Like our laptop full of family photos that hadn’t been backed up since just before I gave birth to our second son 6 months earlier.  Photos that are now lost forever.  Or my wedding and engagement rings that rarely left my hand that I had removed the day before because I scratched our son changing his nappy.  Or my Grandmother’s pre-war, 1920’s Art Deco engagement ring that was trusted to me by my Mum only a few months earlier. 

The learning part

Thankfully I didn’t feel unsafe in my home after the event, but it has forever changed my behaviour and the way I live my day to day life.  It was an awful experience and one I hope you never encounter.  But in case you do, here’s a few pearls of wisdom I learned along the way :

1. Back up your computer & photos… regularly

Regularly being the important part!  Write it in your diary, set a reminder in your phone… just do it.  Not sure where to start?

• External portable hard drives – You can buy a 1TB portable hard drive for less than $100 at your local office supplies store.  Simply plug it into your computer’s USB port and copy your files directly onto it.
• Online storage services – I’m currently investigating this for my own data backup.  Here’s a couple of articles looking at the different online options – PC World and Life Hacker.
• A combination of both – This is where I’m heading.  I currently use 3 different external hard drives to backup my files but I’m looking to reduce these to 2 and add an online storage option.  Better safe than sorry!

2. Print your photos

You know those hundreds of photos from the last 5 years that you have sitting on your computer?  Why don’t you sort them, print them and make up some family photo albums.  Or what about making a photo book for each year?  Printed copies are another way to keep your photos safe.  Plus it allows your family and friends to enjoy the photos too.  It will be a big job, but once it’s done you can update the albums every few months and it won’t be too daunting to maintain.

3. Hide your valuables

I’m pretty creative with the hiding spots for our valuables and I never leave the house without tucking away our laptop, camera, camera card etc.  In our situation, the burglar spent 90% of his time in our bedroom and ransacked every single drawer, cupboard and box he could find.  It’s for this reason that I don’t hide our valuables in the main bedroom.  Use your imagination… just don’t forget where you put them!

4. Know your insurance policy & the value of your belongings

What are the maximum claim amounts on your home contents policy?  Is it $1,000 for jewellery, $200 for cash?  Pick a room and jot down a quick list (or better yet take photos) of what you own and what it’s worth.  You might be surprised.  Then take a close look at your policy and make sure you’re adequately covered.  A standard policy often has the option of increasing the maximum claim amounts on certain items.

5. Keep receipts & instruction manuals together

Proof of purchase/ownership is a pretty important thing when making an insurance claim.  It’s not practical to keep a receipt of every single thing you’ve ever bought, but you can save yourself a lot of headache if you get in the habit of stapling the receipt to the instruction manual and filing them all together in one spot – a box in the cupboard, a filing cabinet drawer etc. 

Additionally, take photos or make a record of any serial numbers on electrical equipment, especially computers.  You will need this information for the police and your insurance company.

6. Keep a radio or TV on

I’m all about saving electricity and keeping our bills as low as possible, but a radio or TV is a great deterrent for burglars.  If I’m popping down the street and won’t be gone too long, sometimes I’ll leave the radio or TV on for a bit of household noise.

7. Be aware of people & trust my instincts

I didn’t like the look of the guy walking past our house as I buckled the kids in the car and if I had done a loop around the block I would have seen him smashing our front window.  I haven’t turned into a crazy person who laps the block a dozen times looking for suspicious people I can pounce on, but I won’t be making that same mistake again.

This simple slice is another that has made it’s way onto my favourites list (along with this one and this one).  I make it for the boys to have as a lunchbox snack instead of highly processed muesli bars (have you seen those crazy, hard to pronounce ingredients?).  I especially love that I only have to dirty one saucepan to make it and I can have it in the oven after less than 10 minutes of preparation.  If you’re not a fan of mixed fruit feel free to substitute sultanas, dried apricots or chopped dates.

[ Print this recipe ]

In all honesty this has felt like the 60 days that never ended!  There was that little pause around week 6 where I took a break because of illness, and then I reached a point where I was just sick of talking about it and the thought of sitting down to write this update sounded like as much fun as an eyebrow wax.

I’m cutting myself a little slack though because things have been particularly mental around here – first the crippling gastro, then the foot injury (I’m still in an ankle brace and see the orthopaedic surgeon this week) plus I’ve been juggling a few casual jobs these last couple of weeks.  Like I said, mental.

