Over the past 2 days, with very little effort on my part, I've cooked loads of things for future easy meals. I was up stupidly early again this morning, so put the oven on and got on with more roasting and cooking. Husband was up about an hour after me and made a wholegrain loaf.
I've roasted 6 chicken legs, 8 chicken thighs, a huge pizza, 12 high meat content sausages (not all this morning, some were yesterday). Cooked a large panful of wholewheat pasta and one of brown rice yesterday. Made a panful of pasta sauce consisting of tinned chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, courgettes and Italian seasoning this morning. Put a large pork shoulder joint in the slow cooker, to be shredded when it's done (the rind got cut off and roasted this morning whilst the oven was on, then cut into small crackling cubes). All to be portioned up and frozen.
Hard boiled 8 eggs (they last for a week in the fridge). Made a bowlful of bulgur wheat with herbs, spices and lemon zest and put in fridge. Chopped a load of carrots, cucumber and peppers and put them in lidded plastic boxes in the fridge, to go with Greek yogurt-based dips. All I have to do now is chop up and roast a large trayful of Mediterranean veg to freeze.
Enough food for a couple of weeks' worth of lunches and dinners, and it was ridiculously easy, mostly just bunging things in the oven or in a pan on the stove. Why didn't I think of it before?!
Friday, 21 June 2019
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
A weekend of cooking to provide future easy meals
We've had a lot going on in our lives recently, as well as my chronic tiredness, and one of the things I've been finding hard is cooking a meal from scratch every day. Sometimes, even trying to think of what to have for lunch or dinner, if I haven't made a meal plan, is just so difficult when my brain is so foggy I can barely remember my own name. We've very nearly run out of homecooked and frozen ready meals, so I need to get on and do some more.
I've decided to do things slightly differently, just to make things even easier for myself for a while.
The first thing I've done is an online shop, so we don't have to physically go and do it this week or next. I've ordered a pork shoulder joint, for pulled pork in the slow cooker, a large pack of chicken thighs, couple of packs of high meat content sausages - all of these I'm going to cook over the weekend and then freeze them in portions. I shall also roast a large tray of Mediterranean veg, make a load of tomato based pasta sauce and cook a panful each of wholewheat pasta and brown rice, all to be portioned up and frozen. So that way I know that if (well, more likely to be when) I get up in the morning feeling like I really can't cook anything that day, or we're going to be out on hospital appointments, which can take several hours, I can just take some ready cooked meat, sauce, veg and carb out of the freezer ready to throw together later in the day.
I'll hard boil some eggs and put in the fridge, we have plenty of tinned tuna and salmon and I've ordered ham, salad, coleslaw etc, so we'll have lots of options for lunches. Breakfasts are easy, either toasted German rye bread, eggs cooked whichever way, or Greek yogurt and our own homegrown fruit - we have plenty of strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants now. So that should make life a bit easier, but still eating healthily.
I've decided to do things slightly differently, just to make things even easier for myself for a while.
The first thing I've done is an online shop, so we don't have to physically go and do it this week or next. I've ordered a pork shoulder joint, for pulled pork in the slow cooker, a large pack of chicken thighs, couple of packs of high meat content sausages - all of these I'm going to cook over the weekend and then freeze them in portions. I shall also roast a large tray of Mediterranean veg, make a load of tomato based pasta sauce and cook a panful each of wholewheat pasta and brown rice, all to be portioned up and frozen. So that way I know that if (well, more likely to be when) I get up in the morning feeling like I really can't cook anything that day, or we're going to be out on hospital appointments, which can take several hours, I can just take some ready cooked meat, sauce, veg and carb out of the freezer ready to throw together later in the day.
I'll hard boil some eggs and put in the fridge, we have plenty of tinned tuna and salmon and I've ordered ham, salad, coleslaw etc, so we'll have lots of options for lunches. Breakfasts are easy, either toasted German rye bread, eggs cooked whichever way, or Greek yogurt and our own homegrown fruit - we have plenty of strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants now. So that should make life a bit easier, but still eating healthily.
Thursday, 13 June 2019
How I learnt to cook
Thank you for your kind words about my cooking. It's funny, cooking (and certainly the varied type of healthy cooking I do nowadays) is a relatively new thing for me.
