The rains are soaking the African bushveld and my garden is doing a happy dance. So am I. Sixteen days and four kilos gone. Happy garden, happy me!

What a wonderful way to lose weight. Gentle exercise, good food choices and the occasional splurge seems to be working for me. What is really working though, is me being in control of my own diet. I have given myself a framework in which to make my choices, nothing is forbidden, and I feel normal and fabulous for the first time in years.
OK, normal might be pushing it:)

We did a great yoga class instead of Water Babes this morning because the heavy rains kept us out of the pool. Funny isn’t it…we didn’t want to get wet in the pool Yoga really got me stretched, relaxed and peaceful. At the end of the class we did a golden light relaxation meditation in Corpse Pose and my friend Kathy nearly fell asleep. Wonderful stuff.

On the food front, I have entered foods eaten as well as foods planned using the Spark People Nutritional Tracker. Such a great tool. (I think I have mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating.) It helps me see the bigger picture. One high calorie day does not mean disaster.

My daily goal was a success yesterday, so I am repeating it today – water from 1 pm until tomorrow. The weekly goal is coming on nicely and the painting is almost done so I think I might just repeat that next week as well.

Procrastination! – Be gone!

In the super seventies (ahem) – there was a book entitled “Be Here Now” which struck a chord with me then. Today Eckhard Tolle’s “The Power of Now” speaks the same language. For me it means Be mindfully in the moment. Today is the day we know. It behooves us to use it well and be happy.

When we make a daily goal, it brings us right into the here and now. Not worrying about whether you are going to keep up your goal or not because it is just for a few hours, and surely we can all do that.

When we make a weekly goal, it is still not too far away to get lost in a sometimes hazy or unrealistic long term goal. (You know that saying – While you’re making plans, Life happens)

Your goals do not only have to be about food and diet, it can be about anything you wish.

Let us begin…

GOAL TODAY:
Beverages: To drink only water and herb tea from now (1 pm) until tomorrow. No wine, tea or coffee.

(Tomorrow is another day, another goal – yes?)

GOAL THIS WEEK: (I need to think about this…)
To finish one painting!

There, fellow MODders. Your turn…

I have allowed myself just about everything over the last two weeks, and I have enjoyed wine with my meals and the occasional chocolate brownie and peanut butter cookie (all home made with good ingredients). I have lost three kilos and probably put on a bit of muscle in the Water Babes classes. (We even did a class in the soft rain this morning which was gorgeous. The rains have kissed the African bush at last. It is cooler and quite heavenly:)

Although I seriously overdid the foods one day and went over my limit a couple of times, I averaged out the calories to just below 2000 a day over seven days.

My natural way of cooking is at times fairly rich, but I console myself that the oils I use are healthy and the cream and butter is real. I eat fresh fruit and vegetables daily and the protein is mostly lean. No food groups are prohibited and therefore my intake is varied and interesting. There is no way I am having a boring time losing weight!

Having and following my own rules, I found I do not have the rebellious reaction to the DIET that I have had in the past when I was trying to follow someone else’s programme, falling down again and again and ending up feeling like a failure. Right now I feel like a conqueror! Whether it is because I am a control freak or just a plain ol’ rebel, this MOD is really working for me.

Making it up as I go also gives me leave to try out things, to experiment. For instance, trying out intermittent fasting or using carb cycling as a tool, having a protein or high fat day to shift a plateau, having a meatless detox day – those sort of things.

Today is Meatless Monday and an Intermittent Fasting day in order to give my digestive system a bit of a break after the weekend. It is also the discipline I find important on such a day.

One hour to go and then at noon I will be having a simple vegetable soup and Low GI seed bread. Snacks today will be some soaked almonds and celery and a green drink made of baby spinach, watercress, apple and ginger. Tonight, a salad wrap or two.

And water! Don’t forget the water…

A Cloudy Day in Africa…
Sunday, January 13, 2013

It has been so hot lately and today we have cloudy skies but no sign of the predicted rain. The frogs were silent last night and there was no need for air-con, just the fan. The bush dams are dry and although the veld is green, it really needs to be watered from the clouds that are gathered. The morning has been slow and peaceful. I took my herb tea and avocado on seed bread toast to the bath. What a relaxing time. Did some reading, some deep breathing, meditation and of course, some lying back and thinking, seriously chilled…(me, not the bath:)

A painting waits to be dusted off and continued here in my studio. Oil over acrylic, a nebula, a galaxy, a dream of other worlds.

