Meal Planning Monday (31/12/12)

Back on the weight loss bandwagon 'alledgedly' to see in the New Year with a healthy start, this weeks menu is gravitating towards slimming world. Seeing as 2012 saw me gain a stone, I probably need to read the books again as clearly whatever I was doing last year didn't work a fig....

Anyway, here's our first week and remember to check what Mrs M's got cooking over at her page.

Monday - spaghetti bolognese using the leftovers from yesterdays stew
Tuesday- a big old roast for my big old appetite.... plenty of good veg to balance it out though!
Wednesday - Beans on toast
Thursday - Pasta with whatever I can lay my hands on to make a sauce
Friday - Grace and the Husband are having pizza, I'm off over to Sharon and Tania's for a girls night in and a steaming great big bowl of homemade chili.
Saturday - Vegetable chili from the freezer and rice
Sunday - Shepherds pie

Looking at my use of words like 'great big bowl' and 'big old roast' I can see why I put a stone on this past year. Probably given a helping hand by my lack of exercise in the second half of the year.... something to be addressed for 2013 I think. I don't like to make resolutions as I rarely stick to them, but one things for sure, I need to eat less and exercise more next year. Wish me luck!

What are you putting on the table this week?

Meal Planning Monday (24/12/12)

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas..... the fridge is full, thanks to Asda home delivery (and a very random set of substitutions), the wrapping is done, and Grace is on track to experience the merriment of Santa. She's still bubbling with enthusiasm after sitting through the Festival of Lessons and Carols at our church last night, a giddy kipper indeed. I'm feeling very rotund after trying to alleviate my toddlers temptation by snaffling all the chocolate in the house she is being given, and yet there is still enough sugar in her goody box to fuel Santa's sleigh tonight. Turkey is a given this week... wouldn't be Christmas without it! So what's cooking?

Christmas Eve - a fajita bonanza.... it's going to be very messy with Grace in full control of loading her fajitas, so looking forward to our Christmas Eve tradition!

Christmas Day - turkey (of course) with all the trimmings. I'd be a fool not to!

Boxing Day - turkey, sausage and cranberry casserole - done in the slow cooker so I can sit back and enjoy with the in-laws.... hopefully!

27th - a day of rest while I ship Matt the Husband off to work and sit back and have a duvet day with Grace enjoying some of her presents. We're dining on pasta carbonara and garlic ciabatta crafted with my very own hands. Mmmmm.

28th - we're heading off to my cousin Christina's for the day so I'm sure we'll be feasting on a delightful menu painstakingly prepared by my aunty Mina, with a twist of the Greek heritage.

29th - traditional Hungarian goulash, a real belly warmer.

30th - stew and dumplings... haven't you noticed my love of anything comforting at this time of year?

So that's it. Christmas is on the doorstep, New Years Day is around the corner AND summer is on it's way! Hurrah!!! Yep, the shortest day has been and gone so I'm dusing off my flip flops and getting in the mood for better weather. Merry Christmas everyone!

Chin chin!

Hx

For more meal time inspiration, head on over to Mrs M's page here

Star curry

Some serious heart warming curry on the menu for Grace's supper.... laden with veggie goodness, butternut and aubergine with a peanut, coconut and red chili sauce. Mm-mmmm. Needless to say this went down like a treat until she happened across a rather large chunky of chili that had seemingly missed my ninja style chopping during prep. Bad mummy!

Meal Planning Monday (7/5/12)

Better late than never, I'm linking up with Mrs M again with her meal planning Monday linky. Not that I've given this weeks eats much thought so fingers crossed Grace and Matt the Husband forgive this lacklustre effort (and hopefully you will excuse me too!)

Monday: Mummy's lasagne bumped from last week made special with a dash of worcester sauce and a teaspoon of marmite. Mmmm. Love it or hate it!

Tuesday: leftover lasagne for Grace and me... the Husband is away in the Big Smoke. I'm determined Grace will learn to love pasta with tomato based sauces - at the moment she turns her nose up nine times out of ten.

Wednesday: quick rice, basmati tossed with whatever vegetables are in the fridge begging to be used.

