Month: July 2013

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Let’s get started

The resolutions might be for August, but thought it best to get started while I’m still sold on the idea. Went for a run last night, for the first time in over a month, so today everything hurts. Struggled to get out of bed with my early alarm – going to be a tough day.

0700 Fruit salad w/ Greek yoghurt, and tea-to-go.

0900 Latte.

1030 Getting a bit bored. Fancy a snack. Having a mug of hot water instead.

1100 Got a meeting – that’ll distract me for a while.

1200 Peckish – fancy a tea but forgot to bring teabags. Hot water it is….

1230 Lunchtime! Frittata (sausage, chorizo, red pepper, onion, broccoli) with coleslaw salad. Nearly added some cheese, but then thought better of it. Didn’t need it. So yummy, I almost forgot to chew. Lush.

1300 Another meeting in a freezing cold room.

1330 Meeting cancelled – perfect moment for a sneaky cuppa. Think I may have a bit of a tea dependency. Will have to add that to the resolutions list too. Starting to yawn a lot. Drink more water……

1600 All meeting finished. Feeling very sleepy and have a long drive home ahead of me. Might have to get coffee and a snack en-route, for safety purposes.

1900 Made it home in 1 piece but consumed a bag of 6 mini babybel cheeses, a packet of beef jerky and a bag of pork scratchings while in transit 🙁

2100 Late dinner of mushroom and chicken liver stroganoff with cauliflower rice, and a small bottle of beer (1.5 units).

Overall, just as well the resolutions only start tomorrow!

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Post-holiday blues

Been a bit quiet of late due to being away on hols, then coming back to work. Full-on, post-holiday blues 🙁

Managed to stay mostly Paleo whilst away, apart for drinking WAY too much, so was considering going Whole30 for a month to re-baseline. For those who don’t know, it’s a stricter form of the Paleo diet than the one I follow, but it’s normally only followed for a set period e.g. 30 days, to the clear the effects of sugar on the body. Some might call it a detox. I’ve been reluctant to try it before as items on the banned list include cheese and alcohol. My raisons d’etre! That said, I have been ‘cheating’ a lot since returning to work and indulged in too many lattes and evening vinos, and I might have picked up breakfast from a certain Scottish restaurant this morning……. my skin is paying the price and concentration levels are…. oh look, a squirrel!

So instead of signing up for Whole30, and probably managing WholeSweetFA, I’m setting myself a few resolutions for August:

  1. No more than 1 latte per day
  2. Go out for a run 3 times a week
  3. Limit alcohol to 7 units per week (not in one go!)
  4. Post every day on progress
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Holiday time!

This year we managed to plan ourselves a few days off work before leaping into the holiday chaos of 4am alarms and airports full of amateur travellers – Heathrow could really do with separate lanes for people who know where they’re going, and how to remove their shoes for security, and another for those who need a little more time and assistance.

A slow adjustment to vacation seemed like a good plan, due to hubby only just being back from India. Friday was dedicated to covering as much of London as possible, [must post part 2 soon] Saturday was family catch up day and Sunday was Wimbledon. Today has been holiday prep – yes, we leave these thing late. First pleasant task of the day was to try to empty the fridge of perishables; resulting in a rather tasty caramelised onion frittata with nigella seeds for brunch. Have been informed I may make that again. A short swing round town to get Mr some replacement swimming trunks and have a calming flat white at Picnic. Darn hot out there, but has helped me get my suitcase contents reduced to the bare minimum. Not even taking heels or a hairdryer this time!

Must crack on with dinner soon so can get an early night and be bright-eyed and bushy tailed at silly o’clock tomorrow morning. Looks like it’s chicken wings, coleslaw, tomato and mozzarella salad, and half a lemon 🙂

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Proudly British

Other than the 2012 Olympics, and seasonal Royal events, it’s not often that we feel a collective pride in being British. Despite the date, it’s July and it’s sunny, and we get see a Brit take the Wimbledon title. Claiming my Celtic heritage on this one 🙂

Too hot to cook so a late lunch of prawns on salad with a chilli, soy and sesame dressing. All out of Pimms so will have to have a Hendricks and T. Oh the hardship… in pre-holiday close down so only have lemon to garnish and no cucumber!

