The FastDay Forum

Oh dear hope you savoured those carbs at the time. I am sure you will be back to ketosis quickly and your tasty sounding carby combo is just a vague memory. In the meantime I did make the Stilton mushroom cup with an omelette albeit a bit scrambled (like Izzy said - but it tasted the same) it was delicious but I was still hungry and polished off some Stilton with crackers as well, drat. It was 16:8 but 'still' or should I say 'Stilton'

Am keen to test out your pizza next

Low-carbers look-away unless you're on more than 60g carb / day... Or you could have a smaller portion and add something lower carb like broccoli to make it a meal.

For the recipes the figures below are:

......... amount used : cals : carbs : fat : protein : fibre

spiced lemony lentils with roast sweet potatoes, FatDog version of TDCB p200
spiced lemony lentils
brown lentils, raw, 353c/C30.3/F1.06/P25.8/Fi30.5/100g *
......... 125g dry wt. 441.25 37.88 1.33 32.25 38.13
chickpeas, canned, 109c/C16.5/F1.4/P7.7/Fi6.1/100g
......... 240g 261.60 39.60 3.36 18.48 14.64
bell pepper, red, finely sliced, 36c/C6.4/F0.4/P1.0/Fi1.6/100g
......... 178g 64.08 11.39 0.71 1.78 2.85
onion, red, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
......... 43g 18.49 4.00 0.00 0.31 0.90
chilli, green, fine chopped, 40c/C9.5g/F0.2g/P2.0g/Fi1.5g/100g
......... 9g 3.60 0.86 0.02 0.18 0.14
garlic, fine chop, 149cal/Fa0.5g/Ca33.06g/Fi2.1g/P6.36g/100g
......... 6g 8.94 1.98 0.03 0.38 0.13
lemon juice, 26c/C2.0/F0/P0.4/Fi0.3/100ml
......... 25ml 6.50 0.50 0.00 0.10 0.05
parsley, fresh, rough chopped, 36c/C3/F1/P3/Fi3/100g
......... 6g 2.16 0.18 0.06 0.18 0.18
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 30ml 247.20 0.00 27.48 0.00 0.00
bouillon, marigold, 243c/C29.4/F8.1/P10.5/Fi0.7/100g
......... 5g 12.15 1.47 0.41 0.53 0.04
water, boiling, for stock
......... 100ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
total 1065.97 97.85 33.39 54.18 57.04
FatDog's ¼ portion of spiced lemony lentils 266.49 24.46 8.35 13.54 14.26

* generic nutritional data for lentils from USDA - if anyone has the proper figures for brown lentils I'd be happy to update

roast sweet potatoes
sweet potato, 1 inch cubes, 95c/C21.3/F0.3/P1.2/Fi2.4/100g
......... 215g 204.25 45.80 0.65 2.58 5.16
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 15ml 123.60 0.00 13.74 0.00 0.00
cumin seed, whole
......... 3ml 0.00
chilli flakes
......... 2ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
total 327.85 45.80 14.39 2.58 5.16
FatDog's ½ portion of roast sweet potatoes 163.93 22.90 7.19 1.29 2.58

Method: 1. put the potatoes into an oven-proof dish and coat with the oil (15ml); 2. sprinkle over the cumin seed, chilli flakes and seasoning (lumpy salt is nice here); 3. cook in a pre-heated oven at 200C for ~ 30 minutes **, give them a shoogle part way through; 4. put the lentils on to boil and after about 5 minutes, if there is a scum, drain the lentils, rinse and bung back on to boil with fresh salted boiling water for about 15 minutes until soft but firm; 5. heat the other oil (30ml) in a large non-stick pan (did I say that I love my wok?) and soften the onion, then pepper, then garlic and chilli; 6. add the cooked lentils, chickpeas, lemon juice and bouillon stock, and heat through; 7. check seasoning; 8. add parsley and mix in well just before serving, with tatties over the top or to the side, and maybe with a nice green leaf salad.

** I finished my sweet potatoes under the grill as the white potatoes were on the top shelf of the oven and mine weren't browning - indeed the white potatoes took about an hour, not the optimistic TDCB figure of 30 minutes.

The original recipe put the garlic and chilli with the potatoes but I thought the lentil / chickpea part of the dish would be rather bland so added them to that instead. The original also called for zest of lemon on the tatties - I'd certainly use lemon zest next time but, again, add it to the lentils not the tatties. I might use slightly more lemon juice too (25ml was a guess at how much juice one gets from two lemons!) and maybe a bigger chilli and 10g of garlic.

I think the recipe worked rather well, as did my OH and guests. Happy FatDog (except for the carbocalypse).

.

Sunday, day thirty-five, week-end feed day: tofu I think? No - tofu cancelled, too Thai and we had that last weekend. I still fancy AWL's spicy green beans with carrot and coconut (GI diet, p96) - I was going to do this one for a repair day a while back but cancelled due to the hot weather, now we shall have it with more of the tasty bits and grilled paneer (Indian cheese, AWL says his recipe is Indian inspired) to bump up the nutrition.

And CBB's cardamom cake (p120) - I've been wanting to make it for ages.

Just in case you're wondering about Saturday's carb blow-out: all seems to be well - to 'compensate' (on Sunday) I bounced about energetically (eek) and effectively fasted for 20 hours (excepting a splash of light soya milk in my morning tea), breaking-fast with a dollop of cream cheese at about 5pm.

Mind, I've no way of knowing whether I'm in ketosis or not anyway *shrug*. Curiosity might drive me to getting a blood ketosis testing kit (OH will fit though) - it seems that the ketosticks can sometimes show that one is in ketosis when, in fact, one is not in ketosis at all...

