Tuna ceviche with citrus and passionfruit: journey to wellness

I have adapted this recipe from Rick Stein who first had the genius idea of putting tuna, lime and passionfruit together. It is a burst of flavor and a celebration of the warmer weather. We have tuna fresh from the boat but you could use any sashimi grade fish.

Tuna ceviche with citrus & passionfruit

Serves 4 – 6 as an entrée

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Tips – I am strictly sugar free but if you are not add one tsp of honey or sugar to the lime juice to get the hot sour salty sweet balance.
Enjoy x

Journey to Wellness

“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”
-Erol Ozan

My personal journey to wellness began with a desire to lose weight but along the way it became so much more. I thought it would be a good time to share the story of eating my way to health and dropping two dress sizes. I have also decided to share some photos of what I looked like before, even though it makes me feel a bit exposed and uncomfortable.

When people compliment me on my weight loss I always say the same thing “getting there”. My husband has started teasing me asking me when I will be there.  The truth, I am starting to realize is that I will never get there. There is no end point in a health journey. The goal posts shift, the path is not linear and there is no such thing as perfection.

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When I started clean eating the only goal was weight loss. It was the sole and primary motivation behind my choice of food. As my diet changed to nutritionally charged food I began to feel amazing. I woke up delighted to be on the planet in my own skin. This was a very welcome change for a girl who has struggled with self esteem issues. As the weight started to melt away the goals completely changed. I became very conscious of what it meant to feel well and my goal became to hold on to that feeling. I started to use words like authentic and journey. I felt like a walking cliché but I was firmly on the wellness path and if the shoe fit, I was wearing it.

In ten months I have lost 12 kg. It has been the easiest thing I have ever done because I have eaten beautiful healthy food. I devised wholefood meals that were high plant based with small amounts of good healthy fats. After years of deprivation diets it was an amazing experience to eat my way to a slimmer me. There is still a way to go. The last few kilos cling stubbornly like barnacles to a shipwreck. This is the journey. It is a non linear track. If I continue to eat the way I am eating now I will not lose the last of my weight. That could be ok. I am in a healthy weight range; I can wear fitting clothes and feel really good in them.  Weight is no longer the only factor in my choices, and yet, to be so close.

We all zig zag our way to better health outcomes.  Since I adopted clean eating and sobriety I have stayed away from bad choices but I have given up coffee twice and given up cheese three times.  Making great choices is something I must do over and over and over again. We should never rest near the end point but always keep striving. When the legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he still practiced at 90 he replied “I think I am making progress”.

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The journey demands evolution. Every morning I wake up and hit the running track. I clock approximately 10 k on a sandy bush track. I treasure this time, running with my shadow and the bounding roos. I have finally become a runner, not running makes me feel like a scratchy bear. Even when I would rather drink tea in bed devouring books, I know that if I don’t hit the track I will regret it later. I am proud that I am a runner, it took years of forcing my unwilling body out on the track, it is no longer an effort to get running, and while this is a win of sorts, it is also part of my problem. Slavishly following a routine approach to wellness is not going to serve me.  To this end I have sprinted on to the HIIT (high intensity interval training) band wagon. It is a revolutionary idea, that six minutes of sprints a week will get better results than an hour each day of running.

I aimed for six 30 second sprints on my first day and barely managed six 20 second sprints. It is not fun but it is over so quickly. I felt astoundingly alive after my first training session and I am determined to stick with it a few times a week. I will still do my beloved 10 k bush runs and HIIT can only be an asset to my fitness and my longer runs. Maybe I will decide it is not for me. Maybe I will love it and keep it in my journey to wellness. I am open to the process.

I hope that I can sprint my way to even better health outcomes. The journey is non linear, it hasn’t always been easy and I have made mistakes. The big difference these days is that I am my own friend. If something is not working I am prepared to try another thing without beating up on myself. Through food and sobriety I lost weight and gained myself. The journey is my life path and I am courageous enough to know that I am worth every amazing outcome I can possibly achieve.

I deserve it. So do you.

Peace xxx