Well the 10 day shred is over and another 10 days have passed. I have to say I was suprised but the results. At first, I didn't think I noticed much of a difference. I was actually sleeping worse than I had been, even with a 5 month old baby. But what I noticed in the days to come was that I was craving less. Craving less sugar, craving less portions, and craving less at night. This has actually been a huge help! We were struggling with getting a full dinner prepared while trying to get the babe fed, bathed, and down for sleep, oh and not mention that I had language two nights a week, and we had to get our exercise in there somewhere. Now we focus on lunch as our main meal and it frees us up to have a smaller dinner. So what's for dinner? Well, I'm glad you asked. :)
I was recently introduced to Trim Healthy Mama. Any THM's out there, would love to hear from you! So basically THM is a little bit confusing, but makes sense. There is a pretty big learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's fine. The basic idea is to loose weight don't mix your fats and carbs, and there are some limits as to what carbs we are talking about. If you want to know more google it or as I suggest, get the book! That said, we now are trying to implement the THM approach, as it's a sustainable way to eat not just to loose weight, but after as well.
The tricky part is making this work in Africa. It takes more effort and you are more likely to make some mistakes. But it's all in stride, and as the ladies of THM will tell you, adapt it to you, make it work, give grace. So here we are trying it out. I had fads, but the science behind it makes sense, so alas I give in.
Our first recipe is a new go-to favorite and will commonly be seen on our plates for a quick dinner. We actually first got the idea from our favorite café in town, who knew we were doing it right all along!
Laughing Cheese Omelette & Pork Sausage
Ingredients
1-2 cubes of laughing cow cheese (la vache qui rit in our stores)
3 whole eggs
1 Tbl. of butter (I usually just guesstimate on this)
1/4 Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
Directions
First, sauté the onions in butter, again I just usually slice of a bit and go with it. This is a fat meal (or S as THM calls it) and so you don't have to limit your butter for cooking. Afterwards, I put them aside on a plate and add more butter to the pan. Then I whisk the 3 eggs in a bowl and add the onions and bell pepper. Before the butter starts to sizzle too much I add the mixture into the bowl, but remove it from the heat when I do. Usually I just hold it for a few seconds in the air and then set it back down. Once the egg starts to harden on the bottom side, I add the cheese to one side of the omelette. Then I fold it over and flip. Let it finish cooking then, voila, it's finished. You can also add some more laughing cow cheese on top at the end.
To get the protein part in, we have a sausage patty with it as well. The grocery store recently started carrying ground pork, so we add spices to it and cook it in patties. Then we want one we just pop it in the microwave. (If I was in the states, I'd probably alternate with bacon) mmmm!
If I'm still hungry I'll finish off the meal with a shake: frozen strawberries, coconut milk (because we are still in "S" mode), ice, vanilla, and if I didn't already have a juice + shake earlier that day I'll also add a scoop of the vanilla juice + mix.
So please share with me your favorite THM meals! We don't have all the baking mixes and access to vegetables here, so I have a feeling we are going to struggle with variety!
