Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

Hope everyone had great Christmas and New Year celebrations and got loads of cool stuff from Santa, family and friends.

I focused on health related gifts and received the Jane Kennedy cookbook “Fabulous Food minus the boombah”, the CSIRO total wellbing diet and an hilarious but confronting book “Skinny Bastard”, more on the latter soon.

I used some gift vouchers to get myself some kitchen bit and pieces during the Boxing Day sales and picked up a Food Processor, Slow Cooker and a big Casserole dish.

So the kitchen has the missing pieces, now to start cooking more and experimenting with different dishes and make 2010 a relative culinary delight. I have been able to get my son to start eating some different foods which will make it easier to experimenting with a wide range of tastes myself.

I need to ramp up the ‘Cooking with Al’ series, so all who have either shown interest, made a promise or have something to share, I’ll be calling upon you over the coming months to make it happen (you listening Richard?).

I’m knocking off for a couple of weeks holiday, not sure if I’ll be posting much while I’m gone as the only place with free wi-fi is McDonalds .. good marketing – bastards!

I still haven’t decided on New Year resolutions, or targets for the year but I’ll work that out over the coming weeks.

I’ve finally got around to editing the cooking lesson that Nick K gave me, showing me how to prepare and cook Chicken Cacciatore.

I worked a treat and is on the lunchtime rotation.

Ingredients;

• 8 skinless chicken thigh fillets
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Small amount of oil
• Small tub of kalamata olives
• Small bunch fresh basil
• Dried oregano
• 2 stock cubes (chicken is the preference but it won’t really matter).
• Whatever vegetables you like to eat on the side…

A few problems with lighting and camerawork, hopefully it adds to the charm

Chicken Cacciatore

Nick K came over and showed me how to cook an Italian classic, Chicken Cacciatore and I have finally got around to editing and posting it.

Here’s the recipe ingrediants.

8 skinless chicken thigh fillets
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
Small amount of oil
Small tub of kalamata olives
Small bunch fresh basil
Dried oregano
2 stock cubes (chicken is the preference but it won’t really matter).
Whatever vegetables you like to eat on the side…

I’ve just read  couple of really interesting articles about The Biggest Loser. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great show from the perspective of allowing us to see the hard work that goes into shifting large amounts of weight, it is inspiring to hear peoples story and the challenges they have to overcome.

But ..

The missing elements I think are the most important i) Cooking ii) Psychological

Imagine if Biggest Loser incorporated cooking challenges as well, had some top chefs in teaching kitchen skills and really focusing on upskilling the contestants ability to prepare and plan healthy meals. It would be huge, just look at the Masterchef success.

I have found that I can do little exercise in a week and move weight if I eat really well, but if I eat poorly and do loads of exercise then the weight doesn’t drop anywhere near the same degree. So food (planning and ability) is by far the most important element in shedding weight. I remember a girl I used to work with, who had a personal trainer who would work her so hard, but she would continue to eat poorly and drink too much, and couldn’t understand why she wasn’t seeing the outcomes she expected.

It’s one thing, but the combination of all things, let one thing slip and it has an impact.

Psychology, in most cases (I’d venture to say all cases, but have not stats to prove either way) there are underlying psychological reasons for overeating / obesity. It would be so cool to see how Biggest Loser support their contestants with counseling support through their journey – here I am making the assumption that they do provide daily support to help on that front. if they don’t then I am really disappointed and shocked.

The articles I mentioned ask the question “who is going to be the first to sue ‘The Biggest Loser?’”

The concern about heart attacks, unhealthy habits like severe fasting and the use of diuretics (Warney). The first winner of the US season Ryan Benson lost 122 pounds of his 330 pount starting weight (I’ve lost 88.6 pounds in 10 months, starting at 347), is now back to over 300 pounds. Others have admitted to adding 20% of their final weight since the show, one even saying that she added 31 pounds in just two weeks mainly drinking water.

The other thing the articles raise is the document  the contestents sign to say they believe themselves to be “in excellent physical, emotional, psychological and mental health”, come off it, if any them answered that honestly there would be no TV series.

Anyway check out the stories, they are an interesting read about how we can take something so serious and at times trivialise it in the name of entertainment, when the opportunity exists to be just as entertaining and have some lasting benefit for viewers and contestants alike.

The Hollywood Reporter – Who will be the first to sue ‘The Biggest Loser‘?

New York Times – On Reality Show to Lose Weight, Health Can Be Lost in Frenzy

21 hours until final weigh in of the challenge – but am not fasting or dehydrating myself, the honest story is far more compelling.

If anyone knows any of the Australian contestents from previous seasons I’d love to meet and interview them, drop me a line.

I am really annoyed, for the last four weeks I have lapsed back to old behaviours, back to eating crap food and not caring. How can I let myself do that while being so public with this blog I don’t know but I need to tighten up the routine.

If I get back to eating properly and exercising I should be able to claim back all the kilos I’ve added and more, but I wont be able to get to the 50 kilo loss mark by the end of November, which is massively disappointing, but it’s all part of the story. It is so easy to let the old behaviours back in, and keep allowing excuses to become reasons.

So I am about to sit here and do up a schedule for the next week that includes exercise and food. I’ll set up a food diary agaion and make sure I write everything down to bring back a bit of discipline.

