Task 5... Kitchen Makeover

The Kitchen Makeover is done!

This task required you to throw out all of the junk from your pantry.  All of those processed foods, all the chips, soft drinks (soda or pop), sweet biscuits, you get the idea.  

Well this really was not a problem for me as we don't have any of that anyway.  The only thing I had to throw away was an old packet of ice cream cones that my son had added to the shopping trolley once and there was one cone missing from that box and the box expired in January 2011!!!!  Shows how badly my pantry needed a clean out!

We don't drink soft drink, juice or cordials, we don't eat chips or sweet biscuits.  We really eat very little processed food.  I don't allow those things in the house, my son doesn't eat that sort of thing.  If he wants a snack he will have some fruit, or he will mash an avocado and add some garlic and have some wholegrain rice crackers or he has been known to have cereal as a snack.

Why do I have a weight problem then, well I don't move enough!  And I am not strict on myself when it comes to eating, I am at home, as there isn't anything bad to eat in the house, except my organic raw chocolate.  Outside the home is my problem, those double chocolate muffins, the chocolate cake, the scones with jam and cream (I always have to have extra cream too), the hot chocolates (that are almost just melted chocolate with a little milk added), the hot chips (fries).

Anyway the makeover is done!  I cleaned out about two garbage bags of out of date food!  There is a list of pantry essentials we need to stock up on, but I found I had almost all of them already in the pantry and the others I will get when there is a recipe coming up that calls for them.  There are a few fridge and freezer essentials and I had every one of those already there.  So again, not too much extra shopping to do.

Anybody thinking of doing this program, it starts in two days (Monday, or Sunday in the USA).  So far I am very impressed and really looking forward to this new life journey.  This is not just a 12 week challenge for me, this is a rest of my life lifestyle change!  

Christmas Shopping

I thought I burnt off quite a lot of calories today!  How?  Christmas Shopping.

Yes, I braved the shops today and it was packed!  I drove around for about 20 minutes trying to find a parking space.  Then once I hit the mall, it was crazy.  I think I was there with the rest of Australia.  Australia only have a population of 22 million (almost 23 million), so we are a reasonably small country in the way of population, but we have a large land mass.  The entire population of Australia is LESS than the population of Los Angeles!  How is that, a whole country has less people than one city in the USA.

Anyway back to my shopping.

I had an embarrassing situation today.  My neighbour turned up with a Christmas gift for us.  Oh no, and I didn't have anything for them.  Also I haven't made anything this year.  I usually do make different little things like biscuits, truffles, rum balls, even Christmas cakes.  But guess what, this year I haven't.  I've been too busy, been away and Christmas has just crept up.  So I was so embarrassed this morning when she arrive with the gift of homemade rum balls and I didn't have anything for them.

So that was all added to my list today.  Containers and wrapping for some home made gifts.  I not have two days to whip something up.  I got some extras so that if I get any more surprises I can have a gift on hand.

The rest of my shopping is now complete!  I just have the last minute grocery shopping to go which I will get done tomorrow and I have some gifts still to wrap and once the wrapping is done, I'm all ready for Christmas.

I hope you all have your shopping done and don't have to go out into the crazy Christmas last minute shopping crowds!