The World according to Sog

Meal planning Monday: 20/2/12

2012-02-20T06:00:00.000Z

This week we're all back to normal. The kids are back at school and I'm back on the diet. I need to watch my food and drink intake for a couple of weeks because the past few days have been seen too much snacking and drinking of alcohol because my in-laws came to stay. I dread to think what the scales will say tomorrow. So I'm planning meals for me and meals for the family.

Monday
Exercise: Circuit training (AM)
My lunch: Prawn salad sandwich
Family tea: Sausages, eggs, baked beans and chips
My tea: Lentil soup

Greasy dinner for the family to use up leftover breakfast items from the weekend. I'm at a new circuit training class this morning so will want a good lunch but not so much for my tea.

Tuesday
Exercise: Running (PM)
My lunch: Scrambled eggs on toast
Family tea: Lamb stew with cauliflower cheese

We had an enormous leg of lamb last Sunday and have lots of meat left over. I'm going to boil the bone in a stock with potatoes and carrots, and serve with cauliflower cheese because my kids love that. I'll eat a smaller portion of this meal because I'm running tonight.

Wednesday
Exercise: Circuit training (PM)
My lunch: Spicy prawn couscous salad
Family tea: Baked potatoes with corned beef, cheese, and baked beans
My tea: Lentil soup

I can't eat anything too heavy before circuit training so I'll have a good lunch to make up for it.

Thursday
Exercise: Running (PM)
My lunch: Tuna pasta salad
Family tea: Chicken wraps

We have these with vegetables (eg, carrots and broccoli), a bit like fajitas but without the spice because the kids don't like that. A bit of chilli sauce for me and hubs (and extra peppers and onions) doesn't go amiss though :) I'm running tonight so will have one wrap when I get back.

Friday
My lunch: Vegetable soup
Family tea: Scampi and chips with peas or salad

I'm out tonight so I'll need something quick but filling to keep me going. I'm not planning on drinking too much though...

Saturday
Exercise: Running (AM)
Family tea: Pasta bolognaise and garlic bread

Sunday
Exercise: Running (AM)
Family lunch: Roast pork with all the trimmings
Family tea: Sandwiches

My mother-in-law "found" a half price loin of pork last weekend and put it in my freezer. She is a bargain-hunting genius.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans. Have a good foodie week!

Valentine's Schmalentine's

2012-02-14T08:02:00.000Z

I'm not especially romantic and I'm uncomfortable with overt affection. I attribute this feeling to embarrassment and disappointment from previous Valentine's days!

I remember when I was 5 and 6 sending my dad a card. Me and my sister would make it ourselves and draw a stamp on and then laugh and tell him the postman had come early. So very lovely and so much fun.

When I was 7 we moved to a new school. I received -- in the middle of class -- a Valentine's card from a boy, which I was so embarrassed about I ripped in half in front of him (he was mortified). Similarly, when I was 8 I received a card from a different boy in similar circumstances. I gave it to my friend to hide my embarrassment. He was also upset. (I'm a heartless bitch.) I started to fear Valentine's day after that!

At age 11, 12, and 15 I sent the same boy at school a Valentine's card, more through peer-pressure because my other friends were sending cards. He teased me so much about the last one I vowed never to send another card.

That never stopped me hoping for one. I remember one year, Valentine's day fell on a Saturday. I didn't get a card so I thought "maybe it'll come on Monday" (deluded). Of course it didn't.

When I was 16 and 17 I worked for Millets in Blackburn and remember receiving roses and cards from various admirers, including one boy who was so infatuated he turned a bit weird and I eventually had to leave work via the delivery bays to avoid him.

All relationships I was in never coincided with Valentine's day (too short-lived LOL), until I met my husband. That first year he sent me red roses and a Love Album CD; I didn't think to buy him anything until the day before, he ended up with a nice dinner and a Red Devil cuddly toy (which he still has). I still have the roses BTW, I dried them and they are in a box in my wardrobe.

Ever since then we've not done Valentine's. I think if you need one day in a year to show you love someone then you need help. I love random displays of affection! My husband (in the early days of our relationship) worked his way through the Interflora catalogue, but spontaneously. I remember coming home from a holiday to find a bouquet from him (and my mum in tears at the gesture!).

So I say, don't wait for one day in a year to come round. Take your partner out randomly. Bring flowers home one day. Cook a nice meal. Buy wine and watch a film together. Don't wait for a cold day in February.

Right, lecture over, I'm off to bake a cake in the shape of a heart and make my hair look nice...

Meal planning Monday: 13/2/12

2012-02-13T14:26:00.000Z

Happy Monday! It's half term for us this week so I've included lunches too (for me and the kids). I need to jump back on the healthy-eating-diet bandwagon, and we have visitors from Thursday in the form of my in-laws, so not too much meal planning for the end of the week because we'll be out and about.

Monday
Lunch: Homemade spicy lentil and carrot soup
Tea: Lamb hotpot with vegetables (probably sprouts and/or peas)

I found stewing lamb in the freezer so thought this would be nice and easy for today. My diet-friendly version includes more veg, less lamb (which is a hideously fatty piece as I've just discovered).

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheesy pasta and broccoli (soup for me)
Tea: Homemade Nandos!

It's Valentine's day today. We rarely go romantic and gooey, but I do like to cook hubs something he likes. He's expressed a desire for "something spicy, a bit like Nandos", so Nandos it is ;) Will cook chicken legs in Nandos Hot marinade with chips and Greek feta salad. And maybe sweetcorn. And spicy olives *drool* (I'm running tonight -- yes I know, how romantic -- so I'll have a chicken feta salad when I get back).

Wednesday
Lunch: Risotto
Tea: Baked potatoes with slow-cooked barbecue pork for hubs and cheese and bean toasties for the kids

It's swimming lessons today so we still need something easy for tea. The risotto is to fill us up before swimming, and then the kids and I can have something small later while hubs gets a tea full of love :) I'm also out later at circuit training so I don't like to eat anything too heavy, might have a salad or something.

Thursday
Steak pie, mash, and vegetables

My in-laws love my pies :)

Friday and Saturday
Probably eating out

Sunday
Roast chicken or beef

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans. And please leave a comment if you have anything to ask.

Meal-planning Monday: 6/2/12

2012-02-07T11:52:00.000Z

Bit late planning this week's meals, mainly because both my children are poorly so I'm dithering a bit about what to cook. Anyway, here's my plan.

Monday
Homemade chicken curry and rice

Tuesday
Fish, chips, and peas

Wednesday
Homemade beef and bean chilli with baked potatoes

Thursday
Meatballs, mash, peas, broccoli, carrots, and gravy

Kids have their friends over for tea. *Must provide vegetables.*

Friday
Roasted chicken legs, chips, and salad

Nothing very exciting this week. Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for other meal plans and ideas.

Myfitnesspal

2012-02-02T06:30:00.000Z

I've been using myfitnesspal.com since April 2011. I was a bit skeptical about using a diet tracker to help with my weight loss, because I'd been doing so well without calorie counting up to that point. But I really rate it for helping to keep me on track and avoiding snacking.

You sign up with personal details such as current weight, age, and sex, and provide information about your weight loss goals and activity level (always best to select sedentary unless you are a PE teacher or professional dog walker). The site gives you a target calorie intake for the day (usually between 1200 and 1640 calories, if you're a woman and trying to lose weight, or above this if you're a man or trying to maintain).

The food database is very extensive, you shouldn't need to add too many items yourself, and there's a barcode scanner for those people who always wanted to work on a checkout. *cough* Anyway, I find it's a really good way to keep track of my diet and I can see if I've splurged somewhere and if I need to drink water for the rest of the day!

If you have friends using the app (the site is accessible via Android and iPhone mobile versions) you can chat in the community section, which is a lovely way to provide encouragement. The website has helped me get back to my lowest weight after I had a few heavy months around Christmas (and I stopped using the site). I can't rate it highly enough.

Let me know in the comments if you have experience of using this site or others similar. And let me know if you'd like to add me as a friend :)

January run review

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000Z

January is now over and done with, and what a long, cold, dark month it was. No snowy or icy runs thankfully (I'm still to try out the ice grips my sister bought me for Christmas), but plenty of wet and cold ones.

My aim this year is to run 1000 miles in total, so I've been keeping track of all my miles run on my Garmin Connect page. To achieve 1000 miles I need to run about 83 miles a month.

Week 1: 21 miles

Week 2: 19 miles

Week 3: 20 miles

Week 4: 14 miles (missed my long run due to illness)

Week 5: 14 miles (2 days in this 'week')

Total: 88 miles

Slightly above where I need to be, which I'm really pleased about. Some good long runs in February and no injuries or illnesses will bring me above average next month. Might get a 2-week holiday in the summer if I'm lucky ;)

Apostrophe fail #1

2012-01-31T16:39:00.001Z

Oh dear Kevin.

Meal-planning Monday: 30/01/12

2012-01-30T11:27:00.000Z

Morning! It's a cold cold Monday, so I'm trying to think of warming meals we can have for our tea this week. I'm still attempting to get my weight down to pre-Christmas levels, so my aims are for healthy yet hearty.

Monday
Poached salmon with mashed potatoes and sweetcorn salad

Tuesday
Pork steaks, cauliflower cheese, and homemade potato wedges

Wednesday
Baked potatoes with beans and cheese or leftover cauliflower cheese

Thursday
Fish, chips, and mushy peas

Friday
Lamb koftas in pittas with Greek salad and yoghurt dressing

Quite a lot of potato this week, other carbohydrate sources are available.

Please don't forget to click the link to Mrs M's blog and check out the other meal plans. And leave a comment if you have any suggestions or questions for me.

A landmark day

2012-01-29T17:27:00.000Z

If you visited my home some time over the past 2 years, and used my downstairs toilet, this photo will make a lot of sense.

Perhaps in the next 2 years, hubs might take it down and put it up straight. Who knows?

Meal-planning Monday: 16/01/12

2012-01-16T18:28:00.001Z

Last week's plan went really well, except we didn't have colcannon because we ran out of potatoes (slight planning fail). This week I've bought 5 kg of potatoes so that should never happen again...

This week, I planned the meals and then hubs replanned them for me.

Monday
Homemade chicken soupy stew

Made with leftover roast chicken from Sunday and lots of vegetables. Always goes down well.

Tuesday
Cod roe, chips, and mushy peas

This is a "hubs request". I simply cannot stand roe, but since it's running club tonight I'll make myself a mushroom risotto when I get home.

Wednesday
Mexican beef chilli with rice and pittas

I've got casserole beef in the freezer so I thought I'd make chilli with that. I found this recipe on BBC Good Food, although I'm quite familiar with how to cook chilli... And I don't need to feed 15 people.

Thursday
Fish pie or Salmon, mash, and salad

There's a tug o' war going on between me and hubs about what to cook tonight. He declares he hates fish pie. But the kids like it, and we've not had it for a while. And surely salmon and mash are the main constituents of fish pie?

Friday
Toad in the hole with peas and gravy

Another hubs request. I'm going to attempt a new Yorkshire pudding recipe with this, comes highly recommended, together with strict instructions to sift the flour. I always sift my flour, but recommended sifting means it must be done, on pain of rubbish puds.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more recipes, ideas, and meal plans.

Meal-planning Monday: 09/01/12

2012-01-09T21:23:00.000Z

It's the second week in January and by now everyone is a probably running a bit short on cash while trying to keep up with their resolutions. So, this week's meal plan is based on what we have left in the freezer and cupboards, a make do and mend sort of week.

Monday
Lancashire hotpot with cauliflower cheese

Should have had this last weekend but we ate out Saturday so I moved it to today.

Tuesday
Hot and spicy chicken with chips and peas

This meal is fresh out of the freezer. Peas give the illusion of healthiness.

Wednesday
Baked potatoes with tuna mayo, or cheese and baked beans (or all three!)

Thursday
Bacon with colcannon

We have a savoy cabbage to use up so I thought I'd make this. I'm going to lie and tell my kids I mixed sprouts in with the mash. They'll never know.

Friday
Steak, chips, and salad

I'm out tonight so this is a treat dinner for hubs.

I'm going to leave the weekend free because we never seem to stick to my menu, other than the Sunday roast. Sadly the only offering of fish on the menu this week is tinned tuna, but at least there is some fish there. I might change it to prawn mayo if I'm feeling like splashing out midweek.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans and recipe ideas.

Meal-planning Monday: 02/01/12

2012-01-02T00:24:00.001Z

My first meal plan for 2012! I'm so ready to eat some "normal" food. And I really need to shift the christmas weight.

Monday
Vegetable soup with crusty bread

Tuesday
Thai green chicken curry and rice

Wednesday
BBQ shredded pork with homemade potato wedges

Thursday

Bacon, egg, and mushroom sandwiches

Friday
Salmon, mash, and salad

Saturday
Lancashire hotpot

Sunday
Roast chicken

My second attempt at this week's menu since I wrote my first very early this morning! Much healthier and balanced. Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans.

2011 monthly run total

2012-01-01T23:12:00.001Z

Jan 11
Feb 40
Mar 54
Apr 66
May 93
Jun 89
Jul 107
Aug 69
Sep 67
Oct 85
Nov 77
Dec 52

Total 810 miles (thought I'd run 820 but must be a few runs missing from Garmin Connect)

Monthly average 68 miles

2012 resolutions

2012-01-01T00:38:00.001Z

It feels so strange to be writing this blog post. I remember so clearly last year, writing my aims for the year! So, my resolutions. Nothing too hard because I just won't keep it up.

1) Maintain my healthy lifestyle
A given really. I can't go backwards. But writing it down helps keep me focussed.

2) Run 1000 miles
This challenge was set by Pete at running club. I accept the challenge!

3) Write a letter to my aunt and grandma once a month
I hope I won't forget to do this. It's not hard to write a letter, and I know how much they are appreciated.

4) Post a photo a day on my blog or Picasa
I wanted to do this last year but didn't think about it until mid January!

5) Everything in moderation!
Drinking, eating, tweeting. It's an all-inclusive resolution.

Retrospective

2011-12-31T22:29:00.000Z

I began 2011 in style: drunk, full of nice food, and a spectacular failure at darts. I also looked like this.

FAT ME!

Later in the day, possibly drunk again, I wrote a blogpost with my resolutions for the year.

1) Join the local running club

I did that! I liked running so much I ran 820 miles this year. Including three 10K races (Flitwick in April and Standalone and Stanley Park in October) and two half marathons (Fleetwood in August and Stevenage in November). I'm really proud of what I've achieved. And I'm so grateful because I've met some fantastic people this year who I hope will become good friends. They sure do put up with me and my nagging/bossiness :) If you're looking to start running you can't go wrong with Stotfold Runners.

RUNNING ME!

2) Eat healthily and encourage my children to try new tastes

I did this too! I've learnt so much about healthy eating and nutrition this year. I began the year eating smaller portions to lose weight, but as I progressed with my weight loss I began to cut out certain foods and think about the times when I ate. It's not been easy by a long shot. I spent a lot of February and March eating separately from my family, or eating a different meal. I was slightly depressed about it if I'm honest. Anyway, I got through it. With help and advice from friends on Twitter, I learnt about good fats and when to eat protein and carbohydrates, and tried some recommended new foods (eg, mussels, mackerel, and scallops, which are all excellent sources of protein and good fats, and are low calorie too).

My children have benefited too; they tried Thai food, different seafood (including scallops, which they love), and now put in requests for their tea, such as risotto. I'm proud of them both this year.

I've embraced Meal-Planning Monday with a passion, and this is helping me to keep track of what we eat, making sure we include some fish at least once a week, and trying not to eat chips too many times! I started meal planning after I was constantly asked by friends and on Twitter what I ate to lose weight. During the summer it became a source of entertainment as I struggled to plan around the kilos of green beans we produced at the allotment.

3) Spend more time in the garden

We have certainly spent a lot of time outside this year. But sadly the garden has been neglected in favour of our allotment. We became tenants in January but didn't really get going until April. We got a lot of food out of it this year, potatoes, courgettes, green beans... Lots of tomatoes, baby corn, and kale. I can't wait to get started in 2012. I have a separate blog for my allotment, it's a bit sparse of content...

HELPING!

4) Be more thoughtful when making decisions that affect others

I'd like to think I achieved this. I've definitely asked my husband before agreeing to do things or go places. A few times... at least. Three out of four isn't too bad.

2011 has been awesome. I think 2012 could be much better. I sure hope so :) Happy New Year xx

Festive running

2011-12-28T14:55:00.000Z

I've been away for a week over the Christmas period, but I didn't want to miss out on my weekly runs, if only to try and minimise any weight gains from the excesses of Christmas.

On the Friday before Christmas I dragged myself out for a 6 mile flat run around Stanley Park. It was raining and windy but I wanted to burn some calories and get a bit of fresh air while I could. The park was very muddy and waterlogged, so I came back to my mother-in-law's house with very dirty trainers (and legs!).

