Today has been a Thursday which means it's also been results day! Another week on KSFL has seen me lose another two pounds, though my inches have stayed the same. It's progress, and it will do nicely, especially as I had those three cups of coffee over the weekend, that large bowl of fruit salad on Sunday, those couple of extra apples through the week and that chocolate on Tuesday (which was rather sickly actually), not to mention the several times I've indulged in a few sweet potato wedges or a spoonful of brown rice. A slightly relaxed plan seems to still be working, so we'll try another week of the same I think.
Tonight for dinner we had a lovely spicy lamb mince dish. I wanted something with a moroccan twist but the recipes I was finding all required spices I didn't have, so I made it up. It's yummy though. I included a handful of dried apricots thinking it was a cheat I could justify, but then in the class tonight Rachel told us that we could include fruit in our meals because eating them with protein negates the blood sugar rise and insulin peak that we work so hard to avoid on KSFL. So it was all legal! Marvellous!
And blogger won't let me post photos tonight, so you'll just have to imagine something mouthwateringly good instead.
The Food Junkie's Spicy Lamb Mince
Serves 2 generously
Ingredients
1tbs olive/coconut oil
400g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped/crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
Whatever spices you fancy - I used 1tbs of Dal Makhani spice mix that we had in the cupboard which contains coriander, chilli, onion flakes, black pepper, ginger, salt, garlic, cloves, nutmeg, star anise and mace, but any combination of the above or similar would be worth trying)
Handful dried apricots, finely chopped
Fry the lamb, onion and garlic in the oil until the meat has browned then add the rest of the ingredients. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or so and you're all done! We served ours with quinoa and steamed cabbage and it was very nice indeed. There is even enough left for my other half to take to work for lunch tomorrow.
Thursday 14 February 2013
Tuesday 12 February 2013
A KSFL pancake day
Apologies for disappearing for a few days. I was at a conference over the weekend and it's taken a while to catch up with myself since being back. I wasn't sure how well I'd stay on plan but it turns out that the friend who was putting me up for the weekend is doing Atkins so instead of grabbing a takeaway on the Saturday evening we went back to her place for pork chops and salad, and on Sunday morning she treated me to a fry up! I'd taken a packed lunch on Saturday and was home for dinner on Sunday, so I didn't even need to use a cheat meal. I even managed to stick to water and peppermint tea on the Saturday night party. (Yes, this was a club that served peppermint tea. It's amazing what you can get in a big city that you can't find out here in the sticks.)
I have had the odd small cup of coffee over the last few days as well. It's not something I intend to make a habit of but being out of my routine and in other people's spaces made me feel more inclined to have one here and there. (I've had three over three days.) So far I haven't felt any unpleasant effects and I haven't had one today so I might feel more relaxed about having the odd one when out and about from here on in. The good news is that I can now quite happily drink the stuff without sugar which would have been unthinkable before, so at least they will be slightly less toxic when I do indulge.
My antics over the weekend and the subsequent chaotic catch-up did mean I ended up having three consecutive days without a workout, but I put that right tonight with a full half hour one from the DVD and I seem to have suffered no ill effects for the few days off. It was a good one, I was up for it and worked hard happily.
On to today. It's pancake day! There was no way I was going to not have pancakes today so I did some research and found a KSFL-friendly pancake recipe! Don't they look great? The recipe is below.
But before that, we had baked sea bass for tea tonight which is super easy, and super yummy. Just take your whole sea bass (cleaned), give them a run under the tap, stuff the cavity with spinach leaves and wrap in foil. Bake in a hot oven (about 220c) for 25-30 minutes and you're done. We had ours with some greens and it was just lovely. Watch out for bones though!
And then, the moment I'd been waiting for, it was time to try making those pancakes. They were a little delicate so flipping had to be done tentatively, but they worked! They're more of a scotch pancake than a crepe, but I prefer those anyway so I was more than happy.
KSFL Pancakes
Ingredients
Makes 6 small pancakes
2 ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tbs almond butter (check the ingredients - the one I bought is 99.5% almonds and 0.5% salt, nothing else)
Olive/coconut oil for cooking
Mash up the bananas in a bowl, add the egg and almond butter and mix until well combined. Then spoon out into a hot frying pan with a bit of oil in it. Once you start to see air pockets coming through from the bottom it's time to turn them - which you need to do gently as they are quite delicate little things. Give them another minute on the other side and you're done!
Not bad, eh?
