Woooooooooooo

OK, so had a weekend of enjoying myself - surprise double date on Friday night, and celebrating a friends birthday on Saturday night. I managed to stay away from the bread as much as I could, and this week I've been really good with meals, so anything that I put on at the weekend I'm melting off already! Very happy about it.

This weekend we are off to the Lisloughrey Lodge courtesy of a competition that I won on 98fm a couple of weeks ago. It was meant to be a full weekend of boot-camp - and I was quite excited, but now they've called and told me would it be OK if I didn't do the boot-camp  it's postponed till April - and just came and enjoyed the luxury of the hotel - all meals included!! Um, yeah, hell yeah!!

So, gone is the weekend of healthy breakfast lunch and dinner and running around for 8 hours a day. Now it's going to be nice, relaxing and hopefully a bit romantic! :-)

YAY!

Tomorrow's also my last day in my current job, so nice and handy today, clearing out my desk and saying good bye to some of the people in the building. Had a scone for breakfast as well - not ideal, but I have my own lunch, and am having a small omelette for dinner so that's OK.

This is what you get...

When you get to goal!!! 

I made it... :-) After completing the tough and grueling Run in the Dark, I was hopeful that today's weigh in would be a good one. And low and behold, it was-  down 2 pounds on last week, and at my goal weight. That's 143 on their scales, (10st 3lb) and 9st 12 on my own scales. 

I just wanted to thank those that really helped me on my journey - only one or two of who reads my blog / knows that it exists. Without their support I'd have long since fallen off the wagon and fallen back into my size 18s. 

Now - I've free membership to fat camp for the rest of my days... and I have a 5lb window where I can go up or down without being penalised. I hope to never go up more than 5 - but I am more than aware that life does happen! 

Still no wheat....

Ok, so I've been cheating a little bit and have had the odd portions of wheat, but nothing like the toast fest I was having before (I guess, even though I didn't think I ate that much toast)

Friday was torture. It's supermarket shopping day for me - which normally requires visits to one supermarket  that sells things discounted. However, as its a discounted place it didn't have some of the stuff, so I headed off to a main stream supermarket. They were completely sold out of all fresh fish  - the key protein in my dinner on Friday. CRAP. So, off I went to a third supermarket! After landing in my door at 6.10, changing and going out, I wasn't back home until 845, and then had to leave again to collect himself from the train. Also had a crazy incident with my neighbour - she's clearly all kinds of crazy. 

Dinner was amazing, baked hake with pesto, red onion, chorizo and tomatoes. 

Saturday - went to the www.artsource.ie to see some of local Irish and based in Ireland artists - yeah, wasn't as good as last year, but still it was nice to go to. Spent the morning of Saturday on a grueling 13.5km run - which was hard going (2 glasses of wine and 2 bottles of beer on Friday night - NOT my friend), but soooo worth it, and then before the exhibition went to lunch. At lunch I had a smoked salmon open (that's how it was written on the menu - in the salad section!) - however, when it arrived I then realised that it was an open sandwich served on one piece of brown bread. So I ate that. Then I ate chocolate cake - which was amazing. 

Saturday's dinner had disaster points all over it - it should haev come with a WW warning - TWO BOTTLES OF WINE (yeah, for me - I shared 1/2 of one bottle), potato gnocchi - YUM, and a cream and bacon sauce. Gnocchi is something I've never ordered or made before. Even though it was a bit glutenous it was pretty tasty when fried off in the pan and my boyfriend LOVED it. 

Sunday was a good food day, had a couple of these sausages - which did taste low-fat, but at the same time gave me the sausage hit that I wanted. They did not pass the test of the boyfriend though, and I think he would have preferred something a little more fatty! Oh well - it's 1WWPP vs 4 WWPP for a full fat saussie!!
Then I had a falafel from the market and a rice crispie square - with chocolate. Delish! 

This week's been good so far, today weighed in at 9st 13lb :-) Have a 10k race tonight  so am looking forward to that, and any more positive effects it might have on the scales...