I didn't cook at home, nor did Mum ever really show us how to cook - she didn't like us in her kitchen when she was busy (nor do I, obviously get it from her). When I lived in a bedsit before I met the husband, I rarely cooked there either - there was a McD's and a lovely bakery that did hot sausage rolls and breakfast baps right opposite the office I worked in. So we had bacon & egg baps for breakfast (we took it in turns to do the breakfast run), a Mcdonalds for lunch, and a takeaway on the way home after coming out of the pub. Not a vegetable in sight! Unless you count the chips, or the bit of gherkin in the burger, or the lettuce and tomato in the kebab, which I generally binned anyway 😂
In our 20s and 30s, when husband and I were both working full time and leading very busy lives, we often had takeaways, or ready meals to 'cook' at home, or ate out in the pub at weekends. Again, I hardly ever ate much veg, or actually cooked anything from scratch. It wasn't until I started working part time, in my mid 40s, that I began to take an interest in cooking from scratch, and even baking bread.
So cooking, proper cooking, is something I've only been doing for around 14 or 15 years. As to where my ideas for creating meals, putting ingredients together, and looking at the contents of my larder and fridge/freezer and making a meal from what I've got come from - well, I can only say I read a lot and have always had an active imagination! And I like experimenting 😀
I didn't cook at home, nor did Mum ever really show us how to cook - she didn't like us in her kitchen when she was busy (nor do I, obviously get it from her). When I lived in a bedsit before I met the husband, I rarely cooked there either - there was a McD's and a lovely bakery that did hot sausage rolls and breakfast baps right opposite the office I worked in. So we had bacon & egg baps for breakfast (we took it in turns to do the breakfast run), a Mcdonalds for lunch, and a takeaway on the way home after coming out of the pub. Not a vegetable in sight! Unless you count the chips, or the bit of gherkin in the burger, or the lettuce and tomato in the kebab, which I generally binned anyway 😂
In our 20s and 30s, when husband and I were both working full time and leading very busy lives, we often had takeaways, or ready meals to 'cook' at home, or ate out in the pub at weekends. Again, I hardly ever ate much veg, or actually cooked anything from scratch. It wasn't until I started working part time, in my mid 40s, that I began to take an interest in cooking from scratch, and even baking bread.
So cooking, proper cooking, is something I've only been doing for around 14 or 15 years. As to where my ideas for creating meals, putting ingredients together, and looking at the contents of my larder and fridge/freezer and making a meal from what I've got come from - well, I can only say I read a lot and have always had an active imagination! And I like experimenting 😀
Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Lunch salads
The cottage pie was delicious, putting bbq sauce in it as I'd got it out of the freezer thinking it was homemade tomato sauce made such a difference to the taste. We had the pie 2 days running.
We've settled into a routine of having some sort of salad for lunch every day....although the last couple of days it's been more like hot soup weather. I refuse to make soup at this time of year though - I mean, it'll be midsummer's day soon!
Yesterday we had avocado, egg and ham salad. Husband's not keen on avocado as is, although he does quite like it mashed with a blob of mayo and some smoked paprika, he especially likes it with an egg poached or boiled. I love avocado any which way. So I mashed it with a couple of smashed hardboiled eggs, mayo, a splash of lemon juice and the paprika. Served on a slice of baked ham with a mixed salad on the side. Yum.
For dinner I softened some sliced spring onions, courgettes, a small chopped aubergine and mushrooms in olive oil, with a roasted garlic clove (I roast a whole head of garlic in foil, so the cloves turn into a milder-tasting puree) - again, husband doesn't really like the taste of 'raw' garlic, he finds it too harsh. When softened, I added a can of rinsed butterbeans, a pack of smoked salmon pieces and lots of black pepper. Finally, I stirred through a large spoonful of Philly type cheese (Lidl's own version) to make a creamy sauce. Delicious.
Today's lunch salad is homemade coleslaw (Savoy cabbage, which I much prefer to ordinary white, carrot, spring onion and half an orange pepper, all chopped up in the processor) with cubed Halloumi cheese. A dressing made of half mayo, half Greek yogurt with a spoonful of Dijon mustard. We'll have it with a couple of oatcakes.
Dinner tonight is spaghetti bolognaise, with a sprinkle of grated mature Cheddar and broccoli on the side.
On the subject of grated cheese....last week we bought a new grater, I'd had my old one for years and thought it was a bit blunt. Well, it definitely was - the new one is super sharp and I grate my knuckles on it every single time I use it!
And more on salads - we love roasted Mediterranean veggies cold for lunch, with a blob of lemon mayo or a balsamic dressing. Especially nice with some shredded leftover chicken. Whenever I do roasted veggies for dinner, I always do enough to have for lunch the next day as well. We really like roasted butternut squash, sweet potato, aubergine, courgette, mushrooms, red onion and red pepper.
