I follow a few food blogs and it’s probably not true but I imagine the bloggers to be people who don’t work with rich husbands, no children and beautiful spacious kitchens equipped with the latest gadgets!  I don’t know if this is true but to reassure you, I work full time and I pay for everything myself!  I would be ashamed to publish a picture of my kitchen on here, it’s tiny, I wash up using the water allowance I get from my Economy 7 water heater and have a few common gadgets such as a garlic press and a hand held blender/chopper. I bought the cheapest oven I could find; I dream of the day I can afford a good oven with a separate grill and a gas hob!

So don’t think you need all the time and money in the world to do this. I made 1 big batch a week and froze 5 or 6 extra portions out of it.  Pretty soon I had enough to have a different, healthy, tasty meal every night!

I realised I was addicted to sugar last year.  It took me a good few months just to go cold turkey for a full month!  I then went on a 3 day binge but now I’m back on track.  I don’t like calorie counting, fasting, starving myself, low fat, low carbs or bland food so I’m glad I’ve found a way to lose weight without having any of that!  I am careful not to eat any sweet sugary tasting foods and have experimented with what works for me but everyone is different.  I try not to eat processed food but I do let my hair down at the weekend.

What works for me:

At least 5 fruit and veg a day

Wholegrains (pasta, flour, brown rice)

Sweet potatoes instead of white

Whole or chopped fruit

Protein at every meal

Any dairy is allowed

Herbal Tea

Lots of full fat probiotic yoghurt

Good fats – nuts, avocado, olive/seed oils, seeds, tahini

What doesn’t work for me:

Dried fruit

Fruit juice

Blended fruit

Healthy substitutes for sugar

Yeast

Vinegar

Soy Sauce

Factory made mayonnaise

Processed food

Caffiene

Cheese

Plus I only drink at the weekends