Tania Kettle

I find it very bizarre with the weather - I never know how to dress in the mornings at the moment but being the eternal optimist I consistently layer with the whole idea of being able to throw clothes off at a moments notice lol   I hope you guys are having as much success as we are with your smoothies though and since I have been asked for any new recipes I have one that we use every day….

1/4 cup of orange juice (choose Charlies as they don’t have anything in them apart from juice)
1/4 cup of apple juice
half a tin of peaches + juice (check no preservatives or chemicals)
and add either half a banana, small handful of berries (frozen ones at supermarket) or small handful of tropical berries
voila….you can also change apple and orange juice for milk and a little BioFarm Organic Bush Honey Yoghurt.

Since I have been using a lot of blackberries recently - let us have a look at them…..blackberries contain anthocyanidins which have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  Because they have a high tannin content they neutralize excessive acid in the body, helping to relieve joint pains.  They help sore throats and chesty coughs and help clear diarrhoea and urinary tract infections.  They are rich in viatmin E and promote a healthy heart and good circulation.  They also boost the blood and help prevent anaemia.  They also reduce blood cholesterol levels because of the Pectin they own.  If you are intolerant of aspirin though you may have an allegic reaction to blackberries.  So….good berries particularly for women!  (as taken from 100 health boosting foods)

Food today: brekkie - smoothie, snack - toast, lunch - sushi, snack - a little choc, dinner - fresh bread sandwich with hot chicken and gravy and a glass (or two) of red wine lol

Happy thought of the day:  The sun is waiting to shower me with sunshine 

Ok, everybody raise their hand who was surprised that the election went the way it did?? lol - thought so.  There’s not really a lot to say about last night apart from I am very sad and disappointed that my friend Winnie didn’t get back in - Parliament will not be the same without him and his what part of NO don’t you understand?  lolollol I thought Helen was a poor sport and I didn’t realise that John was worth 53 million - Jezusss….  Ok, enough said about everything

The weekend was extremely cool and was filled with friends, family, home made choc bikkies, wine, the young one and generally hanging out, having fun.  Food wasn’t too bad but I have had to watch my wet/dry energy (no not too much alcohol thank you very much!) but that is what I was expecting so that’s ok.  For those of you that went to the market this morning I told you last week that the A & P show was on instead so please do not blame me for not having your fresh coffee and still warm almond crossiants!!

Food yesterday - smoothie, a little toast, another smoothie, wine, more wine, ham/salad and pretty sure a little extra wine lol……today was way better - brekkie - toast with peanut butter (ewwwwww - don’t even like peanut butter lol) with a little choc,  smoothie, cruskits, a couple of home made choc chip bikkies and another smoothie.  Life’s all good.

And in the realm of the just not quite right an old Scottish superstition - Always leave the house by the same door you entered. 

The things you didn’t realise you didn’t know eh?  lolollol

Just a quick one again tonight as one of my clients is up in Auckland unexpectedly and wants to take me out for dinner - how fabulous!  I can’t believe though that we are in November and parts of NZ are still getting snow - I think we have done major damage to Mother Nature and she is starting to fight back lol 

Today I want to briefly talk about green tea: There are three types of tea - black, oolong and green which all come from the same plant but they differ because of how they are processed.  Green tea is the least processed so this is the one that I am going to focus on.    It’s main health-boosting ingredients are tannins and catechins  and antioxidants with effective cancer-prevention and heart-protective properties.  Green tea also lowers blood sugar levels and helps prevent type 2 (late onset) diabetes.  It may have some effect on the AIDS virus and it can help prevent osteoporosis.  Green tea is also useful for treating diarrhoea and for killing the bacteria responsible for the stomach upset.  So there!  Green tea yourself tonight lol  (from 100 health boosting foods)

Food today: brekkie - smoothie, brunch - toast, lunch - shepherds pie, snack - dinasours, dinner is up for negotiation lolollol

Thought of the day:  Never underestimate the small mindedness and viciousness of ignorance but never partake of it yourself as it’s only ever a 7 minute wonder     :)  

How lucky are we to be a part of history!!  What a cool day it was yesterday - America’s first black President!! It was a shame Obama’s Grandma had died the day before but she was obviously looking down and she must have been so proud of him.  My Grandfather (passed away at a 100 and a half) always used to boast that he saw the most changes in the world - ie: horses to cars, phones, computers, tv’s and we would never see as many changes in our 100 years - ha! I only had to live to 39 years to see this one pops lol 

I am very pleased with the way our food is going in our house - not only are we seeing major changes re overall health but it is glaringly obvious in recovery time and get up time.  I know I keep harping back on this but get up time is a really important indicator as to how your health is overall.  If you can go to sleep between 10pm and 11.30pm and wake up without an alarm between 6-7am in the morning, seven days a week, you are working at almost full capacity.   This happens all the time in our house now. 

