Hunters chicken - when a person reminds you of a meal!

Saturday 31st August 2019
Life is like a cup of tea, it's all in how you make it. 

I really enjoyed not thinking about work or points yesterday, I didn't particularly go crazy with the good, I did eat a lot of baguette though but there were no takeaways nor trips to the shop, the only time I left the house was to walk Alfie and to go for my amazing massage.  Even mom was quiet yesterday, she actually went for a lie down on the afternoon which she never does so I had an hour to watch a rom com thing on Netflix.  It feels like longer than 24 hours since I wrote yesterdays blog and I'm feeling good this morning, looking forward to seeing my members at my workshop before enjoying the rest of a relaxing weekend with mom.

Since bumping into Tracey and Stacey in the shop the other night, I've been thinking about Hunters chicken, it was always Stacey's favourite, I still don't think I've ever made it, let alone tried it.  Here's a quick recipe for 5SP each, serves 2, it's not as runny as son of them look which I wouldn't enjoy so much. 

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 4 smoked back bacon medallions (2SP)
• 50ml sticky BBQ sauce (4SP)
• 25g grated parmesan (4SP)

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. put a baking sheet in it, then put the chicken breasts on it and cover each one with 2 bacon medallions. Put the chicken in the oven for 20-25 mins until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, pour over the BBQ sauce and scatter over the parmesan and return to the oven for 2 mins until the cheese has melted. Serve with whatever sides you fancy, nice with mash I reckon and some veggies.
   
   
   Pinch of nom do one too for 4SP https://pinchofnom.com/recipes/hunters-chicken/ 
   
   
   I'll not be cooking that today, but maybe one of these days, I was just thinking I have a packet of texan sticky bbq sauce in my cupboards that's 13SP and I've not used it because it's so high, I might use that today as I'm still on my staycation so the points don't matter so much, I might even stop at the Tesco garage and get THIGHS or DRUMSTICKS instead of chicken breast, check me out!  Oh my, I can't think chicken thigh without thinking of Nigella's 40 cloves of garlic chicken recipe, it's so good, here's that recipe 
   
   

   Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic 

   Serves 4
   
   13sp per serving using thighs,  
   3sp per serving using breasts, 
   9sp per serving using legs
   
   2 tbsp regular olive oil (9sp)
   Either
   Use 8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) (42sp) or use 8 skinless breasts for 0sp or use 4 skinless legs for 27sp 
   
   1 bunch (about 6) spring onions 
   small bunch fresh thyme 
   40 garlic cloves (approx 3-4 bulbs), unpeeled
   2 tbsp dry white wine (1sp)
   1½ tsp sea salt flakes or ¾ tsp pouring salt 
   Ground black pepper
   
   Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Heat the oil on the hob over a high heat in a wide, shallow, ovenproof and flameproof casserole (that will ultimately fit all the chicken in one layer, and that has a lid). Sear the chicken, skin-side down. This may take two batches, so transfer the browned pieces to a bowl as you go. Once the chicken pieces are seared, transfer them all to the bowl. 
   
   Finely slice the spring onions, put them into the casserole and quickly stir-fry them with the leaves torn from a few sprigs of thyme. Put 20 of the unpeeled cloves of garlic (papery excess removed) into the casserole, top with the chicken pieces, skin-side up, then cover with the remaining 20 cloves of garlic.
   
   Add the vermouth (or white wine) to any oily chicken juices left in the bowl. Swill it around and pour this into the casserole. Sprinkle with the salt, grind over the pepper, and add a few more sprigs of thyme. Put on the lid and cook in the oven for 1½ hours. 

Right that's me, need to go shower and get ready for my workshop, here's to a very chilled out weekend for me, no thinking required.  Mwah

Luv ya, 

Love me xx

I always mean what I say!

Friday 30th August 2019
Love the people the universe gave you because one day it will want them back.

I love my phone, I use it for so many things, Facebook, emails, candy crush, camera, communicating (remember when that one would've come first).  One of my most used apps on there though is the Notes where I write things I want to remember, but sometimes I also use it to write what's in my head to stop me exploding!  yesterday after an encounter on the morning in Greggs, yeah Greggs, we'll come back to that later on, I had it going over and over in my head so I wrote my thoughts down, this is what I wrote; 

Don’t tell me what I think, how to feel, or I don’t mean what I say!  You don’t know what it’s like in my head, in my world. Don’t tell me you understand the situation in my house because you know someone with Dementia or your relative had Alzheimer’s.  Your situation isn’t mine, no two cases are identical just as no two personalities are the same. Yes there will be similarities maybe but that is all, you don't know me that well, not many do. 

