This weekend I took a mini-vacation and enjoyed some time away, by the sea, with a friend. I made food to take with me, lots of vegan food but it wasn’t 1940s…I decided that it was important to have a proper break in all aspects.
I made a tofu and spinach salad topped with a mango thai dressing, a mango and coconut thai curry with spiced rice (it also had egg plant and zucchini and LOTS of coconut cream) and finally, to finish, a lemon and poppy seed vegan cheesecake.
(this was a delicious recipe. I added a whole lemon zest to the topping and an extra spoonful of agave nectar to the topping too, to mask the taste of the soy cream (ikk).. recipe can be found here)
In addition there were organic corn chips with black beans and a hummus dip..
And then there was wine.. lots of wine… lots and lots of wine.
Feeling refreshed after having such a nice break, it was time to face the music this morning and i jumped on the weighing scales. 5 lbs on…… ( I now weigh 242lbs on my home scale). Possibly a temporary weight gain but nevertheless.
So this morning I’m all 1940’d up and raring to go. This is just a blip… however it now means I have to lose 43 lbs in 13 weeks to get to my goal within the year. I LOVE a challenge 🙂
I am sure, before even reading this post you are thinking
a) Snigger- those ermmmm sausages look like mens toilet parts
b) Ewwww- those ermmmm sausages look like they should be in the toilet..
Setting those perfectly valid observations aside, the lentil sausages were pretty tasty and have LOTS of protein in them and complex carbs (the good ones). Would be nice with gravy and vegetables…
Lentil sausages
4oz of split lentils
finely chopped leek or onion
lots of seasoning- salt and pepper
fresh sage finely chopped (I used dried mixed herbs generously)
stock/water
Method
Cover above ingredients in a saucepan with stock/water
Simmer until lentils become a thick puree (stir frequently)
Mix with a couple of dessertspoons of flour (soya is best) and 8 oz of very smooth but stiff mashed potato
Form into sausage shapes
Brush with reconstituted egg (or a little liquid if vegan) and coat in fine breadcrumbs
Fry or grill or bake in oven (220 C until browned)
Makes about 8 sausages. I would recommend doubling the quantity to make a larger batch
I knew the photos wouldn’t be good anyway (as my iPod is my camera)… BUT they came out spectacularly obscene. So bad infact that they looked like poo or penises (depending on how your mind works and how bad your eye-sight is)..
Although they look like body parts, they tasted rather good.
Being vegan I couldn’t use regular cheese but I used a dairy free cheese ( Daiya – the best dairy free cheese I’ve come across).
I try and eat as much RAW food as possible every day so I served my “cheese potatoes” on a bed of baby spinach and it was quite delicious.
Cheese potatoes
Bake one large potato per person.
Cut in half when cooked and carefully scoop out each half.
Mix the scooped out mixture with a little margarine/butter, some salt and pepper and dried mixed herbs and a sprinkling of cheese and fill the potatoes again
Place on baking tray, sprinkle a little cheese over and some more pepper
I was looking for clean trousers in a rush, about to go and drive my son back to the city, when I came across a pair of jeans I bought a long time ago to “one day fit into”… The last time I had tried them on was back in January and I took photos. As hard as I tried I could not get them done up but decided this summer I’d try them on again to see if they would fit…
Last time I wore jeans was 20 years ago- Jess and I
Looking back in my trunk full of photos I could see the last time I wore jeans was when my eldest daughter Jess was just a little girl. Jess is now 23…
Seeing the jeans, earlier to day, I grabbed them, wanting to see out of curiosity how tight they would be now.
I pulled them up over my thighs and hips and pulled the waistband together and did the button up, simple as that. There was NO resistance. MY JEANS FIT! And with that I hopped in the car, drove Josh to the city and felt like a queen (albeit it a rather saggy tummied chubby one) walking around Sobey’s at Tantallon, picking up more healthy food for my cupboards.
And so I took some photos with my webcam and put them together with the ones I took back in January.
I may have a long way to go, BUT this afternoon I have simply shed a few tears, as for the first time in 20 years, I have worn jeans. I don’t know why that would have made me cry but it has.
Sitting here in my dishevelled kitchen I’m briefly thinking that maybe I should be scrubbing my cupboards like a good little 1940s housewife (I’ve noticed some suspicious solidified ikky drips) . Alas my brain is not wired in that way… I can always find other things to do, usually involving food or Facebook.
Today, while I write this, I am making several 1940s recipes including lentil sausages, cheese potatoes, farls, cheese and lentil pie and preparing a bag or organic kidney beans so I can cook those up tomorrow. In the 1940s with meat being in short supply, it was vital to get protein from beans and lentils as well as dark leafy green vegetables.. Beans and lentils are protein rich and there is as much protein in 4 oz of dried kidney beans as there is in a 4 oz steak!! (I just checked the nutritional information on my organic pack of kidney beans!)
I also scrubbed out my fridge yesterday (well maybe I am a closet housewife on occasions) and filled one of my shelves with fresh organic produce such as kale, spinach, celery, apples and some non-organic veg too (I should start growing a victory garden to offset the organic vegetable bill) … people ask me about the expense of eating so much fresh veg (a fair percentage of it organic). I have to say that I may spend a little more but there are many other areas I am saving in by eating based on a 1940s ration. It evens out and the way I look at it is so far, touch wood, I take no medications of any kind, and that saves money too!
