My take on Poutine!

So I've decided to post about a really yummy meal I made a few weeks ago,  which will definitely go on to my "make again" list!

*Now here's a disclaimer for all future food posts I make, I do NOT use measurements or really follow recipes, so this is in no way a "recipe", its just an account of what I made, and a reccomendation to you guys to make it too!!*

So I've decided to call this meal "Veggie Mince Poutine-ish".

For those who have no idea what Poutine is, handy old wikipedia is here to tell you:

"Poutine is a common Canadian dish, originally from Quebec, made with french fries, topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds."

Okay so this really isn't very much like Poutine, but it does have fries, and is topped with yummyness and then baked!

For your own go at my creation you will need: 

Sweet Potatoes

Veggie Mince

Mushrooms

A smoky/barbequey sauce of your liking

Garlic Powder (optional)

Grated cheese (not optional)

Seasoning

Spray oil

An oven proof, preferably good looking dish :)

Like the seasoned blogger I am (PAH!), I have included photos with this blog, in order to help you understand my rambling instructions!

Step 1

Slice sweet potatoes into thin chips/fries, place them in the bottom of the dish, season, and pop in the oven for about 20 minutes. 

Step 2

Slice mushrooms, and soften in a frying pan with a spray of oil, and then add in veggie mince.

Step 3

Once the veggie mince has lost its hard gravel texture, sprinkle some garlic powder over the mixture, and then add your sauce. You don't want too much as you want it to become a sticky yummy mess!

Step 4

Take the sweet potato dish out of the oven, and, checking the potatoes are reaching softness, pour the mince mixture ontop, and then add grated cheese. I tried to limit the grated cheese I used, to make it somewhat healthy but please don't feel you have to! Put the dish back into the oven for another 5/6 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is starting to stick to the dish!

Step 5

Remove from oven, and devour. Job done!

I have to say, it was really yummy, and and gave similar dishes served at a local REVOLUTIONary eaterie a run for its money, plus it was relatively healthy...

You could of course, do this with white potatoes, but you might have to cook these a little longer before adding the mixture, and definitely try it with beef mince too!

Its been a month...

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. I apologise, it's been a very busy few weeks, quite emotional and rollercoaster-like! However the good news was that when I last checked, I had lost 4lbs, making my weight 16st 3lbs! Quite a good achievement seeing as I have done minimal exercise and standard healthy eating.

Whilst I'm still continuing on my weight loss journey, I have had a few set backs; I am now single again after three years and finding it interesting to cook for just one, re-learning about portions and making food ahead of time.

I was then ill, and all I wanted to eat was toast and lie in bed all day sleeping, so my food diary went a bit out of the window for a week or so. I then went home for my birthday weekend, so naturally I stuffed my face with all sorts of goodies I can't afford to buy whilst at uni! I had absolutely phenomenal lamb and mint casserole with crispy roast potatoes, followed by homemade lemon meringue pie cooked by my lovely Granny Pat!

I returned to uni for the NFL Superbowl game party that we were hosting at our uni house, which involved crisps, dip, onion rings, pizza and sausage rolls! However I was involved in a boiling tea incident, which took a large part of the skin on my inner thigh off, so I spent the rest of the evening in the local A+E department, having my 2nd degree burns treated! I went home the next morning to be looked after by my parents and again I comfort ate to make myself feel better. I definitely won't forget my 23rd birthday, seeing as I spent it in bed!

I've now returned to uni, and am slowly getting back into healthy eating, and I've been re-evaluating the direction of this blog. Whilst I do want to document my weight loss and fitness uptake, I also want to document other projects, such as my sewing and craft, as I find it to be such a escape from the pressures of uni work and job hunting.

So this will be a general "Steph's life" blog, documenting the healthy meals I make but also any projects I'm working on. I've recently finished a patchwork sewing machine cover, which I will post about soon, and I am starting to make a cushion for my friend Amee's 22nd birthday!

So welcome back, I apologise again for my absence, and I hope it won't happen again!!!

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A bad night followed by a good day!

I started off very well yesterday. Breakfast was one slice of toast with minimal butter, I had low-fat potato & egg salad for lunch (homemade!!) with a pear and an alpen cherry bakewell bar for snacks. I was feeling very proud of myself and actually had no hunger pangs all day, and then I came home...

A photo of my healthy lunch to distract you from the upcoming bad bad food!

I had a lovely evening with housemates and friends, which came with the standard bad bad bad takeaway...dominos! It was a typical example of my absolute lack of willpower and love of pizza. It was a really nice evening catching up with friends so I am choosing not to focus too much on the fact that I fell off the wagon!

This morning I planned on swimming however woke up with an achy ear and felt it was safer not to risk it...I get a lot of ear infections and right now is not the best time for one! Breakfast and lunch were the same as yesterday, so it is proven that I can stay on track when there are no awful distractions like my housemate begging to have pizza.

