A Healthy Dessert!

This morning I decided I would make a healthy dessert.  I am trying to be pro-active when it comes to my diet and whilst I have designed and am actually sticking closely to my healthy meal plan, I have identified that one of my weaknesses is the ice-cream van.

Now for those of you who aren’t familiar with them (I am not sure if they are used over in the States and Canada etc) these are vans which come round most days during the summer from which you can buy all manner of ice-cream and soft drinks.

They normally play a merry little tune to announce their arrival and to attract all the kids (of which I am obviously a big one) and in this hot weather I inevitably go out and buy myself to an ice-cream.

Of course ice-creams, as delicious and appealing as they are, simply are not low-fat or low sugar and whilst I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with treating yourself every now and then, I do feel it is important to watch out for things that are not healthy and which may slip under the radar so to speak.

So I decided to make a healthy dessert which I can go to instead of the ice-cream van and having tested the recipe last night and having spoken to my dietitian about it during my hospital appointment on Monday and having had this recipe recommended to me by her this is what I did.

All you need is….

Some sugar free Jelly ( I used the sachets of powdered jelly) these normally make a pint (570 ml) of jelly.

Boiling water.

Cold Water.

Sugar and Fat Free yoghurt. (125g pot)

Mixing spoon or Whisk.

Measuring Jug

Berries/Fruit of your choosing.

Small Dishes in which to serve them.

All you do is take your berries/fruit  (Try not to go for the too acidic types) and freeze them over night.

Then taking your jug, mix up your jelly using half the required amount of water.

Once your mixture has cooled a little take your pot of sugar and fat-free yoghurt and add that making sure to stir it in well.

Then take the pot your yoghurt came in and fill it using the some of the other half of your water.  Once you have filled it discard that water and add the rest of your water to your mix.  (Effectively all you are doing here is reducing the amount of water you would normally use by the amount of yogurt you have added).

Then take your serving dishes and add your frozen berries/fruit in them according to how much you would personally like in that size of pot.

I used small earthen ware pots which I had and found that I could make five individual desserts from one sachet (1 pint or 570 ml) of mixture.

Once you have added the amount of frozen berries/fruit that you require simply pour the mixture into dishes doing so equally between your pots.

Obviously the size of pot matters and o there will be some trial and error needed but the pots I contain about 115 ml  of mixture each and so worked out very well.

Once you have poured out all of your mixture equally between your pots simply pop them in the fridge to set.

Once they have set you can even cut a berry or piece of  fruit in half and place it on the top to look all chefy and appealing.

The finished result is 5 pots of refreshing  healthy desserts!

Yes I know there are only four desserts in this picture but that is because I ate one of them LOL.  But hey – remember they contain no fat and no sugar (other than what is in the fruit) and so no harm no fowl!

I personally used blackberry and strawberry jelly with blackberries and seedless grapes as my fruit.  But you can choose what ever fruit or jelly flavour you prefer remembering not to use fruit which is too acidic as this could affect the setting of your mixture.

Another tip I would give is to test the sweetness or sourness of your fruit before you add it as this can affect the outcome in terms of taste.

So there you have it.  A healthy refreshing dessert which you can easily make.  (Having frozen my fruit the night before the whole thing took me about 15 minutes to make this morning and I used 2 sachets of jelly powder thus making 10 individual desserts) and which come in very handy in the hot weather when you just fancy something light, refreshing and sweet.

The added bonus being that I am pretty sure kids will enjoy them just as much and additionally you are actively doing something that will benefit you in your fight to lose weight!

I hope you give it a go and I hope you enjoy them!

Upbeat Update

Reblogged from Voices of Glass:

Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who sent me comments and messages of support in response to my last post "Anxious Anticipation".  It really does mean so very much to me and it is that kind of support and encouragement that I passionately believe it so essential within the mental health blogging community and on of the reasons why I am so passionate about the…

Read more… 663 more words

Originally posted on my mental health blog.

Almost A Zombie

I guess we are all familiar with the whole Zombie/Walking Dead kind of walk? Well today that is how I have been walking.

As regular followers/readers will know I have been really doing my best to increase my mobility and exercise and have taken to walking three times a day, every day.

TJ my ever faithful dog has been loving it and I have certainly enjoyed his company throughout it all.

What I have done is to set myself a target in respect of how many steps I take each day and am pretty much constantly wearing my pedometer nowadays.  Although very frustratingly it broke today for the second time since I have had it.

I have designed two routes/circuits which, when followed, can afford me the required amount of steps as well as allowing me the freedom to adjust them if needed.

Sadly over the past few days my Chronic Fatigue and lack of sleep has been kicking my butt again and I have been in bed a lot – which of course destroy my targets, but that is all part of life.

Feeling somewhat stronger however I did manage to get almost back to my targets the day before yesterday and so was very pleased.

Yesterday saw my regular psych appointment the other side of town and I usually get a cab to and from this because of the distance and because getting to it means going both up and down hill both ways.

But, seeing as I was feeling a lot stronger and being as I am determined to walk more I actually walked all the way there to my psych appointment and was delighted when I made it.

Spurred on by this I then walked into town for a haircut and a light lunch – salad – and then actually walked all the way back home again.  By the time I reached home I was exhausted but so very satisfied and pleased.

