Wednesday 29 February 2012

Week 2

So, Monday was my weigh in day, and i was suprised to see i had lost 4lbs...great start!!

But yesterday i went a big off track and ended up having a naughty something but it ok!!! coz im back on track today!!!

I think i need to start doing a weekly shop rather than a massive one. It seems like a better idea as im not buying so much fruit or fresh stuff that goes off quickly and needs to be eaten within a certain time. If i just bought say, 7 yogurts instead of 12, 1 bunch of bananas instead of 2! etc etc it sounds alot better than letting it go mouldy then having to chuck it away and having no fruit left, which then leads me to go off course!!!

Just dropped the small person off at preschool so i now have a lovely hour and a bit left to myself. I do enjoy Wednesday afternoons haha ;) xx

Sunday 26 February 2012

Spicy carrot and lentil soup!

If you would like to know how i make my spicy carrot and lentil soup then see below! (Syn free)

You will need:

5 carrots, grated
1tbsp cumin
1tsp chilli powder
2 cups of red lentils
1 veg stock cube
boiling water

Add the cumin and chilli powder to a saucepan and heat lightly, add boiling water to the pan and add a stock cube (i do enough water to fill my pan 3/4 of the way up) Add the grated carrot and lentils and leave till it reaches a rolling boil, when its there turn down to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. Whizz and serve! xx

6 week challenge!

Hello everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying this lovely sun were having at the moment!!

Ive decided to set myself a little challenge, called "the 6 week challenge!"
I am including this week in the challenge (so really i only have 5 weeks left) so it will be from the 20th Feb - 2nd April. My aim is to lose a stone (15lbs) So more or less 2.5lbs a week, which personally i think is doable! Now in the next couple of weeks i have a few meals out coming up, but ive decided i will "flexi syn" these nights and for the rest of the time be 100%, also i will do my exercise DVDs daily and try to go for walks with Imogen if the weather is nice.

So, who wants to join me?? ;) xx

Saturday 25 February 2012

Burgers ahoy!

MMMMMMmmmmm I've made burgers for dinner!! and spicy wedges...yum yum!

If you wanna know how i made them heres the ingredients, they're dead simple!!

500g Extra Lean Mince
1 small onion chopped into tiny chunks
1tsp paprika
a squirt of ketchup (2syns)

Basically just wack it all together in a bowl and mix mix mix! Then make into burgers, this made about 6 small ones but would easily make 4 big ones!

Im serving them with some homemade spicy wedges, salad and a wholemeal roll. Might have some cheese to!

It is VIRTUALLY syn free (id count 0.5syns for the ketchup in the mix)

xxx

Thursday 23 February 2012

30 day shred!

Hello everybody!

My 30 day shred dvd will be arriving tomorrow and i can't wait to try it!!!! I've heard great things about it and i've just had a look on youtube and the level one looks really good and simple to do. No complicated moves just plain old exercise. Perfect!

I also bought the Camilla's cardio dance workout with Camilla from Strictly come dancing. It had good reviews and i wanted to try something dancy. I figure if i start with the shred for 30 mins a day, have a 10 min rest then do 20 mins of the Camilla dvd then i will soon start seeing a difference in my wobbly belly and bum!!!! (also, could provide some entertainment for Liam watching me struggle my way through the shred!!!!)

Today i had a naughty lunch at swimming and now this afternoon i feel really really sicky and indegestiony...i knew after i ordered it i shouldnt have!! but its so good i couldnt resist!!!! Gonna just stick to my superfree this evening, might have a cold chicken salad or something.

Yesterday was a really good day, i ended up having my HEB left over after dinner, so i had a honey sarnie...and it was lush and within my syns...yum yum yum!

Imogen is conked out in her bed at the moment, swimming totally wipes her out. Will be a late night in the Twine household tonight!

Better go and make myself a cuppa and do some washing up. Facebook and half the people on it are annoying me today, i don't like being ignored! HUMPH.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Day 3!

 hope you all had a lovely pancake day!
I made some SW pancakes which were nice, very eggy i have to say (you can put vanilla essence in the mixture but i didnt have any!) They were nice and i will have them again!!! I had salmon, cous cous and roasted veg for my dinner last night, it was lush! I saved 10 syns to have some normal pancakes for pudding lol. Was soo worth it.

