Zucchini Slice (protein Enriched and gluten free)

Makes: 24 portions

Ingredients:

• 9 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 200g bacon pieces
• 2 large zucchinis, grated
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 scoops (60g) pure protein powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and generously spray a lasagne dish with cooking spray
• Place the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined
• Add in the zucchini, onion, bacon, garlic and cheeses and mix until well coated
• Finally mix in the coconut flour, protein powder and baking powder stirring through until well combined
• Pour the mixture into the prepared lasagne dish and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and set in the middle, it can have a very slight wobble in the middle as it will continue cooking once removed from the oven
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing

Nutritional Value per portion (approx. 60g):

• Calories: 109
• Total fats: 6.5g
• Total carbohydrates: 1.8g
• Sugars: 0.7g
• Protein: 9.9g

Recipe Notes:

• Store covered in the fridge for a maximum of 3 days
• This recipe is freezer friendly to be consumed within 6 months
• Delicious served hot or cold
• To ensure that this recipe is gluten free a gluten free protein powder must be used
• Protein powder can be replaced by an additional 1/4 cup of coconut flour
• Protein powder used in the recipe is Protein Supplies Australia WPI Fast Release protein powders
• You can buy online from www.proteinsuppliesaustralia.com.au
• Use the Discount code psafriendsofhollys at checkout to get a 10% discount

Disclaimer: C4K Kitchen does not hold any responsibility for the consumer using this recipe including the storage guidelines and time frames recommended in the recipe notes. The consumer holds all responsibilities to ensure that food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to.

Today marks seven months since I had my sleeve which means that it’s the day for my monthly body measurements. Before I even got to totalling the measurements I had a NSV of only needing the tape measure to go around me one time without needing additional length.

I have lost another 10cm in the last month.

I have lost 73cm since surgery.

I have lost a total of 132cm since my first appointment with Lilian in October last year.

My brain can not even fathom that length gone. Lachlan is 122cm tall so that’s taller than him!

This morning I had a lovely family morning with my sister and all the kids heading to the train park in Port Adelaide. As we were sitting down for snack time (aka coffee for me). I looked over at my three little cherubs….

And I realised that I have lost the combined weight of all theee kids. That is at shit crazy!!!

You also have to love the raw honesty of children. My gorgeous little six year old nephew says to me today “you’ve got a big tummy Aunty Holly, but it’s not as big as it used to be.” You don’t get m uh more honest than that!

Today I went on multiple train rides within the kids and that wouldn’t have happened at all 8 months ago.

My sister has never acknowledged my weight loss but today she went out of her way to say how awesome I am looking and how well I am doing 😀😄😁.

Once we eventually got home this afternoon I got dinner organised and set off to the gym. I decided to stick with my train theme of the day and channelled a puffing steam train pushing myself on the treadmill and maxing out the incline at 25.

It’s also an arms workout as I have to hang on for dear life so I don’t fall off. I wasn’t working at any race winning pace but the heart rate was going and burning some serious calories.

I also did I could rounds of weights going 5kg heavier than yesterday and I’m struggling to lift my arms over my head tonight hahaha.

Came home from the gym and I was super hungry and keen to get stuck into my nacho bowl for dinner.

Even if it’s only a tea party portion!

Curry Roasted Chickpeas

Makes: 4 portions 

Ingredients:

• 400g can Chickpeas
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Method:

• Drain and rinse the Chickpeas very well
• Place the Chickpeas in a ziplock bag and add in all remaining ingredients
• Seal the ziplock bag and shake very well until the Chickpeas are well coated
• Preheat your airfryer to 200 degrees
• Place half of the Chickpeas in the base of the airfryer basket and lightly spray with cooking spray and cook for 5 minutes on 200 degrees
• Shake the basket and cook for another 5 minutes
• Repeat the cooking process for the remaining Chickpeas.
• Serve warm or room temperature.

Nutritional Value per portion:

• Calories: 82
• Total fats: 1.9g
• Total carbohydrates: 10.8g
• Sugars: 0.5g
• Protein: 4g

Recipe Notes:

• Store in an air tight container for up to 7 days
• This recipe is not freezer friendly

Disclaimer: C4K Kitchen does not hold any responsibility for the consumer using this recipe including the storage guidelines and time frames recommended in the recipe notes. The consumer holds all responsibilities to ensure that food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to.

