How I Made 3 litres of Winter Soup for under $5

My Mini Kitchen Garden

Colds. They are annoying.

Home sick today and thought I had better get some cooking done to get ahead in case its one of 'those' winters. I thought I would get my appliances working for me and make some soups for the freezer.

I think this one is my favourite - it was super cheap!

While shopping at Aldi last night I noticed Soup Packs of veggies for just $1.99. The pack contained two carrots, one swede, one parsnip, one potato, and two sticks of celery. bargain.

I chopped all this up and added;
- 1/2 cup of red lentils
- 3 teaspoons of crushed garlic
- A sprinkle of sea salt
- 1.5L of chicken stock (you might need more to cover the veggies)
- Some leftover BBQ chicken I had in the fridge
- A handful of chopped basil and oregano from my mini kitchen garden.

5-6 hours on LOW or 2-3 on HIGH in the slow cooker. Way. too. easy.

Use GF stock and its a GF soup. Vege stock and minus the chicken and you have a vegetarian/vegan option. Everyone wins! The principle for the slow cooker is the same. If you have one and are scared to use it, give this a go. You will not regret it.

Someone who is much much better at cooking than I am, and whose recipes are somewhat more accurate, check out my beautiful friend Jessica's blog home.

My Personal Mission Statement

The structure of the statement is based on this post by Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking, and from the material provided in Women of the Word, Fisherman Bible Study Guides "Becoming a Woman of Purpose", by Ruth Haley Barton. Thanks to these ladies for their wisdom.




My Mission Statement


1. To be a person of grace, committed to pursuing Jesus in every task, thought and word.
2. To be a wife of noble character, who serves her husband faithfully and well to affirm his leadership a partner with him in serving the Lord and others.
3. To manage a hospitable, peaceful home, and offer love and refreshment to the people who God brings in to our lives.
4. To live intentionally for God's Kingdom. To have clear, well-seasoned speech and prayer for others, to be influential in grace.
5. To be a worker of moral responsibility, set apart, a noticeable difference in my work and leadership.

My Goals and Disciplines

Relationship with God
Goal: Taking time each day to read God's Word, being faithful and consistent in prayer.
Discipline: Ensuring time every morning to read God's Word and to pray. Going to bed at a reasonable time each night to ensure this. Going to church and small group weekly.

Marriage
Goal: Time to talk and reflect on how our marriage is going. Reflect on my conduct as a wife and supporter and grow in knowledge of how best to serve Awesome.
Discipline: One-on-one time to talk with Awesome every day. Date nights together twice a month. Read 4 books each year on being a Godly wife.

Work
Goal: Gracious service of my staff and clients, going the extra mile, to be set apart in word and deed.
Discipline: Not engage in gossip, pray for work each work day, going the extra mile for each person, not swearing - letting my conversation be seasoned with salt.

Church and Community
Goal: To build intentional relationships with others, to be friendly and welcoming to others, to be faithful in prayer.
Disciplines: Seek out new comers. Take time to nurture relationships with others. To take prayer requests and offers seriously, write them down and follow through.

Physical Health and Well-being
Goal: To be well rested and physically able, to maintain a healthy weight and get adequate exercise.
Disciplines: Go to bed at a reasonable time, eat healthy and nourishing foods, exercise daily (15min+).


Home and Recreation
Goal: Well organised household, food and meals available to nourish our family, help others or feed visitors.
Disciplines: Menu plan where possible, manage finances to ensure extra giving is possible, have ingredients on hand to make food when needed.

Personal Development
Goal: Extend on my knowledge of God's love and the practicalities of being a Christian.
Disciplines: Read at least 10 Christian personal development books this year on a range of topics (eg. hospitality, prayer, being a Godly wife. Read at least 10 books on God's Word this year.


These are not a list of things I already do to show you what an awesome Christian I am and make you feel somehow inadequate if you don't tick all the boxes. This is a list of the things that I actually struggle with the most. Daily. This is what, in God's grace, I want to do about these things this year. And I will need to check in regularly to ensure that I have made these things a priority. Four years ago I wouldn't have thought it possible to do all these things at the same time, but God is slowly changing my heart to show me that it is possible when I intentionally rely on Him and make efforts towards change.

Lunchboxing

My Actual Weekday Lunch Box

I've been a lunch-from-home gal for a few years now, but not every day. With the way I am currently eating, to loose weight gently, I am taking my lunch from home everyday. That way I commit to only eating what is in the lunch box, in any order I like. Once its gone, I'm done till I get home.

