And another month goes by...

 I'm reminded of the song from Come From Away that sings "And then another, and then another, and then..."

TLDR: 

So this past month, we have had covid in the house, we have had a dance festival, we have had uncertainty around DD1's surgery, we have had exhaustion from school, we have had good days out over half term, we have eaten too much and not exercised enough, though I have exercised some.  I have watched a fair bit of TV and not read much (which tbh hasn't helped my MH much) because I know how far behind I am of the reviews of books that I have read over the summer, and I'm behind on my paid work too.  

Positives:

DD1 came 3rd in her Tap Solo at the dance festival.

DD1 & DD2 came 1st in their Caberet Group dance at the festival.

I have gone on some runs when I've not seen my PT, and am s...l...o...w...l...y increasing in speed.  Still nearly an hour to run (and walk) 5Km, but under an hour nonetheless.

I have watched my first Christmas film of the season.

Despite being fully booked and not advertising at all, I am still getting enquiries about maths tuition.

My house is slowly becoming more organised.

I am trying to catch up on reviews a couple at a time.

Book Organisation

Ok, so I have gone through all my past Book Reviews and tried to classify them, so that if you wanted to find a certain type of book that would be easy to do now.  All you have to do is look at the Word Cloud on the right, squint a bit, and then choose the genre you're looking for.

If you have read something based on my recommendation and think that I have missed a classification (from the list below), please comment and I will add it.  Depending where you read, there are 7 or 8 main classifications of genre (I have made sure I covered them all) but there are also 150+ subgenres and classifications that I can't always see the difference between.  As such, some things you'll have to give me artistic license for, such as grouping Paranormal under Fantasy, rather than giving it its own classification.  And I'm surprised to see that despite reading a load of Stephen King and James Herbert as a teen, I haven't got any Horror listed.  That's probably the only addition that I would make.

And, you will notice that some of the links give more than just books listed, especially in the non-fiction list, but you'll just have to cope with scrolling down to find the books for those.

So here is the list of classifications, so that if you did want to find something quickly, you can either click the link below, or the word cloud.

Fiction:
Adventure
Chick-Lit
Childrens
Classic
Cosy
Dystopia
Fantasy
Horror (No link yet, as there are no books yet)
Mystery
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
YA

Non-Fiction:
Bible
Childrens
Christianity
Feminism
Non-Fiction
Real Life
Recipe
Weightloss

Weekly Update

 (Ignoring that I seem to be doing them fortnightly atm.)

I weighed myself for the first time since December today and I was only* 94.2kg! (*only, compared to the weight I thought I was.) I am still reading The Diet Trap Solution, and have actually been doing the exercises.

I am also trying to be more mindful about what I am eating.  I am still keeping track of what I eat, but trying to remember to sit at the table and eat slowly.  (Not that I think there is anything wrong with eating not at a table, rather that I tend to do something else at the same time when I'm on the sofa, even if it's watching TV or playing on my phone whilst eating.)

Today I made miso and noodle soup for lunch, which was delicious.  I need to remind myself that taking an extra 5min to cook myself something proper, rather than just having toast and butter, is definitely worth it in terms of taste, calories and nutrition.

Recipe for 2 people (or 4 as starter):

• garlic clove
• shallot/onion
• ginger
• miso paste
• mirin
• tahini
• stock
• green veg
• 1 nest of rice noodles
• boiled egg

Blitz the first 6 ingredients together to form a paste.

Cook the paste for 2-3 min in a saucepan so it is fragrant but not burning.

Add the stock, green veg and noodles and cook for 5-10 min on a gentle simmer.

Dish up into bowls, and serve with a boiled egg on top.

Five Bean soup

Last week, my friend and fellow blogger Dottie Hines, aka Five Bean Soup, did a post about this blog and it's the very least I can do to return the favour.  

The Five Bean Soup blog is a mix of good wholesome recipes, lifestyle blogs and crafts.  I am in awe of that, as the only craft that I am any good at is MosaiCraft, and that's because it's a fancy colour-by-numbers!  For me, though, it is her recipes that I am most interested in and will be trying out.