Tuesday after Christmas I had a lovely short run with my sister. I'd bought her some Nike running gear for Christmas so this was a good chance for her to test it out. We ran 3 miles from Great Harwood towards Whalley and back, through the River Calder valley, so there were a couple of lovely hills to run up and down. She doesn't usually run for longer than 30 minutes, so she did well. Hopefully she can train a bit more now so next time I visit we can have a longer run together.

Today (Wednesday), I wanted to run the 6 mile loop around Hyndburn that I ran earlier in the year. This loop goes from Great Harwood, up several steep hills into Clayton-le-Moors, and back down and up several more hills into Rishton, and home. Very tiring, very cold, very worth it. The views of the hills are breathtaking, despite the industrial bleakness dotted around.

The 800 mile challenge results

2011-12-16T22:39:00.000Z

Earlier in the year I blogged about a challenge my friend Abbie set: to cover 800 miles in a year, whether by walking, running, swimming, cycling, however you fancy.

I wasn't convinced I'd cover the distance, but training for two half marathons and three 10K races sure racks up the miles. I stopped including the half mile walk to school and back I do twice daily around April (I got bored!).

So, I've passed 800 miles! 779 miles running, 17 miles cycling, and (at least) 15 miles walking. I'd quite like to pass the 800 miles mark for just running, and I think I can achieve that before the end of the year.

21 miles to go.

Sog's chicken curry

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000Z

I promised yesterday I would blog the recipe for this curry. It's adapted from one by Delia Smith.

The idea is that it uses up leftover roast chicken, but for the amount of chicken Delia says you need, you'd have to only eat the wings on a standard chicken! I adapt the recipe to include whatever vegetables I have, and more veg if I don't have much chicken. Or you could actually cook chicken breasts first, that would work :)

Sog's chicken curry (serves 2)

Leftover roast chicken (I aim for one chicken breast and 'a bit')
Various vegetables (I usually use an onion, a pepper, and a handful of mushrooms, but I've used cauliflower and mini corn before)
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp plain flour
2-3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp chilli (optional)
3/4 pint of chicken stock
salt and pepper
Spray oil

Fry veg in a little oil for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the chicken, garlic, flour, all the spices, and salt and pepper and stir to combine. Gradually add the stock until everything is mixed and there are no lumps. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

12 days of fitness: a challenge

2011-12-12T13:48:00.001Z

In the run up to Christmas, my friend Pete (a personal trainer who leads the running club I go to and the circuit class I also attend) is setting his PT clients and Twitter and Facebook followers a 12 days of fitness challenge. I'm going to take part and update this blog daily with the challenges and results.

Day 1
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

My time: 1:44.

Day 2
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

26 dips and 1:50 plank. Ouch!

Day 3
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

50 squats, 39 dips (found a better place at home to do these), and 1:31 plank. Bit wobbly now.

Day 4
1 minute abdominal crunches
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

52 crunches, 56 squats, 40 dips, 1:02 plank.
My legs are feeling sore now (I've also run 5 miles today) and my shoulders are starting to feel the dips. But, really enjoying the challenge.

Day 5
1 minute running on the spot
1 minute abdominal crunches
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

58 crunches, 59 squats, 42 dips, 1:26 plank.
Look at me go beating yesterday's times! Unsure if this is due to the lateness I did the challenge (I usually remember to do it after I've just eaten) or whether I'm especially awesome today. Anyway, my shoulders and triceps are really hurting and my legs shake everytime I stand up. This can only be a good thing. Oh, and a run tomorrow morning. That will be fun.

Day 6
1 minute press ups
1 minute running on the spot
1 minute abdominal crunches
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

30 press ups (10 full, 20 3/4), 55 crunches, 58 squats, 33 dips, 1:04 plank. I've also run 6 miles today, so I'm a bit achey and sore.

Day 7
Hold a side plank for a long as you can (alternate sides daily)
1 minute press ups
1 minute running on the spot
1 minute abdominal crunches
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

I missed today because of family commitments.

Day 8
1 minute of back extensions (not to be counted or rushed)
Hold a side plank for a long as you can (alternate sides daily)
1 minute press ups
1 minute running on the spot
1 minute abdominal crunches
1 minute of bodyweight squats
1 minute of tricep dips.
Hold a plank for as long as you can.

Right side plank 1:13, 25 press ups (7 full), 47 crunches, 56 squats, 32 tri dips, plank 1:06.

Meal-planning Monday: 12/12/11

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000Z

It's a busy week for us: last week of the school term, various parties, and it's my daughter's birthday too. So lots to plan around.

Monday
Fish finger sandwiches

Tuesday
Homemade chicken curry and rice

I'll blog the recipe for this, it's a favourite.

Wednesday
Spaghetti bolognaise

Thursday
Pizza and chips

It's my daughter's birthday today. She loves pizza, so this is especially for her.

Friday
Steak pie

Weekend
Leaving free

Looks horribly unhealthy doesn't it? Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans and ideas.

Meal planning Monday: 5/12/11

2011-12-05T09:36:00.001Z

My first meal plan for December! Such a busy time of year; this week we have two evening school play performances to work around, plus a night out for me :)

Monday
Leftover chilli with rice, garlic bread, and salad

The carbohydrate police will be onto us with this meal. Anyway, I've added salad because we have tomatoes and cucumber hanging around, and I like salad with chilli. I'm odd, just live with it.

Tuesday
Leftover roast beef, with mash and veg

I'm out tonight so I've planned a sympathy meal. It's Beavers too, but with leftover beef and only mash to prepare, this tea should be quick and easy.

Wednesday
Beans on toast

We're all out tonight for son's school play, so we need something quick and easy to eat.

Thursday
Bacon, egg, and chips

Son has another school play performance tonight. I'm hoping to be let out to go running so I'm making a nice tea ;)

Friday
Leaving free

Hubs has the day off today so we'll probably do something nice in the evening *hopeful face*

Weekend
We will definitely fit a roast in on Sunday and I fancy cooking a gammon too (it is nearly Christmas), so we might have that on Saturday. Nothing fixed yet though.

No fish this week so I'll try and fit that into our lunches. That will go down well at school! Nothing especially imaginative this week, oh well.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans and ideas.

Medical eponyms

2011-11-29T13:56:00.001Z

I've spent a lot of time today on a useful website called whonamedit.com,which contains details about medical eponyms---diseases named after the doctor or doctors who discovered an illness. One of my favourite jobs as a lowly medical editor (back in the day...) was working on medical eponyms. These were articles containing a case report and description of a disease, and then a biography of the doctor.

The most interesting eponym I edited was on Munchausen's syndrome. This was not strictly an eponym because the disorder was not named after the first doctor to describe the disorder but rather after the character Baron von Munchausen, by a doctor called Richard Asher. Supposedly, Baron Munchausen not only travelled by cannonball but also formed a pair of broad wings. Clever chap.

No jokes about big balls please

Eponyms are quite fascinating to me, as someone who has studied etymology (word origins) as part of my work. This site is worth browsing for a few minutes if you are ever bored ;)

My first proper running injury

2011-11-28T18:41:00.001Z

I guess it was inevitable I would pick up a serious running injury at some point, since I'm running so much these days.

When I first started running I remember an especially tough club run (fast, and a longer distance than I was used to). The next day my toes, feet, and ankles hurt so much and continued to hurt for the next 3 days. Fortunately I saw my sister, who is a physiotherapist, during that period, and she assessed my injury, diagnosed overpronation, gave me some exercises for my feet. She also told me to get a proper pair of running shoes, which I obediently did the next week!

I've been fine the rest of the year. I've had the odd niggle, but I've always put that down to dodgy knees or too many squats at circuit training! My routine now is to run twice during the week with my running club friends, and then on my own at the weekend, on Saturday morning (my long-run day) and Sunday afternoon (4-6 miles).

This weekend my in-laws were visiting, so I'd swapped around my runs. I ran 5 miles Saturday afternoon while tea was cooking, and then I planned an 8-mile run for Sunday afternoon during the F1. 2 hours of Sunday morning were spent digging my allotment, not something I'd planned to do!

The first 6 miles of my run were really great, nice consistent 9:15 pace (see the data pasted below). I'd got a bit confused about the route to take to make my run 8 miles, so by 6 miles I was in the centre of Letchworth with another 4 miles to run! And that's when the pain started in my left knee. Halfway up a hill, I got a sharp pain in the side of my knee. I stopped and tried to bend my leg, massaged it a bit, and tried to carry on. The pain was so acute I couldn't put any weight on my leg. I hobbled up the hill for about a third of a mile (not quite crying, but very close!) then attempted to run again. Still couldn't put weight on my leg. I could manage a walk though, so I carried on as fast as I dared. By the edge of Letchworth, and after nearly a mile of walking, I decided I would have to grin and bear the pain to get myself home. I managed no more than 11 min miles, which I recalled was the fastest I could run back in February and March.

I kept expecting (hoping) to see my husband driving the streets looking for me, since I was at least 30 mins over the time I'd given him. But he hadn't even noticed I'd been out for a long time! And he told me to stop moaning when I got in!

So here I am, lying on the sofa, leg strapped up with a tight compression bandage, and two bags of frozen peas in the freezer with my name on them. Hoping that I'll be OK by Friday for a quick test run around the village. Really really hoping.And really hoping the "worse case scenarios" my physio sister was describing aren't what has actually happened.

Meal-planning Monday: 28/11/11

2011-11-28T12:15:00.001Z

I'm not very prepared this week. I've normally planned and written my meal plan on Sunday, but it's now lunchtime on Monday.

Really don't want to spend too much on food this week. We've had a busy few weekends with guests, so lots of money has been spent on nice foodie bits. I also have 8 pints of milk because no-one has been drinking it lately and I keep forgetting to cancel the orders! The freezer is full of half packs of everything too.

Monday
Bacon, egg, chips, and beans

Hubs' request, and I never say no to a polite request. Although I have to admit I'm not feeling the bacon love at the moment, so I might have a salad. EDIT: We had prawn salad and chips! Very tasty :)

Tuesday
Chicken, baked potatoes, and cauliflower cheese

Wednesday
Fish pie

Thursday
Chilli and rice

Friday
Toad in the hole

I've not planned the weekend's meals yet. It was hard enough planning to Friday! Managed to get a pie in, and it's one we've not had for a long time too. Hope the kids like it. Going to make a rice pudding too, to use up the milk. Not made one of those for years!

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more ideas.

Meal-planning Monday: 21/11/11

2011-11-21T09:23:00.001Z

Morning world. Another Monday means another weekly meal plan. I promised two pies this week because of last week's pie absence. Not sure that's healthy or possible. I've also promised my husband MEAT since he had to eat scallops and salmon at the weekend.

Here goes...

Monday
Homemade chicken and vegetable soup with crusty rolls

This is something I've not made for months. I used to always make a stewy soup from leftover roast chicken. Anyway, it's winter and its back. Hurrah.

Tuesday
Fish, chips, and mushy peas

It's Beaver night. What can I say? I lack imagination.

Wednesday
Lancashire hotpot

I'll be making a variation on the James Martin recipe because I've never used dripping to cook with and I dislike kidney with a passion.

Thursday
Chicken with couscous

My children have requested couscous and I'm always happy to oblige a polite request. I'll make some sort of variation on this Moroccan-inspired recipe, without the fruit because my husband is averse to fruit in his main meal.

Friday
Cottage pie

I'm out in London town. My in-laws are visiting. This combination means I have to make dinner so that I don't get talked about in an unfriendly way.

Saturday
Leaving free

Sunday
Roast dinner (yet to be decided)

Two pies! Lots of meat! A child's request fulfilled. I am a genius.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog either for other ideas and link-ups.

Meal-planning Monday: 14/11/11

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000Z

The weeks are flying by at the moment. There's so much to fit in with school events and evening activities, and now pre-Christmas family visits are approaching. (Arrghh, Christmas. I've not given much though to that! *slightly scared*)

Anyway, this weekend my parents are visiting, so my meal plan has to incorporate their dietary requirements. My mum tries to eat a vegetarian diet if she can, or at least no red meat, and my dad is on a low-fat diet.

Monday
Chicken and broccoli pasta bake (using up leftover roast chicken from Sunday)

Tuesday
Fish fingers, chips, and beans (Beaver night! Easy tea needed)

Wednesday
Braising steak with mash and veg

Thursday
Baked potatoes

Friday
Scallop and vegetable risotto (Sog concoction)

One day I'll remember to blog the recipe for this!

Saturday
Poached salmon with boulangere potatoes and veg

Sunday
Roast chicken

No pie this week :( I'll have to plan two for next week to make up for it.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more ideas.

Sunday run: 13/11/11

2011-11-13T08:56:00.001Z

My 3-year-old daughter woke up at 6:50 am this morning and crawled into our bed, so I got up and decided to go for a run (I was planning to go at 7:30 anyway). Today I was trying out my new New Balance long-sleeve top. It's pink and very comfortable, so highly recommended for people who run and who like pink :)

I decided not to look at my Garmin for the entire run. I just wanted to run comfortably and see how I went, not to be bothered about pace or time. Felt good for the first two miles, then started to get pain in my knee, so I slowed down a bit. I'd had ankle pain the evening before but this didn't bother me at all. I went into a bit of a trance on the way back home, possibly the huge red sun hanging over the village was mesmerising me! Or the fact I was nearly home and was a bit tired!

Anyway, I've just looked at my stats and I'm really surprised and pleased. Consistent pace around 9 minute miles. The last half a mile was a bit slower because I took it easy through the village (and had to stop for cars).

Perhaps I should ignore my Garmin more often?!

Saturday run: 12/11/11

2011-11-12T09:50:00.001Z

Woke up a bit late this morning (7:30!!) so had to sort the kids out before I could go running. I was eager to try out my new running gear; today I tried out my new hi-viz pink jacket :) Probably didn't need it because I was Sweaty at the end. But it's going to be great when the weather gets very cold.

Anyway, I decided to head onto The Greenway for a quick 4 miles. I took the first mile easy to warm up (9:38), stopping to admire seven grouse in a field. I know they were grouse only because they matched the picture on the whisky bottle. I'm definitely not alcoholic though.

Mile 2 was a bit slower, The Greenway was muddy (and uphill), and I stopped for a walk because I had pain in my "lower abdomen". The downside of having *some* medical knowledge is you start to think everything is terrible. So I'm thinking "prolapse" and then after a minute decided I just needed a wee.

During mile 3 I ran past the field where I'd previously seen A Lovely Horse. This reminded me of Father Ted, and I spent the next few minutes humming the song to myself.

Mile 4 was much faster, mainly because I was back on the road and nearly home.

Living the American Dream: part 7

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000Z

The seventh stop on our American Road Trip is our final one.

May 10-12, 2003: Los Angeles

We set off early from Lake Havasu not wanting to miss too much of the day. Our route took us along Route 66 (Topock to Barstow). We were stopped by the police at the border with California and questioned about our itinerary and fruit and vegetables. That was fun. *safety first*

After another McDonald's breakfast at Barstow (I like them, yum yum), we drove into LA on the I-15. Six lanes wide each carriageway, this road means business. It was busy busy, and we were glad to arrive at our hotel, which was SWANKY! Lovely end to the holiday.

Me and hubs being as we are, we didn't rest, and jumped into the Jeep and headed to Hollywood. We enjoyed the best burger of the holiday (or we could've just been hungry) at Wendy's on Sunset Boulevard (living the high life). Living dangerously, we parked on a very dodgy side street just off Hollywood Boulevard, then checked out the Walk of Fame, Mann's Chinese Theatre, and the Kodak Theatre.

Beatles on the Walk of Fame

Kodak Theatre (surprisingly)

Mann's Chinese Theatre

Tom Hanks has girl-size hands

If only Ric looked like Sean Connery too ;)

Slight sci-fi geeky explosion of excitement

Only in LA

We also saw one of the Backstreet Boys singing at a show by the Kodak Theatre, but no idea who it was or what the show was for, maybe he just liked singing.

We spent a bit of time driving around looking for the Hollywood sign, and the best place to take a photo. We got very close, and found some very exclusive houses while we were at it. Eventually, I had to jump out of the car to take this photo, and nearly got squashed in the process.

Squint or you'll miss it

Bit of random driving around on the way back, down Firestone Boulevard. I can't even remember why we thought that would be a good idea. Took us through some scary areas of LA. But, we "saw" LA, and that was a good thing.

Day 2 saw us head to Disney's California Adventure. The rumours are true, it is rubbish. We got a bus from our hotel and arrived early, managing to avoid the queues and FastPass our way around the rides. Soarin' Over California was excellent, but I cried all the way around California Screamin'. I think I got whiplash too because instead of the nice gentle start you get for most rollercoasters, this one rockets you up at the beginning. I was not ready and I moaned quite a lot as a result.

We left soon afterwards (not because of me, hubs has issues with spinning rides, it's his own fault) and spent the afternoon baking beside the gorgeous hotel pool. And a very delicious and expensive dinner was the perfect end to our honeymoon.

