Everybunny, needs somebunny sometimes

27th March 2016

Easter, the only time it's okay to put all your eggs in one basket!

Happy Easter and all that!

Easter Sunday and it's starting bring and lovely but I believe that's not going to last! Hey ho, we'll cope whatever the weather does because we're British and that's what we do!  I've no religion in me, everyone who knows me, knows this, however I do find it all very interesting and I would never poo pah anyone's belief's at all.  I do love how the stories always are there to get a message across and that's never a bad thing. 

So today was the day they rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, can you imagine how they felt, especially realising that the huge stone probably weighed a good few hundred pounds, they already felt low and defeated and now they were faced with an insurmountable obstacle.  Whether you believe the bible or not, we've all felt that way at some time haven't we?  We all have/had our own huge obstacles to happiness, whatever they be, debt, divorce, unemployment. 

Of course our weight issues can be a huge obstacle to our happiness (not that I'm comparing it with anything Jesus went through!) but being unhappy whatever your reasons, if one persons obstacles are greater than yours it doesn't make you feel any better does it, it's all relative.

How do you overcome them?  Well if I knew that, I'd share my knowledge and everyone I know would be happy and healthy.  I share what I've done, but we all have to find our own solutions.   To find my happy place, I simplified my life, I can't handle too much going on in my world, so I've changed my world accordingly.  I decided I wasn't going to look in the mirror and hate what I see anymore, I've spent enough time over the years wishing I looked a different way and now I love me and what I see because it's got me to where I am now and that's a good place.

I focus on happy and healthy and approach all those obstacles with as positive mood as possible and I also happily have my rages and meltdowns and feel every emotion because I realised ignoring our emotions is what causes so many problems. 

I had the best day yesterday, it started at my meeting when Tina, one of my helpers finally achieved her goal after trying for many years, she's been a Weight Watcher on and off for twenty years, has lost weight but not really changed her approach to food.  I met her last year and she became my member and we've worked together on changing her mindset, on how she approaches eating, on her relationship with food and most important on her relationship with herself and it's paid off!  Tina embraced Smart Points and has lost the last 20lb thanks to it and also giving up chocolate for charity for last 63 days (raised £150 for Good Shepherd Soup Kitchen), which has paid off, now 56lb lighter and at goal!  I'd at sometime joked I'd do a cartwheel when she got to goal, so yesterday I did, in a room full of members who I believe not  only got to see my pants, but my belly and my bra too!  Tip for today - don't do cartwheels in a dress!

I then got to spend the afternoon with 3 of the most important people in my life, my besties, it would've been 4 but one couldn't make it at the last minute, she really missed out on some major giggles and some awesome food.  Really recommend The Cow Shed at Pattingham, great food, wonderful service, lovely staff, and reasonable price too for quality food, lunch was £11.99 for two courses or £16.99 for 3, I had two and actually left some, but I finished my wine :)

Yep Happy Easter folks, I'll be spending mine with the MOST important person in my world, she's amazing, she's strong and she made me who I am today, for that, I will always love her. 

Here's a delicious sounding recipe emailed to me by Valerie, she's being a particularly strong lady herself at the moment, proving we can overcome those obstacles.  This recipe is from the website http://skinnykitchensecrets.com so I'm assuming she's worked out her SP's correctly.  It has all my favourite ingredients (chorizo, cheese and chicken) in so I most definitely will be making this when the shops are open, I love that they've closed all the supermarkets today, it makes people stop and breathe.

Chorizo Stuffed Chicken Breast – 6sp

Serves 2 = 6sp each

2 x 165g chicken breast, raw

1 tsp Cajun spice

6 slices of chorizo (the kind that comes sliced in a packet)

Small handful of spinach

1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

½ ball of half fat mozzarella (65g)

2 tsp fresh parmesan, finely grated

Serving Suggestions

1 pack of Uncle Ben’s Spicy Rice (or my spicy rice recipe found here is the same amount of smart points) – 5sp per person

Side salad (mixed leaves, tomato, red onion, cucumber, peeled courgette, a little white wine vinegar and balsamic glaze) – 0sp per person.

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180c. Take the chicken breast fillets and pop between two pieces of baking paper. Take a meat hammer (or rolling pin) and begin to bash the chicken breasts until they are nice and flat (just under a cm thick).

Season the chicken breast on the side facing up with a ¼ tsp of Cajun spice, salt and pepper, then lay three slices of chorizo down the centre. Top the chorizo with the spinach and coriander and then the mozzarella. Finish with another sprinkle of Cajun spice, salt and pepper.

Fold each side of the chicken breast in onto and over the filling and pin together using two cocktail sticks.

