A delicious sweet loaf. Grain free Pear and Raspberry loaf!

Grain free pear and raspberry bread.

Yummy! 

1 cup of desiccated coconut

1 cup of almond flour and 1 tablespoon

1/4 cup of arrowroot flour ( tapioca flour)

4 tsp baking powder 

2 tablespoons LSA mix

3 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/3 cup of b grade Maple syrup 

Cinnamon ground to taste

1 ripe but not over ripe pear ( grated)

1 cup frozen raspberries

Pre heat the oven to 220c. 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. 

 Add eggs, oil, maple syrup and grate pear into the mixture.  

Add raspberries last and fold in. 

Pour mixture in to a lined loaf tin.  Dribble a little extra maple syrup over to glaze.

Turn oven down to 200c . Put in the oven. 

 Cook for 35 mins then bump heat back up to 230c. Once the loaf is firm and brown ( about 10mins) remove and allow to cool in the pan for 25mins. 

Slice ! This loaf can be toasted and is delicious when slathered in butter! Yum! 

calorie counting

So today my friends, I'm going to discuss calorie counting.

Melanie and I started doing this a few days ago. The first few days seemed great. I was WAY under my calorie goal, although I understand this may not be a good thing either, but it was due to exercise, adding between 300-500 calories. Today, I worked and we did not make it to light and low class that we'd usually attend, and so my calorie goal was lower, and right now, I'm about 400 calories away from that without dinner included.

This makes me stress a little. I feel myself worrying I'm going to go over, why precisely this worries me so much I don't know, but it does. I have increased activity today, due to chasing 3 year olds around and picking up after them, but I'm a very visual person and me seeing the numbers creep up is freaking me out a little. I feel like either I HAVE to go do something tonight, or I can only eat a small amount of dinner. I've been working so hard to get fit again, that I feel like I'm going to ruin something if I eat just a little more than my goal is.

Besides this, yesterday we went to get up for a run at 6am and it was raining. So we went to the gym and ran on the treadmill instead. I ran 15 minutes and had to hop off (thankfully the bathroom was about 10 ft away), got back on and *cue holy music* My stats were still on the screen. YAY! My legs are starting to ache a bit, from running a lot more than I'm used to. We went bowling yesterday afternoon as well with the kids, and my hips are very sore and stiff today. They had a great time, we were beat by an 11 year old on the first game, and I won the second game but my score was still horrendous!

Well, that's it today. I'm freaking about calories, not eating enough with a workout and eating too much without a workout, and I'm sore.

2012 - Are you ready?

So as Sa has posted below...tomorrow is the new beginning of our healthy lifestyle change! We are both super excited to get going and to move and watch the excess Baggage fall off!!! We gonna be fitter, healthier, Happier and HOT in 2012!!! Tomorrow will see us drop most carbs for 6 days ( usually we do 7 but I have a social event next Sunday that will not work out), weigh in and do measurements so we can see the changes in our bodies over the coming weeks. we are also participation in the "Do Life 12 week Challenge " which we are both really excited to be a part of too! it will be fun to see what the next 12 weeks will bring for us!!!

SO... tomorrow will also see new before Photos..They will be up here of course...it is all about accountability people!!  Im super keen, Sa is too... stay tunes fans, This is gonna be one hell of  ride!!!

 Always remember!! 

Better late then never.

 So we have been a little slack around here.I have been crazy busy at work and making time to work out has been difficult. I will say eating wise we have been mostly good. we had a small blow out on Friday Night. I had a really long day to end off a really long week and was feeling shit. But we are back on track and Hit the gym today.

I had that family Function last night. It was so great to see all my family and catch up. It was my grandmothers Surprise 70th birthday. We travelled out of town for the Night and came home late so I was really tired today. But we went and we biked and did some weights and I was glad I went. It felt good.

I have been really slack about getting my one month update photos up so I will do that now. My weight has been stable the last week or so. But I know that is because I have not been active enough. But Plan to get on that this week.


Anyway..here are my pictures. i can see a slight difference. I can feel it in myself and In my clothes.

So anyway, that is my update.I promise to be around a bit more. I will be more active and Working out more regularly.

till next time!

Stupid gain

So it's been a week since last I posted.  Melanie's been a bit quiet. She began one once, but thought her ramblings weren't interesting enough. Pft, that's pretty well what blogs are aren't they?
Anyway, So I got on the scale yesterday and I was up a kg.  Wft?  I know I know, I was sore from the gym, so could have been partly my muscles. Or the dinner I served myself the night before (I should never serve myself. I give myself too much).  I ate quickly too as I was hungry and was overfull.  Even felt sick later. *sigh* So, I'm back up a kg.  Stupid scales.
Not only this, but my knees are getting sore.  Especially when I walk or run a far distance.  I've needed to ice them and put muscle cream on them. Stupid knees.

I think that's all I'm ranting about today.  That's all I can think of right now anyway.

What's the point really?

I've been away a long time. When I was in Canada for a bit, I was eating nearly perfectly. Excercising when I could and lost weight. I came home looking good and feeling good. Now I feel completely awful. I'm eating crap and hardly moving. I had to suspend my gym membership in March because I didn't have the money for it, I restarted it a couple weeks ago, and have gone twice I think. We have an eliptical in the house, but it's different and I don't like the movement of it.
Basically I'm eating junk and not moving. I'm comfort eating due to some pretty serious depression (I think) and it's not working. I'll feel good for a minute, then feel guilty. There are times when I think, what's the fucking point?? Just eat what you want. Then I feel like crap and my skin's breaking out and I realize I shouldn't be eating so much junk. Then again I need something comforting and it's a vicious circle.
I'm exhausted, dispite having, on most nights about 9 hours sleep, by 1pm I'm ready for a nap.

Part of me wants to get my act together and get back down to my low weight, and another part of me just says fuck it.

Although I haven't gained a LOT, I have probably gained 15-20lbs at least since getting back her in December. My stomach's annoying me, I can feel my theighs are bigger in my work pants, my bra's don't fit properly and in pictures especially I can see it in my face. Near on everyday I think I should get up and go on the eliptical for a little while. Lamely, I tell myself it's hardly worth changing clothes for 15-20 minutes on there, and I just don't.

I'm caught between battling mindsets. Feeling eager to move and eat right one minute and then feeling depressed and needing SOMETHING to make me feel better. I start Uni again next week and I really don't know how I'm going to get through it. I haven't got much concentration. When I start to read, I feel like I'm going to drift off to sleep.

So I'm stuck. I don't know what to do, or how to fix anything. I'm lost in my own head, hardly thinking life's worth any effort at all.

Two week update!

 So I have been eating well and exercising for two weeks now, And I am feeling so good!! It has come back almost like a favourite pair of shoes...Like I never stopped! Need to step up the exercise a little more..but after hitting the gym last week I was SORE!!!! But I still managed to get on my Elliptical during the week.  Hit the gym Yesterday...and Going again today...AND tomorrow! CANT WAIT!!!!

In my pursuit of getting fit and healthy again I have been doing some food/recipe forging...I wanted some ideas on good healthy interesting things for breakfast. In this hunt I stumbled upon Oatmeal pancakes. There are SOOOO many recipes out there and after looking around decided to wing it and make up my own.

And of course it follows:

Mel's Oatmeal Pancakes.

3 egg whites

1/2 cup of Oat flour

3 pks of Sweetener

2 tablespoons Self raising Flour

3/4 Cup of Quick oats

3/4 cup of warmed skim milk. (  a couple of Tablespoons reserved )

Vanilla to taste

A dash of Cinnamon

• Combine the Oats( not the flour) with the warm milk and allow to stand. Alternately Combine them the night before and refrigerate over night to soften .   
• Beat the egg whites to a stiff peak, adding the sweetener. 
• In the bowl with the softened oats combine all the other dry Ingredients combining well.
• Gently Fold the egg whites through. If they are not quiet runny enough...gently stir in a tablespoon  at a time of skim milk til slightly runnier.

