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menu planning #4

I wrote a menu plan, ordered all the food and was raring to go when William got a fever and generally felt horrendous with a mixture of a horrible cough, 2 teeth cutting through and conjuctivitis.  Needless to say my weekend didn’t go to plan.  Then late on Sunday night I got hit by a sickness bug and what followed was the total wiped out of all my plans and good intentions for the week!

So here is the menu plan that we totally didn’t follow…

Sunday:  chicken gyros
Monday:  omelette {with ham, peas, onion and cheese?}
Tuesday:  lasagne
Wednesday:  sausage and mash
Thursday: thai chicken curry
Friday: fish and chips
Saturday:  meatballs and pasta

Menu planning #3

Sorry for the delay but this week I just really struggled to get my head around menu planning.  I was going to force myself into it last night but unfortunately heard the sad news that a twitter friend’s little girl had passed away, she was a few weeks younger than William.  It totally shook me and so I can only imagine the pain and hurt that the family must be feeling.  If you pray, meditate or anything similar please hold them, and Matilda Mae, in your thoughts and hearts, at what must be the most awful of times.

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Here are a few eats from this week.  I am particularly proud of the roast chicken, it feels like a grown-up thing to be able to cook!  As well as the fact that I’m amazed I managed it as I have a fear of birds and can be funny about cooking meat.

Despite avoiding menu planning and being totally unable to get my head around it, I think we’ve got a rough plan.  The upside to having a well stocked freezer is that we can get away with planning at least a few meals the night before.  However, I still did a quick online shop ordering in the things we need to make what have become our staples.  Overnight oat and yoghurt jars, vegan muffins, salad for crudités and some fruit which normally starts at a place of pink lady apples and bananas.

This week

Breakfasts: I sound like a broken record but oat and yoghurt jars, banana and nut butter wraps and porridge sometimes at the weekend with William are really the foundation of my morning.  Alongside coffee obviously.  The protein pancake I tried didn’t work out so well, I think it was the protein powder I used so I might try tweaking that at the weekend.

Snacks: again the frozen protein bars and protein brownies along with the vegan muffins I now religiously make every Sunday night are key.  Not having to think about it and automatically thinking ‘it’s 3pm = snacktime’ takes away any choosing or thinking about less nutritious options.

Dinners:

1. mince with savoury scones {a Granny freezer meal}
2. pasta with pesto, smoked bacon and veggies
3. fish with mash, carrots and broccoli {we keep avoiding this meal, not big fish fans}
4. thai chicken curry
5. chicken noodle soup
6. chicken gyros

I also want to start substituting white rice for brown where possible
but it never seems to be cooked enough.  Any tips?

love Amy x

squish ’em in and hold ’em down

Wondering what all this #projectsparkle stuff is about?  Click here for the details!

27. buy a sports bra

I know that this sounds like a ridiculously easy item on my list but it was a big deal.

         

My boobs are not small and / or pert!  Not having a good sports bra was an easy excuse to use when avoiding going running.  But deep down I really wanted to get back into running.  Sometimes what you want long-term gets overlooked by fear, avoidance and embarrassment.  This is totally what was holding me back from getting out there again.

{source}

I had the trainers, I had baggy t-shirts, I had cheap and cheerful joggers {although I’m pleased to say I’ve been able to fit my bootie into my running tights} and with my return to work and beginning to work from home 2 days a week I have the daylight hours to be able to.  Which meant the only excuse I had left was a lack of sports bra.

Just before getting pregnant I had spotted a sports bra on the Sweatshop website which looked really intriguing…enter the Sportjock sports bras.  Something I particularly liked about them was they didn’t take a ‘one bra fits all’ approach and the ‘target size’ is clearly listed in the description.  There are:

{Action sport bra – cups A, B and C}

{Super sport bra – C, D, DD, E and F}

{Front zip sports bra – DD through to G}

Because of my…assets…I went for the front zip sports bra.  I also ordered the Panache sports bra as a friend recommended it and was going to go with that but as soon as I put the Sportjock on it was love.  It is made of super soft material and is so comfortable I can’t quite put it into words.  Rather than feeling like I was wedged in a child’s t-shirt or floating around in a cave ready to jiggle about I felt like someone had wrapped me in a blanket and snuggled me on  the sofa!  Then came the jogging on the spot test…still comfort and no ping-pong motion.