Place a sheet of tin foil on a baking tray, pop the chicken breasts in the middle and turn in the tin foil so that if forms a nice bowl around the chicken. This will keep all of the nice juices in.

Season the top of the chicken with salt, pepper and a pinch of Cajun and sprinkle over 1 tsp of parmesan per breast. Pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked through.

I served this with some Uncle Ben’s Spicy Mexican Rice and a side salad (ingredients included above) topped with balsamic glaze. If you are doing so, five minutes before the chicken is ready pop the rice in the microwave until cooked and then plate up with the side salad.

Pop the chicken on the plate (remember to remove the cocktail sticks!) and share the sauce from the foil between two, pouring over the chicken and onto the rice.

Enjoy!

How do you do it?

26th March 2016

You only live once? False! You live every day, you only die once!

Well I got a good chunk of my work done yesterday by sitting at the ipad/computer for six hours, that means I can now go play out later, having lunch with the ladies, I'm so looking forward to a good catch up, it also means I can spend a few hours Sunday and Monday doing the rest of the work and spend the rest of the weekend with mom, we don't need good weather to enjoy each others company and they serve cake indoors should the mood take us, but I'm thinking we'll be spending this weekend at home as everywhere is more than likely to be busy.

I've already chosen what I'll be eating later, I plan to enjoy myself but not let it undo my whole week, after all, it's the giggles and gossip I'm going for mostly, the food is a bonus.  I'm going to order scallops for starter and the lentil dish for main (fancy trying something different), skipping dessert so I can have a drink.  Sorted, I don't even have to look at the menu now, it's all in the bag.

Don't get me wrong, I'm losing weight, but I'm still not being an angel, I bought the £10 meal deal thing from Co-op yesterday, when I got back from my massage, I noticed the Profiterole balls on the side, I'd forgot to put them in the freezer and they were defrosted so I put them in a bowl in the fridge, consuming a couple on the way and a couple more later, but 4 is better than the box and they didn't have the chocolate on because that's still in the pouch for pouring.  A few weeks ago I'd have just sat down in front of the tv with the bowl.  Yeah I'm getting better each and every day, feeling good.

Somebody asked me yesterday, how do I do it?  How do I handle all the stress in my life and still able to focus myself and lose weight.  Truth is I don't always, I scream a lot and often.  I had a real 30 second rage in my office yesterday when I knocked off my version of a "filing system" for my 'important' life/household paperwork.  Then I realised we're all still above ground (my new thought process) and calmed down.  The truth is nothing's really that important is it, because none of us make it out of this world alive, so I'm focusing on the good stuff, because this body of mine has been to hell and back a few times in my life already, I refuse to take it there voluntarily anymore.  I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving and taking care of it not punishing it for not looking a certain way.

Yep, loves me and mine I do.  Oh and the important filing system, it's still on the floor in my office!  I'll sort it out when I've got five minutes, yesterday I had more important things to do, involving plastic cards and members details and big mugs of tea.

I can honestly say nothing has been eaten because of stress or emotions beyond my control this week, I'd like to thank my hormones for that, they haven't been so out of control this month, my mood has been much more stable thankfully, my cycle has only been 24 days, I'm soooooo ready to do this thing called "the change", grow my beard and stop my monthlies.  I'm told the flushes could be with me for years, so I'll make friends with them, we'll learn to swim together!

On that note, be careful out there, do your best to dodge the flying chocolate eggs, bounce away from the buns.  Maybe have one instead of breakfast or lunch, your points will cover it.  Enjoy Easter BeYOUtiful, it's only once a year. 

Here's your smart point recipe, sounds quite nice;

Slow cooked pork, bean and butternut casserole

Serves 4, 7 Smart Points per serving

Make the most of your slow cooker with this delicious casserole – perfect for one of your No Count days.

            Calorie Controlled Cooking Spray,

            400 g Pork, Loin Steak, lean, Raw

            1 large Onion, All Types

            250 g Carrots, Old, Raw

            1 medium Pepper, Red

            100 g Green Beans

            500 g Butternut Squash

            2 cloves Garlic

            400 g Whole or Chopped, Canned Tomatoes,

            480 g Borlotti Beans, Cooked or Canned

            2 tablespoons Tomato Purèe (level)

            1 tablespoons Mixed Herbs, Dried

            300 ml Chicken Stock, Fresh

            1 g Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground) (as purchased)

            4 sprig(s) Parsley, fresh (fresh)

·         Heat a large non-stick frying pan and mist with calorie-controlled cooking spray. Add the pork, a few chunks at a time, browning them before adding the next batch. Transfer them to a slow cooker.

·         Add all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker - the chopped vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, beans, stock and dried herbs. Give everything a thorough stir.

