Confession

I have no idea what day it is! We just this moment got home from yoga class (which by the way, ouch, my hip is killing me!) put dinner in the oven (baked gnocchi) and I realised it is tuesday!

We've had a busy weekend. We were out on Sat evening for food with hubbys family, Sunday we had lunch and a little walk with my lovely cousin and her fiance, Sunday evening we went with friends to see The Hangover 2 (If you have not seen it, and liked the first. Get. To. The. Cinema. Now. its super funny) And Monday we made our way to Coventry to stop in a hotel and see Kings Of Leon.

*phew*

Its been such a busy weekend, but its been such brilliant fun. It was great cating up with my cousin, we can talk for England when we get together! The movie was so funny, I wasnt too bothered about going, but am so glad I did. and Kings of Leon... Need I tell you that was fabulous?
It was fabulous. they are an exceptional live band, I only wish we'd had better seats/were standing. They played a good mix of old and new songs and it was just great. (trying to get a taxi back to the hotel, and how uncomfortable the hotel bed were not so super, but we'll skim over those things!

If you have tickets to their UK tour, they will not disapoint, and I am so jealous you have that still to look forward to! Next time they tour I'll be booking tickets again for sure. and I am super excited to see Foos in MK in July now too! :D yaaaay.

I shall post 'Tasty Tuesday Wednesday' tomorrow! xxx

Weigh In Result & Meal Plans

Morning campers.
I'm back with my weekly dose of meal planning. I'm feeling incredibly groggy today. Wheezy and chesty, bunged up and watery eyes. I've been on and off like this for about 4 weeks now. I've never had hayfever before but all fingers seem to be pointing in that direction. I was feeling fab a couple of days ago too.
I have some antihistamines that are still in date (from a reaction to an insect bite last summer) so I think I may take a couple today and see if that helps at all.


Anyway, onto my usual update. I gained last night. it was expected as I didnt stick to plan at all. I can honestly say I dont know whats wrong with me at the moment. Its so simple, and I know unless I stick to healthy eating and exercising I'm not going to lose weight, but my motivation and dedication is seriously lacking at the moment. I'm going to keep on meal planning and driving forwards though as something will click soon I am sure and it will all fall back into place again.


We have an odd/busy couple of weeks coming up and also my birthday at the end of the month. Plus there are a few changes happening that I shall go into in more depth on here soon. We have been having some lovely conversations at home planning and discussing changes and our hopes and dreams etc. And I am excited (and a little scared) about the next few months or so. :D

Friday: green (Today!)

B - Toast & fruit

L - Refried beans, Taco, fruit

D - Veggy Curry & rice

Saturday: EE

B - weetabix & apple

L - tomato mugshot

D - Dinner out with D's Family

Sunday: EE - Bike ride round Grafham Water (weather dependant)

B - Egg on toast

L - Pub lunch

D - golden rice & Prawn/Pork kebabs

Monday: EE - Bank Holiday - KoL in evening

B - Egg on Toast

L - ? in COV

D - ? in COV

Tuesday: EE - Exercise at hotel during day. Yoga in evening

B - cooked breakfast at hotel

L - ? in COV

D - Veggy Curry (leftovers from freezer) & Rice

Wednesday: Green

B - Cereal or Toast & fruit

L - Leftover Veggy Curry & rice

D - Quorn & golden rice & roast veg

Thursday: Green - Balance & SW in Evening

B - Cereal or Toast & fruit

L - Leftover roast veg & golden rice

D - Baked gnocchi & garlic bread

Bank holiday weekend and we are going to see Kings of Leon Monday night in Coventry. We should both have the Tuesday off too (waiting for D to confirm he has today!) so we booked a hotel for the night, don't have to travel home and battle traffic out of the arena, and we can have a mini break and use the hotel facilities on the Tuesday.

Hoping I feel better for then!!

Have good weekends all of you, whatever your doing! :) x

Tasty Tuesday ... Rio Bravo (& Darrens B-day - Image heavy)

This was somthing I was planning on posting about sooner. We visited Rio Bravo, a Mexican restaruant in Market Harborough with friends for Darrens bday at the end of April.