Dottie is following a Whole Foods Plant Based diet, which is fairly compatible with the 2B Mindset.  The main difference seems to be what you can eat when (for example fruit and other Fibre-Filled Carbohydrates are not recommended at dinner time on the 2B Mindset) and whereas Dottie avoids all butter and oil, on the 2B Mindset it is considered an accessory. ie. If you eat a massive bowl of peas with a spoonful of butter on top, then it's better the have the butter than avoiding the peas.  Having said that, if Dottie could find an alternative to oil in Treat Recipes, such as my Vegan Chocolate Hummus recipe, I'd be all for that alternative!

I particularly liked her post What I Eat In A Day as it reminded me of recipes that I have on this blog that I had forgotten about. I used to have green smoothies for breakfast, and seem to have fallen out of the habit, but smoothies are certainly compatible with the 2B Mindset.  Other breakfast ideas that I had forgotten about include my Overnight Oats recipe as Five Bean Soup has a recipe for Chia and Hemp Porridge.  Similarly, I had forgotten about some of my quick lunch ideas, which may not be as useful to Dottie (for example Egg Fried Cauli Rice contains eggs!), but as I've been looking for some quick Veggie Most lunches, the reminder has been good for me.

So, have a look at Five Bean Soup, and the accompanying Facebook Page.  Give it a like, a follow and a share. Though not all her recipes are low carb, they are filling and satisfying, with a good range of vegan, veggie and omni options.

Weekly Update Y2w26

Halfway through the year and I have lost 5.1 kg since January 1st; that's just over 11 lbs in old money.  That is a lot less than I would have hoped I would have lost by this point in the year, but I cannot get too disheartened.  My progress is steady, I am losing weight and I am forming new habits - that's a big win!

This week, I have been focusing on eating Veggies Most, as coined by the 2B Mindset, and it seems to be working.  I am feeling full and satisfied and genuinely am craving more vegetables in preference to other foods.  It's bizarre! lol

Here's a selection of the foods I've been eating:

Cabbage Steak with Piccalilli

 To bake the cabbage steak and the carrots, I simply lay them on a baking tray, coat with onion salt and garlic powder and a spritz of oil, before baking at 180C for 20+min, until they look soft and yummy.  I flip the cabbage steak halfway through baking, and the edges start to caramelise.

The topping for the first picture is sliced onions and chorizo, fried together.  As chorizo is a strong flavour, I kept to the basic for my baked veg.  Alternatives can be adding cumin, chilli or Mexican spices before baking the cabbage.  Then I added piccalilli mixed with a little yoghurt and thinned with vinegar so it goes further.

Naked Cheeseburger and Salad

By buying decent thick burgers, you honestly don't need the bread roll.  I've had burgers with cheese and BBQ sauce, or more piccalilli (I've only just discovered I like it), on a bed of spinach, cucumber, tomato, mushrooms etc and it is really filling and satisfying.  As a bread lover, this has been the main surprise for me, that I can enjoy traditionally breaded food without it!

Cabbage Steak with Mushrooms

The third picture shows cabbage steaks and carrots again (I love baked carrots - I feel like my eyes have been opened and atm I could eat them every day!), this time with mushrooms and spring onions on top.  I also made a sauce to accessorise them, of Korean BBQ sauce (which was too spicy for me) with Greek yoghurt and vinegar.  It was sweet, and tangy and spicy.  Despite having cabbage steaks twice this week, I don't love them, but with strong flavoured sauces, you can change what you're eating to keep it exciting and fresh.

This coming week, my plan is to keep eating the vegetables, and to keep off traditional carbs after lunchtime (I am still eating fruit and the occasional dessert or glass of wine in the evenings).  I am really noticing that this is making a difference (when I stick to it) to both my weight and to how my body feels in terms of bloatedness and hunger.

Exercise-wise, I have shifted my focus, so I am not worrying too much about getting the exercise done, but since lockdown has eased, I did walk 4.5km with a friend last Monday, and we plan to walk further this afternoon.  It may not be much, but this is a good habit for me to develop as it feels more like fun than hard work.

