In a recent Blog post about a weight-loss competition among a group of girlfriends, I mentioned that I’d write at a later date some of the diet tips I used to lose those five kilos. Finally here, it is!
Before I go any further, let me point out that:
I am NOT a dietician, so please consult a medical professional before taking any of my advice
I am aware and sensitive to the issues of those with eating disorders and am by no means encouraging unhealthy or extreme weight loss, but am also aware that for those who ARE overweight, any help and encouragement can be beneficial.
Great, now the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s head into the kitchen!
Oh, just one more thing… I should point out that a lot of the credit for this recipe and the constant and positive support behind my on-going pursuit for better health and a better body are due to my personal trainer – the wonderful ALINTA WILLET. Anyone looking for a personal trainer should sign up with her immediately! (details below)
Here’s the three tips Alinta has given me that have made the biggest difference to the way I eat and drink:
Start the day with a glass of warm water and juice from half a lemon. Wait at least fifteen minutes before eating or drinking anything else.
Eat a protein-based breakfast and leave the carbs till AFTER training. (Yes, you must do a weights workout!) This is where the magical FRITTATA comes in.
Ditch white wine and drink red instead. I know those who know me well will be shocked to hear I have pretty much given up my much-loved Chardonnay for a glass of Shiraz (or two) at the end of the day and it’s made a massive difference.
Now let’s talk FRITTATA.
Due to the fact that I work in breakfast radio, (tune in to SmoothFM 91.5 from 6am till 9am every day to hear MIKE PERSO and myself on the More Music Breakfast Show) I was a little disheartened when Alinta told me I should stick to a protein breakfast in the mornings. How could I cook up a bacon and eggs feast between news and traffic reports?
That’s when Alinta’s face lit up and she told me she had the perfect solution.
FRITTATA.
Yep, this is a magical concept that will change your life!
With this recipe, you can cook up a HUGE casserole dish worth of FRITTATA and divide it in to ten portions. That means – working Monday to Friday – you have TEN breakfasts prepared from just ONE cook up! You place each portion in a plastic container – eat four fresh and freeze the rest. It’s brilliant. Just a minute and a half in the microwave and it’s ready to go. It’s so filling, you won’t feel hungry for hours. And it’s a healthy start to the day.
There are several versions I make – one with chicken – and one just with veggies but I think I’ll start with the lamb recipe.
INGREDIENTS
2 x 500g packs lamb mince
1 large onion
Spices: Cayenne pepper, Chinese Five Spice and Sumac (Sambel Olek is optional – if you like chilli)
Salt and pepper
1 punnet Perino tomatoes
1/2 punnet sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 dozen eggs
Dash of milk
Grated Parmesan cheese
METHOD
Start by chopping up an onion and frying it in a pan with coconut oil till clear.
Fry up the lamb mince in two batches, adding the three spices – SUMAC, Cayenne Pepper and Chinese Five Spice as who stir. Add around 2 or 3 teaspoons of SUMAC, two dashes of Cayenne Pepper and two dashes of Chinese Five Spice for each batch. I also love to add a teaspoon of Sambel Olek (chilli paste) for extra spice.
5. For extra substance and flavour – but this part is optional – fry up half a punnet of sliced mushrooms and add this on top, then pat the meat and veggies down into a firm base.
6. Beat up a dozen large eggs in a big mixing bowl. (sometimes you need 14, depending on the size of the eggs) Add a dash of milk to pump up the volume, then pour over the meat and veggie base in the casserole dish. Sprinkle a light dusting of Parmesan cheese on top – unless you are being more diet-conscious – in which case, ditch the cheese!
Pour the eggs and milk mixture over the mince then add a sprinkling of Parmesan
7. Bake in an oven at 180 C for roughly 40 minutes – checking after 30 minutes to see how it’s going. When it’s golden on top, remove from the oven and let cool for five minutes.
8. Slice into ten portions by cutting one row horizontally and four lines vertically. Then place each piece in an individual plastic container for storage.
It really is the best way to start the day! The Thai chicken version is pretty tasty too.
Oh, and don’t forget, if you want to sign up with the lady who has million more wonderful tips on food and exercise, here’s Alinta’s details. Happy eating and let me know how the frittata works for you if you give this recipe a go!
Today, it’s exactly three weeks since the Book Launch for my eBook MAKING HEADLINES and life has been so crazy since I let it loose on the world, that I’ve only just got around to Blogging about the actual night.
