Pregnant Drinks

So, I'm now 18 weeks pregnant.  I've finally reached that glorious middle ground where I no longer have crazy hunger/simultaneous food aversions and somehow (most days) I feel replenished with the energy which has evaded me these last  few months.

My appetite has come back with a bang - and although I'm currently (guiltily) restocking on much-missed carbs and other food groups, I'm also back to some kind of routine, meaning I'm not in bed by 7.30p.m each night (hello T.V catch up!)

Thus I am able to once again work as hard as I ever have and, when the chance occurs, sit down and relax, enjoying my evening with my favourite snacks and drinks.

Except, I can of course no longer settle in front of House with a beer, or sneak a wee cheeky glass of wine while soaking in the bath with a good book.

I do love a drink.

Having worked in various bars over the years, I've got a pretty wide palette when it comes to alcohol and I do enjoy certain drinks based on season or mood.

Summer? A nice cold wine spritzer or cold raspberry cider.

Winter? A hearty Guinness, or a nice smooth Merlot.

Christmas time? Baileys, mulled wine or schnapps.

Party time? Tequila! Morgans and coke or a speciality bottled beer.

I love a malt whisky, I take great delight in supping a freshly brewed local ale and I know my way around a wine cellar.

Unfortunately, being pregnant kind of scuppers the joy a little.

Sure, over Christmas and even my birthday, I was unusually not bothered about drinking.  All day morning sickness kind of just makes you grateful for the small things in life, like super-cold fresh orange juice and ice cubes.

Over the last few weeks, I've started to be jealous of Dave when he cracks open a 'real' beer on a weekend.  True, he doesn't do it often, but my pregnant nose can discern the difference instantly; the oaky, hoppy notes of the beer, the alcohol, the sweetness of it just teases me like nothing else.

The bottles of Prosecco we were gifted for Christmas sit on the side, winking at me  with their cheeky wee corks cages poking out from the black foil binding.

There's nothing quite like a hearty glass or two of chilled Prosecco of an evening, if you are so lucky.

In a bid to find some kind of satisfying replacement, I've tried to adapt my tasting skills to the vast array of non-alcoholic alternatives available.

I'm determined to find joy elsewhere; after all there are so many amazing fruity blends out there just now, and certainly more than when I was last pregnant.

Have I been satisfied?  Well, I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised.  There's a lot of rather lovely alternatives out there which I could happily relax with after hours (or before hours!), pregnant or not.

Here's a few I've tried.


BECKS BLUE, ALCOHOL FREE

Coming in at around the £3.50 mark for 6 standard-sized bottles, Becks Blue is a nice, cheap alternative to your generic lager.  If you like Becks normally, you might be so inclined to like this too.  In fact, I think I like it a wee bit better than Becks.  There's something about the alcohol Becks which can make it quite a tough drink if you're not in the mood for it.  I used to drink it as a student, but as my taste buds developed, I got more of a taste for the richer, smoother lagers, like Kronenbourg. Becks Blue is good - I would go as far as to say it's a wee bit moreish if it's cold enough.  It doesn't dry you out, nor does it feel too heavy.  I find this one makes a real week-night treat.

BITBURGER 0.0%

This beer made me so, so sad.  Dave and I had gone out for an amazing anniversary meal at the fabulous Rancho Pancho in Dundee (the best Mexican restaurant ever!) and once again, as chief driver, and this time, chief PREGNANT driver, I sat surrounded by the finest Tequilas and most amazing Mexican beers, lagers and cocktails going, while promising myself of an epic night of drinking at the Rancho soon. 

*sigh*

All was not lost, however.  Despite being amazingly busy (on the first Monday night after New Year, no less) and despite not listing any non-alcoholic cocktails on their drinks menu, when asked, the lovely (and very pressed for time) waitress made me a gorgeous peach and strawberry slushy cocktail which easily rivaled whatever else was on the menu. It was a real treat. Dave of course could and did tuck into a rather tasty Mexican lager, which was honestly delicious (yes I'm allowed to taste - I'm not a total martyr!), although the name escapes me just now (and they've changed the online menu so you can't see their lagers), all I know it was not Dos Equis, but a very similar tasting cerveza,  which was super easy on the palate and really refreshing.

