A Healthy(ish) Easter feast...

Just thought I'd share the healthy options I incorporated into our extended family Easter lunch on Sunday. We had both sets of parents (grandparents) over, as well as my step-mother's father. The three of us were the only representatives of the younger generations, due to various expeditions and commitments of others. So, a nice relaxed group of seven adults and one six-year-old.
We started with a beetroot dip and crudités (I ditched the cumin crisps, as I thought there'd be enough other carbs with salads etc.).

Very delicious. The only changes I made to the dip from the recipe (which you'll have to join up to 12WBT to get access to) is that I added toasted whole cumin seeds and some Moroccan seasoning before I blended it up. I really like beetroot as a vegetable, although those with any sort of stomach-acid irregularity (as I tend to have from time to time) need to be prepared for the dramatic colour effects on your ... a-hem ... outputs. Lots of carrot and celery sticks to accompany, very well received.

The BBQ king cooked a whole piece of scotch fillet (beef) on our spit roast. Although not exactly on the 12WBT plan, I limited my portion size, and if you're going to eat roasted meat, this is one of the lower-fat ways to prepare it.

Along with the meat, we had skin-on oven roasted potatoes which my step-mother brought (I had one small one only!), and a selection of four salads, including two made by me. Firstly a salad based around quinoa, which I also really like, but have never actually prepared myself before. Added to roasted pumpkin (I cooked mine in cubes, rather than slabs, for ease of serving), spinach leaves, mint and a tasty lemony dressing, also very popular. This image is actually of a similar salad from Google (I'm really going to have to get better at snapping photos).

The second salad was a roasted beetroot and spinach salad with toasted walnuts, crumbled feta and a pleasant dressing flavoured with citrus and mustard. It was supposed to have roasted zucchini too, but as ours were distinctly mushy when I got them out of the fridge, the worms got those instead, and I really don't think the salad suffered too much from the loss. Definitely another one we'll be doing again.

My step-mother also made a couple of salads, a mixed salad of lettuce, tomatoes, celery etc. to please the traditionalists and also a crunchy quinoa-based salad, apparently from George Colimbaris. Very good also.

We finished with two different cakes, one a Simnel Cake made by my mother in law (fruit cake with marzipan layers traditional at Easter) and some Apple tea cake my step-mother had cooked for the night before. Had small slices only, but inevitably there was also some chocolate consumed...

All in all, I was very pleased with how it all went, menu-wise. I certainly don't think anyone felt that they were being forced to eat "diet food". It's good reinforcement that all of these changes are completely sustainable and I'll probably happily incorporate many of the 12WBT recipes into our normal family repertoire.

And ... I'm back (almost 2 weeks later)!

It's been a busy fortnight, what with the school fair on Saturday 19th March, and Easter this weekend. I've done reasonably well food-wise up until the last couple of days, when I'll admit a bit of chocolate has been consumed. In an illustration of the fickleness of life, guess who won first prize in the Dogs' Homes of Tasmania Easter raffle?

That's right - us! For the first two days (I picked it up on Thursday morning), I barely felt tempted, but over Sunday and today, I've eaten far too much chocolate. As you can see, my daughter's delighted with our win!
Anyway, back on the horse this week. I'm not going to fall into the trap that many (including myself in the past) do - throwing in the towel because of falling at one hurdle. So many metaphors!
I've stayed off soft drinks completely since 12WBT started, and to be honest have barely missed them. I'm really enjoying sparkling mineral water with a squeeze of lime as an alternative. Have also permanently dropped to 1.5 teaspoons of sugar in my one cup of coffee per day, and again it's been easier than I thought to adapt to - I'll attempt another drop to 1 tsp during the 12 weeks. As of last Wednesday, I'd dropped just over 3kg since the first day (14 March), although I expect to have gained slightly this week, which would be only fair.

Day 2 - 14th March 2016

Another busy day, this time making craft items for my daughter's school fair. Her grade is running the plant stall, which has effectively meant that 4 or 5 of the mums (including myself) have pulled the whole thing together over the past month or so. All looking good now though, but roll on Sunday (day after the fair!)...