Prior to the launch, I wrote a post about my indecision as to whether I should hold a party or not. Post-party, I can say without a doubt – I am absolutely thrilled I went ahead with the night and will hold it dear as one of the most significant events in memory.
Yep – that’s a big statement, so let me explain. To me, it was a celebration of a project that I was passionate about. So much so, that despite having many major hurdles and doubts along the way, I saw it through to the end, allowing it to absorb a huge part of my life. The ultimate goal was to have the book published, so I could share this story with the world and hopefully provide a tale that would engage, entertain and also offer a few insights into an unusual world. To have the book be given the tick of approval by a major well-respected publisher – Harper Collins – is, for me, a major achievement and something well worth celebrating. On the night, everyone who is an important part of my life and who was able to be there, turned up to celebrate with me and the room was filled with the most wonderful, supportive energy. So many people commented on what a happy evening it was – and that’s exactly how it felt for me too.
The venue, at HOTEL BRIGHTON, was perfect, with the upstairs function area providing a classy and intimate environment – as well as fabulous food and service. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to host a private function! There was also a screen so we could show my Book Trailer.
Big thanks to everyone for coming and helping to make it such a special occasion. Especially to my dear friends Brigitte Duclos and Mitch Catlin who took on the roles of MC and interviewer respectively, making it much a more entertaining night than if I’d been up there in front of everyone on my own!
As well, a huge debt of gratitude to our friends and Fletch’s NEIGHBOURS fellow cast members for coming along and helping garner media support – and for hamming it up beautifully for the cameras. Here are some of the best shots from these wonderful people:
Here’s some of my speech from the night, along with some photos from the evening:
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“I could never have come this far without the help of an incredible writing teacher and she’s here tonight. Thank you SO much to Olga Lorenzo from the RMIT Writing course. Olga taught the Creative Writing unit and I studied with her for three years. I could not have finished this book without her invaluable input and guidance.
Olga is also herself an acclaimed and brilliant writer and has her second novel THE LIGHT ON THE WATER coming out in a few weeks, (TODAY!) so congratulations Olga – I can’t wait to read it.
A big thank you as well to all my fellow students at RMIT who gave me valuable feedback during work-shopping sessions in class. In particular, to my friends that grew from that course to develop our own writers’ group – to Ann Bolch, Lisa Bigelow, Kaye Holder and Clare Strahan.
An extra special thank you to Ann Bolch who also worked as the first editor of the completed manuscript and did a superb job. If you ever need a good editor, Ann is exceptionally talented and very, very wise.
As well as the Writer’s Group, two of my friends and my sister took the time and effort to read early drafts. Thank you to Jill and Rick Molinsky for your encouragement and support.
Also a huge thank you to my dear, wicked, gorgeous, talented, close friend, Rochelle Nolan, who is sadly no longer with us. Rochy was always my biggest supporter, read an early draft of the book and pepped me up whenever I was feeling negative about my writing. I wish she could have been here to see the book in its final published form. I miss her every day.
To my dear friend and stepsister, Sian Prior, another superbly talented writer, who inspired me to take up the RMIT PWE course in the first place.
To my wonderful friend and author Ellie Nielsen, who also not only encouraged me to take up the RMIT course, but inspired me with her own book ‘Buying A Piece of Paris’ and then invited me to that very apartment where we shared what was ostensibly a writing sabbatical but also involved plenty of champagne in the work-shopping of ideas, lively conversation and literary debate.
To my work colleagues at Smoothfm; to Jane Elliot for her help on the publicity front and to Mike Perso, for his amazing and enthusiastic on-air support.
To Harper Collins; for agreeing to publish this work; in particular, Mary Rennie for going above and beyond in managing to take this book to the next level from its original draft.
To my parents and step-parents; Mum and Ken, Dad and Margot, for their never-ending encouragement and support.
And lastly, to my immediate family – my husband, Alan, and two children, Veronica and Tom. I am very much indebted to you all for putting up with my absences while I was holed up in my office, writing. For understanding that when I disappeared into ‘Book World’ I should not be interrupted.
To Alan, for his patience and love throughout; to Tom for actually reading the first few chapters and proving to that me he will one day be the best writer in the family; and to Veronica for finding great words to replace the rude ones.
My beautiful children Veronica and Tom, with Tom’s gorgeous girlfriend Carrington Hannah
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So that was my night of nights! Again, thank you to all who came and to all who have since bought the book online. Thanks also for the continuing social media support. If you forgot to post something on social media on the night, please retweet this Blog to help get word out about the book. The more it sells, the more chance I have of it being printed as a hard-copy book!
