Hello! Day One Done - anyone want to join me?

[SharkSkinThing]

Just wanted to say hello and see if any other new starters wanted to buddy up for support and advice?

I've got 3 - 4 stone to lose, all gained AFTER having my DS who is now - god help me - 5. All down to long-term sleep deprivation and sugar reliance, and forming terrible habits. And wine to help me cope with the sleep deprivation,

Anyway, hoping to finally turn things around now that he's finally sleeping (sometimes until 5.30am!). Would love to chat to others who are finding that this WOE works for them.

xx

That is wonderful, Always. you don't have to do what is " the norm". Very true! Children can thrive in a variety of environments, where unconvetional doesn't mean inferior.

I can imagine to be quite difficult to Home ed a few children, Devon. Congratulations to your daughter! It must be all exciment this morning. :)

Why did I choose HE?
Ds found impossible to cope in school due to his multiple SENs and severe bullism. I couldn't watch him in so much distress.
Looking at him now, noone would believe all the difficulties he used to have: auditory and visual issues are all resolved (except minor dyslexia issues); stutter disappeared; catatonic fits (investigated but cleared for epilepsy) gone; balance and coordination are no longer a problem. Considering he has a diagnosis of AS, he is very popular amongst his many friends; he now understands abstract concepts and loves fiction and sci-fi books; he no longer regimented in his routine; he loves his food although he is still quite fussy in trying any new combinations. :)

I really want gravy tonight. :( Darn Bisto for being high in carbs!

Thefitfatty can you not use your meat and veg juices and reduce them till they are gravy like.

Hello everyone - wow, I can't believe that with such busy lives some of you are home-ed'ing too. I am in total awe, I have neither the brains nor the patience!

You have very lucky children, to have such amazing parents who know them so well. I am raising a virtual to you.

And great recipes, too, thanks so much for posting them all. Def going to make the tomato soup, and please can we have the flourless chocolate cake, fav. That's right up my alley!

I have found a lovely looking recipe for maple-glazed parsnip, chestnut and feta loaf that I shall make for us veggies on Christmas Day. It's carby, but not the carbs that upset my tummy....and seeing as I do the cooking....

Sounds like everyone is super busy getting things ready but staying on track. I have about 50 lists on the go lists on the go: one for remaining small presents to get; one for stuff to do around the house; one for food (dried); one for food (fresh, final shop) and one for drinks and extras. Oh, and the small matter of a 5,000 essay to write by the end of next week.

I'm counting down in exercise classes, now! Two more to go!

xxxxx

And yes, congrats devon. Great news!!! x

Always I could, but I was making steak, not roast. :D So doesn't work as well. Turns out DH wasn't hungry so I made myself a steak salad with Greek yogurt dressing.

I haven't weighed this week after the excess of last week, but my tight pants are significantly less tight. So yay!

I could not eat steak without a creamy sauce - what has happened to me?!!

I can tell you what has happened to my blink in' dishwasher - broken. Perfect timing!! I am hoping it is just a blip, but it is making some quite odd noises and no water is coming in, so I will have to do an investigation...

Back to the kitchen sink go I !!

Fit,the steak salad is making me hungry, yum! :)
How do you cook your steak? I tend to cook it slowly in a frying pan; I keep the steak on one side until is almost done to my liking and then flip onto the other side to finish off -this way I retain all the meat juices, which can always be diluted with a bit of water/wine/lemon. If am grilling the steak, I put a little water in the bottom of the grill pan, which will catch all the drippings for a lovely gravy (plus the steam prevents the meat from drying).

Devon's flourless chocolate cake looks delicious, Shark. I imagine it to be an adaptation of a quiche recipe, so it should light and soft. Do you have a particular idea that I can try to help with? The one I posted comes out really soft and fluffy, it fits in a victoria sandwich tin; it is also very dark in colour so ideal background for decorations. It was created from failure to create sugar free meringue -xylitol doesn't allow the meringue to set; the tapioca can be substituted with any starch, even instant mash (the potato only ones) or gram flour, and with ~tbs of starch is very low carb.

Following on from your chesnut loaf (recipe, please)...

Chestnut sauce
butter or fat of choice
100g mushrooms
25g bacon (optional)
10 chestnuts
10 grapes, halved
1/2-1 glass white wine (red would probably work too)

Score the chestnuts and place them in a pan of cold water; once the water is boling cook the chesnuts for a further 30 mins. Cool them and peel.
In a separate pan cook the mushrooms in the butter for 10 mins, then add the peeled chestnuts, grapes and wine and continue to simmer until the chestnuts have melted in and formed a creamy sauce.

Oh no, Devon! Fingers crossed it just needs a clean.

Just got a call from B&Q telling me my floor polish has arrived. :)

DH and I eat our steak so rare it's mooing. :P So it's really not on the frying pan long enough to make any kind of drippings I'm afraid.

HeHe! I'm lucky that ds likes his medium to well done and dd and I medium to rare (so plenty of juices), whereas dh, like you, prefers that the cow is shown where hob is. I think devon has it on the button with a creamy sauce, yummy! How about a holandaise sauce or savoury zabaglione?

Just a quickie as children shrieking at me...

www.fitterfood.com/

Found this website. Is really good and loads of nice recipes. Even one for making your own paleo Ferraro rocher!!!

Enjoy!

Paleo Ferrero Rocher to say??

Yes please !!

Hello lovely people...so sorry...feel like I'm barely keeping up with this thread at the moment.

We've had some terribly sad news, the death of a close family friend (my brother's girlfriend's Dad), so we're all a bit wobbly at the moment.

I'll try and catch up during the week; I'm off work now until the new year, thank god, so will be a bit more on top of things.

