Another day, another go!

Thursday 16th March 2023

Take back control.

Went to bed in pain, I had a bath beforehand which helped but I was still achy, a combination of being middle aged, having a bad back and doing more walking than usual round shops.  It'll settle soon I'm sure, I'm gonna take painkillers in a bit, not done that in a few weeks.

On a positive, I enjoyed my breakfast yesterday, Allbran, banana, pear and natural yogurt.

I saved money stocking up on my wine, it was already reduced from £8 to £6.50 then Sainsbury's has it's 25% off 6, so £4.87 a bottle - bonus!  

I only managed half hour in the swimming baths, it was heaving with kids!  I'm assuming the half that weren't swimming lessons were kids at home because of the strike, Aryn's home today but he's gonna be doing online learning.

This was the Gousto meal he choose for us last night, I know my photo doesn't look good but the food was tasty, Aryn really liked the potato cakes and they were so simple, .lus an easy way to get greens into him.  The sauce was a bit too much for me, but the rest was very tasty, I do love greens.  Recipe at bottom of blog.

  

I was out the house from half 8 till 3, so didn't get my usual lazy Wednesday afternoon, no sooner was I home than Aryn walked in, I also had an appointment at 4, so got back just after 5 to make dinner.

I did finish my book though and it was so good, JoJo Moyes, Someone Else's shoes, such a different story, she really has a knack of doing that, coming up with original ideas and keeping you focussed until the very last page, I need to check out ones she's written that I've missed, but not now because I'm running a little late!

I still haven't finished the book I had for holiday, mostly because it's paper and I listen to audio because I can multitask then, it's great in the car and it helps me do housework! 

I didn't make all great meal choices, because I hadn't planned to be out for so long, I hadn't thought about lunch, then I walked in Sainsbury's in Cannock and spotted the rotisserie chicken and I bought one!  I was shocked at how small it was though I have to say, they have definitely shrunk in size!  Now I went to 3 Sainsbury's yesterday for wine (don't judge me lol) and I bought diesel too, it was 12p cheaper in Wolverhampton town centre than Cannock and 10p cheaper than Bentley Bridge!  They price it based on whether they believe the area to be affluent - that stinks!  I saved about £8 filling up, it all makes a difference, I actually saved £282 on wine, yes I bought a lot of it but I won't drink it any quicker than I usually do and a bottle cost me what a pint of Guinness costs him in some pubs!   Then I get 3% on my UW cashback card shopping in Sainsbury's and their petrol when I spend £50 in store so I saved about another £16, it all adds up doesn't it.  

Anyway, this lush needs to get ready for work, I'm feeling a bit better than I did when I got out of bed, a couple of cups of tea, I was gonna switch completely to decaf tea until I looked yesterday at Yorkshire tea, twice the price for decaf - nah I ain't doing that.

We've got Persian-style lamb burger with herby feta and harissa mayo for tea tonight, it comes served with fries, but we may have it with leftover colcannon cakes, or I'll freeze them.   I had the 4 meals for 4 people with that discount!  If you want to give it a go, here's the link cook.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=BEVER43868435&utm_source=weblink

Have a good day, I plan too!  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Colcannon-Style Potato Cakes With Creamy Mustard Basa

318 reviews

This is one hot potato you won’t want to put down. You’ll shape cheesy spring green mash into Irish-style potato cakes. Bake them til golden and serve with crispy basa, buttery greens, and creamy mustard sauce.

30 mins

British

Ingredients

For 2 people [double for 4]

• 
  50g soft cheese †
• 
  21g wholegrain mustard †
• 
  40g cheddar cheese †
• 
  2 x 100g basa fillets †
• 
  3 white potatoes
• 
  120g shredded spring greens †
• 
  2 garlic cloves
• 
  8ml soy sauce †
• 
  1 shallot

You’ll also need

Butter, flour, milk, pepper, salt, vegetable oil

Cooking instructions

For 2 people [double for 4]

1. 
   1. 

   Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil a kettle

   Chop the potatoes (skins on) into bite-sized pieces

   Add the chopped potatoes to a pot with plenty of boiled water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat

   Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12-15 min or until fork-tender

2. 
   2. 

   Meanwhile, wash the shredded spring greens then pat dry with kitchen paper

   Grate the cheddar cheese

   Peel and slice the shallot[s] finely

   Peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic

3. 
   3. 

   Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain and add to a large bowl, reserving the pot

   Mash until smooth

   Add half the shredded spring greens (you'll use the rest later!) and 1 tbsp [2 tbsp] flour to the bowl with a splash of milk and the grated cheddar

   Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and give everything a good mix up until fully combined – this is your potato mix

4. 
   4. 