Here endeth the American Road Trip. Thanks for reading.

Meal planning Monday: 07/11/11

2011-11-07T10:12:00.000Z

It's a very damp Monday today. Makes me crave warming food like mash and gravy. Mmmm.

I'm writing this post the day after my half marathon. I'm aching and still very tired. Eating food is the last thing I want to do, although it's very important for recovery. So I've had a think about what I need to eat and what will fit in best with our family activities this week.

Tuesday is a busy day because it's Parent's Evening followed by Beavers, this week my son "gets his woggle". All very exciting. On Wednesday it's the kids' swimming lessons, yes I've doubled my swimming pain and will be at the pool for a whole hour on Wednesdays. On Saturday my son is at the hospital for an appointment, so a home-cooked meal won't happen (anyway, I missed my Indian takeaway on Sunday because it was Eid). So here's the plan.

Monday
Sausages, mash, veg, and gravy

Tuesday
Beans on toast

Wednesday
Fish, chips, and peas

Thursday
Spaghetti bolognaise

Friday
Chicken enchiladas

Saturday
Takeaway :)

Sunday
Roast dinner

Right, now I can go shopping for everything :(

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog later to see what she's having this week and everyone else who's linked up.

Stevenage Half Marathon

2011-11-06T16:11:00.001Z

I'm writing this in a semi-drunken and very sleepy state. So please forgive any spelling mistakes...

So, November 6th, 2011. The 25th Stevenage Half Marathon. I signed up to run this event at the last minute (last minute for me!). I usually like to have several months to prepare for races but I only signed up for this a few weeks ago. I was "race-ready" though, because after finishing Fleetwood I wanted to maintain the distance I'd trained up to, so I'd been running 8 and 10 miles as recreation. I know, I'm mad.

A few other members of Stotfold Runners were running the event, Ed and Scott, and it was lovely to have them and their families around for support during the race and at the end. (My family are a bit "race-fatigued", this is my 5th race this year, so they stayed at home.) So huge thanks to them, and to Scott's family for driving me there and back and looking after me :)

So, my previous PB for a half marathon was 1:52:40 and my "secret aim-for time" for this race was 1:50:00. I really wanted to beat my PB but I wasn't sure I could because the Stevenage course was more undulating than Fleetwood. This course was run on underpasses and cycleways around Stevenage, and through Fairlands Valley Park, so lots of hills and slopes! But, with up bits come down bits as I always tell myself. We ran two laps of the course, the second lap being slightly longer through the Park.

I started slowly because I'm always being advised (nagged) by Pete L from running club to start slowly and build up speed. First two miles were comfortable, then I remembered I wanted to get a good time! So I started to up my pace. I took my energy gel at 5 miles (just after I ran past Burger King) and just before the second water station. I had a few slower miles after this, possibly because I was on lap 2 and it was a bit more uphill and a bit of a psychological downer. But I sped up through the Park (although I was overtaken twice), and got a lovely boost when I saw Ed's wife cheering me on! When I passed Burger King again I had a "moment" when I remembered being fat in January and I decided to really try and crack sub 1:50. So my last few miles were corkers. I'm not sure where my energy came from, or why I didn't fall over.

And I should say that I really hate finishing on a running track, those last few metres are killers. But when I heard "Come on Sarah!" shouted by Scott's wife Julie I found enough energy to sprint. I even heard another runner mutter "great finish" as I passed him :)

We got no cake at the end :( I hate bananas. I ate the banana I was given, but I hate bananas. Got a lovely silver shoe trophy though :)

Race data are below. Time was 1:49:54! Sub 1:50!!! *big smiley face* Position 307 (whoop). And, Scott finished sub 2:05, Ed sub 2:10. Well done to them :)

*sore legs*

*bit tired*

*need a sleep*

*looking forward to India Lodge takeaway later*

Living the American dream: part 6

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000Z

May 9-10, 2003: Lake Havasu City, AZ

We only had one day at Lake Havasu, so we set off early from Scottsdale. It was a beautiful morning, and we made great time, even managing to fit in a McDonald's breakfast. (McDonald's restaurants in the USA are completely different to those in the UK (much more choice, better cooked food, still full of fat though).

So many McDonald's to choose from. Map not to scale.

At one point on the Highway we drove through a swarm of butterflies, which obviously became all dead and squashed on the windscreen of the Jeep. Was a very very strange sight, bit grim, bit interesting from a science geek point of view.

Lake Havasu is situated on the Colorado River, on the border of Arizona and California, and is popular for watersports and fishing. It is somewhat famous because some rich American dude bought the old London Bridge and moved it to the city.

We had a walk around and checked out the city sights (ie, "English Village with pub"). The whole area felt like an unfinished development, bit odd really.

We hired a jet-ski for a few hours to pass the time and headed along the Colorado River towards Parker Dam. That was so much fun, we saw loads of unusual ducks and geese, and enjoyed peeking at the little boathouses and holiday homes tucked away up little creeks. The "most amusing" part (apparently) was when we fell into the river, although I didn't enjoy it, or being cold and damp for an hour until we got back to the hotel. Minor point though.

The only photo I took, the view from our hotel room

The evening was spent eating houmous with enormous pitta breads because there were no decent restaurants nearby (we were staying at a resort on the opposite bank of the river, away from the City). And I think we watched Friends on TV. And I think it's safe to say we were glad to leave the next day.

Part 7 is coming soon and is the final part. (Please don't be sad!)

Living the American Dream: part 5

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000Z

May 7-9, 2003: Scottsdale, AZ

The drive from The Grand Canyon to Scottsdale was spectacular. The distance was quite short (compared with our other trips) so we took the scenic route, along the edge of the Canyon, then down a few back roads. We passed through several tiny towns, sometimes just a gas station and a few dusty houses. *Bit scary* And of course, lots more cacti to admire.

Yes, it looked just like this.

We had to drive around Phoenix to reach Scottsdale. Skyscrapers and highways, busy busy. We had considered a visit to Biosphere, which is located south of Phoenix, as science geeks the place appealed to us. I also fancied visiting Old Tucson, the Hollywood Western film set. But in the end we never left Scottsdale.

We stayed at a fancy sports resort and made the most of the facilities by playing tennis, using the gym, and hiring canoes. Rather energetic for a holiday! We also spent a LOT of time lounging by the swimming pool, drinking free cocktails that the bar staff concocted for us (and lots more Strawberry Daiquiris, made with fresh strawberries *drools at the memory*).

Frosty strawberry-ness. Yum :)

We acted like true "Mad dogs and Englishmen" by taking a walk around downtown Scottsdale at midday. The heat was like walking through an oven. Dry baking heat, completely draining. We drank a lot of beer in small bars, as we were fond of doing throughout the holiday. Love the little local cafes and bars in America, you meet such characters. Also saw my first drive-through post office. (So lazy.)

Downtown Scottsdale

On our last evening we drove to a Mexican restaurant located out of town. We ate so much food, tacos and fajitas, and I was serenaded by a group of Mexicans dressed in big hats and with violins. I tried to disappear into the floor but it just didn't work.

And we forgot to take any photos because we spent so much time sunbathing and at other times were too hot to carry anything with us. Hence the blatant use of Google Images.

Part 6 coming soon :) Hope you can wait!

Meal planning Monday: 31/10/11

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000Z

Monday again! Didn't half-term pass quickly? My two were at holiday club for 3 days last week (they loved it!) and we've had 3 days of fun with hubs at home too (we have an inset day today).

Last week's meals went according to plan until Wednesday. I'd forgotten (again) about swimming, so I made cottage pie Wednesday instead of Thursday because it could be cooked while we were out. On Thursday we went to Milton Keynes and had a big late lunch out, so the scallop risotto from Wednesday (are you keeping up?) went on hold. Friday went to plan for the kids and hubs but I had the scallops with vegetable couscous, chilli, and lemon (Sog concoction). Very tasty :)

This week I'm building up to a half-marathon on Sunday, so I'll be upping my carbohydrate intake towards the end of the week.

Monday
Sticky soy salmon with egg-fried rice and vegetables

Sog concoction. Probably will include honey and soy (surprisingly).

Tuesday
Chicken, chips, and peas

Easy tea because it's Beavers tonight.

Wednesday
Pork and cider casserole

It's SWIMMING so something easy I can slow-cook in the oven. (Sog concoction)

Thursday
Baked potatoes

Friday
Lamb burgers/koftas with pittas and greek salad

Saturday
Steak pie with mash and veg

Sunday
Leaving free because it's my race today.

Leave a comment to let me know if you'd like any recipes posting or just to say "Hi", and don't forget to check Mrs M's blog for more meal plans.

Living the American Dream: part 4

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000+01:00

May 6-7, 2003: Grand Canyon

The drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon was short but stunning. Our route took us over the Hoover Dam, which we obviously stopped to admire (the dam was bypassed in 2010, the bypass was being built when we were there). No photos...

The scenery on the journey was bleak yet beautiful. Miles and miles of red sandy or rocky wastelands dotted with enormous cacti. Kind of weird really. Sadly, no photos; we shot hours and hours of video though...

We arrived at our hotel just after lunch and we were treated to buffalo burgers and chips. Very very tasty. (Here I discovered my napkin/serviette translation error, amusing.) The hotel was stunning, it had a fantastic pool too, which we had to ourselves.

Since we were only at the Grand Canyon for a one night stopover, we headed to the visitor centre in the afternoon. We DID take some photos :)

Slightly scared because a Native American was heading towards us with merchandise... (hurry up timer!)

If you're clever you can stick these last three together and make a lovely panoramic shot. I am not.

In the evening our hotel hosted a Native American evening, with traditional dancing and singing. Fairly entertaining. Based on how busy the restaurant was I think most of the tourist population of the Grand Canyon were in our hotel. We retreated to the peace and quiet of the hotel bar after our dinner and played cribbage at the bar with some locals. It was like Cheers and everything. The locals "helped" me play against hubs, which led to me losing quite badly :)

Part 5 sees me forgetting to take ANY photos. That's how good the next part was.

Living the American Dream: part 3

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000+01:00

Viva Las Vegas!

May 3-6, 2003: Las Vegas

I couldn't wait to set off on the drive to Las Vegas because the route took us through Death Valley. We were well-prepared for this trip. Advice was to take plenty of supplies in case of breakdown. We just about remembered to fill up with fuel; we had two bottles of water, a Babe Ruth, and some Reese's Peanut Cups. Excellent choices.

Our Vegas hotel was The Luxor and we stayed in the Pyramid (there is a boring square hotel adjoining). Oh, the excitement of the inclinators and the sloping walls!

I was overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of every casino we went into. The restaurants, with their all-you-can-eat buffets. The noise and excitement of the gaming floors (our vice was video poker, and boy did we win big on that!). And the cute little trams that took you between casinos.

Walking up the strip was so much fun, a landmark at every turn. And Strawberry Daiquiris you could buy on street corners! I love Strawberry Daiquiris... The shows at Treasure Island and Bellagio were well worth an evening walk to see. And the shopping centres that were so large you could get lost in them.

Looking good hubs :)

God bless Siegfried and Roy

Oh look, it's me :)

Gondolas :)

I was scared my husband would insist I go on this ride (I am a wuss)

The Excalibur had The Best buffets

One of our funniest experiences was meeting a "sailor" in a shop, who was excited were were from "Eng-er-land" because he'd once lived near London, "in Hull". Excellent geography. We also had a culture difference in Fatburger, when I asked a waitress for napkins (serviettes), not realising Americans call "ladies sanitary products" napkins. I got a bemused look from the waitress (no serviettes), and I only realised my mistake several days later...

Fatburger: the best burgers in town

On our last day we had a walk out to The Hilton, which is off The Strip. We wanted to go for Star Trek: The Experience. It really was an amazing experience, hubs and I nearly wept when we went from being in "the lift" to being on the bridge of The Enterprise. We are very sad sci-fi geeks but I make no apology. Sadly the show is no longer around.

Great casino too :)

Ah, part 4, what will you bring?

Meal-planning Monday: 24/10/11

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000+01:00

I missed Meal-Planning Monday last week and as a result was stuck for what to give the family for tea; we ended up eating a lot of chips and freezer food. Bad Sog.

This week is half-term; I'm working 3 days and hubs is on holiday from Thursday, so the end of the week should be fun.

Monday
Sweet chilli chicken wraps with salad

Tuesday
Gammon steaks, baked potato, and cauliflower cheese

Wednesday
Scallop risotto

Thursday
Cottage pie

Friday
Cod fishcakes, chips, and mushy peas

Saturday
Garlic and dill chicken with spaghetti (adapted from this recipe)

Sunday
Roast lamb

I've got the requisite one-pie-a-week in. Slight craving for mash and mince at the moment. Going for the scallop risotto again, kids liked it (hubs didn't), it's a good way to get fish into their diets though.

For other weekly meal plans don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog.

Autumn breaker 10K: 23/10/11

2011-10-23T20:46:00.000+01:00

Today I ran in Fylde Coast Running club's Autumn Breaker 10K. Just 151 runners turned up, which I was surprised at. The weather had been quite cold and wet to start with though, so maybe other runners decided to stay in bed. Probably wise. I didn't have the best pre-race prep, because I was at a family party the night before (late night and 'some' alcohol consumed, not excessive though!).

After a non-start, when the marshals sent us the wrong way and we ran for 0.5K, we finally got going. The route took us around Stanley Park on roads and footpaths. The paths were very muddy and slippery from leaves, and we had other obstacles to watch for (dogs, walkers, children, and BMXers). The council were officially opening the park's BMX track, which we had to run around (twice), so that was another well-planned aspect.

I tried to start a bit slower than I did for Standalone, because I didn't want to get too tired halfway round. I managed to maintain a good pace, and I got faster with every mile. Details from Garmin Connect are below.

All in all, I'm quite pleased. I shaved 30 secs off my PB and was the 6th (out of 48) woman to finish (59th out of 151).

Living the American Dream: part 2

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000+01:00

Part 2 of our honeymoon involved our first road trip.

May 1-3, 2003: San Francisco to Mammoth Lakes

This part of the trip was the most difficult to plan. The itinerary we had been sent was a straightforward drive through Yosemite National Park. However, there was a very small disclaimer, which mentioned the route might be closed during adverse weather. At the beginning of May, snow in the region is usually coming to an end, but the year we went it was unseasonable. So I had to plan a longer route that bypassed the area, through Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and then skirting Nevada down to Mammoth Lakes. We didn't see any substantial snowfall, but I was glad we had the Jeep and not the weeny sportscar we'd originally talked about! The drive itself was awesome, through cities, up and over mountains, through forests (with bears!), and ending in the mountains again.

Breakfast en route :)

Now, this part of the holiday was not my most favourite. I'm not a fan of cold weather. I hate snow because it's wet (yes, I have issues). I don't ski or anything like that. I was a little excited though because there was a festival that had finished the day before we arrived and Andrew WK was performing (Party Hard!). Not that we saw him of course...

In fact, when we arrived there was very little snow, so we hoped we might be able to hire bikes. It was the end of the ski season so we couldn't book skiing lessons (we tried but the instructor was a bit cagey: "it's supposed to snow tomorrow" he said. Surely snow would be a requirement...) And we were too early for the summer season. Kind of a fail really.

We arrived at the end of lunch service and rushed to the only restaurant still serving food. They were seemingly trying to offload all their remaining food, and we got the giggles over the mountains of chilli, fries, and hot dogs we were given ("Oh My God you're from En-ger-land!").

The next day it did indeed snow, a lot (several feet). We had a stomp in the forest, made snow angels, and eventually drove to the town to look at the shops, eat fantastic food in a locals' cafe, and watch X-Men at the cinema. Most fun doing things wot the locals do yanno.

The only photo we took, through the snowscreen on our hotel window

Fortunately, we were only here for 2 days... Part 3 coming soon.

Living the American dream: part 1

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

The best holiday I've ever had is my American Road Trip, which was organised by my husband for our honeymoon. Anyone who's known me a long time will appreciate how well-planned this holiday was. There was an itinerary and everything.

Before I get too old and forgetful, I wanted to blog what we did, what we saw, and where we went. Here's Part 1: San Francisco.

April 28 to May 1, 2003: San Francisco

We flew from London with Virgin Atlantic (we actually saw Richard Branson in his pilot uniform) and arrived at a very windy San Francisco Airport slightly sideways and almost on the grass (I hadn't much experience of flying so I just thought it was a pretty cool landing).

To stave off jet-lag (the flight departed at lunchtime in London and we arrived at San Francisco in the early afternoon), we headed straight to a Denny's for food. If you've never been to a Denny's you really should do (hold on to your heart though!). We then had a bit of a walk around Fisherman's Wharf to get our bearings.

Pier 39

The Fire Engine tour that I wanted to go on but wasn't allowed *still sulking*

Day 1: don't we look happy?!

