Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Mandarin Smoothie

We have an abundance of mandarins at the moment
mandarin tree
Unfortunately they’re a bit on the sour side this year. My favourite way to use them up at the moment is to disguise them in smoothies.  Here’s one example (adapted from Vegie Head’s Breakfast Smoothie)
Mandarin Breakfast Smoothie
(makes about 750ml)
2 cups leafy greens (eg kale or baby spinach)
1 cup peeled mandarins
half a cup alfalfa sprouts (optional)
2 dates, pitted
1 banana
2 cups water
juice of half a lemon

Place all ingredients in high-powered blender and blend until smooth
 mandarin smoothie 2
mandarin smoothie 3
Cheers!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Chocolate Muesli

We’ve been enjoying this simple snack for supper the last few nights.

choc muesli 1

Mix together equal amounts of ‘trail mix’ type foods. In the mix above there is a dessert spoon each of cacao nibs, goji berries, sunflower seeds and almonds. I’ve been adding pumpkin seeds too, but we’ve run out.

choc muesli 2

Pour over a small amount of whatever kind of milk you like. Allow to sit for a minute or two, to allow the chocolate flavour to infuse, then enjoy.

To borrow a jingle, ‘Tastes like chocolate milkshake, only crunchy!’

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Favourite Frittata

favourite frittata 1

This has been our go-to egg recipe of late. I’ve been able to easily adapt it to the ingredients we have at hand. For example, the recipe calls for salmon, but ham works well too. It also calls for asparagus, which is great, but I’ve successfully used zucchini on one occasion and broccoli this time. I also used leek in place of the onion this time.

favourite frittata 2

The original recipe (below) is from Australian Good Food, May 2010.

Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Frittata

Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 1hr | gluten free

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, thickly sliced

3 small potatoes, peeled

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

200g smoked salmon slices, halved [I use Smoked Salmon for Cooking; it’s cheaper but still tastes good]

60g goat’s milk fetta, crumbled

6 eggs

¼ cup (60ml) skim milk

3 cups salad greens, to serve

 

1 Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Heat oil in a small frying pan on medium-low. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins, or until caramelised.

2  Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 10 mins, until par-cooked. Drain. To blanch asparagus, cook in a separate pan of boiling water for 1 min, until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.

3 Slice potato and arrange over base of a [sprayed] 6 cup-capacity baking dish. Top with layers of caramelised onion, smoked salmon, blanched asparagus and fetta.

4 Lightly whisk eggs and milk until just combined. Season with pepper. Carefully pour egg mixture into baking dish, taking care not to disturb layers. Bake for 45 mins, until frittata is golden and just set. Spoon onto serving plates and serve with salad greens. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

South African Bean Curry

To use up last week’s leftover tomatoes, I tried out a new recipe: South African Bean Curry. The recipe is from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and it has been sitting in my ‘recipes to make’ folder for a while. I really enjoyed it - for a vegetarian recipe, it had a surprisingly bacon-y flavour.

south african bean curry

South African Bean Curry

Serves 4*

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

15 fresh curry leaves

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1-2 fresh long green chillies, seeded, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

4 medium (600g) fresh tomatoes, chopped finely

1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock

400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup (150g) frozen broad beans, thawed and peeled

yogurt and fresh mint leaves for serving (optional)

 

1 Heat oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the seeds begin to pop. Add sugar, salt, tomatoes and the stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

2 Add kidney beans and broad beans; simmer, partially covered, for about 5 minutes or until the beans are heated through and tender. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

3 Serve with yogurt and mint, if desired.

* In my opinion these would be 4 fairly small servings. I nixed the yoghurt and mint and had it with rice instead.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Purple Protein Smoothie

This is my favourite smoothie at the moment.

red cabbage smoothie 1

The recipe calls for red cabbage, spinach, blueberries, cherries, coconut or almond milk, ice, bananas, chia seeds and protein powder, but it’s easy to make substitutions depending on what you have at hand (kale instead of spinach, mixed berries instead of blueberries and cherries, soy or rice milk instead of coconut or almond milk etc).

red cabbage smoothie 2

Yum!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Fruit & Veg Friday

We had our fruit and veg delivery today (a ‘mystery box’). The driver kindly brought the box inside and put it on the table for me so I didn’t have to lift it off the doorstep.