This morning ive had bacon, scrambled egg and beans followed by half a melon and a banana. I did have a cheaky weigh this morning and my scales informed me i was down 7lb since monday lol...very nice! Not gonna weigh myself now until monday morning otherwise i will start getting addicted!!

Imogen has preschool today which means i get a whole 1.5 hours to myself this afternoon. Might treat myself to a magazine and a curly wurly (6 syns) on the way back home.

xx

Monday 20 February 2012

PANCAKES!

On reflection, today has been a good day!! All bran and milk for breakfast (hea&b) then decided on a tuna salad for lunch, lettuce, peppers, carrot, avacado (5syns for 1/2 an avacado!) some balsamic vinegar and tuna. Yum yum!! Had some melon for afters to and a couple of Krackawheat crackers (3 syns) and for dinner we had roast chicken with all the trimmings (5 syns for gravy, honey for the parsnips and the butter and milk in the mash) Passion fruit and a muller light mango and passionfruit for pudding.

I actually feel full for the first time in ages, and its GREAT!!

Now tomoro is one of my fave days of the year - PANCAKE DAY!!!

SW friendly pancakes which are FREE!:

2 large eggs
sweetener

Separate the yolk and the white, whisk the white with the sweetener until still (like meringue) then fold in the egg yolk and voila! This will be your batter. Spray your pan with frylight and off you go!!
I will be having lemon and sugar with mine (using my syns on the sugar!!!!) as i dont fancy sweetener on my pancakes!!

I cant wait to take pics to put on here, om nom nom nom!!!!!!!

day 1! (Again!!!!!)

This morning i had 35g All bran and Milk (heb&a) and topped it with a banana and half a pear for my 1/3 superfree. For the first time ever i actually measured out my milk using one of Imogens old baby bottles and was pleasantly suprised at how much 250ml is!

Im currently waiting for my Tesco delivery to turn up. Going to make a spicy carrot and lentil soup for lunch today. Will be difficult eating it without bread BUT i dont want to go off course (again!) so will probs have it in a cup instead of a bowl lol.

Not sure what to have for dinner tonight. My other half is working the morning today so will be home for dinner time! Will have a rummage through my recipe books and see what i can find :D

Sunday 19 February 2012

Diet starts again!

And so the time has come to get back on that bandwagon and lose the lbs!!!

I have been researching the Extra Easy plan on Slimming world. In the past i have always followed the green plan because i wasnt sure how EE worked! However now i know i think it is much better than sticking to one plan and seems like you can have more leeway with what you eat and doesnt restrict you to only eating a certain type of food (pulses/meat etc).

Basically you can have anything that is free on the Green and Red plans, so pulses, beans, pasta, potatoes, eggs and meat, and then 1 HEB (Bread/cereals) and 1 HEA (cheese/milk) also making sure you have 1/3 of your plate superfree.

Superfree fruit:



Amla (Indian gooseberry)
Apples
Apricots
Babaco


Bananas


Bilberries
Blackberries
Blackcurrants


Blueberries


Boysenberries
Carambola (star fruit)
Cashew fruit (not cashew nut)
Cherries
Clementines
Cranberries


Custard apple (cherimoya)


Damsons
Elderberries
Feijoa
Figs
Gooseberries
Grapefruit


Grapes


Greengages
Grenadilla
Guava


Jambu fruit


Jujube (Chinese date)


Kiwano (horned melon)
Kiwi fruit
Kumquats
Lemons


Limes


Loganberries
Loquats


Lychees


Mammie apple


Mandarins


Mango


Mangosteen


Medlars
Melon, all varieties


except watermelon


Mulberries
Nectarines
Oranges
Ortaniques (honey tangerines)
Papaya (paw paw)
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pears


Persimmon (sharon fruit)


Physalis


Pineapple
Plums
Pomegranates
Pomelo
Prickly pears


Rambutan


Raspberries
Redcurrants
Rhubarb
Sapodilla
Satsumas
Strawberries
Tamarillos
Tangerines
Tayberries
Ugli fruit
Watermelon
Whitecurrants
Yellow plums

Superfree Veg:

Acorn squash
Alfalfa sprouts
Artichokes
Asparagus
Aubergine
Baby whole sweetcorn
Balor beans
Bamboo shoots
Bean sprouts
Beetroot
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash
Cabbage (all types)
Capers
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chicory
Chillies
Chinese leaves (amaranth)
Chioca
Choko (custard marrow)
Cluster beans
Courgettes
Cucumber
Curly kale
Endive
Fennel
French beans
Garlic
Gherkins
Green beans
Karela
Kohlrabi (cabbage turnip)
Leeks
Lettuce
Mangetout
Marrow
Mushrooms
Mustard & cress
Okra
Onions
Papri beans
Passata (sieved tomatoes)
Peppers/Pimentos
Pumpkin
Radicchio
Radishes
Runner beans
Salsify
Seakale
Seaweed
Shallots
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Spring greens
Spring onions
Sugar snap peas
Swede
Tomatoes
Turnips
Vine leaves
Water chestnuts
Watercress

Seems easy enough, will deffo give it a go! Along with more exercise! i STILL need to get the bits for the wii out but ive also ordered a few exercise dvds to start doing instead of sitting on my bottom!!!

Im going to print out these lists and stick it to my cupboard doors in the kitchen to always remind me of what i can have. Also ontop of my veg box, i intend on going and getting some big bags of fruit and veg coz we always seem to run out when doing SW!! xx

Wednesday 15 February 2012

havin trouble!

Getting off my big fat bum and doing something!!!

Maybe i should make a list, i do love lists!

Things to do today:

1)Clean and tidy Imogens bedrom
2) Move toys from living room into Imogens bedroom
3)Hoover the flat
4)Remove the stickers that are stuck to my living room floor!!!!! AGAIN!!!!!
5)Sort out the clothes in the airing cupboard - bag any unwanted clothes and sell!!!!!!
6)washing up...blurgh

Whats the likely hood that i will do this? Probable i hope! I just need to get my arse into gear. Immy is having a nap at the moment so i am enjoying the peace and quiet, and enjoying having a warm living room for the 1st time in ages!!!!!!! Stupid storage heaters, why were they invented? They are most annoying!

So, i bought a leather chair off a lady on facebook. Im hoping its nice!!! I have been looking for sooooo long for a brown leather chair but all i could find was tub chairs for like £90! This chair was £30, what a bargian eh? WELL CHUFFED!

How was your valentines day? Mine was sooooo uneventful, Liam had work, Immy and i went for a long walk and then to the park! Came home, cooked some dinner, had a bath and went to bed. Probably the least entertaining Valentines day ive had lol. I really think i need to win the lottery so i can take Liam out and actually DO something together for once! Last time we went out on our own has to be over a year ago now! I think it was to the cinema but i cant remember what it was we went to watch!

The sun is out now and is making me feel a little better. Think i will go and wake my pudding up and start on the toy clean out!! Wish me luck yummies! xxxxx

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Thursday 9 February 2012

i *heart* cute things!

Well seeing as its Valentines day next week, I thought id put together a little post full of cute things, gift ideas and lush cards :D

Personally, i dont think you can go wrong with these:



 They're cute, and much better than chocolate! I LOVE love hearts *hint hint* Does anyone find them hard to get? i never see them in shops anymore!! Where are they? :(



 Mmm wine, what girl doesnt like wine!



 Tulips!!! A firm fave flower of mine. I love the vibrant colours, they look so sooo pretty all together like in this picture and they're not too pricey either!










 Perfume! This is my current perfume with my OH bought me for christmas. Its lush, i love the smell of it! Lady Million by Paco Rabanne. I bought OH the mens aftershave alternative "1 million" a while ago and fell inlove with the smell then. If it wasnt for men i would have totally worn it!


What do you think ladies, would you like these as pressies? Do you expect more or less on valentines day? Do you even "celebrate" it?

I never know what to get my gorgeous man for valentines day. I think i know what im getting him this year though. I was going to go down the "useful" route and get him something for his bike, but i cant afford that much this month! Its not like you can get them flowers is it? What is the male equivalent to flowers?!

Last year for my daughters birthday, we made her a card on "funky pigeon" and i have to say i was very impressed! I have found lots (including the one im getting for OH) on there.

