Papaya, apple and passion with chia - this is a winner!!

Breakfast

If you read my earlier challenge with chia, you'd understand that after coming up with chia strawberry almond porridge , I was pleased. Why fix it if it ain't broke? Then suddenly for the last few weeks the cheaper strawberries have disappeared from supermarket shelves and I don't have time to go hunting for the guys who occasionally roam around sell strawberries around Hurlingham or Peponi Road. But chia must be consumed .... Back to the drawing board .... Again keeping in mind that for breakfast chia needs to be accompanied by fruit that contains a lot of liquid and a lot of flavour as chia needs to soak up liquid and the tasteless mass that it is, it needs help in flavour department. 

Juice 1 apple (mine was a 100 gram apple)

Juice 5 passion fruits (resulted in 75 grams of juice)

Add this to 57 grams milled chia (use a hand held blended to avoid chia clumps)

Add 51 grams of papaya and the roughage that remained in the juicer from apple, blend.

Serve on a plate. Decorating with passion optional as it actually tastes better as is, but it is more photogenic with the passion on it.

The combination of the taste-packing fruits is awesome. I do recommend large cups of green tea to follow the porridge - as you can see it is solid and stands up, which means that chia is far from its saturation point and will keep looking for liquid in you stomach. 

You will enjoy this, may be even too much!

Grilled Salad with Tuna

Lunch

Grilled sliced zucchini, tomato wedges, fennel, red paprika, and onions 

--  226 grams  --

Tuna

--  114 grams  --

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried herbs 

Fennel mint green smoothie

Morning greens

Fennel, strawberries, mint, lettuce, lemon juice

Guacamole Dip With A Twist

Dinner

1/2 avocado

114 grams of canned sardines

1 glove of garlic

some grilled  tomato and red bell pepper

juice of 1 lemon

Blend

Weigh, knowing that 114 grams is protein and the rest are vegetables. 

Add enough fresh carrot and cucumber to get to full 284 grams of vegetables.

Chia Almond Strawberry Porridge

Breakfast

For some time now, as I am reading about all the good things to eat, chia keeps popping up. However when looking for recipes, mostly it is a little extra ingredient, just like an after thought. Somehow there are not many recipes that have chia as the main player, or if they do, the thing looks just slimy and unpleasant. Slimy is just not the thing for me. 

During my next stock up trip to health food store I look for chia. I was surprised to find it right there on the shelf. I picked it up and as I was standing there, looking at the label, the price, trying to decide, a man, of Somali origin, came along with a shop assistant. He too was looking for chia! How now?!? We got talking. His doctor had suggested he should start eating healthier, to avoid memory loss, to reduce weight and to sleep better. And chia was on his list .... Surely, somebody comes all the way from Eastleight, from Little Mogadishu to buy chia .... in my part of Nairobi .... Hmmm ... I bought chia. 

I looked through websites. Pondered over next step. Soak in water it says ... Add milk and yogurt (and I don't eat those things!!) it says .... Add almond milk it says ... Based on my calculations, if I have almond milk I can not have an other nut or seed .... I did soak in water. It was grayish. Tasted. It tasted tasteless, flat completely. Not something to look forward to to start the day! I left the taste, the feeling, the texture sort of hanging about in my mind. How to make it palatable? How to make a lovely breakfast?

 226 grams strawberry blended

30 grams of chia milled

Mix. Leave to soak.

After 15 minutes add 27 grams of milled almond 

Mix and enjoy. 

It gives the stomach a gentle caress.

Kale and eggs

Lunch

Chopped onion, chopped tomato sautéed in olive oli with shredded kale over small fire.

--  227 grams  --

Served with 2 boiled eggs

--  114 grams  --

I LOVE facts and figures

Yesterday morning's suddenly full stomach left me puzzled. How? Why? I had never imagined that such innocent ingredients - flax seed, water and apple - can have this kind of effect. I should mention that the very full stomach somehow called for large 4 cups of green tea (400 ml each). So far, just the prescribed quantities had been enough for me to keep going on the planned path, but now I needed to know more. I went to look for facts and figures about what I actually eat.

I took only my usual proteins. More so, because I suspected that my 'unusual' protein, flax seed, had been the culprit in me not finishing my breakfast.

Isn't it nice to look at all facts side by side :)

My breakfast proteins (note that these are all 57 grams):

My lunch and dinner proteins (note that these are all 114 grams):

While there are many components to nutrition and I am in no way minimising their importance, I looked at the following categories: protein, fiber, fat, sugar and total calories.

Protein:
Walnut - 8.6 g (hmmm ... I always thought it was higher than almond)
Flax seed - 10.3 g
Almond - 12 g
Egg - 14.8 g
Pumpkin seeds - 17.1 g
Tilapia - 29.6 g
Chicken - 30.8 g
Tuna - 34.2 g

Dietary fiber:
Tilapia - 0 g (As expected)
Chicken - 0 g (As expected)
Tuna - 0 g (As expected)
Egg - 0 g (As expected)
Pumpkin seeds - 3.4 g
Walnut - 4 g (hmmm ... I always thought it was higher than almond)
Almond - 6.8 g
Flax seed - 15.4 g (what?? can that be true??)

