#MealPlanningMonday - 13th February 2017

It doesn't seem like 5 minutes since Squiggle went back to school after the Christmas holidays and already it's half term!
Friday saw the usual end of half term assembly and I have to say I was very proud of Squiggle. Our school has a Golden Book, in which teachers write down the names and actions of all the children who have done something good, from simple things like holding doors open for teachers to welcoming new students and going the extra mile. Squiggle was in the book twice, once for welcoming a new student and becoming their buddy when they joined the school after Christmas, and again for joining in with the class led mass at church last Sunday. I say class led mass but really there were only 8 children involved, so the other 7 children went in the Golden Book as well. He also received a certificate for being very enthusiastic during the morning assembly as he joins in and sings the hymns with great passion. ( I don't know where he gets this from as we are not devoted religious people at all, just attend church now and then for Christmas and things like that )

As it's half term, the menu plans for the week have gone out of the window, depending on whether or not we have any days out.
Last week's cupboard clearout went really well and I only ended spending a few pounds on some chicken as a last minute adjustment to the weekend when we had a Chinese Fakeaway.
We still have lots of tins of spaghetti and beans, and still loads of cake mixes, so hopefully we can do a spot of baking one day this week.

If  we do stay in then we have the choice of

• beans on toast
• spicy chicken pizza
• pasta bake
• spaghetti and meatballs
• fish fillets

Hope you all have a great week.

An InLinkz Link-up

#MealPlanningMonday - 6th February 2017

Welcome to this weeks meal planning post.

This week we shall mainly be eating out of the cupboard and freezer in an attempt to
1) use up previously bought stuff before buying new stuff which leads to
2) save money

I have all sorts of stuff but nothing that quite makes a meal so if I don't plan this right then we could possibly end up eating off a plate that looks quite similar to an all you can eat buffet on holiday, you know what I'm talking about, the plates that are piled high with pizza, spaghetti, mashed potato, sweetcorn and some prawns!

After having a good look in the cupboards, this week should hopefully look something like this.

Cottage pie with vegetables
BBQ chicken pizza
Beans on toast
Hotdogs and spaghetti
Prawn curry

I am ashamed to say that currently I have more dessert items in the house, than I do real food. At least Squiggle will be happy, he loves a pudding after tea, as do I.

So we shall be feasting on Angel Delight, Betty Crocker cake mixes, ice cream, custard and tinned fruit and just for mummy some frozen cocktails that I've found lurking in the bottom of the freezer!

Happy days!

For other ideas and inspiration, why not take a look at what other bloggers are cooking this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

#MealPlanningMonday - 24th October 2016

The nights are drawing in and there's definitely an Autumn chill in the air, so I think it's time to start making hearty stews, cottage and shepherds pies, broth and dumplings, toad in the hole and all those sorts of comfort foods.

I actually like this time of year for food and cooking, mainly because I can chuck everything in my slow cooker and leave it. It's also a good time to get Squiggle to eat different things because I can hide them in a stew and he never notices.

So this week, we shall be having

• My mince & mash - I usually chuck whatever veggies I have, (usually a carrot, parsnip and some onion) in the pot and slow cook with the mince all day, add some gravy granules towards the end and hey presto.
• Fish fingers, mash and beans
• pizza
• spaghetti on toast
• chicken & butternut squash risotto

Not sure what I'm going to do next week as it's half term and Squiggle is off to his dad for the week, I may try and freeze a portion of what I make this week and then I can just zap it in the microwave. 

Hope you all have a great week,

Thanks for reading.

#MealPlanningMonday - 15th August 2016

Yet again my meal planning plans have gone astray, the school holidays have really messed my daily routine up, and Squiggle's tantrums don't help as he usually gets sent to bed in the afternoon and sometimes doesn't wake up.

We're hopefully going away in a few weeks so ideally I would like to just eat what's in the cupboards, and freezer and then I can start afresh when we're back. Plus I really need to defrost the freezer as I think they're is probably more ice than food in there at the moment!

