The dieting 'aha' revelation.

When I encounter people I haven't seen since before my diet began, before I lost the weight, they always seem to ask me 'what changed?', 'what was your aha moment when you realised you wanted to change?', or 'something must have clicked, something always has to click, what was it?'. The internet is littered with people talking about their personal moments and the things which hit home for them - that didn't happen to me. I did not have an 'aha' moment.

I was unhappy with myself and my body as much as tried to hide it. Clothes never fit me, I would wear the same jeans day after day because nothing else fit - even if I'd had the inner thighs mended 2/3 times that wouldn't deter me. When I was told one pair could not be fixed again I attempted to patch them up myself. I would yell at my family, have screaming matches every other day saying that if they loved me they would accept for who I was and what I looked like instead of constantly forcing me to try and diet. With all this occurring I knew I was overweight but never acknowledged it or felt the need to really do anything about it. I never had a 'my life must change now' revelation.

Pronokal is actually something that my mum discovered - she pushed and nagged for about three months before I finally agreed to give it a try and I'm so grateful that it worked for me. As I said, there was no moment when I looked at myself/felt particularly bad/had any type of trigger and said 'yes, now I'm ready to change my life' and just went on a life changing diet. No I didn't want to be fat but that was not a revelation, I simply saw that pronokal was working and I found it easy to follow therefore I continued.

What I hope you can take away from this story is: don't wait for an 'aha' or 'life changing' moment. Don't make waiting for that moment an excuse. Don't make every moment 'the' moment that you turn your life around. It's unnecessary. You don't need some huge revelation - just a plan that you think is good and the rest will follow.

Good luck
Ellie

Keto style 'chips'.

Today I was craving good old British Fish and Chips with batter and salt and vinegar. That wasn't going to happen so I decided to improvise.

I'm having Salmon which is technically (not at all) not allowed on pronokal however it is on Atkins so whatever -  It's a compromise, and okra chips. I came across a really simple recipe a few months ago and whenever I find fresh okra I make it.

I'm not great with fish so I would recommend finding your own recipe but the okra I'm getting really good at - probably because it's so simple. Just 4 ingredients including the okra.

My plate may not be neat but they were still finished within minutes... 

1) Okra 150g
2) salt to taste
3) curry powder (sometimes I substitute smoked paprika)
4) 1 tsp of olive oil

Mix them together and you get the consistency of gooey chips(or fries if you're in the US) which don't have the slight sliminess often associated with okra.

This is pretty much exactly from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08KqySWG0gA&list=UUj0V0aG4LcdHmdPJ7aTtSCQ

The only change I've made is removing the pepper and upping the salt content - just for my personal taste.

Dannie recomends cooking the Okra for about 15 minutes, I usually cook them for about 20 but watch them after the 15 minute mark as they can burn easily - so good and seriously addictive. Just make sure you don't have too many as these are a B list higher cab vegetable.

A diet exploration - from keto to vegan? Nah.

As I've gotten more interested and invested in both cooking and my health I started to look around me for a good way to eat healthily after I was finished with pronokal and whilst I have had 'off periods' on this diet where I ate pretty normally (cooked my own meals and kept it lower carb but included fruit and dairy) I started looking at other options.On this quest I somehow stumbled upon veganism - specifically something called 'raw till four' then as a sideline fully raw and just everything vegan. I found it really interesting just because it was the complete opposite of what I was doing. I was eating less than 10 grams of carbs a day and no sugar whatsoever, not even from a natural source whilst this 'movement' was all about nothing but fruit till 4pm and then stuffing yourself on carbs.

I knew I could do this diet as it was no less extreme than the pronokal one I'd already embarked upon but ultimately I got annoyed before I'd even started. Not with the food on offer - with the people. As I started to do my serious research I started coming across more and more excessively obnoxious people and got irritated to the point where I didn't want to be anything like them. I wasn't going to come into this diet because meat is murder and milk is rape and blah blah blah wah wah wah. This change that I'm undergoing is for me and no one else. I came across the self righteous comments about 'true vegans' caring about the animals and their rights and if you didn't care about them and were doing it for yourself you weren't a 'true vegan'. There was so much infighting among the different 'sects' of veganism that it felt like a religion with break away factions and an attempt to gain knowledge often seems to be met with ridicule and cruelty. I had heard that consumption of meat makes a person aggressive and can say clearly that if that is the case there are a lot of vegans cheating on their diets.

