Snow trek...done!

Well as you know from my last post we are snowed in with no supplies so this morning, I went on a 6 mile snow trek to get supplies. Now 6 miles may not sound too far to walk but when you are more than knee high in snow it's hard work! I can really feel it in my legs now, but on the plus side it was exercise and I took some nice pictures.

Our Willow Tree

This is our drive

And our back garden! Wipeout

Anyway once i was back from the shops I made a brunch for me and phil, egg, sausage, beans. Naughty but was really appreciated.

Then this afternoon we had some tomato soup to warm up. Dinner was going to be a roast dinner but Phil is still poorly and it's not worth me doing one for just me. So i'll just throw soething together for myself with what I have here.

Our neighbour (farmer) said are going to try and clear the road tomorrow which would be ace so I can get to the supermarket and get some proper food in, plus I want to get most of the christmas stuff in so I don't have to worry about it.

Right i'm off for a hot batch and read my book. Then i'll be reading some blogs to get some more motivation and meal ideas.

xx

Snowed in!

Hi guys,

Sorry for the lack of posting, i'm still in my "slump" I'm hoping when New Year comes round i'll have fresh motivation and perspective. I'm hoping i'll be in a job then too! I think getting back into a routine will be good for me. I had an interview on Friday and they called me back a couple of hours after asking for me to go to a 2nd interview which I have Monday. Fingers crossed!!!!!!!

Well here in Kings Sutton the snow is insane. We live in the middle of no-where down a farm track. I tried to get out earlier but it wasn't happening. Because we have no food, not even bread or eggs! I attempted the trek across the fields 4 miles to the shop. It was a total wipeout, i couldn't see as the snow was coming down so thick and fast and I couldn't wade through all the snow. I'll see what it's like tomorrow and get supplies. I'm supposed to be doing a large cupcake order tomorrow but I don't have the stuff! Here is a pic outside my house

If we had supplies I love the idea of being snowed in but we were not prepared!

Food wise today has been random due to the no food situation- breakfast was cheerios, lunch was some pickled beetroot and some cheese and dinner is a sausage stew, that was all I could create with what i had!

Anyway I'm off to look after a poorly Phil, eat the dinner and then snuggle up meal planning.

Sorry for being a rubbish blogger at the moment guys. xx

TGI Friday!

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is ok. Frosting morning here in Oxfordshire. Ear muffs on today!

Breakfast this morning was a wholegrain bagel with lowfat soft cheese and smoked salmon, yummyness.

One of my best friends is coming down from up north to stay with us for the weekend so i need to go to town to get some things for cocktails! Cosmopolitan and Lychee martinis :-) Tonight for dinner is a warming cottage pie with veg. Not sure what lunch will be today. Depends if i'm home in town or out and about.

Also need to do some cleaning and get things in order before Niccie arrives. Hoovering and sorting out the living room as it's a bit cluttered!! We are having a night in tonight with a few drinks and playing Just Dance on the wii so at least that will be some exercise!

Then tomorrow night we are off out to an Urban night so will be dancing the night away. Still not got back into a workout routine. I think i need to set a weekly plan. Mixing the Biggest Loser workout, cross trainer and one of my other workout dvds. I just keep delaying it!

Today I also plan to do my meal plan next week. As we are on a really tight budget i'm going to try and do what I can with healthy meals. Including a lot of veg as we receive a veg box every wednesday night and always lots of goodies in there.

Sorry for lack of pics!

Here is a snuggly Daisy to cheer you up!

Looking for motivation

Hi guys,

As you've probably noticed i've been blogging less and well i've been eating rubbish and not exercising much. I really have seem to have lost my mojo and i'm really struggling to get it back.My body feels tired all them time and i'm fed up of being overweight and unhealthy. Anyone got any words of wisdom/tips etc to get me back on track? Would love to hear comments from peeps.

I think it's mainly because i've been out of work since July ans still have nothing on the cards. So this means we barely scrape by every month and i'm having to buy really cheap food and i'm struggling to come up with healthy things on a budget and also been at home on my own most of the day, i'm feeling a bit of a hermit and a bit like a failure at the mo. Sorry to be such a depressing post!!!! Trying to remain positive. Wish the cupcake business would bring in enough pennies for us to live off!!

Anyway any helps is soo appreciated.

