Eatbetterers part 3 -gather around healthy people !

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Third thread of healthy eating, no calorie counting just good, healthy food for us and our families.

Thanks. I'll try that this week I think as the dc will definitely eat that and we'be got a busy week.

Hello!
Sorry I've been absent. Life has been very busy. Food has not been great, but neither has it been awful. Lots of food and salads, but far too much sugar each day. I've really been upping the exercise though and managed to run 4x last week
We went out for dinner tonight and I had the most delicious veg and rice enchiladas with goat's cheese. I am definitely going to try to recreate that at home.
I love my slow cooker. I don't do many veggie meals in it except for soup and baked potatoes but I'm sure there's lots of veggie stuff you could do with it. Apparently there is a slow cooker group on Facebook.

Hello everyone. Have been absent from this thread for a while and feel like I have seriously lost my way food - wise and have definitely put on a fair bit of weight since we moved in October.

In a way, I think I'm still suffering from post - low - carb issues! I got so used to eating high fat on the Boot Camp that I'm still doing that but as well as eating too much carby, sugary stuff too. Which is a recipe for disaster!

I swore on this thread that I was never going to diet again, and I don't want to. So I've got the Hemsley and Hemsley book on my Kindle and am going to try and get inspired by that. Aiming for nutritious meals, plenty of water, no crappy cars or sugar and no snacking.

Holmes- how is the HM training going? I lost weight last year by not dieting and need to do the same again to lose more. Losing weight is hard whichever way you do it, but I was so happy to do it without following a restricted diet. but yes, old habits die hard. Can you focus on the nutritious side of things?

I'm kind of not into the HM training proper yet because it's not until June, and I don't want to peak too early! I'm concentrating on regularity atm - 3 runs a week, two of them 30 min ones and one longer which I'll begin to increase soon.

I'm really noticing in my running that I'm carrying some extra pounds though - it's harder work!

That's a good plan Holmes running wise. I have only just been able to get back to it and was pretty disillusioned at how hard it was - although trying not to admit that. It's not weight but tone. I am pear or ever hourglass shaped so don't have a big tummy but my break from exercise meant I felt like I was carrying a sackful of jelly round my middle! But you're right, there is no getting away from the fact that lighter will be easier. I think you may get into earing better when you need to up your mileage (on the basis that you won't feel great with your runs unless you pay attention to your diet) plus if you're like me, you have made big improvements in diet in the last 12-18 months and do really it'll be not such a big stretch to sort out these blips.

Yesterday I was ravenous. Could not stop feeling hungry. So , for eg, I had a toasted teacake mid afternoon. Today I've not wanted anything in between meals and have had some good food, roasted and stored some different seeds etc

Hi all. Lentil bake sounds delish, as does anything with roast veg.

Someone mentioned harissa a while back, what can I do with it again?!

Food is not bad but could be much better. Pay day on Friday so I'll get stocked up and sorted then. Thinking of buying Anna Jones's book as I eat far too much meat really and think it might be a nice change? Have any of you got it?

I'm going to try to use the principles of the Hemsley and Hemsley book, even if I don't make their actual recipes that often (many of them look a bit too time-consuming for every day, with some tricky ingredients ).

I'm intrigued by their food combining thing - avoiding eating carb-rich stuff with protein.

Anyway, I started the day with a glass of warm water and lemon juice and had an omelette with some slices of avocado for breakfast, which was delicious and also reminded me how much better I do when I've had a protein - based breakfast.

I'm going to make a big batch of spiced red lentil soup and have some that for lunch, with a side salad.

Not sure about dinner yet - will have a rummage in the freezer for some meat, I think.

shortaris1 I don't have that book, but I do have the Hugh F-W one, which I love. Unfortunately not many of the recipes appeal to my dc though!

Hi everyone, I lost you again . I was just eating a Pret quinoa hot pot with cauliflower and sweet potato curry (delicious) and thought of you! I've just had a week skiing, for which read loads of baguette, cured meat, cheese and chips-the quinoa, veg and spice was so welcome, tasted amazing. Without making excuses for a whole week of less than ideal choices, there isn't a great deal of choice with food in the Alps, astonishing considering we were only about 50 miles from the Med

I have the Anna Jones book, really like it.

I've never been skiing! Never used to fancy it because I thought I'd be rubbish at it, but am fitter and have stronger knees and ankles since taking up running, so maybe one day. ..

