Sunday 28 December 2008

pigged out...

Well, thats another Christmas over and done with...

I guess I have finally grown up, as for the first time in years I have gone to bed on Christmas Eve and didnt hear Santas sleigh bells...

...Im quite distraught, next people will be telling me he doesnt really exist! But I know that wouldnt be true as I was tracking Santa and the Internet guys wouldnt lie about that ;o).

This Christmas I have pigged out big style...

On Christmas Eve we went to Frankie & Bennys it describes itself as a 50's style US diner, James describes it better as a poor version of Hard Rock Cafe, the meal itself was nice I had meatballs with penne pasta (think decent meatballs but not the misshapen ones that Ive made on previous occasions ;o)) and for dessert I had their rather scrummy cinnamon waffle crunch (the crunch being toffee crunch pieces) I also had half or rather most of James chocolate trio cheesecake (not three mini cheesecakes as the name suggests but one piece with three layers of chocolate) which was also rather scrummy. I also had a Tia Maria coffee to finish it was served in the same way as an Irish Coffee.

Christmas Day itself started and finished well ;o)

I had finished a 75cl bottle of Peach Bellini by lunchtime (it would have gone flat otherwise).

For breakfast I had two pork and chilli sausages (out of a bag of 18 I bought from the Farmers Market (that reminds me I better bag some of them up and put them in the freezer) - I had to stock up as they are on holiday for two weeks now and they had a special offer on too 16 for £10.00) and a fried egg with two slices of toast.

I think my favourite part of the Christmas dinner has to be the trimmings (ie stuffing, roast potatoes and yorkshire pudding (and according to some people you dont have that for Christmas dinner - well I do), I dont really worry about having vegetables with my dinner that day (they would take up too much room (on my plate as well as in my tummy) that could be better filled ;o)).

I have to admit I am one of the people that advertisements on tv are aimed at and yes I do get seduced by them...
...the latest one to get me was the Marks & Spencer advert with Michael Parkinson and how his wife wanted the Christmas Pudding Cheesecake. I saw the aforementioned Cheesecake and it is 1.4 kilogrammes of loveliness. I was umming and ahhing about whether to buy it and decided to go for it (afterall as James said "Christmas is only once a year"). It is supposed to serve 14 portions (but are they all to be eaten by one person ;o)) and me and James will be finishing it off tonight.

As I usually do I cooked too much (on purpose rather than because "my eyes are bigger than my belly"), so I could eat the rest of the roast potatoes, stuffing and yorkshire pudding cold over the next couple of days. I ate the last wodge of stuffing yesterday after I ate my lunch.

I have also gotten into eating mince pies, I think we have one left so me and James will be fighting over who gets to eat that tonight ;o).

The shops were really busy last week (anyone would think it is Christmas). I walked to the big Sainsburys a couple of afternoons after I ate my lunch to get out of the house and the aisles were really busy, luckily I was just there ambling rather than to do some proper shopping. On one of the afternoons there was a "Poor old dear" reading her shopping list with a magnifying glass (I guess if she had been there any other day then she could have got a shop worker to help her get her shopping).
I ended up paying for my bits at the self service tills on both days as the tills all had at least one person waiting.
I weighed myself this morning (having not weighed myself for two weeks), and knew the weight gain would be substantial (I had a figure in my head of eight pounds but was expecting a lot worse), and was pleasantly surprised that it was only eight pounds woohoo ;o).
I guess riding the excercise bike every day has helped ;o)

Monday 22 December 2008

Were you expecting a John Lewis hamper?

To say the diet has gone out of the window would be an understatement ;o)


On Tuesday we had our Christmas lunch at Loch Fyne it was really nice. As I always do when chosing what I want to eat, I work my way from the dessert backwards. The chocolate orange tart was so nice I had two pieces! For main course I had duck with roast parsnips and for starters I had game terrine.


To drink we had champagne, white wine and port...


...I have to admit I was a bit squiffy and had to stop myself from falling asleep on my way home, luckily the train I caught was only going as far as Braintree (our trains can go as far as Peterborough!) so at least I would have still been in Essex.


I got a text message from James Tuesday morning asking if I was expecting a hamper from John Lewis? To which I said no, anyhow halfway through the lunch my colleague Alan gets a call from his wife saying that he had received a hamper too, at least that solved the question as to who it was from ;o).


To continue my "I'm only working half of December" ethos I had Thursday & Friday off. James suggested that we stay overnight in a hotel in London and have a meal in Chinatown. We stayed at a Best Western Hotel which was right by Chinatown.

The meal was really nice I ended up having a sizzling beef with ginger & spring onions and boiled rice (in a veiled attempt to be healthy) but then had banana fritters (they were truly scrummy).


Poor James (like most blokes) really hates going shopping, by lunchtime he was getting really fed up with all the walking about so we went to Pret A Manger (an upmarket sandwich shop) and we both went for the soup.

I must say Ive started to worry that Im turning middle class because...
  • Ive started eating posh soups and enjoying them
  • I have been buying my underwear in single pairs as opposed to packs of five
  • buy my biscuits in Fortnam & Masons
  • buy my clothes in Marks & Spencers & Next instead of Primark
  • I read Daily Mail as opposed to the Sun
  • Im a member of a chocolate tasting club
  • buy some organic food
Wait...
...I can counteract all that because I enjoy eating peanut butter & cheese and onion crisps sandwiches (yes both together) phew what a relief ;o)
On Friday morning on our way home we went into Hamleys and bought a Steiff bear in a suitcase, he has been looking very cagey and has been using the pc (I have a feeling he may be writing his own blog ;o)).
On Thursday its Christmas Day (and yes I'm very excited), I'll be leaving a glass of diet cola and a cinnamon swirl out. My hes tastes have changed...
...when I was little he liked a glass of Irish Cream and a slice of Christmas Cake ;o).
Ill also be tracking Santa and Ill be leaving a pillowcase at the bottom of our bed to see what presents Ill be getting ;o).
Merry messy Christmas!