Weekly Update Y2w24

This week has been another good one!  I hit yet another lowest weight (by 200grams - but it still counts!) and though my weight has got a slight up-tick at the moment, I am eating more vegetables and am confident it will come back down again soon.  

Yesterday I made this delicious lunch that was a mix of a recipe from the 2B Mindset and one I found online.  It was really quick and easy too.  Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me at the time to take a picture, so you'll just have to imagine the steaming yumminess.  Additionally, I would have thought it fairly easy for it to be adapted to vegetarian or vegan and still be scrumptious.

Ingredients (a lunch for 2, easily doubled)

1 large aubergine

Sea Salt

Tin chopped tomatoes

Onion and Garlic - I didn't have any, so used onion salt and garlic powder instead

Italian Herbs

Fresh Basil

Sliced Ham

Mascapone Cheese

Baby Spinach

Grated/crumbled Cheese (eg Cheddar or Feta or Ricotta, anything really)

Method

Slice the aubergine thinly lengthwise.  Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 10min at 180C until softened.

Meanwhile, gently fry the fresh onion and garlic (if using) in a saucepan. Add the tin tomatoes, (powdered garlic and onion), Italian Herbs and Fresh Basil, and simmer gently until the aubergine is cooked.

Put half the tomato mixture into a glass ovenproof dish.

On top of each slice of aubergine, lay a slice of ham (cut to shape), mascapone and spinach.  Roll into a spiral and place in the tomato mixture.  Repeat until all the aubergine is rolled and in the dish.
Put the rest of the tomato mixture on top of the aubergine rolls and sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake for 10-20minutes until the cheese has melted/browned to your liking.
Yum.

Weekly Update Y2w22

I have had a good week this week! 
It's not reflected in my weight particularly, nor in the amount of exercise I have done or am doing, but I feel good in myself!

As I said last week, when we have BBQs I want to try and not have the bread roll with my burger - I managed it yesterday!

I made a massive salad, homemade yoghurt and mustard dressing and the most delicious carrots I have ever had. Honestly, they were so nice that I could happily just have a plate of them, and I'm no veg lover!  I cooked them the same way I do asparagus: lay them on a baking tray, sprinkle with onion salt, garlic powder, black pepper and a drizzle of oil. Give it a mix, and roast for 25min (I do asparagus for only 15min) at 180C.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Yum!

My whole week hasn't been as impressive - I have been fancying a Chinese takeaway for ages and haven't had one this year, I don't think? Certainly not in lockdown, anyway.  So, last week we had one, and inevitably my weight jumped as you can see from my graph.

But it has come back down after a couple of days, and today I am back under 92kgs.😀
I am reading Ilana Muhlstein's book "You can drop it!" which is based on the 2B Mindset.  Again, I'm reading it with my friend so we can encourage each other as we try to lose weight.  (If you click "2B Mindset" on the word cloud >>> you can see all my previous posts about it.)  This week I am focusing on Veggies Most.  It seems a simple goal, but one that I do not always maintain.  But as I said, I am feeling confident this week.

I am also mixing my exercise up between Body Groove's Pilates and 7 Minute Workouts (from the app of the same name).  Though I enjoy the pilates, and am managing to get stronger with it, I feel that I should combine that with doing something to raise my heart rate.

With God's help, I can do this!

Garlic Flatbreads

I was meant to be making slow cooker bread to go with my slow cooker soup. Unfortunately, I forgot, and then it was all-of-a-sudden lunch time; so I made flatbreads instead.  These are really easy and only use two ingredients, plus oil to fry.

Ingredients: 

Image from dreamstime
All my flatbread got eaten before I thought to get a photo!

200g Self Raising Flour
200g Greek Yoghurt

Method:

Combine the ingredients to make a soft dough. 
Cut the dough into portions (I made eight).
Roll each portion into a ball, then roll flat and really thin.
Heat a griddle pan hot, and pour on a little oil.
Fry each flatbread for a few minutes on each side.

