I'm My Own Worst Enemy!!

I really am my own worst enemy.

In a bid not to waste any food it would seem that I will chomp my way through anything and everything that I find in my freezer or at the back of a cupboard!!

After a couple of weeks of eating nice healthy things, mostly unprocessed and with minimal wheat ingredients I came back to 'the dark side' with a vengeance this week.

I found these Katsu Chicken Style Fillets in the bottom freezer drawer under the bags of vegetables and decided to have them for my tea one night when I wasn't that hungry, but wanted something tasty and quick.  Well they were reasonably tasty and yes quick too, but they were also very artificial tasting even with the bread crumbed coating being pretty nice. 

 Although to be honest they looked like the dogs dinner !!

Then only the next day I was determined to use up the wrinkly tomatoes that were sat in the fridge, so I decided to use the free naan breads that I picked up from Booths way back in April, they had been in the freezer for far too long.

I teamed the tomatoes up with half a red onion and tipped the mixture over one of the naans, which I had spilt and toasted.  Very tasty, but I really felt that the tomatoes and onion mix was doing all the work and the naan bread just tasted like stodge.

Mavis had a large chunk of the naan that I just couldn't manage, she was delighted!!

Just reading the ingredient list on the naan bread wrapper makes me feel podged!

If I wanted to make my own for a future version of this meal, this would be all I would use.  Flour, water and salt, and turn it into a nice quick flatbread.

Next time I look through the freezer and see a packet of something in any way doubtful, I need to harden my heart (before the food does that for me) and simply consign it to the wheelie bin.

Oh and the second naan bread from the pack was toasted and crumbed, and put out on the bird table.  If I see any birds struggling to take off I will know that they are podged too.  😄

My view on the US election result.  😐

Sue xx

The Books That I Read in October

I didn't seem to read that much in October.

 I was just busy with work, Mum and then too tired and lazy to read, and instead I found myself firmly plonked down in front of the television drinking coffee, which always seems to be the easier option.  But the books that I did read helped me and did me some good, so that more than makes up for it.

Firstly I finished off Wintering by Katherine May, as talked about on the September books post.  I quite enjoyed it, but not enough to keep for a second read, so it went to the charity table in Booths, along with a couple of other books I didn't want to keep.

Then I dug out some of my Harcombe diet books as I was feeling in need of a reset.  I had been eating far too much stodge, this is what helped me ditch the large amount of carbs in favour of eating unprocessed and simple foods.  Sometimes you just need a reminder of how you used to eat.

This seems to be the slightly more up to date version of the book in the top photo ... one that incidentally I am quoted in a couple of times.  Oh the fame and glory. 😄😂

 

I also read through this one again, this is a club edition that you get as part of a trio when you join the Harcombe Club, something I've been a member of for many, many years.  It is available on Kindle and as used copies HERE.  If you want to read more about it.

I read through this one too, it would seem I was on a roll.  😀

I can't find this one anywhere to link to, but like most of Zoe's books it gives you a very similar background story and a good run through of the basics of this way of eating.

My Life in Houses by Margaret Forster.

I had over a week off from reading and then I started this book.  It was recommended last month when I asked what everyone was reading, and it sounded just up my street ... and it really is.  When I mentioned on my Books Instead of Pumpkins post that I had bought a copy for 50p off Amazon, lots of you said that you had already read it.  I was obviously very late to this particular party.  I have about twenty pages to go and then I can choose a new book for the start of this month.  

I always think of November as a very booky month, after all it's the cosy season, short days and dark nights, and time to hunker down and relax a bit before the madness that lots of people put themselves through for Christmas.

Whatever you are reading now, I hope you are enjoying it and staying cosy.

Sue xx

Welcome November ...

Art by Bettina Baldassari

WELCOME NOVEMBER …

There is something about November that says ‘keep going’.

We are not quite through the year, yet the finish-line looms.

We are plunged into darkness by Mother Nature.

We are faced with the ‘season of joy’,

and yet many of us wonder where we will find it.