We've settled into a routine of having some sort of salad for lunch every day....although the last couple of days it's been more like hot soup weather. I refuse to make soup at this time of year though - I mean, it'll be midsummer's day soon!
Yesterday we had avocado, egg and ham salad. Husband's not keen on avocado as is, although he does quite like it mashed with a blob of mayo and some smoked paprika, he especially likes it with an egg poached or boiled. I love avocado any which way. So I mashed it with a couple of smashed hardboiled eggs, mayo, a splash of lemon juice and the paprika. Served on a slice of baked ham with a mixed salad on the side. Yum.
For dinner I softened some sliced spring onions, courgettes, a small chopped aubergine and mushrooms in olive oil, with a roasted garlic clove (I roast a whole head of garlic in foil, so the cloves turn into a milder-tasting puree) - again, husband doesn't really like the taste of 'raw' garlic, he finds it too harsh. When softened, I added a can of rinsed butterbeans, a pack of smoked salmon pieces and lots of black pepper. Finally, I stirred through a large spoonful of Philly type cheese (Lidl's own version) to make a creamy sauce. Delicious.
Today's lunch salad is homemade coleslaw (Savoy cabbage, which I much prefer to ordinary white, carrot, spring onion and half an orange pepper, all chopped up in the processor) with cubed Halloumi cheese. A dressing made of half mayo, half Greek yogurt with a spoonful of Dijon mustard. We'll have it with a couple of oatcakes.
Dinner tonight is spaghetti bolognaise, with a sprinkle of grated mature Cheddar and broccoli on the side.
On the subject of grated cheese....last week we bought a new grater, I'd had my old one for years and thought it was a bit blunt. Well, it definitely was - the new one is super sharp and I grate my knuckles on it every single time I use it!
And more on salads - we love roasted Mediterranean veggies cold for lunch, with a blob of lemon mayo or a balsamic dressing. Especially nice with some shredded leftover chicken. Whenever I do roasted veggies for dinner, I always do enough to have for lunch the next day as well. We really like roasted butternut squash, sweet potato, aubergine, courgette, mushrooms, red onion and red pepper.
Sunday, 9 June 2019
Healthier cottage pie
TA, falafel are kind of veggie 'meatballs' made primarily with crushed chickpeas and spices....I put chopped onions and grated carrot in mine too.
They were nice baked in the tomato sauce, but they mostly disintegrated - not that it made any difference to the taste, it was still really nice.
I made a chicken and butternut squash curry yesterday - it was alright but not one of my best efforts. Having said that, husband thought it was lovely, he ate all his and the half of mine that I left.
Today I'm making a cottage pie with extra lean beef mince, with added grated carrots and courgettes for a bit of moisture, lentils to bulk it out and add more fibre, and some bbq sauce I got out of the freezer, mistakenly thinking it was homemade tomato sauce (I'd written on the plastic tub but it had faded in the freezer). The topping will be a mixture of ordinary spud and cooked mashed butternut squash, to cut the carbs a bit. We'll have it with cauli and broccoli in cheese sauce, which I'll make with half milk, half veg cooking water, to make it healthier. Extra mature Cheddar added, so can use less.
We're eating more pulses now, instead of potatoes - they're slightly less carbs, high in fibre and lower GI (or GL, can never remember the difference!). We've also started reducing the amount of wholegrain pasta we have as a portion, halving it in fact. I always find wholegrain pasta really filling anyway and often leave some of it, so don't know why I've not thought to reduce the portion size before.
I'm not obsessing about my weight at all, but got on the scales yesterday and am pleased to find I've lost a few pounds. I thought I must have done, as my waistbands seem a bit looser.
They were nice baked in the tomato sauce, but they mostly disintegrated - not that it made any difference to the taste, it was still really nice.
I made a chicken and butternut squash curry yesterday - it was alright but not one of my best efforts. Having said that, husband thought it was lovely, he ate all his and the half of mine that I left.
Today I'm making a cottage pie with extra lean beef mince, with added grated carrots and courgettes for a bit of moisture, lentils to bulk it out and add more fibre, and some bbq sauce I got out of the freezer, mistakenly thinking it was homemade tomato sauce (I'd written on the plastic tub but it had faded in the freezer). The topping will be a mixture of ordinary spud and cooked mashed butternut squash, to cut the carbs a bit. We'll have it with cauli and broccoli in cheese sauce, which I'll make with half milk, half veg cooking water, to make it healthier. Extra mature Cheddar added, so can use less.
