My name is Weesse and I'm addicted to..............

Happy 2015 to you all!

 It's a new year & like many, you may be looking to fashion a new you. News flash-you're fabulous the way you are! Be done with that resolution & carry on just being your wonderful self.  Boom done! End of blog. My work here is done. 

 Hold up. If it simply comes down to altering your diet ever-so slightly or overhauling it entirely in a bid to make you feel better on the inside & out, then I'm all for it! Making good food choices to give you more energy, to boost some weight loss (that little bit of fluff you've gained over Crimbo) or to give you a new focus on becoming a happier you can be a daunting task so any hints, tips & suggestions can help us all through those early transition stages. 

 Healthy eating sounds great & yeah it tastes good too but hey, so does chocolate, steak pie, gravy & pouring cream (obviously not all together! That's just weird.)! Can I get an amen?! So I appreciate that the thought of sidestepping the sweetie tin isn't filling you with much joy but remember, we can merely sidestep & then shuffle back on over whenever we feel we need a little pick-me-up. We ain't getting rid of no sweetie tin entirely. Balance is the key peeps. 

 I have to say I personally didn't overindulge too ridiculously over the festive season (boring I know!) apart from Christmas & Boxing Day. I didn't eat normally though.  My body clock's all over the place with late nights & late rises & mixed-up meal times so it's all caught up with me in the shape of 4lbs. I ain't too fussed over it. Pre-Christmas I'd dropped 6lbs with being ill (suffering from sciatica!) & having not much of an appetite so I was at my lowest weight in a long time. This in effect means that my 4lbs gain has brought me back to around where I was prior to falling ill. I now aim to try & shift it nevertheless but I'm not pressurising myself with what's on the scales. I'm more so looking to get my eating back to where it was. Balanced. Healthy. Yummy.

 I posted a while back about my weight loss journey in 2014 as hubby & I became fully paid up members of Weight Watchers, both of us opting for the app over classes.  A 2 stone weight loss for me was unexpected to be honest (was aiming for 1 stone) but I'm currently happy with my shape....couldn't care less what the scales say or what the labels in my clothes read, I'm just happier in my clothes & in my own skin. I've also reached a happy place in my day to day eating where I no longer continually consult the app for ProPoint calculations. I tend to eat the same things week in week out & know the point values of most foods so can eat healthy, balanced meals & snack on fruit & the likes, still reaching for the occasional treat free from any guilt. And really, regardless of which healthy eating programme you decide to follow, I feel that that's the key. Balance, that is. 

Ready Steady Brekkie......

 We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day & I loves me some brekkie. My name is Lisa and I'm addicted to CRUMPETS! Honestly, Mr Warbuton must be sitting at home looking at his profit margins wondering what the hell happened last year. In fact he's sitting at home, staring at his new Ferrari I bought him wondering who bought all his crumpets! I bloomin' love 'em! It's my go-to brekkie now (snack too) & it takes a mean contender to make me me stray. Hubby is convinced I'll wake up one morning to find I've turned in to a fully fledged crumpet. I'd be interested to know how many crumpets I've consumed since June 2014. Many, I feel...possibly hunners! 

 Two lightly toasted crumpets, topped with a mashed-up heated banana (1 min in the microwave) with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon on top. Voila! Actually want to go make one as I type these words to you at 1.14am (Late, I know! Sciatic pain woes!).  Yummy, hot & filling! All you could want from a winter's brekkie. These are only 2 ProPoints each on WW (I get 32 ProPoints per day) so it's a filling option that isn't high in salt, fat or sugars. Add blueberries, strawberries for more sweetness (they're lovely heated also). Guarantee you'll be hooked once you try 'em. Just make sure you leave enough for me in Tesco's.

 Another brekkie option I love is Overnight Oats. Dry porridge oats, fruits of your choice, natural yoghurt (or flavoured low fat yoghurt if you'd prefer) & milk. I recommend you use a clip top jar (see photo & links below) as it makes it way easier than a bowl to assemble & store.

Photo courtesy of ikea.com

 All you need to do is layer up your ingredients in a repetitive manner-

a sprinkle of oats

a topping of yogurt 

some fruit   

Repeat the above 

 When the jar is nearly full pour in your milk to soften through the several layers, pop the jar in the fridge overnight & by morning you'll have a scrumptious, filling breakfast which you can even take with you on the go. Result! And no cooking involved! Double result! 

 Mimi is all about preparing in advance so she'll boil an egg the night before & have it with some gluten-free toast in the morning. Eggs are a great source of protein & I always find a boiled egg more filling than I expect it to be. We both love scrambled eggs & smoked salmon too which makes for a quick but more civilised of breakfasts on the weekend. Eggs rock! They roll too! Get it?!? 

 Mimi has just this week started using her slow cooker for the first time ever, in an attempt to cook when she AIN'T at home, so no doubt there'll be a post about her kitchen adventures soon. Ever the Girl Guide Mimi. Be prepared & all that. 

