Hollowing out Swedes with Spoons

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Daren
Pumpkin Lantern

Here's one I made earlier

I love Halloween.

Now it’s not the ghosts and ghouls or witches and wizards. Nor is it the fancy dress parties where I always have to dress up as a skeleton – the fattest skeleton in town may I add. And it’s not the scary movies that hit the screen or the trick or treating. For me, it’s about the history and heritage behind this pagan festival and nothing represents it more to me than a pumpkin (or root vegetable) flickering in a darkened room.

I’m always drawn to a hollowed out pumpkin with a spooky face and the eairy flicker of light that emanates into the outside world. I can generally spot one a mile away and I think that was the point in days of old – a beacon of light to be seen from far away, as far away as the afterlife, that sends out a clear signal to keep away from our village.

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Remember Harvest Festivals ???

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Daren

This is my time of year.

I don’t know whether it’s because I’m a Libran and therefore feel closer to this period of the calendar or if it’s the memories of growing up as a child where I looked forward to all the festivities.

Nothing in my mind compares to autumn in England. Some may say it’s a ‘period of death’ and I can’t entirely disagree with this view. Others will focus on the change in temperatures, although in recent years autumn has been quite warm. A few other people will think about the massive black spiders that find their way into our living rooms. And, let’s not mention Daddy Long Legs!

But for me, and I do think it stems from my childhood memories, Autumn heralds a period of fun that brings me back to the core of my natural roots, provides me with a cultural perspective of life in England (that won’t have changed much over the centuries) and reminds me of our ancestral behaviours (many of which involved ‘the other side’). Continue reading →

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You must wait for the penny to drop….

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Daren

I’ve talked about The Voice in the past. You know, the one that plays havoc with my decision making when it comes to food choices. Well now I’m going to introduce you to a different, softer, more understanding side to The Voice.

The Voice

Johnny, The Voice.

I was offered a doughnut by a friend. Now my normal reaction to this would be one of gratitude with a jaw that behaves like a JCB digger….1, 2, 3, gone! But this time I had to ask myself a question; a question that was kindly answered by The Voice.

“Shall I, or shan’t I?”

”Of course you bloody should” replied The Voice.

So my jaw started to do the JCB thing.

Two minutes later, with the residue of sugar still on my cheeks, my friend offered me a second.

“Shall I or shan’t I?”

“Stop asking me these stupid questions, you know the bloody answer!”

1, 2, 3, gone.

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It’s Time to Supercharge……

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Daren
Batteries
Supercharge

It’s been a couple of weeks now and my weight hasn’t shifted a bit. I’m not too worried, as speed is not as important as the main goal here. Having said that, during these weeks I’ve learned some quite valuable lessons and I believe this to be an important part of the process. I’m not quite sure about the number experts discuss this stage but I’ve termed it a ‘period of discovery’.

If you were to conduct a ‘life audit’ on yourself you probably find that stage one will incorporate a large section on self awareness and understanding your current situation. It’s the same in business. People create strategies and plans that can be very difficult to measure if you don’t fully understand the ‘now’.

Marketing plans offer a great example. You generally start off completing a Marketing Audit that will include information about the activity, the number of enquiries, the number of conversions, the amount of turnover and the profit. You may look at the competition; what have they been up to, what are they planning to do and how have they performed? You may also go as far as analysing your customers; what did they buy, when did they buy it, how many did they buy and how much did they spend? Basic stuff really, but can you apply the same level of detail to your daily life?

Yes you can. Maybe not with the same scrutiny, but the main principles can still apply.

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Bloody Llandudno

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Daren

Now don’t get me wrong, I love travelling and going on little trips, but right at the start of a weight loss journey…..oh please.

Well, this is exactly what happened last week.

Llandudno Promenade

Llandudno Promenade with The Great Orme in the Background

My parents had taken a trip to Llandudno in North Wales. It’s a regular event that lasts around five days. They are joined by 1000s of pensioners that line the promenade (most of them are asleep with the remnants of diary ice cream on their cheeks) and practically keep this town alive. Llandudno knows its target market and definitely caters for them in every way, so fair play to them (that’s more than what Wolverhampton knows). Anyway, I offered to bring them back to Wolves.

I had done well on food front all week and decided to weigh myself on Thursday morning, instead of Friday, due to my errand. For reference, I was travelling up with my wife on the Thursday, early evening, and returning with my folks on Friday morning.

15stone, 10 pounds – knockout. I’ve lost four pounds.

 

The Voice

Him, The Voice.

