Resolutions?

I don't know how I feel about resolutions, how often do we actually stick to them for the year. Usually we start out all gung ho and by the end of January things have fallen to the wayside. Now don't get me wrong, the idea behind resolutions is fantastic, but maybe we are too specific and too hard on ourselves. Last year I was very specific with my goals and I only stuck to 3 of them fully. The goals helped me focus a little on the year and the ones I didn't stick to 100%, I was always aiming for them. However instead of setting myself up for failure, I have decided this year to be a bit broader in my goals. 

Christmas Update: Less Than 2 Weeks!

So here it is, my updated Christmas Event Calendar/Tracker! I was doing so well last weeks until I went out for an impromptu meal and drinks on Thursday. I still tracked everything and at weigh in over the weekend was down another half a pound. I think if I hadn't gone out of dinner it may have been a little bit more but I am always happy to see the scale moving down!!

Christmas Countdown: 3 Weeks to Go!

So two weeks into my Christmas calendar and I started out so well. I lost 1.8lbs at weigh in last week which was my best loss in ages. Last weekend was my most manic weekend and I enjoyed my treats and was ready to jump back on the wagon on Monday morning. There was only one problem, I was sick. I had been starting to come down with something last Friday and then by the time Monday hit I was feeling miserable. I was kind of hoping it was just a hangover from the weekend of drinking but it kept getting worse as the days went on.

Chirstmas Party Season!

Its that time of year again! Christmas Party season has arrived  far sooner than I expected it. This time of year can be a bit of a minefield and a good excuse to give up on your weight loss. I did a guest post last year on Skinny Doll's blog all about why its not a good idea to give up, so if you are feeling a little overwhelmed with the weeks to come check it out!

Chicken & Ham Pie

There is nothing like a pie that screams comfort food! I love pastry far too much and its a very rare treat when I do have it. Finding a way of having real puff pastry without eating into my weekly propoints is always welcome. I'm a big fan of the Hairy Dieters  Tangle Pie, but I find there is a lot of waste when using filo pastry and not using the whole pack. So cooking with it for only 2 people isn't really an option. Jus-rol do low fat puff pastry. It will only save you a point or so, but sure every point counts at the end of the day.

Chicken & Chorizo Risotto

We just can't seem to get enough Risotto in our place lately. It is such a lovely comforting plate of food. It's so versatile in terms of what flavours you can add, it can almost be a fridge dump type of dinner. 

November Already!!

I am actually in shock that it is the 5th of November. I really have no idea where this year is gone but its nearly over. September and October disappeared and seem to have taken my goals away with them. I have still hovering in and around the 11 stone mark. I haven't been gaining weight but I haven't been losing it either. I seem to have a couple of really good weeks, then a couple of weeks where I am 100% Monday to Friday but have a bit of a blow out at the weekend.

Luxurious Lasagna

Lasagna has been my speciality ever since I made a vegetarian lasagna for my Junior Cert Home Ec cookery exam. I think I made a lasagna every week between the mocks and the actual exam. It was the first meal I ever cooked for my boyfriend and has been made more times than I can count over the years. I have worked on the recipe in this time, adjusting my ingredients and method, adding in meat probably being the most significant change, but the essence of the recipe has stayed the same. I did think long and hard about sharing this, or whether I should keep it as my own little secret as my boyfriend suggested. In the end I got so many requests when I posted the photos last week I decided to go ahead and share. 

Chicken & Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is one of my favourite dishes and has been since I was a child. Plain tomato risotto was a regular weekday dinner for the family and was made so often that I became a bit of a pro from an early age. The thing about Risotto is once you can make a good basic risotto its easily adaptable to all sorts of flavours and ingredients. 

Coping With My Anxiety!

Anxiety is something I've struggled with for a long time. I wasn't always able to identify it as anxiety, but looking back its something that has been there since I was a teenage. If I'm being honest, I'm a little nervous writing this post. I am hoping that confronting my anxiety rather than trying to push it to the back of my mind will actually do a better job of helping.  I've never really talked too much about my anxiety - I tend to brush it off as being not that big of a deal as talking about it makes me anxious. Its a bit of a vicious circle.

October Goals!

I've had a tough couple of weeks, so its been a while since I wrote a post that wasn't a recipe. I'm working on a post at the moment about my anxiety but its proving much more difficult to write about than I initially anticipated. I promise its coming, I just can't say when. For now I guess this is just a short update on where I'm at right now! I'm working on trying to make October a better month than September was and its time to start working on some goals.

Serrano Ham Wrapped Mozzarella Hake!

I was on my own in the apartment this week while my lovely other half worked down the country. I had a fridge full of healthy food but I was generally just throwing my dinners together depending on what I was in the mood for and what was in the fridge. So last Tuesday I had some Hake and some leftover mozzarella that had to be used up so I decided to take a bit of a chance and it turned out delicious.

Chocolate Chip & Oatmeal Cookies

Every couple of months I sort through my recent Weight Watchers and keep any recipes that I think I'll try for my recipe folders. This was a recipe I found in I think this years Easter edition and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it. I love to bake but really don't do it enough because of the temptation of having fresh baked calorific goodies around. So I really love when I discover a WW friendly treat to try. 

Courgette & Feta Fritatta

I've been in need of some new lunch ideas for a long time now. My bagel thin sandwiches and soups, while lovely, were starting to get a bit repetitive. I usually spend Sunday evenings at my parents house so don't usually have the time to do much prep for the week ahead, but this week since they were away I had a rare Sunday at home. I decided to make the most of it and after spending the morning sorting through my recipe files I spent the afternoon in the kitchen. One of the things I made was this gorgeous frittata for my lunches for the week.

What Am I Doing??

Having a dance at EP, at least I got some exercise!

Last weekend was Electric Picnic and so I knew I was taking  a few days off tracking. It was a brilliant weekend, but I absolutely went overboard on the food and drink, starting from when we arrived right up to the takeaway on the Monday after getting home. Last time I went to EP was in 2008 and leaving I was the lightest I'd ever been (10 stone 1lb) and I remember before I left having all the best intentions of eating healthy. I loaded my bags up with healthy fruits and veg snacks, low pp crisps and cereal bars and light beer. Of course all that meant was extra weight being carried in AND out of the festival - I ate none of it. I was so disheartened when I came home that I gave up on Weight Watchers and regained a stone and a half before rejoining again. 

Mouthwatering Meatballs!

I love meatballs and my absolute favourite meatball recipe is my Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs, but every now and then you want something a bit different.... or you forgot to get the mozzarella! Anyway I have been toying around with my recipe for a little while and I have finally perfected the mix of flavours to make a really special meatball. 

Post Holiday Blues!

View of The Danube from Buda Castle

This post has taken a little longer to write than I had planned. We got back from holidays on Friday with the hopes of having an easy going weekend before facing work again on Monday. The reality was the weekend was pretty busy and I have just been exhausted ever since. Our holiday was amazing but it was pretty busy. We were gone for 12 days and we did a little tour of 4 cities! There was a lot of eating and drinking but before I go into the post holiday weigh in, its time to share how we spent the time!

Aubergine Bake

My dad was away for the weekend so I decided to go up to my parents house and cook my mum dinner. I usually head up on a Sunday evening for a family dinner, but since I'm heading away tomorrow it suited me better to head up on Saturday and also didn't want to leave mum on her own on a Saturday night. 

Whats In My Shopping Basket!

I'm heading off on my holidays on Monday and have had a great couple of weeks on track! My plan to track my food over on my instagram and facebook has worked and I was down 2.5lbs this week. So my total in 9 weeks was 6.5lbs. I didn't quite make the 9lb goal but I can go on holidays feeling confident and happy. I plan to enjoy my food but not go over the top. I will still eat healthily where I can but if I want a treat I will have one. 

One Week to My Holidays!

I've been a bit lax about my blogging lately, I haven't really had too much to talk about. Life has been happening faster than I'd like to think and July is nearly over. I have been on plan for most of July with a few little breaks. Last week was my birthday and even though I had planned a day off, I ended up taking 2 days off and eating a little more than planned. The week before I was in Leeds and while I didn't go crazy, I didn't track and definitely went over my propoints. The important thing though is that I didn't let weekends run into weeks. I was back on track as soon as Monday came. Busy weekends left no time for grocery shopping, and I didn't let the fact I was unorgnaised run me off track.

Stuffed Mini Peppers!

A couple of weeks ago Tesco had mini sweet peppers on special and so I decided to buy them and try something new. These were so good they will be making a regular appearance in this house as long as these peppers are in season. They were perfect on the side with a nice summery dinner but would equally be brilliant as a starter or finger food when entertaining, or part of a summer BBQ buffet. I'ts only 4pp for the whole recipe, and it can serve 2-4 as a side for dinner, or more as part of a bigger spread.

Clontarf Half Marathon

I didn't hide the fact I didn't feel prepared for the half marathon last Saturday. I didn't feel confident with any of the running I had done and with the way the weather had been going I just new it was going to be tough. However I woke up on Saturday feeling alright. I knew I wasn't going to get a personal best, but I thought 'whats the worst that can happen' and allowed myself to get caught up in the atmosphere.

June Roundup!

I swear, the year is disappearing before our eyes. We are not officially halfway through the year. Can you actually believe it. I feel like it was just January. Now here we are, summer is in full swing and I have only 5 weeks to go until my holiday. I am pretty busy at work at the moment, but as you might remember one of my new years resolutions was to finally crack the work/life balance and I am doing so well! I feel like I can totally turn off and wind down when I get home, and ramp up so easily when I arrive in work. I am no longer working 12 hour days, and only stay late when its absolutely necessary and its fantastic. It's not that my job is less stressful, or demanding but I am more realistic about what I can get done in a day. And my time management is so much better because I am not spending my time panicking about how I'm going to get everything done. I'm just hoping I can keep this going for the rest of the year. 

Body Image!

I have been toying around with this post for the past couple of weeks, and I still really don't know where to start. So I will start with a disclaimer that this will probably not be my best writing. It's most likely going to be all over the place, because if I am being honest, my feelings around my body image, and body image in general are all over the place! However, I am going to try to articulate my feelings as best I can and this is going to be 100% honest, no holding back. This may end up being one in a series of posts about this, as I struggle to come to terms with my own body image and the pressures of society, but we'll see how this one goes before planning ahead. 

Cottage Pie

I had to google the difference between cottage pie and shepherds pie before writing this post. I was never really sure of the distinction until now, Cottage Pie is made with beef and Shepherds Pie with lamb. From my investigations though, they seem to be pretty interchangeable on other websites, so I guess whatever you call it this is my version made with beef! It may not be the most summery recipe for this time of year and this weather but it is most definitely very satisfying and sure to be a people pleaser! 

***Giveaway Time***

I am finally getting around to running my first giveaway and I am so excited! I have been meaning to do this for a while as a thank you to everyone who checks into my page and actually reads my ramblings and tries my recipes!

This month saw a big blog milestone for me, my facebook page reached 1,000 likes! I have always been a bit lax about updating my facebook page and as I seem to get more followers and views I have started to make a big effort to keep everyone updated as much as possible through my Facebook page and Instagram.

So onto the giveaway, everyone knows how much of a Hairy Dieters fan I am! So I have decided to giveaway their latest book. Its full of fabulous recipes like Coq Au Vin for 9pp, Caribbean Chicken Curry for 9pp, Pasta Puttanesca for 7pp or Ginger Biscuits for 2pp. (You can find a full list of the recipes and propoints here!

On top of the book, I will also be putting together a surprise selection of food (my favourite low pp snacks) and non food goodies for the lucky winner. To enter all you need to do is head over and like my Facebook Page and then leave a comment on the competition post! It's that easy!

The closing date in June 30th and I will be announcing the winner on July 3rd. Unfortunately its only open to Ireland & UK residents (sorry to anyone from further afield)! 

Crispy Chicken Goujons!

Chicken Nuggets was one of the first recipes I ever posted on this blog, and don't get me wrong that recipe is great. They will work out a treat, but I do think this new recipe has the edge on it. I'd never used Panko breadcrumbs as I had heard they are really high  propoints so never tried them. Well I was in Dunnes and decided out of interest to check them out, and at 2pp for 25g I figured I would give them a go. The Panko Crumbs make these as crispy as they would be if deep fried, but cooked in the oven.

We served 2 people with this recipe and the portions were HUGE. The recipe would absolutely easily serve 3, so I've worked out the propoints for both portions.

Serves: 2/3
Smartpoints per Serving: 5sp if serving 2, 3sp if serving 3
Smartpoints on No Count: 3sp if serving 2, 2sp if sercing 3
Propoints per Serving: 7pp if serving 2, 5pp if serving 3

Ingredients:
330g skinless chicken breast cut into even strips
50g Panko Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp flour
1 egg beaten*
salt & pepper
Spray oil

Preheat the oven the 200C. Lay some non stick baking paper on an oven tray & mist with spray oil (baking paper does work much better than tinfoil or putting the goujons directly on the tray)

Place the chicken strips, flour, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag and shake well until the chicken is coated.

Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then the breadcrumbs until coated and place on the prepared tray.

Once all the chicken pieces are breaded, cook in the oven for 35 minutes, turning once halfway through until the goujons are golden and chicken cooked. I turned the oven up to 220C for the last 10 minutes just to ensure that they get decent colour on them.

(** You could use egg white only to reduce the propoints by 1pp**)

Another Mini Marathon Done!

The June Bank Holiday has been and gone and that means the Women's Mini Marathon is over for another year. I have been doing the mini marathon since 2006 (with 2 years missing for travelling) and I love it every year. This year was the first year I qualified as a runner and I was so excited to collect my white number over the weekend!

Where Am I Going Wrong?

I've hit the mother of all plateaus! I can't seem to get under 11 stone. I managed it back in January but since then I have been generally just above it. I have grown to hate my scales and even taken to weighing myself almost daily (I do not recommend this). I tried filling and healthy for a few weeks, but that didn't work. I know my problem there, I can't seem to judge the 'satisfied' feeling. I am one of those people who can eat a huge amount before feeling full and this does not work with filling and healthy. I wish it did work for me, but propoints is the plan for me.

Why I'm Voting Yes!

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while and with only 3 days to go, I am finally finding the words to say to express how I feel about this referendum. To be honest, I feel quite uncomfortable with the fact I am allowed to have an opinion on this at all. What gives me the right to decide whether or not two people who love each other should have the right to be legally recognised as a family here in Ireland. Other peoples marriages have absolutely no impact on my life whatsoever, and the only person you should require permission from to get married is the person you are intending to marry.

Guest Post: Sophie's Slimming World Journey!

From Couch Potato to Rugby All Star*

For as long as I can remember I've always been overweight. That one big friend, feeling uncomfortable going out with all my 'thin' friends. Them being able to wear what was trendy and me hiding away in tracksuit bottoms and hoodies. I joined weight watchers when I was 17 and managed to do really well, getting down to my lowest ever weight but that did not last long. I moved school in 5th year and slowly I gave up tracking and going to class. 

May Madness!!

It's nearly half way through the year and I don't know about you, but I am in need of some extra motivation!! There seems to be so much on lately, I'm finding the weekends a struggle. I seem to have one weekend on track and one weekend off track! 12 weeks to my holiday and I am in exactly the same position I was when I posted last about it! So I've reached out to  a couple of family members who have had great success with their own weight loss journeys! There is nothing like a success story to help spur you on a little.

Tandoori Chicken with Rice Pilaff

I posted the photo of my Sunday night dinner at my parents on my facebook page and my instagram account and got a few requests for the recipe of the rice dish. It was a fabulous meal, but the recipe is not mine, its my mothers, and its not a recipe as such as a dish she threw together. I have to say it was really good so we talked through how she made it so I can piece together the recipe for the blog. Its all free on Filling & Healthy which is always a plus!