Here’s what we got

10 August 100

Fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, lemons, pears, kiwifruit, mandarins, a grapefruit and a lime

Vegetables: potatoes, pumpkin, corn, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, cauliflower, red and green capsicum, silver beet, bok choy and a leek

Can you see the little guy that came along for a ride? Check out the cauliflower at the front of the picture

Here’s a close-up

10 August snail

I also ordered some extra bananas and kale (not pictured) to go in our smoothies with the frozen berries I get from the supermarket.

Anyway, I decided to wait and see what vegetables we got this week to help me make up my mind what to make for dinners for the next seven days. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

tomatoes leftover from last week –> South African bean curry

sweet potato, parsnips, cauliflower –> Roast chicken and veges

silverbeet –> Quinoa with feta, swiss chard and black olives

carrots, bok choy –> Kangaroo cashew stir-fry

pumpkin, green capsicum –> Chilli black beans

potatoes, pumpkin, corn –> Winter one pot (chicken)

red capsicum, zucchini –> Spicy lentil soup

 

I’ll pop back next week with recipes/photos if they turn out well.

Lentil Salad with Beets & Feta

lentil salad

Since I’m not comfortable with a lot of movement at the moment, food has been fairly simple at our house recently. Last night for dinner I made a lentil salad with beets and goat feta. (Recipe here, but I chucked some old beetroot in the oven and roasted it for the salad instead of using tinned baby beetroot.) It was yummy and I had the leftovers for dinner tonight.

Would love to hear what your favourite simple meal is.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Pear & Greens Smoothie

This morning’s breakfast

pear greens smoothie

Pear & Greens Smoothie (makes 2 serves)

In a high-powered blender, blend together

- 3 generous handfuls kale or spinach leaves

- 1/2 a small bunch flat-leaf parsley

- 2 ripe pears, cored

- 1  cup almond milk

Enjoy!

Adapted from this recipe from the Food Coach

Friday, July 27, 2012

Fruit & Veg Friday

We were using a really good organic fruit and veg delivery company at the start of the year, but the business isn’t operating at the moment as the owner is overseas. We’ve tried a few other places but haven’t really been happy with what we’ve been getting.

On Wednesday I tried somewhere new, Organic Origins. Since I’ve been having a lot of smoothies lately, I was quite happy to see they had a Green Smoothie Box. I was a bit late putting in my order, so just opted to get an OMG! Quick Box to cover the rest of our fruit and veg needs, instead of choosing items myself.

Today (Friday) our order arrived. First up, it came in a refrigerated van, which will be great for keeping things fresh in summer. I was happy to see it was in two separate boxes, so I could see what each type of box contained. When I opened the boxes I was quite impressed to see a green biodegradable bin liner in each box. Since the boxes are collected and reused each week, it’s nice to have a liner  - and we’ll be able to reuse the liners in our rubbish bin. 

Here’s the contents of the boxes (the white bags are biodegradable and compostable).

27 July Smoothie

Green Smoothie Box (starting on the left at the back): celery, juicing apples, kale, juicing carrots, zucchini, parsley, rocket, baby spinach, grapefruit, oranges, ginger, lemon and beetroot

 

27  July OMG

OMG! Quick Box (starting on the left at the back): celery, leek,  apples, salad mix, bananas, oranges, snow peas, red potatoes, broccoli, pears, grapefruit, lemons, sugar snap peas, carrots, zucchini and mandarins

So yes, that’s two bunches of celery, plus the half-bunch we already had in the fridge.  Celery ideas, anyone?

Friday, July 20, 2012

Co Yo

When we were on holiday in Queensland a few weeks ago, we were in a health-food store looking for gluten-free bread that didn’t have any dairy products in it. We got chatting to someone else in the store who was also on holiday, and she was looking for Co Yo (dairy-free coconut-milk yoghurt). She said it was really nice, so when I saw it while doing our fruit and veg shopping online the other day, I decided to grab a tub to try. It got delivered yesterday morning, but I put it in the fridge and forgot all about it until late last night, when Rob and I were getting a bit peckish.

Please excuse the blurry pics. I had to take them from my perch on the couch, in the semi-darkness, while Rob was salivating.

coyo1 The ingredients are  organic coconut milk, starch (tapioca, pectin 440), Xylitol, mango (min 10%), probiotic cultures.

 

coyo2 Creamy texture, kind of like meringue before it is baked.

