Meatza revisited!

Meatza is a regular in our house, it's a treat as it's got a ton of cheese! so long as you eat only a couple of pieces you can still lose weight, just don't go nuts on it as it's pretty calorie dense!

• 2 Eggs
• 400gms Pork Mince
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

Combine all ingredients, spread out evenly into pan on some baking paper or it will stick! remember it will srink when cooked, bake for 10mins on 230C or 450F oven and drain off liquid/fat.

Top with toppings of your choice, I like to do different topping each time I make it.  For this one I used bbq sauce, green capsicum, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, bacon, mushrooms, feta and mozarella.
Then grill for approx 5-10mins

Crumbed Pork & Sage Sausages

One of my Facebook fans sent me an email with this amazing recipe it needs to be shared, these taste awesome and completely gluten free sausages, husband approved also ;)

I served mine with sautéed savoy cabbage and parsnip chips.

Another great thing about this dish, it's cheap! The pork cost me $4.50 on special and will do us two meals or will feed a family of 4. Who says you can't do primal on a budget, there's always a way!



Crumbed Pork & Sage Sausages

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chopped red onion
• Butter
• Ground almonds 
• 400gms pork mince
• 1 Tbsp dried sage
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• Pinch dry nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt. 

Put chopped onion in a small saucepan with 1T butter. Cook very gently for about 5 minutes until softened but not golden, leave to cool.

Add all ingredients to bowl, mix then shape like sausages, rolling in the ground almonds. Chill for awhile up to an hour. Heat some fat and butter in a pan and cook sausages until golden brown and pop in preheated oven at 180C for 10 minutes to cook through.

Makes 8 Sausages

Gluten Free Cheese Muffins

These were an experimental recipe that happened to turn out pretty damn good.  I love savoury muffins, my mum makes some really yummy ones but they are made with flour, since doing low carb for nearly 4 years it is one thing I do miss so I think these come in a pretty close 2nd! The nutritional profile is pretty good too...they certainly pack a punch!!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
100gms melted butter
1 cup grated egmont cheese or colby, edam etc...
1/2 cup or 60gms sifted coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (if you use unsalted butter)
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
Extra grated cheese for the top - I used parmesan


Preheat oven to fan bake 180C or 350F.  Melt butter and put aside.  Break open 6 eggs and whisk them up, add the sifted coconut flour, baking powder, salt and seasoning and give it a good whisk to get all the lumps out.  Add the melted butter and combine well then add the grated cheese.  Grease a 12 cup muffin tin with a little butter and then pour batter evenly into the cups, top with a little grated parmesan and pop in the preheated oven for 18 minutes.  Should be nice and golden on top!


Makes 12 muffins
Nutritional Profile Per Muffin
Calories: 152
Fat: 12.6
Protein: 5.92
Carb: 3.83
Net Carb: 1.91
Nutritional info has been added to www.myfitnesspal.com - search: Dollfaces Low Carb Cheese Muffins

Low Carb Deep Dish Pan Pizza!

So last night I made the Low Carb Deep Dish Pan Pizza, the recipe is here: http://yourlighterside.com/low-carb-deep-dish-pan-pizza/ 

Soo delicious, I highly recommend trying this if you are missing pizza, it really hit the spot and got rave reviews from husband :) I topped mine with bbq sauce, caramelised onions, bacon, cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers and mozarella, yummo!!!

How you know when you have it dialled in?

The best thing about finally finding something that works for you is you stop searching for answers.  For me Primal works and I’m eternally grateful to Mark Sisson for all of his work in creating The Primal Blueprint, Primal is now my life and I would never consider going back to how I used to eat over 4 years ago.  

Because I’ve dropped such a huge amount of weight and kept it off for several years...I’ve stopped looking for other answers, yes I still have a few kilos I’d like to lose but I know that I can do it following primal, I just need to dial it back in again and stop having the indulgences that have crept back in.   

I will never be on the constant search for the next ‘diet’, it’s such a freeing feeling!

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that I don’t buy health magazines anymore, and I don’t skip to the ‘nutrition’ part of any of the other trashy magazines like I once did.

Check out the covers of just a handful of some of my old magazines...

‘Our new miracle diet'

‘Little health tweaks BIG RESULTS!'

'Bikini Body Now!'

‘Drop 10 lbs in a week!’
‘Get toned arms fast’

 

The one thing these all have in common is big promises! 

I’m guilty of buying these magazines and thinking that this ‘diet’ will be different and will work.  They never did and it wasn’t until I found Primal that I ‘got it’, I understand how my body works and I don’t need to be trying different diets anymore.