When combined  ladle about 1/4 of mixture per pancake onto a medium-low heated fry pan. ( I used a non stick pan without adding anything to it)  you may need too add the spreading to give and even thickness. Be sure to not over heat the pan. They do take longer to cook than regular pancakes hence the lower heat.  When They are a nice golden brown flip them over. The second side doesnt take as long and wont be as golden.  This recipe made me about 6 pancakes. Which is about 3 serves. (2 pancakes a serve)

I served them With Low fat vanilla yogurt and Frozen raspberries.  Nutrition Panel below. :)

Food and running and such

First of all let me say I'm a lot LESS picky than I used to be, and the only thing I don't eat that the rest do on a weekly/biweekly basis is steak. :P
I eat a lot better than I used to. Honestly I don't find it that hard to eat properly once you start. It's when you give in and eat something you know you shouldn't. The problem isn't eating it that one time, it's that it makes you want it again and again. So personally, I find it easier to avoid those yummy fatty greasy food that are so tempting. For the most part. Some people will tell you to give in to a craving. Honestly I'll only do that if it's REALLY bad and depends on what it is.

Anyways.... my run today... was day one of week 3. two intervals of 90 seconds and two with 3mins of running. I was ok until partway through the last interval. I felt like I was about to die. Seriously. I did have some light chest pains (Don't worry, if they were bad, I'd stop and get checked out) and having some issues breathing, but I made it. If I wasn't so exhausted I'd feel like it was an accomplishment. I DO feel that way but my god, I'm worried about week 4 now if I feel this way in week 3.

Wednesday I've been told we're doing a 'fun run'. it's 4.5km around a park and a river by us. It's early enough in the morning so hopefully it wont be too hot. It will be one of our running days, so we'll do the podcast for the first 26 mins and then probably see how we feel for the rest.

mmmm I can smell the roasting pumpkin (sweet squash) and red capsicum (red pepper) in the oven for lunch. YUM!

FOOD! MMmmm Food.

So I thought I would finally do a food post. I talk a lot about eating healthy and well and I thought It was time to share some tips. Generally We dont calorie count. *SHOCK* But we do try to make wise food choices. Sugar free soft drinks if we drink them, sugar free sweets too. We both use Sweetener in our Coffee , Splenda is the choice in this house, And we aim for the good old 2 & 5 - 2 serves of Fruit and at LEAST 5 serves of veggies. I admit we love ( think pink puffy heart) Pumpkin so its an almost daily staple for us both.  We try, we I try to keep the food interesting and creative because it is very easy to get stuck in a food rut. Which means that your more likely to fall off the wagon. Some of those creative things I will try to share over the next few weeks.

Today Im going to share a lunch Idea... :)

Traffic Light Pizza! 

2 Round multigrain wraps

1/2 a red capsicum( pepper) diced

1/2 a Yellow Capsicum diced

1/2 a small Zucchini diced 

4 tablespoons Tomato paste

a sprinkle of onion powder

a sprinkle of dried Italian herbs

Diced ham/bacon/chicken

Handful of Mozzarella cheese for each pizza

 Assemble the pizza on a flat oven tray, - base, sauce, onion powder, herbs then generously cover in the Diced veggies and protein of choice. Sprinkle with cheese ( we are suckers for cheese admittedly) and  bake in the oven till the cheese is golden and base is crisp!

This is a fave for lunch around here! And its soooo good. I hope this helps you to keep your lunch choices interesting too!

This year one of my aims is to better the food eaten by ALL the family. Which sounds easy..but I have a fussy house! A kid that does not eat Veggies ( except potato, lettuce and the odd bit Of Grated Zucchini hidden in meatballs and strangely Spinach in a dip), One that wont eat salad, a 3 1/2 yr old, a Fussy male and a chick who doesn't eat steak ( but does eat minced beef)!  Im the easiest one around here!!  Some of the changes have already started..White rice- brown rice..Went down a hit! Everyone loves it!