Sadly, our sojourn at Rancho was over too quickly, and we were faced with the same dilemma which faces us ever anniversary (damn you, January wedding!) - a real lack of any open bars where we could settle for a drink.  Plus, we live quite far from town centre now and being knackered and elderly, we decided to choose a premises closer to home.

Our local of choice, like many others, took the opportunity on that quiet January night to have a bit of down time, thus we ended up in our local Chef & Brewer, The Bell Tree, which we thought was a safe bet on the quality front.

I have to say, we were sorely disappointed.  I'm not one to call a place usually on the standard of fare available, rather I usually just not mention it at all, but it's the first time for a while where we have left our drinks more than half finished.

Having been a bar person, I would always much rather take the issue to the bar at the time, but in this case, there was one bar person, it was a very quiet bar and it felt like more hassle than it was worth for a couple of drinks.  Dave had a rather flat, fousty-smelling Kronenbourg, and I ordered the only non-alcoholic beer available, which was the Bitburger.

The smell alone put me off. Bitburger has a distinctive hoppy smell to it, which I didn't find very pleasant and I think it was an odd one to have as an only choice for those who fancy a non-alcoholic beer.  It was a bit flat, a bit thick and left a smoky kind of aftertaste. I felt like it was chosen by someone who hadn't tasted it - like they simply wanted to fill the non-alcoholic gap in the bar.  After the stops that Rancho pulled to make me feel all special on the soft-drinks front, this was a sad, and kind of brutal alternative. 

A poor end to an otherwise fabulous night!

ERDINGER ALCOHOL FREE 0.5%

Right, stop the train!  This is a helluvanawesome drink. So awesome, apparently I just made up a new word to describe it. I first encountered the Erdinger Alcoholfrei on a night out while I was still completely off food and hadn't really told anyone my huge preggers secret yet.  In a bid to appear like I was drinking and to, er, throw others off the scent, I asked the bar staff at Drouthy Neebors what they could suggest on the alcohol-free front.  They had two different things to try, a nice wee bottle by Brewdog (more on that later) and the Erdinger.

Being a bit of an Erdinger lover, I was a bit worried about trying it out - after all the preggers/driving version is never as satisfying as the real thing, and plus, I was still feeling a bit dodgy: what if it put me off Erdinger completely?

Given the correct Erdinger glass to pour into (Erdinger glasses are coveted in the bar trade as for one, they are expensive and for another, Erdinger is a very special beer which only looks good in the long, tall, thin and beautiful Erdinger glass.  Which is why they end up in a lot of handbags, I guess.)  The way Erdinger pours, it's supposed to have a rather tall head, which just adds to the sexiness of the lager beer.  It's an almost creamy liquid which is golden in colour and never disappoints - I'm yet to be served a bad pint of this stuff.

The bottled alcoholfrei version also did not disappoint. In fact - it's pretty much a super drink.  Check out the blurb (I always read the blurb - I'm such a beer geek):

ERDINGER Alkoholfrei - The Refreshing Isotonic Recovery Drink.

ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is a refreshing isotonic recovery drink. It provides the body with essential vitamins such as folic acid and vitamin B12 which help reduce fatigue, promote energy-yielding metabolism and support the immune system. Just one bottle (0.5l) of ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is a daily contribution to a healthy nutrition.

ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is brewed under the strict Bavarian Purity Law, which means it is made from only highest quality, natural ingredients. Not alcohol free for the purpose of UK Food Law.

I mean - come on! Isotonic? Folic Acid? Reduces fatigue? Supports the immune system?

Hello!  This is THE drink to have while pregnant, no?