Rowing times with the young one now is easy and quite do-able without the stressy oh God, it’s wake up time again! attitude and the operation I had the other day - my body has had amazing recovery ability.  It is as if I had not had a general anasethic with invasive surgery and instead just feel like I’ve had a bad period.  I haven’t needed to be in bed, lying down and in fact have felt almost like a fraud for taking a couple of days off.  There has also been no need for any form of drugs other than 2 paracetamol four hours after I got home.  We have a winning combination peoples lol

The young one and I are also getting comments about our skin, hair and general overall wellness.  People I know are now starting to try the No numbers, chemicals or pesticides theory as they have watched my trial and error and the wet vs dry energy theories and as much as it doesn’t have (as yet) have any scientific basis the ending is……results don’t lie. 

Happy thought of the day:  Never be scared to challenge the status quo  :)  lolollol

Hey guys and girls….just found out I am back in hospital for another operation tomorrow and flat out trying to get everything organised so will catch you all Thursday 

 Quote of the day (about banning Guy Fawkes): 

It’s not rocket science…….well, actually it kinda is rocket science, isn’t it?       lololllolollol

Well for someone who going into it had a relatively free weekend it ended up being anything but and it never ceases to amaze me how much difference a mere 15 mins can make to your day and how it goes lol  Saturday started off with a free agenda as the young one had a Halloween party and sleep over and was going straight to rowing from there - excellent - one sleep in for me - 7am was wide awake so decided to get up, make a coffee and go back to bed to relax - that was one baaaaaaad move….I had a charity auction to go to at 1pm and thought I had heaps of time to call clients, get showered and look pretty, pick up the young one from rowing and get him showered and handsome and get into town, find parking and be there sitting pretty at 1.  You know, even as I’m writing this now I’m going What was I thinking?  Phone rang….could I pick up another 2 people for the 1pm function sure, no problem  and that’s when I hit snagg one.  My phone client ran overtime which put me late for next client and the next one and at 11.45 I started freaking out that maybe I wasn’t going to have time for a shower!  I called in reinforcements as by now needed a driver as no way was I going to get parking in as well and then waited for the young one’s text to go pick him up…….and waited, and waited, and waited.  At 12.25 unbelieveable panic as was supposed to be picking up 2 other people who lived 20 mins away in 6 mins.  Still no young one.  More delegation required trying to locate someone who could pick up young one when he eventually surfaced from the water and keep him….mission accomplished, driver arrived, people picked up, apologies given and accepted and rocked up to charity function at 1.15 to find bloody thing starts at 2!   Grrrrrrr  At that point in time someone took pity on me and organised the wine lolollol and the event that should have finished at 4 eventually finished at 7 lolollol - thank God I wasn’t driving lolollol  Let us just put food down as lots of coffee, choc, wine.  Today, was way more stressfree….went to my market, sunbathed, de-stressed, re-balanced and generally put myself back together lol Food slightly better today: brekkie - coffee and almond crossiant, snack - strawberry smoothie, snack - another smoothie, dinner - beef raviolli with mushroom sauce. 

Quote of the day:  Did you have stupid toast for breakfast?   lolollol   

You know, I get absolutely no sympathy in this house!  My butt must have peaked last night as this morning it was only a little delicate but man, my abs, they felt like they were on fire.  Expecting sympathy or at the very least some empathy I said to the young one…..

Jezusss my abs are sore!  what abs?  My. ones. that. are. sore.  He steps closer and peers unconvinced at my tummy to see these abs which I am complaining about.  Invisible abs don’t count.  They are NOT invisible!  Well, where are they then?  Grrrrrrrrrrrr  Having made his point the young one whips up his t-shirt, grabs my hand and goes These are abs and starts naming them then starts on his arms here Mum feel these  and just because he could - flexes his leg muscles.   I wonder if it’s too late to adopt him out….  lolollol

Today because we are eating so many smoothies with banana’s let us have a look at  how good they are for us….they are high in potassium which help maintain a healthy heart, blood pressure and healthy bones and are full of vitamin B + C which boost the immune system and protect against heart disease and some cancers.  Vitamin B6 regulates the nervous system and helps promote healthy skin while amino acid trypotophan can help reduce pms, anxiety and insomnia. 

What are you waiting for?  go make your smoothie…..

Food today:  brekkie - scrambled eggs, snack - smoothie, lunch - hot lamb sandwich with a little choc, snack - a few lollies (Halloween basket sitting on living room table), snack - lollies, snack - lollies (gotta move that basket!) dinner - could be Italian….

Quote of the day:  It’s really unfortunate for him that he was born with the “always get caught” gene…..(a 5 second silence) or he’s just stupid…..   lolollolollol 

Choose your pain!  As much as I am up for a little bit of ra ra most days, having this said to me by a woman I didn’t know at 6am this morning was a little scary!  There were 2 glasses of red wine last night but in hindsight (read into that when alarm went off at 5am) I most probably could have just had the one lol Dropped the young one off and scooted to the gym and found myself just in time for an ab class.  A full hour.  Of abs.  Scary.  The exercise she was referring to was….wait for it…..Lie on ground.  On tummy. Flat out.  Point toes to floor.  Put elbows on floor.  Lift whole body up so resting on elbows and toes.   No cheating ALL of your body must be off the floor THEN push yourself up onto hands.  Then back to elbows.  Then hands.  Then elbows.  Then hands lolollolollol  I must be freaking mad somedays.  Was going to talk more about food tonight but my butt is too sore….

