Australia Wrap Up & a Dukan Update

Posted on March 31, 2013 by flamidwyfe

So, we’ll start out with my wild adventure down under 🙂

I stayed 3 full days after the baby was born. On Saturday I went snorkeling with a group from MeetUp.com. And had an awesome time. Great way to wrap up 4 weeks in Adelaide.

I then rented a car and started out on the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne. It was a long, but lovely 700 mile drive.

Fun things to see…

Then I got to Melbourne and stayed a few nights with Kay. A Scottish midwife I met in Abu Dhabi. We went for a long walk and lunch down by the water…

The second night we met Melissa a Kiwi midwife I met in Abu Dhabi and Jax, a friend of a friend for a Thai fusion dinner…

Then it was off to Malua Bay to see Gen, Dean and Gracie. I met this lovely family in Abu Dhabi, as well…

We hiked, went to the zoo, BBQd breakfast at the sea, hiked some more, burned a bonfire, FUN!

Then off to Sydney to meet up with Gail. Gail was my trainer in Abu Dhabi and my neighbor. And she is one of the funniest people I know. She invited me up for “tea” one night and so I ate dinner and went up to her flat only to find that “tea” is dinner. She’s called me Dickie since then… I’m sure it’s derogatory, but she says it with sarcasm and love at the same time 😀

We drove from Sydney to The Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, in 16 hours… Long ass day, but wonderful company! She lives about 30 minutes from Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo!! We went with Gail’s daughter Olivia and her wee little man, Angus. What a fun day!

And after cuddles and see ya laters, it was time for my 6 week Australia Adventure to come to a close. I flew out of Brisbane with ZZ Top, no kidding. On my second favorite plane…

And, no, I didn’t get pics of ZZ Top, I try to think how I’d feel if people were interrupting me for pics.

And now I’m home a week. It’s Easter. I had a lovely day with my mom and Tiff, Joey and ALL the grandkids at church and then a wonderful dinner at Jenni and Chris’ house.

Now my update. I’ve gained 18 pounds since I’ve come back to the States in September. 9 of them in Australia. The first 9 creeped up. I’m freaked out. My clothes still fit, but are snug. I noticed my undies were snug last week and couldn’t imagine what was up. Then I got on the scale. I have stayed gluten free. In Australia I logged more miles on my RunKeeper app than any other 6 weeks in the past year. I hiked almost every single day! i swam and snorkeled. I climbed a freaking mountain!!!

I’ve done a few things that I need to rein in… 1. Too much full fat cheese. 2. Replacement foods (in Australia I splurged on GF pretzels, muffins, crackers… One night I ate GF crackers with organic honey!!!) 3. Wine. I’ve had a couple glasses a week, which is a lot for me. Moscato… Damn you, Cathy Cook! LOL

So, starting tomorrow, I’m doing 4 days of attack and then alternating PP (Pure Protein) and PV (Protein Veggie) days until it’s off. And I’m going to blog EVERY.SINGLE.DAY… To hold myself accountable and to get the support I need from all of you.

So, I’m back… Daily posts. Looking forward to getting back on track!

Ciao!

Almost Heaven

Posted on March 2, 2013 by flamidwyfe

What’s better than organic, nitrite free bacon and eggs for breakfast? This…

Bacon and eggs fried with leftover turkey skin from the organic bird I cooked two days ago. OMG GOOD!!

Dukan – Pure Protein Thursday

Posted on February 22, 2013 by flamidwyfe

Consolidation Day 286 😀
Weight: 151 lbs/68.5 kgs

Thought I’d throw a Dukan PP day out there! I’m still going strong. Sticking mostly to the Consolidation plan.

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in coconut oil, 250 mL water
Mid-morning: 4 slices of the yummiest bacon and a cafe con leche
Lunch: 2 big slices of roast beef, 500 mL water
Dinner: 3 pieces of baked chicken. Baked the chicken in a TBS coconut oil and sliced 1.5 onions and 4 cloves of garlic… Delish! 500 mL water
Before bed: Fat free Greek yogurt with chia seeds for fiber
Will finish the night off with another 500 mL after my run.

