Hello and thank you for joining me on my journey to fitness…The talk I gave myself last week worked…I cannot believe I have been so good and focused…

I have kept myself busy and had regular walks but is it getting hot so I go early or after the midday sun but as soon as I step foot indoors I start to leak…

Today is day 7 of no booze aka sundowners, No added sugar, lots of fruit, no bread. I will admit though WHEN I get my first sourdough loaf out of the oven…I will be sampling it with lashings of grass-fed butter. No, if’s…No But’s… I will ENJOY!

When being the operative word as I am struggling with this sourdough starter…In fact, it is becoming an obsession…I am now on Take 3.

The second one unlike the first one which was lively from the second day …was a very slow starter…Same flour, same water, same place…

It kept forming a skin and started to go mouldy…

Armed with my list I went shopping… whole wheat flour, wild rice and a very nice Golden Lily Oolong Green tea, kilos of mandarins and strawberries was my haul.

I am now on Day 3 which I started with wholemeal flour… it soon started getting lively and today I fed it with all-purpose flour…having ditched the expensive unbleached flour I started out with…Fingers crossed third time lucky …haha

Yesterday I ate my first wild rice ( I swapped) it for white rice and it was beautiful…Wild rice is one of my favourite kinds of rice and my aim is to increase my fibre as my research tells me that most of the population do not eat their recommended daily amount of fibre.

Let’s look at fibre in our diet…

Our diet should contain 30 gm of fibre a day the average daily intake is 18 gm…By my maths just over half…

It seems that the Western diet is the culprit…Heavily based on refined highly processed foods like white bread, pasta, rice, cakes,, biscuits and sweets…It seems to me that most TV adverts, Bill Boards, In-store advertising, placement of food and special offers like BOGOF are all promoting these foods…Think about it you go out shopping with your list and the healthy foods you want to buy…Are they on the Bill Boards, on special offer or being promoted???   I think that is a big resounding NO!

During the processing of these refined foods, most are stripped of their fibre and vitamins and minerals…Why? Well, it may make some easier to digest and save our gut from working too hard…But at what cost…They offer little in the way of nourishment for our bodies and certainly don’t help our gut to stay healthy.

There is nothing to say we cannot eat those foods but the healthier version…

The rice I opted for was Kaipa Wild Rice which is grown by the Royal Project Foundation in the North of Thailand…Many of the hill tribes here are growers which operate under the Royal Project which was started to help the hill tribes. The Royal Project was initially established in 1969 by His Majesty King Bhumibol to support farmers in rural areas to plant crops instead of planting opium. Initially, it was a voluntary project cooperated by many famous universities in Thailand such as Kasetsart University, Maejo University, and Chiang-Mai University. Nowadays, the Royal Project has travelled throughout the country covering Chiang-Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Phayao, and Mae Hong Son we also have a Royal Project shop here in Udon Thani where produce is sold from these farmers all fruit and vegetables are sold in season and it is lovely because I can find unusual fruits and vegetables which cannot be found in larger stores although sometimes I get something once and then not again for a while they only stock what comes in rather than having the same regular deliveries which is nice…

This is what I found out about the differences in rice… I know Asia is the centre of rice production which means there are many varieties available here…My favourite is wild rice, black rice also known as raspberry rice and brown rice…Just look at the health benefits…

Cooked wild rice has about 30 per cent fewer calories than brown rice as well as 40 per cent more protein. It also contains more fibre, potassium and zinc. … Both options are gluten-free and rich in antioxidants and both make nutritious and delicious alternatives to white rice.

Wild rice is a special type of grain that’s chewy and tasty. It’s higher in protein than regular rice, and it contains several important nutrients and an impressive amount of antioxidants. What’s more, eating wild rice regularly may improve heart health and lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.

While whole grain brown rice and red rice also contain beneficial antioxidants, only black rice contains anthocyanin. Additionally, black rice also contains important antioxidant Vitamin E, which is useful in maintaining eye, skin, and immune health in addition to other important functions.

How can we increase our fibre content…

How about doing a straight 50/50 swap? Half your meat in your shepherd’s pie, chilli, curry or spag bol and replace with lentils. this vegetarian chilli is a recipe my friend Richard shared with me…You could either half the lentils and add half meat or use all lentils for your meat-free day

Vegetarian chilli. ( or 50/50)

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery finely chopped
• 1 tomato finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 chillies
• 125 gm mushrooms chopped
• A handful of chopped green beans
• 100 gm black lentils
• 1 tbsp each of fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar
• Basil Leaves

Put all your ingredients in a pot and cook as normal ensuring lentils are cooked through.

I did add a couple more tomatoes and some kidney beans to Richards original recipe….I also soaked my lentils… he doesn’t as he likes his lentils al dente…

Cooking is all about personal taste and I sometimes just chuck it in the pot and take it from there… That’s how I cook most of the time and TASTE…

Making burgers or meatballs replace some of the meat with rolled oats and just increase your herbs and spices to balance the flavours.

Sprinkle chopped nuts, chia seeds or flaxseed to your yoghurt or salads which will give you another texture to your food and up your fibre intake.

Bread, pasta, rice all come in whole grain versions (see my paragraph on rice above) Bread eat whole grain and try other kinds of rice I think they have more taste. When you are baking swap even half your flour and to be honest depending on what you are making no one will notice but you will be increasing your fibre.

Roasted vegetables and potatoes cooked with the skins on will all increase your fibre intake and your flavour intake as refined foods are pretty bland are they not?

Have a meat-free day and experiment with plant-based foods in fact if you have been either reading the news or my other posts the Canadian Government is really promoting pretty much the same as I am…They are obviously concerned about the health of the nation and doing something about it…Here is the link if you haven’t seen it already

There are so many ways you can increase your fibre but take it easy and do it gradually we don’t want any upset tummies, do we?

I have started increasing my fibre by changing the type of rice I  eat as I eat more rice than any other options like pasta, bread or potatoes. Veggies I always leave the skins on anyway but if you don’t like skins or the kids don’t throw them away make veggie chips most kids love the crispy skins or chop some skins and make Pakora which is what I am doing this week I will give you the recipe and our thoughts on Friday…

Have I noticed a difference cutting out the sundowners and changing my rice and increasing my fruit intake…Yes, I have more energy and I have dropped a couple of lbs my tummy is not bloated…

Personally, unless I was medically advised I would not follow any eating plan or eat anything I didn’t like …We should enjoy our food and also enjoy how it makes us feel and like a new dress or a new pair of those shoes we have wanted forever cutting out the crap makes you feel good and I have more money in my purse which means I will be able to get that new laptop I desperately need much quicker…

Thank you for reading this post I am happy that you joined me today for our little chat on how we can improve the health of both our body and our purse/wallet.

I hope you thought so  too xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx