Day 2 of the Whole 30.

Day two and I seem to be sticking to it. Hurray!

I started the day with a simple breakfast : tomatoes and bacon cooked in ghee, served with half an avocado. Michael had his with an egg.

I was busy in town all morning, and by the time I bought a few groceries, it was lunch time, so I ate a small bunch of green grapes on the way home.

Lunch was a simple garden salad with tuna and a little mayonnaise. I followed that with a cup of tea (with a dash of milk, so I suppose I'm not 100% sticking to the Whole 30) and a nice chunk of the Paleo slice.

I think that may have seen me through to dinner time, because I don't remember eating anything else.

Dinner was a delicious Mexican style meal, I guess it was kind of Tacos, but instead of taco shells or tortillas, we used iceberg lettuce for shells.

I've been concerned about the seasoning we have used in the past - the packet variety- so decided to make my own. I searched the Internet and came across a recipe that I tweaked. Here it is:

2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tb cumin
2 Tb dried oregano
1 Tb garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt

I mixed it altogether in a jar. This was the perfect amount for the 1 kg of kangaroo mince I used.

This is what I did:

I sauteed a large red onion (finely chopped), with half a large chopped red capsicum, and two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley in about two tablespoons of lamb tallow and a tablespoon of ghee(Kangaroo meat is very lean), then I added the meat and browned it. I also added a large grated carrot and a large grated zucchini. Then I popped in half a large jar of tomato paste. You could add more if it doesn't look right. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes, then tasted it. It needed more salt, so I added about a teaspoon. The vegetables provide enough moisture, so I didn't need to add any water.

I have to say it tasted really good and the whole family enjoyed it, though it was quite spicy and the kids needed a glass of milk to go with it.

We ate the meat mixture, wrapped in lettuce leaves with cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, sour cream and guacamole. I omitted the cheese and sour cream.Still delicious, and really filling. I had two filled lettuce leaves and felt quite satisfied.

I think I might have a nice cup of green tea or herbal tea to end the day.

Let's see if I can do another 28 days. I'm up for it!

Day one of the Whole 30

I mentioned earlier that I would have a salad for lunch, but decided to cook a stir fry with lamb fat and meat (a tiny amount of meat) and zucchini,onion,broccoli and snow peas. I decided to cook the lamb fat, mainly because Michael had hurt his shoulder last night and I'd recently read about how good the grass fed fat is for aching muscles and sore joints.

After lunch I had a medjool date (Oh My Goodness - what a delight), and later had 4 big cherries and some paleo slice, as well as a herbal tea, and later a beautiful arctic fire tea. I took Lola for a long walk in the bush and picked some tea-tree, which is flowering beautifully at the moment. It looks lovely in a big vase on my side-board.

Now Michael is barbecuing a couple of organic steaks and some skinless sausages for the kids. I par-boiled sweet potatoes, coloured carrots and potatoes (for the kids), and popped them on the oven to bake in some lamb fat with lemon thyme, garlic and leeks fresh from my garden. We'll have some green beans too.

Yum! Can't wait to eat!

The whole 30

I've been spending a bit of time researching the Paleo way of life - particularly the paleo way of eating, and I keep hearing about the "whole 30". I stumbled upon this website http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/ and have read all about how to go about it.

I don't think it will be all that hard, because I have been grain free and mostly sugar free for some time.But I am not dairy free - I really do like to eat homemade yogurt. However, the thinking is that dairy, even the fermented kind, isn't good for regulating hormones, and for the inflammatory response, which is what I'm really interested in ( having had the diagnosis of an underlying, unknown auto-immune disease). I hope to keep  it away by adopting the paleo lifestyle, and hopefully, sticking to it.

So, there's no more excuses (because Christmas and New Year are over, and I have 3 weeks of holidays before I am back at work - long enough to establish the whole 30.

In a nut-shell, here's what is involved (but please pop over to the web-site to find out the details):

• Eat real food: meat, seafood,eggs, tonnes of vegetables, some fruit,plenty of good fats from fruit,nuts,oils and seeds.
• Eat food with very few ingredients, unprocessed is best.
• Do Not eat any sugar - real or artificial
• Do Not consume alcohol
• No grain - NONE- no quinoa,amaranth,buckwheat,corn etc.
• No legumes, definitely no soy, but green beans, sugar snap and snow peas are okay
• No dairy (this will be hard for me) - not even fermented dairy like yogurt. Only clarified butter and Ghee.
• No white potatoes (another difficult one for me)
• No malted or sweetened vinegar, but all others are fine
• Exceptions of processed food are : coconut milk/cream, applesauce,tomato sauce (without added sugar), chicken broth, bottled olives.

