Category Archives: No nasties make from scratch

Healthy Eating…Obesity around the World…

 

 

Worldwide obesity figures are rising… with the rising of obesity then lifestyle diseases are on the increase and putting a strain on already stretched health services around the world which means longer waiting times to be seen plus as we/I get older I want to preserve my body as well as I possibly can which means I watch what I eat and I am walking more which is my preferred exercise…Sally over at Smorgasbord has been posting an excellent series on Morbid Obesity…Sally is a trained Nutritionist and her posts are very informative and helpful …Please head over by clicking the highlighted link above…I will leave all the important stuff we should know and the many tips to help us be in our best health to Sally as she is an expert…

My aim is to highlight the scale of the problem and to know that we are all part of the solution and are not alone in this…

This series is one I posted a couple years ago when I looked at worldwide figures and how it looks depending on where you live…I am a self-confessed nerd sometimes…smile…therefore I am repeating and updating this series…

But I also believe life is for living…Food is for enjoying… So what I have decided to do is some comparisons …Which wasn’t my plan initially for these posts… I was just reading and researching and saw a link which I clicked and three hours later and many links later this idea was born…

It started with a headline about obesity ...Country by country and percentages and then I got to thinking about the difference in lifestyles and options or just what we have always eaten…But then those stats began to make sense to me…

My diet has changed drastically since I have lived here and it is not just me who has lost weight we all have … Now I know that when it is hot, you sweat more and your appetite diminishes somewhat…You eat less!

But the food is also different and not just Chillies … I have added some pictures to the header picture of food which is on every menu and commonly eaten at home…

Firstly I will just pick out a random mix for the list below….countries where many of my readers come from or live I have also included the top and the bottom country… Just because I can but over the next couple of weeks I will look at what is commonly eaten to see if a pattern emerges.

There are 192 countries in this and I have also added the link just in case you want to see where you fit…

  • 192  is Timor-Leste with a percentage of 2.2% ( of their population are obese.)
  • 147 is Thailand with a percentage of  8.5%
  • 95 is Germany with a percentage of 20.10%
  • 66 is France with a percentage of 23.9%
  • 35 is Canada with a percentage of 28.0%
  • 33 is the Uk with a percentage of 28.10%
  • 31 is Australia with a percentage of 28.60%
  • 19 is the US with a percentage of 33.7%
  • 1 is the Cook Islands with a percentage of 50.80%

If you wish to check your country out here is the link https://renewbariatrics.com/obesity-rank-by-countries/

At the end of this little experiment, I will do a post o the 1st and last and see what the differences in diet and lifestyles are.

Eating habits here in Thailand… Meals are eaten together as a family and the meal could last a few hours as Thais enjoy their food but it is a social gathering… Whether it is at home or eating out you will see family and friends all together eating and sharing.

Much of the fruit and vegetables are eaten raw or very lightly steamed and everywhere you go to eat you will get your food plus a dish of fresh herbs and vegetables. The variety is awesome Thais forage a lot and I have given up being surprised at what is eaten.

Lily flowers ..you know the pretty white ones that generally drop overnight and are collected early morning they are a delicacy here to eat they are lightly steamed then the stamens are removed and the rest are eaten with a spicy fish sort of pate… Just fish pounded in a pestle and mortar with chillies, fish sauce, lime juice, and maybe dried shrimp or shrimp paste it depends.

The banana flower is a delicacy steamed and eaten with a spicy dip. The lotus flower the seed pods which are left when the flower has finished blooming are eaten.

banana flower 1

A Sticky rice pot filled with fresh rice is a staple here and everywhere you will see a pot..the tuk-tuk drivers have their little pots lovingly made by their spouses and the food stalls have some really massive ones absolutely enormous you could feed an army.

Food and time to eat food are very important here… We learnt very early on that you didn’t ask staff to leave their lunch and serve a customer… A definite no-no it could cause a mass walkout and if a Thai is hungry…Look out! You do not want to cross a hungry Thai…

The world stops here for food be it a bus or any form of transport… The foot is to the floor and every shortcut is taken …

If you break down what Thais eat there are few carbs, lots of raw fresh herbs and vegetables, Lots of eggs in various forms, lots of BBQ meats chicken, fish in salt, kidneys, sun-dried beef, pork and fish eaten with Som Tam( Papaya Salad) which again comes in many variations but with lots of tomatoes, beans, dried shrimp, chillies, peanuts, maybe some crab…

Thai Platter

A typical Thai meal of Som Tam, Mushroom soup, mushrooms just sliced and steamed with a very hot spicy dip some fresh vegetables, crispy pork scratching and sticky rice. Sometimes this will be served with steamed fish or just as it is…

This platter is slightly more substantial with the fish.

