Tag: friends

Holidays and Excess

For the past two weeks Scott and I have been on holidays with friends. It was a lovely break, full of fun, food, fresh air and sunshine, with no housework or cooking.

We went for a cruise around New Zealand. Our stops included some lovely seaside towns where we walked many kilometres. Both of us are fans of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies, so we also went on some movie tours. Visiting filming locations and the special effects studio, which were amazing!

We treated ourselves to a few lovely New Zealand ice creams along the way.

The challenge,

Cruising also includes great entertainment with plenty of fabulous food and indulgent drinks. It can be quite a challenge for some to limit their intake, as there is so much choice on offer. We worked out that there was food on offer for almost 20 hours each day.

As with most holidays, it is a time of relaxation, so it is difficult to find the motivation to maintain some type of fitness or exercise routine.

Scott and I decided that one way to keep up some form of exercise was to always use the stairs. As our room was located on level 5 and many times we were going to level 14, we climbed many stairs. 140 each time, to be exact.

Many of my regular readers are aware that Scott and I decided some time ago to adopt a healthier lifestyle. We decided to do this by eating more whole foods and reducing our exposure to chemicals. Always with the 85 to 90% rule in mind, this allows a small allowance for treats and occasional eating out.

We definitely used up our 15% of excess!

On a cruise it is difficult to avoid chemical exposure, especially with the hand sanitiser you are expected to use before entering any restaurant. The food is also plentiful and very tasty, so there was quite a digression from our usual diet. That is, however, what holidays are all about.

The plan moving forward,

With the return to our normal routine, it’s time to “pay the tax” so to speak and detox. For us that means a mostly plant based diet with no alcohol. Increasing our daily exercise will also help to burn off those extra ‘cruise kilos’.

I think it’s important for our mental health to ‘let loose’ and be indulgent when on holidays. However, for our physical wellbeing, it’s important to return to a healthier type of routine when the holiday ends.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

A Crunchy Brown Rice Salad recipe

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

Hi. This weekend I was able to spend time with treasured friends up at beautiful Peregian Beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. The weather was lovely and we had a fabulous couple of days.

It was really great to spend some quality time, relaxing. Life is short and I think that it is essential to take the time to de-stress. It’s even better when you do it by spending time with people who are important to you.

With no research to share this week, I thought I would share another recipe.

I came across this Rice Salad recipe some time ago and adapted it to suit our tastes. I have made it several times for barbeques and parties and it always gets rave reviews.

It is really simple, quite tasty and nutritious.

 Crunchy Rice Salad – serves 4 to 6

3 cups cooked rice, cooled – I like to use a Mountain Blend as it has a nice tasty mix of rice

300 grams of Pumpkin or Sweet Potato (cooked and cut into small pieces)

½ cup chopped Parsley

2 green shallots finely sliced

½ cup finely sliced Snow Peas

½ cup Bean Shoots

1/3 cup toasted Pepitas/Pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp toasted Sunflower seeds

Dressing

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

Method

I like to cut my sweet potato or pumpkin into thick slices and cook them under the grill so it gets a bit of dark caramelisation for added flavour.

While the potato or pumpkin is cooking – put the rice into a large salad and mix the dressing ingredients together in a jug.

Chop the cooked slices into small cubes and put it into the bowl with the rice and other ingredients.

Combine the ingredients gently with a large spoon.

Pour the dressing over the salad and give the salad another mix to incorporate the dressing.

 

This is great as a side dish or you could even have it as a main meal.

Enjoy.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]