Friday, April 26, 2013

Day 26

Food:
Breakfast (big): bacon, avocado, scrambled eggs, small portion of nograinola, white coffee (coconut milk). It's cold, ok? I've heard that cold people should eat more fat, so I'm trying it.
Lunch: chicken and plantain, with real lemonade (no sugar)
Cinema snack: NOT icecream... Nothing!
Dinner: nograinola with the rest of the strawberries, some dark chocolate.


What I'm grateful for today:

  • life in general (I've just eaten breakfast, I'm in a very good mood ;) )
  • plans with friends (a rare treat)
  • "I am Iron Man." That's how I feel about my taekwondo belt. 
  • Super hero movies in general, but especially the ones that make you feel like a superhero too as you walk out the cinema
  • A wonderful date with a wonderful guy seeing a wonderful movie. 
  • Resisting the icecream at the cinema
Things I am not grateful for:
  • having a sniffy cold :(

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Day 25

Food:
Breakfast: black coffee, chai tea with coconut milk, scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado
Lunch: AWESOME BRAKFAST LUNCH no-grain-ola (turns out a whole banana in this is a bit too much banana. There are never too many strawberries, however).
Dinner: sesame and mushroom beef stirfry with a mango juice. Yummy restaurant food!
Pudding at home: small portion of nograinola - there are strawberries to use up!

Things I'm grateful for today:
  • an unexpected day off, due to a teachers' strike at the uni where I was scheduled to teach
  • cheap, ripe strawberries (1kg for approx £1.20! In April!)
  • unexpectedly cheap coconut milk (they had the price written incorrectly on the shelf, so I got 4 cans for about half price!)
  • scoffing dark chocolate last night to celebrate some good news*, and waking up this morning with less spots on my face than I went to bed with!
  • seeing a snake! Just like you'd expect in Latin America! It was only my second, and (thankfully) wasn't a python though. 

* no, dark chocolate is definitely not whole 30, especially when it (sadly) contains sugar (it was the healthiest stuff I could find though. If you're in Colombia look for "Santander," if you're related to me expect some being sent to you in July :D ) but it was 1) definitely celebration-worthy news, and 2) my whole 30 buddy has reverted to eating white rice for lunch everyday as she was getting too skinny. I still win, right?

Day 24

Food:
Breakfast: bacon (!!! to celebrate St George's day yesterday), scrambled eggs, avocado, chai tea with coconut milk.
Lunch: Steak, avocado, lettuce, carrot, mayo.
Dinner: tuna, avocado, mayo

Things I'm grateful for today:

  • very quick delivery of gas canisters when I ran out having just barely warmed the bacon
  • HOT SHOWERS (I got 2 canisters when I re-ordered - can't let my brother suffer the cold showers here!)
  • finding a cheap source of ripe (but not bruised) avocados - only a block from my flat!
  • assorted very good news from various people

Day 23

Happy St. George's Day!

Food:
Breakfast: small black coffee, big black tea
Lunch: steak, lettuce, carrot, mayo, lots of chai tea with coconut milk
Dinner: scrambled egg, and 'breakfast' (coconut, grated apple, shredded coconut, cinnamon)


Things I'm grateful for today:

  • covering an old class and getting on with them just as much as I used to
  • starting back at uni (teaching, not studying)
  • phrasal verbs and compound nouns  (otherwise known as "hilarious ways to confuse your students"
  • my boyfriend
  • my freedom
  • knowing who I am, and mostly being ok with that


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Day 22 + bonus recipe!

Food:
AWESOME BREAKFAST: No-grain-ola! (I think I invented that name) Also known as nut-ola! (the internet invented that name a long time ago)

Recipe of wonderfulness:
One grated apple, half a sliced banana, a handful of sliced strawberries, just under half a can of coconut milk (instead of yoghurt), and a mixture of chopped and toasted brazil nuts, almonds and desiccated coconut (instead of normal granola). Layer them nicely if you have witnesses, or forget presentation and stir it all together if you don't.  You can use real yoghurt if you have access to it. Use whatever (healthy) nuts you think would taste good. The same goes for the fruit (eg: no strawberries, the whole banana, and lots of cinnamon).
Yes, this is incredibly calorie dense (and relatively high-carb), and no, it's not something that we should eat everyday. However, on special occasions (such as when your boyfriend keeps going on about how wonderful granola is), it's perfect <3

Served with a cup of chai tea (with coconut milk) and a couple of slices of bacon (because a. protein should be an important part of every meal, and b. BACON).