Food today:  Brekkie smoothie, snack - eggs on toast, snack - caramel slice, lunch - smoothie, snack - some seasalt chips, dinner - spinach and feta pasta with 1 glass of red wine lol

Quote of the day:  I didn’t say I can’t cook, I said I don’t cook                       

I don’t feed my young one enough lol.  Oh. My. God.  Our weekly food bill (well, actually his - I live on the smell of an oily rag lol) could feed an African tribe for six months.  And their neighbours.  And  their extended family when they pop over   lolollol  I digress though….the Nutrition talk we went to last night was really good.  Dr Claire Wall was a great speaker and you could tell that she was very passionate about what she talked about.  She talked about the little triangle that we have all seen periodically but (if you are like me) go umha that’s interesting as you’re walking away! This triangle for normal, average, everyday people kinda goes like this…..6+ bread, pasta’s, and/or cereal, 7+ fruit and veges from the colour wheel, 3+ dairy and Meat 2+ portions A DAY!!  That’s a minimum that we should be eating.  Every.  Single.  Day.   It is interesting that a New Zealand adult on average eats 2.2 fruit and/or vege servings per day while our across the ditch Australian counterparts eat 7 per day.  That’s not good.  Also a National Nutritional Survey done says that 50% of adult kiwis are overweight and 35% of children are!  Those are atrocious figures and we as one of the greenest nations on earth should be ashamed of ourselves!  A couple of facts that you most probably wish you didn’t know but I am going to share with you anyway……

1) a normal size pie and chips (average size) has 14 that’s right 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 teaspoons of butter in it.

2) average burger, chips, sundae - 10 teaspoons of butter.

3) protein cannot be stored as protein - if you don’t use your protein then it will turn into fat.  This is why the Atkins diet will work for some and noticeably not for others (like me when I put on 4kgs!!)

4) sports drinks are basically cordial and salt - go figure!

I will talk more about this tomorrow - off to the supermarket lol

Food today: brekkie - smoothie, snack - 2 choc chippie bikkies, lunch - chicken and brocolli shepherds pie (made it fresh for dinner but smelt great so had some for lunch lol),  snack - another smoothie, dinner -chicken and brocolli shepherds pie, late snack - choc - might add a little glass of red wine but depends what time rowing is tomorrow

Quote of the day came from the young one at 10pm last night when we rocked back home so Mum, what’s to eat?   lolollol 

Egg is not a good idea for smoothies!  I felt fine and technically the protein is excellent but the combination is wrong and with fruit is actually toxic to your system.  Think of a set of scales - fruit/juices etc (on one side) very good but if you add egg (opposite side) it has a negative effect which means that you have neither added or subtracted anything to your body’s wellbeing - all the good nutrients have had to band together to fight the not nice egg one.  That I have a clear understanding of my body and how it’s working means that the food I am putting into my body is almost in perfect balance!  Excellent….and really, what would life be like without a little trial and error lol  Now the other thing that you guys need to be aware of if you are not sure of your blood type is your (and your families) physical type.  For those of you like me who are curvy - you are O and are prone to wet energy and therefore crave carbs (bread, potatoes, pasta, salt etc) but if you have someone like my young one who is a string bean you are looking at a type B who leans towards dry energy  and will eat lots and lots of dairy products without any negative side effects and who needs these to balance out their normally dry energy.  Don’t just take my word for it though….try it out yourself.  When you get up in the morning check in with your body and see how it’s feeling - are you full of energy? are you tired? are you awake before your alarm?….then track your foods all day and whether they are majority wet (dairy) or majority dry (carbs) then check out how you are feeling the next day when you wake up.  I swear it works but look at it this way, you have nothing to lose  :)  I had my chiropractor appointment today and was talking to Jim about eggs and he was like yes but that is only raw egg whites, lightly cook them and they change in vitamins etc again and if you hard fry them in oil they change again!  You know,  really, I have no idea how normal people like us are suppose to get this whole food thing!  Off to a Nutrition talk tonight at the young ones school with a Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition at the University of Auckland, Medical School who specialises in the role of nutrition and performance in young athletes.  Right.  Will let you know about it all tomorrow……

Food today:  smoothie (with egg yolk), snack - toast with a little butter, lunch - flounder with orange and lemon juice with honey and a little more butter baked in foil with fresh asparagus and 2 choc chip cookies, snack - Kettle’s seasalt potato chips and dinner will be roast chicken with salad and late snack a little choc.

1 cardio gym session at 6am.

Happy thought of the day:  Don’t be afraid to try something new