The bra is designed more like a crop-top in terms of the cut which also means the weight and impact of my assets {cough cough} are spread across my back and the dreaded ‘straps that have dug in’ grooves don’t happen.  I did wonder how I would find the front zip but there are three hook and eyes which I fasten first, then pop ‘the girls’ into place and zip up.  Also as it does up at the front and the material is so soft I don’t have to do the “struggling to fasten my super tight ‘so the girls can’t go anywhere’ sports bra dance” which I am sure can only be a good thing for the planet!

Honestly it is love, I could babble on but the proof is in the pudding – I didn’t want to take it off after my run and will be ordering a second very shortly! As I am currently wearing around a 38H bra I ordered the large but think I will probably move done to a medium once I have lost a little weight across my back.

Until the end of February Sweatshop are offering
15% off new season clothing and shoes with discount code FFTNEE

Menu planning #2

The first week was a success!  It went really well and prevented me from constantly trying to decide what we should eat at 6:30pm having no idea what we’d got to choose from!

{I made these vegan muffins and they were a major hit!}

{Had a go at making bircher muesli based loosely on this recipe.
William absolutely loved it and I used an old peanut butter jar
to take a serving into work each morning for my breakfast.}

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A few people asked me what Gyros’ are.  Stupidly I didn’t photograph them.
Tho mainly because Mark and I were too busy sticking our faces into them.
They were so good!!!
Here is the recipe we used.

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Something I didn’t really mention last week is that I am particularly interested in monitoring our food waste.  Previously I have felt like we threw away a lot of fresh food that had gone unnoticed and spoiled.  This week we have had to throw away some almond milk {trying, and failing, to get used to it in my coffee}, 2 mini pots of hummus {why are there so many ways to spell this simple chickpea delight!?!} and possibly a packet of fresh coriander but I’m hoping it might last until Tuesday to use in the chicken noodle soup.

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This week

Breakfast

1. bircher muesli
2. wrap
3. porridge
4. green smoothie

Snack

1. protein chocolate
2. crudites and hummus
3. muffin
4. rice crackers, nut butter and fruit

Dinner

1. fish, mash potato, peas and carrots
2. bacon and creamy avocado pasta
3. burgers, chips and salad
4. chicken noodle soup {trying this recipe}
5. poached egg, ham and toast
6. jacket potato with cheese, beans and sausages
7. shepherd’s pie {last night, a freezer meal courtesy of my Gran!}

love Amy x

a whole lotta geeky!

Wondering what all this #projectsparkle stuff is about?  Click here for the details!

14. start menu planning

You might have read my blogpost over the weekend with details of my first week’s menu plan.  I have to admit I really enjoyed the process and am excited to see how this week pans out.  I thought you might like a bit of waffle about how I approached it.

Book a date with yourself

I looked at my schedule and decided when I could do this on a regular basis so it becomes a habit I can keep up.  For me I realised I could have a quick look through the cupboards and freezer on a Thursday {a work from home day} which would give me chance to do some planning that evening and on my commute on Friday morning then pull together an online shop during my lunch break.

Make it an occasion

Ok so hear me out, if you don’t have much ‘free’ time which I guess includes me given I’m working full-time, have William, am trying to get back into running and generally keep the house ticking over, then any time you get to sit down quietly for half an hour is a time to treasure!  So I made myself a hot drink, lit my favourite candle and popped a bit of music on.

What is your style?

Some people plan breakfast, lunch and dinner, others just plan dinner.  A lot of people seem to assign meals to specific days and so I assumed that was how it had to be.  Honestly, I think it is one of the major reasons menu planning hasn’t worked for me in the past.  We often are like ‘oh I really fancy xxx tomorrow’.  Which made me realise that a better plan for us is to choose the dishes and shop for them but assign which day is what on Sunday night/as we go.  As I’m trying to get a bit healthier and back to being dairy free {it just doesn’t agree with me} I decided to focus on breakfast, snack {for the 3pm slump} and dinner.

