Thursday Frustrations

I. AM. STILL. SICK.

If you want to get technical though, I was better, and looking forward to going back to work today (because i'm starting to feel some cabin fever over here, being stuck in my house the last 3 days!), when I woke up in the middle of the night, headachey, hot, and freaking out that my clothes were suffocating me. And puffed right back up like a kid who swallowed some golf balls for a laugh. Going back to the doctor today, but I am honestly so..... gah! I took a few Nurofen Plus last night, and that calmed it down a bit, but I'm not "better" by any stretch of the imagination.

I have a feeling that my immune system has given up because of my last job; starting early, finishing late (it wasn't uncommon to do a few 10 to 12 hour days a week), 5 to 6 days a week, with no time off for sickness allowed (if I wanted to keep my job that is). Not to mention the stress of working in an unstable environment, not knowing whether your job is secure or not takes its toll. Anyway, I think because my immune system has been working overtime trying to keep me well the year and a half I was at that job, now that I'm in a secure position, with paid sick time, my system has just rolled over and died, so to speak. Might bring that hypothesis up with the doctor today, I read in an article in Women's Health (I think, don't quote me on it!) that stuff like this is becoming common as Australians are becoming more stressed and overworked, but was a bit skeptical until now...

Anyway, never got around to posting yesterday's food diary, but to be honest, there was nothing really of note there. I had my shakes, I had my healthy snacks, didn't get any exercise in, had roughly 2L of water (lost count somewhere...). Oh! Ruku did take me out to lunch, we went to Elephant Boy in the Bowral Main Street. They had some REALLY gorgeous looking curries, but they were served with spicy Indian potatoes (which I love) and a rice pilaf. You'll all be glad to know that I resisted the carb-fest though, and I ordered marinated chicken breast with salad on the side! The salad was just a leaf salad, and the chicken was a tad tough (Ruku's was fantastic though, so maybe I just got a dud boob), but the chutney served on the side was fantastic, honestly the best I've had for a long time. It also came on toasted turkish pide, and I can proudly report that I resisted the lure of the bread (mostly) and nibbled on a third, before I made Ruku eat it so I wouldn't. The basil pesto salad dressing was also pretty good, and not too heavy, which made me happy.

I have also been working my way through various high-protein, low-carb snack bars, to sample and review them. When I've got a few different varieties under my belt, I'll post my thoughts up here. And, I made insanely healthy, low carb lasagne yesterday, and wasn't sure when I'd have time to post the recipe up, well now I will have time! Expect to see a recipe for my bolognese sauce + lasagne in the next couple of days, if I don't post it today. I'm pretty pleased with how economical it's turned out actually, with 500g of mince, I made enough bolognese for two medium lasagnes, and still have enough sauce to serve Ruku and I as "vegetti" another day. I'm looking forward to trying vegetables in place of pasta, even though my sauce is already loaded with veggies. Before I start gushing, that is the great thing about growing up vegetarian; instead of looking at meat as the main man, you save a lot of money by using meat more sparingly, and bulking meals out with vegetables, beans and pulses. So much cheaper, and healthier too. While I do eat meat these days (not a whole lot, but I do eat it), left to my own devices I tend to gravitate back to vegetarian habits, and will happily eat a khichari, or dahl, and be perfectly satisfied with that.

One more thing of note, before I sign this off here; Those Celebrity Slimmers who have access to a coffee plunger, or a home coffee machine, make 150ml of coffee, refridgerate it until cold, and use some water to top it up to 200ml or 250ml, then add your chocolate CS shake. Delicious! (especially if you like your coffee/mocha on the slightly bitter side) I might try making some coffee ice cubes, and blending it with strawberries for a mocha berry frappe shake, but I'll give feedback on that when I've tried it.