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London – Part 1

Wow, yesterday was a big old day. Up and into town on first (off-peak) train of the morning. Camera went flat on train so got no photos all day! Hopped on Jubilee line from Waterloo to London Bridge and spent a very pleasant hour moseying around Borough Market with a take away from Monmouth Coffee.

Enjoyed lots of charcuterie and cheese samples, and bought some to bring home.

Back on Jubilee line to North Greenwich. Passed Boris in the station, as you so, and headed to the Meridian Line. Went into the O2 and gapped at the inside of the structure. Grabbed a quick lunch at GBK – Paleo friendly bun-less burgers. Good stuff.

Back outside into the sunshine and onto the Emirates Skyline cable car across the Thames. Saw it a few weeks back when I was in town for work and thought, must try that. 1 word : AWESOME!!!!

 

Hubby got lots of iPhone pics as we flew over to the Queen Victoria Docks. At the other end, well there’s not that much. ExCeL has come a long way since I last had an event there and there are a couple of hotels but it’s the City Airport and island area that has been hugely regenerated. New houses, little shops, nice riverside walk areas. Can’t say I’d move there as it’s a heck of a long way out, as our DLR journey back to Tower Gateway proved, but for people who work in Canary Wharf it could be pretty nice.

Took the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) as hubby hadn’t been on before, and got to see a lot of the area. Some not so pretty, but better than being underground on a hot day. Thought it would be good to take the underground to St James park instead of walking, but big mistake on stuffy tube train. Popped up to ground level and strolled in the shade along the park to Buckingham Palace. Moment of patriotic pride at how good the place looked with the flags out. Snooty snigger at tourists filming nothing thru the gate with iPads. Why?! Do you really think HRH is going to wander out into the yard with the corgis? Is Philip going to bring out the bins in his dressing gown?? Dodged through the Hoy ploy and got back on the road to Belgravia. Then remembered we didn’t want to go to Belgravia at all and actually needed to head back to Piccadilly Circus. Sigh. So at 4pm on a Friday afternoon in tourist season we took the tube to Piccadilly just to go to Whole Foods. Never disappoints. If we lived nearer one of these stores, we’d go broke bloody quick! Ducked through some side streets to a quiet Pret a Manger for restorative caffeine and water, and aircon, to plan our evening……..  

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A Grand Day Out

Just a quick post this morning as we’re off London today.

Route has been carefully planned to take in Borough Market, Ottolenghi and a pop up Street Food venue – seeing a theme? 😉

Going to eat until my tummy goes pop!

 

Pics and updates later if I can still move 🙂

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4th July!

For many, 4th July involves flag-cake and family time. For me – it’s my wedding anniversary! 🙂

Thank you to my wonderful husband of 5 years. It’s not always been easy but you make me smile, even when I don’t want to, and I can’t imagine life without you. (who would bring my tea?!).

Love you madly – mwah x

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Busy day :(

Bit of a late post today as I was disorganised this morning and had to drive to a Customer site. 

No breakie, snacks or packed lunch prepared. Gulp. Managed to survive the drive with a beaker of tea and pick up a rather nice salad and some cooked chicken from Sainsbury’s. 

Forgot to bring my own tea bags too so no caffeine for me for the rest of today – prob just as well; I have been caning it a bit lately.  

Fortunately I did have the foresight to prepare the components for dinner ahead of time – batch of ragu taken out of freezer last night, and thin slices of aubergine chargrilled on the braai Sunday night = Aubergine Parmigiana Bolognaise 🙂

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Paleo chocolate monkey ice cream

I originally found this in a vegan cookbook, and so ignored it assuming it would be grim. How wrong I was 🙂

If, like me, you bung overripe bananas in the freezer for a rainy day – this is the BEST way to use them up.

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To serve one chimp:

Peel 1 frozen banana and chop into about 6 chunks. If you peeled the banana before freezing it then you’ll be in a better position. Put in food processor, with 1 heaped teaspoon of the nut butter of your choice (we use almond butter) and a roughly chopped square of dark chocolate. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt. Whizz until there are no visible chunks, but not too long or it’ll melt in the heat of the machinery. Scoop out the luscious, bananary goodness and consume with spoon.