Jess xx

It's the weekend

Hi guys, hope you all have nice weekends planned.

I'm on route to Leicester to do a cupcake party for some lovely ladies. Should be fun! Phil's dad lives in the next village along so we are going there first and Phil will stay there while I do the party.

Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs onn toast. Not sure what I'm doing about lunch as I'll be doing the party. So brought one of the Mule bars with me to give me some energy in case I don't get anything. I'll let you know what it's like.

I've been busy planning the vintage china hire and tea party business. Planning to expand the cupcake business. Will hopefully be sometime next year once I have enough china bits and bobs.

Anyway not much to report on yet so I'll catch you later.

Here's a pic of some snuggly bunnies relaxing!
Jess xx
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Little bit of Vintage

I've been pretty slack on the blogging front this month. Been major busy with cupcakes, classes and trying to find a fulltime job. Hope you'll forgive me :-)

It's getting pretty cold here now and starting to feel like xmas!! I started putting christmas des up yesterday :-) I like to have them up as long as poss!!!

Breakfast today was a wholegrain bagel with cream cheese and salmon, lush! Lunch was sandwiches and cake at my cousins house. We had another tea party.

Dinner was a warming stew- sorry for no pics!!!

I got some more vintage china today for my collection. Here's some pics of my stuff. I'm collecting for 2 reasons, one for my wedding and also i want to set up a vintage china hire business. me and my nan are looking for some more things tomorrow at the antique cellar :-)

Here's a pic of some cuppies made in my cupcake class. I love teaching people :-)

Tomorrow I have a job interview so keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

When the weather outside is frightful...

Sooo sorry I haven't posted for over a week. I've been in a bit of a gloomy place. Mixture of dreary weather and not having a job. feeding ourselves is becoming quite difficult with no money. So meals haven't been fantastic, it's been operation use what's in the cupboards. So lots of pasta, potatoes, cous cous, random freezer stuff etc. I'm really hating it as I lurve cooking and love nothing better than looking for delish healthy recipes to cook.

I have a little money to get some food shopping today but not a lot. Things on the menu this week are mexican potatoes, healthy turkey lasagne, Veg risotto and spanish chicken thighs.

On a good note I have an interview tomorrow! Yay! It's for a care assistant in a nursing home. Totally different to what i've done (IT Project management) and about a £25,000 pay drop but I've always wanted to do a job that's worthwhile, helping people. I was scared before as I got caught up in the corporate world, getting promoted and a bigger pay rise that I couldn't possibly leave my high paid job for such a low salary. But now I have nothing so it's not as scary, i'll be getting something. I just want to know I have a certain amount of money coming in each month and I can try and make extra with the Cupcake business. Wish me luck for my interview!!

Today we have our letting agents coming for a house inspection and then I have a laday coming to sample cupcakes for her wedding. Then food shopping.

The weather here has changed so much, it's so cold and rainy. I love the winter but hate the rain that comes with it!!!

Right I'm off to eat some breakfast. Catch ya laters.

Jess

Happy Friday!

Hope everyone is having a good friday.

Mine started with a veggie cooked breakfast. I veggie sausage. Toast, chopped tomatoes, egg and beans and mushrooms. So good.

After that had gone down I did a workout on the biggest loser- very hard but felt great after. Had a coconut water to refuel after.

As I had a big breakfast I had a banana smoothie for lunch. I put in 1 banana, tablespoon of peanut butter, drizzle of honey a few oats and milk. Lush!

In the afternoon I went to see my nan and then popped to my sisters.

Then for dinner I decided to cook Phil I nice meal. I made pumpkin soup ( with the pumpkin I carved) with bake croutons and seeds and then cod fillet wrapped in serrano ham served with mash and roasted parsnips and carrots. Yum!

I don't have a cupcake class tomorrow now as the 2 ladies cancelled so plan on doing more unpacking as our spare room is a mess!

Then off for drinks and nibbles round Cat and Tylers.

I've been looking through one of my new cookbooks by Sally Bee and it's fab, I want to try all of the recipes. I hate getting a cookbook and only finding a handful that I like.

What is everyone doing this weekend? Love to hear from you.

Jess xx
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Happy Hump day!

Hi guys, hope everyone has had a good week so far.

I was glad it wasn't raining today as we have had loads! And living on a farm there is mud everywhere- I still need wellies!!!

