Meal Planning / Motivational Monday (18.11.2013)

So over the weekend I went a bit crazy with sugar - my ultimate goal is  to cut sugar out of my diet. It is a hard one to do but I know it is not impossible. I do hope I can get to a point where, if I happen to have something sweet, that will no longer mean I'll feel horrible about myself and end up confiort eating for the next week.

I think I'm on the right track but as with everything in life, there are good and bad days. For now I'm only being strict with two things - I do not drink soda and I do not eat crisps/chips. Well, thinking back I did had a couple of chips on Saturdays we went out for a meal. I must say though, I did not order chips, they came with my meal and I did't know that would happen and yes, it was one of those things that I did without even realizing, still I think I had a couple and that was it.

I'm still proud of not drinking soda or eating crisps though, two weeks and counting!

I did manage to stick with the plan for most of last week, only on the day we had pie I was so tired that ended up buying ready made pastry rather than trying to make my own.

So..he is this week's menu, There's no fish there, mainly coz daddy D isn;t kin on it so I tend to have fish for lunch a couple times of week, and Harry usually has it too.

MONDAY - Dill seasoned Salmon with vegetables and salad (chips for Daddy D)

TUESDAY - Spelt spaghetti w Turkey meatballs in bacon and garlic sauce

last week we found the spelt spaghetti had good  texture but needs a sauce with a bit more of body, so this week I'll make something a bit creamy - with bacon and cream fraiche.

WEDNESDAY - beef stew w spelt buttermilk biscuits

We ended up not having this dish last week so back in the menu with it :)

THURSDAY - Chicken curry

again, the actual chicken is ready in the freezer as it makes a quick meal for my work days

FRIDAY - Butternut squash soup, coz the weather demands!

SATURDAY - it is Doctor Who night and I'll be working until 4pm so I'll take a break and buy something on my way home

SUNDAY - Slow cooked beef w rice, black beans and  veggie

in Brasil most kids will grow up with a daily serving of rice and beans, because I no longer have a pressure cooker I still haven't tried that with Harry but decided to make a dish out of tinned  beans to start with and once he is used to it  I'll start slow cooking big batches and freeze...a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do ;)

again I'm linking up with the lovely Mr M and the ever so supportive Pinkoddy Lady

 

Meal Planning Monday (11.11.2013)

Nothing too complicated, it's all about eating as natural as possible and eliminating processed foods from our cupboards and tummies. There are certain thing that I do try not to have at all: sodas, juices - unless I just made it fresh there and then -  and deep fried stuff. On the day to day basis I also avoid gluten and hydrogenated fats (vegetable oils) and make sure we eat plenty of protein and good fats and carbs - and of course plenty of fruit and veggie. I set myself a challenge to stop drinking soda and eating crisps and chips, I've done it before so I know it it possible. So far I can say I have been free from those foods for a week...and counting!

I do worry about my weight and my self image - as most ladies out there - but my healthy eating goal goes beyond that. I want to invest now on a healthier future and make sure that, when the time comes, both my body and mind can grow old gracefully. I'm only 35 and yes I think that's young - but planning for the future is probably the best way to preserve a young soul. On the top of all that, in a world where kids are growing up with obesity problems I hope to give my little guy a fighting chance to live a healthier and happier life.

I do try and watch what I eat most of the time but give myself a break once a week, to a treat that I really fancy or go out for a special meal with daddy D and friends. Don't fool yourself, of course I fall off the wagon,, usually straight into a little guilt trip every now and then. I have good and bad days as everyone else but I find that planning ahead helps keeping the bad times to a minimum: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

So when it's time for our weekly food shop I'll go through the freezer (I tend to cook and bulk to have quick meals ready in the freezer but also to save us some money) and plan 6 dinners, because if I know what I'm cooking there's no rushing around at tea time or the temptation to just order a takeaway.

At the moment I am experimenting with spelt - have successfully made spelt baguettes and pizza, the results were delicious - still I do try to keep the grains and starchy foods to a minimum so even spelt is really a little healthy treat that I might have at dinner time, during that day I try not to have any meal containing grains to balance it out.

This week for dinner, we will have:

Full English

 served with homemade turkey sausage

Turkey bolognese with Spelt pasta

Slow beef spelt pie 

I slow cooked a big roasting joint last week and will

experiment with a recipe for spelt

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with American Buttermilk Biscuits
again experimenting with spelt

Chicken curry with rice and spinach

not sure if it will be indian or thai yet but the actual chicken is ready in the

freezer which means a quick meal when I get home from the office

Pork steak with mash, green beans and baby carrots

a regular on a weekly planning, again because it is a very quick option for after work

I do cook a lot with turkey, it can be a versatile meat if you know what to do with it but  it's also a healthy and cheap option to having beef all the time. So just to make things more interesting, I'll share a little turkey recipe this week, as I'm hoping to do this every Monday on the Meal Planning linky, enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Celtic salt
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
Coconut oil

Directions

Finely Chop Onion - you can use a food processor to speed things up. Add all the Spices to the Chopped Onion. Remove the Onion/Spice Mixture and place in mixing bowl. Add Chicken Broth. Mix Chicken broth into Onion/Spice Mixture. Add Ground Turkey and mix by hand. Marinate for about an hour or overnight. Wet fingers lightly and roll into small balls. In a small frying pan, brown on both sides in Coconut oil until cooked through. I swapped all my frying pans to ceramic quoted ones so I only use the tiniest amount of oil when cooking.



