The things we say...

I got my inspiration for this post from reading a post by frugal fun for boys, which can be found here.  I thought I would start one about things we say when we have a 18mth old girl...

• No you cant take your bucket to bed
• Please dont press the buttons on the washing machine/cooker 
• Yes mummy does have a belly button, but the entire library did not need to see it
• No, no, no, NO crayons are only meant for drawing on paper, not walls, stairs, cupboards, windows or the fridge 
• The dog doesnt want to wear a hat and bag right now
• PUT the cat down, NOW please
• Dog food is for the dog, and cat food is for the cat, if you are hungry you can have a snack, but leave their food ALONE
• Although mummy is very impressed you can switch on the taps, please only do it when mummy is watching.
• How did you get up there? Please get off the table/window sill/desk

• Mummy didnt really want the xbox/playstation/tv switching on right now, but thank you anyway.
• Where have you hidden the house/car keys?
• Its lovely you want to share, but if you give the dog your teddy she will eat it
• Mummy has just had a drink, so doesnt really want to drink a cup of sand, thank you.
• Its lovely your trying to help mummy mop the floor, but that is dirty water, and mummy has just mopped the floor
• Thank you for helping weed the garden, but those are flowers not weeds.
• Please dont eat stones... OR sticks
• Please dont sit on the cat
• Where did you find that, can we put it back in the bin now please
• We dont jump on stairs

Although this possibly makes her sound like a handful (she is) she is completely worth it.  Either that or I am insane...

Weekly update 28/09/2011

Maybe some small proof that 'fad diets' dont work?
Well after last weeks health problems, I have turned a new leaf today.  In the last two weeks I have lost 3lb, I'm pretty pleased with that weight loss all in all.
I did cheekily weigh in last friday, on leaving hospital and had lost 6lb.  But in the last few days have gained 3 of those pounds back.  To myself at least, I think this proves that 'fad diets' dont work.  Having to cut back to eating minimal calories a day (for me one small meal per day) did make me lose record weight, but then as soon as I started to eat normally again, the weight has (almost) all been gained back.  I wonder if this is what the yo-yo dieters end up doing.  Restricting their diet so much, then when they hit their goal, going back to eating normally and volia you end up weighing the same, if not more.  Before starting a new 'fad diet' to lose it all again.
This is what the 'old' me did.  Time and time again, until something clicked.
Now Im changing how I see food, and concentrating on eating healthily, like eating more fruit and vegetables, drinking a healthy amount of water per day, eating low fat foods, etc.  Yes it might take me longer to lose the weight, but there is less falling off the band wagon and its a change for life.
So with that in mind, this week Im not really setting myself much of a challenge.  Im going to carry on following my low fat, calorie counting diet and start to increase my exercise slowly.  Last night was the first time of doing aerobics since being discharged, and I did feel it, so its low impact exercising for the time being.  Hopefully next week, I will be back into the swing of things and will have a more exciting challenge.

Late Weekly Weigh In

One way to lose weight...
This weeks weigh in, is slightly (OK OK nearly a week) late.  Thats because the day before my weigh in was due (21st September 2011) I got taken into hospital with suspected appendicitis.  So spent most of last week, not being allowed to eat anything.  I finally left the hospital on Friday, I completed my weigh in that night, and have indeed lost 6lbs in just over a week.  Brilliant weight loss, however the way weight loss works, most of this is actually fluid loss and by starting to eat again, I will put most of this back on.  This is why so called 'fad diets' dont work.  Therefore this week, Im concentrating on getting better, slowly introducing exercise etc.  So I have no goals weight loss this week and have really discounted last weeks weigh in and will see what my weight does this week....

Is it just me?

Picture the scene...
Me and my daughter, who is 20mths, at a playgroup. After a while of playing with the kitchen set and pushing round a dolly in a buggy, the draw to the painting table is too much.  No problem, I think, there is aprons to stop her making a mess of her clothes, so off we go.On goes the apron and the painting begins... 5 minutes later we are back to wanting to play with the dolly and buggy again.  Very impressed as on taking the apron off no paint has made it onto any of our clothes, although both sets of hands need a wash.  Off we go to wash our hands, whilst getting some soap out, squirt, some of the blue soap ends up on my white top.  This seems to happen every time we go anywhere near a crafts table whilst out and about.  For some reason at home, where there is an abundance of clothes to change into this never happens.
Having spent the rest of the playgroup self-consciously looking around at the other mums, dads, grandparents or carers I have noticed none of the others have got paint or in this case soap stains on their clothes.  Even the other children have seemed to manage not to cover themselves in the stuff.  Yet there I am with a huge blue stain on my white top.
On the way home, I began to ponder, is it just me for just needs to look at a craft table to get covered, or is there a mum or carer like it at every playgroup?
I remember my mum recalling how as a child she would constantly be embarrassed at the fact all the other children look pristine at the end of school or parties or ballet class, yet I would always come away a complete mess, covered head to toe in jelly, paint and mud.  This has made me wonder, is there a genetic disposition to being a mess, or is it a learned habit? If its a learned habit, can it be un-learned, is there hope that I can actually come away from playgroups without stains?
Actually, I have a feeling I have found another person like me, looking at my daughter, she has paint on her tights and her t-shirt....

