When life squeezes a bit hard…
… it helps having this to come home to!
Yes, that’s Maggie! Almost 5 months old and very naughty. But ever so cute!
I bought her a doggie futon this weekend and she loves it! Almost as much as the ostrich thigh bone I bought her…
So much better of course when you can eat your awesome bone on your awesome futon!
Tomorrow night we start with obedience training… I say “we” but the first lesson is “no dogs allowed”. There is no restrictions on husbands though, so I’m taking mine!
If my dog won’t listen to me, maybe my husband will…
Yeah, I live in a dream world.
Letting Go of Guilt
Mary from A Merry Life wrote about Food Guilt recently and I’ve been itching to weigh in on this, because it’s definitely been an issue for me in the past. Most of us grew up in some sort of formalized religion where guilt played a prominent role. We joke about Catholics and guilt and Jews…
Am I getting this right?
Two weeks into “my new life” (the blog and the job) and I think it’s time to see how I’m doing with regards to balance… I don’t want to not notice that I’m slipping and end up in tatters in a heap. It helps that I love, love, love my new job and feel 100%…
Recipe: Vegetable Goulash
This is one of our favorite meals. I usually serve it with wholewheat wraps, but it’s delicious with ribbon noodles too.
To make this recipe vegan, you simply need to substitute the sour cream to a vegan equivalent.
Vegetable Goulash
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 6 cups assorted vegetables (carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, leeks, zucchini, bell peppers, celery, etc), chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 3 Tbsp paprika
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 cup sour cream
Sauté the vegetables in the coconut oil for about 8 minutes, until tender. Stir in the flour and paprika and cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
Add the stock and bring to the boil while stirring. Add the sour cream and stir through. Season to taste and remove from heat.
Serve and enjoy!
When I know better, I can do better
Weight loss is, like just about everything else in life, a learning process.
We start off by “knowing” that we need to eat less and move more. As we go along, and especially in the blogging community, those truths get refined and redefined as we go along. We learn that a calorie is not just a calorie, that it’s not so much the quantity, but the quality of our food that matters (and the same goes for exercise!). We learn that our bodies need certain kinds of fat to function properly, that protein does not only come from animal products, that sleep is important, that artificial sweeteners are devastating to our health (and that they do not promote weight loss) and most importantly that there are no quick fixes.
We even come to understand that diets don’t work and that we need to start living our lives in a way that will help us attain and sustain a healthy weight and body.
All these little nuggets of information (and many more) are tools that we use in order to live healthier lives.
My toolbox is stocked with lots of very useful things, but I believe that I’ve recently come across some extremely valuable tools that will make a huge difference for me. They are:
- Intuitive eating
- Photographing my food
I will be writing a lot about these in the days to come, but today I will summarize what I know works for me (so far).
- All aspects of my general health improves when I eat a predominantly plant-based diet. This has been confirmed through blood tests (brought cholesterol down to normal and reversed insulin resistance within three months) and blood pressure monitoring, but also through personal observation – I sleep better, have more energy and my skin glows.
- Refined carbohydrates – bread, pasta, sugar – are not my friend.
- I eat lots of fruit.
- I only use cold-pressed extra-virgin oils.
- I only use RAW nuts and seeds.
- I take flax seed oil daily.
- My digestive system does not like vinegar, garlic and onions.
- Stimulants (like caffeine and sugar) and depressants (like alcohol) negatively affect my weight loss efforts.
- I don’t need to snack between meals (I just don’t get hungry…)
- I don’t do well on dairy (I break out in spots, it upsets my tummy and blocks my nose).
- It is more important what I eat for breakfast than when I eat breakfast.
- My day will not get off the ground if I don’t start it with a big glass of barley grass juice.
- Eating a heavy meal at night affects the quality of my sleep.
- My taste has changed over the years and I rarely need to add salt to my food anymore. If I do add salt, it’s a full-spectrum salt like Himalayan Crystal salt, which actually help balance my mineral levels.
- I’ve learned to recognize my thirst and slake it with water.
- I avoid processed foods, GMO’s and foods containing hormones where possible.
- Legumes, like chickpeas, lentils and beans are nutritional powerhouses and invaluable when it comes to weight loss.
- Green smoothies are the bomb!
So, the knowledge is there, and has been for some time. Where I’ve come short has been in the motivation department.
I now think that maybe subconsciously I’ve known for a while that I didn’t want to have kids anymore. How else can I explain the huge sense of release and relief I felt when I finally admitted it to myself? I feel as if I’ve come unstuck and that I can now move forward towards my goals.
I am ridiculously happy at the moment. My new job is going well. I’ve spent the week with the outgoing Financial Manager and I am confident that I will not only be able to handle the job, but to excel in it. I am not fazed by the hours, the commute or the need to plan and prepare my meals in advance. My household is running reasonably smoothly, my husband is happy (that I’m bringing in a second income, but also that I’m happy) and my dog has quickly adapted to the changes.
I’m truly motivated to take my health to the next level by losing my excess weight and getting more active. Bring it on!
