Eat What You Want

As you may have noticed, there are blog posts where I refer to the Days of the Year site, and choose to celebrate along with them. There are a few ‘days’ being celebrated today, but of course the one that I’ve chosen absolutely appeals to me 😛 😛 😛

Apparently, today is Eat What You Want Day. Do you understand now why I couldn’t resist? 😉

I see that this holiday was created by Thomas and Ruth Roy. So of course I wanted to see who these wonderful people were 😉 and I popped off to Google. My goodness, then the fun really started.

Their business is called Wellcat – and according to their site :
Wellcat Herbs features fine herbal products and informative commentary on the medicinal, culinary & mystical uses of herbs & spices.

But they also appear to have the copyright, and have published, somewhere in the region of about 80 different ‘holidays’. And I laughed my through the list because there are some really fun ones in there.

Now please don’t misunderstand.
EVERY day is a gift, no matter what. Every day is a day worthy of celebration. I definitely do know that, and I am grateful that I can wake up each morning to a new day, filled with possibilities and potential.

But here’s something I also know, and I’ve been made even more aware of it the past 8 weeks : sometimes circumstances (even those beyond our control) distract us. We still keep our chins up and try to remain positive and hopeful, but sometimes we forget to ‘celebrate’ life. 

And for me personally? Having that little push and reminder of ‘something in particular’ to celebrate can actually make a huge difference to my day. 

(Just as a side note : I had a good giggle when I saw that my birthday is actually one of those copyrighted days, and it’s so applicable to me. Of course, the days are different here because my seasons are the complete opposite, but it was so funny to see my birthday listed as ‘Stay Out Of The Sun’ day. I’m not a Summer person, I am a Winter gal through and through. I also don’t spend hours in the sunshine, ever! The sun makes me lazy and then I am completely unproductive, ha ha! I’ve always preferred night time and the mystery in the darkness/moonlight. So it’s rather appropriate that THAT day is listed for my birthday, don’t you think 😉 I feel quite honoured 😉 )

But back to today and eating what you want 😉

Here’s the thing : there are limitations for me because there are some things that I really am not allowed to eat – not because of allergies, but because of a mild case of IBS coupled with some stomach ulcers due to a bacterial infection from three years ago that reappeared in January this year.  So I do still need to be really careful about what I eat. Especially since I absolutely refuse to give up my coffee 😛

I’ve decided though, that for today, I am going to eat an 80g slab of wholenut chocolate for lunch 😉 I simply have to celebrate this day somehow 😉 And just the thought of lunchtime is making me smile, making my heart feel lighter – although I know it won’t make my body feel lighter 😛
But right now, my heart is more important 😉

 

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Sweet as Sugar, the chocolate coated kind

Today I am breaking away from my usual style of growth, inspiration, encouragement and purpose to bring you something of equal importance. Funny enough, this thing can be known to elicit responses in all of the above too! 😛 😉

Today (according to Days of the Year) is Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day!
How awesome is that? And what a fantastic type of day to celebrate!
Of course my euphoric level of excitement is prompted by the fact that Chocolate-Covered Peanuts are my absolute favourite!

And it’s just another reason for little old me to absolutely love the big old US!

Rumor has it that the first ones were sold in America in 1925, and that the unofficial festival pertaining to this day originated in the US!

The upside of these delicious little treats is that most times the peanuts are whole and not processed, so you get the nutritional benefits of them, as well as some fiber. The downside is that they are not calorie friendly at all, and because they’re so tasty, portioning them into smaller amounts to consume is tough.

I gained some very much unwanted kilos last year. I don’t know who said it, but it seems that last year I was the poster child for ‘I try to lose weight, but it keeps finding me’. That said, I have been assured a few times that I don’t look bad – and my doctor told me the other day that I’m very far from an unhealthy weight. My problem with it though is that I feel uncomfortable. So I knew I needed to change it.

