Happy 2012! I'm Back :)

Happy 2012 Everyone!!! Well I'm back into the swing of things finding my rhythmn and routine.  Taking time off is lovely but it's pretty hard to get the motivation to start work again, especially since I work for myself, it's a lot harder. 

I'm very pleased with myself that I didn't pick up an ice cream habit while away on holiday nor did I pile on pounds :) I had a few minor flucuations with water weight etc but happy to say I'm still hovering in the 68's so that's an achievement compared to last year.  I recall I gained a fair few pounds and they are never as easy to take off as they are to put on.  I'm also really pleased with the way I handled the indulgences.  I was able to just hold back a little, normally I tend to go nuts, I think ah I've fallen off now to hell with it and eat everything in sight! This time I was so proud of myself that I would maybe have a naughty lunch but then I would do a primal dinner or vice versa, or just because I had a non primal pudding the night before did not mean I also needed to have that for breakfast which is how I usually roll when I'm indulging.  So the skinny girl in me won this time!

A great way to start the new year was to recieve the updated and expanded edition of The Primal Blueprint! Featuring in the success stories section are some amazing stoies, all up there are 6 and I am blown away that I am one of them.  I still can't believe I'm in the book, it seems like not that long ago that I was starting my journey reading the 2009 edition, crazy how much it affected my life. I'm pretty excited about this and it's a sure fire way to help keep me motivated to keep the weight off.  Just another thing to add to my list of why I'll never be fat again.

My braces are going well and my teeth are starting to move which is super exciting.  I've wanted braces since I was a kid and it's wonderful that I finally get to straighten my teeth which I've always felt self conscious about. 

I met up with my old boss over the holidays and I don't see him often as he lives in Australia now.  He remembers the old me, fat, depressed, always sick and hating my job!  He couldn't stop commenting on how amazing I look, happy I seem and how well my business is doing! It's a really nice reminder of my hard work and the transformation on my life in general.  Suffice to say I walked away feeling very very happy that I'm no longer that person nor in that situation. 

Anyway on to food which is far more important! As you all know how much of a foodie I am here's some of my recent eats, of course there's some there that aren't as primal, it was Christmas! Enjoy :)

First is the Christmas indulgence food!

10.5kgs of Ham!!!

My mum's famous Christmas Pudding

Mum's famous Tiramisu

Chocolate Truffles

Christmas Eve Spread with friends in Auckland, homemade sweet n sour pork, ribs, homemade lasagne, sweet potato salad and feta salad

Desert of Triffle, ambrosia, chocolate dipped strawberries

The rest is mostly primal with a little 20%! We just bought a deep fryer so I was testing it out ;) I use beef tallow and the food tastes amazing, the crumbing is a gluten free crumb fairly low in carbs made from Potato and Rice.  The last picture is a meal my husband made me out of the Jamie's 30 minute meals, it's satay chicken skewers and it's delicious, yes there are noodles there but I can't expect him to know how to make a primal alternative, he's just starting out making meals so I think he did well :)

 Raw Salmon on greens, deep fried calamari and prawns with japanese mayo

 Deep fried prawns, surimi, edamame and japanese mayo

 Kumara chips, calamari and japanese mayo

 Battered snapper, deep fried pumpkin and fresh aparagus with japanese mayo

 Out to dinner at my favourite japanese resturant - Tuna tataki

 Satay Chicken skewers with a homemade sauce, noodle, cashew coriander salad with greens