Next Tuesday is the Melbourne Cup public holiday so hubby and I have both taken off next Monday. A four day long weekend is going to be bliss, absolute bliss. Just for something different I might even post this weekend, oooh now there’s a challenge set for myself.
This week has been an exceptionally good week for me. Firstly because I got my new Neverfail water cooler delivered which dispenses springwater at home with both cool and cold functions. Now the springwater I cook with and drink is of a much better quality for my health and well being’s sake. Left is the photo of my water cooler at home, it’s pwetty isn’t it. Also Ali (bless her) is kindly lending me two of her books all about water which I’m sure will go into much greater detail as to why our tap water isn’t the be all and end all here in Australia. I know one thing for sure, when you’re paying for your water there isn’t any problem with ensuring that you drink it. That’s motivation right there.
And secondly because my Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warmup dvd and manual arrived in the mail. Don’t you just love to get mail, well of the package kind anyway. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this, it’s going to be an instrumental tool for my rehab & prehab training I’m doing at the moment. I have so got to buy myself that bookshelf to put all these books and dvd’s on before it gets any further out of control. Note to self must buy bookshelf! To look after myself, I mean properly look after myself I have to be able to identify what my problem areas are and then be able to construct an effective rehabilitation plan to help with the healing process. Then once that’s all said and done I have to ensure it doesn’t happen again by implementing a prevention plan. If you’re interested in hearing more about this topic and what I’m doing I’ll be posting it up next week in Tuesday’s Training: Rehab & Prehab blog post.
So I was scanning through my google reader the other day when a blog title just happen to caught me eye. Chelle blogged this really great post and I think that it’s definitely worth reading if you haven’t done so already. It’s a very similar story for so many of us here in the land of blog and it got me to thinking about myself and where I’m heading with my health and fitness goals. This very simple quote really hit home for me and was something I obviously needed to hear myself “a bodybuilder is for life, not just a season”. I’ll leave you with that quote and your own thoughts.
Because it’s a long weekend and we have something special planned tomorrow we’re jamming everything into this afternoon and this evening. First we’re heading into vic markets for our organic shopping, then we’re off to Evelyn Faye for supplements, a nice healthy dinner on our way home at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant which leaves our last stop for the day at our local supermarket then home sweet home. It’s going to be a very busy afternoon and evening tomorrow so thankfully my Juice PLUS+® is helping me out with the extra energy I have at the moment, I definitely need it. That’s it for me, time to go now.
Have a great weekend everyone, I know I will!
Is it cheaper to buy takeaway or to make your own? In these difficult economic times, Taste.com.au’s Francesca Percy crunches the numbers and finds out that the home cook is well ahead.
Simple pleasures seem to be increasingly important of late. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, people are bunkering down to weather the financial storm in front of the TV with pizza and a beer. As a result, spending on takeaway food has jumped.
Staying in more often is a good way to save pennies, yet while takeaway is an easy option it can still make a dent in the wallet. With this in mind, we at Taste.com.au headquarters decided to check out how much some of our favourite takeaway recipes would cost to make at home, compared with our local takeaway shops.*
We started with a classic Margherita. My local pizza place charges $6.50 per serve (half a medium pizza), whereas this margherita pizza from Taste.com.au costs roughly $2.10 for the same quantity. Too difficult! I hear you cry. But is it really? A Taste member recently commented on the recipe, saying she had “bought a base just in case the pizza dough didn’t work, but it was so easy and far better than any bought base”. So not only is it cheaper, it’s easy, it’s tasty and odds are it’s much healthier too.
Next on the list, fish and chips. About $7.40 per serve to takeaway, or you could make your own following this fish and chips recipe for $3.40 per serve.
Pad Thai? $9.00 per serve for takeaway versus about $2.80 to make this version of pad thai at home. Let’s round it up to $3.00. That’s still only a third of the cost of the takeaway.
Chicken korma is one of my favourite takeaway meals. My local Indian restaurant charges $7.50, which I’ve always thought quite reasonable. Could taking it really be all that more expensive than making it? This chicken and lentil korma costs less than half the price – about $3.40 per serve. In addition, it only requires 15 minutes preparation, plus half an hour on the stove. It’s quick, delicious and affordable.
So, next time you’re thinking about getting a takeaway, why not hop onto Taste.com.au and look up the recipe instead. Even if you have to duck into the supermarket, it should still take a lot less time than standing around waiting to pay someone else to cook your food. Then you can experience the simple pleasure of going home, kicking off your shoes, and filling your house with delicious aromas as you make your own.
Related Recipe Collections: Budget Recipes
*Ingredients for the home-cooked meals were costed by looking at Coles or Woolworths online. The Taste team then divided the cost of the ingredients by the serves. Home-cooked meals were compared with a range of takeaway shops in inner Sydney.
