LegoLand - & Pirates - posted on 02/06/2011 by Tonya

Look who we met at LegoLand ! Shame it wasn't really Johnny Depp but hey Jack Sparrow was brilliant. & Lego's version had the voice, mannerism's etc done brilliantly. The whole two days was great fun. It wasn't the hottest or sunniest weekend we have had but it did not dampen the spirits at all & on the plus side the queue's were definitely shorter on the 2nd day. We found our 'it's a small world ride' lol & went on it 3 times to see red riding hood, the wolf & a bunch of other fairy land characters all of which had Zachary spellbound. It was so exciting to see all this through the eyes of a happy 5 year old. He coped wonderfully with the surprise big roller-coaster ride although he did afterwards say he wasn't sure he liked big roller coasters LOL. All in all a great few days away worth the cold that I came back with. Still have the cough & slightly husky voice :)

Crumpets with bacon & roasted tomatoes - 4 pts - posted on 24/05/2011 by Tonya

Light Lunch from the WeightWatchers Summer Countdown leaflet inside the May 2011 WeightWatchers magazine.

This is easy basically its bacon (lean bacon medallions), crumpet, tomatoes & some grated cheese. I roasted my tomatoes in balsamic vinegar which adds no points but makes them extra tasty

I had a busy morning running errands & buying new underwear for the summer so wanted something nice & easy but tasty for lunch.

I loved this late brunch & must confess to an extra crumpet so mine was more like 6 points but then I only ate yoghurt & for breakfast.

More Recipes - Dad's birthday - posted on 20/05/2011 by Tonya

Today is Dad's birthday. I am lucky that since I came back to Malvern I have had the opportunity to build a relationship with my parents that I did not really have before. I spent most of my adult life up to these last 5 years trying very hard to get away from Malvern that I often went long periods without seeing Mum & Dad. Now I see them most days it seems odd to think of life without that and I am glad they are both here for me to have that. I often think of my friend Rachel who had that relationship with her Mum always then lost her and I feel glad I have the chance to build that friendship with my family. So here I am cooking up a birthday dinner. No ceremony just good food & maybe some wine and some chatter.

Today's Recipes are from Simply Enjoy & Seriously Satisfying WeightWatchers cook books as I am determined to at least not gain any more weight and maybe even loose a little.

So here is what I cooked and how it worked out.

Simply Enjoy Page 140 - Slow pan cooked potatoes

We used my great curly slice gadget to cut great slices of potato which we layered with garlic & stock and set to cook slowly.

Simply Enjoy Page 146 - Sweet baby carrots.

Bought from my local village shop grown by a local supplier these were lovely. We used a steamer rather than a bowl over water but followed the recipe for the honey mustard glaze & they were gorgeous.

Seriously Satisfying Page 132 - Cider braised chicken

YUM YUM YUM- seriously. We cheated a bit with the stuffing. I hate capers and could not get fresh sage so we blitzed the breadcrumbs added a tablespoon of sage & onion stuffing, some chopped apples and water & the stuffing was great. After the chicken was cooked I boiled the leftover cider juice up with a teaspoon of cornflour to create a thicker sauce as that's how we like our sauces.

I added some steamed cabbage and spinach on the side and as you can see the meal was really colourful too. Everyone loved this meal. My son had his with some ketchup but loved his just as much. My Dad could not believe these were recipes from the WeightWatchers books. I am a great lover of cooking and cook books and am pleased I am not resigned just because I wan't to loose weight to living a tasteless diet.

Seriously Satisfying Page 164 - Pear and Chocolate Pudding.

I discovered part way through making this I had no cocoa powder only hot chocolate drinking chocolate so I added this instead. It did not work as it was not chocolate enough so I added two melted cubes of cooking chocolate. I added an extra point to my daily total for that !!!

Day 1 - Cooking Thru Book - posted on 18/05/2011 by Tonya

Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia I have also wanted to cook my way through a cook book. I love cooking and am told I am a good cook. And therein lies my problem. I used to be a fitness fanatic who loved food but had no problems controlling weight as I exercised it all off. Now I am a busy Mum to a 5 year old and I also study part time too. I no longer have a gym membership and you would think running around after a young boy would keep me slim but my love of cooking and food has meant that every year since he was born my weight has increased. I don't consider myself fat fat but I know that sooner or later if I don't stop my health will suffer along with my wardrobe and I have a child who I want to see grow up into a wonderful young man and be fit enough to enjoy his energy while he is young. So here we are. I aim to try to cook my way through my newly bought weight watchers cook books. I have joined a group and on week 3 have so far lost 4lb. Lets hope planning which recipes to cook and using the book will help me keep on track.

Day 1 - Blueberry Banana Muffins.

Typical of me to start with something sweet but there we go. We had no blueberries so we used blackberries, YUM YUM YUM. My son now wants me to cook more but without the squidgy fruit mummy.