It was very tasty, very satisfying, and yes, I went back for more. It even poured with the head on it. I swear it even made me feel a little bit less sick, which is odd.  Maybe the blurb had psychosomatic effects?

Either way, this drink is a doozy, look out for it.  The only down side I suppose, is it can be quite pricey, even in the supermarkets, so it's definitely just a rare treat. It is to be savoured and enjoyed though - definitely not a middle of the road alternative, which is the most refreshing part about all this.  It's nice to feel special when you need to.

BREWDOG NANNY STATE

I think I love Brewdog.

I love them, because they bring so much character to their beers, ales and lagers, in a friendly tongue-in-cheek kind of way which I totally get.

The bottled stuff regularly appears in places like Aldi and  Lidl, where you can pick up a cheeky wee brew for a cheeky wee night at home cheap enough, while still pretending that you're young enough and cool enough to be hanging out round the new Brewdog bar (you know, if it wasn't for the damned kids needing to be babysat and having no babysitter and so on...chuh!)

The name alone of this wee beer raised a nod and smile of approval from me when I picked it up in my local supermarket.  I'm sure the good folks at Brewdog didn't have us preggers beer fans in mind when they concocted this brew, but still, it resonated with me; at no other time in my life do I feel as nannied as when I am expecting.  There are so many rules - do this, don't do that, don't EVER try this - it becomes a fine balance between trying to live your life as comfortably as you can while adhering to the long, long list of advisory and statutory bits of advice, information and commands.

The  tasting notes are thus:

Big fruity up front and in your face aroma with a medley of ripe citrus, orange, sherbet lemon and lychee. Herbal and piny edges add a touch of balance. On the pallet the 100% of speciality malts work hard to balance out the barrage of Humulus lupulus we throw at this beer.  Amber and crystal malts add some biscuit sweetness which is quickly balanced and overcome with more fruity hop and resinous flavours and then these cleanse the palate and transcend into a long, refreshing and quinine bitter finish.

Which sums up why I do love Brewdog - they aren't sacrificing taste for lack of alcohol, which is very much appreciated.  A bit rougher than the old Erdinger, which is what I would expect, Nanny State hits the hoppy, tasty spot. Perfect when you want something a bit tastier than lager, but a bit cheaper than Erdinger. Yum!

SCHLOER

Sometimes you just want wine.

I'm not saying Schloer is going to do it for you, but it's a pretty great alternative.  I honestly believe, having tried and tested many 'juice' products in the same guise, that Schloer still holds the crown as far as a wine alternative goes.  It's sweet, it's moreish, it's fizzy and best of all, if you really are looking to fool your friends at the beginning of pregnancy into thinking you are still drinking, the colour and character of this stuff really does the trick (just make sure you hide the bottle - brown paper bag for authenticity?)

What's more, special occasion? Don't feel like you are missing out - you can still enjoy the same old rigmaroll of popping a cork and pouring some fizz.  Yep, Schloer have certainly tapped into the whole pregnant lady needs a drink thing, and have produced a rather special looking Bubbly version in pink and white, which isn't too expensive at all for a special occasion drink.

Not bad, eh? I bought these for Christmas, determined not to miss out on the drinky fun. By that point though, I had been drinking a bottle every weekend (to myself!  You can't do that with fizzy wine!  Well - you can, but not without an epic hangover) and thus I think it had lost its appeal by then.  But I do still enjoy it.  It's just that I would enjoy a dry Frixienet Brut or glass of Prosecco a wee bit more. I find Schloer a bit sweet sometimes, especially as my normal wine tipple would be dry, but I am extremely happy to pull this out as an alternative. In fact, I have pulled it out in wine glasses for appreciative visiting drivers who also enjoy feeling like they've had a specialdrink without having a special drink, so job done, Schloer! Good work!