Source: Taste.com.au – March 2009
Author: Francesca Percy
If you’re anything like me you spend hours and hours on the internet researching and reading a tonne of information about the health and fitness industry. Here’s this week’s list of links for your viewing pleasure:
★ Food Additives by Name & Numbers – this list will help you decide whether or not what you’re eating is good for you, last updated June 2009
★ Birth Control Pills Can Limit Muscle-Training Gains – this is a very common question asked amongst us figure competitors and the like so here’s the answer.
★ Scientists Create New Super Vegetables – “booster broccoli” is a new vegetable on the block and with 40% more anti-oxidents, this is a must buy ladies.
★ Nine Site Body Fat Calculator – if your weapon of choice are the skinfold calipers and you’re wanting to calculate your bodyfat %, then here’s where you get an approximate estimate.
★ Australian Bodybuilding Forum – this forum is great, you can check out all the bodybuilding news as well as the results and photos thanks to the lovely Melita Jagic.
Due to some recent health issues which resulted in surgery last week my poor old body has been forced to go back to the good old drawing board yet again. Gosh if I had a dollar for every time I ended up back here I’d have quite the investment. LOL!! I’ve had to change what I’m currently doing but will post more about my shoulder rehabilitation next week. But in the meantime I want to talk a little about what I’m going to do after I’m recovered and ready to roll. I purchased Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength.
Now normally I don’t get sucked into all the internet hype of this that or the other when it comes to the health and fitness industry. God only knows there’s enough of it out there but I know and trust this resource so it’s all good.
I’ve made many mistakes in the past when it comes to training. Some unfortunately even resulted in injuries so I’m more aware and cautious now then ever before, I have to be. I have good intentions with everything I do and apply but sometimes my enthusiasm and excitement get me into trouble especially when I’m not listening to my body which I’ve been known to do from time to time. I mean, who hasn’t. We are all human after all. So instead of doing all the research and work myself once again I’m relying on this new resource to take me on another journey only this time ending so much better than ever before. This I’m hoping will be my happily ever after on my road to recovery once and for all after I’ve finished detoxing.
Here’s what I’ll find in the book when it arrives:
Chapter 1: Why Stronger is Better
Chapter 2: Building Strength
Chapter 3: Maximum Strength Program Overview
Chapter 4: What to Expect
Chapter 5: Maximum Strength Warm-ups
Chapter 6: Phase 1: Foundation
Chapter 7: Phase 2: Build
Chapter 8: Phase 3: Growth
Chapter 9: Phase 4: Peak
Chapter 10: Nutrition for Maximum Strength
Chapter 11: The Muscle Between Your Ears
Chapter 12: Maximum Strength for Life
So wish me luck, because I’m going to need it.
Breakfast: Organic Scrambled Eggs with Organic Home Made Tomato Salsa
Snack: Organic Strawberries
Lunch: Organic Chicken Vegetable Curry
Snack: Organic Walnuts
Dinner: BBQ Salmon with Lemon & Herbs and the Perfect Green Salad
The above photo montage are photos I took with my iPhone at Victoria Markets on Saturday. The top and the right hand photos are of one of the three stalls I buy all my organic fruit, salad and vegetables from. Then the third photo is of my favourite snack at the moment of cream cheese rolls wrapped in smoked salmon. Then I add my personal touch to them of finely chopped dill, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper which leaves me with the most perfect snack.
Every time I visit the markets I get truly inspired by all the great food they have. The food’s so bright and colourful, it smells so fresh and inviting and best of all it’s organic and seasonal. It’s the food fix I need to keep me motivated and always on track working towards my goal.
This week I’m preparing for next weeks detox. Monday it officially starts for six weeks straight only this time around it’s not just me, my husband’s joining me. He’s not as enthusiastic with the not having any flexibility with off-plan meals because he’s never had to do that before but it’ll be a learning experience for him. If I can do it anyone can so he agreed, but only for his health’s sake. LOL!! Plus it’ll keep us both disciplined leading up to our annual holidays, we’ll approach it feeling and looking so much healthier and better for it so it’s a win win situation.
I’m also going to do some things differently this time round like:
★ Dry brushing before showers to remove my dead skin cells
★ Weekly lymphatic drainage massages
★ Drinking and cooking in spring water (permanent change)
★ Incorporate some form of daily relaxation which is yet to be determined, ideas anyone?
★ Colon irrigation’s, I did this last detox too and found it effective
I just need to pick up some supplements, book all my appointments and work out my first weeks meal plan and then I’m done. Well it’s time to get going and make a start on this week, happy Monday!
