All Natural in Bait AlSaboun

 I love natural products. I usually get my soaps from Tunis or Morocco and once my aunt got me some soaps from Tureky which were amazing!!! Well I ran out of them and needed some soaps ASAP! A while back I read on The Boudoir a post about some scrubs she got from Biat AlSaboun click here to read her post. I've been to Bait AlSaboun a couple of times with a friend of mine, but I didn't pay much attention at that time. I went again few days back to check them out and the sales lady was kind enough to explain about their natural products.

This is the Lemon Ginger scrub.

Apparently it energies the body and

helps with weightloss.

The scent was amazing, and the olive oil in the scrub

did a great job by moisturizing my skin.

 I also got this Alum Royal Formula, smiliar to Moroccan bath soap. It is suppose to unify your body's color and tightens the skin.

The sales lady said to use it twice a week,

I use it with every shower I take every day ;p

 Ladies...I'm not sure if it works but I'm planning to buy it very soon and try it out, and there is an oil to rub your problem areas with.

I'll update you when I give it a try :)

More soaps of every kind.

Scented soaps.

 I got the Oud soap but I haven't tried it yet.

Loofa Soaps. These smells delicious and you don't

need a loofa to to wash your body with it :)

I also got a chamomile body cream,

which is soothing and relaxing

and smells amazing.

You find Bait AlSaboun at the Avenues (phase 2) and Soug Sharg.

Detox Day 11, 12, 13 & 14

The last few days of the detox diet it was Meh! I wanted it to finish, and the days seemed longer. I was also so stressed from work I was craving all sorts of foods. I even made a long list of everything I wanted to eat after this diet is done. But then all the hard work for the past two weeks would be for nothing if I indulged uncontrollably. What I craved was a yummy juicy cheese burger! I have to allow myself at least that? No?

Again. The diet I followed was made up by me, what I liked and didn't like based on the list The Diet Ninja posted on his blog. I do not advice you follow to the letter what I did, because I gave myself the minimum, because I know what I can endure. If you suffer from some kind of ailment I am not responsible, and neither is The Diet Ninja if you do not consult with him directly.

What I've lost is a good jump start to a healthier life style and diet. I even started looking at food differently. I love my lattes, but milk bloats me, so I'm going to have it as a treat when I'm out with my friends, same thing with bread, red meat, and desserts. I still have copies of diet plans saved from my nutritionist which I will start following inshallah. I want to lose 13 Kg before the end of this year. Can I do it? I just hope so.

Day 11

Breakfast : I ran out of fruits and I only had banana so I had a banana with Almond Milk smoothie.

Lunch: Lemon fish with roasted potatoes and carrots with olive oil and rosemary.

Dinner: Skipped.

 My Banana smoothie

Lemon fish with roasted potatoes and carrots,

with Lemon butter sauce.

I found a way to do it without the cream ;)

 I added almond milk instead!

Days 12, 13, 14 were repetitive of Days 2, 3 & 4. I couldn't believe I'm done!!!
Will I do this diet again? Certainly I will, but I think it will be for seven days only just to help me when I hit a plateau.

The Diet Ninja's post "Pre-Diet Cleansing" Click Here

Cutting Down On Calories

Breakfast



Eat your fruit; don't drink it: 12 ounces of OJ = 165 calories, vs. a medium orange = 62 calories. Think of granola as a condiment to be sprinkled over yogurt (for reference: a half cup of granola is around 200 calories). Drink your coffee skinny. A whole-milk grande latte from Starbucks has almost 100 more calories than one with nonfat milk. Here are some low-cal breakfast ideas that are under 30 grams of sugar.


Brunch


Have a smoothie made with fruit, nonfat yogurt, and ice, and skip the milk shake. Eat smaller portions since many brunches offer buffet options, and it can be tempting to fill your plate. And choose lots of veggies and fruit since they are low in calories and will fill you up! Instead of calorie-filled egg dishes covered with rich sauces, why not get an omelet (or even one made from just the whites) and spruce it up with some veggies instead of calorie-dense bacon or cheese? If you reach for a caffeinated beverage to go with your meal, make it an unsweetened tea instead of a Coke.


