Marco the Album

This is Marco when we brought him home, isn't he cute!
22 September 2012

He liked our old towels.
22 September 2012

Is this my new home Mummy?
22 September 2012

Between a sofa and a soft place.
22 September 2012

Flat out in front of his crate, look at those little paws.
22 September 2012

Curled up fast asleep.
22 September 2012

His first toy.
22 September 2012

Play time.
22 September 2012

I love this picture of him. He wasn't interested in the ball or the rope but the plastic in between. Unfortunately this toy had to go, we didn't want him eating the black plastic.
22 September 2012

Still chewing the black plastic!
22 September 2012

And....... sleep.
23 September 2012

Curled up on his blanket.
30 September 2012

Is this my chicken?
30 September 2012

Vogue! Strike a pose!
6 October 2012

Having a cuddle with Dad.
6 October 2012

Sit!
14 October 2012

Awaiting the throw and fetch command.
14 October 2012

I'm ready to play.
14 October 2012

Can I have it, can I?
14 October 2012

Watching TV with Mum.
19 October 2012

We've worn him out today.
20 October 2012

Zzzzzzzz dreaming of wonderful times.
20 October 2012

Marco's first walk and he was sniffing everything!
3 November 2012

Sniff, sniff. sniff . . . .  
3 November 2012

And yet still sniffing.
3 November 2012

Sitting down before crossing the road. He was fascinated by the cars driving by.
3 November 2012

Still watching cars.
3 November 2012

Back to sniffing.
3 November 2012

Back home and worn out, well, at least for an hour!
3 November 2012

Curry night success!

What can I say, after a week of disasters the curry was delicious! The recipe contained lentils another Hubby dislike, but he wasn't complaining this time. He said the curry was absolutely delicious- result! Mine was gorgeous too it wasn't too spicy but had heaps of flavour. The photographs don't give it justice at all. I need to find my camera as the camera on my mobile isn't very good!

Butternut Squash, Leek and Vegan Blue Cheese Filo Pie

As promised here is the recipe for the filo pie I made in the first week of my menu planning. This makes 3 portions but you could easily double the amounts if you need to feed more people. Before you start put your oven on to 200°C so its ready for when you need to use it.

Ingredients

2 Glugs of olive oil
500g butternut squash
1 medium to large onion
5 medium sized leeks (about 250g)
50g chopped walnuts
125g vegan blue cheese
2 sheets filo pastry
5 sprigs of thyme (fresh)
5 sage leaves (fresh)

Method
Chop up the butternut squash into cubes  and place into an oven proof dish. Quarter your onion and then halve each quarter and mix with the butternut squash and 1 glug of olive oil until everything is coated. Pop into your heated oven and bake until soft, remembering to stir occasionally  This should take about 30 minutes.

Thinly slice the leeks and saute with another glug of oilve oil for 5 minutes or until the leeks are starting to colour and becoming soft. 

Finely chop the sage leaves and pick off the thyme leaves and add to the leeks with the chopped walnuts. Mix together well and cook for another 5 minutes being careful nothing sticks to the pan. Add a tbsp of water if it starts to stick.

Remove the butternut squash and onions from the oven and add to the leek mixture, squashing the butternut squash a little to help all the ingredients combine. Keep the oven dish close you'll use it again.

Chop up the vegan blue cheese into small cubes or grate if you prefer and mix with the other ingredients.

Pour everything into the oven proof dish you used earlier, no need to oil it. Spread out evenly and add the two sheets of filo pastry to the top in a creative scrunch and pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Serve with a garden salad.

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............................

Grazing revisited

Back in September I told you about trying out "Graze", a company who provided you with healthy snacks to graze on. I tried it out for three weeks and ordered a total of 6 boxes. Overall the snacks were OK, some I wouldn't order again and some I loved! The list below contains the snacks I received and I've categorised them with my preferences. 