Reason #552 why I love blogging
Blogging is a lot like prayer… You post a problem on your blog in the evening, go to bed and wake up to a mailbox full of solutions. I love it! Thank you for suggesting that I walk on the wine estate! I can’t imagine why I hadn’t thought of that. I have to say…
It’s all relative…
Remember the contract job I had and how bitterly I complained about having to get up at 5am? Well, with this job I won’t be getting up much later, but because I love the job, the drive and the setting, I have not complaints at all. Lesson learned: Do what you love! Now, instead of…
First day at my new job
This is just a quick update to tell you about my first day at my new job…
I loved it! I just know that I will be very happy there. It’s exactly what I’ve envisioned for myself.
Sure, there are some challenges, but just enough to make it interesting. The lady from whom I’m taking over did a great job and she’s prepared a very comprehensive handover, so I think the transition will be fine – for me and for the company.
This week, while we’re working in tandem, I’m getting up at 6am and leaving at 7am. It takes me about 30 minutes of free-flowing traffic to get there. I leave work at 5pm. But from next week, everything will move half an hour earlier, in other words, I will get up at 5:30am, leave at 6:30am and start work at 7am. I will finish at 4:30pm. That half an hour will be ever so precious for me – it will eventually ensure that I get to my chosen mode of exercise in time (more about that in an upcoming post).
It was really cold this morning, so I opted for this outfit, with a long flowing black cardigan. It was almost easier to say goodbye to poor Maggie than getting my husband to take pictures of me before 7! I’ll just have to keep him sweet so that you can see all the clothes…
Seeing as this was such a red-letter day for me, I decided to jump on the scale… Just so that I could have a point of reference for when I do it again in, say about 6 months’ time.
Eating was good today… I loved my packed meals. Now I must just politely inform my boss that while I truly appreciate his thoughtfulness, he really needn’t order me a cappuccino every time he has one. I’m quite happy with water and herbal tea…
Maggie was ecstatic to see me when I got home. Poor doggie, to have to stay outside in the cold like that! I’m sure that when she wasn’t digging that huge gaping hole in my lawn, she was snuggled up in her kennel with her blanket and her cushion.
Tonight I plan to be in bed by 9pm! We got to bed late last night because we watched the final of the World Cup. I really felt it today. Of course it will take a week or so for me to get used to getting up and actually being compos mentis while it’s still dark. Fortunately the days are getting longer…
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 10 minutes to get under the covers!
Recipe: Sweet Potato & Spinach Soup
It’s been a cold and rainy weekend, so soup was definitely on the menu. This is one of my favorite recipes, not only because it’s tasty, but because it’s quick:
SWEET POTATO & SPINACH SOUP
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 500 g (1 pound) sweet potatoes, diced
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 Tbsp medium curry paste
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 can coconut milk
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- 4 hands full baby spinach
- salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan and sauté the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste for 5 minutes.
Add the stock, coconut milk, lemon juice and chili. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes (until the sweet potatoes are tender).
Puree the soup with a hand blender, add the spinach and cook for about 2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.
Season, serve and enjoy!
I made enough so that we have leftovers for Monday night.
PS. It’s my first attempt at food photography, so be kind!
Keys to Success: Planning & Organization
Thank you for the lovely words of welcome!
I start working again on Monday (Financial Manager for a boutique hotel on a wine farm). And unlike my last working stint, which was just three months long and gave me only three days in which to prepare after not working for three years, this time it’s (hopefully) for keeps and I had about 10 days to prepare.
To be fair, I knew that I was going to be working again soon, so I had started some preparations even before this job appeared on the horizon, i.e. I had the cleaning lady all lined up (even though there were some snags when push came to shove – all resolved now).
But still, this week went by in a blur of clothes shopping, banking business, tax-filing (for the ONE week I worked in the last tax year!), pedicures, teas and lunches. And don’t forget that I started a new blog!
I still have to download some new CD’s for the car (the play-lists have been compiled), fill up the car and do the grocery shopping (Sunday), but basically I’m ready for work and my house is sorted. (Oh dear, just remembered that I hadn’t been to the library – better do that first thing tomorrow!)
When I did the three month contact I was so overwhelmed by the commute and and pressure of not having my household seen to that I completely neglected to take care of myself. I ate badly and never exercised.
This time I’m doing it differently… I’m making extensive plans (with lots of alternatives and options) to ensure that I eat well and exercise regularly.
Hotels have staff canteens. Staff eat for free, so the food is cheap and usually atrocious – fatty and starchy stews mostly. If, and it’s a big IF, there’s a salad, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s not dressed in cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon! I already found out that, five star or not, this hotel is no different. So, I am going to avoid the canteen at all costs.
Since we’re out on a farm, this means bringing my own food. Great! Have cooler bag, will eat healthy. I only have to bring breakfast, lunch and snacks. I have my very own 20 liter water cooler (for filtered water) in my office (nobody else uses it, so I don’t mind buying the water), as well as a kettle for my herbal teas.
I can prepare the food the night before. It will be mostly in the form of salads, fruit and vegetables, some hummus, etc. Nothing fancy, just simple, fresh, whole foods. I’ll cook on weekends, but during the week we’ll keep it quick, uncomplicated and often raw.
This is not deprivation! It’s making the most of our time and nourishing our bodies. It will also leave time for exercise… which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.