There was so much condemnation and apparently it was so disappointing to each of these people personally that Ellen Degeneres ate eggs and how we as a human species are not omnivores but herbivores/frugivores (a comparison based on teeth and the length of our intestines for both of these different groups) despite the scientific evidence to the contrary (like lack of multiple stomachs and binocular vision and similarity to chimps who are also omnivores and...other crap - go look it up I'm too lazy to list everything) because 1) to say these things would not be beneficial to their purpose and 2) these two whole scientific studies said so! I don't know if they're ignorant or trying to play on the ignorance of others but I became annoyed yet again. Are you sensing a pattern here?

I think my pointing out that human beings are omnivores invited the response that I should go and hunt/kill an animal with my bare hands and eat its still raw flesh with blood dripping from my mouth about three times. I can only assume that this was meant to be off putting?

There was also the refusal to admit that anyone who wasn't vegan could be healthy and everyone who was vegan would automatically be healthier and roar roar roar rabble rabble rabble blood tests. FYI the only thing my blood tests showed was a deficiency in iron - so I ate more red meat and it's all good. And goodness help whoever decided that they didn't feel their best as a vegan and went back to eating meat as there is no one diet that suits every single person in this world - it's like living in a bad teen angst film, full of unnecessary drama and self appointed 'mean girls/boys'. 'ain't nobody got time for that.

A popular phrase was the 'benefits of the plant-based diet versus the meat based diet'. I found this to be yet another ridiculous statement. Not because of the health benefits but because of the 'meat based' description. I do eat meat quite happily but meat is not the base of my every meal - plants are. Yes my diet includes meat. I will eat some type of animal whether it is beef, turkey, chicken or fish at least once a day about five days a week (and on the other two I'll eat eggs - still an animal product), however, vegetables (or plants) are my lunch every day seven days a week and are always at least half of my dinner. Just because plants are not the only thing I consume it does not mean that my diet is not also 'plant based'.

There also appeared to be a belief that veganism would cure an eating disorder to which I will say that anybody who perpetuates that myth can go f*ck themselves.

Quite frankly I just found it ridiculous and the only thing that I was put off by was the notion of joining the ranks of veganism. Perhaps one day I'll reconsider but for now I may just keep eating meat out of spite. Not the world's greatest motivation I know but what can I say? They really annoyed me.  


Ultimately the point of this post may make no sense to anyone who stumbles across it and that's okay because it was just meant to be a platform through which I may vent. If you are interested in exploring different diets, despite what I've said I would encourage you to look into veganism as an option for weight loss and health (if there wasn't something intriguing I wouldn't have looked into it as much as I did) but also to properly research before embarking on such a change. To be an omnivore (which we are whatever diet you follow) means that we have a choice on whether to include meat in our diet and despite what some people may inform you, barring some medical condition or just your own feelings on when you feel healthiest, meat is not necessary - we can get the nutrients we need (protein and B12 etc) from alternate sources so this diet is not as extreme as you may initially think but you should still be aware of what health concerns could crop up, and, after a few weeks, as with any diet, cravings will pretty much stop or you can find a way to satisfy them within the parameters of what you're eating.

To anyone who managed to read their way through this congratulations and I hope you make whatever choices you feel are right for you and your health in order for you to lead the best life you can.

Ellie.

Chicken and broccoli (and kale) soup

Hello all,

Today I'm going to give you a recipe I survived on this winter and despite the growing heat I'm still eating it for dinner tonight (actually I'm eating it as I upload this post) - I just love it and as a bonus it's a no oil recipe :)

You will need:

150g of chicken breast (skinless)
As much broccoli as you can fit in your pot
1 stock cube that's sugarless (I like the brand 'Kallo' and their vegetable stock is lactose free, gluten free and sugar free).
Salt - to taste
pepper - to taste
garlic powder - to taste (sensing a pattern here?)
onion powder - (see above)
hot chilli powder - (e.t.c.)

As an added note I also like to add some kale to bulk up my vegetable and fibre intake sometimes but this is a recent addition and not necessary if kale is not your favourite vegetable.

Fist chop the broccoli into small chunks and it's actually better if you leave some of the stem attached.
Next cut the chicken into small chunks and if using the kale just rip it to pieces removing as many bits of stem as you can.

Once everything is prepared mix your spices and stock cube in a glass of some kind and with boiled, not cold, water.

Add all your ingredients to the pot and top up the water if necessary. Leave to boil on a low heat for about an hour to an hour and thirty minutes. About 45 minutes in taste the liquid to make sure you like the flavour, if you do - great, if not then add something else. I would start with adding just a little salt as that can often bring out flavours that are already in the soup. By the time the soup is ready the chicken will have been poached in flavoured water, so it won't be flavourless itself, and the stem of the broccoli will have softened to such an extent that it takes on an almost potato like quality. Voilà, simple, healthy, and tasty :)

Rosemary chicken skewers

As much as I wish I could take credit for this recipe I'm not nearly that good of a chef. This recipe is a modified one from Tory Avey A.K.A. the Shiksa in the kitchen.