We had a few drinks at a bar before we arrived (weekends they just have 2 evening sittings, 7pm-9pm and 8.30pm - close) browed the menu and ordered some corronas.

I'll mention now that the photos are terrible. My only excuse is that after the corronas we started on cocktails, and then tequilas. We had a good night.

Both Darren and me had Jalepeno Poppers for our starter. Breaded jalaepnos stuffed with cream cheese, served with a mexican salad and pepper jam. I didn't get a photo, but they were completely delicious. We both really enjoyed them.
For my main course I had Chicken Burritos. They came with refried beans, spicy rice, mexican salad and salasa,

ooh yes, and a tequila sunrise. It was wonderful. so tasty, and nice and spicy but not overpowering. I ate the lot. Everyone else said they enjoyed their meals too. All round the food was a resounding sucess.

We didn't have desserts. instead we ordered a couple of rounds of drinks.

It was a really really good night, good food, good company, good cocktails. I am sure it would be just a nice for a quieter meal, just as a couple enjoying a night out as well as a boozy birthday celebration. We shall definitely be returning.

  Unfortunatley you do not get to keep the sombreros! :)

Sunday Snapshot

Today we went and looked at tents. Our friends were picking up their new one, and we went along to see if there was anything that took our fancy (also its part of a garden centre so we had a little look around there too)
We have a little cheap tent that's been ok, but we could do with one a little larger and better quality.

We left lusting after an Outwell polycotton one. Just the £400 more than we were originally looking to spend! Ouch. My evening is now being spent on the sofa, bowl of strawberries in hand, browsing a tent catalogue (the one in the photo, that's the one we want!!) X
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Weigh In & Meal Plans

A day late with this post. Today really truely was 'one of those days' (I am sure that is turning into my favourite saying recently!)
First I took a tumble at work while carrying some parcels and took the impact full on my right knee. on a concrete floor. ouch. Its not too bad,  it has a nice lump and bruise and my foot is bruised and grazed, but I can bend it, and it seems to be taking my weight ok walking up stairs this morning (couldnt manage that yesterday)
Then the car broke down. to be exact the exhaust fell off!! whaaaat! I've only had the thing 5 months, and we only noticed a rattling noise 2 days ago and then sodding thing falls off. Its in the garage at the moment waiting to be looked at on Monday. I'm not best pleased as you can imagine. Hopefully it'll be sorted soon, going form 2 cars to 1 to none is a bit of an adjustment!
Not to mention work is super busy. So when I finally got home last night we crashed on the sofa, I put my knee up and we got take out delivered. Not diet friendly, but it was so good after a crappy day.

Anyway, Thursday night. I lost 1.5lbs. hoorah. and apart from my little (understandable) blip last night, I'm hoping for another good loss next week.

Saturday - EE
B: Fruit & yogurt, Toast
L: Veggy tortilla
D: Pork curry

Sunday - EE
B: Sausage & Bacon panini
L: Crudites and home made dips
D: Spaghetti bolognaise & garlic bread

Monday - Green - Gym in morning
B: Fruit, muesli & yogurt
L: Veggy tortilla
D: Veggy Jambalaya

Tuesday - Green - Yoga in evening
B: Fruit, muesli & yogurt
L: Leftover Jambalaya
D: Cheese & broccoli pasat bake

Wednesday - Green - Gym in morning
B: Fruit, muesli & yogurt
L: Leftover pasta bake
D: Tofu/Veg curry

Thursday - Green - Body Balance & SW in evening
B: Fruit, muesli & yogurt
L: Leftover curry
D: Tomato & basil baked Gnocchi.

Friday - EE - Gym in morning
B: Fruit, muesli & yogurt
L:Leftover Gnocchi
D: Homemade fish & chips

Lunches are all about the leftovers this week. Makes it so much easier just cooking a little extra the night before, popping it in some tupperwear in the fridge and grabbing it the next morning! I am really enjoying going veggy during the week too, and it saves money which is of course a good thing :)
The exercise will all be knee dependant, I'll be sure to take it easy and not damage it any more.

