Final Update: 30 Foods Before 30

Well, I’m 30 now! So time to see how I got on with the 30 Foods before 30 challenge. It got slightly hampered by medical diets, but I tried the best I could!

1. Biscuits and Gravy. Didn’t succeed with these.

2. Musakhan Jajj. Also didn’t achieve this!

3. Freak shake. 

4. Wood Ants. I’m not against trying them, more the opportunity never came up!

5. Lobster. 

6. Khachapuri  I got as far as finding the recipe and then got no further!

7. Ceviche 

8. Kleftico. I’m pretty sure I actually ate this at some point but I can’t remember properly and don’t have a photo. I definitely had a really good piece of lamb at some point this year though!

9. Nutella Krispy Kreme. I tried a few of these. Just to make sure my opinion was right obviously….

10. Racelette. Turkey stew on raclette is amazing. Who knew?!

11. Afternoon Tea. 

12. Tapas. My brother now owns a Tapas bar! And he cooks it surprisingly well! (Sunbridge Lounge, Bradford– shameless plug)

13. Alcoholic Ice Lollies. I really can’t tolerate alcohol so I haven’t been brave enough to try them!

14. Proper lose leaf tea. 

15. Tartiflette. It’s made mostly out of potatoes and I now shouldn’t really eat potatoes. I ate a lot of this while I lived in France so I have actually experienced this before.

16. Dosas. I did look in Indian restaurants we went to but they didn’t serve any. I did eat them for breakfast when we were in India for a wedding though.

17. Tagine 

18. Real steak. To think this time last year I hadn’t eaten a steak before… now I have it twice a week!

19. Gelato 

20. Pecan Pie

21. Mississippi Mud Pie. I had an ice cream sundae version. It was quite nice but a bit bitter

22. Ice Cream Float

22. Hot Dog 

23. Octopus 

24. Thai food. I‘d still like to eat this out in a restaurant again but my friend made a really good curry for me

25. Chowder. Also made by my wonderful friend! I really liked this.

26. Mussels 

27. Woodfired Pizza. I had this when we went to the Royal Albert Hall for a concert. It was good but I didn’t think it was super amazing.

28.churros 

29. Jerk Chicken & 30. Sweet potato fries. 

Not too bad an effort! I need to say thank you to my friend Rich, who helped me tackle a lot of my list by cooking things off it- he’s a really good cook. The final totals are: 5 not completed, 3 tried before but not as part of this challenge, 23 completed. 

I’m quite impressed with that. The 5 I didn’t eat was mostly because I couldn’t find them, not because I didn’t want to eat them. If I do manage to track them down, I’ll be sure to write another update 🙂

Banner photo: google stock image

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30 Foods Before 30: Spring Update

My birthday in May seems a lot closer now Spring has sprung. I’ve started a new diet, low carb high fat, which slowed me down a bit with finding some of the foods on my list. But now I’ve got to grips with it, I’ve been able to take a few breaks from it to make sure I complete my list!

1. Biscuits and gravy

2. Musakhan jajj

3. Freak shake We went to the shopping centre where I got the Freak Shake last time and it took a lot of will power not to go in and get another one!

4. Wood ants I’m not looking forward to this one… The friend who suggested it was talking about this place the other day. The restaurant sounds like an interesting place so I’m up for trying it, even if I don’t feel excited by the prospect!

5. Lobster I had steak and lobster in a steak house.

6. Khachapuri

7. Ceviche Texture was weird, but the taste was good!

8. Kleftico

9. Nutella Krispy Kreme Many, many times…! So good! Sadly, Krispy Kreme definitely isn’t low carb, and one doughnut would be approximately 2/3 of a day of carbs for me. So I shouldn’t really sample anymore of these 😦

10. Raclette I’ve had lots of Racelette now. Especially as it’s a very low carb meal, which is an added bonus! Here’s our most recent one a few weeks ago:

11. Afternoon tea While on holiday in Wales we had a lovely afternoon tea out.

12. Tapas I’ve had Spanish and Italian Tapas since starting this list. My brother now owns a Tapas bar, so hopefully I’ll be able to sample his soon too!

13. Alcoholic ice lollies We tried making these over Christmas, but lacked the alcohol to put in them…

14. ‘Proper’ loose leaf tea I’ve had this a couple of times, once at a friend’s house and also with afternoon tea

15. Tartiflette I can’t believe I’ve not had this yet! We even have the cheese in the freezer ready to go! It’s become slightly more difficult with my latest diet, which rules out potatoes. I’ll make an exception for this though 😉

16. Dosas

17. Tagine My husband made this for tea one night. It was alright- something I’d eat, but not something I’d really look forward to having again.

18. Real steak Steak is now a regular feature in my diet. Here’s my favourite one- philly cheese steak

19. Gelato I’m happy to continue sampling flavours with this, despite it being ‘done’😉

20. Pecan pie In an american smoke house- very, very good pie.

21. Mississippi mud pie I didn’t eat it in pie form, but I did have it in a sundae the other day. It was pretty good- quite bitter but I like some desserts like that.

