Author: Scottish Mum

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Review: Harvester – Ghillies Lair, Aberdeen

Before I start my review, I have a confession to make.  A miserable tale of electronic devilishness.

Like the annoying snapper at a wedding, I’d walked around the restaurant, pointed my lens at everything I thought looked amazing, and sat back in the knowledge I’d a lot of lovely images, including great ones of my kids enjoying a rare evening out with their parents.  Cheerily I loaded my SD Card, looking forward to printing some off for the kids and for my review, to find nothing registering, nada….dead as the preverbial Dodo.

So, in short, all I can do is tell you how it went for us.  Pictures usually say a thousand words, but in this case, the thousand words will have to do instead.  I’ll try to make them easy reading, but I know that without those colourful additions, it’s really difficult to convey how good our experience was last week.

To make up for it, I’ve borrowed some images directly from Harvester, so thanks go to the PR team allowing me to do that.

This blurry picture is the only one I’ve got from my phone when we were about to leave the house.  Not ideal, but I was looking forward to going out with my family.Harvester Lesley

Setting

The lovely offer of a meal at our local Harvester was welcome indeed.  We had a very lovely meal, which was a really nice family evening, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Seeing my boys eat so much was nice too, although the fussy youngest went for a kids meal, which was no problem.

HARVESTER'S GHILLIES LAIR IN ABERDEEN. Ghillies Lair, Aberdeen Monday 26th October 2015 1510017 Great Southern Road Bridge of Dee, Aberdeen Aberdeen City AB12 5XA
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
HARVESTER'S GHILLIES LAIR IN ABERDEEN. STAFF MEMBERS (L TO R) CRAIG ROSS, DEAN RITSON. VAL HUGHES, MONIA BROZEK AND IAIN CURRIE. Ghillies Lair, Aberdeen Monday 26th October 2015 1510017 Great Southern Road Bridge of Dee, Aberdeen Aberdeen City AB12 5XA
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

Our Harvester, the Ghillies Lair, is set at the Bridge of Dee, and overlooks the Dee itself.  The restaurant has a lovely extension with views over the River Dee, which would be a lovely sight on a nice evening.

The Bridge is old, very old, and dates from 1527.  It’s used daily by all sorts of traffic, to leave or enter the City of Aberdeen.  It’s built along a row ribbed arches, using granite and sandstone.   I’ve known that bridge my whole life.  Along with the old suspension bridge a bit further along, it’s steeped in history, and we’re lucky enough to still be using this one, although the suspension bridge was closed to traffic long ago.

Harvester Ghillies Lair 3

The Ghillies Lair has an outdoor seating area, overlooking the river, for lovely summery days, and although we’re not there yet, but I’ve fond memories of sitting outside on a nice day for an ice-cream when I used to work at that end of town.

Harvester Ghillies Lair 1

Service

What can I say!  Our server was lovely and nothing was too much trouble.  She was polite and friendly and they accommodated my wish for the BBQ Chicken Stack, without the BBQ sauce as I don’t often like it.   She even posed, in good spirits, for an impromptu picture that’s gone belly up with my SD card.  Perhaps she’ll be very pleased about that…  I did spring it on her, without warning…. 🙂

Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

Menu

Three of us went for the set menu, we had one child dish and I chose from the regular menu.  In our local Harvester, there’s an evening set menu, where from 5pm every evening, we have the choice of a main meal + either a starter or a dessert for £10.99, or add a third course for £2.  There was lots to choose from and the menus are online, so it’s easy to take a cheeky peek before you go.

Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

Drinks

It was nice to see the option of drinks that we can refill as often as we want ourselves, as with three kids, our drinks bills, even for soft drinks, often outprices the cost of meals.  No worries here, with the ability to choose from several different options, and fill up with ice and fizzy drinks as much as we wanted.  I know many people don’t like fizzy drinks for kids, but when we’re out, it’s a treat, and I’ve always been happy enough for my kids to choose what they want.  Sometimes one of mine chooses a water or orange juice, but refillable drinks tick the boxes for me.

Sauces

A whole bar of them.  Loads and loads to choose from.  BBQ, tomato, relishes, mayonnaise, speciality glazes and lots of different sauces to choose from.

Salad Bar

What can I say.  Lots of different choices, from coleslaw, beetroot, pickled onion, tomatoes, lettuce, carrot, and much much more.  The trays were replenished throughout and I felt confident I was eating fresh food.  It’s not a one visit fits all, so we could visit the salad bar as often as we liked.  My eldest went up three times for a top up.  There was plenty to go round for everyone.

Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

Bread, butter, croutons, dressings, bacon bits and more, were also available.  If someone goes in there and says there’s nothing to choose from, I’d think they were nuts…  Wait, that’s exactly what my youngest said……  No problem.  Kids menu and chicken in a southern fried coating with chips saved the day.

Main Courses

The man and middle child chose from the set menu, going for the Signature Fish and Chips, with Ice-Cream for afters.    When their fish and chips arrived, the plates were brimming over with the large fish and enough chips to even keep middler happy.  He’d already eaten four or five of the small bread rolls from the salad bar, and a bowl – brimming full of salad.  Eldest went for the set menu burger, and I had the BBQ Chicken Stack.  There’s a sauce station with lots of different sauce and glaze options, so I had plenty to choose from.  Much more than I’ve ever seen in any restaurant I’ve been to in the past.

Harvester Burger
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
Harvester Chicken
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

Dessert

Spoiled for choice, we couldn’t decide.  Three opted for the simple ice-cream, but I decided to throw my calorie budget to the wind and go for the Rocky Road – a sundae full of chocolate brownie deliciousness, topped with fresh cream, and including honeycomb and fudge pieces.

My youngest chose the Chocolate Fudge Cake with Belgian chocolate sauce and real dairy ice-cream, and the slice that came seemed huge.  He did have a dilemma when he compared it with the Eton Mess Cheesecake, as the raspberries in sauce and fluffy cream were a definite screaming taste bud temptation.

His eyes popped when the cake was carried out.
‘I’m going to eat it all,” he announced to our waitress, with a smug grin….  She smiled knowingly.

Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk
Image Courtesy of Harvester.co.uk

At the point he exhaled with exhausted happiness at eating as much as he could, eldest quickly slid the plate over and began to dig in.  By the time he sat back and patted his full belly, there was even a little left over.

Information and Nutrition

This may not seem like much to some of you, but to some pernickety chiels, like me, and many others, allergens and nutritional content is important.  I want to know where I sit with my calorie and nutrient budget for the week.

Working a weekly budget fits high calorie items into my life.  I don’t do deprivation.  As a diabetic, it’s essential for me.  At many restaurants, I have to guess by plucking figures out of thin air and hoping for the best, but not with the Harvester – as they had all the information on their website.

They also have an allergen, gluten and milk guide, so meals or special diets can be planned in advance.  I had two very high calorie dishes, but because the information was all there, it was easy to fit it all in, and be confident that I’d got it pretty right.  And it was worth every last wicked calorie…

Overall

Between the five of us, we ate masses of food.  Apart from the meal, how much else we eat, is up to us.

With the unlimited salad, sauces, breads and fizz.  I can’t imagine anyone ever leaving a Harvester, and still being hungry.  And with a clean and fresh ladies room, everything I looked for ticked all the boxes.  I don’t remember having such a lovely evening with my boys for quite a while.  Having all the teens in one place and eating together gets harder and harder as they grow older.

Although we benefited from a welcome voucher towards our meal, we thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be back as full paying guests.  We’ve been to Harvesters before, and always enjoyed the experience.

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Sponsor me for cancer research.

Raceforlife2Ok, you know by now that I’m doing the Race for Life Aberdeen 2016, 10K.  I’ll be walking some, but I’m going to run as much as I can.  I have a slight knee injury, which means I’ve cut back on training this week to let it heal, but hopefully it doesn’t last for too long.

I’d like to raise £150 if at all possible, and if you want to sponsor me, feel free to use my widgets and badges to help you along.

My race for life Just Giving page is lesleysmith001 or click on the image below to take you to my fundraising page.  Cancer Research UK funded my place for running, so I’ll also be donating the entry fee I saved to my account.  If you do sponsor me, and you’re comfortable, leave a wee message so I know who did an awesome thing for me and the future of cancer research.

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!
If you’re a text person, and want to sponsor me, even if it’s a pound, simply text in a donation if you’d like to.   You can donate in numbers of £1, £2,£3, £5 or £10.  It takes a little while to show up.

E.g.
The number to text for Race for Life: 70700
SMBL55
£1

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Our Go Ape Experience

We all know exercise is good for us…..right…  It should also be um fun…..right??????   Bwahahahaha.  I couldn’t not share this quickly on the blog.  I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved in the last year so far.

As if some of you hadn’t thought I was nuts enough to start running at my age, I accepted a challenge from Simply Health, to try out a new Fitbit Flex, and use it for activities locally.  We all need more exercise, don’t we?

I worried a little about my hands as they’re weak, but I’m not going to let that stop me.  Little did I know what I’d let myself in for.  Numpy, yes me, that’s what I am, really and truly.  Next time someone asks me to do something like this, bop me on the head, then tell me what a great thing it is to do.  I’ll believe ya – honest.  It’s good for me too.

The challenge they set, was to do the local Go Ape course at Crathes Castle, which is something I’ve never tried before, although I’ve watched my boys try out something smaller.  They had a blast, and it looked like fun.  I could do this……right?  Ya bet I could.  Maybe….

