Gonna be a good day, a good week, heck it's a good life!

16th November 2015

 Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.  Expect nothing and appreciate everything.

My headspace meditation this morning was about appreciation, "Who or what do you appreciate in your life" was the question to reflect on and I have to say my immediate response was a feeling not a word, the truth is I appreciate my life, that feeling of.... I'm still struggling to put a word to it, but it's one of security, financial security that is, of having everything I need to make mom and I safe, we're not rich by a long shot but we don't have to worry where the next meal is coming from, or how I'm going to pay the next bill that falls through the door.  That feeling is a good one when you have had to think about it in the past, we don't know what the future holds, which is why I choose to live in the now and the NOW in my world is pretty damn good, I'm a lucky lady.

I did watch Hugh's war on waste television programme yesterday and was shocked by what I saw, we shouldn't be wasting food like that for goodness sake!  I will put my hand up to being guilty of overspending on food but it gets eaten, that'll be the main reason I'm a Weight Watchers because I still walk round a supermarket and get a buzz out of buying, that's also because I couldn't afford to do it at one time, so now I often spend and buy too much.  I've made a pact with myself to try and address that, after watching the programme.

Having less food in the house might help my weight loss efforts too, epic fail this week, I got cocky after last week's loss, so I've gained and now have 3.5lb to lose to get my half stone by Christmas Eve, I'm back on it today - honest!

Back to Hugh's programme, https://wastenotuk.com/ please go online and sign his petition, supermarkets are wasting millions of tonnes of food a year, do we care if our carrots and parsnips are a bit wonky - I don't, especially if it makes them a bit cheaper.  There's some great tips on his website https://wastenotuk.com/wastenot-top-tips/

I particularly like this for apples past their best as I have two in my kitchen, I'm going to make 'Old apple compote' and make overnight oats with it.

Old apple compote

If you find yourself with a fruit bowl full of apples that are starting to soften, a little bit of work can ensure they don’t end up in the bin.

Ingredients:
Good old apples (any kind)
A little sugar (if the apples are cooking apples)  (I'll use a little sweetener)
Water or fruit juice (I'll use water)

Method

Peel, core and slice the apples, cutting out any bruises as you go. Put the apple in a pan with a splash of water or fruit juice and simmer gently, stirring often, until the fruit has broken down into a chunky puree. If you are using cooking apples, add just enough sugar to get a nicely sweet-tart flavour.

This lovely compote is delicious on its own, but also functions as a pie or crumble filling. Alternatively, freeze it for later use as a sauce or a baking ingredient.

If you don’t have time to cook the compote, remember that grated raw apple is a great addition to many cake and muffin batters.

I've decided this week, I'm going to be more mindful when shopping, to get the cost of it down and if I can knock a tenner off my bill, I can buy £10 of food for the food bank collection, it's money I wouldn't have had anyway.

Don't forget too that you can use up any veggies by making soup, I did that in my meeting Thursday night and Saturday morning, it's ok if the celery is a bit bendy or the tomato a bit squishy, if your spud looks a bit green, peel that bit off, through it all in, add a stock cube or two, maybe a bit of curry powder and you'll have a good bowl of soup that just needs a little seasoning.

I intend to plan my meals this week, that makes for money saving, I have a freezer full of food I could probably live on for a fortnight so maybe I'll just do a fruit and veg shop at Lidls later on in the week, sounds like a plan.  I shopped yesterday morning, didn't buy a lot for a change, just the makings of a chicken dinner for yesterday and stocked up on cat food for the not my cat who now comes in the window for a fuss, so I'm saving someone money, although I don't think it ever goes in a house as he/she tends to sleep in my shed and is on my window sill from 5am.

I shall do something with the leftover chicken today, and make chicken stock from the carcass.  Mmm chicken noodle soup maybe!

Bring 1.2l (2pints) of fresh chicken stock to a steady simmer.  Add 225g uncooked skinless chicken breast, sliced finely, and cook for 5 minutes.  Add 100g dried egg noodles, 4 chopped spring onions and a medium red pepper, chopped, and simmer for a further 5 minutes.  Stir in 2tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp fresh coriander before serving. (serves 4 – 2pts each serving).  Can use cooked chicken, add at same time as other ingredients.

Right I'm off, got a kitchen to sort, meals to plan oh and a pile of ironing I keep ignoring, I've been wearing the same don't need ironing dresses for weeks ;) time to get on it.

Have a great Monday BeYOUtiful, just over 6 weeks left in 2015, let's make them count.