So what happened well I was honest and people don't always want you to be, I'm blunt, anyone who's known me long enough knows this (& they've known me over 25 years so more than most) especially when I'm tired, stressed and wishing I was someplace else.  They asked me how my mom was, my reply was 'alive', I then said, 'although some days I wished she wasn't'.  There I said it, I'm not going to lie and anyone who cares for someone with Alzheimers 24/7 who's never had that thought, is either a liar or a bloody angel!  Her reply was 'you don't mean that', I didn't hear anything else, it was something like, I wished mine was, I lost her in July, but by now I was annoyed by the 'you don't mean that', I did mean it, she's not my mom anymore, yes we have clear moments of clarity and I can still make her laugh and smile but they don't outweigh the stranger that sits in my living room, I miss my mom, I really do, she was my best friend, hell my mom misses herself, I know she's wished herself dead more than once.  One of my members was upset last night because she'd had her dog put to sleep, see the difference is we're more humane with animals, we put them at peace, but no not humans, we let them suffer. 

So no, don't ever tell anyone how they feel or what they should think because you just don't understand what's going on in their head.  Thankfully my day did get better, although I walked straight back into hell at lunchtime, thankfully by the evening when I got home she was in a better mood and actually pleased to see me, phew.  

So yeah, Greggs, I hadn't got any bread and couldn't decide what to have for breakfast so I was going to stop at the Co-op for a loaf and something to take to work, but as I pulled up I spotted Greggs and thought, mmm I've not been in there in a very long time, I've never been in at breakfast time, so I did and am I glad I did, other than my encounter, I had a sausage and bacon baguette, 17SP of amazing, it sorted me right out and made me so happy, deliciousness.  

I then had some lovely workshops and chat with amazing people, some returning from their summer holidays, laughing at their gains because they've had amazing times, resilient people who are going through hard times and are just keeping going.  They lifted my spirits they really did and the strong coffee from Greggs fuelled me.  

Anyway, when I was returning on the night, I realised I never did get that loaf so I stopped at the Co-op and they had a pizza reduced to £1.30 from £5.29, well I had no tea planned, it was a no brainer, I'd already blown my day, my moms mood hadn't helped, I'd just bumped into two lovely ladies I hadn't seen in a long time and they asked about mom, said they followed me on FB to see how she was, they understand and I had to stop talking about it as I was on the verge of tears, so yeah I decided I was going to eat my emotions and enjoy every mouthful.  

After my evening workshops, listening to tales of wonderful holidays, I decided that for the next 24 hours, maybe the entire weekend, I'm going to eat/drink like I'm on my holiday, because I can't have one, yeah I still have a workshop in the morning but the rest of the time, I'm chilling and pretending I'm in a cottage in Wales, after all mom's woke up in her chair a couple of times this week and asked if we're staying here or going home, she already thinks she's on her holidays!  

My pizza was immense, it was 40SP and I don't care, I might have cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast, because I always think twice about the cheese when I'm on track and it's one of my favourite things, I might go get some fresh orange juice, the one in the milk bottle, so good.  I'm thinking fish finger baguette for dinner, nom nom.  possibly a Macdonalds and/or a Chinese at some point too, I'll decide when I'm hungry, I might not have any of it, but that's the beauty of being on a staycation, you can do what you want. 

You might think this blog isn't happy, or maybe it's sad or whatever, but it isn't, it's honest, I'm actually good, by not holding onto my thoughts and feelings I survive, yes yesterday I almost cried in the Co-op because I was sad, I miss my mom, I don't like not knowing what version of a person I'm going home to, if I'm going to be verbally attacked the minute I walk through the door, but I'm good now, I've woke up stronger after getting some sleep.

I've got my crochet hook and plenty of yarn, hopefully the Friday Sky movie release will be one I want to watch so I can enjoy that later, all is good in the world again.  Oh and I'm on my holiday lol.