Mixed Thai Food

Out for the evening and a little more…

Thai platter in Phuket Town

This plate has rice noodles and some thick rice noodles, a little chicken, Som Tam, vegetables and herbs, bitter gourd and crispy garlic but if you look at all three they are very similar…A large percentage of the food is fresh raw vegetables or plain steamed noodles… Not too much fried or high in carbs quite natural …Not high on processed foods either…

I do think over the next few weeks when I explore other diets we will see where and how much the diets vary from country to country…most of this diet I did eat in the UK as we had a large Thai community near where we lived plus my daughter in law taught me how to cook Thai food and also to enjoy my food in its raw state rather than processed and cooked to death… Not too many nasties on those platters of food.

In Thailand food is to be enjoyed, It is fun and food is savoured, enjoyed and time is taken ..No rushing and bolting down of food but pure enjoyment and if full they talk and laugh and then eat some more… a meal can and does last for a few hours and then in no time at all the next meal is being planned…

I do hope you have enjoyed reading about the food I eat and how much my diet has changed but also how much my health has improved and I no longer eat food just because it is good for me …I eat because I love what I eat.

Thank you for joining me today as always I look forward to your comments which I will respond to when I return from Bangkok we are having a few days away x

Healthy Eating…How to eat great tasty food and lose weight…

 

Summertime and the living is easy by Ella Fitzgerald or a little more upbeat… In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry…

I love those songs they both epitomise sunny days. leisurely eating with friends and family… What are your favourite summer songs??

It also means enjoyable food and drinks…Food and drinks which are tasty and fun to eat… which when you have eaten leaves you pleasantly full but still able to play ball…stroll around the park in the sun or just be…

I love a nice iced tea…Green tea with a splash of fresh orange or lime juice, muddle some mint sprigs add some ice and top with sparkling water… Refreshing and healthy…

iced green tea

Or cucumber and mint is a lovely combo with sparkling water …

Fresh Coconut juice…One of my favourites… there are so many lovely drinks which are so easy to make either for one or make a jug full… Play with your flavours …Freeze some orange, pomelo, lemon or lime slices and just drop in your sparkling water…

Puree some lovely fresh ripe mango, pineapple, papaya and top up with ice and sparkling water with some lime juice anything goes …Have fun and create…

Not sweet enough add a little honey…

Now to food...What to eat… Take some lovely zucchini noodles…

zucchini- noodles

Stick some chicken fillets on the BBQ or under the grill and add some pesto …quick, easy, tasty and healthy…Below are my recipes for a green or pesto and some lovely light dishes using fresh herbs…

One of my favourite things is roasted lemons… the taste is sublime and cannot be beaten for me anyway it just sings of sunny days…

Roasted lemon and tomato salad

lemon-1187658_1920

Ingredients:

  • 1 lemon, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced, seeds removed
  • 1 tbsp thinly sliced fresh sage leaves
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1½ pounds mixed small tomatoes halved
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems
  • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Let’s Cook!

Pre-heat the oven 325F 160C

Add the lemon slices to a saucepan of boiling water and blanch for 2 mins…This removes the bitterness…Remove from the heat and pat dry.

Gently toss the lemon slices with the sage, sugar and 1 tbsp of olive oil then spread out on a baking tray lined with parchment and bake until lemons are dry and lightly coloured about 15-20 mins then set to one side to cool.

In a large bowl whisk the pomegranate molasses, allspice and 1 tbsp of olive oil season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the lemons, onion, tomatoes, parsley and mint..if the mint leaves are large then tear and toss gently to combine…

Taste to check to season and add more salt and pepper if required.

Enjoy!

Stuck for a tasty dressing this one is quick, easy and delicious…

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 3 tbsp chopped basil
  • 1/2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp capers.

Lets mix!

Measure all your ingredients into a bowl and gently muddle the herbs and capers to release the flavours…Season with freshly ground black peppers and use to season your favourite salad…

Lovely over a salad topped with some grilled sliced chicken or sliced grilled steak…

grilled chicken

This is such a brilliant way of tracking weight loss and no I haven’t seen it before ( I DON’T GET OUT MUCH) although I am sure some of you have…I just loved it!

https://tuesdayswithlaurie.com/2018/07/17/losing-your-marbles/

I hope this has given some ideas for some lovely fresh summer eating…What are your favourite summer recipes ??? Please tell me in the comments I love to hear from you.