So, with that in mind, I will need to organise meals that suit me, and the whole family. I'm leaning more and more towards getting the whole family to eat a more Paleo style diet. I think it will help them get over their niggling ailments, which though not too bad, they could do without. The girls sometimes suffer from  mysterious stomach cramps. They might be related to hormones, I can't be sure, but maybe a better diet will help. Charlie suffers from itchy eczema, and I'd love him to be rid of it. I've also noticed that they are all a bit addicted to sugar and carbohydrates. I know how bad these things are for my body, and I'd like to save them from the gamut of chronic illnesses I've suffered over the years, which are more than likely related to my love of all things sweet and white.

I realise going "cold turkey" for the kids will be really hard, but if I offer them a whole lot of yummy food that is grain and sugar free, perhaps they'll be convinced? It remains to be seen.

So, I'm going to try and keep track of my 30 days - I'll try to write often, and will let you know what is on the menu.

Although I am starting today , I didn't start til after breakfast - as I had stewed apricots for breakfast, which did have sugar in it. They were very delicious though!

Lunch today will be a big salad as I have a fridge full of goodies after the markets yesterday, and I'll probably eat that with a small can of salmon or sardines, some lemon juice and oil. I'll follow up with some fruit if I feel peckish.

Tonight we'll barbecue some steak and have some roasted vegetable and a cabbage salad.

Wish me luck!

Christmas Fudge Recipe

I found it!

Oh my goodness, it doesn't get much easier than this:

(I make a double batch because it disappears quite quickly)

1 can of Condensed Milk (395gms)
125 grams butter
375 grams milk chocolate
200 grams dark chocolate

Melt the ingredients together. You can do this on the stove top, on a medium heat, or in the microwave ( 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, being careful not to overdo it).

My daughters always make this recipe, and usually do it on the stove top as it is easy for them to monitor the melting.

Once it is all amalgamated together, pour it into a baking paper lined container - I use a rectangular plastic container, so I can put the lid on it and keep it in the fridge, or pour it into a flat baking tray.

It is difficult to cut, but it is so easy to make, and makes a wonderful Christmas gift.

I once made a white chocolate version of this, but found it tasted too sweet. You can also make it with all milk chocolate.I prefer the version with the dark chocolate in it.

Our friends, the Gospers, who passed the recipe on to us also make it with macadamia nuts in it - that is really delicious.

Enjoy!

A New Year. Now What?

I’ve been thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been reviewing the year that was, and thinking a little about the year to come.

This time last year, I was in a very difficult place. Two days earlier I had been to hospital to have my tiny baby “removed”(for want of a better word) from my body, because his little heart had stopped, and he had died.

Despite the intense sadness I was feeling at the time, I did write this about the new year:

“But 2011 is a new year, full of promise. I've made no resolutions, no plans. I just want to take it day by day and really appreciate and enjoy what I have in my life.”

So, now I can look back and take stock of 2011.

I didn’t make any plans, but had hoped, that somehow I could soften the blow of the miscarriage by having a successful pregnancy. Imagine my delight when I became pregnant again in April! I was thrilled, though very, very anxious, after the previous miscarriage. However, I felt that it couldn’t happen a second time. How naive (or just plain hopeful) I was. I lost our little boy at the same stage as the previous miscarriage at the end of June. It was pretty well 6 months to the day after my first miscarriage.

To say it, “rocked my world”, would be something of an understatement. Despite having experienced it before, I still had to get through the grief all over again, whilst I was still mourning the loss of Alfie. It was a really hard time. And it still isn’t easy.

Of course, whilst I dealt with that, life went on. My children grew. They were busy. I went back to work. My husband and I had our 21^st wedding anniversary. Our eldest son returned home. Our second child left home. Time marched on, and life really did go on.

As per usual, my interest in health continued and spurred on by Sarah Wilson in her fabulous blog, I tried to give up sugar, and was mostly successful, though I am not 100% clean right now. I’ve also learnt much about grains and seeds and how they affect the body, and why a Paleo/Primal style diet is the best for the human body, and for my body. I’ve pretty well stuck to that, and will continue to do so. I have learnt so much, and enjoyed reading Nora Gedgaudas (Primal Body, Primal Mind ) and Louise Hay ( You Can Heal Your Life).

Physically, I fell well, but in my heart and mind, there’s so much more work to be done. And with that in mind, here are some of my New Year’s resolutions:

·      When I was pondering resolutions last night, the word “yield” popped into to my head. I think I will try to “yield” more this year. To be more flexible, to let things just happen, to give over control, and to trust.

·      I would like very much to integrate the Paleo lifestyle into my life, wholeheartedly,and, to get the whole family eating in a more Paleo friendly way.

·      Every year (almost), I say I will practice Yoga more often. I say this because I know it makes me feel better. It calms me, it turns on the happiness juices, and I always walk away from a class feeling taller and lighter. It’s been so difficult to make it a part of my daily routine, but, dammit, the time for excuses is over. Why would I make an excuse to NOT do something I love?