We're eating more pulses now, instead of potatoes - they're slightly less carbs, high in fibre and lower GI (or GL, can never remember the difference!). We've also started reducing the amount of wholegrain pasta we have as a portion, halving it in fact. I always find wholegrain pasta really filling anyway and often leave some of it, so don't know why I've not thought to reduce the portion size before.
I'm not obsessing about my weight at all, but got on the scales yesterday and am pleased to find I've lost a few pounds. I thought I must have done, as my waistbands seem a bit looser.
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Falafel and must read labels!
The butterbean mash the other day was really nice, think I'll add more onions to it next time though.
Yesterday we had a mushroom omelette for breakfast and ham salad for lunch. Dinner was roasted chicken thighs which I dusted with Cajun spices beforehand, served with roasted butternut squash and aubergine, liberally sprinkled with smoked paprika, and Savoy cabbage and peas left over from the day before.
Today we're having yogurt, oat flakes, chopped fresh apricots and mixed seeds for breakfast. I got a carton of coconut Greek yogurt the other day, have just licked the spoon and realised that, whilst it's very nice, it does have sugar in it....that'll teach me for not reading the label before buying! In future I'll just add dessicated coconut to plain Greek yogurt.
Lunch will be seafood sticks with salad - ok, I know they're not a great thing to have as they're very processed, but these ones aren't too bad (I did read the label) and I do like them! Oh, and they're cheap! I'll make a sort of seafood dressing with a spoonful of mayo, tomato puree and some paprika.
Dinner will be falafel in a tomato sauce. The falafel I'd previously made and frozen, I'll make a sauce using passata, Italian herbs and red onion and bake the falafel in it, with a topping of Mozzarella. Some green veggies to go with it, probably Savoy cabbage and fine green beans.
Yesterday we had a mushroom omelette for breakfast and ham salad for lunch. Dinner was roasted chicken thighs which I dusted with Cajun spices beforehand, served with roasted butternut squash and aubergine, liberally sprinkled with smoked paprika, and Savoy cabbage and peas left over from the day before.
Today we're having yogurt, oat flakes, chopped fresh apricots and mixed seeds for breakfast. I got a carton of coconut Greek yogurt the other day, have just licked the spoon and realised that, whilst it's very nice, it does have sugar in it....that'll teach me for not reading the label before buying! In future I'll just add dessicated coconut to plain Greek yogurt.
Lunch will be seafood sticks with salad - ok, I know they're not a great thing to have as they're very processed, but these ones aren't too bad (I did read the label) and I do like them! Oh, and they're cheap! I'll make a sort of seafood dressing with a spoonful of mayo, tomato puree and some paprika.
Dinner will be falafel in a tomato sauce. The falafel I'd previously made and frozen, I'll make a sauce using passata, Italian herbs and red onion and bake the falafel in it, with a topping of Mozzarella. Some green veggies to go with it, probably Savoy cabbage and fine green beans.
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
Sausages and butterbean mash
Yesterday's stuffed peppers were lovely, we'll have them more often.
Continuing with a low carb, highish fat week until Saturday, then we'll change over to a low fat, moderate carb week on Sunday. I think changing around and having a bit of variety will be good for us. I'm weeing for England at the mo (so is husband, but that's a whole other story!), I always do when I drastically reduce carbs.
Breakfast was yogurt, oat flakes, fruit and nuts again, I really like it but husband's not quite so keen, although he will eat it a couple of times a week. He'd rather have toast or a cooked breakfast.
Lunch is going to be tinned salmon and salad, had a third of a bag of small prawns in the freezer so I've got them out to have as well.
Dinner is going to be sausages, Heck 97% pork ones. I'm going to do butterbean, sage and onion mash - a tin of butterbeans, rinsed of the sludgy water, then simmered in a saucepan with fresh water until very soft, drained and mashed. Will mix in some fresh sage and a large red onion, sliced and caramelised in a tiny bit of oil and a splash of water to stop it from burning. Savoy cabbage and peas with it.
Continuing with a low carb, highish fat week until Saturday, then we'll change over to a low fat, moderate carb week on Sunday. I think changing around and having a bit of variety will be good for us. I'm weeing for England at the mo (so is husband, but that's a whole other story!), I always do when I drastically reduce carbs.
Breakfast was yogurt, oat flakes, fruit and nuts again, I really like it but husband's not quite so keen, although he will eat it a couple of times a week. He'd rather have toast or a cooked breakfast.
