A round loaf is a thing of beauty

Not been around lately, what with going on holiday for a few days (back to Menton if you wanted to ask), moving my Mum into sheltered housing and losing internet access...

My starters though managed quite happily through the mess of my life, calmly sitting in the fridge gently bubbling and smiling to themselves. Time for the White One to come to the fore again I thought. And it was so strong! I fed it up over two days, and it was bubbling like a little volcano. There is no doubt that as these two starters are getting older they are more and more reliable.

So, using Hamelman's trusty Pain de Campagne again as my base recipe, substituting 200g of rye flour for the same of plain, I decided to try out my newest acquisitions, 2 lovely cane bannetons bought from eBay for a very good sharp price...

The last couple of times I have baked, I have left the dough in the fridge overnight, but the timings didn't work for me this time, so this was made and baked in the one day. I think the flavour in the overnight is perhaps a little more rounded, and I think also that I like a little more rye than this had, but it is still a good bread.


Doesn't it look lovely? I did make two, but the other pictures didn't come out well (and this is a bit dodgy) but it does show the lovely break in the crust.

Now, I know that properly speaking, it is not supposed to do that, it should have been proofed a bit longer so it just opened out the slashes, and didn't actually make a break for the border, but I love the texture of these explosions, so I am not at all unhappy.



And the crumb is nice and not too big holey, just perfect for toast in the morning.

Because, even though holes are nice, your Marmite falling into your lap is perhaps less than desirable.

I think that is it for my basic Rye and Wheat Sourdough, I think my "journey" is played out, it is now a good staple, easy to do, no problem. Start on Thursday evening with first feeding, feed again on Friday evening, ferment and fold on Saturday, bake on Sunday. It sounds a lot of faffing about, but it is so easy and quick each time, just a question of minutes. Well worth it.

Next challenge is to find a recipe for a white loaf that will give me the same flavour I remember from when I was a child, and all bread was baked by small bakeries on the premises. I want a fat, luscious bloomer. All slashes and poppy seeds, and soft swirly crumb.

Any suggestions gratefully received...

Oatmill Loaf - or how to get your oats....

Oooooh, this has come out nicely.





Very soft crumb, thin crust, should toast lovely.





When I built up the starter for the Pain de Campagne I made a bit too much, so decided to try out this new flour I found at Sainsbury's. It's probably been there for ages, I just haven't looked at it before. Oatmill by Allinson.

Recipe:

overnight starter:

50g ripe white starter (mine was 100% hydration)
50g wholemeal rye flour

mix to form a firm levain, cover tightly, leave at room temperature (about 68% at the moment here) overnight. In the morning it will be domed, and bubbly.

dough:

200g water
all the starter above broken into pieces

whisk a bit to soften the levain and start to dissolve into the water

Add:
200g Allinson Oatmill flour
50g White strong bread flour
1tsp salt
1 quarter tsp instant yeast.

Mix to a shaggy dough (I use my trusty dough whisk from Eric at Breadtopia) and autolyse for about 30 minutes.

turn out into oiled roasting tin and stretch and fold twice.
cover, bulk ferment for 2 hours folding twice more in that time.

After this dough should be puffy and more than doubled in size.

Degas and preshape, rest 15 minutes. Shape into batard. I didnt freebake this one, I thought it looked like it needed the help of a tin, so I popped the dough into a 1lb loaf tin, and left for another 45 mins or so until doubled again.

Meantime, preheat oven to gas mark 8.

When doubled spray with water, slash if you want to (I didn't - just forgot) I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top too, I thought they might go well with the oatmeal.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until internal temperature 200 degrees F. I think it could have been popped back into the oven out of the tin for another 5 minutes after that, the base has softened up quite a bit as it cooled.

I think it looks nice, what say you?

Pain de Campagne - two different ways

I have been experimenting over the last couple of weeks with a recipe for Pain de Campagne posted on The Fresh Loaf .

You can find the recipe here:

Bread is lovely and open holey artisan type bread, made with a sourdough starter.

Last week I used my rye starter:



Nice loaf, but I made a mistake of making the rolls too small, so they were rather leathery, and not very nice toasted (which is how I eat most of my bread, for breakfast).



The crumb was lovely and open though. And the bread was very very tasty.

So I baked again today, but this time used my white starter, and added the rye in with the main flour.

