Smoked paprika cheesey pasta bake

Ingredients

Pasta

Passata

75g light cream cheese

Vegetables (I used onions, mushrooms and peppers)

Garlic

Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper

1. Cook pasta

2. Fry vegetables in frylight with the garlic, once soft add passata.

3. Season with salt, pepper and paprika

4. Stir in cream cheese, add pasta and stir until all the pasta is coated in the sauce.

5. Transfer to ovenproof dish and top with grated cheese.

6. Place in oven on 200 until cheese is melted. 

Back to Slimming World groups

After admitting that I could no longer lose weight by myself at home I decided to join a local Slimming World group. I need the accountability at the moment and the embarrassment of weighing in front of somebody.

If you know me you will know I do not like the Slimming World groups, I have tried many of them over the years and just not got on with them, whether it be the consultant or the people at the group. I have done two classes so far at my new group. The people seem OK, there is no obvious clique which is nice. The normal consultant has been on holiday for the past two weeks so can't comment on that at the moment, the stand in consultant was friendly enough but the first group consisted of going round everyones losses/gains which I hated, consequently I didn't stay on my second class but will this coming week to see what the consultant is like she has already sent me a text message letting me know she is back from holiday and welcoming me to the class which was nice.

In my first week I lost 4.5lbs which I was a little disappointed in, I usually lose a lot more in my first week but a loss is a loss and I am hoping for a decent amount this week. I would like 2.5lbs to get my 1/2 stone.

Fish Pie

Ingredients

Fish of your choice I used Tesco fish pie mix which consisted of salmon, cod and smoked haddock
Milk
Prawns
Garden peas
Potatoes
Parsley Sauce (I used Asda instant which is 81 calories for 1/2 a packet)
Method
1. Poach fish in some milk seasoned with salt and pepper. Boil potatoes
2. Make up parsley sauce as directed.
3. Add peas and prawns to milk.
4. Pour parsley sauce over and simmer for a  2-3 minutes.
5. Drain potatoes and mash. I find adding a splash of milk and an egg makes it creamy.
6. Place fish mixture into dish and top with mash potato. Place in over for 10 minutes to crisp up the top.

Serve with steamed vegetables and a sprinkle of cheese.

I made up 4 individual pies to freeze and placed them in foil containers (hence the pictures being upside down!)

Eggy Noodles

I got this recipe from a website for baby led weaning whilst looking around for meal ideas for Charlotte and it was absolutely delicious. I made Charlotte's then added seasoning to my dish.

Ingredients.

Dried noodles
1 egg
Mixed vegetables
Sweet Chilli sauce
Soy Sauce

Charlotte enjoying noodles

1. Make noodles as directed on packet.
2. Beat egg
3. Boil vegetables (I used frozen mixed vegetables)
4. Drain noodles and place in a frying pan with egg and vegetables. Stir fry until egg is cooked.
5. Mix in sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce.

Healthy eating on a budget challenge

I often hear people complaining that eating healthily is expensive and often these people stop healthy eating due to the cost. I, however, think I am opposite to this and feel that when eating badly I spend a lot on takeaways, eating out, chocolate and crisps. With this is mind I am going to do a challenge to see how low I can get my weekly shop and hopefully those who read my blog might be able to get their shopping down. Each week I will shop in a different supermarket for my main shop, and will include prices of any top ups I do. The main supermarkets I go to are Aldi, Asda and Tesco.

Budget means different amounts to different people and obviously prices depend upon whereabouts you live.  This Daily Mail article states that the British weekly food bill tops £77 a week for a family, it doesn't, however, say how big the family is. I think for a family of 2 plus a baby I can get our shopping for less.

During the challenge I will share my weekly shop and cost, food menus and any money saving tips I pick up along the way.

Weigh in update

I have started back on my weight loss journey, again! I have gained back 1 1/2 stone which means my loss from January 2011 is back to 3 1/2 stone. I have been back on plan for a week and lost 2lbs, so officially 3 stone 9lbs down.

I was hoping it was going to be more and I'm not sure why it wasn't more than that. I ate really well all week, snacks were kept to a minimum and I had one cheat meal of Fish and Chips at the seaside, this in itself is not much to do any damage, just like one good meal a week would not see me lose any weight.

If you are a long time reader of my blog you will know that I do night shifts which can sometimes impact on my eating and weigh in results. Before having Charlotte I would turn my days upside down so breakfast was around 8pm, dinner time at 2am-3am and tea time was at 8am, however, I am unable to do this now. I have to be up a lot earlier in the day to look after Charlotte when Jonathan is in work, therefore, being up many more hours than I would be normally. I am currently on night 2 of 7 of trying to work out a new routine, I'm not completely sure of what I am going to do yet. However, on my desk a bag of fruit and a tub of salad are waiting to be eaten.

Pork with jacket potato, philidelphia and roasted cherry tomatoes

Wanted to share one of my favourite meals to have, this is a really filling evening meal and you get plenty of your veggies included.

For the jacket potato I place in microwave for 5 minutes before transferring to the oven to finish cooking. I topped this with Sweet Chilli Philedelphia

I fried some pork steaks with mushrooms in some frylight.

Boiled some mixed veg.

Roasted some cherry tomatoes in the oven.

Delicious!