In my post 'Eaten healthily for a week but now a challenge' I said that one of the things I was going to do on Saturday would be to plan my meals for the week. I have done this and thought I would post it onto my blog in case anyone is interested.
I plan on having pretty much the same things for my meals for the whole week, and then changing up the next week. Doing this allows me to:-
1) Buy fewer ingredients
2) Not end up throwing out as much food at the end of the week
These two things are important as eating clean can prove quite expensive.
Week Beginning Monday 28th October 2013 Meal Plan
Breakfast
Scrambled egg (I have full eggs because the yolks contain iron, but when I have given birth this will change to just the Whites). I buy my eggs from a local farm, where I see the chickens running around freely!
or
Pumpkin Cupcakes - I will be doing a post about this very soon
Meal 2
Banana - If I am hungry at this point I would spread the banana with peanut butter
Lunch
Waldorf Wrap - From the Tone it Up Regular plan. I will be using Chicken as the protein instead of Tofu
Meal 4 - Vegetable Sticks dipped in Peanut Butter (Peanut Butter will be replaced with Hummous when I have given birth).
Meal 5 - Quinea, Couscous, Bean Salad, Chicken salad, Wholemeal pasta with protein and vegetables.
As Thursday is Halloween I will be having a different plan on Thursday and possibly for the rest of the week if there are leftovers
Meal 2 - Pumpkin Smoothie
Meal 4 - Dark Chocolate dipped fruit
I will say more about these changes in the post I write about the Pumpkin Cupcakes.
Shopping List for the week
Stevia - Natural Sugar (very popular on the Tone it Up Plan)
Wholemeal Wraps
Apples
Walnuts
Greek Yoghurt
Celery one pack
Carrots one pack
Cucumber
Organic Peanut Butter
Quinea
Couscous
Tinned mixed beans
Tinned tomatoes (they don't feature in any recipes for this week, if they did I would buy fresh tomatoes. However I find it is always good to have them in the cupboard for emergency quick meals).
Lindt or Green and Blacks Dark Chocolate
Wholemeal Pasta or Spaghetti
Flame Raisins - Not in any recipes but I am in Love with them!!!!!
Honey
For food preparation for the week I took 3 chicken breasts out of the freezer last night to defrost, I will be baking these all together in the oven today. I will then have enough cooked chicken for the week.
I will be baking the Pumpkin Cupcakes today at the same time as the chicken. This should save on fuel money for the cooker (I am very tight, and always looking for ways to save money).
Sunday 27 October 2013
It's Halloween - Alternatives to candy
It's Halloween.... almost
I must admit that while Halloween is not so much of a big deal in England as it is in America, the whole dressing up and Trick or Treating thing is getting more popular over here.
Usually for Halloween I will become obsessed with Harribo sweets. They have so many new Halloween related ones out in the shops that are usually on offer. However this year obviously things need to be different. I will be writing another post on alternative Halloween foods, but I thought I would feature some of my favourite ideas of alternatives to edible treats.
Firstly is the Yankee Candle Sweetshop candle collection
This features the candles with the following sweet based fragrances:- Whoopie Pie, Gingerbread, Salted Caramel, Cranberry Ice, Sugared Apple, Snowflake Cookie, Cherries on Snow, Red Velvet, Christmas Cookie, Honey and Spice, Merry Marshmallow, Strawberry Buttercream.
This is currently available on QVC.co.uk as a set of two gift boxes (the other one being the 'Home for the Holidays' collection) for £29.97. http://www.qvcuk.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=702443&storeId=10252&langId=-2&sc=TSV&catalogId=10152&UDC=TSV&MSG=TSV_OTO_INSTOCK&ddkey=http:TSVItemDisplay
Picture is also taken from this web site.
Lush Cosmetics
Seem to have some good Halloween Treats that won't cause weight gain.
The cutest seem to be the Pumpkin Bubble Bars
£2.75 each, available from Lush stores nationwide and https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6355/Pumkin which is where this picture was taken from.
The Sweet Soap of mine (although not Halloween related is sweet related) gift set contains two soaps, Rock Star and The Godmother. I have never tried The Godmother but Rock Star is one of my favourite soaps of all time!!! It smells very much like sweets, and so would be the perfect non edible Halloween treat!!!
The set is £6.50 and again is available at the above website where this picture was taken from.
Rock Star is available individually priced at, £3.40 for 100g.
The Bunty Yellow Gift Set
Also appears to contain some sweet smells and is described as a 'Sweet Bathtime Collection'.
It costs £13.75 and is available from, https://www.lush.co.uk/product/5890/Bunty-Yellow which is where this photo was taken from.
