Menu Plan for week Commencing 17th July

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This week on the menu we have:

Monday- Slow cooker Irish stew
Tuesday: Curried Mince beef and rice
Wednesday- Steak and salad
Thursday- Pan Haggerty (a potato and onion dish with ham) from Slimming World
Friday- Quorn Bolognese (Emma's friend is coming round and she is a vegetarian)
Saturday -Eat out in Cardiff
Sunday -Spinach, tomato and red pepper cannelloni.

In the Craft Basket.

I recently bought 2 craft kits from The Range and thought I would at least do one this week.

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On my Reading List.

I watched a couple of episodes of the TV series when it was on last year but missed the first one 'Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death' so I thought I would get the book. Whilst searching for it online I saw that the Book People were doing all 20 books for £19.99 so rather than pay £7.99 for the one I bought the whole series. This book is the 9th of the series and I have enjoyed the others. They are light and easy to read and unlike some other books the culprit is not obvious. 

I am looking forward to:

Going to the Doctor Who Experience  in Cardiff on Saturday with the family, especially now we know who the next Doctor is going to be. I had a feeling it was going to be a woman especially with how well 'Missy' was received. Although I liked Jodie Whittaker in Broadchurch it will be interesting to see her in a VERY different role. With the previous Doctors I had not seen them in anything else so I had no other characters to compare them to ( I know Peter Capaldi was in an episode of Doctor Who, but that was just a one off).

It will be a long day as we will plan on leaving about 6.00am as the time slot I have booked is 11.30am. This should be plenty of time but you can never tell with the motorways, even on a Saturday.

Quote of the Week

Home,

Where the Soul finds comfort

and the heart finds pleasure

                                         Dolly Parton

I will be linking up with Organising Junkie and Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Skinny Coffee Club review

Although I have been in my target range at Slimming World for 6 months I am at the top end of the range and I would rather be at the lower. Unfortunately I seem to be stuck at the top end. I had seen loads of posts on Facebook and heard people talking about Skinny Coffee so through desperation I decided to give it a go.

I bought the 28 day programme from Holland and Barrett. When I opened the box all there was inside it was the packet of coffee. I was surprised to see there was no suggested diet plan with it or even a sheet giving suggestions on what else you could do to help you lose weight as there seems to be with any other diet related product.

I suppose this was better in a way because any suggested diet plan if followed could result in a weight loss and it would be impossible to tell if it was the diet or the coffee or the combination. I decided that as I was already following the Slimming World plan it would at least be a review of the coffee as I knew the plan did work as I had already lost weight.

The coffee is meant to be drunk in the morning and to be taken black without any added sweetness. I have to admit I drink my coffee milky and with 1 sugar added so I wasn’t looking forward to having to drink it black. I was very pleasantly surprised though as the flavour is very mild and not at all bitter and I enjoyed drinking it.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to follow the plan for the 28 days as I ran out of coffee after 16 days despite using the recommended amount. I also stuck to the Slimming World plan for those days. Did I lose weight? NO.

 After looking at Facebook comments it seems that if you purchase the coffee through the website then you are emailed a diet and exercise plan which it seems requires you to cut out dairy and sugar. By following that plan then you would lose weight anyway without drinking the coffee so I would save the money by not purchasing the coffee and find a diet plan which is balanced and does not require you to cut out food groups without getting medical advice. However if you do like drinking a mild tasting black coffee and having the extra energy from the high levels of caffeine then by all means pay the £24.95 for the programme,  but personally I would rather spend the money on a new top or skirt.

This is not a sponsored post and I have received no payment of any kind for this review.

Menu Plan week commencing 3rd July 2017

I have to admit I have been feeling pretty 'meh' for most of last week. I find when things are quiet in work it affects me at home and I do not feel motivated to get anything done unless I absolutely have to.

Quote of the week

To go along with how I have been feeling most of the week especially around the house.

Looking around the house

All though on the surface it doesn't look too bad I know the furniture needs to be pulled out and hoovered or swept underneath and there is a big pile of papers that need to be sorted out.

