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Happy Healthy Meal Planning

I've only just started using a family meal planner and I can't believe it's taken me until now to fully embrace it. I guess I've always had a rough idea of what we would have on maybe 3 of the nights in the week but it was still flexible and frequently, I'd realise too late that I'd not got the right ingredients - nothing more frustrating! 

But now we work from a menu of about 5 multi-purpose dishes that I rotate regularly. Hands up, it's not extensive and it's not particularly adventurous but it's all largely made from scratch with a good helping of vegetables (hidden and visible) and my kids eat it all. Can't complain about that! So on this blog post, I'm going to share a few of my reliable recipes, along with some killer freezer tips for busy families.

Ragu that becomes Spag Bol & Lasagne

 I'll start with my children's favourite - ragu. I've used a version of Delia's recipe for ragu for over a year now and once a week, I make a massive pot of it. It's SO easy to make and can be tweaked and changed if you don't have exactly everything on the list. It's best made in advance and slow cooked so I sometimes do it at the weekend or in the evening after the kids are in bed.

750g pack of beef mince

500g pack of pork mince

1 pack of pancetta or streaky bacon (optional)

2 onions

2/3 big cloves of garlic

Half a head of celery (optional)

1 jar of sun-dried tomato paste (not a problem if you don't have this - just use lots of tomato puree)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 carton of passata (tinned tomatoes can be substituted here)

Beef Stock Cube

Water/wine - either - a glass full

Handful of chopped fresh basil (dried works just as well)

Salt & Pepper

Cook off both your minces in a separate frying pan and drain off the fat in a sieve. While doing this, fry your onions, celery and garlic in a large casserole with a lid, then add the pancetta (if using) and colour. Add the cooked and drained minced beef and pork.

Add all the other ingredients and mix, bringing back up to a bubbling heat. Add additional water or wine to make sure there is sufficient liquid to keep the dish from drying out during the slow cooking.

Bung in the oven for 2 or 3 hours. I often put it on for 2 and then leave it in the (cooling) oven overnight before putting it in the fridge the next day until I prep for dinner.

This can be used to make 2-4 dishes (depending on how big your family is). I always get 2 generous dinners for 6 - a spaghetti bolognaise on one day using the ragu as it is and just heating up as much as I need and serving with wholewheat spaghetti. With the remaining ragu, I layer it in a large lasagne dish with dry lasagne sheets. Pour over a jar of white sauce (or you can make your own using flour, butter and milk). Sprinkle cheese (parmesan or cheddar) on top and pre-cook it for 30 minutes, ensuring it doesn't get too coloured on top (use foil if necessary). Then it goes in the fridge until we need it, at which time, I cook it for another 30-40 minutes with foil over it. The double cooking is the secret to AMAZING lasagne.

Soup that turns into Curry Sauce

My next double up recipe is a red pepper and sweet potato soup, which makes an amazing chicken curry. We usually eat the soup as lunch at the weekend but I always make a double quantity. The soup is really easy - just 4 ingredients & season to taste. 

4 Red Peppers - cut into chunks

2 Onions chopped

4 Sweet Potatoes - cut into chunks 

1.5 litres of Veg or Chicken Stock & .5 litre of boiling water.

Fry off the onions for a couple of minutes, throw in the peppers for a bit, then the sweet potatoes (no need to peel - just cut off any rough bits). Then add the hot stock and simmer until all the veg is soft. Add more water/stock as required. Blitz with a blender and serve with crusty bread (see freezer tip below).

I keep a tub of any leftover soup then and a few days later, I fry off some chicken in a large wok, add a couple of dessert spoonfuls of Korma paste then as much soup as necessary to make a nice consistency. The EASIEST curry ever and it's chock full of vegetable goodness!

Leftover Rice 

 The last dish that features every week is our leftover rice. It's basically a paella style recipe that uses up anything that's left in the fridge - chicken, sausages, chorizo, prawns - and it's one of the few dinners that I can whip up when there's literally nothing left as it's a proper store cupboard & freezer dish.

