New year, new you?

What is it about January 1st that makes us all think we will suddenly ditch our every bad habit and arise from the ashes of our previous failures like a glorious, slender, beautiful, healthy, mindful, balanced pheonix?  I've lived through enough Januaries now to know that it NEVER happens and, also, that the darkest, wettest, coldest more miserable time of you is probably the period in which you are least likely to succeed in instituting lasting changes.

With regards to weight loss, I long ago tried to ditch the "I want to weigh xxx by yyy" because, well, that way certain madness lies.  And it most definitely has improved my general relationship with food such that I have managed to end the last two years lighter than when I began them, which is progress in the right direction. 

My experience trying WW Flex last year was a really positive one.  I lost weight and felt like I was eating really well.  But after a couple of months, the old itchiness started creeping back in.  I started resenting the constant measuring and tracking and starting yearning for all those things that just didn't fit naturally into the programme.

Previous to that, I managed to lose weight successfully, and keep it off, using intermittent fasting and here, too, I see many benefits.  You get all the unpleasantness out of the way across two days and the rest of the time you learn to practice moderation.  And you really do - no longer are you stuffing in a full size pizza because "diet starts tomorrow".  But the fast days were really, really hard - I'm horrible to be around when my blood sugar gets too low - and increasingly I was making excuses to skip one or both fasts a week.  Which means you're then just eating normally all the time - which is fine if you're maintaining but not if you have weight to lose.

It strikes me that by combining the two I might be on to a winner.  One fast day a week - not fun, sure, but doable.  To counter: one "day off" built into the week: a day to cook that roast pork belly recipe that won't fit in to your daily points, or get that takeaway or eat that doughnut.  Five days a week of counting.  Maybe four - if I can get away with a day and a half "off" (generally Friday evening and Saturday) and still lose a pound a week, I'd be perfectly happy.

So that's the long term plan.  But, for now, I'm using January to lay the groundwork.  I'm not back to pointing yet but I have instituted the one day a week fasting.  For the rest, I'm concentrating on getting back to eating in a regular, moderate way after the madness that is the latter half of December.  Snacks are out, midweek drinkies are definitely out (alcohol reserved for weekends only).  Plenty of vegetable based meals.  A proper routine at bedtime and in the morning to get my sleep sorted out.  More steps daily, even if it just means getting of the bus a stop early.  Little, healthy habits.  It's not dramatic or exciting but I think, from now, on I'm treating January as less of a fresh start and more of a gentle transition.

MPM: 8th May 2018

I know life is busy, but at the very least I should be making times for meal planning posts. I mean, it is a basic right of all my beloved readers to hear about what I am eating, is it not?

I jest, and although I always feel that the first post after something of a pause should contain an apology for the blogger’s absence, it is something of a liberty to assume that people notice or care. Apart from my Mum, who texts me asking where the blog is. But she’s my Mum, and is therefore contractually bound to consider everything I do important and special.

The truth is that the last few weeks have been busy and stressful. We’ve not been sticking to 5:2 particularly and any weight loss has most definitely stalled - boo. Things should be improving now though, so we approach the new week with renewed vigour. I am also seriously considering signing up for a 5k run to incentivise me to actually complete the Couch to 5k programme. Every time I have started it, I have actually quite enjoyed the session but it is finding the motivation to trek out to, er, the garage in the first place which is proving tough (and yes, reading that back I know EXACTLY how pathetic it sounds). There’s one in a local park in mid July but I’m fretting that might be too soon as I need 8 weeks to do all the training runs and would then like to have at least a month of consolidation, including some Park Runs, to feel confident going in to the actual, organised event. So I might see if anything is going on in late August or early September. A lot of my colleagues are quite into running and from chatting to them I have gleaned that there are quite a lot of events going on from which to choose.

And so to meal planning. D has spent the last couple of days doing some serious batch cooking, so the garage freezer is now stocked with umpteen Merguez sausages and several pots of chilli. Our goal for the rest of the month is to try and eat down the indoor freezer. I’ve been desperate to own a Smeg fridge for quite some time now, and we’ve agreed that since we can’t afford to do the kitchen renovations we crave at the moment, we can at least splash out on a pretty fridge to make the space slightly more attractive. I mean, how beautiful is this?

Anyway, this is a convoluted way of trying to explain why sausages pop up not once but twice this week, albeit in different guises.

Monday: a bank holiday fast day - soup.

Tuesday: to celebrate the lovely weather, I suggested a salad. So tonight there is going to be some element of shredded veg and then some sort of satay dressing, probably with noodles and definitely prawns. This dinner is still rather at the concept stage.

