 1 hour. Towards the end, I covered it with foil and let it sit in a warm oven to set.

                                                 

As a little side, since I was already stuck in the kitchen for hours, I prepared some yoghurt base and stuck it on the window sill. Note the kookaburra on my fence. Let's hope he's catching the snakes that are about. 

I relented and bought some Easiyo after repeated fails with trying to make my own base. If any readers out there know of how to make your own, please comment below.

These dishes were just from the preparation stages alone. So much washing for one cake! 

This is the cooked cake. After I had given it half an hour or so to cool, I carefully removed it from the tin, turned it upside down and placed it on a silver serving board. It is now covered, ready for decorating tomorrow.

Now, onto tonight's dinner, spag bol, an easy, filling fave. 

I like to add heaps of veg to my spag bol, and I will use what I have, so the recipe does vary. Tonight, I used celery, mushrooms and carrot.

On medium heat, I gently cook them in a little olive oil and butter until soft.

Then I add 250gms of regular mince. When the mince cooks, I add seasoning. Again, no exacts here, just whatever you grab or feel like. I used white pepper, salt, paprika, italian herbs, some dried chilli and a hint of my curry powder.

The next stage is to add a sauce. I used Italian Passata as it has no added sugar. I also added a tablespoon of tomato paste. I didn't have any tinned tomatoes or I would have used them too. At this stage, it lacked something, so I removed my portion and added some sweet chilli sauce.

It serves 4 generously with spaghetti. But as often happens, I make enough for leftovers.

Now, onto today's eating...

Breaky: 1 large banana, 2 large coconut/plain flour pancakes with rice malt syrup and cream, and a giant milky coffee at 9am. So much food!

Lunch: Handful of almonds and a thin piece of parmesan cheese at 2pm.

Afternoon tea:weak coffee at 3pm

Dinner: small bowl of spag bol, no pasta, at 4pm.

Supper: 200mls of warm, fresh creamy plain yoghurt at 7:30pm- so good!

That is all for today. Until tomorrow, and thanks for reading :)

Day 22, soul food, sunshine and scales

I would insert a sad face here, but really, no change is actually a good thing. I haven't gained weight. To really see what is going on, I did re-measure my curves. That was where the surprise really was. 

The below was me on Sunday 31st of August, on Day 3 in beautiful Kingscliff 

Waist: 81.5cm

Upper thigh: 63cm

Hips: 103cm

Bust: 93cm

Imagine my surprise when I when I did the measurements this morning. Take a look people!

Waist: 73cm

Upper thigh: 61cm

Hips: 101cm

Bust: 92cm

That is a significant change! 8.5cm off my waist, 2cm off my upper thigh, 2cm off my hips and 1cm off my bust. Woohoo! I am one happy girl :) 

I was so incredibly overtired today. Last night was just one of those nights when getting up to a little bubby was so hard. My eyes didn't want to open at all. By the time I woke up enough, it was hard to wind down to get back to sleep. I'm sure I will sleep again properly, maybe some distant, far away day. Or, maybe I should just embrace going to bed at 7pm? Going to be fun trying that with a west facing, upstairs bedroom with daylight savings starting in a matter of weeks.

Today was also my few hours off as hubby got bubby time. I was sure it was Saturday, but thankfully, I was quite wrong. So I took the chance to not go near any shops. Instead, I headed to the beach, but not before making a really nice breaky.

I cut back on the amount of oil and butter I used today when I fried some sliced mushroom, garlic and spinach.

When the spinach wilted, i added to beaten eggs and 5 black olives and a hint of grated cheese.

It was a tasty, low carb way to start the day.

South Beach at Kingscliff is just stunning.

The creek is equally as beautiful. Great place to sit, reflect and be grateful.

Stairway to heaven :) Beautiful morning rays illuminating the track to the beach.

Heading to the beach and creek alone today was my soul food. I just sat, not thinking about anything, but just being. That was so calming. As I sat on the top of the dune, a single whale made its way slowly along the beach behind the surfers. That was calming too. As I walked away, I realised life is amazing. My life is amazing! I don't want for anything. Sigh. 

Do you know what else is calming? Not procrastinating! I did a big baby clothes cull this afternoon. While I was blessed with an over abundance of cute little person clothes, there are simply far too many to keep forever. So I sorted, rearranged drawers, hung little clothes up, saved treasured items and have a pile for the op shop. That felt good for the soul too.

Then there was dinner. The last of the chicken stock made a perfect green veggie soup. It was just what I needed.

To one cup of stock was added 1/4 cup of peas, a generous amount of broccoli, half a red onion, a large clove of garlic, 2 small stalks of celery and some of my curry spice .

