Author: Scottish Mum

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To Breakfast or Not!

Now here’s a thing.  My time has been all up in the air recently, and the first thing that always suffers in my life is that thing called “breakfast.”  It’s that alien word that has spent most of my life being sent to Coventry, as it’s one thing I’ve very rarely had time for in my life.  For the past couple of years, I’ve tried to add some sort of brekkie in the morning, but true to type, as things get more busy, breakfast for me, goes out the window.

Now I hear from all sorts of people that breakfast is a must, it’s a metabolism kick-starter, or it stops us being hungry, which by the way, is one of the most silly things I’ve heard.  For one, eating breakfast actually makes me hungry later in the day, but no breakfast = no hunger at all for me.  Do I want food, yes, but am I hungry – no.

I now also know the difference between hunger and wanting to eat now.  That has been alien to me my whole life.  I’ve gone day, and I mean days, at some points in my life, eating only an apple or two a day, but didn’t actually experience hunger as such.  Some food cravings yes, but no physical discomfort.  For me, it was all a mental thing.

Perhaps my metabolism has been out of whack my whole life, and yes, I can lose weight now my diabetes and badly behaved thyroid are behaving themselves, but sometimes, I do actually feel some discomfort when my body needs food nowadays. Note that I didn’t say “wants food,” but rather “needs food.”

The fact I now know what this feels like, and have never, ever felt it before, tells me that my thyroid has probably not worked properly, for the whole of my adult life.

This being said, I only feel that kind of hunger in a day, where I’ve kickstarted eating already.  If I haven’t eaten, the discomfort of needing food just doesn’t come quickly at all, but if I eat a bite or two, a couple of hours later, I need some food.

I’ve come to my own conclusions over the last couple of years.

Not Eating Breakfast Doesn’t Stop Weight Loss

To all those naysayers, who are adamant that breakfast is the holy grail of weight loss, with a calorie deficit, you are most certainly completely wrong.  Timing of food isn’t that important in my view, as long as we eat balanced meals throughout the day.  I’m sure my body doesn’t care if its first meal is 7am, 10am or lunchtime?  I prefer to begin my eating day from at least 10am, and lunchtime onwards if possible.  I eat fewer calories over a day that way.

It’s all about doing what works for us.  For some of you, breakfast could be the biggest meal of your day, and you eat little in the evenings.  I like to do things the other way around.  I eat little during the day, and most of my calories are consumed from evening meal onwards.

I’m not hungry in the morning, so I don’t want to eat when I don’t need to.  I do, however, finally know, at my age, what people mean when they say the world is only three meals away from anarchy, ie empty bellies for the masses will cause devastation for the world.  I really didn’t know what that type of hunger felt like for my first few decades of life.

Arguments For Breakfast

Kick-start the day, and get in vitamins and minerals.

I can’t argue with this one.   Eating can kick-start the day, and it does give us vitamins and minerals for the day.  I just prefer to have them later 🙂

Stops mid morning snacking.

Um, not if you’re anything like me.  I eat breakfast, and a couple of hours later, I’m ravenous.  I eat more calories in a day when I eat breakfast.

Cereal is a good breakfast.

Have we all actually read the sides of cereal packets?  Honestly, I think a chocolate bar would be healthier than some cereal brands.  It pays to read the nutritional labels to know what you’re getting, or what your kids are eating.  Many are full of sugar and have very little fibre.   Take a look at Ricicles and Frosties, or Coco Pops and decide for yourselves.  It’s easy to get the kids to eat them, but I doubt they should be a daily thing for anyone.

Bacon and Eggs are a good breakfast.

Once upon a time, I’d have said I disagree with this, but in comparison to cereal, then yes, it’s a great breakfast when bacon is grilled and eggs are poached.

To Breakfast or Not?

As much as the people who’ve tried to convince me over the years are concerned, I’m still ignoring most of you,  unless I’m going for a run, or need to concentrate for a long period of time, where I’ll have something to eat earlier than usual.  What we eat in a day has more effect that the time we eat it, so sorry to all of those who keep pressing breakfast on me, as it’s just never going to be a 365 days of the year thing.

And just in case you do like breakfast, here’s a recipe for Mango Frozen Yoghurt.

 

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Where I’ve Been – Hospital and Dementia

Apologies to everyone who expects regular posts from me.  It’s been a bit of a whirlwind week or two, starting with my mother falling and breaking her hip.  As a hospital patient, she hasn’t had the best time, and I find how they’re treated quite cruel, but I’m just the person who looks after her 24/7, and I suspect they think I’m being a bit of a pest now, but I can’t just watch her so miserable.

She coped with the wait to go to hospital pretty well, and the operation also went well, with her smiling broadly at the offer of a piece of chocolate once she was out of recovery.  It went downhill from there.

Her blood sugar began to rise and rise.  They use finger prickers for great big burly blokes with calloused hands on everyone, and all her fingers are black and blue.  They even used her index fingers, which is a big no no, as they are so sensitive.  My brother fell out with them one day, and the next day, they transferred her to the rehabilitation ward.  That went as badly as everything else was going.  She was hallucinating, delirious, hadn’t eaten for nearly 4 days, and had no clue what was going on.  The dementia along with the operation knocked her for six.

She was dropped off in the rehab ward in the afternoon, and when I got there at 7pm, there she was, miserable, hallucinagenic, in a chair that there is no way to rest her head on.  Absolutely shit done. Apologies for swearing, but hospital have given me a lot of reasons to swear this last week.  I cleared her suitcase from the bed, where it was still sitting from when she’d arrived.  She hadn’t been helped to eat, despite not being able to see at that point, as well as hallucinating, and nobody noticed.

This was her a few years ago.  She’s a shadow of her former self now, having lost a lot of weight in the last week.

My brother was called up for her not having any clothes, but because she was in that chair, I’d popped her clothes into a drawer, as she was blocking the wardrobe, just to clear space so she could lie down for a while.  They didn’t bother to check there.  Then they popped her on a toilet and left her alone for 20 minutes, while he paced outside the ward and they eventually went back.  If he hadn’t been there checking his watch, I suspect she’d have been there for longer.

I thought that once we’d pointed out she couldn’t see, that she’d have an easier time.  I was kidding myself.  Daily, she’s been plonked in that cruel chair, made to sit there for hours, bolt upright, with nothing to do, and by the time they try and do physiotherapy with her, she’s exhausted and in no way able to cope..  Every time I go in, she’s done.  Heavy eyes, miserable, exhausted, ill, vomiting and more, yet there she is, sitting miserably in that chair, not understanding why she’s there, or why everyone is being so horrible to her and making her sit upright for so many hours at a time.

We had to go in twice a day to make sure she had something to eat and drink.  By day 5, she became very aggressive, and despite me telling them there was something wrong with her blood sugar, it took a week for them to realise she’d been on the wrong insulin since she came in.  Misprescribed.

It took another day for them to watch her try to eat, which isn’t easy when you suddenly can’t see, and they finally agreed to feed her.   She’d kept knocking over all her water and food you see, and probably was annoying when she did that, but she was having to feel for things, and the dementia meant she couldn’t tell them what was wrong.  She’ll never be able to tell them what’s wrong.

Today, I went in to help with physio, and I felt like crying for her when I went in.  There she was, head bobbing on that awful chair, obviously after sitting there for hours on end, not moving at all.  I got two steps from her when she started to heave.  A bowl full of bile later, at 11.30 am, eyes hooded and miserable, I asked them to put her to bed.  They didn’t want to.  Lunch was coming soon.  Really, lunch, after her just vomiting……

Then they told me that if I wanted her put to bed, they wouldn’t feed her, as they didn’t agree with eating in bed, even with the back straight up.  I told the male nurse that she was miserable, and just to look at her.  He said she looked fine to him.  Honestly, if that is fine, I’d hate to see how close to death someone has to be, to look ill.  I told him what they were doing to her was cruel.  She doesn’t sit up for 15 hours a day, in a straight back chair that forces her head forward at home, so why should she be made to do that in hospital.  It’s not as if sitting in that chair is helping her to be mobile, as she’s not moving when she’s in it, at all.  She gets far  more movement having repeated stints of up and down from bed to chair, so she can rest in between.  I suspect it’s got more to do with not having to change the bed when she wets it.

Ten minutes after putting her to bed, she needed the toilet.  I told the lady at reception, and got told that dinner had started and she’d have to wait thirty minutes.  Really?  Thirty minutes for a sick woman, recovering from a broken hip op, vomiting every day regularly, eating hardly anything, massively suffering from dementia, still hallucinating and still struggling to control her hands.  No way can she listen to having to wait.  Disgusted, I told them to enjoy the wet bed in thirty minutes and went back to her.   Tears were flowing down her face when I told her they’d have to get the machine again.  They came a few minutes later.

True to their word, they didn’t come to feed her at 12, so I did it, even though she still felt nauseous, then I cleaned her filthy nails, shaved her chin, and brushed her teeth and tongue, which were disgusting.  A rehab ward is no place for a sick woman, that’s for sure.  If they let her relax in the morning after she gets dressed, she’d be in a better place to do rehab, then rest again, but that blasted chair needs to be scrapped from use for actual sick patients.  It’s damned cruelty what they do.  She’s still not seeing, and I had to really press it with the doctor as her sight was pretty good the day before she went there, and now it’s pretty bad.  They’ve messed with her anti-depressants and she’s heading downhill, and there’s no need for that to happen at all.

They simply don’t have the time for her.   She doesn’t make any fuss.  She can’t physically make any fuss.  I’m pestering them to take her to the toilet, my brother has fallen out with a couple of the staff now, and she’s the only one in her ward who is immobile.  The rest are all physically able and can make their needs known.  She can’t.

I’m absolutely disgusted with that chair more than anything else.  Far more than the days they ignored her hallucinations and inability to see.

So there you have it.  This week, on top of the kids, work, and having to go to hospital to check she’s had a rest, my time has been swallowed up, and then some.  Hopefully service will resume as normal in a little while.  I just wish she’d become a bit more vocal and be able to press that buzzer for help, but it’s never going to happen.

To end with, don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely people there, but they have a schedule to stick to, and she’s not fitting into it.  She’s lived with me for so long, it’s like having my child in hospital, so yes, I’m becoming annoying to them, but I had a fabulous mum, and she deserves someone fighting in her corner to make her as comfortable as possible while she’s going through tough patches.  I suspect I could get her on her feet again if she was properly rested before physio started, but they’re not prepared to do that.   That torture chair must be on their tick tick list.  I don’t know how this will end, but based on hospital care, it’s harder going for her than it should be.

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Very High Protein Pork and Pear Stir Fry – Approx 40g Protein Per Serving

I made this in my Instant Pot 7 in 1, but you can make this by using a good old wok or stir fry too, you’d just need to adjust the times you cook the meat for, to ensure it is fully cooked throughout.

Very High Protein Pork and Pear Stir Fry

Lesley Smith
A whole meal in a bowl.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Mains
Cuisine High Protein
Servings 4
Calories 381 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Pork cubed.
  • 50 g Mixed and sliced peppers.
  • 50 g Green Pepper sliced.
  • 75 g Onion chopped.
  • 50 g Wild Mushrooms.
  • 150 g Dr Zak's High Protein Pasta
  • 30 ml Rapeseed Oil.
  • 1 Conference Pear sliced.
  • Dried Parsley.
  • 1 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt.
  • 1 Teaspoon Rainbow Peppercorns.
  • 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce.
  • 1 Tablespoon Chia and Flaxseed Sprinkles.
  • 1 Teaspoon Parsley and Lemon Seasoning.

Instructions
 

  • Add your pork, onions, salt and pepper, parsley and lemon seasoning, along with half of your rapeseed oil to your pot, and switch on the saute function. Stir fry in the pot, until the pork is seared and the onions are soft. Remove from the pot and place in a trivet.

  • Add the remainder of your rapeseed oil to the pan and add the mushrooms, peppers and pear. Stir fry until the peppers are soft, for a minute or two.

  • Put the vegetables into the trivet with the pork and onions, and a cup of water, then pressure cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the pot and leave the stock in the bottom.

  • Add your pasta to the pot, and another cup of water. You want the stock to cover the pasta, but not drown it. Pressure cook for 15 minutes.

  • Drain the stock, or keep it to use for soup another day. Add the pork and vegetable mix to the pot, with the pasta, add in the soy sauce and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

  • Serve with sliced green pepper and a sprinkling of parsley, then chia and flax sprinkles.

Nutritional values are estimates.

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So, Can Burnt Toast Give You Cancer?

This topic smacks right back to earlier days, and the Edwina Currie scaremongering of eggs.  Poor eggs hadn’t done anything wrong, and I was pretty sure that slightly charred food was going to be in the same league….

No point in me just blustering though, as without any evidence, our ‘gut’ feeling isn’t ever going to be enough.  Most of us older people are probably not going to bat much of an eyelid at the claim, but for new mothers, or those with younger children, it probably did cause many of them a right worrying day or two.    And the news since, hasn’t toned it down much either.

And really, how on earth did burnt toast and poor roast potatoes, our Christmas staple, become linked with cancer?

If you read the Guardian, we find out about acrylamide and a 1997 happening in Sweden where cows dropped dead, fish floated lifeless and construction workers became ill.  A subsequent study later showed that the control group also had acrylamide in their systems and that it’s probably present in our environment in some way, despite the chemical being toxic and not found naturally in animals.  The link was eventually found to ‘probably’ be in processed food, more likely in starchy foods like bread and potatoes, cooked at high temperatures.

The Food Standards Agency

Acrylamide is a chemical substance formed by a reaction between amino acids and sugars. It typically occurs when foods with high starch content such as potatoes, root vegetables and bread, are cooked at high temperatures (over 120°C) in a process of frying, roasting or baking.

Acrylamide is not deliberately added to foods, it is a natural by-product of the cooking process and has always been present in our food.

The Food Standards Agency released their Go For Gold campaign.  You can read about it here, from the 27th January.   It aims to minimise harmful levels of acrylamide in our own cooking at home, by:

  1. Aiming for a light colour when frying, baking, toasting or roasting starchy foods.
  2. Checking the pack for cooking instructions and following them.
  3. Eating a balanced diet, with a mix of foods.
  4. Asking us not to keep raw potatoes in the fridge, as they say, keeping potatoes in a fridge can increase acrylamide levels.

Is There A Cancer Risk From Eating Burnt Starchy Foods?

How long is a piece of string?  I have no idea.  Everywhere I have looked, uses the words ‘possible,’ ‘probably,’ or ‘unlikely in daily living.’  Studies are likely to have been carried out at levels far above the consumption of humans, but we don’t know for certain.  Acrylamide could be classed as a possible carcinogen, but then again, so can many other things.

The advice not to burn toast, is likely just a help, to not compound any possible levels inside our bodies already.

Should We Stop Eating High Starchy Foods?

None of us can tell anyone else what they should or shouldn’t eat.  It’s very much a personal choice and we have to look at the potential, then weigh up the risks for ourselves and our families.  For me, that would be daft.  Bread and potatoes are almost a whole food group in our house.

What Do I Think?

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An Alternative to Traditional Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Great for Kids..

And when I say kids, I mean of the big variety too.  My teens like anything wrapped in breadcrumbs or battered, and lets face it, there are times when the easiest option is indeed the best option for us on a day to day basis.  Yes, I make lots of fresh and home cooked meals, but I’m not adverse to also grabbing something from the freezer on a day where I’m rushed, and throwing something hassle free onto an oven tray, to quickly feed the ravenous hordes.

I also have to say, that mashed anything is one of the hardest things I take food photographs of.  Dollops of food just never looks great on a plate, even though it tastes awesome on the way into your belly….

My mother, is very fussy with her food, and for me, looking at a plate of haggis, while traditional, isn’t the most attractive of dishes.  But realistically, that’s not what Burns Night is all about, and that’s the occasion when us Scots celebrate the birthday of the bard, Robert Burns, poet extraordinaire.  If you want to find out more about it, click here.

Mash Direct sent us some samples of their Burns Night Fare, which included traditional Neeps and Tatties (mashed swede and mashed potatoes), and Burns Bites, or a mix of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, coated in a crispy gluten free crumb.

I quite liked how Mash Direct quote Robert Burns, or who I know more as Rabbie Burns, as do many of us up in Scotland.

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftan o’ the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye take your place,
Painch, tripe or thairm;
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.
(From the poem, ‘To a Haggis’ by Robert Burns)

These Burns Bites are cooked in the oven at 180 Degrees for 10-12 minutes, while the neeps and tatties can easily be popped into the microwave, so it’s an easy take on a traditional meal, and very very quick.  I added a little ground peppercorn over the top, actually forgetting for a moment, that haggis can be quite spicy, but it was fine.  I’d recommend churning up the tatties before serving, by mixing in the tray, which softens them up, and of course, neeps and tatties would never taste the same, without a generous blob of butter melting into the top.

The Burns Bites would also do quite well as finger food, with neeps and tatties mixed in with the haggis.  It softens the flavour, so the bites aren’t overpowering, and make them quite easy for little ones to manage.  Three Burns Bites is 181 calories, so that’s a perfect amount for me, who always watches what she eats.  We had ours with that other national drink, Irn-Bru, in place of a good dram.

The Burns Bites are a new product for Mash Direct, and in celebration, they wrapped their John Deere tractor in Tartan.  What a fitting sight….  Burns night is the 25th January this year, and the 258th since Rabbie Burns was born.

Image Courtesy of mashdirect.com

Many of us here, do celebrate, with a Ceilidh, a meal at home, or with friends, and Scottish communities everywhere seem to enjoy the celebration.   With the neeps and tatties, grown on their Farm, Mash Direct decided to bring out a product mixing it all together.

Mash Direct Burns Bites and Neeps & Tatties can be found in Tesco Scotland, Morrison’s Scotland, Nisa Scotland and Independents throughout Scotland.

Find out more at Mash Direct.  Thank you for our samples.

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Single Pot Cheddar Cheeseburger Casserole That Will Blow Your Mind

Guest Recipe by Chidinma of Fruitful Kitchen.

Who doesn’t like burgers?

I think there are very few people out there who truly don’t enjoy one. But today, as I was getting ready to go out and buy a burger, I realised how unhealthy that is. I thought of making my own burger, which isn’t hard, but then I wasn’t in the mood to go and get the ingredients.

In comes the one pot cheeseburger casserole! Sounds weird, right? Well, it’s actually delicious and fairly easy to make. I came across this idea because I already had ground beef, cheese, veggies and pasta…why not make something out of these?

Don’t worry, even if it sounds complicated, making this casserole only requires a few steps, some easy-to-find ingredients, and it can be done in one single pot at a time, just make sure you have a sturdy and big pot.

Let’s get cooking this crazy but yummy take on a cheeseburger!

One Pot Beef Burger Casserole With Cheese

Servings: 6/ Prep time: 10 minutes/ Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lb ground beef
  • 1 diced yellow onion
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 8 oz tomato sauce
  • 2 cups chicken or beef broth
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • ½ tbsp mustard
  • 1lb rotini pasta (or any small pasta such as mini penne, mini fusilli, or conchiglie)
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Step-by-step Directions

  1. Pick a large pot and add olive oil, let it warm over medium heat. While your pot is warming up, chop your onion into small squares.
  2. Place onion and let it cook until golden or transparent. Once it looks cooked enough, add ground beef and increase the heat a little bit.
  3. Let the meat cook until browned, for about 3-5 minutes. Make sure you mix the beef and onions as it cooks, add the minced garlic and mix again. Finally add salt and pepper to meat as it cooks.
  4. When meat looks brown, stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix together for about 1 minute. After, add ketchup, broth, mustard, pasta and water and stir well so everything mixes together.
  5. Cover your pot, turn down the heat to low, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until your pasta looks tender.
  6. Remove from heat and sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Cover again for about 3 minutes, or until your cheese melts sufficiently.
  7. Serve with your favorite toppings, such as lettuce, fresh tomato or even pickles. Enjoy!

Ready to Try This Deconstructed Burger?

I know it seems bizarre at first, but I promise you, once you have tried this casserole, you will be in love. This is the perfect recipe for cold weather, or for a group of friends. Try accompanying it with some baked potatoes, or oven-roasted potatoes if you have a large group of friends coming over to try this dish.

If you are vegetarian, maybe use some mashed chickpeas, or lentils, instead of beef. And if you want gluten free, skip the pasta and use rice pasta, or simply use diced potatoes instead.

When making this recipe, you can add different veggies, I picked these because they are usually the ones that go with burgers, but you can change them up for something more Italian, like olive oils, or something more Mexican, like corn and hot sauce. Give it a try, but always allow your meat to cook first before adding your veggies and sauces.

What do you think? Does this seem like a good, easy recipe to make perhaps this weekend? Let me know what you think and if you have tried it!

Author Bio: Chidinma is the founder of Fruitful Kitchen, a blog that shares delicious recipes and lifestyle tips. Most of her recipes help women with fertility issues, especially fibroids, PCOS, and Endometriosis. Sometimes, however, you will find other interesting recipes, as well as cooking tips and tricks there.

 

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Simple Fruit Pasty Recipe

Have you ever wondered what to do with those leftover bits from tins of fruit?

How about this…

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/ScottishMumBlog/videos/1279362062129739/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

Fruit Pasty

Lesley Smith
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 Large

Ingredients
  

  • Half Tin Apples or 200g
  • 1-2 Pear Halves
  • 2 Peach Halves
  • 320 g Puff Pastry or 1 Puff Pastry Sheet
  • 1 Egg
  • 8 g Almond Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar

Instructions
 

  • Chop your fruit into smaller pieces, after draining as much fluid from them as possible. Sprinkle a tablespoon of coconut sugar on the top, spreading all over the fruit.

  • Roll your sheet out on a chopping board. I used a sheet. Slice into 4 portions.

  • Take each piece and roll it until it is a square.

  • Break an egg into a cup, add a tablespoon of coconut sugar and beat.

  • Mix the fruit and coconut sugar, which is likely to have broken down by now, until all mixed in, then add the almond butter and mix in.

  • Split your fruit into four sections. Put a quarter in the middle of each square, and then fold over, pressing at the edges to seal with your fingers.

  • Take a knife and slice some breathing holes into the top of each pasty.

  • Bake at 220C Oven, 220C Fan, Gas Mark 7, until brown on the top. Our ovens all vary, and for mine, it took around 20 minutes.

 

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Pumpkin, Carrot and Leek Soup

I made this in my pressure cooker, but it could easily be made in a pot.  In a pot, you will have to remember to stir frequently, and add more fluid, should some boil off in the process.

The proportions are too large for a soupmaker, and I had many mouths to feed that day, so my pressure cooker had to stand in, with some of the lovely pumpkin I’d frozen from Halloween and just sitting waiting in the freezer for a new dish.

I was a little wary of how this would turn out, as it’s the first time I’d defrosted pumpkin, and it seemed a little watery, with a mushy consistency.  It wouldn’t have been any use for anything other than soup.

Pumpkin, Carrot and Leek Soup

Lesley Smith
Optional - Before adding the rest of your ingredients, lightly fry your leek with the rapessed oil, then add your pumpkin, carrot, leek and potato to the pot and allow it to shallow fry for a couple of minutes, while adding 3 tablespoons of water.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6 -8 Bowls

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Pumpkin, cubed.
  • 250 g Carrots, sliced.
  • 175 g Leek, sliced.
  • 200 g Potato, cubed.
  • 2 clove Garlic or 1 Garlic Cube
  • 1 ltr s, Water
  • 400 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
  • 4 Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 1 Teaspoon Rapeseed Oil optional
  • Half Red Chilli deseeded and chopped. (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions
 

  • Add all your ingredients to the pot, mix well, and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.

  • Blend with a hand blender.

  • Serve with some chopped chilli or ground peppercorns on top.

 

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Healthy Food for January

I don’t know about all of you, but after Christmas and New Year, one of the things I look forward to is getting my food back under control and being organised in January.  I’m at a point where much more weight loss isn’t really what I’m after as I’d like to recomp, ie add a little muscle but stay roughly within the same weight range, give or take 5 pounds or so.

I don’t want to drop too much more weight, as it will go from my face, instead of where I’d like the last of it to go, ie my belly, but I don’t like looking haggard.  I’ll trade a bit of belly for some flesh on my face.

Hopefully some of the belly will go as I try to decrease body fat in total, but if it means my face gets too thin, I’ll put a couple of pounds back on again.  It’s all about being stronger as I get older, rather than fitting into the smallest size clothes.

So, for the rest of this month, I am back into focussed mode, and that means eating as healthy as I possibly can, while increasing the amount of exercise I do.  Over Christmas, I’ve only done a few runs, and most were on a treadmill.  I don’t mind admitting, that two days ago, my first run outside for a month was punishing.  It took a km for my lungs to settle, and at 4k, the tops of my legs got still although easier to run.  I stopped around the 5k, as I didn’t want to risk getting injured.  I can still pound out 10k+ on the treadmill, but outside is different, especially if there’s some wind.

My internet connection is pretty rubbish at the moment, so I can’t upload the new videos I have sitting waiting, but in the meantime, I’ve added posts that have some of the food I’ll likely be eating. I’m aiming for 1300 calories and 100g protein a day.  As I don’t eat that much meat at the moment, finding protein in lower calorie foods is a challenge, hence my choices below.

My Go To Foods This Month

  • Protein Powder – My choice is MyProtein, due to how easy it is to get and value for money.  Want to get a discount on your first order? Click here to use my referral code and get 25% off your first order if it’s over £25.
  • Protein Bars – Again, I go to MyProtein, and get their High Protein version as it’s nearly 30g protein in each bar.
  • Dried Mango.
  • Medjool Dates.
  • Skyr – Various Flavours.
  • Mixed Berries.
  • Persimmon and Banana.
  • Milk.

My Trusty Filler Recipes

 Cream of Sweet Potato and Tomato Soup                 High Protein Chocolate Pudding

          

Chunky Mediterranean Vegetable Soup                   Veg

          

Broccoli, Sweetcorn & Asparagus Soup                      Frozen Mango Yoghurt

          

 

 

 

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Christmas Sticky Pudding with Chocolate, Coconut, Apple & Cinnamon

This isn’t the version I’ll be using for Christmas Day, as I’ll be using the regular old full fat, toffee sauce version, but I wanted to try something different and see how it turned out, although on Christmas Day, we will have the apple and cinnamon added to the recipe here.

This came about, as I wanted to use something different from butter, and yes, I cheated in some bits for it…….  You’ll see where below.  Even cooled this is going to be very squidgy and lush, and also very coconutty.  Substitute with butter for a more traditional taste.  It could do with that squidgyness for the lack of soaking overnight in toffee sauce.  If you want a toffee sauce, go to my oaty sticky toffee pudding post.  I’ve said serves 6 – 12, as it all depends on your portion sizes. 🙂

Like all sticky puddings, this is much better on the day after it is made, or after it’s fully cooled, when you can re-heat.

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/ScottishMumBlog/videos/1251809644884981/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

Christmas Sticky Pudding with Chocolate, Coconut, Apple and Cinnamon

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert, Puddings
Cuisine Christmas
Servings 6 - 12

Ingredients
  

  • 120 g Chopped Apple
  • 50 g Self Raising Flour
  • 50 g Coconut Sugar
  • 2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 100 g Medjool Dates
  • 100 g Coconut Oil
  • 50 g Oatmeal
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Black Treacle
  • 50 g Cream
  • 50 g Chopped Nuts
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
  • 1 Tin Chocolate Middle and Covering
  • Red Food Colouring

Instructions
 

  • Chop the dates into small pieces. Put them into a bowl and pour over a little boiling water and set them aside. Leave them to soak in until everything else is done or whizz them in a processor.

  • Put your oven on, to around 170C/160C (Fan).

  • In a mixing bowl, add your flour, oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda, apple, cinnamon, nuts and sugar, and stir it around. Melt your coconut oil, so that it’s easy to mix in, and add it, along with your beaten egg, and black treacle. Mix by hand, or use a low setting on a mixer, to ensure the mix isn’t handled too roughly. When the pudding mix looks slightly curdled, add in the cream and black treacle, and fold it in by hand. Don’t worry about the texture. At this point, it might resemble batter more than pudding mix. Just remember, that it isn’t a cake mix and doesn’t need lots of air added. Using a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl is a good idea.

  • Add your whizzed dates, or mash the dates into the water, then pour it all into the bowl. Fold fold in by hand.

  • Grease your baking tins and pour the mixture in. I used two moulds initially, but transferred them into one for the oven.

  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pudding is cooked, and a skewer comes out clean.

  • I cheated by putting mine into a basin of cold water to cool mine quickly as the hordes were desperate to eat it, so mine came out mashed up a bit. Leave yours to cool fully, and it will co-operate much more nicely.

  • Add toppings and serve. I didn't make toffee sauce for this version, but cheated with a tin of chocolate Nestle, which I heated up before pouring on.

With the red food colouring added, it became a very very dark coloured pudding.

Drizzled with cream and raspberry sauce.  [fb_button]

 

 

 

 

 

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Skavi & Ray Alkoholfrei Prosecco and Lush Bahlsen Christmas Goodies

Thanks to Scavi & Ray, and also to Bahlsen for our Christmas samples.

Scavi & Ray Alcohol Free Prosecco

I have to say, that I haven’t understood the Prosecco thing.  I’m pretty much teetotal, but not through deliberate or sustained choice.  I’ve had times in my life when I’ve drunk alcohol, it’s just that it hasn’t been that often, and I rarely ever found a drink I actually enjoyed.

Wine for me, is a bit hit or miss.  I rarely drink it in company, as it tends to be either very dry, or to me, pretty bitter.  I’m usually a cheap fizzy wine girl when I choose to imbibe, as I have absolutely zero alcohol class, and because it’s rarely on offer, I usually say no.  I’d been quite negative around the Prosecco culture, but I hadn’t ever really tasted it, nor had I understood why it’s talked about so much.

Scavi & Ray asked me to try the Alcohol free version, so I gave it a go.  I also have to say, I’ve never understood the put the kids to bed and have a glass of wine thing that goes on in blogging circles. I’d rather have chocolate……  Perhaps it’s just the younger ones, but hey ho.  The times I do miss having a drink in my hand, is at the Christmas dinner table, or at New Year.  I usually end up having to drive, so it’s often fizzy grape juice, but you know how it goes, there’s often someone, who’s usually had a drink or two, and they’re trying to push ‘just one,’ glass on you.  It annoys me that they push, and it annoys them that I don’t take.

The bottles really do look like a real bottle of wine.  I received two sample bottles, in a perfect size, and immediately – my Xmas and New Year problem is solved on the fooling those who are drinking into my actually taking one.  Unless they scrutinise the bottles very carefully, they’re not going to know.

Tasting some of my wine, I realised it’s a sparkling wine, and is refreshing, almost as sweet as grape juice but it looks like the real stuff.  I have no idea if this tastes like the alcoholic version of Prosecco, as I’ve never tried it, but if it does, I understand why it’s popular.  I have also realised the attraction…..and it’s that many people who drank wine, used to pretend they like the other stuff…….   This non-alcoholic Prosecco is fizzy wine, and doesn’t have a name that’s frowned upon.  It’s also very easy to drink…

I don’t think I’d be persuaded to go down the alcohol version route, as I don’t fancy a hangover with my daily routine.  There are no days off when you have 2 people with disabilities in your house, and you need to be able to get up during the night when the need arises.  Available from Amazon.

Bahlsen Christmas Goodies

This type of Christmas food, is something else I hadn’t ever tried, so is the main reason for choosing to feature these on my blog.

Our samples were:

  • Lebkuchen Mischung – An assortment of spiced lebkuchen cakes with chocolate.
  • Mohn-Stollen – A Christmas stollen with a poppy seed filling.
  • Zimtsterne – Star shaped cinnamon spiced, hazlenut cakes.

My favourite is the Mohn-Stollen.  I honestly thought the crunch was nuts, but it’s the poppy seeds.  I don’t mind either way, as it was delicious.

The Zimtsterne and Lebkuchen Mischung tasted very similar to me, but with slightly different textures than I expected.  From the shape and size, I expected crunch biscuit, but they really are a cake like texture in the middle.   I believe Waitrose, Amazon, Ocado, Asda, Morrison and Tesco stock Bahlsen goodies.  The cakes tasted cinnamony to me, but my youngest is convinced they are ginger based.   I checked the packaging and I was right. That’s why I liked them, as cinnamon is my favourite spice of the season.

Sadly, I opened the Mohn-Stollen early afternoon, and it was half gone in less than an hour.  I can’t see this hanging around for long.

I hope you all enjoy your own pick of Christmas goodies when you go shopping this month.

(Affiliate Links Below)



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Review: Star Wars Interactech Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper

The Hasbro Toy Tribe has been good to us once again.  The Star Wars Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper arrived on our doorstep, and with an afternoon stuck in with a sore back, I decided to make use of my time.

When my kids look for toys to play with, I know they tend to first look at how many moveable bits there are.  Immediately, even before they open the packet, they’re feeling about and checking to see if the arms and legs move.  It’s a very important things for kids to know.

Being imaginative tends to put a lot of pressure on toys, to get into positions kids want them to, and that includes just being able to stand up on their own, without flopping over, or being propped up.

If you want to know how the Stormtrooper fared, for doll type toys, I look for the following:

Packaging

Really easy to get into, with simple elastic bungees holding down the figure.  Four snips and it was free.  The shield and gun took two snips each.

No huge and excessive packaging, so it’s a win win for this.

Moveability

Several moving parts.  Hands swivel all the way round, the head moves, and the legs move at the top.

When middler came home, he did express a little disappointment that the knees didn’t move, but he soon got over that when he realised it stood unaided, and with arms and legs in different positions.

Interaction

65 sounds and phrases that are motion-activated.  Pick up the stormtrooper for flight style sounds, and shake it for battle sounds.  On the front, there is a mode selector, which lets you choose attack or flight mode.  Buttons on the belt also activate for different sounds, as well as the realistic blaster sounds.

Extras

From Hasbro direct, download the Star Wars StudioFX App, to make videos with the toys.  There’s a code inside the pack.  It works with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and some Android devices.   Check starwars.hasbro.com for more information.

What Did Kids Say

Middler grabbed it when he came back from the footie match with his dad.  Sadly Aberdeen drew 0:0 with St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership match, so he came in with a long face, and instantly brightened up when he saw the Stormtrooper out of its box and ready to take away.  It had been sitting tormenting him on the counter for the last day or so, and I knew I’d have to do this review quickly, or I’d get no peace at all.

What Did I Say

Find out below.  I promise I will get better at videos, and I promise to do them in the daylight and with make-up on – well most of the time anyway.  Not that most of you care, but I’m new to this, so bear with me as I’m having to learn as I go – and that’s not an easy thing at my age.  Someone told me brain cells dimish for every year after the age of 20.  🙂

 

Where to Buy Star Wars Interatech Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper

Prices correct as at 10th Dec 2016 and may be variable.

Tesco It’s currently and incredible £19 from Tesco, which is likely to not hang around long. Dec 16

Toysrus £39.99

Amazon (Affiliate Link) £30.49

Smyths £32.99

John Lewis £42.99

Argos £35.99

Disclaimer:  Thanks to Hasbro for our review Star Wars Interactech Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper.  All opinions are my own.