Odd how just that small change can make such a difference in the bread.

David Snyder (whose recipe this is) also suggested that I bake a little longer, to get a crustier crust. So I did. Trouble is, my oven is hotter no one side than the other.

Peering through the door, I saw a lovely russety crust.





But when I took it out of the oven, I think dark brown may be tinged with ...

burnt.

Or at least it is in my book. But it IS crunchy!


The crumb is much lighter in colour than the last one, and much milder in flavour. It will be interesting to see how this toasts.



I have another loaf cooling at the moment - a completely different flour I found on the shelf at Sainsbury's. Allinsons Oatmill. Sounds interesting, so I'll report on that next when it is cool and cut open.

Update on the weight front...

and round the back of course...

I am losing it all round luckily.

I'm due back to the doc next week, so I hope to have dropped a bit more, but I think I have lost about three quarters of a stone since I started. My clothes are noticeably looser especially around my waist (come on hips, keep up! ).

Reductil seems to work for me - I am not able to eat as much at a sitting, and so long as I have a smaller plate (so that visually I am still eating a full plateful) I am eating substantially less than before.

and no exercise yet ! Yay!

Bread Update

I am pleased today...

I actually followed a recipe (Jeffrey Hamelman's Pain au Levain) without cutting corners and fiddling about with it. Well, that's not wholly true, I did keep a bit of flour back as my Dove Bread flour seems very absorbent.

My last attempts haven't made it up here as they have been ok (for which read edible) but nothing to write home about. Oh except for the last one that I managed to burn....

I have been adding a little bit of instant yeast in, and this has helped a bit, but the rise was still always sideways not upwards with no oven spring so it was obvious I was doing something wrong.

So here are today's offerings: One loaf (banana shaped, but it was bigger than expected so I had to curve it onto the baking sheet a bit) and some rolls.


I cut the rolls like Waitrose's Rustic rolls, or ciabatta, although the crumb will probably be tighter than ciabatta. I am being a good girl and not cutting until it is quite cold tonight.




The Sourdough is really lively now. The levain called for here was much stiffer than I had been making before, and I liked it much more. I think I will experiment a bit more with stiffer levains, and possibly poolish too.

It is such a relief to know I can do it. And the bread is made with no fat at all, and still tastes good with no butter so it is excellent for my low fat diet.

One worried doctor later

Oh dear. I only went to the doctor to have my ankle checked out.

Not interested in that was he.. "Oh give it another month or so, if you are still concerned I can send you to chap in Homerton...now what are we going to do about your weight?"

oh dear. That is why I avoid doctors like the plague.

Weighed me. Up 2kg on last June when I had my last run of test. So my diet since May has done zilch basically.

I am now officially OBESE. and I have been put on Reductil. At least I was allowed to refuse Xenical. Catch me voluntarily having a leaky bottom... euch...

So I am back on track forcibly it would seem.

and will it stop me making bread??

Not on your nelly.

The Sourdough Saga - the disaster continues

Oh woe is me...

The 2nd attempt has been nearly (not quite as the result is at least partly edible) as disastrous as the first.



However, for brick now read pancake.

I swear I followed the instructions - sort of.....

but I ran out of time, so I stuck the whole lot in the fridge overnight - see left how it came out. I thought it looked alright..

I knew that I had to let it warm up for a couple of hours in the morning so I did just that. Except it never really rose properly again after turning it and shaping it. I think I should have put it in the fridge much earlier on, instead of giving it pretty much the full rise time before it went in, as I think I exhausted my starter and shaping the bread just pushed all the oomph out and there was nothing left to carry on.


Nice crust, but soggy inside... tasted ok day one, but the nice air bubbles showing in the photo subsided like a soggy brick day two. Now binned like Take One....


Never mind.

Better luck next time.. maybe it will be third time lucky?

The Sourdough saga - day 2

Bread hit the bin.

Interestingly, it was less sour yesterday after sitting overnight. But there was no doubt of its brickdom.

So... starters out of the fridge, sat overnight to warm up, fed 1:4:4 by weight this morning - rye, one white. Rye came out much doughier, white more liquid, obviously down to the absorbency of the flour.

That was at 9 am , now half one, and only small bubbles on both. So alive but not thriving. Will have to split and feed again this evening and keep my fingers crossed.

If I can get this up and running properly, I can test my idea that perhaps eating sourdough bread will be good for the system and fight any candida that might be affecting my weight loss (for which read lack of...)

