I made a Coconut Water Berry Jelly Mould the other day, so I grabbed half for breakfast and coupled it with a small tub of 2% Fage Strained Greek Yoghurt mixed with Dutch Cocoa, Carob Powder and Cinnamon and Nutmeg.
I could have had the whole mould, but I was craving salt, so I had a slice of gluten-free 'Food For Life' China Black Rice Bread toasted with Organic Butter. Mmmm. That was the best bit. If I didn't have to eat protein, I'd have been happy with just the toast this morning.
I also had an Organic Green Tea.
I could have had the whole mould, but I was craving salt, so I had a slice of gluten-free 'Food For Life' China Black Rice Bread toasted with Organic Butter. Mmmm. That was the best bit. If I didn't have to eat protein, I'd have been happy with just the toast this morning.
I also had an Organic Green Tea.
MORNING SNACK
I am tired today. I really didn't get enough sleep last night and it's showing in my diet.
I'm also confused as to the direction of today. I have a dinner out tonight with an Aussie friend who's in town at a restaurant where my mate chefs. He's promising to 'sort us out'. It's difficult to count calories when eating out at the best of times, but when the chef wants to treat you .... o-oh. Warning bells, (in a good but naughty way).
I think I've needed a few days break from my rigid diet/exercise mentality. I'm planning to eat as healthily as I can today and tonight, but not to be too strict. This is my break. I'll be full-on back into the Skinny Bride Mission tomorrow.
I had a cup of Black Tea with Half-and-half Cream ....
I'm also confused as to the direction of today. I have a dinner out tonight with an Aussie friend who's in town at a restaurant where my mate chefs. He's promising to 'sort us out'. It's difficult to count calories when eating out at the best of times, but when the chef wants to treat you .... o-oh. Warning bells, (in a good but naughty way).
I think I've needed a few days break from my rigid diet/exercise mentality. I'm planning to eat as healthily as I can today and tonight, but not to be too strict. This is my break. I'll be full-on back into the Skinny Bride Mission tomorrow.
I had a cup of Black Tea with Half-and-half Cream ....
.... and it was so good I had another.
I then had 3 slices of Organic Applegate Farms Oven Roasted Turkey ....
.... and a Coconut Lime Chia Square.
THE CHOCOLATE DREAM
Since I'm heading back to Australia, I started researching varietal chocolate bars Down Under. Most cacao beans are grown in the tropics in Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. But closer to home, Vanuatu is a cacao-growing source. How good is that?! I'm filing this information away towards my future 'Kind Chocolate' dream, but in terms of my Aussie chocolate supplier for recipes, I'll be using a lot of Tava Chocolate I'm sure.
Tava are a sustainable company supporting local farmers, and they believe in 'paying it forward' in terms of sharing chocolate production knowledge. I think I'm going to have to get in touch with these people .... So exciting! I have finally found my passion. Now that my health, fitness and weightloss are under control, I have inadvertently been left with a load of positive energy and the confidence to discover and follow my dreams.
Tava are a sustainable company supporting local farmers, and they believe in 'paying it forward' in terms of sharing chocolate production knowledge. I think I'm going to have to get in touch with these people .... So exciting! I have finally found my passion. Now that my health, fitness and weightloss are under control, I have inadvertently been left with a load of positive energy and the confidence to discover and follow my dreams.
LUNCH
An Organic Sesame Pumpkin Cookie ....
.... a bowl of Organic Cardamom Veggie Soup with 3 oz Grilled Chicken added ....
.... and a square of Chili Chocolate Fudge, (only 1).
MORE CHOCOLATE
I just had the most bizarre experience in a high end chocolate store in the East Village. It's a long story, but basically I sold my soul for chocolate. The owner of the store stocks 45 brands of high-end bars and truffles and he was a wealth of information on the chocolate industry, chocolate shows and starting my own chocolate business. He was also uncomfortably flirty, despite my telling him I have a fiance.
Back to business. I'd previously been held back by a limiting belief that most people won't pay for quality ingredients in a high-end chocolate bar when they can get budget junk chocolate for 1/10th the price. I stand corrected. According to him the gourmet chocolate realm is recession-proof and the number of millionaires in the world is growing every year. People who appreciate quality will pay for it and there is definitely money to be made. Sweet!
Mr. Chocolate satisfied his flirty desires and I left having tasted a bunch of pricey, amazing chocolate brands and with 2 full bars in my bag for free. Told you I sold my soul. But it was worth every penny....
By the way, this Pacari brand pictured is amazing. It's all organic, single-origin from Ecuador (my favorite flowery, sweet cacao beans) and fair trade. Love it.
Back to business. I'd previously been held back by a limiting belief that most people won't pay for quality ingredients in a high-end chocolate bar when they can get budget junk chocolate for 1/10th the price. I stand corrected. According to him the gourmet chocolate realm is recession-proof and the number of millionaires in the world is growing every year. People who appreciate quality will pay for it and there is definitely money to be made. Sweet!
Mr. Chocolate satisfied his flirty desires and I left having tasted a bunch of pricey, amazing chocolate brands and with 2 full bars in my bag for free. Told you I sold my soul. But it was worth every penny....
By the way, this Pacari brand pictured is amazing. It's all organic, single-origin from Ecuador (my favorite flowery, sweet cacao beans) and fair trade. Love it.
Oh, and the sleazebag opened a bottle of Merlot for us to enjoy with our chocolate.