On the Menu

Monday-Poached egg and potato cake
Tuesday - Lasagna which I have already made and frozen so just needs reheating
Wednesday- Grilled Cheese Toasties and Soup and I will have a Mango, Banana and Kale Smoothie as I have a Parent's Evening at Matthews' new school and won't have time to eat anything beforehand.
Thursday- Slimming World Red Pepper, spinach and sweet potato tortilla with salad
Friday- Slimming World Special Egg Fried Rice
Saturday -Fakeaway KFC Chicken
Sunday -Slimming World Baked Cannelloni

What I am looking forward to /From the camera

The whole family are big fans of Doctor Who so we were very upset when we heard that The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff was closing in September. The summer weekends are pretty busy but we decided to do the trip in a few weeks time and get an early start and do it in a day. I went on my own a few years ago whilst I was doing some training so this picture is me on Matt Smith's Tardis.

I can't wait to go again with the family and see all the Peter Capaldi Doctor's props and characters.
Doing my usual link up with Happy Homemaker Monday and Organising Junkie

Menu Plan week Commencing 26th June 2016

Wow, I can't believe how quickly last week went by. It doesn't seem two minutes since I was posting my last menu plan. The best meal of the week was the Spicy Lamb kebabs. It was quite a busy week which is probably why it went so fast. I hope everybody else had a good week.

The weather 
Thankfully cooler than last week ( I am not a great fan of the heat). It stayed dry today for Matthews sports day but there is rain forecast for most of the week.

I am currently reading;
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It is about the laws of attraction and how you can get anything you want by asking for it and believing you have already received it. I will probably do a blog post about this once I have read it as I definitely think there is something in it.

In the craft basket:
In the quilting group I go to I have decided to make a throw quilt for my bed using hexagon flowers. I am paper piecing and it is all going to be hand sewn. Based on the size of my bed I figure  I need 49 flowers plus a white hexagon between each flower emphasise each flower. At the rate I am going it will be ready for winter 2018 but I am not in a rush as I do find it relaxing

On the Menu:

Monday - Nobody but me is eating at home so it will be whatever I can be bothered doing
Tuesday: Slimming World Chilli and Rice (cauliflower rice for me)
Wednesday - So juicy Chicken with cubed potatoes and steamed vegetables
Thursday: Fresh tortellini with a tomato and mascarpone sauce with garlic bread
Friday - Burger in a bowl with salad
Saturday: 1 pot BBQ chicken and rice (recipe from Countryside Cravings)
Sunday = Garlic and herb penne pasta

On my to do list

• Make appointment for contact lens check and eye test
• Clear out and tidy shed
• Decorate planner for next week
• Decide on goals for July and write blog post

And finally

From the camera

We went to Morecambe to see the parents of friends of ours and we saw these sculptures on the front. They look like they are made of wood when you see them close up but colour wise they blend with the rocks.

The Kite Festival was also on and we caught the end of it, just as they were reeling them in. Some of these kites were huge as you might be able to see from the size of the people in the picture and you might just be able to make out a kite in the shape of a diver. They definitely chose the right day for it as it was exceptionally windy on the front.

I am linking up with Sandra at Happy Homemaker Monday and Organising Junkie

Have a great week

Deborah

Menu Plan (17th October 2016)

The last week of term has arrived. I cannot believe how quickly it has gone. The weather has definitely become a lot more Autumnal and my thoughts are turning to warm, comfort food especially after a day at work with no heating in the office Brrr.  There is only 5 meals as Craig is taking the kids to my Mum's caravan for the half term and I will only be with them for the weekend as I could not take time off work.

So the meals for this week then are
Burritos
Sausage Casserole done in the slow cooker
Spaghetti Bolognese
Gammon, Egg and Chips (Slimming World friendly)
Beef Stir Fry

Linking up with Organising Junkie.

Hope everybody has a good week and is enjoying the change of season.

Deborah

Menu Plan (10th October 2016)

Hi Everyone,

I didn't do a menu plan last week as I was working away for most of the week and Craig would not have stuck to it anyway. I do get a little worried about what and when they are eating when I am away as the first words out of their mouths on my return was not 'Mum, we missed you' but 'Mum, what's for dinner?' and this was at 6.30pm. We have normally eaten by this time when I am home.

Craig is out every night except Wednesday so meals are child and Slimming World friendly as I am determined to get to goal long before Christmas. I haven't lost any weight since I got by Club 10 award in July and I only had 4 1/2lbs to go. This happened when I was at Weight watchers where I lost a stone in 17 weeks then it took over a year to lose the last 1/2 stone. I am determined to make sure that doesn't happen this time. If anyone has any tips on how to get over a plateau in weight loss then please let me know.

The meals for this week are
Monday - Homemade pot noodle (so Syn free as just dried noodles, chicken, chicken stock, sweetcorn and peppers)
Tuesday - Pasta and homemade meatballs and tomato sauce
Wednesday - Slow cooker Chicken curry and boiled rice
Thursday - SW sausages, mash and peas
Friday - Steak and Salad
Saturday - SW Singapore Noodles (homemade not the ready meal) Recipe here
Sunday - Chicken in a Mushroom Sauce.

Linking up to Organising Junkie as usual.

Hope you all have a good week. Thankfully mine is a lot quieter and I am looking forward to having more time to cook.

Deborah

Menu Plan (12th September 2016)

Last week was the best week for a while with regards to sticking to what was planned meal wise but I did swap a few nights round. There were some nights where I just didn't fancy what was planned for that night and a couple of nights last minute things cropped up. I think I prefer planning the meals, but not saying which night as I didn't feel as frustrated as I have done in the past. The food was eaten so does it really matter when.

So going forward I am just going to list the meals and not the days. 

Lamb steaks, cous cous and spinach
Gammon. Slimming World chips and Egg
Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread ( courgetti bolognese for me)
Homemade pizza
Homemade pot noodle (Slimming world frozen meal for meal)
Jacket potato (with chosen toppings) and salad
Steak and Sweet potato fries.

Linking up with Organising Junkie to get inspiration for the future.

Have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (5th September 2016)

Matthew has gone back to school today (Hooray!!) and Emma is back on Thursday, so things should be settling back into a normal routine, including meals. The Masonic season is starting again however, which means that Craig is going to be out more often. 

This week we have a Masquerade Ball on Friday so the kids have chosen the meal for that night. I have no idea what Craig and I will be eating but I am going to have to stick rigidly to the Slimming World plan for the week as I have weigh in at 8.00am on Saturday morning and after a 5 course meal there is definitely going to be an issue on the scales.

Monday - Steak and Prawn Stir fry
Tuesday - Sausage and Mash (Slimming world sausage for me with broccoli and a little mash)
Wednesday - Spaghetti and Homemade meatballs
Thursday - Cottage pie with Sweet potato Mash
Friday- Burgers and fries
Saturday - Mushroom Risotto
Sunday - Beef in Red wine and Shallot sauce with potatoes and Veg.

Linking up to Organising Junkie to get inspiration for the future.

Have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (29th August 2016)

Wow, it'[s Tuesday already. The Bank Holiday really threw me for which day of the week it is . Anyway better late than never with this weeks menu plan. I am not holding out much hope to sticking to this as we didn't really last week due to all too common last minute change of plans by the other members of the family.

Monday - ended up having Chinese take away.
Tuesday - only me eating so Slimming World Ready meal that I keep for days such as this.
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday- Steak and Chips
Friday- Tex Mex Omelette Wrap
Saturday - Slimming World Bacon Double Cheeseburger
Sunday - Sweet Potato Curry and Rice.

I know it isn't the most exciting menu plan but Craig and Emma are out Tuesday and all weekend and most days Matthew will have eaten at his Aunties.

Roll on next week when they are back in school and college and things can get back to normal.

Linking up with Organising Junkie to see what everyone else is cooking and to get inspiration for next week.

Have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (22nd August 2016)

Thankfully a quieter week than normal this week, I am only out tonight. I haven't done any menu planning for a while as they weren't being stuck to and all routines just seemed to go out of the window the last couple of months.

Hopefully now we are back off our holiday then I can get back on plan and back into routines. The kids don't go back to school for another couple of weeks so I am not going to be too rigid with these meals, but my aim is this week to plan meals and make sure they get eaten at some point, hence not putting them against specific days.

So therefore, the meals for this week are

• Chicken, bacon and avocado club sandwich
• Steak Stir fry
• Sticky pork steaks with cous cous and salad
• Fajitas
• Stuffed and wrapped turkey breast with steamed vegetables
• Steamed cod, slimming world chips and mushy peas.

As it is the Bank Holiday weekend coming up, we are planning on going to the Black Country Living Museum. I don't know what time we will be back so I think that evening will be pretty much lets see what we fancy.

Linking up with Organising Junkie. 

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (13th June 2016)

I have a hectic week this week as I am out every night except Friday. On two nights I have WI related activities, my brother-in-laws birthday, and two theatre trips. Meals are going to be quick and simple to prepare so I have time to eat before going out. If I don't then I know the diet will be out of the window for this week. I know I caqn do it if I stay focused and plan ahead.

Monday - Cheese and Ham toasties
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry with noodles
Wednesday - Leftover stir fry with cous cous
Thursday - Kids will be on pizza as I won't be coming home. I will take a salad into work and eat early
Friday - Cajun chicken burgers
Saturday - Eating out as 2nd theatre trip
Sunday - Salmon, New potatoes and vegetables.

All the meals will be accompanied by speed vegetables if not part of the main dish.

Hope you have a good week.

Linking to Organising Junkie to see what others are going to be eating and enjoying this week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (6th June 2016)

Menu planning has rather gone by the wayside the last few weeks. Although I have kind off planned they haven't been stuck to as Craig has always stuck a spanner in the works with last minute changes. The weather and the school holiday has also had an impact.

I am putting a plan on this week and we will see what happens.

Monday - Slimming World Curry Muffins and Salad
Tuesday - Taco Jackets
Wednesday - Gammon, Egg and Slimming World Chips
Thursday - Slimming World Diet Cola Chicken
Friday - Curry and Rice
Saturday - Emma's birthday and she wants to go to TGI Fridays
Sunday - Lamb, Tomato and Chickpea Tagine.

I get weighed at 8.00am on Saturday which is great as I will get weighed before I have breakfast and I also have the rest of the week to be good as I will enjoy TGI's and birthday cake.

Linking to Mrs M and Organising Junkie as usual.

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (7th May 2016)

Didn't we have a glorious weekend! I hope everyone managed to get out at some point and enjoy it. I went out for a walk with the ladies from my WI around Blackleach Country Park which I have never walked around before despite it only being a few miles down the road.

I am not feeling inspired to cook this week. Craig is out practically every night and we have loads of food in the freezer, so I am trying to use what is in there.

Monday - Beefburgers (extras Craig had bought yesterday for the impromptu Barbecue we had)
Tuesday - Craig to sort out as I have to go to help set up the room for the WI Charity Fashion show straight after work.
Wednesday - Jacket potato, beans and salad
Thursday - Chicken wraps and salad (no wrap for me)
Friday  - Pizza for the kids, not sure what I will have.
Saturday - Pulled pork, fries, sweet potato fries and salad
Sunday - Shepherds pie with sweet potato mash, baby corn and mangetout.

Linking up with Mrs M and Organising Junkie.

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan 30th April 2016

I didn't do a menu plan last week as I was away for most of the week and even when I do plan Craig doesn't stick to it and I have ended up wasting a lot of food.

This week however, there is only one evening when I am back late after flying back from Aberdeen so Craig can sort the meal out himself.

As usual I am starting from Saturday as that is my weigh in day at Slimming World. 

Saturday - shopping most of the day so eat out in Manchester
Sunday - Slimming World Fakeaway KFC Chicken with Slimming World Chips
Monday - Beef stew with vegetables
Tuesday - Slimming world Paella
Wednesday - Craig to sort out
Thursday - Chilli con Carne with Cauliflower rice
Friday - Stir Fry

Linking up with Mrs M and Organising Junkie
Hope you are having a good Bank Holiday and the weather is better for you than it is for me.

