Hi guys, errrrm how is it 21st November? I’ve been married now almost two months. That is mind-blowing!
I’ve really being feeling Christmassy. I love Christmas – it’s my favourite time of year. I love how everyone has that Christmas feeling; that expectation and excitement. I love the music and the decorations. And, obviously, I love the food.
What I hate about Christmas is this sudden fear of the dreaded holiday weight-gain. All these articles start appearing about “How to avoid the Christmas bulge” and “What foods to avoid at a Christmas buffet” etc. It sort of takes the fun out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to throw myself into a giant-sized box of Celebration chocolates with abandon. But I’m not going to sit here and deny myself the treats that I so look forward to. Mince pies? Yes please. A slice of stollen? Ohhh yes. I just wish the media could tone things down a bit and stop making people feel so damn guilty about eating the food of the season. Come on people, let’s relax a little shall we?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working at the customer site at the moment. It’s quite a good team we have; there’s only seven of us and it’s nice and relaxed. The work is tough as the system that’s being developed is fairly complicated but we’ve got a good atmosphere. However. Outside our little bubble the normal business-as-usual life of the customer is working around us. And I don’t think they like us. They practically growl at us when we laugh. Raise their eyebrows when we have moderately loud conversations. And the worst part? They have the radio on. And it’s the same station. All. Day. Long. If I hear Skyfall ONE MORE TIME I might cry. Whew, sorry about that. Got that outta my system.
Right, so it’s What I Ate Wednesday – though this is Sunday’s eats. Let’s get started, shall we? Thanks to Jenn as usual!
Breakfast: I’ve been experimenting with breakfast. OK, still my usual porridge/oatmeal. But I’ve jazzed it up with my new favourite ingredient: coconut flour.
OK, it doesn’t look any different. But let me assure you, this has a heaped tbsp. of coconut flour added to it. It adds a lovely subtle coconut taste and makes it very thick and stodgy. Perfect porridge consistency in my books. And it’s added a lovely smooth texture to it now. So with this at 7am I’m good to go until midday (with coffee as well, obviously).
Lunch: during the week I either have a mixed bean chilli or a salad, but at the weekend I can be a bit more exciting. Usually in the form of something eggy. As enticing as that sounds…
I whipped up three eggs, some chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped onions and half a cup of pumpkin puree. The pumpkin was a great add. Really thickened it up. And made the eggs a lovely, er, colour And I’m obsessed with Brussels’s sprouts at the moment. Might need to tone that down before I overdo it before Christmas – and what’s Christmas without sprouts??
Dinner: I decided to try a Thai-style coconut curry. Unfortunately I didn’t have any coconut milk but I thought with my new favourite ingredient I could attempt it anyway. I didn’t really follow any recipe. I just threw things together.
Coconut Chicken Curry(serves 2)
Blob of coconut oil
Clove garlic, diced
Inch of fresh garlic, grated
2 chicken breasts, diced
2-3 mushrooms
1 cup of frozen mixed veg
1 white onion, diced
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. coconut flour
1 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp. chilli powder
1.5 tsp. dried coriander
– Heat a pan with the oil, then add the onion and fry until the onion is golden. Add the mushrooms and fry for 1 minute before adding the garlic.
– Add chicken and brown.
– Add the yogurt and mixed veg. Cook for 3-4 mins.
– Add the coconut, herbs and spices.
– Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened up serve.
It was really tasty. The coconut flour helps to thicken it up and the yogurt makes it very creamy. Perfect. You can add other spices to make it more interesting if you fancy – I was just using what I had to hand.
Snacks: yeah…I might have had some Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Brownie Frozen Yogurt. My favourite flavour and it was brilliant to have alongside watching Erin Brockovich. Anyone else love Julia Roberts? Brilliant film!
Fitness: I ran on Monday and though it went really well in terms of speed it really didn’t agree with me.
I finished the run feeling like I was going to be sick. It really wasn’t fun. I wasn’t sick, thankfully. I think it was a mix of pushing myself a bit too hard and I’m thinking the ice cream the night before didn’t help things.
I plan on running this lunch time with Mr Ego so we’ll see how that goes. He’s toned down a bit now which is nice. We motivate each other but I’m still finding the runs a bit too easy as his pace is slower. But you know, I’m not too bothered as it’s just good to get out. I like to have the company and it’s so refreshing to get out of the office. Though we tend to chat about work while we run which isn’t so good!