I let it simmer gently while I sorted baby clothes. When cooked, I added some fresh coriander and some hot chilli. 

Now for the part where I fess up on today's food consumption...

Breaky: Mushroom omelette and a cuppa at 8:30am

Morning tea: Cuppa at 9am

Lunch: Last carrot porridge whip and a large banana at 11am

Afternoon tea: Tin of tuna and slice of cheese at 2pm

Dinner: Green soup at 4:30pm

I am now so tired that I can't wait for bed. As bubby hasn't slept much this afternoon, I am hoping she lapses into a deep, very, very long sleep.

Until tomorrow, thanks for reading :)

Day 21, chocolate fix bliss

Welcome back! Today was a mixed bag yet again. Welcome to life with a bubby. After a very broken sleep, I was awoken by my beautiful friend, Margy. Guess who forgot about our walk this morning?! Yes, the baby brained one did- oops. Still, it is lovely to be able to see someone after several months, greet them in your ugliest nightie possible, and with chronic bed hair, yet feel comfortable. True friendship right there! And like true friendship- time apart doesn't affect the relationship. I consider this woman one of life's valuable treasures. Seeing her lifted my spirits considerably. Just what I needed.

Bubby must be going through a growth spurt, because she has eaten every 2 hours since 4:30am! As this isn't usual, I'm expecting her little chubby thighs to be a fair bit longer and leaner soon!

My lovely non teen came over for her sissy bonding time, allowing me to get things done without an adorable attachment. So, I used my time to walk to and from my local shops- about a 25 minute round trip, and purchase bits and pieces for my non teens birthday this Sunday. She has surprised me by requesting- wait for it- mud cake! My non teen is quite the health conscious girl, so this was a bit of a shock. But, no sugar is my conviction, so expect to see a decadent, gooey mud cake on this blog in the next day or two. I experimented with a choc muggin today- a Sarah Wilson recipe. It was amazing, and now I know how satisfying it is, I can make that for myself this Sunday so I don't miss out. 

Now, onto today's diet. I stashed myself a piece of steak from yesterdays grocery shop. I was craving a good, juicy steak and was so excited for lunch! 

My non teem stayed long enough for me to cook a bit of rump steak, cover it with some wild rocket and top with chunks of parmesan, olive oil, malt vinegar and seasoning.  It was really, really good. 

Now, onto the chocolate fix. In the I QUIT SUGAR book by Sarah Wilson, I spied a Paleo Choc-Coco Muggin. As I mentioned, with my daughter wanting a mud cake this Sunday, and my previous German student sending us literally a box of German chocolate 2 days ago, I was (a) craving chocolate, and (b) needing a healthier option.

Thankfully, I had all of the ingredients for Sarah s recipe , but, being me, I tweaked it :) My recipe went like this...

1/4 cup of coconut flour

2 level tablespoons of desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon of granulated stevia (or a tablespoon of rice malt syrup)

a splash of milk

a tablespoon of soaked chia seeds

water

Cook in a mug, in the microwave, for 1min, 25 seconds.

The big blue cup to the right is the finished product- eaten already! It was so good! Admittedly, my mug was way too big, but the contents were surprisingly filling.

Dinner was a very simple affair. Yesterday, hubby chose a pre-made pasta dish at Aldi. I checked out the ingredients, and overall, it wasn't too chemical laden and contained no added sugars. Even better, a 4 serve, filling dish for $5.99 is a winner, and not cooking every night is too.

Ready made meals can be time savers if you take the time to read the labels. Some options are not too bad. It went down well, though I didn't end up eating my share. The chocolate muggin was sufficient and kept me feeling very full.

Now, the bit we all want to know, what did I actually eat today?

Breaky: Same as yesterday- carroty porridge whip and a cuppa at 6:30am.

Morning tea: Really good, strong coffee and whole milk at 11am.

Lunch: Steak and wild rocket at noon.

Afternoon tea: An apple and pear at 2pm.

Early dinner: this ended up being the chocolate muggin at 4pm. 

Supper: A milky de-caff at 7pm.

I am feeling a little challenged- it doesn't feel like I am shifting more weight. Weigh in is tomorrow, so I will know what has been happening. Even if I have plateaued, at least I am eating so much better than before. 

Until tomorrow :)

Day 20, chicken curry verdict

Today is the chicken curry verdict. But before I get to that, let me fill you in on today's happenings. Not much sleep- again! Yes, bubby did wake a couple of times. However, it was my back that kept me awake. No words to describe the pain. By morning, I was shattered tired. A beautiful friend who I haven't seen for months wanted to walk with me this morning. We used to do our walkie talkies a lot until I got too pregnant and sore. At 2:55am I had to text to cancel our early morning catch up. Thankfully, she is (a) smart like me and probably has her phone on silent of a night, and (b) a mother as well so appreciates that even the best plans can go pear shaped at times. I have had more than 1 early hour cancellation text, so I know she understands.