Thursday: Beans on toast with an egg on the side. Quick and easy after work on the day Grace is tiredest after being in childcare for three days on the trot.

Friday: Carrot and chickpea curry with rice. Low GL, tasty and filling.

As for the weekend, we have plans so I'm leaving that open... Must dash, food to cook, treats to eat!

Ciao for now x

Meal Planning Monday (30/4/12)

I'm pretty impressed with myself this week - for acutally sticking with the meal plan. That must be a first in a long time. There's usually at least one day where I look at the menu and think to myself, nah, not having that. Well this week I am hoping to stick to plan as well... two weeks running is half way to a habit in my book.

Monday - leftover lentil 'n' veg chilli from last week and rice (Grace wasn't keen so I whizzed hers with the blender as she scoffed the lot once the lumps had gone!)

Tuesday - Spaghetti bolognese with lots of veg. Slimming world advise a third of the plate is fresh veg so this will be rammed to the rafters with just about anything I can find in the fridge.

Wednesday - Ham, mushroom and tomato omelette (I'm working in Newcastle so I'll be grateful for something super speedy when I walk in the door).

Thursday - Quick pasta - sauce will be a concoction of whatever is looking ready to roll over and die in the fridge...

Friday - Cottage Pie with green beans and probably a moat of gravy. I batch cooked this a while ago and it's in the freezer, so compliance on Friday will be down to remembering to get it out Thursday night!

Saturday - me and Matt the Husband are off to see a band in Leeds so we will be popping into one of two favourite cafe's for supper. A fantastic little noodle bar near the station where you sit at the counter and watch them cook, or the middle eastern cafe up near the Leeds Grand Theatre. Either will do me, both will blow the syn count!

Sunday - Mummy's special lasagne, taken from a recipe book bought thoughfully for Mother's Day this year. I LOVE lasagne, so looking forward to this meal the most I think.

Grace should tuck into all of these meals with gusto. And I think the only thing we're cooking with a syn count is the white sauce for the lasagne on Sunday. Not bad going.

Remember to head on over to Mrs M to see what she's got going on in the kitchen this week...

Chow for now...

Silent Sunday

Mama 1 - 1 Grace

I talked some time ago in a post about the power of persuasion being a winning recipe for raising a toddler and wanted to tell you how thrilled I am it's still alive and kicking in this household! Mealtime today was a meat-free affair being Good Friday and all. I quietly confess I was ignorant to this until my Godmother Jennifer pointed me in the right direction. I thank her for this, wiping my brow since by some stroke of luck we'd eaten a vegetarian meal anyway. But that's not my news.

Grace has eaten edamame beans!

Not willingly, not at first, but down the hatch, 1, 2, 3.

Admittedly to many there won't be anything exciting about sitting down to a plate of edamame bean and mushroom stirfry with a satay sauce and rice. My father in fact would probably rather go hungry. And so would Grace it seems.

We're sitting at the table ready to tuck in when Grace casts me a sideways glance that clearly says "what the dickens is this?"

She's hungry so she eats, gingerly raising one spoon after the other, she chews slowly wrinkles her nose and pushes her plate away when she reaches a count of five. Five spoonfuls is not sufficient to see her through to morning-o'clock. Simply not good enough.

I cajole. "Come on Grace, eat some more stir fry."

She shakes her head. No.

"Are you still hungry?"

She nods her head. Yes.

"Then eat some more dinner," I tell her, pushing the plate back within her range.

She shakes her head. No. Pushes the plate back over to me.

I decide to bribe her. Remarkably for a toddler of 20 months she is decidedly open to bribery.

"You can have some some grapes if you eat three more spoonfuls of your dinner." This she does in rapid succession. I offer her a few grapes.

When she's cleared them, she asks for more. Shaking my head, I tell her if she wants another grape, she needs to eat three more spoonfuls. She does it. I pass her a grape.

And then my success peters out when she spits a spoonful out, half chewed beansprout and rice tumbling down into her lap. She shoots me a look that says she'd rather starve than pop one more edamame bean down the hatch.

I concede a drawer.

More from Mama's mealtimes soon x