To turn these flatbreads into garlic flatbreads, make some garlic butter (crushed garlic, butter and optional herbs) and spread on the flatbreads after cooking, whilst still warm

Cinnamon Biscoff Donuts

Yesterday the girls made Cinnamon Biscoff Biscuits.  We used Jack Monroe's recipe, and as Jack had included the costs (14p each) I was interested to see how much we would make it for, and also, how many calories each donut is.

So, I made the girls a table of the ingredients and asked them to use the Tesco's website to look up the nutritional values of each item.  As they did this independently, depending on which items they chose to look up (eg what brand of flour etc) they got differing values to each other (the photo was also before I corrected DD2's kCals calculations).

I did have to help them with the maths, specifically writing out the equations needed to calculate the price per recipe and the kCals per recipe.

They calculated (approx) 15p per donut and 210kCals/donut.

Jack Monroe said each donut costs 14p, and when I use a different calculator (which had preset nutritional values per food) it came up as 247kCals/donut, so not bad approximation!

And yes, you can tell from the photo at the top, we have tried them, and they are delicious.  An easy donut recipe made with things already in the cupboard!
(The only ingredients I needed to specifically buy were the white chocolate and biscoff biscuits for the topping, but really you can use a simple icing to drizzle and they would be just as delicious).

Weekly Update No13

From last Monday to today, I have lost half a kilo (a pound); but actually I got down to my lowest weight for 100 days! (Yes, by weighing myself daily, I can work out random stats like that.)

Drinking one or two smoothies a day, followed by a proper dinner, has been working really well for me. My evening meals have included Egg-whitepizza, omelette, fajitas (in lettuce cups rather than wraps). Unfortunately, I ate too much over the weekend.

Sunday was Mother’s Day (in the UK it is celebrated the 3^rd Sunday in Lent; whereas other places in the world such as the USA celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2^nd Sunday in May) and I wanted an Afternoon Tea. As I knew not to expect one, on the Saturday beforehand, I bought myself a platter of sandwiches, a selection of cakes, and scones with clotted cream to share with my girls. I ate too much of the wrong things, so wasn’t surprised when I put on weight the next morning.

On Mother’s Day itself, I had volunteered to do refreshments at my church (before I realised it was Mother’s Day) so didn’t get home until nearly 1pm. Despite being told that we’d be going out for lunch, my husband hadn’t booked anywhere… on a normal Sunday you need to book to get a table anywhere, let alone on Mothering Sunday! So I ate a scone, or 3…

In the evening, we ordered a takeaway. I shared starters with my husband, and ate half a portion of Salmon & Spinach, with [half] sauteed potatoes, carrots, green beans and broccoli. I ate far too much! I was in agony overnight with the stomach problems I get, so literally got zero sleep before 7:30am. Between 7:30-9:30am I was able to doze on and off, in between my alarms going off. When taking my girls to their Home Ed activities this morning, I have been sensible and got a taxi, rather than driving with no sleep. It wasn’t a surprise that my weight had gone up slightly, but as I said it has gone down overall from last Monday.

So this week, I am going to keep going with the smoothies and proper dinner, trying to be careful with portion sizes so that I don’t irritate my stomach any more.

The Best Green Smoothies on the Planet by Tracy Russell

After my weightloss kickstart recently, I have dug out my smoothie recipe book and am making delicious smoothies daily again.  This is a really good habit for me to be in, because they are delicious and filling, and easily transportable.

The Best Green Smoothies on the Planet by Tracy Russell was initially a collection that came as a spin-off from her blog and FB page, where she shared many recipes that she created or used as part of her own weightloss journey.  I have followed her recipes, and completed a virtual smoothie bootcamp in the past, so am glad to get back into the practice.

The blurb says:

IncredibleSmoothies.com founder Tracy Russell tried just about every fad diet and expensive “superfood” supplement out there, with negligible results. It wasn’t until she discovered green smoothies that she lost 40 pounds, lowered her cholesterol by 50 points, and started running marathons.

