Chilli Chicken and brown rice

This was today's quick leftovers lunch.
In my fridge were :
1 chicken breast
A tub of ready cooked brown rice mixed with peas and sweetcorn
Half a bag of curly kale
A tub of mixed seeds - pumpkin, pine nuts, sunflower ( optional)
In my store cupboard are:
Chilli flakes
olive or sunflower oil
soya sauce

I cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces ( cant wait longer than that!), stir fried it with some chilli flakes. Added curly kale for a very quick stir, just till wilted. Drained these on kitchen paper whilst I
Stir fried rice mixture over heat to warm through
Beat the egg and quickly added it to rice in pan. Quick stir to cook egg through rice, then serve.
Sprinkle with soya sauce ( GF if you like) to taste.

I made this just for me :) I really like hot lunches, somehow they satisfy me longer and sandwiches just don't do it for me!

Roasted veg and meatballs

This is a 'what to do with those vegetables that are at the bottom of the fridge' moment. Firstly I love red skin potatoes roasted in the oven with some olive oil, some sea salt and rosemary. Tonight we're having meatballs and gravy, ready made meatballs, hey I'm not perfect, So in the bottom of my fridge was:
half a leek ( once I'd chopped off the mushy bit)
2 large courgettes
red, orange and green peppers
garlic cloves 5 or 6
red onions
a tub of cherry tomatoes
Sprinkle with olive oil, some oregano and a little tarragon.
Roast in oven @ 200 for 30-40 mins.

blueberry oat pancakes

One of my favourite treats are pancakes and these are special, especially if like me you don't want to eat too much wheat. They aren't gluten free unless you use GF oats but that's always an option.
To make these I used:
2/3 cup porridge oats
1 scoop whey isolate protein powder ( Restore from radiantrecovery.com or whey isolate pp from myprotein.co.uk are my top favourites)
tsp baking powder ( for a bit of extra rise)
3 eggs
milk - enough to make a pancake like batter, I use cows but you could use soya, oat, or rice
a couple of good handfuls of blueberries, mine were frozen but fresh would be great

Whizz batter in blender, enough so the oats become part of the mix.
Heat oil in pan to smoking then turn down
Fry pancakes a ladle at a time.
Fr me this made 3 big thick yummy pancakes, you could make double this if you made them thinner but I find thick ones stick together better!
I add a good dollop of Greek yogurt, you could add cream or creme fraiche.
For me this gives a great protein amount for a meal with added brown ( complex carb) and some fruit for my 5 a day. they make a meal in themselves or are a yummy dessert.

These are for sugar free peeps, if you aren't there yet you might want to add some extra sweetness either in the mix or on top. However you eat 'em, enjoy!

A 2 breakfast day!

radiantrecovery.com

Woke at 4.30 am today. Usually that means a quick bathroom break then back to sleep, but this morning after half an hour I knew sleep was eluding me and the increasing internal growling and rumbling was telling me I was hungry. I know that means my blood sugar has well and truly dropped and if I don't get up and eat Im going to pay for it later in the day by being grumpy, teary and generally out of sorts. So at 5am I was sitting up in bed drinking breakfast one, a protein shake made with whey isolate protein powder, half a banana and a tsp of cocoa whizzed in a hand blender with soya milk. Like magic my BS started to climb gently, I can just feel my molecules drinking it in and I was back to sleep till 8am.
So part of my sugar free iving is to eat regularly to regulate my blood sugar. For me 41/2 to 5 hours is optimum timing. I have found over the years that on extra long days, such as when travelling, skipping time zones or just being up extra early or late that eating by the clock is essential to keep my balance. Some days that means 5 meals instead of 4 and that's ok.
So breakfast 2 at 9.30 was a second shake with a large bowl of porridge oats. And Im steady and ready!
Whilst eating Ive been surfing blogs and trying to find other sites that mention sugar free or sugar sensitivity. I have found it really interestingthat most of them are focused on the best ways to get sweet stuff without actually calling it sugar! So there are sites with every recipe for sugar free chocolate cookies, cakes and desserts and deals to be done swapping sugar for 'natural sugars' like honey and agave syrup.
One of the pleasures for me in this way of living has been the feeling of release and freedom from the constant craving for sugar which dominated my life from childhood. There have been times of restriction and dieting, times of abstinece and withdrawal but underneath gnawing away like the monster in the eating disordered closet was the sugar monster.
One of my key elements for healing has been in the recognition of the power of such a simple mechanism as blood sugar. We all know how it feels to feed that with sugar, that quick ahhhhh hit that shoots up the bs and makes us feel goooooood. The problem with being sugar sensitive is that blood sugar/ insulin response can be a lot more volatile so the more sugar I ate the more my bs rocketed up and down. No wonder I ate so much of it looking for the way to feel better!
So what is the answer? Well its both wonderfully, stupendously simple and deliciously complicated. Im a practical sort of girl so the simple works for me, regular meals with the right amount of protein and a complex carbohydrate every time. No white foods, and no sugar to spike the respnse. And the key has been to do it slowly, one little step at a time. Not the all or nothing diet in a week of previous incarnations, but a slow and steady progression from binge and despair to wholeness and enjoyment.