We hired a Jeep Cherokee for the holiday, I got to drive it too! We did the 49-mile Scenic Drive, which took us around San Francisco, up the Pacific coast (we had a paddle!), back through Twin Peaks, and through Chinatown. We also drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, through Richmond and Berkeley, and back across the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Palace of Fine Arts

Lombard Street, very cool to drive down

And of course, we had to take a trip to Alcatraz.

View of SF on the ferry to Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Got to have a comedy photo...

...or two!

Aww, don't we look happy?! (mk II)

On our last day in San Francisco we took a ride on a cable car from Aquatic Park at Fisherman's Wharf ending at the Powell-Market turntable. Very exhilarating hanging off the side of the car. And much fun was had shopping :)

Part 2 coming soon.... where will we go?!

Meal planning Monday: 10/10/11

2011-10-09T21:34:00.002+01:00

Hello. It's Sunday night so I'm sitting down to plan another week of meals. Last week's plan went fairly well. The kids loved the sausage meatballs on Monday, and they both ate the scallop risotto. I'm chuffed they tried something new. And I didn't lie and say it was chicken (well, not much).

My husband did the weekly food shop while I was at Church this morning (I only sent him out for eggs and bread), so this week I have a random selection of foods to plan around.

Monday
Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and SPROUTS!

Yeah, first sprouts of the season! And we didn't have a roast yesterday, so this is compensation for my uselessness as a wife and mother.

Tuesday
Bacon, brie, and mushroom baps

Lovely cheesy baps ;)

Wednesday
Chicken, broccoli, and pasta bake

Hubs is out tonight and he hates pasta bake. And this will use up Monday's leftover chicken.

Thursday
Salmon fishcakes with peas

Loads of peas in my garden at the moment. Fresh peas, yum.

Friday
Sausages, Yorkshire puddings, peas, and homemade onion gravy

Can't beat peas and gravy.

Saturday
Pizza

Sunday
Slow-cooked pork

Meant to cook this last weekend after watching that Lorraine Pascale programme, but forgot to buy pork (fail).

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for other meal plan ideas.

Pie: a personal history

2011-10-07T14:07:00.000+01:00

With autumn here my foodie thoughts are starting to move from salads back to homemade soups, casseroles, and pies. I love making pie, either mash-covered fish or cottage pie, or puff pastry lids on chickeny or beefy goodies. I don't make my own pastry (my mother-in-law tuts loudly when I get the Jus-Rol out), but I do like to decorate the lid (with "PIE" or the kids' names). I never use a pastry base either because I think it makes the pie too dense.

It's a pie, of course

I'm from the North (Lancashire), and pie is a big thing where I'm from! Holland's Pies are based in Baxenden, a few miles from where I grew up. When we used to drive past the factory the smell was so good!

Holland's Pie vans were a familiar sight (Photo: Paul Anderson)

When I was younger, my favourite pie was my mum's potato pie. She would make it with sliced onions, little cubes of potato, and small pieces of steak cooked for hours. And mum would make her own shortcrust pastry (me and my sister used to help, possibly why I don't make my own now!), but the pastry was cooked separately as little circles. These were delicious soaked underneath the pie filling. And of course, we had pickled red cabbage on the side (or my favourite, massive strong pickled onions). I was always torn about which pickle to have, because I could only have one type :(

I remember mum putting mini meat pies in our lunchbox (they were called party pies). We bought our pies from the Palatine Cafe in Great Harwood, classic. These little pies had a hard crust, a tiny mouthful of spicy pork or beef filling inside, surrounded by salty oozy jelly. Delicious.

Mmm, party pie

As I got older and spent Saturdays or school holidays traipsing around my home town, we'd usually end up at a pie shop for lunch. You couldn't beat a meat and potato pie from Hopkins Bakery, and my friend loved butter (potato) pies (very Northern!). In my late teens I discovered the joy that is steak pudding, lovely squishy, suety, beefy pies. Served best with chips, mushy peas, gravy and lots of vinegar (from Clayton St Chip Shop). These aren't available down south, I miss them so much *sob*

At University, my boyfriend (now my husband!) introduced me to tinned Fray Bentos pies. I think the least said about those the better.

Delicious

Hope you've enjoyed my pie history, it's very Northern but that's me! My meal plans will start to include a pie a week from now on, until the spring returns at least (this week's was a beef and vegetable, very tasty). Not all pies need to be unhealthy though. I'll be looking for healthy varieties to try and share.

Hope you're not too hungry now xx

Sausages: a rant

2011-10-04T07:24:00.001+01:00

I'm sometimes a bit dense. Or perhaps the word is unimaginative. I buy sausages and grill them and that's usually it. Forgetting what's actually inside, surrounded by not much.

So, I had sausages in the fridge, but my son was seemingly desperate for "bolognaise with spaghetti". And then I remembered BBC Good Food website and a recipe I'd seen once for sausage meatballs. "Oh yeah, you can take the skin off" *d'oh*

So, last night I made sausage meatballs with tomato sauce. The recipe:

Serves 4

Pack of 8 sausages, skin removed.

Squish the sausage meat together then form into olive-size balls. I got 40 from my pack. Fry them gently until golden then drain and reserve for later.

2 tins of chopped tomatoes (400g)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 veg Oxo cube
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice

Fry the onion and garlic in a little spray oil until golden, add the herbs and the crushed Oxo cube, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, stir, and simmer gently for about 30 mins. 15 mins in, add the sausage meatballs to warm through.

After about 30 mins taste the sauce to check for seasoning. I found the sauce to be very oily tasting and claggy (technical term) so I added some lemon juice, which helped break up that oil and freshen the sauce. Add that if you like, it's OPTIONAL!!

Cook some spaghetti, and if you've forgotten about your calorie intake, cook some garlic bread too. Yay! Tasty dinner.

My kids LOVED this recipe. And hubs did too, which is always a bonus.

About 300 cals per serving (just the meatballs and sauce).

Standalone 10K

2011-10-03T08:21:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I ran the Standalone 10K with friends from Stotfold Runners. The weather was unseasonably hot, which just added extra pain to the event! Here's my race summary.

Meal planning Monday: 03/10/11

2011-10-02T22:02:00.001+01:00

I seem to only blog meal plans at the moment. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration this week for something else.

Last week's plan went swimmingly, apart from Friday when we had a meal out (impromptu) and Saturday when it was so hot we just had chicken wraps. Sunday we had another meal out after my 10k race, and dinner was freezer finery.

So this week:

Monday
Sausage meatballs with tomato sauce and spaghetti [recipe]
Using up defrosted sausages from Friday... Hope they're still OK :/

Tuesday
Chicken with lemon and tarragon sauce, roast potatoes, and veg
Son requested roast spuds last week and he never got them, bless him.

Wednesday
Pea risotto with scallops
I'm going to tell the kids this is chicken risotto. Is that mean?

Thursday
Salmon, noodles, and veg
Easy tea because I'm out at a school meeting later. #yawn

Friday
Beef casserole
Hoping the weather changes so I can make a casserole. No one fancies casserole when it's warm outside. Might turn it into a pie if it gets really cool.

Saturday
Gammon, pineapple, and homemade wedges

Sunday
Roast of some description

Don't forget to check Mrs M's blog for more meal ideas and plans.

Meal planning Monday: 26/09/11

2011-09-25T22:38:00.000+01:00

This week's meal plan is about trying to lose some weight after a heavy weekend (me), using up freezer contents because it's full to bursting (and I can't be bothered to do a big weekly shop), and, later in the week, upping my carbohydrate intake because I have a 10K race on Sunday. We also have a lot of potatoes to use from the allotment!

Monday
Lunch: Homemade carrot and lentil soup
Dinner: Chilli from the freezer with rice and green salad

Tuesday
Lunch: Ratatouille from the freezer
Dinner: Poached salmon, mash, and veg

Wednesday
Lunch: Tuna and salad wrap
Dinner: Pork casserole from the freezer with veg or green salad

Thursday
Lunch: Homemade curried chicken soup from freezer
Dinner: Fish, chips, and mushy peas

Friday
Lunch: Homemade Moroccan chickpea soup
Dinner: Sausages, boulangere potatoes, and homemade onion gravy

Saturday
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Chicken and broccoli cheesy pasta bake

Sunday
Whatever my husband cooks for me!

Don't forget to check Mrs M's blog for meal plans that are more sensible and well thought out than mine :)

Meal planning Monday: 19/09/11

2011-09-19T12:54:00.001+01:00

I've written this week's meal plan in a bit of a hurry. I had to check the fridge to see what we had (much hasty freezing of meat and fish ensued).

Anyway, here we go. Only 3 days because we're away for a family wedding from Thursday.

Monday
Beef steaks with roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and green beans.
(We missed our Sunday roast last week so this is compensation.)

Tuesday
Fish fingers, chips, and beans
(Had to get fish fingers in somewhere.)

Wednesday
Slow-cooked ribs with rice and sweetcorn

I'm on the lookout for a suitable recipe for the ribs. Let me know in the comments if you have a good one.

Don't forget to check Mrs M's blog for more ideas.

Lebkuchen

2011-09-12T13:42:00.001+01:00

I've recently purchased a recipe book called Cookies, Muffins & Cakes. The book is easy to follow, the recipes use ingredients I have at home, and the photos are so tempting that I feel I must make everything straightaway!

Yesterday I made Viennese Fingers, which are delicious and as a result, won't last long! So today, I've made cinnamon spiced Lebkuchen with my daughter.

Makes about 30.

Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan). Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

10 oz plain flour
2 oz cornflour
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Sift all these dry ingredients into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

3.5 oz low-fat butter spread
8 oz golden syrup
2 tbsp skimmed milk

Melt these ingredients in a small pan until smooth. Pour into the well you made in the dry ingredients and, using a flat-bladed knife, mix until a wet dough is formed. Work with your hands to form into a ball.

Roll out on greaseproof paper until 7mm thick, then cut into shapes. Bake for 25 mins until golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

150g white chocolate
Mixed spice

Melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water until smooth. Dip half of each biscuit into the chocolate, then sprinkle with mixed spice. Leave on foil or greaseproof paper until set.

Meal planning Monday: 12/09/11

2011-09-12T06:00:00.002+01:00

Hello again! Monday is here again, doesn't the week fly when the children are back at school?

Last week's dinners went very well, especially the Niku Jaga (Japanese style pork casserole). I was really pleased. Here's what we're having this week.

Monday
Turkey, green bean, and hoisin noodles
We have yet more green beans to use up; someone please remind me next year not to plant French climbing beans.

Tuesday
Fish, chips, and peas
Something easy because son is at beavers tonight.

Wednesday
Slow-braised pork in cider, with green beans
This is another recipe that can be prepared in advance and timed to be cooked when we get in from swimming.

Thursday
Quinoa, courgette, and feta salad
I've fancied trying quinoa for months now, but I've always been a bit scared! We have lots of courgettes to use up so I hope this recipe works.

Friday
Beef fajitas

Saturday
Chilli from the freezer and baked potatoes

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal ideas.

The Cook's Thesaurus

2011-09-06T06:00:00.010+01:00

When I was planning meals for this week I had to search for good substitutions for a few ingredients. I found this website, The Cook's Thesaurus, and I thought I would share it with you in case you might also find it useful.

I think this site will be really useful for me, especially because I like to attempt world cuisine at the last minute and I rarely have the actual ingredients in the cupboard!

Meal planning Monday: 05/09/11

2011-09-05T06:00:00.006+01:00

Happy Monday! We're Back To School on Tuesday, I can't wait to get back into a good diet routine. I slipped quite badly these holidays and only my long-distance running has kept the weight off.

Last week was heavily influenced by green beans! I still have lots of courgettes, potatoes, and beans to use up, and now I have salad and tomatoes too, so let's see what I can do. Here's what we'll be eating this week.

Monday
Chicken and courgette lasagne.
I'm basing this meal on a recipe for courgette lasagne from the BBC Good Food website. To avoid complaints about there being "no meat", and since I have leftover chicken from Sunday, I'm going to add chopped cooked chicken to the courgette mix. I'm also substituting Parmesan for reduced fat cheddar and ricotta for light mozzarella (because I have those in the fridge!). Hopefully I will remember to blog the results.

Tuesday
Fishcakes, chips, and peas.
Back to school today, so giving the kids something they like for dinner. Sadly, I haven't made the fishcakes myself (although I have in the past!), these are courtesy of T E S C O.

Wednesday
Niku jaga, served with green beans
I was searching the Good Food website for a one-pot pork dish I could cook early and reheat for dinner. (Wednesday is "swimming lesson day" so I need to be organised about dinner.) I found this Japanese-style pork dish, which is cooked with potatoes and carrots. I thought my children might like it. I don't have mirin or saké, and I'm not buying them in especially, so I'm going to substitute mirin for apple juice (for the sweetness) and saké for chicken stock (or white wine if I have any in the house).

Thursday
Tuna nicoise salad

Friday
Beef steak with homemade potato wedges, and salad

Saturday
Chicken, potato, and bean curry
I hope this recipe goes down well because we might have to eat it again very soon, if we continue to produce green beans at the rate we are!

Sunday
Roast lamb

Don't forget to check out the other meal plans on Mrs M's blog.

Zesty lemon buns

2011-09-04T20:43:00.000+01:00

My family love lemon cake, and would happily devour Mr Kipling's lemon slices daily if I let them. Since I found this recipe, they've stopped requesting Mr Kipling and pester me to bake some of these buns instead. (Sorry Mr Kipling.)

Zesty lemon buns

125 g granulated sugar (or caster sugar, if you're organised and remember to buy it)
125 g reduced fat butter spread (I used an olive spread for these, works fine; you can use unsalted butter if you prefer)
zest of 2 lemons
2 eggs
125 g self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp lemon juice (I use the juice from one of the zested lemons, slightly more than 2 tbsp)

Preheat your oven to 180C (160C for a fan oven).
Cream the sugar, butter, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs and add to the mixture gradually, with a tablespoonful of the measured flour (to avoid curdling).
Fold in the rest of the sifted flour and then add the lemon juice (the mixture goes foamy, almost like a mousse, at this stage).
Spoon the mixture into bun cases. The recipe says makes 12 but I got 20 from the mixture. (Why make 12 massive cakes when you can share the joy further and make 20 small buns?)
Cook in the oven for 18-20 minutes (check them after 18 minutes).
Allow to cool on a wire rack, then ice them with lemon glacé icing.

Lemon glacé icing

185 g icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gently stir in the lemon juice. You might need more lemon juice (you could use the juice from the other zested lemon but I like my icing smooth, without lumps of lemon pulp).
Blob a spoonful of icing onto each bun and leave to set for about an hour (if you can wait that long).

Voilà! Check out my zesty buns.

I ate the one without icing :(

Just one hour, running

2011-09-03T16:47:00.000+01:00

My runs this week have been notable by their absence. I was completely shattered after the half marathon last weekend; my knees and hips ached all day Monday and I had to go for a walk to loosen them up in the end (sitting for 4 hours in a car didn't help much).

By Tuesday I was ready to stretch my legs at running club. I wasn't planning to run far if we had options! I just wanted to say "hi" to everyone really. We did some speedwork, which totalled 2.5 miles. I felt unfit and sluggish, which I was told was due to me still recovering from the race. I hadn't expected to feel so tired, but I took their advice and rested on Thursday. In fact, professional advice is to rest a day for every mile raced. So, in the next 2 weeks my runs should be easy.

After a bit of a diet blowout on Friday night I really needed to have a run today, if only to burn some excess calories! So I strapped my heart monitor on and told my husband I was "just going to run for an hour". I had no plans about distance at all; I had a vague route in mind, that was all.

I headed along Pendleton Way towards Arlesey, down the High Street, and then cut through West Drive to Fairfield Park. At the entrance to the estate I had run 4 miles. One of my knees was aching, but I had only run for 35 minutes, so I wanted to continue a bit further. I turned onto the Greenway, up the big hill (which I've not run up for months!), and home. Just under 7 miles in 66 minutes (pace around 9:40 min/mile). I was really pleased, and celebrated with a stretch and a bath :)

My focus now is on my local race, the Standalone 10K, which is on October 2nd. That's about 4 weeks away. I hope to achieve a time of around 53 minutes (I ran the course in that time a few weeks ago). My aim though is to help my friend Gill train for the race, so my next SmartCoach plan is all for her.

New look for Sog's blog

2011-09-03T09:13:00.000+01:00

You might have noticed that I've had a little redesign. I was inspired to change after creating my new allotment blog: plot-37.blogspot.com. Once I'd finished fiddling with that one I couldn't resist having a go at this one.

Please admire the background image, which I painstakingly created out of photos of things important to me (family, running, my garden, camping, healthy food, baking, Lego, and Doctor Who!).

The Bosu Ball

2011-09-01T00:10:00.000+01:00

I wish this post were about a fabulous party, black tie for the men and ballgowns for the ladies. But no, it's this beast:

My weekly circuit training class contains a mix of exercises: cardio, abs, weights, strength. We've used the Bosu Ball before, for press ups, planks, etc. Recently, it's been for squats. Normal squats, squats with weights, squats on one leg. Can I manage these? Erm, not really. Unless you count a hypnotic 1-min wobble, with frantic air-grabbing as "manage" then no.

