Dinner Menu - Week 2

Week 1 worked successfully so I planned the next weeks menu and here it is:

Menu plan 2 - Vegan

Monday - Black Bean Veggie Burgers & Noodles adapted from various recipes!

Tuesday - Vegetable Rogan Josh, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Wednesday - Black Bean Veggie Burgers & Noodles adapted from various recipes!

Thursday - Vegetable Chilli

Friday - Vegetable Rogan Josh, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Saturday - Vegetable Chilli

Sunday - Nut Roast and all the trimmings

Menu plan 2 - Meat Eater

Monday - Black Bean Beef Burgers & Noodles, taken from 15 minute meals, Jamie Oliver

Tuesday - Lamb Rogan Josh, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Wednesday - Black Bean Beef Burgers & Noodles, taken from 15 minute meals, Jamie Oliver

Thursday - Cottage Pie, taken from  the Hairy Dieters

Friday - Lamb Rogan Josh, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Saturday - Cottage Pie, taken from  the Hairy Dieters

Sunday - Cottage Pie, taken from  the Hairy Dieters

However, I'm sad to report that there were disasters after disasters this week and the menu didn't look anything like that above! We never went shopping on Monday and as the food cupboards were bare and we were both extremely tired we ordered Chinese take away! I had vegetable Yuk Sung (always delicious) followed by Tofu in Black Bean Sauce with Boiled Rice and Hubby had Spring Rolls followed by Sweet and Sour Chicken, Cantonese Style and Egg fried Rice. Hubby said his was disgusting and it didn't compare at all to the sweet and sour pork I made him the previous week. Brownie points for me! Jamie's 15 minute meal recipe for Black Bean Burger and Noodles was a total disaster, the burgers didn't hold together at all (probably due to an unstable Black Bean Sauce?) and became a mushy mess. I was devastated but Hubby suggested just making it into a stir fry with all the other ingredients. My burgers held together but were stuck fast to the grease proof paper and on using brute force to remove them were splattered all over the kitchen floor! The noodles were disgusting (far too much lime juice) and everything ended up in the bin! Tuesday night we had friends round with their three kids so it was easy enough to put on a spread of meat and vegan pizzas, pasta and garlic bread and salad. The whole lot was demolished in seconds. The cottage pie never got made but became fajitas and the curries are going to be made tonight. Although as I'm writing this its getting late and as they are being prepared from scratch we probably won't eat until 9pm! But I will force myself back into the kitchen and try again. I will report on how the curries fared later, wish me luck!

Dinner Menu - Week 1

With a new puppy, aromatherapy classes, physiotherapy appointments and trying to lose weight I need to be super organised! So every weekend I have been working out the dinner menu for the following week. Now this is harder for me than most as my Hubby isn't a Vegan neither a Vegetarian! Although some days he is without him knowing he is! Aren't I naughty? Now I don't know how many couples out there are the complete opposite in diets but cooking two meals every night can be exhausting. My Hubby isn't a great lover of vegetables and I am the complete opposite! He is getting better though and the list of acceptable vegetables is growing (hidden or otherwise). Now I hear a lot of you saying why do you cook meat for him? If he wants to eat meat let him cook it! Well he does, some days but with my help. Basically I'm too soft! But things are getting better and I will start to introduce a meat free meal once a week so watch this space for ideas for someone who hates vegetables..........

With being Veggie I tend to use tried and tested recipe's from cook books for hubby and if I can adapt them to being Vegan all the better.  

Menu plan 1 - Vegan

Monday - Spicy bean and vegetable stew, taken from the Hairy Dieters

Tuesday - Spicy bean and vegetable stew, taken from the Hairy Dieters 

Wednesday - Butternut Squash, Leek and Vegan Blue Cheese Filo Pie 

Thursday - Butternut Squash, Leek and Vegan Blue Cheese Filo Pie  

Friday - Stuffed Peppers, Veganised from the Hairy Dieters

Saturday - Butternut Squash, Leek and Vegan Blue Cheese Filo Pie  

Sunday - Stuffed Peppers, Veganised from the Hairy Dieters  

Menu plan 1 - Meat Eater

Monday - Paprika Chicken, taken from the Hairy Dieters

Tuesday - Chicken and Ham Tingle Pie, taken from the Hairy Dieters

Wednesday - Paprika Chicken, taken from the Hairy Dieters 

Thursday - Chicken and Ham Tingle Pie, taken from the Hairy Dieters 

Friday - Sweet & Sour Pork, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Saturday - Pork & Cider Stew, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Sunday - Pork & Cider Stew, taken from Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

As you can see from above we eat the same thing more than once a week. This is for two reasons, 1) because we haven't got a freezer and 2) we don't get home till late and its easier to heat up something than make something from scratch every night.