Filling & Healthy Pulled Pork

I have been meaning to try pulled pork for ages, but always forget to go looking for a pork shoulder. Most of the recipes I have seen have used loads of sugar in the sauce which also puts me off. I have also been meaning to try the 'Diet Coke Chicken' Slimming World recipe that so many rave about but have never got around to it. I figured the sauce from the diet coke chicken would be rich and sweet enough to make a good accompaniment to pulled pork so I thought I'd give it a go and it was DELISH! My boyfriend (who followed my recipe and did the cooking while I was in work) said it was as good as any pulled pork out there. It is super easy but it does take a lot of cooking time, so probably best for the weekend. It could probably also be done in a slow cooker, but I don't have one so I went with the old fashioned cast iron casserole dish instead. 

Letting Go of the Guilt!

I've been meaning to post an update since my last recipe post, but when that Monday morning hit I had a bad feeling. I have no idea why but the week was starting with a struggle. I felt ok about my food though, I still bought enough tuna and salad for healthy lunches all week and had my meals planned out for the week. That afternoon I had a chocolate bar - and I didn't track it. That was the beginning of the end.

Apple & Sage Stuffed Pork Fillet!

I have been following the Filling & Healthy plan for the past couple of weeks and trying get a bit more imaginative with the food to stay on plan. I have been using my weeklies up on nights out and events so there aren't many extra left over for add ons to dinner so it can be tough at times. This however is an absolute winner, perfect for a Sunday dinner or even for entertaining, and its all free on F&H (optional 1pp for the sauce). Pork fillet is great to cook with, lovely flavour and very easy to trim all the fat off making it perfect for F&H

Operation Bridesmaid!!

One of my closest friends in the world got engaged recently and I am absolutely honoured to have been asked to be her bridesmaid. I am beyond excited for being able to share in the excitement and planning for her big day! However it has also instilled a newfound motivation to get myself back to goal once and stay there once and for all! Back in September I found my weight had crept up to a stone over goal, and with a little determination I managed to lose 11lbs by Christmas. Since then its started creeping back up again, and while I am keeping somewhat of a handle on things, I am still currently 7lbs above goal.

Filling & Healthy Lunch Ideas

I am giving filling and healthy another go for the next few weeks, but there is only one problem.....my love for mayonaise. Seriously, it has always been my favourite condiment, and can make anything taste better. The extra light mayo is not really my cup of tea, I find it a bit bland and sweet and I would usually rather use the propoints on low fat mayo. Anyway, the point is, I don't really want to waste my weekly propoints on too much mayo so I had to find alternatives for lunch.

My 2nd Half Marathon!

Yesterday I completed my 2nd half marathon! And despite the fact that I am so incredibly stiff and sore, I am already planning for my next one. That's the thing about races, they are addictive. I mean I know I always feel great after my regular morning & weekend runs, but its hard to stay motivated without a race to work towards and the feeling you get crossing the finish line! 

Less Than A Week to Go!

So I'm into the final week before the half marathon, I only have 5 days to go and I am actually feeling ok about it. I wish I knew the route a little as I am a bit terrified about how hilly its going to be, but I mean what is the worst that can happen? I am not going for a PB for this run, I just want to complete it.

Keeping Things In Perspective

I've had a great week running! I doubled my distance for the first week of March and felt great doing it. My distance has been good and my times have been good. All good right? Well this morning I had a short run planned, 3 miles, so I decided I was going to push myself and go as fast as I could. I was hoping to log a fastest pace for the distance but it wasn't to be! I still clocked a pretty good time and pace but I was disappointed in myself and I posted my disappointment on Instagram.

Finding my Feet Again!

After a slow start to the year, I am finally regaining ground on my running! I am only halfway through this week and I am already nearly at the same distance I was the past 2 weeks. I plan to double the distance by the end of the week. When I agreed to do the half marathon in a couple of weeks I was quite daunted, but which each run I get more and more confident and comfortable.