But I will get there.

Meal planning Tuesday (again)

2011-08-31T09:55:00.002+01:00

Hello again. Another late meal plan. In fact, it's now Wednesday, so you might wonder "what's the point"?! It's a service, so you know how to incorporate potatoes, green beans and courgettes into every meal ;)

Tuesday
Sausages, mashed potatoes, and vegetables (guess which ones?)

Wednesday
Chicken fajitas (with onions, green beans, carrots, and courgettes) and homemade guacamole and salsa

Thursday
Salmon with ratatouille and boulangere potatoes

Friday
Gammon, pineapple, homemade chips, and stir-fried VEGETABLES (of some description)

Saturday
Three bean chilli and rice

Sunday
A roast dinner, with green beans, and maybe courgettes.

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more ideas.

Fleetwood half marathon

2011-08-28T20:35:00.001+01:00

It's Sunday evening and I'm relaxing on the sofa after my race this morning. The day looked like it was going to be sunny but as it happened, no. Driving rain and blowing a gale. Awesome.

Before the race, freezing my ass off outside race HQ

The race started at 10am and just before then, the weather had begun to cheer up. But the starting whistle seemed to signal the rain, which fell so hard it felt like hail :( I got soaked several times during the race, three times by the rain and many more by the sea. I tasted of sea salt at the finish!

I managed to sustain a great pace of 8:30 min/mile for the first 7 miles. The course was flat so no terrible hills to push myself up. The worse moment came at mile 8 when we turned onto the seafront. We were running into a gale, which felt like I was running uphill. So all my hill training paid off!

Race summary, click to enlarge

The last few miles were tough. My legs were aching, my knees and hips were burning, but I could see the finish so I kept plodding on. I was thinking of my poor family standing in the cold and rain (I got a hot shower at the end but they didn't). My lovely husband met me a mile from the end and ran along with me, being very encouraging and telling me not to talk! He kept up too! And so the finish, and my time. It's still unofficial, but I timed it at 1:51:40. My aim was 2 hours, and Pete who takes running club predicted 1:55, so I was really pleased!

1 mile to go, and still smiling!

Full race data on my Garmin Connect page. Race results will be posted here soon.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Camping in Wales

2011-08-24T09:44:00.001+01:00

Welsh dragon, of course

We've just spent a very relaxing 5 days camping in Wales. We stayed at a site called Dolbryn, which is near the town of Newcastle Emlyn in Carmarthenshire. The site was very good, the toilets and showers were kept very clean, there was a bar open in the evening for our entertainment, and there was a playground for the children to burn off energy. The only downside was the rude and unfriendly seasonal guests, so sadly, we won't be returning.

Playing 'Prickly Pile-up' in the bar

The local town of Newcastle Emlyn has a castle (we didn't go), a park (that the kids enjoyed), and a few food shops, good enough to see us through the week. The town of Cardigan is a fair drive towards the coast, but has many more shops and a market. We spent our first day here. Sadly, the castle here is closed for refurbishment so we couldn't look at it.

Cardigan

On our drive back to the campsite from Cardigan we passed through Cenarth. This village is famous for its waterfalls and coracle museum, so we stopped for a look (at the falls, not the museum). The kids really enjoyed jumping over the stepping stones to cross the river.

Cenarth mill and falls

Day 2 was spent in Tenby on the south coast of Wales. I wasn't keen on going here because it seemed such a long way to drive, but we set off early and arrived by 10am, so not that far at all. It's a lovely town, very pretty, with a walled section which I guess is an old castle (not sure). Anyway, it has lots of shops, a lovely quay area, and loads of sandy beaches, and we spent a full day here walking around and relaxing on the beach.

Tenby

Buried alive!

Day 3 began rainy, so after much procrastinating and laziness at the tent, we decided to drive to the west coast, to New Quay and Aberporth, just to have a look really. New Quay was really pretty. We parked at the top of a very steep hill so had to walk up and down that a few times! Good for our leg muscles.

Rainy start

New Quay

We had a late lunch at a seafood restaurant called The Hungry Trout. What a fantastic find! A really excellent restaurant and very highly recommended if you're in the area.

Crayfish salad with curried alioli, yum :)

After lunch, and after failing to find a boat trip we could take the children on, we drove to Aberporth. I'm so glad we did. The beach was quiet because it had been so cold, but when we arrived the weather had improved. We explored and found a large area of rockpools. The kids had bought toy boats so we sailed those on a little stream on the beach and I showed them shrimps and crabs in the rockpools.

"We are sailing"

We returned to Aberporth the next day because the weather was so sunny and warm, so the children managed to have a full beach day, complete with sandcastle-building, stone skimming, a bit of rounders, and being buried in the sand.

The Castle, with over-sized "road" that hubs got enthused constructing!

Skimming competition

Aberporth beach

A great holiday in a lovely area. we will return, just not to the same campsite.

Meal planning Tuesday

2011-08-23T17:13:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, I'm a bit late with the old meal plan this week!

We've just got home after 5 days of camping in Wales. The meals I'd planned for while we were away didn't really happen. Wednesday we had a very late lunch in a pub, so no dinner (other than crisps). Thursday we had chicken wraps (a planning success). Friday we had delicious rump steak, potatoes, and veg (much better than anything I'd planned). Saturday we had another large and late lunch at a fab fish restaurant (we had cheese toasties for dinner). Sunday I had to use up the contents of the food store before we left (so dinner was a tuna mayo, egg, cheese, ham, sweetcorn, and potato salad!).

This week we're only home for a few days because we're up in Blackpool at the weekend for the Fleetwood half marathon. Eeeek! So I'm only planning meals for 2 days. The Husband took the children shopping this morning while I cracked on with some work, so I'm planning dinners in the style of Ready Steady Cook.

Tuesday
Pork steaks, new potatoes, sweetcorn, and BBQ sauce

Wednesday
Roast chicken, potatoes, and veg

Next week's plan will also be late and aimed at using up what The Husband bought. It's going to include a lot of potatoes since he bought an enormous bag and we've got kilograms of them at the allotment! (He forgot about the allotment.)

Please check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans.

Meal planning Monday: 15/08/11

2011-08-15T08:38:00.002+01:00

Last week's meals went exactly to plan, that almost never happens! Must have been a great plan :)

This week we are camping again, this time in Wales. I've planned camp meals this time since it's just the four of us camping. We cook on a George Foreman grill and a small gas stove, so we can achieve some awesome dinners!

Monday
Spaghetti bolognaise with homemade garlic pittas

Tuesday
Fish, chips, and mushy peas

Wednesday
Chicken and vegetable wraps

Thursday
Salmon, new potatoes, and vegetables

Friday
Gammon, pineapple, new potatoes, and salad

Saturday
Burgers with sweetcorn and salad

Sunday
Sausage, egg, beans, and sautéed potatoes

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans and ideas.

Summer hols: days 15-18

2011-08-11T10:39:00.000+01:00

The 3 days since we returned from our camping trip to Bakewell have been spent very lazily. I've done a lot of laundry, cleaning and repacking camping equipment (we go away again next week), ironing, and housework. Very domesticated!

Hubs unpacked the Wii (yes, we do take it camping) and set it up downstairs for my son. He can now play Wii while I'm in the kitchen, so we're not all spread out around the house. He's been playing MarioCart and Lego Indiana Jones and getting better with practise. He gets frustrated easily if he doesn't win, so this new-found patience is a good sign.

He won, at last!

We've spent a few half days at our allotment, weeding and harvesting our vegetables. The children love running around the fields that are nearby, exploring and picking berries. They're safe because I can see them from the allotment, they know not to wander too far, and they frequently return with tales of rabbits and birds they've seen, how many berries they've picked (they know what they can and can't eat), and what strange noises they've heard (crickets, or the combine harvester).

Harvesting potatoes at the allotment

It's great when I can spend time with my children, but daily life is busy and sometimes they do need to be left alone. My little girl is happy to entertain herself on the computer (playing on the cbeebies website or drawing with TuxPaint), drawing and colouring at the kitchen table, singing to herself, and playing imaginatively with her toys (the Thomas trains have reappeared). Occasionally my son joins her and their games together sounds like a lot of fun (lots of laughter)! She is really starting to develop her reading and writing skills too. She can now part-write her name without assistance and can read a few key words.

The "best track in the world", made by mum :)

The best part of these past few days have been when we made rice krispie bars. The children spotted the bars in the supermarket and wanted to buy them but I suggested we make some instead. We bought some chocolate to melt (now the Easter eggs are all gone!) but we had rice krispies, marshmallows (from Easter!), and golden syrup at home. A lot of mess was made, but we had fun and now have delicious cakes to eat for a treat.

Crunchy, sticky, gooey messy!

Today we're off to my friend's house for lunch and to play (her children are the same ages as my two), then we're visiting the Japanese Koi Company in Henlow to buy fish food and filters (and gaze in awe at all the animals, my son desperately wants a lizard).

Chocolate krispie cakes

2011-08-11T10:35:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Reluctant Housedad, one of our favourite recipes is his After-Easter Bunny Krispie Cakes. We've made these cakes before so no longer have Easter chocolate lying around, but we do have Easter bunny and chick marshmallows! And it's the summer holidays and we're all looking for something fun to do (at 8 am...). The recipe involves no measuring, just lots of hands and mess.

The ingredients

We emptied the chocolate buttons and the Easter marshmallows into a large bowl (my daughter broke the mallows into small pieces). She added a large squeeze of golden syrup too, then I gently melted everything over a pan of hot water for about 15 minutes (I added some warm water to loosen the mixture).

Mmmm, melty

We then added rice krispies to the melted chocolate mix, a handful at a time, until we could fit no more in (I added all the krispies shown in the first photo, that was about a third of a large pack; we like our krispies cakes crunchy!).

I pressed the mixture into a shallow baking tray that I'd lined with greaseproof paper (for ease of removal). The mix goes sticky very quickly, so I used a knife dipped in the hot water from the pan to help with spreading. The tray went in the fridge for an hour or two to make sure everything was properly set. I then lifted the set krispie block from the pan using the paper and cut it into 18 pieces with a sharp knife. To prevent the bars sticking to each other, we wrapped them all in a piece of greaseproof paper "just like in the shop" according to my son.

And enjoy!

Camping in Bakewell

2011-08-08T13:57:00.000+01:00

Me and my family have just arrived home from 3 nights camping in the Peak District; we camped at Greenhills Holiday Park near Bakewell.

One of the camping fields at Greenhills

This is our second visit to Greenhills. We first visited last year with my sister and her family. We enjoyed the site so much we thought we would go again this year and take my husband's parents with us. They haven't camped before and since this site has such good facilities, we thought it would be a good place for their camping introduction.

Family camp

When we mentioned at a family party in April that we were going camping, the rest of my husband's family (aunt and uncle and their children) decided to join us. So that made 14 of us in total! I knew we would be in for a fun weekend.

Playing cricket Friday morning before arrivals

We arrived at lunchtime on Thursday but couldn't pitch until after 1 pm, so we headed into Bakewell for an excellent lunch at The Castle Inn. No need to worry about the children being hungry while pitching the tent later. By 3 pm we had pitched our tents and were enjoying our first (of many!) camp beers. The children had already met up with their cousins and had disappeared to the playground.

Playground at Greenhills; the ball games field is just behind

On Friday we had a very leisurely morning while family latecomers turned up, then we decided to have a walk together along the Monsal Trail. This 9-mile walk follows the course of an old railway line so it is flat and wide, perfect for young children whose legs can't manage hills quite yet. The very helpful staff at Greenhills gave me written directions to Hassop Station, and advised that it was the best place to start a walk from because it had toilets and an ice cream shop (most important!). We had a lovely hour walk and managed 2 miles, which with 14 people to keep together was actually quite good!

Evening chat

We had a barbecue on Friday night, which was chaotic and rowdy! Another large family group were nearby, celebrating a 30th birthday, so we were definitely not the noisiest party there. We did bend the camp rules about open fires though (what started as a disposable BBQ soon turned into an impressive brick fire pit). Oh well, no harm done, except perhaps to my liver. Me and my husband took along a film picture quiz and that kept everyone quiet for 30 mins or so.

Fairylights!

On Saturday we took a trip to Peak Village Outlet, which is at Rowsley (between Bakewell and Matlock). The old Rowsley station building forms part of this centre. Two people were displaying a collection of owls and other birds of prey outside the shops, which the children enjoyed, and they also found a large gathering of various ducks in a corner of the carpark.

Arriving back at the campsite with fish and chips for lunch, we decided to burn off the greasy calories by spending a few hours playing rounders on the campsite's ball games field. What started as a confusing mix of rounders and baseball soon became a passionately enforced game of proper rounders! We then spent Saturday evening eating yet more salad and barbecued burgers and sausage and doing a few quizzes and games my in-laws brought with them. And drinking lots of sambuca shots as forfeits!

Aftermath

The next morning was spent clearing up the mess and decamping (sadly, when we have the party at our tent we also get left with the debris and washing up). With 8 other adults helping our tent was speedily brought down and packed away. I need to remember to pack 8 adults next time I go camping!

Meal planning Monday: 08/08/11

2011-08-08T00:01:00.018+01:00

Last week went according to plan, apart from the camping ideas (Thurs-Sat). The spaghetti carbonara was a hit with my kids (surprisingly because it's not to everyone's tastes); I made it with leftover gammon from Monday, which worked out well.

This week is all about detoxing after a long weekend of drinking and eating a lot of barbecued food! Camping is fun but it's bad for you from a diet perspective.

Monday
Mini turkey meatballs and tomato & hidden vegetable sauce, with spaghetti

Tuesday
Thin-cut pork steaks, mashed potatoes, and green veg (probably kale and green beans from the allotment)

Wednesday
Cod roe, thick-cut chips, and mushy peas (treat for the family; I HATE cod roe so I'll have grilled salmon)

Thursday
Chicken and pea risotto

Friday
Beef enchiladas and homemade guacamole

Saturday
Left free, will see what we feel like

Sunday
Roast beef

Check out Mrs M's blog for more meal plans and ideas.

Summer hols: days 8-10

2011-08-04T11:06:00.000+01:00

How very lazy, to post 3 days of school holiday activities in one go. The truth is, I've been quite unwell since Saturday and I've not felt like blogging, in fact I've had little energy to do much other than lie on the sofa and snooze.

We have managed to do some fun things though. We've spent a lot of time in the garden, the weather has been good so I've let the children have the sprinkler on to jump through, and the paddling pool. They've painted pictures too, and my daughter decorated a jewellery box she won at a party. They've played games, done jigsaws, and played on the computer together. I'm very proud that they play together so well.

The great thing about living opposite a playground is that I can let the children play out without having to go with them to watch them. So, they've had chance to play football and ride their bikes too.

I'm feeling much better now, and as I write this post we're en route to the Peak District for a 3-day camping holiday with family. Watch out for camping posts over the next few days.

Meal planning Monday: 01/08/11

2011-08-01T00:01:00.001+01:00

Last week's meal plan went mostly as intended. It was a tricky week to plan, with guests visiting and activities to go to. The weekend was a write off; we went out Saturday so had a picnic for lunch and takeaway pizza for dinner. I'm not used to eating so much bread and I really felt the effects on Sunday (stomach ache and bloating). Sorry, that's probably TMI!

This week will be simple; we're eating at home 3 days and camping the rest. I rarely plan camping food because we buy provisions on a day-to-day basis, but I've put a few ideas. Anyway, here we go.

Monday
Gammon with salad and roasted new potatoes (allotment-grown; proving difficult to work out how to cook them best [we've tried boiled with little success each time])

Tuesday
Salmon and noodles with stir fried vegetables (probably allotment-grown courgettes and green beans)

Wednesday
Spaghetti carbonara

Thursday
Hot dogs and baked beans

Friday
Chicken and vegetable wraps

Saturday
Steak and onion baguettes with salad

Sunday
Chinese takeaway

Paradise Wildlife Park

2011-07-30T21:44:00.001+01:00

Day 6 of the summer holidays and it's the weekend! We decided to take the children to Paradise Wildlife Park near Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. As well as an Animal Park, there are loads of playgrounds dotted about, so it's a great place to go with young children; also, there's a soft play centre with a Starbucks cafe (made my husband very happy), a waterpark, and a Bird of Paradise centre. Your entry ticket gives you access to all these areas, but small charges apply for some rides and attractions. I particularly like the Animal Park because it has walkways over the animal enclosures so you get really good views of the animals.

We arrived as the Park opened, so we had space to browse in peace. There's a funfair and bouncy castles on the way in (free to use), so we took our chance and had a go on them while it was quiet. The animals were having their enclosures cleaned because it was early, so the children got to see a lot of poo and straw! We had a very close encounter with some fruit bats (hubs had missed the sign that read "Warning, free flying bats"), the children are still talking about it now we're home (8 hours later!).