Lunch Boxes are easy to do. Truuuust me! Even if you work full time and you are allergic to planning like me!

1. Find a lunch box you really like.
   I use the tupperware one above because I love the size, shape and sections. Find one that fits your portions and foods you actually can be bothered to eat. ie.e don't buy a fancy salad bowl with dual layer freezeable cheese sections and 38 pieces of cutlery attached if you don't eat salad. Sounds like a no-brainer, but in the quest to want to be healthier, sometimes I buy things that I think will make me healthier by magically changing my life. Um. No. 
2. Do your main first.
   I have either a salad wrap with some shaved ham or chicken, or a large garden salad (I bring the dressing separate and add at the last minute, because I have issues). Your 'main' should include a serving of protein. Here is a random photo of healthy looking protein-rich foods:
3. One serve of fruit minimum.
   Whatever it takes, cut it up, buy it in little tubs, whatever floats your boat. Dried fruit doesn't count sorry. If you get hungry in the arvo have another fruit serve in your hand bag. Don't preach at me about the pitfalls of fruit sugar and having too much fruit. Let's face it, does anyone really eat too much fruit? I think not. Go for 2 a day. 
4. One extra serve of vegetables.
   In addition to whatever lettuce, beans, carrot etc that is on my wrap or in my salad, I include either a cut up carrot or cucumber, because I can munch on this in the arvo mindlessly and I feel full rather than peckish for that all-too-tricky-drive-home. That's already 2 out of your 5 recommended serves a day. 
5. Whole grains 
   If I have a sandwich for main, it will be on whole grain bread like 5 seeds etc. I have been eating whole grain for years after being diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance, as it is low-gi and easier on the pancreas. You gotta take care of your pancreas. Otherwise I include whole grain crackers - just 2 - don't go getting excited now and putting 38 crackers in your lunch box ok? 
6. Something with taste!I can't go without something tasty. I am a sauce girl ok? So the wrap will have a small serve of whole egg mayo (seriously, if you are going to have sauce don't pouncy around with the fat-free stuff - just have a small (1 teaspoon - yes, get one out and measure it ok? - you will guesstimate larger than a teaspoon - I promise you) amount of the good stuff and call it a day. Otherwise I might have a small tub of light cream cheese for cracker and vegie dipping purposes. Whatever. It can be a small piece of chocolate if you like, just don't add the whole block and don't eat the rest while you are packing your lunch. 

Ok, go find your lunch box and tomorrow I'll let you know how I fit in making lunch every day. 

Getting It Done. Gently. Week 2 Wrap-up and Update

Current Weight: 78.2kg
Waist: 106cm

This week was not a good week. In fact, I think in some ways it was even worse than last week.

I found that without constant organisation in regards to planning out my food and having the right foods available, I started to crumble into my grab anything, eat too much, crave crappy food habits again. Add to that the fact I avoided the pool this week (two reasons; I killed my back again at work on Monday/Tuesday and by the time it was better I needed to shave my legs again... who could be bothered?), I'm surprised I managed to even maintain last week's work, let alone loose a tinsy tiny, not even really countable bit of weight.

So what is going wrong?

Well, things got busy last week, there was a few days of unexpected interruptions at work and the back pain interfered with my sleep, so things were harder. But reality is that I just stopped being consistent.  I have always struggled with self-control. Its the thing that drags me down.

There is a famous experiment where children were placed in a room with one marshmallow. They were told they could either eat that marshmallow now and get no more, or wait until the scientist came back and they would get two marshmallows.

I was the kid who would really stick it out, I mean really, til the almost bitter end... then I'd just eat the first marshmallow, because hey, "One marshmallow in the hand is worth two possible marshmallows when that guy comes back" ...right?

If there is anything that needs to improve in my weight loss system, its not my knowledge, or my understanding of how the body processes food, the value of good nutrition or the benefits of exercise... No, for me, its learning to say NO. Pure and simple, even when its just me saying it to myself in the grocery line. And not booking a 5pm physio instead of a 6:20pm one just on the off chance the fruit shop that sells the chocolate dipped strawberries would still be open!?! Who does that?

Self-control.  Prayin' for that!

Getting It Done. Gently. Week 1 Wrap-up

One week done and where are we at?

The Vital Stats
Weight: 78.8
Waist: 105
Weight lost: 1.5kg
Cm lost: +2!!