Sunday 14 December 2008

Souper Douper

Im not normally someone who likes soups, but a few weeks ago I saw that the New Covent Garden Soup Company was doing a Choc full of Beans soup which was a chili bean soup with rice and a touch of chocolate, that sounded really nice so I bought it and put it in the freezer.

Anyhow on Thursday I got the soup out of the freezer to have for my lunch (I was using up yet more of my holiday), and to my surprise it was really nice. So nice that when out shopping this morning I bought another two cartons of soup...

This time I have gone for their "Soup of the Month" Chicken Vegetable & Pearl Barley and Toulouse Sausage & Puy Lentil.

Next Ill be appreciating the bouquet in a bottle of 1962 Pinot Grigio, well maybe not ;o)...

I had the Friday off also to ruin James' first day of his redundancy.

On Tuesday we have our Christmas lunch at Loch Fyne, I even treated myself to a nice purple top to wear from Next (Im just showing off that I can now fit into stuff from Next ;o)).

My Mum has been reading my blog (hello Mum) and she said that I look thin in the photos. This doesnt sound like the Mum I know and love so it must be true as she never normally says nice things like that ;o).

While buying the fruit yesterday to juice they didnt have any cheap plums so I bought a punnet of kiwi fruit instead (having apples, grapes and kiwi) the concoction was quite nice and is a dull green sludge colour.

We were in Starbucks yesterday, we were really surprised that they gave us a present of two mugs with two chocolate bars in them. They said they were giving presents to their "regular regulars". We were really touched by this, I guess the fact that we are friendly with them and bring in sweets sometimes has meant that we are recognisable. They even know our orders ;o)...

...James sticks with the same thing day in day out (Americano with whipped cream) but I'm always having different things, mind you the drink is always non fat ;o).

In Marks and Spencers yesterday I bought some chipolatas wrapped in bacon to have (I have only ever seen cocktail sausages done in this way). Im sure they are going to be scrummy.

I weighed myself this morning and was well chuffed to have lost two pounds, that was despite the bits I ate last week and the bread and butter pudding I bought on Thursday (I have had a quarter each night).

I only have another five pounds to go to get to where I was before the holiday ;o).

Monday 8 December 2008

Deliveries of the Present kind

Last week I had Monday and Tuesday off using up more of this years holiday.

I didnt get upto anything just walked into town on the Monday and got my train tickets to extend my monthly ticket to Liverpool Street for Wednesday & Thursday. And on the Thursday I walked to Asda for a look around...

The remainder of this week (yes I had to go to London on the Friday too ;o)), was spent wrapping, delivering and sending presents to our brokers.

Wednesday and Thursday wasnt too bad as I spent the time wrapping up 74 diecast dumper trucks, the afternooon was then spent starting to deliver them.

Friday was the killer...

...I worked out that I walked up and down 21 flights of stairs during the day, in my quest to be healthy I didnt use the lift in our building.

Friday was also the last day to post to South America before Christmas and a few of the presents had to be sent there. I just managed to send most of them off by the end of the day (dont you just love it when things are left to the last minute).

On the plus side of being in London I did get to look at all the posh shops that you dont get in Romford, and I did manage to buy a couple of Christmas presents too (one being for myself from James ;o)).

I also got to see our new office too that everyone will be moving into (only five of us) by the end of January next year. Its really nice and you need a fob to get in the office and theres a door release button to press when you want to leave. How posh is that (as they say little things please little minds ;o)).

I managed to have some nice lunches too, theres one sandwich shop Birleys where they will do half sandwiches for you using one slice of bread. I love their half a lamb sandwich (it always sounds like your being really greedy too ;o)).

On the way back from one trip out I saw a sandwich shop selling Chili Con Carne with rice, I thought yeah I could go for that (what with it being cold and all), so when I was getting some mango & papaya in Marks I saw on their Food to Go counter they were doing Chili. As I didnt have the energy to go elsewhere I plumped for the Marks' one and shock of all shocks it was a ready meal! It was nice enough though and warmed me through ;o).

I havent weighed myself this week as when I went into Tesco to get a few bits on Saturday morning the scales werent on (I took that as a sign that I neednt bother ;o)).

Sunday me and James went to Gordon Ramsays Taste of Christmas, it was really good...

The ticket price included a cooking demo show with the man himself which was good and not too much swearing either ;o).

There were restaurants (his ones were there for the whole four days) selling tasters of their food (typically some of the ones I fancied werent there on the Sunday), but I still got to try some nice food.

I think the favourite thing I had was Sticky Toffee Pudding with Caramel Sauce from The Narrow it was absolutely scrummy and the nicest savoury thing I had was Pork Belly with Spiced Apple Puree from Maze, the portions were really tiny, I ended up having two savoury things and two desserts to use up the currency (20 crowns each worth £10.00) we got with our tickets (I'm glad that I didnt buy extra when I bought the tickets).

There were loads of exhibitors there with samples too and me being me I headed straight for the chocolate ones, I could have kept going back in different disguises to eat all of their samples ;o) but I composed myself.

This morning I was doing my juice and decided to add a kiwi to my concoction (apples, grapes and plums) it really added something to it making it even yummier ;o).

Sunday 30 November 2008

In Custardy

Monday saw me & James' Mum going to Harrods...

