Sweet potato crazy

Hey all, hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Earlier in the week I finally got around to making sweet potato fries, and I am in love!!!

Yummy! I chopped up half of one (which was 100g) and coated it in a little melted coconut oil (from coconoil) and sprinkled with paprika.

I also made some sweet potato burgers. I did not have any kidney beans so this time I used lentils instead.

I microwaved 1 1/2 sweet potatoes, scraped out the filling and then whizzed it up with a tin of drained lentils, some chia seeds (1tbs) soaked in water (I hoped this would work like a gel and hold them together a bit), paprika, and sundried tomatoes.

(All ready to be whizzed up).

Then I shaped them into patties- this made 7.

I baked them for 25 mins, and then enjoyed a couple for dinner.

Soooooooooo good πŸ™‚ I found that I liked the thinner fries the best, so I think next time I make them I would slice them super thin. The patties are very soft but the sweet potato flavour really came through. πŸ™‚ The rest are in the freezer so I can go sweet potato crazy another day! Yay!

On Friday we went to see Steven Merchant who was really funny- but coming home I got twinges in my stomach again. Yup, another UTI. Grr. My doctors is closed all weekend but by googling things we found that I could ring an urgent care centre- a doctor rang back and then faxed a prescription to a local pharmacy- luckily. But our journey up to Sheffield was not the best. We got there fairly late, and so Andy went out to get us some dinner- a mozzerella, basil and tomato panini. I had not had cheese for 2 weeks and it tasted very good- I think not having it all the time is making me appreciate it more. Then it was off to Othello (with McNulty and Lester from the Wire as Othello and Iago). I studied the play in year 9 I think, but could not remember any part of it, and I was a little worried that I would not have a clue about what was happening. But I did (phew) and I really enjoyed it- very dramatic with some dry humour in there. Plus we shared a tub of mint choc chip ice cream in the interval which was yummy. We were planning on stopping somewhere on the drive home today, but I was not feeling great so we went out for breakfast and then headed home. I did watch some of the GNR on the TV this morning- well done to everyone who took part- it always looks like the most amazing atmosphere. And did anyone manage to high-five Mo? πŸ™‚

Fave sweet potato recipe?

Feeling better (better do some baking then)

Hello!

I enjoyed everyones cheese answers yesterday! It seems the vegan cheeses just do not cut it, but also people miss it less than they would have thought. Thinking about it more, I am not a massive cheese lover anyway- I really only like cream cheese, mozzerella, goats cheese, strong cheddar and wenslydale. No blue cheese, or brie, or feta or anything like that. I think I just got into the habit of topping meals with grated cheese, when they did not really need it.

Anyway, I forgot on my post yesterday so say that I was better (as my post was about Tuesday I suppose). But I was. Yesterday I had a run and it was great! I didn’t want to go too far, in the end I did just under 4 miles, but I managed it all with an average pace of 10 min miles, a speed I have not got up to for a while. Plus no walk breaks (well, except for annoying crossing the road ones). I was super pleased as I was starting to get a little worried about the upcoming 10K- I was hoping to beat my previous best time, but now I am hoping to run the whole way! I seem to have gone backwards!

I also got back into baking.

Some pumpkin whoopie pies! I was so excited to make these πŸ™‚ Although I did not have any marshmallow fluff to add to the filling, so I made it without and the filling was super runny!

They were a hit with Andy and at work- gently spiced and really tasty. πŸ™‚ Ones to make again for sure.

Also it is National Cupcake week this week. I am not sure if it is an excuse for the Food network to show more of Cupcake wars than usual, but I was emailed a few recipes from this cupcake book and asked to try some on my blog. I went for the black forest cupcakes, only half way through I found out I did not have any black cherry jam (I was sure I still had some of the lovely meridian cherry spread) so they turned into chocolate and raspberry cupcakes. Ffion I hope you approve πŸ™‚ More for work anyway!

And now I am making some autumnal spiced apple crumble bars, based on this fruit crumble bar recipe from the lovely Katie. Happy days indeed.

And if that is not enough, I have body pump later πŸ™‚

Lastly, it is nearly the weekend! We are off to see Steven Merchant on Friday night (I keep forgetting) and then up to Sheffield on Saturday for some Shakespear. How cultured! πŸ™‚ I will have to tape the Great North run as I am getting a bit excited about it!

Any exciting weekend plans?

WIAW-recovering (and cheese free)

Hey guys

It’s that time again- thanks Jenn for sorting out the WIAW party!

The day I chose this week was Tuesday. I was still getting over the little bug I had- I think I had some kind of virus as all day Monday and Tuesday I had a sort of headache (when I moved, a bit like a head-rush) and my neck was really stiff. Picking up bugs from the children is a hazard of the job. I was still avoiding dairy as after being ill I always have it in my head to leave that for a little.

Breakfast– apple, rude health muesli and almond milk (unsweetened and it is amazing).

Snacks all packed up;

Nakd bar for morning snack, and Eat Natural mini bar for the staff meeting.

Lunch:

Hummus and roasted pepper sandwich, nectarine and pear. And my big water bottle. πŸ™‚

Dinner:

Roasted sweet potato (in the microwave, sorry!) with hummus (I meant to try it with almond butter but turned out I must have finished my jar), and some veggies and basil tofu with tomato and a tsp pesto. I was supposed to have some salad too but it had gone all squishy.

Plus some tea:

(Mainly an excuse to put on a photo of my teapot as I have not had one on here for ages! And our cute cups- mine is the chicken one)

Pre-gardening snack;

A row of Mint Rawr chocolate (soooo good- the perfect amount of mint)

And an evening snack;

Alpro dark chocolate, some of Lizi’s granola and a little white chocolate wonderful (which on reflection was not needed as it was very sweet and a bit too sweet for how I was feeling).

Mint tea always makes it better πŸ™‚

I usually go to aerobics on a Tuesday, but I was still feeling so tired from being ill, and my neck was very stiff so I thought all the jumping about would make it worse. Plus I lead a row so I can’t really hang out at the back and take it easy. So instead after work I walked up to the allotments to plant some leeks my Dad gave us, and to cry at all the weeds growing back! It was nice to get some fresh air but only gently!

Oh and why the cheese free I hear you all wonder (and if you don’t well tough, I am going to explain it anyway). On holiday I felt like I ate a lot of cheese, as it was often the veggie alternative. I also can have a bit of a cheese overdose feeling, where I get really sick of it and start to hate the smell and everything if I have it too much. So I decided to have a few weeks without cheese to focus on other forms of protein. I often put cheese on pasta, but (even with Andy having it on his) I have avoided it and my meals have still been tasty. At lunch times I was getting in a rut with my cream cheese and roasted pepper sandwiches, so going without cheese has meant I have had to get a bit of variety with salads, hummus, nut butters, quinoa and things like that. Β I don’t think I would go vegan, but it has made me realise that actually I would manage alright. I would miss goats cheese though- I don’t have it very often but I do love it.

Any cheese lovers out there- what is your favourite cheese? Vegans- do you miss cheese or have you found good replacements? (Or never liked it in the first place? I never liked meat so never feel the need for a meat replacement as I don’t tend to like those either).

Flutterby

Hey peeps

Thanks for the well wishing yesterday- (possible TMI…) the immodium kicked in quickly anyway, and I basically spent yesterday sleeping in front of the TV, occasionally checking on blogs and hotmail, and eating toast. Oh, and watching Tangled which I thought was fab. So not all bad.

Anyway although I felt better, I felt today like I had been punched in the stomach- sore in a weird way. I did not fancy eating much, and so decided to skip my run in exchange for leaving work as soon as possible, and relaxing at home. I did have a walk (in the wind!) after dinner, and am nearly back to normal I think.

While reading blogs this evening I saw that Sarah had tagged me in a blogger survey thing. I love reading these as I like random facts, and so you get to see my answers now, you lucky lot. Be warned I am veryΒ indecisive!

image

Favourite colour;

At the moment, green. I think green suits me, so I think I gravitate towards it. Plus lots of natural things are green.

Favourite song;

Gosh, I have so many songs I love, this would change all the time. I might go for Build me up Buttercup, as I just love it. But I love loads!

Favourite dessert;

I should say cupcakes, but that is not my answer! I think today my choice would be a squidgy chocolate brownie with a little blob of vanilla ice cream on top. Yes, that is what I choose today.

What really annoys you;

I get annoyed by people who do not pull their weight. But mostly idiot drivers! The ones that go in the left lane when they need to take the third exit (I got cut up by a van doing this today- what an idiot), or motorcyclists who squeeze between cars and lorries on busy roads, or people who do not indicate at roundabouts. Yeah, idiot drivers because it is annoying but also dangerous.

When you are upset you:

I try to hold in my tears! I hate people seeing my cry. If I was at home I would have a cuddle with Andy and he would cheer me up.

Your favourite pet;

I have not had many pets, and I am not really a pet person. Although I have always wanted a rabbit, but was never allowed(and now I think of the practical things- who would look after the rabbits when I am on holiday, what about the winter when it is cold outside and I have to clean it etc). I did have a dog (well it was my Mum’s from before I was born) and he was the most gentle little dog ever. We had a cat which was never interested in playing and ran away to some neighbours who put out cat food in their garden. Oh, and we had a stick insect once. Actually, my best pet was a school pet- a squirrel! Our teacher used to rescue animals and we had a baby squirrel in our classroom (it fell out the nest when it was a baby)- we called him Nutty, and drew pictures of him and things. So yeah, I will have the squirrel.

Black or White;

I choose white. I love white cardi’s and tops. They go with green you see. And I hardly ever wear black trousers.

Biggest fear:

Spiders, for sure. I am terrified of them. It is one reason that puts me off Australia.

Best Feature;

I think I am a very cheerful person. I try to greet everyone with a cheery smile and greeting, and I am mainly optimistic I think.

What is perfection?

Can I say gum? Just because I was watching Friends the other day πŸ˜‰

Hmm, really, I am not sure if anything is perfection unless you are happy with yourself, because then whatever you are is perfect to yourself. Does that make sense? And if it doesn’t, then I choose gum again. (But I don’t even chew gum).

Guilty pleasure:

Easy! Reality TV! Top Chef, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, even Jersey Shore (yeah, sorry). I just love it! And singing songs to High school musical, Hairspray, Disney songs etc! Love it!

That was fun!

Now I need to choose some peeps to answer the same questions. This is hard as I have seen a lot of people answer this over the last few days. I had better be quick!

Laura @ Box, Run, Eat

Ffion @ Chocolate and Raspberries

Meri @ Meri Goes Round

Lucy @ Porridge and Parsnips

And sorry if you already did it πŸ™‚

And everyone else- How decisive are you?

And my job for the next week is to update my recipes page, as a few people have asked me for different recipes and I am having to use the search button to find them. Β πŸ™‚ Β Night

The good and the bad

First of all the good.

I have been loving bircher muesli for breakfast lately.

This one is nectarine, 25g oats, 100g soya yoghurt and 100ml soya milk and a lot of cinnamon, all left to mingle overnight. Yum.

And the same but with 80g frozen cherries instead of the nectarine, and sprinkled with coconut in the morning.

I had my sweet potato and kidney bean burgers again and they were yummy (with some rocket and some quinoa cooked with tomatoes, beetroot, spinach and courgette).

I found out that Ocado now stock Rude Health Multigrain thins πŸ™‚

I got up super early on Friday to fit in a little run, and it was great. I only did 2 miles but I did that in 20 minutes and I was feeling like I am getting faster again.

I went to the Waffle house on friday! That is always good!

I opened my Starbucks chai and had a cup. Yum.

When I was tidying out my cupboards I found a whole box of Teapigs rooibos creme caramel! I thought I had finished the last teabag ages ago, so it was a lovely surprise! πŸ™‚

I had my hair cut again (and in fact nearly forgot- I noticed it on the calendar when I went to add the shopping delivery time!). I feel I leave the hairdresser with a normal amount of hair!

And I made something fun in the microwave. Guesses? Answer at the end!

And now onto the bad.

I missed body pump on Thursday due to a late meeting at work (I got home at 8 whereas it starts at 7.15).

I had a rubbish run today. I think I am in fact under the weather. My tum felt a little weird before I left, so I waited around a little longer. My whole run was such hard work, I stopped a few times to re-tie my hair and I really appreciated the walking. I was not that much slower than before- it was a while since I had run that route, but it just felt so bad. And all day I have had a sort of tummy ache, so not sure if I ate something bad yesterday, but I think on reflection I should have not gone out this morning as it made me feel worse.

I am almost out of Rude Health Multigrain thins (but no need to worry- see the good points above!).

At least I have more good than bad.

Oh, and I made play-dough in my microwave- did you guess it?

(Add on)-

After dinner on Saturday I felt really bad, and when Andy got back from football (at about 12) we ended up turning the house up-side down looking for the immodium he bought to take to Stockholm, but never used, but to no avail. He did go out Sunday morning to get me some, and so I spent Sunday laying about, drinking water and nibbling on dry toast. But anyway I feel better now. No idea what that was.