Day 4 and I'm still going

Yes, it's day 4 of this current eating programme and I am still going, still sticking with it.

So what have I been eating?

Well, for instance, lets take today.

I had a repair man coming early so while I was dealing with that I had a banana.

After he had gone I had some very lean bacon (you probably have seen the sort that is JUST the oval from a slice of back bacon, with no fat at all, well it's that stuff), with grilled mushrooms and grilled tomatoes and a couple of microwaved eggs, since I am useless at poaching eggs.
(BTW this is by no means an every day breakfast but is allowed on the plan)

For lunch I had 4 ryvita (crispbread), with very low fat soft cheese, lean ham, mushrooms and tomatoes. Followed by a fruit very low fat yoghurt.

For dinner we will have chicken casserole.
Sliced carrots, onions, mushrooms, chopped peppers, herbs, tinned tomatoes and pearl barley.
Put skinned Chicken legs in an oven proof dish with all of that and cook until done.
Serve with baked potatoes (done at the same time) and steamed broccoli.
And then yoghurt and fruit for dessert.


Between meals is fruit and veg only. Today I had a few raw mushrooms.

Wordless Wednesday

My New Toy!

Will I use it? Have done so far! not every day but at least every other.

So, if you are taking part in Wordless Wednesday, sign the Mr Linky (if I can ever get it to work on here!), and go over to the host page for Wordless Wednesday and sign in there too!

UPDATE

Where am I? What have I been doing? What am I doing now?

1.) Still here!
2.) Eating too much and exercising too little.
3.) Paying for it and now doing something about it!

What?

Weightwatchers Core plan.

huh?
Yeah, I was like that. I've always been a points gal myself, but I thought I'd give Core a try and so far I'm just nearing the end of day 2.

So what is Core? No counting points! Well, almost no counting, I still have a few to use for those little extras.

About Core Foods and the Comfort Zone

Core Plan™ Guide

	Core foods are nutritious, and easy to remember. The foods on the list were chosen because of their energy density so they’ll make you feel fuller with fewer bites. That’s how the Core Plan works! Core Foods During mealtimes The Core Food List includes nutritious foods, from easy-to-understand Core food groups.

	Whole fruit, vegetables and fruits Whole-grain cereals without added sugar, nuts or dried fruits Lean meats, poultry, fish and eggs Soups (including ingredients only from Core Food List) Brown or wild rice, potatoes and grains Skimmed milk and low fat dairy products (listed in the complete Core Food List)

Use the complete Core Food List as a reference — it’s in your Plan Manager. It provides more specific details about exactly which foods are in each group, and additional details on some Core food daily limits. For recipes that include only Core Plan ingredients, look throughout the site for the Core Plan symbol. For snacks You’re free to have as much of the following as you need to feel satisfied until your next meal: Fruits and vegetables Weight Watchers Fruities Before you eat, ask yourself: Am I really hungry? Because of this, you’ll need to learn to recognise the way your body feels when it’s full, and the way it feels when it’s hungry. The trick is to stay within a Comfort Zone; don’t let yourself get overly hungry, or stuff yourself so you’re overly full.

That's the basics.
I'll try and find time to post later about what I've been eating so far.

Today's eating

Points Available - Officially 26, but I'm trying to eat at 20, since it's my first week back on the diet.

Breakfast - 2 slices of weightwatchers bread, toasted, lots of sauteed mushrooms. Glass of apple juice.

Lunch - sandwiches made with WW bread, and WW tuna and sweetcorn in mayo, cucumber, onion, tomato. Packet of crisps (chips) (only 2.5 points for the crisps)

Mid Afternoon -

DINNER - Should be - Turkey steaks with steamed veggies

Evening Snack - I'll probably grab a packet of sugar free mints when I am at the church meeting I'm going to tonight. I know I'm going to be up late and if I go too long without eating at least something I will feel nauseous.


Fluid -

Exercise - I'm guessing I will be dancing in worship tonight.

Menu Plan Monday

We're still using up the contents of our freezer around here.
Once that is done I can concentrate on more healthy meals, suitable for weight loss.

Monday 14th April
L - still not sure, I MIGHT be seeing a friend, so won't plan until I've heard from her.
D - Shepherd's Pie

Tuesday 15th April
L - tin of soup
D - Roast from Frozen Joint of pork (must remember to get it into the oven on time!)