Breakfast this morning was a vegetarian cooked breakfast, with toast, tomatoes, quorn bacon, veggie sausages and an egg- lovely!

My snack was at lunch as I knew I would be home way after lunch so I had a bowl of puffed brown rice and rice milk.

Lunch (at 3.30pm) was courgette fritter made with wholegrain spelt flour.

I then did cleaning round the house and read a bit of my magazine then it was time to get dinner ready. A quorn fillet in breadcrumbs with half corn on the cob, romanesca cauliflour and sweet potato fries. Lush. Phil loved it, I waited until he finished until I told him it was vegetarian and not real chicken :-0

This evening me and Phil caught up on some TV and then I made a batch of peanut butter cupcakes. Yuuuuuuum.

I'm still on the job hunt. Been out of work since July and money is a serious issue at the moment, we are really struggling. Fingers crossed something comes up really soon!!

Right i'm off to bed!!

Veggie's!

Hi guys,

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. My sister came out of hospital late in the afternoon so had to pick her up and sort a few things out. Glad she's back home though bless her.

My first veg box cam yesterday from Kelly's Veggie's! Super excited.

This week I got:

Avocado
Green Romanesco Cauliflower
Onions
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Sweetcorn on the cob
Sweet Potatoes

Citrus Fruits (Clementines, Satsumas, Jaffa Oranges, etc.)
Grapes

Lots of nice things to try.

This morning for breakie was scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast and organic coffee. Needed a filling breakfast this morning.

Lunch I had tofu with stir fry veggies. Bit of TLC food. I'm fling really exhausted at the moment.

Dinner was grilled chicken with sweet potato wedges, corn on the cob and purple sprouting from the veg box :-)

Sorry for short post again. Off to watch Miami Vice with Phil.

Jess xx

Long night

Hi guys,

Crapberry post so sorry for pics being at the top!

Today I started with a choc cherry smoothie- missed that bad boy!!

Then lunch was a hot and sour soup I made for me and my sister. In the afternoon I went to my sisters and made halloween decorations with my nephew connor. Such fun! I miss being a kid!!

Then I made avocado and salmon sushi for lunch. Not bad for my first ever try!!!

Snacks have been some seaweed snacks and a few squares of dark choc.

I planned a night reading and chillaxing and at 10.30pm I got a call from my sister as she needed to go to hospital so I'm now sat at her house looking after connor. I won't go into too much detail but she had a coil fitted a few weeks ago and it's got infected so she needs to have it removed urgently as it can make you infertile!!

I've got The Kind Diet with me so I can read some of that. No idea how long they will be.

Right sorry for short boring post. Catch ya tomorrow.

Jess xx
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Lol- quick update

I know I've just posted but just looked on the stats for my blog and here are some of the search terms that have led people to my blog- love the flab one!!! And my post about the electra bike has obviously bumped it up a bit! On a good note I had no idea I get about 800 views a month! Much more than I thought!!

electra gypsy cruiser

"amai udon wagamama recipe"

electra bike

cutiedaisy

electra gypsy bike

moderngirlsguide

beach cruiser bikes with basket

bike flower basket

can pinch my flab

cruiser gypsy

Do you sushi? I do!

Hi guys, hope you are all having a fab day.

Today I had lunch at my fave place- yo sushi. Little bites of pure heaven. I could eat there every day no problemo!

Breakfast was oats with Agave Nectar and a cup of organic coffee and rice milk

After a few appointments this afternoon I was feeling pretty drained so treated myself with a chillout watching Sex & the City Movie for the 200th time :-)

The lovely guys at Mule Bar sent me some free sample to taste. So far I've had the Hunza Nut and Mango Tango energy bars. These guys pride themselves on 100% natural ingredients so I couldn't wait to try them. The packaging is cute and looks fun so that was a thumbs up. The 2 I tried are kinda like a flapjack and both were so scrummy. You can really taste the mango in the Mango tango and they were much moister than I thought they would be, some cereal bars are like sawdust! But the Hunza nut was my fave so far. Really yummy flavours and really hit the spot. Phil tried the Liquorice one as I cannot stand it! He wasn't a fan. he said the creal bar consistency was nice but couldn't get it head round the liquorice in it. But he isn't a massive fan of it anyway. I've got a few more to try which I'll update you on as I eat them. But so far i'm impressed.