Now…let’s not forget our friends whose temperatures are slightly cooler or heading that way …the tune that springs to mind is “Oh the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful. And since we’ve got no place to go. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…

When the weather turns cold we want soups and jacket potatoes, stews and warming curries and chilli con Carne…

Let’s make them just that little healthier but we won’t skimp on the taste…

Baked potatoes are the ultimate comfort food—starchy, warm and filling, they’re the perfect antidote to a chilly autumn night. It’s amazing how something so wholesome, so available and inexpensive could be so delicious too. But it’s true. And baked potatoes are also healthy…yes they are its what we load them with that may not be…

Swap your sour cream for Greek Yoghurt my choice anytime as I just love greek yoghurt…and not the low fat I go for the full-fat greek yoghurt,,, the difference per 100gms low-fat (59) calories and full-fat (95)calories…

Soup…when it’s cold outside there is nothing like a bowl of hot warming and tasty soup…personally although I eat meat I have never even as a child liked meaty soups I just love vegetable soups with my all-time favourite being a bowl of tomato soup…you can use any vegetables you like add some stock and to thicken your soup just take some of the vegetables out and give them a blitz and then add the mix back to your soup and viola you have a thicker soup if you make a batch and keep some in the fridge it will last for at least 5 days then whenever you are peckish or cold just make a cup of soup…

I love soup, most soups but my all-time favourite is tomato soup... Preferably made with fresh tomatoes but I also and this is a hankering back to my childhood love canned tomato soup and very occasionally I treat myself to a can of tomato soup…

Ingredients:

  • 8 or 9 tomatoes, cored and quartered
  • 3 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
  • 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 5 cups homemade vegetable broth
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • olive oil

Let’s Cook!

Tomato and Red Pepper Soup.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C

Grease two baking sheets and place tomatoes skin side down on one, then lightly coat the peppers and onions in olive oil and place on the other baking tray also throw the unpeeled garlic into the tray…Pop it in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes.

When the tomatoes and peppers are roasted heat your vegetable stock in a pan big enough to take the tomatoes and peppers. Add your roasted tomatoes and peppers to the vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

tomato-soup-482403_640

Allow your soup to cool slightly and then either using a stick blender or your liquidiser blend to your desired consistency… I prefer mine a little chunky. Taste and season.

Serve with a swirl of cream or natural yoghurt if liked…

 

Enjoy your week, and be happy and mindful xx

Healthy Eating… Added Sugars are your worst enemy…

Hello and welcome I am going to republish/update a selection of my Healthy Eating posts some of you may have already seen them before but for my new followers or if you want to recap… I hope you enjoy them… the aim of these Tuesday posts is to help you make the right choices for a healthy diet and a body that is a healthy weight that can also fight or help keep many diseases and illnesses at bay naturally.

One that has a healthy immune system however that doesn’t mean eating foods that taste like cardboard and it doesn’t mean never ever letting that piece of cake or chocolate ever past your lips again it means learning what food you need to be healthy and knowing that you can have the occasional treat …

It is about moderation, about enjoying those 2 squares of chocolate even more than when you demolished a whole bar and then felt guilty about eating it, so almost certainly you then starved yourself or ate those cardboard things called rice cakes for two days…I mean how tasteless are they???

But is that good for you?… Certainly not…

SUGAR…..Do we need it?

 

Yes…Your body does need carbohydrates, which are broken down into sugar in your body. This sugar is essential for your body to create energy to survive. However, it is not necessary to include sugary foods or added sugars in the diet in order for your body to make energy.

If we know our sugars and know how much we should be consuming in a day then that is the first step.

UK NHS guidelines:

  • Adults should have no more than 30 gm of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to seven sugar cubes).
  • Children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than 24 gm of free sugars a day (six sugar cubes).
  • Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19 gm of free sugars a day (five sugar cubes).
  • There is no guideline limit for children under the age of 4, but it’s recommended they avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and food with sugar added to it.

Free sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. These are the sugary foods we should cut down on.

It is not referring to the sugars which are naturally occurring in foods although some foods do have a naturally occurring high amount of sugar so it is knowing which food you can eat almost as you like although that word which I love does creep in here…Moderation!

But… eating a sensible amount as many foods with naturally occurring sugar are also packed with lots of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Therefore it makes sense to know your foods…Know which ones are high in sugar and which ones are lower in sugars…It means reading the ingredients on the packet and if sugar is in the first three ingredients then put it back!

 

Manufacturers I just love to hate are sneaky people and love to fool us… So if you see a label and don’t see the word sugar DO NOT think it is sugarless because those sneaky manufacturers have used another word like simple carbohydrates, honey, rice syrup, organic dehydrated cane juice, agave nectar, barley malt syrup, corn sweetener, fructose, invert sugar, high fructose corn syrup and it goes on… PLEASE check those labels carefully.

It is knowing what you can substitute for those high in sugar foods… It means making an informed decision about the food YOU eat and feed YOUR family.

You can still eat great food, tasty food so don’t think you are going to be deprived …You won’t..

I am now going to give you a little list of foods which are high in sugar and foods which are lower and also some suggestions as to an alternative…A healthier alternative.

Foods High in Sugars.

Cereal, Cereal Bars, Ketchup, Sauces, Flavoured teas, Fruit Juices, Soda’s, Flavoured yoghurt, Dried fruits… I think by now you should have got the gist… These are all processed foods…

Now just looking at that list what small adjustments can you make or do you make already??