Menu today:
Protein shake 2pp
Grapefruit 0pp
Yogurt 1pp
Chicken salad with low fat mozz and dressing 6pp
Porridge 2
Yogurt 1

then home to collapse on the couch... not sure what I'll be able for after the run - sometimes I'm not ready to eat anything right after, and we've no eggs - my normal emergency meal option! 

Quick post before I head out the door...

So, WW  today - 

DOWN 2.5LBS - yes, that's right, bold, and caps and underlined... and a different colour font! I've also realised that I am no longer craving a caffiene fix in the afternoon - such as coffee or a diet coke, and that in a week i've had no diet drinks at all (or carbonated drinks) and wonder if they were bloating me long term - i always felt a bit more bloated when I drank them, but then assumed that it was normal!

I am so chuffed - as was my leader, she said, 'well done - see you did tell me you'd get that off now the last time you came'. I also am particularly chuffed as this means that I am now

2 POUNDS FROM GOAL. 

Next week is a birthday party for one of my best friends. It's a night away, and there's going to be copious amounts of alcohol, and some sort of food - as well as the following day, travelling, and therefore munching in the car. So - going to be smart about this - 10k run before we head down on Saturday - that's an extra 10 WW pro points for me and the dinner that night will not include any of the following:

• bread
• pasta
• noodles
• chips / french fries

All so I can get into this dress, or a dress that looks like that as the dress I have isn't online any more!! It's a UK10 - and I've been trying it on over and over again... I am planning on wearing it with black tights, gold shoes and a cream jacket.... but I DO NEED TO BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN IN IT AT LEAST FOR DINNER!

Breakfast the following day will also not include

• bread
• dairy 
• too much sugar

but it will probably look like this, a lovely Irish fry-up, hangover cure and little bit of heaven on a plate... yummo

Wheat free day 4...

Ok, so last night - Tuesday - was a bit of a mish-mash of a dinner. It's the day when both Mark and I are busiest with Soccer, bootcamp and the timings are all over the place. 

Bootcamp's not till 730, which means that when I get home from work I HAVE to eat some thing! Otherwise I am famished, and not really able for the class. So, I decided to give the porridge another go. This time i thought there might be a way to make it, and then fry it to give it a bit of a crispy edge. Nope, there's not - but it does create a lot of mess... :-( I did remember that I had a heap of frozen blueberries in the freezer - so I added a handful of them to the gloop, and then i diced 1/2 a cox apple and added that too. The apple saved the day - it definitely made the difference between it being gloopy and palatable. Added one teaspoon of golden syrup and ate it - three points. Same as a slice of toast sans rien - and considering I had progressed to toast with peanut butter I am better off with the porridge. sigh - I do love my PB. After bootcamp we both had really enjoyable bowls of roasted butternut squash soup, and today I am going to make a roasted tomato, garlic and basil soup which will be minus the butter, and will make a smaller quantity as I've only about 2 lbs of tomatoes in the fridge and its really just for tomorrow's dinner for me, and lunch for Mark - all we need is a couple of bowls. If it works out then I'll stock up on tomatoes over the weekend and make it again.  

Only good thing about winter is the soups... :-) 

Today's lunch is a scraping the bottom of the fridge lunch - there's spinach leaves - end of bag, sun-dried tomatoes - end of jar, beetroot - end of jar, chicken - end of the cooked chicken, and 40g of cheese - so end of the cheese too. I think it will be nice - i also added 1/2 a tsp of oil to the salad to give it some gloss. 

The scales today showed 10.1 (141) - but briefly briefly flicked to 9.13.8 :-) All I want is tomorrow to be 10 stone heading to my weigh in. I'd feel a lot better - I absolutely hate the fear of going to WW and knowing that you've cocked up! 

Also - i changed my tracking system. Instead of using their books, which are bright green and a bit ridiculous, I have decided to use my own notebook, and just stick within the 29 a day, and then track for 5 week days, and as much of the weekend as I can. I am not going to be that girl writing down her points while she's hammered in the chipper at 3am - but I'll do the best I can to stay out of the chipper :-) Good thing I'm not hitting the pub this weekend! 

The scales...and wheat free day 3

So last night's dinner was hake, spuds and veggies, and then i followed it with a three point curly wurly - the best value (points wise) chocolate you can get - they take so damn long to eat! 

I needed a snack before I went running and had 25g of apricot, raisin and nut porridge (my first attempt at eating porridge as an adult), with some golden syrup to sweeten (we had no honey!). 

Yesterday the scales said 10st 3.2 (143 lbs), today they said 10st 1.2 - (141lbs). Note - the scales and home, and the WW scales never tell the same story for me. The WW scales are about 2 pounds over what I need to be. However, this is all good news on the wheat front - As I was not hungry yesterday, and at the same time I was not bloated, and I still showed a down tick on the scales. I even stood on them twice to make sure! 

Weigh-in day is normally Thursday, but it might be Wednesday this week as I might go see my mum on Thursday instead. We'll see! The last time I went I was 10st 7.5 on the scales in WW - and the week before I'd made it to 10st 5 (145 lbs) - which is only 2 short of my goal. 

I have to remember that when I started I was a WHOLE LOT HEAVIER... 

Taken in 2008 - long before WW was even on my radar...

June 2010 - 6 months before WW - so I was still gaining! 

November 2010 - still pre WW (I had to donate this leather jacket last year as even with a hoody inside it it was swimming on me - it felt good!)

July 2012... over 55 pounds gone! :-) (I'm actually wearing shorts!)

Back to basics... I've been slacking!

Ok, so the posting has been a lot less inspired than I had hoped - and a lot more kudos go out to my friends who blog all the time - Jenn and Lynn, and Tiffany - you guys are amazing, how do you find the time! 

I have decided, based on my allergies, to go wheat free for a week - and see how that goes for me. So, no more sneaky slices of toast, no more digestives that were bought for the chocolate biscuit cake, and no more pasta - just for a week, which started on Saturday. So far it's been ok, as I mentally know that I can have some carbs, and there's a lot of wheat free options out there.

This is in attempt to reduce the itching that I experience all over my body, especially my eyes, throat, nose and legs, and to reduce my sniffles. I'll update how it goes. I may continue for one more week to ensure that i get into that LBD for my friends birthday on the 17th! :-) Who knows!!

Well - today's lunch was leftover fajita peppers (I didn't have the tortillas on Saturday), spinach leaves, roasted chicken and a tiny piece of cheese that was just too small to put back in the wrapper (think 1/4 of a matchbox). It was tasty, followed by an apple and a yoghurt and it was nice and filling - and i'd estimate maybe 6 points for the whole thing - the yogurt was only 1!!:-) 

This evening we are having grilled hake, baby potatoes, brocolli and carrots (boiled) - and I may add a teeeeny bit of parmesan to the veggies and perhaps the fish. I've a long run scheduled with my running buddy too -  12.5km - and have to work out what to eat before I do that. It's going to be hard if I can't have the toast I normally do. My boyfriend's going to get me some oranges, so that might do - or I can have a 2pt protein shake - that might work also, but I think the oranges, with the natural sugar and fibre will probably give me more energy... 

Filling, healthy and warming...

Chunky Vegetable Stew with Chorizo and Sweet Potato 

1 medium sized sweet potato
1 can of butter beans (including water)
1 can of tomato puree
1 can of tomatoes
1 medium - large red onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 courgettes / zucchini 
2 peppers / bell peppers 
4 inches of chorizo smoked sausage
3 tsp of italian herbs 

Slice and add to a lightly greased large pot the onion and the garlic
Gently fry off on a medium heat
Dice the peppers, the zucchini, the sweet potato into chunks - keep the zucchini a little longer so it keeps it shape.
Sprinkle the herbs into the pot and keep stirring 
Add the chorizo and the other veggies - stir until coated for a few minutes
Add the remainder of the ingredients and cover and simmer for 30 mins

This dinner was only labour intensive for the chopping, but then simmering away and splitting it into 4 portions was no hassle at all. I ate it just now, and can tell you, that with the low points that this dish has, and the fact that I had it with a litre of water, a banana and a yogurt I am completely full, and I should be OK till after boot camp later! 

Apologies for the terrible photograph - I should have cleaned up the bowl a bit before hand but I just was tooooooooooooo hungry!! 

Quick lunch to prepare on a rushed evening...

There are many different types of lunches that we all enjoy - everything from a grab and go sandwich to a nicely prepared stew can hit the spot just right on the right day... however - time is the crunch factor!

This last weekend we were crazy busy and only got back to Dublin on Sunday evening, with limited food, and more limited energy!! Here's what we had yesterday then for lunch!

40g of pasta per person (4PP) - boiled and cooled. 
1/4 punnet of cherry tomatoes
1/4 ball of mozzarella light
1/2 can of tuna 
Squeeze of lemon
Slug of balsamic 

This does not sound inspiring, and when I put it all together it didn't look great - however it came in at only 7 WW PP and after cycling home, pottering around for a while and then doing a run I realised I hadn't, for the first time in ages, had any snacks - and I was still alive. I did have it with a banana, and a yogurt (3pp)

So, snacking, as we all know is as much of a habit, as it is a necessity. 

Yesterday I pledged to improve the amount of water that I consume - this is normally about 2 litres a day, but because I think I am exercising a lot I probably need more. So, yesterday I had 4 litres of water, and a ginseng drink and another glass of water. I was fine all day, didn't need to pee too excessively, and didn't need to pee during the night either! So, obviously that was what i needed after my hard weekend. 

Tuesday...

Ok, so yesterday there was no lunch post because.... we'd such a fun weekend we didn't have time to get to the supermarket! A pretty good reason I think.

This week I am aiming for super healthy lunches, and where possible low carb as we have a pig out fest planned for this weekend at the Kinsale Good Food Festival -  an annual tradition where last year I actually still had a loss on the scales when I returned - I am doubtful that this can be repeated, but any way!

Lunch today is Asian Tuna Salad.

Ingredients:
1 x 130g drained weight can of tuna in brine
1/3 carrot
2 sping onions
1/2 a roasted red pepper (brine, not oil)
Small bunch of mange tout / snow peas

Dressing:
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Sesame
Ginger (1/4 inch grated)
1/2 clove garlic (grated)

Guest Post!! :-) Thanks Linz!

So, today's guest post comes from one of my weight-loss friends, and one who has completed the journey - YAY!! Well done! 

This is a great idea for lunch, especially the techniques used, as it fools us into thinking that we're actually getting more than we are! 

Chicken Pasta Salad
Use either 1/2 a chicken breast (diced), or 1/3 of a packet of cooked chicken pieces - 2 propoints worth
30g of penne or fusilli pasta, boiled and then cut in half and cooled 

Put the two ingredients in the lunch box, and start prepping the rest of the ingredients:
1 apple cut into small chunks  
1 stick of celery diced
1/2 red onion (or less, or spring onion if you want something milder)
2 tbsp of fat-free / low-fat natural yoghurt  (1pp / 2pp)

Maybe add a squeeze of lemon too, if it suits, or a good crack of black pepper for your own personal taste. 

This works out as 7 pro-points, and I've been reliably informed that it's very filling!! :-) 

Here's the pic Linda supplied!! 

Vegetarian and packed with your five a day!!

 Spinach Lasagne with Ratatouille 

Not my picture!! Mine was a bit more saucy!

Ratatouille

• courgette/ zucchini
• eggplant/ aubergine
• 4 cloves of garlic - sliced
• 2 onions (I used one red, one white)
• 2 cans of tomatoes (I only had 1.5)
• oil
• s&p
• dried italian herbs1

Prepare the egg plant, to he honest, I have never salted it, and never found it to be bitter, but I rarely eat it on its own, its always in something

Dice the rest of the veggies - I left them kinda chunky, and you can add in a red pepper / bell pepper / capsicum as well - looks good with the colour

little oil in the bottom of a large saucepan, and fry off the veggies

season with salt, pepper and herbs 

I tend to saute on a low heat for about 10-15 minutes, until the courgette is browning

Add the tins of tomatoes

Cover if possible

Spinach

• 500g spinach
• 1/4 nutmeg / 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 pack of grated Parmesan cheese 

Wilt the spinach with the nutmeg powder

Squeeze out any excess water 

Mix in Parmesan cheese 

Season to taste (more pepper than salt as it keeps for a couple of days and the flavours enhance)

Lasagne - ramble and methodology 

Ofcourse I didn't have the right sized dish for this - how, I'll never know, as I seem to spend my life here stocking up on crockery to fill our tiny kitchen. My other half always laments about putting away the dishes as he no longer knows where everything goes-  because, well, since I moved in there's been more than one wok, saucepan and frypan... He now has to contend with baking paraphenalia, lunch boxes (he just had one), earthenware dishes of miscellaneous shapes and sizes, and mixing bowls - we also expanded from ONE wooden spoon and spatula, to ya'know, other utensils that real people, real grown-ups actually use!! 

Any way, I ended up splitting the lasagne between two dishes, one (red) densely packed, and that got all the spinach (boy does that stuff wilt!!), and the other was really just boring ratatouille, cheese and pasta for after sport dinner later. 

I used 3 sheets in the red dish and 3 in the white dish - if I was making this again, and more organised I would have used only the white dish, and added in a layer of roasted butter nut squash to bulk it and make it more carb friendly

Ok, on to the methodolgy - but i am sure that you can guess where this is going...

Bottom of dish - add pasta sheets

Add layer of spinach

Cover with layer of ratatouille  

Repeat 

At the top I used 1 ball of 1/2 fat mozzarella torn into strips - this did both containers - so 1/2 would have been enough for one. 

Great hot or cold :-) 

Total ProPoints per serving - between 6 and 8 - depending on how much you want! 

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

1/2 breast from roast chicken (skin off - diced) (2pp)
1/2 carrot (diced diagonally)
1 spring onion (diced diagonally)
1/4 red onion (sliced thinly)
some small broccoli florets
parsley 
some mange tout (about 4 diced diagonally)
30g (dry weight) noodles (4pp)

Dressing: (this made enough for 2 salads)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil (1pp/p)
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce (1pp/p)

What was missing!! I tossed the noodles in the dressing and then added them to the lunch box, i think this might have been a mistake, its the first time I dressed it that way any way. They absorbed all the lovely dressing and the rest of the salad was then a bit dry

Next time I am going to add in some orange segments - really small slivers for juice, and a couple of jalapenos to make it have a bit more of a kick.

This was pretty packed full of vitamins, good fats and protein, so it will be enough to do the afternoon - and bootcamp later! 

I made up tomorrow's lunch last night - its looking delish, and should be good for you too!! :-) 

Monday.... trying to not roll downhill after a rocky start to the week!!

Monday's just suck don't they....

Thankfully I had my lunch planned out from last night, if I'd had to do my own thing this morning I'd be enjoying lunch from McDonalds or some other such fast food delight... 

Last night we roasted a chicken, we do this  a lot on a Sunday, and have it handy then for lunch during the start of the week. I marinaded the chicken in about 1/3 of a bottle of sweet and chili marinade. Roasted it for 90 mins and then had the most golden looking chicken come out of the oven. What was great was a lot of the marinade, and the fat was not absorbed by the chicken, but there was enough to just give it a bit of flavour, and look the part. 

Today I enjoyed some chicken salad, using the leg (drumstick and thigh) of the chicken, some spinach for iron and vitamin c, olives, pickles, roasted red peppers and some sun-dried tomatoes. Fantastic by all accounts. There was no processed carbs today for me (well, I had a couple of biscuits at tea time) for lunch. 

I added to my lunch with a bowl of homemade roasted veggie soup, and two pieces of fruit - a banana and an orange. 

Any one who has done WW knows that soups are fantastic for being filling and low in points - this one has zero - recipe is below. I find that soup is something I pretty much only eat when I am cold, or trying to not use any points. I never order it in a restaurant, and I feel the ones I make at home are good for filling me between dinner at 730 and getting home at 5, without adding to my points allowance. 

Total lunch points: 5

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Butternut squash / small pumpkin diced 

4 - 6 cloves of garlic (depends on how much you want someone to talk to you that day)

Red onion diced

Red pepper diced

4 tomatoes quartered 

Oven at 200C

Add everything to a roasting tray and season well with salt and pepper 

Add a few shakes of smoked paprika, chili flakes

Crumble over a stock cube

Add two cups of water to the dish (this stops everything from sticking)

Cover with foil 

Bang in oven

After 30 mins take off foil and return to oven for 15 - 30 mins - the veggies should be going crispy and brown around the edges

Remove all to large saucepan

Add 1 cup water and blitz using a stick blender 

Add more water to thin to personal taste - and leave some chunks if you like chunky soup...

Tips - Add one handful of rinsed lentils to the soup to thicken and give it more bulk - that = about 2 points per serving 

Use any veggies that are red / orange / white in colour to this - we often use celery if it's lying around, and I would use sweet potato/ regular potato /parsnip if I had them in the crisper - just adjust the points accordingly. 

Now... why was Monday so shockingly terrible... WELL - this morning, I GOT A PUNCTURE while cycling to work. Bad enough if it happens on the way home, but on the way TO work!! No fair!! So, I had to walk the bike 8km to the office, and then shower / get ready and land at my desk 60 minutes later than planned!! Disaster! Off to get the puncture fixed later...

Hope everyone had a good weekend! 

Saturday.... But not for a lunch box

So, Saturdays for me are a time to do all the chores, some exercise, catch up with mates and normally enjoy lunch at an open air market. However, this weekend my other half is working, so no picnic lunch... Instead It's omelette time!!

These are a great way of whipping up a full meal, that's balanced w minimal effort. I normally make mine for two people, so added too many ingredients here, but it still rocked!!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• Handful of spinach
• Small tomatoes
• Large mushroom
• Parmesan cheese
• S&P 
• Little oil

1. Whisk eggs, add splash of milk
2. Dice up other ingredients
3. Heat oil to HOT
4. Throw the egg on the pan
5. Whisk a little till you see it setting
6. Add other diced ingredients
7. Now, I have had issues making it set before, so now I finish it under a hot grill and wait till it browns.

When its golden slide onto a plate and enjoy.
I have mine with Brown toast.
Delish!!!!!

Total WW Points: 6 (no toast) 

Lunch Day 1...

Cajun Salmon Salad with Asian Dressing

Ingredients

1 Salmon fillet (110g) (5pp)

1 tsp rapeseed oil (1pp)

1 tbsp soy sauce 

1/2tsp sesame seed oil (1pp)

1 tsp peanut butter (2pp)

1.5 tomatoes in wedges

handful of spinach

spring onions chopped

Half a lime

1. Fry off salmon, and let cool. When cold remove skin and flake into bowl
2. Mix all dressing ingredients (sesame seed oil, peanut butter, soy sauce) together in small jug or jar (jar is good - add lid and you can vigorously shake to mix well)
3. Cover fish flakes in dressing 
4. Add spinach, tomatoes, spring onions to lunch box 
5. Add fish on top
6. Add 1/2 a lime (for squeezing over at lunch)

Hey presto - pop in fridge, and don't forget to take to work! 

Propoints: 9 in total 

NB: I realise that some people consider that 9 for lunch is a little high, and you may be right. However, I feel it depends on what those 9 points are spent on - lots of sugar or sleep inducing pasta, or energy from high protein and good fats. My daily allowance is 26, and every day I earn between 5 and 15 extra in activity points, so for me, i feel this is ok. I normally have 4 for breakfast and the rest for dinner. 

Why this blog....

So, for the last couple of weeks I ditched the work canteen in an effort to 

• save money
• eat better
• loose weight

and then I found myself up against a brick wall - what the hell am I going to make for lunch every day. 

I had already decided against the plain ol' sandwich... it's boring, I can get one any where, and it is not particularly filling. So, I had to come up with my own ideas. 

In this blog I will be photographing my lunch each day, and adding up the Weight Watchers pro-points, as well as the calories (assuming I can work them out) and nutritional information on each element of lunch. 

I hope you guys enjoy, welcome to my lunchbox!