Whole 30 Day 15

Yay today is day 15 which means I am half way through The Whole 30.

Time is flying by...

I wasn't hungry first thing and so didn't have any breakfast.

I went to Sainsbury's to do our weekly shop.

I bought more veg this time and less fruit.  The fruit I did buy was mainly berries.  I have some fruit to eat up and then I am reducing the amount and increasing the amount of veg. 

I made this salad for my lunch

then for dinner tonight I decided to cook some carrot subji to have with my salmon

from this book

it has garlic, chilli, ginger, coriander, coconut, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ghee and carrot in it 

So this is what I had for dinner

Salmon, carrot subji and mushrooms

I also made these today

from PaleOMG's recipe

I struggled to get them to set in the fridge and so I popped them in the freezer.  They are a bit icy at the moment but should have thawed to the right consistency by tomorrow.  They are in the fridge now. 

Looking forward to another week of Whole 30/Paleo 

Whole 30 Days 13 & 14

Had a busy day on Saturday (day 13) went off up to Chesterfield to a Jivamukti Yoga workshop.  It was fantastic.  A strong and sweaty practice in the morning and then an afternoon studying The Siddhis (Yogic Supernatural Powers) in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.

All packed to go

 I made a quick breakfast - Indian Style Scrambled Eggs.  They don't look appetizing but they were delicious.

I love using the spices in my masala dabba

to make the scrambled eggs, I melted some ghee in a pan, added cumin seeds and black mustard seeds until they popped. I then added garam masala and tumeric, then the onions, then the rest of the veg - mushrooms and peppers. Cooked them for a while and then added the egg and stirred til they scrambled.  Was a quick but tasty breakfast.

I took a packed lunch with me.  I made a salad, a fruit salad and took some hazelnuts too.  When I got home I made mixed vegetable subji and served it with tuna.  

I was only saying to Gina on the course that I never feel hungry on this diet and all my cravings had gone.... but Oh my.... last night... I felt starving.... I so easily could have binged on chocolate etc... I ate some fruit but 30 mins later I was starving again.  I think the Yoga triggered some deep emotions which I couldn't cope with and wanted to turn to food.  I kept telling myself to meditate on my throat chakra. As Patanjali says:

3.31 Contemplation upon the throat chakra eradicates hunger and thirst

I still felt hungry when I went to bed.  I was determined I was NOT going to break my Whole 30.  Fell asleep ok but woke up at 5am with a pounding headache.  It was so bad I had to take some tablets.  I slept a few more hours and when I woke up it had gone.

I had a simple and quick breakfast this morning - egg with mushroom and advocado

Lala and I then spent some time cleaning the pond. After which I started to do some work for my course.  For lunch I made some Ayurvedic Veg with some salmon.  

I used coconut oil instead of ghee and I think I prefer it.  My dosha is Pitta/Kapha - more Pitta than Kappha and coconut oil is very cooling for Pitta. 

I studied til 4pm and suddenly felt very tired, went for a lay down and fell asleep....

Today I am not feeling hungry.... not hungry enough to eat any dinner

Looking forward to day 15... half way through wooooohoooo.

I am also on countdown to our summer vacation

Whole 30 Days 10, 11 & 12

Can't believe today is day 12 - only a few more days and I will be half way through.

I have already started to think which foods I will reintroduce after the 30 days.  I am definitely NOT reintroducing wheat and dairy.  I think both of those are big culprits for many things - mood swings, bloating, cravings, over eating.

Being a Yogini, I am very much drawn towards Yoga's sister science - Ayurveda. Last night I cooked an Ayurvedic Mixed Vegetable Subji. Per Ayurveda this has tridoshic energetics. It balances Agni and is laxative . A good food for bones and joints ;) It was delicious too

I finished the left overs of it (not very Ayurvedic as the rule is fresh food only) on my salad this lunch time ... Yummie. I got the recipe from this excellent book.

So to be able to eat in an Ayurvedic way, I am going to have to reintroduce rice and lentils and beans... I am going to see how I feel about this nearer the time and if I do, I will monitor the effects of this on my body. 