These are my fave ones i have found:



I love how cute and unusual this one is! I like the fact its not read with hearts all over it. It reminds me of sitting in fields when i was 10 or 11 picking daisies and playing "he loves me, he loves me not"








A hearts washing line, LOVE it!









I just love the simplicity of this one!









Those of you who know me well know im a juicy lucy fan! These cards are fantastic and never fail to make me laugh!








Especially this one!










Finally, a me to you bear card. Such a cute wee bear!









Hope you all have a very happy valentines day what ever you are doing!! I doubt OH and i will be doing anything as he will have work but hopefully we will find something to do ;)















Wednesday 8 February 2012

Positive thinking!

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day" - Nina Simone

Sooo, after my semi depressive post last night, i think i am done with the short lived hormonal outbursts of the weekend/monday/tuesday...I will just blame it on being a 22 year old "girl" (i cant say woman!! i dont feel like i'm at that stage yet!!!)

I have decided to start some positive thinking! I need to be more positive about the majority of things in my life i.e i have a wonderful, loving, caring, handsome fiancé and i need to appreciate him more! He works a lot so we can survive and i realise i do come across as very ungrateful that he does everything for us. Instead of moaning at him about the things he hasn't done (or has done...) just be thankful, and bypass the annoying, minor things.

I will be starting to wean myself back off the cake and nice things and adopt just a "healthy eating" regime for the time being. I think the reason i go off track with Slimming world is because it is a bit of a shock to my system. If i start eating healthier for a period of time before deciding to go back to it, i think i will succeed for longer and not be so tempted by the naughty things that begin with C! (chocolate, cake, crisps, chips....!)

I also need a job. I need to get some part of ME back. At the moment i am just Mummy - which is fine, i LOVE being a mum so much and i love my Imogen more than i have ever loved anyone or anything in my life, but she is getting soooo grown up and will be starting preschool every morning in September. I think from now, till Sept i will spend my time getting myself 1)Fit 2)more confident and 3)presenting myself better. I don't want a full time job, that is the problem. A job 3 days a week would be perfect! But there is no such thing apparently!

Well, its Wednesday and the small one has preschool this afternoon. I suppose we better get ready for the walk down. It will be lovely, IT WILL!!! I still need that mp3 player to keep me company when walking on my own!

Bye for now :) x

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Winter what now?

Whyyyyy is there a need for snow. It is the most stupid thing out there. White, cold, slippery, cold, COLD...i hate the cold!!

My weekend did not go to plan. I was supposed to go out on Saturday night but couldnt because of the blasted white stuff..Was stuck in eating cake and drinking wine. Which i cant complain about, they are my two fave things.

My tickley cough has now turned into a full on 50 a day smoker cough. I sound awful, and it hurts. It hurts my head, it hurts my chest and it hurts my throat to keep coughing ALL THE TIME.

Ive also been super emosh this weekend. I think ive just come to the end of a line. I hate the way my body looks, i can just about deal with it with clothes on but when catching a glimpse of myself when getting ready for bed the other night sent me into a horrible spiral of self loathing, which resulted in me binging on cake and sweet things - my biggest downfall.

Why cant i be slim, good looking, happy? Why do other people seem so settled in life and i, somehow, am not. I feel like i need a change, maybe i should dye my hair a vibrant shade of red (rihanna style) and change the way i dress. Sigh..

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Im slacking

I really am! Sorry!

My other half is off this week and we have just been busy. Did a big (non sw) food shop and paid some bills which has left us with virtually no money. But we will survive as always!

My DD has had a poorly tummy this week. Shes been terribley constipated, never seen it so bad in my life and i hate seeing her in so much pain. toddlers/babies should not be allowed to have tummy probs, its just not fair on them!! We have swimming tomoro which she always enjoys as she gets to see her best friend! Hopefully it will take her mind off the horrible problems shes had!

On Saturday, Immy and i are off to stay with my parents again as it is my oldest and bestest friends 23rd birthday!!! i am so looking forward to having good food, good company and lots to drink!!

I promise i will make the tutorial videos soon. Especially the valentines look! Might get OH to take the small one out for a bit so i can make a video in peace!!!!!

Love you y'all x