Stayed the same this week, totally ok as that time of the month.

xxxxxx

Enjoy your time off Shark. I'm off starting this weekend. Unfortunately for me that mean two weeks in Doha, Qatar (the most boring place on Earth) with my in-laws. Luckily DH has given me my Christmas present early. He bought me one of those adult coloring books, so that will be my respite from DMIL's constant whining.

On the bright side the in-laws naturally eat a low carb diet, so no worries about falling off the wagon.

So sorry about your sad news Shark. How awful for her and you as a family. Look after yourself a little bit more.

Im doing ok even if my weight has stayed the same. That's a good thing though. Hope to see it go down over the next few weeks though. Im upping my clean eating/paleo too.

Sorry to hear your sad news, Shark.

No idea what is happening with my weight, having lost over 3kgs, it stayed the same last week and now it has gone up. I suspect I haven't eaten enough fat as I have been so busy in the house to cook properly and I've relied far too much on dairy...still only the stairs, hallway and two doors to repaint and my yearly spruce (!) is done. I'm ignoring Ds's room

Thanks Fav and always.

My dad died a couple of years ago very suddenly and unexpectedly, and because our families are neighbours, it's hitting my Mum the hardest, really, being back all those memories.

Plus my brother has only just moved down to London with his girlfriend and started a new job, so he's going to have to travel up and down (to Wigan) a fair bit whilst this unfolds.

Anyway. I'm at home all week, wring an essay for my course (and clearly procrastinating), so my only concern is keeping out of the fridge!

fav - I slowed down, too, and found drinking more water helped. But well done and what you have lost so far - it does all add up. Plus, how easy is this eating?

Right....the next 500 words is calling me....xxx

Sorry for your loss Shark hope things get easier. Good luck with the essay too!

Favi is it possible you're nearing that time of the month? Or as Shark suggests, perhaps not drinking enough water? I hate weighing myself as I always seem to be all over the place. Prefer to rely on clothes.

I wonder if it could be water retention due exercise: I went from just a little walking because of my injury to stripping and polishing floors, washing/painting walls and doors...every muscle hurts!

Morning, just. Weighed today and I'm down another pound. Yay!! I don't eat a lot of fat myself unless it occurs naturally in food as it makes me feel ill . Had a lovely bowl of stew last night with 12 different veg in. Was yum

Favadi Yes I would say that's it. Muscles retain water to repair themselves. I always find I bloat for a few weeks if I stop lifting for a while and then start again. :)

shark sorry for your loss. It is an especially difficult time of year to lose someone

fav I read that it was quite usual to plateau when low carbing, prob is that you have been building muscle though -always good!

Poorly children today so am bit run off feet..

Hi, gang, thanks for all of your kind words, they mean a lot.

devon - poor you! I hope they - and you - are ok? Last week of term for DS and he's barely hanging on in there! Tough week, this one!

fav - just echoing what others have said, really, the loss does slow down. But so long as you are feeling/looking ok, don't worry. It's all linear and will catch up!

Well done, always, keep up the good work!! How much is that in total now?

Due to an offer/kindness of a friend I have bagged myself 14 days membership to my local (very posh, too posh for me!) David Lloyd gym. Had a lovely swim last night and even joined in the hilarious aqua aerobics class! After studying all day, then dealing with manic 5 year old after school, it's nice to have somewhere fancy to slope off to (even if it involves a hellish circuit training class first!).

Last weigh in for me this Saturday, then I'll sign off for a week or so. When does everyone else 'finish' for the break?

xx

Is coconut milk good fat? As in, if I'm craving something sweet I can drink a glass?

I hope your children are feeling better today, Devon.

Well done, always

shark, I'm pleased you got to enjoy some me-time.

Ds is struggling too this week, so he is just reading rather than studying, allowing me to finish deep cleaning the house.

Holiday mode will start this weekend: Dh breaks off on Friday and dd arrives on Saturday. Dh and I intend to continue eating this way but with more wine. Ds is happy with shop bought gluten free minced pies, whereas Dh and Dd are looking forward to the homemade brie (which has come out beautiful)... I'm not longer craving potatoes, so I should be fine until New Year when I will need all the will power to resist the Lentils!

Good to know about the muscles. :) I'm a little lighter today and my wedding ring doesn't feel as tight.

I hate much better yesterday: prawn and avocado with homemade mayonnaise for lunch and salmon and spinach with hollandaise sauce for dinner.
I'm hoping to use the left-over egg whites to create a pumpkin flan/quiche for tonight. [fingers crossed] If the experiment works, it will make a lovely, colourful, stress-free starter. :) I'll report back.

As the pumkin I have is big, some will be turned into a soup and some as a sauce -blended with a tin of tomatoes and a few spices/herbs, cooked until reduced.

Pumpkin soup
Pumpkin
1-2 lime juiced
Coriander (optional)
water or stock
coconut milk or cream
salt, chilli

-Roast the pumpkin whole until the skin blisters. (oven at 160-180C)
-Let the pumpkin cool
-Peel the pumpkin: the skin just peels off with your fingers (or tweezers if it is still too hot to handle)
-Prize the pumpkin open and remove seeds (set aside) and strings.
-Mash the pumpkin and place in a pot
-Add water/stock to the desired consistency and bring to the boil
-Add salt, chilli and lime to taste
-Switch off and stir in coconut/cream to taste. Add a little coriander to garnish.

The seeds can either be salted and toasted in the oven, pan-fried or just eaten as they are (lovely with a little olive oil and light seasoning).

Depends what coconut milk, fit. If you are talking about the water contained within a coconut, then it's a bit carby but should be ok. Coconut milk, the 'fresh' white stuff in the fridges is fine; the thick milk in cans is perfect but, as always, check the ingredients as I have seen sugar added in the past.