Important question: too soon?
Oh, also – check out Ffion’s blog (Chocolate and Respberries) for a great Christmas-themed giveaway! Delicious Hotel Chocolat Advent Calendar 🙂 Hotel Chocolat do amazing chocolates…toss up between them and Lindt for my favourite.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. It’s NEVER too soon to bust out the Christmas mug. Haha. That reindeer is adorable. We keep our mugs out year-round because they have kind of integrated into our regular cups cabinet.
I’m totally feeling Christmasty. I even busted out a Michael Buble X-Mas CD, which… I have to admit I’ve been listening to infrequently since June 😀
Hahaha! Love your comment. See I hide our Christmas mugs to the back of the cupboard, which was a bit of a problem as last year I completely forgot to whip them out. But I am on the ball this year. And yes to Christmas music! I haven’t heard Michael Buble’s album but I love his voice so I’ll have to give that a go I think.
I am totally feeling Christmassy- working in a school we are already practising the play songs, making cards, calendars etc, plus I have been buying some presents, making the cakes etc 🙂
Love it!
What a post title; I knew I’d like the contents! I agree; I hate all the “swap a serving of this (567 cals) for a serving of this (237 cals)” rubbish; a little of what you fancy does you good, as my mum says! Although having said that, I do dive head first into the Roses tin on Christmas Day; if you can’t then… 🙂
And haha, hope the run with Mr Ego goes well!
Oh it drives me mad, I just want to enjoy Christmas and not be hand-held through the ‘grenades’ of Christmas food by the media. Actually yes Roses are the superior chocolate I think. Celebrations are a bit old hat now. Quality Street are still good but Roses are made me Cadbury’s and you can’t go wrong with Cadbury’s! My run wasn’t too bad – I just got very wet and it was very windy! But I felt better for it.
And I’m obsessed with Brussels’s sprouts at the moment. Might need to tone that down before I overdo it before Christmas – and what’s Christmas without sprouts??
That is my favourite Ben and Jerry’s too!
It’s absolutely the best flavour. I just love the big chunks of brownie. And you don’t feel soo guilt as it’s fro-yo… hehe.
I cannot believe how fast the year has gone either..crazy!
I know, it’s just unbelievable. I can’t believe it’s Christmas soon!
I’m a huge coconut flour fan…why I haven’t added it to oats is beyond me! Definitely going to be trying it! Inspired! 🙂
It is definitely a great addition – gives it a lovely texture. I’m just such a fan of coconut flour now, but it’s so expensive 🙁
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. It’s NEVER too soon to bust out the Christmas mug. Haha. That reindeer is adorable. We keep our mugs out year-round because they have kind of integrated into our regular cups cabinet.
I’m totally feeling Christmasty. I even busted out a Michael Buble X-Mas CD, which… I have to admit I’ve been listening to infrequently since June 😀
Hahaha! Love your comment. See I hide our Christmas mugs to the back of the cupboard, which was a bit of a problem as last year I completely forgot to whip them out. But I am on the ball this year. And yes to Christmas music! I haven’t heard Michael Buble’s album but I love his voice so I’ll have to give that a go I think.
oh yum your oatmeal looks so thick and delicious – ill have to try adding a spoonful of coconut flour to it; great idea!
It really thickens it up and gives it such a good texture. And a nice subtle hint of coconut.
I am totally feeling Christmassy- working in a school we are already practising the play songs, making cards, calendars etc, plus I have been buying some presents, making the cakes etc 🙂
Love it!
Oh it must be lovely to work in a school around Christmas – all the kids getting excited. Yes I MUST make our Christmas cake soon!!!
What a post title; I knew I’d like the contents! I agree; I hate all the “swap a serving of this (567 cals) for a serving of this (237 cals)” rubbish; a little of what you fancy does you good, as my mum says! Although having said that, I do dive head first into the Roses tin on Christmas Day; if you can’t then… 🙂
And haha, hope the run with Mr Ego goes well!
Oh it drives me mad, I just want to enjoy Christmas and not be hand-held through the ‘grenades’ of Christmas food by the media. Actually yes Roses are the superior chocolate I think. Celebrations are a bit old hat now. Quality Street are still good but Roses are made me Cadbury’s and you can’t go wrong with Cadbury’s! My run wasn’t too bad – I just got very wet and it was very windy! But I felt better for it.