April Fool's Day

Jokes were thin on the ground here today. I'm not feeling too great today. Feel very sluggish, like I'm wading through quicksand. Lethargic. Despite the fact that I'm sleeping at night, I'm having to have a power hour in the afternoon. My body feels like I've been put through a mangle, every bone aches, every limb aches. Whilst it would be so easy to panic in the current climate, I know what is wrong with me. 

Exercise. Good for you? Oh, I think not. I think not. I committed to one hour of walking a day, and I did so Monday, Tuesday and today. I actually did two stints today, one of an hour and one of forty minutes. Body Magic? There's nothing magical about how this body feels right now, let me tell you. 

Lack of fresh air. I haven't set foot outside since last... whatever day it was before the weather turned cold. Last Wednesday? Thursday? Friday, even? Who the hell knows. 

Boredom. I am bored. And it's so bloody privileged of me to say this when there are so many out there working to battle this virus, working to keep us fed and safe. There's plenty I can be doing here, but I don't want to. The first week, I was like Anthea Turner on speed. So was Mr G. He was ticking things off my to do list. The last couple of days, despite my best intentions, I have had to literally force myself to do even the most basic of household chores. The ones I always make sure I do daily, dishes, washing, recycling, cooking. I'm not a social butterfly at the best of times; I go to my Slimming World group, I go food shopping and I go to watch my rugby team play. That's it. I rarely go out, I don't have a social life (although it was something I was working on just before this struck) and I spend 95% of my time at home. But there's nothing breaking up the day. It's a choice of: a) housework or b) sitting in my chair. 

I am trying to be kind to myself though, as we all should be right now. We are all going through this collectively. Some days are going to be better than others. It's going to impact on us mentally, even if we are lucky enough not to have it touch on us physically.

Food has been good, on plan, and tasty the last couple of days. Yesterday we had Bacon, Mushroom and Jalapeno wrap pizza for lunch, and Chubby Cubs Chicken and Chorizo Risotto (or Risnotto as they call it). This has been one of the nicest things we've had in... a couple of days. Honestly, we have eaten so well since starting Slimming World, thanks mainly to Pinch of Nom, Chubby Cubs, RecipeTin Eats and Slimming Eats. There's very few recipes we eat now that don't belong to one of those four sites.

    

I baked a lovely banana and choc chip loaf, courtesy of Slimming Eats. I managed to get twelve slices out of it, and it was absolutely lovely. It rose well, and even though I was dubious about how it would taste, it was gorgeous. I've tried making cakes with yogurt, and all manner of faff since starting SW and everything has had the texture of a bath sponge. This was very moist, and I would definitely make it again. We had a couple of slices each and then I had to freeze the rest.

Lunch today was a gorgeous bacon and sausage bap. Tea tonight was Pinch of Nom Cock and Bull that I made and froze last week at some point. It may have been this week. Who knows. It was very beige, and bland looking but it does taste really good. I only used chicken and bunged a load of mushrooms into it. Served with basmati rice, because we think the tastes go really well together. 

Mr G made two curries for the freezer, Pinch of Nom Garlic and Lime Balti, and Chubby Cubs Tikka Masala. These two curries have become firm favourites in our house, both dishes all five of us will eat. I will make some onion bhajis to go with them when we finally come round to having them.

On the menu tomorrow, Pinch of Nom Mediterranean Chicken Orzo, and for lunch, I've been fancying this BLT Pasta dish that has been doing the rounds on Facebook. I have salad that needs using up, a few slices of bacon, and I'll make the dressing with a mixture of mayonnaise and fat free Greek yogurt. Should be tasty, and something different from the same old rota of soup, omelette, egg on toast and jacket spud. Have also found some almond extract in the cupboard, so I hope to finally make the Cherry Bakewell baked oats I've been hankering after for a while. 

So, tomorrow, I commit to doing my hour's exercise, but I am also going to get outside for some fresh air. I don't feel the need to go for a walk, it's not something I did before, so I don't see the point in starting to do so now, when we are being urged to stay at home where possible. But I will go outside in the garden, take a coffee, if it's dry, and have ten or fifteen minutes out there, in peace.  

Until the next time...