Met an amazing person today at the coffee shop. No seats available so I offered to share my table. I love when you two people wind up in the same place for a reason… I had a wonderful 3 hour conversation… SO NICE TO MEET YOU, STAR 🙂

Went for a walk in Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary. Sadly, this park is closing due to budget constraints. Got to feed and pet and hold hands with a couple of kangaroos and wallabies. So much fun!

Now I’m going out for a run!

Ciao!

Recipe – Dukan & Paleo – There’s A Kangaroo in my Crockpot!

Posted on February 13, 2013 by flamidwyfe

I’m in the land of the Aussies and when in Oz…

I traveled here last Friday and what is wonderful about flying west is that you don’t have such bad jet lag. It’s the flying back east that does you in! It is summer here in Adelaide and the weather is glorious! I’ll do a post on the hikes I’ve been doing tomorrow, but today’s special is Roo!

We purchased the kangaroo in the market and to me it looks like beef…

I made a spice rub with chili, garum masala and cumin and rubbed it in all the crevices…

I then seared the Roo on both sides in 2 Tbs of coconut oil…

I chopped 2 onions and a nice piece of ginger and tossed into the crockpot, put in just enough water to cover the bottom, placed the Roo on top of that and poured the drippings from the pan on top of all of it…

Cooked on high 3.5 hours and bam…

Tender, falling apart meat! The onions cooked down nicely and the gravy was yummy!

Plated with an organic salad and this was a perfect meal 🙂 I also enjoyed a 1/2 cup of rice and those purple things are carrots!

I liked the meat. It wasn’t gamey at all. Reminded me of buffalo meat, but tastier and more tender. I would definitely try this again!

Have you tried something different? How did you like it?

Recipe – Dukan – Momma Sandi’s Amazing Crockpot Ribs

Posted on February 4, 2013 by flamidwyfe

Mmmmm! These were GOOD! And easy!

I tore the plastic wrap off and sprinkled generously: sea salt, cumin, chili powder, cayenne and paprika.

I heated up 2 Tbs coconut oil in the pan and put the ribs, seasoned side down, to brown. I then generously sprinkled the exposed side to the same spices. Browned all 4 sides and put in the crockpot with the juices from the pan. I did this 4 times, as we had a big family lunch planned for after church yesterday.

I threw in 1 cup of my homemade veggie stock (any gluten free stock will do) and cooked on high for 4 hours… It fell off the bone and was DELICIOUS!

Enjoy 🙂

Recipe – Dukan – Dollar Store Dinner

Posted on January 26, 2013 by flamidwyfe

Did you know you can buy food at the Dollar Tree store? I didn’t either and last week I took Sydnie there to spend her allowance and found the frozen food section. I picked up some tilapia and shrimp and salmon steaks. I also got some big bags of frozen vegies. Last night I decided to try the tilapia. This meal was Paleo and Dukan PV. I pan fried in a bit of coconut oil and sprinkled some curry powder and sea salt on them. I cooked on med-high for 3 minutes and flipped them, then added the veggies on top and put on a lid for 4 minutes. This was the result…

Yummy dinner. Cost approx. $2.20!

What did you have for dinner last night? Have you ever eaten food from The Dollar Store?

Ciao!

Still here!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by flamidwyfe

I feel like I never stop! Been super busy the past few weeks, but wanted to quickly check in.

My dear friend Denise’s daughter Aleisha married her honey, Bryce last Saturday and had a gorgeous ceremony and reception. The “aunties” were asked to make appetizers and my assignment was veggie platters. Tiffany came over to help me out and we made 4 huge trays. With the scraps I made this…

Veggie stock. Oh my did it turn out yummy! A bit pinkish because of the red cabbage, but I made a chicken stew in the crockpot yesterday that was to die for… Mmmmm!

Sydnie and I are getting out for a nice long walk a few days a week in the evenings. We live a few blocks from the water, so our route is lovely. This is the way there…

And her reward for not complaining is this…

I am also trying to do the bridge walk/run at least twice a week. That’s nearly 8 kms and with a coffee stop in the middle, it’s also a lovely walk.

Working like crazy, trying to keep my sanity, trying to figure out when we’re doing the triathlon in the fall (Sandra and Cindy can ya email me?) 😀

That’s it for now. I hope y’all are having an awesome week!

