Breakfast – Coffee, then a smoothie made from coconut cream, pear, almond butter, cinnamon, stevia, salt
Lunch – Homemade vegetable frittata, homemade blueberry muffin made with coconut flour and stevia, coffee
Snack – Slice of spelt sourdough toast with butter
Dinner – 2 sausages, onions and mushrooms sautéed in butter, salad with coconut oil dressing
Salads and I have never been friends. In fact cold food and I have never really been friends. I have always preferred a toasted sandwich to a cold sandwich, a warm pasta dish than a pasta salad and I’ve certainly never been one of those people who could grab a bit of leftover take away cold from the fridge the next morning, I’ve always bothered to reheat it. And yet, eating this way with far less sugar and far more fat, has made salads a far more appealing option. The key for me seems to be loading it with fat. It feels weird to write that – add fat to your salad. Traditionally people eat salads as a low-fat option after all.
Brunch– I couldn’t resist eating Day Twenty’s sweet omelette again however this time it got stuck to the bottom of the pan and it ended up quite a messy pile of sweet scrambled egg! Still delicious though!
Snack – Coffee on the beach
Dinner – Haloumi, roasted squash, avocado and walnut salad with a coconut oil dressing
Three weeks gone already, half way through!! It’s gone really quickly and I’m feeling far less bloated these days and looking forward to the next half and to greater improvements.
Me and my man went shopping today and bought a load of new kitchenware including some gorgeous cast iron pots and a SLOW COOKER!! I’m so excited about this purchase. Here it is making it’s first of many dishes I’m sure, this one is lamb bone broth.
We were out and about for most of the day and until quite late so food was very much on the go. I whipped up a quick smoothie to have for breakfast in the car. I stick to a very similar recipe and don’t ever seem to get bored of it! Today's was strawberries, avocado, coconut oil, raw egg, cacao powder, stevia and salt. We stopped very briefly at Eveleigh markets and grabbed a coffee whilst we were there.
Lunch was in a food court at the shops and I was so hungry, I can't tell you how hard it was to make a healthy choice especially given how incredibly limited the choice was! I stuck to a vegetable frittata and a salad but it was far from tasty or satisfying. I tried not to get tempted by the huge chicken and bacon burger with fries that my man chose and scoffed right in front of me. I am proud to announce that I did not even pinch one single chip from his plate :)
Snack – After some shopping we popped to Coogee to see a friend and I had another coffee, oops.
Dinner – Back home I was hungry and not inspired to cook so my man made me some sausages with an egg fried in butter, sautéed onions and a slice of spelt sourdough toast. I also had a glass of red wine and dessert was raw chocolate.
Finally some photos!
For breakfast, inspired by this blog post, I made a sweet omelette. I simply mixed 3 eggs with some vanilla powder, made a big pancake and served it warm with chopped banana, shredded coconut and a dollop of cream. Sooo delicious!
Snack – Coffee
Dinner – Homemade beef and sweet potato coconut curry served with roasted cauliflower, 2 glasses of red wine
AUSTRALIA DAY! Unfortunately the weather didn't get quite into the spirit of the day but it did stop raining long enough for us to have a BBQ!
Brunch – 2 eggs cooked in butter served with buttered spelt sourdough toast and grated organic cheddar
Dinner – Homemade burger pattie, grain free sausages and salad with a coconut oil, lemon juice and salt dressing, 3 glasses of red wine, raw chocolate
I didn’t have much of an appetite which is a change to the last few days. As a result I didn't really eat all that much during the day.
Breakfast – Coffee
Lunch – Smoothie of banana, avocado, cacao powder, stevia, salt
Snack – Homemade mini vegetable frittata
Dinner – Steak served with steamed carrots, sweet potato roasted in coconut oil and onions and zucchini sautéed in butter, 2 glasses of red wine, raw chocolate
Breakfast – Coffee then a smoothie made of strawberries, avocado, almond butter, coconut oil, stevia, salt
Lunch – Homemade beef casserole with onion, carrots and zucchini
Dinner – Lamb mince pattie with steamed broccoli, zucchini and onion sautéed in butter, followed by some raw chocolate
Going out for dinner is proving a bit of a challenge. You never quite know what ingredients are used or how things are cooked. Of course I could ask and be more inquisitive but I’m not great at doing that, I feel like I’m causing a fuss and being difficult. Silly I know but that's how it is for the time being.
Last night we went out with friends and it was the second night in a row of eating out and trying hard to make a good choice. Whilst I’m not 100% confident that everything followed the plan, I did avoid all the fries, white flour foods like pastas and breads and dessert. This is quite an achievement for me!
Breakfast – Eggs cooked in butter on buttered spelt sourdough toast and some grated organic cheddar
Lunch – Smoothie of avocado, strawberries, coconut oil, raw cacao powder, stevia, salt
Snack – Raw chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar
Dinner – Black angus steak served with spinach, cherry tomatoes, potato rosti and a rosemary jus, 2 glasses red wine, 1 glass white wine
Breakfast – Coffee first up, then a smoothie with avocado, strawberries, coconut oil, raw egg, stevia, cacao powder, salt
Lunch – Leftover roast chicken salad with a coconut oil, lime juice and fresh ginger dressing, small homemade vegetable frittata
Dinner – Slow roasted lamb with pumpkin puree, spinach, green beans and rosemary jus, glass of red wine, some raw chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar
So already at Day Ten and on the whole, it has not been too hard so far! I shouldn’t probably say this out loud and jinx it!!