.... LATER .... I take that back. One crazy expensive gingerbread truffle he gave me had a crispy shell that raised my suspicions. Sure enough it contained gluten. I know this now as my belly is on fire. I've also OD'd on sugar, inadvertently. Damnit! I've really got to stick to the rule that I only buy bars of dark chocolate with the cacao percentage listed. And it's best that I stick wtih 99%. I'm now feeling sorry for myself.
On a lighter note, this Gnosis brand (pictured) of raw vegan chocolate is pretty amazing as a health food. It is a different style of chocolate making. They jam-pack it full of bits so there ends up more ingredients in the mix than chocolate itself. It's a very chunky bar with a dominating fig taste. I found it to be too sweet in aftertaste, thanks to too many figs, but that's just me.
On a lighter note, this Gnosis brand (pictured) of raw vegan chocolate is pretty amazing as a health food. It is a different style of chocolate making. They jam-pack it full of bits so there ends up more ingredients in the mix than chocolate itself. It's a very chunky bar with a dominating fig taste. I found it to be too sweet in aftertaste, thanks to too many figs, but that's just me.
This is called, "I just ate far too much sugar and now I'm on a carb-binge". Ugggh. In an attempt to get rid of the sugary taste from my mouth, I grabbed a packet of Baked Potato Chips ....
.... and tried to balance it with protein in 3 slices of Applegate Farms Organic Oven Roasted Turkey ....
... and a stick of String Cheese.
Ok, this has gone beyond a joke. I have successfully had my break from stringent diet and exercise and I honestly can't wait to get back to the gym tomorrow.
Ok, this has gone beyond a joke. I have successfully had my break from stringent diet and exercise and I honestly can't wait to get back to the gym tomorrow.
Yet another Black Tea with Half-and Half Cream. Oh dear.
DINNER
Ok, are you ready? I headed to The Stanton Social for dinner with 2 mates. Tonight I was out of control and ate far too much. I didn't bother counting calories. All the food shown to follow was shared amongst 3 people ....
.... We began with Herb-Dusted Frites with Mayonnaise and Ketchup ....
.... We began with Herb-Dusted Frites with Mayonnaise and Ketchup ....
.... I had a glass of Sparkling Rose ....
.... 1 Corn and Pulled Pork Arepa ....
.... Goat Cheese in Marinated Red Pepper with Thyme ....
.... 2 slices of Avocado with Tuna Sashimi ....
.... 4 slices of Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Oil ....
.... Calamari ....
.... 1 Mini Lamb Taco ....
.... 1 Shrimp from a Cocktail ....
.... 1/3 of the yummiest salad in the world. Baby Spinach, Corn and Caramelized Cashews.
.... 2 Mini Pulled Pork Tacos ....
(I skipped the wheat tortillas in the foreground)
(I skipped the wheat tortillas in the foreground)
.... 1 Braised Scallop with Peanut Zucchini Sauce ....
.... a tiny bite of Slow-Cooked Ribs ....
.... half the Salt-n-Vinegar Chips and a tiny bite of the Kobe Beef from inside the Burger ....
.... half that ball of Red Strawberry Sorbet and 1 Candied Almond Wafer ....
(the rest of the Sundae was full of glutinous cake bits)
(the rest of the Sundae was full of glutinous cake bits)
.... Half the Icecream and a Spoonful of Toffee Sauce ....
(the Guinness Cake was definitely not gluten-free. By now my stomach was in agony thanks to the tiny bit of gluten I ate in a chocolate earlier today, so I was steering clear!)
Ooooh, sugar. Why? What was I doing to myself?
(the Guinness Cake was definitely not gluten-free. By now my stomach was in agony thanks to the tiny bit of gluten I ate in a chocolate earlier today, so I was steering clear!)
Ooooh, sugar. Why? What was I doing to myself?
.... 1/3 of each Sorbet Ball ....
PRE-BEDTIME SNACK
Not sure why, but I came home and cooked up 1 and a half pieces of China Black Rice Toast with Organic Butter ....
.... and a cup of 2% Milk with 1/4 cup Frozen Blueberries.
I feel horrible. My stomach is all swelled up and bloated and sore from the skerric of gluten I ingested hours ago. I can't stand sugar, I don't really like the feeling of alcohol in my system and I am very very overtired. It's 2am and I'm still on the net.
That's it. You've witnessed a serious diet blow-out. I'll assess why later, but it's back on the wagon tomorrow. No excuses, no guilt, no feeling sorry for my stupidity and no regrets. Just lessons and moving forward.
P.S. No idea what my calories were today. Absolutely no idea. I'm scared to think about it.
I feel horrible. My stomach is all swelled up and bloated and sore from the skerric of gluten I ingested hours ago. I can't stand sugar, I don't really like the feeling of alcohol in my system and I am very very overtired. It's 2am and I'm still on the net.
That's it. You've witnessed a serious diet blow-out. I'll assess why later, but it's back on the wagon tomorrow. No excuses, no guilt, no feeling sorry for my stupidity and no regrets. Just lessons and moving forward.
P.S. No idea what my calories were today. Absolutely no idea. I'm scared to think about it.
STATS
TOTAL CALORIES:
CALORIE DEFICIT:
EXERCISE: Brisk Walk 220 mins
CALORIE DEFICIT:
EXERCISE: Brisk Walk 220 mins