I felt like today has been a dream. I know it happened, it just feels like I wasn't actually present. I decided to force myself, pain and all, to go to mother's group. I was too stubborn to waste a perfectly glorious spring day. So glad I went. Hubby dropped me off, bubby had fun, I chatted to some great ladies, then walked  the 20 minute  trip home. While I was walking, I felt a new determination hit me. I flatly refuse to give up, or give in. Even as I limped round Aldi supermarket this afternoon, I felt hope return. And I thought it was just the cheap groceries that make me smile there. I will recover, simple as that. I have had quite enough, thank you, and will stop at nothing to get my full functioning health back. Sigh. That felt good! 

On the walk home, I had to look at this gorgeous beach. Bubby, as per usual, was alseep :)

Now that that is out of the way, onto the curry. Remember those spices I made yesterday, well today, they were put to the test. Here goes...

After a bit of online searching, I found a few similar recipes and decided to be loosely guided by them. The only great variation, other than vegetables, was amount of curry powder used. For veggies, I used a small sweet potato, a whole brown onion, and 3 carrots, all roughly chopped. I placed them in a pan on medium heat that had a generous amount of olive oil in it.

I ended up using 1 heaped tablespoon of my homemade curry powder, but I did pimp it some more though. I halved yesterdays mixture, and put some sweet paprika and a pinch of cinnamon in the one I used tonight.

The curry powder was cooked for 5 minutes with the veg. I found I needed a lot more oil and even some butter. I also had to turn the heat down. Once the veg was coated and softened slightly, I removed the veg from the pan and set them aside before adding the chicken.

I turned the heat back to just past medium and browned the chicken. I added some salt, pepper and a tablespoon of rice malt syrup, and some more butter. When browned, I added 1 cup of my homemade chicken stock (see the best chicken stock ever) and stirred before transferring to a baking dish. The chicken doesn't have to be cooked through. That happens in the oven. 

Heat oven to moderate/hot. Place cooked chicken and stock into dish. Place cooked veggies on top, then cover with some frozen peas. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Can be uncovered for a further 15 minutes of cooking if browner chicken is desired.

This is the result- it smells amazing!

This was my portion, served with a small amount of steamed rice. 

Now, the verdict! Smell- incredible! Value for money- excellent. Taste- lacking. Everyone ate it, so it was ok, but it wasn't amazing. It was mild, though it did have a itty bitty kick. Chilli flakes would have worked well. It also had a hint of lemon about it. If hubby wasn't allergic to garlic, I would have fried off some garlic and ginger with the onions. It just needed a little bit of something extra. Though I'm not sure what it is, I will find it, and post that too :)

Now, for the pointy end of the blog, what I ate today... 

Breaky: Yesterday's carrot whip creation (very nice!) and a cuppa at 7:30am. 
Morning tea: Half a cuppa, a 1/4 cup of plain yoghurt and half a container of almonds at 10am.
Lunch: Mountain bread wrap with 2 eggs, cheese and salad at 12 noon.
Afternoon tea: samples of curried carrot at 4pm.
Dinner: The above serve of curried chicken (2 drumsticks) and veg at 5pm.
Supper: Decaff with whole milk at 7pm.

That's it for today. I'm off for an early night. Until tomorrow :)

Day 19, home made curry powder and carrot cake porridge whip

What a day! It has felt a thousand hours long, but that could be down to the fact my sweet bubby didn't feel like sleeping through last night, leaving her mumma just a bit tired. Still, I didn't let that stop me- I surprised myself at how much I actually got done. 

What has really impacted me these past few days is how this blog in particular is helping me shift my focus, which is helping my mind and body. Remember my first post about the pain I live with? Well, it's way too easy to stay in that place of frustration, self pity and let it fester to something worse. Sure, it drives me crazy, especially like last night when the act of bending down to pick up an onion  hurt my back, to the point where trying to take my daughter for a walk in the carrier was almost torture this afternoon. Yesterday, I felt fantastic! Energetic, alive, ready to embrace summer. Today, I feel achy and old again, and not the feel good achy post exercise. This is the yucky kind. Groan. But the beauty of this blog is this, I've expressed how dissatisfied I feel, and now, I move on. Writing things down is seriously therapeutic. And so is cooking.