Making Sourdough.... first trial.

When we were in France recently, I was eating the gorgeous pain de seigle that is served everywhere. Lovely moist bread, slightly grey in colour, just a slight tang from the rye.

Could I find it here... no chance.

The nearest I could find was the pain levain that is on sale in most good supermarkets (we don't have a good artisan baker near here) but that was still not quite it.

Levain - that is sourdough. So I started my internet searches, found tons of info on sourdough starters, and started my own. That was a week ago, and yesterday, I reckoned my starter was lively enough to bake bread with. After wandering around, I decided on Susan's Favourite Sourdough at Wild Yeast


weeeeeeelllllllll.....

I don't think I got it right this time. The bread is rather dark and hard and very very sour. I might try cutting very thin slices and drying it to see if makes nice crispy melba toast things, but I don't think I want to eat it as bread.

I think I was generally impatient:

a) I think I didn't let the starter get quite lively enough before I started.
b) I don't think I proved it quite enough - or that it was taking too long because I hadn't done a)
c) No oven spring, so something wasn't right.
d) Over cooked so crust is hard not crackly.

So starter out of the fridge again and feed until I see much more vigorous growth and start again.

by which time my dough whisk and scrapers should have arrived from the USA. Amazingly it was cheaper to buy from there and have it sent, than to buy in the UK (assuming I ever found a dough whisk which I hadn't up to now.) I bought it from Breadtopia - a very informative site.

naughty lazy girl

I am a naughty lazy girl.

This blog is for my own benefit. But if I don't keep on the straight and narrow I can't seem to bring myself to report myself here. How mad is that?

Are there secret judges in my heart?
Am I a multiple personality that is going to make me stay in detention if I don't eat right?

Or am I just lazy?

Perhaps a bit of all three...LOL

Well to report to myself en bref...

pasta, bread, sarnies, potatoes.

Does that say it all? I think it might do..

Weds June 25

Deep breath. Start again.

Tap for cravings. Tap for self sabotage. Tap for despondency.

Life is good really. I have no idea where the greyness comes from.

Maybe if I just ignore it and pretend it will go away?

So back to porridgy breakfast.

Tapped away craving for chocolate. Tapped away craving for bread.

And it's 1 o' clock with no cheats yet....

ah so - why is life sometimes just so despondent?

I don't know.... sometimes you wake up and although everything is the same as the day before, it is coated with a grey foggy silted wet mass...

Know that feeling at all?

Welcome to my world the last two days. Nothing wrong, but I can't raise a cheerful smile at anything.

Kicked myself into action and went out with girlfriends last night, and we were having a "why am I so unlucky" discussion. And I realised that I considered myself lucky, and that I had never had much terrible happen to me. And then we started the "but what about....." bit. Actually a lot of pretty iffy stuff has happened to me along the way.

Except that all the bad things in my life I have never really considered as major traumas. I have always just handled it and got on with the next thing.

So that should mean I have a positive attitude, yes?

Well, no, actually. But then, if I presume the worst and something happens that is less than the worst thing I anticipated, it is a welcome relief.

So....

Is that optimism or pessimism?

Or just an Eeyorish tendency?

Because I am Piglet really.

I give up....

wednesday June 18th

Brekkie
porridge, yog and fruit

lunch
2 x toast and scrambled eggs
banana

dinner
stirfried veggies and chicken, basmati rice

Tuesday June 17

All day out at auction, so NOT a diet day. I find it almost impossible to keep to any diet when I can't prepare my own food.

brekkie:

toast & marmite, 2 slices, still no yog...

at auction mid morning
coffee
bacon roll with ketchup
Twix

Home in the afternoon
slice of bread & marmite
2 lemon biscuits

dinner
spag bol with salad

Monday June 16

Not a good diet day. Out very early (6.30) to auction viewing, so no mood for fancy brekkies. And I ran out of Yoghurt. And am so tired that I didn't get any for tomorrow either... grrrrr..

so

brekkie

2 toast and marmalade

geo bar with coffee at auction house

lunch

2 large sausage rolls
2 lemon thin biscuits

dinner

roast chicken (small leg) with green salad and small portion pasta in stir in tomato sauce.

