Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 3

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

We’ve chatted as much as we (used to) eat! New shiny thread for more support.

General principles:

No sugar
No wheat
No processed foods
Honourable mention to tipping the balance of omega 3 and 6, but that’s mostly achieved by doing the above.

Everything else is fair game!

@Theleadbetterlife that all sounds fantastic! Am weljel, Inhave chickens but despite having a very persistent broodie bantam darent hatch as we aren't allowed to keep cockerels.

I've had a good day as well. My lovely cousin came round earlier with some cheese and chutney to try, so had cheese and chutney on rice crackers. Dh now cooking steak and Mediterranean veg with a few potatoe slices. They won't be on plan but will only have a few. Oh and I had a big glass of orange juice earlier because my bowels have been a bit sluggish. I know what it is, I've been so busy and missing lunch which is generally salad or baked ham and eggs with loads of cherry toms. So think I need more veg and salad in my life.

I currently have a glut of french beans. Am going to make a concoction of beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic and cheese I think for a lunchtime meal. I also have garlic and kale and courgettes so may make a ratatouille as well. And not far off a glut of tomatoes and sweetcorn.

Your garden sounds fantastic @HighlandCowbag. I’m in my first year of vegetable gardening and it’s been a bit hit and miss. Lots of lessons learned though!

It can be a steep learning curve for sure. And what works one year can be a disaster the year after. Ours is an allotment, we grow loads of different stuff. Last year was difficult because of the strange weather. Lost everything in my polytunnel at the end of may, then really dry weather meant a difficult season. Last year I had a million cucumbers and courgettes, this year not so many. Cauliflower bolted 4 times, this year more Cauliflower than I can cope with. Billions of french beans, last year lost them all to black fly. Its a battle against nature usually, frustrating when it goes wrong but very rewarding when it's right.

Here it is last week

Oh my word, it’s so beautiful! You must be the envy of the allotments!

Mine isn’t nearly so tidy.

@TheLeadbetterLife your life sounds so lovely! I have some very distant portugues relatives, and feel a bit sad that I don't live there.

@Aria999 I am sure the bloat will go down once you are able to get back in all the god food.

@HighlandCowbag lovely allotment. I dream of one, but instead have 4 friends with one and I often benefit from their gluts. Today I had a bag of yellow courgettes, cucumber, potatoes left on my doorstep.

The baked eggs for lunch were a hit with me and the kids, and they both tried the salad and agreed lettuce is OK which is a bit of a win. Dinner was delicious, I squeezed smoky, oily roasted garlic into my jacket potato which was heavenly!

I’m so sorry by the way, if tales of my currently ridiculous life are smug and annoying.

Well, there’s no “if” about it. It’s definitely smug and annoying.

If it helps, the reason we moved here is because we endured three of the shittest years, lurching from one hideous life challenge to another, until I had a complete breakdown and had to be signed off work due to panic attacks. That and my husband being diagnosed with MS left us feeling like life was too short to keep saying we’d move to Portugal one day.

The contrast with our lives now leaves us astonished every day, over two years on. We are very lucky, and I keep thinking the luck must run out soon, even though I know we had a long run of bad luck.

I think being calmer and happier has made getting healthy much, much easier. We drank and ate our pain before.

@Bestbees that garlic potato sounds fantastic.

I made a jar of roasted garlic and herb butter at the weekend, and it’s all I can do not to stick a spoon in.

@TheLeadbetterLife don't feel bad at all! I enjoy hearing about it. I am sorry you had such a shitty time, and how inspiring that you made a change which has made such a positive difference. Mmm garlic butter....

Plan for today here:
Breakfast: kale and tomatoes fried in butter with eggs
Lunch: picnic so I am packing a mackerel salad, olives, mango.
Dinner: pork fillet, creamy mushroom and mustard sauce, brocoli and green beans

Anyone else feeling like this woe will be easier once the school holidays are over? My routine is all over the place and the days I've taken annual leave have been a merry-go-round of meals out, ice-creams at the beach and popcorn at the cinema. We stayed with family for a long weekend a couple of weeks ago and are off to stay with friends next weekend so I don't always have control over what I eat and have to also plan what a fussy 7 year old will eat for every meal.

I know I'm being such a Scrooge but bring on September!

I can barely keep a houseplant alive so I can't really relate to all the gardening/allotment stuff, how do you have time to do all that? Blows my mind!

I know what you mean @Manteo I have 8 year old twins and am a teacher. Much easier in term time where I am busy and I have packed my lunch with no alternative! However it is nice to have time to cook a bit. Plan to do some batch cooking in the final week of the hols to see us through!

Off camping on Friday for a week with no electric, any top tips?

Lunch

Hard boiled duck egg, with a salad of rocket, parsley, spring onions, olives , r and y peppers, toms and feta. And home made oatcakes.

