Shredded beef with pumpkin

Comfort food still is a favourite these days. Not just because it's been freezing and the thick layer of snow outside, no, mostly because the side effects of my treatment for HPU (pyroluria). Apparently you can get quite some side effects from supplementing large deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals. Just to make something clear: these deficiencies weren't caused by my way of eating. HPU (pyroluria) is a genetic condition where very little zinc, manganese and vitamine B6 can be absorbed into the body. This causes deficiencies to an extent where it's impossible to supplement them with just food. That's why I'm taking quite some supplements these days. They don't just cause a slight improvement in my energy levels, but they also make my head spin and have the tendency to turn me into an emotional wreck at times. Beats the hell out of PMS. Fortunately for me, it should get better in a month or so. Can't wait.

In the mean time I make sure my meals are tasty. It might not be a good idea to comfort oneself with food, but boiled veggies and a tough piece of meat won't make me any happier either. After all, cooking can have  a great therapeutic effect (everything does, as long as you enjoy it), so I gladly cook my way through this time.

In this recipe, I roasted a chunk of meat in the oven right until I could easily shred it. I roasted the veggies along with the meat, so I could easily turn it into a coarse puree. Yum!

Shredded beef with pumpkin (serves 4)

Ingredients:
- 2 large onions
- 1 small pumpkin
- 1/2 bulb garlic
- 600g rib roast, boneless
- 1 tsp pimenta powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp fresh cilanto or parsley
- 1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to max. temperature.
2. Heat coconut oil in a Dutch oven and chop the onions in the mean time.
3. Sautee the onions over low heat in the pan. In the mean time, wash the pumpkin, discard the seeds and dice it.
4. Separate the bulb of garlic into cloves and peel them. Add them to the onions in the pan along with the pumpkin.
5. Sautee everything for a minute or so before removing the pan from the heat.
6. Pat the rib roast dry with a paper towel and rub it with the dry spices.
7. Put the roast on top of the vegetables in the pan and cover with a lid.
8. Transfer the pan to the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius.
9. Roast everything for approx. 3 1/2 - 4 hours, until you can easily shred the meat with a fork.
10. Remove the pan from the oven and shred the meat with 2 forks.
11. Mix the shredded beef with the soft vegetables and divide over 4 plates.
12. Coarsely chop the cilantro or parsley and use as garnish. Serve and enjoy!

New year's motivation and Bacon-wrapped meatballs with dates

Are you going for a Whole30 or other paleo challenge this month?
I must say, doing a Whole30 is a really good way to give yourself a healthy start to the new year, especially when you haven't exactly been paleo all through December. I did a Whole30 in December, with day 30 being December 24th; Christmas eve.
I didn't eat any nuts, no bacon and hardly any fruit and got my carb cravings under control once again. This month, I'm going to continue eating healthy and paleo, like I always did. But I am going to try a different approach when it comes to food choices though. Meaning I will limit my fruit and nut intake; they make me crave for carbs more and more and mess up my blood sugar. Not exactly how I want to feel.
I won't be eating bacon every single day either, simply because I could eat healthier foods. Don't get me wrong: I will be eating bacon. (just like I did in the recipe below) I'm not going to put myself on any strict diet/challenge rules anymore. It doesn't work for me. I do have a little fat I would like to lose, but a strict diet is exactly what stresses me out. And stress means: no fat loss.


Therefore, I'm going to do my best. Because happiness is what I want to achieve. I'm not going to do that with just food, I'm going to do so by doing my best in life. In every choice I'm going to make, I'm going to ask myself what would make me happy.
A bar of chocolate won't make me happy, nor will not working out or going to bed really late every night. If most decisions I make will make me happy, I believe I will actually become happy. I won't be perfect, but I will be happy and that's what counts.


Here's a recipe to give you a good start to the new year ahead, I'm not telling you to eat this every day, but it does taste good. And the fact that I made this and I liked how it turned out, surely made me happy today. Enjoy!

Bacon-wrapped meatballs with dates (serves 2)


Ingredients:
- 3oog ground beef
- 1/2 tsp beef seasoning
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 8 dates, pitted
- 8 strips of bacon
- 1 tsp coconut oil


1. Mix the ground beef and spices well, using your hands. Divide into 8 equal balls.
2. Flatten the balls, put a date in the center and fold to close. Gently knead the ends together to create solid meatballs.
3. Wrap each ball with a strip of bacon.
4. Heat coconut oil in a skillet or frying pan and fry the meatballs over medium heat until browned and cooked through. This takes approx. 10 - 12 minutes. Turn regularly.
5. Serve with veggies of your choice or as a snack. Enjoy!

Whole 30 - Day 30!! What did I learn?

Day 30! Or actually, day '31'.
Why am I posting this a day late? I wanted to let you know what happened to my body on the outside, which I didn't measure until this morning.
So, here they are, my measurements:
Before - After
Weight: 60 kg - 57,4 kg
Waist: 69 cm - 66 cm
Hips: 90 cm - 88 cm
Thighs: 53 cm - 50 cm


And, best of all, I definitely got leaner!


Now that we've got that covered, let's get on to the part where I tell you what I've learned from this Whole30. After all, I didn't do this just for the sake of doing it, I was hoping to learn something from it and so I did.
1. I am perfectly able to survive without overeating on potato chips and paleo cookies on weekends. 
2. I even feel much better without those foods.
3. Planning meals is easy, as long as you make big batches every time.
4. My cravings for carbs are 99% gone!!
5. I love meat. (oh wait, I already knew that..)
6. It's hard to find a good balance between protein and fat intake, I found that I don't start leaning out until I eat some more protein and a little less fat.
7. I do miss eating nuts every once in a while, they just make some dishes even better.
8. Coconuts are awesome!
9. I don't need food to reward or comfort myself.
10. This program actually works!


Note: This morning (day 31) I made a carrot salad (recipe will be posted later on) and added a few raisins and walnuts. I wolfed it down, tasted pretty good, but all in all, it would have been equally good without the raisins and the walnuts. 'Missing' certain foods is just a mental problem after all!


And here's what I ate on my final day of the Whole30:

Breakfast:
Beet salad, 1/2 avocado and shredded chicken with roasted carrots and onions

Lunch:
Lettuce with tomatoes and carrot, and a 2 egg scramble with sardines and chives

Dinner:
Beef burgers with oven roasted cauliflower and some more beet salad

Whole 30 - Day 25 & Low blood sugar issues

I don't feel too good today..
Dizziness has been bothering me all day, and I had the feeling it had something to do with my blood sugar levels. The advantage of working at a hospital, is that you can get yourself tested for pretty much everything all day, so I did a blood glucose test. It was 3.3 mmol/l, and the girl who tested it looked at me as if she were surprised I was still standing. 'That's really low!! You should see your physician about this!'
Everyone who heard it advised me to eat some sugar.


Of course, I didn't do that! Although no one seemed to understand when I tried to explain that when I were to eat sugar, my blood sugar would rise for a short while, making me feel a little better, and would then lead to an even worse crash making me feel worse than before consuming the sugar in the first place.
I figured my blood sugar was supposed to be lower than the average person's due to my diet, which is pretty low in carbs, but this might be on the low side for me too.
I never gave this subject any reading, as my hypoglycemia symptoms had disappeared ever since I went paleo, and I figured that it wouldn't bother me ever again. I guess I was wrong.
First off, I got myself an apple and a banana and ate those, I figured they wouldn't raise my blood glucose levels too rapidly, since I'd had lunch less than an hour before. Then I waited, and the dizziness went away for exactly 10 minutes, no more. Conclusion: eating fruit does not help when your blood sugar is low. And I should have known this before I ate it.
In fact, I did know! After all, your body is perfectly able to regulate your blood sugar all day long, when this mechanism fails, you're either eating too much carbs (there's hardly no such thing as eating too little carbs) or there's an underlying problem.

Back home, I googled it, and didn't find that many useful articles. I did learn that this can be caused by an infection (and some more serious conditions, which I suppose I don't have), but I thought I was over that virus that had been bothering me 2 weeks ago.
Every time I have health concerns, I call my bioresonance therapist. It's as if she knows the answer to pretty much anything that's bothering me.
She asked me a few questions and came to the conclusion that the virus I had 2 weeks ago is most likely to be causing this. Advice: extra vitamin C and extra rest.
That's not too hard.. And to be honest, I didn't really allow myself to get over the virus when I should have. So, I'm going to bed really early tonight! And I'll take some vitamin C right now.
Hopefully I'll be over this soon!


Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Egg salad, stir-fried swiss chard, tomatoes and leftover grilled turkey

Lunch:
Lettuce, kohlrabi, 1/2 avocado, chives, parsley and salmon

Dinner:
Salad with celery, lettuce, swiss chard and tomatoes, topped with leftover ground beef


Snack:
Apple, banana

Whole 30 - Day 24

Just finished my first day of a new workweek, just 3 more to go. (and then another 8 1/2 before my holiday!)
I also did a fun workout:
5 rounds for time of:
400m run
20 deadlifts (40kg)
20 push ups
10 deadlifts (40kg)
10 push ups
I finished in 29:34, and was pretty tired afterwards!
It was also raining outside, but that actually made the running a little easier for me. I simply love running in the rain! (unless it's pouring of course..)


I must admit that, since this weekend, I wasn't too motivated to stay on course of my Whole30 eating plan anymore. Even though I did stick to it. It simply wasn't fun anymore, and I missed not being able to have certain foods.
Luckily I rediscovered my motivation this afternoon, after work. I enjoyed getting creative with all those veggies in my fridge again and making a simple yet tasty meal with it. Filled me up, looked nice, and didn't leave me craving for something sweet afterwards. Finally!
I guess this is all just part of the process... You'll be motivated at first, but the fun slowly goes away, you miss certain foods, and you might even start hating it at some point, right until you realise it isn't that bad after all and you are at peace with the decision you made.
I've been thinking of food I would eat after this Whole30, but this weekend seems to have been my turning point. Not having those foods isn't that bad after all, and I'm in no hurry to re-introduce them into my diet (which will be on few occasions only).
Yep, this turning point feels good!


And here are my meals:

Breakfast:
2 fried eggs with some chives, baba ghanoush, sauteed swiss chard, a tomato and leftover grilled redfish (yes, I kind of overloaded my plate..)

Lunch:
Salad with lettuce, kohlrabi, 1/2 avocado, chives and fried turkey pieces with spring onions

Dinner:
Ground beef with red poblano pepper, spring onions, swiss chard, lots of fresh parsley, on top of some lettuce and a tomato


Snack:
Carrot

Whole 30 - Day 6

What a tiring day at work.. But  it's weekend now! Finally some time to relax and de-stress.
I found out that I'll be having a BBQ next week at a party from work. I carefully asked what kind of food there would be, but they couldn't really tell. They wanted to make some phone calls to check the ingredients, and also suggested I'd bring my own food. I refused both.
First of all, I don't want to take the risk of getting tired of food that secretly has lots of additives. The fact that something is gluten free and dairy free, doesn't mean it doesn't contain any MSG or soy (both will certainly get my energy levels down for a few days) and I know I'd be a pain in the ass when they'd have to take care of 'special' food for me. And then again, the only thing I'd be eating is meat. Dry, tasteless meat. (somehow people think you can't add any spices when someone has dietary restrictions)
Question they asked me 'but you can eat salads, right?'. No I cannot eat potato salads with lots of dairy and other crap. That's not a salad in my opinion.


Bringing my own food feels stupid and I'd have to watch that it doesn't get served to someone else by mistake. Either way, I'd end up constantly watching my food, instead of enjoying the party itself.
I know people think I'm a buzzkill that way, but the risk of eating something that will make me tired and the fact that the food won't be good anyhow, just isn't worth it to me. I'll just have my dinner before going to the party.
It's a shame people don't seem to understand, but they're going to have to live with it.
After all, I'm going there to have a good time, not to please others.


You might ask yourself now 'Do you ALWAYS eat really strict then?'. No I don't. And whenever I don't, I regret it 9 out of 10 times. By now, I've learnt when something's worth it, and when it's not.
Some buffets in Las Vegas for example: totally worth it!!
Of course I'll still eat paleo over there and according to my diet, but you won't hear me complaining about a few 'hidden' ingredients. There are so many amazing food options over there, it won't be hard to fill myself up with good quality, healthy food.


Now that we've got that out of the way, I have to share with you what one of my penpals sent me as a gift: a jumbo cupcake mould!
They even have this annoying-but-funny commercial:

I won't be doing any baking for a while now, but as soon as I'm going to make a pie for a special occasion, I'll be using my new cupcake mould. It's so cool.. I bet it works really well with an almond flour cake too.
Let's get to my meals for day 6 now:

Breakfast:
Beef stew with leftover oven roasted broccoli, 2 scrambled eggs and 1/2 avocado

Lunch:
Leftover cauliflower fried rice with 1 scrambled egg, 1/2 avocado and grilled salmon

Dinner:

Paleo lasagna

Snack:

Some fresh coconut

Self reflecting after my birthday

It's the day before I start my Whole 30 and I'm looking forward to it!
Yesterday was my birthday and I had a great day! Went home early from work, did some groceries, cleaned my home and by the time I was done my parents came over to visit. Had a great time discussing anything and everything. They got me a new camera and I'm so happy with it!! They even added a memory card (8GB, so lots of storage for my pictures in the USA), a tripod and a weather-proof camera bag. I feel really spoiled! And that's not all they got me; they also got me a laptop pillow, something I really needed because I ended up with a bright red leg because of keeping my laptop on my lap for too long (the redness didn't fade until a few days afterwards) and last but not least I got the best birthday cake EVER!
My mom made it herself; the crust was made out of macadamias and walnuts, then there was a thick cashew filling with vanilla flavour, with a cinnamon swirl, and a creamy chocolate frosting (also made out of cashews) topped with some pecans. So good..
We all enjoyed a big piece, and later at night I enjoyed another piece because I liked it so much. And I've got another piece left for today!


I realised that, at this age, it's still kind of fun to get a year older. I'm 24 now. And instead of looking at the things I have yet to achieve, I decided to look back at the things I have accomplished so far:
- I bought my own home, by myself
- I have a job I enjoy and that interests me
- I have traveled to many countries
- I used to be a successful swimmer
- I got over ME/CFS
- I have learnt how important my health is and know how to maintain it
- I know how to roast a chicken
- I do pull ups at the gym and practice handstand push ups
- I focus on working to be able to live, instead of living to be able to work
- My parents are proud of me (and I'm proud of that!)
- I enjoy my life!


So, yeah, I guess I did pretty well so far. I feel good about it!
That doesn't mean I don't have any future plans or things I hope to achieve. I do. I have lots of them and that's exactly what I'm going to focus on. This post just shows that it's good to look back at the past at times as well, it makes you feel better.
I couldn't have achieved all of this without people supporting me of course; mostly my parents. I love them for that.


My next goals?
Completing the Whole 30 successfully. Passing my exams next week, and eventually getting my diploma in 2013. Enjoying myself in the USA. Getting my CrossFit Level 1 trainer certificate. Travel some more. Become even healthier and feel fitter.
And those are just a few..


This might sound like a pretty dramatic post, but I felt like it.
As of tomorrow I'll be on the Whole 30, 30 days of super clean eating, I'll blog about every single bite of food I eat and try to take as much pictures of it as possible. I'll post about difficulties I run into and about my workouts, and will try to add as much recipes as I can, of course. This is a recipe blog after all.


What did you guys accomplish in your lives so far? Anything in particular you're proud of? Let me know in a comment.

Lemon rendang (Indonesian beef stew)

I'm back from the BBQ with my parents again! Had a great weekend. The BBQ was delicious and we talked about anything and everything, and afterwards we drove up to the coast for a 2 hour walk over the dunes to digest our food.
The food we had was delicious; lamb steak, lamb kabob, chicken skewers (with lemon and thyme), salad and much more. My mom had made a wonderful sunbutter satay sauce, which was the best ever (she allowed me to post the recipe on my blog, will do that soon!) and afterwards she also made heavenly sunbutter ice-cream.
After our long walk there were apple muffins, and some snacks to enjoy while watching a movie. (the Hangover 2, predictable, but pretty funny!) We mostly talked about holiday planning and travelling and all in all we had a very good time.


Last week I had made myself a lemon rendang that I want to share with you. Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients for this dish. It's worth it!! And most of the ingredients are spices, if you're into cooking you might even have all of them at home already.
This dish is inspired by a traditional Indonesian rendang; a beef stew. This typically contains shrimp and soy sauce, and some other ingredients I couldn't get my hands on or am intolerant to. So I just made my own version, and it worked out really well.


It's best to make this dish a day in advance and reheat it when you need it. That way, the flavours will have all night to combine and make everything taste even better.
After 2,5 hours of simmering, I found my rendang to be a little too wet (I added approx. 2 cups of water instead of just 1), so I took the lid off and heated it for another hour, so it thickened quite a bit. The meat will be done after 2,5 hours, but in my opinion it only gets better over time. I never cook it for over 4 hours though.

       

Chicken vindaloo with cauliflower rice

Since I really like roast chicken, I figured I might as well try roasting some drumsticks. The meat is usually really tender and not dry at all, and it takes only 35 minutes to roast them, instead of 90 minutes for a whole chicken. Prefect when you're already a little hungry when you just got home from work and still need to start cooking.
While my drumsticks were roasting, I prepared some cauliflower rice and all together it made a tasty meal.
My first time eating vindaloo was at an Indian restaurant, and I picked it because the sign next to it said 'very, very hot'. I was about 14 years old at that time and thought I'd be able to handle that. The waiter asked me if I was sure about my choice and I told him I was. After all, my dad also took the vindaloo so I could do that too..
About 4 people from the restaurant staff ended up wacthing how I was eating my vindaloo, they were probably sure it was way too hot for me, a pale Dutch girl. Well, it was extremely hot, and my eyes got all teary, but I ate it and loved the taste! That was the day I discovered my love for Indian food.
So when I saw some Vindaloo curry paste at the Asian supermarket a few weeks back, I bought it without hesitation and decided to use it yesterday. I used a 1/4 cup of the curry paste, but it wasn't that hot at all. It was spicy, but not nearly as much as green curry. Next time I might add a red hot chili pepper or 2..
Just a quick warning; if your curry paste is spicy or when you add chili peppers, do NOT eat it prior to a workout. You'll regret it..

This Sunday I'm going out to dinner at my favourite Indian restaurant again (after my race) and I might just try their vindaloo ;-)

Chicken banana curry

Had a good breakfast this morning. Although it didn't last me very long, unfortunately.. It should have, and it normally would, but today I was hungry again at 11.30. So hungry I had to buy myself a hard boiled egg at the hospital's restaurant to get some protein into my stomach.
Nonetheless, this breakfast tasted really good, thanks to the added banana and spices!
Today's such a weird day though. I've been hungry pretty much all day, having huge cravings, and giving in to them too... The only good thing about that is that I now have run out of nuts (except for some walnuts which I'm too lazy to crack) and I won't allow myself to buy new ones.
I'm feeling pretty guilty now (and my stomach hurts, apparently nuts simply don't digest very well anymore..) and after watching some really inspirational CrossFit youtube movies, I've decided to make a change: I'm going to see food as an essential thing to keep me healthy, but not as something that will comfort me. Food is for hungry times, and for me it seems to be mostly about wanting to eat instead of actually being hungry. So it's a big change for me.. Everytime I allow myself to eat sweet things, I end up getting addicted to carbs again, and everytime it's much harder to get over it. My willpower usually lasts 2 weeks at most, and then I binge on potato chips, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, etc.
Not exactly the best idea when you want to feel healthier, because it takes a couple of days to recover from that and that's exactly the point at which the carb cravings kick in once again.
My solution: cut back on carbs (less fruits, no nuts, no cheating), let the cravings and detox kick in and get on with your life because it will pass. It might take a while, but it will.
So, (I've said this a number of times already), but as of tomorrow, my attitude towards food will shift, and it's going to work.
My goal: get into shape before leaving for the USA in August. I'm planning to visit some CrossFit gyms to attend workouts over there, just to see what real CrossFit is like in the USA, and I want to make sure I'm up to it.

Back home, lots of pictures, and a recipe for Antillean Chicken

Finally, I've got the time (and energy) to post to my blog again, after a really busy weekend at my parents' home.
As I told in my last post, my mom's birthday was last Saturday, so we celebrated that first of all. I'd made her some of my Paleo chocolate hazelnut cookies, which I put in a jar with some ribbons. I'd already given her a raw food cookbook in New York, so this was just a little extra gift.
My mom had been doing some serious baking and pie-making!
First off, she served a strawberry cake, topped with cashew vanilla cream and fresh strawberries. Yum!!
The recipe for the cake was based on Elana's Strawberry cupcakes.

Back from NYC!!

I'm back from my trip to the Big Apple! Totally loved every minute of it!
While typing this, I have a huge lack of sleep (I kind of skipped a night, since my flight was at night and I couldn't keep my eyes closed for over an hour) but I still don't feel too bad. I just wanted to share my stories, food finds and pictures with you all.

To summarize our trip: eating, walking, shopping, eating, walking, shopping, eating, walking, sleeping.. Etc.. Oh and some sightseeing too.
Both my mom and me had a really great time in New York City!

Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Day 2 without fruit and nuts.. I've been pretty hungry these past 2 days and started noticing how often I actually ate fruits and nuts. I already incorporated more protein in all of my meals, but I still get hungry in between. So after my workout tonight, I'm going to do some more cooking for the next few days to make sure I won't reach for the fruits and nuts. Maybe I should add some more fat to my meals and snacks?
I haven't been getting any cravings for fruits and nuts though, so that's a good thing! And my energy levels are very stable and seem to be higher all day long :D This is definitely going to work for me!

Banana nut ice-cream

Today I've started stocking up on lots of meat, fish, poultry and eggs, and I'm trying to get rid of most of the fruit I have left.
I even cleaned my freezer! I just took my blowdryer and the whole thing was emptied, cleaned and filled back up again in under 20 minutes. Without water damage ;)
Seems like my diet and working out are making things like household chores much easier to get started with too. I used to put them off as often as I could, but now it hardly takes me any effort anymore.

Spicy almond beef burgers and roasted broccoli

Had another cool workout yesterday, they let me do an exercise called 'rope battle', which I think is really hard.. Not hard to do, but it takes a lot of effort from your arm muscles. I like it though! At one point my trainer asked what my heart rate was, so I measured it; 132 bpm. And he was like 'that's only average, let's do another set and go all-out!'. I'd never heard a trainer say that in a gym, and it was just what I wanted to hear!
I also had to push a prowler to the other side of the gym a few times, at max speed. That surely got my heart rate up ;) Anyway, it was really cool again, and I had lots of energy afterwards and even today my energy levels seem to be higher than usual. And I'm not that sore at all!
Next workout will be on Sunday! I'll have my own schedule by then, so I can do a workout without making an appointment first.

Aromatic chicken curry

First of all, thanks to Elana for posting a link to my website! In just one day, I got almost 300 visitors (instead of 20, like I usually get). So, hello everyone, I'm glad you're visiting and I hope you like the recipes! Feel free to leave comments on my posts :)

And for everyone who doesn't know about Elana's Pantry; make sure to check out Elana's website and her Black and White cake.

After following Robert J. Stone's 'Experiment' on the primal lifestyle for a few weeks (check out his blog; primalfood.wordpress.com!) and watching YouTube movies on CrossFit and seeing people get all these amazing results and a huge change of body composition, I realised I better make a 'before' picture of myself too.
So this morning I made my very own 'before' picture and measured myself. I've already dropped some pounds, but I figured it would be nice to keep track of the changes over time.
My weight is: 56.1 kg
My waist measures: 67 cm
I wonder what's going to happen when I keep doing CrossFit and watching my diet. So far, I feel great living like this so I'm definitely going to keep up the good work.

Banana curry and travelling

While on the train yesterday, I was reading my 'Discover America' magazine, which I took with me from the national 'holiday fair' last month. Travel magazines and me usually go together very well and they keep me entertained for a long time.
I think I know where my next trip will take me! (after going to New York and Australia that is) I think I'll go back to the USA, and drive from Seattle to Chicago, or the other way around! I'll need about a month, and I'll definitely visit Yellowstone NP and Colorado! I've heard great stories about Colorado, especially foodwise, and the nature is supposed to be beautiful too. Then there's Chicago, with its 'Magnificent Mile', for awesome shopping purposes! Ahh, I can hardly wait..
Furthermore, I simply love driving, and from what I experienced from driving in the USA during my trip in 2009 it's an excellent location. I love the many different types of landscapes and nature in the USA. So I might just go there! It would be great if I'd have more than a month to stay, then I could drive all the way through to Florida..

Flaxseed bread

First of all, I'll give you all a small update regarding my diet. I've lost 2kg already, without feeling hungry throughout the day. I found out I love having meat for breakfast, and I even prefer it over eggs now, because it keeps me feeling full much longer.
In the evening, about an hour after dinner, I still feel like snacking and stuffing myself with carbs. I guess that's just a withdrawal symptom, or it has something to do with my thyroid.
At work, I make sure I eat something mid-morning and mid-afternoon, I've mostly been having pumpkin cookies (still had those in my freezer) or an apple with some nuts. I found out having nuts with a piece of fruit helps keep my blood sugar under control.
So I'm pretty happy with the results so far and I'll keep going!

Cranberry kale stew

The recipe below is what I had for breakfast today. I've been having different kinds of beef stew for breakfast for 3 days now and I love it. It fills me up pretty well and keeps me going for quite a long time.
I decided to use the cranberry sauce I still had in my freezer from Christmas time and it combined really well. Cranberries are really healthy, especially for your bladder, and they don't contain much carbs at all. And they make a tasty combination with beef and kale too!
I'm aware that this dish doesn't look tasty at all, but just give it a try, it certainly tastes good!

Tilapia stir-fry with prunes

Here's an easy recipe, it looks a little like my Chicken and parsnip stir-fry but I used different spices. Both versions are different, but taste equally well.
I've been doing a lot of reading about Paleo and primal diets this morning and I've learnt a lot. I figured out what I'm doing wrong so far: I haven't only gained weight, I've also gained a carb addiction, again..
So I should eat less carbs and I need some more protein as well.
Where am I loading up on carbs, I asked myself. For breakfast, I usually include a banana and an apple, those are pretty high in carbs. Some berries would be better. Or just save the fruit for another meal. Because when my breakfast is more or less digested, halfway through the morning (I hardly ever make it through to lunch), I tend to crave carbs, and eat an apple or something like that. The same thing happens in the afternoon, I get tired and get myself a piece of fruit.