Can I get a Whoop Whoop (for next week hopefully!)

31^st January 2014

Things to do today – get up – be awesome – go back to bed!

The sky’s a funny pink/grey colour all over right now , I’m thinking it’s not going to be a great weather day, at least there isn’t an inch of snow down this morning!  I’ve had a lie in, took night nurse as I could feel my throat was scratchy last night and yep this morning I’ve woke up with yet another head cold, it didn’t really go 100% but it’s come back to visit for the weekend, isn’t that thoughtful!

 The scales don’t like me this morning much either, I’ve gained, I jumped on yesterday out of curiosity wished I’d took that as my weight because I’ve gained 1.5lb since then! Boo!  Hey ho, catch up from my birthday and I got cocky this week because the scales said I maintained last week I know I’ve been thinking in my mind, “Well if I can have a week like that and maintain I don’t have to be so careful!” WRONG!   So cold or no cold, back to basics again today, no eating 3 x WW bars because they’re new ones and not counting them in my ProPoints, and no grabbing a bit of fudge and thinking “Oh well, it’s weigh day tomorrow, I’ll start again then”.  It’s time to get back on it like a car bonnet!   However as I’ve said all week in my meetings, I’m a monthly dieter, I have a “Whoop Whoop” week, then a “Whoop” week, followed by a “Whoo” week finished on with a “oop” week, as long as over the month I get a loss towards my goal, I’m okay!  So over the month of January I’ve lost still 4lb that includes having a birthday, having a head cold and being January busy plus coping with the rubbish weather – all excuses maybe for some but the reality of life for me, I know January always has and always will be a difficult month for me regarding taking care of myself. 

This is how my weight loss month looked.

"Oops" Week 1 - a 7lb gain!  back from Christmas holiday

“Whoop Whoop” Week 2 – 5 1/2lb lost – Simple Start week 1

“Whoop” Week 3 – ½ lb lost – Simple Start week 2 (used all my weeklies/activity PP & maybe had a few too many extra weeklies too)

“Who” Week 4 – Stayed Same (birthday week)

“Oops” Week 5 – 2lb gain (got cocky because I didn’t gain last week!)

Can you see my pattern, so this week needs to be a Whoop Whoop week!  What’s in my way?  My besties birthday cake Sunday, but I’ll only have a small piece and that’s what the weeklies are for, I’m making a beef dinner so most of that will be fine of a F&H day, I’ve got lots of food in to enjoy a really successful F&H week, so here goes!   Also must keep a track of the weeklies and activities and not just assume they will cover any extras I have!  They don’t!

Really enjoyed my meetings this week, we’ve talked about motivation and the importance of losing weight for us, plus the confidence we have in our ability to do it!  We then looked at setting ourselves small personal goals which were doable and also the rewards we could enjoy along the way!  So my next personal goal is my silver seven, that’s doable by the end of February, it’s another 3lb, I did 4lb in January, so I can do 3lb next month, my reward if I do it, mmm let me think, what do I want – I know, some scented candles, I popped round one of my members houses this week and her house smelt delicious, yeah I likes that idea then every time I light them I’ll remind myself that it is important for me to stay on track and eat healthy!

Now before you go “YAK” when you read this next bit, know that I did too when I heard the idea, I thought that just sounds disgusting and wrong on so many levels, however I tried it yesterday because curiosity got the better of me and I really enjoyed it!   Baked beans, tomatoes and mushy peas, blend together one tin of each in a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of curry powder (I used tandoori) then heat on the hob and you have a surprisingly nice tasting curry sauce, you can then through in anything you fancy, I added leftover chicken.   I know it sounds dreadful but it isn’t.

A nicer sounding idea came from a member yesterday morning, she gave us this;

SIMPLE START (F&H) ALTERNATIVE TO BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING
1 Oven Dish (approx 9" x 6")
5 Tablespoons Canderel (or any sweetener)
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
6 Slices of WW Brown Bread
Low Fat Spray
1 tin Apples (55p from Asda)
250ml Skimmed Milk
2 Eggs
(You could add the sugar and cinnamon together)

Spray the Oven Dish with low fat spray and cut the bread in half, please half in an oven dish, then spray with low fat spray, then add a layer of apples and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, repeat this for another layer.

In a separate bowl mix together the milk and eggs (at this stage you can add quark if desired). Pour the milk and egg mix over the bread/apples and leave to absorb for 10-15 minutes.