Have eaten great stuff today, then hit the slump and inhaled 4 chocolate digestive biscuits . I think that if I can't resist sweet things I'm going to have to try making some H&H vaguely healthy alternative ones!

Why are tourist areas generally so bad at providing healthy choices? Is it that the general public doesn't want to eat well? My DC are still quite young and our holidays tend to be of the caravan at the seaside variety. It sometimes feels like every meal in the restaurants revolves around chips.

Sleep - I've never been skiing either but it sounds like a nice way to spend a holiday.

Holmes. Glad to hear the running is going well but I hear you on the weight gain. We have a ball in 8 weeks' time and my dress is quite snug around the middle. I'm hoping healthier eating and my increased exercise will slim and tone me without any of the yo-yo nonsense of my past.

Still- how's the knee holding up?

Today has been pretty healthy food wise. I had raspberries, oats and coconut Greek yoghurt for breakfast, a pear at break, a cheese and mayo sandwich on 7 seed bread and some lentil soup for lunch and a chicken and veg stir fry for dinner. Probably too much sugar but at least it's from fruit.
Far too much caffeine though so only water for the rest of today to counteract the dehydration.

short Harissa goes well with couscous. Just add a large teaspoon and stir in at the time you add water to your couscous.
I like to roast veg ( peppers, onions, courgettes, aubergine), with a bit of crumbled feta, and a can of chickpeas. Once roasted, I pile the prepared couscous on top, add a quick squeeze of lemon and stir through.

Quick, easy and yummy. Leftovers makes a nice cold salad but also reheats fine in microwave.

Am interested to hear other Harissa recipes too.

Shortaris1 - it was me that was going on about harissa! You can spread it on meat or fish as a marinade, stir it into sauces and stews. Or I like to mix a bit into a dollop of Greek yoghurt and use that as a salad dressing.

Neeko - the knee appears to be holding! I went for a run today (not too far really and god it was hard). but then I did the new Davina dvd and the ultimate leg workout. Not sure that was a good idea - also if anyone is interested it does not have the immediate appeal of the shred workouts for me, but may be kinder to my joints.

just back from the shops (forgot harissa!) and whipped up chickpeas, pepper, pumpkin seeds and feta. A bit of a big lunch, too

The Anna jones book looks good, but I can't afford it for now! It's on the list

Stilllearnin- glad the knee is holding up. I have the new Davina too. Have only done the abs and the stretch so far. Think the stretches aren't held long enough but liked the abs. I have the shred too but it is a bit too hardcore for me.

Mumoftwo that sounds lovely. I'll give that a try sometime.

Hi Holmes.

Going old school here tonight. Sausage casserole with carrot and onion, swede and baby potatoes. Real comfort food .

My knees are really painful from skiing, so much so that I sat out on Friday (in the beautiful sunshine, up the mountain with a book and some wine, not too big a hardship ) and have booked to see GP for a referral for scan/whatever. Very concerned they might tell me to stop kickboxing not that that ever causes me any knee problems, unlike the barre class I tried a few weeks ago-ouch!

Oh no! Poor you, Sleep. Hope it gets better soon.

I'm beginning to wonder why we even have knees they are that rubbish. Hopefully there won't be damage to stop you kick boxing particularly if it hasn't caused you knee pain before.

We had pizza and chips tonight straight from the freezer but dp and I were just saying we have had no alcohol, desserts, cake or chocolate - all of which can feature on a Wednesday (tho not all on the same Wednesday). So even today I can think we've at least improved.

We had pizza last night. Was lovely at the time but went for shopping after and I was plotting what yummy veg based thing I could make for tonight's tea. Going for spicy vegetable and mixed bean wraps.

That sounds lovely, Neeko! I might not manage very good good choices over the next few days... d's (6) is in hospital with a badly broken leg and a broken collarbone after pulling a huge branch down on himself in the woods yesterday while dh was away on a stag do. The last 24 hours have not been fun.

Oh my goodness, Holmes. Your nerves must be shot.
There will be plenty time for healthy eating when everyone is well again. Hope you are ok and DS isn't in too much pain.

Oh and the wraps were lovely. Red onion, aubergine and peppers mixed with tomato purée, mustard seeds, chilli flakes, paprika and cumin all roasted in the oven. I added a can of chick peas and we had it with grated cheese and sour cream in wholemeal wraps. Was yummy.

Thanks - and yes to the nerves being shot!