Recipe: Vegetable Latkes

Grate an assortment of yummy vegetables. Courgettes and/or carrots (with a bit of onion grated in too) are recommended. Squeeze as much water out as possible, by any means necessary.
Beat a couple of eggs and stir into the mix of grated veg (add one at a time, depending on how big your pile of veg is).

Fry over a gentle heat until they smell good - then they're probably ready to be flipped.

Really delicious!

Shown here with scrambled eggs. Bacon would also be an excellent accompaniment :)

Day 8

Breakfast
Courgette and carrot latkes, 2 scrambled eggs. Black coffee.

Lunch
Tuna, mayo, fried tomato, 1/4 of a large avocado. Black coffee.

I've decided that I actually quite like my coffee black. I'd never thought that was possible! Im not at the espresso stage yet, I definitely prefer it watered down, but I do really enjoy it.

Day 7

Dinner
Carrot, mayo, left over chicken, sauerkraut.

It's not that I was hungry exactly, but I really wanted to eat something (more specifically: queso y bocadillo).

Day 7

Breakfast @ 8:15

A fried egg, some sauteed spinach, half a fried tomato, and some leftover chicken breast, with coffee and coconut milk.

Lunch @ 1

Chicken, some plantain, and a no-sugar-natural lemonade (ie lime juice and water). 

Snack @ 2

Macadamia nuts and (black) coffee.

I'm still obsessing about chocolate bars, bocadillo y queso, icecream and all manner of sweet things on a regular basis, but I've successfully gone a whole week without them! I'm feeling very chuffed today, and not just because I received my new belt and certificates in TKD this morning. I also managed 90 sit ups and 49 puch ups (from the knees) - HUZZAH!!!

Day 6

Breakfast
Taco omelette, coffee and coconut milk.

Lunch
Chicken, plantain, lemonade (no sugar).

Dinner
Courgette fritters and mayonaise.

I really really really wanted snacks today, all day.

Recipe: Taco Omelette

Soften/brown a sliced onion, a clove of garlic, a chopped tomato (deseeded because I'm fussy), and a small handful of minced beef. Sprinkle on a little chilli powder.

When it's very thoroughly cooked, empty out the pan and make an omelette. While it's cooking dice 1/4 of an avocado.

Dump the beef mixture into the omelette, top with the avocado and dash of salt.

Serve to hungry people - it's a very 'satisfying' (big) meal :D

Day 5

Breakfast @ 6:45
An apple and a small handful of salted macadamia nuts.

Lunch @ 12:30
Taco omelette, coffee with coconut milk.

Day 4

Dinner @ 8:30

Sauerkraut, 2 fried eggs, a carrot and mayo.
I was craving something salty before dinner, but now I can't stop thinking about chocolate.... Damnit.

Day 4

I weighed myself today - the students in one of the offices weigh themselves every Thursday.
I was 64.2 kg. Hmm. I'm trying not to be annoyed by that. It's just a number, and a number I want to go up! But almost 3 decades of social conditioning means that it's not a happy number at the moment.

For years (as long as I've been weighing myself - ie, since I was 17 or so) I've wanted to get down to 60 kg. This has never happened, and if I put on healthy muscle (sorely lacking at the moment) then it never will. I'm trying to come to terms with this but I hate to admit, it's very difficult.

Day 4

Breakfast @ 9
Taco omelette (onion, tomato, minced beef, chilli powder and avocado), coffee and coconut milk.

Snack
? Don't remember. Probably chai tea with coconut milk?

Lunch @ 4
Steak, spinach, carrot, mayo.

Snack
Cinnamon tea with coconut milk. A few macadamia nuts (I was craving something salty, not sweet! Progress?)

Day 3

Lunch
In the blue restaurant - salad, plum chicken (hopefully nothing too nasty in the sauce), fruit salad.
Coffee with coconut milk afterwards.

Dinner/Snack
Don't remember.... Cinnamon tea?

Day 3

Snack @ 12:30

Steamed/sauteed (?) diced apple and peach, sprinkled with cinnamon and lots of dried coconut left over from making my own coconut milk. Chai tea with my coconut milk.