And I think November is a great time to take a little peek behind you,

and see just how much you’ve done.

To take stock of your achievements, your endurance,

your survival.

To rest, reinforce, before the festivities envelope us all.

Before beautiful new beginnings.

And most importantly, November is a time to seek out light.

As the natural order darkens, we must find it ourselves.

We must do whatever we can to brighten our day,

our home, the world.

Seek out light wherever you can my friends,

and pay no heed to those who condemn your sparkle.

You are much-needed.

Keep showing up, in that special way only you can do.

And show up for yourself too

(which can sometimes mean not showing up at all).

This year has been hard.

Again.

But beautiful.

Again.

As is the way of life.

As is the way of life.

Donna Ashworth

Cookathons, Meal Prep and a Blank Canvas

 

Last weeks meal prep of Mediterranean vegetables has now well and truly ran out.  They were tasty while they lasted and I got many different meals from them.  

The rhubarb crumble lasted me for three portions, two suppers and one lovely breakfast.

Mediterranean veggies and a breaded haddock fillet.

Mediterranean veggies with rice and salmon.  There are more veggies than you can see from this photo, as I heated them up in the microwave in this dish and then tipped the rice and fish on top.

There were also two pasta meals consumed using the roasted vegetables, one with penne pasta and one with spaghetti.  I didn't take a photo on either occasion as they were late in the evenings.

The final portion of veggies went on top of one of the rosemary focaccias, this was absolutely delicious.

I had the other focaccia the next night as garlic bread along with a glass of wine ... it was a good foodie week. 😄

This weeks little cookathon was a simple batch cook of all the vegetables left in the fridge drawer.  I managed to get seven portions of soup altogether, there are two in the large container on the right.  It's very tasty and velvety smooth, just the way I like it.  Now it's Thursday and I have three portions left, so it's worked out perfectly.

It also means that I now have a blank canvas in the vegetable drawer of the fridge, with a nice clean tea towel awaiting my next purchases.

This month has simply flown by, I really don't know where the time has gone.  Now it's time to think of November and what lies ahead for a new month, hopefully it will be a slightly less stressful month for all of us.

Sue xx

My Final Shop of October and End of Month Figures

 

As I didn't need much food this week my last shopping photo has just three items.

  I have just about finished the Mediterranean vegetables that I cooked up at the start of the week, indeed the last meal using them will be with one of the focaccia breads you see in this photo, and will no doubt be eaten alongside a glass of this wine.  It's a celebratory Sunday meal as Mum is now safely out of hospital and ensconced in a very nice nursing home in Sale, Manchester.

  It's been a hectic few weeks getting all this set up, not helped in the slightest by Mum's hospital ward going into total lockdown for two weeks due to a sickness and diarrhoea bug doing the rounds. This meant that we could not get the LPA signed and witnessed, and the three of us have been working to get the finances in place through the access to Mum's bank accounts that we already have.  Gosh nursing homes need to know the ins and outs of your finances, and be promised the world before they will let anyone live there.  You can understand why though, it's just hard to cope with when you are busy jumping through their hoops and tired out after seven months of sorting things.

Anyway enough of that, back to my shopping finances ... which are so much simpler.  😁

Shopping in October

Week 1 - £49.83

Week 2 - £29.87

Week 3 - £36.53

Week 4 - £36.73

TOTAL - £152.96

This is the most over my £100 monthly budget that I have ever gone.  Even having the leftover money from the previous months means that I am now £23.54 in the red.  I would love to end the year in the black and keep eating nice and healthy with lots of vegetables in my diet alongside good quality fish and eggs.

So for the last few days of October I will be eating the foods that I already have in the house, and this weeks Sunday cookathon will be a simple one, turning any remaining vegetables in the fridge into a nice panful of soup.  The homegrown harvested potatoes will also be popped in there to make it a lovely substantial soup and provide as many portions as possible for my lunches.  You can't beat a nice bowl of homemade soup on these chilly days can you. 🍲

Here's to a fresh new week of eating well ... and a week of not spending any money.

Sue xx