Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Watching this documentary on the television, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead".

Its about a guy with an autoimmune disease who decided to go on a Juice Fast in order to get his body back in shape.

Long and short of it is he lost a heap of weight and basically cured himself of his disease.

Very inspiring and making me want to do it (I have Idiopathic [translation: cause unknown] Anaphylaxis and debilitating migraines so I wonder if this might not be a solution for me..)...but logistics....the sheer AMOUNT of fruit and veg they consume in a day is probably not sustainable in my case I think...

Maybe I can start by just swapping out my breakfast meals for a liquid substitute of fruit and veg...but i don't have a juicer either...hmmm....

I am keen...but I also have to be careful as my son is not bottle-fed and still relies on me. But surely the breakfast swap out should be ok.

I hate always thinking about food, and when you are self conscious about your weight that is what you end up doing.

I am someone who loves cooking; I find a lot of pride in the ability to master a recipe. 

In my life I've achieved and maintained substantial weight loss at least twice. But it only takes one week of bargaining with yourself, where you make promises to work off the fast food or chocolate treat later to detract from all that you have accomplished and set you on a downward spiral. Aside from that I worked out a lot. Like at least a minimum of 1 hour 3-6 days (it was in reality closer to a minimum of 2-3 hours more often than not) a week with an additional 20-40 minutes of Pilates 7 days a week, and Swimming at least 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. That level of commitment is just not possible any longer for me. Hmmm.....

At the moment I want to lose at least four dress sizes…I really want to be fit again and looking better before I return to work in July.

The likelihood of that happening however is so minute it’s depressing.

When do I find the time?

I NEED to do something though…this bleak :S

Little people...

Isn't it amazing what kids come up with!

My daughter S. surprises me almost every day...She is a regular comedian and she doesn't even know it :)

Just today she was playing by herself at her desk, when she picked up her handbag and turned to me to say; (She actually uses more Hindi than English so I will translate :D)

"Mummy.."

Yes darling?

"I just went to the doctor"

And what did the doctor say?

"Mummy, the doctor said, that baby (she's referring to herself) will go shopping"

Oh really? Did the doctor said that did he?

"Yes mummy, doctor said baby will go shopping and buy chocolate"

After a fit of laughter on my behalf, she coaxed a biscuit out of me.

When did this happen?? I mean she's a whole tiny person in there....

She is a little chatterbox, prattling off little pearls like this all day long. It is truly EXHAUSTING!

I asked dad if I talked this much when i was her age...he wisely chose not to acknowledge that question.

Forgive me if I sound arrogant, its not meant to be, this is fatigue talking; she is simply too intelligent for her own good. She knows just how to get what she wants, whether that be physically, (knowing that if she approaches the ball hidden under TV unit straight on, she will hit her head, instead lying down beside the outside of the unit and sticking her arm behind it to push it out with her fingers) or emotionally (knowing that her affection has currency with the people in her life and therefore throwing her arms open to yell out "mummy I love you too" following up with a kiss then letting you know what it is she really wants).

But the flip side of having a crafty little two year old is that you have one that knows her own mind. I thought I would get at least a few more years before I had to listen to her opinion (And oh brother! Does she ever have opinions!!!) She knows what she wants to wear. How she wants to do her hair. What she wants to eat. Where she wants to go. How she wants to go there. What she wants to do when she gets there...you get the idea...the days are LONG....

Again, this will sound a lot like hubris, but I honestly don't believe I've met another two year old that is as articulate and cognisant as her. This time last year, we were laughing as she stumbled over her words trying to speak to us. We were in hysterics as she tried to carry a stuffed toy more than twice her size up a Woolworth's aisle upto the checkouts! But our little typical LEO, has grown into a tenacious, clever, dynamo, with energy that just won't quit.

I try my best not to quash her character but I am very sorry to say that I am repeatedly guilty of losing my composure...

It’s just so difficult to be accommodating with a 5 month old in the mix.

It seems I feel guilty all the time...

Either I’m guilty, because I'm losing my temper with her. Or guilty that I must be doing something wrong since she won't comply with my instructions. Or guilty that I give into her tantrums in order to achieve a modicum of peace. Or guilty that I'm so engaged with her that I don't give my son U. as much attention as I did her when she was the same age. Or guilty that I don't have time to play with her because I either have to attend to my son or the home/housework. Or guilty that she still drinks out of bottle at night. Or guilty that she won't go to sleep (and stay asleep) in her own bed.

I wonder sometimes if it is just me...

Whoa! Didn't see this ramble coming...where did this start and where did it end? :S

Don't get me wrong, I read the literature out there; I know there are techniques that I should be using to train my child (...much like a household pet). But unfortunately its not that easy, not when you have an extended family, who will consistently cater to her every whim without a moments consideration to any instruction you utter.

There is no point being the police officer of fun when there are others who ignore you and enable both bad behavior and disobedience. The result is you become the bad guy, and bogeyman!

ARGH!