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 249

Posted on January 15, 2013 by flamidwyfe

Monday was a PP day 😀 I haven’t written those words in a long time! I weighed myself and was up to 154 and said out loud, “whoa, Nelly” and decided to get better control. I think it’s more about reduced activity than anything else. I’m eating clean, gluten-free food.

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, coffee, 500 mL water
Lunch: 4 slices roast beef, 2 slices provolone, 500 mL water
Dinner: stir fry pork loin with onions and garlic, 500 mL water
35 minute quick walk
Snack: Fat free Greek yogurt
Bed

Woke up this morning down 2 pounds. Happy girl : D

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 249

Posted on January 15, 2013 by flamidwyfe

Woke up this morning down 2 pounds. Happy girl : D

Ciao!

Finding Sandi…

Posted on January 12, 2013 by flamidwyfe

It’s been a busy week! I started out with my typical day off and spent all of Monday cleaning house after having grandkids there all weekend! 😀

On Monday (or was that Sunday? Sheesh, I can’t remember!) I managed a walk with a friend over the bridges that I posted about last week…

Walking the bridges! Around the 3 km mark there is a dock that goes out over the water!

Then Tuesday and Wednesday a commute to job 1… the Center Director at an amazing birth house. Upside… I work with some crazy and fun people. Downside… it’s an hour drive each way and for only 3 days a week, which doesn’t pay the bills 😦

It’s been a grey kinda week! Grey dress, grey hose, grey shoes… at least the sun is shining!

Then on Thursday I started a new, every once in a while job, teaching at a college about 20 minutes even further from my home… Not complaining, as it supplements my income!

Then on Thursday afternoon I drove another 35 miles south to do some admin work for a midwife friend of mine who is converting her practice to electronic medical records. I spent the night at her house, so I could get an early start (and not waste time and money on driving!) and had this yummy breakfast…

Chicken sausage, mushrooms and eggs. Mmmm!

Here it is finished…

Breakfast plated. I love adding avocado!

I then set out for a long day of data entry and scanning. Totally worth it. As it could all be done via wifi I sat outside on the deck next to her pool and worked all day! The Vitamin D was welcome! BeBe loved it too…

BeBe loves being a Florida dog!

Janice came home just as I was cooking this for dinner…

Stir fry: Omaha steaks with scallion, garlic, mushroom and asparagus! OH MY!

I have found myself in a bit of a rut and a little down the past few weeks. My plan was to come home, work PT at the birth house and take time to get my health and fitness business up and going. Part of the problem with feeling down is that I COMFORT EAT 😦 I have caught myself reaching for things (mostly dark chocolate or Fritos) when I’m feeling sorry for myself. Two significant things happened yesterday to kick me back on to the right path.

One… I spoke with Jamie, my amazing logo designer, about getting my web site for the business going. She is so encouraging and gave me an assignment to get the text going. So do know that I am committed to getting the site up by FEBRUARY 1st (I say this more for me than anyone else, lol)

Two… I got a message on Facebook in my “other” folder, while on the phone with Jamie! I opened it and found these words (I’ve not posted the whole message)…

I just wanted to let you know what an inspiration your Dukan journey has been for me. I started Dukan on August 20th of this year and so far have banished 50lbs. I have about 35 more to go. Not sure how I came across your blog, but I have finally got caught up to date with your journey. Soooo many times I have turned to read a few days of your blog when I was battling cravings etc and the words spoke right to me!

Towards the end of the message the letter writer encourages me to write more posts, and I need to, and thank you for encouraging me to do that! This weekend I am going to write out a blog post schedule and STICK TO IT! Ironically, she and I started Dukan on the exact same day (a year apart) with the exact same weight to lose! How cool is that!?!!

I need to find myself. I need to take the time to immerse myself in solitude and write and write and write my business goals out, again, once more, so that it becomes clear again. I need to keep writing out my vision boards and focus on making them a reality. And I need to respect who I am, what I’ve achieved and continue to feed my body GOOD.CLEAN.FOOD! Because I look and feel better than ever!

How do you make sure that you turn your visions into reality? How do you keep yourself on track?

Ciao!