I took part in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 10km run that they have as part of the event. It has to be one of the best organised running events I have taken part in on my second outing. This year they split up all the running events so that the longer distance events were held on Sunday and the shorter family events on Saturday. My colleague, Pam and I drove down after work on Friday as our event was on Saturday morning. Got a little lost on the way down (meaning we missed the exit and had to navigate through Robina). It was funny and didn’t dampen our mood. Just increased our hunger! Checked in, ate and rested.
Morning of the race, alarm goes off. Snoozed about 2 times before realising I had to get up. Got ready. Pam had set the alarm using the clock in the room. It never rang! Thank goodness I had set my phone! Got fed and drove down to Southport. Parking NO PROBLEM! Ah, I think it was a great idea they separated the events. We had heaps of time to wander over to the start line and warm up. 7.45am gun fires and we are off. Well… walking pace. Too many people. Stuck in the pack. Weaving through people. I ended up losing Pam at around the 2.5km mark as I get held up by the slower runners. Then BAM. Stitch! Ahhh, I was somewhat relieved it didn’t happen earlier but pissed it even happened because the pace I was at was really good. Anyway, had to slow down a few times and at the 8km mark, I’m looking at my watch, 55mins. Argh RUN FASTER! The moment I did, stitch kicked in again. Tried deep breathing, not working. Annoyed. Keep shuffling and walking. Last KM, picked up the pace and ran through the pain. I see the point to turn in to the finish line. I see the sign, 270m to go. Start running faster and get slowed down AGAIN by the slower runners. Squeeze past and make it to the finish line. AH. I thought I was going to pass out in the last hundred metres because I pushed really hard. I checked my watch. Heartrate was maxed out to187! Amazed. Check time. 1hr 8mins. WOW. I never ran that fast for a 10km run EVER. Best run ever. I think I could’ve been faster if I didn’t have my stitch problem. Anyway, after seeing all my friends who did the half doing so well, I feel like I want to do that too but at the same time I am so over running! LOL. Dilemma! Oh well, we will see….
I got this recipe from my home economics textbook from high school. It has been slightly modified to use less sugar but still pretty tasty.
Chocolate Brownies
Yield 12, 105 calories per slice
Ingredients
60g flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g dark chocolate
25g sugar
25g brown sugar
50g butter
1 egg beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
25g walnuts
Method
Pre-heat oven to 170 degs.
In saucepan with simmering water and bowl on top, don’t let water touch bottom of bowl, add butter, chocolate and sugar to bowl. Mix until melted.
Add sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and baking powder).
Mix and add beaten egg and vanilla essence.
Pour into greased 18cm square pan.
Top with walnuts.
Bake for 30 mins.
Let sit to cool in pan, then cut out into 12 pieces.
Serve with fresh cream and strawberries (optional).
I decided not to serve with anything else to keep to the 105 calories. Tastes great on its own really. Not overly sweet. These are not fudgy or gooey which I know some people prefer. But to keep it as a low calorie dessert I think it works. I do have a more decadent recipe which I have from Nigella Lawson but that would be a great treat for a birthday or something extra special.
I had a craving for curry puffs and today I made some! I took the filling recipe from my friend and the pastry from my old home economics textbook from Singapore.
Curry Puffs
Yield 10, 105 calories per puff
Shortcrust Pastry
100g plain flour
50g butter (unsalted)
2 tablespoons cold water
Method
Using the rubbing in method, rub butter with flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add water and combine until becomes a dough.
Lightly knead.
Cool in fridge for 10 mins or until ready to use.
Filling
1/2 onion
1 potato diced
1 cup mixed peas and corn
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup water
Method
Heat oil and fry onions until soft and fragrant.
Add curry powder with 1/4 of water, cook off for 1 minute.
Add potatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
Add peas and corn and water.
Simmer until it becomes a dry curry paste.
Puffs
Preheat oven to 180 deg.
Roll out pastry to 0.5cm thickness.