I have had the odd small cup of coffee over the last few days as well. It's not something I intend to make a habit of but being out of my routine and in other people's spaces made me feel more inclined to have one here and there. (I've had three over three days.) So far I haven't felt any unpleasant effects and I haven't had one today so I might feel more relaxed about having the odd one when out and about from here on in. The good news is that I can now quite happily drink the stuff without sugar which would have been unthinkable before, so at least they will be slightly less toxic when I do indulge.
My antics over the weekend and the subsequent chaotic catch-up did mean I ended up having three consecutive days without a workout, but I put that right tonight with a full half hour one from the DVD and I seem to have suffered no ill effects for the few days off. It was a good one, I was up for it and worked hard happily.
On to today. It's pancake day! There was no way I was going to not have pancakes today so I did some research and found a KSFL-friendly pancake recipe! Don't they look great? The recipe is below.
And then, the moment I'd been waiting for, it was time to try making those pancakes. They were a little delicate so flipping had to be done tentatively, but they worked! They're more of a scotch pancake than a crepe, but I prefer those anyway so I was more than happy.
Here's how to make them:
KSFL Pancakes
Ingredients
Makes 6 small pancakes
2 ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tbs almond butter (check the ingredients - the one I bought is 99.5% almonds and 0.5% salt, nothing else)
Olive/coconut oil for cooking
Mash up the bananas in a bowl, add the egg and almond butter and mix until well combined. Then spoon out into a hot frying pan with a bit of oil in it. Once you start to see air pockets coming through from the bottom it's time to turn them - which you need to do gently as they are quite delicate little things. Give them another minute on the other side and you're done!
Not bad, eh?
Thursday 7 February 2013
Celebrating success with BBQ ribs
OK, I admit it, I'm not really going to be cooking over a barbecue in February, but today's challenge was to come up with a recipe for a KSFL-friendly BBQ sauce to go with the ribs I bought the other day. I'm pretty sure that Worcestershire sauce isn't really on plan given the fact that it contains sugar, but for the sake of half a teaspoon, especially now I'm able to relax a little bit post detox (though not a lot - I still have a lot of weight to lose) I've taken the risk with this one.
I have to be honest, this wasn't the most barbecue-like of BBQ sauces, though it wasn't a million miles away. It was tangy, and sticky, and very tasty but it didn't have that smokiness that all good BBQ sauces should have. I will have to keep experimenting!
Ingredients
1 tbs olive/coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 chopped chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar (I think cider vinegar would be better)
1 rack of ribs
Fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, then thow in the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Blitz it with a blender/mixer until smooth. Place the ribs in a raosting tray then pour the sauce over. Grill on high, turning regularly until they are cooked well and are brown and crispy at the edges. Serve with the veg of your choice and sweet potato wedges should you so wish.
I have to be honest, this wasn't the most barbecue-like of BBQ sauces, though it wasn't a million miles away. It was tangy, and sticky, and very tasty but it didn't have that smokiness that all good BBQ sauces should have. I will have to keep experimenting!
Ingredients
1 tbs olive/coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 chopped chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar (I think cider vinegar would be better)
1 rack of ribs
Fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, then thow in the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Blitz it with a blender/mixer until smooth. Place the ribs in a raosting tray then pour the sauce over. Grill on high, turning regularly until they are cooked well and are brown and crispy at the edges. Serve with the veg of your choice and sweet potato wedges should you so wish.
The results are in!
Well here we are folks! It's been 28 days and although it started off tough it's improved enormously as time has gone on and now it's just fantastic. And with results like these, even the hardest moments were so worth it.
In 28 days on Kick Start Fat Loss the KSFL Food Junkie lost 11lb and 15.5"! Five inches of that is off my waist. And just take a look at how that translates pysically:
All I have to say now is bring on the next 28 days!
In 28 days on Kick Start Fat Loss the KSFL Food Junkie lost 11lb and 15.5"! Five inches of that is off my waist. And just take a look at how that translates pysically:
How pleased to do you think I am with these results? Pretty damn. :) And just yesterday I had to say goodbye to a pair of trusted jeans that were slightly snug a month ago but that I can now pull on and off without undoing the button so I'm down a dress size too. Today I'm wearing a pair of trousers that used to fit but I shrunk accidentally by tumble drying them. They fit perfectly now. How's that for serendipity?
All I have to say now is bring on the next 28 days!
Wednesday 6 February 2013
A Quick King Prawn Lunch and a crunchy treat
I had a busy day today but despite being up in the night - again - with a small boy (I keep being told one day they'll regularly sleep through but we're yet to experience it) I haven't really felt it until this evening. I still managed a full 30 minute workout (workout 2 from the DVD) as well. I did that one last night too and I can really feel it in several places. I'm off to bed as soon as I've written this. It's crunch day tomorrow for those 28 day stats and I'm looking forward to measuring, photographing and revelling in the changes.