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2011/05/rosemary-lemon-chicken-skewers-with-dijon-mayo/ - that is the original recipe and whilst I'm sure it's fantastic I'm afraid honey, mayonnaise, and fresh garlic are not allowed by pronokal.

You will need:

150g of skinless chicken breast
sticks of rosemary - maybe 4? It depends on how much you're planning on making and if you can be bothered to transfer the already cooked chicken to new skewers for the sake of appearance (even when I made this for a dinner party I couldn't be bothered yet they were still the first main to disappear without anyone knowing that they were for a special diet!).
2 lemons - juice and zest
garlic powder
salt
pepper
dried rosemary
1 tbs of olive oil.

Chop the chicken into roughly even pieces and marinate it in lemon juice, the zest, the oil and all the spices. Leave it for 1/2 hours. Prepare the skewers (rosemary stems) by pulling all the leaves off except for a few at the very top for aesthetic purposes. Once the chicken has been marinated slide them onto the stems carefully. Put it on tinfoil, pour the marinating juice over the top then pop it in the oven for about 15/20 minutes an a medium/high heat. If you want a sauce with it just use plain dijon mustard - it's unnecessary though in my opinion - especially as the zest of the lemon combined with the rosemary gives it a great flavour.
Ms. Avey's pictures are much better but here are mine anyway. Delicious yet healthy - low calorie food doesn't have to be a punishment.

A great healthy and tasty snack - without compromising calories

When you read this you may be skeptical but please trust me - if only once.

This is actually something I learned from my mother. When she grew up (in a place as far from Europe as it's possible to be) food was scarce for herself and her family so they learned not to waste it which is why, when she saw me throwing away a broccoli stem she stopped me and turned it into a healthy and tasty snack instead.

For the most part I prefer cauliflower (and this trick can be done with cauliflower as well) however the stem of cauliflower can be bitter whilst that of broccoli is surprisingly sweet. There was one point when I went into the supermarket to buy food and there were just discarded stems so I put them in a bag and tried to buy them though in the end I was just told to take them - that's how much I like this snack.

All you need is a broccoli stem.

Chop off the skin from around the outside and then chop the bottom as it's quite hard

You should be left with a somewhat watery green and white inside. Just chop it into quarters and munch away to your hearts content.

Please excuse the quality of the pictures - photography is clearly not my calling...

Beef stew/bamya

My mother, it has to be said, is not the world’s greatest chef. However, there are a few dishes she cooks that no one else’s recipe can top – one of these is rice (I have no idea how she does it even though I’ve watched her make it a million times) but since that’s off the menu I’m going to tell you about her equally amazing Bamya. It’s a traditional Middle Eastern dish and thus quite spicy and it’s fantastic for winter because it can be eaten by itself like a thick and hearty stew – it really warms you from the inside. I love eating soups and stews in winter.

You will need:

1 tbs of Olive oil

150g of cubed beef

Broccoli

Spinach

1 can of chopped tomatoes (only half is needed about 200g)

1 tbs Tomato paste

½ tsp of chopped dried chillies

3 tbs Curry powder

½ tsp Vegetable stock powder

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Garlic powder (to taste)

Onion powder (to taste)

Though as usual play around with the spices you use, I like mine quite spicy so you may want to adjust the amount of chilli used. I’ve also substituted different ingredients. Mum usually uses onion instead of broccoli and there

is no okra (the traditional ingredient of bamya) to be found here, despite the fact that I’m technically allowed it because this recipe does already take you over your B-list vegetable allowance. I haven’t noticed that it has any effect though, I still lose weight the day after eating it so I’ll keep at it.

First cut the broccoli into medium sized chunks and fry them in the pan along with half a table spoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of curry powder.

When it has started to brown and is coated in spices add the meat and brown it with the next half tbs of olive oil – do not wait for it to cook properly just a little colour on the edges is what we’re aiming for here.

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the spinach, and add just enough water that it covers the meat and the vegetables – no more. Mix thoroughly, cover the pan with a lid, and turn the hob down to a low setting.

Allow the mixture to simmer for an hour and a half stirring occasionally and adding more water if you feel it is necessary (if the liquid has evaporated too much).

The sheer amount of time will allow the liquid to reduce turning what could be a watery soup into a thick stew and also cooks the meat until is beyond tender and melts in your mouth. The green nodules of the broccoli will break apart, dissolve and help to thicken the mixture whilst the stalk will soften taking on an almost potato like texture. 

After the allotted time has passed add your desired amount of spinach and gently stir it in. It should wilt immediately. 

Finally, enjoy J