Sunday's accounts - I seem, unintentionally, to have partially made up for Saturday's calorific deficit:

....... Calories 1566.97 Carbs 32.36 Fat 92.10 Protein 51.56 Fibre 19.90

For the recipes the figures below are:
......... amount used : cals : carbs : fat : protein : fibre

spicy green beans with carrot and coconut, AWT p96
fine green beans, 30cal/Fa0.5/Ca3.2/Fi2.9/P1.9/100g
......... 286g 85.80 9.15 1.43 5.43 8.29
carrot, julienned, 41c/C9.58/F0.25/P0.93/Fi2.8/100g
......... 155g 63.55 14.85 0.39 1.44 4.34
onion, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
......... 119g 51.17 11.07 0.00 0.84 2.50
sunflower oil, 125c/C0/F13.8/P0/Fi0/15ml
......... 30ml 250.00 0.00 27.60 0.00 0.00
mustard seed, black
......... 4ml 0.00
garlic, fine chopped, 149cal/Fa0.5g/Ca33.06g/Fi2.1g/P6.36g/100g
......... 8g 11.92 2.64 0.04 0.50 0.17
chilli, red, fine chopped, 40cal/Fa0.2g/Ca9.5g/Fi1.5g/P2.0g/100g
......... 9g 3.60 0.86 0.02 0.18 0.14
ginger, fine chopped, 100cal/C15.8g/F0?g/P1.8g/Fi?g/100g
......... 19g 19.00 3.00 0.00 0.34 0.00
turmeric
......... 4ml 0.00
cardamom, fresh ground
......... 1ml 0.00
coconut, desiccated 635c/C6.4/F62.0/P5.6/Fi13.7/100g
......... 25g 158.75 1.60 15.50 1.40 3.43
hazelnuts, rough chopped, roasted, 695c/C7.0/F60.8/P15.0/Fi9.7/100g
......... 33g 229.35 2.31 20.06 4.95 3.20
coriander seed, fresh ground
......... 4ml 0.00
bouillon, marigold, 243c/C29.4/F8.1/P10.5/Fi0.7/100g
......... 5g 12.15 1.47 0.41 0.53 0.04
water, boiling, for stock
......... 200ml 0.00
coriander, fresh, rough chopped, 23c/C0.87/F0.52/P2.13/Fi2.8/100g
......... 3g 0.69 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.08
total for spicy green beans with carrot and coconut 885.98 46.98 65.46 15.69 22.18
FatDog's 1/3rd spicy green beans with carrot and coconut 295.33 15.66 21.82 5.23 7.39

Method: 1. trim then wash the green beans in a microwave-able bowl; 2. drain most all the water off then cover and ping for about 4 minutes until just done - set aside; 3. heat oil in large non-stick pan (wok, even) and add mustard seeds - heat until they pop*; 4. add the onions and soften; 5. add chilli, ginger and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes; 6. add dried spices and mix in nicely with the onions etc.; 7. add the carrot, coconut and bouillon and cook until the carrots are softening; 8. add the beans and heat through thoroughly; 9. just before serving add and mix in the roasted** hazelnuts and fresh coriander

* I can never get this to work, so I just heat until I think they'll burn if I leave them any longer
** emphasis on roasted - they're much nicer - but take care when roasting them not to let them burn: I do them under the grill and momentary inattention can lead to much swearing.

I served this with grilled paneer coated in cumin seed and black pepper which I, somehow, managed to over-grill - not burn, just make hard and not very nice. I've not used paneer before so I'll (try to) forgive my mistakes - I'll certainly marinade it properly next time, and possibly fry rather than grill.

The beans were delicious - very best friend (VBF) rated them higher than last week's Thai bean-cakes which she had raved about - and they're going on my do-again-soon list.

cardamom cake, CBBp120
soya flour, 424c/C16.0/F20.0/P39.0/Fi12.0/100g
......... 75g 318.00 12.00 15.00 29.25 9.00
almonds, ground, 640c/C6.9/F55.8/P21.1/Fi11.8/100g
......... 50g 320.00 3.45 27.90 10.55 5.90
baking powder
......... 5ml 0.00
cardamom seed, fresh ground
......... 5ml 0.00
pure via (stevia based sweetener) 2c/C0.47/F0/P0/Fi0/0.5g/5ml
......... 50ml 20.00 4.70 0.00 0.00 0.00
eggs, brown, 151cal/C0g/F11.2g/P12.5/Fi0g/100g
......... ~54g x 2 of 163.08 0.00 12.10 13.50 0.00
cream cheese, full-fat, 260c/C2.8/F25.0/P5.4/Fi0/100g
......... 45g 117.00 1.26 11.25 2.43 0.00
sunflower oil, 125c/C0/F13.8/P0/Fi0/15ml
......... 45ml 375.00 0.00 41.40 0.00 0.00
vanilla essence
......... 15ml 0.00
salt
......... good pinch 0.00
total 1313.08 21.41 107.65 55.73 14.90
FatDog's 1/8th portion of cardamom cake 164.14 2.68 13.46 6.97 1.86

Method: 1. mix flour, almonds, baking powder and cardamom; 2. in another bowl mix sweetener, eggs, cream cheese, oil, vanilla and salt and beat; 3. add dry stuff to wet and mix together but 'do not over-work'; 4. squish into oiled baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes, until golden brown; 5. rest for 5 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool.

This is really CBB's variation on her own muffins - not sure why she changed the very simple method of mix dry stuff together, mix wet stuff together, then add dry to wet to the above. I wasn't daring enough to challenge it, but probably will next time as the changed methodology doesn't seem to make much sense. A baker might put me right though...

I used much less sweetener, as before, and think that I was right to do so - no one in this household, including our visitors it seems, is into mega-sweet stuff. And, again, I used cream cheese rather than creme fraiche (it's what I had in the fridge) - this probably accounts for it having, what the VBF described as, a rather 'corn bread' texture. I'm looking forward to having some toasted with butter for Tuesday's (late) break-fast; and VBF ate three slices of it so it can't have been too bad

Weight-loss for week 5 is 0.8lbs (though analogue would indicate at least 1.2lbs lost), and tape measure losses are under-bust 0.3 inches, waist 0.4 inches, tum 0.5 inches, and hips 0.15 inches .

Spurious accuracy alert: obviously I'm not measuring to 0.15 of an inch - it indicates a decrease of a small amount of an inch, that's all, with 0.4 and 0.5 being nearer half an inch and 0.3 somewhere in-between.