Whatever your stresses and joys, know you are strong enough to handle it all and talk to others, don't bottle it up and if they don't wanna listen - sod em ;) 

Mwah, luv ya 


Love me xx

Chow mein? Sweet & Sour? Why not!

Thursday 29th August 2019
BElieve THEre is GOOD in the world! 

Yo, have you woke up raring to go or truly tired?  Me I'm a little tired but nothing a mug of caffeine won't cure I'm sure.  I stayed up till ten last night which was probably an hour longer than I should've and cost me a few extra points in snacks but I needed an hour of quiet after mom had gone to bed, I also needed to let my dinner digest a bit as I eat late on a Wednesday, maybe next week, I'm make something lighter and have my main meal at lunchtime.  It was delicious though, Carol had got some 5% beef mince reduced in Co-op so I fried mine and stirred a (5SP) Dolmio sun-dried tomato light pasta sauce through it, which was delicious if I do say so myself.  I had it with spaghetti, the plan had been to cook once eat twice with the mince but turns out my damn dog is partial to sun-dried tomato beef mince so we shared it, I will definitely buy another pasta pot to replace that one, so good, I'm not a fan of tomato pasta sauce but this had a richness to the flavour, really good. 

 This went from packets to plate in 15 minutes, fast food at its best, I could've added some frozen peas/sweetcorn into it too if I could've been bothered. 

This was my brunch, 

Another meal on the plate in 15 minutes and so good, it's a packet that can sit in the cupboard for a good 12 months as the use by date is long, it's vacuum packed and really tasty.  Topped with an egg for no extra points. 

I had a gold member return last night after 7 weeks of holidays and having fun, she knew the scales were going to say a huge gain and when they did she laughed so loud and told me how much she'd enjoyed it and she'd happily pay until the weight went away.  Now that is the attitude I wished everyone had, live life, enjoy the good times, handle the bad times and get back to healthy asap.   There is so much in life we can't control, let's focus on the things we can control and make the best of our lives. 

We were talking fast meals again last night and these two came up so I said I'd blog them; 

Chicken Chow Mein

Serves 4, 7 Smart Points per serving 

150g (5oz) cooked chicken (cut into thin strips) or more if you want, it's zero if it's breast
1 tbsp oil  (4SP)
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp chopped garlic
240g dried egg noodles (22SP)
Bean sprouts (1 handful) 
½ small onion (sliced)
½ tsp salt  
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (1SP)
1 tsp light soy sauce  
1 tsp sesame oil (1SP)

Cook noodles by soaking in boiling water for 5-10 minutes or until soft to touch. Clean wok, heat wok until hot and slightly smoky. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the chicken and onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Turn to low heat and add the garlic and stir-fry for another 15 seconds.  

Now add the bean sprouts and noodles. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the noodles are soft. Add the salt, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce.

Stir-fry for another minute. Finally add the pepper and sesame oil and stir in.

Sweet and Sour Chicken 7 Smart Points

Prep time:10 min Cook time:17 min Serves:4 Difficulty: Easy

A delicious and healthy version of this takeaway favourite.

5spray(s) Calorie controlled cooking spray

1 medium Onion(s), peeled and sliced

160g Brown Rice, dry, long grain (15sp)

500g Chicken breast, skinless, raw (4 x 125g breasts) 

2 medium Carrots, raw, peeled and thinly sliced in sticks

225g Pineapple, can, chunks in natural juice

2 tablespoons Tomato Purèe (1 sp)

3 tablespoons Vinegar, All Types, malt

1 tablespoons Muscovado Sugar (4sp)

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce, dark (1sp)

Instructions

Spray a frying pan with the low-fat cooking spray, add the onion and cook, stirring for 5 minutes over a medium heat, until softened. 

Meanwhile cook the rice according to pack instructions, drain and rinse in hot water.

Cut the chicken into bite size chunks and add to the pan. 

Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until golden on all sides.

Add the carrots, pineapple and juice, tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the chicken is tender. Serve immediately with the rice.

Or use a jar of Uncle Ben's no added sugar sweet & sour sauce for 5SP, every 60g portion of dried rice is 6SP, chicken breast is zero, make your own quickly, use cooked chicken and microwave rice and it's even quicker, I do fancy a sweet and sour sauce now.  