The snacks I received and loved were as follows:

• green olives with basil and garlic
• green olives with chilli and garlic
• sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds with chilli
• savoury roasted seeds
• black pepper pistachios
• lightly toasted pistachios

The snacks I received and liked were as follows:

• oriental cracker mix with peanut crackers
• smoked paprika, garlic and thyme rustic marble bread
• crunchini basilico
• tom yum yum
• tomato dipinetti

The snacks I received and weren't too keen on were as follows:

• oriental cracker mix with peanut crackers
• sweet goan curry crackers
• slightly sweet popping corn
• bollywood blend
• boston baguettes
• herby bread basket

The snacks I received and didn't like were as follows:

• tutti frutti (blueberry infused cranberries, pineapple, cherry infused sultanas and green raisins)
• my thai
• cracking black peppercorn
• fruity mango chutney

The problem was that I put on weight! Each snack is around 100 calories and I ate two snacks a day for four days each week, instead of my normal snacks I prepare at home. So I decided to give it a rest and cancelled. I think I will stick to my normal fruit snacks during the day, but I will be trying out other ideas so watch this space for snack ideas of 50-100 calories.

Long time no see!

Well I've been so busy since I last blogged!! Hubby and I have now got a puppy! He's a Blue Marl Border Collie and he's gorgeous! He's kept me so busy I think I've only turned on the computer four times in the 6 weeks we've had him. Let me introduce Marco.........



He's grown so much since we had him, and he's now 13 weeks and two days old. Isn't he adorable?



The toilet training through the night worked, it was exhausting but well worth it. I started with waking up every three hours to take him outside to go to the toilet and gradually built up the time over the last few weeks. I'm pleased to say that he can go all night now, bless him.

Well Marco, Hubby and I have just been out for our first walk and I forgot my camera!!! He was very good and loved all the leaves to play in. We met two other dog owners, the first was Betsy the Daschund and his owner. Marco was very excited and wee'd all over his shoes. The second was a Scotty dog but I didn't catch her name, Marco was really excited and wanted to play with her, but she wasn't that interested. Overall Marco behaved very well and sat at every road crossing before we checked for cars and crossed. OK I think the treats may have helped! We shall go out again later today and I'll remember to take some photos!

Grazing

Have you heard of a company called Graze?

After acknowledging the fact that I'm a grazer as well as a comfort eater I decided to try it out.

My first graze box included: 

• dried fruit (blueberry infused cranberries, pineapple, cherry infused sultanas and green raisins)
• oriental cracker mix with peanut crackers
• green olives with basil and garlic
• sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds with chilli

I loved the olives and the seed mix, but I wasn't to fussed about the dried fruit. I've never really been a fan of dried fruit, much prefer fresh fruit. The cracker mix was different and I would eat it again. The company send you four items in every box you order, my first and fifth boxes are free. Each box costs £3.89, which includes delivery, which could get expensive depending on how many boxes you order a week. 

Try it out. There are plenty of offers out there to get your free box to try. let me know what you like best................

I'm sure if you were organised you could easily put together some delicious snack foods of around 100 calories yourself. Watch this space for my suggestions.

Feeling good

After my success last week I knew this next week was going to be more difficult. I awoke to a sunny morning and I had a sudden urge to get outside. So I put on my running clothes, downloaded an app to my phone and chose the appropriate workout. I chose interval training as it was my first time out in almost two years. My shoulder injury had prevented me doing a lot of things but with all the physiotherapy and acupuncture I had received after the operation I didn't want to undo all the hard work I had put in. Time to use my head and be sensible. The interval training consisted of warm up stretches, a 3 minute warm up walk, followed by 5 lots of 2 minute jogging, 2 minute walking and finishing with a 3 minute warm down walk and warm down stretches. I managed to cover 2 miles which I figured wasn't that bad for my first attempt, considering my injury and not running for two years. I was rather pleased with myself!

After my run a made myself a smoothie with strawberries, banana, soy yoghurt and a little water to help blend.

It went down a treat! 