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Weigh-in log for week 5

Start of the week surprisingly slow (no) loss - hope this doesn't foretell of an imminent plateau... Perhaps my concerns with low intake on feed days are not so misguided after all - might need to shake things up a bit: Thursday's weigh-in could be the tipping point.

I'm really being unreasonably impatient in expecting my body to behave like a machine - xxx calories in therefore xxx lbs off - it doesn't (always) work that way, and I know this but still persist in my expectations. Bad, irrational, petulant FatDog.

Still, I can fantasize about the shake-up: I'm thinking french bread, with butter and apricot jam, and creamy hot-chocolate (french style) for break-fast; and dinner - Waitrose's creamy spinach cannelloni with their garlic and cheese stuffed mushrooms, along with Co-op sundried tomato flat-bread and rocket salad (including a carbiferous dressing); mango sorbet for pudding; twiglets to nibble on whenever takes my fancy (twiglets = weird wholewheat stick things covered in marmite for our overseas readers) and red wine to wash it all down... Sounds like the week-end to me (and a sore bank-balance). Ed. prescient or what - except the coming Saturday's blowout was accidental, and didn't involve such indulgence...

Thursday's weigh-in arrived and no loss - I'm not sure about tipping points but I'm having a good sulk - I'll try to look on the bright side and dream of the weekend's blow-out...

Could it be that I need to revise my TDEE at last? Oh for xxxx's sake - you've only been stuck for a few days!

Now, stop girning (Ed. Scots girning, not gurning, == whining like a brat): you've lost 19 pounds in 12 1/2 weeks, which is brilliant - you can see your ribs and cheekbones, and sitting on hard chairs is sore on one's posterior bones; you're fitting into clothes that you bought nearly twenty years ago; you're actually wanting to exercise; your hooch intake has returned to a very respectable level; and you've done all this against a backdrop of stopping smoking on 25th March. Give yourself a gold star. And keep at it.

Well, faint-heart wasn't put to the test: 0.4lbs off on Friday morning. There is hope.

And Saturday morning: scales gave a single reading of 126.4lbs (down 0.2lbs) and then a dozen consistent readings of 125.8lbs (yes, I did lots because I couldn't believe it). Wheeee, 0.8lbs loss and below 9 stone at last. I should have stopped at that point, but foolish FatDog went and moved the scales - only to get readings anywhere from 127.8lbs to 126.4lbs, but never my lovely 125.8lbs again. So which do I go for? Analogue + correction is about 126lbs; I think I'll plump for the optimistic 125.8lbs - the worst that can happen is that my weight appears to go up again tomorrow, which it does sometimes anyway...

So that is the end of the thirteenth week since I started 5:2 (okay, I'm doing 4:3) and I've lost a grand total of 20.2lbs in weight, and have shrunk approx. 5 inches under bust, 5.7 inches at my waist, 6 inches round tum, and 3.3 inches around my hips. Blimey. Happy FatDog.

For the geekier amongst us: based on my (guestimate) TDEE of 1700, I have amassed a deficit of 43928.94 calories since starting 4:3 which, theoretically, equates to an expected loss of 12.55lbs - I'm getting a 'bonus' loss of more than 7lbs from somewhere. Hmmm.

Well, my weight did go back 'up' - 'up' to 126.4lbs on Sunday morning; that correction makes the loss since start 'just' 19.6lbs (wags tail madly). The digital scales would tantalizingly hover over the 125.8 figure then finally jump straight to 126.4 and stay there. 'Tis odd though, as the analogue scales are consistently giving (with correction) about 126lbs. Not to mind, it is a downwards trend and I can have another celebration when I get to below nine stone next time

Monday and the scales played the same game, hover at 125.8lbs then jump and settle on 126.4lbs. However, the analogue scales indicate that the 125.8lbs figure is more like it - I *will* be patient and calm... Sigh.

Upping my feed-day carb allowance to 40 grams and keeping repair-day carbs to 19g to keep that macronutrient balance at 15% carb, 65% fat and 20% protein. Recent blog reading makes me wonder if I should be aiming for nearer 70% of fat or more to hold onto a proper nutritional ketosis: does anyone know of any non-anecdotal evidence for this idea? I suspect Phinney & Volek have something to say, but I don't have a copy, yet.

================================================

... figures are for the start of day so reflect loss of the previous day

N.B. analogue scales 'correction' is : digital lbs = analogue lbs + ~1.75lbs

Monday d. 29: wt. 127.2lbs = baseline end of week 4 / start week 5
... t.measures - ub. 30.0, w. 27.5, t. 34.5, h. 36.9 inches
Tuesday d. 30: wt. 127.2lbs (analogue sanity checks digital); loss = 0.0lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 30.0, w. 27.5, t. 34.5, h. 36.9 inches - all easier (3 days no transit)
Wednesday d. 31: wt. 127.0lbs (analogue sanity checks digital); loss = 0.2lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 30.0, w. 27.5, t. 34.5, h. 36.75 inches
Thursday d. 32: wt. 127.0lbs (analogue sanity checks digital); loss = 0.0lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 30.0, w. 27.5, t. 34.5, h. 36.75 inches
Friday d. 33: wt. 126.6lbs (analogue sanity checks digital); loss = 0.4lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 29.8, w. 27.3, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches *
Saturday d. 34: wt. 125.8lbs; loss 0.8lbs;
... n.b. scales unstable; digital 125.8lbs (consistent), and 126.4lbs, 126.8lbs, 127.4lbs and 127.8lbs post moving scales (fool)
... analogue: about 8 stone 12lbs => 124.2?lbs + 1.75lbs ~= 125.95lbs
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.3, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches
Sunday d. 35: wt. 126.4lbs (analogue indicates ~126.0lbs); 'gain' = 0.6lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.1, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches
Monday d. 36: wt. 126.4lbs (analogue indicates ~125.65lbs); loss = 0.0lbs;
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.1, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches (felt 'leaner')

* used new 'method' of measuring to ensure that I don't 'cheat' - close eyes and mark tape with thumb-nail then remove from waist (or whatever) and read; seems I wasn't cheating after all; still slightly muffin-top measurements, but easing - I suppose there's less muffin to top?