 

coyo3 Mango on bottom

 

We both really enjoyed it.  It definitely had a coconut-milk flavour, but was much thicker and creamier (not as thick as  coconut cream though; more of a whipped texture). I’d happily buy it more often, apart from the cost: $9.95 for a 400g tub!

The company also does a coconut ice cream, which sounds delicious, but I’m not sure how well it would survive a delivery from the other side of town :-(

---

Today’s eats

1. Smoothie with sunflower seed milk, rice protein, kale, banana, apple and cinnamon

2. Juice made from kale, mandarins (off our tree) and ginger. Goji berries.

3. Smoothie  made with water, rice protein, banana, frozen cherries, hemps seeds and cacao powder.

4. Juice made from carrot, beetroot, apple and lemon.

5. Magic Sausage Supper (recipe here)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bananas

We get through a lot of bananas in our house. I usually have at least one a day, and Rob usually has at least two. So I order lots. And they usually come in lots of little bunches. But not today...




This bunch has about 20 bananas on it!

My lack of appetite/liquid diet seems to be having some sort of effect. This morning Rob asked me if I'd lost some weight, as my pants looked looser. I have no idea, as it's a struggle to get clothes off and on at the moment, but my stomach seems to be flatter.

Today's eats
1. Smoothie with rice milk, yerba mate tea, rice protein, banana, cloves and spirulina
2. Green smoothie made with cos lettuce, cucumber, avocado, apple and a couple of prunes
3. Last of the chicken and corn soup, apple
4. Dinner-plate-sized salad with coriander dressing, T-bone steak, glass red wine

Monday, July 9, 2012

Some Recent Eats

Cabbage Salad

cabbage salad

 

Raspberry and Spinach Salad

raspberry and spinach salad

 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

chicken and wild rice soup

 

Kale and Ginger Salad

kale and ginger salad

 

Turnip Fries

turnip fries

 

Dhal with Spinach

dhal with spinach

 

Sausage Chowder with Kale

sausage chowder with kale

 

Beet Salad with Hummus

beet salad with hummus

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Finding My Way to My Happy Place, part two

Watching Minding Your Mitochondria was a ‘lightbulb’ moment for me. In it Dr Wahls states that because of the way people in the developed world eat, we are in fact starving ourselves. We are alive because of complicated chemical reactions. If we are not providing the building blocks (vitamins, minerals, essential fats), those reactions cannot happen properly, leading to the wrong structures being made or structures simply not being made at all. It sets the stage for chronic disease…

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Dr Wahls set out to discover a way of eating for optimal health and vitality. She reversed some of her symptoms, by becoming what she calls a ‘modern day hunter gatherer’. She suggests that each day we eat:

3 cups of green leaves

(3 cups is a dinner plate heaped high)

Green leaves are rich in vitamins B, A, C, K and minerals.

The B vitamins will protect your brain cells and your mitochondria (the mitochondria in each of our cells manage the energy supply for that cell).

Vitamins A and C support your immune cells.

Vitamin K keeps your blood vessels and bones healthy.

Minerals are co-factors for hundreds of different enzymes in your body.

Having a plate full of daily greens will dramatically reduce your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

--> Have more kale (it has the most nutrition per calorie of any plant), more parsley, cooked greens and smoothies with greens.

3 cups of sulfur-rich vegetables

Your brain and mitochondria need sulfur.

Your liver and kidney need sulfur so they can remove toxins from your bloodstream

--> The cabbage family is rich in sulfur. Includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnips, swedes, radishes and kale.

--> The onion family is also rich in sulfur. Includes onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots.

--> mushrooms and asparagus also contain sulfur.

3 cups of bright colour (preferably 3 different colours)

Colour are flavonoids and polyphenols, potent antioxidants that will support your retina, your mitochondria, your brain cells and the removal of toxins.

--> You can get your colours from vegetables like beets, carrots, peppers, red cabbage, or you can get them from berries and brightly coloured fruit like peaches and oranges.

High-quality protein that’s rich in omega 3 fatty acids

Omega 3 fatty acids insulate the wiring in your brain; it also helps in the development of straight teeth and a larger brain.

--> Have wild fish (particularly salmon and herring) and grass-fed meat

In addition, include

organ meat once a week

Organ meats are concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and coenzyme Q. They are particularly potent at supporting your mitochondria.

--> Try organ meats like liver, heart, tongue, gizzards or sweetbreads

seaweed at least once a week

Seaweed is a rich source of iodine and selenium.

Your brain needs iodine to make myelin, the insulation for the wiring. It also needs iodine to remove toxins, particularly mercury, lead and heavy metals. Adequate iodine lowers your risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Dr Wahls states that if you commit to having these nine cups (three platefuls) of vegetables and berries every day before you have grain, potatoes or dairy, you will have dramatically increased the vitamin and mineral content of your diet, plus you will have dramatically lowered the risk of food allergies.

---

I listened to the talk several times, and made notes. Then decided to give it to try. What did I have to lose?

More next time.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Post Comp Diets - Finding My Way to My Happy Place

I did two figure competitions in 2006, one in 2007 and two in 2008. Each year I worked with a different trainer, and each used a different way to get results (in terms of nutrition, they were 'meal plans', carb cycling, and calorie counting).

Keith Klein, founder of the Institute of Eating Management, said 'Even if your intentions are to stay lean after a contest, when you start eating more normally, your brain is going to turn up your appetite. The body doesn’t know the difference between true starvation and the purposeful withholding of food.' (More here.) That was certainly the case for me, and even though I had exit strategies in place, I always found myself back where I started before my comp preps, wondering how I'd managed to do it to myself again.

The cumulative effect was that I found it hard to relax around food. I'd alternate between being strict about what I ate (and grouchy - poor Rob) and eating whatever I wanted (then being depressed about putting on weight - poor Rob).

In the years that followed my last comp, I spent a lot of time on the internet 'researching', and bought lots of books and e-books in an effort to find the 'best diet' to help me lose weight and keep it off. I can't say it was an entirely miserable time. I tried lots of new recipes and found some really yummy ones, and I enjoyed sharing my 'food adventures' through my blog. But I still didn't get the results I was after. It probably didn't help that I wasn't willing to calorie count, and I was reluctant to cut out a lot of fruit (as low-carb fans often do).

Earlier this year I read Sara's post L.O.V.E, about how she eats. In it, she linked to Terry Wahl's video Minding Your Mitochondria, saying it was well worth a watch. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and that was the start of my journey to where I am now. I'll discuss more in my next post. For now, I've embedded the video below.


Friday, June 29, 2012

EOFY

It's the end of the financial year here tomorrow and Rob and I are both on a much-needed holiday. In the eight years that I have been working for myself, this past year has been the busiest. I have decided to limit the amount and type of work I take on from now on - Rob said recently that we live together but he feels like he never sees me. It has been great to have some quality time together while on holiday. Am also looking forward to getting back into regular exercise again. I've been able to lose weight and maintain my new weight by diet alone, but I'm itching to do something more than walk TJ, which is all I've felt like I've had time to do lately. Hopefully I'll have time for a little more blogging too!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Painting Project

Wow, can’t believe it’s been about a month since I last posted!

Work has been keeping me busy, and in between I’ve been making plans for my new office. My current office is under the stairs, and it’s pretty cold and dark

office

I decided I wanted to move my office upstairs, where it’s lighter and warmer. The only problem? The room I want to use looked like a paint shop had exploded in it.

upstairs room before

There was a young girl in this room when we inspected the house before buying it, and it looked like she had been given free reign with the choice and application of paint. The wall around the window was dark purple (applied in swirls), the rest of the walls were pink, and the window trim was lilac. And she had definitely coloured outside the lines – no painter’s tape for this girl.

I had to sand back the purple swirl effect around the window, and sand the gloss off the window trim before I could even start painting. LOTs of undercoat was needed to cover up the purple paint and lilac trim.

I finally finished the painting earlier this week. The green skirting boards are staying for now, until we replace the green carpet

Ta da!

upstairs room after

Now I just have to furnish it!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Liquid Polymeal

I was at the library a couple of weeks ago and picked up a copy of Jonny Bowden's The Healthiest Meals on Earth. In it he talks about 'polymeals' (ideal meals that maximize intake of anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, fibre, good fats, protein, vitamins and minerals). The book has a range of recipes, including a template for creating a liquid polymeal (smoothie).