·      I’m going to ride my new bike often. I want to ride around Rottnest Island (in October)without puffing too much and feeling the burn in my muscles. It is time I became bike fit!

·      I’m going back to work for three days a week. I’m excited about going back. Mostly my job is fun. But I worry about how it will affect us as a family. So I resolve to do whatever it takes to make the transition easy, and to make sure that my workload doesn’t double.

·      But, mostly, mostly…I just want to accept. I want to accept that I can’t make all the decisions about what happens to me. That I can’t control some of the things that happen, and that I cannot always get what I want, which goes quite nicely with my first resolution.

·      And, lastly, I won’t beat myself up if I get to December 31^st, 2012, and haven’t been able to uphold all my resolutions. I recall, many, many years ago, resolving to give up smoking. I don’t think I did it that year, but I did eventually, so these things have a way of sorting themselves out…See – already I’m yielding, and, accepting…

Happy New Year!

Merry Making

Although I’ve decide to take a low key approach to Christmas this year, I can’t help but get my hands busy and the girls have joined in too.

They love to make rocky road every year, and fudge, which we then gift to family and friends. The Fudge is amazing and so easy to make, once you’ve made it, you’ll be sorry you did, because you will just want to eat it all…

I will have to post the recipe later because I can’t find it right now!

I’ve been making “yo-yos”, also known as “Suffolk puffs”. They make a wonderful garland (the idea came from Soule Mama), and I also made little ones to make cute little gift tags.

For the gift tags, I cut a circle template with a diameter of about 7 cm. The final yo yo has a diameter of about 3 cm.

Freya and I used a bread and butter plate for the garland template. It is 18cm in diameter. The finished yoyos have a diameter of about  9 cm, depending on the fabric.

To make the yoyos:

Cut your fabric circle.

Pull the thread to gather the edge into the middle.

Fasten with a few over-sown stitches.

Then sew a pretty button in the middle

To make the gift tags, I sewed a row of red stitching around the edge of the card. It has a nice effect, and glued the yoyo onto the card. They are very cute and affective. Next year I may progress to making Christmas cards, but I really left my run too late this year.

To make the garland, I used wide cotton tape and sewed the yoyos onto it. It makes a wonderful Christmas Garland.

You could also make them into tree decorations.

I do feel inspired by how quick and effective the yoyos are, and I’m wondering what I might make next. I remember yoyo dolls were around when I was a kid, but haven’t seen them for years, so might have to look into making one of those.

It’s a busy time of the year. We’ve been doing a lot of socialising and my great Paleo diet has suffered a bit. But I’m not beating myself up about it, I’ll get back to it after the crazy festive season has settled.

We are looking forward to a quiet day at home with all our lovely children. We are hoping for a warm day so we can play at the beach, and plan to have a delicious lunch of roast pork and salad. We might even throw a few prawns on the barbeque!

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Paleo Breakfasts

I can safely say that I'm really happy with the paleo/primal lifestyle and way of eating, however, I do find making breakfast a bit of a challenge.

Being used to popping on a couple of pieces of gluten-free toast, or perhaps some gluten free muesli and milk, leaving all grains from my diet has made making breakfast a bit more complicated. So, here's what I do:

• Always start the day with a cup of tea. Sometimes it is regular tea (though I'm trying to drink less of it), some days I prefer a squeeze of lemon in hot water. Lately I've been having it with honey as I have a horrible cough.
• I usually follow that with a piece of the paleo snack slice I mentioned in an earlier post. It puts my hunger at bay while I try to work out what to eat for breakfast.
• It is difficult to get away with not cooking, so I'll look at what selection is in the fridege and I usually have a combination of these things: bacon, haloumi cheese, feta cheese, mushrooms, smoked salmon,spinach,asparagus, avocado,tomatoes,pineapple, cooked potatoes and eggs (for mike, not me). This makes a really lovely breakfast.
• If I'm in a hurry, or feel like something lighter I'll have some greek yoghurt, usually with berries (most often strawberries), and some toasted coconut and nuts. I love slivered almonds, pine nuts or chopped macadamias, lightly toasted in a small frypan. This takes seconds, and is so worthwhile. If there are leftovers I'll nibble on them during the day.

 I'm always on the lookout for different recipes for breakfast, and I've tried a few. A recent one was paleo pancakes, made with almond meal and nut butter. To say it was a "flop" was an understatement. No one in the family liked them. Even smothered in maple syrup! I could hardly flip them - they kept breaking, and burning. So that was a dud...

There are many things that can be done with eggs. I sometimes make a beautiful omelet for Mike, or scrambled eggs, baked eggs etc, but I don't eat eggs, so it limits things for me.

Overall, the little inconvenience of having to prepare breakfast is worthwhile. I feel good on this way of eating, despite being sick with a bad cold and cough lately. I'm hoping it'll settle soon. The cough is very annoying.