Porridge Oats.

 

 

I love porridge oats..although I haven’t eaten it in a while with some homemade fruit compote or just fresh fruit, a lovely breakfast will keep you going until lunchtime.

Muesli

Honestly not for me..maybe if I made it…No…I have never been a fan but I know many people who just love it! ( At least) I am honest…lol

Shredded Wheat

Now, who can eat two shredded wheat???

Bran flakes

These I do like with a sliced banana…very nice.

Cereal bars…again why would you? But no accounting for taste and many of my friends and family love them…Check the labels.

It is as I have always said it is about eating the food …You like!

Ketchup…Homemade ketchup is far better and also less sugar.

Sauces… Sauces come in jars and packets and almost certainly are packed full of preservatives, salt and sugar…What can I say I have always made my own gravy and sauces…even if you just use the meat juices in the pan and add a dash of wine …

I have six children all grown up now but with me and hubby that was 8 to feed and that was without the kid’s friends …etc, etc…To buy packets and jars I would have needed a trolley just for that for a month… No brainer I made my own … It is amazing what spurs you on to do that…Isn’t it???

Fruit Juice…

Again with all my lot …I learnt to buy fruit in season, make juice and top it up with sparkling water…I will also add that was a treat… Water was the drink of choice …Pure and simple…WATER!

Sodas…

I was a mean mum… Soda’s were a treat at Christmas…

Now I know how much sugar is in them… 39.2 grams of sugar per serving, which is almost 10 teaspoons of sugar… I don’t feel mean at all…

Flavoured yoghurt.

A quick tip: Natural or plain full-fat yoghurt will contain about 4.7g of sugar per 100 gm, but this is lactose, not fructose. Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar in dairy and doesn’t affect the body in the same way that fructose does.

Some fruit flavoured yoghurt has as much as the equivalent of 7 tsp of sugar…

From where I am standing you would only need a can of soda pop or a pot of yoghurt and you would be over your recommended daily guidelines.

Buy natural or Greek yoghurt or make your own …I think Yoghurt needs to be a separate post…Don’t you??

Fresh Fruit…Who doesn’t love fresh fruit there is so much choice and it is a good choice but fruit also has sugar and although it is naturally occurring sugar some fruits are better than others.

Dried fried has a higher concentration of sugar but eaten in moderation it is also high in fibre and vitamins so when choosing also look at that…

Which fresh fruits have the highest amount of sugar??

Grapes, lychee, Figs, Mango, Cherries which are all fruits I love but I still eat them just apply some common sense and although I love figs and they are high in sugar I couldn’t or wouldn’t eat that many anyway… They also have a laxative effect.

A few of each…I could just dive in now.

 

Olives( Yes) it is a fruit, avocado, rhubarb, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi are all fruits which are lower in sugar and all fruits which I absolutely love…

 

That’s all for this week’s healthy eating… I do hope you have enjoyed it I am looking forward to your comments  ….Thanks, Carol xxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Eating…My personal journey…No fads just commonsense…

Good morning from sunny Thailand…For quite a while now I have spoken about healthy eating and have told you about my weight loss but not in any depth and some of you may think yeah, yeah…

This week (and) I have never liked my photos taken… there are not many of me which I really like…But on this post I am baring all ( not) quite..haha…for those who thought ..You wouldn’t …haha…That would be too much information…

I wasn’t an overweight child or teenager…my weight piled on when I had my kids…Then began the yo-yo years…I fluctuated from 8 stone nothing to 16 stone something… I tried many diets some more successful than others…I tried many types of exercises…What did I learn from all that? I hate aerobics…I hate being in a class full of sweaty bodies…

gym-room-1180062_640

I discovered walking…No sweaty bodies…I can free my mind…I see more of life and people…The furthest I have walked …26.2 miles …I completed the London Moon Walk…Whether you run or walk 26.2 miles is a marathon…I did it! A few years ago now but I did it!

Now to bare all…Never before published pictures of moi…

Before…

The one on the right is me at my heaviest…I will now go through what I eat instead of what I did…No fads, not a diet, just commonsense…Eat this…Not that!

We see so much in the press and media or supermarket ads ...It is a minefield ..so I am going through what I have learnt and apply to what I eat…Also what I feed my family as everyone likes different foods…

Breakfast  Cereals…

I will use granola as an example…It conjures up that healthy image as it contains nutritious nuts, seeds, oats and fruit…It also contains more sugar than a can of coke…

Porridge, shredded wheat or Weetabix are what we eat…

muesli-3186256_1920 porridge fruit

If you really like granola and my family does sometimes then make your own…you then control what is in it and it will most likely be cheaper…  It takes 5 minutes to make and makes enough for 4 servings…

For the granola

  • 100 g organic bran
  • 150 g organic jumbo porridge oats
  • 25 g sesame seeds
  • 100 g walnuts
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 5 tbsp maple syrup
  • 100 g  mixed fruit, such as Medjool dates and cherries.