I think I ate this more because I could (I had the ingredients) than because I was hungry.... It was really good though :D

Day 3

Breakfast @ 9am

Half an avocado, a fried (in olive oil) tomato, and a can of tuna with mayo. Chai tea with canned coconut milk.

Day 2

Lunch
Pork, apple and onion. Sauerkraut.

Dinner
Carrot, mayo, fried egg.

Day 2

Breakfast @ 9am

ETA - black coffee in class. So easy to forget that even though I have one almost every day!

Onions, tomato and minced beef fried in live oil, inside a 3 egg omelette (even if I learn how to eat properly and control my cravings, I don't think I will ever be capable of spelling 'omelette' correctly the first time). Green tea.

I am soooooooo tired. I went to bed too late last night - sadly usual after tkd. I'm just too happy and full of energy (while at the same time being exhausted physically - a very strange combination). Also, being unable to sleep on my left side due to a new ear-piercing didn't help much either.

I'm also desperate to eat the watermelon in the fridge - just because I know it's there and it tastes good. I shouldn't have bought that - but then I shouldn't have gone shopping on an empty stomach :D

Day 1

Post-Tkd snack @ 10pm

Two eggs, scrambled in olive oil, sprinkled with dried oregano, paprika and chilli powder. Cinnamon tea and a nectarine.

Yummy :) The nectarine (sugar) is probably not the best idea at this time of night, but it was either that or throw it away in the morning. And hey - I haven't eaten chocolate all day. I feel justly proud of myself. Also - I totally owned Chon-Ji :D

Day 1

Dinner (?) @ 4:15

Sauteed onion, apple and pork, with a serving of homemade saurkraut. Coffee and coconut milk.

A very german meal! And one I'm proud of :D The saurkraut isn't too strong yet, but it's definitely more than just cabbage. As this is my first batch I'm going to leave it to ferment and eat a little everyday, that way I'll know for the next batch how many days is ideal.

Day 1

Snack @ 11am

Fried steak (in olive oil) with homemade mayo. Green tea.

It's not that I have specific cravings, more that I'm craving any and all foods. That time of the month. Oh what a wonderful day to not eat an entire tub of icecream/extra large chocolate bar/etc :(

Day 1

Breakfast @ 9am

A can of tuna with a dollop of home-made mayo, half an avocado and a fried tomato. Coffee with coconut milk.

A very good (re)start if I say so myself :D

Attitude

I am not going to suffer. I am not going to deny myself anything.

I am going to eat good food, in good quantities, and enjoy it. I will enjoy it because I'm actually really good at cooking good things to eat and inventing new recipes, I'll enjoy it because its delicious, and I'll enjoy it because I know I'm helping to heal myself - inside and out.

I'm going to get clearer skin, a less flabby body, more energy, and more love for life in general.
I'm going to be a shining example of what healthy really looks like to the people I love.

I'm going to look better naked, and I'm going to perform better in TaekwonDo. I'm not going to be out of breath when I climb up the pedestrian bridges.

I'm going to be able to wear all my favourite clothes without feeling self conscious.

I'm going to be able to relax about my health - I'll know that I don't have diabetes, nor am I on the path to get it. I'll be more 'me' all month long without certain female side-effects.

I''ll be able to look at foods and drinks that I know will damage me, and not care that I'm going to eat/drink something else. I'm not going to rely on food (any food!) to calm me down or cheer me up.

I'm going to be sure that if I ever have children, I'm already doing the best I can for them before they're born, and that I'll probably be around and be interesting (have the energy to play) for a long time after their born. I'll be sure in the knowledge that I know how to look after them (or at least their nutrition).

This is going to be good. I'm going to be awesome.

Oops...

Well, that sucked. In a totally delicious way :D

The fruit scramble for breakfast meant I ended up picking and grazing all day - not on anything 'naughty' but on too much fruit, on tomato puree, on shredded coconut... Basically the higher carb end of the lower carb spectrum.

Then on Thursday I went for a late night coffee with a friend (not the wisest of choices, but better than a late night beer, right?) which ended up being a latte... Woke up the next morning with a sore throat - connected? So I had icecream (what? Even I don't understand that logic!) and a large Jumbo (milk chocolate with peanuts). Then yesterday I had a (very small) arepa for breakfast and another large Jumbo in the evening, along with a natural lemonade(no sugar) at lunchtime, and a couple of handfuls of raisins at night because it was the only sweet thing in the house. No - there's honey as well. I tried a spoonful and had to spit half out - way too sweet! I suppose there's still hope for me after all...

Well, today is a new day: let's get to it!

Day 6

Big snack/light lunch (?) @ 11:30 (!)

Fried a portion of beef steak in olive oil (there is no coconut oil here, or ghee), and ate it with half an avocado. Also had a cup of coca tea with lime. Delicious, and at just past 1pm I'm still not hungry. 

Why did I need more food so early though? The 'high carb' breakfast? The daydreaming about other recipes? The lateness of the breakfast meaning I was hungrier than I should have been? The exercise (not exactly difficult though) before I ate? Mere cravings (as opposed to real hunger) that I should have just ignored? The lack of protein? The fact that I tend to eat while at my computer instead of concentrating just on the food? Sigh. Get with it Z! 

New resolution: to eat nicely (ie: not scoffing while checking Google Reader). Probably should have been doing this for 6 days already, huh?

Day 6

Breakfast @ 9:30

After my first class (which included a small cup of black coffee) I went to the supermarket. This always takes me ages and includes lots of walking. Not ideal before breakfast! I managed to avoid snacking though (not even fresh OJ!) as I knew what I'd be eating when I got home (meal planning not only helps keep you organised/within your budget, but it's really helping me not eat bad food either - knowing that what is to come is tastier and healthier than what's on offer now is proving very useful).

I adapted (due to lack of correct ingredients and a lot of hunger) Robb Wolf's breakfast scramble.
A whole nectarine, diced, softened in olive oil, sprinkle of cinnamon, shredded coconut, and blended/pureed apple (peeled) with 4 eggs to make the scramble. As I had blended the eggs in with the apple the result was pretty much a cake/pancake texture - very light and fluffy. Awesome! And it tasted amazing - so amazing that I'm going to have to limit how often I eat this breakfast. As someone who's not yet over her sweet tooth, I think eating 'cake' for breakfast is too close to my old habits.

Coffee with coconut  milk to drink (addictive!).

Day 5

Dinner @ 7pm

Before making lunch I fried some sliced up pork chops in olive oil. These were eaten, along with an apple and a small handful of almonds, walking between work and tkd. Not the best setting for a meal, but it gave me the energy I needed without weighing me down, and I didn't crave anything off the street after my lesson either. Perhaps that's because I knew that a fried egg and a cup of cinnamon tea with coconut milk were waiting for me when I got home? :D

Day 5

Lunch @ 1pm

A huuuuuge salad with mayo (made with extra virgin olive oil... not so good....), and a tin of tuna mashed up with half a large avocado and some sauteed onions/tomatoes that I had in the fridge (always prep ingredients when you can - saves sooo much time!).

A cup of lemongrass tea to follow.

:)

Day 5

Breakfast @ 9:15

Sauteed onions, garlic, white cabbage, minced beef, tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water - boil to reduce. Lots of chilli flakes too :D Crack an egg on top because it's awesome (next time if I still want the egg I think I'll fry it separately though). A coffee with coconut milk to drink.

Woke up tired but happy and lots of energy :)

Day 4

Dinner @ 6pm

One and a half cold chicken breasts, left over from the chicken yesterday, with the rest of the mayonnaise I had made for lunch. No, cold chicken and mayo doesn't sound that appetising, but really it's delicious! I think I can take all the credit for that with my mayonnaise ;)

To follow, a cup of cinnamon tea with a tablespoon of coconut milk (disappointingly weak - must let it infuse for longer before I add the coconut milk next time. Still yummy though).

Let's see if I last until bedtime...