So after having a rummage through the cupboards it looks like we're eating this lot, this week.

• Fish fingers, waffles, peas
• Burgers, potato croquet, beans
• Lemon tempura battered fish fillets
• Homemade lasagna
• Cottage Pie
• Vegetable omelette
• Roast dinner, with lots of veggies

I've also half a dozen packs of noodles so they'll be used up at dinner time and the rest of the eggs will be used in some baking.

Hope you all have a great week, please leave me a comment and let me know what your plans are.

#MealPlanningMonday - 27th June 2016

Last week I didn't bother with meal planning, I was too poorly. I started feeling a bit off on Sunday night so went to bed early, but then woke up on Monday to find my stomach had swollen to twice its normal size, I'm fat to start off with so you can only imagine my horror at waking to looking like I'd swallowed a beach ball in my sleep! I couldn't roll one way or another to get out of bed. Luckily Squiggle had stayed at his dad's house for Father's Day so I didn't have to panic about trying to do the school run. I initially put it down to bloating from my IBS but by Wednesday it still hadn't cleared and a trip to the doctors was needed. They confirmed I had an infection and gave me a course of antibiotics. It took 4 more days for the swelling to go down. Yesterday I finally looked like my normal self and actually started to feel a bit better.

So last week we just ate basic, simple food, that didn't require much cooking and I will admit to a takeaway or two. This week we're hopefully going to get back on track. Also this week I will be trying to kick start a diet of some description ( mainly from the horror of swelling to twice my size, and also because I have a school reunion coming up in August ). I'm thinking of just ditching the sandwiches at dinner time and filling up on salads as I always feel hungry again after eating bread!

Anyway the plan for this week is:

• Lamb, mash & peas
• Chilli con carne and rice
• Jacket potatoes with either cheese, beans or coleslaw
• Chicken Fajitas
• Thai curry

Hope you are all keeping well, and have a great week. x

#MealPlanningMonday - 13th June 2016

What a difference a day makes, and a week makes even more difference, who would have thought this time last week we were sitting in the garden eating a barbecue in the glorious sunshine, tonight, we're huddled up inside trying to get dry after getting soaked in the rain.

Despite all the wet weather I've had a really good week in the garden pulling out the weeds, phew, I need a trailer to get rid of them all now, there's bags and bags of weeds piled up everywhere!

Looking at the weather today, I think it's going to be another damp and wet week, so I'll need to keep on top of those pesky weeds so will be needing some good food to eat.

This weeks menu will consist of:

• Pesto pasta and sun dried tomatoes
• Lamb steaks with mash and peas
• Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
• Bangers and mash or toad in the hole
• Spaghetti bolognaise

Have fun folks, whatever you're up to.

#MealPlanningMonday - 6th June 2016

Phew it's been a scorcher today and I don't know about you but when it's hot, food and eating is the last thing on my mind and so is cooking. I eat a lot less when it's nice weather, I seem to fill up more on water and cold drinks instead.

If it's going to be like this all week, then we shall probably just end up eating salad every night. However tonight, we had a little barbecue in the garden. I bought one of the small disposable barbecues and set it up on my old cast iron table. We had a lovely time sitting out in the sun cooking burgers and sausages on the table.

Squiggle loved it, he prefers alfresco dining when the sun is shining and is quite happy to sit down and eat, which is a contrast to when we sit inside and meal times become a battle. He just doesn't want to sit still, I honestly don't know where he gets his energy from, it's certainly not from his parents!

Anyway I digress, my meal plan for this week is either going to be salad, salad and more salad, but there will be a contingency plan in case of wet or colder weather.

• Lasagne and garlic bread
• Mexican fajitas
• Cheesey pizza
• Fish fingers and mash
• Chicken Tikka Masala

I hope you all get to make the most of the weather, have a good week and enjoy x

Meal Planning Monday - 4th April 2016

Oh wow, what a horrendous month March was, both myself and Squiggle have been struck with numerous bugs, coughs, colds and fevers, most of the month was spent in bed or on the settee fast asleep, ( hence why very little posts last month ) neither of us have felt like eating much and when we have it's been quick and crap, so basically lots of takeaways and burgers and microwave rubbish.