Protein Jelly 

Makes: 5 portions (approximately 110ml per portion)

Ingredients:

• 1 packet diet jelly
• 4 scoops BODIEz clear protein water powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

• Place 1 cup of water in a blender with the protein water powder and process until fully disbursed
• The mixture will be very foamy, allow to sit for 60 minutes or until the foamy has gone
• Add the jelly crystals into a heatproof container and add 1 cup of boiling water whisking until the jelly is fully dissolved
• Add in the clear protein water and whisk until well mixed
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes until the foam has again gone
• Pour into serving bowls and set for 4 hours or preferably overnight before consuming.

Nutritional Value per portion:

• Calories: 56
• Total fat: 0g
• Total Carbohydrates: 0.1g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 13.2g

Recipe Notes:

• Store covered in the fridge for a maximum of 7 days
• This recipe is not suitable for the freezer
• The picture shown uses aeroplane diet lite mango Passionfruit jelly crystals

Woke up this morning in the hotel room feeling refreshed. One of the main reasons I picked where we stayed was because it had a gym I could use. So this morning I got up and head off to the gym.

The environment was somewhat lacklustre with pretty crappy equipment but it was better than nothing. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill but it only had a maximum incline of 9 rather than the 15-20 incline that I have been using at the gym so the calorie burn was only 1/3rd of what I do at the gym.

I never thought these words would come out of my mouth but I miss going to the gym.

This next part is extremely confronting and terrifying to write about and share.

When I got back to the room I had a shower and obviously the mirrors are lower than the mirror in our bathroom at home as I was completely exposed to see the skin situation before me.

My boobs (or the things that used to be boobs) now have a life of their own are severely heading south. My apron is beyond offensive with the saggy droopy skin and the loose skin on my upper thighs really has no description except YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!

While part of me in quiet upset that my body looks so disgusting and deformed the other part of me is proud of me morphing into ET as it’s a physical and tangible result of my hard work.

I also need to prepare myself that things are going to get even worse and even more revolting until I get to a stable weight and can engage in the process of getting all my excess skin surgically removed.

When we got back to Renmark we met Mum and Lachlan at the Club for lunch. This was the first time I have ever experienced prejudice around mu ordering a smaller portion.

For once the kids menu had a grilled chicken and salad so I was over the moon to order that. I requested to order that and said I was more than happy to forgo the free drink, icecream and activity pack. She said that she needed to check with the head chef. The verdict was that regardless of my dietary requirements the only way I could order the kids meals was with an $8 surcharge. Regardless of the fact I didn’t want all the extras that they would save money on they wanted to charge the equal price of an adult sized schnitzel for two tiny grilled chicken tenderloins and a bit of lettuce!

Needless to say I didn’t order anything at all and just picked off of Mum’s plate instead. If they were trying to exploit my clinical need for a dietary requirement for a massive financial gain then they were not getting any money off me at all!

While we were there we ran into some locals who I have known my entire life. They were sitting at the the table next to me for 30 minutes and didn’t recognise me at all. Once they recognised Mum and realised it was me they were completely gobsmacked with the amount of weight that I had lost.
I think Lachlan must have missed me last night as he passed out on top me again for the second time this week and DAMN he is heavy.

I had 30kg passed out on top of me. It’s really hard to believe that I have lost twice that amount of weight off of my frame.

Tonight Jamie and I had a rare and treasured night off. We head off at about 10:30 AM towards Mildura for a mini getaway.

Before we left I asked Mum to take up address that she had had at her house so I could wear it out on our date night tonight. I tried it on and will frankly I wasn’t wearing anywhere as it resembled a black circus tent on me.

When we got to Mildura my first stop was target to find something nice to wear on date night. To my complete shock and disbelief I bought myself a gorgeous fit and flare dress from the ‘normal’ size section. Admittedly it was a little snug with the pleats not sitting right and way tighter than I am used to and it was a flattering cut BUT it was not from the plus size section.

I have been wearing plus sizes my entire adult life.
We got some Laksa for lunch and head back to the hotel room to have. Soup is my go-to order out but today it was an epic fail. Our romantic night away started with me sitting on the bathroom floor inspecting the toilet bowl. Once I had a lay down I recovered pretty quickly.

We then went out for dinner. It’s hard to order when out in small portions as most entrees and starters are heavily carb loaded so I ordered a lamb burger and deconstructed it.

My efforts were dismal but Jamie enjoyed my left overs.

When we finished we went on our own mini pub crawl walking between venues. In the process of walking slightly over 5km (in heels) I re-introduced alcohol for the first time since surgery and had a few vodka, lime and sodas.

