Week 3 - Part 1

List of recipes to look up today:

* sugar-free tomato sauce (I miss it, but can't find it anywhere where it doesn't have grape juice?)

*buckwheat pancakes (don't like my chances that these will be palatable without mixing in any other type of flour)

* sugarless fruitcake (experiment with buckwheat flour or almond meal)

* raw vegan brownies (non-cook)

Well, as of this morning I had lost 3kgs but I think that is fluctuating a bit. Our church is doing 24/7 prayer this week and so I've been trying to do a liquid fast during the day - which is not as restsrictive as you might think. I am having smoothees and soups and still partaking in coffees and an evening meal with the rest of the family. It does make me focus more on drinking water to fill up. Yesterday I made a great soup at lunch time - I am taking advantage of this breezier and overcast weather to make some comfort food. The soup was Parsnip and Onion soup and recipe is below:

4 peeled parsnips & 2 brown onions diced and sweated off in olive oil until beginning to brown. Add 3/4 tsp curry powder, garam masala, black pepper and 2tsp sea salt and cook for mins more. Add 6 cups of stock and cook for 20 mins till veges soft. Process and serve with chopped walnuts on top.

It was very tasty but discovered too late that the organic vege stock powder I was using had rice flour in it and Yeast extract! Poop. Need to check EVERYTHING. Did end up using 2/3rds stock and 1/3 water for the liquid. Smells divine while cooking, was super quick and very creamy in texture. Made me keen to try some more soups - maybe with lentils and my own homemade vege stock!

For dinner I made burgers again - the rest of the family on bread rolls, mine between little lettuce leaves - delicious but did miss the tomato sauce!

Got a bit down on Sunday (2 days ago) when my husband returned to the house with KFC for lunch - I love KFC but knew I could just not eat it without the skin, and it would still be very fatty - ick! So I walked out and went to do my groceries. However, was starving so scouted round and ended up having a Kebab plate - heaps of salad (lettuce, tomato and taboulih), little bit of chicken and tahini over top. Didn't eat it all but enjoyed it none-the-less. Topped up on alot of fruit and veges and got to taste my first organic fig - very rich but tasty. Unfortunately couldn't justify the $2 each cost. Thanks for the freebie Georgina! Could justify the organic blueberries tho....

That night I wasn't terribly hungry but found I wanted to eat for the enjoyment of having the kids in bed already. Was going to make some scrambled eggs (but had had bacon & eggs that morning) so ended up having more corn wraps (ham & salad inside) toasted. Wasn't very happy with it but satisfied that craving. Also craving something sweet later on last night - was cruising the pantry staring longingly at the choc chips, marshmallows and couveture chocolate and could not convince myself to settle for a cup of tea. Ended up having sliced banana with some cacoa powder and granola on top. Didn't enjoy it that much but filled the spot. Wish I could control those urges. Funny that I didn't cheat on my diet but still wasn't proud of not settling for less. I know my body doesn't need it but it's such a comfort thing I spose - tied up more in the emotional rather than the physical. Maybe I should expect a tougher trot during this prayer week too - I know how Satan loves to bring us down when we're trying to focus on God. I must BEWARE.......

I must give an honourary mention to my PT who is recognizing my need to up the ante. She is hammering me at the gym, and as much as I whinge at the time I sooooo appreciate that she is on my wavelength and can really see my desire to conquer. I love the challenge and I know this is what keeps me coming back.....

Symptoms - had a shocker on Saturday (3 days ago) with PMT! Was out-of-my-head grumpy all day with the husband. He could not say anything or do anything right (in my books) and kudos to him for handling it well up until the afternoon when we all stressed in getting to the b'day party on time. Oh, I asked some big things of him that day and he was pretty cool, considering what a wench I was! Got home and relaxed enough to apologize (he already knew why I was so mental) but still out of sorts the next morning and chose to stay at home with the bubba (very tired) instead of go to church. I know, I know, not the best decision but the thought of talking to other people and pretending to be in a good mood made me feel physically sick. Enjoyed the time with my littlest tho and I know L enjoyed sitting thru church without the kids (all others at S School) and being able to concentrate.

Looking forward to getting glandular sprays from homeopath to see if they start to make a difference with my joint pain. Ankles still baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, fingers not so noticeable once I'm up and at 'em. Headache last night and this morning (def think that's a period thing) but all else well down below. Coping better thru the day with the fatigue - and am managing really well considering the added jobs with school going back. I am feeling very hopeful that I am really benefitting from the excercise and eating and the fatigue is gradually dissipating. Oh, I hope so...... Right now, off for some research!