It’s always a nostalgic time. The last day of the year inevitably leads to reflection about the year that was – dreams won and shattered; friendships rekindled and lost; unexpected joys and tragic lows.
I know it hasn’t been a great year for many and I’ve also had my fair share of sad times, but I’m going to take pause to put on my Pollyanna hat for a moment and try and celebrate the highlights.
Before going down that path, I want to pay tribute to two people no longer with us. It’s my way of keeping their memory alive.
I can’t say ‘goodbye’ to 2015 without sharing one more memory of my dear friend, Rochelle. Her passing was such a massive shock and her loss has been so hard to come to terms with. That sadness will stay with me and our friends who all miss her so much, and will do for years to come. Only two years ago we had a New Year’s Eve party at our place and of course, karaoke was a part of the evening. Rochelle blew everyone out of the water with her version of the Adele song ‘Someone Like You.’ It was a heart-wrenching and poignant rendition and the only moment in the night where everyone stopped to listen. Singing was just one of her talents.
We thought about having another New Year’s Eve party this year but I’m not quite ready for that yet. Maybe next year.
And then for my son and his friends, just over a week after VCE exams finished, their schoolmate Nic Jacobson was tragically killed in a car accident. The school community rallied around Nic’s parents, Laurie and Jane and his sister Marni. Unspeakable sadness. Inexplicable loss and devastation. Tom had been at school with Nic from Prep through to Year 12. Our hearts go out to Nic’s family and you will forever be in our thoughts.
Before those tragedies, there were happy times. Afterwards too, although those days are also tinged with a sense of loss as you try to remember the special moments and be grateful for what was and then to live in the moment, knowing how precious and short life can be.
So for now, I’m going to focus on the highlights that made the year special – some planned, some unexpected – but all bringing light and some joy to temper the sadness. Here’s my Top Ten for 2015:
Wedding Anniversary holiday on the Greek Islands. I Blogged about this so you can read back if you want to learn more!
5. Daughter Ronnie starting out in the hospitality industry and doing really well. Now working at WILD HOLLY and loving it – although I don’t think she’s allowed to do THIS any more!
7. Tom finishing Year 12 and doing brilliantly with his VCE score – not to mention winning the RUSDEN House leadership trophy… He says I shouldn’t mention this because it’s bragging but quite frankly, I don’t give a damn. WELL DONE TOM!
9. Performing at the Starry Night Ball with Fletch – helping to raise funds for the Alannah and Madeleine Foundation – and fitting into my silver hot pants – thanks to Alinta!
A testament to the great Christmas we had – I don’t even have one group photo because we were all having so much fun, no one remembered to take a picture or think about posting a social media snap even once. Now that’s living in the moment.
It’s the toughest time of year for VCE students who are right in the middle of exams and facing intense pressure to do their best. I remember it myself like it was yesterday and now I’m watching my son Tom go through the same ordeal. But is it the same? Is it worse for students these days because competition to get into tertiary courses is more fierce or is it all relative?
With so much media focus on how difficult a time it is for students, I thought I’d try and get some answers from some teenagers themselves. That can be hard – particularly with young men – so I decided to take Tom (who has just turned 18) out to lunch, along with my sixteen-year-old nephew, Jesper, who is facing Year 10 exams, to ask them first-hand how they are coping. Which they found highly amusing…
JEN: Jesper, you’re going through exams right now. Is it intense?
JESPER: I think it’s pretty low key because it’s not relevant to my VCE score. It’s the last year where it doesn’t count. And the subjects I’m doing now, I’m not doing next year, apart from English, so it doesn’t matter so much. I can just cruise through.
JEN: Have you got an idea about what you want to do after school yet? Is there a lot of pressure to make up your mind early on?
JESPER: There is a lot of pressure with teachers asking you what you want to do. For me, I think it will be interior design. Or maybe… no, I think interior design.
(I’m very impressed he knows already!)
JEN: And Tom you’re right in the middle of Year 12 exams. How are you finding it?
TOM: It’s a pleasure to be here. (heavy sarcasm and comedic tone) Jennifer, great question firstly, and thank you again for having me here.
JEN: If you’re going to be a politician, you’re going to have to stop the avoidance tactics and learn to answer the question. Oh hang on, no, you’ll be a great politician… So HOW ARE YOU COPING with the pressure of exams?
