SmarterFitter Daily

This is my attempt to keep a daily food and fitness diary. This isn't Pulitzer-winning writing; these are spontaneous, often hastily written rambles of what I eat, do and learn in my ongoing effort to feel awesome all the time. It may not always be pretty, but at least it's honest. You can find more stories and recipes at SmarterFitter.com.

Pinhead Oats with Apples, Bananas and Pecans

Pinhead Oats with Pears and Pecans

Warming up the morning with pinhead oats, pears and pecans.

  • 30g pinhead oats (dry weight)
  • 1 pear
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 banana
  • 5g pears
  • milk to serve
  • white tea to drink
  • awesome on this frosty february morning

Pinhead Oats with Pears and Pecans

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Added turmeric and cinnamon again (1/8 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cinnamon for 30g oats). With a splash of milk, mmmm.

Pinhead Oats with Pears, Turmeric and Cinnamon

Pinhead oats with pear, turmeric and cinnamon

Turmeric in oats? Yeah, I was skeptical too. But someone recommended it on Twitter so I had to give it a try. The result? A porridge win! 

I used 30g pinhead oats cooked in water with 1 very small pear, scant 1/8 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Served topped with pecans and a splash of milk. 

The pear was perfect with the turmeric and cinnamon. A nice breakfast for cold dark winters.

Porridge and pears

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Breakfast in London at a friend / client's place. He makes his porridge with whole milk - a creamy treat.

Day 101

Breakfast

Sandwich

Last day in the Brecon Beacons (read the full blog post about my adventure).

Energy in:

 

  • Breakfast: More porridge with banana, apple, raisins, pecans and milk. So good. 
  • Snack: Half of a sandwich made with mozzarella, black olive tempenade, tomato, cucumber, yellow bell pepper and basil. 
  • Lunch: Post walk - the over half ot the above sandwich, and a pear.
  • Snack: Banana with walnuts and two diet Cokes (had a splitting headache - this cured it)
  • Dinner: Back at home, and open faced omelet with toast and avocado (not pictured.

Energy out: 

  • Waterfall walk in the Brecon Beacons. Simply amazing.

 

Day 100

Porridge again, but it's so good

But will it survive the journey?

Rainy night dinner in the tent

 

 

Second day of camping and hiking in the Brecon Beacons! 

Energy in:

  • Breakfast: Porridge with apple, banana, raisins, milk and pecans
  • Lunch: Sandwich with mozzarella, avocado, grilled onion and pepper and black olive tempenade. Cherry tomatoes on the side.
  • Dinner: Veggie chilli with kidney beans, tomato, pepper, carrot, broccoli, avocado and lime juice. Root beer to drink
  • Snacks: Lots of apples and pears

Energy out: 

  • Wet and windy hike up Fan Frynych (629m)

Read more about my adventure in my blog post: Camping in the Brecon Beacons.

 

Day 89

Porridge & Pear

Fagioli all Uccelletto with cavolo nero

Grilled mackerel with coleslaw

Day 60

Barley porridge

Energy in:
  • Breakfast: Barley porridge with apple, raisins and banana (256 Calories)
  • Lunch: Leftover Spanish-style prawns and fennel with french beans, sourdough rye bread and avocado (457 Calories)
  • Snack: Banana and raspberry smoothie - don't think I'm crazy about raspberries in a smoothie; seems sort of a waste; also cup of tea with milk (198 Calories)
  • Dinner: Carrot and walnut tofu neatballs with sourdough rye bread, avocado, giardiniera, tomato sauce and broccoli - like a weird deconstructed vegetarian sub sandwich - awesome (446 Calories)
  • Snack attack: Apple (95 Calories)
Energy out: 
  • Two walks: one shorty in the AM and one longer stroll in the afternoon post lunch ( Calories)

Total Calories in: 1,450
Total Calories out: 1,477
Net Calories: -27

Skipped the gym in favour of work-related productivity and a morning walk in the sun - sun which quickly turned to cool mist in the afternoon, but felt somewhat refreshing during my post-lunch afternoon stroll. I'm trying to be uber-productive at the moment on my "business"; there is much to get in order, and I seem to be working weekends and evenings in the meantime. This is fine but I don't want this to last forever. I miss having time for writing and gardening. Then again, people I know who own businesses seem to work ALL the time, regardless. So maybe this is just my constant? I mean, if you're driven to do something, you just do it - right?

So, with this focus on productivity comes added emphasis on feeling awesome all of the time. Amazing how a most of feeling awesome boils down to getting a good night's sleep, and a good sleep has lots to do with eating well and avoiding alcohol, and eating well has lots to do with planning and intention, and well... it's all a chain reaction this feeling awesome stuff. And every day it starts again. Every day's a new opportunity to get it "right". 

Today felt right. Funny, I didn't do a whole lot of cooking today, nor did I go to the gym, two foundations of my existence these days that I seem to "miss" when I go without. Yet I actually felt better than usual. Walking for pleasure is one of the best things ever. And on today in particular, I must have had a lot of thinking to do because I could have just walked forever. That I wasn't cooking (one of my favourite forms of procrastination) meant that I was working and getting stuff done and not obsessing over food, something I love, but can interfere with practical matters like growing a business. Need I mention the awesomeness of leftovers during times like these?

There's still much to do. But on this Monday, I feel like I'm off to a good start. 

Two other things: (1) I did two pull-ups on Saturday - a milestone. (2) I have no plans whatsoever for the next few weeks. This feeling of not having to BE anywhere has put me at great ease. Must make the most of it.

Barley porridge

Not much to look at

Carrot & Walnut Tofu Neatballs