Lunch: the same (I had half a banana to use up!) but without the bacon :( I am now extremely full. Oops :D
Dinner: small steak with lettuce and mayo. Still too full to eat anything else!


What I'm grateful for today:

  • BACON (yes, again)
  • AWESOME BREAKFASTS
  • yet more awesome people coming to visit me in Colombia (still waiting for brother first though!)
  • being able to eat granola for breakfast again (sometimes, even though it's not real granola)
  • my boyfriend, generally
  • my boyfriend being really smart, both in the school-type way and in the emotional intelligence way (I guess a decade studying philosophy and ethics will do that to you)






Sunday, April 21, 2013

Day 21

Food:
Breakfast: hot chocolate made with coconut milk
Post tkd snack: large pear (my first in over  year! Wish I'd had some good cheese to go with it)
Lunch: BACON with avocado and lettuce/mayo salad. Seriously, bread just used to get in the way of the bacon/avocado goodness. Chai tea with coconut milk (because bacon and cinnamon actually go really well together).
Snack: (because it goes well with knitting) chai tea with coconut milk
Dinner: steak, lettuce and carrot salad with mayo and avocado. The last of the borscht.


Things I'm grateful for today:

  • being able to experiment in the kitchen and have fun
  • having a bed to climb into after my walk home from tkd in the rain followed by a cold shower (brrr)
  • BACON
  • There only being 9 days left. I want some real chocolate!


Day 20

Food:
Breakfast: mocha (hot chocolate made with 1/4 can of coconut milk, plus instant coffee :D )
Lunch: huge squash pancakes topped with ALL THE STRAWBERRIES, a sliced banana, and coconut cream. Awesome, if lacking in protein. Black tea.
Snack because it's raining and I still eat emotionally sometimes: small steak, fried slices of squash, some avocado and mayo. Green tea.
Dinner: strawberries and coconut cream (I lied about ALL the strawberries before)

Things I'm grateful for today:

  • getting the hang of bananas (I feel like my evil twin from another dimension whenever I eat one, but still...)
  • pancakes - in any form, a pancake is something to celebrate
  • strawberries - so hard to find here! Either over ripe, or mostly white, or hideously expensive. I got 'lucky' today (and only had to visit 3 shops to find them!)


Saturday, April 20, 2013

Day 19

Food:
Brunch: scrambled eggs with onion, tomato puree and coriander, borscht.
Lunch: steak, carrot, lettuce, red cabbage, mayo
Dinner: steak, lettuce, carrot, mayo
Hot chocolate (made with half a can of coconut milk topped up with water)


Things I'm grateful for today:
  • students who cancel class because it's raining and their teacher can't get a bus at 6am (I waited 45 minutes!)
  • hot chocolate (especially when it's raining)
  • watching random movies (Oblivion and Brave)


Friday, April 19, 2013

Day 18

Food:
Breakfast: black coffee, green tea
Lunch: steak and an ENTIRE cushaw squash! (It was small. Cooked in the pressure cooker in about 10 mins total!)
Dinner: large cup of borscht, 3 very small oranges with cinnamon, steak and carrot salad with mayo, a banana.

Fruit makes me snack more :(


Things I'm grateful for today:

  • an internet connection
  • trying new food and liking it
  • not having to be outside in the rain


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Day 17

Food:
Breakfast: black coffee, scrambled eggs with coriander, avocado, fried onion and tomato, and a large cup of borscht. Nomz.
Lunch: tuna with mayo, avocado, onion, chilli powder, carrot and lettuce.
Dinner: small steak, carrot, mayo and avocado salad.


Things I'm grateful for today:

  • not being inVenezuela (sorry, but it's true)
  • having a really awesome tkd teacher who pushes me (literally) to do my best
  • having a great group of compañeros in tkd who make me laugh (and who usually laugh with, not at, me too) 


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Recipe: Borscht

Borscht is a traditional Russian soup, also popular in Poland and Ukraine. I doubt it resembles my version in anyway other than the colour :D

Into a pressure cooker put:

  • 2 scrubbed and (kind of) cubed beetroots
  • 2 grated carrots
  • about a cup of shredded white cabbage
  • 2 peeled garlic cloves
  • about a tablespoon of minced onion
  • a pound of beef ribs (save making stock separately) or some chunky beef
  • enough water to fill the pressure cooker up to the "max" line

Cook on high for about 20 minutes.
To serve, dollop some sour cream, creme freche, yoghurt, or coconut cream on top (depending on which diet you're currently following :D )


This recipe brought to you by a mishmash of sites from Google, the colour pink, and a gung-ho attitude (hey, it's only soup, right?).

