Good Food and Gratitude!

I can't believe I'm already on day 29 of the 12 week challenge! Holy cow, it just flies. The first month of 2010 is already over and that just completely blows my mind.

I've lost 1.5kgs, which is pretty sweet considering I'm already a very active person and a healthy eater with little to lose. I though that seeing as the challenge is 1/3 of the way over, I'd share some of my favourite foods with you.

Today I made Tanya Dyhin's breakfast smoothie. Her base ingredients are fruit, soy milk, an egg, cinnamon and ice. Mine had an egg, malt free organic soy milk, half a frozen banana, some frozen mango chunks and raspberries with cinnamon. Pretty tasty indeed!

I make another type of smoothie as an afternoon snack. It has soft or silken tofu, cinnamon, frozen berries (no bananas for me after midday cos of the carb content) and ice. If you add water or juice its a smoothie, but I like to eat it like yoghurt, with a spoon.

I eat loads of tinned and frozen fish - I know fresh is best, but its just not that convenient for my lifestyle, eating out of my backpack. I eat the tiny tins of smoked salmon in springwater as well the coles brand spanish, italian, morrocan, mexican, japanese and spicy tomato and chilli tunas. I split a tin of sardines in spring water into 2 serves.

I make my own hummus using chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini and I add chilli and cumin. I dip celery, carrot, capsicum and cucumber in it, as well as the occasion wholegrain 9 grains vita wheats or a couple of multigrain or soy and linseed corn thins. I might also spread a little macro organic nothing added crunchy peanut butter on one of those as a treat. Whilst on the subject of chick peas, I buy the bag of chick nuts from woolworths and divide it up into little snack container portions which are great on the go.

I also love fruit as a snack with a couple of almonds and sunflower seeds to make the energy last. I keep apples and bananas for the am.

I have first lunch, around lunch time, and second lunch, later on. For first lunch I might have a version of a lentil stew i make at home. Sometimes I use regular lentils, sometime yellow, sometimes both! I cook them slowly with onions, garlic, spinach and tomatoes (tinned, fresh or both) and any number of herbs or spices - chilli, ginger, tumeric and cumin are all wonderful. I throw in mushrooms and olives if I have some. Sometimes I'll mix that with a tin of salmon post reheating.

Second lunch is usually a salad with a tin of fish and a piece of fruit (nectarine, blueberries, peach). My salads contain loads of green leaves and cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives and mushies. I dress it with seeded mustard, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil. Sometimes its steamed firm tofu with chilli, broccoli and various other vegies.

I try not to eat dinner after 8, but that's not always easy working my hours! My favourite meal is grilled salmon and steamed vegies - carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, beans, peas, zucchini, capsicum - I'll eat them all if I've got them! I will always use vegies as the base of my meal and also like to make a stir fry using a frozen hoki fillet. Both are very quick, very easy, tasty, satisfying and ultra healthy.

Hopefully this gives you all some healthy ideas that you can introduce into your days!

Onto the next subject, I'm going through some pretty tough times in life right now, but I think its important to express gratitude for what we do have, especially when worried, sad or suffering. So today, I choose to express gratitude in the form of a top ten list. Here goes:

1. I'm thankful for the car my mum bought me. Stellar is the basis of my independence and is a wonderful machine that brings me immense pleasure and joy.
2. I'm thankful for my mum and all my brothers and sisters who are there to hear me and support.
3. I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and clients who make a huge and positive impact on my life in so many ways.
4. I'm thankful for my chosen career path and my business, which provides me with the amazing opportunity to help people find better health, better confidence, greater happiness and longer life. I truly believe that society at large has an immense need to recconnect with body and breath, that being trapped inside our minds and stuck behind desks is a tremendous problem, but one I aim to combat.
5. I'm thankful for being in this body that allows me to dance and run. YAY I LOVE TO DANCE! YAY I LOVE TO RUN! Also, the specifics of my body and how I was born give me greater connection with it, as well as enabling me to inspire people! That's a huge gift :)
6. I'm thankful to live in Sydney! It's such a beautiful city with so many benefits. The sea, the weather, a beautiful harbour, every modern convenience, access to fresh food, water and air... This list could be a long one!
7. While we're at it, I'm just thankful to live! To experience the fullness of the human condition, for all its ups and downs.
8. I'm thankful for the internet! It allows me to connect with you all in so many ways and is a fantastic research tool! I only wish I had more time to take advantage of it.
9. I'm thankful that, for the most part, I do not want for necessities. I have shelter, food, clothing and transport. Already I have so much more than so many millions of people I share this planet with.
10. Finally, I'm thankful for Hayden. I know what it is to be truly loved, nurtured, supported, looked after and cared for and it is such a tremendous blessing that I'm truly grateful now for every single day that it was mine.