Another good thing about this Park is that you can buy food to feed some of the animals (obviously not the lions, which my daughter wanted to feed!). She did enjoy feeding the rabbits and sheep though (we also fed reindeers and emu, they are SCARY!).

We spent some time in the playground area and soft play centre around 11am, then had a trip on the Woodland Train and turns on Formula Karting (£1 per person for both these attractions). At lunchtime we took our picnic into the waterpark area; we'd come prepared with towels and swimsuits for the children, so after their lunch they had a splash about for an hour. We then headed to the Birds of Paradise area to watch the display, we were amazed when an owl brushed our hair as it flew overhead (demonstrating silent flight). The children loved it!

In the late afternoon we watched the penguins being fed and enjoyed a tractor ride around the park. We also visited the National Speedway Museum, which is a rather random addition to the Park, but the children enjoyed looking at the bikes and trophies.

Summer hols: day 5

2011-07-29T22:01:00.000+01:00

We spent this morning at the allotment; it's been warm recently and we've had no rain, so I needed to water. The children explored for an hour and looked for ladybirds. Fortunately, my veg is full of aphids, so we have lots of (fat) ladybirds! We then very excitedly dug up out first lot of potatoes. The children loved delving in the soil when they saw a white potato. We also harvested some kale and a yellow courgette.

We then spent an hour in Letchworth; I'd promised my 3yo she could have some Tangled stickers and the only place we know that sells them is WHSmith. We visited The Green House Friday craft stalls, and bought some veg at the market in town for tonight's dinner.

Home for lunch and a tidy up, then our friends came round for a play and dinner later. I cooked sausages from the local butcher, roast potatoes (allotment-grown), garlicky kale (from the allotment), and ratatouille (made with allotment-grown courgettes). Yum! Although me and my friend stink of garlic now.

A lovely day, and tomorrow promises much sun and warmth, so we're off on a mystery day trip (wooo, where will we go?!)

Summer hols: day 4

2011-07-28T21:36:00.000+01:00

I'm feeling a bit guilty today. The first lovely sunny day of the school holidays and I HAD to stay home and finish some freelance work. So my poor children spent the morning watching films and playing with the Thomas train set. Actually, I think they had a good time, they were certainly making a lot of noise.

We walked to the shop just before lunch, my son had 75p he was desperate to spend on a pack of Moshi Monster cards! I bought them both a Kinder egg and they were suitably chuffed with that. They had a play in the garden with some bubble mixture at lunchtime, it's really great to hear them screaming with delight and chasing each other. They're at very playful and cooperative ages.

They both were tired after lunch so they coloured pictures and played with the Lego while I did some more work. Then 3yo had a party to go to; I let my son play Wii Fit while we were home alone. Watching him "free jogging" was hilarious! He enjoyed himself for sure.

Tomorrow they have some friends coming in the afternoon and staying for dinner, so they'll have company at least. Still not finished that work though... :(

Summer hols: day 3

2011-07-27T21:14:00.000+01:00

Today has been exhausting, proven when my 3yo daughter fell asleep at 5.30pm and wouldn't wake up for her dinner! We had a busy morning of chores, including a trip to the butcher to buy a few bits. 3yo exclaimed "Oooh, the claw!" as the butcher sliced ham (not sure how she can link that to Toy Story but that's the mind of a child for you).

The children had some friends over to play at lunchtime; much fun was had swapping Moshi Monster cards and chasing each other at the park. And destroying my lovely tidy Lego drawers :( Oh well, except for minor tearfulness while playing Wii, a good time was had by all. And I got to play with a baby and chat to my friend :)

My son had his swimming lesson in the afternoon. Usually I'm lazy and just sit in the cafe with 3yo and drink tea, but today I was brave and took them both swimming beforehand. It was actually easier than I anticipated (and cheap!) so I will do it again for sure.

Tomorrow I have to work so the kids will sadly be stuck inside with the choice of computer, films, or playing together, but I hope to fit a few little treats in somewhere.

Summer hols: day 2

2011-07-26T21:17:00.000+01:00

Today started out quite bright and cheerful. We were all up early again to take hubs to the station; on the way back home we stopped at the Co-op and bought some sugar to make flapjacks with (and bubble mixture and microwave popcorn, for a rainy day).

After breakfast, we cleaned the kitchen then baked some flapjacks. We made two batches: my mum's recipe and a Lorraine Pascale recipe someone posted on Twitter. The kids helped weigh the ingredients and stir in the oats (lots of mess). 6yo then helped by zesting a lemon for the Lorraine Pascale flapjacks. He did really well, and I think he enjoyed me letting him to do something different. I've never let him use anything sharp in the kitchen before.

Messy!

Learning to use a grater :)

While these were all baking we went to the park (just across from our house) and had a quick play before the rain started (boo!).

Rain meant I couldn't put off the toy tidying any longer, so I headed upstairs to the kids' bedrooms with bin bags for a big sort out. The kids "helped" by playing with all the old toys I was trying to get rid of! I gave them a pile of jigsaws to do and that kept them amused for long enough to sort the toy storage out. That's me happy for the holidays now I know everything WAS tidy once during the 6 weeks!

Just before lunch I had a bit more freelance work to do, so I gave the kids a choice of a film, TV, or computer time. They decided to play Lego (contrary, but cooperative play is good). This led to an explosion of Lego on my son's bedroom floor, so the afternoon was taken up with tidying that away. We then chilled with some TV before dinner.

Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny because we have friends coming for lunch and we were hoping to have a picnic in the garden.

Lego storage: our solution

2011-07-26T14:39:00.000+01:00

I'm always astonished when I see how many people have read and commented on my blog post on Lego storage. It's obviously a big problem! Several people have asked what our solution was, so here it is.

We bought a metal filing cabinet from Ikea (Helmer) and plastic dividers that fit perfectly inside each drawer (Antonius). The result is this:

This combination does a great job, but we now need another unit because my son received about a dozen Lego kits for his birthday last month (which are currently spread all over his bedroom floor).

Flapjacks: a recipe

2011-07-26T13:46:00.000+01:00

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of baking with my mum. She used to bake every week, or at least it felt like that as a child. I loved currant buns (fairy cakes for you Southerners), rock cakes, tea loaf, gingercake, chocolate sponge with buttercream filling (*drool*), but my favourite has to be flapjacks. Each batch of these treats varied, from soft chewy middle pieces to crunchy edge bits.

When I worked in London I used to make flapjacks to take to work and they always disappeared very quickly. My Northern compatriots reminisced fondly of "proper flapjacks" (and then we'd inevitably discuss parkin recipes...).

So here's the recipe. I hope you make some and enjoy them as much as I do.

Flapjacks

Makes about 15

1) Preheat the oven to 180C (I have a fan oven and I reduce to about 165C), that's gas mark 4 or 350F.
2) Line a shallow baking tray with greaseproof paper and lightly oil it; the tray I use is 8x12x1 inches.
3) Weigh out your ingredients:

120 g butter or margarine
120 g soft brown sugar (I used dark brown but light would be OK)
90 g golden syrup
250 g rolled oats

4) Melt the butter, sugar, and syrup in a large pan over a low heat. Keep stirring and don't let it boil.
5) Once melted, remove from the heat and gradually stir in the oats. I sometimes add another handful of oats if the mix looks too runny.
6) Place the mixture in the baking tray and press down to fill to the edges. I always think about now that I've not make enough mixture, but if you press for long enough it does fill the tray!

7) Bake for 20 min until golden.
8) Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 min.
9) Cut into squares and leave in the tin until cool before turning out.
10) Enjoy (preferably with a cup of tea)!

For those of you watching your diet, I've calculated each piece is about 164 calories (7 g fat, 23 g carbs, 2 g protein).

Summer hols: day 1

2011-07-25T20:02:00.000+01:00

The first day of the school holidays is over; we've been lucky with the weather, fine and dry all day except for a few spots at dinner time.

View over the oat fields behind our allotment

We were up early to take hubs to the station; after breakfast, we headed to the supermarket to do the weekly shop. I'd normally do this online but it's something to do together, passes the time, and gives the kids a reason to be interested in their food. 3yo helped weight the veg & fruit (even though we don't need to), 6yo helped to put heavy(ish) items into the trolley. They both chose a few items to buy: 3yo wanted strawberries, raspberries, and babybels; 6yo wanted bananas with stickers on, hula hoops, and tinned short-cut spaghetti.

After shopping I had to do some freelance work, so the kids watched Scooby Doo and did some colouring. They were very good and didn't fight, which makes a change! I then prepared lunch while they worked on their holiday scrapbooks (my plan is to file one thing from every day of the holiday so they can keep a record of what they've done).

Later, we emptied one of the toy cupboards in the dining room and filled it with our new art things (crayons and pencils, pens, paper, & glue). Some old toys went into a charity bag, the rest upstairs to bedrooms for sorting tomorrow. We found some craft books and chose a few things we'd like to make during the holidays. I need to save tins & drink cans!

Going on a bear hunt

We then headed to our allotment for an hour to water the vegetables and weed a bit. The kids took themselves off on a "bear hunt", which kept them entertained on their own for an hour. Back at home and after ice lollies, I set up an obstacle course in the garden, and the kids burned off excess energy for half an hour jumping and crawling through various toys. They then designed their own obstacle courses to go in their scrapbooks, although they both just drew pictures of dinosaurs for some reason!

Garden obstacle course: not a dinosaur in sight

All in all, an excellent day. We had a short walk with hubs in the evening and found some blackberries; we'll have to go back another day with a box.

Diet meal plan: first week of the holidays

2011-07-25T00:01:00.019+01:00

The summer holidays are here! I'm so glad to have my kids at home with me. They're both tired and so am I. It will be so lovely to be at home together, chilling out, gardening, baking, being crafty. I might regret the lack of money because I can't freelance as much, but never mind :)

So onto meals for the week. Last week went well. The kids loved the corned beef hash and turkey lasagne (despite initial pulling of faces, and me making the lasagne from turkey bolognaise AND beef enchilada filling by accident!).

This week, with us being on holidays we've got friends coming for lunch (and my husband will be home late on two days). So meals are a hotch-potch of picnicky goods, tinned and frozen delights, and home-cooked originals.

Monday
Lunch: Soup or sandwiches
Dinner: Fish and chips

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheesy broccoli pasta
Dinner: Beans on toast

Wednesday
Lunch: Picnic in the garden (friends for lunch)
Dinner: Garlic chicken with homemade potato wedges and salad

Thursday
Lunch: Chicken nuggets, curly fries, and beans (salad for me!)
Dinner: Toasted sandwich for son, daughter at a party, curry and rice for me and hubs

Friday
Lunch: "Proper sausage" (as my son calls them) hot dogs (kids have friends for lunch), sandwiches for the mums
Dinner: Salmon, new potatoes, and veg

Saturday
Spicy chicken and salad pittas

Sunday
Daughter at a party. Hope to squeeze a roast dinner in though!

Don't forget to check out other meal plans on Mrs M's blog.

Our mate Geoff, and his Rolli-Polli

2011-07-24T23:00:00.000+01:00

Ahhh, "our mate Geoff". He's a lovely bloke, very clever, an inventor, has numerous patents to his name, and is "going to make us all millionaires". Very Del Boy (except he's not dodgy!).

My Twitter followers might remember I mentioned "our mate Geoff" a few weeks ago, when he came round to "make a video" with my husband (which of course led to much ooohs and virtual winking). His latest invention is a fishing gadget called Rolli Polli. If you want to see the finished video (or if you like fishing), you can see it at http://www.rolli-polli.com.

Today we were at the CLA Game Fair as guests of Geoff. We had free tickets, which was great since tickets were £24 each for adults! We've been to similar country shows before (Danson Park, Ashwell, and Bedfordshire) so we knew what to expect: dogs, horses, shooting, falconry displays, etc. But we were not prepared for the sheer scale of the event.

The show covered hundreds of acres of the grounds at Blenheim Palace, mile after mile of exhibitors and food stalls. And I've never seen so many people carrying guns or fishing rods, with their dogs in tow. Or so much tweed! We felt like we'd fallen into a sort of microcosm of society we never see. I must confess, I've secretly coveted a pair of Dubarry Galway boots for several years, so seeing so many women wearing them was a bit torturous (although, as my husband pointed out, if everyone wears them they're not that special). Hmmm. I'm also now coveting a tweed mini skirt...

Wearing Dubarry's AND a tweed mini skirt :(

We found Geoff's stand after about an hour of searching. He was very chipper and doing great trade by the looks of things (he fielded lots of enquiries while we were there). It all looked great and we were really proud of him.

Walking round, the kids found a "colouring tent" (run by the Countryside Foundation for Education) so they spent 30 min there colouring in a Wellington boot for a competition. I scored a free tree from the Woodland Trust (they gave me a wild pear since it's the smallest tree they had) and hubs went to watch men chop wood (he has a fondness for axes). We then found some animal displays, owls, otters, alpacas, and ferrets, and very surprisingly, camels!

Tiny owl

By lunchtime it was getting really hot, so we decided to leave. We had to walk back through the art and craft section though, and we were highly amused at a wooden deer that was for sale. It would look just right in our living room. What do you think?

Hmmm, the colour's not quite right for me

Now to read my free copy of The Field magazine. (First feature: "Dogging in the purple hills" -- yes, seriously). Out of touch?!

Diet meal plan: tins and packets

2011-07-18T11:59:00.000+01:00

Monday is here again and I'm thinking about meals for the week. Last week went to plan. I tempted you with talk of cosmic carrots on Tuesday: here's a link to Fennel and Fern featuring my guest post on those.

The end of the school term is fast approaching and I always start to think about having a clear out of cupboards and drawers at this time of year. Toys can wait until term ends though, first up are my kitchen cupboards! This week's plan features ancient dried pasta, tins of vegetables, a bag of croutons from Christmas, and frozen meat and leftovers.

Monday
Corned beef hash with baked beans

Tuesday
Turkey lasagne with a green salad

Wednesday
Fish, chips, and peas

Thursday
Chicken and bacon Caesar salad

Friday
Pork chops/sausages, mashed potatoes, and vegetables with gravy

Saturday
Pancakes for breakfast!
Thai green chicken curry with rice

Sunday
Roast beef
Sandwiches

Check out other meal plans on Mrs M's blog.

20 questions my kids ask

2011-07-13T07:41:00.000+01:00

Every morning I drive my husband to the train station, and I collect him again in the evening. The journey there and back is about 15 mins. My children enjoy the journey and spend the entire time asking me questions. Here's a selection (bear in mind these questions are constant and from 2 children age 6 and 3).

1) What's this song?
2) Is this one of our favourite songs?
3) How old were you in 1984?
4) How old were you in 1996?
5) What about in 1993?
6) What's 100 + 62?
7) What's 1000 + 15?
8) Can I put my Moshi Monster cards in my Match Attax book?
9) How old were you in 1987?
10) Are you really old?
11) What year was it when you were 6?
12) What's this song?
13) Is this one of our favourite songs?
14) How old was daddy in 1987?
15) Is daddy the same age as you?
16) Can I tell you my wish? [I love this one]
17) Are shooting stars real?
18) How far away is nana's house?
19) What song is this one?
20) Do we like this song?

Monday meal plan: quick and easy

2011-07-11T11:29:00.001+01:00

Another Monday means another meal plan for the week. Last week went well, the chicken and pea risotto was delicious (my children loved it); the swede and turnip gratin was a bit hit and miss, the turnip was a bit hard so we had to pick it out, but otherwise the recipe was a success.

This week the plan is all about meals that are quick to prepare because we have a lot of evening commitments. I've also put myself back on the diet wagon after a few weekends of excess (I've restocked my freezer with soup!), so when you see SALAD, I'll be eating more of that and less of the starchy potato.

Monday
Pork sausages, mashed potatoes, and baked beans

Tuesday
Salmon with soy and sesame noodles and stir-fried cosmic carrots (stay tuned for more on these!)

Wednesday
Gammon steaks, chips, and salad

Thursday
Marinated chicken breasts (from our local butcher), baked potatoes, and salad

Friday
Bacon, lettuce, and tomato crusty rolls

Saturday
Eating with family, probably salmon

Sunday
Eating with family, probably roast chicken

Check our Mrs M's blog for more meal plans.

Easy like Saturday mornings

2011-07-09T10:42:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning at 4:45 am. It was sunny but I could see through the window that the streetlights were still on. I lay there, and I thought "No no no no I do not want to do this". Then I got up, found my running gear and got dressed. I was so anxious not to wake anyone I could only find odd socks!

I ate 2 jelly babies with some water and stuffed 4 more in my pocket with my key. I set off, as the church bell struck 5 times. My aim today was to run 10 miles at a pace of about 10 min/mile.

The first 2 miles were fast. I was enjoying the silence and the slight cooling breeze. Then I started to tire because I'd set off too fast, so the next 2 miles were a pain. But, as I descended into Letchworth, the sun shone and people started to appear and I began to feel good.