So I have been fairly crap... Or rather very lazy at taking photos of my food over the past few days but these are some of my meals which I did photograph.

We went out to eat this evening which was nice.  The only place I could think of which would have something on the menu I could eat was Roosters at Morley Hayes .

 I ordered the seafood salad.  The only things on the plate I couldn't eat was the bread with salmon and dill mousse and the beetroot ( as it was pickled in malt vinegar and that comtains gluten) I also asked for no Marie Rose sauce. 

My plate at the end :)

I am on day 4 of Deva Premal's and Miten's Mantra Meditation.  It is never too late to sign up. You can do so Here

It's so beautiful and as Miten says - we always remember to fees the body but very often forget to feed the soul and nourish our inner space. Mantra is soul food

The mantras so far :

Day 1 OM

Day 2 OM Shanti OM

Day 3 OM Gan Ganapataye Namah

day 4 Aham Prema

Still feeling great and looking forward to the weekend :) 

Whole 30 - Day 9

A lovely Spring day.  Love the flowers in our garden right now.

 Again I wasn't hungry first thing and wasn't so til lunchtime.  Per Ayurveda, you should only eat when you are hungry, if you eat when you are not, it weakens your agni... your digestive fires.

So this is what I had for lunch 

and a handful of seeds and nuts (not pictured)

I love coconut water.  I do like this brand Vita Coco

source

It is available in different flavours which I still have to try

*Peach & Mango

*Passion Fruit

*Pineapple

*Acai & Pom

Coconute water is great to keep you hydrated

This is what I had for dinner - tho managed to burn the peppers ooops and the cod all crumbled....

It's been another fabulous day.  I am happy I found this way of eating.

Ready for Day 10.

Whole 30 Day 8

I was EXHAUSTED yesterday morning... Not due to the Whole 30.... But from such an intense weekend at Yoga Teacher Training.  I had a little lie-in. When I got up, I wasn't hungry and so decided to get some chores done before eating.  So in the end my breakfast was more like brunch ;) I had a snack late afternoon and then dinner later on. 

Went grocery shopping today... Hopefully I will try and mix things up a bit this week. I guess when you don't eat meat... The meals are gonna be quite the same. But I am enjoying them.

I gardenedn all afternoon.  It's great to be outside :)

So here are my meals from Day 8

Brunch - 2 eggs, avocado & strawberries

Snack - satsuma, apple & hazelnuts 

Dinner - salmon topped with coconut flakes (was Yummie), sweet potato mash, broccoli & mushrooms. 

How am I feeling? 

Still great :) really enjoying what I am eating, I never feel hungry and never crave anything.  I am drinking 2 litres of water a day :) I am enjoying drinking water again. I went through a stage where it felt like a chore. But since starting The Whole 30, my love for good old H2O has returned :) 

My bloating is going down. I was naughty and stepped on the scales and have lost 6lbs :) 

Looking forward to Day 9 

Whole 30 days 5, 6 & 7

Yay today is day 8.... 
Not had chance to blog... Been a very busy weekend.  I am training to become a Yoga Teacher.  It was the course all this weekend. I only have 3 more weekends left to til the end of my course .... It's kind of scary .... I need to start to think about setting my classes up etc.... It's exciting but frightening at the same time. 

Food wise all three days have gone well. Day 5 looked like this 

Day 6 looked like this - I didn't take photo of my evening meal as it was just left over salmon and sweet potato fries.  I bought some coconut on the way home from training.  I suddenly started to feel stressed and so knew I could easily eat badly... The coconut snack put a stop to this :)

Day 7 looked like this

Yep just the one photo... Didn't take one of my lunch... It was just salad, some nuts and fruit.  But none of this for me this weekend.

  I haven't eaten anything for dinner - just not hungry.  I do find I am not finding the need to eat as much. I guess it is cos when i do eat, I am eating nutrient rich food. 