Again, I haven't quite made the calorie target, but as of almost 8.00pm, I'm less than 100cals over, so better than yesterday. My downfall was the delicious coconut loaf my friend Clare (a fellow school mum) made in her new thermomix. I had one slice - can't find the exact recipe on CalorieKing, but the nearest thing was 442 calories per slice!!! With any luck, Clare's cake contained less than that, which would bring me closer to or within target.


Feeling pretty good. I suspect it may be the drop in sugar intake, which probably means I'm in for a crash later in the week. Still not drinking anything like enough water, but one step at a time... (and no soft drinks as an alternative, so that's a positive).


Here's a photo and link to the recipe for that coconut cake (it seriously was delicious!)

My 12WBT achievement for the morning is to have quickly set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my calories. Here it is!

So, on paper (screen) at least, it doesn't look like I did a great first day, given that my target calorie intake is 1200. But, in context, I'm not too disappointed. I avoided all pre-dinner offerings (chips, biscuits, cheese, grissini) at my parents-in-law's place last night, and with the small aberration of the Lindor ball in the morning, ate not too badly, considering.

Beware the Ides of March...

Today is the day (according to Shakespeare, at least) that Julius Caesar finally bit off more than he could chew. My aim for the day is not to follow his example and try to meet my 1200 calorie target. Incidentally, 15 March was also my grandmother's birthday - Happy Birthday Gran, wherever you are!
The house is in chaos, with the BBQ king returning from his trip tonight, so a busy day ahead. I'm thinking incidental, rather than planned, exercise. Feeling good!

Day 1 - 14th March 2016

A bit of an odd start to my new 12WBT adventure...


I decided to sign up on a whim last night, after seeing the email in my inbox that the new round started today. Previously, I've tried to do the right thing, with pre-season and warm-up activities and all. This time it's more spontaneous, so we'll see.


Feeling a bit flat today - the BBQ king is in Perth attending his uncle's funeral. We're all feeling pretty shocked as said uncle was only 68, had no prior medical history and was just getting going on enjoying a well-earned retirement. And suddenly, life can be over, just like that (he suffered a massive heart attack at home last Sunday morning). He was a wonderful man, with a loving family and so much left to give to the world. The inequitable distribution of life is a big one for me - my own mother died at 56 of breast cancer, which she battled for 14 years before finally succumbing.


Anyway, onto 12WBT. Given my late sign-up, I haven't shopped or prepared at all for the different food I'll be eating. Nor have I told the BBQ king of this change to my (our) lifestyle. I don't think he'll mind - he's keen to lose a bit of weight too, after a recent slightly high cholesterol reading.


So... I didn't do a great job for breakfast. The junior fashion queen chowed down on several slices of sourdough with vegemite, and I made myself a (plunger) coffee as usual. Couldn't find any baked beans in the pantry, which were my breakfast standby in previous rounds, and didn't get any further. One positive - I "only" had 1 1/2 tsp sugar in the coffee, instead of the usual 2. It was fine - barely noticed the difference.


Lunch fared a little better, finished off some beetroot tzatziki, which I noticed is on the 12WBT recipe index now (loving this new improved version, by the way!), on a small pide, and a cob of corn (no butter). Feeling good. Haven't had any water to drink yet - I think I'm chronically dehydrated out of habit.


A trip to the supermarket is in order, after dinner with the in-laws to coincide with the funeral in the West...

The Duchess is back!

Given the evidence below, I think I have to admit the following:

• I'm not a committed blogger
• I fell off the 12WBT wagon pretty soon after I started last round

So, that dealt with, I'm back to have another try, with much the same aims as before - to feel better, set a better health example for my family, and to lose a few kgs too. An extra incentive this time around - my lovely Dad has gifted us a trip to Queensland in August - it'll be the first time I've been since Expo '88! But I don't want to be mistaken for one of the local cetaceans on the beach, so a little less than 5 months out seems an opportune time to take action!


I'm only 1kg more now than I was at the very start of my original 12WBT round, four years ago, and given my diet and lack of exercise during the interim, I think that's something to be grateful for.


Unlike many 12WBT "newbies", I have proven to myself previously that this system works for me and that I can do it! (I just need to stick with it and not fall into the trap of over-reaching exercise-wise, which I have done previously, leading to injury, flare-ups in my fibromyalgia symptoms and failing to finish the round.


This round's motto - stick to the program, take it slow and steady...