As I ran past the UK's first roundabout I realised I was halfway through my run. I was starting to feel tired again, so I hunted for my jelly babies. The Runners World half marathon newsletter this week reminded me that I would need to take something for energy after an hour of running (I forgot last week), and jelly babies are ideal. I've not used energy gels or drinks while running; I've heard they can make you need the loo or cause wind, and that's the last thing I want to deal with on a long run. After unsticking 2 sweets from my house key (not my best idea putting them in the same pocket!) I immediately felt better (psychological?) and the next few miles were good.

At about mile 8 I was thinking about getting home and going back to bed, so I sped up! I was really aware of my hair, which I had cut yesterday and is a lot shorter than it was. I could feel it bouncing on my shoulders and it was annoying!

I started to look at my Garmin and calculate my route; did I need to stay on the road or could I cut onto the Greenway? I decided to cut onto the Greenway for a bit of interest (and the hills are a bit easier!). Loads of rabbits were about, so many birds too. I love running through the fields and spotting wildlife.

I realised at mile 9 that I was going to end up running 10.5 miles (slight route calculation fail!) so I decided I might as well run 11 miles. I was feeling OK, my hips were a bit sore but otherwise I wasn't labouring for breath and I had energy to run. I ran the last 2 miles at some speed, and ended by climbing over a fence because the footpath that runs along my estate was closed partway down!

And so I finished my long run in 1 hour and 47 mins (average pace 9:52 min/mile). I tried to sneak into the house but as soon as I walked through the door the kids were shouting for their breakfast! Fortunately, my husband dealt with them and I managed to grab an hour in bed. Hurrah for husbands :)

So, 6 weeks before my half marathon, I'm now able to run 11 miles. I'm confident I can finish the race in 2 hours 15 mins, which was my original aim. My husband thinks I can do it in 2 hours! What do you all think?

What does £30 of seeds look like?

2011-07-07T15:03:00.001+01:00

A bit like this!

I was very fortunate to be chosen as the first winner of seedparade.co.uk's Twitter competition. My prize was £30 of seeds, which I spent 2 hours choosing from their website.

Now our family allotment that is almost cleared and dug, the thought of filling it with vegetables next year is pretty daunting. I thought I had prepared a lot of seedlings and plants to put in, but I've filled barely a third. This selection of seeds will surely help.

I ordered a range of seeds, from vegetables I like to grow, to unusual varieties, to plants my children will love, to sweet peas for the bees! Here's my order in full.

Peas and beans
Asparagus Pea
Runner Bean Enorma
Climbing French Bean Cosse Violette
Broad Bean Aquadulce Claudia
Climbing Bean Borlotto
Mangetout Pea Oregon Sugar Pod
Pea Petite Pois Waverex
I'm particularly looking forward to growing the borlotti beans. I'm eating much healthier foods nowadays, which includes beans. Asparagus Pea I chose for interest. The pods apparently taste like asparagus, so they'll be fun to grow and try.

Roots
Carrot Nantes
Carrot Paris Market Atlas
Celeriac Giant Prague
Hamburg Parsley
I can't resist adding carrots to any seed order. Nantes are so easy to grow and versatile, I've overwintered them before. Atlas are a ball variety of carrot, which hopefully will intrigue my children! Hamburg parsley is a root vegetable, a cross between carrot and parsnip; the tops can be used as a herb, similar to parsley. Sounds very versatile!

Leaves
Spinach Matador
Lettuce All The Year Around
I've never grown spinach but I eat it now so I decided it would be a good vegetable for the allotment.

Brassicas
Cauliflower Purple Cape
Brussels Sprout Evesham Special
Cabbage Durham Early
Cabbage Mammoth Red Rock
I am STILL a complete failure when it comes to brassicas. These seeds won't produce vegetables until late 2012/early 2013. That gives me plenty of time to plan my anti-pigeon, anti-Cabbage White, anti-slug strategy. Looking forward to purple cauliflowers.

Squash
Aubergine Black Beauty
Courgette Black Beauty
Courgette Eight Ball F1 Hybrid
Winter Squash Spaghetti
Winter Squash Acorn Table Queen
I love courgettes! I've chosen a ball variety for my children to get excited about. I'm also going to try some winter squash. Spaghetti squash apparently turns spaghetti-like on cooking, something I am curious to see.

Onions
Leek Lyon 2 Prizetaker
Spring Onion White Lisbon
Onion Braunschweigi
I've never grown red onions from seed before, so I'm looking forward to trying these. I usually steal leek seedlings from my mum, so now I have a chance to prove I can grow them from scratch!

Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn Minipop F1 Hybrid
Sweetcorn Earlibird Supersweet F1 Hybrid
Baby sweetcorn, what's not to like?! Hope they are easier to grow than sweetcorn, which I've only been partly successful with.

For the bees!
Sweet Pea Royal Mix
Sweet Pea Stars And Stripes
Sweet Pea Parfumiere Mix
I love sweet peas, they are the only annual flowers I have ever managed to grow from seed.

Diet meal plan: using homegrown vegetables

2011-07-04T00:01:00.004+01:00

Another Monday and I'm thinking about the family's meals for the week. Last week's menu went to plan. I bought local, as intended. However, it was expensive, much more so than doing one big shop at a supermarket. I think shopping at my local butcher may be cheaper for meat, but veg and other items are best bought at a larger store in town.

My dinner at local eatery The Two Brewers was excellent, and after some Twitter persuasion, I made sure I ordered a Cardona and Son pork chop. Highly recommended and well worth a visit for my Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire readers.

This week, I've begun to harvest vegetables from the garden, so meals now will have to incorporate this homegrown produce. It's exciting to grow your own veg but sometimes it can be hard to know how to cook it!

Monday
Chicken and pea risotto (peas from the garden, chicken is leftover from the weekend).

Tuesday
Gammon with potato, swede & turnip gratin, & broccoli (potatoes, turnip, and swede harvested on Sunday!)

Wednesday
Salmon, new potatoes, and salad (I was given an enormous iceberg lettuce by an allotment neighbour)

Thursday
Baked potatoes

Friday
Chicken breasts, homemade potato wedges, salad

Saturday
Two parties, we will eat on the go.

Sunday
Sandwiches and leftovers and recovery!

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more Monday meal plans.

Barbecue sauce

2011-06-29T05:34:00.000+01:00

This recipe is taken from my Ultimate Low Fat recipe book. It's intended as a glaze for chicken (or would work well with pork sausages too), but it's so tasty my husband demands I make double so he can have it as a sauce!

Serves 4

3 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp brown fruity sauce (we all know they mean HP!)
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed (optional if you don't like garlic)

Mix all ingredients together well.

If using as a glaze, brush over chicken pieces and cook in the oven or on a barbecue until the juices run clear.

If making to serve as a sauce, place mixture in a pan. Heat gently until thickened slightly.

Sweet and sour chicken wings

2011-06-29T05:33:00.001+01:00

This recipe is taken from Ultimate Low Fat: healthy cooking for you and your family. It's got some excellent recipes in and is well-used in my house!

Serves 4

4 tbsp wine vinegar
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lime (optional, this gives the chicken a tangy flavour)

Mix all the ingredients together and pour over chicken pieces (remove the skin if you want to reduce calories and fat). I've used drumsticks and wings in the past but I'm sure this will work just as well with thighs or legs.

Leave to marinate for an hour in the fridge. Cook in the oven or on a barbecue until chicken is well browned and the juices run clear.

Diet meal plan: shopping locally

2011-06-27T10:21:00.001+01:00

Last week was another good week diet-wise. I reached and surpassed my weight goal (I lost 3 lb), so I'm now on maintenance. This means, more calories in and, hopefully, no weight lost or gained! Easier said than done though. My in-laws were visiting this weekend and I ate chocolate, cake, and crisps, and drank wine and cider (I NEVER drink cider).

The meals all went to plan last week. I was a bit worried about defrosting and reheating the Thai green curry--the coconut milk looked as if it was separating at one point--but once heated through it was fine and tasted lovely. I managed to clear enough freezer space to buy two tubs of ice cream too!

The sausages bought from the local butcher were so good that I also bought a joint of beef for Sunday. What a delicious meal! The beef was so tender. I've decided this week I'll try to only shop locally to see what else is available. Also, allotment and garden produce is appearing!

On to this week's plan.

Monday
Summer salad with prawns. My children refuse to eat prawns, so I'll poach a piece of cod for them.

Tuesday
Grilled chicken with tomato, olive, pepper, and cucumber salad, in pitta breads.
I'm on a Ladies Night out tonight, at The Two Brewer's in Stotfold (eating locally...), and my son is at his friend's house.

Wednesday
Sweet and sour chicken wings, vegetable egg fried rice, and BBQ sauce (for my husband, who NEEDS sauce when he has rice) - will blog these recipes on Wednesday.

Thursday
Beef enchiladas.

Friday
Gammon steaks, chips, and sweetcorn cobs, with a tomato salad.

Saturday
Oriental-style salmon with noodles and sugar snap peas.

Sunday
Roast pork

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more weekly meal plans.

Lasting impressions

2011-06-21T13:12:00.001+01:00

As I overtook a cyclist this morning in the car, I was reminded of my driving instructor. (Gamil Gattase: he worked for the AA driving school and was teaching his daughter to drive at the same time as me. I was better than she was.) He always told me when we passed a cyclist "Now check your mirror to make sure you didn't run him over". It's a silly memory, but something I always mutter to myself as I overtake cyclists.

When I was making my children's packed lunches later, I was buttering bread and thinking of my old Brownie pack leader (RIP Penny Cook), who I remember telling me to "butter right up to the edges because no one wants dry bread". I seriously remember her every time I butter bread.

And sat at my desk while working before lunch, struggling to see out of one eye because my contact lens had gone blurry, I remembered my husband's Auntie Pamela. Many many years ago (when I was VERY young!), I was telling her about a night out when I'd had contact lens issues and been unable to see all night. Thus, she passed on her vast contact lens knowledge. "Stick the lens in your mouth and give it a gentle suck, it'll do the trick. Better to use your own mouth than go blind." Priceless, classic, I've fallen on this emergency tip many a time.

I was wondering a while ago about my children and what their abiding memory of me would be. Will they remember the bad things, when I get cross with them for example? The fact I ALWAYS seem to be going running. Or the nice things, like when we make cakes or I "let" them go to the park. Or will I manage to pass on some priceless tip they remember forever? I sure hope so.

What random lasting memories do you have? How do you remember your parents? Please feel free to comment. (My mum taught me how to fold flour into cake mix, how to iron a shirt, the correct way to peg out washing, and never to eat chicken twice in one day. My dad taught me never to give up.)

Diet meal plan: soup overload!

2011-06-20T00:01:00.004+01:00

After a successful week diet-wise for me (I lost another 3lb), I've raised my calorie intake from 1200 per day to 1400. This means I can eat a bit more (or reintroduce treats such as cake or ice cream!).

As far as this week goes, it's a bit hectic. My son has 2 school concert performances in the evening, so we need to have quick and easy meals that will keep him going. I also have a freezer stuffed to the brim with healthy meals and leftovers, so I'm focussing on using those up (and building up my Tupperware collection again!). We have family staying from Friday to Sunday, so we'll eat out one day and perhaps have a BBQ if the weather is good.

Monday
Lunch (for me): stuffed vine leaves and salad (bought at the Father's Day Chilli Fiesta we went to yesterday)
Dinner: Turkey bolognaise sauce with pasta (soup for me)

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheesy pasta and garlic slices (from the freezer)
Dinner: Thai green chicken curry and rice (I'm running, so I'll have [more] soup later)

Wednesday
Lunch: Soup [I have at least three homemade varieties in the freezer!]
Dinner: Baked potatoes, various fillings to choose from

Thursday
Lunch: Beans on toast
Dinner: Fish fingers and chips (late dinner for me and hubs so probably mussels in ratatouille for me and a burger for him)

Friday
Lunch: Egg salad
Dinner: Chicken and sausages (bought from our local butcher, Beale Bros, supposedly the best sausages around and low fat too), homemade potato wedges, and salads (cooked on the BBQ if weather is good)

Saturday
Eating out

Sunday
Lunch: Roast beef

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's blog for more meal ideas for the week.

Heart rate monitoring: the science bit

2011-06-13T13:25:00.001+01:00

My last post on heart rate was about training with a heart monitor, and I talked about running (or working out) to your 70% recovery heart rate (an "easy" day) three times a week and to the 85% threshold ceiling (a "hard" day) once. But why is this strategy important? (Here follows a VERY simplified explanation of muscle metabolism and biochemistry!)

Energy sources
Our body contains two types of energy source: glycogen and fat. When you begin a run or workout, your body "fires up" and starts to burn glycogen without oxygen (anaerobic metabolism). This warm-up phase lasts a maximum of 2 minutes, after which your body begins to burn the glycogen with oxygen (aerobic metabolism). After 30 minutes of your run or workout you begin to burn fat aerobically; this process is the most efficient way to produce energy and is what will get you through an endurance race. You still need glycogen as a back-up (for dealing with hills and a sprint finish!), so training your body to burn fat rather than glycogen (and therefore saving this vital energy source for "emergencies") is important.

Muscle types
Muscles are formed of two types of cells (or fibres): slow-twitch and fast-twitch. Slow-twitch cells have a high oxygen content (for aerobic metabolism) and burn fat; they are therefore most important for endurance. Fast-twitch cells create energy from glycogen without oxygen (anaerobic metabolism); a by-product of this process is lactic acid, which creates that painful burning sensation when you train hard. Increasing the amount of fast-twitch muscle cells will help you deal with this burning pain (sprinters have a lot of this muscle-cell type).

How the science fits with training
"Easy" training days at 70% recovery heart rate increase the number of slow-twitch cells, thereby teaching your muscles to burn fat (and saving your glycogen for another day). By increasing your muscles' fat-burning potential you are not only getting fitter but also boosting aerobic capacity, the ability to burn energy with oxygen.

But you do need some capacity for anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen, glycogen-burning); anaerobic metabolism is going to get you started on a run or workout and will propel you up a hill quickly, but will make your muscles burn from the pain of lactic acid build-up. A "hard" training day or interval training---when you run for short distances at your 85% threshold ceiling heart rate---helps your body develop more fast-twitch cells to deal with the pain of lactic acid build up.

"Hitting the wall" (basically, when your legs stop working) happens when you've run out of glycogen. So easy training days---teaching your muscles to burn fat---are really important so you have glycogen available when you need it.

So, that's a very simplified explanation of why it's important to run or workout at these two different heart rate zones. For more details I suggest you read Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot by John Parker (which a friend very kindly lent to me---he can have his copy back now!) or borrow a book from your library on sports biochemistry or muscle metabolism (there are lots out there).

My personal experience
I've been running with a heart monitor and following these principles for about 6 weeks. I have really noticed a difference in my ability. When I started running at my recovery heart rate my average pace was 11 min/mile and I was running 7 miles; now my average pace is 10 min/mile and I can run 9 miles. Also, I ran 10K in early April in just over 57 minutes. Last week I knocked 2 minutes off that time. Who knows where I will be in another 6 weeks?

If you have any questions please let me know in the comments. I will reply!

Cabbage and potato soup

2011-06-13T10:23:00.001+01:00

Today's lunch is Cabbage and potato soup, a dish I adapted from a recipe on the BBC Good Food website. Here's the recipe if you would like to try it yourself.

Cabbage and Potato soup

Serves 4

1 stick of celery, chopped roughly
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
450 g potatoes, small dice
1 L vegetable stock (I used 4 tsp Swiss vegetable bouillon powder)
1 savoy cabbage, thick stalks and core removed, sliced thinly

Place the celery, carrot, garlic, and potatoes into a large pan and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 mins until all the vegetables are tender. Blitz with a hand blender until fairly smooth. Add the savoy cabbage and simmer until just tender. Check seasoning and divide into four portions.

I froze this soup so it's available for an easy lunch. The Good Food website suggests serving with grilled bacon on top, which sounds lovely and would provide extra protein (but extra fat too!).

Per serving:
133 calories
29 g carbohydrate
1 g fat
4 g protein

It's simply delicious, and very healthy. I haven't used any oil in the recipe, although if you wish you could fry the vegetables in a little olive oil to soften them before adding the stock (I don't see the point of adding fat).

If you try this recipe please let me know in the comments how it turns out and if you liked it.

Diet meal plan: week 2

2011-06-13T00:01:00.009+01:00

Welcome to week 2 of my family-friendly diet meal plans.

Last week went mainly to plan. Saturday was a diet disaster: with two parties to go to it was inevitable really! We scrapped the roast dinner on Sunday because of our overindulgence and had beans on toast for lunch and takeaway kebabs for dinner (I had run 9 miles, it was deserved!).