In The Best Green Smoothies on the Planet, Russell shares healthy, down-to-earth recipes made with unprocessed whole foods. Packed with fresh fruits and vegetables—particularly leafy greens—that you can find at your neighborhood grocery store or local farmers’ market, every recipe in this book contains nutrition information as well as options for substitutions and variations. Russell reveals optimal flavor pairings (which green goes best with which fruit and which fruits blend best together) and specific health benefits of key ingredients.

Focusing on the many positive effects of drinking green smoothies, including detox and cleansing, natural weight loss, and mood enhancement, Russell offers nutrient-rich recipes with flavorful, fun combinations such as:

Pineapple-Ginger
Chocolate-Peanut Butter
Mango-Avocado
Cherry-Pomegranate
Nectarine-Goji Berry

With 150 delicious green smoothie favorites (enough smoothies for five whole months!), The Best Green Smoothies on the Planet provides recipes that can accommodate and enhance any individual or family diet. Whether you’re a smoothie veteran or trying something new, these drinks will wow you—with both accessibility and incredible taste.

Over time, she has branched out to include other aspects of holistic health and mindfulness as seen on her new website Dave & Tracy.com.

So far, I have made a delicious Spiced Blueberry and Pear smoothie yesterday, and for lunch today I made Pineapple-Mango smoothie. They are thick, filling and vegan.  I can't wait until I make a Chocolate-Cherry smoothie - I love that combination!

Egg-white Pizza Recipe

I’ve seen egg-white pizza discussed on a few sites as well as part of the 2B Mindset. It is meant to be a tasty low-carb version of a pizza.

As I’m trying to only cook one meal in the evenings, one of our go-tos is wrap pizza (which is also lower carb than a standard pizza): put a wrap on a baking tray, add toppings and grill until the cheese melts. We like this because each of us can choose our own toppings, so we all eat everything, and it is not so filling that you feel stuffed afterwards.

So last night, instead of the wrap pizza, I made myself an egg-white pizza.

Half a cup of egg whites (I cheated and bought a carton of egg-whites, rather than separating them myself) whisked until fluffy. I also added in a pinch of garlic powder and onion salt into this base, just to give it a bit more flavour.

Then, spoon into a hot pan and wait for the base to cook.  I put a lid on the saucepan to encourage to top/middle to start to cook too.

Carefully turn the base of your pizza base over.

As the bottom of the pizza is cooking, spread with tomato sauce (I used pesto) and add your toppings on the top. In mine, I added Pepperami, mozzarella and a sprinkle of Italian herbs.

If you are using a frying pan that can be put under the grill that would probably be best, but I couldn’t do that, so I put a lid on the pan, so that the top would heat and cook. When the cheese melted, I dished it up.

I confess to not having a photo, of the pizza on my plate.  I had intended to take a photo when I had taken a few bites, but it was too yummy and I got distracted.

It was delicious. Much tastier than I was expecting it to be. And really filling too, without being bloating. I quickly ate it before going to Growth Group (my Bible study group), and I didn’t feel like eating more when I returned a few hours later.

The only things I would change are:

1. Add the basil leaves on top that I bought but forgot to use!

2. Serve it up with a large salad. As I was in a rush, I ate it as it was, but would be really good to eat with a salad so I can eat more slowly and savour every bite.

This will definitely be one to make again.

Slow Cooker Bread Recipe

One of the pages I follow on FB is the Bootstrap Cook, and recently she has posted her slow cooker bread recipe.  Again, this is something that I hadn't considered using my slow cooker for, so I thought I would give it a go, to go with the Chicken and Basil Stew I'm making for dinner tonight.

The recipe can be found in full on Jack Monroe's blog so I won't create it here, but it took less than 15min prep, before being in the slow cooker for 1.5hrs, and then a further 40min to cook the underside.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly - I used 360g of flour (because the packet was nearly finished so I chucked the rest in) which probably resulted in a bit more water being used, but I didn't measure it out properly.  I also didn't leave the bread to rest for 20min before putting in the slow cooker -I just put it straight in on top of some mixed seeds, and sprinkled more on the top of the bread too.  (Reading through the recipe, I couldn't work out which side of the bread is going to be the top or not.)  After the suggested time, the bread didn't sound quite hollow (I'm guessing because there was more flour) and it didn't rise as much as expected, so maybe next time I will leave it to rise before I start cooking it.

