AnnaTheApple - AnnaTheApple

July 18, 2012July 24, 2012

Eat outside the box

So we were vaguely tempted with a couple of hours of yesterday. But then it was rudely swiped away and replaced by cold and general cloudiness. *Sighs* well, I’m looking forward to my honeymoon in September…sunny Florida and Colorado. Woohoo!

As it’s Wednesday…

Thanks to Jenn for this – honestly I could spend an entire day looking at what everyone eats. It’s fascinating stuff and also gives me loads of inspiration for recipes (and a big dose of food envy!!) I’m still such a newbie and getting into the swing of things. Anyway here’s my what I ate for Tuesday. As usual for me I had lovely hot plain porridge for breakkie:

As you can see I ran out of almond milk! So, I had to have soya milk today. Not as good but it’ll do *grumble grumble* [love the fact that Tesco is doing an offer on almond milk right now – £1!! What a bargain]. I know it’s boring to have porridge for breakfast all the time but I just love it. I see all these lovely recipes for overnight oats with exciting fruits and nut butters and I think “wow, they look so yummy” but I can’t bear to not have my usual porridge. Sad isn’t it?? Well I’m thinking of maybe taking some overnight oats to work with me and having it for lunch. Is that excessive? Having oats twice in one day…?

For lunch I had my tuna salad which is always so yummy but again I probably need to mix things up a bit. I later had some olives and a banana.

I’m trying to think (or eat) outside the box. I want simple, healthy food, easy to prepare and cheap to buy – not much, eh? I think I’m just a creature of habit and routine and I find myself getting stuck in these ruts. I know it’s not that difficult to create a salad and vary it up, I’m just being lazy. Well, I’m going to try and think of some different ideas so watch this space.

At least dinner was a bit more interesting. We had a piece of chicken with BBQ marinade and some roasted vegetables. To jazz up the veg I was going to crumble some goat’s cheese on it. However, I was devastated to find my goat’s cheese had gone off! I was so looking forward to it and was so disappointed to find it mouldy. So I had to improvise. I grated a Babel Bell over the veg instead. Not as good but what can you do?! And as always, a mountain of veg on the side…I could have a side of veg with anything really. A meal isn’t complete without it.

After dinner I always have two smallish (OK maybe medium-ish) apples. I used to just have one but it was never enough. I literally could eat about six apples a day but I’ve toned it down a bit (fighting off the withdrawal symptoms and shakes). Hence my blog name! I always have at least one apple a day. It’s like a comfort food for me. It’s dependable; you can take it with you wherever you go, it holds up better than a banana in your handbag, and there are so many delicious varieties (though I detest Granny Smiths – too tart for me!) Golden Delicious and Braeburns are my favourite.

Here’s what I wore yesterday:

(Pretty much all from New Look – love that shop).

Well, I hope you all have a lovely day (and those in the UK don’t have too much rain, booo). I hope to get more exciting with my food soon (pst, I’ve bought a blender!!). There might be some hope for me soon in this blogging world, hehe.

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Another attempt at Victoria Sponge

Is it Monday already? How did that happen?? Where did the weekend go?

I did not want to get up this morning at 5.30am for my run. Too dark, too tired, too cold – well not that cold, but not as warm as my lovely bed! But I forced myself out of bed and got Alfie up as well for his walk. Not that Alfie needs much encouragement to be honest. As soon as I stumble out of bed he is bang awake and ready to go. I suppose you would do if you slept 16 hours a day like he does…

I was still aching from my long run on Saturday so I took it easy and it was quite a pleasant easy-going run. I just let my mind wander and didn’t put much thought into it to be honest.

Yesterday I ached so much from my run. I might have pushed myself a bit too hard as I really felt it in my hip, which I guess is never good!

I got busy baking on Saturday evening as both mothers were coming over the next day after church to talk all things wedding. So I made some mini-Victoria sponges using a variation of this recipe. Honestly, I’m not that good at baking. Now this fully depresses me as I love cooking. I can cook up some really tasty meals (if I do say so myself!) But when it comes to baking…well, I always manage to do something wrong. Look what happened to my normal Victoria Sponge I made a few weeks ago:

In theory it was going to be perfect – homemade jam and everything *sighs*.

Anyway, so I made some mini-Victoria sponges in the hope that because they were smaller there would be less room for error:

They looked pretty good…but then I realised my error:

They were all the same size and would be far too big to make up the two sandwiches for the mini-cakes. *Sighs* So I improvised…not nearly as beautiful and wonderful as the recipe picture, but yummy none-the-less. The mothers were happy and that’s all that matters!!

Well, I hope to improve with time on the baking front. There is definitely enough inspiration out there to help me along. I’m always looking at other blogger’s websites with my mouth open going “how do they make them so perfect and delicious looking?” So please bear with me (if anyone is there at all, hehe).

July 14, 2012July 24, 2012

Fuelled by go-go juice

I do love Saturdays where you have nothing planned. It’s nice to take a day just to ‘reset’ yourself, you know? Do all those bits and bobs you couldn’t do in the week because you were too busy earning a living. Not to mention a cheeky little lie-in!

The meal out last night was good. Though I was a tad disappointed with the starter I’d chosen. Goat’s cheese crostini:

Apologies for the blurry picture: I was trying to take a photo quickly before I looked odd in front of Ben’s mum. Also, it’s one third of the way through as I’d forgotten to photograph it. I was hoping for a larger goat’s cheese to bread ratio. And they were a bit heavy-handed on the chutney. That’s not to say I didn’t clean the plate!

I went for something I wouldn’t usually go for for the main course:

Duck with butternut squash and pomegranate and mango salsa. I never go for duck but I just loved the sound of the salsa. It was very good, but I do prefer chicken or turkey. There is a sneaky chip that found it’s way from Ben’s plate on to my plate as well…no idea how it got there…

Anywho, this morning I was planning to go for a 6 mile run. But I extended it to 9.4miles as I really got in the swing of it.

Really chuffed with how it went. However, literally as my Garmin beeped to tell me I’d hit the 6mile point the heavens opened up on me and I got absolutely drenched. Not just mildly damp. Full-on soaked through to my undies (sorry, too much information?). It got to the point where I just didn’t bother jumping the puddles. I squelched all the way home. Was I being punished for doing more than 6miles?? Well, there’s nothing like a bit of downpour to get you moving. It really spurred me on to get home.

This is me post-run. Literally, I am soaked. My leggings are usually grey!! Now my best look I have to say…no judgement please.

I also tried out a new sports drink. Now, I’m more of a purist to be honest. Plain water is just fine. However, I got these water tablets free with a magazine and I thought I’d give them a go.

Though the taste wasn’t amazing (a bit like watered down squash with a weird after-taste) I really think it helped my run. Whether this is all psychological, I’m not sure. But I’m going to give them a go when I go for my 6mile-plus runs. I don’t take water with me for anything less than that but when I go out longer I always need water (made the mistake of forgetting water on a long run once and had to stop at a pub and beg for water…not my finest hour!).

Right, I thought I might leave you with a photo of our little dog Alfie. After peeling off my sodden socks after the run, the cheeky beggar made a grab for it. He looked so cute I had to take a couple of photos.

July 13, 2012July 24, 2012

Fabulous Friday!

Hurrah, it’s finally Friday! It’s been a tough old week (emotional breakdowns aside). But it’s Friday and almost home-time (yes, I should be working right now…whoops). I think the best part of the weekends are definitely that second you walk through the door at home after getting back from work. The whole weekend is in front of you. More sleep, more time to cook meals, and general relaxation. Oh, and housework. But I’m on of those funny people who enjoys housework (most of the time). I’m a bit OCD like that so it fits in nicely with that side of my personality. Hey, we’re all different!

Yesterday morning Ben and me dodged the rain (a difficult task these days) and went for an early morning run. Ben has just got back into running so he doesn’t quite leap out of bed like I do at 5.30am. It takes a bit of coaxing… It’s so nice to run with someone else. A 6am run can be a lonely place when you’re running. Without being disparaging towards Ben, I am faster than him and find it easier to run as he gave up running for a period of time a couple of months ago. So running at his pace doesn’t quite tax me as much, but I don’t mind because it’s just nice to have the company! We did split off in the end as I wanted go on for a bit longer so I was able to speed up a little more.

So the run wasn’t my fastest but the enjoyment level of having someone else to run with made up for it. I’m just chuffed he’s running again

This morning I did some weights:

· 3 sets of 12 x lunges per leg (5k)

· 3 sets of 12 x bent-over row (5kg)

· 3 sets of 12 x tricep kickbacks per arm (5kg)

· 40 x sit-ups

· 3 sets of 12 x sit-ups with 2.5kg weight

· 40 x bicycle sit-ups

· 1 plank (1 minute)

Really getting into my weights again. I stopped for a while but with the wedding coming up I thought I’d best get back into it for some good toning! It’s always tough doing weight training at home though because the distractions are endless. During my 30 second breaks between sets I’m like “ooh there’s a bit of washing I can fold up” or just gaze out of the window instead. When I went to the gym I was always focused because the quicker you were done the quicker you’d get out of there and get home. Not quite the same incentive when you’re already at home!! But I set myself a time and a bunch of exercises I want to get done and try and focus that way.

I’m looking forward to tonight as we’re off out for a meal with Ben’s mum to one of our favourite gastro pubs, The Titchfield Mill. I’ve already perused the menu and know what I’m going to have…

Does anyone else do that – check the menu for a restaurant and decide what you’re having before getting there??

July 12, 2012July 24, 2012

First WIAW

Now I know I’m very new to this but I’m very excited about my first ever What I Ate Wednesday (hosted by Jenn from Peas and Crayons).

So here we go (apologies for the rubbish photography skills and quality – I am clearly very much a newbie in this area!).

For breakfast:

A bowl of regular Scottish oats with almond milk and a bit of water. Microwaved until at the perfect consistency of just the right amount of stodginess (a very technical and scientific term). I’m a big fan of soya milk (and skimmed milk) and I’ve only just started using almond milk after reading about it on pretty much every blog around. So I jumped on the band wagon and, unsurprisingly, it’s delish!

Very simple but very filling and warming on yet another rubbish British’s summer day (is there any more rain left in the sky?? Because I’m pretty sure we’re all going to drown soon, or live life perpetually feeling slightly damp).

And a nice mug of black coffee after getting into work:

For lunch:

I’m a creature of habit and routine so I usually have the same thing for lunch during the week as it’s just so easy, cheap and yummy. Basically, it’s flaked tuna, lettuce, beetroot, cherry tomatoes and some random bits of veg (like broccoli, peas & cauliflower) with a quick spray of Caesar dressing. Some olives on the side and two Babel Bells.

For dinner:

I got in late last night from work so I threw together something easy and healthy for Ben (The Other Half) and me:

Scrambled egg with tuna (yes, more tuna…whoops) and cherry tomatoes with a portion of soya beans (I meant to buy broad beans but got these by mistake – a nice change actually), Brussels sprouts, artichoke hearts and some left over cucumber that needed eating. Quite a meal! Very yummy. I must confess that Ben didn’t quite get on board with the sheer amount of veg…

I’m really enjoying artichokes at the moment. Going to try and find some recipes to do some interesting things with them because at the moment I’m just throwing them on the plate as a side (though they are damn good like that).

Wednesday was a lot better than Tuesday – but then it didn’t take much considering how bad Tuesday was!