22. Ice cream float Also in the smoke house, had this a couple of times now.

22. Hot dog This was ‘alright’. I wouldn’t pick it again, but I can say I ate it!

23. Octopus We had this as part of the tapas meal I had ages ago and it was ‘alright’. But then my friend (the one who’s the really good cook) made it for us as part of a meal we had before Christmas and it was really, really good.

24. Thai food I’ve had a Thai Green Curry at a pub and at home and Thai Red Curry Mussels but haven’t eaten in a Thai restaurant or eaten authentic Thai food. So this is kind of done, but not quite

25. Chowder My good chef friend made us chowder a few weeks ago. It was amazing! Definitely something I’ll have again

26. Mussels We had these this week on our anniversary meal out for our second wedding anniversary. They were also unlimited so we could eat lots of flavours. Korma and red thai curry were the best.

27. Wood fired pizza Pizza is the opposite of low carb so takes a bit of planning. But that won’t stop me! 😉

28. Churros I’ve had these a few times now, still really good, especially these ones with nutella and dulce de leche

29. Jerk chicken This was an amazing meal out for my husband’s birthday.

30. Sweet potato fries I’m still pretty obsessed with these- every meal that comes with the option of chips, I switch them for sweet potato fries if I can!

If you’re observant, I repeated the number 22 by mistake when I wrote my list so I’ve actually got 31 things, not 30. But I’m happy to eat one thing extra! So in my Winter update I had 19 done, 1 nearly done and 11 not tried yet. Now I’ve got 21 done, 1 nearly done and 9 not tried yet. I’m getting there slowly! It’s the more obscure things on my list I have left now. So if you want to cook for me (please) or accompany me in my quest for finding the things on my list, let me know! 🙂

Banner photo: google image

30 Foods Before 30: Autumn Update

I’ve been a bit slower eating my way through my 30 foods before 30 list in recent weeks, but here’s my Autumn update as to how I’ve got on so far:

1. Biscuits and gravy

2. Musakhan jajj

3. Freak shake I recently gave up most processed sugar to help manage my insulin resistance, and I think eating a freak shake might be a bit of a sugar overload now! But I’ll still try someone else’s at the very least. 

4. Wood ants I’m not looking forward to this one…

5. Lobster I had steak and lobster in a steak house.

6. Khachapuri

7. Ceviche  Texture was weird, but the taste was good!

8. Kleftico 

9. Nutella Krispy Kreme Many, many times…! So good!

10. Raclette Will be eating more raclette this week too 🙂

11. Afternoon tea While on holiday in Wales we had a lovely afternoon tea out.

12. Tapas I’ve had Spanish and Italian Tapas since starting this list

13. Alcoholic ice lollies 

14. ‘Proper’ loose leaf tea I’ve had this a couple of times, once at a friend’s house and also with afternoon tea

15. Tartiflette I can’t believe I’ve not had this yet! We even have the cheese in the freezer ready to go!

16. Dosas

17. Tagine 

18. Real steak I had the steak and lobster which was ‘alright’, but also steak at another steak house, which was amazing!

19. Gelato I’m happy to continue sampling flavours with this, despite it being ‘done’ 😉

20. Pecan pie In an american smoke house- very, very good pie.

21. Mississippi mud pie 

22. Ice cream float Also in the smoke house, had this a couple of times now.

22. Hot dog This was ‘alright’. I wouldn’t pick it again, but I can say I ate it!

23. Octopus Again, this was ‘alright’. We had it as part of the tapas meal. I’ve been told that it tastes better if made differently though.

24. Thai food I’ve had a Thai Green Curry at a pub and Thai Red Curry Mussels but haven’t eaten in a Thai restaurant. So this is kind of done, but not quite.

25. Chowder

26. Mussels We had these this week on our anniversary meal out for our second wedding anniversary. They were also unlimited so we could eat lots of flavours. Korma and red thai curry were the best.

27. Wood fired pizza I’m surprised I’ve not eaten this yet!

28. Churros I’ve had these a few times now, still really good, especially these ones with nutella and dulce de leche

29. Jerk chicken This was an amazing meal out for my husband’s birthday.

30. Sweet potato fries I’m still pretty obsessed with these- every meal that comes with the option of chips, I switch them for sweet potato fries if I can!

So by my counting that’s 17 done, 1 nearly done and 13 not tried yet. And if you’re clever, you’ll have realised that that adds up to 31, not 30. It’s because in my original list I repeated 22 by accident, but when I realised, I decided to leave it in because I’m quite happy to sample one extra food! I think some of the red ones I might have to make at home from recipes, because I haven’t seen them on menus- if you have, let me know so I can hunt them down.

I’m quite impressed that I’ve eaten everything so far- there’s not been anything that I would say ruined the meal because I didn’t like it. But then again, I haven’t eaten wood ants yet!

Banner Image: Google Images

Week 9: 30 foods before 30

Here’s how I got on in week 9 on my 30 foods before 30 list. 