Now back to the challenge…  by this stage I was hoping to have some follow-up blood work to give you a rundown on how my body reacted to the challenge.  I’m still planning to do this but I simply haven’t had the time to make it back to the Doctor yet.  I’ll get there in the next couple of weeks though and will give you an update then.  I’ve definitely felt better eating this way but I’m still reacting to a few different foods and think I’ll be heading for allergy testing after all.  On the plus side, when I bought a new pair of jeans the other day I was pleasantly surprised at the smaller size I could buy.  There hasn’t been a huge change by any means, but enough to keep me interested.

Paleo… or faileo?

I guess the main question is whether I’ll be continuing with a Paleo healthstyle?  Even after the dozens and dozens of eggs I’ve eaten these past few months, I’m still a big fan of the Paleo way.  In fact I still look forward to my 3 egg omelette most mornings.  In saying that though, I will be giving myself a little more leeway socially and will enjoy non-Paleo meals if that’s what I’m feeling in the moment.  I just hate being that person picking the menu apart in a restaurant.

Along the way I’ve inspired other people to give it a try, I’ve introduced people to a healthstyle they had never heard of before, I’ve gained a few new blog followers (welcome!) and also found a few new blogs that I’ll continue to follow.

Overall a great experience.  Thank you for your support!

Meet my ultimate stress relief and brain saver.  The brain dump list. 

We’ve all been there – you’re treading water and feel like you’re about to drown in the hundreds of things that are weighing on your mind.  At night, you lie awake listening to a brain that won’t stop buzzing and wonder if you’ll ever get to sleep.

Enter the brain dump list.

You probably already have a daily diary and/or family planner to keep track of appointments and day to day tasks, but think of the brain dump list like the ultimate download of every single thing you’ve got bouncing around in your head.  Not just the things you need to get done today or by the end of the week, but all of the other bits and pieces that are taking up space in your head.

Like… book a dentist appointment.  And… consolidate our superannuation.  And… apply for a passport renewal.  And… Ebay furniture in garage.  And… sort toys and donate to charity.  And… update family photo album.  And… setup savings accounts for the boys.

Like I said, all of the bits and pieces.

I’ve been doing brain dumps for a long time now but I didn’t realise they were a recommended stress relief technique until it came up during one of my Diploma subjects last year.  It really does work and I know that when I unload in a brain dump list…

• I instantly feel lighter and calmer, like I’m regaining a little control
• I realise that I don’t have a hundred things to do – more like a manageable 22
• I realise that some of the tasks can be crossed off the list with a quick phone call or email and they’re really not the monumental jobs I thought they were.

This isn’t my go-to list for everyday life.  It’s something I turn to during times that I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed.  Once I’ve had a brain dump I can review the list, start prioritising, transfer some of the simpler tasks to my daily diary and start getting stuff done.

When I’ve been working through the same list for a while and new bits and pieces are starting to fill my head, I know it’s time to grab a fresh piece of paper and start the process all over again!

I’ve had this simple recipe tucked away for a while now so when I saw peaches on special last week I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use some of the harder fruits in a delicious dessert. 

The sweetness of the peach with the tart Greek yoghurt was beautiful.  Definitely a dessert I’ll be making again.  But I’m telling you now that if I wasn’t having an ice-cream free 2013 it would have been pretty hard to resist having a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side!  Maybe next year.

You can make this dessert as sugar free or as sweet as you like.  Just adjust the amount of sugar to suit or leave it out altogether.

[ Print this recipe ]

On the main page of this 60 day challenge I’ve given you links to the various websites I’ve used for information, recipes and encouragement during this Paleo / Primal experiment.  But I thought I should turn the spotlight to my go-to Paleo / Primal library – the books that have really shaped the way I’ve thought about food during the challenge and also in the months leading up to it.

The Primal Blueprint – Mark Sisson
The first Paleo-ish book I read and the one that I’m most aligned with in my food thinking.  I stumbled upon Mark’s website some time ago (Mark’s Daily Apple) and I really like the way this man thinks and lives.

It Starts With Food – Dallas & Melissa Hartwig
I loved this book.  Easy to follow and a great chapter breakdown of the different food groups.  The chapter ‘the guts of the matter’ was an interesting read too.

I Quit Sugar – Sarah Wilson
I’m a big fan of Sarah’s website and ebooks, so the printed version of her sugar free book was always going to end up on my bookshelf.

Make It Paleo – Bill Staley & Hayley Mason
My favourite Paleo recipe book.  Nothing too complicated or fancy-schmancy.  Just my kind of simple cooking.

Practical Paleo – Diane Sanfilippo
This isn’t just a recipe book but a comprehensive guide to following Paleo.  A beautiful book and a lot of great recipes too.

OMG! I Can Eat That? and Fabulous Food Minus the Boombah – Jane Kennedy
While not officially Paleo or Primal, Jane Kennedy’s recipes follow the same principals.  I’ve been a big fan of her books for a long time and I love that they’re still relevant while I’m practicing Paleo.

