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My new blog will be very similar but now that i am a mommy, it will also contain bits and pieces on that also! I am one month into my new life as a mom so thought a brand new blog to go with that life would be quite fitting!

I will hopefully see you over on my new blog, it’s still quite new so is work in progress but i will be posting on it as often as the little man will let me! (i.e. around feeding/playing and nappy changing!)

Below is the view i get of the church from my bedroom window;

I noticed this morning the tan lines that i have managed to achieve in the recent glorious weather spell, it’s a shame my rocket dogs have a pattern that leave funny lines on my feet but i also think that it is cool that i have tan lines from the UK weather in April – i don’t think i have ever gained a tan so early in the year!

Once i had a read through a few blogs i got myself downstairs and made myself and the hubby brunch. We have recently started this but it means we have a later breakfast and then only need one more meal later in the day. I really wanted American style pancakes so i looked up an easy recipe and got mixing.

American Style Pancakes

• 125ml milk
• 60g plain flour
• 1 medium egg
• 1.5 T sugar
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1T butter

I mixed all the ingredients together and then got them in the pan…unfortunately the pan i used wasn’t completely flat so they made my pancakes a funny shape! I made 8 pancakes with the above mixture.

They may not be perfectly formed but they tasted amazing! Will be making again very soon i feel.

The brunch of champions! Bacon (i left half as hubby put way too much on my plate), hash browns, frankfurter sausages, beans and pancakes.

Whilst hubby got on with some decorating, i relaxed on the sofa and started looking at baby things, i am 20 weeks pregnant next Thursday (half way through my pregnancy!!) so need to start planning. There is nothing like a bit of internet shopping and a cup of tea!

I also spent a few hours reading and catching up on blogs, i love going into other peoples worlds for a little while. I really want to blog more, i always intend too but sometimes i get to the end of the day, after taking photos and planning what to write but feel so exhausted i just want my bed!

What i love about blogging is it does make me think a little bit more about my food choices and decided my dinner tonight would by a rainbow of colours;

I went for;

• A cheese toastie (a little burnt – whoops)
• Corn on the cob
• half pork pie
• salad
• carrot
• red/yellow pepper and
• caramelised onion hummus

It was delicious! baby A has been kicking me A LOT this weekend and i can feel the little one is getting stronger….i also took the kicking to mean, ‘read a few more blogs and have a bowl of cookie dough ice cream mommy’!

Who am i to ignore my unborn child?!!!

I have had a lovely pregnancy so far, hardly any sickness but have just felt tired at times. It’s 17:45pm and i am starting to feel tired but i think i will try and bake some fairy cakes for hubby to take to work with his lunch…manly i know LOL!

I am going to set my self a few goals this week to improve my blog, i feel sad that i keep neglecting it;

1. blog at least every other day
2. take belly shots of my growing belly and start an ‘Amy’s Having a Baby’ page
3. start a new hobby and blog about it…i have something in the pipe line that i really enjoy so will blog about this later in the week!
4. leave more comments on other peoples blogs, i read so many blogs and never leave comments – i really should!

Happy Sunday everyone x

I am now 16 weeks and am starting to look quite pregnant – what do you think of my expanding tummy?!

The husband had a couple of hours work this morning, so i wondered what to do with myself…for the past 2 years i have ran in the Exeter Half Marathon and normally this would be the weekend i do my last long run before the race which is next weekend. I obviously have not had the energy to train for the half this year but it got me thinking about how much i used to love running the 5k loop around my town – so i thought i would walk it instead. The 3 miles is quite hilly and as i have not done any much exercise recently, i knew i would have to take it easy.

Before i went for my walk i had a fruity breakfast…half a pink grapefruit, strawberries, fromage frais and a sprinkling of coconut.

I also had an iced coffee as it was a hot sunny day.

The loop starts with a HUGE hill (i can’t believe i used to run up it), the photo doesn’t really give it justice! I had to go quite slow as you shouldn’t let your heart beat too fast during exercise when pregnant.