Measurements

Well, it's Day 4 so I'm a bit late with this, but as I'm doing the Whole 30 more for health (and spots! Damn them) than weight loss reasons (and besides, I have tkd to firm my muscles up) I'm not that bothered about this part. Still, in the interests of science and going the whole 9 yards (get it?) I've taken down my 'vital stats' (dearly wish I could get all the blood work done, but no idea how to go about doing that in the UK, let alone Colombia).

So:
When I started tkd I was 65kg. That didn't make me very happy, but after 2 months walking a lot less than I'm used to and eating loads of food (because hey! I'm in Colombia! Eat everything you can see! It's all delicious and gluten free (but made of corn)! ) it was to be expected.
This morning at tkd (on the very same scales) I was ....

Weight: 63.3kg
Height: 175cm
(BMI: 21)

Bust (no bra): 90cm
Waist: 68cm
Hips/Bum: 102cm

And the following measurements I did more to make me laugh and to track my hopefully increasing arm muscles (I need to be able to do more pushups for tkd) than for the Whole 30:

Right arm (straight): 26cm
Right arm (flexed): 27cm
Left arm (straight): 25cm
Left arm (flexed): 25.5cm

I love that I have half a centimetre of bicep :D

Day 4

Lunch @ 1pm

Experimentation is fun!
Grilled pork topped with mora sauce (sauteed onion, garlic, apple and mora then blended and reduced a bit - still a bit pulpy, maybe my blender isn't that powerful, or I used the wrong attachment?) Not at all what I was expecting, but the restaurant version that inspired this sauce was more of a 'sweet and sour' consistency, so probably involved naughty ingredients.
Also - an entire plate of spinach, carrot, red cabbage, and radishes topped with homemade mayo. FTW! My new blender (hand held) has a whisk so I made the best mayo I've eaten in 6 months (back in London I used to make it all the time).

Drinking a cold hibiscus tea as I type, just because. I really don't feel like I need anything sweet at the moment. I guess I've finally found the right amount of fat to eat! Thank you mayo!

Day 4

Breakfast from 6:30 to 8:30

Breakfast #1 - a couple of the papaya 'ice' (much more ice than icecream, but still yummy. And even better - as it's not exactly what I had hoped for I should eat less of it! Very yummy though) I made yesterday (about 2 tbs of fruit) and a COFFEE WITH COCONUT MILK. I had really missed those :D

Breakfast # 2 - scrambled eggs (3) with paprika. Also yum :)

These kept me fuelled very nicely through my TKD class, although next time I'll try and have the eggs a bit earlier so I can't feel them in my stomach...
After TKD I was in a 'must eat carbs' mood - fantasising about fruit, arepas, empanadas, toast... (Toast? Seriously? After what happened earlier this week?)

So I bought lots of fruit and didn't eat it because I was busy cooking lunch instead :D

Day 3

Snack @ about 11:30am

I really really really wanted something to eat. I'm not sure if it was real hunger (probably not), habit or craving. In the end, knowing that lunch would be at least an hour away I had a sliced apple with 'coconut concentrate' spread on it, sprinkled with cinnamon.

While this was actually quite nice, it was entirely due to the apple and cinnamon. Coconut Concentrate is a vile earth-tasting (and looking) spread. This makes me sad as it's one of the only 2 coconut products available in every supermarket here (the other being desiccated coconut). It's made from ground up coconuts and looks and tastes like they ground the whole thing, shell and all! It's probably made from the bits left over after the pretty white bit has been shredded for desiccating. At least it kept me satiated for a good couple of hours, I got the awesome coconutty nutrients and the flavour was easily maskable :) I'll probably repeat this snack, but not every day.

Day 3

Dinner @ 8pm

Sauteed onions, garlic, beef (cut into strips) and spinach. I was going to add some of the fun new spices that I picked up today, but the garlic smelled so good I decided to leave it. It was really yummy - I'd totally forgotten how good garlic tastes as I hadn't cooked with it myself for (literally) years. To drink: something else fun that I picked up today. Cold-brew (!) hibiscus flower tea. Apparently a good source of vitamin C, a pretty colour, and very nice. Hopefully that and the other infusions (cinnamon tea!) I bought will help me to avoid puddings. Speaking of...