Not wanting poor old TJ to go without his new long walks last evening I took it for a very long walk indeed and again was delighted.  Even more so when by the time I got into bed that night I had walked enough for three days worth of target almost!

But of course today I am paying the price for overdoing it so drastically. I could hardly move all day long and I have aches and pains in places I didn’t know I had places.

Thankfully by the evening I was loosening up and so am determined to walk some more and try and meet my target for tomorrow (actually later today now since it is now long since passed midnight).

I think I am beginning to learnt o listen to my body and be sensible in how I respond to it

Tough Week.

Reblogged from Voices of Glass:

The past seven days or so have certainly been a tough time for me physically although the good news is that mentally I have managed to keep fairly upbeat despite it all.

Being so ill has really put a block on my attempts to get healthier, lose weight and become more mobile but the fact of the matter is that this is all part of being ill, my CFIDS and being so desperately overweight.

Read more… 353 more words

From one of my other blogs

Reflecting

Over all I think I have made some huge strides in the past week when it comes to my fight to lose weight and get healthier.

I have set myself both a lower and a higher target number in respect of my walking and mobility and out of the past 12 days I have managed to exceed this lower target some 8 of those days and even reach my higher target on 4 of those days with my being just outside of that higher target on further 2 of those days.

This is in addition to my using my exercise bike since I picked it up the other day and so I am very pleased with this.

A major concern for me is how tired and sick I have been lately and this o doubt is having an effect on my achievements and also my ability to achieve.  BUT that is the key point is it not?  I am seriously ill and have to accept that fact and base any progress AND any failures in that respect that I make on that fact.

In terms of my diet here again I feel I am making great strides towards a healthier lifestyle and am eating much better.  Although today I seem to be having the compulsion to sabotage myself and est more for some reason.

I am really not sure why that is but it is something I am having to keep a check on and thank fully I have resisted the temptation today.

In respect of the exercise bike I have to say that whilst I am pleased with what I have been able to do on it, I would like to do better.  ONe problem is that it has the most uncomfortable saddle I  have ever known and this makes staying on the thing for any period of time virtually impossible as the pain is just too great.

I am reflecting on ways to improve this.  Perhaps adding some extra padding (one would have thought, judging by the size of it that my butt would be padded enough to cope with it but alas no) but I need to do this in a way that is safe and secure.  So who knows.  Hopefully I will find a solution.

So yes I am fairly pleased so far especially since I am doing this on my own and with what seems to be no encouragement from anyone I speak to on any regular basis.  Which both saddens me greatly and only serves to demoralize me.  One would have thought that if someone you knew had been told they had to lose weight or they wouldn’t be alive in six months you would want to encourage them as much as possible, but then it seems that these days folk are just preoccupied with their own stuff.

But regardless of this I am going to do all I can to fight the demoralization and subsequent demotivation and press on towards my goal.

 

 

On yer bike!

Well I am delighted!

My son very kindly arranged for one of his mates to come in a van and take me to collect the exercise bike and mini stepper from my dear friends who are lending them to me.

This  is the mini stepper and means that I can now use it

when it is really wet outside and walking is not an

option.

It is a really good little thing and by having it in the hall

I can hold onto the walls whilst I am using it – which

trust me is most advisable.  I used it today and it really will

help me a lot.

In terms of the exercise bike I will post pictures of it below.  I have to tell you that I have used it three times since we picked it up this afternoon and it has the most uncomfortable seat I have ever known.

Using it is so tiring but at the end of the day that is more a reflection on just how terribly out of condition I am than it is of the machine itself.

What I intend to do is to use it regularly throughout the day as an addition to my walking which I think holds the best potential for me.

I figure the more I use the bike the better and easier it will be but I am going for stamina rather than speed as again I think sustained cardio-vascular exercises will yield the best results.

So all in all it has been a good day.  In truth I am still not back to being well and find it all very hard at the moment.  But as I said in my last post my ill-health is a fact of life and I am not going to see it as a set back.

And here is the screen that tells me things like speed, calories burned, distance travelled (not that I actually go anywhere) pulse, time spent exercising (the clock stops when you stop) etc.

Set back or fact of life?

It is so difficult not to get disillusioned and thus unmotivated sometimes.

Since starting this push to improve my lifestyle and get healthy again UI have had a very encouraging week of it.

At least that was up until this weekend

I had started eating healthier.  I had cut out sugar and gone over to sweeteners.  I had increased my physical activity and my mobility walking three or four times a day and thus at the same time getting out a lot more.

But this weekend my health took a nose dive.  The old CFIDS flaring up once more I am assuming.

Friday evening’s walk had to be cut slightly short meaning I didn’t reach  my target that day.

All of Saturday was spent in bed and subsequently little to  no exercise whatsoever was possible.

Sunday I had to miss church and although I did manage to do some walking again I was a long way from my target.

Today I am feeling slightly better and have managed to walk much more and almost reached my target and I am pleased about that although still somewhat frustrated by not reaching my actual target.

What I have to do is base my optimism on the reality of my health and the victories I am able to achieve.

In truth I am still off the sugar.  I am still eating healthier.  I was able to do some exercise despite being sick.

I was almost able to reach my target today.  And hopefully will reach it tomorrow.

What I am going to try and do over the coming days and weeks is exceed my target and thus hopefully catch up on what I have missed out on.

I need to stay strong and positive and keep committed to this.  Despite how hard it is and despite the set backs my health may throw up at me.