Another hill, the weather just kept getting better and better, i just kept getting hotter and hotter! Thank goodness i packed a drink in my rucksack.

The last monster hill, i really felt the burn in my butt on this one!

I think due to the heat, i started craving sparkling water so picked up a bottle of this…

I polished half the bottle straight away…i hope this becomes one of my actual cravings as it is not the worst one i could have! I had a very red face when i got back from my walk, i did the loop in 1 hour 15 mins, i used to run it in about 40 minutes – i kept reminding myself that i wasn’t doing it for speed anymore, it’s to keep myself healthy during my pregnancy.

I was soon starving when i got back so i mixed up a medley of foods that needed to be used up…

I went for a home made pizza (made with wholemeal pita, tomato puree, feta cheese and oregano) with sugar snap peas, baby sweet corn, more feta, walnuts and dried apricots.

It was soon snoozy time, i do a lot of this since getting pregnant!

After a half hour snooze and reading a few blogs i was ready for a snack, i went for another glass of sparkling water and a flap jack – i felt like i needed some sugar.

When my husband got home a couple of hours later, he soon led me astray by buying me a Cadburys flake ice cream, it would have been rude for me to say ‘no’!

I then joined the hubby out in the garden whilst he painted the fence, he never takes a serious photo…this is the best i am going to get of him!

For dinner we went for a BBQ meal, without the BBQ! I made homemade burgers with cheese, onions, ketchup and mustard on a white buns. Mixed salad with French dressing, onion rings, sautéed new potatoes and a slice of garlic bread (which i did not eat as i was too full)!

I’ve just polished off my last glass of sparkling water (will definitely be buying some more tomorrow) and am so ready for bed, i swear I’m falling asleep as i type. We are off to Cornwall tomorrow for a few days…we are going to a street party there on Friday to celebrate the royal wedding and then my sister and her family arrive at ours at the weekend. I hope i have internet access in Cornwall to share it all with you.

I have my 16 week midwife appointment tomorrow and hopefully we will get to hear the baby’s heart beat…i think i have started to feel little movements too but not completely sure!

I have had a reason for keeping a little shy in the blog world recently, the last post i did was in regard to some major projects that i had on the go which were keeping me away from blogging…well it is time for me to reveal the most major project in my life…

Yes, i’m 4 months pregnant!! If you follow me on Twitter you will already know this but i feel the time is right to let everyone know. I got so wrapped up in being pregnant and learning all about it, it left little room for me to blog, but i feel like i am ready to return.

The other reason i have not wanted to blog is because my food has not been brilliant (it hasn’t been all awful either) and i haven’t been as healthy as i have been to warrant a blog titled ‘Healthy Amy!’

I did not realise how hungry early pregnancy makes you but i am slowly learning to watch what i eat now that the mild queasyness has dissapeared and i have more energy to cook better meals. As i have really picked up on my healthy eating this week, i feel like the old Amy is back, for example a typical day at work i take the following food/snacks to stop me raiding the crisps/chocolate machine!

• Breakfast – Bio-yogurt with prunes, seeds and nuts
• Snack 1 – handful walnuts and dried apricots
• lunch – homemade butternut squash soup with a piece of fruit
• snack 2 – wholemeal pita with 1.5 T of caramelised onion hummus
• Snack 3 – 2 slices malted loaf with clover spread
• Dinner – salmon with new potatoes, baby sweetcorn, sugar snap peas/green beans
• dessert – a mini fromage frais

I feel a lot better since i have introduced healthy filling snacks into my day, above is a lot more than what i used to eat and it takes a while to get your head round that you can eat all that food because you NEED the calories. I checked the above on myfitnesspal to ensure i was not going too mad with my calories and it was well within my calorie limit. It is such a learning curve being pregnant!

