The challenge: To cook all 115 recipes from the first Thug Kitchen cookbook: Eat like you give a fuck, within 365 days.

84 recipes down, 31 recipes to go, 66 days left.

This recipe is just flawless. Flawless fast food.

Five-Spice Fried Rice with Sweet Potatoes.

 You’ll have “take out” leftovers for days. Plus, it’s way healthier than anything from your local takeaway. Less oil, less salt…Less guilt.

And I can really recommend eating it straight from the fridge: door hanging open, with nothing but a fork and a smile. This can be done pre-coffee, pre-tooth brushing, and the messier your hair, and the wrinklier your pajamas, the better I guarantee this will taste.

This morning at 5.30 am when my 4-year-old decided to start my day, (PS it’s a fucking Sunday) I developed a theory about sleep. What if there is a finite amount of sleep hours to be shared out amongst all the sleepers in the world? So if one person has less, does someone else get to have more? I just want to know who has the sleep I should’ve had today, and are they cherishing those extra hours like they should?

Sleep thieving. The problem is real.

The Chinese Five Spice is what makes this recipe so great. I couldn’t find the stuff over here and didn’t realise it was a blend that you could make on your own by combining spices. (five of them. ahem.) So I smuggled some home with me in my luggage when visiting my sister-in-law in the UK. Shhh, don’t tell customs. I’m not sure how they feel about powders being brought across borders.

The key to this is the cold leftover rice. Make this shit in advance and you’ll be laughing. The rest is a breeze. The whole thing will take you minutes.

Once you’ve fried the sweet potato, carrot and onions, and added the spices you can put all that to one side while you get the rice and other awesome bits ready. (wanna know what the other bits are? Get your own book here, or ask the Thugs on their website: www.ThugKitchen.com) *

Done, and done.

Serve up and enjoy the crap outta it. Maybe even share with some people who you give a shit about. Tell them to bring wine.

I flash fried some bell peppers and spinach with insane amounts of garlic and a dash of soy sauce, and threw them on the side of this yummy scrummyness.

Feast you eyes on this.

Your body will thank you.

This also makes a kick ass lunch pack for work, or whatever it is you do with your life on the daily. (Not sure about skydivers or astronauts, but most other things are compatible with this packed lunch.)

With only 66 days left of the challenge I feel excited that we are pretty much gonna be having Thug Kitchen grub every day. I love it.

The thing that doesn’t excite me is this: Boxes. Moving. Chaos. And the fact that it’s hard to keep up with the blogging side of things. I can cook TK every day, but having time to write is a whole other story while we are packing. And moving. And cleaning.

My friend suggested a ‘Cease-fire,’ a time-out from cooking and blogging while we move. (Get it? No stove: no fire!) But the whole point was to do this within 365 days. If I extend it by 14 days it won’t be the same, and not that it matters to anyone but me, but if someone asks me, ‘Did you do it? Did you cook them all in 365 days?’ And I’ve gotta say, ‘No, but I did it in 380’ it just ain’t the same.

I think I’m just gonna have to get creative. Maybe I’ll do some three course meals or something. Having Thug Kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner one day sounds like a pretty cool day. And I’ll just have to keep the blogs shorter.

If anyone’s got any tips or advice for me, feel free to send them my way. They are all very welcome. Now go tuck into your 5-spice take out before someone else does. The bastards may have stolen your sleep, don’t let them nab your food too!

Fun fact: In French the word for ‘potatoes’ translates to ‘apples of the earth’.

How do you like them sweet potatoes?!

* Nope, I don’t work for Thug Kitchen or for Amazon.