Filling the freezer for less

One of the things I enjoy about being on holiday is having time to cook for the freezer.  I love it!  OH actually said to me this morning "Are you cooking again?" Lol!!  I find it very satisfying to see those boxes pile up especially when I know it's saving me money.

Top picture has 6 portions of cooked chicken breast (plus 1 more I ate at the time) that cost £5.25 for 1kg (Sainsbury's frozen chicken.)  That made 7 portions of chicken @ 75p each.  I made 4 portions of cooked minced beef with veggies.  The mince cost £3.50 for 500g making each portion 87.5p although I have discovered Lidl's steak mince is £3.15 for 500g that would make it 79p a portion. And I made some goat's milk yoghurt which worked out around 80p for 400g (shop bought is £2.40 for a similar amount.)

I made 3 portions of Chicken and Coconut soup and 3 portions of Shakshuka (a sort of spicy tomato stew)  that gets served with 2 eggs and little yoghurt. There are 2 of each in the freezer now.  I also made 4 portions of Chicken Jalfrezi but OH thought it smelled good so we ate it last night (3 of us!) with a little leftover for my lunch today.

The only thing growing abundantly in my garden is rhubarb so I used 1 kg of the stuff to make...

...chutney!! Love the stuff 😋

I made a double batch of Almond and honey pancakes.  One for breakfast and one for the freezer.

All the above meals and portion sizes are from my Body Coach plan.  I'm trying to stick to the portion sizes I was given. I'm back on my healthy eating and exercise plan as I'd like to lose a bit more weight.  I put on 0.5kg on holiday so I'm still on track to my target.

I've also signed up to try a 1 to 1 class in Pilates (half price offer) to see if that will help with my aching bits!  I'll report back on that 💪

90 Days

This post isn't about saving money or living well on less.  But it is about living well and being in control of my health.  I want to be fit and healthy for my retirement.

Yesterday I 'graduated' (that's what they call it, not me!) from The Body Coach 90 day plan.  90 days of eating amazingly healthy food and exercise.  It's not for everyone but it seems to work for most people who stick with it until the end.  In 90 days I've lost 4.5kg (10lbs) and 17.5 inches off my waist, hips and thighs.  I was already eating healthily and going to the gym regularly but it wasn't working any more.  I was slowly and steadily putting on weight especially round my tummy (hormones, eh?)  I needed to shock my body into losing that bloody fat!!

90 days ago I couldn't get these trousers up over my thighs.  In fact, the denim ones even have a gap in the waistband at the back!

This worked for me.  I don't think it matters what you do to stay healthy as long as you're active and keep switching it up to trick your body.  I've found that I like to do the same things and not change my routines/habits.  As I get older I've realised this doesn't work for me.  So I'm forcing myself out of that rut.

I'm going to keep going with the principles of the plan as I've still got weight and fat to shift.  I've got 5 weeks until my Australian holiday so that's my motivation.

Never think you're too old/too fat/too lazy to do something about your own health.  It's hard but worth it.

On/off

I wish the flipping weather would make it's mind up!!  As soon I switch the heating completely off the temperature drops and the house is cold.  So I switch it back on again.  And repeat several times through April and May! I really can't stand being cold.  OH laughs at me as I sit on the sofa at night wearing loads of layers and a blanket wrapped round me.  To be fair I did grow up in a house where my dad also doesn't like being cold (my Lovely Mum is snorting with laughter reading this!!) although he refuses to even put a jumper on!!

Thanks for all the supportive comments on my last post.  It seems like a lot of people are recognising that their life is unbalanced.  I'm pretty sure it was Oprah (I'm a big Oprah fan!) who said that women can have it all, just not at the same time.  Even though I live on my own it feels sometimes that I don't have time to myself to do what I want instead of what I have to do.  But I'll keep working on it.

I noticed today that I have 100 followers now!  Thank you 💗 I don't publicise or promote my blog anywhere so it means a lot to me that you're all reading my stuff and commenting. I'm not writing as much as I want to but I am still living as frugally as I can while doing my Body Coach Plan (must update my spending details on the sidebar!)  So far I've lost half a stone and 14 inches but most importantly I feel healthier and fitter.  The challenge will be what happens once the 90 days are over.  Can I stick to the principles on a budget?   My bank balance is VERY low so I'll need to make it work somehow.

Quitting is not an option

I am so tired.  If I wasn't on holiday I wonder if I would even manage to go to work.  This nasty cold has floored me almost as much as the flu did.  And on top of that my knee is still very painful.  I can't walk the dog far, can't go down stairs, can't do the garden, can't stand for too long etc But I have to keep going as I have too much to do.  Luckily my physio appt is tomorrow morning so fingers crossed I'll get some exercises to get me fully mobile again!