Lunch is going to be tinned salmon and salad, had a third of a bag of small prawns in the freezer so I've got them out to have as well.
Dinner is going to be sausages, Heck 97% pork ones. I'm going to do butterbean, sage and onion mash - a tin of butterbeans, rinsed of the sludgy water, then simmered in a saucepan with fresh water until very soft, drained and mashed. Will mix in some fresh sage and a large red onion, sliced and caramelised in a tiny bit of oil and a splash of water to stop it from burning. Savoy cabbage and peas with it.
Monday, 3 June 2019
Stuffed peppers, and loads of daily veg
Yesterday's meals were really nice, the 2 meals and shorter time window (later breakfast than normal, and earlier dinner) worked well. We might try doing that once or twice a week.
For breakfast today we had Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of dry oat flakes, 2 chopped apricots, sprinkle of pumpkin and sunflower seeds and some nuts - walnuts for husband, almonds for me. Delicious.
Lunch was leftover roasted veggies from yesterday's dinner (planned leftovers) with goats cheese and vine tomatoes, with a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
For dinner tonight we're having stuffed peppers. Red peppers halved and stuffed with a mixture of tuna, cooked brown rice, grated carrot, diced mushrooms, pine nuts, cubed mozzarella and chives, with a little grated Cheddar sprinkled on top before going in the oven. Will have with green beans.
I'm making sure we get more than 5 veg & fruit a day....it's more like 7 or 8. And to think not so many years ago the only veggies I ate were potatoes (in any form, although quite often chips) and peas!
For breakfast today we had Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of dry oat flakes, 2 chopped apricots, sprinkle of pumpkin and sunflower seeds and some nuts - walnuts for husband, almonds for me. Delicious.
Lunch was leftover roasted veggies from yesterday's dinner (planned leftovers) with goats cheese and vine tomatoes, with a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
For dinner tonight we're having stuffed peppers. Red peppers halved and stuffed with a mixture of tuna, cooked brown rice, grated carrot, diced mushrooms, pine nuts, cubed mozzarella and chives, with a little grated Cheddar sprinkled on top before going in the oven. Will have with green beans.
I'm making sure we get more than 5 veg & fruit a day....it's more like 7 or 8. And to think not so many years ago the only veggies I ate were potatoes (in any form, although quite often chips) and peas!
Sunday, 2 June 2019
Healthy eating mojo back, and an IF day
Yesterday was a bit of a wash out foodwise, as we were out for several hours and I hadn't planned what to do for lunch, so we just grabbed a sandwich and packet of crisps from a shop. And for dinner we had leftovers - the turkey chilli I'd made for the previous day's dinner, but instead of healthy veggies again, we had rice and garlic bread. It was yummy actually, but not something we'll be having regularly now we're back to eating healthily.
I've got my cooking and healthy eating mojo back. We're having a sort of intermittent fasting day today, eating very low carb and in a short time window, to sort of kick start some weight loss.
Two meals today, for brunch around 9 am we had a 4-egg frittata between us, with grated courgette, half a chopped onion and some goats cheese in it, served with a couple of Heck chicken chipolatas and tinned tomatoes.
We did have a piece of fruit and coffee each at midday, as both of us need to take tablets with food.
For dinner, at 5 pm, we're having baked salmon steaks with olive oil, lemon slices and herbs. I'm doing a tray of roasted diced aubergine, courgette and asparagus with them, along with a sort of carb-free cauliflower cheese. I've boiled the cauli, then mashed it with a dollop of Philadelphia cream cheese and a handful of grated Cheddar, with some sage, parsley and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, it'll go in the oven to brown with the salmon and veggies.
I've got my cooking and healthy eating mojo back. We're having a sort of intermittent fasting day today, eating very low carb and in a short time window, to sort of kick start some weight loss.
Two meals today, for brunch around 9 am we had a 4-egg frittata between us, with grated courgette, half a chopped onion and some goats cheese in it, served with a couple of Heck chicken chipolatas and tinned tomatoes.
We did have a piece of fruit and coffee each at midday, as both of us need to take tablets with food.
For dinner, at 5 pm, we're having baked salmon steaks with olive oil, lemon slices and herbs. I'm doing a tray of roasted diced aubergine, courgette and asparagus with them, along with a sort of carb-free cauliflower cheese. I've boiled the cauli, then mashed it with a dollop of Philadelphia cream cheese and a handful of grated Cheddar, with some sage, parsley and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, it'll go in the oven to brown with the salmon and veggies.
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