As I mentioned a few das ago, in October and November, I was eating really well, had lost 5kg and was feeling really good. I was following many of the same principals as I am on this challenge but was eating very few grains and very low sugar. I was first inspired my this way of eating by a lovely nutritionist I had worked with earlier in the year and I went on to read loads for information on this style of eating, everything around the Weston A Price philosophy to all things primal and paleo. In October I went on a weekend retreat, where the food followed this way of eating and then I also went to see Nora Gedgaudas speak at a conference in Sydney and thoroughly enjoyed that too.
Then in December I moved house and got out of the routine, started including too many grain and sugar based foods and before I knew it I was back to comfort eating i.e. eating huge amounts of carb loaded food in huge binges. As hard as I tried to get back on track, I still found myself turning to major binges every few days. Eventually, with the help of the lovely Anthia, I started this challenge. It is meant to be a way to fire me up, get me back on track, and even if I couldn't make it back to where I had been, at least cut the processed food. I am ‘allowed’ some grains, high sugar fruits and more starchy vegetables and it is making it easier for me and I feel less deprived.
I was out for the Sydney Festival last night, seeing the beautiful Beth Orton so grabbed a quick bite to eat in the city. I thought it was best option on the menu but it did contain a few noodles. As the dish was so small I knew I’d need them to get me through the evening so I ate them. As it turned out, I was hungry within 2 hours of finishing it anyway.
Breakfast – Pancakes made with almond meal and full cream milk and cooked in coconut oil served with lemon juice
Snack – Coffee
Lunch – Onion, mushroom and parmesan omelette
Dinner – Thai beef salad, glass of red wine
Breakfast – Smoothie of coconut cream, raw egg, strawberries, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt
Snack – Coffee
Lunch – Roasted squash and haloumi salad, handful of brazil nuts and a green apple
Snack – Homemade grain-free, sugar-free muffin made using Sarah Wilson’s recipe and a dollop of cream
Dinner – Leftover roast lamb with cauliflower and zucchini
Brunch – I made buckwheat pancakes and served them with a homemade strawberry compote and fresh full cream yogurt
Snack – Spelt sourdough toast with butter
Dinner – Haloumi, roasted squash and walnut salad with an apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and full cream yogurt dressing
We went to the cinema after dinner and I took some Loving Earth orange chocolate (sweetened with coconut sugar) as my movie treat
For the first time in well over a month, I weighed myself. I wanted to know the damage. During October and November I had been eating well with very few binges and I had lost 5kg. Then I moved house, put my old flat on the market, went on holiday and then Christmas and New Year arrived. I fell back into emotional eating during the move and then indulged in excess over the holidays. So I was delighted to find I had only gained 0.6kg. This is far less than I had expected and this really boosted my motivation and enthusiasm. Whilst this journey is not all about the weight, it is always good to get boosts like this to refresh my commitment.
Breakfast – Coffee first thing on the beach, then a smoothie of raw egg, coconut cream strawberries, vanilla, stevia, salt and a small vegetable frittata
Lunch – Leftover beef and vegetable Bolognese with grated parmesan cheese
Snack – Spoonful of cream, chunk of raw chocolate
Dinner – Steak and onion salad followed by a grain-free sugar-free coconut biscuit and a chunk of raw chocolate
I went for a long walk along the beach as the sun was setting, I love getting some gentle exercise, connecting to the earth and calming down and switching off after a week at work.
Day Three turned into a big day. Not only did we sell our house - hooray! - but my man made some big decisions with regards to his work. So we decided to go out to celebrate. This is often somewhere that I stumble as, to me, going out for dinner has always been an excuse to ‘pig out.’ Whilst I am trying to let go of this notion, I still find it hard going sometimes. So we chose the restaurant that had some healthier looking dishes and promised ourselves no starters and no dessert. We also went for a walk on the beach beforehand to get the body moving!
Whilst not every food on my plate was strictly within my plan, I am happy with my choice and know that my awareness around my food choices in increasing every day.
Breakfast – Smoothie of strawberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt
Snack – Organic coffee with organic milk
Lunch – Homemade vegetable frittata, green apple
Snack – Handful of brazil nuts, spoonful of good quality cream
Dinner – Eye fillet steak with spinach, mushrooms, mashed potato and a thyme and mushroom cream sauce, 3 glasses of red wine
My name is Tash and I live in Sydney.
To get straight to the point, after years of emotional eating and yet a real passion for nutrition, I am embarking on a 6 week whole foods challenge. My emotional eating patterns have a tendency to sabotage my efforts to eat well so I am starting with a challenge to get me fired up and on track. For now, I will endeavour to at least get into the rhythm of whole foods eating and cut out the processed food with a view to further tweaks down the line.
The challenge: To complete 42 days of eating whole foods. With this is mind I will specifically be avoiding:
Day One of the challenge began yesterday.
Breakfast: Smoothie with avocado, 2 raw eggs, strawberries, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia and salt
Lunch: Home made minced beef patties with zucchini and onion sautéed in onion, home made grain free, sugar free coconut biscuit
Snack: Wholemeal spelt sourdough bread with butter
Dinner: Roast chicken with roasted purple carrots, roasted parsnip and steamed cauliflower