The nitty gritty what went down during my candlelit quiet time?

First up I opened up a double pager in my new notebook.  The left page was for menu planning and notes, with the right page being for a shopping list.  I thought of a few recipes I had seen recently that I fancied trying or a favourite dish and popped them down on the planner.  Then I made a detailed shopping list, don’t try to skip any of this otherwise you will go wrong in the week.  Go and double check whether you have enough mixed herbs, is your cinnamon still in date and do you have plain or self-raising flour in the cupboard!  I also took a moment to look at the list as a whole and check there was a good balance of quick and easy vs. prep ahead of time options, are there a range of proteins and carbs or is it all pasta?

Don’t forget to add in any non-food items that you need to your shopping list or the everyday bits like butter, milk and bread, washing tablets, toilet rolls and teabags!

For added geeky points…

Then I took it to a whole new level of geeky and decided to do a freezer inventory!  Our freezer is actually in the garage as we have the tiniest galley kitchen ever.  Like ever ever!  The problem with this is that I often forget what is in there but regularly pick-up reduced meat etc and pop it in on the way home {we use the back entrance, infact the frontdoor is rarely opened.  Random but true!}.  So the freezer gets fuller and fuller and is an untapped resource.

It only took a few minutes to go through each drawer and note down what is there and how many portions.  Then I wrote it up neatly in my trusty menu planning notebook!  I popped the items under the categories Meat, Fish, Vegetables and Other.  The plan is that as we use things I can cross them off the list and equally as I buy things pop them down on the list.  Hopefully this will mean next week when I menu plan I can use what we already have in the freezer as a base to work from to help keeps costs down.

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Reading that back it sounds quite long winded but it really wasn’t, I promise!  Having the detailed shopping list was brilliant as I always normally forget things which means I end up wasting time doing multiple trips.  I have planned around 2 weeks worth of breakfasts and snacks so I can make some things up and freeze them in preparation for lazy days or ‘running low’ ends of weeks.

love Amy x

Menu planning #1

Morning everyone!  Happy Saturday!  Hope you’re having a nice weekend and enjoying some time with family and friends despite of the snow.

With going back to work full-time the only way we won’t end up surviving on takeaway or cereal is a little bit of organisation and planning.  I don’t like menu planning to be too prescriptive and I don’t want to be constrained by what the menu plan says we’re meant to eat.  So instead I want to plan ~4 breakfasts and snacks and 5-6 dinners.  Eventually I want to add in lunch but where I work it’s quite easy to get a good lunch.  However, breakfasts are potential danger zones, it is too easy to grab a latte and a pastry!

Breakfast:

1. nut butter and fruit wrap
2. muffin and fruit
3. oats in a jar
4. porridge

Snacks:

1. protein bars
2. brownies
3. rice crackers with nut butter and fruit
4. crudités and hummus

Dinner:

1. chicken noodle soup
2. gyros and wedges
3. avocado pasta with smoked bacon
4. chilli and rice
5. fish fingers and waffles

love Amy x

that looks awesome, where did you buy it from?!

Wondering what all this #projectsparkle stuff is about? Click here for the details!

7. bake a sweet treat

I created two sweet treats this week!! Pretty soon I’ll be challenging Nigella…ok maybe not but for me this is a pretty big deal. First up were cookies with my sister using this recipe. We omitted the melted chocolate and they were still pretty sweet. They made a tasty breakfast treat but I think we’ll try a different recipe next time. Any suggestions?

On Friday a certain person turned the big three-zero 29 again! Just before Christmas I watched the Gino and Mel cooking programme and was inspired to try making their no-bake ‘Irish Liqueur’ aka Baileys {other brands are available} cheesecake. Now I’m really sorry but I’ve just tried to get the link so I could share the recipe with you and it has vanished, in it’s place is a generic ITV page saying ITV Food has now been closed. So I have tried to remember the recipe the best I can and will pop below the picture as it was a huge hit and really pretty simple to make. Mark didn’t believe that I had made it rather than bought it…this may be a reflection at the lack of domestic prowess I demonstrate rather than because he was impressed but I’ll take it!