Cut out circles (about 10).
Add filling to center of each circle and fold over. Seal edges.
Before adding to oven, add egg wash over each puff.
Bake in oven for 25 mins or until golden.
Unfortunately as you can see, my puffs look like a wreck. The result of over filling! So there you go. I’m not very good with crimping the edges so you can also use a fork to seal the edges. So looks are deceiving and they taste like home. I left out salt but you could add that as well. The pastry is light and crispy. Melt in your mouth. The filling you could really use any leftover curry as long as it has been reduced down. I will try this next time with some minced meat and see how I go.
I’ve been practising yoga for quite some time now and it is one of the days that I really enjoy. It clears my head and opens my heart to all the possibilities that could be.
I made some muffins this evening to use up some leftover pumpkin from a couple of meals. I’m going to take these into the office for everyone else to eat. I had 1 this evening and they were moist and not overly sweet. I adapted this recipe from here.
Yields 12, roughly 80 calories per muffin
Ingredients
Base Muffin
3/4 cup wholemeal self-raising flour (or plain flour – less cals)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup soy milk (you can use no-fat milk)
1 tablespoon butter
drizzle of honey
Crunchy Topping (optional)
2 tablespoons rolled oats
1/2 tablespoon loosely packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200deg. Line 12 regular muffin tins with paper baking cups or lightly coat the bottoms only with vegetable cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients
In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg, milk, and butter.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the pumpkin mixture, Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling almost full.
Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the top of each muffin.
Bake for 22 – 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing.
It came to my attention today when I replied to a tweet from Marie Claire Australia about Rimmel makeup. The tweet was:
And then I got a reply back from another Twitter user who said:
It got my thinking, “How many of my favourite brands test on animals?”. It’s a tough one because as I have found it, it’s A LOT! Now what would you do if your favourite cosmetics brands tested on animals? Would you boycott or just continue to keep using them? This has got me in a big dilemma. I still have more research to do but then, where do you draw the line? It then got my thinking about clothing. What about those big brands that mass produce products in overcrowded factories? I don’t know but sometimes we do have to close an eye to these things in this mass production world.
Everyone seems to get all touchy feely when it comes to animals. I know, they are cute, blah blah blah but I haven’t turned vegetarian. It was a huge thing recently when the Australian government decided to suspend the live export of cattle to Indonesia because of the poor treatment the animals received when they were going to the slaughterhouse. Erm, they were going to be slaughtered. Cruel enough from the get go. It was pretty gruesome stuff but you know, it’s a fact of life. Yes, the animals should be treated better but, YES but, they were on their way to the markets to be bought and cooked. I can’t see it being any better being slaughtered in someone’s backyard.
God, I know I’m going to get some flack for what I have said but I’m not going to apologise. I’m living the modern dilemma. I’m a Buddhist and this means treating everything with respect and not to kill, etc, etc. But I try to live the life the best I can but I’m sure if I can’t find a way around it, I can always try but please I think more needs to be done to help people like us make a better decision when purchasing products be it food, clothing or makeup. Our mass produced world is making us all hypocrites.
Holy crap. We are now a 1/3 into the program. WOW. I am so grateful that I’ve come so far. I can see my hard work paying off slowly but surely. My camera is still with a friend so I won’t be able to take photos yet to compare but hoping to get it off them during the week. I need to visual to keep me going and not forget where I want to be. I’ve been reading other participants blogs and they’ve gone and done a bit of a reassessment. I thought I would do the same. I think it is always good to take a look and see what you’ve and not done and rework it into what your final goal is. So let’s go.
So my goals I stated were listed here. Here’s what I’ve accomplished:
1 month goals
Lose 3kg × Lost 2.5kg, short 0.5kg but hey not something I can’t achieve next week!
Run for 5km without stopping × Not entirely sure about this but I definitely know I can go 10mins without stopping.
Lift heavier weights > 3kg √ HELL YEAH! Working with 4kg weights at the lightest and can shoulder press with 7kg dumbbells!