This week my son has requested cheesy pasta, and I'm always open to requests :)

Monday
Lunch: Cabbage and potato soup
Dinner: Cod with pea and watercress purée and new potatoes

Tuesday
Lunch: Beans on toast
Dinner: Thai chicken and vegetable curry with rice

Wednesday

Lunch: Baked potato

Dinner: Thin cut pork steaks, chips and ratatouille

Thursday

Lunch: Prawn salad sandwich

Dinner: Cheesy cauliflower and pasta bake

Friday

Lunch: Spicy dal and carrot soup

Dinner: Stir-fry beef and broccoli with egg fried rice

Saturday

Dinner: Baked potatoes

Sunday

Lunch: Roast chicken

Don't forget to check Mrs M's blog for other ideas.

My Fitness Story

2011-06-09T21:32:00.002+01:00

If you've arrived at my blog via The Five Fs then "hello and welcome". Since you've probably read (and hopefully enjoyed) my fitness story, I thought a list of other relevant posts might be of interest, to save too much random clicking.

I blogged in early January about my initiation into the local running club.

At the beginning of March, I had a look back at the past 2 months to see how far I'd come with respect to my weight loss.

Although I had been tweeting since January about my weekly Wii Fit weigh-ins, my blog followers were no so fortunate. This post introduced it, and I sounded off about a bad week I'd had.

I dusted my weighted hula hoop off and attempted to find my waist.

After a family holiday, I discovered the joy of splurging and getting away with it.

At the end of March I had reached the ideal BMI range; I blogged about my achievements, why I thought I was doing so well, and my love of toast.

In April, I ran a 10K race and wrote a piece about panting women and jelly babies.

Most recently, I've blogged about my new Garmin Forerunner and training with a heart monitor.

Hope you enjoy reading any or all of these posts. Feel free to leave a comment, I will reply!

Heart rate monitoring: training yourself

2011-06-07T13:01:00.002+01:00

As a follow-up to my post on heart rate zones, this post is about training with a heart monitor.

Earlier this year I signed up to run a half marathon in August. The prospect of running 13.1 miles was daunting when previously the farthest I'd ever run was 6.6 miles. I needed a plan!

SmartCoach
I had a look on the Runners World website for training plans and found SmartCoach. Here, you enter a few details (a time for a recent distance, how often you train, how many weeks before your race, etc) and the online system calculates an individualised training plan for you based on your ability. The plan is based on pace. So for example, if you run four times a week the plan will have you running probably three times at a slowish pace (for me, about 11:04 min/mile) and once at a faster pace (eg, 9:30 min/mile).

Heart Monitor Training
Some Twitter friends (@britsonpole) very kindly sent me their training plans for running a half marathon (they recently ran the inaugural Greenway Challenge). Their plans were based on heart rate zones, with three weekly runs at or under recovery (70% zone) and one at threshold (85%).

I decided, since I have a heart monitor and have been reading Heart Monitor Training, that I'd use the SmartCoach plan for distances but replace pace with heart rate zones. It was a good decision; my first training run was to pace (11:04), whereas my second (and subsequent) run to my recovery zone meant my pace varied from 11:04 to 9:30 min/mile (depending on elevation and wind resistance I expect!).

I'll update on my training progress in August, and perhaps I'll explain before then why varied runs are best :) If I can summarise succinctly and accurately that is...

Diet meal plans

2011-06-06T17:01:00.001+01:00

Ever since I began dieting back in January, I've planned the family's meals for the week. Planning has several benefits: it reminds me what I should be eating (and stops me snacking in-between meals); I can keep track of how many fish/chicken/pasta dishes we've had (or not had!) in the week; and it helps keep the shopping bill down (and prevents wasting food because everything gets used).

So many people ask me what I eat to lose weight, so I thought I'd post my diet meal plans here once a week. I'm also going to link them to Mrs M's weekly blog post, which has lots of other ideas and linked posts. It's a great resource, so go and check it out.

I try and eat what the rest of the family eat, simply to avoid having to cook too many different meals. However, I don't like to eat carbohydrate for dinner (unless I've been running before), so sometimes I might save some pasta sauce for the next day and have it for lunch.

Here's this week's plan. (Please note that I'm currently aiming to eat 1200 calories a day! The family are not.) Lunches are for me only, dinners are for the whole family (unless stated).

Monday
Lunch: Spicy Dal and Carrot Soup
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, roast new potatoes, and salad

Tuesday
Lunch: Turkey bolognaise sauce with wholewheat pasta
Dinner: as above for family; veggie version of Cabbage and Potato Soup for me (after running club PM)

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken, sun-dried tomato and mushroom risotto (from the freezer)
Dinner: Breaded fish, chips, and mushy peas (post swimming lesson). For me, melon, proscuitto, and a tomato, basil, and onion salad (after circuit training PM).

Thursday
Lunch: Bacon, rocket, and tomato on a seeded deli roll
Dinner: Salmon, boiled new potatoes, and green beans

Friday
Lunch: Moroccan chickpea soup
Dinner: Thin-cut steak and/or tomato and basil chicken (Tesco BBQ range), homemade potato wedges, and salad

Saturday
Two parties today! Will eat whatever we are given :)

Sunday
Lunch: Roast chicken and all the trimmings!
Dinner: Sandwiches, salad, any leftovers

A walk in the woods

2011-05-29T20:33:00.001+01:00

We took the children for a walk in Rowney Warren this morning. There's always something new to discover. Today, we were looking for "clues" to help us find goblins and dragons.

There were plenty of clues for us to follow.

Where will the clues lead us?

We found a hidden fairy glade.

Shhh, the fairies are sleeping

A "very purple bush" that had goblins living inside it.

Watch out for those goblins, they might eat our chocolate

A lovely surprise to find Pooh's house. Maybe we can find Eeyore's house too?

Is he inside?

Yes we can! Eeyore's house creaked in the wind and was a bit scary.

Where's Eeyore gone?

We didn't find any dragons, but we found lots of tracks they had left behind.

Rowney Warren is located near Chicksands and Shefford in Bedfordshire. It's run by the Forestry Commission and is free to visit.

Fruity potential

2011-05-17T13:06:00.000+01:00

I love growing vegetables in my garden, but what about fruit?

After last year's disaster, I should have a bumper crop of strawberries this year. As long as the birds stay clear.

My birthday present from last year, this is the first year I'll have homegrown blueberries. A gift that keeps on giving.

The raspberries get better every year. Shame they're taking over my veg patch as well.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Heart rate monitoring: resting, max, and zones

2011-05-16T08:48:00.010+01:00

As soon as I got my new Garmin watch for measuring and analysing my runs, I began to wonder why monitoring my heart rate while on a run would be useful. We all have unique resting and maximum heart rates, and knowing these values can assist with training for races and other activities.

I googled heart rate monitoring and found this site, which introduced to me the idea of heart rate zones. It also provided a method to calculate your max heart rate based on your age (from which you can calculate these zones). I did the calculation, but I didn't really understand the part about zones or what I should be aiming to do.

Thankfully, a friend offered to lend me an excellent book: Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot. This book contains another calculation for max heart rate (slightly different from that on the above website), but stressed the importance of doing a physical test to ascertain your max heart rate.

Max heart rate

The calculation in the book is 205 - {half your age} (+ 5 if you're a woman). Which gave me a rough max heart rate of 193 bpm.

The max heart rate test suggested in the book consists of a short warm-up run, stretches, and a 100 m sprint to get your heart rate up, followed by a series of 5 short uphill sprints (200 m), with recovery jogs downhill in between, gradually increasing the intensity of each uphill run.

My local running club does sprint sessions every so often, and it just so happened that a session similar to the above test was done a few days after I got my watch :) And my max heart rate peaked at 181 bpm, which I have now set as my max. (Goes to show how inaccurate the calculation can be.)

Resting heart rate

The test for this rate is nice and easy! The book suggests you strap your heart monitor on soon after waking in the morning and just lie there for a few minutes. (And you are allowed to go back to sleep!) My resting heart rate was 40 bpm (whoop, super athlete NOT).

Training zones

Here comes the section I was most confused about. What are heart rate zones and why should I care? Apparently, two zones are most important: the recovery ceiling (70% level) and the threshold floor (85% level). You can calculate these based on your max and resting rates.

For example: (Max - Resting) x 0.70 + resting = 70% level

My 70% level is 139 bpm and my 85% level is 160 bpm. The book recommends you keep your heart rate below the 70% level on 'easy' run days and at the 85% level on 'hard' days.

More about training here.

Garmin Forerunner 110: review

2011-05-14T08:33:00.003+01:00

When I started running in January I didn't know much about tracking runs, I was more concerned about getting to the end without dying. I soon became aware of running apps for the iPhone (eg, Runkeeper, MapMyTracks) that would measure distance and show a map, calculate calories burnt, and provide a breakdown of pace every mile; when I received an arm case for my husband's iPhone 3GS for Mother's Day, my obsession with tracking all my runs and assessing my pace began.

The iPhone, sadly, was not up to the job, crashing on every run; and of course, it wasn't my iPhone (hint). The arm holder was also fairly annoying, so I put in a request for a GPS watch for my birthday. A friend recommended I get a Garmin. I wanted something small and "watch-like", so I wasn't keen on the Forerunner 305 that I'd seen already.

The Garmin Forerunner 110 is perfect: small AND watch-like. I received the unisex version and a heart rate monitor (sold separately). (You can also buy women's and men's versions that come with a heart monitor.)

Image taken from Amazon.co.uk

Once fully charged (it comes with an AC adapter, usb lead, and charger that clips to the side of the watch) the unit asks a few questions for setting up reasons (eg, your age, date and time, preferred unit of measurement). Strap the heart monitor band around your chest and the watch will automatically pick it up (a little heart symbol appears on the left). Stand outside, and the unit will search for satellites for a GPS signal (a satellite symbol appears on the right).

The unit has four buttons around the edge. The 'light' button doubles as the power on/off button when held on. The 'page/menu' button when pressed once will scroll through time, current timed run, and heart rate) and when held on will bring up the menu. Here, you can changes settings and view previous activities. The 'lap/reset' button will set a lap marker if pressed once and, if held on, will save your current run and reset for a new one. 'Start/stop' does what it says.

The watch does everything I want. It accurately maps my runs and shows distance at the top in miles or kilometres, current pace at the bottom, and either current heart rate or run time in the centre. I've set the watch to beep every 0.5 miles and show my current split time and pace. Split time can be set to 1 mile, 2 miles, etc. depending on your preference.

At the end of a run, holding reset saves the run data for download to Garmin Connect at a later time. Holding down 'page/menu' and selecting 'Activity' will show a summary of the run: total distance, average pace and heart rate, and calories burnt.

By connecting the unit to a computer via the usb cable and clip charger, you can download run data for geeky analysis. Garmin Connect is very good because it allows you to share runs or keep them private. For every run it shows a detailed map, distance, pace (average and best), split times, elevation, and heart rate (average and max). You can also set up your heart rate zones if you know your max and resting heart rates. More on heart rate monitoring another time!

Run, previously fat girl, run

2011-04-10T20:53:00.000+01:00

When I first started going to running club in January I had one simple aim: to keep going to running club so I didn't lose face. Additional aims were to lose weight (in combination with a diet) and, if I didn't injure myself horribly, to perhaps run the Standalone 10K in October. So I didn't really expect to be running a 10K race in April. But today I did.

http://www.flitwick10k.org.uk/

My aim before I started the race was to finish in just under an hour, since I ran 10 km a few weeks ago with the running club in that time. But that time was set in the cool evening, and I was racing in daytime heat (I think it was about 20 degrees today), so I wasn't too hopeful. Furthermore, the Flitwick 10K course is described as "undulating", and I can safely say, there were a couple of hills!

Check out my new red hair!

As I set off I kept repeating various tips I'd picked up at running club: don't set off too fast, keep your strides short, take the downhill sections easy. It was quite difficult to do anything other than follow the crowd for the first 2 km. The first noticeable hill was around 3 km but, because I spotted a photographer was snapping away, I took it at speed (and overtook a couple of neighbouring runners in the process)!

Around this point I was aware of a lady running in a thick T-shirt and long trousers, panting like she was about to collapse (I imaginatively nicknamed her panting woman). I targeted and then overtook her, only for her to speed up and retake me. Damn, she can't do that!

There was a water station at 5 km (roughly 3 miles) and I gratefully took a cup, only to almost drown myself by inhaling most of it. This is why I don't drink while running. At 7 km there was a rather daunting looking hill and at this point I sneaked one of my two secret weapons (a jelly baby) from my back pocket, and the energy boost/placebo effect got me up the hill without faltering. And I (finally) shook that blimin' panting woman!

There was another horrible hill around 8 km (another jelly baby consumed to help) but by this point I knew I was nearly at the end (and that it was mainly downhill). Ignoring the advice I'd been given, I upped my pace and overtook dozens of other runners. THAT is a fab feeling! As I saw the village green come into sight I knew I was almost finished. A spectator shouted "Come on Stotfold!" (YES!) and I managed to find a bit extra to get me over the line quickly.

Rear shot because I have a nice ass now, apparently ;)

And my time: 57 minutes and 18 seconds! So I achieved my aim by quite a lot really. The summary from runkeeper.com is below; I was really pleased to see those steady 9 minute miles, ending with a fast "sprint" (times not 100% accurate though, iPhone not up to the job as usual).

The pain wasn't quite over for me; both my kids wanted to run in the children's 1-mile fun run. I told my 5-year-old son to stay with me and his sister, but he sprinted off into the distance! My husband spotted he'd got away from me and I have never seen him run so fast to catch him up so he could run with him! Son finished in less than 10 minutes (future runner I think [Stotfold juniors?!]) and me and my 3-year-old daughter in about 20 minutes (she said "Mummy this is really hard!"). But neither of them stopped for a moment, so I was very proud. And we all have a medal to show for our hard work.

Proper medals!

Roll on my next challenge. Any ideas what I should do?!

800-mile challenge

2011-04-03T20:51:00.002+01:00

Last Friday, I spent the evening catching up with two old work colleagues. Both of them are runners, so we all swapped our achievements and stories over dinner. Abbie ran the London Marathon last year, she swears she will never run it again (she's currently training for a half marathon in May). Zoe is running a 10K later this year.

Abbie was telling me about a website she's set up called 800-mile challenge. The idea is simple: to log 800 miles worth of exercise in a year. The exercise can be of any type (walking, running, cycling, swimming, etc), or a combination. She reckons it's easy enough, only 15.5 miles a week! Easy for someone training for a half marathon!

Sounds like a challenge even so, and since I'm a naturally competitive person, I've signed up. Fortunately, I've been logging my runs since January on Runkeeper, so I know I've already clocked up 124 miles (although some of those are from cycling).

I'm going to have to buck my ideas up though, I've got a long way to go. I'm either going to be logging all my short walks on the school run or doing loads of exercise in December!

Are you up to the challenge? Let me know in the comments if you sign up, or if you want to share any achievements.

Losing weight the Sog way

2011-03-31T22:48:00.000+01:00

Today was my weekly weigh-in, and I lost another 5 lb. This loss means my BMI is finally back in the "ideal" range, at just over 24. It also means I've lost 34 lb since I started dieting and running at the beginning of January. And I've dropped two dress sizes (at least!).

Someone asked me today how I continue to have such good weight loss several months after I started dieting and running. Surely weight loss begins to slow down after you've lost a lot of weight?

I think there are several reasons.

First, we all know the adage "muscle weighs more than fat". So, as you exercise more then weight loss will tail off because you're building muscle. That's right, yes? Well, I've spent the past 2 years building up core strength and muscle tone at circuit training. So I already have muscle lurking under my fat! So maybe that's it.

Second, I work out damn hard. I run four times a week (Tuesday and Thursday nights with my local running club and Saturday AM and Sunday PM on my own). I don't just run a couple of miles at a leisurely pace. I run between 4 and 5 miles, at a pace around 10 min 30 s per mile (slightly obsessive about pace!) And I still go to circuit training once a week :)

Third, my diet's changed a lot. I don't drink alcohol at all (except for special occasions or if it's Sunday night and I'm peed off because I just injured myself...). I don't eat bread anymore because it's high calorie (130 kcal a slice, in addition to spread and whatever else you're eating with it). Bear in mind, I used to eat so much toast before January! Toast for breakfast, perhaps a toasty for lunch, toast as a snack while I was working (I love toast). I don't eat cheese, biscuits, cakes, sweets, chocolate, ice cream, or crisps either. No snacking! If I'm hungry between meals I tend to have a drink...

I've made changes or added things to my diet too. I eat a lot more fish than I used to, which is low calorie and a good source of protein. I eat lots more fruit and veg, but not as much potato. I always eat breakfast, and I try to have carbs for lunch instead of dinner, especially if I'm running later that day. For dinner I might have homemade soup or a salad, nothing too heavy. If I'm on a rest day then I eat with the family but have a small portion.

This plan suits me and my lifestyle well, based on my exercise and home routine. It might not suit you. I hope though it might give you some ideas and help you towards your weight loss goals.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment if you have any tips to share.