Serve with …Greek yoghurt( not ) greek style yoghurt, fresh blueberries, pear, apple, kiwis, pineapple, mango any fresh fruit of your choice just chopped, cored and if necessary peeled.

Mayonnaise …I do buy it sometimes… although time permitting I make my own…

Light means lighter…RIGHT?

By law food to be labelled light, lite or lighter, reduced fat or low fat must in the UK be 30% lighter than the full-fat product in the US it is 50% or more calories from fat are required to have a 50% reduction of fat in light versions. Translated it means if the original product is high in fat the light version may still contain a lot of fat…So it could still be high in fat and also higher in added sugar to enhance the taste because there is less fat…

Well…After all that malarky…I just opt for the normal version as considering how much and how often I eat it…which is not often…I do not want to skimp on flavour…

All this low-fat is better than the high-fat trend is now proving that after all these years of telling us to eat low fat or no fat… to have been not true…We are now being told it is the type of fat, polyunsaturated fats are good fats…Trans fats are bad…

What are the worst trans fat offenders?

thai style fried chicken

In no particular order…Deep-fried Food, Pie Crust, Margarine, Shortening, Microwave popcorn, Animal fat and dairy, Store brought cakes and Cookies, Biscuits, Creamy frozen Drinks( Dairy Queen), Crackers, Non-dairy Creamers, pancake/waffle mixes…Basically, deep-fried fast foods, processed foods, packet mixes, store-bought cakes and biscuits all sugary processed foods…

What do I do…Cook from scratch…limit animal fat and dairy although in animal fat it is naturally occurring trans fat and in smaller amounts….This is where my favourite word keeps popping up…Moderation…Most of the above foods you can cook from scratch at home or use a healthier alternative…

It is all about knowing what the food you like to eat contains…Yes, it means a bit of research but if you want to lose weight and or be healthier …so be it!

What fats can you eat?… Not all fats are bad…

There are lots of good, tasty fresh foods which we can eat…Oily fish, salmon, sardines, mackerel, avocado, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, Olive oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, Butter(grass-fed), meat and cheese( in moderation).

Sugar… is labelled in many different ways…

I came across coconut flower sugar and syrup the other week…It was in the smallest of glass jars with a healthy-looking labelled and the price tag wasn’t healthy but a tad on the high side…

I didn’t buy it but did come home and do my research…Sugar is sugar and they may be natural and unrefined and just slightly better for you but …It’s Sugar! Added sugars are even worse…

What do I do...I never take sugar in drinks anyway but I do restrict foods high in sugar i.e chocolate…sweets…sodas…yoghurts…fast food…cereal bars…cereals, sauces…milkshakes…grape juice…These I limit or avoid…

Fresh Vegetables…we eat lots of fresh vegetables either steamed or raw …

I know many people don’t eat as much as they should of fresh vegetables …Maybe they juice and just swallow because quite frankly some of those juice options are pretty awful I would rather eat the fresh vegetables…You will never get your 5 a day by juicing and juicing also means you lose some of the fibre. We need fibre in our diet…Don’t we?

Oil…

olive oil

I use different oils depending on what I am making or cooking…My main ones are Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Nut Oils or Ghee…There are so many different oils but check on which is the healthiest oil depending on what you are making no one size fits all with oil as they all have different burning points.

Salt…

The debate lingers on and opinions are still divided…I use locally produced salt and always taste before adding extra…As it is very hot and humid here we need to keep our salt levels up…

I do however limit my intake of cured meats, pickles, table salt, crisps and savoury snacks…

Eggs…

Again eggs have been the subject of many warnings over the years it all depends on how many you eat and how you cook them…If you are eating fried eggs every day with other fried foods, of course, you will gain weight…If you poach, make a cloud egg or boil your eggs then they are much healthier I also think it enhances the taste of the egg…

Alcohol…

The biggest contributor to my weight loss has been reducing the alcohol I drink…which of course included the soda…double whammy…The common consensus is that a good red wine benefits your health again …every day?…

I will tell you a little story…One of my besties worked in a bar for many years if she served you a drink in her home it was a pub measure…None of the just take the top off and pour which more often than not is what most people do…I know I did…

She had a health problem and went to the doctors who arranged for blood tests…The outcome was that although she measured her 2 evening drinks it was effecting her liver…To say she was upset is putting it mildly as we both knew people who drank far more without any apparent health problems…

The bottom line is we are all individuals and have different tolerance levels…her tolerance level to a regular sundowner was lower than mine…It took longer for my regular sundowners to have an effect on my health but they did eventually…Cutting right down to an occasional drink has proved beneficial in many ways for me…I sleep better and have lost a lot of weight…

Water…

drop falling into water

 

I always make sure I drink plenty of water and green tea…Although green tea does contain caffeine depending on the type /variety of green tea it does vary…I drink No.12 Oolong green tea which is lower in caffeine than some of the others…

Cheat days/weekends…

I have always advocated that eating healthy doesn’t mean deprivation or cardboard foods and never eating that burger, pizza or doughnut again…

Make sure you plan your cheat …Plan when and what you are going to eat…Most experts agree that one cheat day per week is sufficient. It’s a good idea to line up that cheat meal on a weekend or social occasion. By planning your cheat meal, you know what you’ll be eating and can cut a few extra calories earlier in the day…

By planning you can pick a favourite food or meal instead of just raiding the fridge randomly or running up and down the sweet or cake aisle and just picking up anything…

If you are going out for a meal and planning to splurge …pick what it is going to be…Will it be the breadbasket…dessert or a few cocktails? Focus on one and enjoy it without going overboard…If it is the lovely bread basket opt for that dessert next time…

In all honesty, I could not splurge on all three now…I just couldn’t eat all that…One cocktail would fill me up…As you lose weight your taste buds change and the amount you can comfortably eat diminishes… 

So don’t cheat when you are famished, cheat in moderation and plan…

You can minimize the damage of a cheat meal the day of your feast by being careful about what you eat maybe reduce the carbs and eat a nice big salad with boiled eggs instead of potato… or fast before the meal. In other words, if you’re cheating at dinnertime, move your first meal to later in the day (lunchtime). Reducing the number of hours you’ll be eating not only saves you calories, but it also shifts your body into a fat-burning state.

To summarise…After picture…Not a great one… I will try to get a better one…

Me sept 3rd 2019

I don’t starve myself but I know what I eat and what it contains…I practise intermittent fasting as it works for me…I have mainly reduced my alcohol massively and soda…I have increased my green tea consumption.

I eat very little processed foods and cook from scratch…I don’t eat low-fat foods I just enjoy proper food but moderate my intake.

I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.

My main carb is rice, I eat little bread, pasta or potatoes mainly because I prefer rice or sweet potatoes…I do like nice bread so as a treat I make sourdough or soda bread. Pasta I eat maybe once a month the same with white potatoes they are not my favourite carbs.

My total weight loss from beginning to end is 6 stone or 38.10 kilograms…All done by just increasing my walking and cutting down alcohol, soda and processed foods…I feel much better and my aim is to lose another half a stone …I thought 1 stone but have been outvoted by my family…We will see how I feel and what happens…

I hope this helps many of you as I do not ban anything…I eat what I fancy just not all at once or on a regular basis but if I want some pork crackling or a donut I will have one…It is all about what you eat and how much…It is about knowing your food and your body…It is about being sensible and not binging all day and every day…We are indeed what we eat…

Both myself and Sally from Smorgasbord cover lots of subjects and foods and help with understanding how different foods help you maintain good health…You don’t need expensive foods or diets just commonsense and knowledge…All you need to do is keep an open mind, fads, diets and food fashions are consistently changing. Scientific research frequently disproves previously held beliefs, diets and lifestyles…Think low-fat…

What works for one person because of their individual body shape, metabolism, DNA or underlying health condition may not work for another person.

A healthy balanced diet with moderate amounts of the bad foodstuff coupled with regular exercise is your best chance of staying well…

Healthy - Vegetables- Fruit- Lady

Healthy Eating

That’s all for today I hope your healthy eating is going well…I hope these tips will help guide you through your healthy eating and weight loss journey…

If you have any particular diagnosed dietary requirements or deficiences then Sally’s and my new series starts on Wednesday with Calcium and Magnesium deficiencies…Sally with her vast nutritional knowledge and I provide the recipes.

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 there are now regular columns on my blog this year. It is important that we are mindful of the world we live in…

 

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!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  MeWe

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: 

Connect to Carol

Blog: 
Twitter: 

Facebook: 

Pinterest: 

Email:

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a lovely week, stay safe  xx

 

 

Healthy Eating… No More Diets…The plan that works…It really does…BUT read what can happen when you really don’t!

Welcome to this week’s Healthy Eating…

To say I have read something which has just shocked me to the core is an understatement…

IF you don’t want to read my rant then please ..Don’t… go and read a post about growing roses because it seems to me that most people see the world through a pair of rose coloured glasses anyway…

pink lens glasses

I mean what do I know???

