What I've been eating lately.

Gee, it's been quite a while since I did a food post.  My weight loss and cooking journey was the inspiration for this blog.

With getting ready to move, moving, settling in and the extreme amount of pressure I've been under at work it has meant that my healthy eating has taken a back seat in the past couple of months.  I have well and truly fallen off the wagon and I have the super grazed knees and the number on my scales to prove it.  I have gained 2kg - bringing my total weight loss down to only 6kg.  Argh!  I know it could be worse.  I have been eating terribly, so I am a bit surprised I haven't put more weight on than I actually have.

I am starting slow with getting back on the wagon.  I am doing a meal plan again, but am not being as strict as I know I should be.

I've made a few new things over the past few weeks.

Lentil Soup

This turned out much better than I expected.  I've had a few lentil soups over the years and this one was different in the fact that half of it was blitzed which added a thicker texture to the soup.  The lentil soups I've had in the past have all been very watery and this had the thick soupy texture that I love.  A thing I added that wasn't in the recipe was garlic.  It just didn't seem right to not have garlic in it, especially considering it had onion, carrot and celery.  It was also only 260 calories a serve.  Sweet!

Potato and Split Pea Curry

This was devine.  Pity I misread the calorie count and it was probably closer than twice the amount of calories than I had thought...  Instead of using a madras curry paste, I chose to use a yellow curry paste as I had heard that madras was VERY hot.  Well, the yellow curry paste was uber mild and while it had the curry flavour, it would've been even better if it had a bit more bite.  So next time - if there is a next time - I will be using a hotter curry paste.

Healthy Nachos

Now these surprised me.  I had chosen to make the nachos as an easy meal choice, and easy it was.  Refried beans, tin tomato, taco seasoning, cheese, corn chips (the recipe made its own tortilla chips...), spring onion and sour cream  Awesome, stuff I usually have lying around in my pantry and fridge anyway.  I got the recipe off the Weight Watchers website a couple of years ago and it reckons it was only 5.5 points (the old points, not the pro points) per serve.  I haven't worked that out in calories yet...  When I was making it, I was dubious as to whether there would be enough per serve.  So instead of dividing it into four serves, it was more closer to three serves.  Well, surprise, surprise, it was REALLY filling (probably due to the beans).  Like, stomach exploding filling.  So I now have no doubt that it would serve four very comfortably and will divide it appropriately next time.

Until next time,

xx

Look what I bought... :)

For a while now, I have been umming and ahhing about buying a new camera.

My current camera is a bit over two years old and has served me very well.  Especially when I travelled to the UK.  My parents bought it for me for my 25th birthday and it did everything I wanted it to, especially super zoom (a complaint I had about my previous camera).

My 'current' camera - a Fujifilm JZ500

Well, my current camera has been causing me a wee bit of grief.  Firstly, it picks and chooses whether it wants to take photos on the setting I have selected.  Often it will angrily beep at me then turn itself off, requiring me to turn it on and change the setting.  One of the rubber rings around the lens is also sticking out, which means it doesn't shut properly and the shutter cover thingy sometimes gets stuck, requiring me to flip it up with my finger.

So, it's obvious that my camera has more than served me well.  It has travelled overseas with me and has taken some exceptional photos.  Pretty spiffy for a standard aim and shoot camera.

A few different cameras have caught my eye over the last few years, and for aaaaages I was coveting a Panasonic Lumix TZ20.  Then a few weeks ago, I was window shopping in JB HiFi and a different camera caught attention.  A Nikon Coolpix S9300.  It kinda had an SLR look, but was still a standard digital camera.  I decided I wanted it and would try to buy it before I headed to Adelaide in 7 weeks time.  It retails for $398 and I found it online for $349.  Sweet.  I prepared myself for the possibility that I would not be able to afford it before my holiday though, knowing that money was tight, especially considering the exorbitant amount of money we paid on our airfares - ummm...  $760 return!!

Yesterday we were walking through JB HiFi again and lo and behold, they are having a 'Massive Stocktake Sale' and Nikon cameras were 15% off!!  That meant my camera would be reduced to $338!  BARGAIN!!  I still decided I couldn't buy it though, and left empty handed :(

I mulled over it all night and decided I would buy it.  I had some money in my holiday savings, but I wanted to see if I could get it on my GE Creditline store card.  Turns out I could!  I get 3 months interest free, and I already pay waaaay more than required on my GE card, so it should be paid off in no time.  And best of all, I didn't have to dip into my Holiday Fund.

My new camera :)

She's got stacks of cool features - including GPS, 3D shooting, easy panoramic and fireworks setting.  

She's charging at the moment, and I am chomping at the bit for it to finish so I can start playing with it!

xx

Still Here...

I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog.

Don't worry, I'm still alive and kicking.

I've just been REALLY busy with moving and work.

I will put a proper blog update up in the next week or so.

xx