The bread was really tasty, but a bit dense, so for me and my slow cooker, there's definitely need to let it rise. Not bad for a first try.
I can imagine that if it was cut thinly, then toasted lightly with a smothering of butter - Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse/Hummus Recipe

I saw something on Facebook recently called Chocolate Hummus. I'd never heard of it before, but have made chocolate mousse recipes using chia seeds before.  Despite, not being able to find the recipe I saw again, I decided to have a go and make it up.

I used:

Tin of chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 ripe avocado
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sunflower oil

Then, I put them all in a blender and blitzed.
Simples.

Now, if I'm honest, I should have used my big, proper, powerful blender, rather than my hand-blender, as the texture was a bit weird - I'd prefer it to be smoother. 
The taste, however, was really nice. I think some added dates would make it taste a bit more like chocolate fudge, but overall was a good experiment. It made 4 portions, which are now sitting in my fridge, ready for when I next fancy something sweet.  I did lick out the bowl (as you do) and it is quite sweet, so could conceivably be split into 6 or 8 portions.

I used Explore Food Calculator to look at the nutrition of my recipe.  Per portion (a quarter of the mixture) it contains 10g of protein, 7g of sugar, and 9g of fibre. 
Not bad for a sweet treat that took less than 5min to make!

Low Carb Revolution by Annie Bell

With the subtitle of "Comfort Eating for Good Health", you know the Low Carb Revolution will be full of tasty, hearty meals.  I was given this book for Christmas, which was a nice surprise as it fits well with the 2B Mindset.


Last night I decided to try "Chicken and aubergine tagine traybake".  Due to copyright I can't share the actual recipe, but it involves chicken thighs and aubergines, in a tray and baked...

It was delicious! Definitely one to make again and again.  It was very easy to do, and I have never had aubergine taste so good.  I wasn't keen on eating the preserved lemons, but they did lightly flavour to other ingredients such that I won't be omitting them.

And to add to my pleasure, this morning's daily weigh-in, is the lightest I've be so far this year.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

A 2B Christmas

Some people have asked me how to have a 2B Christmas dinner, so I thought I would write this post. The first thing to remember is that 2B really is a mindset and not a set of rules; however we can follow the principles in order to make the festive season happy and positive, rather than bloated and overfull.

As a recap, the first half of the 2 Bunnies are Water First and Veggies Most. These two things alone, will help you control how much you are eating. Drinking plenty of water means you stay hydrated and are less likely to confuse thirst with hunger. Most people do not drink enough water, so when your body is craving H₂O it will not discriminate between food sources. Additionally, by drinking water before you eat, you start to fill your stomach up, so you can feel full and satisfied without having to pig out on a load of carbs. Veggies most makes sense too, because they are nutritionally dense, and we want to fill up on foods that are good for our body. We can eat a good plateful that is appealing to our eyes, whilst not making us feel heavy and tired afterwards.

At this point, I need to remind you of the Plate-It method, so depending on whether you eat your Christmas dinner at lunchtime or teatime, you may want to alter what is on your plate. Roast potatoes, even when cooked in goose fat, are not inherently bad for you, but depending on the time of day will affect how many you choose to eat.

My plan for Christmas dinner is as follows. We always like to have multiple courses with our Christmas dinner, but it will be spread throughout the day, because nobody wants to eat all this in one sitting!

Starter: Prawn Cocktail

King prawns, on a huge bed of mixed salad, covered in homemade thousand island dressing ‘watered’ down with lemon juice and vinegar. My husband will have bread and butter with his, but I don’t need that eating opportunity.

