Food/ Recipes – Page 5 – Life is a Journey

Foodie Friday

Posted on March 29, 2013October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

After two weeks following the same, very restricted diet and noticing NO CHANGE in my pain levels I decided to add some things back into my diet but on a smaller scaler and not as part of my daily diet. Breakfast is still a green smoothie, lunch is still a salad but, as you’ll see, dinners are more family friendly. Because I have stuck with no sugar (though I’m sure that will change this Easter weekend) my appetite is still very much reduced. As a result I have now lost just over 5kg. It will certainly be interesting to see how Easter goes. I definitely plan to indulge but hope to remain in control and be back on track 100% come Tuesday.

This week involved a big grocery shop, in preparation for the Easter long weekend.

Which meant the fridge went from this…

to this….

We had a yummy lunch at a Japanese restaurant on Sunday….

Weekday lunches were a salad….

And I even packed a salad to have for dinner before the Bruce Springsteen concert,

which I ate in the car….

Other dinners included quorn, yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes….

Veggie soup with cheese on toast….

Leftover mashed potatoes, stirfried veggies and veggie bites….

A quorn burger and veggies…

and Gluten free pasta with a lentil sauce….

It was very nice being able to enjoy dinner with the family again, making just a few modifications rather than a seperate meal.

Foodie Friday & Almond Milk Tutorial

Posted on March 22, 2013October 9, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Yay, getting this done on Friday – which is amazing really because I only have a small amount of free time today.

So how did the week go with my elimination diet? So far it’s been good. Still no improvement in pain levels (they are actually worse right now) but my appetite is greatly reduced and I have now lost 4kg (8.8lbs). I am going to add in some things like tamari and eggs, and stay away from sugar, gluten, processed soy & corn (as much as possible). I’m just taking things day by day. Mostly it’s easy but I am getting a bit bored of basically the same thing every day, and having to make seperate meals.

This weeks groceries involved LOTS of fruit and veg…

Most of the groceries were for the rest of family though I did get a few frozen Syndian products – I used to have these before and quite liked them.

So what did I eat this week? Pretty much the same as last week.

Breakfast was a green smoothie….sometimes made to go…

Lunch with a salad with hummus and either falafels (gluten free) or veggie bites…

Dinner was quinoa or brown rice with some type of bean or lentil topping.

This was quinoa with a lentil bolognase sauce….

and a healthy version on nachos….

Not quite the same as what everyone else had….

The definite stand-out meal this week was at the Nan Tien Temple.

Tonight I have a date with the Boss and I’ve packed a salad to take with me. Trying to hang in there as long as I can.

I’ve been making lots of almond milk (usually every second day) and had a request to film a video. If you like almond milk you really must make your own. It’s super easy, super fast and super yummy.

Foodie Saturday ??

Posted on March 16, 2013October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Yep, missed Friday again. This week I blame it on having 2 videos plus the photos to upload. Plus I’ve been busy trying and reorganising my kitchen.

Anyway, on with the show.

This week started with the weekend of Amy’s party. We all know that involved pizza and ice cream cake. Sunday I ate the last of my indulgences. Then on Monday it was the start of an elimination diet. This is mainly for my inflammation/arthritis pain, but also for weight loss (since they are both highly related).

This means

No Gluten

No Dairy

No Soy

No Sugar

No corn

I’ve also been having no eggs this week. Basically I’ve been eating a whole foods diet with LOTS of veggies. Here’s a look at my grocery shop this week.

Breakfast has been a ~~green~~ brown smoothie made with frozen berries, homemade almond milk, ground flax seeds, chia seeds and slippery elm bark. Looks disgusting but tastes delicious.

Lunch was a salad with added seeds, hummus and something extra like chick peas, veggie bites or falafel (all gluten free, of course)

Dinners were pretty simple and straightforward as it’s been a bit of strange week. Next week I hope/plan to be more adventurous (esp, as my energy levels are already increasing and pain levels decreasing).

I didn’t do a lot of snacking but if I was hungry mid-afternoon I’d have some lentil soup, fruit or rice thins with hummus.

So how’s it all going?

I had my first challenge last at the basketball but I passed by having my dinner early (at 5pm) before we left and had a handful of nuts at half time. I did envy everyone eating popcorn and ice cream but just focussed on how good I’m going to feel :-). The diet isn’t the most family friendly so I’ve had to make seperate meals for the others, which I don’t really like. But if I succeed in achieving good health it will well be worth it. And as I said, I’m going to get more creative in the kitchen and hopefully come up with some family friendly meals. The goal at this stage is to eat this way for 3 weeks but we’ll see how I go.

Foodie Friday

Posted on March 11, 2013October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Yep, I do realize I’m a few days late and it’s in facet Monday, but Foodie Monday doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Sorry I’m late with this. I’ve been feeling pretty poorly this week PLUS the Iditarod is on :-).

Unfortunately once I allowed myself some sugar it kind of became a free for all – not helped by the fact it was Amy’s birthday week. Getting back on track next week.

Amy’s birthday dinner was at the Hog’s Breath Cafe – I got the chicken salad without the chicken and bacon (always get an odd look when I order this).