I'm not sure what I'm eating today so I need to decide before I come home from work tonight because Thursday night and no plans spells disaster!   Ooo maybe those sausages as meatballs, packet of microwave rice, I have frozen onions, sweetcorn, pease, all together in one pan, sorted. 

Right I'm waking up and that's with tea rather than coffee.  Let's focus on the things we can control today, if you're feeling out of control like someone I spoke to yesterday was, ask yourself what you're ignoring, overeating is usually a symptom of another issue, what is that?  Can you do anything about it?  If not, can you change the way you look at it?  

Mom had a rough afternoon and an awful night yesterday but I shall focus on the good morning she had and try and get her to do the same.  I'll remind myself of the smile moments from yesterday rather than the stress.  The fox I spotted eating the leftover cat/dog food at 9pm last night for one, the IKEA conversation that made my two Julies laugh last night (you had to be there), the blanket I finished that is going to a good home.  yeah I'll focus on the smile moments.  I won't focus on the pound I gained on the scales, I'll focus on the fact I've filled my first success story booklet which means I've been going to a workshop since May 1st, September starts this weekend, that's Autumn in my head, time to turn over a new leaf, for a change I'm actually looking forward to the end of 'summer' I've had enough of those extreme odd days of heat, I'm ready for cooler.

But now I'm ready for my Thursday, are you?  Shall we have a good one, I think so :) mwah 

Luv ya

Love me xx

Food in a flash!

Wednesday 28th August 2019

To be BeYOUtiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. 

Alfie’s dragged me out already, but as he hasn’t has much walking thanks to the weather, I don’t mind. It’s cool at the moment, just getting light, the roads are quiet and all is calm. 

We’re talking meals in a flash this week, so I’m hoping by the end of the week to have lots of ideas. After last nights workshop I realised we don’t just want quick, we want hassle free and cheap if possible too. At the same time we don’t want boring, it’s got to compete with a takeaway or chippy don’t forget because when you’re tired, those things sound more tempting! 

It’s just been on the radio, year I’m listening to the radio whilst blogging and walking Alfie - multitasking at its best. Anyway the news has just told me the amount of takeaways we order in the UK has increased by a quarter in last decade. Vegan food had quadrupled!  Now if they could make more healthier choices available from these  takeaway food places that would be awesome but until they do, I’ll keep them as a very occasional treat. My tea cost me about 80p last night and took 15 minutes to get from freezer to plate.  

Birds eye chicken dippers (7SP for 6 nuggets)

2 Birdseye waffles (3SP each)

Frozen garden peas 

It was good too, also not as ‘bad’ or unhealthy as folk may think, not all packaged and processed food is evil.  Just start to look at the nutritional info if you’re unsure although WW have already done that work for you, if it’s lower in SP, it’s healthier. 

When I bought them, the dippers were only £1 which is why I bought them! 

Of course there were the obvious suggestions for fast food, eggs and/or beans on toast, stir fries, omelette, but if I’ve had a long, tough day, that ain’t going to tickle my tastebuds really. 

I keep things in the cupboard that I can knock together quick, smash being one, I know it’s not for everyone but I love it, that with a frozen cod in butter sauce,  some peas put in the same pan and again 20 minutes later dinner is served. 

You can have cooked chicken or salmon in the fridge ready to eat, that with some microwave rice and tinned veg, sorted in under 5 minutes. 

Fish finger sandwich can be made in 15 minutes and if you microwave some peas you can smash them together and have with either tartare sauce or mayo on the sandwich. So good and will cost you about 10SP. Or add some lettuce, that’s good too. 

What about cheesy tuna melt.  Tuna is zero, low fat mayo, diced spring onions, low fat cheese and bread. Toast the bread whilst mixing the other ingredients except cheese together put on toast, top with cheese and grill. So good.  38g of Cathedral City Lighter is 4SP. 

Tilda egg fries rice is 9SP a packet and some diced chicken and you have chicken, egg fried rice. Yeah you can add other stuff if you can be bothered, but of soy sauce, some peppers, I personally just add a dollop of ketchup!  I also usually stir in another egg for good measure - they are zero after all!

