7 day food diary

I have had a couple of requests for me to write out a diary of all the food I've eaten throughout a typical week so people can see how I'm going about losing my baby weight. As I've mentioned before, my diet is more of a healthy eating plan with treats allowed at the weekend. I also now do a class- work it baby in Bournemouth once a week which is a mixture of weights, aerobics and cheer leading moves.

Monday:
Breakfast- Special K high fibre cereal bar
Glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with small tin of Heinz beans and a thumbnail of cheese, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- chopped apple, carrot, grapes, tomato and cheese, glass of water
Dinner- chicken pasta with onion and green pepper, glass of water

Tuesday:
Breakfast- High fibre cereal bar, two slices of wholemeal toast with small amount of margarine, glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with tuna, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- small probiotic yoghurt
Dinner- herb chicken with new potatoes and vegetables, glass of water, raspberry sorbet for dessert

Wednesday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with tinned spaghetti, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- cereal bar
Dinner- chilli con carne, whole grain rice and probiotic yoghurt and tangerine for dessert, glass of water

Thursday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, two slices brown toast, glass of water
Lunch- wholemeal wrap with small amount of cheese, turkey pieces and tomato slices, glass of water
Snack- nothing
Dinner- pasta bolognese, 2 malteaster bunnies (Naughty!), two glasses of water

Friday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, glass of water
Lunch- 2 wholemeal wraps with small amount of cheese and tomato slices, an apple and a glass of water
Snack- cereal bar
Dinner- fish pie, raspberry sorbet for dessert, water

Saturday:
Breakfast- two slices wholemeal toast
Lunch- chicken pieces, apple, water
Dinner- whole takeaway style pizza, half a bag of sharing bits of wispa chocolate, water

Sunday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, water
Lunch- nothing
Dinner- Sunday roast with cheesecake for dessert, water, small 1/2 glass of rose wine
Snack- chopped fruit and cheese, water, couple of penny sweets

That's my diet throughout one week. I attend my class on a Monday and I try and walk with pushchair throughout week when I can (though haven't been due I snow). I lose around 2 pounds a week.

Les Miserables

Have you seen Les Mis yet? I have seen it a total of three times today and it is safe to say I am a bit obsessed! This time was a mum and baby screening, which was really nice and not as loud as I thought it might be! If you haven't seen les Mis yet then I would highly recommend it, unless like my fiancé you dislike films with singing in as this film has singing from start to finish. Almost every line is sung. I thought Ann Hathaway was amazing in her role as Fantine, and I also loved Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the comedic Thenadiers. I cried 5 times the first time I watched the film and there was barely a dry eye in the cinema. With huge songs such as I dreamed a dream, empty chairs and empty tables and on my own as well as the catchy at the end of the day and master of the house, this film has definitely stuck in my head since watching it. A must see!

Why being a mum is the loneliest job I'll ever have

I have a confession to make and it's one I am almost scared to make as I know some people will find it amusing and probably laugh at how sad I sound but oh well. It's true. I'm lonely. Completely and utterly lonely.

The truth is, since I've become a mum, I've lost almost all of my friends one way or another. I'm not hoping for sympathy here, I know it happens to lots of mums. Some friends no longer feel they have anything in common with me now I have children, some moved away, got jobs and started their own lives away from school, University etc. Some friendships were never that strong in the first place and were inevitably going to break down at some point.

What saddens me the most is that I have two friends who I considered to be my 'best friends', the ones you can tell anything to, who are more like sisters than friends. Over the last couple of years, even these stronger friendships have weakened and now, despite one of them having a baby herself, and the other only weeks away from becoming a mum as well, we barely even speak to each other anymore. One is living a couple of hours away and it is hard to find the money to visit and the other lives much closer but has a boyfriend who doesn't get on with me, which understandably makes it hard for her.

I feel sad that on my wedding day, when most people have had to choose between several friends to be bridesmaids, I will have no 'friends' up there with me. Don't get me wrong, I am truly happy with my two bridesmaids- my sister and my brother's fiancee. It would just be nice to have a bridesmaid there who could tell the guests stories from the past etc.

What worries me is that I've had depression in the past, and I had postnatal depression when I had Cameron so am likely to suffer from it again with Carly. Not having friends is hardly going to help matters.

I have quite a few 'online' friends. Girls that I have met on various fan pages, got talking to and been friends with ever since. But these friends, however lovely, all live across the UK, at least a couple of hours drive away, some even as far away as Scotland. I do have acouple of friends nearer to me, but they have busy lives, closer friends, and essentially, more important things in their lives than me. I need more friends here, in Bournemouth who I can actually spend time with.

Tim, who has lots of friends himself, doesn't see my lack of friend status as an issue. He has told me just to go out and find new friends, and I am trying. I thought that not going to mum and baby groups when I had Cameron was where I went wrong, so this time I have made a real effort to find and attend as many as possible. However, it seems that the done thing is to go to groups with a friend... which means that everyone there already have their own little groups to talk to.