I made popsicles without the stick today. I'll probably have one after dinner. I stuffed a papaya in the freezer before I went on holiday without planning what to do with it when I got back. My new (I really went shopping today) immersion blender/whisk/thing ground it up, I added a squeeze of lime juice and smooshed it into an oversized icecube tray. Each portion is about a tablespoon. Hopefully they'll last me along time!

In other news: WE HAVE COCONUT MILK! Or rather, I have coconut milk. Three cans was all the shop had, and now it's all I have :D It will be used in coffee (obviously) and, if I remember, the next batch of popsicle-style desserts.

Day 3

Lunch in the early afternoon

Pollo! three pieces and (probably too much) plantain.

Walked a lot today, from Fontibon to Hayuellos to home via Homecenter, and lots of walking around in each place too. I was knackered... But not exhausted, if that makes sense? I was tired of walking and of being on my feet, but I wasn't out of breath or anything like that.

Day 3

Breakfast @ 9:30ish

Green tea with lime while my brain was still waking up.
Pork, apples and onions, with a fried egg on top. Half an avocado with balsamic vinegar while I was cooking (REALLY hungry!) and a very weak black coffee (I got it right this morning).

Woke up feeling reeeeaaaaally lazy and content. Realised that I needed to go to the loo to pee, but other than that my stomach wasn't sending any signals. I think I'm over the worst of the wheat-arepa disaster! (Fingers crossed that I'm not speaking too soon.)

I'm not sure if the sudden onset of intense hunger was caused by the green tea and lime (acidic jump start to my stomach?) or the lack of a real dinner last night, or all of the dreaming of recipes I've been doing...

Here's to an optimistic day 3!

Day 2

"Dinner"? -  all evening

Due to the aforementioned tummy troubles I've kind of given up on food now. I've had another cup of lemongrass tea, and a square of cocoa (no, not chocolate) because I'm still craving, but I'm definitely not hungry.

It would be hard not to continue 'grazing' if I had anything whole 30 approved in the house. Thank god for an empty kitchen?

Day 2

Lunch @ 4pm

Ground beef with contents of refrigerator (actually very yummy - onion, white cabbage, carrot, tomato, spinach, and garlic for my cold) -  cooked like a slow stir-fry. Lemongrass tea.

I'm feeling... better I suppose. The fortnight prior to starting this challenge was filled with awful food choices. Backpacking around Peru for a week and a bit meant lots of rice and potatoes (a couple of which were the yummy orange sweet variety, but the rest were just standard chips). That blocked my systems, if you know what I mean :( Things were just beginning to normalise when, thinking it was my last opportunity to eat something 'unhealthy' on Wednesday evening (as I'd already decided to start this) and feeling ravenous after Taekwon-Do, I decided to have an arepa with cheese on the way home. Normally that wouldn't affect me, but what I have now realised is that the arepas from that vendor aren't pure corn: they also contain wheat flour. I'm allergic to wheat. I've been to the bathroom about ten times since then... I think I'm finally starting to slow down now though.

In beter news, I asked my local butcher what the cows eat, and he said they eat 'mostly grass.' Apparently they also eat a lot of salt...? At least I don't have to worry (too much) about eating beef in Colombia now.

I still really want chocolate. If it's this bad now, what will it be like when I hit the real withdrawal phase in a couple of days?


ETA - I've just had a cup of papaya with lime juice. For a fruit it's relatively good, but it's still caving in to sweet cravings. Better than the tablespoon of honey I was considering though!

Day 2

Good morning!
Breakfast @ 9:30

3 (proper sized) egg omelette, sauteed onions and mushrooms, half a chicken breast, half an avocado. Large cup of (watered down) black coffee (plus one small cup of normal black coffee in class at 7am).

I'm feeling good, but that's because I'm still halfway through my awesome breakfast.