Have you ever heard the saying ‘Money attracts money’? well i believe this is true in a lot of things and since i sat down last week and reviewed my diet, all i want is more and more healthy foods! At the start of my pregnancy i wanted stodge, for breakfast i could easily eat 2 cinnamon and raison bagels dripping in butter, but now that actually makes me feel sick!!

Today i woke up early 7am (early for me anyway!) with one thing on my mind…GREEN MONSTER!! My baby must be craving iron because i literally jumped out my bed and ran down to the kitchen! But i didn’t want any old green monster, i wanted a peanut butter and jam one….yummy!

In my amazing smoothie;

• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 5 strawberries
• 8oz alpro soya
• 1T flax seed
• 1 drop vanilla essence
• 1T smooth peanut butter
• 0.5T of reduced sugar strawberry jam
• a sprinkle of coconut (because it looks pretty!)

The verdict….Holy satisfaction!!! I’m in love with this smoothie, it is a little sweet so maybe will only add a teaspoon of jam next time.

I look forward to blogging more regularly, i promise it won’t get too pregnancy related in post to come x

I have a couple of major projects on the go at the moment, which are taking up ALOT of my time with research etc, hence the lack of blogging! I wish i could share the full details of the projects but i can’t just yet. I can share the details of one of my projects however; getting my house sorted as we are hoping to sell it soon and move into a house with a bigger garden and a drive for both our cars. So over the next couple of weeks i thought i would post before and after pics of each room as we prepare the house for selling (we are giving ourselves a month to get the house sorted!) So i will be starting this from tomorrow hopefully.

A very exciting celeb siteing…

Although i have not been blogging often recently it doesn’t mean i’m not out enjoying life! Last weekend the husband and i went to our favourite eatery in the town we live The Railway Inn. We sat in the bar area to enjoy their stunning homemade pizza and who should be sat on the next table Hugh Fearnly-Wittingstall!!

I think only readers in the UK will know who this is, he is the chef on the River Cottage series…if this place is good enough for a top TV chef then it must have something good going for it!

Right i need to get off the internet and get in front of the stove, i am putting together our Valentines meal…Julia Childs Beouf Bourguignon and her chocolate Brownies too, i spoil my husband…he is worth!

My Julia Childs Recipe post will be coming up very soon x

But it is beautiful out there, clear skies and the sun is shining! This is the view from my work car park.

This evening i had one thing on my mind MUSHROOMS! I have not eaten mushrooms in ages and thought i would try to make a burger with them…i am happy to say i succeeded in making a delicious recipe which i shall be making again very soon.

Mushroom Burgers

You will need;

• 1 slice of bread to make breadcrumbs
• 5-6 mushrooms
• mixed herbs
• 1/2 tsp tahini paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic puree
• (ignore the egg – it was not needed in the end!)

I placed all the ingredients in my ickle food processor, i added a little extra virgin olive oil to help it all stick together and gave it a whirl…

I sautéed 1 small onion and some more mushrooms to have with my meal…

I then split the mixed ingredients into two patties and fried them in a little oil for a couple of minutes on each side…

I served the mushrooms up with the sautéed onions/mushrooms, carrot sticks and a little guacamole and hummus…

So moist and delicious…

Shop bought dips (it would be wrong to take the credit!)…

I used my smaller dinner plate that i purchased in Marks and Spencer, as the ones we have are massive and i am convinced that i overeat as i fill my plate with food! This plate is just a little bigger than my hand (and i actually have freakishly small hands!)

I washed down my dinner with the new bananaless Innocent smoothie, it is green and delicious!

In my innocent smoothie there is;

Before all my mushroom burger making shenanigans, i decided to go to the library after work, i picked up the following titles;

• 15 minute Everyday Pilates (with DVD)
• Fabulous in a Fortnight as i love Monica Grenfell’s eating plans (they really make my tummy happy, no bloating or IBS – bliss!) and
• Julie & Julia (i did get this book out last year but did not get around to reading it)

My local library also sells old books so i got this little read for the grand total of 50p!!!!! Bargain!!!!