Happy Saturday.xx

Sunday Snapshot

The weekend has mostly been spent at garden centres/DIY stores, in the garden, watching eurovision and drilling, decorating and tiling.
Not the most exciting weekend, but the garden is starting to look presentable, we have a hanging basket out the front of the house (my first ever attempt! Here's hoping it works out and looks lovely!) And... Now this is the most exciting... We have a toilet roll holder in the downstairs loo!! :O

I'll not subject you to a photo of that, so here is a snap of my new clematis in the corner of our garden.
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Weigh In Result & Meal Plans

Soooo. It was a bad week for me. and when I am having a bad week i lose all interest in food. Unfortunatly this does not lead me to ealing little and often, but rather eating junk and snacks because I quite frankly just cannot be bothered.
I gained 2.5lbs
I'm not upset about it though as I was fully expecting it. No excuses, it was entirely my own fault because I didnt have the energy or will power to turn down the biscuits.

It was a good meeting last night however, and i left feeling much more positive and happy with my plans for this week. And a lot of us pledged a 3lb weight loss aim for the week ahead. And because it was such a good group type pledge I really want to get it.

I'm keeping things simpler this week. I can have a tendancy to over think things, and to get myself back to eating heathier I think the simpler the better. :)

Saturday - EE
B - Cereal & fruit
L - Tuna salad roll & spanish tortilla
D - 'KFC' style chicken & chips (and Eurovision!)

Sunday - EE
B - Bacon, Sausage, Eggs, Tomatoes, Beans, Mushrooms, Toast
L - Spanish tortilla
D - Chicken casserole

Monday - Green
B - Cereal & Fruit
L - Tortilla & cheese and tomato roll
D - Thai yellow veg curry & rice

Tuesday - Green - Body Balance in Evening
B - Ceral & Fruit
L - Tortill & cheese and tomato roll
D - Gnocchi Bake (Gnocchi baked in a tomato sace with roast cerry toms and mozarella! - an experiment!)

Wednesday - Green - Gym in morning
B - Cereal & Fruit
L - Leftover Gnocchi
D - Pepper & mushroom risotto

Thursday - Green - SW in Evening
B - Cereal & fruit
L - Leftover risotto
D - Darrens quick dinner (Fish, jacket pot & mushy peas)

Friday - EE - Gym in morning
B - Cereal & Fruit
L - Jacket pot, Tuna & sweetcorn
D - Chicken, Chorizo & Prawn Paella.


Eurovison is tomorrow night. I am a complete eurovision geek. LOVE it! We have friends coming over for dinner, and I cannot wait! ha.

Have good weekends everyone xx

One of those weeks!

Its *definitely* been one of those weeks.
I don't know what's been wrong with me, but my moods have been jumping from being down and in tears, to being so frustrated and angry I feel like screaming. Anyway. We had an early night last night in the hope of getting a good nights sleep to wake feeling rejuvenated and lovely...

I woke up with a headache. Then it took me around 20 minutes to get my hair into a simple quiff. I had no breakfast and no lunch prepared, so stopped off to grab something on the way to work... This is todays breakfast!

Not too healthy eh. Most enjoyable though. And the painkillers have kicked in now too, so I am forcing myself to be cheerful.

Its a domino effect, one crappy thought/bad feeling leads to another and it just snowballs out of control. So if I force myself to be cheerful, it'll lead to more cheerful thoughts and hopefully that will snowball and I'll be a happy little bunny once more! :)

Hope your all having cheerful Thursdays. X

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Tasty Tuesday... Strawberry Cupcakes

This recipe is from a Slimming World recipe card I got when taking out a pre paid coutdown in April. I gave them a try at the end of April to take for my sisters birthday. The original recipe is for 16 mini muffins. I do not have a mini muffin tin, so instead I made 8 fairycakes.

Ingredients

3 eggs

60g low fat spread

6 tablepoons artificial sweetner

110g self raising flour

vanilla essence

8 teaspoons icing sugar, water, red food colouring & strawberries to decorate

Method

Pre heat oven to 180deg C

Whisk together eggs, Low fat spread and sweetner

Sive and fold in flour and a couple of drops of vanilla essence. Spoon mixture into the paper cases

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.

