Stress + Food = weight gain!

I am the heaviest I have ever been, I actually weigh more now then I did when I was pregnant! Im not super fat, Im actually not really overweight even, but having always been super skinny I feel like a huge big blob!

60kg, I mean hello? I never thought I would weigh a number like that (I am 162cm).

LCHF was great for me, I started in June last year and quickly lost 2-3 kg, then stalled a bit but kept at it because I felt great. Then cheated lots at Christmas and in January I fell off the wagon completely, not my fault really, I was in hospital with celiac kid and lived on bread. Just didn’t really manage to go carb free again after that. To much stress and with the stress this hunger that can only be “cured” by eating popcorn, quinoa, millet and potatoes. Not the worst carbs in the world perhaps but carbs all the same.

Then the weight gain, aaaagh. Been reading about stress and cortisol and what it does to your body, puts you in fight or flight mode, long term stress has a direct link to belly fat, which is where all my fat sits! So I guess I am forgiven? Things have been so crappy lately I figured if a piece of chocolate makes me feel better then I totally deserve a piece of chocolate… right?

I will go back on LCHF, when Im good and ready, I will also start doing my steps properly again with my fitbit. When you are at home with an unwell kid or in hospital then its hard to go above 3k steps!

For those of you who want some LCHF inspiration, check out my LCHF album on facebook! 

-Linda

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Beef in paprika and tomato sauce

Another quick and easy staple dinner recipe. Change it up using different veggies.

I used:

  • half an onion (I have kids remember! Use more if you like)
  • 1 green paprika
  • beef, I used two nice steaks and cut them, but you can buy the ready made stroganoff pieces if you like. (NOT braising beef as it takes ages)
  • passata, I used about 250g

If you are serving this with rice then the sauce takes about the same time as a pot of basmati rice to cook, so get the rice going then make the sauce 🙂

Frying pan on hot, add olive oil (extra virgin obviously, never fry in any other olive oil) then pop the beef in (don’t wait to heat the olive oil as it ruins the oils flavour). Add salt & pepper. Once the beef has sealed (that means its gone a nice brown on all sides) add your onions and paprika and turn the heat down to medium. Once the onion has gone soft add your passata and a teeny bit of water, if you like you can add half a stock cube at this point, I usually do, but no need. If you do, make sure its organic and gluten free!

Simmer the sauce until the paprika is soft but not soggy, if you have that rice going then the sauce should be done around the time you drain the rice 🙂

The kids eat this with Rice, I eat mine with some cabbage, or on its own to make it LCHF.

Enjoy 🙂

Linda

Easy Peasy Orange chicken (that doesn’t taste of orange!)

Im bad at writing recipes, but good at cooking, so here we go, Im continuing with easy simple stuff that anyone can make 🙂 Real food baby, its the way to go. And real food doesn’t have to be hard at all!

Ideally to make a gourmet meal of chicken you should marinade, but hey, Im a busy mum of 2, running a gluten free house and I hardly have time to shower some days let alone think ahead to marinade stuff in advance! So, keeping it simple here. My kids love and adore this chicken, and so does anyone else that eats it, and its so super simple!

I used:

  • 4 good size chicken thighs (you can use drumsticks or whatever you like)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • half an orange

Pop your Chicken in an oven pan, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Then squeeze the juice of half an orange on top. Bung it in the oven 175º degrees for 45 minutes.

Thats it. Like really. I mean it 😉

This particular batch Im keeping in the fridge (juices from pan included) to make a quick dinner with after sons football game tomorrow. you could serve it as is with rice and veggies and a sauce or use it for salads or lunch boxes, anything goes.

Enjoy 🙂

Linda

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Tomato Sauce from scratch

When I say I make everything from scratch, I almost never lie. (<- note the almost ;))

I always preferred making food from scratch, even before the gluten issue. As time goes on I realise more and more how many people cant cook to save their lives. Many were brought up with processed foods themselves, so even a simple thing to them can seem totally overwhelming.

So, here it is, a simple (like totally simple, you can get your no cooking experience tween to do it simple) tomato sauce. My kids cant get enough of this one. You can use it as is, or use it as a base for whatever you need to make 🙂

You need;

  • Tomatoes, roughly diced, sliced, chopped or mashed in any way you so wish.
  • Onion, roughly chopped, sliced, diced or whatever you wish.
  • Spices
  • Olive Oil (extra virgin, always extra virgin)

So, today I used 4-5 large tomatoes, slightly overripe. Any tomatoes will do. Pop a deep saucepan on the stove on medium – high heat, add olive oil and onions. Once the onions have sizzled for a bit add your tomatoes and spices. I used a large basil leaf from my garden and salt and pepper in this batch. If you have homemade stock you can add some of that, or an organic gf stock cube, if you don’t have any, then go without. Add some water, just a little so that the tomatoes have something to boil in (about half a cup-ish). Lower heat and walk away.

Return at some point to stir and check, once your tomatoes are dissolved more or less you are ready. I use a rice colander and pour the whole thing through in to another pot, this gets rid of the onion bits and tomato skins. You will need to push with your spoon a bit to get all the good bits through. Whats left is a thick tomato sauce that tastes like heaven, if you want it a deeper red, add some tomato puree!

I never do this in advance, its so fast and fresh and easy I really don’t mind doing it when I need it.

Kids will have theirs over some gf pasta and veg and I will eat mine with broccoli later (yes, still on the low carb diet!)

Try it with some added cream as a soup, or with garlic and chilli!

Enjoy!

Linda