Part II; This is how I Detox

I would very much like each of you to read that I ate chocolate and cake on the first of these days, (Tuesday), and recognise that you can eat healthier and still have your cake, and eat it. The reason I cut down on sugar for 2 days was because my body said, 'no more please'. Today, my body said, 'I want to try that cake'. My entire life is about listening to my body, and, as a result, only in the past 3-4 weeks have I achieved the ability to eat what I like, when I like, and feel no guilt. Ever. When you can have it all, you don't want it all.

It's liberating, try it!

Day 3 & 4;

Tuesday

(beautiful & sunny, why am I at work?)
(no exercise)

Breakfast

Usual lemon water

Home made muesli with a sprinkle of corn flakes, stewed apples and fresh strawberries covered in milk

Green tea

Morning Snack

1 ruby grapefruit

Tablespoon of coconut chips

Lunch

Out with a friend - Singapore rice noodles with vegetables & tofu

1 row Lindt milk chocolate

Afternoon Snack

1 small piece of vanilla cake (colleagues birthday)

Dinner (at my parents' place)

1/4 Rye Mountain bread with 2 olives & half a fresh chilli

Stew of sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrot and chickpeas in spices with cous cous

(Mum now admits I've had an influence on her cooking)

Wednesday

(snowed under at work)
(20 minutes free weights)

Breakfast

1 piece rye toast with tahini & honey

5 fresh strawberries

Morning Snack

Fruit Salad with shaved coconut

Lunch

Minestrone

1 piece toblerone

Afternoon Snack

4 plain rice crackers

Dinner

Mashed sweet potato topped with sauteed green vegies (in garlic), and kalamata olives.

2 dates for dessert

I kind of forgot to record my food the next day. I could make it up, but I'm honest like that.

I didn't lose any weight, but felt a whole lot better. I've since embarked on avoiding added sugar or high carb feels after 4pm to avoid feeling puffy, and as a result I am sleeping better and needing less for breakfast. Amazing how the lighter I eat at night, the less I need to eat the next morning.

In the mean time, I have been diagnosed with a nasty infection and am on antibiotics. Ugh.
Although, between us, this is the first time I've had a 'normal' illness that isn't a result of CFS or CFS medications or a reaction to coming off CFS medication. I have an infection - what a normal thing to say! It's kind of nice, I mean, if I have to be sick...

Has anyone else decided to clean up their diet/'detox' lately?

How's it going?

What are you doing?

Stay well,
Nat x

This is how I Detox

Last week was a seedy one for me - way too much food, alcohol too frequently and a serious lack of exercise. By Saturday I was feeling really slow and, after having friends over for a 3 course meal Saturday night, I felt properly sick on Sunday.

We all have these weeks/months/seasons, so I want to share with you how I eat to eradicate this feeling. I'm not big on the word 'detox', I just find that, today, it's the one most people will understand when I am trying to describe what I'm doing (stopping putting crap in my body, basically). I'm usually a healthy eater anyway, but the difference between me 'detoxing' and my normal eating habits is a big cut back on sugar, salt, packaged foods and an increase in exercise. I also put more work into my food so it doesn't need rubbish to flavour it up.

A week eating like this usually gets my body back to happy, but I prefer a few weeks, (which isn't scheduled, I just usually feel like a nice glass of wine by then!), as after a few weeks my body starts to feel more energised, lighter and happier. I think it's really important not to try and schedule your eating or force yourself to be healthier, eating shouldn't be a chore on any level and your body will tell you when it needs a change (ever felt like 'just a salad' for dinner in Summer? Yeah, like that).

I'm breaking down this post into 2 or 3 parts, as large bodies of diary-like text make blogs boring.

Here's Day 1 & 2:

Sunday

(lazy day at home)

(45 minute slow walk)

Breakfast

Glass of water with a big squeeze of lemon

1 piece Rye toast with honey & tahini

Mug of green tea

Lunch

1 mashed sweet potato with Greek yogurt, flaked almonds and pepitas

1 fresh fig

Afternoon Snack

1 piece Rye Mountain Bread with hommus

Dinner

Minestrone soup with beans & wholemeal pasta

Monday

(exhausted and no interest in going to work)

(did 45 minutes of cardio & 15 minutes of free weights)

Breakfast

Bircher muesli made with milk, stewed apples (no added anything), Greek yogurt, sultanas and Cinnamon all warmed up.

Morning Snack

6 pretzels (offered by a colleague) and a cup of coffee (decaf, no sugar, low fat milk)

Lunch

Big bowl of vegetable minestrone with wholemeal penne

1 plum

Afternoon Snack

10 plain Sakata rice crackers with 2 tablespoons hommus

Dinner

Home made vegie burger with sauteed vegetables & 1 piece Rye Mountain Bread

Fruit Salad of fresh pineapple & strawberries with a sprinkle of coconut

(I need sweet after dinner, always).

What do you do after way too much seediness?

Stay well,
Nat x

Stuff I Cooked / Time to Clean

Firstly, here is a collection of some of what I've cooked over the past week or two.


A vegetarian version of Spaghetti Puttanesca (Wholemeal Spaghetti with a red sauce of capers, green olives & chilli)M is not a fan, so I have this when he's not home for dinner.Wholemeal pasta is higher in fibre & more filling than the white stuff, and the sauce has almost no fat in it (a spray of olive oil to fry the garlic a little). Of course the parmesan is there purely for it's very high calcium content.



My version of spaghetti & meatballs, for M. I just ate a big plate of the pasta.




Chocolate patty cakes I made whilst under the charming influence of red wine because I felt like something sweet. I burnt myself rather badly, but they were tasty.




My breakfast this morning.
Sunday always calls for a big brekky.




Chickpea & Sweet Potato Curry. I have a reputation for this stuff & this is the first time I made it in our new home!I make my famous curry using Carnation Light & Creamy Coconut flavour. Coconut milk & cream is incredibly high in fat, even if you get your hands on a reduced fat one, and in dishes like curries where the flavours are strong, you won't even notice it's not the real thing.




Lentil soup & home made garlic & herb pizza.This was tonights dinner. I am a fan of a light dinner on a Sunday night and M is starting to enjoy it, too.Please forget packaged pizza and garlic bread, if you're going to eat something fatty or bread-y, it's better knowing what's in it by making it yourself.



Egg and butter free, (and consequently vegan), chocolate cake.This was for a family member's birthday who has to avoid too much fatty foods due to a recent health scare. I spoke to her before and she said it was very nice.
If you want to try it, here is the recipe;

Chocolate Cake (with no eggs or butter / vegan)
I;3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla
M;Preheat oven to 180c.
Thoroughly mix dry ingredients first (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt).
Mix in wet ingredients (water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla). Continue mixing until you obtain an even batter (no lumps).
Pour into a cake pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes.
It was super easy & made a super huge cake.


In other news, I have been eating very heavily and am aiming to do my version of a detox this week, especially as due to a bit of a beating to my system last week, I am having a break from exercise. I will try to document what I do when I want an internal clean up, but that pot of lentil soup I brewed for tonight's dinner will get a work out this week!
Happy Sunday Night & here's to a week of amazing food.
Stay well,Nat x