WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE?

All of these yummy organic vegetables from Ecologie Organics are on our plates tonight.

with some organic garlic, ginger and honey. Free range chicken, noodles and soy sauce.....

Makes for a yummy meal that everyone loved.

ECOLOGIE ORGANICS

A couple of years ago our source of organic fruit and vegetables was sadly taken away from us when the amazing business Masasa closed.
After it closed it was near to impossible to get really fresh organic foods down here. I have tried to buy local where possible at markets but sometimes the quality is questionable. I always ask if the produce is chemical free and usually get a nod in return that doesn't leave me full of confidence.
Finally there is a new business in town, Ecologie Organics
Sharyn delivers for free a wonderful array of organic goods, sourced locally whenever possible. I went with the $50 box to see what I would get and to check out the quality and was blown away. You can't get any fresher if you picked it yourself and I love what was selected for me. You get to list what you never want put in the box so the produce I received are goods that I want.
Check it out. (yes there's half a plum in there, the kids just couldn't wait)

Look at the cute crate it all comes in.

and look at the yummy sourdough bread I got for free, that's going to be garlic bread tonight to go with our spaghetti.

So if you are local to me, please check out their website and do yourself a favour and place an order.

SUCK IT UP PRINCESS - DAY 3/WEEK1

Okay so absolutely no exercise today and calorie counting was out. I'm sick!!!!! again!!!! I can't believe it, I'm not sure why I'm run down maybe it's because I didn't properly get over the flu from a month back. I have now dropped one of my jobs, therefore am no longer stressed. hmmmm, anyway I hope to do some weights tomorrow if my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode.

PANTRY SHELF PEEK

This is my shelf for all of my preserved goodies.

I have heaps of summer fruits, sauce, pickles, jams, chillies, eggplant, beetroot, tomatoes, bay leaves and apples.

Over the year I hope to use them all up and continue to bottle, freeze or dehydrate so I'll always have stock.

SUCK IT UP PRINCESS - DAY 2/WEEK1

Well there wasn't much exercise happening today. A bit of yoga was all that I managed in between work, sore muscles and a cold.
I am keeping my total fat down to around 20g/day and calories to under 1200/day.

If my cold doesn't get the better of me, I will go for a run tomorrow morning before work.

SUCK IT UP PRINCESS - DAY 1/WEEK1

FITNESS
walked, jogged, ran the Blue Lake.
distance: 3.8km
time: 29.5 minutes
heart rate: 145

Stupid heart rate monitor wouldn't work propery, I really need to buy a better one.
Time was pretty bad, less walking more running tomorow.

WEIGHT
I have put on 3.5kg in the last two months. That is scary, I've been stressed out with a few different things and unlike some people, when I stress I eat and eat crap!!!
So I'm now just out of my healthy weight range for my height and need to do something about it NOW!!!

So who wants to suck it up and get on with it just like I am?

EDITED: Darren took apart my heart rate monitor and it works again, just when I'd made up my mind to buy an amazing new beaut one too. At least it's saved me money.

MARKET GOODS (and some from home)

Here is the local produce I picked up at our market today. Oh and Dante looking very interested in it too (he likes to chew on veges).

We have...
5kg Potatoes $5.00
1/2kg Chestnuts $2.00
1kg Onions $2.00
1kg London Pippin Apples $3.00
1kg Goudreinette (Red Belle of Boskoop) $4.00
apples. This is an old Dutch variety from the 1800's.
1 bag of dried apples free
2kg Carrots $2.50

I know I could buy apples cheaper at this time of year but who wants the tasteless fruit that has been in cold storage for up to a year that you get in supermarkets when you could try locally grown heritage varieties that are full of flavour.

I've finished drying the last of the eggplants all ready for winter casseroles.


The dehydrator has also been busy drying bay leaves, want to see why? Scroll down.

The culprit...

hmmm I have nothing to say.

I swapped a dozen eggs for a huge bag of lemons from my neighbour over the back fence. Lemon curd will be made tomorrow.

DISHCLOTHS

Well considering it took months to make 2 knitted dishcloths, I thought it was wise to ask my MIL if she would mind knitting the rest for me. Of course she obliged and finished one per night!!!!

Don't they look pretty?

NO PHOTOS BUT BELIEVE ME I'VE BEEN BUSY

It's time for me to stop buying online, it really does become rather addictive and for the last couple of weeks I've been very naughty. So it ends now and the reason why apart from I simply don't need anything is I'm about to give up 2 of my 4 part-time jobs.

This decision has come about because of my desire to be at home and to also be available to help out my mum with the stuff that dad can no longer do.

I find myself out of our home every day of the week, mostly for a half day's work and one night of teaching, I am not happy doing this, this was supposed to be my year to not work at all so how did I end up with 4 jobs?

So, today after all of the sporty stuff, I have found myself updating my budget, working out what we can do without and basically getting back on track with what I originally intended to do at the start of the year.

This process has ignited my passion to be at home and take care of all of the homely and family duties, this is what I love to do, I have never been career orientated, it doesn't interest me to be around lots of people or be social. I just want to be calm, centred and happy.

I will be focusing on getting my Etsy shop up and running and spending more quality time crafting items to sell, I have been very focused lately getting the vegetable garden producing more, but due to space contraints, I really don't think we will be fully self sufficient in that area although I think we are doing pretty well. My newly found free time will be for more cooking, preserving, bread making, soap making, cleaning ahhhh the list goes on.

So that's my life in a nutshell, I will be beginning this new chapter within weeks and I'm excited.

WANT TO SEE WHERE I WORK OUT?

It's really not that exciting but it's proof that you don't need heaps of fancy equipment to have a great workout.

Of course it really depends on what you are in to, I love to run up mountains as well as practice my kickboxing, karate and yoga so apart from the bag setup, these sports don't require equipment.

I don't have a room set up with equipment, the bag is out the back and the weights etc are in our lounge-room. We only have 1 small lounge-room and yes I do try to keep it pretty and homely but exercise is a part of all of our lives and when the weights are packed away they are easily forgotten.
So that's it, grab yourself a skipping rope and off you go, skipping is one of the best exercises you can do, incorporate that with some weight and bag training and believe me you will notice the difference. Remember though if you don't know how to weight train correctly, please learn from someone before you do yourself an injury.

SO FAR...

I wanted to post on the small changes we have made this year to live a little more sustainably and tread a little lighter on this earth.

*growing more vegetables
*putting in fruit trees
*getting 6 chooks
*making dishclothes
*cutting up old clothes for cleaning cloths
*cutting right back on plastic wraps
*not buying over packaged goods
*buying local where possible
*switching off lights
*unplugging appliances when not in use
*using more pre-loved fabrics in my sewing
*thinking up ways to use all of my fabric and mixed media scraps instead of buying new.
*cooking from scratch
*walking or cycling to the shops
*using vinegar and bi-carb as a cleaning agent
*making and mending clothes

High on the priority list is...

water tanks
solar hot water
more fruit trees
making soap
making cheese

We have such a long way to go, but at least I can see the changes.

COMFORT FOOD

It's a cold wintery Autumn day, the heater has been on all day and some yummy hot comfort food was in order. (Yes that is Dante on the heater and yes it's hot up there, that's his spot and no matter how many times we take him off, he gets back up)

Turkey Meatballs with Feta Cheese in Passata Sauce.


mmmmm......