On what looked to be a really rubbish and drizzly, yucky day, we rocked up to start our safety briefing, in our recommended clothes, ready to get mucky and wet.  With gloves on, my hair tied back, and sensible shoes on, I was ready to go with a couple of my boys.  Thankfully the sun came out and it ended up as a pretty good day.

The experience of Go Ape, promises a tree top adventure, flying down zip wires, jumping off tarzan swings and high rope crossings in breathtaking woodland.  It’s a lot to live up to.  It also sounds painful for someone who wasn’t even a couple of flights of stairs fit not that long ago, but hey, even at my age, new things are worth trying.  If I can do it, then almost anyone can.  But….and you’ll have to read on……for where I needed a boost up…

Some others in the group in front of us were taking pictures of each other, very artfully, as they only had to hook themselves on and go, but as I’d two kids to supervise, and make sure they were hooked and unhooked on each time, I didn’t get time to take any shots at all, and had to make do with the ones from my other half’s phone.  We went last, as I’d two kids to keep an eye on, and it was just as well, as we seemed to take ages.

At the top of this slide, I looked down, checked sideways, saw some people watching and pretended to be not scared at all.  Not a jot.  Who me?  You’re kidding right!

GoApeBridge1GoapeBridge2GoApeRopes

GoApeKids1GoApe3

I got stuck at one bit.  I took one look at the Tarzan Swing, across to a cargo net and even my eldest said he was “shi****g” himself…  That didn’t make me feel any better, honestly…  Especially after hearing someone screaming when they did it ten minutes before us……  Having weak hands meant that I struggled to pull myself up on the cargo net after the Tarzan Swing.  My hands had almost had it, and pulling myself up to the platform was impossible, so one of the instructors had to give me a bit of a help up, which was fine.  I still had to do it myself, but with a little help from a pulley to take the pain away from my hands.  I am so glad I had gloves with leather palms on, or at this bit, I’d have struggled even more.  There was the option for a slightly easier route, but with boys being boys, they wanted to go the hard way, and mum being mum, and supervising, had no option but to go the same way… Duhhh…

The zip slides were incredibly more fun than I expected, even though I bashed my head on the second one by lying too far back as I dug my heels in to stop.  Just as well they have that soft bark on the bottom, or I’d have been spending the night in A&E.  As it was, my head sort of bounced and it was fine, but taught me to keep my head up on the next two…  Lesson learned….  Pretty quick…

The Go Ape experience, according to the internet, burns approximately 500 calories for a woman, so it’s a not too shabby way of getting some good exercise in there while also having some fun.  My shoulders ached just a little afterwards, but nothing major, although my hands might take a day to recover, but if you don’t have a touch of arthritis or anything in your hands, you’ll be fine.  I’m not sure that many other women my age would go swinging about like tarzan, but hey, we’re only as old as the things we do.  I’m nowhere near ready for the pipe and slippers…  Maybe when I’m 90!

Right, the Fitbit Flex.  Thanks Simply Health, for the lovely gift.

Fitbit Flex 1

This was easy to pair with my phone, and wearing it was quite simple, although it felt a bit strange being a little loose for the first couple of hours.  I used it to do a 5K on my treadmill to try it out, and felt oddly gratified that it showed 6.5K, on a par with my Apple Watch, when my treadmill hit the 5K, at around the same time as it takes me to do outdoors.    Bonus….I’m slow, but proving not to be as tortoise like as I thought I was on the treadmill.  Still plodding slow though.  I’m not kidding myself at all, uh uh…

This was my starting and end point today.  2062 steps before starting, and 5926 steps after it was finished, and I had food.  I was starving afterwards.  I could have eaten dry sawdust, I was that hungry.  I was going to say I could have eaten a scabby horse, but wondered if someone might actually take me seriously.  I wouldn’t eat horse, let alone a scabby one, and a scabby one, I’d be more likely to feed me to, as I’d feel so sorry for it.

Anyway..

The calories on this throws me a bit, as it states calories up to that point in the day, rather than for the whole day upfront.   I ate 991 calores by 5.15 and it said I was 429 calories over for the day, which is deceiving at first.   I quite like that it monitors sleep.  I’ll need to get my youngest night own to wear it and see the quality of his sleep.   He’s a dreadful night owl.

At first, I took one look at the active minutes, and went huhhhh……  Only 9 tiny minutes, heartsink…after three hours swinging about like Jane hanging from the rafters!  Then I realised it only records spells where you’re active for more than 10 minutes at a time, and with spells in-between activities, it seems to have cut out for each one.  Gutted…but makes sense.

I’m a gadget girl, so I was always going to like this anyway.  I’m a sucker for electronics and I DO like the steps it counted for the treadmill.  Not that I’ve already told you that of course.

IMG_2177 IMG_2182

So, the short story is, that getting more exercise can be fun.  Give it a go, you won’t regret it.  Even my eldest actually enjoyed it, and getting any 15 year old to enjoy a family activity isn’t as easy as making a custard pie…… Result all round..