Then bake in Oven on 190 C / Gas Mark 5 for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the pudding is set and browned (It may look like you've added too much milk, you haven't)

The finished dish looked good! 

Right I need to get my work done so I can settle down to rest and get rid of this headcold!  Although I want to have a good clean up in my kitchen today as I’m baking tomorrow :)

Enjoy Friday, Eat Gorgeous, BeYOUtiful and aim for those goals. xx

Pork pies and Sausage Rolls on Filling & Healthy!

30^th January 2014

Choose to make the rest of your life, the best of your life. 

 

If there’s one thing that can wind me up and make me take life too damn seriously it’s having computer problems!  That’s what happened yesterday, I booted up and my itunes told me it had an update so I told it to download, to cut a long story short it didn’t then I had to delete it and now it won’t re-install, and my pc is telling me MSVCR80.dll is missing – WATEVA!  So yesterday was full of ranting at computer screen, and the since then I’ve been backing up my pc, 11,000 tunes and goodness knows how many photos so that I can try and sort my computer out – great joy!

All this meant I was on a backfoot all day with work which meant I didn’t get chance to cook my lasagne even though the bacon has been defrosted, I ended up throwing a chicken in which I’d bought reduced in Asda, that wasn’t cooked in time for lunch so we had chip butty’s and had chicken for tea.  Oh yeah and my online shop has been cancelled because when I nipped in Asda for a couple of things I ended up doing my entire weeks shop there because it appeared to me to be cheaper than online – me fickle?  I won’t have it said :)

The day ended well though as my last meeting yesterday was great,  I love it when my members open up and have a real good discussion about the reality of a weight loss, it was good to be a part of that.  Love my job I do! 

Speaking of members, here are a couple of recipes that two posted on Facebook yesterday, I haven’t tried them but they both looked interesting; 

Pork Pie-ish

300g lean minced pork
2tbs of dried parsley
1/2 tbs sage
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 2 crushed cloves of garlic Mix all together in a bowl with hand

For the pastry Warburton thins brown

You need a small metal dish they use for dips. Wet half the thin and cut out to line the dish Add the meat mix.  Put a top on with the thin a half thin does one pie. Put some water in a cooking tin so water is about half way up the pie.  Cook at 170 elec for 10 mins then take out the oven and put a knife round the side and lift out the tin the return to the oven out the tin upside down on a tray for 6 to 10 mins to brown then put to cool and enjoy.

Fakeaway sausage roll

extra lean pork mince and diced onion spread over a wrap lol roll it up then wrap in foil cook for 25-30 mins on 20.

 

Both sound good, if I was making the sausage roll I’d be adding some herbs as sausage rolls have some kind of flavouring / herb in them, maybe a bit of sage or thyme.

This morning I’ve noticed this photo too with the following recipe, looks delicious if you like a bit of something sweet;

1 large banana mashed, mix with 250g of Greek yoghurt add sweetener if you want I didn't, put some oats in the bottom of a dish that you can freeze add the mix and add blueberries and put sliced strawberries on top, put a tsp of vanilla extra in the other 250g of yoghurt and some sweetener if you want and put that on the top and top with more sliced strawberries then put in freezer. When you want it fetch out slice and leave for 10 mins then eat. I'm trying it with gelatine next so the same but not frozen.

If that’s all too much like hard work and you fancy a sweet fix, I can definitely recommend the new Weight Watcher Chocolate Cookie bars that landed in meetings yesterday, they are tasty, I thought the reminded me of chocolate brownies a bit, very nice. 

Anyways, I better get on, need to finish backing up pc today so that I can try and sort the mess that is my computer out this weekend!

Have a great day, Eat  Gorgeous & remember to love the skin you’re in, losing weight will make you healthier, you’re already BeYOUtiful. xx

Lasagne for Lunch maybe?

29^th January 2014

Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made; if you want a different result - make a different choice.

174lb lost yesterday in my meetings, not a bad Tuesday I think, and we did have a giggle last night, I’m lucky that I really enjoy my work, it really is a pleasure to go every week.

I also managed to make those breakfast bars I blogged yesterday, left out the sweetener because I didn’t have any and they still tasted ok and I made time to cook a chicken dinner for lunch with the leftover chicken from the weekend, I used tinned veggies too, the whole thing was only 8pp, what a bargain.  I didn’t bother with a proper tea, just grabbed a bit of ham and cottage cheese, then had a bit of lemon quark, I wasn’t hungry because I’d eaten too many of those breakfast bars, I won’t make them again – can’t just have one when they’re sitting on the side in the kitchen, there’s a lot to be said for not having it in the house isn’t there!  This is when you wished there was more than 2 people in the house, because then you’d have more to share your baking with!