It was such a lovely day I decided that I needed to stay outside and as my garden needed some attention this was a perfect solution.

My herb garden needed weeding badly, my mange tout needed pulling up and I needed to harvest more courgettes, runner beans and lettuce.

Its truly amazing how quick time passes when you're working in the garden, before I knew it lunch time had crept up on me, and I was ravenous!



I wonder how many calories are burnt up gardening?

Here are a few garden shots:

It's Friday

Thank goodness it's Friday! I used to say thank crunchie its Friday, but yet no more...............

Well I got on the scales this morning and I couldn't believe my eyes! All I've done this week is cut out crisps, chocolate and wine, I'm ashamed to admit that no exercise took place, I never did walk home like I said I would but it doesn't matter the results are good.

I've lost 2.7 kg that's 6 pounds, I was ecstatic! I weighed myself 4 times to make sure.

It's always easier to continue when you have good results, I'd also managed to stay vegan all week so things were looking up. To celebrate I made pizza and I used a vegan cheese called cheezly and it wasn't too bad, the cheese didn't melt like mozzarella but it did melt and the pizza was surprisingly tasty.

As I treat I also made garlic bread by mixing together vitalite, crushed garlic, garlic puree, vegan garlic mayonnaise and parsley together and spreading on vegan bread of your choice.
I didn't work out the calories of this banquet, I was celebrating or is that undoing all the good work I have done!

Next week is going to be more difficult!

Garden pasta

Today was still fairly warm and sunny, perhaps we're having an Indian summer afterall? I hope so, I do feel slightly cheated with the weather we've been experiencing. 

I still had some fresh sweetcorn to eat up and my courgette plants have produced yet more courgettes so the only thing I could cook up quick was a pasta dish. I had plenty of basil in the garden too so garden pasta was born!

All I did for this quick dish was fry up some onion until transparent, then add diced courgette, the sweetcorn kernels and sliced mushrooms and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then add in chopped tomatoes either from a tin or fresh* with a little sugar, salt, balsamic vinegar and paprika and simmer until the fresh tomatoes are soft and mushy or the tinned tomatoes have reduced a little. In the meantime boil up some pasta of your choice, drain and add to the tomato sauce with torn basil leaves. Serve at once. 

*If using fresh tomatoes its best to peel them first.

Summer Salad

Today I wanted to use the fresh sweetcorn that my friend had given me. I don't think you can beat home grown sweetcorn it just tastes so awesome!

It has been unusually warm and sunny today so in keeping with the weather I made myself a summer chopped salad.

Guilt free Thai red vegetable curry

After my little success yesterday, I was confident I could keep denying the trolley lady and I'm pleased to report that I did just that again today.

So to reward myself I decided to make a tasty but guilt free tea. Over the weekend a friend and I had swapped some produce we had grown. My friend has an allotment that keeps her very busy and I just have two raised beds in my garden that hubby built me a few years ago. I was overridden with courgettes and runner beans and my friend with French beans and sweetcorn. 

I decided to keep the fresh sweetcorn for another day and raided my fridge to see what was lurking in the crisper boxes. The treasure I found was perfect for making Thai red vegetable curry with wholegrain rice. Yummy!

As it was a work day I needed something quick and easy and thankfully in my store cupboard was a jar of red curry paste, which made things very easy and very quick. To keep the calories down I replaced some of the coconut milk with soy milk and you didn't notice the difference.

It tasted so good and there was enough left over for two lunch size portions for work!

All I did was fry an onion, the butternut squash, cauliflower and green beans in a little oil (I used an olive oil spray). 

Next add the curry paste and stir to combine

Then add the coconut milk (I used light) and soy milk, stir well and leave to simmer until all vegetables are cooked.

Serve with wholegrain rice.


You can use as much or as little of the curry paste as you want, but I like mine with a bit of a bite.

Delicious!