Thanks to Simply Health for the Go Ape Experience and our Fitblit Flex

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High Protein Chocolate Pudding

Hey you all, protein is something that many of us just don’t get enough of.  As a newbie runner, upping my protein count is important, to make sure I have the ability to repair the damage done to my muscles as I learn to run.

I wanted something lovely and puddingy, but not always a smoothie, and this is it…. with a whopping 40g protein in a serving.  Split it in half if you want to keep to 20g Protein in a serving.

The longer it is in the fridge, the thicker it gets, so if you can make it the day before, or a few hours in advance, that’s even better.  If you use a different protein powder, factor in the different amounts of protein.

Feel like cutting the calories and carbs a bit?  Reduce the flour and swap out the banana, and perhaps use unsweetened almond milk.  Add even more protein by using cows milk. I sprinkled one square of grated white chocolate over the top.

ChocolatePudding2

High Protein Chocolate Pudding

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Chocolate Pudding
Cuisine Desserts
Servings 1
Calories 328 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 150 ml Coconut Milk Alternative I use Alpro.
  • 40 g My Protein Natural Chocolate Whey.
  • 100 g Banana.
  • 15 g Coconut Flour

Instructions
 

  • Add all the ingredients to your blender or Nutribullet. This makes enough for one person. Blend until completely smooth.

  • Pop your pudding into a glass/dish and put it in the fridge for an hour, preferably longer. I put mine into the freezer for a couple of hours if I can.

High Protein Chocolate Pudding

 

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Soupmaker Recipe: Sweet Spud and Chilli Tomato

This is a veritable taste bud smacking flavour.  You must like the sweetness of sweet potato, and the chilli flavour that tempers it.  If you just want a very sweet soup, simply leave out the chilli, or add some cream to make it even richer, but I suspect that would be too much for me.

Sweet Potato and Chilli 1000

Sweet Spud and Chilli Tomato

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Soup Maker Recipe
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 450 g Sweet Potato peeled and cubed.
  • 2 x 400g Tins Chopped Tomatoes
  • 200 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
  • 2 x Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 1 Chilli seed removed, chopped finely.
  • Water.
  • Salt and Pepper to taste.

Instructions
 

  • I used zero onions, as I wanted the sweet chlli type flavour from my soup.

  • Add all your ingredients to the soupmaker.

  • Top up with water, to above the minimum and below the maximum levels.

  • Crumble the stock cubes over the top, and mix well with a wooden spoon.

  • Make sure your lid in on properly.

  • Choose the smooth setting. I put this through my soupmaker twice. I did one cycle, then gave the soup a good stir before putting it on again. You can judge it by the results you get on your own version. I found it quite thick. I'd even be tempted to leave out one tin of chopped tomatoes in future, and add it for a second chunky setting for a more lumpy style soup, but I don't yet know if that would take my ingredients below the minimum line. I'll have to try it.

 

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Race For Life 2016 and Me

In my eyes, the goal  of Race for Life, is to bring women together and raise sponsorship online.  I don’t have a big circle of real life friends, but you know what, every little thing I can do to help, is a step closer to someone in the future being cancer free.  I don’t have anyone to run/walk with, and I can’t persuade anyone in real life to come with me yet.  Doing anything in public still fills me with a sense of dread, yet, I’ve agreed to run our local 10k, with the kind support of CRUK.

Ladies, if I can do it alone, so can you.  What do we have to lose?  There’s an option for a 5k if you think 10k is too far, and personally, I will be likely to walk as much of the 10K as I run, possibly more, but it’s a little over 6 miles, and I know I can walk that.  5k is only just a little over 3 miles, and with a little walking training from now till then, almost all of us could do it. It really is time to ‘lace up our trainers.’  It’s handy that my trainers have some pink in them….  I suspect I’ll have new ones by then.

Run Trainers

Yes, I can run around 8k, slowly, on a treadmill, at a push, with no wind or hills – but outside, I’m lucky if I can manage half a mile without thinking I’m going to keel over.

I’m Diabetic, I have Fibromyalgia, Costocondritis, feet trouble, and often suffer with back pain too.  Any sort of exercise is a huge challenge for me, but sitting on my backside doing nothing, isn’t an option if I’m to be healthy into my fifties, sixties and more.

For my local event 10k, the questions I wanted answered are given here.  You can find out what your own venue will have by checking the event pages.

Aberdeen 10k Facilities

  • Toilets
  • Refreshments
  • Parking available
  • Suitable for dogs
  • Suitable for pushchairs
  • This event is suitable for wheelchair users with assistance

The Course

The Aberdeen route will take you along the beautiful Beach Esplanade, taking in the amazing view of Aberdeen beach. The double lapped course is completely flat and the terrain consists of tarred roadways, with the exception of the finish straight which is a grassed area.

