Here are the "rules" me and my dad (and when I am cooking something new my mum will essentially be going by them too) are following for the next 4 weeks initially:

1. No wheat - which means no bread or pasta (always the biggest struggle) 

2. No fried food - kind of an obvious one

3. No alcohol out of nights out - I don't go out so often now as I often work late on the weekends making it relatively easy

4. Breakfast smoothies are a must - I'm going to try smoothie bowls!

My weekly plan (roughly)...

I've already found recipes for cauliflower rice (as I've previously blogged about) and "slutty no-carb pasta" (basically courgette pasta) from The Londoner blog which I cannot wait to try as virtually calorie-free alternatives to wheat. 

As well as plenty more recipes I'm going to give a go. I think I'll point out here that when I do try recipes and then blog about them, I will rarely make it the same way or keep the same ingredients as this is where I can be quite creative so I like to do things my own way!

I mean let's be realistic here

I'm going through a phase of wanting to try new things if you couldn't tell. Do any of you have any favourite healthy alternatives to share with me? Or even ways to make the next 4 weeks a bit easier?

This is going to be my first thought in the mornings. 

Egg Fried Cauliflower Rice with Vegetables

I've never been a big fan cauliflower but today I fell in love with this recipe, it's delicious. Honestly, if you're going to try something, try this recipe!! I was really hesitant to try this one, what if i didn't like it?, was it really all what it was made out to be? and yes, yes it was.

100% credit needs to be given to Caitlin and Susie for recommending this.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
½ a cauliflower
½ a chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ red pepper, diced
2 asparagus, chopped
1 egg
2 tbsp soy sauce

Method:
First either grate the cauliflower, or more easily, blitz it in a food processor.

Then put it all on some kitchen roll to absorb some of the moisture. With the chilli and olive oil, put the cauliflower in a wok and cook on a medium to high heat for roughly 4 minutes to allow for it all to cook through. 

Add the soy sauce, pepper and asparagus to the mixture and allow to cook for a couple more minutes. 

Make a well in the mixture and add the egg to the well, allowing it to cook through slightly. Mix in the egg through the rice and vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

Tomorrow I'll be trying cauliflower pizza, which I'm looking forward to now!

A Quick Update

Last week I confessed that I had had a bad week, cheated on my diet and promised to try harder over the next coming days, and that I did. I haven't cheated on my diet and I've actually been to the gym, a much greater success than the week before. I've been told this week that I look skinnier as well which is a great compliment that I will never get tired of hearing! However I still feel like its not enough, obviously I know I could have gone to the gym more and stayed for longer when I did go and that will be my aim for this week. I never really know which equipment or machines to use in the gym though, to maximise weight loss (any advice would be greatly appreciated).

It's tough sometimes, I could have 1 or 2 great days that are really productive but after that I could end up having 2 or 3 really awful days that seem hard to get out of. I'm sure I'm not the only person that has this problem, and as these other people, you feel like you're the only person that this happens to, in that sense I guess we are not alone!

I'll keep this short and sweet and stop complaining now! I'm getting up extra early tomorrow to go food shopping and to the gym, starting the week the right way!!

Salmon and Leek Parcels

I just can’t stop cooking! So it would be quite rude of me if I weren’t to share these great recipes with you all. I was a bit apprehensive about this recipe with the odd combination of spices and herbs but you’d be surprised at how well they work together. I’ve always been more of a savoury person than a sweet person even though I absolutely love baking; I never eat what I make! However, I’m all into trying new things right now so I’m going to look into finding some healthy alternatives to satisfy your sweet tooth, so stay tuned!!

Ingredients:

2 medium leeks, trimmed

4 salmon fillets, skinned

6 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tsp medium hot curry powder

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 – 6 stems of vine cherry tomatoes

Method:

Thinly slice the leeks, place in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Drain well.

Grease foil lightly with a little oil, and divide the leeks, placing in the centre of the foil. Scatter half of the coriander over. Place a salmon fillet on top and season.

Mix together the remaining oil, curry powder and lemon juice and pour some over each fillet. Seal the packages.

Het the oven to 200c, place the parcels on a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put the cherry tomatoes into a small roasting tin, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 12 minutes.

Scatter the remaining chopped coriander over the fish and serve with tomatoes.

When I was roasting the tomatoes, I also seasoned them with garlic salt which tasted amazing and I also served it with a small portion of rice but its not necessary if you want a smaller meal!

Overeating

Over the past few days I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Not necessarily a good thing! I always find that I overeat when I’m stressed or upset, basically comfort eating. A lot of people will comfort eat occasionally but it obviously got to a point where I was eating all the time, not only when I was stressed or upset but when I was bored as well. Basically if I weren’t doing something productive, I’d be eating. This then led to the ridiculous weight gain.

I’ve had a few people say to me that I still eat too much and there are healthier options to what I eat, but what they don’t realise is that my body has gotten used to eating so much food and that its much harder than it may seem. Its essentially detoxing, getting rid of all the bad things I’ve put into my body then reducing my calorie intake quite drastically. At first I get really bad headaches and feel really unwell while I get used to not having loads of sugar and carbs. Yes its tough but really worth it after the first few days are done. Then I feel pretty great!

I’ve got a lot of things to look forward to over the next week, most of which are active! A few months ago I would never have thought I’d be where I am right now, going for runs, going for walks everyday and being very creative. But I’ve got this far and there’s no way to stop me now!

Here's a really cringe thought to finish with: