Well, me n the missis went back to strict "health farm" with healthy food and cycling on five consecutive days .. but I still don't seem to have lost anything this is a bit of a surprise. Maybe there were just too many pub-lunches and hidden extras that made a difference ..
Or it could be the old "muscle weighs more than fat" thingy! My legs are certainly very strong now after all the hill work I've been able to do .. including up to Lask Edge from Rudyard and up to AXE EDGE from Longnor -- that is such a fun ride .. reall slog up then a brilliant descent on another road back to the village!
I bought myself a jacket in TKMaxx and a couple of tops to snap up my wardrobe into a slightly more funky look, size 16, which feels a lot better than size 22! I don't want to spend much on clothes that wont be around for long, but need the encouragement of actually looking better .. TKMaxx is great for that!
Monday, 23 February 2009
Monday, 16 February 2009
1/2 term
I've lost three and 1/2 stones since my operation in June last year, which has been a good steady loss of about 2 pounds a week, most weeks.
This has been going good, but last week I had a blip, with no loss at all, mainly induced by too much snacking on sweet treats at work. I was glad to get to half term, cos my missis will keep a good eye on me and get me back on track.
To this end we are being very busy, gardening on Saturday, a few miles up and down the Tissington trail on Sunday and a staggering 25 miles today .. well I was staggering by the time we got back .. we were out for nearly three hours, non-stop and the reason it was a fairly low average speed is cos we did some good hills. In particular I stayed on for most of the climb up to Lask Edge from Rudyard ... not an easy climb. It was worth it though, the views from there are really good, you can see out all around across past Mow Cop into Cheshire on one side, and across to Morridge on the other side, and the Cloud behind . lovely.. especially as the weather was kind to us, no rain and quite bright mlost of the time we were out, really.
We had tomato soup and homemade bread for lunch when we got back, very tasty. Then we had jacket spud and a sort of waldorf salad with radishes and no mayo... it is really nice. If I carry on being this strict I reckon I'l be back on target at the next weigh in.
This has been going good, but last week I had a blip, with no loss at all, mainly induced by too much snacking on sweet treats at work. I was glad to get to half term, cos my missis will keep a good eye on me and get me back on track.
To this end we are being very busy, gardening on Saturday, a few miles up and down the Tissington trail on Sunday and a staggering 25 miles today .. well I was staggering by the time we got back .. we were out for nearly three hours, non-stop and the reason it was a fairly low average speed is cos we did some good hills. In particular I stayed on for most of the climb up to Lask Edge from Rudyard ... not an easy climb. It was worth it though, the views from there are really good, you can see out all around across past Mow Cop into Cheshire on one side, and across to Morridge on the other side, and the Cloud behind . lovely.. especially as the weather was kind to us, no rain and quite bright mlost of the time we were out, really.
We had tomato soup and homemade bread for lunch when we got back, very tasty. Then we had jacket spud and a sort of waldorf salad with radishes and no mayo... it is really nice. If I carry on being this strict I reckon I'l be back on target at the next weigh in.
Friday, 9 January 2009
cauli curry
half a sweet potato - cubed
small cauliflower - small florets
large onion finely sliced
tin of tomatoes
ghee or veg oil (small as you can)
four cloves garlic
slice of ginger - finely chopped together
tsp ground coriander
tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp turmeric
boil the sweet spud for about ten minutes, when starting to soften add the cauli and boil both till soft
meanwhile fry garlic and ginger till soft
add spices and fry a bit more
add tinned tomatoes and mix well .. might need a drop of water as well
when veg are soft drain them and add to tomatoe sauce ... at this point you could serve straight away, but I put it in the oven on gas 4 to blend more and soften so the cauli was a soft as butter .. and really good to eat
served this with spinach and a left over jacket pototo which I cut into small cubes and cooked together with a bit more ghee and some chilli, fennel seeds and a pinch of powdered cardomom .....