Liquid Polymeal Formula

1 cup (235 ml) milk, such as cow, almond, or rice

1 scoop protein powder (whey, egg protein, hemp, rice); 1/3 cup (75 g) silken tofu; or 1/3 cup (80 ml) pasteurized egg whites

1 cup (140-170 g) fruit or vegetable, such as fresh or frozen berries, melon, kiwifruit, cherries, papaya, guava, mango, or peaches, or 1 to 2 tablespoons (13 g) cranberries (with a sweetener), or 1/3 cup (75 g) cooked pumpkin or skinned baked sweet potato

1 to 2 tablespoons (15-30ml) great fats, such as avocado, flaxseed oil, coconut milk, coconut oil, almonds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or nut butters, or 1 teaspoon fish oil

1 to 2 tablespoons (7-14 g) extra fibre, such as ground flaxseed or flax meal, raw whole oats, wheat germ or bran, or a fibre supplement

Optional extras, to taste, such as dried coconut, dried goji berries, prunes, maca powder, fresh bee pollen, raw cacao, cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, nutritional yeast, powdered ginger, ginger juice, 1/3 banana, 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (20 g) agave nectar or raw honey, sprinking xylitol, or 1 packet or 2 drops stevia

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Yield: 1 generous or 2 small servings

---

This morning I made a smoothie for my breakfast based on the polymeal template. I put in rice milk, rice protein, blueberries, almond butter, chia seeds, maca powder, cinnamon and banana


It was tasty and filling - a good combo!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Powered by Hot Cross Buns

Last night I prepared some gluten-free hot cross buns. When I got up this morning I just had to preheat the oven, pop them in, then make coffee when they were nearly ready.

hot cross bun

I ended up having two hot-cross buns and two cups of coffee. I very rarely have coffee these days (usually one cup with Rob on a Sunday morning), so, fueled up with carbs and caffeine, I decided to tackle the area down the side of our house. It was a mess when we moved in nearly two years ago, and has barely been touched since, apart from Rob occasionally going in with a weed eater.

8 April before

I pulled out bricks, roof tiles, sticks and weeds, and a few hours later it looked much tidier

8 April after

There’s still a pile of broken bricks near the ducted heating unit, but I think I’ll need a wheelbarrow to do any justice to it.

---

Thought I’d throw in a few pics of some other food I’ve enjoyed eating this week…

Leftover roasted veges with hummus

roasted veges with hummus

 

Green Goddess Smoothie

green goddess smoothie

 

Spanish eggs with tomatoes and chorizo sausage. (Our friend Luke stayed on Friday night and made us all breakfast on Saturday morning.)

spanish eggs

Enjoy the rest of your Easter!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Treadmill Fails

Got to thank my Dad for sending me this. Has sound so you may want to mute if you are watching at work.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

New Shoes

I had to go to a podiatrist recently because I was developing a lump near the ball of my foot. It was uncomfortable to walk about the house in bare feet. And I was starting to feel it towards the end of long runs.

In addition to needing new shoes, I was told that I needed some with more cushioning in the forefoot, and that I would also need switch to non-weight bearing cardio (cycling or swimming) for a while to give my foot a chance to recover. Just after seeing the podiatrist I got a bad cold, so was unable to train. That gave my foot a bit of a break, and this weekend I felt well enough to venture into town to get some new shoes.

I've worn Brooks runners for a few years now, but after trying on some Brooks and some Asics at Athletes Foot, I decided on a pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. My first reaction on trying them on was that it was like wearing a pair of slippers - very soft!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Blue/Purple

In addition to red fruit and vegetables, and yellow/orange fruit and vegetables, I'm also trying to include blue/purple fruit and vegetables in my daily diet.

Some of the purple carrots I've been eating recently

According to this source, blue and purple fruits and vegetables
contain nutrients which include lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. These nutrients support retinal health, lower LDL cholesterol, boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, fight inflammation, reduce tumor growth, act as an anticarcinogens in the digestive tract, and limit the activity of cancer cells

Some examples:
Black currants
Blackberries
Blueberries
Eggplant
Plums
Pomegranates
Prunes
Purple cabbage
Purple carrots
Purple figs
Purple grapes
Raisins

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Yellow/Orange

In addition to eating one cup of red fruit and vegetables each day, I'm also trying to include one cup of yellow/orange fruit and vegetables each day.