Main: Turkey with all the trimmings

We’ll be having a cook-from-frozen stuffed turkey crown this year, and my husband wants a half leg of lamb too. We’ll have roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding (I’ll have one of each) with pigs in blankets and sausage meat stuffing. I am having a lazy Christmas this year, so many of the items for Christmas dinner will be preprepared, but if you are making your own stuffing (especially if you are actually using it to stuff the turkey), why not use riced cauliflower instead of half (or more) of the breadcrumbs? I have even seen a bag of frozen cranberry and nut stuffing that has cauliflower rice as it’s base – but is only available across the pond, and not in the UK.

I’ll also do a range of vegetables, from sprouts with bacon, roast root veg, carrot and swede mash, cauliflower cheese, peas and sweetcorn. With a spread like this, there is no excuse whatsoever not to achieve Veggies Most.

Pudding: Option of Christmas Pudding or a Mince Pie with Brandy Cream.

It’s Christmas, so I have no intention of watering down any of this, but I only need a taste of each, rather than a pint of each…

Cheese board: Cheese, crackers and chutneys/jellies and grapes/apples.

I love a good cheese board. I love cheese. In reality, though I’ll plan to have it on Christmas day, I feel full just reading everything I’ve got planned, so this will probably move to Boxing Day. I’ll add another salad with it, so we can still have Veggies Most.

And alcohol. In my house, it wouldn’t be Christmas without any alcohol; but by having Water First, and alternating a glass of wine with a glass of water, means we can enjoy the taste without getting drunk or putting on weight from empty calories.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, enjoying your food and drink xx

Home-Made Chicken Goujons

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breasts
Breadcrumbs
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flour
Salt & Pepper
2 Eggs
1kCal Cooking Spray

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. 
Cut the chicken breasts into long strips.
Prepare three plates:

1. Flour
2. Beaten Eggs
3. Mix of Breadcrumbs, Cheese, and Salt & Pepper.

Dip the chicken into the flour, shaking off the excess.  Dip into the Egg, then roll in the Breadcrumb mixture until coated.  Lay onto a baking sheet.

Once all the chicken is coated, spray lightly with cooking spray, then bake for 20mins (checking after 15min that it is not browning too much).

Enjoy.

I served these with a big bowl of mixed salad, and thousand island dressing that had been 'watered' down with a bit of white wine vinegar.

Watering down thick sauces is an easy way to encourage the sauces to coat all the food/salad, rather than remaining in a lump. This has the advantage of being able to taste the flavour every bite, without needing as much sauce as you would if it were thicker.

Sweet and Soy Garlic Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

4 Chicken Thighs
1/3 Cup Tomato Ketchup
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
2 crushed Garlic Cloves
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

Method

Put all the ingredients in the Slow cooker, mix thoroughly, and cook on high for 5-6 hours.
Serves 4.


When I did this, I actually only put 2 of thighs in the slow cooker.  I then mixed all the liquid ingredients in a bowl, poured half on the thighs and stirred before putting the slow cooker on.  The other two thighs, and the rest of the sauce, I put in a freezer bag, and placed in the freezer, so next time I only need to defrost before cooking.

I served the Sweet and Soy Garlic Chicken on a bed of mushrooms and pak choi that had been lightly fried in sesame oil.
Delicious!

Nutrition Project

It's the start of a new half term here, and bearing in mind that DD1 will be going to secondary school next year, I'm trying to get the girls do some "work" every day. 

When Home Educating, there is no requirement for formal work at all, let alone a number of hours that need to be complete each week.  There is no need to follow the National Curriculum (depending on the subject, it seems randomly too shallow or too narrow), but need to ensure that the education is suitable to the child's needs, age and ability.

So, yesterday DD1 asked me to set them a maths quiz.  I said I would, on the condition that I could teach them something new first, but wouldn't limit the quiz to that topic.  So I taught both girls about fractions, how to add and subtract them when the denominators are not the same, how to simplify and what mixed numbers are.  DD2 found it more difficult, as expected, and stopped halfway through the questions.  DD1 was determined to complete the set, even though she was frustrated at times for not remembering what she once knew (long multiplication and division).  With a bit of help, she completed it, and got them all correct.