this is an inspired spice combo, suggested to me from a diferent Madhur Jaffries recipe
small cauliflower - small florets
large onion finely sliced
tin of tomatoes
ghee or veg oil (small as you can)
four cloves garlic
slice of ginger - finely chopped together
tsp ground coriander
tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp turmeric
boil the sweet spud for about ten minutes, when starting to soften add the cauli and boil both till soft
meanwhile fry garlic and ginger till soft
add spices and fry a bit more
add tinned tomatoes and mix well .. might need a drop of water as well
when veg are soft drain them and add to tomatoe sauce ... at this point you could serve straight away, but I put it in the oven on gas 4 to blend more and soften so the cauli was a soft as butter .. and really good to eat
served this with spinach and a left over jacket pototo which I cut into small cubes and cooked together with a bit more ghee and some chilli, fennel seeds and a pinch of powdered cardomom .....
this is an inspired spice combo, suggested to me from a diferent Madhur Jaffries recipe
Thursday, 1 January 2009
christmas 2008 - lanzarote 4
Christmas lunch - well lunch nearly every day, crackers and mojo sauce! See the atlantic in the background? The waves were rolling in on the cliffs below us here, and there wasn't another soul in sight.
christmas 2008 - lanzarote 3
These three pics are all in the side of the volcano that rises above Papagayo beaches. We peddled out here on Christmas day, totally empty, and sort of beautiful in its own desolate way. The blue sky and crashing waves made it better than it looks here! 
Christmas 2008 - Lanzarote lunch
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We kept right fit-farm on this holiday .. what with cycling about on rough tracks alongside volcanoes, and other beaches and eating minimal lunches. Here I am getting excited about jumbo pizza, on the rare day we didn't have crackers for lunch!
It paid off, cos this MUST be the first xmas in my life when I haven't put on weight!
Saturday, 22 November 2008
aubergine pasta
ok - probably not "perfect" diet food - but very lovely, adapted from paul gayler's pure vegetarian book
it's adapted first by reducing his oil count from 5 tablespoons to 2 !!... and to avoid the aubergine soaking all that up I baked it first, I baked garlic too - much more than he suggests
all baked where he fries ..
then I threw in some extra liquid (rice wine and soy sauce) to add juice instead of oiliness .. but otherwise it's the same - and really good range of flavours and textures!
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aubergine
sesame oil
veg oil
garlic
ginger
chinese black beans (or kideny beans)
chilli
hoisin sauce
peanut butter
soy sauce
rice wine
spring onion
coriander
bake one large aubergine with 5 BIG clovesof garlic (still in skin) about 40 mins gas 6-7
when that's nearly ready put 5 oz of pasta to boil, and a side dish of green beans to steam ..
when aubergine is ready assemble the sauce:
fry 2 inches of finely chopped ginger in 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tbs veg oil
squeeze baked garlic cloves out and mash
cut baked aubergine in to small dice
add these two to the sizzling ginger
stir and fry for a minute
add two tbsp chopped beans - he says dried chinese black beans, I used kidney beans!
1 finely chopped red chilli
stir and fry for a couple of minutes
add 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
two tbs hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
(if it is too thick, it'll take a drop of water at this point)
when it's all blended and gorgeous dress it with a few finely chopped spring onions and soem chopped coriander (or red onions and parsley)
add the drained pasta to it then eat it with the green beans and great pleasure!
it's adapted first by reducing his oil count from 5 tablespoons to 2 !!... and to avoid the aubergine soaking all that up I baked it first, I baked garlic too - much more than he suggests
all baked where he fries ..
then I threw in some extra liquid (rice wine and soy sauce) to add juice instead of oiliness .. but otherwise it's the same - and really good range of flavours and textures!
---------------------------
aubergine
sesame oil
veg oil
garlic
ginger
chinese black beans (or kideny beans)
chilli
hoisin sauce
peanut butter
soy sauce
rice wine
spring onion
coriander
bake one large aubergine with 5 BIG clovesof garlic (still in skin) about 40 mins gas 6-7
when that's nearly ready put 5 oz of pasta to boil, and a side dish of green beans to steam ..
when aubergine is ready assemble the sauce:
fry 2 inches of finely chopped ginger in 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tbs veg oil
squeeze baked garlic cloves out and mash
cut baked aubergine in to small dice
add these two to the sizzling ginger
stir and fry for a minute
add two tbsp chopped beans - he says dried chinese black beans, I used kidney beans!
