Cosy by the fire
What a bloody week. It really, really has been one of those weeks. First a really bad bout of sciatica, and then - although I have a sneaky suspicion that this is my own fault - I've had a really upset tummy. I'm windy again. And what did I have to eat? A slice of birthday cake. No matter that this was the thinnest slice of cake that I could probably cut. And then what did I have with my burger? My very occasional white bap. Both cake and white bread obviously don't agree with me any more. But to be honest with you, I'd rather give up cake than my very occasional white bread.
Anyhoo...
This is my current view. Lamps lit, fire on, tea lights lit, oil burner lit. It's raining outside, everyone else is in bed, I've done all the housework I can do until they're awake and I am sat down with a coffee and a huge smile on my face. Why? Because they've been promising a heatwave, and I am, quote unquote, a miserable cow ('You're a miserable cow' - Mr G © 1999 - 2019).
I'm not even joking. Have you heard of that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Believe me, I'm not making light of it, I have a friend who suffers from it and it's crap (a lightbox helped her immensely). But I feel the complete opposite. And checking out the NHS guidelines they state that 'a few people with SAD may have symptoms during the summer and feel better during the winter'.
So in celebration of it nearly being winter, I did a huge batch cook of soups. Mr G's new favourite Better than Heinz Vegetable soup (which I doubled up on). My new favourite soup Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper soup, and also an old favourite - Curried Parsnip soup - which is lush with toasted wholemeal pitta bread strips. I've started trawling the reduced fruit and veg aisles in supermarkets now for anything that I can turn into a soup, and I got some bags of parsnips for 40 pence the other day.
Last night, as I was preparing to usher in winter, Mr G was saying goodbye to summer, in style, with a leftover disposable barbecue from our camping trip (what else?). I'm sure he would like to say that he cooked tea last night, but the reality is, he supervised two foil wrapped gammon steaks while ensuring that our wooden patio furniture didn't catch fire.
We had this with Slimming World Potato Salad (taken from the Little Book of Barbecue recipe book), the Pineapple Salsa from the same book, and I oven roasted some fresh beetroot with sea salt and Barbecue Frylight, and then charred it in a griddle pan. I forgot to take a picture of this, but it was all lush.
We have the in laws staying next weekend; they're pretty plain eaters so it shouldn't be too hard to stay on plan. Our meal plan for next week was already finalised this week, so I am a week ahead of myself! Add to that, all the meals in the freezer, and I would say that I'm winning.
Speaking of the freezers though, both are full to capacity and I need to go down and sort them out when I've finished this post. Iceland have been having their end of season sale, and I have grabbed all manner of bargains, including loads of ice lollies for the children, pizzas, their barbecue range, and I cannot now feasibly fit anything else in either of them. The reality is, once I've arranged them better (and thrown out the mystery meat that is unlabeled and I have no idea how long it's been in there...), there will be plenty of room.
So, face the music tomorrow morning at Slimming World, we have both been good (with the exception of our small slice of cake) but seemingly even an upset stomach isn't enough to get the scales shifting further than about half a pound for me up to this morning. Still, a lot can happen in a day. Knowing my luck though, this means they could go up just as soon as go down.
Meal plan for this week!
Monday: Rib eye steak, fried onions and mushrooms, carrots, jacket potato and a mushroom sauce.
Tuesday: Corned Beef and Onion pie with vegetables
Wednesday: Slimming World Fry up
Thursday: Chicken Madras and Basmati Rice with Syn Free Onion Bhajis
Friday: Home Baked Ham Salad with Jacket Potato
Saturday: Gammon, egg, new potatoes and the trimmings
Sunday: Roast Pork dinner
Until tomorrow...
Anyhoo...
This is my current view. Lamps lit, fire on, tea lights lit, oil burner lit. It's raining outside, everyone else is in bed, I've done all the housework I can do until they're awake and I am sat down with a coffee and a huge smile on my face. Why? Because they've been promising a heatwave, and I am, quote unquote, a miserable cow ('You're a miserable cow' - Mr G © 1999 - 2019).
I'm not even joking. Have you heard of that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Believe me, I'm not making light of it, I have a friend who suffers from it and it's crap (a lightbox helped her immensely). But I feel the complete opposite. And checking out the NHS guidelines they state that 'a few people with SAD may have symptoms during the summer and feel better during the winter'.
So in celebration of it nearly being winter, I did a huge batch cook of soups. Mr G's new favourite Better than Heinz Vegetable soup (which I doubled up on). My new favourite soup Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper soup, and also an old favourite - Curried Parsnip soup - which is lush with toasted wholemeal pitta bread strips. I've started trawling the reduced fruit and veg aisles in supermarkets now for anything that I can turn into a soup, and I got some bags of parsnips for 40 pence the other day.
Last night, as I was preparing to usher in winter, Mr G was saying goodbye to summer, in style, with a leftover disposable barbecue from our camping trip (what else?). I'm sure he would like to say that he cooked tea last night, but the reality is, he supervised two foil wrapped gammon steaks while ensuring that our wooden patio furniture didn't catch fire.
We had this with Slimming World Potato Salad (taken from the Little Book of Barbecue recipe book), the Pineapple Salsa from the same book, and I oven roasted some fresh beetroot with sea salt and Barbecue Frylight, and then charred it in a griddle pan. I forgot to take a picture of this, but it was all lush.
We have the in laws staying next weekend; they're pretty plain eaters so it shouldn't be too hard to stay on plan. Our meal plan for next week was already finalised this week, so I am a week ahead of myself! Add to that, all the meals in the freezer, and I would say that I'm winning.
Speaking of the freezers though, both are full to capacity and I need to go down and sort them out when I've finished this post. Iceland have been having their end of season sale, and I have grabbed all manner of bargains, including loads of ice lollies for the children, pizzas, their barbecue range, and I cannot now feasibly fit anything else in either of them. The reality is, once I've arranged them better (and thrown out the mystery meat that is unlabeled and I have no idea how long it's been in there...), there will be plenty of room.
So, face the music tomorrow morning at Slimming World, we have both been good (with the exception of our small slice of cake) but seemingly even an upset stomach isn't enough to get the scales shifting further than about half a pound for me up to this morning. Still, a lot can happen in a day. Knowing my luck though, this means they could go up just as soon as go down.
Meal plan for this week!
Monday: Rib eye steak, fried onions and mushrooms, carrots, jacket potato and a mushroom sauce.
Tuesday: Corned Beef and Onion pie with vegetables
Wednesday: Slimming World Fry up
Thursday: Chicken Madras and Basmati Rice with Syn Free Onion Bhajis
Friday: Home Baked Ham Salad with Jacket Potato
Saturday: Gammon, egg, new potatoes and the trimmings
Sunday: Roast Pork dinner
Until tomorrow...
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