TOM: Another good question. No, it’s a lot of pressure. These are last exams I’ll ever do at school. Lot of people make you feel like you’re whole future is hanging in the balance when you go into those exams, so yes, a lot of pressure. You’re hands shake a bit when you’re writing answers sometimes, so a decent amount of pressure.
JEN: You told me about one of your mates who was so terrified before an exam that he couldn’t even face being near his friends before walking in to the exam room…
TOM: Yes, one of my friends had to go off into a classroom to be by himself and try and calm down. Then he came outside the exam room where we were all huddled, having a chat, and my friend took himself into a corner. His hands were together his head was down his eyes were closed and it looked like he was praying. So he looked very stressed.
A lot of kids are also really exhausted from studying so much. They put pressure on themselves to do well. And there are a lot of stories about kids having problems with their parents – not getting along at all. The parents want them to study harder and get so angry that a couple of boys have run away from home.
TOM: Just atrocious. I’ve detested every second I’ve spent with them. (He’s smiling, so it’s okay…) No, in all seriousness, they’ve been good. Very reasonable expectations – not too much pressure. Although occasionally when I come downstairs to have a break and I’m at the table eating, my mother will say, ‘Gee, study’s going well,’ which is perhaps a bit unfair. Especially at 10.30 at night.
JEN: I’m sorry. I think I said that when I came home after being out so thought you’d been taking it easy all night. Sorry. Jesper, let’s get back to you… (and avoid Tom’s home truths- ouch!) Jesper, when you hear Tom talk about Year 12, does that worry you or do you think you’ll be fine?
JESPER: I think I’ll probably be more relaxed. I’m probably not the brightest kid out there, but at least I know what I want to do so I can focus on that. (He is very bright – and modest!)
JEN: And you’ve got better social skills which is a huge plus.
JEN: No, I wasn’t comparing him to you. Just saying that he’s better with people than your average bookworm academic-type. He’s a charmer and that will be a huge plus when he’s persuading clients to take on his interior design work. (much laughter)
TOM: Well, you can’t study for that.
JEN: No, but Tom you’re a charmer too. You have heaps of friends! What are you all planning to do after your last exam to celebrate?
TOM: Just go back to a friend’s house and have a quiet cup of tea and biscuits while we recount stories about school then go home at 9pm and go to bed and have a nice relaxed time. (more laughter)
JEN: Right… So is there much excitement about the end being near?
TOM: Yes, I just got a message from Ted on the way here – a group chat – saying only ‘Nine more days, fellas.’ We’re all looking at the calendar. I have a countdown clock on my computer till the final exam so it will be a fantastic feeling when we finally finish.
JEN: And what do you want to do career-wise?
TOM: Be a stay-at-home parent.
JEN: Oh nice. So how many grandchildren will I be having?
TOM: I’m looking at between 17 and 21.
JEN: So you’re planning to move out of home?
TOM: I’m planning to live with my parents forever.
JEN: You might need to get a job to feed that many tiny mouths.
TOM: Both my parents are in the media so I’ll be fine.
Jesper offers Tom some advice on their radio show together
JEN: And I think Jesper could be in the business too.
TOM: Well, this is where Jesper and I want to announce our new radio show together. Actually it’s a podcast.
JESPER: Yes, we’re going to be stars.
JEN: Okay, but can you just get through exams first?
BOTH: Sure.
JEN: Then you can be stars. Thanks guys, Good chat. Now get back to the books.
Well I think that went quite well. A few stories about the rigours of Year 12, but ultimately I think Tom’s coping brilliantly. I’m incredibly proud of the hard work he’s put in consistently all year and the marks he’s already achieved.
Good luck Tom for the last two exams next week!
But while it’s been a tough year for VCE students, it’s also been hard on the parents.
Now I’m working on the More Music Brekkie Show with Mike Person at smoothfm, we’ve been chatting all year about both having sons in Year 12 and what we are all going through. Good luck to Will as well!
And while our sons will be letting of steam at the end of it all with SCHOOLIES, we thought it was time to give the parents a special celebration to mark the end of a tough year as well.
So that’s why we’re organising a ‘PARENTIS’ night – next week. If you also have a teenager studying VCE, you can join us AND be in the running to win a trip to India! – See more at: http://www.smoothfm.com.au/station/smooth915/show/mike-perso#sthash.bfBSW3rh.dpuf