The only change I would make is I’d be tempted to add a little vanilla essence to the cheese mixture if I were to make it again, it might not work but I think it might taste a little less cheese if that makes any sense.

Ingredients:

300g digestive biscuits
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
150g unsalted butter
800g cream cheese
140g icing sugar
300ml cream – whipped
100ml irish liqueur
chocolate for decoration

Method:

1. melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Separately crush the biscuits and then add to the butter along with a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.

2. place the biscuit mixture into the bottom of a springform tin or loose based flan tin {really needs to be a springform though for depth} and press so it forms a firm base. Then refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. whip 300ml of double cream until it is whipped cream – recommended to do this by hand to avoid overwhipping {oh I say mr grey!}

4. beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, then add the icing sugar and liqueur and beat again until thoroughly mixed.

5. fold in the whipped cream. Then spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

For decoration I grated toblerone, then added some malteasers and some lumps of toblerone {I popped a few triangles in a food bag, covered with a tea towel and then gave it a good whack with a rolling pin}

Please give a warm welcome to…

Embrace the life you live!
Or figure out how to change it…

Howdy troopers! How is your week going? Mine is looking soooooo much better after a serious dose or six of penicillin! After being pretty healthy through pregnancy and maternity leave I got really ill on Friday night with a horrible case of tonsillitis. My sister has it too, we exchanged texts which included things like ‘where did this come from?’ and ‘I don’t remember tonsillitis ever being as painful as this, like ever ever, in the history of man ever!’. Yep, it was yucky but thankfully I’m feeling pretty good, though not 100%, as I type this.

Tomorrow I go back to work {please let me take a moment to do a victory dance to gangnam style…………………..ok I’m back}. Which means this week William has been having a couple of taster sessions at nursery ready to start full-time on Monday {for any eagle eyed readers, Daddy daycare is stepping in for tomorrow and Friday}. Yesterday I had hour an hour to myself, alone, in the house, with nothing that had to be immediately done or anyone trying to get my attention. Naturally I decided to do the washing up, a smarter move than it sounds as it allowed an amazing 90 minute afternoon nap! There is something quite therapeutic about gazing out of the window, washing up with just my thoughts for company. Randomly that phrase came into my mind.

Embrace the life you live!
Or figure out how to change it!

I was upset, angry and a little bitter at mother nature for ‘robbing me’ of good health for my last few days with William before the maternity leave bubble ends. But honestly, we have had an amazing ten months together! I am honoured to have been able to have that time learning about who this little man is and who I am now that he is. It has truly been a privilege to hangout, eat breakfast and go for walks, change his nappy and splash in the bath, read books and crash trucks. Rather than focusing on what I don’t have, I needed to focus on how much I have. My life is pretty awesome, on my terms, for me, right now and I love love love it. There are things I would like to be different, some I choose to tackle and change, some I accept need to be as they are for whatever reason.

Whatever you’ve been dwelling on recently, can you change it?
Should you accept it or is it time to embrace it?

I now also have these two beauts to look at as I scrub, meet Miss. Mint and Mr. Basil. I love fresh mint tea and felt like they would be a good addition to the family. Another small step in the bigger #projectsparkle picture!

Tuesday 25th September 2012

In the last week or so I have discovered the secret to me having a good day. It may have taken at least six months of maternity leave but finally I have realised what I can do to help make sure William and I don’t end up hating each other and counting the minutes until Daddy is home!

I get up at by 6:20 at the latest so I can shower while Mark and William hangout. Having 20 minutes to shower, style my hair and pop on some moisturiser babyfree gives me the start I need. This morning I even managed to sneak in a cup of coffee to sup whilst I faffed. Honestly it makes such a difference to how my day goes but it is such a simple thing. Plus Mark loves spending a bit of one on one time with W!