Well, I've yammered on enough now, so I suppose I'll stop there.  I realise there's a whole world of stuff yet to try, but these are the only ones I have seen available - and trust me, I've been looking!  I'm still quite surprised at the recent surge in low/non alcoholic beverages available now, which is a welcome change. The last time I was pregnant, I was literally limited to Schloer and Kaliber.  It's really great to see some breweries taking the initiative to produce some viable and tasty alternatives.

Have you had any really tasty non-alcoholic beers/wines/ciders?  I'd love to hear any suggestions!

The day my sister was humped by a dog and other childhood accidents.

'Mum, can I go out to play?'
'Yes.  Take you sister with you!'

'Urrrrghhh...muuuuum!'

My poor sister.  I always complained about taking her out with me when I went out to play.

But my mum always made me.

And nine times out of ten we would head back, about an hour or so into our time out, because she'd injured herself in some ridiculous way.

I often wonder where my oldest son gets his extreme clumsiness from, but thinking back on it, I wonder no more.  Here are my favourite ridiculous accident situations involving my poor younger sister.

Awww, cute!

1. The time a wasp got in her shoe and I got into trouble

'Push me higher!  Higher!'

J was about 5 or 6 years old, and I was around 9 when I took her to the wee park at the back of our house.  We were staying at our grandparent's house which was at the back of a scheme of houses in suburbia.  It was a lovely area and great for kids to play about in - totally safe.

I was pushing her on the baby swings that fateful day, when all of a sudden, she started screaming and crying out of nowhere.  Panicking, I started to try to slow the swing down, but she was making such a fuss, it was ineffective.

My friends were panicking too, and shouting at me to let her off.  When I eventually got the swing stopped, I lifted her out.

'What's wrong?  What happened?  Why are you...'

But before I could get an answer out of her, she took off!  Shocked, I just kind of stood and watched her.  And panicked - my sister and I often had disagreements which usually ended up in us physically fighting, and if mum saw her crying like that she'd think I'd hit her or something. I was scared I was going to get into trouble.  I had to get to her before mum did.

She was never that fast, so I managed to catch up with her quite quickly - just as she rounded the corner into my grandparent's back garden, right into a huge bush full of brambles and thorns.

She sat in the bush now, crumpled and crying - a right sorry state.

My mum had heard her screams as J ran up the path, before she hit the thorns and now stood, glowering down at us, before lifting my now bereft sister out of the bush.

'What did you do to her?'

'I, I , I...' I had no words.  I was clueless as to what had actually happened.

I started to get into trouble for chasing my sister - for making her fall into the bush.

Astounded, I couldn't begin to explain what had just happened - I just stood there, watching my sister as she sat on the floor and screamed and pointed at her shoe.

My mum took us both into the house, chastising me for not looking after my sister properly, my sister roaring and limping now; had she hurt herself when she'd fallen?  Taking her shoe off, my mum gave a gasp.

Emtying it out onto the worktop, we 'ewww'd' at the remains of a very sticky, very squashed wasp.

The wasp had flown into her shoe and stung her while she was on the swing.

How does that happen to anyone?

2. The day she was humped by a dog while rollerskating

Ah, what a glorious day that was.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was a very quiet Sunday morning when I decided to go out on my shiny new roller-skates.  I had been waiting since Christmas to get a good day for this, and today was the day.

Then came the inevitable.

'Take your sister with you!'

Suddenly, the sun was dull, the birds were playing morose melodies and I was a grumpy roller-skater.  My idea of spinning off into the distance, going at phenomenal speeds and doing amazing jumps off the three stairs at the top of the hill were gubbed.

J could barely stand up in her skates, which meant we were either doomed to come home before we even left the garden path because of some crazy injury, or she'd at the very least, stop me from fulfilling my dreams of glory by making me hold her up the whole time.

Thankfully, she agreed to keep her shoes on until we got to the flat path beside the wall and changed her shoes there, while I glided gracefully ahead of her, grumbling the whole time.