29. Jerk chicken 

We went out for my husband’s birthday to a Caribbean restaurant, Turtle Bay, and jerk chicken was all over the menu. So I picked a half chicken with jerk flavouring and it was really, really good. I had it with sweet potato fries which was number 30. 

I also had rum cake which deserves a mention because it was really good! I can’t have alcohol (cooked alcohol is fine) so it was a really nice change! 

Banner image: google image 

Week 8: 30 foods before 30

Another quiet week on this list again, but I’m getting there! 

7. Ceviche 

We went to las iguanas and I had ceviche as a starter. I really liked the flavour, but I wasn’t a fan of the texture. It was a bit like (what I imagine) eating worms! But not bad considering I’m not a big fish person. 

28. Churros

We also had churros in the same meal. I felt I could critique them more than last time after having watched the contestants make them on Bake Off this week! 

Banner photo: Google image 

Week 7: 30 foods before 30

A bit of a quiet week, I only managed one thing on the list this week! 

24. Thai food I had Thai green curry in a pub, which was really nice, but I’d still like to eat Thai food in a restaurant. So not completely checked off the list.

Banner photo: Google image 

Week 6: 30 Foods Before 30

I didn’t have an overly successful week in my 30 foods list, mostly because I’ve done most of the ‘easy’ ones now! 

11. Afternoon Tea we had a lovely afternoon tea while away in Wales. It involves cake and tea- some of my favourite things! I’d happily repeat the experience. I think the Victoria sandwich was my favourite. 

14. Proper loose leaf tea I had earl grey as part of my afternoon tea. It was lovely. 

Banner photo: Google image 

Week 5: 30 Foods Before 30

I was a bit more successful this week in finding foods, and repeated some! Here’s how I got on in week 5 of 30 Foods Before 30

5. Lobster I had a burger and lobster meal in a steakhouse which meant I could try lobster. It was nice, not a favourite but definitely worth eating again. It tasted a bit like every other seafood I’ve tried so not sure why lobster is supposed to be the best though! 

9. Nutella Krispy Kreme On the way back from my lobster dinner I was having issues balancing out my blood sugar so needed something with both carbs and sugar. Nutella Krispy Kreme to the rescue! This one was a repeat but still good.

10. Raclette I hosted a raclette party this week. We had the normal raclette things like potatoes and meat, but also garlic mushrooms, cream of spinach, chorizo and different cheeses. I mostly chopped things up since I can’t stand up and actually cook, so big thanks to my friend who did most of the preparation! 

Not on my list, but definitely worth eating as it’s probably the best meal I’ve ever had: duck ‘n’ waffle. A friend made it, which makes it more impressive, but it’s basically duck and waffle and a whole load of other things that you wouldn’t think work together but really do! 

Banner photo: Google images 

Week 4: 30 Foods Before 30

I haven’t had a great week with my Adrenal Insufficiency, meaning I spent a lot of time in bed or lying down, which meant not a lot of time to seek out different foods. Here’s what I did manage this week on my 30 Foods Before 30 List:

22. Hot Dog The closest thing to an authentic American Hot Dog was to go to TGI Friday’s and have their version. I opted for the Jack Daniel’s Chilli Dog which had beef chilli (obviously), mustard and chillies with the hot dog. I chose to have it with sweet potato fries (number 30 on the list). It was good, but it didn’t taste much different from the frankfurters we used to have as kids. It was also incredibly awkward to eat, so I resorted to eating it with a knife and fork rather than making as massive mess! Not a food I’d choose again, but definitely ticked off the list.

 

Banner Image: Stock Google Image

Week 4: 30 Things Before 30

It’s been a month since I wrote my list of 30 things to do before 30. Here’s how I got on this week:

6. Sell at a craft fair. I’ve been making Christmas stockings, I’m up to 4 now. 

11. Do yoga outside. Yoga is definitely out at the moment. However, a friend told me about Tai Chi so I downloaded a free app and have been doing some of the things on there. It’s a bit like my physio and I can do it as and when I feel like it. I did some outside in the garden the other day! 

14. Learn to play Mvt II Sonata Pathetique all the way through. I tried it again this week. I can still play the first page, but I got stuck part way through the second one trying to  remember accidentals. Particularly this bar:

18. Read all of the Harry Potter books in order. I finished the Goblet of Fire and I’m now onto the Order of the Pheonix. I fell asleep reading it and dropped it on my face- it’s a heavy book! 

23. Listen to Proms concerts. I only listened to one this week, featuring Rhim, Strauss and Mozart. It was a good concert though, and the orchestra played the Mozart entirely from memory!  

25. Play Pokemon Go. This week I played Pokemon with a friend in town- she told me about a spot where you can sit on a bench and Pokemon come to you! She also taught me about eggs, raspberries and how to evolve. Then I played in the park (another spot where they come to you) and sainsburys. It’s going to take me a long time to hatch my egg since I can’t walk far! I tried playing at the hospital, because apparently there are lots of Pokemon in other hospitals, but not my one sadly.

26. Eat tapas. This week we had Italian tapas. It was pretty good but I think I still prefer Spanish tapas.