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Ice spiced pumpkin latte and scones

I needed a spiced pumpkin latte today, and the only way I was going to get one, is if I made it myself! There’s an abundance of pumpkins at the local market, so today I thought I’d make some pumpkin purée to freeze in ice cube trays, for when I fancy a spiced pumpkin milkshake or latte.

I roasted half of a small pumpkin in the airfryer for 20 minutes on 170°C. I then covered it and let it cool, so I could easily remove the skin.

In a blender I added the skinned pumpkin, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, pinch of sea salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Off camera (pressed the wrong button with my sticky fingers) I added a tablespoon of peanut butter, quarter cup of plant milk and quarter cup of Veganbloc butter.

*You may wish to add more syrup. I don’t like mine too sweet.

For the scones I used;

  • 1 cup self raising flour
  • Quarter cup of Veganbloc butter
  • Half teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • Half teaspoon baking powder
  • Enough plant milk to make into soft dough.

Baked in airfryer for 13 minutes on 170°C turned them over for another 3 minutes.

Lots of noise going on in the background with the washing machine and airfryer whirring away next to me. I only have a tiny kitchen in this rental property. I look forward to having a proper kitchen again one day.

I hope you like this recipe – I’m so happy to have a supply of spiced pumpkin purée on standby.

Gail x

#pumpkinseason#pumpkinspice#pumpkinspice#wholefoodplantbased#veganeats#wholefoods#veggie#vegan#homecooking#homecooked#fastingfood#IntermittentFasting#midlifemakeover#menopausehealth#loseweightforgood#menopauseweightloss#loseweightfeelgreat#womenover50#healthyageing#veganrecipes

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Gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings) with walnut sauce

For lunch today, I made gnocchi with walnut sauce. I’m starting over with my food blog as I’ve been inundated with requests for recipes and meal ideas. I’ve been working on ways to encourage everyone to eat more plants and to consider trying intermittent fasting.

I post on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in an effort to spread the word about the benefits of eating only plants.

My short videos will be linked to YouTube as it’s the best website friendly format for my blog, but you will also find my videos on the usual social media channels.

I’m playing around with video formats… what do you think of this style for vegan meal inspiration? I’ve used birdsong as a background sound, (rather than music) which I captured on one of my early morning walks in spring. I find it very calming.

For lunch today, I made gnocchi with walnut sauce. Tip: Use equal amounts flour to potato (doesn’t have to be exact).

Gnocchi:
2 potatoes boiled in their skins
(Remove skins after cooking)
2 cups wheat flour
Salt, black and white pepper.

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 cup walnuts
Fresh lemon thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 veggie stock cube
Half cup of soya cream
Black and white pepper.

I didn’t add extra salt in the sauce as I used a vegetable stock cube (which contains salt).
I hope this inspires you to eat more veggies. This made enough to feed 4 – 5 people. Potatoes cost €1, soya cream 80cents, walnuts €1.50 I served with leeks sautéed in veganbloc, and a salad of sliced cherry tomatoes, pinch of sea salt, chopped parsley & mint plus a drizzle of olive oil.

Stay tuned for more detailed posts in the furture, I’m desperately trying to find a way of streamlining my content as it takes up lots of my time, and it’s only me doing everything.

I hope you enjoy my video. We both scored this meal 10/10.

Gail x

VeganFood #plantbased #plantbaseddiet #dairyfree #menopauseweightloss #wholefoodnutrition #fooddiary #whatiatetoday #veganmeals #healthylifestyle #eatyourveggies #eatyourgreens #weightlossjourney #weightlossfood #eatwell #veganeats #microbiome #microbiomehealth

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The insane benefits of fasting and food you need to stop eating.

I watched this on YouTube last night, the insane benefits of fasting & foods you need to stop eating. It’s quite long at 1hr 47minutes but I guarantee it’s a good use of your time.

Watch the video to the end, or listen to it as it’s just doctors chatting, no graphics or anything visual to miss. It’s also available as a podcast.

Check out my JUMP30 challenge by clicking here.

Testing out those insane benefits of fasting for myself.

Today is my first 24 hour fast. Since last November I have decreased my food intake substantially. Switching from three meals per day to two. I lost 14lbs and now my weight has plateaued at 10stone 4lbs – 144lbs and I know I have more blubber to shed. It’s time to take the next step and only eat once per day. It’s not forever, only until I get as lean as I’d like to be. I’m eating one meal per day at least five days per week for one month to check out the effects on my body.

Never stop trying!

I sleep seven hours per night, I drink lots of water, I eat plant based whole food and I try to control my stress levels. Last year was tough for me, watching what was being reported on the news, but seeing a totally different view via livestreaming on other platforms. I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. I had to step away from all social media to find a peaceful place and my true self again.

I like motivating other women to enjoy ageing, and sharing videos and information that I find helpful.

I will post more about fasting soon so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by…have a beautiful day.

Gail x

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Just lucky?

I guess I’m just lucky…..? I get a lot of comments and direct messages telling me how lucky I am that I am not overweight. The truth is I have been in battle with my weight my whole life. I have found the correct balance of calories in, exercise and levels of meds for my underactive thyroid, to finally be within an ideal weight range and feel good.