Remember yesterday, the carb overload? Well, today, I chose to be a lot healthier. I was initially starving for the first half of the day, but feeling very satisfied by dinner. Even though my stomach isn't stuffed, I'm satisfied in the sense that eating whole food just feels better. 

                                     

A yummy pear, beetroot, chia and cinnamon smoothy made a satisfying early lunch. Love the colour it turns- full of anti-oxidant goodness.

Though it doesn't look particularly appealing to begin with.

 Then a miracle happened. At long last, I was able to not only sit and scan some recipes in my fave recent cook book purchase, but actually make a recipe from it too! Sarah Wilson's I QUIT SUGAR FOR LIFE has some amazing recipes in it, and I have been dying to try this one, Carrot Cake Porridge Whip.

I didn't have walnuts, so substituted them with almonds. I was also tempted to use half a frozen banana (yes, have them too), but that was only if the avocado was too far gone. Thankfully, it wasn't. 

This stunning picture is what they should have looked like.

...and these are mine. Ok, epic fail in the presentation department. I think mine has a consistency similar to crunchy peanut butter. Either way, a first attempt, and can't wait to eat it in the morning :)

My next challenge was making my own curry powder. I have always wanted to give it a go, and thanks to my fabulous in-laws, guess who got a spice (actually, it's a coffee grinder!) for her birthday?! Here is the process I went through today after some online searching.

I emptied a 50gm packet of cardamon pods and similar amounts of cummin and coriander seeds onto a tray and placed under the grill until aroma's and steam were released, and the cumin seeds had slightly browned.

I then placed these toasted seeds into my new toy, and pulsed like mad. 

This is the result of my enthusiasm. The smell was out-of-this-world amazing! I poured this into an old maccona coffee jar.

Then it was time for more spices. Since I have no idea how many centuries old the ones in my pantry were, I made a quick dash to the local supermarket to refresh them. I added the whole packet of tumeric powder, 1/2 a teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of cayenne, a tablespoon of freshly ground mustard seeds. I added these to the same jar, shook, and voila! Aromatic, home made curry powder, which-fingers crossed- will go well with tomorrow nights chicken drumsticks.

May I now state how extremely proud of myself I am feeling :) Pizza night, and I didn't eat any of it. Feeling good on so many levels about now!

Instead of pizza, I ate this simple dish: Sauteed sugar loaf cabbage in butter and olive oil, a clove of garlic, broccoli stems and a tablespoon of raw cashews. Topped with salt, pepper, lemon juice and chopped red capsicum when done. Such a quick and delish dish.

Now, I know you want to be informed. Here we have today's eating...

Pre Breaky: Cuppa at 7am.

Breaky: 2 egg omelette with small amount of ham and parmesan at 8am.

Lunch: Chia, pear, beetroot smoothy at 11am.

Afternoon tea: Mountain bread wrap with left over cooked pumpkin, 2 slices of short crust bacon, cheese, mayo and salad at 2pm. Another cuppa. I was tired!

Dinner: Above cabbage dish at 5pm.

Very satisfying day diet wise. That's your lot for today :) I shall be back tomorrow with a report on a curry- success or not? 

Day 18, a roast and a megga carb blow-out

Oh so hungry today. I'm talking gnawing stomach, carb craving, not satisfied kinda hungry. So, I'm a teeny bit embarrassed to say, I ate lots. No, let me rephrase that. I'm a big bit embarrassed! I can't wallow in it however. I will focus on what was really great about today instead.

This view! At noon, hubby watched bubby so I could go for a bit of a walk. 8 minutes from my home is this stunning beach. So grateful to live here at beautiful Kingscliff.

This equipment was also a positive- I can actually use a fair bit of it now, and it's free! My pain seems to be easing- Yay! And with it, my ability to exercise is increasing. I certainly felt it all, but what a feeling strengthening tired muscles. With the warm weather already here, maybe, just maybe, I shall be beach ready again by summer. 

I managed to do around 45 minutes of exercise- walking, a few beach side exertrail stations, and a bit of exploring. It was mixed up, so I didn't actually feel like I was working out, even though I was. That way, it doesn't get boring. As my hubby will attest, sometimes, I have the attention span of a gnat. 

Dinner tonight was a big roast beef with all the trimmings. So Much Food! Groan. I must say, the over eating has worn off already. Not enjoying this feeling at all. Still, everyone had a great Family Dinner Night, even bubby, though she did exceed her tolerance towards the end of dinner. Someone didn't nap for long today and her cranky pants were showing.

Roast beef with baked spuds, onion, broccoli, peas, carrot and dinner rolls on the side. A worthy overfeed indeed.