Menu Plan (18th April 2016)

Well, a 1lb off weight wise so quite happy this week. Aiming to do the same again this week. Not much else going on this week. I am looking forward to the forecasted better weather here as it really helps my mood.

My menu plan for this week is 
Saturday: Gehaktballen and mashed potato
Sunday  Roast Chicken Dinner
Monday - Roasted Vegetables and Pasta
Tuesday  - Homemade burgers and sweet potato fries
Wednesday - Bolognese with Spiralised Vegetable Spaghetti (for me, normal spaghetti for everyone else)
Thursday - Chicken Fajitas (no wrap for me, just salad and refried beans)
Friday - Maggi So Juicy Chicken with Slimming World chips, green beans and sweetcorn.

Linking up to Mrs M and Organising Junkie

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Menu Plan (11th April 2016)

Well, last weeks menu plan didn't go to plan. I had a feeling they wouldn't as Craig was off work with us and he tends to wake up and decide we are going to such a place and we don't get back until late so we end up eating whilst we are out. This meant that I only lost 1/2lb but hopefully with being back in work this week I will be back on track .

I am also going to start my menu plan on a Saturday as that is my weigh in day and when I start my new week for the food diary.

Saturday - Mother in laws homemade Chicken Broth
Sunday - Hoisin beef stir fry (carried over from last week)
Monday - Slimming world paella
Tuesday -Cheese and beans on toast
Wednesday - Slimming world mixed grill
Thursday - Gehaktballen ( a big version of a meatball from the Slimming World magazine)
Friday - Tacos ( though I will have the meat mixture with a jacket potato rather than shells)

Linking up to Mrs M and Organising Junkie.

Hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

My Slimming World Menu Plan/Food Diary

To help me keep on top of what I am eating I did use the standard food diary you get when you join Slimming World. Although I did write down everything I ate I prefer a breakfast, lunch, dinner format so I designed my own. 

I decided not to include the Healthy A and Healthy B as a separate box as I would know just from looking. I have put Snack separate from Syns as the 'free' food would not be in that category. If a meal has a Syn value then I will include it with the meal. I also included mood as I know when I am feeling depressed or stressed then I would eat more of the wrong type of foods. My mood categories would be 'good' 'stressed', 'tired', 'depressed', 'sick' and 'Pre-menstrual' and I would use a different emoticon for each.

I did consider buying a food diary as some of the group members have done but by doing it myself then I am free to adapt it to fit my own needs. I use it initially to plan the meals but then it also acts as a food diary as well.

As things in life are subject to change, when I am planning for the week I write in  pencil and then when I have eaten what was planned or changed then I rub out the pencil and write in pen so I have a permanent record of what I have eaten that I can keep in my planner and refer back to whenever I am lacking inspiration.

Menu Plan (4th April 2016)

Sorry I have been M.I.A for the last month, I have just not been motivated to do a lot of things, this blog included. I have just concentrated on the things that needed to be done. But hopefully I can get back into the swing of things.

I have joined Slimming World as in the last few years since starting my office job the weight has been creeping up as I haven't been moving around as much during the day. I joined on the 26th March and lost 2.5lbs in the first week, which surprised me as I probably ate more in that week that I have in a long time. This was one of the reasons for joining Slimming World rather than Weight Watchers because you can eat more especially the 'free' foods which seems to be most things I like anyway. I know my weight loss isn't going to be dramatically quick because of the fact I am sat down pretty much most of the day. I am going to see about going to the gym and moving more but for the first couple of weeks I want to concentrate on learning the plan.

All the meals on here are Slimming World recipes which I found in the magazines you can buy. 

Monday - Pea and Mint Soup (a light evening meal as we are out during the day to a burger place the kids like so I will be using plenty of Syns there)
Tuesday - Lamb tikka masala and rice
Wednesday - Meatballs and pasta
Thursday -Slimming World fish and chips
Friday - Hoisin beef stir fry
Saturday - Chicken and spinach lasagne
Sunday - Chilli and Rice.

Linking up with Mrs M and Organising Junkie

Have a good week.

Deborah