Murder mystery, skiing and good food – WIAW

Hello! Refreshed from the weekend and ready to go? Yep me neither. I’m manically busy at work and wanted to do a post on Monday but time just disappeared…

This weekend was good fun. I went to Pilates on Saturday morning again. It was once again brilliant. It’s tough but in a completely different way, you know? I tried out the Hundred move this week so I was chuffed as that’s the only Pilates move I’d heard of! And it was tough. I think I struggle mostly with the technical aspects of inhaling/exhaling at the appropriate moments and making sure my spine is where it should be while tensing my stomach…It hurts my muscles and my head!

I decided to run there as it’s only 1.5 miles away. Well, it’s only 1.5 miles if you don’t get lost that is. I thought I was being all cunning by taking a short-cut. I was so sure of where I would end up after going down this long, long road. Only to find I’d added another mile on to my journey! It meant my lovely leisurely paced run turned into a fast dash as I was in danger of being late. Whoops.

On Saturday evening we went round our friend’s house for a murder mystery evening. It was brilliant. Everyone got into their character that they’d been set and we just had such a good laugh. It was a 1920s theme which was brilliant.

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All the girls in their flapper dresses and all the guys in there suspenders and hats.

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I wasn’t the murderer but I guessed correctly

Then on Sunday Ben and I went skiing at our local dry sky-slope with some friends.

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I was nervous as I haven’t been for a year and I’m still very much a beginner. I can snow plough and that’s pretty much it. But we’re kicking it off again as we’re planning on going skiing next year so I need to be able to not fall over all the time (I’ve never actually been properly skiing before!)

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It was great fun as I’m beginning to learn parallel turns. OK not very well but I’m getting there! And I didn’t fall over which, considering I’m the most clumsy person known to man, is a great accomplishment.

So it’s the last WIAW for October. Thank you Jenn for hosting (check out her blog for more information). This is my what I ate Sunday as it’s probably my most exciting eats.

Spooky Snacks and Healthy Halloween Treats

Breakfast: Sundays are pancakes day. It just seems like such a perfect day to spend that extra effort into creating something that is quite magical.

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Pumpkin pancakes! I know, I know, how original. Almost getting as boring as my green porridge… But I made my own pumpkin puree from a mammoth of a pumpkin so I’m really chuffed with these (on a slightly related note – I now have so much pumpkin I’m set for the next few years! Ben thinks I’m more crazy).

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It was amazing. I used 3 tbs rolled oats, 1 heaped tbs of wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup of egg whites, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin spice, few drops of Stevia. I got three chunky pancakes out of that. Then some peanut butter thrown on top.

Lunch: after skiing we were famished and wanted to grab something quick. So I made a three egg omelette with more peanut butter inside. And some avocado alongside.

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OK it does look like the omelette and avocado aren’t speaking at the moment. Maybe a smaller plate would have been better… Regardless though I love this. Why haven’t I ever had this combination before? The avocado addition I could take or leave to be honest but the omelette itself was so good. And very filling. A nice change from my usual tuna omelette.

Dinner: as you know, I love my salads. They rock my world. And this was a new combination.

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My usual salad of leaves, cucumber, beets but with some fabulous added extras. I added some roasted pumpkin (like I said, I have so much pumpkin at the moment it’s laughable). I also finely chopped some red onion, sliced cherry tomatoes and pomegranate seeds and mixed them with diced garlic and lemon juice. Then I topped it all with a chunk of grilled halloumi. I’m new to this cheese and though it’s verrrry rubbery it really is very tasty. The sweet (pomegranate, tomatoes) and salty (cheese) of this salad were perfect.

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Oh and I sprinkled some pumpkin seeds on top too. Mega variety salad. Definitely going to happen again some time!

Snacks: Completely out of the ordinary, I did some baking on Monday night. Usually anything I bake turns out rubbish or looks nothing like the recipe picture. In some shape or form I do something wrong. I’m better at throwing things together randomly rather than accurately following a recipe…HOWEVER! These cookies turned out exactly like the photo.

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Pumpkin cookies! [OK yes I might have a bit of an obsession. It’ll pass one I’ve gotten through my twenty container-fulls of pumpkin puree.] I’ll post the recipe soon! The cookies are for any trick or treaters who come knocking tonight. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Fingers crossed no one will knock…

Fitness: Obviously Pilates on Saturday. And I’ve been sticking to my new strength routine which has been really good but quite tough. I did the upper body routine on Thursday and the lower body on Friday and basically woke up feeling verrry achy on Saturday morning. Perfect for Pilates…whoops. And I’ve been running three times a week as usual. I’m enjoying running at lunchtimes far more than dragging myself out of bed in the morning. Though it’s harder to motivate myself when my lunch is sat there waiting for me…but no quitting yet! And it feels great coming back into the office after a run. I don’t feel the afternoon dip.

And here’s my outfit of the day:

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Scarf from mum, jeans from Top Shop, top from Dorothy Perkins, necklace from Mango.

That’s all from me! Hope you’re having a great Wednesday.

How are you celebrating Halloween? Any scary treats to enjoy?

Have you been skiing before?

Obsessed with eggs

Do you ever have it when you can’t stop craving a certain type of food? I’m guessing this isn’t an uncommon thing. I know it happens to me a lo [I used to eat carrot and coriander soup like every day]. I just get a type of food in my head and I just want to eat it with every meal. Eggs are my current obsession.

I just think they’re amazing. Powerhouses of nutrition within their own little package. And very versatile. You can cook them in so many different ways. But my two favourites are scrambled and fried. Personally, I think you just can’t beat a runny yolk. And with scrambled egg, pretty much anything goes with what you can throw in with it. I love scrambled egg and tuna, and onion is always a must! Maybe a few cheeky cherry tomatoes as well. Or salmon (smoked or tinned) goes amazingly as well. Ahh bliss.

But lately, my favourite salad du jour is this:

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I promise you, there is feta and salad underneath that beasty egg. I made a mega egg by adding an egg white to one egg.

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Within this salad there’s feta, beets, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber, lettuce, errrm yep that’s it. It might seem like a weird combo having egg and feta but it really goes! Or at least, I’ve convinced myself it goes…

I’ve also been eating an egg white alongside my morning breakfast oatmeal to increase my protein intake. Nothing fancy, just an egg white that I zap in the microwave for like 50 seconds and have after my oats. I’m thinking of adding it actually to my oats but I quite like just eating it on its own. Makes it feel like an extension to my normal meal! There are many reason I’m not a vegan, but not being able to eat eggs is a strong argument against it. Not that I have anything against being a vegan, I fully respect anyone who is a vegan, but personally for me it would be too hard. The only foods I don’t eat are ones that I don’t like the taste of (yes, cheddar, that is YOU). But I digress.

I also wanted to share my crazy flip-flops:

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I won’t show you me wearing them up close as, seriously, feet are gross and I hate mine especially. But I love these shoes, they’re a bit crazy, I love the colours! And the feathers!

What are your favourite foods that you just can’t get enough of right now?