“And, what a better way to round off a successful week, than with a trip to the coast. Hmmm….fish and chips…” declared the voice.

All the way up there he was chipping away at me, and each hammer blow was affecting my discipline. By the time the two hour journey was over and we had arrived at Llandudno, I had planned my two days with military precision with everything revolving around food and drink. Continue reading →

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Eating like a pensioner to stay slim?

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Daren

Isn’t it funny how the world seems to revolve around food, dieting or what you are having for tea?

A friend of mine popped in to see me earlier today, and I found it amusing how our conversation had quite quickly turned to discussing food.

His Nan has had a nasty fall in the past week and sustained a broken arm as a result. She is now being cared for in a private ICU for short term care until she is fit once again to go about her daily business.

He mentioned how well she is being looked after in there, and that she was receiving no less than six meals per day. I said, “They are going to have her spoilt rotten at this rate mate, those cream cakes you take to her daily have nothing on this.” I was curious as to why she was being fed six times a day. It turned out that their diet is broken down into mini meals throughout the course of the day. But where as we, meaning me and others like me, have our main big meal at teatime, they have theirs at lunch.

Irish Boiled Bacon

Irish Boiled Bacon with Cabbage and Spuds

Thinking back to my grandparents and how they had their meals, it had often confused me as to why my grandad would be peeling spuds from the garden, cutting up spring cabbage and putting boiling bacon in a pan at 9.30 am on a weekday morning.

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My Food Diary from The Good Old ’90s

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Daren

Daren asked me to give a day to day account of my diet back in the good old 90′s so here goes!!

I must however point out beforehand that I take full responsibility for some of the strange food habits and choices of my mis-spent, but at times fruitful, youth, and this diet was not forced upon me by my loving parents.

Friel Family Portrait

The Good Old Days

Here’s an old family pic from around the same time period of said diet!

I’m the one on the right with the groovy tie and Happy Mondays hair style, and the only melon I was twisting was my own.

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“Red and Yellow and Pink and Green……”

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Daren

RainbowFirstly, for those who are interested you can Click here to hear the nursery ryhme.

It’s taken me 30 odd years to realise this but the decisions we make around the colour of our food can have such an impact on our eating experience.

When I go back to the food I ate as a child, I feel a large lack of adventure. My parents were born during the Second World War and as such, have grown up with post war food attitudes. I’m not knocking this at all, as rationing was a necessary evil, and having to work with what you’ve got would have done no-one any harm. Some delicious meals would have come out of this period but my folks just didn’t get to hear about them.

Mondays – Pork Chop, with over boiled potatoes and Cabbage. Gravy made with gravy browning, corn flour, bit of pepper, vegetable water from the spuds and the meat juices from the oven tray (now I’m a big fan of this but my mom’s had large lumps of flour in it). And…..a large glass of cabbage water to wash it all down with.

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The Freezer’s Taking a Beating

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Daren
Charlie Bingham's Ready Meal

Frozen Charlie Bigham's Ready Meal

I should feel an air of guilt in having a few ready meals for two tucked away in my freezer but the feeling is quite the opposite. Waitrose, quite regularly, reduce their remaining higher end meals on the use by date, and reduce them by, in most instances, half the original price. Now this leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. On the basis that I like to cook from fresh, does it go against my core values to buy these meals that can go for £2.99 from £5.99? Of course it doesn’t. They freeze particularly well and serve as a good alternative when you are short of time or just can’t be bothered to cook from scratch.

Would I buy them at £5.99? Well that’s another debate, but in short probably not. Taking the convenience factor out of the equation, I could probably muster together a good meal for six at that price. So that’s a no brainer!

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I Don’t Do Salads On Weekends

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Daren

It quite amazing what you can discover when you apply a little bit of focus towards a goal. In this instance my focus hasn’t produced the sort of behaviour that I would have wished for but it has given me a few clues as to where I’m going wrong with my weight loss mission. And at the Weekend it hit me, along with a series of other truths that I’ll talk about in other posts.

The Voice

Him, The Voice.

The Voice was back with a vengeance, “Hey, it’s the weekend, Bank Holiday at that. It’s time to ditch any sensible ideas you have about stuffing your face! You don’t do salads on Weekends!” The Voice is relentless, “You always have a pizza on Saturday’s. You’ve always got next week to play catch-up.” I was giving in quite easily. “You’ve got Monday off so a few extra pints won’t hurt. The bacon sandwiches can mop it all up!” laughed the Voice.

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