MONDAY

I was working from home, and as my partner was still away, I had to get up earlier than I usually would to take care of the dogs. I started my day with some natural yoghurt and the rest of the strawberries.

At breaktime, I sat down to write – as is my habit on the days I work from home – and had two more of those banana, peanut butter and oat cookies. I’m making good use of them!

There was some salad left over from the gathering of agility folks the day before, so I finished the greens with some bacon and egg thrown in. A couple of pieces of that dark chocolate went nicely with the cup of tea I had afterwards. My current lunchtime watch is season seven of Cold Feet.

Afternoon snack was one of Whitworth’s Shots. No, I’m not drinking on the job. These have become a particular favourite of mine as they come in several flavours, are quick, easy and tidy to eat and offer a healthier option to snack on than crisps, biscuits or chocolate. A welcome option when you’re feeling a little peckish.

Dinner was a vegetable stir-fry with noodles that I put together in a matter of minutes – what I usually want at the end of a working day. Dessert was a chocolate-toffee one straight out of the fridge.

Dinner - vegetable stir-fry. The laptop is out because I decided to watch my favourite Finnish talk show, Enbuske Veitola & Salminen, while eating.

SUNDAY

Busy day, so I made the most of getting up early and boiled some eggs in preparation for serving lunch later, and I had two of those for breakfast along with an apple.

Boiled eggs for breakfast.

I was hosting a course walking workshop for the dog agility club, so after we got through some of the presentation, we stopped for tea and coffee, and I had one more of those banana, peanut butter and oat cookies along with a square of dark chocolate.

Lunch was included in the workshop, so I had prepared a simple salad board to cater for all the different diets out there, including my breadfree week. Simple is best, and everybody was happy.

The workshop finished earlier than I had thought, so I sat down to do some odds and ends on my laptop while enjoying a few strawberries with whipped cream. I love strawberries; they’re one of my favourite things about summer. Irish strawberries are good, but nothing is as good as Finnish strawberries. They say that the nightless nights of the Nordic countries give strawberries the chance to develop an especially sweet taste. I can’t wait to get home next month and eat some of those!

Dinner was cold-smoked salmon, boiled potatoes and a side salad. This was the first day in my experiment when I sat down to have dinner as part of my usual routine which includes a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits as a plain dessert, but biscuits are off the menu this week. I made the most of the left-over rice porridge instead. I mixed in some whipped cream and canned mandarin slices, and voila – we have hedelmäriisi (fruity rice). Waste not, want not!