Food planned for tonight: Pork fillet strips sautéed in grapeseed oil (high smoke point – not good to cook high heat with olive oil), creamy mustard sauce (real cream no flour), lightly steamed cabbage strips and a green spinach and watercress salad with red peppers and feta with lemon, olive oil and black pepper. The rest of the family will have noodles. (The steamed cabbage strips are my noodles – learnt from the low carb days.)

Next: Recipe for a Simple Creamy Mustard Sauce…

No more procrastinating – off to paint…

There is some great information all over the Internet, some true and some false.

I am aware that our blood pH cannot be changed by alkaline foods, but I choose to favour them because they are good-for-me vegetables, food that will nourish me. They are not empty foods and they have fibre which my digestive system laps up and loves.

Lentils make their way into my dishes at times, with gorgeous Indian spices, while chickpeas are used for the hummus that I delight in, especially eaten with raw cauliflower, a favourite snack of mine. Legumes have their place in my eating habits and I love them. Paleo and Low Carb were two styles of food I tried along the way, and not just for a short time, so I have read up on the subject of pre-agriculture, and then made my own decision based on my own feeling.

I am a product of an agricultural world. I think our adaptive, evolving natures can take good care of us, if we listen carefully and considerately. To be honest, I think I have not been too considerate towards my body and it really is time. This is listening time.

Back to foods: I eat from all food groups. I am informed and I have made my choices. That is what it is all about, yes? Choices. Now that I am in charge with My Own Diet, the choices are all mine. The decisions are mine. I no longer feel beholden to rigorously stick to someone else’s food and diet plan. My choices, my responsibility.

Last thought on alkaline and acid: It is reported that prayer/meditation is an alkaline action and anger and irritation are acid. So really, does it matter whether it affects the pH of our blood or not?

I know what I would choose:) Like the foods…good for you stuff!

Baked Meatballs for Protein Munchies

Heat oven to 180°C/350°

500g lean mince (ground beef)

1 egg

½ an onion grated (1 Tbs= 1g carb)

1 small zucchini/courgette grated (1/4 cup = 1.5g carbs)

3 Tbs oat bran (1.5g carbs)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp ground clove

Mix grated onion, zucchini and oat bran together and mix into mince

Lightly whip the egg and add

Mix all spices together and then sprinkle over mince and mix gently

Roll into balls smaller than a golf ball and place in baking tin or dish and cover with foil

Bake for 15 minutes

Remove foil and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes

The first thing you do is reach for water and drink as much as is comfortable for you, at least two glasses. More if possible. Just imagine it being a cool waterfall inside you clearing all the debris and washing everything clean.

In case you need some more information on the health benefits of water, read this: http://www.mangosteen-natural-remedies.com/benefits-of-drinking-water.html

Don’t think about food too soon, just keep drinking water. Water with lemon, or with ginger slices, apple cider vinegar or fresh herbs. There are many herbs that taste good, such as lemon verbena, mint and rosemary make a herb tea, put a quarter cup of herbs in a mug/cup. Fill with boiling water and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes. You can drink your water hot, warm or cold, and even keep it iced in the fridge. If you really need some sweetness, try adding a tiny bit of stevia.

Now you may be ready for some food. Your tum may have had a rough time yesterday, and the foods may have been acidic, so you need to be gentle with it. The kindest way to treat your insides after a tough day is to give it a little rest, water it, and then treat it to some healthy, revitalising fluid. That would be green drinks, natural vegetable juices, fruit smoothies, and perhaps some potassium broth. If you have a problem with high blood sugar, put some whey protein in your fruit smoothie.

Mango and Whey Protein Smoothie for 2
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup cold water
1 cup cubed mango
1 Tbs flaxseed
2 scoops of vanilla whey protein
Blend and enjoy

If you can manage it, stick to healthy liquids for the day, just to give your body a break from having to digest heavy foods and to energise you, because if you feel like I have felt after a hard night partying, you will need some energy! Blended salads and green drinks are some of the best ways to treat an overloaded tummy.

When you feel ready to eat something, make it light. Light soup is good. Gentle foods.

 
Please do not spoil your cleanse day with being hard on yourself if you have overdone it. This is the time to be kind to you.