Today, I decided to cash in my non teens birthday gift- a Complete personal Styling Package by Annelyse Lumley . I am excited/ nervous- the first meeting is Friday week, and includes an initial consultation, colour analysis, shape analysis and a wardrobe audit. Except for today's horrendous eating, I have been working hard to be disciplined and knock a few excess kilo's off my frame before purchasing new clothes. No beating myself up! Tomorrow is a new day. Celebrate my successes, and I have had many. And I will look fabulous in new clothes, because no matter what size or shape I am, I'm still me, and I want that to shine :) 

Another big plus today- I have at last started re-posting on my creative blog, Hank & Petal. After a very painful pregnancy, I at last feel ready to start creating again. That, of course, is reliant on a certain little bubby, who currently thrives on cuddles, cuddles and yet more cuddles!

Ok, time to fess up. Today's eating went a little something like this...

Breaky: Last pear bircher muesli at 4:30am. A cuppa at 7:30am.

Morning tea:3 pieces of toast, 2 eggs, cheese, 2 pieces of short crust bacon and pesto, another cuppa at 8:30am.

Lunch: Leftover chick pea and sweet spud soup. Pear at 1pm.

Afternoon tea number 1: a large bread roll with butter at 2pm.

Afternoon tea number 2: 3 weet-bix with milk, and a cuppa at 3:30pm.

Dinner: Roast beef and steamed veg and a dinner roll with butter at 5:30pm.

There, it's over and done with now. Again, tomorrow is another day. Time to start fresh, and eat light.

Until then, thanks for reading :)

Day 17, coconut/ chia pancakes plus chickpea & sweet potato soup

Another 9 hour sleep, a feed, then 3 more hours from my sweet bubby last night= happy mumma. Except that I copped a razor sharp talon in my eyeball and now have the same eye cooties as my bubby, I stayed home  instead of heading to church with the fam. And I cooked. But before hubby left, he did get to sample my experimental morning tea, which I'm rather chuffed about: coconut flour, chia pancakes.

Place 1/4 cup of coconut flour, 1/4 cup of self raising flour, 1 low-tide tablespoon of chia seeds, a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 egg, a splash of whole milk and water into a bowl. Mix, adding more water as needed. The coconut flour is super absorbent, so don't be surprised how much you may need. 

When a suitable consistency is reached-mine wasn't very liquid at all- spoon into a non stick pan and cook 'til bubbles appear then flip. Makes 4 pancakes.

Serve with plain yoghurt and berries. So good!

My non teen came over for lunch today when I told her what I was planning on cooking- a sweet potato and chick pea soup with my ready made chicken stock http://arabelleswindow.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/the-best-chicken-stock-ever.html). As Sunday arvo's are usually hot chips with chicken salt from the local fish & chip shop, I wanted a hearty, satisfying alternative to this. 

In a stock pot, saute 1/2 a large, roughly chopped brown onion and 2 small or 1 medium sweet potato, unpeeled and also roughly chopped, until tender and colour forms. Add 3 cloves of garlic (yay- it's not for hubby!), and saute some more. Add some curry spices, ground, and stir. Bottom of pot should have a nice, dark colour by now. Add chicken stock- approximately 2 cups. Stir. Add 1 can of chickpeas, undrained. Add half that can of water. Stir again. Bring to the boil, then turn heat down to medium/low. Simmer for approximately 45 mins. Before serving, mash soup roughly while still in pot.

This will be the resulting soup.

For an extra flavour hit, top with herbs of choice. Here, I used coriander.

Dinner was a simple affair. We had one extra teen over, so it needed to be filling. I cooked a simple pasta with bacon, veg and sour cream. There were leftovers. Then I prepared myself a large, but simple salad. I find that big salads are not only appealing to the eye, but they take so long to eat, it's easy to get full by the end.

I shredded some sugar loaf cabbage for the base (sorry hubby, you've gotta let me eat cabbage sometimes!), covered it with some avocado, warmed pre cooked pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, radish, a hint of crumbled parmesan cheese and beetroot ribbons. Then I splashed a generous amount of olive oil, some malt vinegar and cracked black pepper over the top. Really satisfying.

Today's eating went like this...

Breaky: Pear bircher muesli and a cuppa at 6:45am

Morning tea: Coconut/ chia pancakes and another cuppa at 8:45

Lunch: Sweet potato and chick pea soup, followed by small bowl of caponata at 12:45.

Dinner: Large salad at 6:15.

A great day! I also came up with some creative inspiration after visiting the Swell festival yesterday, but I shall save that for my other blog, Hank & Petal .

All of this cooking and getting a healthy mind and body is stirring my creativity once again. Welcome back me! 

Until tomorrow :)