Like all new things, started with a bang. The first day was excellent, I was disciplined and focused. I went to the pool, worked hard, ate well and generally felt excellent ... and just a little bit smug.

By Thursday I was eating chocolate honeycomb pieces and swearing I'd do better tomorrow!
Overall the week has been good - much better than an ordinarily week. But not perfect. Perfect would have been ordering salad instead of creamy chicken and avocado when out with the fabulous lozzz123 from  Science, Spouses and Silliness earlier this week (yes, sometimes bloggers do meet up in real life. And have Italian. Check her out, she is much funnier than me!). Perfect would have been saying no to the piece of chocolate birthday cake at work (which I did) and not eating it (which I didn't). But you know, you can't improve on perfection, so it's better not to start at the top. Right?

My waist measurement hasn't really improved - in fact I've gained. Which is a little weird, but really, all that crazy rich food I ate on holidays the week before had to go somewhere right? The weight is probably overstated a little, I have changed my water drinking habits significantly this week and my weight can change up to 2kg a day with water intake at the best of times. But its heading in the right direction!

It's a start. And one that I am pretty happy with. Work days are the easiest part as I pack my lunch and only eat what is in the box. I have even let myself eat it in whatever order and at whatever times I choose so I don't feel as though I'm being deprived. But if it's not in the box, I don't eat it (except for the cake). So it's portion control. With only a little bit of control.

The hardest part is the late afternoons. If I have eaten my lunch and 2 snacks already, then at 5pm I'm hungry. Slightly earlier dinner and switching to having my morning yogurt in the afternoon seems to have helped. And drinking more water instead of eating the second I feel hungry.

But hey, I've only been to Maccas once this week!

What do you do to help yourself break bad habits when it comes to food?

My Natural Cold Soother Tea

I, like just about every other Sydneysider this week, have contracted a flu-like-coldy-sick-thing.

I feel crummy.

So I have just made myself a cup of my favourite 'sick' tea.

Add boiling water to 1tsp honey, one Green Tea citrus tea bag and a squeeze of lemon juice and sip.

Warm, throat-soothy, calming goodness in a cup.

Hope you feel better!

I make no assertions about the scientific properties of this tea - it just tastes good and helps me feel better! If you want to know more about healthy teas and remedies, head to http://www.keeperofthehome.org/health-and-natural-remedies

Starting again. For Good.

It's laziness.


It's fear.


I think it might actually be sinful...


Monday afternoon will be my 'follow up' appiontment with the dietitian. The very expernsive dietitian. The dietitian that my doctor said 'Is good, but charges way too much.' The dietitian that is supposed to be helping me loose weight, feel great, and make babies...


Its been two months. Its already cost me gulp... over $300 dollars for the first two visits.


And I've wasted it.


I didn't follow the diet plan. I ate whatever I wanted. And even though I've been working out a lot, I have lost... nothing.


Nothing. Not a scrap in two months.


Its not that I don't believe it will work. In the two weeks that I first followed the eating plan carefully, I dropped two kilos straight away.  (That's 4 1/2 pounds for our imperial friends). It works. I should actually be at my goal weight right now.


But I'm not. So what went wrong?


The Eating Plan Autopsy


1. No prayer. Nope, not one bit. I did this for myself, I thought nothing of committing this journey to God. "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21  - I believe that when we don't include God in those plans, we have already failed.


2. No organisation. I did nothing to change the way our meals are organised. When I got busy in the morning, I didn't make lunch, so I would just buy... well... icecream mainly...


3. Hiding the plan and goal from others. In the past when loosing weight, I have told family and friends of my methods, and they have supported me by checking what food I can eat and serving good stuff when I eat with them. Less chance for cheating when others are watching...!


So. I start again. Not on Monday. Today. I have already wasted enough time and money. It's time to honour God with obedience.


What do you know you need to do and have all the tools to do, but hold back for fear and laziness? (Oh, please tell me someone else out there is like me!!). 

Fitness Update!

Here is an update! 


I have been working out as part of a group fitness program for 6 weeks now. 


I have just started to loose some weight (now 2kgs from the beginning of the challenge - which isn't a lot, but given everything going on with my family and the addition of PCOS, its pretty good start!) - but I have lost cm everywhere!! I will have my half way measurements to post shortly. 


I have been enjoying getting out in the mornings and doing new things like boxing (sooo hard but great!) and fitball (hilarious!) as well as lots of cardio/running and interval training.