Mid January, I started training my brain towards healthier eating – I’ve never been a bad eater… but I know there are things I could eat less of. And I have begun to ‘count my calories’. Not in an obsessive, ‘you’re such a failure because you’re 50 calories over’ kind of way…. I am just more conscious of the calories, and my food choices.

And I realised, upon discovery of what day today is, (chocolate-covered peanuts day, in case you didn’t know 😉 ) that I haven’t eaten any of these heavenly treats since before Christmas! Wait, what? How is that even possible? Oh yeah, I’ve been looking for other food stuffs in the shops when I go – healthier options that are not so calorific!

I don’t think we should always deny ourselves small measures of things that bring us pleasure. I’m not deviating from my original plan, but because today’s celebration is one that is close to my heart (and even closer to my stomach 😛 ) I think I will head out to the shops and purchase a small bag of this delightful treat! (Small, because I am still going to try and make healthier choices.)
We’ve already established (as mentioned in a previous post) that mystery is not my superpower – but I know I have other superpowers.

And today I will prove that making a small bag of chocolate-covered peanuts disappear is one of them 😉

 

really random

I’ve been quite absent the past few days, for numerous reasons.

One to celebrate was a dancing prize giving I attended for my daughter, where we also received her exam results from recent Hip Hop and Modern examinations. She scored highly in all 3 (having done two grades of Hip Hop in one year), achieving above 90%, and honours with distinction in all. She also received two trophies. I’m very pleased with her results, but can’t take any credit, other than the fact that I am the one who ensures she attends her classes 😛

My car has gone in for a service, and to fix brakes that were beginning to grind as if they too were taking part in a dance exam, with a partner 😛 Hopefully it will be returned to me today. Don’t get me wrong, I love to walk, but personal safety trumps that love these days.

I’m exhausted this morning, and my pain levels are quite high, so attempting a meaningful blog post requires a lot more of me than I can give right now.
As I was leisurely going through the multitude of emails in my inbox that require my attention, I saw one that made me smile. And decided that that’s about all I can manage to post about today 😛

Did you know that today is World Fritter Day?

Here in South Africa, the most popular type is Pumpkin Fritters. You can find our recipe here, which is also where I got the picture from 😉

Different countries have different varieties, and of course what they call a fritter we usually have a different name for.

I was scrolling through the different types in various countries, and once again, the US has won my heart 😛 😉
These apple fritters look like just what my stomach thinks it needs 😉

(Emphasis on the thinks, because I know that it doesn’t…. but thoughts are always good.)

Photo credit : foodwishes.blogspot.com

And I learnt something else this morning, besides all the delicious types of fritter that made me stomach rumble and reminded me that I still haven’t had breakfast 😉

I’m not too widely travelled, and admittedly my knowledge of the world map is relatively limited. While I have heard of Borneo, I have never heard of Brunei – and their fritters were featured. In Brunei, they call fritters ”cucur”, and they’re usually made with banana, shrimp, yam, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Apparently it is very popular street food. They look delicious – probably more like what we’d call dumplings here though….

While reading up on Brunei, I think the thing that made me happiest was when I discovered that it was the first country in Asia to ban shark finning. Good for them. I love sharks 😉

And that’s total randomness for you all 😉

Happy Monday 🙂

 

Bringing Home The Bacon

 

 

We all know the old saying, “Bringing Home the Bacon”.
My son doesn’t like it because he says it gives him false hope about what might be on the menu for the next meal. He has a point. But where on earth did that saying come from?

‘Wood’ you believe it?

“What are you eating this time?”

Yes, this is a question I regularly ask. And I ask it of my dog. If you have a dog, have ever owned a dog, or have ever been a regular visitor to a house where a dog resides, then you will understand my need to be continuously asking this question.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the answer comes in the form of a screeched,
“Drop that!” It’s usually issued in reference to the item in his mouth : a shoe, an eraser, a pen, underwear, kitchen towel – you get the picture.

Yesterday was interesting.