I have a serious weakness for books.  I fantasise about living in a house with a dedicated study or library one day and my addiction to fishpond.com means that I’m well on my way to filling those library shelves.  If you haven’t stumbled across this little gem of a website, be warned.  Within seconds you can search for a book, hit checkout and wait for the parcel to arrive.  Free shipping too!  Very dangerous for us book lovers.

The challenge end is in sight – 11 days to go Paleo peeps!

If you haven’t tried homemade Pesto before, you should know that it’s a really simple recipe to make and tastes so much better than the bought stuff.  And once you have a supply in the fridge there are dozens of ways to use it.  So today’s Recipe Love is all about basil pesto and how to use up the last of the jar. 

I’ve kicked off the list of recipes with a basic basil pesto of course! 

Basic basil pesto : taste.com.au

Turkey pesto burger : Confections of a Foodie Bride

Roasted garlic chicken pesto pizza : Sugar Cooking

Chicken pesto lasagne rolls : Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Baked pesto chicken : Kalyn’s Kitchen

Pesto & oven roasted vegetable sandwich : Cafe Fernando

Grilled pesto prawn skewers : Skinny Taste

Pesto zucchini spaghetti : Perry’s Plate

Pesto pasta with chicken sausage : Gimme Some Oven

Chicken pesto meatballs : Big Bold Beautiful Food

Need a little more love?

Beef mince
Cauliflower
Sweet & savoury lemons
Ginger ninja
White chocolate
Cooked chicken
Birthday cake
Warm salads
Blueberries
Christmas cookies
Cocktails
Paleo / Primal dinners
Sweet & savoury coconut

Today marks the day that my 60 day challenge would have officially ended if I didn’t take a 2 week pause due to illness.  So as of today I’ve got 14 days to go!

I’ve actually found it really hard to focus on my food this week.  For example, it turns out that my foot isn’t as good as I thought it was and I’ve made trips to an orthopaedic specialist and a physiotherapist this week.  Right now I’m trying to rest my foot but not succeeding very well because of the everyday tasks that come with being a stay at home mum.  When the Doctor told me I could have a medical certificate to make sure I keep off my foot, I couldn’t help but wonder who exactly I would give it to?  There’s no calling in sick for extended periods of time in this job!

So I’ve been trying to make the best choices I can and I’ve done a pretty good job of it considering I haven’t been particularly prepared.  My husband has done most of the cooking this week and we’ve been keeping things pretty simple, so no new recipes to report.

Yes, I’m a bit boring with my update this week!  Sorry.  I’m going hard these next 2 weeks (although exercise is a bit difficult right now) and I want to end the challenge knowing that I did the best I could.

Here’s to a big finish!

I thought I would revisit the very chocolaty birthday cake I mentioned briefly in one of my 60 day challenge updates.  Like I said in that post, this was probably the most decadent birthday cake I’ve ever made, so ‘death by chocolate cake’ seemed like an appropriate name.

The inspiration came from Pinterest (of course!) and I’ve had this idea filed away for almost a year waiting patiently for my husband’s 40th birthday to arrive.  After all, a big birthday deserves a big cake, so this one was just perfect.

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m all about keeping things as simple as possible, so you can guarantee that this cake wasn’t difficult to put together.  Here’s it is…

• Make 2 round chocolate cakes (packet mix, homemade, store bought – whatever!)
• Break Kit Kats so they’re in 2 finger pairs, then use one to measure the height of the cake
• You want the cake to be a couple of centimetres lower than the top of the Kit Kats, so you might need to slice some height of the bottom of one of the cakes
• Sandwich the 2 cakes together with strawberry jam (making sure the very top of the cake is curved and not flat)
• Cover the entire cake with chocolate icing
• Stand the Kit Kats around the edge of the cake (my cake needed 10 x 4-finger Kit Kats)
• You can tie a ribbon around the cake but the Kit Kats will stick to the cake without it
• Fill the top of the cake with Maltesers (or Smarties)

For a little extra birthday fun I also added a string of paper bunting flags.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the cake and even my boys who usually just lick the icing ate 2 pieces each.  I’d call that a success!

A wonderful opportunity was presented to me recently by the Neff Kitchen Australia to do  some food styling and photography sessions in their Fitzroy studio.  As you can imagine I was a bundle of nerves before I arrived, but the Neff team was so welcoming and it was such a great atmosphere that it didn’t take long at all for me to settle in and start shooting.

Pop over to the Neff Kitchen blog to see some of the recipe images and writing that I will be contributing to their site (like the above savoury scones).  Featured recipes written and photographed by me will be credited as such.