Wednesday 16th April
L - Sandwich
D - Lemon, Chicken, Pasta.

Thursday 17th April
L - vegetable stir fry
D - Pork Chops, boiled potatoes, vegetables.

Friday 18th April
L - Veg curry
D - Spinach, potato and chick pea (garbanzo beans I think) curry.

Saturday 19th April
L - Usually something quick and easy
D - Chili Chicken

Sunday 20th April
L - Whatever I decide will get changed, so I won't bother.
D - Lamb Chops, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, stuffing.

So that's my menu!
Go check out other menu plans at Organizing Junkie.
And please, sign my Mr Linky.

Menu Plan Monday

Yes, it's that time of the week again, and although I managed to get my menu written on paper yesterday, it is already nearly 2pm and I don't have it on the computer yet, oops. Here goes.
We are aiming to use up freezer contents for this week and the start of next week, so that we can start really fresh on the healthy eating.

I've planned lunches (for this week at least), but not breakfasts, because whenever I do plan them I never end up sticking to the plan, so there's no point.

MONDAY - 7th
L - I had leftover vegetables in a cheese sauce.
D - Chicken Chili with rice and home made raita. I have a tub of home made base for the chilli from my freezer, enough for 2, but this stuff is way too hot (I put too much chili in to it), so I have to add things to it to coll it down and bulk it up to enough for 4. I was thinking about tinned tomatoes, but I can't see any of those in the cupboard. Hmmmm. I definitely plan to use natural yoghurt some how.

TUESDAY - 8th
L - Mushroom and sweet onion pasta (A WW recipe)
D - Golden drummers (pre formed turkey things), potato wedges, vegetables, lots of vegetables.

WEDNESDAY - 9th
L - Ham, Leek and pasta soup (another WW recipe)
D - Diced Turkey thigh in a jar of cooking sauce (which will depend on what we have in the cupboard and my mood that day), rice or pasta (depending on which sauce) and vegetables.

THURSDAY - 10th
L - Yesterday's soup (I'm making a double batch)
D - Minted Lam Burgers, home made potato wedges, or savoury rice, vegetables.

FRIDAY - 11th
L - Mushroom Curry (recipe on WW website)
D - Fish Pie

SATURDAY - 12th
L - I don't know what everyone else will have but I will have mushroom curry again.
D - Taco Meal Kit, with extra salad.

SUNDAY - 13th
L - I don't know, we never tend to decide this until we get home from church.
D - Roast from Frozen Pork Joint, stuffing, vegetables, gravy.

Go check out other menu planners at Organising Junkie. Sign the Mr Linky over there for sure, but why not sign mine while you are here, too.

Nigella's Pomegranate Ice Cream

Pomegranate Ice Cream from the wonderful Nigella Lawson, from her book of quick recipes.

You will need, 2 pomegranates, 175 grammes of icing sugar, 500ml of double cream and the juice of 1 lime.

First, remove the seeds from the pomegranate, carefully catching any juice, not letting it drip on the board as I did here!
There are two main ways of removing the seeds. First is illustrated above, slice the top off the pomegranate, then cut down the side at one of the seed bearing parts, and pick the seeds out that way.

The other way is to cut the pomegranate in half and WHACK the back of it with a wooden spoon. You get rid of any pent up aggression and the little seeds drop into your bowl (or jug as I used here).

Which eventually leaves you with an empty shell, like SO!

Put the seeds into a strong sieve (I had to do mine in batches the sieve was only small), and push the seeds against the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon until no more juice comes out. What's left in the sieve should look a bit like the photo above.

Add the juice of 1 lime. It really is a lime not a lemon, the lighting's not too good. Can you tell I cut it with the same knife I used to cut the pomegranates?

Add 175g of icing sugar. My friends across the globe might know this as powdered sugar or maybe confectioner's sugar, I'm not sure. And no, I don't know how many cups this is but there are plenty of conversion sites online. You should be able to work it out. Dissolve the sugar in the juice. I had lumps, so I just got my whisk out early and used it before I put the cream in and that did the trick just fine.

Add 500ml of double cream. I believe most of you would know this as heavy cream, and I do know that this is 2 cups.