As she got ready, sitting on the wall, I skated up the path a bit, angling for the three steps, when I saw the black dog who lived around the corner come ambling along.

 He was a lovely old beast, quite big and ancient, and followed around by a tiny and even more ancient woman with a gruff voice, who shouted ineffectually at him when he went to greet passers-by.  His name, oddly for a big hulking black dog, was Breeze.

She was already shouting at him, 'Breeze, Breeze', her voice like a smoker's 100-a-day when he started to make his way towards J, who was just standing up, rather wobbly, on her skates.  She wobbled over to the dog to give him a pat, and just as she did that, the dog started to sniff her excitedly and wag his tail.

She started to giggle at him - right enough, we'd never seen him so animated before.  But it seemed the woman was panicking, as she began to shuffle even faster and shout her hoarse shout even louder.

'BREEZE!  NO! BREEEEEEEZE!'

What happened next has scarred my sister for life.  The dog leaped up on his back legs and jumped on her, wagging his tail the whole time.

My sister started to shout on me, wobbling all over the place on her skates; she couldn't run away in case she fell over.  How she never did is beyond me!  She was stuck.

It was probably the funniest thing I'd ever seen - I couldn't move for laughing.  I was creased, I was paralyzed. The sight of the tiny old lady, the very happy dog and my panicking sister on skates will stay with me forever.

Needless to say, after the lady had convinced the dog to disembark, J had stopped huffing enough to change back into her shoes, and I'd managed to stop laughing, we had to go home.  Where I got into trouble for laughing instead of helping.

And that is why I am going to hell.


It was a bit like this:



But with skates.

3. The time J's bike fell apart

I've never seen this happen before, or since.  How do these things happen to my sister?

We were casually riding along on a bike ride through the park.  We had travelled far and wide without incident.  Feeling quite smug, and like maybe we had turned a corner in the whole 'taking J out with me without anything bad happening' thing, we were heading home.

On the last stretch, we had to go on the pavements to get back towards our grandparents' house.  Our three friends went first up the kerb, bump, bump, bump.

J was in front of me.

All I saw was her go 'bump' and then suddenly, without warning, crash onto the ground.  Downwards.

I braked sharply, missing her rear tyre by inches.

My friends had stopped - one dropped their bike to the ground and chased after something, running back with it in his hands.

I dropped my own bike to the ground and went to see my sister, who now, still sat on her bike, helmet on, knees scuffed on the floor, but still sitting perfectly upright, crying,  on her bike.

Which was missing a front wheel.  It had fallen off when she bumped up the kerb.

The god of bike-riding accidents had spoken.

We all stood agape. Getting that bike, the front wheel, plus all of our bikes and my upset sister back to the house was a journey in itself.

Try explaining that one to your parents.


4. The time my sister was saved by Jesus

Bad luck and just general clumsiness has followed my sister into adulthood.

I can take her out with me now, happily,  without worrying that we'll only have some epic accident and have to return home within 10 minutes, but she still has the occasional spill.  She even goes out on her own.

A few years ago though, when she was still a student, she was due to meet friends for a Halloween party in a local bar.

They'd all dressed up, and as is usual with students out on the pull, dressing up in something a bit flirty, over something scary was more popular.  Hence, J decided to go as a Police Woman.

She looked swish all done up in her uniform, and being the kind gal she was, offered to put her friend's Minnie Mouse ears in her house.  Living across the road in the city centre, this wan't a problem.  Having a drink or five before she had even left the house was.

Having successfully deposited the ears, she went to skip down the stairs merrily to rejoin her pals.  J, being J, tripped, and flew head over heels down the steep stone steps, all fifteen or so of them, down to the bottom.

Lying in a crumpled, bloodied heap and wondering what she had broken, my sister, who didn't feel much due to her previous alcohol consumption, heard a voice asking her if she was alright.

Looking up, she saw a man in white robes and long brown hair gazing down at her.

It was Jesus.  It turns out he too was heading out for the evening.

