Getting a right fit, against the grain

Hi guys

It's been nearly a year since I've set foot here, soon after my last post I went back to work after maternity leave.  Work has been busy to say the very least.

As far as weight loss goes, it has been a great year.  I've lost a whole lot  more and I'm slowly but surely reaching my target weight.

There has also been a lot of reading, reflecting, discussion and debating in 2013 - what do I want from my diet? Well, stating the obvious: I'd like to loose weight, secondly and by no means less importantly, I need to be able to have fun with it.  What is the point of eating steamed chicken and veg night after night?  Frankly, I'd rather chew my own arm off...funny, my husband feels the polar opposite.  He is of he opinion that diet food should be as bland as possible, he says I blur the lines between good and not good too much.  He of course has it completely wrong, it's all very black and white with my cooking, there are no grey areas and I stick to my plan 100%, he just hasn't come around to the idea of a way of life, as opposed to a "diet"

Slowly but very surely, I've been cutting grain out of our diet, and it's completely gone now.  Man, I had no idea how bad grains made me feel until I cut them out, not even just the super bad one, wheat.  My head is spinning with all the possibilities right now, there is so much available in terms of recipes for ANYTHING form a like-minded community on the Internet, who knew!

Don't get me wrong, I'm at no point going to start preaching grain free living to the masses, all I'm saying is, try it, do what works for YOU, what fits with your lifestyle and your household.

So, since I haven't treated you to any recipes in a long time, I thought I'd better produce a whopper this time around.  I just finished a plate of it alongside some roast chicken, and I can only say that if I ever revert to my previous devious ways, this might still end up replacing dauphinois potatoes forever...

Creamy Cabbage Gratin

Shred 1 head of cabbage and place it in a glass ovenproof dish, place knobs of  butter on top, cover in aluminium foil and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour, until the cabbage is tender.  Now dice one onion and cube 1 packet (250g) of streaky bacon and slowly fry in a pan until the bacon fat is rendered and the bacon and onion are nice and brown.  Mix in with the cabbage and add salt and pepper according to taste.  Pour a tub (250ml) of regular cream over, sprinkle some mature cheddar and bake till bubbly.

Obviously this is incredibly rich and I could barely manage about 3 tablespoons full, but it is 100% as delicious as it sounds.

I hope you have a wonderful week and God bless

lots of love,

Janie B