Back to busy

28^th August 2018

Compliment people, magnify their strengths not their weaknesses.

Well that was the last bank holiday of the summer, it’ll be Christmas next.  Yeah, I said it, 17 weeks till we get there.  2/3rds of the way through the year, where did that go!  I dried my washing indoors yesterday that’s the first time in a long time too, the seasons are definitely changing, it is good to have the seasons back though, a proper winter, followed by an excellent summer, shame it didn’t last this past weekend.

I’m looking forward to this week’s meetings, it’s all about convenience and I’m all for that right now, I just couldn’t be bothered to cook yesterday, I managed to put veggie burger and chips in the oven from the freezer but that was as good as it got.   I did manage to put together my IKEA kitchen trolley though and I oiled it too so I was a little productive this weekend.

I’m looking forward to hearing how everyone survives and stays on track when they ‘can’t be bothered’ when they have sod it syndrome, when life is busy and crazy and the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen cooking.  Yep, I’m looking forward to the food finds, I mean life is just too short to peel and chop butternut squash, plus it hurts my hands!

I love that you can put a whole swede in the microwave and 20 minutes later you have cooked swede, no you don’t have to stab it – not unless you’re angry and need to get some aggression out.  It’ll scream but it won’t explode, but if it does this wasn’t my idea ;)

I was told by a member last week she cooks her corn on the cob in the microwave, only takes a couple of minutes, now that saves waiting the 20 minutes it’ll take in the oven or the 15 on the hob.

You can’t beat a bit of convenience.  If you have anything worth sharing message me, or better still share in my meetings this week, looking forward to them.

Keeping it brief this morning as I want to go make me some breakfast, I’m going to make egg roll ups I think, will post photo in a bit if they work!

Here’s to having a very great day, looking for the smile moments and focussing on creating those healthy habits for life. 

Bank Holiday slow day

27^th August 2018

There are so many BeYOUtiful reasons to be happy.

Yesterday would have been the last day of my 28 days of eating well, I didn’t manage it for the last few days though if I’m honest which is why I’ve gained a pound.  I’m still 5lb lighter than I was a month ago which is why I’ll be drawing a line this morning and getting my healthy back because creating healthy habits for life doesn’t just happen, it takes continuous work. Blips will happen, a healthy life is all about balance and how you handle those blips.  I’m choosing to start today with a positive mind and a clean, flesh page in my tracker, it’ll start with a cooked breakfast of eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms and a lo-dough maybe.  I’m thinking chicken dinner possibly, lots of veggies to fill me up and stop me being tempted to pick at stuff.  Or maybe a big bowl of pasta, mmm we’ll see how I feel later.

Highlights of my day yesterday weren’t food, they included listening to my mom proper belly laugh at a silly film we were watching on the tv, although I did enjoy the steak and chips I ate, I didn’t eat bad food, I just ate too much food, I won’t do that today.

Today is more about recharging than anything else, that’s been the theme of the week, it’s a shame more people don’t recharge themselves as much as they recharge their phones!  Yep I’m not able to have holidays so instead I do the things I’d do on holiday at home (basically chill out and ignore the world), I’ve enjoyed a couple of early nights, even if I don’t go straight to sleep, I’m giving myself time out to just lie down and stop thinking.

It’s getting cooler, time to start making soups and stews and I have to say this one does look tasty, there’s only the curry powder or paste that you’d need to point. 

Indian Butternut and Lentil Stew

Serves 3

1 onion

3-4 tablespoons of mild curry powder OR 3-4 tablespoons of curry paste,

1/2 large butternut squash

200g / 1 1/2 cups of red lentils

750ml / 3 cups of water or vegetable stock

2 large handfuls of spinach

Optional: 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger, 1 teaspoon turmeric

Instructions

1.    Heat some oil in a large pan over a medium low heat.

2.    Finely chop the onion and add to the pan along with the curry powder or paste and ginger and turmeric if using. Fry for a few minutes taking care to not let it burn.

3.    Peel and de-seed the squash and chop into small cubes, then add to the pan.

4.    Rinse the lentils well in a sieve and add to the pan along with the water or vegetable stock.

5.    Simmer the stew on a medium heat with the lid on the pan for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent the lentils sticking to the bottom.

6.    The stew is done when the lentils have broken down and the squash is soft.

7.    Turn off the heat and add the spinach, stirring through until it wilts into the stew.

8.    Serve.

Notes

1. Serves 2 very generously or 3 - 4 more moderately
2. Add more water or stock as needed if you prefer it a less thick texture

Mom’s awake, time to get moving, here’s to enjoying Bank Holiday Monday, relaxing and having a very great day, looking for the smile moments and focussing on creating those healthy habits for life. 

Smiling

26^th August 2018

When someone says you can’t do it. Do it twice and take photos!

888 that’s how many stones have been lost on my scales so far this year, how amazing is that, it definitely motivates me when I see those numbers, my members inspire me each and every week as they focus on creating healthy habits for life. 

Part of our meeting this week was talking about creating a smile list, things that make you smile, things that make you happy, this list can be added to day in and day out.  Yesterday the obvious ones for me included hearing my members laughter, I love that, then when I did the getting to know you section with my new members and I managed to get my speaker connected to the ipads that made me smile but even more so because the new member told me that could be added to my smile list, proving she’d paid attention and taken something away from the meeting.  My massage definitely made me happy, I had a lovely relaxed, content smile at the end of that.  The bag of cheese and onion crisps I ate for lunch made me smile because they actually weren’t that great, I think they’d set their slicer a little too thick so it’s made me not really want another bag with gave me a sense of relief that I can resist.

Having an afternoon with mom that was more like the old days, the ‘Alzheimer’s’ seemed to have taken a day off which meant we laughed and enjoyed each other’s company before having an early night (they always make me happy).

Sleeping makes me happy, I managed to sleep till half five – very happy with that.  Waking up knowing I don’t have to do anything or be anywhere today unless I want too, that makes me really happy.

The temperature dropping doesn’t make me smile but knowing I have central heating and can afford to pay the bill does. 

There’s so much to smile about and the more we focus on those happy moments and looking for them the more we realise how fortunate we are in our lives. 

What will today bring, who knows but we’ll take it whatever it may be, I need to find a good movie or series to watch, maybe I should add box sets onto my sky, or look on my amazon or Netflix, any suggestions.  Need something that’s not too complicated for mom to keep up with, I love a comedy, we watched ‘the angriest man in Brooklyn’ with Robin Williams in, that was good, then we watched ‘The Heist’ which was okay.

Here’s to enjoying Sunday and to doing what mom and I want. Here’s to having a very great day, looking for the smile moments and focussing on creating those healthy habits for life.