Mix a little water and a couple of drops of red food colouring with the icing sugar... This is where I always mess up, and make the icing much to watery... Today was no exception

Spoon your nice thick gloopy non runny icing onto your cupcakes and garnish with a slice of strawberry.

Not the prettiest cakes I have ever made. This is what they are supposed to look like!

Mine look rubbish. Also, they didnt taste *amazing*. Perhaps they are nicer as mini muffins, perhaps I needed to whisk the eggs etc more than I did. I definitely need to make the icing thicker as it was waaaay to runny! Perhaps i'll try these small changes next time and see how they turn out. Perhaps I'll just stick to my tried, tested and super easy fairycake recipe.

The spotty cupcake cases are cute though right. ;)

Sunday Snapshot

A belated sunday snapshot, and it is in fact from yesterday when we were clearing out the spare room. Doesn't Darren look fetching in my purple afro wig?? :)

I've been feeling rotten today and have spent most of the day in bed. Not something you guys all wanna see a snapshot of!! :)
Can you believe its Monday already tomorrow?? Weekends always fly by. Happy Sunday x

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Weigh in Result & Meal Plans

Happy Friday everyone! :)
Well last nights weigh in was a it of a shocker. After Darrens b-day night out (post coming tomorrow) and hangover breadfast the next day etc I was expecting a gain of some amount.

You know what... I lost 2.5lbs! l.o.s.t!!

Shocked, amazed, elated. mostly shocked. haha. Hopefully I can keep it up and shift the weight I gained the week before asap.

So, this weeks meals (now I am back at work and in a nice routine!) ...

Saturday - Extra Easy
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: ?? - not sure yet!
D: Philly stuffed chicken with pasta & salad

Sunday - Extra Easy
B/L: Cooked brunch. Bacon, eggs, sausage, beans etc
D: Mediterranean chicken tray bake with sweet potato wedges (really looking forward to trying this recipe)

Monday - Green - Flexibar in evening
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: Salad with cheese & boiled eggs
D: Chickpea Curry & rice

Tuesday - Extra Easy - Body Balance in evening
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: Salad with Tuna & boiled eggs
D: Quorn Sausages, mash, veg & onion gravy

Wednesday - Extra Easy - Gym in morning
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: Salad with Tuna & boiled eggs
D: Pork curry & rice

Thursday - Green - SW in evening
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: salad with cheese & boiled eggs
D: Darrens Lazy dinner - Jacket pot, Quorn & veg

Friday - Extra Easy
B: Fruit, Granola, Yogurt
L: Leftover pork curry
D: Tacos or Pitta pizzas.

Happy eating. have wonderful weekends xx

Lust List (April 2011)

oh my, This is a little late this month. I swear I really don't know where my head is at recently. I am thinking I should perhaps get a diary and get a bit more organised.

Anyway, here is my little list of things that have caught my eye throughout April.

1: This cushion from Ikea. *love* they would look so lovely in the garden when the makeover is finished! unfortunately they had none in stock when we visited the MK store recently.

2: More cushions, again from Ikea. again because they would look lovely in our garden. They look like sticks of rock from the seaside! (imo)

3: This egg cosy. how cute?? I could probably make one to be honest, and maybe I will.

4: These Cath Kidston Bowls

5: and this teacup & saucer

6: or these bowls

7: and this teacup & saucer. in fact, just mix and match any of the last 4 items. I'm not greedy I just want a couple I don't care which! throw in a couple of small plates and some cutlery while your there. I shall have the prettiest breakfasts in all of Northamptonshire.

8: Also, how much do I want this Wills & Kate mug?? (which I can no longer find on the website! omg, panic!) More than you can possibly imagine.

9: Phew, as you can see I've been a little Cath Kidston obsessed this past month. Anyway. This little rose hook would be just lovely in our downstairs bathroom.

and finally number 10: These woooonderful Irregular Choice shoes. oh my. Bunnies and bows!

It seems April was rather a cute feminine month for me! not sure I shall be able to resist a lot of these items, Need to work out a plan to get them all into my life!