I’m trying to think what’s in my cupboards as I walk but that’s enough for starters, let me know what you do. I’m also thinking jarred sauces, curry or sweet and sour and cooked chicken and serve with microwave rice, 5 minutes done!  Another 5, eaten and gone! 

I’m going to give mom lots of attention today, she’s not having the best time. Another good reason to have meals that are easy to make, our time can be better spent sometimes, this walk with Alfie that he’s loving is much more important than spending half hour cooking. Ooo sausages, the Penn Road butchers chicken ones that are 2 for 1SP, they’re great made into meatballs and put into a pasta sauce on top of some spaghetti that takes about 12 minutes to cook. I fancy that actually but don’t think I have any spaghetti or pasta, I do however think I have egg noodles, that’d work. Plus it’ll save me spending, I don’t want to spend any money this week, already spent too much on yarn but that’s another story for another day! 

Here’s to a day of spending not much time in the kitchen!  Mwah 

Luv ya

Love me x

Deep breathes

Monday 27th August 2019
Give yourself some credit for how far you've come.

Well that was the longest Monday ever, I have Monday's off anyway, so being a Bank Holiday makes no difference to me, being with mom at home stops me going anywhere, but ma'an did it seem to drag on, mom seemed particularly argumentative and Alfie wanted to go for a second walk but it was just too hot - so good fun all round in our house!  NOT!  Oh and nothing on tele either - great joy!

I did cook a cheese and onion pie though, let's not even get into the points in it, I'll just get back on track today, actually if I have more pie, it'll be tomorrow - oops.  I'll still track it though and try to balance it out with other stuff.

Packet of Aldi shortcrust pastry - 65SP

550g Aldi cheese (grated) - 89SP

1.5kg sliced potatoes - 36SP

Onions - zero hero

Oil to fry the onions - 6SP

Total 196 Smart Points 

Thankfully there was at least 10 servings in it. 

I had it for my tea with Heinz curry beans, so good.  I'm 50 in January, I refuse to not enjoy foods I find delicious, as long as I don't overeat on them and I include healthy foods too, I can, whether the scales will agree this week remains to be seen.  I doubt I've got the balance quite right, but meh, no rush to get a little more weight off, any negative thoughts I have these days have nothing to do with my body!

I posted in Facebook asking people how they'd spent their day because mine had been really long, some had being doing fun stuff, but some like me had a nothing special kind of day, washing, cooking, cleaning, then of course there was those who were at work in that heat, at least I just had to sit next to a women who was constantly getting the wrong end of the stick regarding plot lines in programmes, let's just say if she was on a jury, all the murderers would be getting off because it's a shame for them! 

Looking forward to this weeks workshops, we're talking about quick meals, I like this idea as I'm not into spending lots of time cooking these days, I like fast food, I particularly like cheap food, bargain food, in the past I've been known for spending a lot on food but I'm trying to be more sensible and I love it when I make something that didn't cost a lot but tasted delicious, those beans were delicious, think I'll have the other half on toast for breakfast.

Here's a link to Jack Monroes website, this is a page with suggestions of what to do with leftovers, great idea. She's just bought out a new cookbook for cooking out of tin cans, now that's the ultimate in fast food! 

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2016/02/08/what-to-do-with-leftovers/ 

Well the sky is a little moody this morning, a solid pink sheen over the grey/blue background, think it's going to be another hot one, I can actually hear seagulls from my office window, they don't ever seem to return to the coast anymore, instead they live round the shops!

Today I shall remind myself as I did yesterday, there's always someone worse off, with bigger problems and remember I'm strong enough to handle this disease called Alzheimers and everything that comes with it.  Yesterday when mom was looking for a purse she hadn't lost, we had a chat and she realised she'd dreamt it or it was from a long time ago, she told me how frustrating it is for her and how she wants to cry every ten minutes but that won't help so doesn't ;(, see no matter how difficult this is for me, it's worse for her, I can't imagine what it must be like, having gone from being a smart, independent, healthy women to what she is now.  So you can see why my weight isn't really a top priority, making this household as calm and content with a sprinkling of happiness is my goal, getting the best out of what is a pretty crappy situation.  The worst thought I have some days is that she will go to sleep and not wake up, I can't believe that disease has done that to me, making me have that thought about the most important person in my life who I've had so much fun with, laughed about so many things, travelled the world with.  So yeah, now and again, I'll eat the pie and anything else I want to eat because life can truly be sucky and none of us get out of it alive.  