·         Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn it on. It will need 5-6 hours on high, or 7-8 hours on low – check your manufacturer’s handbook for recommendations.

·         Serve in warmed bowls, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Let's make it a Good Friday

25th March 2016

Exist to be happy not to impress!

It's Good Friday then!  Shall we make it so, I'm up for making today a good day, I'm up for making every day a good day, sadly they don't all turn out that way do they!  But the more positive we are the better they're likely to be. 

I rushed like a crazy person last night and thanks to my awesome members and helpers I made a Weight Watcher meeting myself, mines closed today and my leader did a Thursday night meeting so I decided I needed that group support myself.  I knew with it being night instead of morning the scales might be slightly heavier but I didn't mind, and I was so chuffed, I'd lost 1.5lb, all that rushing round all day had obviously paid off!   I got my silver 7, and if I lose a pound next week, I'll be in the next stone bracket and that's my mission.  I will make it through Easter, I will resist the Hazelnut Chocolate Llindt Bunny that my lovely member bought me as a lovely Easter Gift, I've put it somewhere safe and out of reach.  I do have a Milky bar egg that's 18sp that I'm still not sure if I'll eat either, it might go in the same place for when I've lost a little more weight, at the moment that pound off is taking priority.

It appears my changing one thing at a time, not being perfect and doing what I can when I can is paying off.  I'm unlikely to ever be 100% on it, 7 days a week these days, if I'm honest I don't want to, I like eating and drinking too much, I'm not going to give myself a hard time for being that way.  I see people doing that all the time and it's making them so unhappy, they won't have a Good Friday or a Happy Easter because they're be that stressed out and wound up about surviving it, they'll forget to enjoy it. 

We've not had lamb in our house for a long time, I'm tempted to go get some because it's on offer and mom quite likes it, as does Alfie but I don't know if I will, we shall see.  I do need to go get some food, the fridge is almost bare, we need veggies, I haven't had bread in the house all week, but that's been a bonus if I'm honest, it's making me think about what I can eat instead. 

Actually I think before I go to the shop, I'll go have a mooch through the freezer and cupboard and make a list of meals I can make with what I have, then decide what I do need. 

Yesterday I enjoyed a piece of River Cobbler, my lovely helper Sheila bought me, I put a bit of tomato sauce on it and chorizo, then roasted.  We had it with Heinz Dhal Curry Lentils, they weren't bad for a quick meal and a change from baked beans.  I'm enjoying grains and pulses more and more.

Got a lot of paperwork to do this weekend so I better get started on it, I hope you've got more fun things planned!

Have you noticed that we fall for the marketing hype every year, not only do we want a hot cross bun but when we end up in the supermarket, they're on offer two packs for £1 so we end up with a dozen Hot Cross Buns, how about making your own, it could pass an hour with the kids, you've got them off school for a fortnight, make them, have one, get them to take the rest to granny's or the neighbours!   Here's the recipe, I'm tempted, I've never made hot cross buns.  Catch ya laters xx

Hot cross buns

Serves 12, 6sp per bun,

prep time 20mins, cook time 15min

 

375g Strong White Flour (bread flour) 37sp

25g Caster Sugar 6sp

7g Dried baking yeast (1 sachet)

¹⁄₂ teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Mixed Spice, ground

220ml Skimmed Milk, tepid 3sp

1 medium Egg, whole, raw, whisked lightly 2sp

60g Low Fat Spread, melted 8s[

6spray(s) Calorie controlled cooking spray

100g Currants, 16sp

For the crosses:

35g Plain White Flour 3sp

1g Baking powder

1teaspoons Honey, warm, to glaze 1sp

In a large bowl, sift the flour with the sugar, yeast, salt and mixed spice. Make a well in the centre then pour in the milk, egg and spread. With a wooden spoon, mix to form a dough.

Use your hands to bring the dough together, then knead the dough for at least 10 mins until smooth and elastic.

Put the dough in a clean bowl misted with cooking spray. Place a clean tea cloth over the dough and leave in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hr, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200°C/fan 180‚C.

Knock back the dough by kneading for another 2 mins, adding the currants. Shape into 12 small, round buns, making a cross shape on each one using a knife. Mist a baking tray with cooking spray and place the buns on it in a rectangle close together. Cover with a tea cloth and leave for another 30 mins to prove.

Make the crosses by mixing the flour with the baking powder and 3 tbsp water to form a thick paste. Spoon the paste into a piping bag and carefully pipe a cross onto each bun. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 mins or until golden.

Carefully tap the bottom of the buns — if they are light and sound hollow then they are done. Once cooked, leave to cool slightly on a wire rack and then brush with the honey to glaze.