Ok, enough for tonight me thinks :S

Inspiration from a friend

We currently have a steady supply of fresh strawberries thanks to hubby's efforts in the garden and I'd been trying to come up with something new to do with them when I came across a really cool recipe from a friend’s blog:

http://milkbread.wordpress.com/tag/5-cup-cake/

Awesomely EASY recipe!!

And end product:

TADA!!!!

I used;

- 1 cup self-raising flour with a teaspoon of baking powder

- 1 cup rolled oats

- 1/4 cup of sugar

- 1 egg

- 3/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup milk 

- 1 cup chopped strawberries

Baked for 15 minutes on 160 degrees.

I only used the egg because the sour cream - milk mix was too thick and needed more moisture but next time I intend to just add a little more milk and kick the sugar back a little too..I guess the strawberries were sweeter than I anticipated :D

Having said that, these muffins were so moreish!!

I made a total of 18 at 6pm and by 9pm there were only 8 left :) My daughter S. couldn't get enough of them! 

Thanks N. you're recipe rocked, can see many uses for it in the future: D

I used the muffin trays I got from Aldi today and they were pretty great. The muffins came out easy and the mini size is perfect for little S. 

For anyone that scoffs at Aldi, let me just say, their products rock!

I always say our home is sponsored by Ikea and Aldi :D

I think the reason hubby goes to Aldi alone more often than not these days, is because I get a little carried away there... 

I can't help it, they always have these cool ideas there...each week is a new featured product and I cannot resist!

A twist on Baked Beans for Breaky...

Tasty Baked Beans (Fiji-Style)

Here’s a really simple breakfast idea for those of you that don’t mind a little onion in your breakfast…

I’ll give credit where its due and let you know that its hubby’s recipe with a few tweaks from me :)

You will need one small tin of baked beans per person, (we use the weight watchers brand [your about to use butter, better start with as few calories as possible :D]).

It’s really simple; add some butter (or butter substitute) to a small non-stick fry pan.

Fry off a little finely diced onion (we used a quarter of a medium sized onion for two small tins of baked beans) until it is nice, crispy and brown (not burnt).

Add baked beans with all the sauce (I find its easiest to do this off the heat to avoid spluttering). Sauté for a few minutes till onions are glassy and soft. If you have them, add some garlic chives (even regular chives or for that matter parsley or coriander will do) just before you are about to take it off the heat, (adds another subtle layer to the flavours).

Serve on a plate with a sprinkle of either finely ground pepper or some nice paprika.

Commence eating with some nice buttered toast and some tea :)

The first time hubby told me to make his baked beans with onions I scoffed a little, but 5 years later, its one of our weekend staples :)

Our daughter S. who is a very fussy eater will mop up the sauce with some toast and that will be her breaky…though to be fair she is ever-ready to mop up any sauce with some form of bread :D

The First Step...

Rant of the week:

So, here I am, trying to take pressure out of writing my first ever post by just putting something out there :S

I've been CRAVING halal dumplings for MONTHS!!

Even seriously considering planning another trip to Malaysia JUST for dumplings :D

But we finally tried out the "Chinese Halal Restaurant" (Yup, that’s the name of the place) in Auburn, last Thursday night.

And I’ll say it, straight off the bat, the dumplings WERE AWESOME :D!!!


BUT little else was…in fact everything else we tried left a LOT to be desired!! Not the least of which; was the service! 
The chick behind the counter, took my order at about 7pm. I had asked her how long the wait would be and she told me 25 minutes tops.

So we walk over to the park, next to the station, two kids in tow, (me in heels [so not a good idea]) to pass some time whilst we waited.

We go back and to pick up the food only to be told it would be another 20 minutes.

Ok, fine, so hubby thinks its best to wait outside so they can see us and know we’re waiting…after about 10 minutes my heels-bound-feet decide they need a rest, so I take my daughter in and we wait at an empty table.


After about 30 minutes I ask this chick to ‘HONESTLY, tell me how long’, she says 6 minutes.

After about 10 minutes and other people getting their orders before us, hubby comes in with the baby (having carried him for the last 40 minutes) to find out what is going on, the chick say another 10 minutes, at which point I get MAD.

Seriously just TELL us how long, for real! (What’s worse is she says sorry whilst giggling nervously, SO NOT FUNNY!) Anyway, we get our food over an hour after we arrived and go home neither of us in any mood to enjoy dinner any longer.

We didn’t eat that much that night, but ate the leftovers for lunch the next day and actually enjoyed it.

WHY is it that people think that they can get away with giving really bad service to people who seem like push overs!

Unless you get agro/rude/or obnoxious people want to try to walk all over you! 

Tired of it? I know I am. Just because I’m friendly to you at the start of a transaction doesn’t mean I’m going to sit there and be treated like a doormat for the duration!!

But after all that, would you believe I found some seafood dumpling in the freezer section of the new Greenacre Coles today! Can you believe it :D Haven’t tried them yet but will keep you posted :D

Ok, to update:

Tried the supermarket dumplings with my brother today (31/01/12), and I have to say, they weren't bad!

Nothing will compare to freshly made ones…but in a bind these will do nicely :)