Lunch today was very quick and simple - it took me all of 5 minutes to prepare - but also very yummy. As always I'm going to share it with you guys, well, a picture of it anyway.
The Quick King Prawn Lunch
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 serving of fresh king prawns
Handful mange tout
Handful spinach, chopped
Half an onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 tbs olive/coconut oil
Toss the lot into a non-stick frying pan and cook over a high heat until the prawns hve cooed through and the spinach has wilted. Serve up and enjoy!
I have found one little treat today. I was in Morrison's earlier and I saw that they had rolls of pig skin for crackling. It's just the skin and it's clearly a waste product from their butchering so it's for sale extremely cheaply and I thought that I'd get some. We don't eat crisps or chocolate any more, but once in a while a little snack would be lovely. Clearly, crackling isn't very nutritious - it's mostly fat - but it is yummy and most importantly it IS on plan! So I brought it home (for 71p I got four rolls) and I scored one, salted it and popped it in a high oven on a tray. By gum, it comes out lovely! We had crackling as a starter for tea tonight and it felt totally indulgent. I still have three rolls left in the fridge too.
But that's it for now. I'm off to bed. Watch out for those photos tomorrow...
Lunch today was very quick and simple - it took me all of 5 minutes to prepare - but also very yummy. As always I'm going to share it with you guys, well, a picture of it anyway.
The Quick King Prawn Lunch
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 serving of fresh king prawns
Handful mange tout
Handful spinach, chopped
Half an onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 tbs olive/coconut oil
Toss the lot into a non-stick frying pan and cook over a high heat until the prawns hve cooed through and the spinach has wilted. Serve up and enjoy!
I have found one little treat today. I was in Morrison's earlier and I saw that they had rolls of pig skin for crackling. It's just the skin and it's clearly a waste product from their butchering so it's for sale extremely cheaply and I thought that I'd get some. We don't eat crisps or chocolate any more, but once in a while a little snack would be lovely. Clearly, crackling isn't very nutritious - it's mostly fat - but it is yummy and most importantly it IS on plan! So I brought it home (for 71p I got four rolls) and I scored one, salted it and popped it in a high oven on a tray. By gum, it comes out lovely! We had crackling as a starter for tea tonight and it felt totally indulgent. I still have three rolls left in the fridge too.
But that's it for now. I'm off to bed. Watch out for those photos tomorrow...
Tuesday 5 February 2013
Counting down the hours... the last few days!
Today is day 27. It seems to have come round very quickly all of a sudden. These last two weeks have positively flown. There's just tomorrow to go and then on Thursday I do my final 28 day weigh in, measure and photograph. I had a cheeky weigh this morning and discovered I'm down 3lb already this week so whatever was causing my period of stasis has moved on, thank goodness. I was pretty sure I'd lost some weight and size because I feel different again. And also because when I do hill climbers I can get my knees a little closer to my chest because there are less rolls of fat in the way.
I still feel as though I've taken a happy pill. Even when something annoying happened with work today I just huffed for a moment and moved on. It's fab!
I didn't get to post last night because I went out to the local pub for a Stitch & Bitch gathering. It was a really fun evening and I drank water and chamomile tea, then got to eat some of the leftover food that they'd made for the dominos team. They'd made meatballs in a tomato sauce and once I'd quizzed them on the ingredients I knew they were completely clean, and very yummy they were too. I had a chat with the couple that run the pub (they are also friends of ours) about KSFL and when they start up their regular menu again in March they are going to look at having a KSFL-friendly meal on it. Wahey! We could even go out for dinner and stay on plan! I'm looking forward to it already.
Before I went out we had a lovely dinner of veggie chilli with sweet potato wedges and guacomale. I couldn't believe I hadn't made guacomale earlier in the detox because it's totally clean - and delicious! I'm not going to post the veggie chilli recipe because there are already several good ones out there, unless people particularly want me to. Let me know if you do!
Here's how to make your own:
Guacomale
Ingredients
1 large, ripe avocado, halved and destoned
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
3 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
Freshly ground balck pepper, to taste
Scoop the flesh of the avocado out into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mash it all together with a fork until it's well combined and there are no big pieces of avocado left.
That's it! Serve it up and enjoy!
Tonight's dinner was also lovely and again was a recipe I'm very familiar with that is already pretty much KSFL-friendly. In my pre-KSF days I'd have put a load of carrots in as well but as I was going to serve it with brown rice I decided to keep it easy on the carbs and used butternut squash instead. It worked just as well. Here it is:
KSFL Greek-style Lemon Chicken Casserole
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
4 sticks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Large handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 butternut squash, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped/crushed
Juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
Throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 7 hours or so, stirring ocassionally if you so wish. Serve with brown rice and/or greens.
I still feel as though I've taken a happy pill. Even when something annoying happened with work today I just huffed for a moment and moved on. It's fab!
I didn't get to post last night because I went out to the local pub for a Stitch & Bitch gathering. It was a really fun evening and I drank water and chamomile tea, then got to eat some of the leftover food that they'd made for the dominos team. They'd made meatballs in a tomato sauce and once I'd quizzed them on the ingredients I knew they were completely clean, and very yummy they were too. I had a chat with the couple that run the pub (they are also friends of ours) about KSFL and when they start up their regular menu again in March they are going to look at having a KSFL-friendly meal on it. Wahey! We could even go out for dinner and stay on plan! I'm looking forward to it already.
Before I went out we had a lovely dinner of veggie chilli with sweet potato wedges and guacomale. I couldn't believe I hadn't made guacomale earlier in the detox because it's totally clean - and delicious! I'm not going to post the veggie chilli recipe because there are already several good ones out there, unless people particularly want me to. Let me know if you do!
Here's how to make your own:
Guacomale
Ingredients
1 large, ripe avocado, halved and destoned
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
3 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
Freshly ground balck pepper, to taste
Scoop the flesh of the avocado out into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mash it all together with a fork until it's well combined and there are no big pieces of avocado left.
That's it! Serve it up and enjoy!
Tonight's dinner was also lovely and again was a recipe I'm very familiar with that is already pretty much KSFL-friendly. In my pre-KSF days I'd have put a load of carrots in as well but as I was going to serve it with brown rice I decided to keep it easy on the carbs and used butternut squash instead. It worked just as well. Here it is:
KSFL Greek-style Lemon Chicken Casserole
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
4 sticks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Large handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 butternut squash, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped/crushed
Juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
Throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 7 hours or so, stirring ocassionally if you so wish. Serve with brown rice and/or greens.
Sunday 3 February 2013
Back on track with some pollock and lime
Well, it looks like my crazy few days of birthdayness are over. The cake has almost all been eaten and the kids will soon finish it off so temptation will be much less and I'm feeling good about keeping clean for the rest of the week. I'm really enjoying this now.
Workout 4 is a tough one isn't it? I really felt it for a day or so afterwards, in a good way, and in the upper body too. I need more of that! So tonight I jumped straight in and tried workout 4 on the DVD. Yep - that's another tough one! I'm not ashamed to admit I had to do a fair bit of modifying down and I only did the first two sets, but I still worked hard and worked up a sweat. I tend to avoid looking at myself in mirrors too much but when I had a bath just now I did and my shape is really changing a lot now. My bulges are less all over, my shape is more toned and even though I'm still big I'm beginning to look like a fit big instead of a blobby big. Things can only get better, not least because I just signed up for another 4 weeks of KSFL. So you're stuck with me for a while longer...
Up for a recipe? I'm aware that as time goes on with KSFL my portions are getting smaller. If I'd seen the plate of food I had for tea tonight a few weeks ago I'd have felt I needed double it to stave off hunger and cope with the lack of carbs. I was still adjusting to the fact that the 'fullness' I used to need from the carbs was actually bloating from over-eating them. This was my tea tonight and four hours on I'm still not hungry. Give it a go yourself and see!
Pollock with Lime and stir fried veggies
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 pollock fillets
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1 small handful of fresh parsley
Veggies for stir frying (I used 1/4 savoy cabbage, 1 stick celery, 5 musrooms, 1 courgette, 5 spring onions, small handful mange tout)
1tbs olive/coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lime
Place the pollock fillets in the middle of a fair sized piece of tin foil, sprinkle with chopped parsley and place the lime slices on top. Wrap up in the foil, place on a baking tray and cook at 180c for 15 minutes.
Whilst the pollock is cooking throw all the veggies into a wok or non-stick frying pan along with the oil and garlic and stir fry until tender (about 5 minutes). Drizzle the lime juice over the veggies and give it a good stir through for a minute before serving onto plates. Remove the pollock from the foil parcel and place on top, spooning any juices over. Eat up!