Yes, a LOT less muffin to top! Terrific weight loss, so stop girnin' -just had to say that . it's one of the words of my childhood, somewhat forgotten. I was always girnin', according to certain others, anyway! I cannot get over how much you've lost from your waist. Fantastic. Cardamom cake mmm...love cardamom; especially in strong, sweet and black Arabic coffee and on that note I'm off!

Monday, day thirty-six, repair day

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 126.4lbs = baseline end of week 5 / start week 6
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.1, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches

Wasn't sure what to do for dins, so went to raid the bargains at the co-op and returned with (what I thought was) a very small cauliflower.

Dinner was thus: a half pound of cauliflower, pinged, then dobbed with whole grain mustard and covered with cheddar cheese and grilled. Served with Sainser's Italian salad (100g) and a big fat vine tomato (94g). mmmmm. The day's intake was supplemented with the usual break-fast yoghurt and nutty late snack, and - addict that I am - my 85% chocolate squares.

....... Calories 581.85 Carbs 17.16 Fat 37.46 Protein 36.26 Fibre 19.22

That's 12% carb, 61% fat and 26% protein which is a wee bit off my target of 15%, 65% and 20% respectively. And I'm really thinking that I want to get the fat higher - need a bit of guidance here on the advisability, and the hows, of this.

==================================

Tuesday, day thirty-seven, feed day

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 125.6lbs (analogue scales sanity check digital); 0.8lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.1, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches

See, I said it would go back below the 9 stone mark again if I was patient *FatDog does wee dance around the living-room floor*

Now, what's for dinner to celebrate?! How about pasta with creamy mushroom sauce and leafy green salad?

Well, things all went totally crazy - from a nice dinner for three to a party of six folk eating, and chaos ensued. I doubled the pasta, but ran out of flour and then realised that without extra flour I wouldn't be able to roll it and aaaarrrrhhh. The sauce was simple but *really* delicious. Consumed far too much vino - had no intention of doing so but, in the midst of the madness, I was also trying to recover a friend's hard drive and was at it until the wee small hours...

Think that that was the greatest calorific intake since starting low-carb, and it is to my immense and intense shame that near a third of the calories were from double cream in (real) coffee, and near another third from vino. That won't be happening again in a hurry.

....... Calories 1830.09 Carbs 30.26 Fat 122.64 Protein 37.74 Fibre 15.11

For the recipes the figures below are:
......... amount used : cals : carbs : fat : protein : fibre

pasta no. 2, credit for recipe base to yourlighterside, as before
soya flour, 424c/C16.0/F20.0/P39.0/Fi12.0/100g
......... 148g 627.52 23.68 29.60 57.72 17.76 (20g too little flour)
eggs, brown, 151cal/C0g/F11.2g/P12.5/Fi0g/100g
......... ~54g x 2 of 163.08 0.00 12.10 13.50 0.00
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 30ml 247.20 0.00 27.48 0.00 0.00
water
......... up to 60ml 0.00
salt
......... 4ml 0.00
pepper, fresh ground
......... 4ml 0.00
paprika, dried
......... 2ml 0.00
total 1037.80 23.68 69.18 71.22 17.76
dog's 1/6 portion 172.97 3.95 11.53 11.87 2.96

Method: 1. mix soy flour, salt and pepper in a big bowl; 2. make a well in the centre of the mix and add the egg and the oil; 3. gradually whisk / mix in the flour with a fork until dough is crumbly; 4. add a little water at a time until you have a not-too-dry / not-too-wet dough; 5. work the dough with the heel of your hand for about five minutes; 6. cover with cling-film (or an upside-down bowl will do) and rest for about half an hour- I made it too wet so rested uncovered; 7. and here's where it got funny (not) - I ran out of flour, so no flour for rolling out and, naively, I thought we could hand press pasta shapes... Balls! Well, that's what we ended up with - roughly 1.5cm diameter sized which required about 8 minutes boiling to 'cook' - everyone liked them, as a bit like gnochi, except me (much too dense and flavourless, oddly the raw pasta had a better taste to me)

creamy mushroom sauce
mushrooms, cc, organic, 15cal/C0.4g/F0.5g/P1.8g/Fi1.0g/100g
......... 191g 28.65 0.76 0.96 3.44 1.91
onion, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
......... 83g 35.69 7.72 0.00 0.59 1.74
crème fraiche, 204c/C5.5/F18.4/P4.0/Fi0/100g
......... 200g 408.00 11.00 36.80 8.00 0.00
garlic, fine chop, 149cal/Fa0.5g/Ca33.06g/Fi2.1g/P6.36g/100g
......... 8g 11.92 2.64 0.04 0.50 0.17
wholegrain mustard, 150c/C6.8/F9.5/P8.8/Fi7.8/100g
......... 5g (~tsp) 7.50 0.34 0.48 0.44 0.39
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 30ml 247.20 0.00 27.48 0.00 0.00
parsley, fresh, rough chopped, 36c/C3/F1/P3/Fi3/100g
......... 6g 2.16 0.18 0.06 0.18 0.18
paprika, dried
......... 4ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
total 741.12 22.65 65.81 13.15 4.39
dog's 1/6 portion 123.52 3.77 10.97 2.19 0.73

Method: 1. heat oil in non-stick pan and soften onion; 2. add garlic and mushrooms and saute until 'rooms are reduced; 3. add mustard, spices and s&p and work well in; 4. add crème fraiche, warm, then add parsley and mix into pasta and serve

Supplemented with leafy green salad, plus garlic bread for the carb-eaters. I wanted more of that sauce, *lots* more.

Recent blog reading makes me wonder if I should be aiming for nearer 70% of fat or more to hold onto a proper nutritional ketosis

Have a read at my recent experiment - http://goo.gl/IeL14C

Good to catch up with you after the carbolapse but you prevailed by the sound of things. The recipes look lovely. I will make the cake. Congrats on the weight loss? Well done to the not so FatDog with the waggily tail, woof woof

Wednesday, day thirty-eight, repair day:

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 125.6lbs (analogue scales sanity check digital); 0.0lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.7, w. 27.1, t. 34.0, h. 36.75 inches

Ssssshhh... it's stayed off this time

Seem to be extra hungry today - maybe as a result of yesterday's over-indulgences. Plan on doing CBB's sesame crackers and having them with cheese and quorn ham with a little salad for dins.