Action shot time (and I think it came out well)! Whisk the mixture.

Until soft peak stage is reached.

Transfer the mixture to an airtight container. use a rubber spatula to get all the last bits out. Or maybe not. Last time I made this I licked the bowl instead! Heehee

Smooth the top of the mixture, fit the lid and pop in the freezer. Your ice cream will be ready in 4 hours. No churning, no breaking up of crystals, nothing like that. Simply remove from freezer, let sit for a couple of minutes before you scoop and then serve!

And don't forget all that fruit waste can be composted! I'll take this out to the compost bin later.

Menu Plan Monday

So, it's Menu Plan Monday, and boy am I late posting this. I wrote this menu yesterday and today. I actually wrote a menu for the next three weeks. YES 3! That's because the kids break up school this week, and then we have a two week break, and I like to know what I'm doing for meals during the breaks, as much as possible.

Have you written your menu plan for the week yet?
Why not give it a try, and then go join all the other menu plan Monday bloggers at Organizing Junkie. Sign the Mr Linky over there for sure, and maybe sign mine too!



Tu18th Usual School Day Stuff
Cheese on Toast
Fish Pie (use frozen mixed veg & fish in sauce)

We19th USDS
tin of something
Hearty Hamburger Tomato Stew (from freezer), pasta
J coming for drum kit at 4:45. Small group @7:30pm

Th20th USDS
Sandwich
Chicken in a jar of sauce, rice, veg

Fr21st Muffins - make using mix - jam flavour
Tortilla wraps on George foreman
KFC after Matt finishes
Good Friday Matt working 4pm - 7pm

Sa22nd Bacon Sarnies
Cheese on Toast
Mustard Pork Chops, Gnocchi or potatoes

Su23rd Toast, etc
Sarnies & Smoothies
Raclette!
Easter Sunday

Mo24th Crumpets, etc
Buffet type stuff left laid out on table.

Easter Monday Extreme home Makeover on tv all day, heeheeee, break out the tissues

Menu Plan Monday

It's been a few weeks I think, since I participated, but I'm back.
I haven't been sticking to my diet too well, but yesterday as part of getting back to that I wrote out my menu for the start of the week, so let's finish that up now.

MONDAY
B - WW bread, toasted, half with low fat butter spread, half with home made apple and ginger jam.
L - mushroom curry (need to go fetch a few things first) (make more than enough)
D - Hubby and boys having Pizza and chips (Fries) with vegetables.
I will be having a diet ready meal with extra veggies (purely because I need to clear some space in the freezer)

TUESDAY
B - cereal and milk
L - Tinned soup, bread
D - Hubby and boys - I shall do something I pick up from the supermarket this afternoon or find in the bottom of the freezer later (heehee). Rice and vegetables to go with.
I will be having mushroom curry with rice and vegetables

WEDNESDAY
B - yoghurt and fruit
L - Home Made Vegetable soup (using up what's left of last weeks veg box to make room for this weeks)
D - Cabbage Leeks and Bacon for everyone (i might cook mine separately so that I get less bacon to the same amount of cabbage)

THURSDAY
B - toast, and jam
L - home made vegetable soup
D - Hearty Hamburger Tomato Stew (OAMC recipe) for everyone.

FRIDAY
B - cereal and milk
L - yoghurt and fruit
D - Smoked Sausage Risotto

SATURDAY
B - As usual bacon sandwiches (I have xtra low fat bacon with WW bread)
L - Packed lunch (at conference all day). I'll probably take a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a packet of crisps (chips) and a pack of mints, with a bottle of something to drink.
D - I'll be either having a packed dinner as well, or eating out or going to a friends for dinner, won't know until later in the week.
Hubby and the boys will be having whatever they fancy from the freezer.

SUNDAY
B - Is uaually a free for all where I am so busy avoiding getting ready (hey at least I'm honest) that I run out of time for breakfast.
L - Soup and bread (I'll probably pop some part bake bread rolls into the oven)
D - Roast Chicken, roast potatoes and parsnips, other veg, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce

So that's me and my week!

Diet and weight loss moving along slowly but usually in the right direction.
Have mislaid my pedometer again, although I do have a spare it is chunkier and I've never even go tit out of the box, maybe it's time to do that!