Hope April was a lovely month for you all, x

Tasty Tuesday... Olive & Herb Flatbreads

Ooooh. One of my new features, Tasty Tuesdays. Each week I am planning on sharing a recipe, telling you about somewhere we have eaten, or even passing the buck to my husband Darren and letting him share one of his culinary ventures with you (he seems to be becoming a curry master! whoop. He also makes a killer  macaroni cheese type thing)

These Olive & herb flatbreads are incredibly easy and very tasty. and the best bit... because it's a flatbread it does not need too much kneading. The original recipe was given to me by my great friend Leanne, and I have made it numerous times since.

Ingredients

250g Strong bread flour (I use half white, half wholemeal)

2 teaspoons sea salt

Half a sachet of dried yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

150ml warm water

85g chopped olives

Dried mixed herbs

Black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200deg C.

Mix flour, salt, yeast ,1 tablespoon of olive oil and some for the water in a bowl. Mix with a fork until combined, adding the water as needed. It may take a little more than 150ml, it may take a little less.

Once you have a nice ball of dough (if you add too much water, just add a little more flour until you get a good manageable, not too sticky ball of dough) Knead for around 6-8 minutes

Place dough in a plastic bag, or back in the bowl and cover with cling flim. leave in a wram place for around an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Here is a little tip/trick for you. If like us you don't have an airing cupboard but you do have a dishwasher... Put a load on before you start making the bread. Empty it out as soon as it has finished and place your dough in the dishwasher. It stays very warm and is perfect for raising dough.

When your dough has risen in size mix in your chopped olives....

This is where I defer from the recipe. Darren is not a fan of olives, and wouldn't eat my olive bread. So seeing as I had a little tub of Graze olives in the freezer, I split the mixture in two. Half was mixed with olives, and half with some chopped garlic.

Once they are all mixed in shape the dough into a ball and squish (technical term!) flat on a lined/non stick baking tray

Again. I have differed here and split my 2 different flavoured haves into 3. If you wanted to do mini flatbreads as I have on this occasion. Split your one whole batch into 6.

Leave on the baking tray for around 30minutes to finish rising (no need for the dishwasher this time!) brush the flatbread/s with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with dried herbs and ground black pepper.

Pop inot the oven for around 30minutes for the one large flatbread, or around 18minutes for the 6 mini ones.

Then simply leave to cool and enjoy.

We had ours as a lunch time snack, and again with spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. I also *love* them with some homemade tomato soup. Delicious.

(also, personally. The garlic ones do not taste so great in my opinion. Next time I shall try roasting the garlic first. Or i'll just make the lot with olives and have it all for myself!)

Let me know if you give them a try. x

Here we go...

Ok. Back to normal, back to work, back to the gym and back to blogging.

Not 100% back to normal, as this is where I am now blogging from...

Hey look, there's me in the mirror! ha.
Yup, we have a desk! ok, so the walls still need repairing & painting, and there is still stuff all over the place that needs sorting out. The chair could do with covering/reupholstering too. But the fact of the matter is. we have a desk. and seeing as 2 weeks ago you could barely get in this room because of all the junk, this is huge! :)

I am currently sat at the desk, sunlight is not streaming in through the windows, someone has just pulled up outside and honked their horn, and there is a birds nest just outside the window... goodness those baby birdies are noisy!  I am editing a few photos taken at my husbands birthday celebrations at the weekend (at a Mexican restaruant. Highly enjoyable) and finally getting to update this blog of mine.

As I mentioned before I am going to try and focus and give it a bit of an overhaul here. I just want to have a few regular posts each week, so you know when to pop back and have a read.
Fridays will still be my Weigh in result/meal plan day. Its good for me to plan my food, saves money and helps keep me on track (if the last 2 weeks of not planning are anything to go by this is completely neccisary!) on Tuesdays I will start to post recipes or fill you in on places we have eaten, it'll kinda coincide with my meal plans so new recipes I try I shall share on here, and you'll get to see if they were a sucess, or a complete failure! ;)
I'll also start to share some of the things I make (now I have a room to work in hoorah!) and some of the photos I take. I have lots lots more planned too, but for now these are the first steps.

All starting tomorrow with a nice and easy Olive & Herb flatbread recipe! :)

Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone. xx