2 x Peppers (any colour)

Celery/Onions

2 cups of Brown Rice 

4 cups of Stock

Tomato Pureee

Leftover cooked meat or a bag of frozen prawns

Frozen Peas and/or Corn

Fry off the peppers and celery and/or onions with some olive oil. Add the rice, stir in the tomato puree and then immediately add the hot stock. Reduce the temperature and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Stir the dish and add more stock if necessary. Add the frozen peas, prawns, chicken etc. heat through and serve. This is great with some sweet chill sauce or for the older members of the family, good old Tabasco.

Family Freezer Tips 

 I'm finishing with a few freezer tips to help make the weekly dinner dilemma even easier. Your freezer is your friend when it comes to feeding the family:

- buy chopped frozen onions, peppers, herbs and garlic. They're not that much much more expensive than fresh, never go off and make prepping dinner even faster.

- always have a bag of frozen prawns at the ready. Add pesto, cooked pasta & toasted pine nuts for another quick dinner.

- Iceland have the most amazing range of frozen breads that can be baked for 10-15 minutes. Best of the range are the crusty round rolls and the ciabatta loaf.

- freeze any leftover dinners in single portions. Then once every few weeks, you can have a mix and match dinner where everyone choses their favourite dinner from the leftover portions. These single portions are also great for nights when not everyone is home for dinner.

- if you've a bag of potatoes about to go off, don't let them! Simply peel, quarter, parboil, toss in oil and freeze in a bag. They will make perfect roasties, cooked from frozen for about 40 minutes until crispy. 

- Nothing to do with dinner but keep a bag of marshmallows in your freezer - they make an AMAZING ice pack with the bonus of being a yummy treat to make whomever's been injured feel better :)

Happy healthy meal planning!

Simple Ways You Can Improve a Bad Day

So you've had a bad day.

Well, the thing about bad days is that they're always the result of the way we handle negative situations.

That being said, its no easy feat to not be affected by your car breaking down, spilling coffee down your white blouse or misplacing your debit card.

Yet, when these occur they tend to activate a domino effect on the rest of your day, then suddenly you're thinking about how you cannot wait for THIS day to end. It's a natural reaction. You can listen to as much of Daniel Powter's hit song as you like but writing the entire day off as "bad" isn't ideal. Getting back in control of your day is important to stop this domino effect in its tracks.

That's why we've put together a list of small things you can incorporate into your day to improve it, even marginally...

Switch Off Technology For a While

Whenever we're feeling our worst the last thing you want to see is a photo of that friend-of-a-friend you met on a night out having the time of their life in sunny climes.

Punctuating our lives with these small glimpses into the perfected, social media friendly version of people's lives has a negative affect that often goes unnoticed. It's a smart move to move away from our smartphones and technology every now and then.

Switch it off and banish it to a drawer. Even if it's just for an hour or two it will help clear your head and gain some perspective instead of boiling up resentment and self-deprecation about the fact you're not sunning yourself on a beach in Thailand. 

Read a Book

Yes, I'm talking about that teetering pile of untouched fiction on your shelf that you've been complaining about having no time to read.

If we redirected those idle moments spent glazed eyed, endlessly scrolling through Facebook or Instagram towards picking up one of those books that have been allowed to gather dust, we'd have a completely adequate amount of time to read them. It's the perfect way to escape from the bad vibes of the day and concentrate on something interesting and different.

 Write it Down

Having a physical manifestation of your annoyances in ink can be a therapeutic way of improving your day. Think of it as prising your problems from your brain and sealing them away somewhere else so you can get on with your day.

Take a Walk

When clambering into bed and screaming into a pillow for the evening might seem like the only viable option to finish your bad day, often this won't help you stop dwelling on your problems.

It's better to keep busy and if nothing else feels appealing why not just get out of the house and take a walk? Rain or shine, getting out for a bit can be a great idea.

Don't let the weather deter you from getting out in those colder, rainier months. Finally throw that half broken umbrella in the bin and invest in a protective winter coat or a handy, waterproof Mac in a Sac for when the sky looks a bit foreboding and you want a reliable source of rain protection.

Let's Talk Fitness & Nutrition

It's a few weeks into the new year and for me, this is the best time to start thinking health and fitness. Let's face it, a week after Christmas is too soon for diets and exercise....the house is full of boxes of sweets and tins of biscuits for one thing! So I always pace myself - enjoy the last of the Baileys and avoid the overcrowded gym classes...until it gets to the end of January.

I'm not a fitness or nutrition expert so read my words with that in mind. I do however have a huge interest in nutrition and exercise and the impact both have on our health and wellbeing so with that in mind, here are my top tips for staying fit and healthy in 2016

1. Walk more places

I am not a fan of walking or running in a circle. I think about where I need to go and look on google maps to see how far away it is. Just the other day, I realised my choir rehearsal venue is only 3 mile from my home. That's about a 35 minute walk at a brisk pace. So I now leave home 15 minutes earlier and walk over (when it's dry). I'm under time pressure to get there for 7.30 so I really stride out. A friend brings me home afterwards so we get to have a great chat in the car. I call that a win/win.

2. Incorporate strength into your exercise routine.

Walking or running alone will not get you in the best shape. Alternate it with some sort of weight bearing exercise to keep you strong. Body Pump is an amazing class that you can take at your own pace and even just doing it once a week, I've got guns to be proud of....and building muscle helps you burn fat. Another win/win!

3. Stop eating after 7pm.

Studies have shown that your body metabolises food in a different way and at a slower rate in the evening so you are more likely to be healthier and slimmer if you eat earlier in the day and have a long (ideally 12 hours) break between your last meal of the day and breakfast the next day.

4. Cook from scratch when you can.

When I think about what makes a healthy diet, I'd say it starts with this. Nothing complicated mind you. Favourites in this house are fish baked in foil with sweet potato chips or chicken curry (made with paste). Delia's ragu is well worth making in bulk at the weekends. I'll not end up on master chef but it definitely improves your diet if you're in control of what goes into your meals on at least 5 days in the week.

5. Eat breakfast!

Your mum told you this all your life and it's so true. If you eat well to start the day, you're less likely to eat rubbish later in the day. A chocolate bar at 11am is often justified by having missed breakfast. Your body needs fuel in the morning to get going and porridge is the ultimate breakfast fodder but if you can't stand it, how about a couple of poached eggs with toast? Be very careful and read the labels of breakfast cereals. They're better than eating nothing but many are high in sugar and salt and won't sustain you for as long as porridge or eggs will.

6. My last one is all about the kids.

We sometimes forget that we are responsible for our kids' diets and inherent in that, we're dictating the attitude they will have to food when they are adults. Say no more often! They should only eat about 6 teaspoons of sugar every day so explain to them what that looks like and how much is in some of the foods they eat...they'll be fascinated by this, especially if you get the sugar bowl out and get them to measure it. I never talk about weight or shape to my kids but I do always tell them to look to see how much salt is in their Bran Flakes or how much sugar is in Cheerios. My kids would love the latter every day for breakfast but now they know how unhealthy they are, they're ok with just having them on Saturday mornings. I'm not trying to be the smug mum here - it's no different to teaching them to be safe on the road or to work hard at school. It might not work with them all but you've got a duty to try. Oh, and in case it helps, my kids voted this the best sugar video to watch on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yda8RtOcVFU?rel=0

I'll leave you with a few sites that I love looking at when I'm struggling for food inspiration.

- My latest crush is on Joe Wicks, The Body Coach. His 15 second Facebook videos are hilarious....the kids love them as much as I do. Think Russell Brand and Nigella Lawson's love child and you'll get the gist

- Davina has just released her Smart Carbs book but before you buy, you can get lots of inspiration and daily meal plans from her website

- As I'm trying to have a meat-free day each week, I enjoy browsing the videos on Honesty Healthy Food. They have some great kids recipes too - something lots of blogs and chefs forget about.

