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!