Sunday, February 12, 2012

Well then...

Isn't it ironic that, the week we decide to start eating healthy, I end up in Emergency Department for a suspected heart attack... Go figure.
Oh and to top that off, I finally wander out to check the mail after being on bed rest for a few days, to find a pamphlet in the mailbox about private hospital cover...

My heart was fine, by the way. Turns out it was a muscular issue called Costochondritis, which is an inflammation of the cartilage in / between the rib cage, or something to that effect. Causes heart attack symptoms and given my cardio history, they had to do everything they would normally do until heart attack is ruled out.

Drugged up and off my chops from morphine. 

We haven't had much chance of trying the new diet as of yet.. although weetbix for brekky every day is going well. You'd be surprised at how much weight you can actually lose just from eating breakfast - and that bit of extra walking around at work.
I was going to make the ham and broccoli frittata, but instead I turned it into a ham, ricotta cheese and spinach frittata. VERY TASTY.

Since I have been confined to bed for most of the days following my hospital scare, I haven't been well enough to eat much either. Frosty has been cooking his own dinners of spaghetti (it's now 4 or 5 days following, so I am well enough to get back into the kitchen without overdoing it.), I was feeling a bit peckish the other evening and craving soup. When I'm not well I always want mums pea and ham soup, it's EPIC. Failing that, I decided to make my own veggie soup with what we had on hand:

1 diced onion
1 clove crushed garlic
some chillis
1 diced carrot
1 diced potato
handful of broccoli diced
some shredded spinach
500ml carton of veggie stock, and 500ml water
I threw it all into a pot and let it simmer until all veggies were nice and soft, then threw in a handful or 2 of macaroni (Because I knew I needed the nutrients of the veggies, as well as something wholesome.) and let it simmer away until the pasta was cooked. I did however add too much pasta... and now it's just a pot of pasta with veggies. That's what happens when you have leftovers sit for a day I guess.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Healthy eating

Frosty and I have been trying to eat healthier lately -  weight loss for him, general health for me, and in order to save money for the both of us. It's also a bit difficult when the price of healthy eating turns out more expensive than take-away.. and there's always the risk of not actually LIKING one or 2 of the new healthy recipes, thus basically wasting the money you just spent on buying the ingredients for (that you wouldn't normally have!)
It's a double-edged sword. And take-away is just sooo yummy... BUT, it's a habit we are really trying to break!

Burgers, fish & chips, creamy curries with mountains of rice and na'an bread, pizzas... oh god... then there's the sweets.. junk food binge from Coles, or a 2am servo run for overpriced chocolate..
We will continue to eat sweets, whether I make it or we buy it, but it will now be an occasional treat. Yes we've become "Swappers" - swapping 'Often for Occasional' - if that makes sense. We want and need to get out of debt, so we can't keep buying shit.

Due to my foot fucked to buggery, I am still unable to go to the gym to do my cardio (Sorry Mr Cardiologist who gave me strict orders to go!) So I cancelled my membership last month, and basically since November 2011, I have been sitting on my butt (School holidays from TAFE!). TAFE resumes next week so I'll be getting that little form of excersise from walking the block (10 minute) from home to class etc. To the best of my walking ability anyway! Ankle brace and just a whole lot of taking it easy really. But since I don't really have kilos to shed, the whole "watching my ass grow" hasn't really phased me.
Frosty is still signed up to the gym, but has been doing home exercises lately instead. And walking more at work (See, swapped Sitting for Walking!) AND actually eating breakfasts! It's surprising how much weight can be lost just by eating a decent brekky each day.

I devised a rough meal plan the other evening, I thought I'd post it here as well since I've had a few friends and family asking for a copy. It's not much, I'm still likely to add to it, change it around a bit. I grabbed a few recipes from The Biggest Loser Australia site and since I'm not one to stick to recipes (Unless it's baking) - I will be changing ingredients around to suit our tastes (While keeping it healthy!)

So here it is..  I've tried to add variety in there so it's not the same each day etc. Sometimes a lunch will become dinner, all depending on how I feel at the time. As I said, it's a rough plan, and will be changing here and there, tweaking it. I know most don't bother with meal plans, but we're budget conscious, so everything in the plan has to fit within our grocery budget. And just remember, go to butchers to get your meats, fishmongers to get your fresh seafood and fruit & veg barns/markets for fresh fruit and veg, and other fresh produce (eggs and whatnot.), it's really a lot cheaper than the supermarket.

To avoid confusion, the following is a SELECTION of what to have, not a "Have all 5 items for breakfast etc). You pick one food item for the meal.

Breakfast - Yes I'll have to get up a bit earlier to cook it, but it's what a good wifey does, right? Since the hubby goes to work and all...
  • Wholemeal toast with light peanut butter
  • Wholemeal toast with egg
  • Omelet filled with shallots, tomato and spinach (Oh boy, Iron helps us play!)
  • Weetbix
 Lunches -
  • Wholemeal wrap with turkey and salads 
  • Wholemeal wrap with roast chicken and salads
  • Ham, broccoli and sweet potato frittata
  • Homemade pizza scrolls
Dinners - 
  • Brown fried rice
  • Baked fish parcels with steamed vegies and some form of non-buttery lemon sauce
  • Roast chicken breast and vegies (chicken can be marinaded in something, herbs, spices etc)
  • Prawn glass noodle with lime and coriander dressing
  • Chicken, spinach and low fat ricotta cannelloni
  • Sweet potato will be replacing all forms of normal potato (baked chips, mash, roasted etc)
  • Crispy skin salmon and vegies
  • Baked chicken burgers with wholemeal rolls and salads
  • Syrian chicken with cous cous or brown rice
  • Spanish seafood paella 
  • Wholemeal spaghetti with prawns, chili, asparagus, lemon juice and garlic
  • Marinaded chicken or beef skewers, baked, with vegies
Snacks (for throughout his work/uni day and my general lazy days in class) well.. he says he's happy with an apple. I give him a week before he starts bringing those apples back home!! As for MY snacks, well I eat just about anything, corn thins, crackerbreads, tinned tuna and whatnot. As long as it's healthy and minimal carbs.
Keeping in mind that if you drink plenty of water with your meals, you will actually feel fuller. It's just a matter of retraining the brain.