I was well surprised that they had special offers on, such as three for the price of two, and buy one get one half price, and I'm pretty sure that before I hysterically collapsed I actually saw a buy one get one free!

A buy one get one free in Harrods, What is the world coming to? ;o)

The only things we bought were from the food hall. I bought two tins of biscuits, some fudge, some cakes and a Christmas pudding for James - so not too bad.

For our lunch we went to Cafe Rouge, I had a rather nice grilled spicy sausage baguette with chips (which I only ate half of ;o)).

I'm pleased to say we didnt get "asked to leave" or more importantly to "never darken their doorstep unless hell freezes over", and neither did we strangle each other ;o).

That Thai Coconut Curry Innocent Veg Pot I had last week was really nice, James didnt like it. In fact he said "Yuck, are you trying to poison me, you know I dont do any of that healthy muck".

I have bought another two to try this week...

The Tuscan bean stew and Moroccan squash tagine - I shall tell you what theyre like next week ;o)

I have just looked on the Innocent website to see what it says about them and for the Tuscan bean stew it says that Luigi is your uncle, well thats uncanny because hes my Dad ;o).

Tomorrow I can start on my Advent calendar - a chocolate one of course. It would be really good if they did a liqueur chocolate one. Perhaps thats the way I can make my fortune ;o).

I actually saw in Marks & Spencers that they are doing a biscuit one ;o)

Well youll be pleased to know I managed to get a packet of two custard tarts before the phantom custard tart napper got to them ;o).

So I hear you asking what did the sausage baguette do to your weight? Well I put on one pound and am not too surprised.

I dont think December is going to be good weightwise and it shouldnt be either ;o). Im umming and ahhing about whether to weigh myself at all in December and guess that I should do.

Sunday 23 November 2008

Snow on the ground and nutmeg on my skinny latte

We have had the first snow of winter today and blimey its cold...

We were worried it would be busy in Chelmsford today as the Christmas lights are being switched on...

Luckily I think the weather has kept some people away, Starbucks was emptier than it is usually (I guess most of the people were using the mini ice rink ;o)).

After putting on our hats, gloves and scarves me and James went out looking more like we were going on an expedition to Antarctica than going to do our weekly food shop ;o).

Today whilst shopping in Sainbury's I spotted in the ready meal aisle some Innocent veg pots the one that really caught my eye was the Thai Coconut Curry one, it has three vegetable portions in it too (making it super healthy), they also do a Morrocon Squash Tagine one and a Tuscan Bean Stew they both looked pretty yummy too ;o). Anyhow I will try it tomorrow and will let you know next week what I think of them.

In Marks and Spencers they again had no two packs of custard tarts :o( Im sure someone (who is reading this blog) is puposely thwarting me and buying them all up before I get in there on Saturday mornings ;o). Hmmm its all happened since telling my Mum about this blog...

...could this be a coincidence? Who knows ;o)

I have been on my own (quite literally) at work for the past two weeks as my colleague has been off sick. Anyhow on Friday I had to bring some packs into London for a monthly meeting on Wednesday and my boss (feeling sorry for me) said I could meet my friends for lunch then go home afterwards.

I weighed myself this morning and despite my lunch of scrambled eggs on toast I managed to lose 300 grammes. So Im well chuffed.

I have Monday and Tuesday off this week (trying to use up my holiday by the end of the year) and am going to Harrods tomorrow with James' Mum so if you hear about a "disturbance in Knightsbridge" on the news tomorrow youll know its us ;o).

Sunday 16 November 2008

Plumtastic

When we do our food shop on Sunday, I always buy enough fruit to get me to the middle of the week. James will then buy me the additional fruit to get me to the end of the week...

...anyhow last week I only needed some fruit for Friday, and on the Thursday he got me some blueberries, and I had already bought some to have with my lunch that day. Generally I dont mind what fruit I have as long as its stuff I like and that I have my five portions.

Now back to what Im trying to say...

...James said to me "but you had blueberries today surely you wont want them tomorrow as well...

...I dont like to have the same thing day in day out, but of course that doesnt include takeaways especially Fish and chips, hey you should blog that" ;o).

We were getting some bits In M&S on Saturday and shock horror they didnt have any packs of two egg custard tarts, they had the packs of four but James really doesnt like them so I thought I would have a looksie at their other desserts...

...I found some Christmas crumbles (I mean anything with Christmas in the title has to be good) theyre "mulled fruits (plums, sour cherries and blackcurrants) infused with Merlot wine & ruby port topped with an all butter crumble" and the one I ate last night was blooming lovely ;o)

I weighed myself this morning and despite having an extra flatbread during the week I have managed to lose another pound.

Sunday 9 November 2008

Donut be so jammie...

On Wednesday, the new Christmas drinks came out in Starbucks, and I've gone to great lengths and have tried all three of them, and mighty nice they all are too ;o).


The brand brand new drink was the Dark cherry mocha - it is super scrummy - just like how I think a liquefied black forest gateau would taste. I think I'm going to alternate it with the gingerbread latte which is my other current drink of choice ;o).


On Friday night I was out with my mates for one of their birthdays, we went to see Hairspray, Michael Ball was good as Edna Turnblad (the Mother).


In my quest to not be too bad foodwise and knowing I wouldnt have time to eat anything substantial for my dinner (I just got some extra bits at lunchtime to eat on the train going up there) I decided to take some nuts and dates to munch on during the show.


Let me go back...


...a few weeks ago whilst being dragged kicking and screaming (I was in my head anyway) into Poundland I bought some press and seal foodbags for a pound.


Anyway, one of the said foodbags was being used for my snacks and when I pulled the bag out there was a shower of macadamia nuts flying like confetti around the theatre. Yes, you guessed there was a hole in the bag along the bottom seam. James has also said that the useless bags also seem to tear just under the press seal too :o( I think I will have to go back to buying decent bags again... oh well.


Weve seen the new advert for Pizza Hut now being called Pasta Hut and just thought it was a marketing gimmick. But blow me, whilst in Theatreland I actually saw a Pasta Hut! In Romford the Pizza Hut there is being refitted so I guess that will become a Pasta Hut too. I will have to have a looksie at their menu to see if they have anything yummy looking.


I havent been too bad eatingwise this week, although I did have a jam donut on Friday. I havent had a proper jam donut for ages and had forgotten just how lovely they were. When I was a kid my Mum would buy a bag of frozen jam donuts from Bejam, and I would be allowed to carry them home in a carrier bag and I would always end up swinging the bag into my legs and would end up with bruised legs ;o).


I weighed myself this morning and despite having my jam donut I have lost the two pounds I put on last week so am well chuffed.

Sunday 2 November 2008

Creme brulee madness

My eating had been pretty good last week...

...well apart from eating a naan bread with my dinner one night in the week.

Then yesterday happened and I had the urge to pig out and ended up eating a fifth of a 300 gram tub of rosemary & thyme infused nuts (a mixture of pecans, macadamias and cashews), they were really nice. I put them back in the kitchen to stop me finishing the lot (I probably would have too). And as if that wasnt bad enough I had five pieces of a toffee crunch chocolate orange that I have hidden away for such occassions.

Yes I'm a bit like a hamster having food hidden away, or should that be like a squirrel?

Walking past Starbucks on Friday night I saw on their advertising A board outside that their Christmas drinks come out on Wednesday (5th November). One of their new drinks is a dark cherry chocolate mocha, it sounds really nice and cant wait to try one. I think I will have to have a wander down there Wednesday morning ;o).

So I hear you ask yourself...

...so what did this do to your weight? Well, I put on two pounds. I'm not hopeful about being too good this week either as I am out on Friday night for my mates 39th birthday (that makes me feel really old having a mate whose nearly 40!).

I think I'll have to be in damage limitation mode this week ;o).

Blimey, I just rememebered I also had a quarter of a creme brulee bread & butter pudding last night, I could have finished that too... ;o), and I will be having another quarter of it tonight. I think I will let James have the rest of it to have with his cereal (see he doesnt just get the stuff I dont like ;o)).

Talking of James, hes been moaning about my lack of punctuation (yes I know there should be a comma here) I personally think its overrated and one day I will do a post with no punctuation in protest ;o).

I havent bought anything new to cook this week, but did get the juicer back out and did some grape, apple and plum juice.

Ive been trying to buy different types of potatoes each week to have with my dinner...

...yesterday I bought some Red Duke of York ones. In Sainsburys today I saw that they are doing Pink Fir Apple ones so I will have to try and remember to get them next week.

Sunday 26 October 2008

Chocolate goodness

In the last week I havent been too bad eating wise...
...well apart from meeting my friends for lunch in London.

We went to Pontis at Liverpool Street Station (as that is near to where my friends work and it is the station that my train comes in to).

Trying to be good after my holiday induced massive weight gain I had scrambled eggs on toast this is part of their all day breakfast range, it was really nice.

As I normally do when I go into London I got myself a Krispy Kreme donut - I went for the biscuit crunch donut (a ring donut smothered in chocolate and topped with biscuit crumbs) this forms part of their new carnival range. The donut was ok but not as nice as their New York Cheesecake donut - mind you I dont think anything will be as yummy as that ;o)).

Considering I had the scrambled eggs on toast and the donut I was well pleased when I weighed myself this morning and that I have lost one pound ;o).

My latest chocolate tasting box arrived this week...



...I get their basic classic collection every three months (you can choose how often you get your chocolates and when you want your next box to arrive).

So far I've had the Maple Manon which was really nice and you could really taste the maple in it. I've also had the Jelly and Ice Cream too that was ok but not as nice as the Maple one.

There are none in the latest box that I will get James to eat...

Sometimes there are ones in there like yukkie coconut ones that I dont like :o(

I have also pre-ordered my Christmas box too.


I havent bought anything different to do this week to eat as I am back to trying to be good...

Sunday 19 October 2008

Flippin heck...

Well were back from our holiday now...

Had a great time in Seattle and have eaten loads of nice stuff, the highlight definitely being afternoon tea at The Fairmont Empress in Victoria BC and very nice it was too ;o) It was really ironic that you travel thousands of miles on holiday and you get served jam that has been made 15 miles from where you live ;o).

So what other yummies did I have...

...I had a pre holiday curry, if I remember correctly it was a Chicken Kashmiri, Bombay Potato, Pilau Rice and an Onion Bhaji, that was lovely too (I didnt dare weigh myself before I went after that ;o)). The Chicken Kashmiri was nice but I dont think I would get it again.

Breakfastwise I adopted the "When in Rome" strategy and ate loads of pancakes and maple syrup which HAVE to come with sausages or bacon and it was the law that I HAD to eat them - so I DID ;o).

I tried to be fairly good lunchwise and only had one corndog, but by day four found a decent food court in The Columbia Center, there were around 10 different places to get something to eat and I locked my sight on City Soups and for the remaining four weekdays made sure we were near there so I could have a cup of Chilli with rice and very yummy it was too. James was more than happy with this, as there were several eat by the pound stands there too.