I think in the past four weeks I have been able to put 5-6 kilos on, and I reckon I can lose 8 kilos in 6 weeks, so I should end up around the 42-45 kilos lost by the end of November, still a great effort, but it is only the start there is still another 20-30 kilos to lose on top of that. More importntly resolve my issues that keep me switching back to old behaviour patterns.

So here’s the exercise plan for the next week.

• Wednesday AM: Bikram Yoga
• Wednesday PM: 30 minutes on exercise bike
• Thursday AM: Bikram Yoga or 1 hour walk
• Thursday PM: 30 minute on exercise bike (optional)
• Friday AM: 30 minute on exercise bike
• Saturday AM: Bikram Yoga
• Saturday PM: 60 minute walk
• Sunday AM: 60 minute walk
• Sunday PM: Bikram Yoga
• Monday AM: 60 minute walk
• Monday PM: 30 minutes on exercise bike
• Tuesday AM: Bikram Yoga
• Tuesday PM: 60 minute walk

So there it is, can I deliver on it?

The most important thing is the eating, because that is what really loses the weight. I’ve only cooked about 4 times in the past two weeks, so that tells the story right there.

I need some help and support, don’t be scared to drop me a note or get on the phone, that way I know I am not out on my own in this .. it just feels like it.

Weigh ins have moved from Friday morning to Thursday night, I understand you are normally heavier in the afternoon than morning, so I’ll have to discount a kilo or so to allow for that, but the most important weigh in is on Monday 30 November, it’s the only one that really matters.

Anybody up for a cooking lesson, I’ll be contacting those that have said they would – Hoops, Martyn and Stubbsy. If you dont want to be on camera, that’s ok, you can be off camera instructing me what to do.

Let’s see what we can do.

I’m back!

I think at times everyone thinks I am being totally hardcore on my eating and exercise plan, I wish!

I let the weather put me off going for a walk tonight, I should have gone to the gym. I justified with being busy and needing to do some work at home and prepare for tomorrow. I then went a step further and ate take-away because I forgot to take something out of the freezer, where as within the same amount of time I could have easily have bought something from the supermarket and cooked in the similar time frame. So now I am staring at a poor weigh-in this coming Friday.

I am feeling a little flat, coming off a little bit of a chest cold, and having not exercised since last Thursday I am letting myself off a little bit too much. My emotions rule pretty strongly at times and give me a sense of justification and I really need to be more aware and  little tougher on myself or maybe find a tactic to help me avoid this behaviour. Maybe a little Temptation vs. Me scoreboard on my phone, makes me conscious of what I’m doing, gives me a chance to see the moment with clarity and gives me a pay-off, a victory.

I am going to Bikram Yoga in the morning, which means getting up at 5am and getting into a hard session, and it is hard. A friend Georgina sent me a personal note saying “the first 3/4 was great, the last part made me swear never to go back – then, driving home I felt like I was 8 foot tall and could conquer the world!!”, so I am looking forward to heading to the office in the morning.

I have some exciting news to share tomorrow about the fundraising aspect of SavingAlan, so make sure you come back tomorrow.

In the meantime make sure you visit the Support Alan page and sponsor my efforts for the benefit of Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute.

Finally the fifth installment of Cooking with Al. I had filmed this before but had battery and tape problems at the time, so here is my favourite breakfast dish – Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette. It’s a good start to the day, easy to whip up inside 10 minutes and normally a lot more attractive that this how this ended up.

A good friend joined me today and filmed the session, Heath who along with his family are making a short visit to Melbourne from their domicile in Boston, USA. We’ll probably never have such an artistic episode again. Spending time with good friends is great for the soul and today really made my week, it gave me the chance to speak about the process and get some feedback and face to face support, not to mention just catching up and spending time..

So here’s the Omelette, I probably undercooked it a little as you’ll see it didn’t quite fold as we had hoped. Instead of folding you can leave it open, sprinkle a littl cheese over the top and whack it under the griller for a little to brown the cheese on top, garnsih and place on top of some multi grain sourdough and you’ve got an absolute treat for the start to your day

Bon Apetite

I know I have already posted three episodes, I filmed this a while but lost the tape, so I had to film it again. It is only the second dish I have ever cooked from a recipe on my own.

This has become my favourite lunch dish – Chicken Madras Curry, great for freezing and taking to work. It has a nice bit of heat in it, and is super healthy. I am sure it would be great on rice, but I’ll have to wait

It’s true, inside I am a super fit thin person. I played an enormous amount of sport, anything I could – football, cricket, tennis, table tennis, soccer, athletics etc, but it wasn’t until my early twenties that I went off the rails with food and reduced my levels of exercise and the weight just crept on.

I enjoyed this piece by comedian Tim Minchen, he strikes to the fear and comments on the rationalisation around the impact of poor eating habits that we may be teaching our children. Another great reason to show (by action) my son the right way to eat and look after myself.

Eating a variety of food is one of the keys to staying interested in the eating plan. When I have tried before I got really sick and tired of a limited menu. It was only limited by my capabilities, so now I have friends popping in to cook with me, lifting my ability and expanding my repertoire of meals, and I am really enjoying it.

Here’s the latest with the lovely Nicola, showing me a great slow cooked Beef Stew.