Broccoli and tuna

Lunch today was a wholegrain sandwich made with a tin of tuna mixed with a couple of spoonfulls of greek yogurt. Sometimes I add a little mustard. I find mayo too sweet and sticky and I really like the clean sharp flavour of the yogurt mixed with the tuna. Its good mixed with cottage cheese too, but thats better on ryvitas or crackers as the bread goes too mushy!
I added some iceberg lettuce and some florets of broccoli for extra crunch. Im trying to make sure I have proper veggies ie not just lettuce, they are much more satisfying.
Here's some interesting facts re broccoli:
Its been around for more than 2000 years
It is known for its cancer preventing properties
It was first grown in Italy in the province of Calabria and known as Calabrese
It's a good source of Vitamin A, and vitamin C, potas
sium, folacin, iron and fiber. Broccoli has as much calcium ounce per ounce as milk and contains a few important phytochemicals: beta-carotene, indoles and isothiocyanates.
Famous quotes re broccoli "

I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli. George H. W. Bush “Newman, you wouldn't eat broccoli if it was deep-fried in chocolate sauce.” Jerry Seinfeld to Newman in 'The Chicken Roaster' episode of 'Seinfeld' TV series. “Fatherhood is telling your daughter that Michael Jackson loves all his fans, but has special feelings for the ones who eat broccoli.” Bill Cosby, ‘Fatherhood’ (1986) Purple sprouting broccoli is awesome and Im going to try to grow some this year!

Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgehw110377.html#ixzz1H3OVW4ie

food and feeling good

We all know that you 'are what you eat', this blog is just a reminder of how much moods and feelings are affected by food. In my case that means especially the 'white stuff' ie processed white bread, pasta, cakes and biscuits and the other 'white stuff' that is sugar. Sugar acts on the receptors in our brains the same way that opiates do, that is pretty scary isn't it?
For me as a long term ( now recovering!) sugar addict I have found that chocolate makes me one crazy lady, where white flour products make me sad and moody.
I am in the process of working through seven steps to recovery from my sugar addiction thanks to radiantrecovery.com. I have been down this road before, felt amazing, lost weight and knew this was how I was going to live my life. Wrong! Well hey, as any addict knows its not that easy. Along comes a set of circumstances, otherwise known as excuses, and one chocolate croissant leads to another all the way down binge alley.
Enter chaos and feeling dreadful alongside mega sugar roller coaster.
So Ive been working my way back from a dismal sort of place and I'm discovering new ways to eat and live.
For today my food has been pretty simple.
Breakfast treats - I start most days with a 'shake'. I use a whey protein powder ( 1.5 scoops), a nice handful of blueberries and some soya milk. I whizz it in the blender and its yummy. Add to that a bowl of porridge made with 2/3 cup of oats mixed with half milk/half water and I'm set till lunch time.

One of the things that makes all the difference to me is eating 'brown' things - ie wholegrain oats, flour, brown, rice and pasta. Its not just in the being 'full' and satisfied feeling, somehow those 'brown' things just keep me steady emotionally too. And the more stressed or busy I am the more those brown things help!!