Diets don’t always fail, people fail.  Harsh but true.  What you need to find is something that you can stick with and make those changes for life.  Losing weight shouldn’t be about deprivation, I’ve never felt deprived or ravenously hungry while losing weight.  Sure I’d love to go and have a pizza and still lose weight but that just simply isn’t going to ever happen. Until you can understand this you’ll probably be stuck on the mouse wheel.

I don’t need to buy any of these magazines for the health tips because I have found what works for me, so why would I need to try anything else?

“10 superfoods you can try today!” – No thanks I’m Primal.

I know how to lose body fat, get fit and be healthy, I have the answers and I know exactly how to dial it in.  The question is...”How badly to you want it?

Crispy Pork Belly!

This is a thai version of cripsy pork belly! Definitely not for the faint-hearted ;)
This takes a lot of preparation but completely worth it....the orginal recipe can be found here: http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.co.nz/2009/11/muu-krop-crispy-pork.html

• 1 kg pork belly or more
• 2 Tablespoons of kikkoman gluten free soy sauce or Coconut Aminos
• a sprinkle of sugar
• dash of pepper
• beef tallow for deep frying

Marinate your pork belly with the soy, sugar and pepper for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Remove marinated pork from fridge and steam over a steamer or pot steamer for 1 hour, check the water and top up with boiling water if necessary.

Remove pork from the steamer, prick the pork skin all over with a folk. Mix 2tbs of salt and 1tbs of white vinegar into a paste and rub it over the pork skin. Cut pork into 2cm strips and leave them in the fridge uncovered overnight, this is a very important step to dry the pork out.

Fry pork strips in hot beef tallow until golden delicious.  Drain well and it's ready to be eaten!!
I didn't want to overcook mine so I removed them, sliced the pork skin off and put the skin back into the deep fryer until crispy!  I kept the stock from the steamer and then made a gravy with it, I found it too rich with the pork belly so instead we opted for some sweet chilli sauce and it was AMAZING!!

Chocolate lava cake!

Before I start all the credit goes to this awesome blog! http://healthfreakrevolution.com/?p=607

This is my second attempt at the best chocolate pudding ever....it's now lava cake!
This is revolutionary and I'm so happy I stumbled across the recipe, thanks to Joanne from Bellatrix Nutrition for sharing it! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=456968350997260&set=a.306377172723046.93130.149444195083012&type=1&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_reply&theater

It's definitely considered a 'treat indulgence' even though dark chocolate and eggs are super foods I don't recommended having this all the time..have it when you are really feeling like a treat or everyone else is having something non-primal then you could indulge in this.  A very high fat, high calorie treat, maybe half it if you are trying to lose weight!
I'm a real lover of super dark chocolate so if you aren't I suggest going for a 70% cocoa content, this version is very rich!

My little tweaks:

• 14 pieces of 85% Green and Blacks
• 2 pieces of 70% Old Gold
• 1 square of 85% Lindt
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a mug, microwave on a medium setting for about 2 minutes, the coconut oil will stop the chocolate from burning and makes the pudding taste unreal!
Let the melted chocolate cool enough to add in the egg without it scrambling.  Place the square of lindt in the centre and microwave the whole thing for 60 seconds.  
Tip out on a plate, it doesn't stick at all and then serve with whatever your heart desires.  I love pears with chocolate, it reminds me of an old favourite "Upside down pear pudding".

Nutritional stats for this chocolate lava cake are:
Calories: 616
Fat: 52gms
Carbs: 25
Net Carbs: 18
Protein: 11
 

The best chocolate pudding ever!

This chocolate pudding is unreal! I just had to share it with you guys...I found it here: https://www.facebook.com/BellatrixNutrition#!/photo.php?fbid=456968350997260&set=a.306377172723046.93130.149444195083012&type=1&theater

I just followed the instructions and it came out perfect except next time I'll cook it a little less and add some more unmelted chocolate into the centre to make it like Lava Cake!  I used 70gms of 70% old gold, I also let the melted chocolate cool a bit before adding the egg so it didn't scramble, I cooked mine for 1.30 minutes, next time I'll just do a minute.  I halved the pudding as above and then served it for husband and I with some pears and whipped cream, simply AMAZEBALLS!!!!

The original recipe post is here: http://healthfreakrevolution.com/?p=607

Nutritious Chocolate Cake: 2 ingredients, 5 minutes

"It is a healthy variation of the popular 5-minute mug cake. This recipe is very simple, and makes a lot of sense when you begin to understand how ingredients work together to create new ...textures. "

Serves one (decent sized dessert)

Ingredients:
40-80g of Dark chocolate* (as dark as you can enjoy)
one egg

Less chocolate will create a lighter ‘cakier’ texture, more will create a denser brownie-like texture. I recommend starting with 70g on your first time. If you want a massive cake, experiment with upping the ingredients, and feel free to put it in an oven (oven tray not coffee mug though).