Meeting Point

The meeting point is within the main grass area of the event site next to Linx Ice arena. Please arrive one hour before the start time of your race.

The Training

Yes, I’m going to have to do some training, most outside.  I can walk the distance easily, but running as much as I can will be difficult, especially if I have a Fibro or Costo flare up on the day.  I’ve accepted that if it does happen, I’ll be walking it all, as no matter how much I want to run on those days, actually getting two feet off the ground makes an attack last for longer than it needs to.  Just the walk on a day like that, is a huge accomplishment.

I’ve downloaded the Race for Life App, and also the 10KIQPLAN.  There’s around 9 weeks to get moving.

Race for Life have a training plan on their website, for beginners and for intermediate runners.  I’m going to try a bit of both, to help me run outside a little.

What to Wear

I have a pink t-shirt that will do the job wonderfully, but I’ve bought the official race for life cap, as I don’t want to risk getting sun on my face.  I burn too easily to take that chance.  I also splashed out on the lightweight rain jacket, and the little wrist wallet for money and my car key.   Apart from that, I’ll have on my trainers and a pair of running trousers.  I don’t do skin tight leggings.   Maybe one day, but not yet.

Raceforlife

I’ll be blogging my training, so if you think you’re alone in trying to do this, you can keep me company.

Other Ways to Help

If you can’t walk or run, or you’re a male, there are other ways to help, offline and online, including a Bakesale, Volunteering, Quiz Nights, or even getting your kids and their schools involved.  You don’t have to run on the day to raise money for a good cause.  Personally, I’ll open a Just Giving account and hope I can raise something to help out.  I might not raise a lot, but if I don’t try, it’ll never happen.

Find out More

With Cancer Research UK, and Tesco as their partner, a huge following, that includes thousands of women and young children has been successful across the UK.

They say:

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is a series of women-only events raising money for research into all 200 types of cancer.

This years campaign has kicked off in earnest, with around 300 events, up and down our little land.

Did you know, that every couple of minutes, someone, somewhere in the UK, is diagnosed with cancer.  I don’t think there can be many of us who have not been touched by cancer at some point in our lives.  Personally, my mother is a breast cancer survivor, and my mother in law fought a brave battle with cancer before she died.  My own experience has been limited to rogue cervical cells which were treated when I as in my twenties.  I am ever thankful of the research done in the past, to allow me to stop those developing into potential cancer cells.

Race for Life events raise money to find new says to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.   There is no Government funding, so it’s all down to us, the people who live with cancer and it’s affects on families.

The success of race for life seems to be stemmed from largely being women, who can walk, jog, run, or amble around the courses, all with the single goal of finishing the distance, and bringing some much needed support for research.  If you want to find out more about how the money is used, check it out here.

Events that might be close enough for you to attend, include.

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Review: Skinfix Soothing Wash and Hand Repair Cream

Every so often, I get offered a non typical product to review, and I was happy to try out the Skinfix products, as dry skin is something I have always suffered from.  I keep my skin, both on my hands and my face, well moisturised, as I think it’s important to, as we age.

Skinfix is a North American skincare brand, and they recently launched, exclusively in Boots.   What attracted me to agreeing to try it, was that it is suitable for newborns and young children, as it’s steroid free, and all natural.  If it’s good for babies, then it’s good for all of us.

Skinfix Hand Repair CreamMainly growing in popularity in the US, the dry skin hand cream has become a bit of a Cult Product, but without the high price tag that some premium brands expect.  I read the hype, but nothing beats trying things out for yourself.

I’ve been using my Hand Repair Cream for a couple of months now, and have loved it.  Smooth and with good coverage, it’s very good at hydrating my dry skin.  I’d have no qualms about using this on my face, and I have done.

It’s recommended uses also include skin problems such as sunburn, eczema and dry/damaged skin.  I particularly like how it also has shea butter, vitamin e and sweet almond oil.

The Soothing Wash, is for dry/sensitive skin, but my kids have also been using it, so it seems to be suitable for all.  With colloidal oatmeal, vitamin e and jojoba oil, it’s a good mix of ingredients.  Non irritating and sulphate free, is always a good thing to me.

Skinfix Soothing WashThe Skinfix Range at Boots, comprises the following:

  • Soothing Wash
  • Hand Repair Cream
  • Soothing Lotion
  • Soothing Eczema Balm

The Eczema Balm, which I haven’t tried yet, seems to be quite popular as a lip balm.  Perhaps I’ll give that a go, over the coming winter.

Promotional Images from Skinfix below.

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New E-Book – Soup Maker Recipes: 30 MORE Tasty Recipes

In this new e-book, Soup Maker Recipes there are 30 More tasty recipes, each one of which, has a fabulous picture to let you see how my versions turned out.  I’d like to thank everyone who supported me with my first book, and those who were kind enough to leave reviews for me.  My books are not available in print format, but if I can work out the formatting, I might eventually manage to do that.

You can buy this book on Amazon, along with my first e-book.  Book 1 is Red and Book 2 is Green.

Buy from Amazon – Kindle App Reading

You can read it by downloading the Kindle app for your devices, or by viewing online in the Amazon viewer.  Click the “shop now” buttons in the Amazon widget to take you to the books.  The recipes include lots of new ones that are not published anywhere else, although I will share one or two on my blogs over the coming months:

 

See some of the pictures, and which soups and smoothies are included below.

Soups  

  • Asparagus and Spring Onion Soup
  • Aubergine and Butter Bean Soup
  • Avocado and Leek Soup
  • Black Eye Beans with Star Anise Soup
  • Broccoli and Stilton Soup
  • Cabbage Patch Soup
  • Carrot and Butter Bean Soup
  • Celeriac Soup
  • Curried Parsnip and Spring Onion Soup
  • Haggis and Sweet Potato Soup
  • (Vegetarian) Haggis Soup
  • Onion and Cannellini Beans, with Red Rice Soup
  • Parsnip, Celery and Sweet Potato, with Avocado
  • Root Vegetable with Mushroom Soup
  • (Spicy) Quinoa and Tofu with Smoked Sausage Soup
  • Scottish Mum Special Soup
  • Soya Bean and Onion Soup with Cardamom Soup
  • Sun Dried Tomato and Potato Soup
  • Sweet Potato Broth Soup
  • Sweet Potato, Carrot and Red Onion Soup
  • Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Three Bean Chicken in Red Wine Soup
  • Three Pepper and Pepperoni Soup
  • Vegetable and Lentil Soup
  • White Borscht Soup
  • Yellow Pea Soup

Cold/Chilled Soups

  • Melon with Spring Taste Buds Soup

Smoothies

  • Banana and Cherry Sorbet Smoothie
  • Summer Fruit Blast Smoothie
  • Iced Banana Latte

 

 

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You’re Never Too Old to Play on a Swing

Ok, I gave it a go, and decided outdoors running in any of my current shoes is a no go.  I only made three-quarters of a mile and my feet were killing me today.   It doesn’t help that I bruised my arches on the daft shoes with too much support yesterday, which I only felt when I’d done my 5k.

Perhaps I’ll always be a treadmill runner, but kids were bored, and nobody had to go anywhere,  so we went out for a wee jog.

In the end, we eventually went to the park, before hitting Maccy D’s.

I have to admit, that I’ll never be too old to play on swings.  I was too heavy for a while, but now I’m a more normal size, it was fun to climb the chutes and swing away like I used to do.  Who cares if I got funny looks.  I also love how my boys, even though they’re all early teens, still wanted to go play.  I bet they wouldn’t admit that in front of their friends!!!!

We had a lovely evening, and it was worth getting off our bums, cold or not.

Playpark3

My 13 year old took these on his phone, so forgive the poor quality, but I’ve spent so long – not doing things like this, that I couldn’t resist sharing on my blog.  Fitness has to become a much bigger part of my life, and hiding away has to stop.

Playpark1

The next time you go to the park, give it a go.  You never know, you might just enjoy yourself…

Playpark2

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Running on Empty – What I’ve Learned from beginning to Run

collaborative post

Run Watch

I did my first 10K yesterday. It was on the treadmill, and it took me forever, and I also had to walk a bit of it, but I ran solid for 90 minutes before I had to walk for a little bit, then I ran to the end.

Yes, I’m slow. It’s more of a jog than a run at my speed, but I’ve got two feet off the ground for a long spell of time. Maybe I’ll speed up, and maybe I’ll always be slow, but at my age, I’m just amazed that my body is coping with all of this.

Less than a year ago, I found myself out of breath climbing two flights of stairs. That was incredibly devastating as I used to be fit. Not 10K running fit, but I could have walked for hours on end at a speedy pace. Having a young dog helped then. Over the years, diabetes and the under active thyroid, along with my fibro which affected my feet and plantar fascitis in both of them as well, I ended up as a bit of a wreck.

I was heading towards a big birthday, and all I could see was that my life was headed towards a spiral of weight, being sick, tired and unfit. I struggled to stay awake after eating anything, but the diabetes was a bit out of control and my blood sugars were high. Once I added thyroxine, I seemed to find the energy I’d been lacking for a long time.

I started walking to get my blood sugar down and one day, on a whim, I started the couch to 5K routine. It was a killer. I barely made the first day of running for one minute at a time, interspersed with bouts of walking.

I now know that slowing to a walk is ok. If it needs to be done, there’s no shame in it. Several times, I almost gave up. Especially on the longer runs of 20 minutes plus. It seems incredible to me, that now, I think of 30 minutes of constant running as an easy run. This is me talking. 30 minutes of running is easy – well apart from the first few minutes, which are always a killer, until I find my running legs and my calf muscles settle down to a rhythm.

Yesterday, I did my usual three or four weekly 5K. Then I decided to go for 6.4k, to make it a 4 mile run. At 6.4k, I still felt strong, so kept going until around 8k, where I had to take a bit of a breather for a few minutes, then I picked the pace back up, now determined to hit the 10k mark. Possibly stupid to go straight from 5k to a 10k, but that’s an exercise high for you. I ran the last 1.5k very slowly, slower than my starting off pace, but I did eventually hit the 10k, and slowed to a walk to cool down.

My back hurt….. My feet hurt….. But I did it…..

What I’ve Learned Over The Last Few Months of Running… My Tips for New Runners – those even newer than me, and I’m still new.

It’s ok to be slow.

Never compare myself to anyone else.  Other people don’t have my health issues, and what’s tough for me, could be easy for someone else.  If you sail past me while I jog on, then just give me a smile as I end up eating your dust.

Weight loss can slow up when you start running.

I’ve heard of other people who’ve lost a pile of weight when they start to run.  I’m told that some weight is fluid retention to repair the muscles that are stressed in some new runners.  I have metabolism issues, and for me, weight loss has slowed to a snail’s pace.  I am growing muscle in my legs, and although I fit into smaller clothes, my weight is not reducing at a rate to reflect that, but it’s ok to be heavier at a smaller size clothes.  It will sort itself out over time, as long as I stay in a calorie deficit.

Other runners can be as*es…

Most other runners are encouraging, helpful and understanding.  We can’t all be race winners, or even race finishers.   If we get up off our backsides and try, we are all life winners.  I think of
myself more as a jogger, but everyone seems to refer to running nowadays, and the NHS app says I’m a runner, so run/jog, it’s all getting two feet off the ground.  I’ve heard from other newbies who’ve had their speed dissed by experienced runners.  Honestly, don’t care about it.  We’re not all natural runners.  Sometimes, people who are, don’t understand how much work it is for the rest of us.

Protein is more important than I ever thought.

Learning to run while you’re in a calorie deficit isn’t simple.  When I started upping my time running, I was finding recovery tricky.  I felt fine after the run, but quickly crashed.  Some days, I needed two days rest between a run.  After a bit of reading, I realised that I was nowhere near meeting my daily protein needs.

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I needed to find a way to get more protein at lower calories, and got sick of things like eggs, so started looking at protein shakes.  I finally settled on myprotein, as it has 20g of protein in 25g of powder, which suits me fine and didn’t break the bank.

A recovery drink stops me wanting to go to sleep after a long run.

I’ve found my holy grail of recovery drinks.  Here’s my recipe for it.

  • 50g Frozen Raspberries
  • 50g Banana
  • 20g Myprotein Powder
  • 200ml Skimmed Milk

I blitz this in my Nutribullet for a few seconds, and I’m ready to go.  Sometimes, I replace some of the raspberries with frozen Mango or Strawberries.  I always use frozen fruit for this part, as I like the consistency and it’s easy to always have fruit in the freezer, ready to go.

It has around 220 Calories, with 25g Protein.

Running shoes are a must.

I’ve struggled with my feet throughout this process.  I tried cushioning, but those didn’t support my arches enough, although I’m told I’m a neutral runner.  Perhaps it was the plantar, but the neutral cushioned ones I had caused me problems with the ball of my feet and feeling my tendon move inside my arch.  At the moment, I’m back to my old Nike support ones, but I need more cushioning on the forefoot, so I have a new pair on order.  I don’t overpronate, so I don’t need high stability shoes, but I do need some support.

Doing some research into what shoes you need is very important.  Much more than I realised at the beginning of all this.  The right shoes help keep injury rates down.  My current Nike’s are fine for 5k, but I need more cushioning for longer distances.

Run Trainers

Don’t run in cotton joggers!

Honestly, really don’t, unless you’re in the early stages of the C25K.  I skint my knees with mine on a 5k.  I’ve got some silky trackie bums that slide over skin now, from Asda, and some others on order to try.

Enjoy it.

As hard as this sounds, it’s important to realise that exercise should be fun – eventually.  I really hated the first weeks, and I still dislike the first 5-10 minutes of a run, but once I’m past that, I now begin to enjoy it.  Who’d have thought I’d ever enjoy this…..

Music is Key.

I can speed up to some tracks, and others slow me down.  I’m making a playlist of the songs that help me to go a bit faster and keep my motivation high.  At around 7k yesterday, I got a little emotional, and almost cried.  Not from pain, but because the song lifted me and I felt invincible doing what I was doing.  I hope to keep doing this as long as I can, as I feel amazing after a run.

I don’t always enjoy every minute of a run, and some parts are difficult, but without the right music, I can’t cope.  I tried using the treadmill and watching the news, but found that too boring.  If my music is loud enough to stop me hearing my feet hit the ground, I’m happier.  When I can hear each step, it puts me right off and I almost crumble.  As well as that, some runs are just rubbish, especially if I’m not feeling 100%.

Your Nose may RUN, RUN, RUN

This did my head in to start with.  Whenever I run, my nose feels left out and decides to join in, especially if it’s cold or slightly windy.  I carry some tissues and a few antibacterial wipes in my pocket or my waist bag, as there’s nothing worse than a runny nose.

Running Outside is Tougher for me.

I do most of my running on a treadmill as I was lucky enough to get a great deal after Xmas.  Without it, I doubt I’d be running so far at a time.  Outside, my feet hurt much sooner, as the treadmill is much more forgiving on them.  I’d go outside more if I could face being seen, but I’m not there yet.  I have my treadmill facing a window, so I can see outside and just put on my music.  I started off without the treadmill though, and I’d have kept going without it, although I suspect my progress would have been much slower.

If you decide to go for it, the best of luck, and let me know how you get on.

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Soup Maker Recipe: Asparagus Tips with Aubergine

Asparagus Tips and Aubergine 2000 Bright

I haven’t added a soup maker recipe to this blog for a while, so it’s long overdue.

I didn’t sauté any of the ingredients on this soup, but if you prefer that, give the onion a quick fry with some butter or rapeseed oil.

I find that olive oil reaches smoke point too quickly for me to use in my soup maker on the sauté function.

Soup Maker Recipe: Asparagus Tips with Aubergine

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup Maker
Cuisine Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g Asparagus Tips chopped.
  • 130 g Aubergine peeled and chopped.
  • 200 g Red Potatoes peeled and chopped.
  • 100 grams onion chopped.
  • 2 Knorr Chicken or Vegetable Stock Cubes.
  • 40 g Sundried Tomato Paste
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper.

Instructions
 

  • Work quickly with Aubergine as it discolours fast.

  • I just added all the ingredients to my soupmaker.

  • Fill the soupmaker to the maximum level with water, making sure it fills above your minimum and below your maximum level.

  • Ensure the lid is on properly.

  • Choose the smooth setting for your soup. If you make it in a pot, simply cook the soup and use a blender to smooth.

 

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Cookery Books in the Post

Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples 

Any book that can encourage our kids to eat more healthily has to be a good thing.  That goes for adults too, if I’m honest.  I think a very large proportion of the population doesn’t eat enough fruit and veg.

Eat Your Greens Reds Yellows Purples

In this book, there are more than enough recipes to get started with, and includes lots of lovely and bright images of foods and their descriptions. We get to meet the fruit and veg within each colour, and there are lots of little tips, more than suitably tailored towards our younger cooks, with handy safety rules and a guide to the equipment needed for the recipes.

You can soon be cooking tasty, healthy meals with this recipe book.  Alongside nutrition facts, there are 25 simple vegetarian recipes for children to cook at home, including soups, salads and stir fries, as well as sweet delights, such as muffins, cheesecake and cupcakes.  The focus of the book is on earning to cook with our greens, reds, yellows and purples.

Eat Your Greens Reds Yellows Purples 2

You can find out how carrots help your vision, and why peppers boost your immune system, while learning how to use different fruits and vegetables, and using different cooking methods.

For reds, recipes include tomato, pepper and cherries, with the purples, like aubergine, blueberry and raisins being quite neat.

Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples is published by DK on 1 April 2016, £9.99. DK.com
Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples is published by DK on 1 April 2016, £9.99. DK.com

My personal favourite is always going to be the oranges, with carrot, butternut squash and pumpkin featuring, much to my approval.

There are some lovely recipes, including:

  • Green Bean Stirfry
  • Green Smoothie
  • Tomato and Onion Tarts
  • Layered Berry Cheesecakes
  • Sunshine Rice
  • Carrot and Orange Treats

The carrot and orange treats will go down nicely with my boys, and the green smoothie for me.  Thanks for the permission to post the smoothie recipe.

Green Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 small or 1/2 large banana
  • 75g (2oz) green grapes
  • 60g (2oz) baby spinach
  • 150ml (5fl oz) milk (use almond milk if preferred)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp almond or peanut butter
  • handful of ice cubes

Method

  1. Peel the banana and break it into chunks.  Put into a blender along with the grapes.
  2. Add the spinach, milk, honey, nut butter, and a handful of ice cubes to the blender.
  3. Blend the mixture until smooth.  If it’s too thick or not chilled enough, just add a few cubes of ice and blend again.

We’re told that spinach is rich in vitamins, which helps keep our blood healthy, and we can adapt the recipe to get a different flavour, by adding a large pinch of ground cinnamon or even a few fresh mint leaves.

In summary:

I love the light and bright pictures, with the great tips throughout the book.  This would make a lovely present for kids who already have everything.

Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples is published by DK on 1 April 2016, £9.99. DK.com