Her legs in an unholy mess, her tights ripped beyond redemption and now a wee bit sore, J was lifted up by 'Jesus' and sorted out.  He offered to take her home and make sure she was o.k.

After she declined his kind offer, she headed off in search of her disciples and more wine, only recalling the next day once she realized how sore her legs actually were, that the moral of the story is; Jesus Saves.  And he's pretty hot.


Ah, Sisters!

Looking good, ladies!

Rebooting my life. Or trying to.

I hate diets.

I see other people going on diets all the time - in fact I don't think I know one lady just now who genuinely doesn't monitor what she eats.

Maybe it's an age thing, but even I have started to think about what I'm eating, how much I'm eating, and even more frightening, the effect it all has on my body.

For the first time in my whole life I feel unfit.  I feel fat.  I feel unhealthy.

I drink waaay too much caffeinated diet drink, I eat so much chocolate and don't even get me started on my crisps intake.

My energy levels are down, I'm eating mainly white carbohydrates for that quick sugary energy high and my fruit and veg intake is at an all time low.  I've started to use wine like a carrot on a stick to get to the end of my day, just to get through it.

But that's life with kids, right?  I should be tired, shouldn't I?  Everyone else has the same problem with time and energy and the need for fast food fixes, don't they?

I see all those internet memes about wine all the time.  Everyone 'likes' them because it's true, right?

We're all waiting until the kids doze off sweetly (or in my case arse around until they finally give up an hour after I put them to bed) before tucking into our favourite bottle of Cabernet, aren't we?

At least that's the impression I get.

So yesterday, when Ethan was actually playing with Lego on his own for once, I sneaked through to the living room with my 'treat' to myself.  It's something I do occasionally, when I get peace to, and yes, it's something that I do on those rare times when I'm home alone. 

Today for example, the first thing I did when I came home after a particularly stressful morning and school run was to grab a bag of Ready-Salted and a (albeit small) Toffee Cheesecake pot with a can of Diet Coke and consume.  And I feel better.

Yesterday was no different; all was quiet on the Western Front, so I grabbed a Diet Coke and a bag of crisps and I sat on my butt and watched grown-up T.V.

Uninterrupted.

For HALF AN HOUR.

It was awesome.  I opened the bag of crisps, cracked open the can of coke and put Netflix on.  Oh yes, I was choosing for myself! Very exciting!

Now I'm always hyper-aware that the peace I'm getting is probably only going to last as long as it takes to wolf down that bag of crisps, so I always do it quickly and I usually choose something to watch that doesn't require much attention.

So when I picked the docu-film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead it was kind of a half-hearted, ironic choice.  I mean, after all, here I was, stuffing my face unhealthily, the way I do at least once a day.  I didn't think it would have any relevance to me.  I mean, I am still in relatively good shape.  I can still chase the kids down the street and I'm still climbing playground equipment at the park.  Yes, I have put on a bit of weight but I'm not that fat, I'm not sick and as far as I know, the grim reaper ain't got me on his list yet.

Joe Cross, the guy who made this film about his journey rebooting his life and another man he picks up along the way, Phil Staples, who we literally see become half the man he used to be, both seem like a seriously nice guys.  Usually I watch these things with half an eye on the screen, but Joe's warmth and Australian good-humour made the film inviting and engaging and Phil's story and transformation is inspiring.

Joe tells his story candidly, we see what his body is like at the start and we hear all about his auto-immune condition which caused him to be on hard steroid medication for life. 

There's some really cool animations to explain all the science - y stuff, and some really interesting social commentary too. Granted it is based mainly in the USA, but with the diet I've been on recently, I felt it was very relevant to me too.