The nutritional breakdown is:

Hunza Nut 65g bar

Kcal 233

Fat 4g

Sat fat 0.6g

Fibre 3g

Protein 4g

Carb 44g

Mango Tango 65g bar

Kcal 241

Fat 5g

Sat fat 1g

Fibre 2g

Protein 6g

Carb 44g

Dinner was satay prawns with brown rice pad thai noodles for me and Chicken satay for phil. Yumness! And sorry for no pic!

As you know I'v been looking at vegan/veggie diets a fair bit and want to dabble in them and see what I like. Next week I've decided the following breakdown:

Mon- Veggie

Tues- Vegan

Wed- Vegan

Thurs- normal day

Fri- Veggie

Sat- Veggie

Sun- Veggie

That being said even on non vegan days I'm going to try and eat like a vegan where possible i.e. still having my rice milk and vegan butter etc but it means I can be a bit more adventurous with my meals.

Right I'm off to do some meal planning!!!

Jess xx

Happy Friday

Hi guys,

Sorry blogging from the crapberry so pics are all at the top!

Hope everyone has had a fab day. Mine started with a feeling that I had something important today but couldn't think what it was so I went on with my day. Toast for breakie and then picked up my sister for a look round town and we shared this seafood platter for lunch. Amazing! Mackerel, prawns, crayfish, anchovies, salad and granary bread. We couldn't finish it though! I got some bits from the health food shop- organic coffee, dairy free choc, organic rocksalt and oatmeal.

Anyway driving home I had a call on my carphone. The kitchen inspector was waiting at my house to check my kitchen. Because I run a cupcake business at home they have to check it. That was the something important!! Well I left washing drying in the kitchen, including pants! A random pumpkin that my gramp dropped off and my breakfast dishes left on the side! Nightmare. My kitchen is always clean but I'd left this stuff out! IDIOT!! Anyway it was all ok!!

So after that I prepared for my cupcake class tomorrow and tried a new cupcake recipe- banana and chocolate cupcakes filled with caramel..enough said!!

Then my gorgeous Phil came home. Missed him last night. And we had dinner of chicken wings and homemade oven chips. Not healthy but not too bad as they were baked.

Then we watched Spooks and I had a nice hot bath. Lush!

So now I'm off to read The Clean & Lean Diet and then off to Bedfordshire.

Another pic of Muffin getting up to no good!

Jess
Xx
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Tired

Hi guys,

Quick post tonight via blackberry as can hardly keep my eyes open!

Breakfast today was wholegrain toast and honey again. Yummy!

Lunch I made a prawn curry from zest magazine. Served with brown rice udon noodles but I didn't eat them as I didn't cook them fully #fail.

It's getting really cold here now and I was hungry this afternoon so I had a bowl of miso soup.

Phil is away tonight so I thought I'd treat myself to a chinese takeaway but as always wish I hadn't. It's made me feel really heavy, sluggish and yuk. Really need to take notice of my body that it doesn't do well with these foods. So am feeling disappointed with myself. But tomorrow is a new day.

I'm loving The Kind Diet book. Off to read some more in a mo. I hear Bob Harper has come out as Vegan. Must be something in it.

Any of my blog readers vegan?

Couple of pics of Molly in her new sleep place and some chillaxin bunnies!

Right I'm off to bedfordshire as Bridget Jones would say.
Jess
Xx

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Happy Hump day!

Hi guys,

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. My bad.

Today I had a nice lie in as didn't have a cupcake class to do. For breakfast I had 2 slices of wholegrain toast with honey. Sorry no pic!

Lunch was Thyme-roasted Gem Squash I missed out the cream though as wanted to make it a bit healthier.

I watched cupcake wars and then chillaxed on the sofa and watched Bridget Jone's diary as I haven't seen it for ages and it fit in perfectly with my chill day!

My books came yesterday- The Kind Diet and Clean & Lean Diet. Last night I started The Kind Diet and I couldn't put it down. I got to Chapter 7 before I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I'm thinking about eating a more veggie/vegan diet. And this book was recommended to me. I was a vegetarian when I was a teen and then just gave it up. But I miss it. I'm not sure how I'm going to approach it yet and may not follow it as strictly- e.g I love eggs, prawns, fish and honey but a more of a flexitarian diet combining vegan/vegetarian with a day here or there with lean milk or fish. I'm just rambling! I'll let you know once I've figured out what i'm going to do. The good thing about The Kind Diet is there are different levels to follow. You can start as a "flirt" and move to a "superhero".

