Last week was the 11th anniversary of my 21st birthday, and I celebrated in style—by spending the whole day at home. 😌
We had lunch in the paddock with Luke, our farm manager, who’s been busy cutting fence posts.
Normally, every year for my birthday, I’m on some mad health kick, and my poor sister has to make me a “healthy” cake. We’re talking gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, fun-free.
One year, I even had a watermelon cake—literally just a stack of fruit, because we were on some juice cleanse (like I said, years of dieting).
The other day, I was snooping in my sister’s pantry and saw some weird ingredients I knew she’d never eat.
“Why do you have almond flour in here?” I asked.
“Because you wanted a gluten-free f**king birthday cake last year, remember?! So I had to buy all the ingredients!”
Fair enough. 😅
This year, she was dreading the birthday cake request, but it never came. She kept asking if we were going out for dinner, but honestly? I just wanted to stay home. I knew there wasn’t a restaurant in town that could serve me a steak as nice as the one I could have at home.
So, what did I eat?
• Breakfast: Dave’s the breakfast chef, so he made scrambled eggs, bacon, and grated cheddar cheese.
• Lunch: We ate with Luke up in the bush. I packed some cabana and cheese for a quick, easy lunch.
• Dinner: I got a little fancy.
First, I made an entrée of “chicken arancini balls”—chicken mince rolled with a cube of mozzarella inside, then coated in crushed pork rinds and baked for about 20 minutes. (Most of the cheese melted out, so I’ll try something different next time.)
Then, I really wanted pork belly.
So, I cooked up one of our beautiful pork bellies in the air fryer for an hour—it was amazing. I ate it with a little bit of apple sauce. I know it’s not strictly carnivore, but I just love apple sauce with pork. Is that weird?
And the birthday cake…?
Well, after dinner, I didn’t really feel like much. But, I’d picked up a single-serve cheesecake.
So, Dave and I split it.
I know—it’s not carnivore. But did I die? No.
Was it amazing? Yes.
And most importantly—I was happy with my choice. It was small, intentional, and I fully enjoyed it!
The best birthday surprise!
On Monday, I walked into work for our big 9 AM managers’ meeting, where we go over last week’s results and plan the week ahead.
Casey and Lachy had made me a meat cake! 🎉
A beautiful tower of paleo patties, stacked with different flavors of cheese and jerky sprinkes—it was incredible!
I felt very spoilt.
I’ve been reading so many of your replies (yes i read ALL of them!)—some of you saying you fell off the wagon over Christmas, on your birthday, or at a special event. And I totally get it.
But here’s what I’ve learned:
It's never too late to start.
Eating good, simple, nutrient-dense food doesn’t have to feel restrictive or like a chore. You just have to make it work for your lifestyle.
For me, the biggest game-changer has been always having meat in the fridge, ready to eat. When you have a solid meal, you don’t feel the need to snack. That’s been the key to making this sustainable for me!
Bianca. xx
P.S. If you want to try the exact cuts we eat in a fortnight, I’ve put together a Carnivore Box—check it out here .