Joe changes his life by drinking just juice made out of fruit and vegetables, and eating nothing but fruit, veg, nuts and beans for 60 days.  The reactions he meets from his friends and family are that they all think he is crazy, but they do have some admiration for him; after all, the man is a self-made millionaire, so his ideas certainly carry some 'weight' (geddit?)  But he loses over 6 stone in the process, his blood work shows a very healthy change to his system, and by the end of the film, we discover that he has attained his goal of eradicating his need for any medication.  He has changed his life.

Phil Staples, when we meet him, is a truck driver.  He has been eating on the road for 8 years and his diet mainly consisted of fried foods found at truck stops.  He gives Joe a call in a moment of desperation, and Joe wings it over the pond from Australia, juicer in hand, to help him start a ten-day juice diet.  Phil finds it hard at first, but his motivation never waivers, and he perseveres after the initial ten days, extending his reboot even further, losing half of his body weight in the process.  It's amazing to see the change in Phil and the change he makes to his whole life; he even changes his job so he can stay more active.  I really found myself rooting for him.

Soon, I was hooked.  I paused it half an hour in and watched the rest while Ethan was at nursery in the afternoon. This time, no crisps!

Last night, when I went to the supermarket for the packed-lunches food, I wandered up the book-aisle and there it was, the book of the film that I'd just watched that very afternoon.  Unlike me - as I said, I hate diets - I bought that damned book, and I took it home and I sat down and read it.

I really had thought that this film had been just one of those faddy docu-films that Netflix seem to harbour, but it's taken off enough that Joe Cross is making a fine business out of it, and helping loads of people to boot. I made Dave watch it again at night.  He agreed with me; it was a very interesting concept.

We both agreed that yes, our diets are atrocious at the moment.  Yes, we both crave processed, refined foods.  And yes, our energy-levels, our skin, our mental attitudes all probably suffer because of it.

Part of the idea of a reboot is that you are:

• Rebooting your taste-buds.  You fight them on their cravings and re-introduce them to the taste of fresh fruit and veg so then that is what they begin to crave.
• You flood your body with micro-nutrients.  These are essential nutrients that can only be found in fresh fruit and veg.  This flushes out your system so you can begin a healthy balanced diet.
• You set your own goals - try it for 3, 10, 15, or even 30 days and see how you get on.  What I loved was Joe states that there's no way to fail - even if you just manage 3 days then that's still 3 days that you gave your body that you wouldn't have otherwise.
• You have to start changing the way you see food.  One helpful thing I saw in the book was that you don't think 'I need food', you think 'I need energy' and that helps you assess what kind of energy you need better.  eg; and apple gives you slow long-term energy, whereas a packet of crisps gives you a short burst of energy followed by a low.
• It's not supposed to be about losing weight; it's about re-assessing and changing the way you approach food and exercise.

It's going cheap on Amazon! Free plug for Joe!  Lucky boy!

The book is fab - it's written in Joe's easy-going manner, but with complete facts and relevance.  Everything you need to give this a go is in the book - apart from the juicer of course - but he even goes as far as to help you with that too, in a section about how to choose the right one for you.  there's recipes, a substitutes list for any veg you don't like/can't get a hold of and a full run-down of what to but for all the different plans.  It's not heavy-going and you can easily skip to the different sections which are relevant to you.

I've been on his site this morning www.rebootwithjoe.com and there seems to be lovely community to go with it all.

At the end of the day, Joe is businessman with a lot of savvy.  He knows a success when he has one, and I am usually very skeptical of such things, but I really do think I am going to give this one a go.

This afternoon I am going to try to find me a reasonable-priced juicer (the one he's plugging, although very nice and obviously awesome is well out of my price-range)  and take the plunge.  I'm going to find time to plan a three day juice diet initially, following the book and if I feel fine after that, I'm going to continue it into ten days.

I guess sometimes you just need to find the right thing to inspire you, and this has done it for me.  So here goes!

If anyone else has been following the Reboot Juice plan, or has completed one I'd love to hear from you.  I've sincerely never heard of it until yesterday, and I'd really love to see how practical or feasible it is for a mum to two small boys and no time!

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.