My day at Yoga Teacher Training was really tough.... Physically, mentally and emotionally. I got really emotional during relaxation. The tears seem to come up out of nowhere. I was fine and then the next minute the tears were rolling down my face.  When we were brought up to sitting, that was it.... I seem to totally let go and cried and cried. It's good to let go and cry though.... I actually felt much much better for doing so. It happened in such a loving and caring environment. 
We have done a lot of physical practice this weekend. 

My aim this over the next 7 days is to try different things .... I feel my meals seem to be a bit all same-ie ... I need new ideas.... I am gonna do some research

The Power of Plants - Beauty Product Review

As part of my new Paleo Lifestyle, I am looking after myself on the inside and I am also looking after myself on the outside too.

I went downtown the other day and decided to buy a couple of products. 

* a face exfoliator

& 

* a body scrub 

I went to Bodyshop, Lush and then finally Boots.  I am very fussy on how a product smells.  I know a lot of people love the Soap & Glory range. Yeah the packaging is fun and cute but I really cannot stand the smell of it. 

source

So I sniffed lots of exfoliators and scrubs and finally decided on the Boots Botanics Range. 

source

I actually first came across the Botanics range in 1998/99 during my final year at university. Gosh... All those years ago... Makes me feel old ;) I don't know why I stopped using it.  Sometimes there are so many products on the market, you feel you need to try them all incase you find a better one. 

So for my face I bought All Bright Purifying Face Scrub

It comes in a 75ml tube and is formulated without parabens and is suitable for all skin types. It cost £2.69

The scrub contains refining walnut shells which buff away any flaky skin and crushed apricot seeds and hibiscus which gently sweep away any impurities making the skin brighter.  Hibiscus is know for it brightness properties.

It's also easy to use : 

After cleansing , massage into skin with fingertips in light circular movements. Then rinse well with warm water. It recommends you use it 2-3 times a week.

I love the smell of this scrub and it left my face feeling so soft and skin looking healthier and brighter.

The second product I bought was Rebalance Refining Body Scrub

This comes in a 300ml pot and cost £7.99. Again this scrub is formulated without any parabens. It contains sea salt and sugar which help exfoliate the skin giving it a radiant glow.  It also contains almond oil and cocoa butter which leave the skin feeling both smooth and very soft. The Rebalance range uses Vetiver which is a very calming essence.

Again this scrub is easy to use:

Massage it on damp skin using circular motions, then rinse thoroughly.  It is not recommended for use on the face

Again I loved the scent of this product.  I was also very I pressed by how smooth it left my skin.  My skin also felt moisturised afterwards.  This is definitely a body scrub I am going to stick with.

Like all the Botanics range; in producing both the scrubs, Boots have taken steps to reduce their impact on the planet at every stage in this products journey. The product is made with active plant extracts that are approved by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

I would recommend both of these products and as I am so impressed with them, I am going to try out more of the Botanics Range.

Day Four - Whole 30

Already day 4??? 

Another good good day :) 

I stayed awake til about 10pm and was wide awake at 5am which is much better.  I get up at 5.30am anyways. Body clock is getting back on track... yay.

This morning I decided to oven bake a frittata ... it turned out ok.  I wanted to put garlic in it, but the garlic we had, seemed to have gone off and so couldn't add it.  This frittata was definitely screaming out for garlic.  I am going to have tweak and perfect the recipe before I post it on my blog.

So this was my breakfast :

In the frittata I put onions, tomatoes, green, red, orange bell peppers, broccoli, eggs, coconut milk, salt, pepper and tuna. served with macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pineapple, strawberries and blueberries

I went off to the gym this morning planning to do some weights... but guess what? I ended up doing Yoga on the gym floor before then going to a Yoga class :) So am TOTALLY Yoga Upped today :))  Personal practice and a class in the same day :)))) 

I ended up eating my lunch quite late, for some reason, I wasn't feeling hungry.  This is what I had

smoked salmon, mackerel, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, carrots and cucumber

I was buzzin all afternoon... TOTALLY.... in fact all day I have felt so alive, so happy, so smiley :) It is great but feels quite surreal.... it's bizarre.  Has this happened to anyone else? During my happy happy day, I decided I need to start getting more crafty and so I bought this magazine when I was at Sainsbury's. It looks so cute.