Weekly update 14/09/11

Every cloud has a sliver lining.


Well this week I have lost 3lb.  I would like to think, and hope you all believe me, that this is because I have stuck to my 1200calories per day diet.  I would also like to think its down to exercising well.  Im not sure it is...
I had thursday afternoon off, for personal reasons.  I then did reasonably well on friday and saturday, sunday I did really well.  Monday I had take out. However this is where the silver linings come in.... We choose to have popcorn and chinese for tea, with some friends this week.  Unfortunately, chinese and my body seem to of had a disagreement, and for the past few months having a chinese has started to make me feel ill.  This time was the worst feeling ever, and now I think I can safely say I dont fancy eating chinese again (thats the silver lining).  It has also had the added benefit of meaning that yesterday I eat virtually nothing, and today my appetite only came back this afternoon (again another silver lining).
So thats this week in a nut shell...
The goal for this week is to start taking some tablets that are meant to, among other things promote weight loss.  Im going to be taking them for a month then doing a full review for the blog.  I also aim to lose 3lb a week for the next 3 weeks in order to meet my target of losing 3 stone by 5th Oct.
At some point in the future Im going to find a way of dealing with the comfort eating, and will blog my findings, but right now, I have other areas to concentrate on....

Hand and Footprint Painting, Boat!

Sailing Boat 


We made this after spending a day at the seaside, where we had been talking about all the boats we could see.  So this week is all about boats and the sea! This is how we made a lovely hand and foot print picture of a boat.

What you need:
White paper or card
Paints (we made a green and brown boat, but you can choose whatever colours you need)
Blue textured paper (we used to 2 different blue tissue paper and some corrigated paper)
Blue glitter glue
coloured pipe cleaner

What we did:


First of all using the brown paint, we painted her foot with a brush and added it sideways to the paper (or card) and then clean up the mess!
Next, we painted her hands with the green paint using a brush, and added two hand prints just above the footprint.

Once that has dried you can then go about decorating your boat.  

We choose to add a pipe cleaner as the mast, this is done by making to small holes at the top and bottom of the middle of the hand print,  tie a small knot in one end of the pipe cleaner, thread through the holes and tie a small knot in the other end.

We also added blue textured paper and blue glitter to look like the sea.  To do this, we cut out wave shapes in the paper and stuck to the bottom of the paper (or card) and cover the bottom half of the footprint.  

This is a picture of our finished boat picture...

Apologies, my computer skills are not great, so have no idea how to turn the picture round!

Pizza

Recipe of the week: 12th September 2011


This pizza has just got a cheese and tomato topping, but we have also made several other toppings, including a chilli beef topping, which I will add the recipe for at a later date.  I think the pizza base, which is a cornmeal base makes this pizza what it is!

Ingredients 

For the pizza base:

175g strong white bread flour

50g fine cornmeal flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp of dried yeast

150ml skimmed milk

For the topping:

300ml tomato passata

8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

50g low fat cheddar cheese, grated

60g mozzarella cheese, sliced

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 200c.  

2. Place the white bread flour, salt and cornmeal flour in a large mixing bowl and make a small well in the centre.

3. Warm the milk, then dissolve the yeast in the milk.  Add to the mixing bowl, and mix with the flour mixture, using the round blade of a knife, adding more liquid if needed.

4. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead well to form a soft dough.  Cover with a damp cloth and leave for 10 minutes.

5. Knead the dough again, roll into a large circle and place on a non-stick pizza pan or baking tray.

6. Spoon on the passata, leaving a small border around the edge of the base.  Scatter the cherry tomatoes on top and cover with all the cheese.

7. Bake near the top of the oven for 20 minutes, serve hot.

Notes

Serves 4.

Calorie content 297.

Fat content 4.7g.

We served ours with a salad.
We also make the pizza bases in bulk, and freeze them.  Allowing this to be a 'quick and easy' meal, by just adding the topping and cooking.

Weekly update 07/09/11

Fresh starts


Well this week, I maintained.  Which as I didnt manage to handle the comfort eating, Im pleased with.  I have got my work cut out for me to meet my target of 12lb lost by 5th Oct, thats 4 weeks time.

So to help me get there, Im going back to the beginning.  Im going back on the 1200 cal for 2 weeks and 1400 cal for the following 2 weeks.  Fingers crossed it helps with comfort eating, and will help me keep my targets.

i have also a couple of items to trial over the next few weeks, which I will be reviewing on here.  Will let you know more at a later date.

Spinach and Potato Pie

Recipe of the week: 5th September 2011


I think what makes this recipe is the curry powder, to add a small kick.  It is a firm favourite with my daughter too.



Ingredients 
500g potatoes, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp of fat free greek yoghurt
200g fresh spinach, chopped
1 tsp of mild curry powder
50g low fat cheese, grated
2 tomatoes, sliced

Method
1. Pre heat the oven to 200c. Boil the potatoes until soft.
2. Drain well, and add the onion, garlic, yoghurt, spinach and curry powder and mash well.
3. Once fully mashed and mixed together, pour the mixture into an oven proof dish and top with the cheese and tomato slices
4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.

Notes
Serves 4.
Calorie content 174
Fat content 0.8%

We served ours with seasonal vegetables, but remember this will add to the fat and calorie content.