Not trying to fill any other void but my belly!

25th February 2016

Words have the power to change ... everything.

Good morning, so I made it through yesterday, barely, I'm hungry, I don't know if it's the weather, the temperature, my mood, I don't know but I'm hungrier than usual and I'm always hungry anyway thanks to the side effects of medication I've taken all my life and I just want to eat.  I did however make a conscious effort to eat well, I even started my day with grains, 

I had Freekah and a poached egg for breakfast, packed with protein, Freekeh is a green wheat harvested when young and then roasted to create a distinctive smokey flavour. It can be served cold straight from the pack with its chewy texture working well in salads or it can be warmed and used as a side dish with chicken or fish.  I think it's delicious

I try to include high-protein foods from animal and plant sources because they help me to stay satisfied between meals. Aim to choose lean protein foods such as legumes, egg whites, fish, dairy products and skinless chicken as these will help with weight loss too. Legumes are high in fibre and digested at a slower rate, leaving you full for longer periods.

Breakfast is also my most important meal of the day and I'm constantly looking for new ideas, here are a couple I've found this morning;

Cinnamon French Toast with Yogurt

French toast is no longer a weekend breakfast splurge. You can enjoy this recipe any day of the week! With 28 grams of protein, you’ll be satiated for hours. Soak 1 slice of whole-grain bread (2sp) in an egg (2sp). Cook on a non-stick pan for approximately 1 minute on each side, until lightly browned. Sprinkle with cinnamon (or any other favourite spice) and serve with 3/4 cup of yogurt (a small pot of 0% fat natural Greek yogurt is 2sp).  

Mediterranean Morning Scramble

The Mediterranean diet is considered to be one of the healthiest in the world as it’s linked to cutting risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Start your morning right with this healthy Mediterranean scramble. Lightly beat 1 egg (2sp) with 4 egg whites (0sp) and scramble in a non-stick pan until fully cooked. Top eggs with 3 tablespoons of part-skim ricotta cheese (3sp) and ¾ cup baby spinach.

I have to admit to buying some bacon yesterday so I might be having me a healthy bacon sarnie, if there is such a thing, apparently bacons not good for us at all because of... oh who cares, I've got to die of something!  I can't give everything up that's tasty ;)

So that was the morning, lunchtime, still hungry obviously, I opted for Heck chicken sausages, what a Smart Point bargain they are, 10 in the packet for 6sp, WOW, I had 5 because I had to feed my mom too, it killed me to leave the last two sitting on the side but I managed too for an hour or so before having them as a sandwich (still within my daily allowance I might add).  I ate them at lunchtime with couscous, so now I've had protein and Complex carbohydrates, (includes whole wheat pasta and bread) which are packed with fiber and help you feel full longer. Fibre-rich complex carbohydrates take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates found in white bread, pasta and sugary foods. The fibre and slow digestion process keeps you satisfied between meals.

By tea time I wasn't so much hungry as I wanted to eat, that's a different kind of hunger all together, it's more emotional than physical but it's just as real, but I didn't give into it, I opted for the leftover freekah and added a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce to give it a bit of flavour before taking myself off to bed to get the sleep that I so needed and was one of the reasons for my hunger.  Tiredness and hormones are an incredible combination, the hormones cause the tiredness, the tiredness buddies up with the hormones to trigger the hunger.  Isn't the body one incredible piece of machinery!  Unfortunately unlike a machine, you can't 100% programme a body nor a mind come to that, I don't know about you, but this body of mine has a mind of its own!  I love it though.

I'm hoping by eating these foods that keep me feeling full longer will help reduce the amount of calories I consume each day because most foods that sate the appetite are low in energy density, high in volume and low in calories, which means you can eat more and feel full longer. Complex carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein are healthy options that help you feel full until your next meal.  I'm also hoping , they'll balance my blood sugars, thus making me crave less.

To help even more, I'm planning on joining Weight Watchers as a member tomorrow, because I too need that group support, so we're off to find it, making time for ourselves!  Putting our needs first, and looking forward to getting a spring back in our steps. 

Here's to a great day, tracking all the way, however you do it, app, paper, it doesn't matter as long as it is done.  Here's a great simple soup recipe, use wholewheat noodles for all the reasons I've mentioned above;

Chinese chicken noodle soup

Serves 1, 5 Smart Points

40g fine egg noodles, broken roughly (4sp)

60g baby corn, sliced thinly

1/2 chicken stock cube, made up to 300ml with boiling water

1 teaspoon soy sauce

75g cooked chicken breast, sliced (1sp)

2 spring onions, sliced

Add noodles and baby corn to a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

Pour the stock into the saucepan, add the soy sauce and bring to a simmer.   Mix in the chicken, spring onion, cooked noodles and baby corn and heat through for 1-2 minutes until piping hot.  Pour into a bowl and serve.

For a veggie version replace the chicken with the same weight of sliced button mushrooms and use vegetable stock cube.  This will be 4sp total.