But apart from today I’ve had a great couple of weeks! I completed the “Relay for Life” walk for cancer on June 1st with my work colleagues and we walked from 7:30 pm until 3:30 am on and off. It was a great event, the first time I had been able to participate (thanks to losing weight I can now walk pain free and not get out of breath!), my son Josh came home again for a visit and …… (drum roll)
…..”a literary agent in New York, is going to sign ma blog!! Woo Hoo@!!!..”
That means I have to get my arse into gear, get the rest of that 100 lb lost by October 1st and the rest of the 100 recipes (35 lbs and 35 more recipes). Oh and of course over the summer we’ll be working on putting together a proposal to send to publishers (inc St Martin’s Press who e-mailed me initially) and then just keep our fingers crossed…
If I’m honest I’m overwhelmed with the thought of pulling this all together BUT this means so much to me, I am passionate about what I started and will finish. Am under no illusions that I’m a good writer but I know the premise of the 1940s Experiment is a good one and looking at it clinically, a marketable project. If my book gets published then I will have achieved what I wanted to do and that is to share the information and lifestyle changes I truly believe in….
Finally, Pixar has restored my faith in humanity (sorry this is not 1940s related but in a way it is)… remember those women during the war who went to work during WW2…yes those ones that picked up tools, built aircraft, worked in factories, worked on farms, worked agricultural machinery, rolled their sleeves up and did, what was perceived as a “mans job”…
They did those jobs and they did them well too…
Well PIXAR have finally brought to the front a princess character that doesn’t wear pink, or comb her hair all day under the sea, or pander to every whim of a handsome young man. She fights against societies expectations of her role, she breaks out of her confines by symbolically ripping the seams of her dress as she picks up the weapon of her choice, a long-bow, and proves her worth. She fights against what she perceives to be unfair expectations of her role as a traditional woman and a traditional princess…..
Yes, this is just a movie, but I am pleased to see a strong princess (Merida) not afraid to be herself, who realizes this importance…
I have a Merida… she is strong willed, she has strong beliefs, she is focused and determined on the things that are important to her and I do believe she can do anything she wants to do in life… she is BRAVE
I began this latest attempt at a “1940s Experiment” on October 1st 2011.
The premise was to follow the guidelines of a “British 1940s WWII Adult Ration” to see if this improved my health and well being and my theory was that I’d lose 100 lb in a year, without counting calories, but rather getting back to a basic wholesome way of eating and taking more exercise. At the same time, from a historical perspective, it would be fun to re-create 100 authentic WW2 recipes and share them with you as well as create a free resource for schools and researchers..
With the worry of an obesity epidemic in schools and in general, I wanted to know what would happen if I started to NOT eat junk or processed foods and drinks, if I had less sugar, began to eat fresh vegetables and fruits abundantly as well as wholefoods and cut right back on meat and dairy (infact this time I turned vegan)…
Weighing 345 lbs at my heaviest and 299 lbs on October 1, 2011…. I’ve been the perfect guinea-pig to test my theory out on.
In 8 months I’ve lost 65 lbs, I feel happier and healthier, the fog has lifted and I can walk.
And now I’m on the home stretch….I have 35 lbs to lose and 35 more recipes to re-create to reach my 1 year goal and I am truly convinced beyond any doubt that we have to AND are able to take responsibility for our health, to give ourselves a better chance and the environment a better chance too. I feel the two are absolutely intertwined..
We, the consumer, HAVE THE POWER to bring about changes…
Buy more fresh wholefoods, buy more local, buy foods with less packaging, buy less processed foods, buy organic and drink more water!
Start today with yourself, be kind to yourself, like yourself. It’s difficult to change other’s eating habits in your immediate home environment so just start with yourself…. make yourself the priority.
Please don’t think I’m preaching or think I have the answers, I don’t… BUT when you feel transformed by making these few simple changes, suddenly you just want to share…
I’ve a LONG way to go, even when I reach my first goal I’ll still have quite a bit more to lose to be in a healthy weight range but I know, what I am doing now, what for once I seem to be succeeding at, is giving me more years of my life back.
199 lbs … HERE I COME!!!
C xxxxxxxxxx
————————-
“The problem is we are not eating food anymore…. we are eating food-like products…”
Just some inspirational and encouraging movies, documentaries and clips you should try and watch… don’t be fooled by the titles. These are inspiring!
I’m not purposely leaving this image up without the accompanying recipe to cause you pain. Or maybe I am…?
Actually, in my haste, I forgot to bring the recipe with me to add to my blog…it’s at home. I’ll promise to add this in later…
How much later is anyone’s guess because tonight it’s “RELAY FOR LIFE”.. !!!
Yes! Thanks to following a 1940s ration diet as a guideline and forcing myself to start walking, I’ve shifted enough weight to be able to participate. It means I can join some of my work colleagues and walk through the night, in a relay, with hundreds of others, to raise awareness and honour those people who have fought and are fighting cancer.
THANK YOU for all the donations… I have raised $950, thanks to you, and seeing my target was $500 this is just amazing. The Canadian Cancer Society thanks you!
This weekend I took a mini-vacation and enjoyed some time away, by the sea, with a friend. I made food to take with me, lots of vegan food but it wasn’t 1940s…I decided that it was important to have a proper break in all aspects.
The 1940's Experiment 