Day 1

Dinner @ approx 8:30

Pollo! In Colombia they have excellent charcoal grilled entire chickens pretty much everywhere! A few are only electric-heater-grilled, but thankfully not many. A standard chicken comes with a couple of tiny arepas, a plate of boiled and salted potatoes, and a grilled plaintain. So, not the best of meals.... 

I had two legs, a thigh, and a piece of plantain (twice in one day! Argh) and called it a night (I have previously been known to eat an entire half chicken and all of the plantain in one sitting after Taekwondo or other exercise, so I actually showed a lot of restraint). 

The good: I have two flame grilled chicken breasts sitting in my fridge for tomorrow. 

The bad: I just had an incredibly nutrient-lite meal, and my second helping of ripe plantain. I'm also stuffed. 

To finish the day off and curb the intense chocolate cravings I'm sipping a cup of herb tea (I can't remember which one but it's nice). 

I'm not really used to eating dinner. I usually have such a late breakfast that lunch ends up being at about 3pm, and then I'm busy (working and martial-arts-ing) in the evenings. I usually just have fruit, a fried egg, or chocolate. 

Day 1

Lunch @ 2:15
Pork with Invisible Cabbage (aka 'pork, onions and apples, no cabbage, honest') with fried plantain.
A square of cocoa powder (yes, really) and a cup of green tea with lime as 'pudding.'

Despite obsessing about food I was surprised to notice that it was half past one. Perhaps the green tea and lime I had instead of a snack helped, or the fact that I was engrossed in sorting out holiday pictures.

The plantain is not a good choice in comparison with other vegetables, as it's pretty much a potato in disguise. It sure is yummy though, and very cheap and plentiful. I'll try to cut down to twice a week or use it more as a garnish until I find out that it's definitely on the 'Do Not Eat' list. The problem with cooking for two is that you have to secretly hide cabbage in their lunch compromise, but if I'm going to complete 30 real days (and not 30 cheating/making excuses days as I used to) then I'll just have to start serving better vegetables to those I cook for.

Broccoli here we come!

Day 1

Breakfast @ approx 9am:

3 (smallish) egg omelette, with sauteed onions, tomato, spinach, and genova. Cooked in olive oil.

Large (oops, but it was watered down a lot) cup of black coffee. 

I'm physically satisfied (and should be as that's a pretty normal breakfast for me) but can't stop thinking about eating things... Yesterday I was snacking (mistake 1) on oranges and mangoes (mistake 2) all day and ended with a late night (mistake 3) arepa with cheese (mistake 4). Is this obsession caused by sugar withdrawals already? Or is just because I'm still reading through 'It Starts With Food' which is making me think about eating? 

I wish I had coconut milk to put in my coffee, it just tastes so good, and is really satisfying. 

720 what?

I've decided (for the umpteenth time) to try to clean up my diet. No, this time it's different. This time I've decided to clean up my diet (as Yoda says 'Do or do not. There is no try'). I'm not sure why but I've settled on the Whole 9's 'Whole 30' regime out of the many Paleo/Primal offerings out there. Perhaps because it's the only one I haven't finished reading yet?

This blog is not to provide any great service to human kind, not even entertainment. I just need to keep track of what I'm (not) doing and how it makes me feel (sadly the wonderful PaleoTrack doesn't allow for notes). I have also learnt that I do nothing difficult unless I'm in competition with someone (I'm such a nice person, huh) or someone is making me do it. I hope that the knowledge that at any moment someone I know could stumble across this blog will be enough to keep me honest. I promise that if I break the diet (20th July potato soup is not optional, will explain later) it will go on the blog, although (you will be relieved to know) I will probably not post about every compliant meal I eat (there will probably be a lot of repetition).

At the moment I have no idea how much I weigh (as I'm hoping to put on muscle I'm avoiding scales as rising numbers will make me chicken out of healthy diet and healthy exercise), and I'll probably take down body measurements later today. I'm also in the process of finding a health care provider here in Bogotá (instead of relying on my traveller's insurance) so I'm hoping that will include a medical exam with relevant tests (I don't think I've ever had cholesterol measured before, I'm kind of looking forward to it).

As the book says, It Starts With Food. ¡Buen provecho!