Then I remember at six p.m. that I used the last of my soy flour for the pasta last night. Argh.

Right, I've no energy to fight it - I'll have two very skinny slices of the beautiful co-op Taw Valley cheese bread that I bought earlier for the OH (irresistible bargain at 20p). I know, it will do horrible things to my macronutrient balance but that's life... Ah, slightly saved: one of last night's guests has just brought me a pack of green beans. Beans gratin, sliced tomato, quorn ham and a slither of cheesy bread it is. With the usual fore and afters, it comes to:

....... Calories 542.90 Carbs 27.24 Fat 30.42 Protein 28.26 Fibre 18.78

Expletives - I'd forgotten the other reason for avoiding breads: gluten. I wouldn't describe myself as highly gluten sensitive - just quantities of the stuff, e.g. in bread / pizza / cereals, definitely lead to bloat and gut discomfort. Well, it seems not to have had any ill effects (the slice really was a slither at 31g) but I'll try to remember why I'm avoiding such things in the future, and avoid them!

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Thursday, day thirty-nine, feed day:

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 124.8lbs (analogue scales sanity check digital); 0.8lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.5, w. 27.0, t. 33.75, h. 36.5 inches

Ssssssh (again) - I don't think that I've seen that number for an eternity... oh, and I'll need to revise my waist target *very big waggy-tailed woof* - still need to get rid of the 'life-preserver' round my midriff though, but getting there.

Courtesy of my unfitness for the last couple of years (i.e. muscle loss) I might be lighter than I've been in ages but I'm actually carrying much more fat all over (e.g. over my back) - it seems odd being sub nine stone and flabby. Middle-aged spread?

Ed. have just spotted ADFnFuel's thread on Fat vs. Muscle - seems it afflicts all ages, not just the ones over the hill. Time for some serious toning methinks, I'm already doing an incy bit for the abs first thing in the morning (crunches, single leg extensions and leg raises) but need to get going on arms and lats. Better start reading that Pilates book properly now - trouble is I need to avoid provoking my dodgy shoulders, elbows and wrists, hmmm...

Dinner: think I'm hankering for a veggie burger - nuts (brazils?), beans of some sort, carrots, mushrooms, onion, oat bran, egg, garlic, red chilli, cumin (whole?ground?), fresh coriander or parsley, s&p. mmmm...

Then I'm inspired by the idea of 'raw' chilli on the way home so pick up bell peppers, chestnut mushrooms, red onion, chilli to go with the kidney beans, sweet-corn and tomatoes I already have.

But my sad, sorry and sore back decided that it was going to have to be something instant as it had had enough of standing. So, Co-op spinach and ricotta cannelloni and rocket to go.

Unfortunately it's another carbocalypse as I didn't read the carbs properly... low-carb lesson no. 999 - do not eat convenience food, ever, even if it looks healthy or even if you used to eat it on repair days pre the low-carb experiment. Oh well, guess life goes on and I did survive last Saturday's carborific disaster, so I'll just keep the fingers crossed.

....... Calories 1342.80 Carbs 53.43 Fat 97.41 Protein 24.86 Fibre 7.00

And the fibre really was that low - just shows how unhealthy healthy convenience foods are. Think I should stick to cooking from scratch regardless of how puggled I am.

Wish I had a proper freezer then I could do a FatDog range of ready-made freezer food for low-energy days. OH insists that we already have a freezer (he found it on the street many years ago) - I refuse to use it any more as one now needs to duct tape it closed, it makes copious puddles on the floor and everything in it goes fungal within a week or two - one day I'll manage to sneak it out of the house and away to the tip

==================================

Friday, day forty, repair day:

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 124.6lbs (analogue scales sanity check digital); 0.2lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.5, w. 27.0, t. 33.75, h. 36.5 inches, a bit neater today - fluid retention?

I'm trying to work out if today is a bit special - it's day forty of my low-carb experiment but it is also my fortieth repair day - I should crunch some numbers but would much rather be plotting menus, so the numbers can wait until tomorrow's August weigh-in.

Did I confess that I acquired another cookbook yesterday? That's the trouble with volunteering in a bookshop - I end up buying them more than my budget can really stand. This one however, at an astronomical £6, is worth its original cover price of £14.99 and then some!

The World Food Cafe by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott (Frances Lincoln, 2002) is a treasure of veggie feasts from the Southern Americas; Africa & Middle East; India, Nepal & Sri Lanka; and Southeast Asia & China. I've probably marked more than half the recipes already and I only stopped because I ran out of post-its for marking them! I cannot imagine why anyone would give the book away, short of becoming a committed exclusive carnivore. Mind you, it had been on the shelf for ages and I'd ignored it thinking that it would be the usual ghastly privileged-classes pap.

Anyway, tonight we're having green vegetable mallung, from Sri Lanka: red bell pepper instead of marrow (not very green I know, but that's what our bargain hunting neighbour brought around, along with broccoli, so that's what he's getting fed) and possibly without the saffron (nasty feeling it's horribly expensive) - otherwise as scripted. And chapatis - with besam (aka gram aka chickpea flour) this time as I can't get soy flour locally (besam is *much* more, indeed shudder inducingly, carborific).

The Rose Elliot low-carb program seems to be taking a bit of a battering just now - though I suppose that even at a maxed-out 61g of carbs it's lower (and hopefully healthier) than my old diet. I will (try to) be good today.

Sadly reader, I wasn't.

I'd half anticipated that it would be another Friday-is-a-half-repair-day rather than a full one, but it ended up more like a one-third-repair-day... Maybe because a decent amount of weight came off earlier in the week I'm being a little more relaxed today. Waggy-tailed FatDog, regardless of the scales tomorrow. And the food was worth it - it's all going on the do-again list.