For more Menus ideas and/or inspirational reads visit Meal Planning Mondays and Inspirational Monday linkies.

 

Motivational Monday - looking after myself

jumping up and down

A quick one this week as part of my whole ME time thing is to try and go to bed early once in a while and since we had an early dinner, tonight seems like the perfect opportunity.
So January is gone and I have tried a few things, loads of ups and downs but in general I think things are improving.
This weekend we got Harry a jumperoo and it was just the ticket! While lill guy bounces up and down mummy can get on with doing her work - I'm working my Keep In Touch days from home and end up  stuck on the laptop every time he goes for a kip or in the evenings after dinner - do stuff around the house, get lunch done for the two of us or just lazy around enjoying a few minutes to herself. My aim s to work around that so I can organize my days a bit better to do some yoga and play with my Just Dance. I looove dancing and don't care for gym work outs so the Wii was my favorite work out tool until I got pregnant. It will also be really good if i can keep on working during his awake, I think I'll probably get a lot more done that way and may eventually have a kip myself on those hard mornings after sleepless nights.
Well this is all speculation but the one thing I done for myself this past week that got me really happy was to pop into the hairdressers with my other half Friday afternoon and get my long overdue haircut. Such a simple thing but with a baby seems to require a lot of logistics. I never got the fringe I wanted instead went for something simple and easy to look after. Once life is a bit more manageable I'll go back to stylish haircuts me thinks.
That's it, short and sweet but full of good achievements and plans.
What about you? How well are you doing on your New year's resolutions? Take part of this bloghop to share your thoughts and get/give some support!!

Motivational Monday - even though today is Tuesday - Week 3

So it's been just 3 weeks since the Motivational Monday started and on the second one I was already too busy to post. Almost gave up doing it this week as well but if anything I think this is one more thing I can do for myself. 

I was doing well on the health eating front until the weather went freezing and I ended up stuck at home with a teething little boy. I'm not too worried about that as I know health eating for me is a marathon, not a sprint. Also I know I'm a bit limited with choices at the moment as i can't really cook everything from scratch as I used to do but the they will come and I shall be able to change that.

We were snowed in for a couple of days, with Harry having just recovered from his ear infection I didn't want to be out and about on the cold. When Sunday came it all got a bit too much for me so daddy and I went on a snowy walk with lill guy. It was rather hard work but it was also quite fun to just walk about watching kids - and adults for that matter - running around starting their snowball fights and parents dragging their little ones on sledges of all shapes and sizes. Above all it was good to have a nice little break and enjoy daddy's company while Harry had a kip all cosy in his pram.

With the weather my plans of treating myself to a hair cut had to stay for another day, maybe this weekend coming.

Now the most lovely thing i done for myself was yesterday. I took lill guy for a walk and when he was just about to fall asleep -instead of keep on walking and then get stuck outdoors because he is all wrapped up and would be too hot if i went into any shops at all - I went into my favorite tea room at pram town, gave him a little feed and got him down for a kip in his pram so I could enjoy a lovely lunch accompanied by a book that I have being trying to read for weeks. Such a simple pleasure but it felt great to have some ME time during his nap rather than end up being in front of the laptop working, walking on the cold or even just laying in front of tv with a pointless daytime show.

This is it, slowly but surely I start to feel like myself again.

This is a Blog Hop

Motivational Monday - New Year is here

this time is all about number one.

as with many other things for the past month and a half I never found any time to right a Christmas or New Year post. I was particularly upset for not writing a Christmas one as it really is my favorite time of the year but I might still pop some pictures here at some point.

Now this year instead of coming up with loads of resolutions for 2013 I decided to focus on the one thing; looking after myself a bit better.

May that be:

-having a bit of me time: something: I haven't had much since Harry was born, he being exclusively breastfed and only falling asleep on me really doesn't give me much free time but by now lill guy loves spending time with his dad so when those moments are taking place I just need to get a move on and do something for myself. With time i would love for that to be going for a nice class in the gym or drinks with friends but for now i'm even happy with very basic things like playing Just Dance on the Wii or even relax in the bath; I haven't had a soak in the bath since the night when my waters broke and since that was one of the most uncomfortable baths I have ever taken it doesn't really count, it's been nothing but quick showers for 6 months. I know that's normal for a new mum but the time is now to change that.

- look after my appearance a bit better - and I'm not just on about loosing baby weight- although I am working on going back to the healthier lifestyle I used to have before becoming pregnant - but simple things such as having my hair cut and browns down, two things that haven't happened since my mum left to Brasil about 5 months ago. Also going back to do my nails every now and then, i used to love doing that, even contributed to a blog about cosmetics, fashion and beauty so that is a nice thing to do for myself.

- make sure our little guy always get plenty of time with mum and dad. He is only young now but already it makes a difference when the other half and I manage to go out together with him on a weekend so although daddy is a lot more indoorsy than mummy wished for I want to make sure we go out often enough to have family time together outdoors (or indoors but somewhere other than our home :-) )

The 3rd one might not sound like LOOKING AFTER MYSELF to you but since I love being out and hubby likes staying in, finding a good balance on that field is something I have always wished for.

So this is it, it took me a while to learn taking care of myself the way I deserve and for a while i dropped everything to learn how to look after my gorgeous son. Now is the next step, to be a mummy and myself too.

This post is on a very nice blog hop; click on the link below to read more and join the Google Motivation Community.