Lunch


Make your sandwich open-faced. A slice of whole wheat bread is anywhere between 70 and 90 calories, depending on the density of the bread Ditch the mayo. Two and half teaspoons of mayonnaise contain 90 calories, and the same amount mustard practically nil. Make sure not to order honey mustard, because the sweetness adds calories. Skip the slices of cheddar cheese, about 226 calories for two one-ounce slices, and choose thinly spread avocado instead. Ask for salad dressing on the side and dip when you need a dab.


Dinner


Top your baked potato, be it a sweet spud or an Idaho, with two tablespoons of nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Skip the pepperoni and order your pizza with red bell pepper, and douse it with red pepper flakes. Try dressing your salad with just lemon juice and skip the olive oil, which clocks in at 119 calories a tablespoon. Trim the fat! If you're cooking meat, trim off whatever fat you can. Skipping the skin when it comes to chicken saves you 50 calories, but also keeps 4.5 grams of fat out of your meal.

 
Courtesy of Yahoo.

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Detox Day 8, 9 & 10

Day 8

It was an agonizing day because I chose to have liquids on that day. I felt faint and very hungry and I was on the verge of making a grilled cheese sandwich.

I held on, later in the afternoon I had my 1 liter of white tea with a handful of almonds. I was ok.

Breakfast: 1 banana, few chopped papayas half cup of almond milk and a handful of ice cubes, smoothie.

Lunch: Roasted pumpkin soup.

Dinner: A bowl of pineapples and papayas with a couple of spoons of yogurt.

 Smoothie

 Pumpkin soup with a dallop of yogurt.

Dinner

Day 9:

I had an early breakfast. I had an early breakfast and went out to shop for a new washing machine, our old one gave her last spin the day before, and having two rowdy boys you just can imagine the laundry which as to be done on daily basis.

When I got back home I wanted lunch and on that day I didn't plan what to eat. So I thought of tossing some onions, garlic tomatoes spinach and tuna, with a squeeze of lemon. It was good, although I forgot to add the tomatoes. Or maybe I was too hungry to really care that much. Usually I use this mix for a tuna bake, where I add cream and cheese *sigh*.

Breakfast: Mixed peppers with 1 organic egg and mild spice. A cup of almond milk.

Lunch: Tuna with spinach.

Dinner: A fruity salad, with the same yogurt balsamic dressing I used for the potato salad minus 1 spoon of olive oil.

 

 Tuna & Spinach

 Dinner

Day 10:



When I'm dieting I like to prepare my own meals. I don't trust the housekeeper doing it to my exact instructions, besides she has a love affair with oil! When I tell her 1 tsp of oil, she looks at me as if I said a blasphemy!
So it is better I prepare my own meals. That day was a busy day, plus lunch was at the family home and I didn't have time to prepare anything like I did last week. For lunch and it isn't pictured, I had what equals to 1/2 cup of rice and 2 cups of salad with balsamic dressing.


Breakfast: 1 organic egg with tomato. A cup of almond milk.


Lunch: 1/2 cup of plain rice, 2 cups of salad.


Dinner: bowl of fruits and yogurt.

 Egg with Tomato

Fruit bowl dinner

Detox Day 7

I woke up on Day 7 feeling very hungry! The boys wanted to eat out. So I decided to take them to Le Pain Quotidian, they serve organic food, right? It was very good and enjoyed a lot.

Breakfast: Fruit ice tea unsweetened & a spinach omelet.


Lunch: Potato & Butter Bean salad with a balsamic yogurt dressing.


Dinner: Skipped

  I forgot to bring any stevia sweetener with me, and they didn't have any sort of sweeteners except for regular sugars and sugar syrups. So I had my ice tea unsweetened. After a couple of sips it was tolerable.

 A very yummy spinach omelet and I loved the lettuce with the herby dressing. No I didn't touch the bread :)

 It was late afternoon I decided to have my lunch. I used half a can of Epicure brand butter bean, so I hope it is ok for a detox diet, 1 boiled large potato chopped, 1/4 chopped onions, and 2 Tbs of chopped chives.

I started making a regular balsamic vinaigrette. But a potato salad is perfect when it has that creamy dressing with it, don't you agree? 2 Tbs olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, 1 garlic clove crushed, 2 Tbs Lemon juice, Salt & Pepper. 2 Tbs yogurt.