....... Calories 851.58 Carbs 32.41 Fat 52.24 Protein 24.76 Fibre 11.80

For the recipes the figures below are:
......... amount used : cals : carbs : fat : protein : fibre

green vegetable mallung, adapted from World Food Cafe, the Caldicotts, p104
broccoli, floretted, tesco, 38c/C1.8/F0.9/P4.4/Fi2.6/100g
......... 280g 106.40 5.04 2.52 12.32 7.28
spinach, baby leaf, co-op, 30c/C1.6/F0.8/P2.8/Fi2.1/100g
........ 260g 78.00 4.16 2.08 7.28 5.46
bell pepper, red, finely sliced, 36c/C6.4/F0.4/P1.0/Fi1.6/100g
........ 127g 45.72 8.13 0.51 1.27 2.03
onion, red, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
........ 93g 39.99 8.65 0.00 0.66 1.95
chilli, green, fine sliced, 40cal/Fa0.2g/Ca9.5g/Fi1.5g/P2.0g/100g
........ 29g 11.60 2.76 0.06 0.58 0.44
coconut milk 197cal/C2.81/F21.33g/P2.02g/Fi0g/100ml
........ 400ml 788.00 11.24 85.32 8.08 0.00
sunflower oil, 125c/C0/F13.8/P0/Fi0/15ml
........ 15ml 125.00 0.00 13.80 0.00 0.00
curry leaves, 12 of 0.00
mustard seed, black
........ 15ml 0.00
coconut, desiccated 635c/C6.4/F62.0/P5.6/Fi13.7/100g
........ 60g 381.00 3.84 37.20 3.36 8.22
lime, juice from 1
salt to taste 0.00
total 1575.71 43.81 141.49 33.55 25.38
dog's 300g portion of green vegetable mallung 366.73 10.20 32.93 7.81 5.91

Method: 1. heat oil in a non-stick pan (wok anyone?); 2. add onions and saute until softening then add chilli, mustard seed and curry leaves; 3. fry until the mustard seeds pop (see comment up thread on this one); 4. add bell pepper, broccoli and desiccated coconut, mix and cook until the coconut is golden; 5. add enough water to partially cover veggies and simmer until *just* softening; 6. add spinach and coconut milk and simmer a little more until veggies are cooked; 7. add lime juice and salt as needed; 8. garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with chapatis.

I forgot the fresh coriander garnish - I mean, I went out especially and bought a growing parsley and a coriander from the Co-op in anticipation. Humph. They were £1 each - I reckon it is a far more economic proposition than constantly buying wee packs of fresh herbs which I use once and which then fester before I have a chance to use them again.

Next time I think I'll ping the broccoli for a couple of minutes and then skip step number 5 as, I suspect, it ultimately lead to my slightly over-cooking the greens. Mind you, that could also have been down to a longer cooking time as I was expecting the chapatis to 'take minutes', as assured by a friend earlier...

besan (aka gram aka chickpea flour) chapatis *, makes 4 normal (8 mini) chapatis
besan, 352c/C55.9/F5.3/P20.1/Fi4.7/100g
......... 120g 422.40 67.08 6.36 24.12 5.64
water, warmed
......... up to 118ml 0.00
sunflower oil, 125c/C0/F13.8/P0/Fi0/15ml
......... 15ml 125.00 0.00 13.80 0.00 0.00
salt
......... 2ml 0.00
cumin seed, whole
......... 4ml 0.00
fennel seed, whole
......... 4ml 0.00
total 547.40 67.08 20.16 24.12 5.64
dog's ¼ portion of besan chapatis 136.85 16.77 5.04 6.03 1.41

Method: 1. add flour, spices and salt to a bowl; 2. add half the water gradually and mix; 3. add the oil and work, then add further water by the spoonful to complete the formation of a not-too-wet not-too-dry dough; 4. knead the dough for 5 or so minutes until nice and smooth and stretchy then set aside under a bowl for about an hour; 5. divide dough into equal sized balls and roll out thinly on well floured surface; 6. dry-fry the flat-breads for about 3/4 minute each side, flip over when the surface begins to bubble; 7. coat one side with a little oil (or butter!) and stack on a plate near the grill / heat source whilst the others are being done

* Originally derived from this link http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-flat-bread-1/ BUT the guy didn't ever mention what to do with the oil or the spices - so I just made that bit up (it worked, who's bothered). Plus wisdom from various sites and my 'the big book of bread' (Anne Sheasby; oops, that was today's charity shop acquisition for 49p) regarding resting and elasticity.

The chapatis were good too. I'll need to plot cake-baking or I'll be doing these for breakfast with an egg...

Unrelated rant: how come rocket from Sainsbury can have twice the calories than that from the Co-op; and what makes the broccoli from Tesco so much more calorific than that from elsewhere? I understand, maybe, 5% differences but 50%?! FatDog scatches head in perplexity.

@PhilT I loved your experiment - thank you for the link. I'd read that blood testing for ketones was the only definitive way of doing things as the keto-sticks could show ketones in the urine when the body was quite definitely not in ketosis, plus they only register one of the ketone types, not both. I'm also wondering whether there's an absolute carb level that flips things (on a personal level) - my macronutrient ratios vary somewhat, but carbs probably average at 70%. I'm pondering a ketone blood testing kit myself, but don't tell the OH.

Won't tell OH methinks find a freezer and a blood testing kit. I have some cook ups and freeze portions and they work for for me but mostly I now find they are being used up with DH's 'I'm hungry what's to eat' times - which are often and usually when I can't be fussed /tired to make small snacks. I could not do without freezing space in my fridge freezer. That new cook book sounds fab.

I was denied a 6' high 2 yr old AEG freezer by SWMBO. £90 FFS ! They're about £600+ new.

@kencc I hope that's because you're expending energy salivating over the recipes!

One of the reasons I decided to journal this is that there seems to be sweet fanny all about the 5:2 / low-carb / vegetarian combination out there. Like actual living menus, recipes and results - basically what someone else might expect to encounter / want to try if they went for it them self.

And if I do something, I like to 'do it properly' - in other words, I'm a bit OCD. And I'm oddly rather enjoying the writing / confessions process: it is hellish time consuming, which is why I've shifted to 3x weekly reports rather than daily.

