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

Snap, fav. Only eaten good stuff but still too much. I don't think I'm quite fully back into ketosis yet; should be there by the weekend!

cake and always - amazing sounding food! I need to up my game, really, but I never seem to have the time! S long as it's all working I'll keep plodding along.

xxx

Thanks Shark not all days go so well

Anyone have a good easy recipe for making your own ranch dressing?

thefit I saw one in a paleo recipe book I was looking at yesterday! I'm still in bed but can find it for you later if you like.

Found this one online though. Looks pretty similar.

paleogrubs.com/ranch-dressing-recipe

Bollocks sorry - just remembered you are not doing paleo! Sorry!

I think ranch dressing is a 1:1 ratio of mayo and sour cream with chives/spring onion, dill, parsley and mustard.

Mayonnaise
2 large egg yolk (3 small)
250mls oil (I use 150mls light olive oil/avocado oil + 100mls extra virgin)
1tbs lemon juice
salt, pepper, mustard to taste.
Whisk-ideally electric

In a large bowl place the egg yolks with a tiny pinch of salt and whisk for a few seconds. Whilst whisking add the oil very slowly; continue until all the oil is incorporated (it may form 'snow' flakes, don't worry). Continue whisking adding lemon juice, then salt and pepper to taste.

If worried about the raw egg...Whisk the eggs over a baigne marie, until they 'fluffy and changed colour -it will only take seconds. Then add oil....

No worries Cake I use a lot of Paleo recipes as they tend to be low carb.

Thanks Favi I'll try both this weekend and see how they taste. ;)

Just I had a look at that recipe, Cake. It looks delicious.

The recipe calls for light olive oil, which is not paleo as it's chemically extracted rather than cold pressed but, of course, for sanity of modern living, there are always a few compromises that we all end up having to do!

Oh I didn't know that about light olive oil fav! Thanks.

Let us know how they are if you try them both thefit.

My Fast day still works I'm glad to see: Photo-post Hope all's working for everyone too.

Thought I'd share today's menu plan

B: smoothie (bit of a blip here as wasn't planning to have much fruit - whoops!) with orange, banana, raspberries, spinach, naturally yoghurt and flaxseed.

L: two huge spoons of peanut butter and a piece of cheese - pants I know!

E: beef brisket and cauli cheese (I don't normally eat red meat but today has gone to pot a bit - overexcited about potential new job opportunity eep)!

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Love your photos and your sense of humour, Will.

Why don't you normally eat red meat, Cake? [curious]
From a Primal standpoint your menu looks very good, with the exception of peanut butter (legume, not sprouted) -could you swap the peanut butter for almond butter or coconut oil? (huge supply of spoons is mandatory for the latter two! ).

Last night meal was a take on Cake's dinner: beef thai green curry with green beans and red peppers.

Brunch today: mixed salad, fennel, boiled duck egg and prawns with a parsley hollandaise sauce (didn't have the sour cream nor the chives to make a ranch dressing! ).

For the hollandaise sauce:
Whisk 2 egg yolks over a baigne marie with a tbs of lemon juice and slowly whisk in 100g butter (ideally melted); whisk until preferred thickness; salt and pepper to taste. Herbs and mustard optional.

Fac, I'm a former veggie and I'm still a bit squeamish about eating big, four legged animals for some reason!

Glad to hear my day isn't too bad from primal point of view (apart from peanut butter). Can you recommend an almond butter at all? I tried Meridian but wasn't that keen.

Your meals sound yum btw fav.

Oh and obviously I'm only at the fact I feel squeamish about eating larger animals and not poultry and fish... It doesn't really make sense but there you are!!

not obviously

I think Meridian was the original almond butter I bought. You could toast and blend some whole almonds with a little oil, to see if you prefer the taste.

I admit, it's a long time since I ate almond butter (coconut oil is more addictive) as my almond tree spoils me with a most delicious crop.

It makes perfect sense to be squeamish at some animals and bugs and not others. The colour of the meat can also affect us; I even react to the smell of meat, for that reason I don't even bother to buy it if it's not from the UK.

I just played with some ingredients in my kitchen and I know what I'm cooking for dinner: Cocoa butter chicken with chilli and lime.

I kept wondering what to do with the cocoa butter in my cupboard, as I'm unlikely to be baking for a while and only the tiniest amount it's needed for deep hair conditioning.
When I looked at its nutritional values, I realised that the sat fat it's up there with butter and beef drippings, the rest of the fat is pretty much monounsat and virtually no omega 6. I thought it should behave like animal fats when cooking, ie. cooks beautifully at low temperatures and indeed it does.
The aroma in the kitchen was lovely and the cocoa butter imparts a (very) subtle taste of chocolate and a little sweetness; a few drops of lime and a tiny touch of chilli and wow!

I also love cashew butter.

I had internet problems yesterday but what I ate was:

smoothie made from banana, apple, cherries, raspberries, mango.

Lunch was homemade coleslaw, ham, tomato

couple of almonds

Dinner. Baked salmon with asparagus in a white wine sauce, sweet potato chips, kale, cauliflower, carrots and peas

fresh fruit salad

I purchased two new books yesterday. One is by Bear Grylls and its called Fuel for Life. He eats very clean and the book is about eating without dairy,wheat or sugar. He is very much against dairy as am I. Looks really good so far with lots of yummy sweet treats with no white sugar.

Also got the new Amelia Freer Cook, Nourish Glow which is recipe heavy.

Cant wait to get planning

Cake what is your new job opportunity? So exciting. I used to be veggie too years ago.

Thanks always! Yes, so exciting! It's just a logistics role but it's close to home, deals with lots of things I know about already and a decent enough salary to make it worth going back to work (I'm a SAHM). But now I'm scared of the whole idea! It's full time and my DD is only tiny... Lots to think about.

It's a difficult decision. I didn't go back to work with both of mine as I wanted to be a full time Mum. Nurseries cost too much anyway. Now they are both grown up and I have no regrets and so glad I spent that time with them. Money was always very tight but it worked for us

Thanks Always. I do love having time with her but there are also days I would work for free if I could just have some grown up time! Those days are rare enough though. She's very good fun mostly.

Anyway, on the diet front, I am taking the plunge and cutting out dairy from tomorrow. Just an experiment for now. Will see how I get on.

I bought a pair of size 20 pants yesterday at American Eagle and a size 14 at M&S. What the hell is with clothing stores and pants sizes?

Morning all!

Yes there seems to be no rhyme or reason when it comes to sizing! I can where anything between a 12 and an 18 depending on the garment and shop. I call myself a 14/16 as that's my usual.