Re-adjusting

My first week post-Whole30 has been somewhat of a success and somewhat of a failure! All of my meals have carried on being compliant (why wouldn't they? They are so tasty!) but it is the added extras that haven't. I blame the supermarkets and the massive commercialisation of Easter. Ok, and myself a bit too. I love chocolate. I never used to be a massive fan of it and, to be honest, I didn't think about it for the 30 days, but after that Lindor chocolate egg last Tuesday, my sugar demon reared it's ugly head and force fed me more. A night out with friends also re-introduced me to the delights of alcohol. Though having said that, I didn't feel the need for cheese smothered chips or kebabs. I had one sausage from the kebab shop and it tasted well, not food-like. It was a bit gray in colour too. I was going to ask if it came from organically reared pigs...

So, I am trying to pull my socks up and get back on track! I'm just going to do a Whole7 and then go through the reintroduction phase how I should have done in the first place! Instead of just introducing some dairy for the first few days I jumped in head first with chocolate, frapuccinos and alcohol, so of course I felt like crap. I hadn't missed feeling bloated or groggy that's for sure.

Culinary creations this week include the 'Italian Eggplant Strata' from this book that I don't believe I have mentioned before...'Well Fed';)  It was delicious. Surprise, surprise. Layers of eggplant (aubergine to us Brits), sausage meat, and tomato sauce. Think lasagne, but better. I made a huge batch and it lasted a few days!

Moving wise, took a bit of a break for the past week. I did 3 workouts so not too bad but nothing overly sweaty! Went to Body Pump this morning an upped my weights a little. Ouch. My triceps hurt. Pilates was good again; I can see myself getting in on that. My aim for the year is to be able to touch my toes and I think Pilates will help with that! Flexibility is so important. Perhaps even more important than strength sometimes. Especially on the preventing injury front. I know that my tight hamstrings are not doing my knees any favours.

Happy February everyone! January is officially behind us. Thank God. Now onto Pancake day!

Have you tried out any new workouts this week?

Cup Half Full!

I have reached the halfway mark with my first Whole30! And to celebrate I am going to see Les Mis! I feel that this cinema experience will be better than my last; I have discovered toasted coconut and will be snacking away on that instead of carrot sticks.
I thought by this point I will be ready to give up and cave (if I hadn't already) but my cup is half full. I'm looking forward to the next 15 days of health:) Again, the only thing I miss is latte's. That is what I will be having on day 31. The rest I am going to keep the same! It is easy, fun, healthy and filling. What more could you want?

I made a new recipe from Melissa's recipe book 'Well Fed'; Cauliflower Rice Pilauf. I paired it with my own beef meatballs which I very generously seasoned! I think I put almost a cup of herbs in it...a bit overpowering!
I stuck to the recipe for the 'rice' but added some shredded coconut, to boost up the fat a little. Also, the recipe said it served 6...I made it serve 2. Oops! I didn't have any other veggies so I didn't feel so bad about it though. An excuse to make more!
I apologise for the shocking photography. I love photography and outside, I am pretty good. But inside, the lighting sucks, and it smelled so good that I couldn't be bothered to mess around with the exposure settings! I wanted to TUCK IN.

For the last half of the Whole30 I think I need to tighten up on a few things. One being not snacking between meals. I am getting better at this but I think I need to not be afraid and just do it! Also, I am not going to buy coconut...I eat way too much of it! I think that I am getting more fat than I need which may be why my weight isn't dropping. I'll still stick to the guidelines of the fat, but aim for the lower end at each meal. 

Now if you excuse me, I have to go warm up my vocal chords in preparation for Les Mis. Oh the whole cinema audience is going to hhhhattteeee me.

How is your Whole30 going?

Have you seen Les Mis yet?!

Cooking Up A New Year Storm!

I have made it to the end of day 2 of my first Whole30! Yay me! To be honest, it hasn't been that hard so far. The food has been yummy and filling, and fairly easy to make. In fact, the hardest thing about the past two days was sitting in Starbucks! I work really well there and having my usual sugar free hazelnut latte pretty much makes my day. Alas, this drink is definitely NOT Whole30 compliant...dairy and artificial sweeteners are a big no no. Today I had my first black coffee. And it was gross. My brother was with me and said that I just have to power through, that eventually I will love black coffee. Hmm, this may take a while. For the next 30 days I will just have to be content with trying the various fruit teas that they offer, with the occasional caffeine fix that the black, gross tasting gloop will provide.

So what have I eaten in the past two days? Yesterday I roasted some chicken thighs and some carrots rubbed with cumin. Yum. Today has been a big cook-a-thon where I roasted some more veggies, made a Shepherd's Pie, and made some Scotch Eggs! These recipes came from 'Well Fed', the recipe book that I have been raving about! As I am British, I wanted to try out the 'traditional' recipes first.
The Shepherd's Pie was made with ground lamb and topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potato. It came out really well; the taste was lovely and full of depth. The presentation of it leaved much to be desired though! A bit sploggy, if that is a word. I feel that it works as a description for it! Next time I will use a food processor to puree the cauliflower, as opposed to just using a fork. It will hopefully make it much smoother and easier to dish out.

Now for the main event...the Scotch Eggs! These are beasts. Literally, the size of Mr T's fist. Instead of using breadcrumbs on the outside the recipe asked for ground up pork rinds. While I was in the supermarket, I looked at bags of pork scratchings but found that they were jammed packed with names of preservatives and other ingredients that I had trouble pronouncing; those were going no where near my mouth. Instead, I bought some pork rind and made my own!

For my first attempt I feel pretty proud of myself. They definitely look like Scotch Eggs at the very least! Next time though I will add in some more herbs to the sausage meat (homemade I might add!) and put more of the pork rind crumbs around the outside.

I hope everyone has a brilliant New Year! Remember to make some resolutions for 2013, but they need to be achievable. All goals have to be SMART:

S- Specific
M- Meaningful
A- Attainable
R- Relevant
T-Timed

There is no point setting yourself up for a failure; find something that you can reach and go get it.

I Have Definitely Been 'Well Fed'!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a lovely day full of family, friends, presents, and of course food. I sure did. Too much chocolate. And turkey. It was all totally worth it though!
I wanted to share with you one of my presents that I received from my sister:

It's a copy of 'Well Fed', the amazing Paleo recipe book by Mel from The Clothes Make The Girl!! I have been wanting this for months and I finally got it! My sister lives in America so can get hold of it more easily than us over here in the UK. That is one annoying thing however, some of the recipes call for ingredients that we can't get. Grrr. I am going to have to improvise when she wants me to use jicama.
You should see some of the recipes in this book though. Chocolate Chili? Erm yes please. Especially as it is completely Paleo! Other things that I am looking forward to making: Italian Sausage and Eggplant (Aubegine) Strata, Paleo Scotch Eggs, the Best Stir-Fry Sauce Ever, and Velvety Butternut Squash. In fact, I can't wait to make them all.

Well, today is Boxing Day so we are off for a nice long walk to kid ourselves that we have burnt all the calories we consumed yesterday, so that we can do the same with all the leftovers today.

Did you get any new recipe books for Christmas?

What do you and your family eat over the holidays?