Somehow we both managed to get well enough for one day just to celebrate our birthdays - I am now the grand old age of 22* and Squiggle is now 6 - where has the time gone?

This weekend we have been feeling better so it's back so some sort of normality. We have a holiday coming up shortly so I think it's time to eat up what we already have and then we can have a proper frsh start when we get back.

So after looking in the freezer and cupboards this week we shall be having:

Chicken dippers/kievs with smiley potato stars
Chilli con carne
Eggs ( not the chocolate ones ) either scrambled, omlette or fried
Fish fingers
Macaroni cheese

As usual this is post is in conjuction with Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky, for great meal ideas click here.

*I told Squiggle I was 21 last year and even though he now knows the truth he tells everyone I am only 22!

#MealPlanningMonday - 29th February 2016

So I've just posted this about my battle with a low fibre diet and how I've gained weight, and now I'm contemplating scrapping it and just eating what I want and suffering with the consequences of my IBS. Big decision, eat what I fancy, crap myself but stay slimmer or eat what I'm told, not crap myself but get fat!

Well this week the diet/menu planning is sort of out of my hands. Those great guys at Bzz Agent are running a campaign with OXO, so I have a great cook book and OXO stock pots to work with this week.

My favourite choices out of the book are:
Mushroom stroganoff
Pork cider & apple stew*
Rigatoni with quick cook ragu

and then I'll do some of the simpler things like
fish fingers
pizza
spaghetti & meatballs



I'm only planning 6 meals as it's Mothers Day on Sunday, and I'm hoping Squiggle is going to take me out for a lovely meal and shower me with love, bear in mind he's nearly 6 years old so it will probably be a trip to the golden arches, but so long as I'm with him I don't care where we dine!

As usual this post is linked up with Mrs M and all the other Meal Planners.

Have a great week everyone!

*OK, call me weird, I can eat bacon, sausages, gammon and ham but pork makes me poorly, so I'll be swapping the pork for gammon!

#MealPlanningMonday - 25th January 2016

I'm having jam!

After 2 weeks of being on a restricted fibre diet I am allowed to reintroduce something back into my diet this week, and I choose jam. Not the smooth kind, oh no, but the 'jam' packed full of fruit jam. I love blackcurrant jam and it tasted so good on my crumpets this morning, and best of all, I've had no IBS symptoms today, so maybe I do need to stick to it and persevere. I am going to have a look at some of the foodstuffs on my 'allowed' list just in case they are the culprits. I did keep a food diary and did pinpoint one or two things that set me off but there are other foodstuffs out to get me!

So sticking with the bland boring low fibre diet my menu options this week are:

lemon cod fillets & skinless potatoes
steak & chips
chicken, cauliflower & broccoli
pesto pizza
stir fry chicken - I'll have to have it with no veg, so chicken & noodles then!
pasta bake
roast dinner where I may consider a carrot!

I still feel lethargic and have started taking a multivitamin tablet as I don't think I am getting quite enough nutrients, I do seem to be lacking iron in my diet because green leafy vegetables are off the menu for the time being. So I will have to see how I get on this week. I also need to start exercising and getting out more but the weather has been terrible. Although I did feel quite good after sledging with Squiggle last weekend, maybe I need it to snow more ( Please don't hate me for saying that! )

As usual this post is part of the Meal Planning linky by At Home With Mrs M, go and visit for more meal planning ideas or to join in.

Have a great week!

#MealPlanningMonday - 18th January 2016

I'm a little late in posting this this week, I've debated whether or not there was actually any point whilst I'm trialing a low fibre diet as I am just so uninspired as to what to make.

Last week I said I was embarking on a low fibre diet to try and help my IBS, Oh my goodness it's had such a negative impact on my body. I personally don't think it's made any difference to my IBS, but I have noticed that I've no energy, I'm tired all the time and have even ended up having to take an afternoon nap. I caved in at the weekend and had a plate full of forbidden veggies with a roast dinner, granted my stomach didn't agree with it but I felt heaps better the morning after,

I've to keep myself restricted again this week and then next week I can slowly introduce something back into my diet and see how it goes.