Having raised 6 children, always worked and had to budget…Life wasn’t a bed of roses…My mother and grandmother taught me how to cook…I, in turn, passed that on…Some of my children embraced that early on …A couple not until they had a home of their own …They are now all great cooks…Home cooks …They know how to shop…The boys included…I made no distinction between the sexes…

They all had their jobs…Before they went to school…

Eating…I don’t do fussy eaters…My way was if they ate most vegetables and hated sprouts as a couple of them did…I didn’t give them sprouts…We all have foods we don’t like …However, as adults they now love sprouts…Our taste buds change and develop…FACT…

I introduced foods in many ways…In a stew, soup or stir fry…

I let them choose (sometimes)…What shall we have for dinner tonight??? Let them help me cook…But if you cook you also help clear up…Oh yes!

I encouraged them to grow some of the food… we only had a small garden but we used pots,  grow bags and raised beds…What they grow they eat..especially if they help cook…

We used to make amazing pizza topped with all sorts…and huge …Well, 6 kids eat a lot plus any stray friends…

My point…I always have one of those…Coupled with an opinion…Haha…Are you enjoying the post on how to grow roses or are you still with me???

I could never understand why my mushrooms didn’t grow? They were in a warm, dark cupboard in the kitchen…Jamie.!..He used to sneak in and eat them raw…Got you!…Haha

Who by the way is now an excellent cook…and shopper…

What did shock me today????

Teenager ‘first in the UK’ to go deaf and blind due to a junk food diet, a report reveals…

I checked the doctor out, the reports…as much as I wanted to…I am just appalled…

The 17-year-old lived off a daily portion of chips, crisps, white bread and processed meat for around a decade.

His poor diet, which resulted in a number of vitamin deficiencies, led to the boy developing a condition called nutritional optic neuropathy (NON). 

All these names and tags which kids are labelled with now just amazes me…My label Spoilt Brats!

So what was it that stopped me in my tracks…..?????

This is an excerpt from that article …

Dr Denize Atan, of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, who co-authored the report published in Annals of Internal Medicine, and treated the patient, said there is a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals and the public about the link between poor diet and sight loss.

My Question …Why?

“What’s unusual about this case is the extreme picky eating and the fact it had gone on for quite some time, that the diagnosis had been missed and the visual loss had become permanent,” Dr Atan told The Daily Telegraph.

My Question…Why?

“The link between poor nutrition and vision has been known about for quite some time, at least among specialists in neuro-ophthalmology. The problem is that awareness among other health professionals isn’t quite so high.” ….

My question…WHY?

Scientists have previously raised concerns that the majority of British diets are increasingly made up of poor quality, processed foods….

My other question …Why ???

That short paragraph raised and rung lots of bells for me…

  1. So health professionals don’t inform the public…Health professionals don’t share information between themselves…Scientists either don’t speak out or are not listened to…
  2. Governments are deaf or don’t listen to health professionals or Scientists …
  3. Manufacturers only care about profits and governments take handouts …
  4. Celebrities endorse lots of things for huge payments and no comebacks…
  5. Joe Public believes what they read, watch or just don’t care…
  6. Those that do care are not listened to…

Rose-coloured spectacles…once again…The result some poor kid goes blind and deaf…

This poor kid had B12 and lots of other deficiencies… Poor bone density…The list is endless his life is shite before it has hardly begun and all for a plate or carton of this! or similar for the past decade…

burger-1140824_640

If you want to read it all…Click here

Normal service will be resumed next week...I will tell you however that after my little Jolly…My weight stayed the same …I enjoyed the red wine and ate some lovely food and found some new foods…

Until then if you stayed with through my rant …Thank you 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!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3 

 

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: 

Connect to Carol

Blog: 
Twitter: 
Facebook: 

Pinterest: 

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

 

Eat Smart, Eat Healthily and lose weight…No gimmicks just common sense.

Good morning everyone…I think after all these wacky diets and yes I have another one for you today…Just so it highlights the lengths some people go-to for a quick fix…Quick fixes never work…All of us here are in for the long haul…It stays off…FACT…We love our food…FACT…We limit but not exclude completely some food…FACT…I  ♥ Fudge… A DEFINITE FACT…

I also have a great success story…I love it when you guys feel comfortable enough with these Tuesday posts to know that there is no blame and shame here…Just good days and bad days…But hey…That’s’ life …

Whoever you are rich or poor, privileged or under privileged …Life has its ups and downs…We are the master of our failure or success…Just us…

Life has the habit of throwing a curveball at us or just getting in the way…Sometimes it is just not the right time we need to be kind to ourselves…We need to know it is ok to start again tomorrow…

I will now hand you over to Pete Springer...Retired Teacher and Author who will tell you how he succeeded…eventually …The up’s and the down’s told with honesty…   

So please pop over and read Pete’s story and leave a comment as he deserves a big congratulations...

Well Done… Pete.

