Tuesday 21st of September Day 21/ MCD 4

Well, today is the day I have decided to start a blog about my “Final Countdown”, my vegan weight-loss adventure. I hope that somehow, I will be able to help someone out there with their journey back to health and happiness.

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Breakfast:

½ c porridge oats, 1 c rice milk, 1/2 c blueberries, 2 X 500ml water;

Lunch:

1 serving of potato salad, 1 banana, 2 X 500ml;

Dinner:

1 serving of steamed rice, 1 serving of haricot & spinach stew, 500ml water;

Supper:

60 ml soya milk and 1 cup of coffee;

Recipes:

- Haricot & Spinach Stew (4 servings)

Ingredients:

Minced garlic, ginger, chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander, salt and pepper, 2 chopped onions, 2 chopped tomatoes, 2 seeded and chopped bell peppers, 330g frozen spinach, 1 finely chopped Meat-Free sausage, 150 g dry haricot beans which have been soaked in cold water over night and boiled till cooked.

Method:

Gently dry fry the garlic, peppers and onions with a little water till soft. Add the herbs and spices and gently fry a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and spinach and simmer till hot. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Banana & Chocolate Corn Bread (8 servings)

Ingredients:

Same as corn bread plus ¼ c cocoa powder, ¼ c ground almonds, 1 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 sliced banana;

Method:

Same as cornbread;

Comments:

It is crazy how I feel about the upcoming weigh-in and measuring. I think the photo evidence is what makes me the most nervous. Even though I have eaten very well on the whole, even the slip ups have not been anything major, I still have it in my head that I will not have lost much, if I have lost any weight or inches at all. I look at myself in the mirror and I think I can see some change in my face but there is something in me that does not want to believe it, something that is very guarded. Weight loss is very apparent in my darling hubbykins. I can tell in his face, chest, belly and his back. His T-shirts fit easier. I think he enjoys the food I am providing. I have asked the kids for some food requests and have incorporated them into this next week’s menu planner. I know that they get to eat all their favourite “SHITE” at their dad’s house, so I want to show them that their favourite food can be tasty and healthy at the same time. I wish I could get my daughter away from her ‘Holy Grail of Food’… cheese! It is the only dairy she has and I cut the cheese so thin that you can almost look through it. My son take dairy yoghurt to school and I really want that to stop. It is just nasty. I guess with all the dairy, sugar and saturated fats they eat at their dad’s what hubbykins and I are doing is at best damage control. I just get so frustrated with my ex’s sabotage of the kids’ healthy diet. HUMPF!

I really want to spare them from the life long struggle I had with food and my weight. I do not want them to balloon to the size of their dad. I would absolutely break my heart. Yet they have to learn to see what is going on for them and then make a choice based on their own conviction. I do not want to be a food fascist.

I had a go at making corn bread as a cake sort of thing and I think it worked our real well. Everybody liked it.