[* if you're using Lindt chocolate, 1 square = 10g
so 7 squares = 70g]

Optional:
baking powder can help it rise a little more
nuts
honey
serve with fruit, banana is good
serve with cream

Method:
Melt chocolate in a mug using your microwave. If you cant do this without burning go learn.
Beat your egg into the melted chocolate.
Microwave again, 30 seconds at a time to check how fast your microwave works, won’t take more than 1:30 seconds.
Tip on a plate or eat it out of the mug after letting it cool a bit.

Primal Presentation!

Last night I held a free Primal Presentation at my local Gym.  It went really well, I had 9 people show up, which to be honest was great, I wanted a small number for my first class.  It was very exciting to be able to share this information with others and it's something I'm extremely passionate about and it just comes naturally.  What I'm doing is purely non profit, I'm selling a few of Mark Sissons books which I think are fantastic, the very small profit from these barely covers the free handouts I make.  However being able to do what I'm passionate about is far more rewarding than money!  These classes will be a regular thing that I will be holding 3 fridays out of every month.

Bacon wrapped chicken, stuffed with feta and roasted red peppers

On a piece of cooking paper lay 5 pieces of bacon, top with 3 small chicken breasts, 125-150gms Creamy Feta cheese and several strips of roasted red peppers. Roll it up in the cooking paper and roll again in some tin foil, bake for 40mins ...on 175C Fan Bake, take out of the oven and remove the top of the foil and cooking paper and then pop back in the oven for a further 15 minutes to crispy the bacon. Let rest for a few minutes and then slice, serve and eat!

Am I really a blogger?!

I've never thought of myself as a 'blogger'.  I always thought you would need to have a Major in English to be a blogger, after all I only just passed School Certificate English which won't shock any of you as my punctuation is not the best, I'm not really bothered, I am much better at talking than writing ;)

So here I am still blogging away several years later, a lot of blogs start up but don't stay, a lot of time goes in to blogging, trying to think about what readers want to hear.  My blog just evolved out of my quest for weight loss and health.  Back in 2008 there were only about 5 other Primal blogs so I felt quite alone starting this style of eating, especially in New Zealand, we are so slow to catch up with the rest of the world.

I never thought this blog would become as popular as it is, I have readers from all over the world...United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, Slovenia and many more. I get 500+ hits daily so I’m pretty blown away by this.

This blog has kept me accountable for my weight loss journey, it's been about my rants, recipes, the frustrations I've had and the victories I have made, all of my readers have made me feel like I wasn't alone in this process and less crazy about it all.

Being extremely overweight is something I don't wish upon anyone, I can't even really describe how awful it made me feel but the one thing that most overweight people tend to have in common is feeling alone and like nothing is ever going to change.

When I made that decision to lose weight and blog about it, I felt like I could really do this, people I'd never even met started emailing and commenting on my progress.  When I had fails my readers lifted my spirits and kept me trucking along.

I don't quite know if I would have been as successful at not only losing the weight but keeping it off if it wasn't for my blog.  You all keep me real, keep me accountable and I love feeling like I'm a part of a life changing movement that is going on in the world of Primal and Paleo.  People are starting to realise that the conventional wisdom crap we've all been fed is just lies and there's more to losing weight than just calories in calories out.

I love to reflect, to remember where I came from.  Keep my feet on the ground and real about where I am today.  I've been on this journey for almost 4 years and it's just blows my mind with the support that is out there now for those of you wanting to lose weight and improve your health.

Sometimes I wish there had of been more help when I started but in someways I'm pretty proud of myself that I have helped so many others who desperately needed and still need that motivation, if I can motivate those around me I feel like in some small way I'm doing my bit.

This Friday evening I'm going to be doing my first public talk about Primal, I'm very nervous as I'm not a big fan of speaking in public (who the hell is) but because I'm so passionate about this subject it's something I just have to do, I really want to help others change their lives.

The work I put into my blog, my Facebook page and now the 'mini seminars' is all to help those out there that need it, it's unpaid work but I love it and will keep doing it to help people.

There's still a fat girl inside of me, I'm so empathetic, I understand the shame and sadness that surrounds this issue, I'll never forget where I've come from and how hard I have to work to stay on track.

I hope that I can continue to inspire, motivate and challenge you all out there, if you think losing a large amount of weight is impossible think again, it's amazing how the body can shrink.

Thank you to all of my readers for helping shape my journey and keep me accountable, I'm so grateful to you all x