Here's to a healthy 2016 and to starting New Year resolutions in February.....with the bonus that it's the shortest month :)

Ax

My Travel New Year's Resolutions

As a travel blogger, my new year's resolutions tend to relate to places I want to visit and things I want to try, rather than things I want to change about myself. Personally, I think that's a much nicer way of doing things – and it's a great way to share travel inspiration! Here are three of the top destinations on my radar for 2016...

Britain

Much as I love to travel the world, I think it's really important to get to know your home too – so this year I plan to see a whole lot more of my own great country. Britain has some dazzling scenery and hundreds of truly beautiful towns, so I plan to see much more of the country throughout 2016. I even have my eye on an “end to end” hike from the top of Scotland to Land's End which I'm hoping to put together for summer – so I'll need to stock up on hiking gear and start improving my fitness levels a little over the next few months!

South America

This glorious continent has it all; adventure, spectacular scenery, incredible cuisine, and some of nature's best extremes (from the driest desert to the largest rainforest). It's also increasingly popular, with Chile and Northern Peru both appearing on Wanderlust Magazine's list of where to travel in 2016. This year, I'm planning to head back to my favourite continent on earth in order to see some of the places I missed last time I was there!

Estonia

I love to visit under the radar destinations and places that don't see too many tourists, so there are several places in Europe that I'm really hoping to get to this year and Estonia is top of the list. Lonely Planet are touting it as one of the cheapest places to travel in 2016, which makes this pretty country of fairytale castles and medieval towns extra attractive to me!

Unfortunately for me, these three destinations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my wish-list for the coming year. If you're wondering where to travel in 2025, you really can't go wrong with one of these.

10 Things To Do When It’s Raining

Pop on your coat & visit a museum or art exhibition

Rainy days don’t always mean that you have to stay cooped up inside. Grab a waterproof coat and a good pair of boots or wellies and check out your nearest art exhibition. You will feel better for getting a bit of fresh air and enjoying some cultural inspiration. Even a trip to a museum will ensure that your day isn’t wasted and you never know, you might pick up an interesting fact or two.

Read a book on the porch & listen to the rain 

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony or a porch, provided the rain isn’t coming down in every direction, then why not sit outside and enjoy the sound of the rain against the roof. Pour yourself a cup of tea or hot chocolate, grab a good book and relax and de-stress.

Pick up a new hobby

Whether it’s arts and crafts, playing the guitar or taking up baking, there’s always something new to be learnt. When the weather’s against you and you just can’t face heading outside, occupy your time with a passion that you’ve always wanted to pursue. Make sure it’s achievable and something that will maintain your interest. 

Go out in the rain and play like a kid

There’s nothing quite like the freedom of grabbing your waterproof coat and welly boots and heading outside to play in the rain and splash in the puddles. Dance in the rain like no-one’s watching.

Make a scrapbook of your favourite memories

Scrapbooking; the quintessential 80s & 90s teenage activity definitely isn’t as popular now as it was back then. Social media provides a quick and easy way of documenting your memories, but there’s still nothing quite like digging out family albums or scrapbooks of old photos, cinema tickets, leaflets and pressed flowers. Get an old sketchpad, pritt stick and a few treasured possessions and create a book of memories.

Catch up on the latest blogs and youtubers

Draw inspiration from your favourite blogs and Youtube accounts, whether it be style, beauty, interiors or lifestyle. Relax, unwind and enjoy a bit of frivolous reading and viewing.

Refresh your room

Updating your home doesn’t always demand a lot of time and money. A quick refresh can make a room look new to you and to your guests. Move around ornaments or lamps to create new focal points or purchase a wall vinyl to add a quirky element.

Have an indoor film festival

Put some popcorn in the microwave, pop on a DVD and enjoy a golden oldie or a new rom-com.

Get some exercise

Get your waterproof jacket and overtrousers on and head outdoors for a bike ride. A light rain shower never hurt anyone and as long as you’re covered up, you can still get a bit of exercise and a breath of fresh air.

Pick up the phone or grab a coffee with a friend

When it’s dark and miserable outside, you can always brighten up your mood with a quick phone call to a friend or a loved one. Even better, why not meet at your local coffee shop and catch up on life, love and other pursuits.