Day 16

Food:
Breakfast: lots of green tea and a cup of bone broth (homemade, of course. Pressure cookers FTW)
Lunch: swanky restaurant with student. Will teach for food ;)
Grilled salmon in a kind of sweet and sour sauce (I'm hoping that the sweetness came from the uchuva but I doubt it), with grilled mixed vegetables and mango juice (no, the juice isn't that 'correct' for this month either).
Dinner: homemade borscht! (recipe in the next post)


What's I'm grateful for today:
  • I PASSED MY TKD EXAM!!!!! According to my teacher I am now a vieja verde - literally a green old woman, and slang for perverted old woman. Thanks profe, I think... :D I learnt 2 new kicks and a defence yesterday!!!!
  • Actually being able to do one of those two kicks really well
  • The kick I can do well being very impressive - a real spinning kick just like they do in the movies! (also in Buffy the Vampire Slayer if you remember that). I think that means it's not a very useful move, but it's great for showing off :D
  • teaching rich CEO's :D
  • bright pink soup

Day 15

Food:
Breakfast: black tea, scrambled eggs with coriander, avocado, small piece of leftover steak and mayo.
Lunch: melon, papaya, grilled steak, guava juice, black coffee (at a student's office)
Dinner: leftover chicken breast, carrot sticks, mayo, half a banana.


What I'm grateful for today:

  • long cardigans, especially burgundy ones
  • students who take me out to lunch instead of having class
  • people to share bananas with

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Recipe: Caldo

"Caldo" is a traditional breakfast around these parts, especially when suffering from a hangover. I like it whenever I'm cold no matter the time of day. It's basically just a poor person's stew, but nevertheless I'll put a recipe here:

In a pressure cooker put about a pound of meaty bones (absolutely no idea how to translate whichever part of the cow they use - ask your butcher for advice! I've seen ribs used sometimes if you want something identifiable :D ) and a couple of (peeled) cloves of garlic. Add enough water to at least cover everything, preferably up to the "maximum" line in your pressure cooker.
Cook at pressure for at least 30 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more nutrients are released from the bones (and therefore the more flavour the liquid has, and the more superpowers better health you get).
When it's cooled enough to open (you can cheat and use the "quick release" method if you like) serve at least one piece of meat in each bowl and top up with the stock/broth/stew. Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander, and possibly raw (!) grated onion, and salt.

This will serve several people, or fridge the leftovers and eat it within a week. If you want, you can take the meat off the bones and use it in lettuce wraps or salads (or, if you're allowed them, arepas), and keep the liquid as a soup base/hot drink.

You can obviously make this in a normal (non-pressure) pot, but in that case you'll have to cook it for a lot longer.

Traditionally you should add some whole, peeled potatoes to the pot too, but as I'm eating carefully this month I'm obviously not allowed to. Same goes for the bread on the side, but I wasn't going to eat that anyway!

Day 14

Food:
Breakfast: huevos pericos, spinach, tiny piece of avocado (all that was left, sniff) and black tea
Lunch: steak, carrot, lettuce, red cabbage, mayo. Tiny piece of banana.
Snack: a whole banana!
Dinner: caldo (see next post for "recipe")
Snack: 3 very small oranges with cinnamon.

This is why I shouldn't eat much fruit - I ate so much today! And I had the annoying hunger that whines all day, instead of the sensible hunger that just means I need to eat. Even though fruit is healthy for so many reasons, it just triggers cravings in me :(



What I'm grateful for today:

  • having a real day off - no work, no taekwondo, no revision... just laziness :D
  • discovering that even raw bananas taste good now! I feel so mature now I'm less picky ;)
  • red nail varnish and the extra confidence it brings (like high heels)
  • watching movies with boyfriend and laughing at all the same things

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Day 13

Food:
Breakfast: huevos pericos, avocado, sauteed spinach, chai tea
Lunch: tuna + mayo, avocado, carrot, sauteed onions, lots of water to 'pre-hydrate'
Snack: strawberries (not bad as a comfort food) and LOTS of water to rehydrate
Dinner: roast chicken and plantain

Today it was difficult to eat well - before the exam I was nervous and wanted to pick at things - thankfully I resisted as jumping up and down is hard enough without having a too-full stomach! And after the exam I felt really bad and shaky (the adrenaline wore off and the test definitely counts as exercise so I was low blood sugar) and I just wanted to eat something chocolatey :( I didn't though! So....