Something that I already own is the Too Faced Cosmetics Box of Pink Chocolates Lip Gloss collection. This is what I will be making use of as my non edible treat during this Halloween period. I received mine as a Christmas gift a few years ago, but I have found it still available on Ebay International
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Too-Faced-Box-Pink-Chocolates-Lip-Gloss-20-Shades-/250343213043 which is where the picture is taken from. Currently it is $25.
Any of the above could also be good rewards for hitting weight loss/gain (if you are lifting) targets. It's like rewarding yourself with sweets without the guilt!
Another alternative if you have been losing weight is to put the extra money you would have spent on sweets and spend extra on your Halloween costume, to show off your weight loss achievements. The photos you take, and comments from people you see will no doubt motivate you to keep up with your weight loss.
I must admit that while Halloween is not so much of a big deal in England as it is in America, the whole dressing up and Trick or Treating thing is getting more popular over here.
Usually for Halloween I will become obsessed with Harribo sweets. They have so many new Halloween related ones out in the shops that are usually on offer. However this year obviously things need to be different. I will be writing another post on alternative Halloween foods, but I thought I would feature some of my favourite ideas of alternatives to edible treats.
Firstly is the Yankee Candle Sweetshop candle collection
This features the candles with the following sweet based fragrances:- Whoopie Pie, Gingerbread, Salted Caramel, Cranberry Ice, Sugared Apple, Snowflake Cookie, Cherries on Snow, Red Velvet, Christmas Cookie, Honey and Spice, Merry Marshmallow, Strawberry Buttercream.
This is currently available on QVC.co.uk as a set of two gift boxes (the other one being the 'Home for the Holidays' collection) for £29.97. http://www.qvcuk.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=702443&storeId=10252&langId=-2&sc=TSV&catalogId=10152&UDC=TSV&MSG=TSV_OTO_INSTOCK&ddkey=http:TSVItemDisplay
Picture is also taken from this web site.
Lush Cosmetics
Seem to have some good Halloween Treats that won't cause weight gain.
The cutest seem to be the Pumpkin Bubble Bars
£2.75 each, available from Lush stores nationwide and https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6355/Pumkin which is where this picture was taken from.
The Sweet Soap of mine (although not Halloween related is sweet related) gift set contains two soaps, Rock Star and The Godmother. I have never tried The Godmother but Rock Star is one of my favourite soaps of all time!!! It smells very much like sweets, and so would be the perfect non edible Halloween treat!!!
The set is £6.50 and again is available at the above website where this picture was taken from.
Rock Star is available individually priced at, £3.40 for 100g.
The Bunty Yellow Gift Set
Also appears to contain some sweet smells and is described as a 'Sweet Bathtime Collection'.
It costs £13.75 and is available from, https://www.lush.co.uk/product/5890/Bunty-Yellow which is where this photo was taken from.
Something that I already own is the Too Faced Cosmetics Box of Pink Chocolates Lip Gloss collection. This is what I will be making use of as my non edible treat during this Halloween period. I received mine as a Christmas gift a few years ago, but I have found it still available on Ebay International
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Too-Faced-Box-Pink-Chocolates-Lip-Gloss-20-Shades-/250343213043 which is where the picture is taken from. Currently it is $25.
Any of the above could also be good rewards for hitting weight loss/gain (if you are lifting) targets. It's like rewarding yourself with sweets without the guilt!
Another alternative if you have been losing weight is to put the extra money you would have spent on sweets and spend extra on your Halloween costume, to show off your weight loss achievements. The photos you take, and comments from people you see will no doubt motivate you to keep up with your weight loss.
Saturday 26 October 2013
Eaten healthily for a week, but now a challenege
Firstly I must say that I feel awful saying that I have managed to eat healthily for a whole week without deviating while I am pregnant. I should have been doing this throughout my pregnancy, in fact I should have been doing this throughout my entire life!!!!!
Anyway, moving on...
I work in a school and it is now the October half term holiday, so I have a week off work. BUT I actually start my maternity leave the week after half term, so if things go to plan I now have 9 months off work!!! This seems really weird! I have worked (and studied at the same time) pretty much my whole life, so to have 9 months off is pretty daunting. Well the first six weeks before the baby is due are daunting, after this I know I will be super busy and have no time to be bored, thinking about work etc.
I was prepared for the above, but a small challenge has occurred before this time. Today is Saturday and the plan was for my husband and myself to go shopping for things for my hospital bag. However a big problem has occurred where my husband works and so he has to go into work to fix it (he is certain that this will take the duration of the day). Plus he is expecting a special delivery package to be delivered. So I am stuck in the house all day waiting for his package to arrive!!!
In my last post I said that one of my triggers for overeating crap foods was being in the house on my own, and being bored. So today is a real challenge/test of my over coming this.
My plan is to write on this blog! Plan some meals meals for the week ahead and do some housework. This should give me some things to do so that I don't get bored and over eat. I am also going follow the eating plan (loosely) and make sure that I do not get hungry, which may then lead to me binge eating crap.
Wish me luck!!!!!
Anyway, moving on...
I work in a school and it is now the October half term holiday, so I have a week off work. BUT I actually start my maternity leave the week after half term, so if things go to plan I now have 9 months off work!!! This seems really weird! I have worked (and studied at the same time) pretty much my whole life, so to have 9 months off is pretty daunting. Well the first six weeks before the baby is due are daunting, after this I know I will be super busy and have no time to be bored, thinking about work etc.
I was prepared for the above, but a small challenge has occurred before this time. Today is Saturday and the plan was for my husband and myself to go shopping for things for my hospital bag. However a big problem has occurred where my husband works and so he has to go into work to fix it (he is certain that this will take the duration of the day). Plus he is expecting a special delivery package to be delivered. So I am stuck in the house all day waiting for his package to arrive!!!
In my last post I said that one of my triggers for overeating crap foods was being in the house on my own, and being bored. So today is a real challenge/test of my over coming this.
My plan is to write on this blog! Plan some meals meals for the week ahead and do some housework. This should give me some things to do so that I don't get bored and over eat. I am also going follow the eating plan (loosely) and make sure that I do not get hungry, which may then lead to me binge eating crap.
Wish me luck!!!!!
31 weeks pregnant and starting
I am currently 31 weeks pregnant and feeling really down about my weight. It's not the baby weight that bothers me, it's that I was 3 stone (42 pounds) overweight when I found out that I was pregnant. I had started YET ANOTHER diet and had already lost half a stone (7 pounds) just before I found out I was pregnant (I had started the diet to help me to get pregnant). When I found out I was pregnant I stopped the diet (I was on weight watchers) because the mid wife told me that it was not healthy to diet when pregnant. Instead I started eating more healthily. More wholegrains and fruit for breakfast and salad for lunch.
What I am eating is largely good and healthy but what isn't helping me is that I also binge on chocolate biscuits, chocolate covered cereal bars, chocolate bars and crisps. These things obviously are not healthy for me, the baby, or my self image. So THIS MUST STOP.
In order to help me with this I am taking a two-fold approach
1). I am looking at what the triggers are that cause me to eat these things. These mainly seem to be, being in the house on my own and being bored.
2). I am loosely following a clean eating plan to help me know what to eat when and to help me to feel full all of the time, but on healthy foods. The plan I have chosen is the Tone IT Up plan but it is similar to any other clean eating plan. I am obviously modifying it for the things I cannot eat in pregnancy, such as limiting certain fish, and not eating shop bought Hummous etc. Anything I am not sure about I check online before I eat it. If I am hungry after eating the foods on the plan for the day I fill up on fruit. Although I find that eating 5-6 meals a day means I am rarely hungry. I am also increasing the portions of certain things on the plan if I feel I need more of a certain nutrient (eg, iron, calcium) for the baby.
I have been following this plan loosely for a week now.
Please note, I am not in any way concerned about the weight I put on that is the baby, or that supports the baby eg, placenta etc. That is essential, and more than anything I want my baby to be healthy. As long as I am eating healthily for the baby I do not care how much baby weight I put on. The thing is I am not eating healthily now, and THAT MUST CHANGE!!!!!
What I am eating is largely good and healthy but what isn't helping me is that I also binge on chocolate biscuits, chocolate covered cereal bars, chocolate bars and crisps. These things obviously are not healthy for me, the baby, or my self image. So THIS MUST STOP.
In order to help me with this I am taking a two-fold approach
1). I am looking at what the triggers are that cause me to eat these things. These mainly seem to be, being in the house on my own and being bored.
2). I am loosely following a clean eating plan to help me know what to eat when and to help me to feel full all of the time, but on healthy foods. The plan I have chosen is the Tone IT Up plan but it is similar to any other clean eating plan. I am obviously modifying it for the things I cannot eat in pregnancy, such as limiting certain fish, and not eating shop bought Hummous etc. Anything I am not sure about I check online before I eat it. If I am hungry after eating the foods on the plan for the day I fill up on fruit. Although I find that eating 5-6 meals a day means I am rarely hungry. I am also increasing the portions of certain things on the plan if I feel I need more of a certain nutrient (eg, iron, calcium) for the baby.
I have been following this plan loosely for a week now.
Please note, I am not in any way concerned about the weight I put on that is the baby, or that supports the baby eg, placenta etc. That is essential, and more than anything I want my baby to be healthy. As long as I am eating healthily for the baby I do not care how much baby weight I put on. The thing is I am not eating healthily now, and THAT MUST CHANGE!!!!!
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