 
March on…

M O D (Marloe’s Own Diet – My Own Diet)

Nothing is forbidden.

Favour Alkaline 70-80% /Acid 30-20% foods

Main foods: 

Fruit one or two a day (melons to be eaten alone)

Vegetables at least three – especially greens

Green Smoothies

Fermented vegetables (probiotics – kimchi, raw sauerkraut))

Seeds

Nuts and Nut Butters

Lentils and beans according to the alkaline chart

Quinoa

Millet

Yogurt, Fruit and Whey Protein Smoothies

Lassi – Yogurt/Buttermilk and water with Turmeric after a meal

Omega 3 oils/EV Olive oil/Coconut oil/Nut & Seed oils

Apple Cider Vinegar /Verjuice/Lemon Juice

All herbs and spices

70% to 85% dark chocolate

Water and herb teas/ ginger tea

Fish

Less:     High Starch Vegetables (potatoes/pumpkin etc.)

Grains-(acid ones according to the acid/alkaline chart) bread, pasta, flour, cereals,

rice etc.

Legumes/pulses (acid ones according to the acid/alkaline chart)

Balsamic and other vinegars other than ACV

Poultry

Pork

Butter/Animal fats

Dairy – Cheeses, Milk

Tea

Coffee

Alcohol (Beer/Cider/Wine/Other)

Minimum:

Red meat

Chocolate

Ice cream

Cakes & Cookies

Pies and pastries

All manner of destructive high fat and high sugar foods – mostly processed and

packaged

Exercise:

Aquaerobics and Swimming/Chair Exercises/Weights

Yoga/Chi Kung/Trampoline Bounce/Cycle

(If you are obese or seriously overweight, try chair exercises, they are fun)

What to do today?

First thing? Water. We all know that water is good for us, (and if you don’t, read Batmanghelidj “The Body’s Many Cries for Water” – hope I got the title right – and when I have drunk too much wine, the immediate prescription is water to rehydrate my body. As I regularly don’t eat until 11 or noon, my major morning intake is water. This refreshes me from the inside out.

First activities of the day were meditation and deep breathing for 15 minutes and then Water Babes at 8. At about 9:30 the girls and I had frozen banana blended like ice cream and fresh chilled, chopped mango. They loved the banana ‘ice cream’ which was a first for them. Topped with chopped mango it really is a great way to ‘break the fast’.

I gave the Water Babes class today as my JB Baby was frantically busy elsewhere. The girls said it was a more strenuous class but they liked it. Way to go me! J (Yes, yes. Be encouraging and good to yourself!) Cousin Kay says Aha! Marloe the Dominatrix. (Freedom to be me – at last!!!)

My stepson and his lovely lady are on their way here to visit for a few weeks and the brownies are made (alkaline brownies found on the AcidAlkalineDiet.com site) and so are his favourite peanut butter cookies. I had two with my filter coffee this morning and they really are crispy and yummy.

Cooking was always in my family and my grandmother used to have a Sunday lunch every week. After church she would take out the white damask table cloth and proceed to laden the table with all manner of wonderful foods. Pot roast, chicken pie, lamb chops or leg, at least 3 vegetables, rice, potatoes and 3 salads (one of which was invariaby beetroot which I managed to spill on the pristine white cloth on a regular basis. it got so that they would wait for it to happen and when it did, they would let out a collective sigh of relief and feel free to carry on, while I felt mortified and humiliated…and reached for a second helping.

When that part of the meal was over, two or three desserts would make their appearance and we were entreated not to be shy and EAT. If the food was all finished, Ouma would complain that she hadn’t made enough, and God forbid if there was any food left over! She would accuse us of not liking her food. “Julle hou nie van my kos nie!” You just couldn’t win.

OK. Today’s food delights: Lunch was a wrap, spread with low fat cream cheese, filled with salad, mint and basil, tightly rolled and very much enjoyed. That was followed by 5 or 6 soaked almonds. (So much easier on the teeth after soaking overnight! The almonds, that is.)

Tonight we are having spiced and roasted free range chicken with organic red quinoa, roast potatoes, corn on the cob and a large mixed salad with balsamic vinaigrette. To follow, Tropical Eton Mess with mango, meringues and Greek yogurt sprinkled with toasted flaked almonds (If I can find them! Clutter – be gone!)