10 push-ups on toes √ Smashed it on my fitness test, I did 10!
1 chin-up × I haven’t tried. :S
How I will get there
Follow 12wbt Lean and Strong program √
Continue to follow the 5k running program √
Build up strength and continue to work with 3kg weights √
Increase weight at beginning of routines and if unable to, go back down a kilo √
So my goals for the next month are:
Lose 1.5kg, I feel that I could get down another kilo from my goal but it won’t be my number one priority
Finish 10km run at Gold Coast in 1hr 20mins
Do a chin-up to prove I can do them
Keep working with heavier weights wherever I can
Complete new website layout! Yes I am working on it at the moment. Just trying to find a suitable theme to mangle and put it in!
So there we go. I’m revving up for the next 4 weeks as there is now a new training plan for these 4 weeks. It will be interesting.
Excited for this. I am loving this collection. I am looking forward to making my current wardrobe inspired by Chloé. I love the neutral colours as well as the splash of colour for the season. It is lovely to see. This evening I ALMOST purchased a new dress in the spirit of Chloé but changed my mind. I think I want to try and find some nice blouses to replace some shirts that are ready to go. Anyway, here’s a look at the collection!
Time to give a shout out! Who or what is your greatest support? Share the love! Give your thanks!
Is it your mum? Your partner? Your bestie?? The forums? Twitter? Facebook??
Maybe it’s your faithful dog?
Your HRM that never tells a lie
Let’s take the time to recognise those in our life that keep us going day by day! Be grateful! Write it down!
And then get brave. Share it with them. Pass it on.
Let them know how much they mean to you.
Hmm, I told all my Facebook friends that I was doing this and I can say a majority of them have been very supportive. With their ‘likes’ and encouraging words it has been a pleasure to share the journey with them.
My family has been supportive whenever they can. It’s a bit hard to show them the hard work I have done over the many weeks I have been doing this but I’m sure when they do see me again, they will be proud.
I would say the big 12WBT family has been the best training buddy a girl could ask for (along with my HRM – It’s true, it doesn’t lie). With all their advice and support, it is wonderful to know I am not alone on this journey.
My work colleagues have been so complimentary with their comments and it is nice to be in an environment where you are not ridiculed for making a healthier lifestyle change.
Finally, the wonderful people at Pure Health Clubs in Brisbane. They have been so supportive and encouraging it has been great for them to see my transformation. I guess without the gym, I wouldn’t be here today. They are my second family and I am grateful to have them as my friends and in my life.
Got fed and drove down to Southport. Parking NO PROBLEM! Ah, I think it was a great idea they separated the events. We had heaps of time to wander over to the start line and warm up. 7.45am gun fires and we are off. Well… walking pace. Too many people. Stuck in the pack. Weaving through people. I ended up losing Pam at around the 2.5km mark as I get held up by the slower runners. Then BAM. Stitch! Ahhh, I was somewhat relieved it didn’t happen earlier but pissed it even happened because the pace I was at was really good. Anyway, had to slow down a few times and at the 8km mark, I’m looking at my watch, 55mins. Argh RUN FASTER! The moment I did, stitch kicked in again. Tried deep breathing, not working. Annoyed. Keep shuffling and walking. Last KM, picked up the pace and ran through the pain. I see the point to turn in to the finish line. I see the sign, 270m to go. Start running faster and get slowed down AGAIN by the slower runners. Squeeze past and make it to the finish line. AH. I thought I was going to pass out in the last hundred metres because I pushed really hard. I checked my watch. Heartrate was maxed out to187! Amazed. Check time. 1hr 8mins. WOW. I never ran that fast for a 10km run EVER. Best run ever. I think I could’ve been faster if I didn’t have my stitch problem. 
Anyway, after seeing all my friends who did the half doing so well, I feel like I want to do that too but at the same time I am so over running! LOL. Dilemma! Oh well, we will see….