A friend and fellow blogger (check her out at http://www.eventmanagementstudent.com) told me about the NHS podcasts "Couch to 5k" which are available to download from the iTunes store for FREE! Now I am most definitely not a natural born runner, and with bad genetics in the ankle area its never really been a good idea to test my running abilities. The "Couch to 5k" podcast lasts 30 minutes and Week 1 consisted of 60 seconds of jogging followed by 90 seconds of brisk walking, repeated for the entire duration. I still can't believe it as I type this, but I actually enjoyed it! Yes my legs ache now and I got a stitch multiple times whilst I was doing it, but I felt virtuous afterwards and naturally, didn't regret it at all! The podcast advises to do each session three times during the course of a week, allowing a day in between to rest the muscles that aren't usually used in everyday activity!

Now I can't make a large declaration that I will be committing myself to this challenge; there are way too many changing variables, such as uni work, paid work, ankles, general health, but the fact that I've not ended up in A&E after my first attempt is quite encouraging!!

Perhaps next time I will be brave enough to post a photo of myself in my fetching running clothes!



 

First week of being healthy healthy!

So I got my gym concession card, they want £12.50 for a gym induction!!! Surely all they will do is say "...and on this you run..."??? What do they want £12.50 for?? 

Anyway, with my card it'll only cost me £1.30 to swim each time, which is GREAT!! 

Still debating today about whether I can afford to join SW again or just reuse my old plan and see how I get on...it cost me £45 just for healthy food this week, and on top of paying for buses to uni and swimming...I don't know whether I can afford it to be honest!! 

But anyway....onto my food today! 

Pre-Breakfast: 

Lemon, cucumber and mint detox water

Breakfast: 

A handful of granola, fat free Greek yoghurt and some grapes 

Lunch: 

 Convent garden soup and granary baguette. 

Cooking gammon, sweet potato fries and veg tonight. 

I weighed myself on my scales this morning, so my starting weight is 16st 7. Hopefully with healthy eating and a swim session or two there should be a change!! 

I did it!

I went to yoga! I got up at 8am ("on a Saturday?!" I hear you cry) and soon after was planking and downward dogging with all the rest of the fitness nuts in the local parish hall. How did it feel? Surprisingly good, having not done it for over 6 months. My ankles ached a bit and I could definitely feel it in my hamstrings afterwards, but I felt better for having gone! 

I spent the rest of the day packing up my belongings and then came back to Cheltenham this evening. Went out for dinner with the other half, and ordered one of the 400 calorie dishes in Slug and Lettuce: Aubergine baked in tomato with a house salad. Not strictly slimming world perfect but definitely better than the burger I was eyeing up on the menu! Paired it with a small glass of red wine, which although not healthy, I will not give up!! 

Might have a lie-in tomorrow morning, it is Sunday after all! Then will go and buy my concession at the gym and might swim at whilst I'm there. Going to spend the evening tonight looking through relatively simple SW recipes that I could convince the BF to eat too, and then take a trip around tesco. All in all quite a nice weekend!! 

I hope whoever is reading this, that your weekend is enjoyable too! 

         My healthy dinner at slug and lettuce! 

It all starts now

So i'm doing my first bit of exercise of 2014 tomorrow morning, a yoga class!

I first joined yoga last year while I was on placement at the Cathedral, and it was in a beautiful old hall with wooden floors that squeaked in the most awkward of moments. Since being back at uni I haven't found the time (or couldn't be bothered) to find a class close by to continue, but I always find it helps the back ache I get from my bust (there is just no nice word really), so I'm hoping tomorrow's class will convince me to find a class in Cheltenham. Hopefully I can find time to go to a yoga class on top of my planned two gym/swim sessions a week.

Then maybe soon I can be back to doing this!....like I ever was that flexible...

Wish me luck!!

2014: A year for change

So for the first post for this new blog I thought I should introduce myself and explain my motivations behind creating a blog to document my journey to becoming fitter and healthier this year.

In 2014 I will be finishing my degree after 5 long, hard years at university. I will be graduating with people I have spent the last four years with and I will be entering, finally, the world of work. I will be attempting to find a job in the same area as my boyfriend, in the hope that we can live together, and (fingers crossed) pass my driving test, 3rd time lucky as they say!

With all of these milestones coming up, i'd prefer to not also have my weight and health looming over all of these events, which I know no matter how hard I try, it will be. I am already worrying about what to wear for my birthday dinner, how potential employers will see me at an interview, and what I will look like in my graduation photos.

So here are the facts: I am 23 (almost), 5ft 10inches tall, a dress size 16 most days, have a bra size of 36HH which is a hereditary gene rather than due to weight gain, and last time I checked, 106 kgs, which I guess is around 16 stone. I've always had a large bust, so I'm not completely convinced that weight loss will have a drastic change on this, however it can't hurt!

June 2007

June 2013

I have always tried to eat healthily, with the occasional treat, and I do like a glass of wine most evenings. My weight gradually crept up from age 16 when I was a happy/healthy size 12 and whilst I have maintained my weight more or less the last few years, I know I'd feel a lot better about a stone/stone and a half lighter. As well as eating healthily I want to become more active, and want to commit to 2 sessions in the gym/pool per week at the beginning, and see how my health and weight is affected.

This blog will act as a food diary and motivation tool, so I can document the food I eat and hopefully, the weight I lose over the next few months.

Thanks for joining me in this journey!

Steph

My current and target weight/size courtesy of http://www.modelmydiet.com/