@fiftysister

I’m lucky. #ageing #aging #matureskin #midlifewomen #wrinkles #older #olderwomen #aginggracefully #over50 #50plus #silverhair #makeuptransformation

♬ original sound – FiftySister

Times have changed

I know that times have changed and to be plus size is to be celebrated. What a difference that would have made, to how I felt about my body growing up…but, how we move and nourish our bodies will show more as we age. It seems everyone accepts that to be old, means to be overweight. Maybe that’s true, but I want to be fit and mobile for as long as possible. Keeping my weight in check and giving my body every vitamin and mineral it needs to continue to flourish is paramount.

Just lucky or good genes?

‘You have good genes’ people say. That’s an interesting comment when they haven’t seen my family members ahead of me in the ageing process. My grandma was overweight but very active. She loved fatty roast lamb, cheese and butter. She lived into her 80’s and was active until she suffered a stroke. My mother is active, always making something or in the garden. She’s carrying some extra weight (sorry Mum!) and I wouldn’t describe her as slim or fit. Nobody in my family, except one cousin exercises regularly. He’s 56 and still completes in Iron Man challenges. I guess he’s lucky too 😉

Sugar Daddy

My husband is slim, but is addicted to sugar. I bore myself nagging him most days to stop eating white flour foods, laden with fat and sugar. I stop for a few days, as I am sick of my own voice, but I care enough about him to continue nagging him.

Hypoparathyroidism

I have an underactive thyroid, and even though I tried starving myself to keep my weight down, it made zero impact on the scales. I know that other meds such as steroids have an effect on our energy and size. Ensure you eat natural unprocessed foods like fruit, veg, nuts, seeds and beans, keep your health in check and seek medical advice if you are lacking energy or gaining weight without reason.

Be fat, be thin, be lazy, be fit, it’s our choice, but I don’t think genetics has much to do with it. What we eat and how much we move is what determines how ‘lucky’ we are. I have used myfitnesspal a lot to keep a check on my weight and to detemine how many calories and the amount of exercise I need to maintain my weight. It’s a very useful free tool.

To get in touch click here. Thanks for stopping by, have a beautiful day.

Gail x

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Zero to one thousand jumps!

Jump 30 progress

So how am I progressing on my 30 day, zero to one thousand jumps challenge? The first few days were really tough. I immediately regretted saying my target was 1000 jumps within 30 days. I thought I was fitter than I really was. Sure, I can walk for miles, but the terrain here is very flat. Completely different from the steep hills of south Devon in the UK.

@fiftysister

Day 15 of my 30 day jump rope challenge. #50plus #over50fit #fitover50 #fitover50women #silverhair #veganfit #jumprope #40plus #jumpropechallenge #50

♬ original sound – FiftySister

Gotta keep going!

After day two, I called my son and told him there was no way I could reach 1000, it was impossible. He told me to just keep going. To begin with, the idea of skipping a set of 100 without stopping seemed like an unreachable goal, but within one week I was doing sets of 100 and my recovery breaks were getting shorter and shorter.

Dope Ropes with FiftySister
Use discount code FIFTYSISTER on Dope Ropes website. This is my preferred jump rope from DOPE ROPES for speed.

Work in progress.

I am still not completely happy with the length of my rope. The issue I have is, that my husband and son (who is here on vacation) both use the rope, and they are much taller than me. Maybe I will have to buy them one each, so I can keep my rope at the correct length for me.

This is one of my favourite jump rope workout music videos on YouTube.

Day Eighteen

Today is day eighteen, and I’ve just completed another 1000 jumps. I’ve timed my jumps per minute and I’m averaging 130. So, let’s say 2 skips/jumps per second. If I can jump rope for 10 minutes, I’m going to be around the 1200 mark. Ten minutes of exercise is not a lot. But if I do it every day, in the morning and the evening, its 20 minutes of cardio I wasn’t doing before. I am going to finish the month on one set of 1000 jumps per day. Then I will work on doing it twice per day, and then even work up to 15 minutes twice per day.

Jump 30 progress
Jump 30 progress

Jumping makes me smile.

Finally, I have found an exercise that I really enjoy. It doesn’t need any special equipment – apart from a rope and a good pair of sneakers…oh and of course a sports bra. There are lots of benefits to skipping click here to read them.

A big thank you.

I am so happy I started this zero to one thousand jumps challenge. I’ve made lots of lovely new connections on social media. To all the amazing women around the world who are joining with this challenge, ‘thank you’.  It was my mission to inspire other women to start moving, pick up their ropes (hidden in closets) and start getting fit again. It really is never too late.

Downloadable guide for zero to one thousand jumps coming soon.

Lots of people have asked so I have set to work writing ebooks/guides. I am in the process of writing some downloadable guides for ;fasting, a plant based diet, and getting started with jump rope. I will let you know once they are ready to purchase.

Available in lots of colours from my online store. Click here to view.

New FiftySister athletic range – great for my zero to one thousand jumps.

I’ve been designing leggings and cycling shorts – which are perfect for jump rope and uploading them to my online store. I’m going to order some for myself, but which colour to choose…? I want them all.

Thanks for stopping by, have a beautiful day.

Gail x