It was lovely to get dressed up and have some time out just the two of us wearing my new NORMAL sized dress!

Another work week and another powerhouse productive day!

I have decided in the cold weather I am having calorie creepage in the form of my beloved coffee, so I need to regroup and cut back on my coffee/caffeine intake. On the weekend I bought myself a cute little teapot and Cup and off I went to the T-bar before work to stock up on some tea.

Much to my surprised I really quite enjoyed the light freshness of it. It’s a delicious warm substitute for coffees.

Off i travelled to the gym tonight after Lochie was asleep and pushed myself more and more on the treadmill hitting incline 20 and knocking out 444 calories on the treadmill alone. My phone was even in tune with how I was feeling autocorrecting my text message from “treadmill” to “roadkill”.

Today was a big win for the little guy which in return is an even bigger win for me! With his ASD he doesn’t adjust well to new environments and gets very distressed and anxious with the unknown and unfamiliar.  So I prepared him as much as I could with explaining what was coming but I just can never tell what the reaction is going to be!

Regardless, off we went to “Mummy’s gym” where Lochie was going off to the playroom (creche).  Apparently it’s not Daddy’s gum as Daddy doesn’t exercise hahaha

Once he was settled I got stuck into my cardio doing 20 minutes on the cross trainer and then 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I used the slow and steady speed approach again but pushed myself with the incline this time gradually increasing to incline setting of 15 which I held steady at for 2 and 1/2 minutes!  I was puffing like a freight train and hanging on for dear life as I felt like I was going to fall off if I let go.

BUT I did it…..I DID IT!!!! And in the process burnt over 410 calorie on the treadmill alone.

Then went to pick up the little guy from the creche.  He had a fantastic time, was extremely well behaved and even “helped” the ladies out with the babies in the room.  He even asked for more “Mummy’s gym” another day.  So that is that…..I have now decided when I get back I will be signing up for a full membership!

I can’t say I am even remotely enjoying it  yet but I can and will continue to push myself as much as I can!

I now just need to create a killer motivation playlist.

Spent the rest of the day cruising the shops with the family managing to clock up 6.1km or just over 8,500 steps on top of my gym session.

Food and fluids have been terrible today as I have been out and about and unorganised (which is very unlike me).  Tonight I am attempting fluid catch up.

Note to self…….DO NOT EAT BUTTERCREAM!!  Percy does not like it he will make you vomit!  I have been cake decorating tonight for a friend’s son’s birthday party tomorrow and once i finished I licked my finger, then KAPOW!!

Percy be heard…………NO to buttercream!

So super busy at work today, like crazy out of control busy by tonight as I flopped on the couch exhausted at the end of a long week I thought to myself. You are a bloody champion!!

The amount of work that has passed through my desk this week has been phenomenal and it has been hard yakka rack your brains kind of work.

This time last year I can honestly say with my levels of sleep I would not have had the focus and stamina to achieve what I am achieving now.

So I can state another little win (or non scale victory) which I didn’t even consider before is that my focus and concentration has improved enabling me to tap into an internal strength I never knew I had to populate an improved quality of work in better time frames.

A win for me and for my employer!

Protein Enriched Satay Sauce

Makes: 8 portions (approx 2 tablespoon per portion)

Ingredients:

• 165ml light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 scoop (30g) pure protein powder

Method:

• Place the coconut milk, peanut butter, honey, curry powder and spices in a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for ( minutes to cook off the spices and to melt the peanut butter
• Mix together in a blender the protein powder with 1/3 cup water until smooth
• Using a whisk to the whisk the sauce while you pour in the protein powder mix
• Whisk continually until smooth and evenly mixed and it comes to temperature, approximately 2 minutes

Nutritional Value per portion:

• Calories: 95
• Total fats: 5.5g
• Total carbohydrates: 4.7g
• Sugars: 2g
• Protein: 6.1g

Recipe Notes:

• Store covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days
• This recipe is freezer friendly to be consumed within 6 months
• Sauce can be served hot or cold
• Protein powder used in the recipe is Protein Supplies Australia WPI Fast Release protein powders
• You can buy online from www.proteinsuppliesaustralia.com.au
• Use the Discount code psafriendsofhollys at checkout to get a 10% discount

Disclaimer: C4K Kitchen does not hold any responsibility for the consumer using this recipe including the storage guidelines and time frames recommended in the recipe notes. The consumer holds all responsibilities to ensure that food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to.