I’m cold this morning, just clicked the heating on, I read my own meter and when I sent the reading in yesterday it told me I’d used £100 of gas since January 1^st – ouch, not cheap is it, plus £25 electricity, that’s a big chunk of wages gone before you even think about anything else.  This is why I’m being more frugal with my food shopping; everything is rising rapidly in price but not our wages, so I’m making a conscious effort to shop wiser.  I have to say though I caught an advert of the tv the other night and some woman was using her leftover chicken to make 3 more evening meals, I cooked a chicken Monday we had some for lunch, a bit on a sandwich on the night and just about got lunch out of it yesterday, so her chicken must have been a big one to feed a family three times.

I nipped to Poundstretcher yesterday and bought a few things from there that are cheaper than the supermarket I think, yeah just looking, Yorkshire Teabags, I paid £2.29 for 160 and they’re twice that price in supermarket, also got 24 beef oxo for £1.69, so saved 31p on those (it all adds up!)  really pays to shop around if you can, especially if you can control yourself enough to go in and only buy the bargains, I noticed Shredded Wheat were half price in the Tesco garage yesterday which is great if that’s all you buy and you don’t get sucked into buying something ‘nice’ whilst you’re there!  I really wish there was a Pound Shop out of the town centre because it’s just too much hassle parking in the town and you have to pay to park.

We’re saving a fortune not buying crisps, biscuits and cakes though which is great and mom’s health and my weight is thanking me for it too.  I’m still not as frugal as some of the ladies that commented on my facebook thread, £120 for a family of 9!  I’d like to see receipts and meal planners for some of these to get ideas I have to admit.

So if you have any cheap ideas, inbox me info@happyowls.co.uk and I can share with others, it might be a recipe or somewhere that you’ve seen good offers, anything really.

Talking of cheap ideas, one was posted on my facebook group the other day, mushy pea curry, my instant reaction was REALLY, however I’ve been assured it tastes good so here’s what you do, 1 tin mushy peas, 1 tin baked beans, 1 tin tomatoes, 2tlbs of curry power - blend and then had chicken or veggies, whatever your preference is.    I plan to try it today as curiosity has got the better of me!  Cost for the sauce would be about £1.50 and should serve a few portions I think, it'll also freeze well.

One of my favourite cheap eats which I haven’t had for a long time so might be making soon is

Roast Butternut Squash & Gammon Lasagne

Serves 6 at 12pp each or 8 at 9pp each

1 x butternut squash, halved and seeded

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (1pp)

50g low fat spread (5pp)

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

4 tablespoons plain flour (8pp)

1 litre milk (9pp)

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

11 lasagne sheets (21pp) use wholemeal for F&H meal

80g grated cheese (9pp)

Grated nutmeg

3 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 ½ tbsp olive oil (6pp)

300g lean gammon (11pp)

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in rich juice

20 basil leaves, roughly torn, (optional)

Preheat an oven to 230 C / Gas 8. Grease a baking tray.

Brush the butternut squash halves with vegetable oil.  Roast in the preheated oven until golden and easily pierced with a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes, and then scoop the flesh into a bowl. Set aside.

Fry the onions in the oil for about 15 mins until golden. Add the gammon and fry for 5 mins more, stirring frequently. Tip in the tomatoes, bubble uncovered for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. 

Heat the low fat spread in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir garlic in until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick, about 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Stir in the butternut squash and season with salt and pepper and add some grated nutmeg. 

Reduce oven temperature to 190 C / Gas 5. Grease a suitable sized baking dish to cook a lasagne (3 sheets wide).

Layer half tomato sauce, then a third butternut squash sauce then a third of lasagne sheets, repeat again, then pour remaining butternut squash sauce on top and grate cheese on top of that, grate some nutmeg on top.

Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is bubbly and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Ooo yeah I can taste that now, I have everything except gammon might buy some this morning and give that a go, I could use bacon pieces if I have them in freezer. 

Right I better get going, work to do, food to cook, places to be and all that!

Catch ya tomorrow, don’t forget to EatGorgeous even if you’re budgeting.

BeYOUtiful & have a great day. xx