Wednesday: already looking set to be a shocker of a day for me work wise. So I suggested something simple but oh so comforting with a half pack of sausages lurking in the freezer - the good old sausage sandwich. D is to contrive some sort of red onion marmaladey accompaniment.

Thursday: more soup.

Friday: a summery fish dish. Again, this evening is still rather at the concept stage.

Saturday: I am cooking the books, the book in question being Diana Henry’s latest (“How to Eat a Peach”) and the dish in question being crab, saffron and tomato tart.

Sunday: Merguez sausage stew with couscous.

Happy cooking and eating all!

MPM: 16th April 2018

For the first time in quite a while, we have a full week of dining in to plan. Work is likely to be hectic and full on for the next few weeks, especially for poor old D who is currently co-ordinating a massive project on top of his day job. If he has any hair (or fingernails) left by the end of April it will be something of a miracle. So I want to make sure that he has plenty of nice evening meals to which he can look forward.

Monday and Thursday: fast day - soup.

Tuesday: this week's recipe book is Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals. I have no idea why I bought it; I dislike the concept and note from watching the programme (which is never off the Food channel) that Mr Oliver's timings do not include any sort of clearing up. Anyway. We're giving it a go and making a beef stroganoff with rice.

Wednesday: chickpea and paneer black pepper curry.

Friday: crispy sole with brown shrimp butter.

Saturday: D plans to make a batch of Merguez sausages. He's done them before and they are AMAZING. We're going to hold back a little bit of the mixture and make little patties to have as a burger. Can't wait for this!

Sunday: we've not had a roast dinner in a while so I think that it's high time for one with all the glorious trimmings.

Now that little lot has made me thoroughly hungry...

MPM: 19th February 2018

Amazing meal at Joro last week (write-up to follow shortly). Less than amazing was my digestive system's reaction to it. Yes, I am having (ahem) ishoos at the moment with what feels like food in general (and, in particular, food) which I'm fairly convinced are linked to the fact that I had a bit of said digestive system lopped out last summer. It appears to be rather pissed off with me and is exacting revenge. I'm fighting back by keeping a detailed food diary complete with colour coded (ahem squared) movement monitoring which, at some point, I may need to go and wave at the doctor. Although I'm terrified that they'll make me FODMAP, or some such thing. Which would not be in keeping with my (shamelessly nicked) life philosophy of everything in moderation, including moderation.

Anyway, the point is that the meal plan unravelled slightly towards the end of last week to accommodate my delicate little self. Although we were back on track by Sunday for a fiendishly good fish finger sarnie. I reckon that I've nearly nailed ciabatta rolls which are the perfect vehicle for any sort of sandwich that has the potential to be messy: robust yet airy with an excellent flavour.

New week, new start and I've stuck to a fast day today (I suppose it's only half six, there's time for it all to go wrong) will hopefully be able to stick, more or less, to the planned meals for the week without needing to resort to gruel.

Monday: fast day - soup

Tuesday: freezer dived turkey curry with rice and cucumber raita. And maybe a flatbread if I can be roused to such dizzy heights.

Wednesday: fast day - soup (and a trip to the cinema to see The Black Panther in an attempt to distract from the hunger pangs)

Thursday: prosciutto capalleti, garlic bread, some sort of salad

Friday: as part of our ongoing quest to cook our books, I'm doing a couple of dishes from Tim Anderson's "Nanban". I think that I've selected Tonkatsu, which is the Japanese equivalent of schnitzel, with sushi rice and mushrooms with spicy miso butter. I'm not entirely sure that it would be considered at all authentic to both things together, but the idea worked in my head, so we'll give it a go.

Saturday: D has requested burgers, so I'll be doing ciabatta rolls take 3 and will leave the filling of them to him.

Sunday: we had a pot of cream in the fridge that needed using up, so I threw together a pommes dauphinois last week and whacked it in the freezer ready for next Sunday lunch. Such a rich dish needs very little else, so probably a small amount of roast meat and something no-nonsenseley green.

Two steps forward, one and a half steps back

I ended the month of January slightly lighter than I started, which I take to be a good thing. 

The cheese-topped, chips-on-the-side nature of our holiday in Scotland, not to mention the fact that we only managed one fast day during the week before we went (because we got into holiday mode slightly too early) means that I would have been entirely unsurprised to see a net gain on the month.  What I have noticed about my 5:2 losses, though, is that for all that they are slow (so slow!) they seem to stick far better than when I was losing weight more quickly with WW.  A fall from the wagon may occasion a gain, but not a particularly dramatic one.  Not like the memorable occasion, many years ago when I gained five pounds one week and then lost seven the next.  I wonder if I was blogging at that point?  I can't see a post called "Flying in the Face of Science" but I definitely felt as if I was. 

I know the blog is quieter than it used to be.  Actually, blogging in general seems to be quieter than it used to be.  And a lot of the blogs that are out there are very big and shiny and full of beautiful photographs as opposed to back in 2010 when people just got behind the keyboard and typed away on their unglamorous but entirely functional BlogSpot platforms.  It's a shame, because I think the sense of community has disappeared a little bit, and I think a lot of the people who still are blogging are doing it less to reach out and more with a view to becoming the next Big Thing.

But, to my original point.  The blog is quieter than it used to be partly because I don't really feel like I am on a diet any more.  5:2 has fitted in to my life relatively seamlessly.  There's only so many times that I can write about how fast days are tough and I feel very hungry but it's worth the freedom that it wins me on the other, non-fast, days. 

Still, I also started writing this as a place to record recipes and to record experiences, and I've not intention of giving that up because a Book Deal may yet be forthcoming!  Well, not really, but because I love being able to look back and remember stuff I've eaten and places I've been. And, you never know, someday I might reach my elusive Goal Weight and I can't think of a better, more proper place to record that achievement than this little corner here. 

So, as ever mes amies, onwards and downwards.

A poor excuse for a meal plan

D rebuked me this morning for not posting this week's meal plan.  "How am I supposed to know what I'm going to eat?" he said. 

I didn't bother, mainly because:

a) there are only some many times you can write: "Fast Day - soup" without it being oppressively dull for all concerned and the entries for both Monday and Wednesday this week consist of "Fast Day - soup".

b)  we are going away on Friday so I don't know what, exactly, I'll be eating.  We'll be staying in Ecclefechan on Friday night so it will be something followed by Ecclefechan tart.  And we're having lunch in Oban on Saturday so likely fish will be consumed.  And Sunday night will either be a pub meal on Mull or the best of whatever the Mull Co-op has to offer.

c)  that just leaves two days of home cooking to plan.  And that didn't seem worthwhile.  But for what it is worth this is what we are having:

Tuesday:  Bang Bang turkey (only with chicken - using some leftover sauce from the Christmas batch and some leftover chicken which was located, lurking, in the depths of the freezer)

Thursday:  Cottage pie.  Brisket mince, again, from the depths of the freezer, stretched out with some veg and red lentils and topped with a blue cheese and chive mash.  Probably peas on the side because there should always be peas on the side of cottage pie (or shepherd's pie).

And there you have it.  You're welcome, D.

Foggy Friday

Bloody hell, another week as positively whizzed by and we're already nearly half way through January!  Out first week of fasting yielded me a pound loss (hurrah!) and D a magnificent 3.8 pounds.  He's being quite strict on non-fast days as well, so the result was hard earned and well deserved.

All has been quiet chez nous; I've practically been hibernating since the start of the year and I have no intention of doing very much this weekend either.  There are books to read and films to watch and cats to cuddle and cups of tea to be consumed and very content with that I am too.  However, we are rousing ourselves at the end of next week and decamping to Mull for a week.  A week which we will probably spend mostly reading, watching films and drinking tea, just in a different environment and without the cat. 

It turns out that lots of things shut on Mull in January.  Actually, in other parts of Scotland too, since we are stopping off in Ecclefechan (home of the famous and delicious Tart) and planned to visit a famous Scottish person's birthplace which is situated there, only to have our intentions frustrated by out of season opening hours.  So we're going to Gretna Green instead because I've never been and it's on the way. 

If you're still ploughing through the remains of the Christmas turkey, I've got a marvellous recipe to share which post I will schedule now while I am thinking about it.  If you're not, how go your New Year Eatings? 

Have a lovely weekend all. 

2017 - the year in review

And so, Christmas has been and gone and with it the final hurrah of 2017.  I spent most of the year’s dying days snuggled up at home doing little more than watching crap on Netflix and eating chocolate biscuits.  I weighed myself this morning; up 5lbs from the beginning of December which I am quite peaceful about considering that we abandoned 5:2 and any pretence of moderation right at the start of the month.  I am hoping to get most, if not all, of it shifted by the end of January.  Today sees me on my first fast day since…well, weeks ago, and there are even rumours that the Treadmill in the Garage will be grinding back to life very shortly.  As ever, I will keep you apprised.

Before we venture forth into 2018, as always, it is worth having a quick look back.  Firstly, weight loss and health matters – I committed to 5:2 at the start of the year on the basis that:

a) I still need to lose weight

b) Weight Watchers did not agree with me anymore – the constant counting and measuring and weighing and planning was, ultimately, not doing my mental health any good and

c)  Any other formal “diet plan” would likely be just as bad. 

5:2 seemed like the answer to the problem, in that it would require fierce commitment for 2 days of the week, but the rest of the time I could pootle along as I pleased. 

Well, it has worked in the sense that I am 2 stone down over the course of the year.  It’s not what you would call an amazing result, but it is a result nonetheless, and given the number of weeks where we’ve sacked off one or both fasts for reasons both spurious and genuine, I am pleased.  I have genuinely eaten well on non-fast days – aiming for moderation rather than restriction has really helped me develop a peaceful relationship with the food that I eat for the first time in my adult life. 

And talking of eating, D and I have agreed that some of our favourite ever meals were consumed in 2017.  We were lucky enough to visit several amazing restaurants and to pick a favourite is very, very difficult. 

The stand-out, in the end, is The Raby Hunt, which we visited at the beginning of November.  It has two Michelin stars and it is not London based – the conjuction of these two facts do tend to imply quality – but we have learned that Michelin stars do not always make for the best eating or for the best dining experiences (in our opinion.  Clearly not in the opinion of the mysterious Michelin inspectors who I fondly imagine cruising the country’s dining scene in pinstripe suits).  Raby Hunt, which I wrote about here, is just absolutely fabulous.  And the dish of razor clam and celeriac and almonds is probably, probably the best thing that I ate all year.

Razor clam and celeriac at The Raby Hunt

But there are honourable mentions to be made too: the thought of the lamb at Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside still makes my mouth water all these months later.  And we had a last minute contender in the form of scallop with fermented celeriac at TheBlack Swan at Oldstead just the other week.  It’s rather odd – I didn’t even think that I liked celeriac that much, but in expert hands, it turns out that it is rather sublime.  I probably need to cook with it a bit more.  We also absolutely adored 64 Degrees in Brighton – another superlative lamb dish, this one served with gochujang.

Lamb at Lake Road Kitchen

Dessert of the year probably, again, goes to one of the offerings at The Raby Hunt, but I can’t help but remember with very great fondness the fabulous miso caramel ice cream that we ate at Skosh in York.

Miso caramel ice cream at Skosh

Our own home cooking has, naturally, encountered new influences and ideas throughout the year (gochujang and sushi rice are now both permanent fixtures in our storecupboard), but I honestly think that one of the nicest things that I made was this summery broad bean dip.  I am already looking forward to broad bean season rolling around again so that I can make this dip by the pint.

Broad bean dip at home

We managed to make a bit more use of our extensive recipe book library, but want to ramp this up for 2018 and are aiming to cook a new dish at least once a week.  What with that and plans to visit (among other places) Joro in Sheffield and Where The Light Gets In in Stockport, I think 2018 will shape up to be pretty damn fine itself.

The first meal plan of 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! I do hope that you had a lovely time and are ready for a fabulous 2018. I myself have spent much of the day dozing over an Agatha Christie novel - starting as I mean to go on, you see.

We are all sorted for a meal plan this week and, indeed, are starting as we mean to go on by including some new recipes from a new recipe book on Saturday. We're aiming to cook at least one new dish a week this year.

Fasting is back on the menu as well and, to be completely honest, I'm almost looking forward to it. The first one in particular will no doubt be tough but my system feels a bit overwhelmed at the moment after a couple of weeks of profligate consumption. I'm keen to give it a bit of a break. Lunches on non fast days will be kept light and simple and veggie packed and, hopefully, once I'm back in routine, normal digestive service will be resumed (ahem).

Monday: we're neither of us inclined to do much today so it will be a few M&S nibbles from the freezer and some cheese and biscuits. I did mention something about baking bread but I'm hoping that oatcakes will suffice since I really can't be arsed.

Tuesday: fast day - soup

Wednesday: some midweek vibrancy courtesy of one of our favourites - salmon with pasta pesto. The pasta will be packed full of courgettes and peas to boost the green quota.

Thursday: fast day - soup

Friday: D is out and, at the moment, scrambled egg on toast is looking like my top choice for a solitary supper.

Saturday: a Chinese fakeaway, and, an opportunity to cook from one of the new additions to the household library - Fuschia Dunlop's "Every Grain of Rice". We'll be having smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce followed by chicken thighs with black beans and steamed rice.

Sunday: the rest of the chicken thighs will be roasted up and served with mashed potatoes and a selection of veg - so sort of a roast dinner. I'm seriously considering making Sophie Grigson's delicious sprout gratin as a side dish, not having had any Brussels so far this year. Although I am not sure that cream, bacon and cheese fits in with my current yen for all things ascetic.

MPM: 13th November 2017 (and more musings on intermittent fasting)

For the first time in a while, we managed to complete two full fast days last week and, as a result, the scales have started to veer downwards again which is good news.  Monday is sort of the "official" weigh day which means that my "official" result is 1.2 lbs off - however, my lowest recorded weight of the week was 0.6 lbs below that.

None of these figures are stellar.  I doubt that anyone is going to be particularly inspired by a two-stone-in-a-year loss.  But I'm happy with it.  Yes, I remember saying at the outset that I would be happy with a pound a week average and I've managed half that.  But the important point is that it is steady, sustained weight loss.  There have been loads of weeks where we've only fasted once or we've not bothered at all and on non-fast days, I've been eating normally - no food is forbidden, nothing is off limits.  Because of this, I've noticed my habits improve; for example, I tend to eat quite small portions, I never feel the urge to clear my plate if I've had enough and I don't eat anything for the sake of it.  These are all healthy habits.  I feel like I've come a long way - even if the scales haven't.

Now, on to meal planning.  We had a lovely week last week, culminating in an excellent rabbit pie with a proper, suet pastry crust.  Absolute bliss with mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage and honey roasted carrots.  I'm looking forward to some leftovers this week!

Monday:  Fast day - soup

Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese (sauce from the freezer.  As ever, we live in hope of one day seeing it empty).

Wednesday:  Fast day (probably) - soup.  D won't be able to fast today as he is going on a team lunch out.  He said that he is still quite happy to have soup for tea, which gives me the opportunity to stick to a fast if I want to do so. 

Thursday:  D out - leftover rabbit pie for me.

Friday:  As with last week, we're going to do a mystery fish type exercise, depending on what looks good in the market.  The hake that D bought last week was served with delicious butter beans which I cooked with chilli and rosemary, which acted as perfect ballast (every time I eat beans I remind myself to have them more often).

Saturday:  Home made pizza - we both get to choose a topping.  I'm thinking maybe something with tiny cubes of roasted squash.  Or perhaps a classic goats cheese and caramellised onions.  Or punchy anchovies. 

Sunday:  A Diana Henry recipe from her Telegraph food column: baked sausages, apples and blackerries with mustard and maple syrup.  She suggests serving with mash or jacket potatoes. 

So an excellent week's eating.  Hopefully I will manage to claw my way, alone, through a second fast and record enough of a loss on the scales to finally tip me over the two stone mark for the year.  Wish my luck, and have a fabulous week!

MPM: 6th November 2017

We are just back from a lovely few days away in Northumberland (hence the lack of meal planning post last week).  I say just back - we actually returned on Thursday but I have spent all my time since Lying Around and doing Nothing Much.  Which has been very nice.  I am not the sort of person who feels the need to fill my time with activities...sometimes this makes me feel guilty, most of the time I just embrace the sloth.


Exciting moment this morning though - I have actually managed to lose a [tiny] bit of weight over the last fortnight, which means that today I weighed in at my lowest point so far this year.  Which has given my enthusiasm for fasting a definite boost.  I want to see new numbers on those scales, launch into Fresh Fat.  Whether that is doable or not, especially given the time of the year, remains slightly doubtful, but I'm going to give it a good go (stay tuned to see if this enthusiasm manages to last more than, oh, a week).


So two fast days this week, and one midweek catch-up with one of my oldest and dearest friends at Leeds institution, Friends of Ham.  Elsewhere:


Monday: Fast day - soup


Tuesday:  Pasta with a mussel and chorizo sauce


Wednesday:  Out (D says that he is going to raid the cupboards.  I suspect that he may end up at the chip shop).


Thursday: Fast day - soup


Friday:  Fish - we haven't got any further than that so far, as D is going to buy whatever looks nice in the fish shop and then we'll decide on appropriate accompaniments.  To be honest, in the current climate I'm working on the basis that it will take a lot to dissuade me from a nice pan fried slab of crisp-skinned fish and a mountain of creamy mash.


Saturday:  Chicken Xacutti with rice and naan bread


Sunday:  D's famous rabbit pie. With yet more of the aforementioned creamy mash.  God bless mashed potatoes.

MPM: 23rd October 2017

As meal planning posts go, this is likely to be a short one owing to the fact that we are having an unusual week - one with social activity.  We are out Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, Monday and Thursday are fast days, so that is just two meals to plan! 

But first a note on last week - despite the fact that I did a 6:1 rather than a 5:2, I still was a pound down this morning which is good news and sees me edging ever closer to my Post Op Lowest Weight of the Year (or POLWY, as no one is ever likely to call it).  A similar drop this week would put me in the next stone bracket down which, as any dieter knows, is one of the most pleasing of milestones.  Fingers crossed!

Mealwise, I really enjoyed everything that we ate.  Every time I have a jacket potato I wonder why I don't eat them more frequently - and really, with a small can of beans, a sprinkle of cheese and a decent helping of green salad, it is an incredibly satisfying dinner.  Last night's pork belly went down very well too - the braised red cabbage recipe, which I first blogged about nearly seven (seven!) years ago, remains an absolute triumph of a side dish.  For the first time ever, I made it overnight in the slow cooker which worked really well and I've updated the original post accordingly.

Moving on, the plan for this week:

Monday: Fast day - soup

Tuesday:  Chicken schnitzel, potato salad, lightly pickled cucumber

Wednesday:  Out

Thursday:  Fast day - soup

Friday:  Out

Saturday:  D's birthday meal part 1  (A.K.A. "A celebration of all things 70s"):  Classic prawn cocktail, steak frites, stem ginger creme brulee.

Sunday:  Out

MPM: 16th October 2017

Full disclosure - last week was not so much 5:2 as 6:1.  Although since we (and by we I mean D) cracked fairly late in the day on Thursday, total calorie consumption probably still came in at less than 1000.  I'm learning the art of moderation in my old age and am sometimes forgetting to eat for the sake of it.  Hurrah for personal growth.

This, plus the fact that I am currently Sober for October, led to a very pleasing 2lb loss this week.  3lbs more and I will be back down to this year's low, which occurred about a week after my operation when I was basically subsisting on copious cups of tea and the occasional biscuit. 

I'm not really talking about the Sober for October thing (it feels deserving of capitals for some reason) because I am sick of making proclamations on this blog and then failing and doing the written equivalent of falling flat on my face.  So, there it is, it's the 16th of October and I haven't had a drink so far this month but it's not a big deal and I promise not to mention it again.  Actually, on Saturday night I did accidentally eat a whisky caramel truffle so in the most puritannical of eyes, I've already blown it.  It was a really good chocolate though, and probably worth it.

Moving on to this week's meal plan.  I am away for work on Wednesday night in EDINBURGH and trying hard to be cool about it because D will be left at home alone to weep into his solitary supper.  Every other night finds us at home, and the plan looks like this:

Monday: fast day - soup

Tuesday: jacket potato with baked beans and cheese, salad, coleslaw

Thursday: bangers and mash with red onion gravy

Friday: spaghetti carbonara

Saturday: chicken Xacutti (a form of Goan curry.  We're making this using a Rafi's spice pack and have high hopes)

Sunday: roast pork belly with white beans, black pudding and braised red cabbage

Another 6:1 week (we decided that fasting on a day involving many hours of travelling would not work out too well.  Yes, it's an excuse.  Yes, we could have slotted in another day.  Yes, we are, in fact, rubbish).  Lots of comforting, autumnal type dishes, most of which are being sourced, in whole or in part, from our freezer so shopping is being kept to minimal levels. 

Have a lovely week les touts!

MPM: 9th October 2017

I'm fasting today, and it is making me rather grumpy so forgive me if I don't dwell too long on this post.  Thinking about food might tip me over the edge and our office is heaving with cake.  My beady little eye is particularly snagged on some Colin the Caterpillar mini rolls.  I used to love a Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake and I suspect the mini versions are just as full of chocolatey goodness. Damn them.


Meal planning - nothing currently in the diary, so we've lined up seven meals.  Plenty of hearty, robust dishes going on here, including two midweek pastas which is slightly unbalanced but a) they are very different dishes and b)  I'd eat pasta every single day without a qualm. 


Monday: fast day (sob!) - soup


Tuesday: tuna pasta bake (hurrah!)  D says that this is something of an abomination and that no Italian would ever support the tuna and cheese combo.  I say: I don't care, this is one of my favourite comfort foods and is just what we need to use up some odds and ends of cheese, a rather sad green pepper and half a punnet of mushrooms.


Wednesday: cacio e pepe - we've been wanting to try this for AGES.  I can't wait!


Thursday: fast day (sob!) - more soup


Friday: sticky pork belly with noodles


Saturday: D's homemade fennel sausages with mashed potato and onion gravy.  We put this on because we happen to have the sausages in the freezer that need eating but who wouldn't want sausages and mash in front of Strictly? 


Sunday: roast chicken - various trimmings yet tbc.


Have a wonderful week all - I'm sure mine will improve rapidly when I can actually, y'know, eat.

MPM: 4th September 2017

During my drive to blog every day in September, Mondays should be the easiest because I can just stick in a quick meal planning post and be done.  Hurrah. 

That being said, the plan for this week is a little bit vague and back-of-a-fag-packety.  Partly because it is my first week back at work after a month of post operative rest and recuperation and I am expecting my evening energy levels to be extremely low and up to little more than making tea and toast - hence the midweek freezer dive.  I am, hopefully, back to two full fast days this week so that means soup (on Tuesday and Thursday).  And we are going out for supper on Friday to, er, celebrate the fact that it is Friday.

Monday: We were originally intending to be out tonight and now we are not.  So tea will likely consist of leftovers from yesterday's roast.  We have cold roast chicken, we have some carrot and ginger mash, we have four roast potatoes - I am feeling some sort of bubble and squeak-esque patties coming on.

Tuesday: Fast day - soup

Wednesday:  Braised beef cheeks from the freezer, jazzed up with some blue cheese that's been lurking round the fridge for a while and needs using up.  Possibly mash on the side, possibly some crusty bread.

Thursday:  Fast day - soup

Friday:  Out

Saturday:  We are going Stateside and having Buffalo style chicken wings.  I am in charge of the side dish and am currently researching wedge salads - have you heard of these?  They sound odd to me but am prepared to try anything once.

Sunday:  Nduja lamb with a couscous salad - how this will work exactly remains to be seen.

Happy cooking (and eating) folks and have a wonderful week.

Baby steps

There are few things more annoying than tracking a good weight loss all week (between 2 and 2.8lbs) only for the scales to bounce back up on Official Weigh Day. 

I mean, the point about weighing yourself daily is to get a sense of the overall trend, the general movement and not to get too het up about the number on any given day.  But everyone knows that the results on Official Weigh Day mean the most.  And everyone knows that Official Weigh Day is really Monday, no matter how often you try and convince your psyche that Friday is better.

So, anyway.  My Official Weigh Day result was a 1.2lb loss.  Which isn't bad by any means, but given that this was the highest number to flash up since last Monday it is supremely irritating. 

Still, I take it and I keep going.  The alternatives that I mentioned are weighing almost as heavy as, well, me.

MPM: 17th July 2017

Not a particularly seasonal menu plan this week - you'll notice haggis popping up a couple of times which is something that I always associate with winter.  However, we have had a veggie haggis lurking in the freezer for ages (don't ask) that needs utilising. And, let's face it, when has British summertime ever been actually summery?

We're fasting Monday and Thursday - so that will be soup (I've knocked up a batch of this old favourite).  Elsewhere:

Tuesday: veggie haggis and clapshot, caramelised onion gravy and some sort of green - I'm thinking maybe a creamed spinach?

Wednesday: giant couscous tossed in 'nduja, roasted vegetables and a crumble of feta cheese

Friday: veggie haggis toasties.  Don't knock until you've tried them.

Saturday: I'm cooking up a veggie Indian feast, featuring two of my favourite curries - saag paneer and chana masala (aka cheesy spinach and spiced chickpeas).  To be served with rice and flatbreads and maybe a couple of cheeky chutneys.  YUM!

Sunday: fish of some description - but we'll decide what we're doing when we pick up the fish on Saturday.  We have an absolutely wonderful local fishmongers so we're going to choose something that looks yummy and then base what we cook around that.  If it's sunny, perhaps I might even persuade young D to fire up the barbecue?

Have a wonderful week, mes amies!

In which I re-commit to 5:2

I've been thinking about what I did at the start of the year that worked so successfully.  And what I can add to those techniques in order to be even more successful.  Here's my list so far...

1) A food diary.  Practically every day in January, I carefully recorded what I had eaten.  It might sound a little obsessive but it never took long, and I kind of enjoyed it.  It focuses you; even though no one else was reading it, I wanted the food that I recorded to look good...let's be honest, who wants to actually have to write that they've scoffed half a pack of Hobnobs?

2) Alcohol.  I've mentioned this before, I'm sure.  I love a drink.  But my weight loss noticeably speeds up when I cut it out.  I'm not going to promise to cut if out altogether, but for "5:2 2.0" there will be absolutely none on school nights (unless for a very particular reason) and I will limit consumption at the weekends by focusing on higher quality, low volume.

3) Meal planning.  Whatever diet you're doing, meal planning is pretty key.  I also need to make sure that I'm planning lunches and breakfasts as well - I'd like to limit snacks and treats and a surefire way to do that is to make sure that I'm eating properly at meal times.

4) Ah, yes, snacks and treats.  The odd biscuit or packet or crisps or piece of chocolate is absolutely fine, but I need to keep an eye on consumption levels.  I'd like to limit myself to one "treat" a day, maybe relaxing slightly at the weekends. So that could be a biscuit with an afternoon cup or tea OR a packet of cheeky cheese and onion when I get home OR a few Maltesers after dinner.  Not all three.

5) Exercise.  Yes, this again.  Lesley has nagged me about it before and with good reason - I need to make time for this and commit to a proper programme of activity.  There's a hotel across the road from my office with a proper pool - I'd love to treat myself to monthly membership so that I could fit in some swimming.  I'd also quite like to try some yoga classes, as I think this would help with my anxiety issues as well as being good, gentle exercise,  but I'm not going to shell out a penny until I've proved to myself that I can make exercise part of my schedule.  We have a treadmill in the garage, I have the couch to 5k app on my phone - it's free, it's easy, it's effective there is NO EXCUSE.

I reckon if I can stick to all these edicts, as well as two fast days a week, I can get things moving again in six weeks.  Game face on!

Excuses, excuses

So, I promised a bit of a retrospective post to talk about 5:2 and how the year was going.

I have talked on here on a couple of occasions about how 5:2 is hard but not that hard.  Fast days are rubbish but they are doable if you are organised and if you just get past the fact that being a bit hungry is not going to kill you.  I'm therefore a bit disappointed that our fast days have got a lot more sporadic in recent weeks.

There is a bit of a reason - or is it an excuse?  I always strive to be honest on this blog, albeit optimistically honest (is that a thing?) so I might as well say that, particularly since the break in, my anxiety levels have been high and I've not always been feeling 100%.  I've been on anti anxiety medication in the past but I don't like that as a solution so I'm trying to deal with it myself.  And I've noticed that low blood sugar can exacerbate physical symptoms of anxiety so I've been a bit wary of fasting.  Ha, written down that looks exactly like an excuse!

My weight has remained pretty stable throughout - I'm currently a couple of pounds shy of a two stone loss for the year.  That's amazing BUT the majority of that loss came in the first couple of months.  That is not amazing.

I've made peace with the fact that I am never going to be a skinny girl again, but I would like to lose enough that I am an unremarkable size and, more importantly, enough that I am not endangering my future health.  I really want 5:2 to work for that because I am shit scared of the alternative.  The alternative is going back to a more regimented plan - a Weight Watchers or a Slimming World.  And that makes me want to cry; I love being liberated from counting, from obsessively measuring out every teaspoon of oil or knob of butter.  I actually enjoy going to the fridge an being able to sling something together from bits and pieces of leftovers and not having to worry as I go along that it will involve more points than I have left for the day.  I cook and eat well and have found my own natural balance (as evidenced by the fact that, even without fasting, I have maintained my weight).

But, if 5:2 isn't going to get me to where I need to be then I have no choice.

So, here's the deal.  I am re-committing to 5:2 wholeheartedly for the next 6 or so weeks, which takes us to the end of August.  It would be nice to knock off half a stone or so in that time, although any downwards movement would be good.  If I haven't made any more progress then I'm going to have to start on an alternative route come September.

It's blogged and therefore I have to stick to it, right?

A breakfast for on the go, and a TV dinner

I can't believe that we're coming up to the halfway point of 2017 already.  That can't possibly be right.

Lesley (hello, Lesley!) has recently started 5:2ing and asked me how it was going - so now, six months in, seems like a good point to assess progress so far and make some general comments on the diet (which will probably be exactly the same comments that I make every time that I do a progress report but they are good comments and bear repeating).  I will post that shortly.

Also, I have a couple of fantastic little things-to-do-with-broad-beans that I must share with you.  If you have an allotment (or, indeed, a garden) you may well be overrun with them at the moment and searching for new ideas.  Another, somewhat annoying, watch this space.

In the meantime, I just wanted to bookmark a couple of recipes for posterity and commend them to your attention.

These breakfast bars, a Nigella recipe via a lovely blog, are a cinch to make and a fantastic way of using up all those odd bags of dried fruit and nuts and seeds of which I seem to have a cupboard full.  They're healthy-ish: lots of good stuff in there but certainly not a low calorie or sugar option.  They last exceptionally well (over a week in an airtight container and still fine) and are perfect for breakfast on the go.  Which, in our house means breakfast at your desk when you've reluctantly hauled yourself out of bed in time to get to the office for seven.

And this garlic butter prawn linguine dish, we made on a Saturday night after a bottle of wine and an emotional rollercoaster of a Dr Who episode.  It is extraordinarily simple and low effort but delivers on indulgence and flavour.  Just the kind of thing that you want to cook and eat on a Saturday night after a bottle of wine and an emotional rollercoaster of a Dr Who episode.  One that I will be retaining up my sleeve for future use.

Back soon!