You wouldn't believe that I'm rather good at doing very precise and concise (after the nth draft) technical documents, would you?

FatDog

Saturday, day forty-one, week-end feed day

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 124.6lbs (analogue scales corrected = 124lbs); 0.0lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.5, w. 27.0, t. 33.75, h. 36.5 inches

Scales are playing silly jokes on me again: starting between 123.8 and 124.2 they hop and hover, finally stopping hesitantly at 124.6lbs. The analogue scales are showing just on 8 stone 10lbs (OH confirmed) => 122.2?lbs + 1.75lbs ~= 123.95lbs. I'll log 124.6lbs in my tracker but suspect (or should that be hope) that there will be an unaccountable loss in the next day or two.

That's the end of week 14 on 4:3... so, weight at the end of the previous week was 125.8lbs, less today's 124.6lbs, gives a loss of 1.0lbs. Except that last Saturday was a dodgy-scales day too and they went back up to 126.4 the next day so maybe the loss is really nearer 1.8lbs, or more even? The tape measure doesn't lie (well, not in quite the same way) and shows about a quarter of an inch off everything.

Dinner really needs to be raw chilli, or cooked if the weather turns colder, before those nice veggies do a runner from the fridge. I might try making pitta bread - ah! need yeast, better add that to the Holland and Barrett list for OH.

Everything ran late so no bread. But the good news is that there is enough of the raw chilli left for me to just add *that* bag of quorn to, along with a tin of tomatoes and a bit of extra spicing, for dinner tomorrow. Plenty of time for bread making - except H&B didn't have any yeast for cooking so I'll need to scour Stockbridge for some.

And the numbers are:

....... Calories 1497.30 Carbs 36.73 Fat 109.84 Protein 48.36 Fibre 19.84

For the recipes the figures below are:
......... amount used : cals : carbs : fat : protein : fibre

raw chilli salad
kidney beans, 95c/C15/F0.6/P6.9/Fi6.2/100g
......... 240g 228.00 36.00 1.44 16.56 14.88
tomato, vine, chopped 20c/C3.1/F0.3/P0.7/Fi1.2/100g
......... 233g 46.60 7.22 0.70 1.63 2.33
chestnut mushrooms, 6thd, 16cal/C0.4g/F0.5g/P1.8g/Fi1.1g/100g
......... 230g 36.80 0.92 1.15 4.14 2.53
bell pepper, red, finely sliced, 36c/C6.4/F0.4/P1.0/Fi1.6/100g
......... 125g 45.00 8.00 0.50 1.25 2.00
bell pepper, green, finely sliced, 20c/C2.6/F0.3/P0.8/Fi1.6/100g
......... 115g 23.00 2.99 0.35 0.92 1.84
bell pepper, yellow, finely sliced, 31c/C5.3/F0.2/P1.2/Fi1.7/100g
......... 108g 33.48 5.72 0.22 1.30 1.84
sweetcorn, co-op value, 100c/C18.7/F1.5/P2.9/Fi2.8/100g
......... 90g 90.00 16.83 1.35 2.61 2.52
fine green beans, coop, 1/4'd, 30c/C3.2/F0.5/P1.9/Fi2.9/100g
......... 120g 36.00 3.84 0.60 2.28 3.48
onion, red, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
......... 85g 36.55 7.91 0.00 0.60 1.79
chilli, red, fine sliced, 40cal/Fa0.2g/Ca9.5g/Fi1.5g/P2.0g/100g
......... 14g 5.60 1.33 0.03 0.28 0.21
garlic, rough chop, 149cal/Fa0.5g/Ca33.06g/Fi2.1g/P6.36g/100g
......... 8g 11.92 2.64 0.04 0.50 0.17
tomato puree, 86c/C14.9/F0.4/P4.7/Fi2.0/100g
......... 30g 25.8 4.47 0.12 1.41 0.6
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 50ml 412.00 0.00 45.80 0.00 0.00
coriander, fresh, rough chopped, 23c/C0.87/F0.52/P2.13/Fi2.8/100g
......... 3g 0.69 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.08
bournville cocoa, 355c/C10.5/F21.7/P23.1/Fi12.1/100g
......... 4g 14.20 0.42 0.87 0.92 0.48
coriander seed, fresh ground
......... 4ml 0.00
cumin seed, whole
......... 4ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
total for raw chilli salad 1045.64 98.32 53.17 34.47 34.75
dog's 350g portion of raw chilli salad 251.01 23.60 12.76 8.28 8.34

Method: 1. prep veggies as described and bung in large bowl with beans and corn; 2. blitz the dressing ingredients, from garlic onwards, until smooth then check seasoning and heat *; 3. pour dressing over veggies and mix thoroughly

* In retrospect I might have done nearer double the quantity of dressing, and more chilli (some like it hot). I find it terribly difficult to judge how much raw chilli to use in a salad, this one seemed pretty darn hot when I had a nibble (water relief job) but wasn't really hot enough to give a good kick once mixed with the salad.

Leave the sweetcorn out for a considerably lower carb count if needs be.

I always salt & pepper my tomatoes once they're chopped (in addition to any other seasoning) - they seem to appreciate it. Olive oil is an odd 50ml - that's because I've 'mislaid' my 15ml measuring spoon (I suspect the OH) and 2x 25ml is much easier than 9x 5ml

==================================

Sunday, day forty-two, week-end feed day

Weigh-in at start of day wt. 124.2lbs (analogue scales corrected = 123.8lbs); 0.4lbs loss;
... t.measures - ub. 29.5, w. 27.0, t. 33.75, h. 36.5 inches

Uh huh... 'unaccountable loss' anyone? I'll be supplanting Mystic Meg next.

Raw chilli reloaded (cooked) coming up. Couldn't be four-xed to hunt for yeast so, given that my VBF said that the cardamom cake (sister of CBB's muffin recipe) had the texture of cornbread, I'm going for savoury muffin-cake variation no. 2. Adventures. I'm low on almonds and have a decent stock of brazil nuts - well, they're more Southern American too, aren't they Just pondering the spices.