I'm resting as much as I can then doing the essential stuff in between rests.  I'm saying no to social things (even cancelled a rare date night with OH) and not initiating anything myself.  I'm still on my 90 day plan so I'm eating well and doing modified HIIT workouts when I can.  I've already lost 9 inches, most of that from my hips and waist!

Chicken and kale soup, blueberry muffins and Thai green curry with prawns 

 Pea risotto , crispy beef wrap and almond and honey pancakes

But my favourite meal so far has to be the breakfast pizza! 😋

I love cooking and am so pleased I'm still motivated to cook even if I'm feeling crap.  Unfortunately the cost of food on Cycle 1 on this plan made my March supermarket spending double!!  So far this month on Cycle 2 it is nearly back to normal as I have lots of the new stuff in cupboard already.  But it was interesting to note the huge jump in my spending due to trying to eat more healthily (see Mad March on my sidebar!) This is something I'll be investigating a bit more the further I go into the plan.

In other news eldest DS moved into the flat yesterday with help from my lovely mum and aunt.  DS and I can clash easily when we're both tired so having them as a buffer worked really well.  There's still a lot of cleaning and sorting of broken furniture to deal with in his old flat but we have until the end of the month to deal with that.

Sorry I've not got much interesting news to share.  As I'm getting older I'm appreciating good health even more and am willing to focus on just that when I'm under the weather.  Hopefully normal service will resumed soon.

Stay well wherever you are!

Easter holidays!

Well, I made it to the holidays.  But I woke up this morning with a rotten cough and stinky cold.  I have a crick in my neck that's making turning my head painful.  And I hurt my knee at work which is making walking difficult.  I'm being referred to a physio but I have to wait 2 more weeks for my appt  *sighs*  I know I'm run down when I have mouth ulcers.  Hopefully 2 weeks off will perk me up again!

I'm sticking to my 90 day plan but with a knee injury I may have to pause it for a week.  I'm a few days short of the end of the first cycle.  Lots of people take a wee break between cycles so my enforced one shouldn't have too much of an effect.  Tomorrow is my weighing and measuring day so here's hoping the hard work is starting to pay off.  So far I've been able to wear 2 old dresses to work I've not been able to wear for 2 years!!

And finally, I now own a second property! Eeek!! Scary and exciting in equal measure but that news deserves a post of it's own over the weekend.

Hanging on

And another 2 weeks has just whizzed by!  I am so busy with work stuff that everything else has gone into survival mode.  I come home exhausted and curl up on the couch for the evening.  OH being away a lot hasn't helped and I even spent my birthday on my own because I just couldn't be bothered organising anything.  My house and garden are a complete tip but not quite at health hazard level (yet!) Thanks goodness I only have 4 more teaching days left then a 2 week break.  I can hang on till then.

Next week is a busy week as I finally get the keys to the flat!!! 😊 There's still a few niggly things to be done, mainly concerning money laundering laws *ROLLS EYES*  Everyone in an official capacity wants to know exactly where every penny comes from.  And just saying you saved up isn't enough.  Apparently! *sighs*

On the health front, I've been sticking rigidly to my 90 day plan.  I haven't been tempted to weigh myself but I know I've lost something around the tummy area.  I've got 1 more week to complete of Cycle 1 then I have to do the measurements.  Fingers crossed!

Ups and Downs

 Frittata, Prawn Burger and sweet potato fries, Roast Cauliflower and Chicken Salad

Why do Mondays to Fridays drag and Saturdays/Sundays whizz by in a flash?? *sighs*  Last week was a dreadful one work wise ending with me being punched by one of my pupils *sighs again*  Ah well, just 3 more weeks until the Easter holidays.

In a effort to get myself fit and healthy before going to Australia in July (I don't want a repeat of 'She needs a bigger wetsuit!!') 😲 I've signed up to do The Body Coach's 90 day Plan.  I already eat healthily (most of the time) and I go the gym but I've not been able to shift the weight I wanted.  So something had to be changed.  It's a programme of nutritionally balanced meals tailored to me and 5 different HIIT workouts.

Bagel with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, BBQ meatballs and NY Style Steak and Eggs

So far I am loving the food!!  In fact there is so much food I sometimes struggle with the portions.  I already meal prepped so that bit is easy.  I've adjusted my gym workouts to HIIT sessions and do a couple of extra ones at home when I get in from work.  It's not a weight loss plan, more of a lose fat/gain muscle plan!

It's not for everyone but I need to do something to shock my body into action.  My weight has been yoyoing this past year and I just feel I need a completely different approach.  I'm one week into the first 30 day cycle and so far so good.