I also baked some cupcakes today. Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes drizzled with maple syrup- yummy!

Here are some Christmas cupcakes too

Dinner was roasted pumpkin speltotto (spelt risotto) it was pretty good actually!

As it's freezing tonight me and Phil fancied oatmeal with walnuts, PB and choc as pudding- delish!!!

Question for today:

What goals did you set for 2010 or still want to achieve?

Mine are:

• Lose another stone which will take me to 4 stone lost this year.
• I want to find a job! I've been out of work since July and money is getting seriously tight! I want something close to home and for a bit less money so I don't have such a stressful job as before. Just doesn't seem to be a lot about
• Seriously up my exercise. As you've probably read i've been a bit slack since my operation and with moving home and i've still not got back into a routine.

Right off to read some more of The Kind Diet before bed!

Night all

Jess

xx

Happy Monday!

Weekends go by sooooooo quickly!

Today I had a cupcake class with a lovely lady who is setting up a cupcake business in Stow on the Wold. We did a lot of xmas style cakes as that's what she wanted. Great fun and got me in the xmas mood!!!

Breakfast this morning was oats with peanut butter, choc spread and some seeds. After reading lots of fellow bloggies having theirs I was craving it!!

After my class I went to see my friend Lydia for a cuppa and then popped to the farm shop and got these goodies.

Pumpkin and mascarpone for my pumpkin risotto i'm making, a gem squash which i'll do something with and some Speltotto- an organic spelt risotto so have to try it!!!

Lunch wasn't until 3 but worth the wait. Brown rice udon noodles with veg and teriyaki tofu.

Dinner was egg fried quinoa with prawns. Yummy.

A few other eats where a few squares of dark chocolate, some ginger nut biscuits and some vanilla rice milk.

I've got another cupcake class tomorrow so need to bake some cuppies for that and then I think a chillax with Phil on the sofa is in order :-)

Love Lazy Sundays

It's been such a nice day here! Sun has been shining all day.

After a nice Sunday lie in we had some scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast and 2 slices of lean breakfast. AMAZING!

Then a quick trip to the pet shop and supermarket for supplies before going back home.

I baked my Christmas cake. I used this recipe by the queen of Baking Mary Berry. The house has been filled with wonderful Christmas smells :-0

For lunch I made some tofu and vegetable brown rice. Yummy. Did a bit too much though so had to throw some away- hate waste!!!

For dinner I made lemon chicken and served it with some brown noodles and salad.

As it was Sunday and I've been craving it all week I made a mini apple and blackberry crumble for me and Phil and served it with some light vanilla ice cream- perfect!!!!

Don't forget guys you can leave a comment at the end of each post. I love hearing from peeps- don't be shy!

Question for today: What 3 foods can you not live without?

Mine would be- prawns, wholegrain bread and honey I think. Bit of a tough call!

Bedtime reading: 15 Minute Stress Busters

Fluff monstor

Here's another pic of the fluff monstor Poppy! Cheeky little bunny.

Today me and Phil had a nice lay in, did a few things round the house. I mowed the lawn which was tough!! Sweating my ass off!!!

We went in to town so Phil could have his hair cut and I had a mooch around and picked up this little treat :-)

Snackage today was pineapple. 2 whole pineapples for £1 at the market. Bargin!!

Lunch on the go was a sarnie and a very nice sarnie it was too!

Saturday night snackage- hummous, pitta and olives and sun blushed tomatoes. Yum! We then had pizza for dinner. So that part wasn't healthy.

My sister, Ryan and Connor came round in the afternoon and Connor had loads of fun climbing the trees. He loves coming to our as they live in a flat so they don't have a garden and ours is massive!

Tonight we've pretty much chilled out and watched Strictly Come Dancing. I want Matt Baker to win :-)

Now we pretty much all know we should be getting 5 a day of fruit/veg but do we know what a portion is. This guide tells you what's what.

Tomorrow I plan to make my xmas cake, plan for my cupcake class on Monday and unpack some more boxes and that's pretty much it. What are everyone elses plans?

Jess xx