The recipe for the Butternut Squash, Leek and Vegan Blue Cheese Filo Pie will be available soon. 

Aromatherapy

My first post on this blog detailed my top 5 things to do if money was no object. As a refresh and in no particular order:

1)     Small holding and being self sufficient
2)     Losing weight and helping others too
3)     Owning and running a healthy eating cafe/bistro "Self Sufficient Cafe"
4)     Children and a dog!
5)     Travelling

As money does exist I wrote another list of things I can do to make me happy right here right now! Once again in no particular order.

1)     Lose weight
2)     Be healthy
3)     Have a baby
4)     To have more fun time with hubby
5)     Enjoy my hobbies, camping, gardening, crafting, blogging and find an enjoyable exercise!

So far I'm on track with number 1, losing weight although it does seem a slow process, I'm hoping that now I can take Marco out for walks this will speed up! I am also starting to fulfil my number 2 being healthy. As well as eating better and exercising more I knew I also had to alleviate the stress which I suffer from due to my job. I came to realise that my earlier mantra "You can't change what you don't control" was key in trying to achieve this. So I enrolled on an aromatherapy course and its changed my life! I've always dabbled with it at home but I didn't know what a powerful tool aromatherapy could be. Since starting the course I've managed to keep colds at bay, reduce the pain in my arm and shoulder, banish muscle aches, calm down Marco when he's on a mad one, calm down hubby, clean my kitchen and bathroom and reduce my stress levels at work. It truly is amazing what you can achieve with essential oils.

In week one I was asked :

• to define essential oil
• what do I believe aromatherapy to be
• what do I believe are the benefits of aromatherapy
• what are my three favourite oils

My answers were: 

• Essential oils are natural substances which have healing qualities
• Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils
• The benefits of aromatherapy are to help promote a more balanced lifestyle, to reduce stress and reduce the chance of everyday illnesses. I feel that a more balanced lifestyle means a more balanced mind which promotes vitality and helps to cope with potentially difficult or stressful events. It helps lift a mood, reduces the chances of becoming run down and treats ailments.
• My four favourite oils that night were Chamomile, Melissa, Marjoram and Lemongrass. I couldn't choose three!

I was told that the essential oils you favour suggest that you 'need'/or are missing the qualities of such oils. This was quite spooky as my four favourite oils that night were anti-inflammatory, nurturing the 'female aspect', alleviating mental strain & overwork and to help with muscle aches and pains. Considering that I had a shoulder injury which had inflamed other parts of my arm, trying for a baby (unsuccessfully), stressed out at work and suffering from muscle aches and pains due to physiotherapy my favourite oils had depicted my state exactly. I was hooked! More aromatherapy stories to come................

Every girl needs to be pampered

I've been off work all week and I have been enjoying the rest. Work had been rather manic to say the least leading up to my leave and time off was definitely what the doctor ordered! For the first few days all I seemed to do was sleep! But over the course of the week I have caught up with friends which is always lovely to do, including helping to build a Viking house with my friends daughter and going for walks in our nearby forest. Marco has loved having both of us at home too and it will be a shock to the system on Monday when we go back to work. 
During this week I caught up with a friend who has recently had a brand spanking new hot tub and we decided to have a pamper afternoon. Now to most girls this would involve a manicure, pedicure, massage or some sort of treatment. Not us! It involved food, fizz and lots of chatter whilst enveloped in warm water with jets pummelling our back muscles. Pure bliss!
Our feast included:

• Roasted red pepper houmous
• French bread
• Vegetable samosas
• Vegetable pakoras
• Onion bhajis
• Garlic mushrooms
• Olives
• Prosecco

No doubt we piled on the pounds but once in a while can't do you any harm can it? Now if only I could afford to buy and run a hot tub............................