I know I need to be more confident and approach the groups to talk to them, but I am quite shy usually and having just had baby number two, my self esteem is pretty much at rock bottom right now. I have gone to two baby groups this week and both of them have resulted in me sitting with Carly on my own, only being engaged in conversation when the centre staff have come over to talk to me (and to be honest, I think they are only doing so out of pity as I'm quite clearly on my own and looking quite pathetic).

I have come to the conclusion that I need to make friends and attend the groups with them... The only issue now is finding these friends....

 

 

 

 

Photo a Day: Day 7- Outfit of the Day

In true mummy mode here...

Photo a Day: Day 6- Perfume

My perfume collection...

Photo a Day: Day 5- Eyes

My (very tired) eyes... Mummy eyes :P

Recipe of the Week: Fish Pie

As I decided to cook a recipe on a day when we had six people for dinner, I wanted to cook something relatively cheap and easy. I opted for a fish pie as it is something I have never cooked before but always wanted to try but it is also similar to shepherds pie which I cook often.

I was happy with how my pie turned out, and everyone said how nice it was so it is something I will definitely be cooking again!

I found the recipe in Sainsbury's Classic Recipe Book but altered it a little. If you would like to make the fish pie I made, the recipe is below. Happy cooking!

 

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

400 ml whole milk
1 medium onion, peeled, chopped and fried lightly
1 leek, chopped
crushed peppercorns
2 kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and chopped
30 ml semi skimmed milk
35g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
2 tablespoons double cream
5 frozen salmon portions
dried chopped parsley

I served with Broccoli


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan), gas mark 5. Once heated, place the frozen salmon into lightly oiled foil and wrap into parcels. Place on baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes.

2. Pour the whole milk into a pan. Add the onion, leek and peppercorns and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain the milk into a jug, put the onion and leek into a baking tray.

 

3. Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a pan of water. Once brought to the boil, leave to simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and mash with 10g of butter and the skimmed milk. In the meantime, bring another pan of water to the boil and add the broccoli. Cook until soft.

4. Melt the remaining 25g butter in a pan, then stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually add the infused milk, stirring well between each addition. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring. Stir in the cream and season to taste with black pepper and salt.

5. Unwrap the fish and place in the baking tray with the chopped leek and onions, chop into small pieces and mix well. Layer on the sauce and liberally sprinkle with parsley.

6. Cover the mixture with mash, spread evenly and place baking tray into the oven until the top is slightly browned (takes around 15 minutes).

 

Each serving: approx 438 calories, 22.6g fat, 9.7g saturated fat, 4.4g sugars, 1.8g salt

 

 

 

Photo a Day challenge: Day 4- Weather

The weather outside is.... Dreary! Eurghh hate it when the sky is more white/grey than blue. Bring on spring!

Photo a Day Challenge: Day 3- Breakfast

I am on my healthy eating plan again to lose the baby weight so I'm eating cornflakes or wholemeal toast for breakfast... Yes, it is labelled. I live with my 17 year old brother who eats anything and everything in sight so have taken to labelling my food!

Planning our Wedding: Amazing Bargains in the Sales!

I have a confession to make. I have bought a lot of stuff in the sales. Before you judge me though, I only bought things for the wedding... And I got some amazing bargains!

I bought Carly's flower girl dress and headband in the Monsoon sale for £22- total bargain! I also bought my bridesmaids dresses online from china but have since had to return them as they were totally unflattering on which is a shame. I got a pair of heels for me for £11 from new look, benefit makeup for myself and my bridesmaids for £20 and £13, necklaces for the three of us for £5 each from accessorise and beauty and hair treatments in the boots sale for £14 in total.

It hasn't just been the sales I've been hitting either. I have also been on Amazon and to craft shops to buy things for making our invites and save the dates as well as material to make our favours and decorations for our venue. I now have pretty much everything I need to make out wedding unique and personal for us.

I would totally recommend using the sales as an opportunity to stock up on items for your wedding. By doing it a year in advance I've made sure I have everything ready and can relax throughout the year safe in the knowledge that I have most of what we need!

Recipe a Week Challenge!

I watched Julie and Julia with my mum and nan yesterday and really liked the idea of posting on my blog about new recipes I've found. Rather than working my way through one cook book I've decided to just choose a different recipe from a collection of books and websites. I wanted to learn to cook more meals anyway and by posting weekly I feel I will stick to it. Look out for my first attempt next week!

Photo a Day Challenge: Day 2- Nails

These are my sparkly New Year's Eve nails. I never get a chance to do my nails with a newborn so this was done very quickly, not my best work!

Photo a Day Challenge: Day 1- You

 

 

 

 

Nice and simple... this is me, late last night/early this morning with my mum celebrating the new year!

January Photo a Day Challenge

I saw this challenge on a friend's Facebook today and as I haven't done a challenge on the blog in months and months I thought I might do this one to try and get back into the swing of things.