Until then though, I'm gonna go give her a cuddle and make her another cuppa, try to get someone to either fix or replace her bedroom window because somehow she's broken it and it won't shut, of course she says she hasn't done anything but.... lol. 

Let's have a cracking Tuesday and enjoy the end of summer, I love Autumn, its the season that shows change can be beautiful and we can all turn over a new leaf, mwah 

luv ya

Love me xx

Not just another Monday morning, it's Bank Holiday Monday!

Monday 26th August 2019
Don't worry about failures, worry about all the chances you miss if you never even try.

After a very enjoyable lie in, ignoring all noises from mom throughout the night and refusing to get up at 4.30 when she was having a conversation with Alfie, I've just spent the last half hour searching for my purse!  Woke up to a message saying my payment details on my iCloud needed updating so I thought I'll do that whilst the kettles boiling, then my purse was nowhere to be found, no I know I'm a nightmare so it could be in many places, the last time I'd had it was Saturday for definite in the post office and I thought I'd grabbed some cash Sunday morning for my walk in case of breakfast (which didn't happen) so it had to be there, well after half hour, I thought to myself has mom had it so I started checking her cupboard by her chair and yep, there it was, tucked away in her drawer!  I'm going to have to start putting my important stuff in safe places ain't I, time to become an organised grown up, meh, I'll miss the where's my phone, where's my purse game, although I don't think my friends will.

Thankfully I had a wonderful morning yesterday to balance out the crazy that is my world, we went to explore Highgate common, lovely it was too, especially as I found a fiver within minutes of stepping out of the car, it'd been there since the night before I reckon as it was wet from dew. 

I didn't get to keep it though, as you can see, when I told mom I'd found a fiver, she said 'it's mine!', can't argue with that face!   Do you like my t-shirt, it says 'Your vibe attracts your tribe' on the front and on the pack it say, 'And I have the best tribe Bev's happy owls', I had it made and think I'll be having more done in the future as the t-shirt is a lovely quality, I want different font next time, but I'm really pleased with it.  If you want t-shirts printed, let me know and I'll put you in touch.

Now this Facebook post from my brother proper made me belly laugh when I saw it and every time I thought of it afterwards, especially after the conversation we'd had whilst walking.  

Laughter really is the best medicine, I know the weather was incredible yesterday but I spent it indoors with mom, at least we found plenty to watch on the tv, I decided to go back in time, we watched John Wayne in True Grit and The Shootist, I loved them both, if I'm to spend all this time indoors, I'm going to watch films I may have missed the first time round or maybe I was too young to appreciate, so any recommendations appreciated.  I tried to watch 'The Usual Suspects' again, but I still wasn't impressed, 45 minutes in and I gave up, all I remember from the first time of watching was thinking well the only good thing about the film is the ending and that's not what makes a good film in my opinion, but I hoped maybe being younger when I watched it, I'd missed something, nah it was still rubbish or I'm just not a film expert.

Well let's just say I didn't stay on track yesterday, I'm listening to a book where the lead character makes the best cheesecake so I needed some, which I had for breakfast, 11SP a slice and 6 slices in the box, let's say it looked like a 2 person cake to me!  Then for tea, well that was amazing, way too many points but it could've been less if I'd had lower pointed bread in the house, I'd treated us to the seeded one because they didn't have my usual 400g warburtons in the shop, so I thought if I was having a 800g loaf, I'd have seeds for a little extra points, well there's a lesson in scan it first, it's 4SP a slice, that's ridiculous!  Anyway, I'd also bought the Co-op £5 frozen meal deal and we had the fish on a sandwich, wow so good, I cooked some peas and mixed them in tartare sauce and we had that on the sandwich too, it was truly delicious, if a ridiculous 20SP!

 A thing of beauty!