No really. Not that bad. The clutter is going slowly, steadily, bit by bit. I am beginning to feel lighter already! My darlig says he hasn’t noticed it diminishing yet, but I KNOW!

The kitchen had a quick Hot Spot (see Flylady.net) clean up, the lobby took 2 seconds to clear junk mail, the studio has been tidied, boxes of various things for recycling have been packed, the air con is on (it is over 40C outside) and my kitchen is cooling, waiting for me to smother the chicken with delectable spices and loads of love.

Feeling good…

My Happy Journey to Helathy

That is supposed to read healthy, but every time my fingers play this game with helathy! Try and say it – H E L A T H Y. It sounds kind of…Island Style! I tell you, I am helathy!!!

I know you are going to say “how can that possibly be healthy!” when I tell you what I put in today’s lunch dish. A load of whole (free range) eggs, l-o-t-s of cream, fresh peppers, celery, red onion, garlic, cayenne pepper and grated zucchini sautéed in grapeseed oil and a little butter for flavour and then gently mixed with drained tinned salmon which has also been fried off a little to release any liquid.

The quiche custard was perked up with some cayenne pepper and a little msg-free vegetable stock powder (my not-so-secret ingredient) after which the dish was topped with a mix of grated parmesan, mild grated cheddar and dried oregano, and baked in a medium oven for half an hour. So simple. Truly.

Dessert was equally simple and in season. After the salmon quiche and the copious raw vegetables and a little champagne and chardonnay, I blended up a couple of frozen bananas like soft serve, and served it with fresh organic chopped mango on top. There was Greek yogurt waiting in the wings in the fridge, but we never needed it.

 
It was fabulous. My good friend Patrice is always such a wonderful guest as she likes everything I make or cook. Thank you my friend:) But, it really was good. I think in the case of the quiche, it is the frying beforehand that turns it into something sumptuous. It was simplicity itself. A little bit of butter – I used only a tablespoon – added to the pan half way through cooking.

OK. You might be freaking out about cream and butter, eggs and such, but have you thought about your main meal of the day consisting of something you really, really enjoy? And you not feeling guilty about it? Think about it this way: Are you really going to change your eating patterns so much? Enough to turn you around completely? I don’t think so. So is it then not sensible to make up your own diet according to your desires? (Which I still think are going to be very hard to change.)

My dad number 2 (lovely man) was really realistic about his intake of food versus the output of energy, so he merely cut everything he ate in half. Half the sweets, half the dinner…you get the point. He lost the excess weight and never put it on again. I have told this to so many friends, so many times, but not put it into practice myself. Tut tut…

I am not a scientist, but his plan sounds about right to me. Eat less and lose. Exercise more and lose. Makes sense, yes?

But hey! I am not advocating you pig out at McDonalds. Or make Coca Cola your drink of choice. Try and be sensible about the food choices you make. Yes have your Coke, but temper it some. You don’t want all that sugar (=poison) rushing round your system, so make a wise choice and substitute it with stevia. Sweet like honey (which you can also use sometimes, as long as it is raw and unpasteurised/unradiurised). In fact, foods that have not been subject to tampering (this includes GMO and pesticides) will likely be fairly healthy to eat, but wouldn’t it be better to grow your own organic produce and have the joy of sitting at the dinner table (I hope you do?) relishing the taste of a simple home-grown carrot or tomato, or a bowl of green leaves that are fair bursting with nutrients!

…course you would

It really is not difficult you know. Container gardening has immense benefits. You can target the specific feeding and water needed for every pot, for every different herb or vegetable. You can move the pots around to find the best place in the sun, and you can have your container kitchen-garden as near to your back door/kitchen as you may want. You can put a small trellis or dowels in pots to support vining plants and tomatoes. Even old gutters with drip holes drilled underneath can be used as wall gardens. One above the other, those underneath will catch some of the water from the top gutter. Try drip irrigation where you can. Save your water, our precious sustainer of life.

 
How about decorating a few pots to cheer up the back garden, and maybe you too? It really is (again) very simple. Get some old pots and scrub them down with a hard brush and some eco-friendly soap. Let them dry completely and then sand them down with water paper. Brush off, dust off and paint with a universal undercoat.

There! You have a white canvas on which to impress your very own creativity. To hell with what anyone thinks! This is for you and in everyone there resides a sometimes reluctant artist. Give it rein! Set it free to be.

Enjoy!

(The left over quiche and salad will be my supper)