So again this week my menu is going to be a little uninspiring. There's going to be lots of mashed potato or waffles, some meat or fish and a small piece of cauliflower and broccoli. My cupboard is now stocked with tins of fruit for pudding and not with baked beans!

plain cheese pizza
fish and mash
chicken, broccoli and cauliflower
fish fingers and waffles ( with beans for Squiggle! )
pasta bake

Roll on next week so I can put something back on my plate, but where to start, beans? , sweetcorn?, parsnips?

Oh stop thinking about food and get through this week first!

For inspiration or to join in with meal planning, pop along to Mrs M and see what's cooking.

#MealPlanningMonday - 11th January 2016

Well here we are 11 days into 2016 and nearly half the month of January gone already!

I had all good intentions of an easy healthy diet this year, however a trip to see the dietitian last week has made things slightly harder. I suffer from I.B.S and medication hasn't helped so my next step is try a low fibre diet. I can cope with having to eat white bread, cheese, white rice, crumpets, potato waffles, cream crackers, mayonnaise, fizzy drinks and alcohol, but I can't cope with not being allowed to eat apples, pears, peaches, oranges, prunes, raisins, cabbage, spinach, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, mushrooms, sweetcorn, raw carrots, baked beans, sweet potato, coleslaw, fruit jam, peanuts.......argh the list goes on and on.

So out goes my sweet potato and chicken stew, parsnip soup, beans on toast, jam on toast, peanut butter on toast, Snickers bar ( although I suppose I could suffer a Mars bar, it's like a Snickers but without the nuts! )

Shopping is going to be interesting, no more reaching for food without thinking about it, I am going to have scrutinize everything for the fibre content.

So my menu is subject to change in case I have picked something I shouldn't be having but so far it looks like this.

Chicken with broccoli and boiled carrots ( these are allowed )

Pasta bake

Gammon with mash, cauliflower and broccoli

fish fingers and potato waffles ( no beans for me! )

cheese on toast ( still allowed tomato sauce on, black pepper is to be used with caution )

So this is my first draft at the menu, it is quite hard thinking what to have especially as my vegetable choices are limited.

I am allowed a variety of canned fruit as apparently the fibre has started to break down so isn't as high as in fresh fruit* so I may look into making smoothies as I'm not sure my body will cope with all the white bread, pasta and lack of vegetation!

For more mouth watering recipes, head over to Mrs M to see what else is cooking.

*This is what my dietitian told me

#MealPlanningMonday - 4th January 2016

Happy New Year!

Let me start 2016 as I mean to go on, and that's by exercising more, eating less, blogging more, sitting on my arse less.... hmm that's not technically going to work if I've to sit down to blog, might have to stand up then to write my posts from now on!

So it does look like I am making one or two New Year's resolutions, and as I am one to say the diet starts Monday I will already be 4 days into the new year when the diet starts, so how long can I keep at it?
I honestly cannot answer that, I love eating, I'm not ashamed to admit it and last year I did eat my way to putting back on the 2 and a half stone I'd lost in 2014.

So new year, new me.

My menu for the week will be hit and miss as I have a mixture of good food and bad food to use up and clear out the cupboards. I have watched programmes and read articles that recommend throwing out all the bad stuff and starting afresh but that just seems like a waste of money and food to me, so it will get eaten!

What's for tea then?

Lemon cod fillet
Pasta bake
lamb steak
beef steak
chicken and squash risotto

Watch this space to see if my resolutions last or if I fall at the first hurdle!
Also pop along to see what others are cooking at Mrs M's!