A helping hand adventure-1807524_640

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Pete … I chose this image as we all need a helping hand and I  had this fleeting thought about adding a rousing rendition of Climb every mountain at the Last night of the proms….But I thought that was taking it a tad too far and showing my age just a bit too much…Haha

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

If anyone else would love to share their journey up’s or downs. successes or failures we are all in this together….Don’t be shy…I look forward to hearing from you…x

A question???

questions-1922476_1920 (1)

Last week I posted a recipe for snack bars…One of the ingredients was coconut oil which not everyone likes or may have an allergy to …

The question from Michelle at macjam47… Was…

Your snack bars look delicious! I plan to make them, but my husband doesn’t like anything with coconut or even smells like coconut. I will trade out the coconut oil for another healthy oil. Any suggestions?

I suggested olive oil which I have used when cooking (brownies) Two other healthy oils are grapeseed or avocado oil neither of which I have used in snack bars I don’t know if any other readers have…?????

Can anyone advise on this, please???

Recipe Corner…

It does seem that sunny days are happening around the world and if they are not and you want soup then give shout and you shall have soup but for now some light summer recipes…

This recipe was just sort of made up ..we had a friend staying with us from England and decided to steam some fish the Thai way but it was too big for our steamer so instead we baked it in the oven covered with foil and just removed the foil 5–10 minutes from the end of cooking and it was very nice. Ideal for a summer evening or brunch with salad…

Sea Bass with Lime, Ginger and Fennel.

Fish with Lime and fennel

Ingredients:

  • 2  Sea bass/ Bream or Carp – whole, scaled and gutted
  • Bunch fennel fronds or you can use while fennel sliced we just stuffed the cavity with the fennel fronds.
  • 3 Shallots – peeled and halved (for fish cavity)
  • 1  Bulb Garlic – unpeeled, halved (for fish cavity)
  • Thumb of Ginger – Sliced finely (for fish cavity)
  •  Lemon or Lime, (remove the skin because the skin makes it bitter) this was a tip I picked up after we had made ours… from my  Thai daughter in law…. Always something to learn about cooking…

For the Sauce:

  • Dark & Light Soy Sauce
  • A splash of coconut oil  or a splash of Chilli Oil
  • Sugar
  • Lime
  • Fresh Chilli

Garnish (optional)
Few sprigs Coriander chopped
Spring Onions – sliced longways

Let’s Cook!

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Place the fish on a baking tray.

Prepare the vegetables and stuff inside the fish and around the tray. Make some diagonal cuts across the fish and push in a slice of lime… Drizzle with some olive oil and cover with foil.
Bake for 40 mins, then remove the foil and turn up to 250 C for a further  5-10 mins till skin is golden brown and crispy.

Fish with lime and fennel (2)
Rest for 5 minutes…Serve and enjoy!

Minimal fuss and time in the kitchen and delicious…

Wacky Diet Corner…The Sirtfood Diet…

I must be living in a bubble as I have never heard of half of these supposedly great diets…So here goes this is what I have deduced from my research…If anyone has tried it and disagrees and finds it a positive diet plan which works long term then please spill the beans…

For the first 3 days, you drink this green juice 3 times a day and eat a sirtfoods dinner…The aim is you consume no more than 1000 calories for the first 3 days…The juice drinks are 90 calories each which is 270 calories so your evening meal should be no more than 730 calories and not to be eaten before 7.30 in the evening…

To make the juice you need a juicer, not a blender or Vitamix as apparently, it then tastes like green sludge…A blender and you must purchase the diet book for the Sirtfood recipes…No guesses to where my thoughts are leading me…

Sirtfood Green Juice

  • 75 grams (2.5 oz) kale
  • 30 grams (1 oz) arugula (rocket)
  • 5 grams parsley
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 cm (0.5 in) ginger
  • half a green apple
  • half a lemon
  • half a teaspoon matcha green tea

Juice all ingredients except for the green tea powder and lemon together, and pour them into a glass. Juice the lemon by hand, then stir both the lemon juice and green tea powder into your juice.

Now matcha green tea can be expensive..kale you may only be able to buy in season and the buckwheat noodles for your evening meal may also prove to be hard to find and expensive…

There are no long term studies to back up these thought processes and excuse me for being the sceptic here but I have to buy a juicer, purchase a book and if I don’t already purchase foods, not on my everyday shopping list…that is another expense…

This smacks of trying to include foods we all know are healthy for us and foods which most people like to indulge in ( clever)…It also smacks of exclusion which is not healthy long term, profiteering..hush thy mouth, Carol…And to top it all a diet no one could sustain for any length of time and if they did and then resumed normal eating would then pile on the lbs…

Thoughts anyone???

No more...Diets Healthy eating 30th October

That’s all for this week I do hope you will read Pete’s remarkable story of weight loss success by just eating sensibly and increasing his exercise…

It is sustainable and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg…It is just healthy eating and some exercise…

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this and that it proves helpful to you in your healthy eating journey xx

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!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3 

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 creative week ahead x