Workout 4 is a tough one isn't it? I really felt it for a day or so afterwards, in a good way, and in the upper body too. I need more of that! So tonight I jumped straight in and tried workout 4 on the DVD. Yep - that's another tough one! I'm not ashamed to admit I had to do a fair bit of modifying down and I only did the first two sets, but I still worked hard and worked up a sweat. I tend to avoid looking at myself in mirrors too much but when I had a bath just now I did and my shape is really changing a lot now. My bulges are less all over, my shape is more toned and even though I'm still big I'm beginning to look like a fit big instead of a blobby big. Things can only get better, not least because I just signed up for another 4 weeks of KSFL. So you're stuck with me for a while longer...
Up for a recipe? I'm aware that as time goes on with KSFL my portions are getting smaller. If I'd seen the plate of food I had for tea tonight a few weeks ago I'd have felt I needed double it to stave off hunger and cope with the lack of carbs. I was still adjusting to the fact that the 'fullness' I used to need from the carbs was actually bloating from over-eating them. This was my tea tonight and four hours on I'm still not hungry. Give it a go yourself and see!
Pollock with Lime and stir fried veggies
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 pollock fillets
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1 small handful of fresh parsley
Veggies for stir frying (I used 1/4 savoy cabbage, 1 stick celery, 5 musrooms, 1 courgette, 5 spring onions, small handful mange tout)
1tbs olive/coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lime
Place the pollock fillets in the middle of a fair sized piece of tin foil, sprinkle with chopped parsley and place the lime slices on top. Wrap up in the foil, place on a baking tray and cook at 180c for 15 minutes.
Whilst the pollock is cooking throw all the veggies into a wok or non-stick frying pan along with the oil and garlic and stir fry until tender (about 5 minutes). Drizzle the lime juice over the veggies and give it a good stir through for a minute before serving onto plates. Remove the pollock from the foil parcel and place on top, spooning any juices over. Eat up!
Friday 1 February 2013
Still here, buried under the cake
I must apologise for the radio silence over the last couple of days. Things have just got a bit crazy with my son's birthday, and they won't let up for another 24 hours as we've got his party tomorrow. Present wrapping, balloon blowing, cake baking (and yes, a little bit of cake eating)... It's a busy, but fun time and he's having an absolute ball.
Normal service should hopefully resume by Sunday, but I didn't want to go too long without posting my official results for week three. They were disappointing. No weight loss and just, if I was very enthusiastic with the tape measure, a loss of half an inch off each thigh. Given that I have stuck to the plan and been working out lots this wasn't the boost I was hoping for, but I've been told that a number of others have experienced the same at week three. I can't imagine there aren't some dramatic differences going on inside this body, but for some reason they are just not choosing to show themselves yet. I don't want to think about how I'll feel if the same thing happens next week, but hopefully, it won't. I need to remind myself that my totals are still a loss of 8lb and 11 inches in three weeks, and that aint bad really!
A day on and I've picked myself up, I've eaten a piece of chocolate birthday cake (slowly, savouring every bite) and once tomorrow is out the way I will be going back to full detox for the rest of the week to see if that can help me shift some weight and size. I need to really, because instead of a cheat meal this week I've given myself permission to have cake on two ocassions - one yesterday on the birthday itself, and one tomorrow at the party (and in the interests of total honesty, I did also lick the spoon today after I spooned the cake mixture into the tin). So in reality I'll have had a sugar kick on three consecutive days. It will be interesting to see how I feel on Sunday/Monday without it.
Have a good weekend folks!
Normal service should hopefully resume by Sunday, but I didn't want to go too long without posting my official results for week three. They were disappointing. No weight loss and just, if I was very enthusiastic with the tape measure, a loss of half an inch off each thigh. Given that I have stuck to the plan and been working out lots this wasn't the boost I was hoping for, but I've been told that a number of others have experienced the same at week three. I can't imagine there aren't some dramatic differences going on inside this body, but for some reason they are just not choosing to show themselves yet. I don't want to think about how I'll feel if the same thing happens next week, but hopefully, it won't. I need to remind myself that my totals are still a loss of 8lb and 11 inches in three weeks, and that aint bad really!
A day on and I've picked myself up, I've eaten a piece of chocolate birthday cake (slowly, savouring every bite) and once tomorrow is out the way I will be going back to full detox for the rest of the week to see if that can help me shift some weight and size. I need to really, because instead of a cheat meal this week I've given myself permission to have cake on two ocassions - one yesterday on the birthday itself, and one tomorrow at the party (and in the interests of total honesty, I did also lick the spoon today after I spooned the cake mixture into the tin). So in reality I'll have had a sugar kick on three consecutive days. It will be interesting to see how I feel on Sunday/Monday without it.
Have a good weekend folks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)