   Line 1[2] baking tray[s] with non-stick baking paper

   Shape the potato mix into 8 [16] patties and add them to the tray[s]

   Add a drizzle of vegetable oil, then put the tray in the oven for 20 min or until golden – these are your colcannon-style potato cakes

5. 
   5. 

   Add the remaining shredded spring greens to a large piece of tin foil with a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp [2 tbsp] cold water and a knob of butter

   Scrunch the edges of the foil to form a sealed parcel and add to a baking tray

   Tip: Cooking for 4? Make 2 separate parcels!

   Put the tray[s] in the oven for 10-12 min or until the spring greens are tender – these are your buttery spring greens

6. 
   6. 

   Add 2 tbsp [4 tbsp] flour to a plate with a pinch of salt, then add the basa fillets to the plate and press them into the flour until evenly coated

   Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat

   Once hot, add the coated basa fillets and cook for 3-4 min on each side or until cooked through – this is your crispy basa

   Tip: Your fish is cooked once it turns opaque and flakes easily

7. 
   7. 

   Return the reserved pot to a medium-high heat with a knob of butter

   Once hot, add the sliced shallot and chopped garlic and cook for 2-3 min or until softened

   Once softened, add 1 tsp [2 tsp] flour and soft cheese to the pot with the wholegrain mustard, soy sauce and 100ml [200ml] cold water

   Bring to a boil and cook for a further 3-4 min or until the sauce begins to thickens – this is your creamy mustard sauce

   Serve the crispy basa with the creamy mustard sauce and the colcannon-style potato cakes and buttery spring greens to the side

   Enjoy!

Typical values	per 100g	per serving
Energy	433 kJ	1673 kJ
	103 kcal	399 kcal
Fat	4.5 g	17.3 g
of which saturates	2.6 g	10.0 g
Carbohydrate	8.5 g	32.8 g
of which sugars	0.9 g	3.5 g
Fibre	1.3 g	5.2 g
Protein	7.6 g	29.2 g
Salt	0.46 g	1.76 g

*Gousto’s nutritional information only applies to ingredients supplied by Gousto. The cooking process and additional ingredients added at home (listed under “You’ll also need”) will affect total values.

Halfway through the week already..

Wednesday 15th March 2023

Never forget you are amazing!

No weight loss for me this week, but I'm good with that, I had a wonderful weekend, I also went in the red every day according to Nutracheck and I know I bought a block of Lemon Cheesecake Cheese that didn't completely make it on the app.  I slacked a little basically, lesson learned, yesterday was in the red too, lol, but again I will restart today.

I had a boy with a stomach ache which meant I didn't plan an evening meal, it also meant I ate his school sandwich which I have to say was epic, I used the leftover chicken from our Gousto meal Monday, there was enough for this sandwich and a cob, so even if I'd have been feeding 4 with that meal Monday there would have been excess chicken.

Oh his belly eased and he wanted the pie in the fridge later, so I had some, but I wouldn't buy this flavour again, only bought it because it was on offer and a new flavour. 

On a positive, I went to Aldi for water and fruit, the water has gone up from £1.50 to £1.69, it's still the cheapest around though, I bought pears, apples, satsumas, kiwi, bananas and strawberries, I've put the fruit bowl on the coffee table in the living room to encourage us to eat more.  Aryn ate a plate of strawberries and apples yesterday so it has worked already.

I'm gonna have some fruit and yogurt this morning, want to continue to work on my fibre but also include some pre and probiotic foods in my meals (we're covering this in our huddles this week).  

I had a lie in till 6.30 so I need to move my backside, I had a horrible, horrible dream, I woke up and was so relieved it wasn't real, never been so glad to know it was a teenager in the other room and himself was in my life.  I dreamt that my mom was still alive and so was my dad and they both had Alzheimer's, just thinking about that possibility brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.

Anyway, it wasn't real and my life is good, my biggest drama today is what I'll have to eat ;) looking forward to another Gousto meal, not looking forward to getting the ice off the car, can Spring please hurry up.

Here's to a good day, a better calories control week ;) ALTHOUGH it is St Patricks Day on Friday and we're hoping to go meet my brother for food and drink, I can do that and stay on track the rest of the week - positivity is what I need.  

We got this!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Have yourself a great day

Tuesday 14th March 2023

Give yourself a break!

Is it me or is this month flying by!  It'll soon be Easter and I heard somewhere yesterday we might get snow, I hope not we're going to the seaside!

Well what a morning I had yesterday, I woke up happy as, I even blogged about it, THEN I was just about to trot off to the pool for my workout when I spotted something in the washing machine....  There was Aryn's PE Kit and since his timetable changed, PE is on a Monday, so now I had an hour to wash and dry the Kit GRRRRR......  I woke him up saying you have 10 minutes to shower or you have to wait till I have your kit in the dryer because you didn't bring your kit down last Monday.  BOYS seriously.  I did have to laugh though, once I was over my strop, I'm driving him to school because it's pouring down with rain and I can't be that much of a bitch and halfway there he says, 'I've forgot my PE kit", seriously, I just laughed, looked at him and said you know they remove teenage boys brains and don't return them till they hit their 20s I reckon. 

I eventually got to the pool where I did my hour, remembered all but one of the physio exercises I've been given which I thought was really good for me.  I did my appointments and planned our huddle chat so everything still got done, I just prefer going earlier to the pool as there's no order to the swimming direction later it appears and one women was taking up 3/4 of the larger lane doing backstroke and not picking one side or the other, going straight down the middle, she was only a tiny thing too!  

Anyway, my day still worked out to be a good one, one bad hour does not make a bad day.

Dinner time was Fried Chicken Thigh Burger with Sriracha Mayo, I didn't have the sriracha in my mayo, not a fan of hot, I also only used one sachet of cayenne pepper to keep it calmer tasting.  This ws our first Gousto meal and it was delicious, 

 

As requested the recipe is at the bottom of this blog, you could make it without having a box, but if you do fancy trying Gousto you'll get 70% off the first box and 25% off for two months which is a really good offer and you can cancel or skip at any time.  Here's the link Gousto offer.

After dinner, I enjoyed chilling with control of the remote before having an early night at 8, I've had 8hrs 41mins according to the fitbit.

Right I'm gonna get my wriggle on, weigh day today, it'll be interesting to see the results on the scales as I've been in the red all week, my fibre intake is still good though. 

 

We shall see, I'm enjoying life and I'm not going to give myself a hard time, whatever the result.  I see too many women beating themselves up over their relationship with food, it needs to stop ladies! 

Let's have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Recipe

Ingredients

For 2 people [double for 4]

• 
  2 butter brioche buns †
• 
  1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 
  16 ml Sriracha hot chilli sauce †
• 
  320g British skinless chicken thighs
• 
  4 tbsp cornflour
• 
  30ml mayonnaise †
• 
  3 white potatoes
• 
  15ml white wine vinegar
• 
  8ml soy sauce †
• 
  1 gem lettuce
• 
  1 tomato

You’ll also need

Olive oil, pepper, salt, vegetable oil

Cooking instructions

For 2 people [double for 4]

1. 
   1. 

   Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7, then take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air

   Cut the potatoes (skins on) into thin chips

   Add the chips to a baking tray with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt and pepper

   Give everything a good mix up and put the tray in the oven for 20-25 min or until golden and crispy

2. 
   2. 

   While the chips are cooking, cut the chicken thighs into strips

   Add the chicken strips to a bowl with the cayenne pepper (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and soy sauce then mix well until evenly coated

   Add the cornflour and give everything a good mix up until the chicken is fully coated in the cornflour mixture – these are your coated chicken strips

3. 
   3. 

   Combine the sriracha (not a fan of spice? Just add a little!) with the mayo in a small bowl – this is your sriracha mayo

4. 
   4. 

   Wash the gem lettuce, pat it dry with kitchen paper, then remove 4 [8] outer leaves and set these aside for serving

   Cut the remaining gem lettuce in half

   Slice the tomato[es] finely

5. 
   5. 

   Combine the white wine vinegar with 2 tbsp [4 tbsp] olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a separate small bowl – this is your dressing

6. 
   6. 

   Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a very generous drizzle of vegetable oil (enough to cover the whole base of the pan) over a medium-high heat

   Once hot, add the coated chicken strips and cook for 3-4 min on each side or until golden and cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your fried chicken

   Tip: Add more oil to the pan if it is looking a little dry

7. 
   7. 

   Meanwhile, slice the brioche buns in half

   Add the brioche halves to a baking tray and put the tray in the oven for 4-5 min or until warmed through

   Fill your warmed brioche buns with the outer lettuce leaves, sliced tomato, fried chicken and sriracha mayo

   Serve the chips and lettuce halves to the side

   Drizzle the lettuce with the dressing and serve any remaining sriracha mayo to the side for dipping

   Enjoy!