2 slices Hovis seeded sensations (7SP)

Young's Chip Shop Extra Large Fish Fillets in Crisp Bubbly Batter (11SP)

Tartare sauce (2SP)

Peas (0SP)

Well I have a dog to walk and a kitchen full of washing up that I've got to do or I won't be drinking or eating today unless it's off dirty dishes.  I'm going to cook this morning too, so need the room, making cheese and onion pie, so today won't be within my points either, but as one of my BeYOUtiful members posted in group yesterday "Forgive me owls as I have lived life to the full since my weigh in yesterday. I promise to track and be a ww member from Tuesday" I'll do the same!  If I was away enjoying the bank holiday with friends, I'd have spent more than 20SP on Fish and Chips at the seaside, oh how much I'd like to have been doing that yesterday, although having a good walk with my brother was second best, we only did 3.5 miles as both of us have ankles that are knackered, swollen and not getting better! 

Here's to a wonderful Bank Holiday Monday, whatever your plans, I loved how open more of my members were yesterday after I blogged about mental health, let's keep it that way going forward, it's good to talk. Mwah xx

Luv ya, 

Love me xx

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Lovely day on the way.

Sunday 25th August 2019

And if today all you did was hold yourself together - I'm proud of you. 

Sunday morning, perfect morning, I’m stood outside with Alfie, he’s contemplating which direction to go in, once he’s decided and we’ve done his walk, I’ll go meet my brother for our walk. 

Yesterday in my workshop the subject went to the importance of our mental health and I loved that talking about depression and taking medication which what once was such a taboo subject was being discussed openly and honestly, as it should be because it is such an important issue.  One in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness, and many more of us know and care for people who do, so why wouldn’t we want to discuss it!  We talk about our weight issues constantly! 

What’s the point of losing weight and getting you body slimmer and healthier if your head is a mess and you’ve ignored that!  

A lot of us are overweight because we eat our emotions and unless we address that, any weight we lose won’t stay off for long.  

Now I’m no expert on mental health but there are lots of excellent websites out there if you google, mind being one and the NHS another.

Here’s 10 ideas for things you can do do your mental health. 

1. Value yourself:

Treat yourself with kindness and respect, and avoid self-criticism. Make time for your hobbies and favorite projects, or broaden your horizons. Do a daily crossword puzzle, plant a garden, take dance lessons, learn to play an instrument or become fluent in another language.  Do stuff you enjoy!

2. Take care of your body: Taking care of yourself physically can improve your mental health. Be sure to eat nutritious meals (thank you WW), drink plenty of water, move more - exercise helps decrease depression and anxiety and improve moods.  Get enough sleep.

3. Surround yourself with good people:  People with strong family or social connections are generally healthier than those who lack a support network. Spend time with supportive family members and friends, or seek out activities where you can meet new people, such as a club, class or support group.

4. Give yourself: Volunteer your time and energy to help someone else. You'll feel good about doing something tangible to help someone in need — and it's a great way to meet new people.

5. Learn how to deal with stress:

Like it or not, stress is a part of life. Practice good coping skills: Try One-Minute Stress Strategies, do Tai Chi, exercise, take a walk, play with your pet or try journaling as a stress reducer. Also, remember to smile and see the humour in life. Research shows that laughter can boost your immune system, ease pain, relax your body and reduce stress.

6. Quiet your mind:

Try meditating, Mindfulness and/or prayer. Relaxation exercises and prayer can improve your state of mind and outlook on life.

7. Set realistic goals:

Decide what you want to achieve and write down the steps you need to realise your goals. 

8. Break up the monotony:

Although routine is good and can make us more efficient and enhance our feelings of security and safety, a little change of pace can perk up a tedious schedule.

9. Avoid alcohol and other drugs:

Keep alcohol use to a minimum and avoid other drugs. Sometimes people use alcohol and other drugs to "self-medicate" but in reality, alcohol and other drugs only aggravate problems.

10. Get help when you need it:

Seeking help is a sign of strength — not a weakness. And it is important to remember that treatment is effective.

Now I’m stood in a different place with Alfie watching him eat a bit of grass, this is good for my mental health, it calms me and gives me the patience to cope with mom because trust me, that takes a lot of patience these days. Hey ho, I’ve got a walk with my bro to enjoy, catch ya tomorrow.  Do something today that will improve your mental health, your body and mind will thank you for it. 

Ooo quickly, I, I had this for my dinner yesterday, see you can have curry and chips, only cost me 12SP total, that sauce is lush, not hot at all, like a Chinese curry sauce really.

Luv ya, mwah

Love me xx