Sunday June 15th

brekkie
toast & marmite. yog fruit, tea

off to lunch at my stepdaughters, so it will be a roastie dinner of some description...

it was roast beef with roast potatoes, broccoli and cabbage. No pudding.

hungry when we got home so raided the freezer and had

6 little sausage rolls... tsk tsk...

Saturday June 14

brekkie
porridge, yog fruit, tea

lunch
tuna sandwich - tuna tspn mayo cucumber celery no butter
one lemon thin biscuit

snack whilst preparing dinner
crust off new loaf with butter and marmite... ooopsss...

dinner
cold roast chicken, rice salad, green salad, half beef tomato
small glass red wine

Dinner on Friday 13th

dinner

small portion cold roast pork, brussel sprouts, butter beans, 1tbs new potatoes. Shall I tell you this was the more boring stuff I have eaten in a long while...it needed lots of buttery stuff on the veg to make even slightly interesting.

followed by strawberries tossed in redcurrant jelly with vanilla icecream and three Lemon Thin shortbreads.

MUCH BETTER!!

and a glass of red vino.

AND I plan to have a nice scotch later on.....

what was that rhyme? Oh yes...

There was a little girl,
  Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
  When she was good,
  She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


NB for curl on forehead see pic of me on honeymoon :-)

getting fed up with dieting.....:(

I am very fed up with dieting today.

I have lost about 3/4 stone I suppose since I started which is not to be sniffed at.

If you compare my purply picture with the picture of me from Menton, I think there is a definite improvement....




But I am fed up with thinking about what I can and can't eat .

So I am going to have a "eat what you want but not too much of it at any one time" weekend, and hope the damage isn't too much.

Everyone has to have a break sometime, doncha think?

Oh, and I found this pic --- this is what I looked like on my honeymoon - any chance of getting this back do you think? hahahhahahahaaaa

Friday 13 June

Oh! It's Friday 13th ...

brekkie
a treat for me...

toast and marmite. 2 slcs.
yog and fruit
tea

lunch was NOT a diety lunch...

(2 sausage rolls, two slices bread & honey... num num but oh dear...)

Thurs June 12

Blimey nearly half way through the month again.

brekkie

same old same old
porridge, yog fruit.. yawn yawn...

lunch

half triple sandwich from Sainsbury cheaps

dinner

spaghetti, stir in tomato & olive sauce, green salad
icecream with fresh cherry sauce

Weds June 11

brekkie
porridge, yog and fruit
coffee

lunch
slice bread and marmite, smear butter
Geo bar

dinner
half portion fish in sauce for starter, 2 small slices soda bread
ham & stilton salad

Tuesday June 10

what can I say other than hrmmph. Gained weight this morning putting me back to 16st 7.

So it would appear that even the slightly little treats will stop weight loss for me.

Ergo, no more sweet things, cut back on the small amount of dairy.

grrrrrrrrr

brekkie
porridge, yog fruit. tea

coffee

lunch
tuna and cucumber sandwich, one tsp mayo no butter

dinner
ham and hb egg salad, small portion potatoes in vinaigrette, green salad
small slice (to finish it up) strawb cheesecake.

said no to lovely pain au raisin sitting on worktop... made Bob eat it...

Monday June 9

brekkie - porridge, yog fruit, tea

coffee

lunch - salad, saucisson sec, small piece cheese, one slice bread lightly buttered.
tea
Pain au raisins

( I can see sweet things creeping back in- have to be careful and not let them get out of hand.)

dinner
Young's salmon in white wine sauce, (30p from Sainsbury's cheaps counter...) carrots green beans
Marco Pierre White Strawberry Mousse (15p from Sainsbury's cheaps counter...)

Sunday 8th June

Brekkie - 1 x toast with marmite, 1 x toast with marmalade. Yog and fruit. Tea.

lunch half chicken salad, half egg mayo and bacon sandwiches

dinner chicken breast poached in tomato chili sauce, broccoli, green beans, small portion new pots.
small slice strawberry cheesecake
small glass red wine.

Saturday June 7

Derby Day!

brekkie - Porridge

lunch - cheese tom cucumber sandwich,

3.30 before the derby

coffee, small slice cheesecake

(lost the Derby.... boooo hisssss)

dinner
pasta with tomato sauce, parmesan. Green salad (well half of it as I had a coughing fit half way through... itchy salad and a cold don't mix it would seem!)