Things I'm grateful for today:

  • not giving in and mindlessly eating all day
  • not giving in and comfort eating after the exam
  • the exam being over
  • having someone of my level in the same exam as me, instead of being the only adult at that belt
  • probably having passed
  • doing some really amazing high kicks (even though I do say so myself)
  • scoring more points (I think) in the combat than my partner, even though/because he was showing off with fancy techniques (I even kicked him in the head! That's three points!)
  • second chances - they let me try each breaking technique twice. Sadly I effed up the kick both times, but the second time I...
  • broke the board with "sable" (I don't know how to say that move in English.... but it's like a neck chop :D )
  • really nice people who took photos for me because everyone I know was either on a different continent or working. It worked out well for them as well, because halfway through the test their own camera battery ran out. 




Sergio and I in the exam. This is a hook kick (patada talon gancho), and he's holding the board at head height. FEAR ME! ;)

Friday, April 12, 2013

Day 12

Food:
Brunch: huevos pericos
Lunch: grill restaurant! Lots of meat (3 types of cow and giant guinea pig), plantain, guacamole, small piece of yuca, and a natural lemonade.
Party: two bottles of sparkling water (I have the exam tomorrow! What did you think I was going to drink :D )
Dinner: leftover meat, plantain and avcado.


What I'm grateful for today:

  • going to a PARTY!!!! (My first on this continent....)
  • having a boyfriend that treats me to lunch
  • finding out that out first restaurant is the best after all, and being proud that we had tried other restaurants before going back to the first instead of just relying on habit
  • meeting people who eat like me (but they don't exercise like me - they actually have muscles!)
  • getting a cheap taxi home - it was half what I'd braced myself for
  • dressing up and looking good
  • not being the tallest person in the room
  • knowing that some of my students got to meet lots of other interesting native speakers
  • having so many things to be grateful for

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Day 11

Food:
Breakfast: lots of coffee and coca tea
Lunch: steak, carrot, red cabbage, an entire cucumber, mayo
Chamomile tea before bed.

What I'm grateful for today:

  • unexpected compliments (Hi Vishala!)
  • knowing that, having persuaded a friend to eat clean this month with me, it's working for her too (more energy, no sugar cravings)
  • there only being two more days until my tkd exam... I want it over and done with!
  • having enough time yesterday to make this:

A timeline of all the Taekwon-Do history that I need to know for the exam (so far - they add more at each level). The blue are universal Taekwon-Do events, the green is specifically the history of tkd in Colombia, and the red is specifically my do-jang.  

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Day 10

Food:
Breakfast: chai tea, tuna, mayo, lettuce and carrot salad (with some sauteed onions too)
Lunch: steak, carrot, red cabbage, lettuce, mayo
Dinner: small steak, cucumber, mayo


What I'm grateful for today:
  • MY BROTHER COMING TO VISIT ME!!!!!!! (I will try not to put this everyday - you can take it as read that I'm grateful for it from now on :D )
  • having lost exactly a kilo already this month
  • my skin clearing up (not totally, but it's markedly better)

Day 9

Food:
Breakfast: lots of coffee in class, and homemade chicken broth at home.
Lunch: steak, carrot, lettuce and red cabbage salad with lime juice.
Snack: half a cucumber with salt


What I'm grateful for today:

  • sunshine - Bogotá is a bipolar city, and today it's in a good mood. So pretty!
  • not working tomorrow - lie in!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Day 8

Food:
Breakfast: huevos pericos, avocado, chai tea
Snack: chai tea with coconut milk
Lunch: steak, lettuce, carrot and red cabbage salad with mayo.
Snack: chai tea
Post tkd: chamomile tea, small steak and fried plantain


What I'm grateful for today:

  • getting to ride in the cabin of the bus next to the driver (space to sit and knit)
  • having a 15 minute lie in
  • Facebook - not just keeping in touch with people, but teaching on it too!
  • ordering things cheaply and from far away over the internet

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Day 7

Food:
Breakfast: coffee with lots of coconut milk
Lunch: Chicken and carrot/red cabbage salad with mayo and avocado
Dinner: steak with carrot, red cabbage and mayo
Pudding: fresh coconut (if only it were sold nearer my house)

Today I'm grateful for:

  • my new turquoise jacket - the first piece of clothing I've bought in months
  • the Virgilio Barco library - possibly the most beautiful and tranquil (when the train isn't passing) places I've ever given a lesson
  • being able to pay my rent and my tkd classes AND the tkd exam - phew!
  • having red hair
  • having done a "tabata sprint" and survived (I obviously didn't push myself hard enough!)


Saturday, April 6, 2013

Day 6

Food:
Breakfast: bulletproof coffee
Brunch: steak, carrot and red cabbage salad with mayo.
Snack: chai tea with lots of coconut milk
Dinner: chicken and plantain. (about half an hour later I'm hungry again... too much plantain!)


What I'm grateful for today:
  • having a whole week left before my tkd exam
  • emails from mum
  • a day off


Day 5

Food:
Breakfast: lots of coffee in class, chai tea and scrambled eggs with chorizo at home.
Dinner (no time for lunch): steak, small piece of fried plantain, an antire cauliflower (I missed lunch! I was hungry!) and a handful of peas, with mayonnaise.


What I'm grateful for today:

  • it being the weekend tomorrow
  • having had the opportunity to teach IELTS again
  • modern painkillers

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Day 4

Food:
Breakfast: lots of black tea with cinnamon and cloves
Lunch: large steak with carrots and peas and mayo. Lots more tea :)
Dinner: small steak with mayo and tomatoes. Small amount of chamomile tea.

It was going to be a fast day, but life happened and it was either eat vast quantities of chocolate or the above. Thankfully knowing that I'm not alone on this one helped me make the right choice :)

Today I'm grateful for:

  • it being payday tomorrow (in theory, at least!)
  • having such wonderful friends/colleagues who look after me at work
  • having such entertaining and intelligent students
  • being accountable (I feel much happier at the moment knowing I didn't give in and eat chocolate earlier, than I would be if I'd eaten it)

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Day 3

Food:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with chorizo, sauteed onion, and random spices, in lettuce wraps. Lots of black coffee (in class), and chai tea with coconut milk.
Lunch: steak, salad (only carrots and red cabbage) and mayo.
Snack: chai tea with coconut milk, and a carrot with mayo as a dip.
Post tkd snack: chamomile tea, and the left over scrambled eggs (like a spanish omelette - not too bad cold!)

What I'm greatful for today:

  • having such a knowledgeable taekwondo teacher. I have yet to ask him something he can't answer or isn't sure about (and if he's bluffing he's a really good actor!)
  • eating! after a fast day it feels like a treat
  • finding a paleo recipe for microwave cakes (actually several!)
  • not having a microwave so I can't break the Whole 30 :D

Day 2

Food:
Breakfast: black coffee; tea with cinnamon and cloves; tea with cinnamon, cloves and coconut milk
Lunch: steak (yum!) and salad with salt and lime juice instead of my usual mayo.
Post work snack: homemade chicken broth/stock.

Today I am grateful for:

  • my lovely students at the university
  • my amazing boyfriend who, when asked for directions to a local English school by a mother and daughter, proceeded to spend at least a quarter of an hour persuading them that they should contact me instead
  • having money in the bank (even if it's all coming out tomorrow to pay for health insurance)


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Day 1

Food:
Breakfast - huevos pericos (2), bulletproof coffee.
Lunch - pork chop, lots of salad, a bit of plantain.
Pre-tkd snack - too many almonds (a big handful) and fruit tea.
Post-tkd - chamomile tea.

Today I am grateful for:
still being on the high that you can only get from spending time with great friends - bbq yesterday
one last lie in before work starts on Tuesday
a new beginning - Monday, April, Whole 30
someone to do the Whole 30 with
my awesome tkd friends

Monday, April 1, 2013

The weigh in

Erk....

Today's statistics:
Weight: 66.9 (not bad considering how much I ate at a "family" bbq yesterday)
Bust:
Waist:
Hips:
Arms:

Before photos: