Walkabout

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Standard breakfast yesterday of Alpen, granola, yogurt, almond milk, chia seeds and strawberries. Eaten at my desk.

I had a lovely lunch today. I went walkabout with Sue who I work with.  Well, until Friday at least when she leaves 😦 . She took me over the river and showed me some of her favourite places to visit at lunch time.  Check out this uber cool, roof top, open air bar.

If you want to know where it is…….. you can offer to buy me a drink and I will meet you there.  The coffee shop is closed for a refurb so it will have to be champagne 🙂 .  We wandered along to Guidlhall which is a beautiful building and apparently underneath is a hologram of the Roman Amphitheatre that used to be there.  You access it via the art gallery to the right.

We then went to a fabulous eating and drinking establishment near Royal Exchange where I bought a delicious latte and this interesting box of salad.

The Japanese style pickled veg were not to my taste but the rest was lovely; a crispy broccoli salad, Indian spiced cabbage and a sweet potato salad.  Different to the usual fare on offer and really enjoyable.

I had a quick and easy supper as I was going out for a drink in The George with Fiona and Judy.   Guess what I had?

Yes, a green smoothie.  Apples and green leaves are becoming a favourite combination.  I was asked recently what else I have with my smoothie in the evening.  That’s simple – nothing.  The smoothie fills me up and sustains me all evening.  Well, usually it does but tonight I went over did it and had a large white wine spritzer and a camomile tea.  I am such a crazy chick!

On to today.  Muesli, yogurt and banana for brekkie.  Latte and a ham and Gruyere baguette for lunch which I managed to time to coincide with 5 minutes sunshine amongst the torrential rain.  The sun always shines on the righteous 🙂

I had a real fancy for some brown rice tonight.  So I cooked 1 cup of brown basmati rice and while that was cooking I picked a pile of green leaves from the garden.

I stir fried some broccoli, celery, a kumato, rainbow chard, spinach and beetroot leaves with a splash of oil, water and soy sauce.

I served the veggies on the rice and then scrambled 2 eggs in sesame oil and added them to the veggies.  A little stir and supper was served.

This was delicious.  Full of flavour, nutritious and comforting.

I have half a cup of brown rice left to make something for breakfast.   I am delighted that after a week of overeating chocolate and cakes, I am back on track.  And I am looking forward to going Walkabout again one lunch time soon.  Thank you Sue for showing me the way.

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Swimming at Sissinghurst

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

We had a wonderful day with our friends BJ and Helen and their lovely children who are here with us for the weekend.  We started the day with healthy smoothies.

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients (makes 4 small glasses)

  • 1 large punnett strawberries
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 300-400 ml almond milk (depending on how thick you like it)

Method

  • Blitz in blender until smooth and serve

I was in the mood for something citrus and there were some tragic looking clementines in the fruit bowl so they were soon dispatched to the blender.

Clementine and Sesame Seed Smoothie

Ingredients (makes 1 large glassful)

  • 4 clementines
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 250 – 300 ml almond milk

Method – Blitz in blender.  Easy Peasey.

I really enjoyed this and it was a beautiful colour which is a bonus.

We had planned a long walk for the morning so we prepared lunch before we went and popped it in the slow cooker so it would be ready when we returned.  It was a joint effort – thank you Helen.

I was given a great little recipe book for Mother’s Day called ‘easy slow cooker’ and I cooked a lovely recipe I found in there.  I adapted the recipe as there were more of us than the recipe would have provided for.

Lamb and Butternut Squash Stew

Ingredients (served 5 adults and 3 children)

  • 1 kg cubed  lamb
  • 4 tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • 8 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut in to cubes
  • 600 ml lamb or vegetable stock (I used chicken )
  • 1 whole garlic bulb, separated in to cloves but not peeled

Method

  • Put the seasoned flour in a plastic bag, add the lamb and shake to coat the lamb with the flour.
  • Heat half the oil in a frying pan and fry the lamb in batches until browned.  As it browns, place in the slow cooker.
  • Toast the cumin and fennel in a dry frying pan for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.   Place in the slow cooker.
  • Add the remaining oil to the frying pan which contained the spices and fry the onion for 2-3 minutes until becoming soft.  Add to the slow cooker.
  •  Add the butternut squash to the frying pan and cook for 3 – 4 minutes.  Add to the slow cooker.

  • Add the hot stock and garlic to the slow cooker.
  • Stir so everything is well mixed.

  • Cook on HIGH for about 4 hours until the lamb is tender.
  • While it is cooking go and do something fun and then return home to a wonderful smell and the comforting knowledge that a lovely meal is nearly ready.

It was quite chilly out but sunny so we set off for a lovely walk around one of the local attractions, Sissinghurst Castle Garden .  I really enjoy spending time with my God-daughter who is affectionate and chatty and a delight to be with.

As is her little brother and all the children get on really well which is great.

We wandered through the woods and over the fields and up to the lakes where there was time to sit and stare at the natural beauty of this gorgeous part of the world.

This is such a great walk with children as the landscape is so varied there is plenty to look at, numerous bridges to cross looking for trolls and then the lovely lakes where you can while away the hours.

We had so much fun here, mainly at Milton’s (black dog) expense.  Milton is not kean on water and rarely swims but he LOVES chasing sticks and will always try to get them, even in the water.

We threw the sticks out further and further until he was forced to swim.  My dog is not a natural and with the heavily laboured swimming style we could see where the term “doggy paddle” came from.  “Doggy frantic splashing and thrashing” may have been more accurate :-).  But he did retrieve his beloved sticks and we were delighted and amused by how efforts.

Freaky head disappearing moment.

What a handsome boy.

Off again, round the lakes, past the pet graves,

besides the Castle gardens which are so pretty at this time of year

and along the moat where we saw these cute little ducklings.

We walked though the National Trust property but did not go in the gardens as dogs are not allowed but you can catch a good glimpse as you walk by.

Time to head home again.  I think we were out for nearly 3 hours and all our legs, little and large, were weary and ready to rest.

Lunch time.

The lamb and butternut squash stew was served with mashed potato, couscous with red and yellow peppers and tender stem broccoli.  It was delicious, as was the Sancerre BJ generously provided.  This meal is definitely one to make again.

 

It was followed by ice-cream, brownies and strawberries.  A delicious lunch following a wonderful morning spent walking with very dear friends in my local area.  Perfect.

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Came to Camber

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

No blog yesterday as I was so busy.  I met my sister Abi and her family for lunch in the market and when I got home my wonderful friends from Leicestershire were here for the weekend.  That makes me very happy.

This morning I made a green smoothie which they dutifully tried but it did get a thumbs down – too avocadoey and bananaey apparently.  Oh, well, more for me.  So I had lots of green smoothie and my visitors had egg and bacon so we were all happy.

We then headed to Camber.  It was Patch’s first ever trip to the beach and he loved it.  He dug holes,

ran miles and splashed through the water.

So did Harvey and it really was not as warm as Harvey may make it appear!

Check out how warmly dressed everyone else is :-).

After collecting shells, playing with seaweed

and building sandcastles,

we clambered up the sand dunes.

Some clambered up and down. And up and down over and over again.

I preferred to stand and admire the view.  WOW, it is so beautiful here.

Hard to believe this amazing beach is just 35 minutes from my house.  How lucky I am.  Then we headed round the corner to Rye which is a delightful and very ancient town.  We had lunch in a cafe.  I had some chips, which is unusual for me but these ones were thin and crispy so worth it

followed by a very good Stilton and bacon salad.

 

We then walked over to the church

and climbed up the tower.  Along a narrow corridor

and up several ladders past the 8 large bells

and we came out on top of the tower where we could admire the stunning views.

Some of these building are 15th Century.  I suspect these beautiful rooves have been redone though since they were first built!

It is a long way down so not for the faint heated.

After a lovely afternoon in Rye we headed home for tea, brownies and the Grand National and then a dog walk.  In the evening the men were sent out foraging and have just returned with …… curry!  So we are relaxing, eating and knocking back slowly sipping the orange and damson gin which is most quaffable.  Have a good evening!

 

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Turnip Salad

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I took breakfast in to work today.  1 spoonful each of Alpen and Granola

with almond milk, strawberries, natural yogurt and chia seeds.

Yummy.

For lunch I had one of the best salads I have ever had.

I went to my favourite greengrocers, Turnips, and tried one of their salads.

WOW!  SO FRESH !!!!! Hard to tell from this photo but it had so many wonderful ingredients and they were all as fresh as if they had just been picked.  The large dollop of homemade pesto on top was superb too.  I will be going there again.

Will I go here again too?

I probably shouldn’t but I know I will!  The Curly Wurly brownie was great.

I just about made it over the bridge and on to the train before it poured with rain tonight.

Supper was full of vegetables.  I stir fried kale with oyster mushrooms

and steamed some green beans.

While they steamed, I pushed the kale to the side of the pan and added 2 beaten eggs.

Grated in some Comte cheese and supper was served:  cheese omelette with a mountain of superb skinny green beans, kale and mushrooms.

 

I know the brownie was naughty but the rest of today’s food was delicious and nutritious. I want another Turnip salad.

 

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GOSH

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I had a half day today but had to start at the office to bagsy my hot desk.  So I was in at 8am as usual and picked up some porridge with banana and a latte on the way in.

I met Lara and Harvey at London Bridge and we headed off to Great Ormond Street Hospital.  Harvey had to stay in GOSH as a baby when he was incredibly poorly.  We both stayed there for 3 weeks but now he just has to go for a check up once every 2 years.  Today was check up time.

I was incredibly proud of my son who endured hours of hanging around waiting to see his consultant, giving blood, being scanned and being prodded and poked.  When he went to give blood the child in the next cubicle was screaming his head off which Lara and I found really distressing but Harvey was not too phased by it and hardly flinched.  I was proud of my daughter too, for waiting so patiently with us and for being so kind to her brother.

I always feel emotional when I go to GOSH.  I always try to look forward in life and not dwell on difficult periods but going to this incredible place brings back some tough memories.  Memories of a time when Harvey’s prognosis was uncertain.  Uncertain about how profoundly handicapped he was going to be.  But actually he is healthy.  We have all been very lucky.  None more so than Harvey himself, who had a very lucky escape from a life that was predicted to be one of disability and severe learning difficulties.

When sitting beside my sick baby’s cot became too much for me, I would walk round the corner and sit and have a cup of tea at SID’s on Lambs Conduit Street.  I would worry about my son and long to hold and be with my daughter who had to stay at home.

So today it was wonderful to be there with both my healthy and happy children.

We had lunch, in between appointments.  I had a salad which looked fantastic but somehow did not taste as fresh as it should have.

I also had a little piece of Lara’s raspberry and white chocolate muffin.

Walking up to the park we passed ‘The People’s Supermarket’ which I remembered from a tv programme and I was pleased to see it is still going.

We took Harvey to Coram’s Fields so he could have a run around and a reprieve from sitting inside a hot hospital.

The playgrounds were full of children playing.  It is wonderful to be able to take your child to a park that is free from alcoholics sitting on the benches or hoards of bored youths, drinking and swearing.

Also great to get some fresh air.

Unfortunately I had to leave them there and return to work.  I was really grateful to Lara for doing the afternoon shift at the hospital and bitterly disappointed I couldn’t stay with them.   I walked up to the tube which was next to St.Pancras station.

What a stunningly beautiful building this is.  Those Victorians were incredible architects and engineers and this train station reflects the importance train travel had at the time.

This is an unusual paint effect!

Which way in?

I left work on time and planned to go to the tennis club.  But I felt emotionally drained and so came home to prepare a simple supper.

Cheese and tomato on toast and houmous and tomato on toast.  Simple, quick and tasty.

I will be going to bed very early tonight – GOSH, I am exhausted.

 

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I Scream

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I screamed at the dogs when I came downstairs to find a large puddle by the front door!  Not the best start to the day.  However, that was the only low point of the day.

Look at this beauty.

I love pomegranates.  I know a lot of people hate the pips but they don’t bother me at all. I ate some as it came

and added half of the rest to the blender with strawberries, blueberries, a banana, some chia seeds and almond milk.  Oh yes, that was a yummy one.

I also made a salad to take to work.

As well as all those lovely veggies, I had some leftover chicken and purple potato salad.

I chopped up one chicken thigh and one large spoonful of potato salad.  I took it to work with me.  It was easy to make a salad today because I was working in Gillingham so I don’t have to leave as early as when I work in London.  It was a really good salad and I enjoyed it all.

For supper I had two lovely dishes of leftovers from Friday lunch time to use up.

Some roast chicken pieces

and roasted vegetables.

Covered in foil, popped in the oven for 40 minutes and it was ready.  Harvey and I had a tasty and nutritious dinner.

It was delicious but I was still hungry so I had some more vegetables with a little bit of Comte grated on top.  The Comte and vegetables went really well together.

I still have Easter goodies in the house, including probably the very best ice-cream ever invented – maple syrup ice cream with caramelised pecan nuts and caramel swirls.  WOW!!!  Totally awesome and impossible to resist.

I scream,    you scream,    we all scream for ice-cream 🙂

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More Lunch

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

This Easter weekend I have eaten and eaten and eaten.  I have eaten lots of amazingly yummy food and enjoyed some wonderful occasions but I feel full, fat and cr*ppy.  I feel bloated, heavy, my stomach is gurgling and feeling acidic, I have mild heart burn, I feel completely stuffed and still want to eat more sugary refined foods.  I am really looking forward to getting back on that healthy eating road train tomorrow.

For breakfast my young man and I had a slice of wholemeal bread, toasted and buttered with a fried egg.

I then had another slice of toast with butter and marmalade.  I made the silly excuse that I could have it because I was going on a walk.  Stupid girl!  I did go on a walk but the egg and toast would have been enough.  Lara, Harvey and I did Annette’s walk and we remembered the way from Friday.  Some of the bluebells are out!  It is a pretty walk and going at a good pace it took us exactly an hour.  There is a long uphill section so it is a good walk for fitness and one we will definitely be doing again soon.  No photos as it was raining 😦

We then went to see Dad and he took us out to lunch at Zizzi’s.

I had the Antipasto Zizzi which was a selection of cured meats, cheeses and olives with bread sticks.

Followed by a Diavola pizza (hot and spicy) which I ordered with a wholemeal base which was good.

Zizzi’s is one of my favourite chains as the food is authentic and tasty.

We all enjoyed the food and being together.

I managed to resist dessert and had a latte instead.

Back at home we had been invited to Sarah and Chris’ over the road for a drink which I was looking forward to as I really miss them now I am a working girl.  Sarah’s sister Katie was there with her family and we had a very jolly time.  I could easily have stayed all night and drunk far too much but I managed to exercise a modicum of self-restraint and left early.

While I was there I had some wine and loads of crisps!  I wasn’t even hungry but because it was there in front of me, I ate it.  I ate everything.

Today has been one of the worst days eating I have had for months.  I have really enjoyed my 4 days off work and seeing friends and family but every day has been focused on eating which has been lovely but enough is enough.  The celery will be out tomorrow.

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Easter Birthday Party

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

Happy Easter 🙂  The Easter Bunny hopped about round here last night, dropping off Easter eggs and sweet goodies galore.

The first thing I had today was some gin.  Yes, I really did.  But fear not, this is not some new addiction I am battling with as I hit the bottle first thing in the morning.  I was transferring some of the Damson Gin (which I blogged about making here ) I made in September to smaller bottles.  I bought these beautiful bottles in the kitchen shop in Cranbrook called County Cookshops.  County Cookshops is two small shops at the top of the High Street and packed inside is everything I have ever needed.  If you are local, go a and visit next time you need something for the kitchen

I just instinctively tasted some and then decided how very wrong that was, to drink a spirit before a cup of tea!  I tried it again tonight and it really is rather good.  I made one with orange in and one without.  They can be drunk neat, like a liquer or mixed with soda or tonic water and served with a thick slice of orange.

Breakfast was Eastery – a hot cross bun, boiled egg and a strawberry and banana smoothie.

The smoothie is Harvey’s smoothie of choice and is just strawberries, banana and almond milk.

8 years ago we were in Holland for Easter and were served a toasted fruited bun with cheese in it which I loved.  I enjoyed my breakfast hot cross bun so much I had another one with cheese in it – a slice of Comte.  Absolutely delicious – you should try it sometime.  Cheese and hot cross buns are yummy.

At lunch time we headed to Vicky’s as she was hosting a party to celebrate her husband Peter’s birthday.  Happy birthday Peter.

Vicky organised a hog roast with a fantastic spread of side dishes.

It was fantastic.  I like hog roasts anyway and this one was particularly good.  The meat was tender and succulent and the crackling was super crispy.  There was home made apple sauce, a delicious stuffing, Dauphinoise Potatoes, green salad and coleslaw.  There was more too, including a whole salmon but my plate was full!

I really enjoyed every mouthful.  The pork was tip top and so was the potato and stuffing. It was one of those meals I could have eaten again but I saved room for dessert instead.  On the tables were these pretty baby bottles of grape hyacinth and daffodils – aren’t they cute?

Dessert was served at the table and I had pear and almond crumble with custard which was wonderful, followed by chocolate birthday cake.

Vicky always hosts amazing parties and this was no exception.  There was plenty of wine which I enjoyed while I chatted to some lovely people I have not seen for ages like Ben and Sam and Caroline and others who I see more often and always enjoy seeing, such as Jane and Mirella.

The boys, large and small, played cricket, as did some of the girls.  I carried on chatting and drinking.

I drank too much and ate too much today but hey, it’s Easter Sunday and I was at a party. I would say tomorrow will be better but I am out for lunch again.  Tuesday will definitely be better – it is already planned.

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Meeting Ted

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I felt still full and fat when I woke up today so I had a light and refreshing smoothie to start the day.  I was clearing out the fridge and ate up left overs, such as this half of a dragon fruit,

some grapes and an apple that had seen better days

and half a sachet of ground Flaxseeds.

Blended with some mineral water as I needed rehydrating and was trying to keep the fat and calories low.

It was fresh and fruity but probably not worth making again.

We all went to Lucy’s for lunch, to catch up, to celebrate her birthday and to meet Ted, the newest member of the family.

He is sooooo gorgeous.  Allegedly he is a miniature Labradoodle.  Lucy and I both have large Labradoodles and not wanting to worry Michelle, but, Ted looks bigger than ours did at that age – he is only 16 weeks old!!

Look at that gorgeous little face 🙂 .  We started with pink fizz, pitta bread and humous.

Followed by slow roast leg of lamb, couscous and salad.  It was delicious but for some crazy reason I forgot to take a photo.  So here’s another photo of gorgeous Ted instead.

All our children were at lunch with us today which is unusual these days and made the day more special.  The boys were elusive but here’s one of the gorgeous girls.

I brought dessert.  We had meringue, berry cream and Lara’s chocolate cakes (deja Vu) and an assortment of baklava to rekindle fond memories of our holiday in Turkey last year.

Followed by cheese, crackers and grapes Michelle brought.

Sally brought a very decadent chocolate cake

so we could sing to Lucy and celebrate her birthday.

We had such a fun day.  Now I am home, beached on the sofa again, watching a George Clooney film with Lara.  Welcome to the family Ted x.

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Over Eaters Are Us!

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Lose Weight and Gain Health

I had a really healthy and fun start to the day.  Harvey and I met Annette for a walk in the woods over the road.  Last time we walked my route and today we chose Annette’s.

I had no idea the woods went so far!  Or took us past so many pretty places.

It was lovely outside today.  It was sunny and bright with clear blue skies.  Just glorious and with such a lovely walking companion I could have kept going all morning.

After the walk we went back to Annette’s and she made us a delicious rhubarb smoothie.

It was so refreshing.  I really like the taste of rhubarb and this was my first of the year.  I will definitely try making this smoothie and then I will share the recipe with you.  We sat in Annette’s beautiful garden, enjoying the sunshine.  What a wonderful start to the day – a walk, lovely company and then a healthy smoothie.  Perfect 🙂

When I got home I rushed around preparing lunch because my sister Abi and her family were coming.  On the menu today was:

Chicken drumsticks for the younger kids which I coated in a mixture of tomato ketchup and mango chutney (a 50/50 mix), left to marinate and then baked at about 190 ° C for 40 minutes.

We had chicken too which I marinated in oil, lemon juice, garlic and fresh thyme.  Served with an orange and brown tomato salad, served undressed with a light sprinkling of salt and fresh oregano,

purple potato salad

and roasted vegetables.

Oh yes, and Prosecco.  I lurve Prosecco in the sunshine.

I really love easy lazy family days in the sunshine too.

Drinking, chatting, catching up.

As it is Easter weekend we did a sweet hunt in the garden.  Harvey can’t eat dairy so we hunted for sweets instead of chocolate eggs.

Result!

Just showing off my wonderful chard and spinach.  We didn’t eat any today but I admired it  🙂

And so to lunch.

Lunch was colourful and tasty.

If I had just eaten that one plateful I could have been proud of myself.  I did quite well before lunch and only had about 3 crisps with humous and several olives.  Oh, and some of Harvey’s sweets.  But then I sat and ate more potato salad and sausages.  Too many sausages.

Then it was dessert time.

I didn’t just have berries though.  Lara made some wonderful chocolate cakes using the recipe from The Telegraph for Chocolate Easter Flower Cakes.

They were rich and moist and very chocolatey and moreish.

We had these with meringue, berries and berry cream, which is whipped cream, in to which I stirred a mixed berry coulis.  I buy bags of frozen mixed berries and look for the ones with blackcurrants in as I love the taste of blackcurrants.  I heated them in a saucepan with 1/2 tbsp icing sugar and mashed them lightly.  When they were cool I stirred them in to the whipped cream.

I had more than one portion of meringue and berry cream.  Eventually we had gorged enough so we waddled our full bellies in to the sitting room and sprawled on the sofa.  Astonishingly, a few hours later we managed some cheese and biscuits.  To be honest I hardly had any but I did have some of the cheese I had bought yesterday in the market.

Well, I definitely over ate today and by the evening I was still too full and too tired to go to Suzanne’s drinks party which was a shame.  But I am beached on the sofa and likely to be here for quite some time.

Happy Easter.

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