1. You

 

2. Nails

 

3. Breakfast

 

4. Weather

 

5. Eyes

 

6. Favourite Perfume

 

7. Outfit of the day

 

8. Cozy

 

9. Something your reading

 

10. Morning sky

 

11. Light

 

12. Black and White

 

13. Cuddle Buddy

 

14. Upside Down

 

15. Flashback

 

16. Night time

 

17. A smile

 

18. Peace

 

19. Favourite Candy

 

20. A smell you adore

 

21. With the Nashville filter

 

22. Time

 

23. Something you love

 

24. Candle

 

25. Nature

 

26. Animals

 

27. Your bedroom

 

28. Jewellery

 

29. Hairstyle

 

30. Quote

 

31. You, again

 

 

If you do the challenge too, leave a link in the comments to your blog! 

Welcome to 2013!

So, another new year is upon us and I know people get fed up of seeing or hearing about resolutions, feeling that they are a waste of time and people never stick to them, but I disagree. I think that even if people don't stick at a resolution for the whole year, they are at least finding something that requires change in their life. Fair enough if you don't have anything you want or need to change in your life, but for a lot of people the end of a year and beginning of a new one is the perfect time to reassess and realise what they can improve. 2013 is set to be a good year for me with Tim moving in next week and preparing for our wedding next February. I have a list of things I want to achieve this year:

1. Lose 1 stone by April

This one is simple. I have a further 1 stone to lose before I am back to (just below) my pre pregnancy weight. I have a huge motivation to lose the weight this time round as I am not allowing myself to go Wedding dress shopping until I have lost it..... torture! I also set the deadline for April as we are having Carly's Christening the end of April and my birthday is the beginning of May, so it will mean I can be a yummy mummy again in time for those events, perfect! I plan to lose the weight with healthy eating, smaller portions and allowing myself treat days at the weekends.

2. Tone up my 'Mum Tum'

Linked to the first, this one is also to help with fitting into a wedding dress and also to help boost my self confidence. Although I am only 23, with two young children, I find it hard to see myself in any way other than mummy at the moment and I want this to change! I am so excited to be starting my old exercise class back up this month, as well as doing plenty of walking with my mum (who is also trying to lose weight and tone up) and getting the good old wii back out of storage for a bit of Zumba.

3. Only drink on special occassions

To be fair, this will be pretty easy as the only real reason I have been drinking more than I would usually lately is because of Christmas and New Year, which are special occassions anyway... It is so much hassle to drink whilst breastfeeding anyway (for those who don't know, it involves using a breast pump to express before and after drinking as well as sterilising bottles you wouldn't usually need to sterilise). For the sake of having a couple of glasses of wine, it just isn't really worth the effort. I also know that by not having the odd glass of wine I will also find it easier to lose the weight so all in all a win win situation.

4. Pay off our wedding

This one will take a little time, but rather than leave all the balances that need to be paid until just before the wedding and being left with a massive bill, we have decided it would be better to spread the cost out over the year and pay off something every couple of months. First on our list is the photography!

5. Take lots of Photos

I love taking photos and having something tangible to look back on in the future. I got a new camera at Christmas from my nan so I plan to take a lot more photos, especially of the kids as they grow throughout the year.

6. Start my business

This has been on the agenda for some time now. Due to having the kids, my career never really set off after graduation, but hopefully this is the year that will change. As soon as Carly is a couple of months older, I plan to start up my own business, and hopefully by the time I am able to have her in nursery for a little while, I will be able to start making it a proper success. I can't wait to be able to work again. Although I love being a mum, sometimes it's nice to use your brain a bit more.

7. Visit people more

This is very dependent on how much money we have as we are going to be on a very tight budget with the wedding. I really miss friends and family who live in other parts of the country and aim to visit as much as I can this year.

8. Get another tattoo

I have had my next tattoo planned for a few months now and can't wait until I can have it done for my birthday. I have a tattoo of a feather with the word believe which is for my grandad who passed away when I was 12 on my left wrist and I want to have a rose on my right wrist with the word love for my nan.

9. Make new friends

To be honest, I am fed up with the way I have been treated in the past by so called 'friends'. 2013 is definitely about getting rid of the people who haven't been there for me in the past, and finding people who actually give a damn.

10. Demand a Smear Test

I know this isn't the done thing, but I actually really want a smear test done. Apparently the risk of cervical cancer increases when you have children, and having now had two and with my mum having had an abnormal result in the past I am really reluctant to wait it out until I am 25 (another year and a half!). I'm not sure whether they will allow me to have one or not, but I am definitely going to try my hardest! I don't understand the women who are allowed to have them and don't go because they are 'scared it might hurt'. I would take a bit of discomfort over a risk of leaving my children alone any day...

My Christmas in Pictures!

Carly's first christmas!

Christmas morning beach walk and visiting Grandad's bench

Cameron opening pressies

Christmas Dinner with the family

Me and my babies <3

Cameron being introduced to Cookie Monster

With my lovely fiance :)

Christmas cocktails and lunch with my dad and sister

New Years Eve with my gorgeous daughter

Great nan cuddles

More fooooood!

"Mummy, my hat doesn't fit!"

Popping down to celebrate at midnight with my cousin and his fiancee at their restaurant

It's New Year!

New Years Day walk along the beach

Me and my not so little man

All wrapped up warm and cosy!