My goal of tracking what I eat for 3 weeks is complete.  I wish all goals of mine were so easy!   

I may continue with it as it’s both simple and useful for doing a review of my eating habits.  We’ll see.  By the looks of it, maybe I would be better off tracking the exercise…. but ……. maybe not!

Sunday, 25 April  

Dear husband was off work today, so we went out for breakfast together.  Then, we picked up the kids from school and took them for lunch.  

bkfst: Ric's Kountry Kitchen - eggs, turkey ham, Texas toast, panfries

lunch: Al Kayal - hummous w/chicken schwarma meat, salad, bread

dinner: spaghetti w/tomato meat sauce, parmesan cheese

Snacks:  granola bar, almonds, glass red wine w/dinner  

Exercise:  none to speak of, other than walking shopping…  

Monday, 26 April  

bkfst: granola w/raisins

lunch: avocado, tom, cukes, wasa bread, parmesan ch, mixed nuts

Dinner:   at Ramada Pub Quiz – fish & chips, 2 beer  

Snacks:  apple & fresh orange juice, handful almonds  

Exercise:  working the brain really hard at the pub quiz, lifting glasses of beer ….  

Tuesday, 27 April  

bkfst: toast w/pb

Lunch:  Subway on the run – 6″ roast beef on oat bread, lettuce, cuke, green pepper, s & p  

dinner: macaroni w/tomatoes & cheese

Snacks:  granola bar, handful almonds, handful soybeans, glass red wine  

Exercise:  loads of walking again, as I spent the whole day shopping for gifts!  

Wednesday, 28 April  

bkfst: granola w/banana

lunch: spinach salad w/dried cranberries, raisins, toasted pine nuts & wasa bread, parm ch

what a find - fresh peas!!!

dinner: steak, scalloped potatoes, peas, corn

dessert: rhubarb crisp w/vanilla ice cream

snacks: mixed nuts, fresh blueberries & raspberries

exercise: 30 minutes swimming  

Thursday, 29 April  

bkfst: toast w/pb, banana

lunch: ramen noodles, carrots, broccoli

dinner: Papa John's - vegetarian pizza

Snacks: handful almonds, granola bar, 2 glasses wine, 2 Lindt choc w/coffee, popcorn  

Exercise:  20 min yoga  

Friday, 30 April  

bkfst: Ric's - eggs, ham, Texas toast, panfries

lunch: Starbucks - coffee & cake, before popcorn & green iced tea at the cinema...

dinner: swedish meatballs, baked potatoe, cauliflower w/cheese sauce

Sacks:  see above for ‘lunch’  

Exercise: nada  

Saturday, 1 May  

bkfst: granola w/raisins

lunch: tomatoe sandwich, avocado, tomatoe, cheddar cheese

fixings for oven-roasted veggies

dinner: chicken w/white wine & lemon, roasted veggies, rice

Snacks:  handfull almonds, small bowl tortilla chips, 2 glasses red wine, 2 Lindt choc w/coffee  

Exercise:  60 minutes yoga  

Lessons Learned:  

I don’t eat enough fruit.  

I love eating fresh vegetables.  

I am really tired of chicken and beef!  Pork is prohibited here, which was the mainstay of our diet before moving here.  Dear family does not eat either fish or lamb, so choice of meat to cook is very limited!!  However, I’m not that much of  meat eater anyway.  I just need to learn more about vegetarian cooking (hint, hint, …..you know who I’m talking to here……).  

As you can see, the smallest of  a ‘food find’ is exciting here.  Fresh peas and rhubarb…..fantastic!   

Two of the items I cooked this week remind me of my Nana (yes, the same one who made us cinnamon buns).  We were always served home-made rhubarb compote either over vanilla ice cream or in a small bowl on it’s own.  The other food, being Swedish meatballs.   

I don’t make meatballs very often and I don’t make them anywhere near the way she did, but they were always on the menu for dinner whenever we visited.  Particularly Christmas Eve, when her kids and their families would head over to celebrate together.  There was a ton of other food as well, much of which was traditional Swedish food, but those meatballs…. !  Nana would just keep those meatballs coming, and coming, and coming, feeding us all for hours it seemed.  As our families grew over the years, we would then have to come over Christmas Eve in timed shifts.  We would each be fed, one family at a time, as neither the kitchen nor the kitchen table could accommodate more than about 6 people at one time.  Having finished eating we would then somehow, all congregate in the living room and nearby bedroom to sing a few Christmas carols and visit with our cousins, aunts and uncles and of course our Nana and Papa.  Wonderful, warm, memories!  

I think that’s why I love to cook and I love to eat.  Those shared times together.   

We try to eat together as a family whenever we can – which is most nights.  From the time our kids could sit on their own in high-chairs, we always had our meals together.  Even when oldest son was a toddler and the twins were still babies, I remember sitting the twins nearby each in a chair after having been fed, while we got on with our meal.  I don’t know what it means for our kids at this time in their lives, but for me it’s always the best time of the day.  A time to gather.