1 finely chopped red chilli
stir and fry for a couple of minutes
add 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
two tbs hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
(if it is too thick, it'll take a drop of water at this point)
when it's all blended and gorgeous dress it with a few finely chopped spring onions and soem chopped coriander (or red onions and parsley)
add the drained pasta to it then eat it with the green beans and great pleasure!
Monday, 17 November 2008
hill cycling
This was a big weekend for me .. I decided it was time to try out some of the local routes from here and have a go with a few inclines. It was great.
We peddled down to the canal to start with, so no hills there, and then we took off from Endon up and down the hills from there to Rudyard Lake. We then did a bit more flat along the side of the lake and came back the same way. It's a round trip of a little over 20 miles (don't know exactly how far cos my odometer has gone missing). The lake looked beautiful with quite a few sailing on it, and despite the dreary weather forecast the sky was blue and sunny.
It is a sentimental route cos we first used to do it 17 /18 years ago before we were a "couple" and used to cycle together after work. Since B got her job in Cheshire we've literally never done it, so it has been a few years "off" and it was fun to go again.
In the olden days we used to call in on J and R, a couple we know, who used to live in Endon. We'd often stop there for a chat with J, my friend, and her hubbie R was sometimes there. We'd have a cup of tea on their veranda and then finish our journey to our separate homes from there.
When B and I announced ourselves as a couple, J told me she wasn't a bit surprised, because R had once said that it was obvious to him that B and I were in love with each other. Obvious to him, before it was obvious to us. Clever guy!
Then things moved on, J and R split up, she went to live on the south coast, and I heard recently that he was terminally ill with lung cancer.
So what is the dynamic that suddenly brought all four of us together again this weekend, literally yards from where they used to live. There was Brigid and I out on our bikes together on that route for the first time in years, and there was J back up here to drive her ex-husband around in his final weeks on trips to places they used to go.
It was amazing.
It was good for me to meet him and hear how he feels about being terminally ill, and it was good or me to tell him he hadn't been wrong about B and I. We must have been in love then, and we still are.
And the hills still enchant us.
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We peddled down to the canal to start with, so no hills there, and then we took off from Endon up and down the hills from there to Rudyard Lake. We then did a bit more flat along the side of the lake and came back the same way. It's a round trip of a little over 20 miles (don't know exactly how far cos my odometer has gone missing). The lake looked beautiful with quite a few sailing on it, and despite the dreary weather forecast the sky was blue and sunny.
It is a sentimental route cos we first used to do it 17 /18 years ago before we were a "couple" and used to cycle together after work. Since B got her job in Cheshire we've literally never done it, so it has been a few years "off" and it was fun to go again.
In the olden days we used to call in on J and R, a couple we know, who used to live in Endon. We'd often stop there for a chat with J, my friend, and her hubbie R was sometimes there. We'd have a cup of tea on their veranda and then finish our journey to our separate homes from there.
When B and I announced ourselves as a couple, J told me she wasn't a bit surprised, because R had once said that it was obvious to him that B and I were in love with each other. Obvious to him, before it was obvious to us. Clever guy!
Then things moved on, J and R split up, she went to live on the south coast, and I heard recently that he was terminally ill with lung cancer.
So what is the dynamic that suddenly brought all four of us together again this weekend, literally yards from where they used to live. There was Brigid and I out on our bikes together on that route for the first time in years, and there was J back up here to drive her ex-husband around in his final weeks on trips to places they used to go.
It was amazing.
It was good for me to meet him and hear how he feels about being terminally ill, and it was good or me to tell him he hadn't been wrong about B and I. We must have been in love then, and we still are.
And the hills still enchant us.
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