It has some lovely recipes, juices and useful exercises, i look forward to having a read through…

And although i have seen the film ‘Julie & Julia’ a number of times i was very excited to see it in a bargain bucket in the co-op for £4.99, it means i can watch it any time i want, i love this film for 3 reasons;

1. I love blogging
2. I love food &
3. I love France

This film has all of that!!

I’m off to bed with a cup of this…

and my books…night all x

I’m going to take you back to late last week, i was loving the vegan challenge and had made lots of extra food to freeze to help me in week 2 of the challenge. I got home on Thursday evening to the sound of random beeping and a mini disco going on in the panel on my fridge/freezer. I tried switching it off and then back on, but the sounds and lights continued…my fridge/freezer was telling me enough is enough, i’m ready for the scrap yard!!

Unfortunately, not only did the fridge die on me, it also took all the frozen vegan meals that i made and all my fresh veggies with it…my vegan challenge came to abrupt end

This week i have not eaten too bad but we have been using up a lot of jars and packets, we are already going to have to fork out for a new fridge/freezer so we didn’t want to waste the food we already had.

Bye Bye Fridge/Freezer!!

Mini Kickstart Review

I lost a few pounds doing the vegan challenge for a week, I’m not sure how many calories i was consuming but i definitely felt lighter (there was the little problem of a gassy belly but not going to go into that too much!!) LOL. I am hoping to return to the challenge soon.

But things happen for a reason – right?? Because i was needed earlier in the week to test the new cabin crew sandwich range (it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it!)

I tried wholemeal brown rolls….

English muffins…

Filled croissants…

& delicious bagels…

My favourite out of all the samples was the roast veggies and cream cheese bagel! So sweet and yummy!

The score card…(a bit like the X Factor but no feelings being hurt!)

Like i said earlier, we have lots of jars to use up, we have not bought many fresh fruit & veg this week due to lack of fridge, so we are making do until we get our new appliance at the weekend. I desperately need some fresh food though!

This evening we decided to crack open a jar of M&S Korma Sauce…

I don’t think you can really complain about the ingredients list on this one!

I decided to try and use up some of the onions that we have in the cupboard, i also had eggs which i thought were going to go to waste on my vegan challenge but as i am temporarily off the plan i got to use 2, i decided to make ‘Quick Onion Bhaji’s’ To make these bhaji’s you will need (serves 2):

• 1.5 onions sliced
• 2 eggs
• 2oz plain flour
• 0.5 tsp ground cardomom
• 0.5 tsp cumin
• 0.5 tsp Garam Masala

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl so the onions are coated well, then shallow fry them for approx 10 mins (5 mins each side).

One lovely meal…chicken korma, egg fried rice and onion bhaji – my husband is very happy with my efforts tonight!

As i feel that i may have disappointed you with failing my vegan challenge (i intend to give it another go when we have a fridge/freezer!) I thought i would treat you to some cute pics…

Cute Pic #1 my fur baby Foxy…

Cute pic #2 my baby nephews…aren’t they adorable!!!

Also What do you think of the new Header? Likey/No Likey? Let me know x

So this morning i had the same breakfast as yesterday Nature’s Path Maple Syrup and Hazelnut Harmony cereal – here is the ingredients…

Crunchy wheat, flax flakes with toasty hazelnuts, crispy oat clusters and a delightful dash of maple syrup.

Ingredients

Wholegrain cereals* (whole wheat meal*, rolled oats*, wheat bran*, brown rice flour*, oat bran*, quinoa flour*, spelt flour*, millet flour*), evaporated cane juice*, roasted hazelnuts* 5%, flax seeds* 4%, soy oil*, barley malt extract*, sea salt, maple syrup* 1%, coconut*, natural maple flavour, oat syrup solids*, tocopherols (natural vitamin E), molasses*, cinnamon*. * denotes ingredients are organic

Not bad huh? I shall be purchasing this wonderful cereal again!