Friday 6th June

brekkie

toast and marmite, yog fruit.

coffee and cherry frangipane tart

no lunch

afternoon snack - 2 slices parma ham
4 Dorita crackers with butter


dinner
lamb red pepper and onion kebabs
basmati rice
green salad, one tsp dressing

Thursday June 5

Off to mums to take her out to lunch.

brekkie
two slices toast and marmite, yog and fruit

half a kitkat with coffee on route (ugh... M25 the pits today - 2.5 hour drive took 4.5 hours instead....)

lunch at the Museum Inn in Farnham Dorset

Chinese parcel with star anise broth to start

North Dorset chump of lamb with roasted mediterranean veggies, wilted spinach and roasted balsamic vinegar new potatoes

Lemon creme brulee with shortbread biscuits

coffee and a chocolate truffle

expensive but very worth it!

wednesday June 4th

Ok, last two days I was abducted by aliens...

I ate all right, but too much bread as ever. and I couldn't find the energy to write it down.

So yesterday I came down with a heavy cold ,which probably explains the lack of energy.

But, can't let it slip too much, so back to business again today.

Brekkie 10.00

porridge, yog fruit (nearly out of fruit so not a lot of selection..)
two nurofen and a glug of cough mixture... ptooey...

rest of day - 4 cold chipolata sausages with salad, 2 small slices wheaten soda bread

dinner - cold chicken, cold ham, carrots and peas, tbs onion conserve

and the other half of sticky toffee pudding and icecream.... (glossed over by saying very quickly)

Sunday June 1st

Wow June already - Looking forward to lovely warm days and salads and easy dieting... hahahahahahahaha... it's grey and cold and suitable for soup and stew out there...

brekkie 5.30 before boot fair

2 slices white toast scraping butter and marmalade, yog and fruit
tea

at boot fair
3 cups coffee
one choc chip digestive biscuit
home made ham and salad sandwich, scraping of butter only
banana

home 1.30
tea small slice bread no butter

snack 5.00
two slices bread - one with just butter, one with marmite no butter, 4 dried apricots
tea

dinner 7.15
soup - clear chicken and celery, ciabatta roll
beef and tomato stew, broccoli

too much bread today!!! disgraceful....

Saturday May 31

Brekkie 7.30
porridge, yog fruit
tea

lunch (auction view) 13.00
home made stilton tomato and lettuce sandwich - only small amount of cheese, and scraping of butter
coffee

on returning home 14.00
tea
one square dark chocolate
bit later... another square dark chocolate

dinner 8 pm

ciabatta roll, bowl homemade celery and chicken soup
three cumberland Duchy sausages, roast tomatoes, roast butternut squash

Friday 30th May

brekkie 9.30

porridge, yog fruit
tea

11.00 coffee 11.30 another coffee ...

lunch 3.00

two scrambled eggs, two slices rye toast no butter. Two raspberries.
Tea

dinner 8.00
chicken spezzatori (with vinegar garlic and anchovies) small portion new potatoes, salad. Small glass red wine.

Thursday May 28

Brekkie 9.00
Proscuitto and melon, yog and fruit
tea

11.30 coffee

lunch 2.30
2 poached eggs, 2 slices rye toast, no butter
handful walnuts and for some inexplicable reason a small spoon of honey! (what???)

coffee

Out to dinner with the girls at Prezzo

quarter roast chicken, potato gratin, small caesar salad, coffee (4 chocolates with coffee...but no dessert...)

Wednesday May 28

Brekkie 9.30
porridge, yog fruit
tea

coffee

lunch 2.00
sandwich - half ham and mustard, half chicken and salad. One mini pork pie, cucumber sticks.
Tea

snack handful walnuts

dinner 8.00

Fresh chargrilled tuna steak, french beans, small portion new potatoes , half pat of sun dried tomato butter that came with the tuna steaks.

summer pudding with icecream
one half square dark chocolate

Tuesday May 27

Brekkie 9.30
porridge, yog fruit, tea
coffee

no lunch

snack
cherry tomatoes

one small square dark chocolate

dinner 8.00

two Duchy Originals sausages, colcannon (potatoes cabbage onion, no fat or milk), gravy from mix, no added fat.
1/4 of bought summer pudding, icecream
1 inch of red wine (!)

