All I had in the fridge were some limp carrots and wilting parsely. I also had onion and garlic so I made what turned out to be a husband-stealing carrot and parsley soup. Fortunately for you girls, I am happily married :), lol.

Ingredients

• Carrots - 4 large
  
• Onion - 1 large
  
• Garlic - 4 cloves
  
• Parsley - a bunch (or any other fresh green herbs like coriander)
  
• Vegetable stock - 1 cube
  
• Hot water - 500-650ml
  
• Optional - meat pieces. I prefer mixed seafood pieces but the soup in the picture was a meat free soup.

Method

1. If your herbs are wilted like mine were immersed the bunch in very cold water. 
   
2. Place chopped carrots, onions and garlic in a large pot with a teaspoon if oil. Fry on a gentle heat with a teaspoon of mixed dried spices and a pinch of salt. Stir periodically. 
   
3. When the onions are fully sweated, add the stock cube and enough hot water to fully immerse the carrots. 
   
4. Boil on a gentle heat until the carrots are fully soft. 
   
5. Remove from heat and throw everything from the pot into the blender. Throw all the herbs in two. Herbs don't need cooking to preserve flavour. 
   
6. Blend completely. 
   
7. You can serve or re-simmer for two minutes if you want your herbs a bit cooked. 
   
8. If you are having meat chunks fry them with minimal butter until they are fully cooked then throw the blended soup on top of the meat and simmer for two minutes. 

Serve!

My 2013 goal: go from 63.5kg to 60kg (i.e. 140 to 130lbs)

I haven't been 60kg since I was 20!

This is what happened: I gained 10lbs! With the post Christmas indulgence I hit an annual high of 68.4kg (151 lbs) just after Christmas.

The weight gain did not come as a shock - I've been tracking almost weekly using the Fat Creep app and I saw it coming but didn't particularly care.

This year, I decided to make the goal SMART and actually set out how I was going to lose the extra weight. Luckily, my husband got me the FitBit for our anniversary and just having the gadget made me realize how sedentary my life was. My two weekly 5km jogs were not enough to counteract my incessant nut scoffing and my passionate love affair with desserts.

Because I wanted to start the year at 67.5kg exactly, I started my weight loss regime on 30-Dec. By some stroke of luck my Fit Bit is sending me summaries that exactly match my diet cycle. As always I am not dieting but getting rid of the silly habits that I had started slipping into.

So, what changes have I made?

1. WALKING

I have committed to at least 10,000 steps a day!

I never really considered walking exercise so I didn't do much, I thought it was so low impact and hence not worth the effort. What I have discovered with my FitBit is that I was only walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day which is as low-activity as a life gets. Not good enough!

2. JOGGING

No change.

I am still only doing my two 5km a week. The only difference in 2014 is that I'm doing it at a gym rather than outside - I couldn't take the cold anymore. With a treadmill I can increase the intensity of my jogs much more easily so I am enjoying it.

I am currently jogging on Tuesday and Thursdays.

3. WORK OUT IN THE MORNING

I always used to jog around midday but I have always known there is an extra benefit to doing it first thing in the morning - it gives your metabolism an all day boost. I decided to stop being lazy and just do it! I'm now up at 6.30 a.m. instead of 7.30 a.m. - it's not a huge change.

4. RESISTANCE TRAINING

Two thirty minute sessions a week.

I hate resistance training (!) but I can't deny that I do see much better weight loss and maintenance when I do it. To start off with I think two sessions a week is enough. I'm using a DVD to do it.

I am currently doing my strength and resistance training on Wednesday and Fridays.

5. PRE-WORKOUT FOOD

Research suggests you burn more fat if you have a shot of unsweetened black coffee 30 minutes before you work out. I am using green tea - I don't know if that is as good a substitute.

6. WEEKEND ACTIVITY

I have committed to either a swim, a long walk (2 hours) or a gym class once a week at the weekend...finally!

7. FOOD!

Weight loss is really just about what you eat; eating less is enough to lose weight even if you do no exercise at all. I am also exercising because I actually want to be fit. I've made the following changes:

• I'm trying to eat c.1,400 kcal per day - I would normally eat about 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day which is a lot for a 5 foot 1 inch girl (1.54 metres) who sits on her ass all day staring at a computer.
• No carbs after 5!! This is quite drastic for me; I love my rice and pasta. To make up for it I have to eat proper food at lunch. I am now having a more nutritious lunch with quality meat or chicken, rice, pasta, mash, potatoes etc. and vegetables. In week 1 I didn't even cut out oil or anything, I just used a more reasonable amount. In fact, volume-wise my lunches now are actually bigger but that helps me to... 
• ...Cut out all junk mid week - I normally eat crisps or cake or some other nasty as an afternoon snack but I am leaving that for the Saturdays and Sundays. Last weekend I had crisps on Saturday and pancakes on Sunday - I can't wait until this weekend's treat.

What am I missing?

• Mid-week crisps
• Chomping on nuts as I cook dinner! Nuts are good for you but not the way I eat them. I love to eat them whilst as I cook. I think I'd have 3 to 5 handfuls every night whilst I cook which should add up to 60 - 80g a night. That's 350 to 480 calories a night - A LOT when you're just about to have dinner.

So, at the moment I am not doing anything drastic just what I should be doing anyway taking care of my health.

Five portions of cake completely destroyed week 4/5. What was meant to be an "I am feeling sorry for myself" cake turned out to be a big celebratory cake leading to a portion of cake per day for four days with two portions on the Sunday! Yikes! 
Of course, weight loss = zero, I should just be happy I didn't gain!

I got a craving for chocolate cake last night and dominos wouldn't deliver just chocolate cake so I made my own by adapting a recipe from food.com. It was super quick & easy!

Cooking time: 
15 mins to prepare, 15 to 20 mins in the oven.

Ingredients

• 110g (4 ounces) 70% dark choclate chocolate
  
• 120g (1/2 cup) unsalted or salted butter
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 large egg yolks
  
• 60g (4 tablespoons) sugar
  
• 45g (3 tablespoons) self-raising flour
  
• Icing sugar

Recipe

1. Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 220 degrees C (430 degrees F). 
2. Spray ramekins or oven proof mugs like I used with cake release spray.
3. Melt chocolate with butter in a heat proof glass bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. Remove from heat when fully melted. You can microwave if you want but I don't.
4. Beat eggs, yolks and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed in a deep bowl until thick and pale. It should take about 5 minutes. Pour egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour. Beat until smooth.
5. Pour batter into mugs/ramekins. Reduce oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).
6. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until cakes have risen and have a thin crust, sides are set and cakes are slightly jiggly in the centre; under baking is better than over baking if you like a soft centre. I like mine not to be gooeey so I baked for 20 mins.
7. Carefully invert each cake onto a serving plate and let sit for a minute. 
8. Dust tops with confectioners' sugar. Microwave frozen berries for a minute, pour onto side plate and serve immediately.

I know I did well because my husband's eyes lit up when I presented his cake and he said, "I'm a lucky man!" I can't argue with that :)