Fat (of course all of it is healthy saturated fat):
Tilapia - 3 g
Tuna - 6.8 g
Chicken - 8 g
Egg - 12.5 g
Flax seed - 23.9 g (don't they make flax seed oil? where is that oil content??)
Almond - 27.9 g
Pumpkin seeds 27.9 g
Walnut - 37 g (it does taste oily ... I guess ...)

Sugar:
Tuna - 0 g
Tilapia - 0 g
Chicken - 0 g
Egg - 1.3g (egg has sugar??)
Pumpkin seeds - 0.8 g
Flax seed - 0.9 g
Walnut - 1.5 g
Almond - 2.2 g (at least this one I was correct in my thinking)

Calories: 
Tilapia - 147 (what is tilapia doing at this end???)
Egg - 177
Chicken - 210
Tuna - 210
Flax seed - 304
Pumpkin seeds - 319
Almond - 328
Walnut - 373

Interesting line up ....

Did you see 141% cholesterol behind eggs. If you, like me, at first thought that it can not be possible, then just the tiny * next to Daily Value explains how it the percentage can exceed 100.

AND, I have found the answer to my yesterday's puzzle - 15.6 grams fiber in flax seed compared to my usual 3.4 grams (pumpkin seed) ... 4 grams (walnut) had this unbelievable impact.

Flax seed and apple porridge

Breakfast

Yesterday morning I finished all the walnuts that I had. I thought I would get around to buy some more along the day, but that did not happen. So, from last night I started thinking what to have for breakfast. In my experience, the best way not to make any errors in eating (due to lack of focus resulting from empty stomach!!), is to know during the previous meal what I will eat during the next. I had almond flour, but I had already done some breakfasts with almond flour. Also, I thought that its nutritional value is low compared to calories in it, so I did not want to use that. I did have also pumpkin seeds to mill into flour, but I have been eating pumpkin seeds nearly every day, so that was out, too. While I had tosted and then milled flax seeds some weeks ago and sprinkled them on salads, I felt that this is a good seed that I have clearly not used for well over a week. "How about a porridge of flax seeds?", I said to myself. I was a bit apprehensive. In my childhood, whenever we would have a serious stomach upset, my mum would make this slimy tasteless, yet yukky liquid by boiling flax seed in a bit of water. We would need to take some spoonfuls of it to help to heal the stomach. But a yukky slimy grayish liquid, when trying to not throw up, is just not the thing to take.... I bravely put aside my childhood memories and got milling my flax seed, ready to head outside my comfort zone. 

57 grams flax seed milled

Add boiling water (about a cup) little by little. Keep mixing it in and allowing the flax seed to soak in the water. Depending on how solid or soft porridge you want, add the amount of water that gives you the right consistency. Preferably do this in a metal bowl that is sitting in an other bigger bowl that is half way filled with boiling water. Sort of like bain-marié, but not on a fire.  

Leave it to continue soaking for 15 minutes.

In mean time grate 2 medium sized apples (226 grams).

Mix flax seed porridge and grated apple.

All along until this point I was still very skeptical.I was trying to imagine what to do should it turn out to be absolutely disgusting. And the time came to taste this 'outside comfort zone' mixture. To my surprise, to my GREAT surprise, this was an amazingly great tasting porridge! A bit warm, a bit nutty, a lot of apple taste, and really soft and pleasant in the mouth.

Warning, though, with the quantities as given above, this is a REALLY HEAVY meal. I was 2/3 done when I was suddenly very full and could not eat more. 

Stir fried vegetables and chicken

Lunch

Cut leak and french beans, coarsely shreded carrot and zucchini, thinly slice red bell pepper.

In a medium hot pot or large sauce pan with some olive oil quickly fry all ingredient over medium heat. Cover occasionally between stirring.

Stir fried vegetables with stewed chicken

--  227 grams cooked vegetable --

--  114 grams chicken  --

Papaya-passion porridge

Breakfast

This is very yummy. Very very yummy. But it follows all the measurements, so it is OK

Mash papaya with fork

Add 3 passion fruit

--  226 grams  --

Add milled pumpkin seeds and walnut

--  57 grams  --

Enjoy!

Zucchini and leak with egg

Lunch

Cut 1 zucchini and 1 leak into pieces

In a pot on low heat with some olive oil sauté stirring regularly and keeping lid on when not stirring.

Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and dried herb mixture

At the same time boil 2 eggs

Mixed and ready to eat.

Useful reading about No grain No sugar

I am progressing well with the fine selected foods I have every day. I have lost 5.5 kg in 30 days. A friend asked the other day: "How much weight do you intend to loose? When will you stop this diet?" My answer was: "My intention is not to loose weight, it is to end my food addiction for good." Weight loss just happens and the body will regulate itself at some point in time. With alcohol addiction, nobody asks you, as you are trying to get sober, "When will you start drinking again?"

This is what I read for guidance.

FAQs in full: http://vinnietortorich.com/nsng-faq/

His thinking elaborated and other research linked to it here:

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quentin-vennie/sugar-health_b_4537319.html

Some more great thought provoking material 

Full article here, with great references to other materials http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-1-dont-eat-toxins

Greens with chicken

Lunch

Stewed chicken with broccoli and kale

Zucchini 'pasta' with tilapia

Dinner

Roughly grate one large zucchini.

Thinly slice medium size red bell pepper.

Crush two gloves of garlic.

Lightly sauté in olive oil on low heat and covering with a lid and stirring every 2 minutes.

 -- 226 grams  --

Cut tilapia fileé into cubes and fry in olive oil, stirring to break it up.

When nearly done add juce of one lemon.

--  114 grams --

Sprinkle salt and pepper and dried herbs when served.

Upside down pumpkin leaves and tomato omlet

Lunch

It's a bit like a pizza, or quiche just minus the crust.

Easiest done in a cast iron deep pan.

Lightly fry onions.

Beat 2 eggs in a bowl.

When onions age glazed pour egg on it.

Add large quantity very thinly sliced pumpkin leaves (or kale or spinach).

Top with large pieces of tomato.

Bake in oven. Switch on grill when nearly done to soften tomatoes.

Green smoothie 1

Breakfast greens

Cucumber, lettuce, parsley, celery and water in blender

After blending

Ready to enjoy

Strawberry almond porridge

Breakfast

Pureé 200 grams of strawberries.

Add 20 grams of passion fruit

Add 57g almond flower and just a bit of papaya (6 grams) to top it off

Fed Up!

Chunky salad

Dinner

Chunks of cucumber

Chunks of tomato

Chunks of bell pepper

Chunks of lettuce

Slices of olive

--  227 grams  --

Chunks of tuna

-- 50 grams  --

2 handfuls of almonds

-- 20 grams  --

Quick salad

Lunch

Bed of lettuce

Sliced cucumber

Strips of red bell pepper

Sliced tomato

Chopped chives

--  227 grams  --

Pieces of chicken

Diced boiled egg

-- 114 grams --

Olive oil and lemon juice

Butternut-leak puree soup

Dinner

Peal, clean and chop equal volume of leak and butternut.

Chop a piece of ginger (size depending on your liking of its flavour)

Set water to boil, just enough to cover the ingredients. When boiling place in the ingredients.

Add a vegetable or chicken stock cube.

Allow to boil for 10 minutes.

Puree. Add 2 teaspoons of butter per serving.

Shredded carrot & apple

Breakfast

1 medium carrot shredded 

1 medium apple shredded 

4 passion fruits

juice of 1/2 lemon

--  275 grams --

ground walnuts

ground pumpkin seeds

ground almond

--  57 grams  --

Mixed grilled vegetable salad

Dinner

Grilled thinly sliced zucchini

Grilled thinly sliced red bell pepper

Grated carrot

Diced tomato

Diced cucumber

Pieces of lettuce
-- Total 332 grams --

Tuna fish (112 grams)

Ground toasted linseed (2 grams)

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Freedom from addiction

For a while now I have been aware that my manner of eating things that are made of wheat and/or contain refined sugar has not been healthy and normal. Milk and its derivatives have also an effect on me. My emotions would determine what I eat and later, what I have eaten would have an impact on how I feel. Vicious cycle. If you replace the concept of sugar with alcohol, you would have a more commonly recognized vice! I have looked back at my childhood binges of chocolates and sweets, to the point of stealing them from my brother's locked drawers, pinching from my friend's visitor's displays. The times I would frantically ransack my house for any left over sweets or chocolates or biscuits. And when there is nothing, my cooking and baking skills would allow me to turn anything into a craving satisfying sugary treat. The next morning I would feel horrible for having eaten everything I know I should not have. A feeling of lack of control, just not being able to stop, addicted. Not surprisingly, my weight has done five times each +20kg and -20kg jumps over the past 20 years.

A month ago, in a moment of clarity, I remembered having read an article about a psycologist who deals with food addiction. On August 20, 2014 I stopped eating any food made of or containing any grains, any cane or beat sugar, any potatoes, any dairy, any highly sugary or starchy fruits. Since I love cooking the new list of food ingredients, that I had never looked into, gave me new exciting challenges. I had food quotas I needed to fill up with tasty stuff. Namely:

Breakfast: 284 grams of fresh vegetables, 57 grams of nuts and seeds, 226 grams of fruits
Lunch: 227 grams of fresh vegetables, 227 grams of cooked vegetables, 114 grams of protein
Dinner (no later than 6pm): 227 grams of fresh vegetables 227 grams of cooked vegetables, 114 grams of protein.

These are now my only times to eat. Nothing at all (except water, water with lemon juice or herbal teas) in between.

I will be posting pictures and recipes of my new world of foods.