EFT

I've been looking into EFT - lots of vids on You Tune, and a variety of websites, showing how it works. I like Gary Craig's original site: http://www.emofree.com/

I am trying to work on my hunger (linked to a sense of lack from a post war 1950s childhood I think) . It seems to be keeping any cravings at bay, but we will see.

Scales showing no loss today... I think I need to work on my need for them to keep going down!

Or buy new scales of course...

Monday May 26 (bank holiday)

Well it has to be a bank holiday - it is teeming down.. :(

and cold and damp makes me hungry..

brekkie 9.30
porridge, yog and fruit

(Realised the last milk I picked up was semi rather than skimmed, so I have been having fattier porridge than I am used to . As I prefer it with skim, rather annoyed about the excess calories without any taste advantage.)

lunch 2.30
sandwich unbutttered bread, proscuitto , cucumber. Spray of vine cherry tomatoes. Still hungry so two small slices brown soda bread, no butter.

whilst making dinner
crust from loaf with marmite no butter

dinner 8.00
brussel sprouts, broccoli, small lamb steak, mint gravy. Roasted rhubarb with honey, small portion vanilla icecream.

small scotch and ice

Sunday 25th May

brekkie 8.30

porridge, yog fruit, tea

11.00 coffee

no lunch

4.30 snack
two slices honey and yoghurt soda bread, no butter, tea

7.00 dinner
roast chicken breast topped with sausage and bacon, brussel sprouts, carrots

Sunday treat.... chocolate creme brulee (going cheap at Sainsbury's and I decided not to resist..!!)

Saturday May 24

Feeling rather fed up this morning. Couldn't be bothered to eat much, so

brekkie 10.00
just porridge. Yog and fruit made, but not eaten. Probably have later.

coffee 11.30

lunch 3 pm

cold meats and cold sausage with green salad
orange juice
coffee

6.30 pm

yog and fruit from this morning, tea.

8.00 dinner

spaghetti (half normal size portion - 90g raw weight) with tablespoon of Stir in Aubergine and tomato sauce, sprinkling parmesan. Green salad with tablespoon vinaigrette, pine nuts and sprinkling parmesan.

Friday 23rd week

start of week three...

coo... I normally only last two weeks.

scales say down - 16 3 now. That's a loss of over half a stone in two weeks. Hurray!

I will be brave today and not have any of the mini danish pastries Bob brought home for himself yesterday evening... I know they are only little, but it might be the start of the slippery slope.

HOWEVER If I try to fool myself I won't have a bacon sandwich with him at lunch time, I am onto a complete loser...

brekkie 9.30

porridge with demerara, yog fruit. Tea.

lunch 14.00

bacon sarnie, tom ketchup, no butter
tea

dinner 8.00

starter and main course tonight!

asparagus, radishes, two small sushi, 1tbs mayo

2 sausages, mushrooms, broccoli
one glass red wine.

Thursday May 22

Well it all started well,

brekkie 7.30 early off to auction...
porridge, yog and fruit, tea

then on the motorway I stopped for coffee... but I didn't mean to have the pain au raisin, guv, 'onest... (I did force myself to only eat the outer two rings and leave the middle bit)

lunch 2 pm

sarnie time - just a basic prawn one so not too bad. And a geo bar.
coffee

dinner 7.30 pm

Well, I had entrusted dinner to Bob. So we got:

steak and kidney pie (top crust only, but buttery flakey pastry - Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, and you can! ) carrots and broccoli.

I refused the new potatoes but I et the pastry..

oh dear ... yum yum yum...

Wednesday May 21st

I think that my weight is down another pound... but my scales are so dodgy each time I step on them I weigh something different.... !!

brekkie 10.00

parma ham and mortadella, sliced pear. Yog and fruit. Tea

lunch 1.30

two poached eggs, slice bread no butter.

still hungry today...
sliver of dark chocolate

I shall have to go and eat something else soon, I am feeling a bit queasy (eggy taste possibly...)

aaagggghhhhh

4 pm

made a cup of tea and stood in front of the open cupboard and stuffed into my gaping maw:

slice bread with marmite
handful pine nuts
handful walnuts
another handful pine nuts
another handful walnuts
another handful pine nuts
up ended the rest of the pack of walnuts..

oh dear.....

dinner 8.00

lamb kebabs with red peppers and onions, baked provencal tomatoes (English tomatoes this time, not ones brought back from France - what a HUGE difference in flavour...:( ) half portion rice and spelt salad (going cheap at Sainsbury's) and some watercress/spinach salad.

ooooofffffffffff.... I should have stopped about half way through. But I didn't . Now I am stuffed to the gills. Silly person.......>:(

Tuesday May 20

10.30 brekkie

porridge, yog fruit
tea

11.30

coffee, half inch square dark plain chocolate.

15.00 lunch

sandwich - two small wholemeal slices, left over pork from last night, chicory leaves, mustard. No butter.
tea

dinner 8.00

three course meal tonight! two mains bought cheap and needed to be eaten straight away, so too much eaten really...

smoked haddock fishcake with rocket and cucumber salad
Alaskan wild salmon fillet with green beans
Fresh orange jelly with raspberries and blueberries
coffee.

oooffff I feel very full.....

Monday May 19

brekkie 9.30

porridge, yog fruit. (abbrev details as I have porridge nearly every day)

I thought I'd add a useful reminder to myself today of Why I Am Losing Weight.

a) I don't want to break a bone next time I fall over
b) I don't want to keep falling over
c) I want to walk upstairs without running out of breath
d) I want my joints to stop aching
e) I don't want to look like this anymore... (taken in Menton, South of France recently)

11.30

coffee

lunch 3.30

sliced saucisson sec, celery sticks, two slices bread no butter

4.30

coffee

8.00 dinner

Portuguese roast pork with green beans, broccoli
home made orange jelly with raspberries and blueberries

just fancied something fresh after the pork, which is quite rich.
Some left over for lunch tomorrow.

Sunday 18th May

Brekkie - late 10.30
porridge with 2 spoons dem sugar (tsk tsk), yog with fruit
tea

12.00
coffee

lunch 2 pm

saucisson sec, cucumber, radish, tomato, red pepper, one slice bread, no butter. Tea

dinner 7 pm

loads of BBQ chicken wings, 2 new potatoes, green salad

half past 10
sneaky scotch and ice.....!!!

Saturday May 17

So scales this morning 16 6 I reckon that is about 5lb lighter than after holiday weight. ( I didn't weigh myself when I first came back, so maybe even a bit more). Happy with that, I haven't cut the carbs right out, so it isn't completely water weight either.

9.45 brekkie
porridge with coffee spn demerara, yog with fruit - got some fresh figs and fresh peaches cheapies at Sainsbury's yesterday, so interesting fruit combination today. Figs, peaches, raspberries and blueberries. Very tasty.
tea

coffee mid morning


2 30 pm lunch
two poached eggs, one slice poppy seed bloomer, no butter on either. banana.

still hungry but maybe it is just working its way into my brain.....
whatever...

5.00 succumbed to another piece of bread and marmite - but no butter. Good girl!

7.30 dinner

beef and kidney braise with tomatoes, carrots, celery and peppers with brussels and butter beans - cold weather food!

Friday 16th May

Dropped a whole lb this morning. Not a lot, but Yay anyway...

breakfast 9.30

porridge with coffee spn demerara sugar, yog and fruit.
tea

coffee 11.30

1.00 pm
slice of unbuttered poppy bloomer (cheat - couldn't resist, but I didn't need it really, wasn't hungry, just found my hand moved it to my mouth and that was that...)

lunch 16.00
bowl of soup (other half of pumpkin from yesterday) 2 small slices bread no butter
small plate of salame and mortadella with cucumber.

dinner 8 pm

oh dear ate too much....

chinese style stir fry, with a roasted duck breast on top, sticky plum sauce (only half the pack) with one large tbs of rice.

I was full after about half way.. but it was delicious.

So, reader, I et it....

thursday May 15

Goodness a whole week... and nary a cheat at all!

Just got a copy of Paul McKenna's book "I will make you thin" out of the library... let's see what a bit of head work might do. I usually self sabotage after two weeks, so I need to get this week out of the way, then I can feel I am really up and running.

breakfast 9.30
parma ham, mortadella, melon, pears. Yog with fresh fruit (banana, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry) . Tea.

11.00 coffee

15.30 lunch

bowl of pumpkin soup

8.30 dinner

small lamb steak, tablespoon new potatoes, green salad, fresh runner bean salad with radishes and onions, ridge cucumber, tablespoon vinaigrette

Wednesday May 14th

Sigh. No change on the scales... but I suppose at least I should be happy that no increase - rice and probably sugar in the Indian on Monday can't have done any good.

Got a couple of new books from the library for more tips so I'll see what I can glean from those..

breakfast 9.30

porridge, coffee spn demerara, yog with fruit (pear, blueberry, blackberry, banana)
tea

1pm
coffee

3.30 pm lunch

2 small slices wholemeal, thin slices of saucisson sec, tomatoes, cucumber. no butter!

8.00 dinner

3 fresh garlicky grilled sardines, green salad (lemon juice for dressing) tabbouleh, tomatoes with basil and drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

this was delicious! I wish I had taken a picture... LOL

Tuesday May 13

Feel sluggish this morning - probably the Indian last night...

so Breakfast 8.30
just yog and fruit
tea

coffee at about 10.30

lunch 2.30ish

two small slices wholemeal bread, three slices of mortadella , cucumber, no butter

coffee/tea/water

dinner 7.30

rest of bacon from Sunday, courgette frittata, green salad, half chicken thigh, no skin

Monday May 12

Busy auction day.

breakfast 7.30
parma ham, pear. Yog and fruit
tea

break 11.00
coffee
geo bar

lunch 3.pm

two chicken thighs

dinner
out with friends for Wendy birthday

Indian restaurant

poppadums and salads
lamb shashlik, pilau rice, salad, channa masala. Mango lassi, water.

Sunday May 11th

Scales still the same.... hmmmmmm.....

new resolution - drink more water

9.30 breakfast

Parma ham, mortadella, pear and melon
yoghurt & fruit
tea

coffee mid morning

glass water

3pm late lunch

two slices ham & cucumber sandwich in organic white bread, no butter. Hot horseradish instead of butter!

7.00 dinner

roast ham, green salad with one teaspoon vinaigrette, broccoli in salad, small portion jersey potatoes, no butter.

lots of water

saturday May 10

Saturday. Early morning start for auction viewing.

7.30 breakfast

porridge, yog with fruit.

10.30 break

coffee with Kellogs Crunchy nut bar

2.00 lunch

tuna salad (can tuna in brine, tbs mayo, chopped celery and guerkin in little gem leaves)
coffee
half slice white bread no butter

8.00 dinner

grilled haddock, provencale tomatoes , courgettes and onions


Tired and rather hungry. Think I'll have an early night.

Friday 9 may

Weight this morning on my dodgy scales 16 7

Felt really hungry last night, succumbed to another banana and a small glass of whisky!! Probably because I didn't have the bread I was going to with dinner?

Naughty, I am trying to keep off the alcohol.

Preparing breakfast, found myself about to sliver a bit of butter from the dish (hubby having toast) - wonder how many times I have done that without realising the excess fat going into my body?

10.30 late Breakfast today:

proscuitto and mortadella with melon and pear
yoghurt with fruit
tea

3.30 late lunch

two slices Yorkshire ham with watercress and horseradish sauce in two small slices wholemeal bread...

wasn't going to have wheat, but I was hungry and a bit nauseous, so hope no butter will still make it not too bad...

Not a good day. difficult to keep on the straight and very narrow.

7.30 dinner

Pork steak with breadcrumby topping (cheapy readymade - ditched the sauce) broccoli peas and spinach.

very boring - just food....

Thursday May 8 - brekkie and lunch

9.30 ish

Porridge with one coffee spn demerara sugar

yoghurt with raspberries blackberries banana grapes
tea

coffee

around 3

banana

tea

6.39

dinner set to be chicken backed in the oven, provencal tomatoes with breadcrumbs garlic and parsley, roast courgettes and onions. Bread alongside (no butter)

I'm hungry!!

Thursday

16 st 7 the scales say...

mind you the scales are pretty dodgy, but I came back from a short holiday to South of France the heaviest I have ever been at just under 17.

Trying out "Bob's" suggestions for diet...

smaller portions, no dairy except non-fat, no wheat.

Yesterday Weds:

B: prosciutto and mortadella, melon and pear: yoghurt with blueberries banana grapes.
L: crab sticks, melon and pear, handful of nuts, banana
D: two slices York ham, salad, tablespoon vinaigrette

Gonna be much more expensive than food bills before :(

oh well here we go again

I've lost my old diet blog....

I don't know where it is, I can't remember my username or which email it used..

I am such a blerk.

so.... off we go again