Here is this week's fitness plan:


- Monday 6am Strength/Boxing
- Tuesday 5:45am Cardio/Outdoor Interval Training
- Wednesday Rest Day
- Thursday 6am Fitball/Core and Stretch
- Friday 6am Shunt Cardio/Weights 6:30pm Zumba Class (I did this with friends a few weeks ago and loved it!)
- Saturday 6:15 am (90 mins) Outdoor Boot Camp 9am Dance Teaching (2.5 hours)
- Sunday Rest/Quiet walk


Hmm... looks from that like I'm some fitness nut gym junkie! Not the case. I am usually always last in the running, shuffling along at the end of the line. Back row struggling to figure out the coordination! I have always danced but these movements are all so different to dancing!! The biggest thing is that I am enjoying it! Even the hard stuff. I'm loving being outside and pushing myself.  


So what am I working towards?  Well... there are a number of things:


1. Stabilising my weight:
I have let my weight fluctuate dramatically over the last 5 years and its wrecked havoc on my health and PCOS symptoms. 


2005: 60.5kg
2006: 70kg
2007: 78kg
2008: worked to bring back to 72kg in time for...
2009: Wedding weight 72kg
2010: July - heaviest ever weight of 83.5kg


As a percentage of my lightest adult weight - I put on over 30% body weight in 2 years. The effects of this have been enormous. My PCOS symptoms have become more pronounced, and I am a very good candidate for Type 2 Diabetes right now. But its not about getting back to my 2005 weight.
At 60.5kg, for my height, I was quite underweight and suffered low blood pressure, dizziness, headaches and constant muscular and back pain as I had very little muscle to protect my skinny frame (and at the time I thought I was huge!! Isn't silly how we berate ourselves!). So I have no desire to be back to that unrealistic weight. 72kg is my current goal and one that I will be able to maintain. 


2. Honour my husband by being the woman he fell in love with.
Now, before I get flamed for that sentence, can I please point out, that my husband loves me even more today than he ever has. He has always been 100% supportive and appreciative of my no matter what the size or shape of my body and he has seen me at every weight above. He has never 'weighed in' on what weight I should be, but supports my goal to be healthier to support my PCOS and to hopefully avoid a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes. I want to honour him by having the energy and vitality that I had when I was not overweight.  


3. Lessen the symptoms of PCOS and infertility
Its not something I blog about much, but one of the effects of the PCOS has been infertility.  Along with trusting that God has a plan for our family, I have been pursuing the 'natural' methods of dealing with PCOS such as cleaning up my diet, eating more LowGI wholefoods and loosing weight. I am hoping this will also help with cycle regularity and hirscitism. 


So... I don't want to look like this: 



At my heaviest



At my skinniest (58.5kg in 2003)


But healthy like this:

At our wedding!




I am going to slog it out hard over the last 5 weeks of the challenge and I will post a photo of my progress!

Menu Plan Monday

I don't regularly take time to plan ahead for meals, but this week I want to make sure that I have things organised as there is a lot going on in my family that I don't have control over.


Here's this week's menu plan:


Monday: Mini-Roast Beef with roast potatoes and vegies


Tuesday: Beef and cheese wraps with Lebanese bread and salad


Wednesday: Out of house night for me so cold sliced beef sandwich. Mr. Awesome is having soup and crusty herb bread from the freezer


Thursday: Slow cooker chicken drumsticks in a cacciatore sauce using sugarless tomato sauce


Friday: Chicken and pasta (leftovers!)


Writing it out might actually help me stick to it! 


Linking up for Menu Plan Monday at http://orgjunkie.com. If you are visiting from Laura's site a huge hello and welcome to Eyes Above. I am working on creating a sugarless lifestyle, and I am no longer consuming fructose or artifical/natural sweeteners including honey. Read more here.

Homemade Sugarless Tomato Sauce

This sauce has a think rich texture and is suitable for using in baked dishes such as lasagna and spaghetti bolognaise. It is suitable for freezing and you can substitute whatever vegies you like to use up left-overs in the fridge. 


Ingredients

- diced or grated vegetables - I used carrot, onion, celery 
- 4-6 very ripe to over ripe tomatoes
- 500ml of gluten/sugar/dairy free vegetable stock
- 1 bottle of passata (check the label for one with no sugar added. There will be a small amount of sugar in the percentage box as tomatoes contain natural sugar. 
- handful fresh chopped basil


Method

1. Heat a little oil in saucepan, add hard vegetables and sauté until soft
2. Add herbs and tomatoes, cover with stock, reduce to low and allow to sweat with the lid one for 2-3 hours
3. Remove from hotplate and allow to cool
4. Put vege mix into a blender and add 3-4 cups of passata, one cup at a time as you mix, until desired consistency and colour is achieved. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 
6. Store in freezer for 2 months in zip lock bags that can be thawed in the fridge overnight. 

A yummy alternative to commercial tomato sauces. 

No Sugar Update

After originally stalling on my no sugar plan (see here), I have finally managed to adapt my lifestyle to no fructose and I have been (pretty much) clean for just over three weeks!

So far I can see the following benefits:

- Massive reduction in acne on my face (have had this since I was 11 years old)

- Reduction in bloating (although I still need to watch my salt intake as most sugarless foods are high in salt). 

- My moods and energy levels have stabilised and I no longer expereince the hyperactivity 

- I am not as hungry!  I just don't roam around the house grazing any more!

Now, I don't think that everyone in the world is addicted to sugar. But I know I have been. Several days ago I walked through the lolly (that's Candy for the US!) aisle at the supermarket - not trying to be cruel to myself - the wrapping paper was at the other end! I COULD SMELL THE SUGAR. It literally hit me like a wave!  I have never expereinced that before!  And yesterday someone offered me a glass of dry white wine, and all I could taste was the sweetness! It was totally undrinkable to me.  

It's been unbelievable. I am the person who can eat a block (not a bar - a block) of chocolate on my own in one sitting and not even blink!  And now just smelling it makes me feel sick! 

If you are thinking you would like to know more about giving up sugar, (specifically fructose), there are some links below. 

The I'm Not So Sure But Would Like to Start Cutting Down Info

• Keeper of the Home: Attitude towards Sugar and 21 ways to eat less sugar
• Just how much sugar are you eating? Find out here. 

There is lots more information on Keeper of the Home and Passionate Homemaking. Just search within the sites for 'sugar'.  Please note that both these websites use natural sugar substitutes and honey, as well as processed sugar substitutes like Stevia, which I am not using. I am using pure glucose powder and dextrose powder as I can not tolerate sulphides or phenylalanine. 

The I'm Ready To Go The Whole Way Info

• I read The Sweet Poison Quit Plan by David Gillespie
• You can watch more info by the same author here

If you would like more info, please comment below and I'll do my best to help you out!

Super Easy Cheater's Sugar-Free Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

I left the generous gift of spinach that a friend gave me at their house, but still wanted to go ahead and make this!

Ingredients
2 cubes frozen spinach - reheated according to packet directions
1 small tub of smooth ricotta cheese
Cannelloni tubes to fit your small baking dish
Homemade sugar free tomato sauce (recipe to come)
Parmesan cheese

Mix the ricotta and spinach together in a small bowl
Use a small zip-lock bag with the corner cut out to make a piping bag. Fill with spinach mixture and pipe into tubes, laying them flat in your dish when each is done.
Cover with tomato sauce
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and pop in over until pasta is cooked through (depends on size of dish - around 35-40 is a good guide) on 200 degrees C.

Enjoy some now, some for dinner and some in the freezer for later :)

ACTION PLAN Steps 1 and 2

Ok, I am being brave and I am putting everything out on the line! Here is step one in my ACTION PLAN.

1. Know Your Goal

Know what it is you are setting out to achieve. Write down your goals, and show them to someone else. Its important not to hide what you are trying to achieve.

SMART Goals are much more easily achieved. For more info on SMART goals download this document www.adelaide.edu.au/wpdn/mentoring_goalsetting.doc

2. Set a starting point. 

You need to know where you have come from and where you would like to be. 

Below are my stats from the 12 week fitness program I am part of. This is the initial stats. 

(I don't remember turning 27 yet. ... I think I am only 26 still... but its only a couple of weeks regardless.)

Ok, so there are steps 1 and 2. Have a go at setting your steps, share them in the comments section below or post a link to your own blog. 

Age: 27

Height: 172

Measurements	Initial	Midway	Final	Overall Loss
Body Fat %	40.6
Weight	81.9
Right Bicep	29
Left Bicep	29
Chest	102.5
Waist	94
Hips	104
Right Thigh	60
Left Thigh	58

               

Fitness Scores	Initial	Midway	Final	Overall Improvement
Step ups	86
Push Ups	8
Sit ups	1
6 min shuttle run	56
7 Phase Plank	1