7 days down and 7 days to go. I have noticed a lot of changes. I feel lighter, I have more energy and I sleep better in the evenings. The headaches I had the first few days are gone, although cravings do hit me in the late afternoons, with few cups of white tea they are gone!
I am hoping to add a half hour of exercise session in the evenings this week.
You want to know how much weight I lost? Will tell you by the end of this 14 days detox :)

Detox Day 6

Have you ever waked up one morning and you discovered you have suddenly acquired intolerance to certain foods? I don't remember when I've discovered I was lactose intolerant and strong spices intolerant. I can't remember the last time I had Indian food, and one of the reasons I try to stay away from the Biryani prepared by John the cook. 

On Day 5 detox I had a tandoori fish and I used the minimum of the required tandoori paste in the recipe just to give it a little flavor. As soon as I was done eating, I knew I've done a great error! I was uncomfortable for the rest of the evening! :s  
Day 6 detox was spent on drinking herbal concoctions and eating yogurt. I was feeling nauseous all day and by evening I felt a bit hungry and had only green apples with a couple spoons yogurt.

Detox Day 5

The good thing about this diet is I've been so busy, I don't have the time to think about the hunger pangs or the cravings! (Apple cupcake with cream cheese *sigh*) Yallah 9 more days to go!

Day 5

Breakfast: Egg with the leftover tomato salsa and a sprinkle of parsley

Lunch: White fish fillet tandoori fillet with yogurt & cucumber salsa, lettuce wrap.

Dinner: skipped.

 Sawili baith w 6ma6! w 7e6eli foga be6a6!!!

 Maqo! Maqo! Maqo!

 Almond milk

Slice white fish and rub with 1/4 tsp of tandoori paste (you can add more paste if you like), marinade for a couple of hours. Fry with a little bit of olive oil until done. Then add 1/4 yogurt and chopped green onions. In a different bowl add 1/2 cup of yogurt, with chopped parsley and dill, salt & pepper and a tiny squeeze of honey. 
Place fish and yogurt mix on lettuce, wrap and Bon Appetit!
The same recipe you can try it with cooked shredded chicken and add some sweet mango chutney. You can also use Saj or pitta bread with it :)

Detox Day 4

The evening before I slept early but was rudely awakened by Ahmed who crawled into our bed sometime earlier and gave me a "Whack!" on the face with his little feet. Disgruntled I tried to pick him back to his bed and he started crying! Did I ever mention about Ahmed when he starts crying? Once his Jukebox opens it never closes!
"Ok habeebee!...5ala9… come sleep in our bed…5ala9!!"


But then he hangs on to one word.


"Laish…laish…laish…laish…laish…!"


Ya rabi! Slowly he quiets down, as for I, I toss and turn for half hour before I gave up and got up. I started reading hoping it would make me feel sleep. I hear the Fajer prayer, so there is no point in going back to sleep. Besides Fahad woke up.


Ok…side tracking…the point I'm trying to make is the lack of sleep makes me stressed and when I'm stressed I get very hungry! I had a late start on my exercising and I had to change and rush out of the house, and on my meal plan I had smoothie for breakfast. So the only thing I can think of is… what I had for dinner last night is what I'm going to have for breakfast. Chopped pineapples and papaya with 3 Tbs skimmed yogurt and a dash of almond milk and whizzzzzzzzed! I poured it in my coffee cup over some ice and went out. The taste wasn't that bad. Usually when I do my smoothies I add freshly squeezed orange juice. Next time I'll add some oranges. As the day went by, the hunger and cravings kicked in! Today I craved hot chocolate. Yummy, creamy hot chocolate!


Day 4


Breakfast: Smoothie, yogurt pineapples, papay with a dash of Almond milk.


Lunch: Lemony white fish fillet with a sweet tomato garlic salsa! (the best I made so far)


Dinner: skipped.