Well, the reloaded chilli was great but the savoury muffin-cake was a bit of a disaster, which was a shame as I think it was the best flavoured and *would* have been the best textured so far. I blitzed the oil, spices and etc. and it was only after I'd bunged the muffin-cake into the oven and was starting to wash-up the wee whizz's parts that I realised, with sheer horror, that the oily spice mix was still sitting in the processor. I had even wondered why the mixture was so dry, given that I'd actually used cream for the first time. The muffin-cake had only been in the oven for a couple of minutes so quickly whipped it out and added the oil and spices. Thought the day might have been saved but, sadly, the muffin-cake was more pan-cake: very, very, *flat*. Jolly tasty though - the brazils gave the outside bits a real nutty digestive biscuit flavour. And everyone went for seconds.

Otherwise a fine feast day with real coffee and cream, G&T, nuts, slacker's yoghurt for pudding, an extra half slice of muffin-cake with Boursin and 85% chocolate. Thoroughly enjoyed but glad it's a repair day tomorrow.

Oh, and the 15ml measure was discovered in the coffee - not guilty, but I maligned the OH as it was left there by a guest...

....... Calories 1501.47 Carbs 31.06 Fat 111.22 Protein 41.17 Fibre 17.23

raw chilli salad reloaded (cooked)
raw chilli salad, remnants thereof
......... approx 554g 395.96 37.23 20.13 13.05 13.16
quorn mince, 105c/C4.5/F2.0/P14.5/Fi5.5/100g
......... 300g 315.00 13.50 6.00 43.50 16.50
onion, fine sliced, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
......... 107g 46.01 9.95 0.00 0.76 2.25
chilli, green&red, fine sliced, 40cal/Fa0.2g/Ca9.5g/Fi1.5g/P2.0g/100g
......... 21g 8.40 2.00 0.04 0.42 0.32
garlic, fine chop, 149c/C33.06/F0.5/P6.36/Fi2.1/100g
......... 4g 5.96 1.32 0.02 0.25 0.08
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
......... 50ml 412.00 0.00 45.80 0.00 0.00
tomatoes, tinned, chopped 15c/C3.0/F0.1/P1.0/Fi0.7/100g
......... 400g 60.00 12.00 0.40 4.00 2.80
tomato puree, 86c/C14.9/F0.4/P4.7/Fi2.0/100g
......... 30g 25.80 4.47 0.12 1.41 0.6
coriander seed, fresh ground
......... 4ml 0.00
cumin seed, fresh ground
......... 4ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
total for raw chilli salad reloaded (cooked) 1269.13 80.47 72.52 63.40 35.70
dog's 267g portion of raw chilli salad reloaded (cooked) 229.89 14.58 13.14 11.48 6.47

Method: 1. heat oil in non-stick pan; 2. add onions and saute for a couple of minutes; 3. add garlic, chilli and spices and do another minute or so; 4. add the raw chilli salad and saute for about five minutes until the mushrooms are beginning to reduce; 5. add the quorn mince and saute for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes and puree; 6. mix it all up thoroughly and let it bubble a wee while, check seasoning then serve with a dollop of creamy yoghurt and savoury muffin-cake

Savoury muffin-cake variation no. 2 - inspired by CBB p27 (one third recipe)
soya flour, 424c/C16.0/F20.0/P39.0/Fi12.0/100g
......... 75g 318.00 12.00 15.00 29.25 9.00
brazil nuts, floured, 700c/C3.1/F68.2/P14.1/Fi7.5/100g
......... 50g 350.00 1.55 34.10 7.05 3.75
baking powder; 5ml 0.00
pure via (stevia based sweetener) 2c/C0.47/F0/P0/Fi0/0.5g/5ml
......... 2ml 3.00 0.71 0.00 0.00 0.00
s&p 0.00
paprika, dried
......... 2ml 0.00
cumin seed, whole
......... 4ml 0.00
fennel seed, whole
......... 4ml 0.00
chilli flakes
......... 4ml 0.00
garlic, rough chop, 149c/C33.06/F0.5/P6.36/Fi2.1/100g
......... 3g 4.47 0.99 0.02 0.19 0.06
coriander, fresh, fine chopped, 23c/C0.87/F0.52/P2.13/Fi2.8/100g
......... 2g 0.46 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.06
sunflower oil, 125c/C0/F13.8/P0/Fi0/15ml
......... 45ml 375.00 0.00 41.40 0.00 0.00
eggs, brown, 151cal/C0g/F11.2g/P12.5/Fi0g/100g
......... ~54g x 2 of 163.08 0.00 12.10 13.50 0.00
double cream, coop, 465c/C1.6/F50.5/P1.5/Fi0/100ml
......... 45ml 209.25 0.72 22.73 0.68 0.00
total for four savoury muffin-cake variation no. 2 1423.26 15.98 125.35 50.71 12.87
¼ slice savoury muffin-cake no. 2 355.82 4.00 31.34 12.68 3.22

Method: 1. mix the soya flour, brazil flour, baking powder and stevia; 2 whizz the garlic, spices, oil and double cream in a food processor (blender might work); 3. in another bowl, beat the eggs then add the oily spice mix and the fresh coriander; 4. add the dry stuff to the wet stuff and mix well but don't over mix; 5. 'pour' (it might be a little sluggish) into greased flan tray; 6. bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 20 to 30 minutes 7. remove from oven when nicely golden and let stand for 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack

Quite a few 'Mexican spice mixes' seem to use oregano, which I'm out of: thought basil was a bit too much but still wanted that wee bit of sweetness, hence the rather non-Mexican fennel.

Methinks that, if I had had my instructions written down I might not have had the disaster with the oily spice mix - I whizzed my oil without the cream so its omission wasn't so obvious. In my defence, the OH was going dotty trying to find his glasses, before rushing off to a fringe performance, which was just a *little* distracting

I love the glimpses into the FatDog household! You really make me laugh, FatDog, especially battling the scales.
I guess the recipes are pretty good too - but I cook for OH and daughter and both of them are carnivores and like their carbs! Specially husband who is a chocoholic - and skinny! Life's not fair is it?
I have a phantasy tho' that one day I'll have a go at cooking the FatDog way.
Keep up the good work!