Day 1 - My first success story

How many of you get a "trolley" or sandwich van visit you at work. We do, every morning a lady visits our office with a trolley laden with goodies. The trolley has everything from cans of drink to sandwiches to tempting cakes and chocolate bars. Lately I have gotten into the habit of purchasing a packet of crisps which lasts seconds after I return to my desk. I scoff (rather inhale) the contents without anyone even realising I have moved from my desk!

Well today I resisted the trolley, sure my ears perked up at the voice of the trolley lady and like a mouse to cheese I reached into my purse for the 45p I needed for the bag of crisps. STOP I heard inside my head, WTF are you doing. Then out of nowhere I reiterated to myself:

"Put trust in myself, I have control and will succeed"

It works, I put the 45p back in my purse (that will help towards the library fine I am racking up) and took a big breath in and focused on what I was working on and shut out the dulcet tones of the trolley lady. 

Woohoo my first success!

Have you had any successes today?

Vital Statistics

OK I have to be honest for this to work so here are my statistics . . . . . .
I can't do it - how have I got to this state! 

Sharp intake of breath . . . . . . . .

Height = 180cm (or 5 feet 11 inches)
Weight = 89.8kg (or 14stone 2lbs)

There we go, I've done it my first challenge: publishing my vital statistics, a weight off my mind, I only wish it was a weight off my body.

My new mantra:             Put trust in myself, I have control and will succeed

I feel I need something to help motivate me other than a photograph of a fat me stuck to the fridge and my new mantra. I think the quote below is a good starting point. 

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can" - Unknown

What quote motivates or inspires you?

Let me know your favourites

Changes to my lifestyle - Part 2

Exercise regime
I'm still not fully fit due to my existing conditions and unable to exercise fully. However I can walk so walking is what I shall do! I don't particularly like walking unless there is a purpose or its an adventure with hubby, who needs a real kick up the ass to get him to do any form of exercise, but when he does he really enjoys himself - go figure!

I live approximately 4.5km from work and although I don't like walking to work (I sweat glow quite a bit) what is stopping me from walking home? Yes there are always excuses, its too cold, its too dark, its not safe, I'm too tired. But after a stressful day at the office what better way to unwind and there is a purpose - to get home! I can wrap up warm and after the first kilometer I'll be warm anyway, stick to main roads which are lit, don't listen to music and be aware of my surroundings, and as a bonus, exercise gives you more energy. So that's sorted then, public transport to work and my own leg power home. Baby steps, you can't run before you can walk.

As my blog continues I will keep you posted of the exercise undertaken

Not all vegetarians are thin!

For years I have fought with my weight and I have been a professional yo yo dieter! People automatically think vegetarians are thin, but let me put the record straight - I'm not! Don't get me wrong I'm not morbidly obese but I'm heading that way! Many diet plans ask you why you eat more than you need to and my answer to this question is simple I'm a comfort eater, I eat when I'm bored, stressed, unhappy or stuck in front of the TV! Basically I eat too much and snack on the wrong food - you know the culprits; chocolate and crisps. Although I have had my moments and over the years I have been able to stick to a healthy eating plan and successfully lost weight, before a crisis unearths and I revert to my comfort eating ways.

I know I have to evaluate my whole lifestyle as diet is not my only concern. There are people that live to work and there are people that work to live. The last few years it pains me to write but balancing work and home life has not been proportioned well, and there are many that have suffered including myself.

After having a health scare not so long ago and being rushed to hospital enough was enough. Thankfully it was nothing serious but I was shocked to find out what stress can do to your body. I promised myself that I would take better care of myself but after a week or so I was back to my normal routine, working way too many hours in a very stressful environment. Another condition deteriorated and once again I was suffering! I never learn! It wasn't until a few weeks later that I thought (AGAIN) I need to do something about this!

Once my condition has improved I hope to get back in the saddle and start exercising. Although I need to control my enthusiasm, I like to run before I can walk and have zero patience! You think I would learn after all these years wouldn't you!

This blog will hopefully keep me on track in all areas of my life and help anyone else out there in a similar position. Wish me luck!