 My Breakfast

 Pulpy tomoatoes

Et Voila! There will be some tomato salsa left

save it for breakfast the next day :)

1 lemon, peel the lemon avoiding white pith, slice the rind thinly. Squeeze juice from lemon. Combine fish with rind, juice, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 clove garlic crushed, and 1/4 tsp turmeric 1/4 chili in a medium bowl cover and refrigerate 3 hours. Place fish in the oven for 20-30 min with marinade until done. Cut tomatoes and place side up in a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with combined with 1 tsp oil, vinegar. Bake 30min or until tomatoes browned and pulpy. 1 garlic bulb wrap in a foil and bake for 1 hour until garlic is soft. Squeeze out the pulp of garlic, mix with tomatoes and mash with a fork.

Detox Day 3

It is going to be a tricky day, I thought when I first got up. Today we're having lunch at the family home with lots of yummy food which will be served for the meal. The tricky part was can I stick to my diet? Can I resist? Should I bring something with me or depend on what they will serve?

I decided a hearty early breakfast was essential. So I prepared a mushroom with parsley omelet, and of course a cup of Almond milk and three piece of Calamata olives to make it interesting ;p


I didn't want to take the risk of finding myself without any healthy options and stray from my diet. So I rushed back home and hurried to prepare a roasted vegetable Salad with an herbed yogurt dressing. Which turned out divine! And not only I did enjoy it but even my nieces who happened to be on a diet too :)  


Thank god I prepared it because lunch was all about red meat today. I thought I'd be tempted to try something, but I didn't feel a the urge to do so. I was quiet satisfied with my salad.


Later after 6 – ish I had about 1 liter of white tea with a handful of almonds which Fahad ate half of it! but hey! Sharing is caring! And think of it a little few more calories and inches from your waistline ;p


My dinner was a bowl of chopped pineapples and papaya's with a couple of tablespoons of yogurt.


It was before dinner when I started craving something sweet and the headaches started, and what not helped was Fahad enjoying the brownies and date squares plus a piece of chocolate basbousa which we brought with us "For the Kids" from lunch. I got up and picked my icy bottle of water and locked myself in the room! until the craving subsided and I was ready for my dinner.

 Day 3


Breakfast: 1 egg omelet with mushrooms and parsley, and almond milk sweetened with stevia.


Lunch: Roasted vegetable salad with herbed yogurt dressing.


Dinner: Bowl of yogurt with chopped pineapples and papaya, just similar to what I had on Day 1. 

 Mushroom  and parsely Omelet

with some olives

 Almond Milk

 Before I started chopping the Veggies, I marinated 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1/2 tsp of some spice, mixed dried herbs. I chopped 2 small Zucchini, 1/2 large egg plant, 1/2 red pepper and 1/2 yellow pepper both deseeded. I chopped some cauliflowr and droped them in boiling water for a couple of miutes or at least until tender. Some lettuce and Rocca.
I mixed the chopped Zucchini and eggplant with the marinated oil. Then drained the execess oil, and placed them in a baking sheet and into the oven for 30 min. In another baking sheet I placed the peppers skin side up and popped them in the oven for at least 30 min. or until the skin is charred. 
There will still be excess oil from the Zucchini and eggplant, drain and place them on these papers which soak the oil out (can't remember the name). Remove the peppers out and cover them with clean towel for few minutes then remove the skin and slice meaty part :)
Place the all the veggies on the lettuce and rocca.

Now the herbed yogurt dressing: 1 cup of skimmed yogurt, 1/2 tsp of ground cumin seeds, 1 clove of garlic minced,

1 tsp of dried Oregano, 2 Tbs of chopped parsley,

juice of half a lemon, tiny squeeze of honey, salt and pepper.

I like to prepare the dressing ahead to give

the flavors enough time to marinate

Now see what I was up against!

 The Arabic version of Chili Con Crane :)

It was set right in front of me!

 Home made brownies

Date squares

I felt empowered because I resisted these temptations!

*sigh*

 12 more days to go J  

Detox Day 2

The good thing when I put my mind into something, I stick to it, and as long as I don't lose my focus on the main goal. So I do hope I don't err from my objective.

Day 2 wasn't that hard, because I was busy most of the day. After finishing my morning exercise I checked my meal plan and my breakfast today is a detox smoothie. I went looking for my smoothie recipe book and couldn't find it!! So out of the top of my head I mixed 3/4 of green apple, 1 kiwi and 3Tbs yogurt with a splash of water. Awful! Nevertheless I drank all of it.