For lunch i had the same as what i had for dinner last night Hoppin’ John Salad.

So i moved onto something new for this evenings dinner – Curried Lentil Soup (click link for full ingredients). It was another super dooper easy recipe courtesy of the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart website. To make the soup i used;

• Red Lentil
• Onion
• Tomato
• Celery
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Curry Powder (mild)
• **my own addition Garam Masala (not pictured)

Unfortunately my iphone had a fit and deleted the photos of the soup preparation – i put the onion, tomato and celery in my food processor and gave it a little whirl, i then added this to approx 2 cups of water and the lentils, i let it simmer for about 5 minutes then added the garlic and spices – that was basically it!

Whilst this was cooking, i made myself a Green Monster in the hope that it would distract me from the crisps…it worked!! I mixed baby spinach, rice milk and frozen berries together – it turned out to be not so much green but dark purple! It was super yummy though!

I made myself some croutons by slicing a piece of bread into cubes and frying it in a little olive oil (if you look at the back you can see the soup simmering!) **(you can also see the husbands mince beef cooking – this has nothing to do with my meal!!!!!)**

The finished product….

I didn’t realise when i took the pic that you can’t actually see the soup for the croutons! I have lots left over so will take one tomorrow of the soup so you can see it!

The soup was divine, this will definately be made again, it was so quick, cheap and easy to make but still had all the flavour – the croutons were a bit of a treat but i just really fancied them )

I’m now in bed enjoying my second treat of the day a Nakd bar – pure bliss in my world of no chocolate or sugar!!

My last treat of the night which is not food related is this talc…

Strange you might think, but i love the smell of this talc, my nan and poppy used to have it in their house all the time so it reminds me of them. Sadly they are no longer with me, so this simple reminder makes me feel so content.

Well i hope you are all having a good week – i will be responding to your comments tomorrow when i have more time, but for now it is goodnight.

Here is what i ate on Day 1:

For breakfast (which i normally skip if i am not blogging!) i had porridge made with rice milk, i mixed in a pear and sprinkled it with cinnamon – instead of diving for the caffeine i went for hot water with lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper…

For lunch i had the Cous Cous Confetti Salad + carrot and red pepper soup which i blogged about making here.

Through the day i had caffeine free teas and water – no caffeine what so ever!! I have really been struggling with getting to sleep of a night so wanted to see whether it was the sugar and caffeine keeping me awake, i will come back to that in a moment.

When i got in from work i was allowed a piece of toast with peanut butter – i gobbled it down – i was really missing the bread – i LOVE bread!

I also dived into my Twinings box which i was sent a while ago, the lovely people at Twinings sent me a box full of tea!

I was finding i was feeling a little nauseous so thought the toast and a Digestif tea may help.

Once i had my tea and toast i started to get a roaring headache – i actually felt like a migraine was starting – the husband got the duvet for me and i curled up on the sofa – i felt rotten. I should have made my first vegan dinner but decided to save it for the next night and not eat.

I went to bed at 11pm and slept like a baby = result!!! Maybe the caffeine and sugar illimination was worth it!

Day 2:

I woke up feeling fine and well rested! No headache, no nausea. I think a mixture of sugar/caffeine withdrawal and exhaustion caused me to feel so rotten.

I started my day with a hot water and lemon (i forgot to add the cayenne pepper). Today i was allowed cereal so i had a bowl of this which i bought at the good food show…i forgot to take my own photo – sorry!

I used rice milk (which is so much nicer than soya) and added a few dried apricots for sweetness – this cereal is so nice!

For lunch i had the rest of the Cous Cous Confetti Salad and a couple of dried apricots. Again today i just stuck to the water but i do confess that i had a very weak tea after lunch (i had a major slump) but felt guilty as it did contain powdered milk and sugar (

I had physio tonight as i had a car crash just before xmas and damaged my back, i got in later than usual and almost asked the husband whether he wanted to go out to eat, but changed my mind and started making the dinner that i should have had the previous night…Hoppin John Salad! (click link for full recipe).