#MealPlanningMonday - 9th November 2015

5:2 Diet Vegetarian Meals for one

Squiggle has become a bit of a fussy eater lately and just wants to eat fish fingers every night, which was OK for a few days but now I'm getting fed up of trying to cook 2 seperate meals every night, especially as I have no idea about portion control. I always make far too much and even though I freeze some and give my granny some I always seem to have lots going to waste. Luckily last week I won a copy of 5:2 Diet Vegetarian Meals for One. I'm not a vegetarian and I'm not following the 5:2 diet but some of the recipes in this book look really yummy and they are designed to make just one portion ( which will be a shame if I decide I want seconds! )

Anyway after having a quick skim through I have decided to attempt to make:

Butternut Squash Risotto
Stroganoff with rice ( the recipe calls for Tofu but I'm going to substitute for beef )
Low fat Pesto Tagliatelle

I'll let you know how I get on with them.

I've also got a pan of parsnip soup that I made yesterday and sorry Skippy but I found some Kangaroo steaks in Lidl and thought I'd give them a try - I'm not sure if Squiggle will want to try them or not, you never know he may surprise me and broaden his food horizons this week!

As usual this post is linked up with Meal Planning Monday, head over to Mrs M's blog to get more inspiration.

Meal Planning Monday - 24th August 2015

Here I am, jumping back on the meal planning bandwagon. I actually made a start on this last week when I sat down and planned my shopping list so I could do a last minute online shop. It feels quite weird having actual food in the house - and by that I mean things that easily come together to make an edible meal and not random items like a jar of chicken & mushroom sauce, spaghetti hoops and fruit cocktail, not sure how they would ever go together without me having to make the effort of actually buying something to go with them.

So what is actually for tea?
Well I have in stock this week enough food to make:
Lamb steak and mash
Chicken thighs with squash and sweet potato stew
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Fish fingers
Sweet & sour chicken with rice*
Homemade pizzas - cheat style because I've bought a readymade base

I think I'll get Squiggle involved with the pizzas because he has turned into a bit of a fussy eater over the school holidays, too many days out, takeaways and sandwiches, so it's about time we all got back to eating some good-ish food.

As usual my menu probably won't inspire many of you this week, so why not check out At home with Mrs M for some great meal ideas.

*or I might actually use the aforementioned chicken & mushroom sauce

Meal Planning Monday - 23rd March 2015

Oh well that was short lived, last week didn't go to plan and I don't expect this week to be much on track either, but I am determined to get back into the swing of things.

I did manage to make my stew & dumplings on Monday and it was delicious, but that's as far as I got. So in fairness if I manage to stick to two meals this week then that's 100% improvement on last weeks effort - right?!?!?

So what's the plan for this week then....

Monday - It's my birthday - I'm going to have a carvery
Tuesday - Chicken & mushroom pasta
Wednesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Thursday - possible leftovers or fish fingers, mash & beans
Friday - takeaway ( the curse of McD's monopoly promotion )
Saturday - lasagne & garlic bread
Sunday - will attempt a roast dinner this week

Until I get back into the swing of things I agree my choices are probably a bit predictable and boring. I am finding it hard cooking for just me and the little one because he never wants what I want and I don't always want what he wants.

I want to be cooking great food again but I always make too much, I always did when cooking for 3 and haven't learnt to reduce my portion sizes for 2 ( well one and a half, Squiggle is still only 4! ) Plus the enjoyment has gone, I honestly feel like I can't be bothered cooking some nights and only do it because I have another mouth in the house to feed.


Anyway enough with the self pity, if you want some inspiration and great recipe ideas then head on over to At Home With Mrs M .

Meal Planning Monday - 16th March 2015

Well this is a novelty post - how long has it been since I decided to plan out my meals? far too long if you ask me, ( or 7 months if you want to be precise!) In fact I think the only meal that was planned in the last 7 months was Christmas dinner!

My son has started school since my last meal planning post and as he gets a free school dinner he rarely wants a full cooked tea when he gets home. I have since started dating again so there have been many takeaways and trips to the pub and sadly my poor waistline ( and bank balance ) has started to suffer from it all so I've decided enough is enough, I am jumping back on the meal planning and weight loss bandwagon.