 I bid you farewell for now & wish you all the best in your efforts to be a healthier you in 2015. Sometimes all it takes is one suggestion of a meal or snack to break you out of the monotony of your daily/weekly food routine. Hell, if you comment below with some brekkie ideas I may even swap my crumpets (albeit momentarily) for something new! Wonders will never cease.

Wait!

Maybe my 2015 resolution should be to eat less crumpets?!?!

Mr Warburton & Mr Kingsmill would disapprove I feel. 

Over and out.

W x

The Links

Crumpets 

http://www.warburtons.co.uk/breakfast/product/crumpets

http://www.kingsmillbread.com/our-range/bakery-favourites/crumpets/6-crumpets/

Clip Jars

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70213545/

http://www.tesco.com/direct/bormioli-rocco-clip-glass-storage-small-jar/653-7506.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=653-7506

http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/kilner-0.5-litres-clip-top-glass-jar-109496

Weight loss Post

http://mimiandweesse.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_01_archive.html

Sleep. Eat. Work Out. Cook. Repeat.

Sleep. Eat. Work Out. Cook. Repeat. 

That right there is my life. 

These days it feels like all I am doing is cooking food! And you know what…that’s not such a bad thing.

My life is filled with food storage containers. So. Many. Containers. Because in order for me to get the best workout possible, reap the benefits of that work out and see better results, I am all about my food prep. 

Here’s what a typical day looks like.

7:30am- Get up, etc. Grab snacks and lunch from the fridge. Whizz up a fruit smoothie (strawberry, blueberry, apple, half a banana, raspberry) or eat 2 (pre-cooked) boiled eggs.

8:15am- leave the house for work

6pm- return home from work and cook dinner. Often I cook salmon fillets in the microwave, or grill chicken with lots of veg and add brown rice. Dinner may also involve reheating chilli con carne made the night before.

7pm- leave house

7:15-9:30pm- Get my work out on somewhere

  

9:30pm arrive home, make a protein-rich snack like GF toast and whole nut peanut butter or cheese

10pm- MEAL PREP CENTRAL. This can generally involve cooking the following night’s meals, making soup, organising the next day’s lunch and putting it in the fridge, cutting up fruit for breakfast, boiling eggs for breakfast, portioning snacks for my working day etc etc.

12midnight- Go to bed.

Meal prepping has allowed me to make great progress with getting plenty of fruit n veg, fibre and protein! It’s just all about thinking ahead and planning. My making my own food I also know what's in it. Yeah, low fat, low sugar low whatever food might be low in, well everything, but you’ve got to ask yourself…WHAT’S IN IT?! 

So, what are my top tips for meal prepping and general food organisation?

1. Write lists. Lots of them. Use Excel (LOVES a spreadsheet) and bask in the glory of your awesomeness.

2. Think a day in advance. What are you having for dinner tonight? Don’t know? What if you asked yourself that question about tonight’s dinner last night. You’d have had more time to decide and would have probably made a healthier choice.

3. Read food labels. If you can't pronounce, or have never heard of, an ingredient, it's not a good sign. 

4. Suss out where sells what. I shop in Aldi for 90% of my food, but I can’t get my bread, rice or fruit bars there, so I get them from Tesco. We go straight from Aldi to Tesco to home and it’s DONE. Also, get familiar with your supermarket and where they keep things. That way you avoid wasting time walking down aisles you don’t need to. TIME IS MONEY PEOPLES. 

5. FREEZE. Making soup? Great! Wanna make this scenario even more fabulous? Make lots and freeze at least half. Same goes for any stews, cooked meats, homemade pasta sauces, even breads etc. You won’t be reaching for the Dolmio if you’ve for a tomato rich homemade ragu in the freezer in need for a little thaw.  

6. Invest in food containers. There is a food storage box monster and he steals tubs on a regular basis. Buy plenty in different sizes (microwave and freezer safe) that DON’T LEAK. Avoid the cheap stuff for food you will be transporting. No one was a soupy handbag.

7. Get into the habit. Do your meal prep at the same time of the day/week and it will become like any other habit. 

8. Use a macro/calorie counting app to keep track of your nutrition. I use MyFitnessPal as a guide. No app can substitute for a personal trainer or nutritionist, so using an app like this great as a guide for keeping track and increasing your own awareness of the quality of what you eat. 

9. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t prep or fall off the wagon. You are a human being. Get over it.

10. I don’t have a tenth tip but couldn’t leave it at just 9 tips. Sorry. 

So when I'm home from work and I am standing over a pan of lean minced beef, chopping courgettes and boiling lentils and leeks, I could wallow in self pity and say that I wish I was lazing on the couch instead. However, I know that I am making every effort to out goodness into my body without having to go to ridiculous extreme lengths or spend a lot of money. 

Happy prepping!!