clean eating progress report

I have been very good at sticking to my initial goals of eating clean this week. I haven't been strictly to the plan but have changed days around to fit in with life.

So far 1 kg has vanished so maybe this is a winner? It has definitely motivated me to go for a second week. I have felt so good and strong willed that I passed up clinkers! And they were waved under my nose and enjoyed by everyone else in the house. Clinkers would normally be one thing I would cave in to.

The week hasn't ended yet though so I'm off for a session with the PT to keep me focused.

xx

"clean eating" challenge

For those that know me well, housekeeping is not my forte. I do it, but not particularly well. It is definitely not a task that comes naturally.

So when I first heard of clean eating I got excited, because I thought it meant I could eat while I was cleaning. And I LOVE eating.

Turns out I was wrong. So very VERY wrong.

I've done some research, and had a good hard think about it, and decided I might try it anyway.

Today is day 1 of the Move Nourish Believe - 7 Day Clean Eating Challenge

Surprisingly I feel fine. I'm not hungry. I'm not tired. I have prepped a few things today like the tahini ball snacks so that the rest of the week runs smoothly.

I'm still wondering when my desire to clean will kick in though..............

what's in that kids lunch box returns...... 16

Okay so last week I failed to post. Our school added 2 pupil free days onto the long weekend so the kids were only actually at school for 2 days last week. We had a productive weekend working in the garden and then I fell sicky with a horror head cold and spent the rest of the week feeling sorry for myself!


This weekend and week has kicked of with some mega storms from Mother Nature and has undone of my good tidying work outside so I am in a bit of a mood about that but still managed to remember to take a photo of today's lunch. 


So, this kid has:

• a cheese, ham and pickle sandwich. Yes it's boring, but I made the whole weeks worth and have frozen them ready to go. This makes my chaotic mornings far more tolerable, and that is best when I am sick and cranky!
• a fruit crush
• polenta cake
• a mandarin for recess

Polenta cake

whisk half a cup of fine polenta into 1 and a half cups of simmering milk. Stir continuously for 5 minutes and then take off the heat. Add in some grated orange rind and honey and sultanas. Spoon in to muffin molds and cool. They set firm like little cakes and are super yummy. You can switch up the flavours too with maple syrup or nuts or cinnamon or other dried fruit. SUPER easy and SUPER yummy

WiTKL.......15

Whoops, I'm a day late with this post. Did anyone really notice? Guessed not.


Well we had a nicey playmate yesterday and Flynn has declared that she is "his best friend EVER". It was super cute and I am so glad that they like to hang out. Sometimes I worry that his friends are by default - you know - only because they are siblings of Lucy's mates.


Week 16, this kid has:

back to the old phone camera

• an apple for recess
• pizza scrolls (made a dough in the bread machine and then just did a roll up thingy. This is an easy way to may vegemite or cinnamon ones too) 
• Fruit juice
• banana yoghurt treat *(see below)

* You may have noticed that our lunches usually don't contain much of the fun dairy stuff like yoghurt squeezey things or yogo's or custards. That's because we have a bit of trouble digesting the majority of dairy products available for lunchbox convenience.  I always manage to keep our calcium level up with other items and I try to include all the dairy that we can handle as much as possible. Up until recently it hasn't been a big issue. We are now entering a phase of Lucy noticing what other kids have or do and comparing them to what we have or do. Generally we discourage trying to 'keep up with the Jones' ' type of attitudes, and we celebrate being different, but sometimes it erks me when I feel like she is always missing out on something.

The something that has come up a lot is the treats that other kids get in their lunchboxes. Chocolate seems to be a repeating offender, but I want to stay firm on that one and maybe only give her something like that once a year! And Yogo. I think it's the only really naughty thing the kids  can get from lunch orders. (We don't have a canteen on site so there are no slushies or icy poles to compete with.) We can't eat Yogo. Insert sad face here! 

So I have started making our own yoghurt delight treaties. Todays is banana nesquik flavoured but we usually have chocolate using a natvia based drinking powder so it is sugar free too.

I basically hang some Mundella natural yoghurt in muslin over night to remove all the watery part and then mix in some flavoured drink powder. Nesquik flavours are super yummy. Hanging the yoghurt isn't absolutely necessary, but it does make it thicker and removes a little bit of the tang.

Lucy thinks it's a winner too. It's a nice feeling to know she feels part of the cool kids all because of a bit of yoghurt.

happy days

This is our little family inside a cargo plane at the Australian Defence Force Air show. The Air Force staff were so friendly and even helped us get this photo. (usually Clint is taking all the shots so he isn't in many photo's)

WiTKLB..........14

Another big weekend has been successfully followed with another dreary Monday morning. We had a lovely day out with our little family at the Pearce Australian Defence Force Air Show. It was a long day as we were out for approximately 12hours. Even though we were all in bed and asleep by 8.30pm I think we could have used at least another 6 hours sleep each


So today is going to be filled with a whole lotta "bugger" and a side serve of "all"


Week 15, this kid has

• crackers, ham, cheese and cucumber
• soy milk and sipahh straw
• an apple for recess

Today's meal just didn't seem enough to me. However Lucy was upset when I tried to add some carrot sticks for a snack that it was too much for her to eat. I agreed to take them out as long as she had milk to bulk it up a bit. I don't want to force feed her, but I don't her to be hungry either.

There is every chance that I will send some sultana's as well tomorrow - just in case!

another Vanity post.

It's all about me again. 


I have been tuned into a lot of diet talk again recently. More to the point I feel like everywhere I go people are talking about what new fancy schemes and tricks they are trying or want to try. Everyone knows someone who tried this or that and seems to have an opinion on it. 


I am fully aware that what works for me may not work for everyone else. I know that I have made the right choices for me. I also know that other peoples success can be feel threatening because it highlights your own failures - and I know because I have sat in that space all to often in my short life. It is no longer important for others to do things my way. I have no need to have the approval of others to make sure that I have done the right thing.


Approval now comes from success. So get ready for some extremely vain opinions of myself!


This was me towards the end of last year. I had already started my healthy journey so I'm sure I probably looked far worse - but I never let there be any photographic evidence

And this is me now 21KG's lighter!

Ha - Don't I just love myself sick right now!

Now I would like to point out that I am not wearing any "shapewear" in these photos,(but I truly do believe that every girl should own some for every red carpet event and that includes grocery shopping and school runs!)

My body type will never be stick thin, and I am OK with that. Perhaps your thirties are for accepting the body you have and not trying to make it into something unattainable.

I got here from no secret remedies or potions or fads. Just one day at a time healthy living. My unhealthy life was built much in the same manner, one day at a time of bad eating and no exercise and sad excuses.

I now include myself in life much more. The idea of bathers doesn't make me want to hurl. And I have loads more photo's of myself with my kids, because I'm not more worried about how I look than capturing the memories.

I still have demons - ones that feed on sugar and doubt. But now they only have visits in my head instead of taking out long term leases. 

Life is good.