We had our joiner popping over so I had a handful of hazelnuts to keep me going til dinner time... knowing we would be eating later than usual.  But when he went, I wasn't really hungry... so my dinner was quite minimal

mussels, raspberries, blueberries, baby figs, physalis

I think maybe I have eaten too much fruit today and should have eaten more veg in its place. That is my plan for tomorrow.... more veg. 

NO CHOCOLATE CARVINGS TODAY.... YAY!! 

Think my hormones are balancing.

More tomorrow.... Day 5 :)

Whole 30 - Day Three

Today has gone really well.  I wasn't too hungry first thing which was good cos I think I have been eating breakfast too early.  Today I ate just after 8am (though I got out of bed at 5.30am) I decided to have a coffee to see if that would help me keep awake longer.  Everyone keeps saying how fab coconut milk tastes in coffee... I used to use the Kara milk coconut milk but in the book "It Starts With Food" - it says not to use that sort but instead use the canned.  I used this 

I do love the Biona range and buy quite a lot of their products. When I opened the can, I had to pour it in a jug and then whisk it.  I then poured it into one of these gorgeous jars ( I have a bit of an obsession for glass storage jars) I bought from Next Home. It's perfect for my coconut milk and fits nicely in the fridge.

You can buy this here

I am glad I had the coffee as it has stopped me being constipated and so far its 7.25pm and I am not feeling as tired as I did this time yesterday.

So this is what I made for my breakie 

- One egg (omletted), smoked salmon, avocado, mushrooms, strawberries, apple & pineapple

I had to go downtown this morning.  My car was booked in to be valeted and it meant hanging around town for a few hours.... so I went prepared 

Water & Hazelnuts.  I didn't want to get thirsty and mistake it for hunger and if it was hunger, I didn't want to risk not being able to buy something healthy or opting for something unhealthy.  As it was, I didn't feel hungry the whole time I was in town.  

When I got back I made some lunch

- mackerel, the last of the left over sweet potato mash, broccoli, hazelnuts (the ones i took into town) and blueberries

I felt full after eating this.

I didn't feel hungry all afternoon until it was time for dinner which was this

- salad leaves, grated red cabbage, grated carrot, cucumber, celery, tomatoes, prawns, olives and an olive oil and balsamic dressing. Banana, strawberries, blueberries & pineapple.

When I was walking the dogs this afternoon, I kept getting big bursts of energy... it was marvelous. 

Looking forward to Day Four :)

Whole 30 - Day Two

So yesterday was day two... it went well..... tho at times I did crave sweet things... especially when I was out doing some chores and saw chocolate and candy in some of the stores I had to pop in. I just get telling myself to stay strong. 

image source

Arghhhh just looking at the picture above makes me crave chocolate. I need to get out of this sort of behaviour!!!

My body clock is still not right... not really sure what time it is on right now... it is no longer on Arizona time but not really on UK time... I am falling asleep by 8pm and wide awake at 4ish. I am wondering if I should start having a coffee with breakfast (I have been drinking herbal teas and water and the usual mug of warm water and lemon when I wake up) as I could do to stay away til at least 9pm.  At the moment I am starting to flag before 7pm. Jet Lag.... please go away!!

Image Source

I enjoyed my eats throughout the day.

Breakfast - smoked salmon, avocado, roasted mushrooms & bell peppers, strawberries & pineapple

Lunch - salmon, left over sweet potato mash, spinach, strawberries, olives, macadamia nuts & hazelnuts 

By 4 pm I was feeling a little peckish and so I grabbed a handful mixed with hazelnuts and macadamia

I do love these Kilner jars I store them in... sad I know... hahahaha 

Dinner - mussels, salad leaves, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, celery, raw cabbage

I feel pleased with how Day Two went

I am looking forward to Day Three :)