According to this source, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables
contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. These nutrients reduce age-related macula degeneration and the risk of prostate cancer, lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, promote collagen formation and healthy joints, fight harmful free radicals, encourage alkaline balance, and work with magnesium and calcium to build healthy bones.

Some examples:
Apricots
Cantaloupe (rockmelon)
Carrots
Golden kiwifruit
Grapefruit
Lemon
Mangoes
Nectarines
Oranges
Papayas
Peaches
Persimmons
Pineapples
Pumpkin
Rutabagas (swedes)
Sweet corn
Sweet potatoes
Tangerines
Yellow apples
Yellow pears
Yellow peppers
Yellow potatoes
Yellow squash
Yellow tomatoes

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Red

At the moment I'm trying to include one cup of red fruit or vegetables in my diet each day.

According to this source, red fruits and vegetables contain nutrients such as lycopene, ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, to name a few. These nutrients reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth and LDL cholesterol levels, scavenge harmful free-radicals, and support join tissue in arthritis cases.

Some examples:
Beets
Blood oranges
Cherries
Cranberries
Guava
Papaya
Pink grapefruit
Pomegranates
Radicchio
Radishes
Raspberries
Red apples
Red capsicums
Red chilli peppers
Red grapes
Red onions
Red pears
Red peppers
Red potatoes
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Watermelon

link

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Low Carb Noodles

I saw these noodles advertised in the Sunday paper. Until now the only way to buy this kind of  noodles (made from konjac, a Japanese root) was from overseas (Miracle Noodles) or in an Asian food store (shirataki noodles). They are now available in the health food section of Woolworths, as Slim Pasta (Angel Hair).

noodles1

noodles2

Last night I decided to have a go at cooking with them. First you have to drain and rinse them, then soak them in hot water for one minute.

noodles3

noodles5

noodles6

They swell up a bit after soaking in the hot water. Drain, then toss into your dish.

noodles7

Bon appetite!

noodles8

I found the noodles to be quite flavourless on their own, so you’d definitely want to eat them in something, rather than underneath or on the side of  a dish as you would with rice.

They are low carb, but because of the properties of the konjac, they swell slightly in your stomach, so I felt quite satisfied after the meal, even though there was no rice.

We’ve tried a few different gluten-free noodles and these ones are pretty good. Rob said he’d happily have them again.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Program 1.1, Day 2

Starting day 2 of my new (old) program on Wednesday morning. Here are the exercises I'll be doing.

Front Squats


Push Ups


Hip Dominant Back Extensions


Standing Split Stance Cable Row


Face Pulls


Tall Kneeling Pallof Press ISO


followed by KB swings

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Program 1.1, Day 1

Have pulled out another of my old Mike Robertson programs to start on Monday morning. Here are the exercises I'll be doing.

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)


Chest Supported Row


Offset Split Squat (weight in one hand only: if right foot is in front, hold weight in left hand)


Standing Split Stance Cable Press


Shoulder I, T, Y (on floor)


Ball Rollouts


External Rotation at 90 Degrees


followed by bike intervals and medicine ball slams

Friday, February 24, 2012

Self-Doubt


I weighed myself when I got up yesterday. For some reason I'm OK with not weighing myself at the start of the week, but sometimes as it gets closer to the end of the week I feel like I want to get on the scales to see if what I am doing with my food and exercise is 'working'. Scale weight doesn't tell the whole story, but when I get on the scales and my weight is going the opposite way to what it's supposed to, I have a moment (OK, a whole day) of self-doubt. Is how I'm eating helping me or hindering me with weight loss? Am I doing enough exercise? And on and on.

I woke up this morning, didn't get on the scales, looked in my favourite mirror (the one with the most flattering lighting) and felt much better. I thought about how good I've been feeling the way I've been eating lately, how soft my skin is and how much more energy I have. I thought about how I've been enjoying my exercise. And I pushed those feelings of self-doubt aside.

How do you deal with feelings of self-doubt?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dragon Fruit

Yesterday in our fruit and veg box we received a dragon fruit!

Feb 21 01

Feb 21 02

I’ve never eaten one before so today I Googled to see if ours was ripe to eat. Apparently it was, so I decided to dig in!

Feb 22 01  

Feb 22 02

Look, it’s like a fruit version of beetroot!

Feb 22 03

It had a strong sweet perfume, a melon-like texture and seeds like a kiwifruit. Different!