The school lunch boxes are having an overhaul too. This week includes dried fruit, pretzels and Home made Banana and LSA (Crushed Lindseed, sunflower and almond) muffins, instead of chips and LCM bars.  Im also aiming to go as Litter free as I can! So we will see how this goes down! Alex ( Fussy 1) is the main issue. I struggle to get her to eat her school lunch at all! She would much rather socialise then eat! And she is a tiny little thing! Belle will pretty much eat anything you put in there...she is ALWAYS Starving ( her words). I will aim to share some of these ideas with you all too!

Anyway there is one more sleep till school tomorrow and i have LOTS to get done!!

Till next time,

C25K Yay!

So I did it! YAY!! The stifled tied up runner in me is slowly breaking out. Ran 8 intervals of 60 seconds with 90 in between. It's a start! And I feel good. I tried running a bit on my own last year, but meh. I'm committed to doing my best. I may never be able to run the full 5 km's but I will go as far as I can.
Next time I will have to bring my knee brace as about 2/3 of the way through my right knee started bothering me. Also, I started to get a bit of a stitch in my side just at the last interval. I didn't stop though.

Did a bit of upper body work as I felt my legs had had enough. Some chest presses, bicep curls, tricep stuff and some deltoid raises and a little bit of ab stuff.
Also, there was the vibrating machine thingy Melanie was talking about before. It felt weird!! I got on and said it just felt like my ass was jiggling all over the place. Althooough.... there was one position that vibrated something else and I threatened to stay there. lol Yay for cheap thrills at the gym. hehehehe.

Anyways.... we're meant to rest a day between runs, so I guess I'll be doing day two on Wednesday.

Today was a good food day too. Had a ham and cheese and salad wrap and a peach for lunch, a protein bar before the gym and have tried to drink water, but I know I haven't drank enough. I never do. Having satay and brown rice and veggies tonight. Yum smart, but normal food again!

Anyways, that's all for now.

Giving up

I'm having a hell of a time right now. Now that I've actually got a decent nights sleep and seem to be adjusting, my mind is running away with me. I'm having doubts I can do this. I'm confused about what I should and shouldn't be eating (besides the obvious), feeling like my workouts are jokes, hardly worth the time they take... and missing my Aussie family so much.
I feel like I'm alone. I know I'm not, but with the time difference, it makes it more difficult to connect with them and I don't feel like I can be online as much as I want to be.... AND the connection keeps dropping me, so even when I am on, sometimes it kicks me off. People I have here, are either unreliable-lost in their own worlds, busy with their own families and I don't want to bug them, or not here at the moment.

Had a breakdown tonight. Lack of confidence, and feeling like what I'm doing isn't enough. Watching my Dad eat TWO caramel nut candy bars and my mom cantaloupe and some kind of meat thing AFTER dinner. I don't remember the last time I ate anything other that a little frozen yogurt after dinner. Missing my Aussies as much as I do.... I told Melanie I quit. I couldn't do it. She won. She's tried to convince me I can do it and my workouts are good b/c Jillian kicks your ass. I'll keep plodding along, but I'm not so sure it'll do anything. All I have are the roads (and it doesn't help when it's raining) a mat, hand weights and an old treadmill. I'M NOT A RUNNER! I feel like walking isn't enough, and I try to run and don't get very far.

I cried, like, really cried for the first time tonight since I got here. Then I was trying to busy myself by watching Glee, and THAT made me cry too! Stupid long lost Mommy plot!

I don't know, maybe I'll feel better tomorrow, I'm hoping I don't keep sliding downhill, I need something else. A Job would be good. I've applied to some, it's the long weekend, of course, so the earliest I'd hear anything is Tuesday. Three more days yet.