Midday I did crave some sweets, instead I drank iced water as much as my tummy can handle! It helped warding off the craving. By the time I reached home I was really hungry…

2.30 hours after lunch I was still feeling a bit hungry so I made me a 1liter white tea which I drank by myself (usually Fahad has a cup or two with me) and a handful of organic & unsalted hulled pumpkin seeds from Nature Land. Late evening I had half a pot of skimmed yogurt.

What strange about this I'm expecting to be very cranky however I'm not. Headaches… only on the first day and because I didn't sleep well the night before.

Day 2

Breakfast: Smoothie (3/4 apple juice, 1 kiwi and 3 Tbs yogurt with a dash of water)

Lunch: Nicoise salad with Tuna. I dropped the potatos and didn't have beans. But it was very yummy!

Dinner: Handful of organic hulled pumpkin seeds, half a pot of yogurt.

 I didn't like it and I have to find my smoothie book :s

 My Niciose salad. I love sweet and sour flavors and this sald has it all :) Lettuce, Roca, cherry tomatoes, 1/2roasted red pepper, 1/2 roasted orange pepper, 1/2 avocado, calamata olived deseeded and sliced, 1/4 onion sliced. Of course Tuna in water, The Diet Ninja advised me to drain it and wash off the salt in it with cool water. It was super!  Now the dressing: 2 Tbs olive oil, 2Tbs balsamic vinegar, juice of small lemon about 3 Tbs, 1 Tbs honey, salt and pepper.

 Organic hulled pumpkin seeds.

My dinner Yogurt!

My day wasn't that bad. Still miss the chocolates. But the French say "Il faut sufrir pour etre belle." ;p I will suffer to feel healthy :)

Tomorrow will be a tricky day, lunch at the family home :)

Detox Day 1

I've been feeling very fatigued, out of energy and icky. I know it is because of my diet, since Ramadan ended (which BTW during that month I really watched what I was eating and lost 3Kg.) I went on a rampage on food. I spent almost every single day eating out, most of the time lunch, but still restaurant food is really heavy and some not good to have every other day :s

Besides I wasn't happy with myself. I was bloated, the weight which I worked so hard to lose about a year ago was crawling back slowly, and if I don't watch myself, I'll be back and maybe more to my heaviest weight.

Reading a post by The Diet Ninja, click here to read his post, inspired me to go on a detox for a couple of weeks to jump start my weight loss, and help with the water retention which is killing me! Every attempt I did of detoxing failed in the past because it was brutal. I remember once I only lasted half a day. The do's and don’ts, Fahad wrote about are very simple, I just have to use my imagination and my culinary skills. I just hope I'm on the right track ;p

Simple rules I've put for myself:

- Lots of water. (I'm drinking about 2 liter a day)

- 5 hours between every meal ( 3 meals)

- Drink herbal teas between meals (white tea, green tea, my favorite mix of sage and thyme)

- Exercise 30-40 min every day.

- Wake up early (which I already do) and sleep early (which I normally don’t but been turning early these past two days)

Day 1

Breakfast: Almond milk sweetened by stevia and 1 organic egg omelet with a mix of peppers and spices.

Lunch: White fish fillet marinated in seasoning, mushrooms and sweet potato mashed in yogurt.

Dinner: A bowl of chopped papaya with pineapple with a 3 Tbs Yogurt.

My omlete, I used loSalt, black pepper,

 paprika and tumeric.

Almond Milk, tolerable, added a bit

of stevia to sweeten it.

 Spiced white fish fillet, which will

 be what I'm eating for the next two weeks.

Mushrooms, mashed sweet potato mashed with yogurt,

 garnished wiht herbs and peprika.

My dinner, it looks big but it isn't, 2 slices of pineapples,

2 slices of papaya, and 3 Tbs yogurt.

Early morning Fahad comes from the factory bring with him a sample of new flavor we were working on. I started crying! Please don't sabotage my first day! I refused to try it. Yaaay!

Midmorning I started craving something sweet, specifically chocolate chip cookies. After I had my lunch again I craved some chocolates which I always have after this meal.

During the day I felt listless and a bit cranky, and Abdulaziz didn't help much he drove me crazy while helping him with his homework. I didn't feel that hungry as much as I craved something sweet which drove me a bit crazy

So is it approved?

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