Dressing of EVOO shaken with my new best friend ACV, and Dijon mustard. Also grated some turmeric over as that is also meant to be Good For One.

I will be floating away to Planet Healthy at this rate!

@Words

Dressing of EVOO shaken with my new best friend ACV, and Dijon mustard. Also grated some turmeric over as that is also meant to be Good For One.

I will be floating away to Planet Healthy at this rate!

My dressing is based on the Michael Mosely healthy gut diet one, but I add 4 crushed cloves of garlic, so 4 parts EVOO, 3 parts ACV, 3 parts balsamic vinegar and two tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Makes half a litre approximately. Shaken not stirred before every meal containing salads (which is most meals for me)

Ooh I will try that next @samthebordercollie !

Balsamic as well as the ACV sounds good!

We’re trying to use up the various Asian pastes and sauces that we have, on the grounds that they are too processed (though not as bad as I had assumed actually), so tonight we’ve had Thai tuna fritters (just a little gram flour to bind the mix), the dregs of a box of prawn crackers from the back of the cupboard and cabbage in a Thai dressing. Plus siracha hot sauce with a touch of honey.

I used coconut oil in the wok, which worked well with the fritters.

Bloody delicious, will make the same again tomorrow, minus the crackers.

We want to have a go at making siracha sauce at some point.

Been trying and failing to post a picture.

Today I made myself brunch of a Portabello mushroom roasted in the oven with some butter and garlic - it was so good! I also had tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. All so yummy. Also I had bought my DC a fresh loaf from the bakery to improve their bread compared to Supermarket bread and I couldn't resist a slice!

Then we had dinner at Nando's for my DC's dad's birthday. I had the Rainbow salad which was really nice and seemed pretty healthy. Then we had strawberry tarts at home that I'd bought from Patisserie Valerie - so not so good but delicious all the same!

Hey! Haven't been on here in a while! How is everyone getting on?
I've not been finding it too bad, however it is annoying that everything needs cooked or prepped and there's no real option to grab a bag of crisps and a cereal bar on the way out the door... I mean, that's a good thing because crisps and cereal bars are full of crap, but I'm still getting used to the faff that goes with this woe.
Have attached a pic of a dinner I remembered to capture before I ate it.

Re: quick snacks TammyTwoSwanson, I’ve taken to preparing boxes of crudités and hard boiling eggs for the fridge at weekends, and making tortillas or frittatas, as well as oatcakes to have with cheese, naice ham and pâté. Otherwise it is too much faff day to day.

I also don’t bother making lunch, I just have yoghurt and oat/seed mix, fruit and olives and the like. Means I only have to think about one proper cooking session a day (or less, if my partner is cooking).

It would be unsustainable for me otherwise. Not because I’m especially busy most days, but because I am lazy.

I tend to have a smoothie made with raspberries or other berries, a banana, couple of spoonfuls of milled flax seeds and whole milk or coconut milk, if I'm in a rush. I have one most days instead of lunch or dinner actually!
Boiled eggs and crudités Etc sounds like a really good idea too! I'll prep some tomorrow!

I meant to say, I found some really nice mayo in Tesco, made with avocado oil, so no refined veg oils. Was really nice mixed with tuna on a jacket potato!

Today’s lunch! Bit of a mish-mash. Roast peppers with feta, plus cold roast beef, watercress and tomato salad.

Loving all these ideas! Having read the Mosley gut book, and registered the importance of fermented foods to maintain gut health, to expand my repertoire I have ordered some starter for milk kefir ( yog maker to be pressed into action again) - and am also going to have a go at kimchi which calls for siracha sauce. I've never used or eaten that before, so excited to try it!

I had steak and veg last night, and today I will be using up last of the guinea fowl - not sure how yet. I have cabbage and pak Choi to use up, so maybe something vaguely Chinese.

(For the Mumsnet chicken types, guinea fowl makes fabulous stock, and the meat is very flavoursome.)

I've also changed my exercise plan so I am doing resistance and free weights one day and my version of high intensity ( on the elliptical) the next day, with Pilates weekly and hill walking at weekends.

I'm away in early September doing an inn to inn walking holiday in Dorset so need to keep on track: not least because the 'inns' are foodie establishments and so my eating will doubtless be somewhat off plan.

Delicious food here!

@Words where is your walking trip? I live in Dorset and did a 50k over 3 days walking trip with the kids staying at inns. Was lovely!

I ate chocolate last night, just couldn't resist!

Plan today
No breakfast/olives and cheese if hungry
Lunch mackerel and left over roasted aubergine and salad. Fruit of some kind.
Dinner chunky chili with green veg and cheese. Yoghurt and fruit after.
Swimming at 8pm which is my snack time so hopefully that will be distracting!