I think he may even have subliminaly put the thought into my head - I wondered what that tape was about that he insisted on putting on every night, I awoke one night to hear his voice saying "chilli at city soups is really good - all you need for lunch is chilli, in fact nothing else will satisfy your lunchtime hunger" ;o).

The only other lunch I had was a chicken curry pancake followed by a banana bread pancake from the foodhall in the Westlake Center they werent too bad but difficult to eat.

Dinnerwise was where I went completely mental...

Day one just hours after arriving we found a nice Chinese Restaurant P F Changs I tried to be fairly good by having steamed brown rice with my almond & cashew chicken. We couldnt believe the portion sizes...

...when we did our mass ordering we thought the sizes would be similar to at home, and ended up with james bringing back to our hotel a doggy bag, we werent the only people bring food out with us ;o), my dessert was their Banana Spring Rolls (and yes they do taste as nice as they sound ;o)).

Day two we decided to eat near our hotel, but because we were there "out of season" lots of the restaurants were shut in the evenings, so we went to the The Crab Pot I had Chicken Tenders & chips (they were ok), I dont like fish and that was one of their few non fish dishes, I didnt have any dessert.

Day three was our afternoon tea in Canada, and as our boat didnt get back to Seattle til late, the trip was two and a half hours each way and there being few provisions on the boat I ended up having a peanut butter cookie for my breakfast! we decided to eat near our hotel so we ate at Anthonys Diner and I had the Snake River Farms Kobe Beef Burger it was nice although I had to send it back because it came with relish (and being the fussy madam that I am, I dont like any kind of sauce), and for the naughty dessert I had Baileys Irish Cream Mousse that was nice too...

Day four was back to P F Changs this time I had Ginger Chicken with Broccoli again with the steamed brown rice luckily we learnt our lesseons from the time before and only ordered what we could eat, and yes again I had the Banana Spring Rolls and I also had one of their mini desserts (they call it mini because it is served in a shotglass ;o)) the Smores dessert sounded good so I went for that, again it was very nice ;o) - Well it really couldnt be anything else...

Day five we decided to splash out and go posh and went to a fine dining place Capital Grille, I had Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin with Caramelized Shallot Butter, the place was so classy you had to order your sides seperately (this was no chips with everything kind of place ;o)). In my attempt to be healthy I went for the vegetable medley and got Brussels Sprouts (and its not even Christmas!). We even told our waiter how at home nobody likes sprouts and people are forced to eat them at Christmas and feeling sorry for us he just smiled. For dessert I had their Classic Creme Brulee - again really nice.

Day six we slummed it by going to Johnny Rockets in Pacific Place I had hot dog and fries but no dessert.

Day Seven we went to Daily Grill it was nice there but not quite as posh as Capital Grille but a bit more upmarket than a diner, I had Blackberry Pork Chop and for dessert I had their Cobbler of the Day which was Peach Strawberry it was absolutely massive and was by far one of the nicest desserts I had and even equal to the Banana Spring Rolls.

Day eight we went back to Daily Grill (I tell you the dessert was THAT good) this time I went for Charbroiled Rib Eye Steak and again had their Cobbler of the Day which this time was Apple Blueberry again really nice but I think I preferred the peach strawberry one.

Day nine was grotty airline food :o( We were served chicken in gravy with mashed potato (which I didnt eat) and carrots and green beans (which I didnt eat either). The dessert was a little piece of cheesecake oh and we got a funsize crunchie bar too. It all looked a horrible mess :o(

Other yummies eaten were cheesecake from a branch of The Cheesecake Factory the one I went for was the Caramel Pecan Turtle again very nice. And also a cheesecake from Confectional Cheesecakes I went for Mexican Chocolate which had cayenne pepper on it to give it a kick.

It amazes me how the UK and USA are two countries seperated by one language for instance I wanted to go to the toilet in Pacific Place, I found the restrooms and saw a teenage girl waiting...

...thinking that she was probably waiting for one of her friends (like you do) I asked her if she was waiting for the loo? She looked at me blankly I then said "oh sorry, are you waiting for the toilet" and she said "no, I'm not waiting in line".

Good job I'm not from oop North I cant think of what she would have made of "Are you't waiting for't Lavvy? ;o)

As I said to James the other day "why are they called restrooms? I dont want a rest, I want a plop" ;o).

Al in my jetlagged state last Thursday I finally tried the Pickled Onion Monster Munch and they werent too bad either, but I still prefer the Roast Beef ones and the Flaming Hot ones, sorry...

After all that food I was umming and ahhing about whether to weigh myself on Sunday, and stupidly decided to...

...so you are wondering how I did?...

Well I put on eight pounds, more than I was hoping for but am not disheartened ;o)

Sunday 28 September 2008

Theres something different about you...

In honour of Al I have bought a 12 pack of Monster Munch (whch includes my most favouritist flavour roast beef ;o)). Im going to let James eat the pickled onion ones (although I will have a little taste to see if I still dont like them ;o)). I had a packet of the roast beef snacks and they were as lovely as they have always been, but again the monsters vital statistics werent there, and for the life of me I cant remember the details about that monster and I am distraught...


...I may even need some psychotherapy!


Since I started dieting several of my visits to the hairdressers have resulted in my hairdresser asking if I have new glasses, because theres something different about me...


...yesterdays visit resulted in the girl colouring my hair (the usual girl who also cuts my hair is on honeymoon) saying youve lost a lot of weight havent you? I've never had this other girl before and to be honest not someone I have never even noticed (but she clearly noticed me) and we spent the time with her colouring in my roots chatting about diets. She and her Mum are both doing the tesco diet, they have both lost around a stone and a half in the last couple of months. Well done them.


I took James' advice and juiced a whole load of fruit this morning...


I didnt buy a jug (as previously intended) and decided to use a washed out two pint milk bottle (is it more being green or just not wanting to pay out for a jug that will probably get stained? hmmmm ;o)). All was going well until I got to the grapes...


...because the bottle I was using wouldnt fit under the spout I moved the juicer to the edge of the sink and held the bottle under the spout in the sink. When I was preparing the fruit (destalking the grapes and taking the stones out of the plums) I had the bottle in the sink. Being the dumb ass that I am I forgot to move the bottle from the sink to hold it under the spout and thus half the grape juice ended up going down the sink! The juice still tasted pretty nice though although James didnt think it tasted sweet enough...


What a load of mess there was though...


...I think next time I will let James get the fruit on Friday and let him do the juicing Saturday morning like has has suggested ;o)


This weekend saw a faux French Market in Chelmsford, I bought some baklava (just one piece this time). I will have to see if it is as good as the stuff from Harrods.


I have tried to be good this week and when I weighed myself this morning, I was well chuffed because I have lost another two pounds ;o)

Sunday 21 September 2008

Veggie nice...

The veggie concoction I had last Monday was really nice...


With my eyes being bigger than my belly (as my Mum would say ;o)) I used far too many vegetables, mind you it certainly made it filling (the sort of thing you could take in a thermos flask to go mountaineering - not that I'm ever likely to try it ;o)).


It ended up being more of a stew...


...all I did was chop up all the vegetables and put them in a saucepan with a can of chopped tomatoes and a small can of kidney beans heated them up and served with potatoes and pasta and basil, many thanks again Another Number for the recipe suggestion.

The question is would I have it again and the answer is...

...yes ;o)

After buying all the apples and grapes last week to juice (incidentally I have decided to limit my juicing to the weekend), I ended up having them chopped up with my other fruit as dessert after my dinner. I am so blooming healthy!

So I hear you ask...

...what has all this healthiness done to your weight?

Well, I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 1 pound.

And I even had a banoffee cheesecake slice last night.

I saw an article in Metro last week that Monster Munch are going to be relaunched back to their old bigger previous size ;o), so while out this morning I bought a packet of the flaming hot ones. Blimey they were lovely.

I was quite disappointed that the pack I bought didnt have the monsters vital statistics on any more. How it used to make me laugh that the monster on my snack liked curry jelly. It always made me wonder what it would taste like ;o).

Thats a thought, Heston Blumenthal could do a Monster Munch inspired menu at the Fat Duck.

I havent bought anything special to do this week as I'm trying to be extra good before our holiday.

Sunday 14 September 2008

Apple, grapes and plum

I finally set up the juicer this morning, whilst making a cup of tea for me & James. Luckily in my half asleep state I poured the boiled water in the mugs and not the juicer.


I have bought a whole load of fruit to juice this morning when doing our weekly shop...

  • gala apples
  • white grapes
I guess I'm a pretty weird person because there are some fruit I like to eat and others that I only like the juice of such as apples and grapes oh and oranges (perhaps I'll get some of those next week).
As you can tell by the blog title my first concoction was an apple, some grapes and a plum and it was really nice, James liked the taste of it too (although what he actually said was "its really sweet").
I'll have to see if the fruit juice goodness works its magic ;o).
The juicer was pretty easy to use as the apple fitted down the chute, I cut the plum in half to remove the stone (as I didn't want to ruin the machine's motor on its first use ;o)) and I removed the grapes from their stalk.
As ever the clearing up is never as much fun as the "making" itself, luckily my resident "responsible adult" was on hand to wash up the bits (as I was annoying him with how I was wiping the pulp off). I think next time I will take up James' offer to do the juicing for me ;o).
I've had a naughty couple of days again...
...yesterday not only did I have a massive garlic bread (according to the pack a portion size is only a quarter of the garlic bread!), I also had a cappuccino cheesecake slice (which was extremely nice) I have the other slice to eat tonight and am not willing to share it ;o).
Oh last Sunday I also had a tiramisu dessert and the two baklava I bought.
When I weighed myself this morning (not surprisingly) I have put on two pounds!
This week I am trying a vegetarian option for my dinner one night, thanks Another Number for the recipe idea ;o)
this is what I have bought
  • courgette
  • mushrooms
  • baby leeks
  • red pepper
  • kidney beans
  • one can of chopped tomatoes
As ever, I shall let you know how I get on.
I think I have to go now as the fruit juice seems to be working ;o) Sorry for the toilet humour ;o)

Sunday 7 September 2008

Finally cracked it...

I havent set up the juicer yet, so I cant tell you what flavour concoctions I have tried.


Yesterday saw me go upto London yesterday for some shopping...


I wanted to buy a new coat as the one I bought two years ago was (or rather is) way to big.


I have been looking around Chelmsford and Romford for a coat but havent seen one I like, I looked online and saw a rather nice coat in Marks & Spencers, plus I had a five times points voucher which expires today ;o) for my credit card.


So after doing some pre Sunday food shopping it was off to Marble Arch for some retail therapy. Not only did I get my coat but I also bought James a little present too. He has been after a cheap Nurses watch type thing, and whilst shopping I saw a watch keyring which I thought would be ideal and was only £12.00 ;o).


I didnt realise that M&S was next door to Selfridges so I went in there to have a looksie around their foodhalls (certainly cant afford anything else in there ;o)).


I love peanut butter and saw a four pack of Hershey Reeses Chocolate Candy Coated Cookies (they look exactly like Oreo cookies but with peanut butter filling instead).


I then hopped onto the tube to Harrods, I just went around their famous foodhalls and got us two pieces of baklava each one pistachio and one cashew. I didnt go to the Christmas shop because I was getting tired and its more fun looking around there with James ;o).


I then went to Fortum & Mason because they sell the most delicous biscuits.


It was then time to come home as I was shopped out and tired. Just as the train was pulling tinto Bank Station the driver anounced that Liverpool Street Station was shut. Luckily I knew the directions to walk between the two stations (its amazing how quiet the city is when nowheres open).


I weighed myself today and was well pleased as I have lost another pound and have finally hit the five stone mark.


This week its back to bolognese (I havent really bought anything different to what I normaly do).


Sees ya next week.

Sunday 31 August 2008

So, I can Have my Chips and Eat Them...

The turkey bolognese went really well again...

I was going to tell you what I did, but its exactly the same as before and didn't want to bore you too much (or should that be no more than usual ;o)).

Somebody else has voted on my poll, so thank you ;o), that's two people now...

On last weeks episode The Hairy Bakers were making cakes for the Henley Royal Regatta. At the end of the episode I had cravings (not those sort of cravings!) for Victoria Sandwich and Bakewell Tart. So while shopping this morning I bought some Bakewell Slices and Victoria Slices (and they were a bargain too at two for £2.00 ;o)).

Yesterday we were in Sainsbury's having a cup of tea in their cafe and decided to have a look around the store at the bits we don't look around whilst doing our "weekly shop" (after we had our drinks, not during ;o)).

Anyhow, we were looking around the Electricals and saw a Prima Power Juicer reduced down to £10.00. James has continually suggested buying a juicer when we have seen them reduced down to prices going as low as £15.00 and I have always said "no thanks" as they have never quite been cheap enough, but seeing one for a tenner finally hit my threshold ;o).

I have a carton of fruit juice in the fridge that I shall start after finishing this post and next week I shall buy a selection of fruit and see what concoctions I can create ;o). The question is Can you give yourself food poisoning with fruit juice?

Today I weighed myself and hadn't expected to lose one iota of weight considering I had chips last week and half of the Strawberry Clotted Cream Cheesecake and last night I even had some Apple Strudel from the Farmers Market (not the official one) in Chelmsford on Saturdays. Sorry I've gone way off...

...now back to the 200 grammes (now I've given the punchline away ;o)), yes I lost the 200 grammes I put on last week - I was well chuffed and even did a little "I've lost 200 grammes dance" after I got off the scales.

I'm not quite sure what the guys watching the CCTV cameras would have thought, especially as I was on my own (James had gone off to have a look around the Pound Shop).

I'm not cooking anything special this week but did buy some more Saltmarsh Lamb steaks (I had some last week and they were really nice), I couldn't decide between those or the Pork Loin steaks and decided to buy both ;o).

Sees you next week.

Monday 25 August 2008

Yummy Curry

The Thai Green curry was really nice...

...first of all I browned the chicken then added the thai green curry sauce and added chopped up leeks, spring onions, mushrooms and a can of chickpeas.

I then served it with pasta and potatoes. I had it over two days (so as not to be too bad ;o)).

I hear you ask "so, what did it do to your weight?" Well, I put on 200 grammes.

I'm not too surprised as I've had a few naughty bits this week...

On Monday I met my friends for lunch and had a baked potato (not too bad) topped with sausage casserole. And as if that wasnt bad enough that evening I had a
krispy kreme glazed chocolate cake donut.

On Saturday, I had no fewer than four drinks in
Starbucks, split into two nonfat lattes and two frappaccino lights.

And as if that little lot wasnt bad enough...

I then had a quarter of a strawberry clotted cream cheesecake! The old me would have had the whole lot in one go but the better me has split it into four and had a quarter each night ;o) I even got James to have a quarter of it last night ;o).

Last Monday saw the return of the
Hairy Bikers with their new series The Hairy Bakers. Throughout the show Dave Myers was getting Si King to do the kneading for the bread. Dave then says to "get a passing blundering buffoon to knead the bread for you..."

...Poor James with a look on his face not dissimilar to
Lord Percy Percy from Blackadder II when Edmund tells Lord Melchett that only idiots get kidnapped ;o).

Today me and James went to
Southend. Its amazing how whats endearing about a place when your younger just seems full of chavs when your grown up!

We got to Southend at about 8 am hoping to have a drink and some breakfast in our beloved Starbucks (but they were both shut!). We ended up going into
McDonalds to have a coffee before the shops opened. Most of the shops didnt open until 10 am so we had two hours to kill. We ended up having a coffee and a pastry in Costa Coffee (I do hope our mates in Starbucks dont find out).

My main purpose for wanting to go to Southend was to eat a portion of chips on the Seafront. Yes I know "little things please little minds" ;o) and to that end Southend was not a disappointment to me.

When I was a lot younger me my Mum and my Brother would always eat a portion of chips on the seafront everytime we went to the coast.

With today having typical Bank Holiday weather (and me finally being a fully fledged grown up - it had to happen eventually) I now know that we would have a portion of chips to keep the cold out ;o).

I guess your wondering so whats she going to have this week?

Well, I shall stop your anticipation...

...its back to
bolognese, this is what I've bought...

  • turkey mince
  • one jar of onion and garlic sauce
  • two peppers one green one red
  • one onion
  • one pack of mushrooms
  • one can of chickpeas
Anyhow, I shall let you know how I get on next week (as ever).
ps a big thank you to the person who has completed my poll

Sunday 17 August 2008

Bolognese... Chili... Whatever!

The chili that was made with what turned out to be a Bolognese sauce turned out really well.


First of all I browned the turkey mince, then I added the sauce and the chunkily chopped up peppers and the kidney beans. I left it simmering whilst the potatoes and pasta were cooking - just a handful(ish) of each.


After feeling incredibly greedy the previous week by eating two thirds of what I had cooked, I had the bright idea of eating the chili over two nights. This was a much better serving size.


I know your thinking "so how did this effect your weight?". You'll be pleased to know that I lost the 200 grammes I put on last week and lost an extra 100 grammes. I'm still at the same weight in stones and pounds though.


Anyway this week I'm going to try and do a thai green chicken curry...


this is what I have bought...
  • a jar af thai green curry sauce
  • two organic skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • leeks
  • one tin of chickpeas
  • mushrooms
I shall again cook it with pasta and potatoes, and will let you know how I have got on next week.
I can tell you're riveted ;o)
This weekend Chelmsford has been host to the V festival, I thought my journey home Friday night would be a nightmare, but luckily it wasnt too bad. NXEA in its wisdom won't allow people with cheap day train tickets to travel on trains leaving London between 16:45 and 18:00, hey presto most of the weirdos will ether travel early or late ;o). So glad this has finally worked in my favour.
At Chelmsford station there were about seven coppers and two police dogs. I guess the dogs were sniffing out people with drugs. There were only a couple of ticket touts outside the station too.
Going into Chelmsford High Street early yesterday morning we didn't see any of the revellers, and I had to go into town again yesterday afternoon and the High Street didn't seem any busier then either.
However, this morning Starbucks was overrun by the more affluent festival goers. We still got a seat though ;o)

Sunday 10 August 2008

Meatballs of Mass Destruction

First things first...


The meatballs turned out well...


They were the size of a tennis ball (no exaggeration there I'm afraid), as I really can't do "dainty", mind you I've never tried - and I ain't likely to ;o).


I ended up using all 500 grammes of the mince (as when I tried with half the pack there was more bread crumbs than meat), I also added the remainder of the Italian style herbs (oregano and rosemary) adding them whole (including some rosemary stalks as I couldn't remove the leaves properly ;o)), an egg, the breadcrumbs I used was a quarter of a french stick.


I cooked the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes then added them to the sauce that I made...


The sauce was one can of chopped tomatoes, three chopped mushrooms and a chunkily chopped red pepper.


I ended up rinsing the can out (into the sauce) with too much water - meaning the sauce was really watery (and I couldnt get it to reduce down).

I then finished the meatballs cooking in the sauce for 10 minutes, and then added them to pasta and potatoes.

All in all they were very nice and more importantly, I didn't give myself food poisoning ;o).

This week I'm going to attempt a turkey chilli...

I've bought...
  • a pack of turkey mince
  • a red and green pepper (two peppers not one)
  • a jar or tomato and chilli sauce
  • oh, and some kidney beans
I shall let you know how I get on next week.

I weighed myself again today (I only ended up putting on 200 grammes) but its probably water retention.

They say one person can express the view of 100 people...

I was walking to Chelmsford train station on Thursday when a lady come upto me and said that I looked really good with all the weight that I had lost and that it made me look years younger.

I must say I was well chuffed all day ;o)

Sunday 3 August 2008

Mmmmm Meatballs...

I know you are extremely interested and are dying to find out if I lost the two pounds that I put on when I weighed myself last week...

...so I shall put you out of your misery and let you know that I lost four pounds (putting my total weight loss one pound shy of five stone ;o)).

When I ride the exercise bike I tend to watch either weight loss shows or cooking shows (yes I know they're either end of the scales ;o)), anyhow I was watching Tyler's Ultimate and have got inspired...

...to make meatballs!

I've just looked at that website and wonder if any channel will show some of the other shows? Lets hope so...

So when we went shopping in Sainsbury's I bought the stuff that I will need...

500 grammes of turkey mince (I will freeze half of it to use for a low calorie chili con carne that I shall attempt next week), one red pepper, a few mushrooms and two cans of chopped tomatoes.

I shall let you know how I got on next week - hopefully I won't be typing the post from the A&E at Broomfield Hospital ;o)

Oh, and an egg to bind the meatballs together.

Well this is the end of my second post and hope it hasn't been too much like number two ;o)

Just remembered I'm also going to use some bread too.

Sunday 27 July 2008

A Donut Too Far

Well this is my first blog and my first post (ever) so lets hope its not too rubbish ;o)

I've had a couple of bad weeks...

Having had a Chinese takeaway two weeks ago. I thought I would be reasonably good and have steamed rice with beef with ginger and spring onions. What I really wanted was pork fried rice.

Then last week we went to Smollenskys in Canary Wharf, I had the slow cooked lamb shank for my entree and chocolate mudcake for my dessert. I really wanted the Grandma Smollenskys peanut butter cheesecake but they didn't have any left (a good excuse to make sure we go back again in my opinion ;o)).

And if that wasn't naughty enough I also had two chocolate iced krispy kreme donuts (over two days I should add).

Oh, we also stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Docklands where we had an all you can eat buffet breakfast, so I went completely over the top and had two (yes two) loads of full English breakfast (a total of four sausages, three pieces of fried bread two fried eggs, two slices of bacon and loads of mushrooms), I then thought I better "even" this out with some fruit and had a token bowl of kiwi fruit, a chopped up banana and a chopped up peach (yes, that will definitely even out the bad stuff I ate ;o)).



Anyhow I weighed myself in Boots this morning and have (not surprisingly - I hear you say) put on two pounds.



I shall weigh myself again next Sunday and hopefully I will have lost something (if only the 50p it costs ;o)).



Hopefully this post hasn't been too bad ;o)



See ya all real soon



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