Chill ya beans...

30th September 2015

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere!

We all get angry at some point, so when I witness it at the scales, I don't take it personally, I realise it's usually masking another emotion, after all anger is just sad's bodyguard!

Think about it, you don't lose weight, you've stuck to the plan, or at least you believe you have and you don't get a weight loss.  Yeah sometimes you're just disappointed but other times, there's loads of other stuff going on in your life and this is just the icing on the cake!  It's a bit like an iceberg isn't it, we only see the angry, the tip of that iceberg, not all the other emotions hidden under the surface like frustrated, embarrassed, disappointed, sad, helpless, overwhelmed.  Oh there's so many to choose from isn't there.  So no I never take it personally and I do my best to try and make that person feel better and believe in themselves because ultimately we all know that when followed the plan works.  Also, I've been that angry member over the years!

I'm enjoying looking at the healthy side of following the plan in my meeting this week, because I know too many unhealthy 'thin' folk, I personally would rather see someone carrying extra weight and eating good, healthy foods than eating a load of junk, smoking to curb their appetite and skipping meals. 

I love when we look at the healthy in meetings, the good food guidelines because it makes me look at my eating in a little more detail, so yesterday I made sure I had plenty of veggies and a bit of fruit, my day looked like this;

Breakfast

Mushrooms and egg on toast, nutribullet drink (banana, grapes, mixed berries, spinach)

Lunch

Cod in a creme fraiche, pea & mint crush, served with mixed grains, roast pepper, tomato & courgette.

Dinner

Beef stew (beef, potato, onions, carrots)

So I make that 10 different fruit and veggies, amazing what a difference actually thinking about it makes.

I'm not going to lie, yesterday was far from perfect, I had an appetite, just wanted food, I wasn't hungry, I just wanted it.  I ended up having 2 light babybels and a 3pp bar of Cadbury chocolate.  This is when I realise if this stuff wasn't in my house, I couldn't eat it!  Hey ho, the good meals I ate, made sure I wasn't hungry, all about damage limitation sometimes.  On a positive, I didn't have any wine, just an early night.

As we're talking about 'healthy' this week, you can't get away from the fact there's too much sugar in our diet, Jamie Oliver told us so it must be true ;), I'm paying more attention to packaging I have to admit and it even made me change my ketchup when shopping.  I've noticed that baked beans are now available in a reduced sugar and salt version too, but why not make your own, these are delicious;

Homemade baked beans

Serves 2 large portions at 6pp each, 3 at 4pp, 4 at 3pp. 

Depends what you’re serving it with.

410g / 14 ½ oz haricot beans (can) (7pp)
2 tsp olive oil (3pp)
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp agave syrup (2pp)
400g / 14 oz chopped tomatoes (can)
1 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp rosemary

Empty the contents of the haricot beans’ can into a saucepan. Heat gently for 5 mins, stirring frequently. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion, celery and garlic for 4 mins, or until the onion starts to soften.  Stir in the agave syrup, chopped tomatoes and tomato purée. Simmer for 2 mins.  Then stir in the cooked haricot beans and rosemary. Return to the boil and then simmer for about 8 mins, or until all vegetables are soft and piping hot.

Mmm, they need a place in my kitchen I think. I haven't watched Jamie Oliver this week, they're all being recorded but I was told about his Sweet potato muffins from this week's show and they do sound good, I am a muffin fan so again might need to have a look at those. But not today, today I will most be being a Weight Watcher leader, on that note, I've just finished my pint of water, I'm off for a big mug of tea.

Enjoy your day, stay BeYOUtiful and focus on the healthy and happy.