I chopped up some celery, tomato and spring onion…

And cooked some brown rice and simmered the black beans that i have had soaking…

For the sauce, i needed to add some garlic, so i used this which i also got from the Good Food Show…

It’s from a company called very lazy – which i am!! You have to use 1 tsp for every clove that you would normally use, i mixed this with lemon juice and olive oil…

Whilst i was waiting for the rice and beans to cook, i had the tough decision of what tea to have today mmmmm….

I opted for fruit tea…

and it was yummy!! The orange flavour really worked with cranberry, i think i will be having this one again. I also munched on a fingertip of peanut butter – if it is on your finger and not on a spoon – it doesn’t count right???

Once the rice and beans were cooked i put them into a bowl and mixed in the veggies and sauce mix…

Vegan dinner is served!!!

When i first saw this in my bowl i thought that won’t fill me up? But actually i only ate half as i was stuffed! I have loads left over for lunch tomorrow – this tasted so good – it’s all about the flavouring with these vegan meals…i have one problem with this diet so far…the beans bloat me (& i am a little windy!!! \ ) but i am putting this down to my body getting used to eating proper food!! How are all your detox’s and healthy starts to the year going?

Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail!!!

I have spent the best part of today planning for the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart – like i said yesterday, i am not planning to go vegan, this plan just suits my needs at the moment.

As i love cooking on Sunday afternoons, i went to Tesco and got everything i needed from the shopping list provided – i fortunately had a lot of the ingredients in the cupboard so only spent £33!! This included other things for the hubby as he will be eating normal meals, it is just me on the plan.

I decided to get two of the recipes ready for the next couple of days. The recipes on the plan are for 4 people so i halved the quantities of the ingredients so i have enough for a few meals for myself for the week.

Recipe #1 – Cous Cous Confetti Salad (click the link for full recipe)

For the recipe you will need;

• Cous cous
• Salad Onion
• Carrot
• Bell Pepper
• Red Cabbage
• Dried Apricots
• Rice Vinegar
• Curry Powder (i chose mild)
• Lemon Juice
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

First i added boiling water to the cous cous, covered it and left it for 10 minutes…

Meanwhile i chopped all the veggie ingredients in my little food processor, this made life a lot easier than chopping everything finely! I then mixed this into the cous cous…

Does it look like confetti???

I then mixed the lemon juice, olive oil, rice vinegar and curry powder together and poured it over the salad…

I had a little try of the salad…it was delicious, i need to try and not raid the fridge and keep eating it!!

Recipe #2 Carrot & Red Pepper Soup – (click link for full recipe)

For this soup you will need;

• Onion
• Bell pepper
• Carrots
• Lemon Juice
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Soya milk (i used Rice Milk)
• Water

I chopped the carrot and onion in my food processor – i really hate chopping, therefore i love my little gadget!

I then mixed the onion/carrot with water and simmered for 10 minutes…

Meanwhile I roasted the pepper under the grill to make it easier to remove the skin, this also makes the pepper go really sweet – my kitchen smelt heavenly!

The pepper was added to the onion/carrot and blended, the liquid ingredients was mixed in at the end…

I had a little taste, i usually find soups that i make very bland and don’t really enjoy them but this was something else…full of flavour and just delicious.

So tomorrow i will be a ‘vegan’ so to speak for 21 little teeny tiny days! I had some mozzarella in the fridge that i wanted to use up so made a mozzarella and tomato tart using Jus-Rol ready made pastry, spread with tomato puree and topped with the cheese and cherry tomato.

I also had a lot of bananas to eat up so i made a Banana & Chocolate Crumble, this is so quick and easy. Slice the banana up and throw in some chocolate, i then covered the mix with ready made crumble…

One last treat before ‘Project Optimum Health’ begins…

Ps The crumble is not all for me!!! I imagine my husband will eat most of eat throughout the week!!!