Day Five - Temptation...

Mmm… Cream cheese on Ryvita. The best one (in my humble opinion), the one with garlic and herbs. Look at me, branching out on my toppings! How daring! This blog should be sponsored by Ryvita… 

Ciaran ordered pizza in tonight, but I resisted. Pizza is a worse bloater than a sandwich! Such restraint - I had chicken wings. Thinking about signing up to the bloat-free detox at the gym after this month is over...

Short one today - hooray for the weekend!

Bloat-o-meter:    1/10 - would have been a 10/10 disaster had the pizza passed my lips

Louise x

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Day Four - Samosas and Troublesome Tots

I had a couple of samosas for lunch today instead of the dreaded bloating sandwich round – lovely! Although I don’t think my colleagues will appreciate the curry aroma for the rest of the afternoon…   

I have a slightly different slant on today’s blog entry. A friend of mine was voicing her concerns to me that her 14 month year old only eats bread. Well, me being a born and “bread” fan of this staple foodstuff, and being off bread completely for a whole month, she thought I’d have some advice to help.

Little Miss Hovis (as we’ll call her) used to be a good eater but now refuses all food at mealtimes other than bread and bite sized fruit, for example strawberries. Even though this habit is at least letting her feed herself, it’s extremely limiting, both for the child’s diet and for ideas for mum who’s cast here as a Yummy Mummy.

I suggested Little Miss Hovis widens her platter a little. It means a little bit more work for Yummy Mummy, but what about baking eggy bread for lunch? Fruit bread, different stuffed baguettes, (there was a delicious looking steak one on Jamie's 30 Min Meals this week!), olive bread, dried tomato bread, croissants, cheesy baps…

It could simply be however, that Yummy Mummy’s daughter just wanting to feed herself. An independent woman already! In this case, I’d recommend widening the choice of finger food. Try:

• Boiled egg and toasted soldiers
• Celery and carrot sticks
• Sausage rolls
• Cheese and crackers
• Mini pizzas
• Cereal bars

The list is endless!

See you tomorrow...

Bloat-o-meter: 2/10

Louise x

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Day Three - My new best friend, Rita Ryvita

Left-over houmous from Day One was my Ryvita topping of choice today. I hope this doesn't turn into a Ryvita diet - how boring! The houmous expiry date was disappointingly short though, so I had to eat it today. I'm a Recycling Ofifcer so I can't waste anything!  Sliced cherry tomatoes complimented the caramelised onion mixture I wrapped my chops around today. Lovely! 

Four hours later...

I am starving!!! I think I need to eat about 6-8 Ryvita crackers with a topping to making it to the gym after work without the shakes. Of course, that’s not all I eat for lunch – the lunchbox kits is completed with a piece of fruit and a slice of cake normally. I'm just noting the lunch alternatives to bread here, and obviously I need to eat more!

"If bread is the first necessity of life, recreation is a close second" (Edward Bellamy).

Don’t tell anyone, especially Mr Bellamy, but I'm skipping the gym this afternoon!

See the national Love Food Hate Waste website for advice on sell-by dates, leftover recipes, and tips on how to reduce food waste.

Bloat-o-meter: 1/10 - another (hungry) bread-free day  

Lou x

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Day Two – Soups You!

Determined not to live on crackers alone for an entire month, I dutifully traded in my bloat-inducing round of ham sandwiches for soup at just after noon today. It was a Buy One Get One Free offer at the store (BOGOF!), so I'll more than likely save one for a cold day next week. I'm glad it’s winter, soup is pretty redundant in the summer, unless you’re sick!



Ok, so I didn't have cream and herbs at the office, but you get the idea!



This soup was a classic - cream of tomato. This flavour always reminds me of freezing cold nights when I was a kid, watching my dad build a huge bonfire on the vegetable patch, or when we went out into the garden for our own private firework display for Guy Fawkes Night. The cold, smokey air, the hard ground beneath my wellie boots. In our thick woolly scarves, and wearing gloves joined with an elastic cord through our winter coat arms (impossible to lose), my siblings and I marvelled from a safe distance at the inferno my dad was creating over the last of his potato crop. Mum brought out litres of cockle-warming tomato soup in flasks and mugs and we stayed out until we couldn't feel our noses or toes any longer.

I don't mind telling you, I was the envy of the whole office today when that scent drifted past my colleagues on the way back from the microwave. Delicious, and I survived totally bloat-free!

Bloat-o-meter: 1/10 - another successful bread-free day  

Louise x

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Day One – A confident start

My blogs might be short, but that means you have all the more reason to follow me and support me in my bread-free month. I may need some encouragement after the 10,000th cracker!

Ok, well start as I mean to go on - I'm a day behind already!

So, yesterday. After a quick zip around Tesco at lunch on Monday, I picked up supplies for the rest of my first bread-free week.

My personal quest began with dark rye wholegrain Ryvita and houmous. Ryvita was on offer (241) and the houmous was in the reduced counter. I'd previously scorned houmous for being "vegetarian crap" but it was pretty good spread liberally on my crackers. Tasty!

This month might not be so bad...

Bloat-o-meter: 1/10 - I feel great!

Louise x

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Welcome to my blog!

Quitting Bread - by a Bread Lover



A dream batch!



Me, stop eating bread? You must be crazy! Baps, baguettes, naan, crusty, sliced or soft – I love it all! I eat a full loaf a week – 5 big lunchbox sandwich rounds, late night snacks, weekend lunches of beans/cheese on toast…etc!

So when Activia just wasn’t cutting it with reducing the uncomfortable bloated feeling I had everyday, I decided to try a bread-free diet for a month, starting today. Wish me luck!

Louise x

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