Today, I have decided to set each girl a challenge.  And it will be a challenge, because my girls are very particular about what they will and won't eat!

DD2's Challenge:

• Find a recipe that all four of us will eat, that is at least 50% vegetables
• Write out the recipe (ingredients and method) very neatly
• Decorate with pictures if you want

DD1's Challenge:

• Find a recipe that 3 of us will eat (Mum, Dad and DD1), that is at least 50% vegetables and under 400kCals per portion.
• Write out the recipe (ingredients and method) very neatly
• Decorate with pictures if you want

This will be a challenge for each of the girls.  

DD1 eats a wider variety of foods and vegetables than DD2, so I didn't want her to be limited by what DD2 will eat, but as an added difficulty (and hopefully some hidden maths) of working out the calories within foods.  She has started by writing out a list of all the foods that she likes, and is watching YouTube videos to spark ideas as she thinks about creating a recipe.  I have mentioned to her that Recipe Finders do exist on the internet, where she can input ingredients and it will suggest recipes that fit, but for now, she wants to try and develop her own.

DD2 has started by making a list of all the vegetables she Likes; Don't Like but Will Eat; Don't Like; and Never Tried, using the list of vegetables on Wikipedia.  So far (she hasn't finished yet) there is a grand total of 1 vegetable in the Likes column, 4 in the Will Eat column (though one is potato, so not counted in this challenge), nearly an A4 page in the Don't Like column and almost a page and a half in the Never Tried one.  At the moment, it looks like DD2's suggestion might end up being something like Sausages with Sweetcorn and peas, though I'm hoping that she'll end up with something a bit more adventurous/tasty.

I have given both girls until the end of the week to develop their recipes and write them up, and then I plan to cook them for the family next week.

Overnight Oats Recipe

Ok, so I'm a little late to the Overnight Oats party.  Having been a long-time lover of porridge, a friend recommended I try overnight oats, as an alternative for mornings when I have less time.  Overnight oats are simple rolled oats that have been soaked overnight, so they go plump and smooth and delicious, and you can add any flavour you like.  They are a good 2B breakfast because they consist of protein (milk and fat-free yoghurt) and FFCs (oats, and optional fruit), so as well as being delicious they give you the energy boost that you need in the morning, and help keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer, so that you are not tempted to snack midmorning.

The following recipe is for one portion, however, by drinking water first, I get full on half the amount, so save the rest for the following day.  Overnight Oats can be kept for up to 5 days in the fridge (though personally I only leave it at most 2 days because I make it every other day).

Basic Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk of your choice)

1/4 cup 0% Fat Greek Yoghurt (or vegan alternative)

1-3 tsp maple syrup (or honey or other natural syrup)

pinch of salt

Flavourings - This is where you can go as wild and be as imaginative as you want.

Snickers: 1 tbsp. cocoa powder, 1 tbsp. peanut butter

Autumn Apple: 1/2 apple chopped small, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Banana Almond: 1 banana mashed, 1 tbsp. almond butter, 3 drops almond essence

Christmas Cake: 1 tbsp. almond butter, 1 tbsp. flax seeds, 1 tbsp. sultanas/mixed fruit, 3 drops almond essence, 1 tsp mixed spice - I made this up yesterday and ate it this morning.  It was *DELICIOUS!*

Cherry Bakewell: 1 tsp almond butter, 2 drops almond essence, small handful of frozen cherries - I've not actually made this one yet, but I love the combination of almond and cherries.

Method: 

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients and flavourings.

Put into an airtight container and leave in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.

(This is the point where I split my mixture in half and store in 2 containers.)

Add toppings, give a quick stir and enjoy.

Toppings:

Lots of overnight oat recipes suggest toppings, that you should only add before you eat, so that they keep their crunchiness and texture.  Eg. Chopped nuts, chopped fruit, chocolate chips etc. depending on the flavour you're going for.

Personally, I don't have time for extra faff in the morning, so have not been adding any toppings at all, and the oats have still been delicious.