I did make a conscious start last week and managed to plan a few meals in amongst parents evening and the weekend, but this week I am officially starting again.

So what's for tea?

Monday  - Stew & Dumplings
Tuesday - Grilled pepper beefsteaks
Wednesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Thursday - night out
Friday - Stir Fry
Saturday - night out
Sunday - Roast dinner(??)

My Szechaun beef stir fry that I made last week

I am out on Thursday to the theatre with my grandma to watch Oklahoma and am contemplating a night out on Saturday to celebrate my upcoming birthday so Saturday tea and Sunday dinner is up in the air at the moment subject to alcohol consumption levels!

If you want some really good meal planning ideas then over to At Home With Mrs M and see what everyone else is planning.

I shall let you know how I get on with my plan next week.
Ta ta for now!

Meal Planning Monday - 4th August 2014

So we're in the midst of the school holidays and the meal planning is hit and miss, will we be in for tea or will we be on a day out somewhere? Truth is, I don't really know until we wake up.

So this post is a bit of a willy nilly post, I'm not going to set a determined menu this week, I'll just tell you what the aim is and we shall have to see what we do actually eat and on what day!

So in the fridge and freezer for this week, I have:

lamb steaks
peppered beef grill steaks ( posh burgers )
bits to make a lasagne - mince, pasta sheets & sauce
egg and chips - haven't had this for ages
pulled pork - I bought some from Tesco a few weeks ago and just got round to eating it last week and it was amazing.

I served it in warm pita bread along with a side salad and a few chips, it certainly got the thumbs up from everybody in the Homer house!

I've no food plans for the weekend as we are going out, so might treat ourselves to a pub tea. We're off to Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival on Sunday. It's a great day out, all the village takes part and they all put up scarecrows. There's a trail to follow along with a little quiz and prizes every day for adults and children.

Have you ever been? Or do you have a Scarecrow Festival near you? If so let me know, I'd like to go to other Scarecrow Festivals.

#MealPlanningMonday - 21st July 2014

Oh dear - I am definitely going to get back on the meal planning bandwagon, my bank balance and waistline cannot cope with takeaways and last minute trips to the shops any longer. I need my pennies to entertain Squiggle over the Summer holidays, no doubt it's going to be filled with trips to the park ( free - yippee ) for ice cream ( not free - boo ). But also I am having my garden landscaped in September, and I cannot wait, I'll be getting a nice new fence to keep Squiggle in the garden, nice new gates also designed to keep him in the garden, a new patio and a purpose built raised flower bed. I am still having arguments discussions with the other half, he wants a shed, I want a summer house, haven't the money for either so the arguments discussions will have to continue for now!

Anyway back to the point, here's my menu for this week. I'm having another attempt at emptying the freezer and cupboards, my freezer is in desperate need of a defrost so the less I have in it the better!

Monday - bangers and mash
Tuesday - spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday - possibly leftover spaghetti and meatballs / beans on toast
Thursday - planned trip to the pub!
Friday - fakeaway - Chinese
Saturday - steak and chips
Sunday - lamb dinner

I've just realised that I have a very high meat content on my menu this week, I need some meat free meals for next week, can you help? What would you suggest? What's your favourite recipe?, please feel free to leave me a comment, and I'll  try and make some of your suggestions next week.

Meal Planning Monday - 9th June 2014

Good Evening folks, apologies for a very short and hastened post, been having a spot of trouble with the electric's tonight, there's a storm brewing outside.

The Juneathon mission is going well but I'm having to do most of it indoors due to the typical British Summer, so the exercise bike has been dusted off and is getting a bit of a hammering, but tonight I did manage to go for a hop,skip and jog!

My menu this week is a bit hit and miss because I have a lot of girls night's out planned, so as a rough guide we shall be dining on

Cod in a tomato and basil sauce

Beef Stroganoff

Spaghetti and meatballs

Pasta salad

Carvery/Roast dinner

Next week I am hoping to try and do something a little different and fun for the World Cup, watch this space.

As usual, this post is in conjunction with Mrs M's linky!