Meal Planning Monday

Do you ever do that thing where you think - "That's OK, we'll eat from the freezer tonight"? I did that this morning, only aside from some sloes, frozen overripe bananas, and the ubiquitous bags of peas and sweetcorn, nada, rien, not a sausage. Oh. So aside from the fact that we'll be off to Aldi tonight, I thought I'd better get my pinny on this week and do some batch cooking.

The autumn always says batch cooking to me anyway, so as far as I'm concerned it's a win win situation. I popped a loaf of my 50:50 wholemeal in the bread maker this morning so that's under my belt already. 

Breakfasts - have wildly overdone it on the French bread in France last week I am definitely back on porridge with almond milk and some fruit.

Lunches - Soup for me - I'm going to make a batch of my Slimming World minestrone either tonight or tomorrow morning as I love it and it's just what I fancy. I'm not sure how Harry (or my carpet) will cope with soup!

Suppers -

Monday: Tonight will be super quick and easy, so probably schnitzel, oven chips and those peas and sweetcorn. A throw it all in effort!

Tuesday: Chicken and sweet potato casserole (recipe to be written up)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Tomato and butternut squash pasta (with lardons for the grown ups)

Friday: Sausages, baked potatoes and chard/ spinach from the veg patch.

We're seeing family this weekend so I'm leaving that flexible for now.

Baking wise I need to make some flapjacks as Harry's having a growth spurt and I think my milk supply is taking a little while to respond!

Meal Planning Monday

We've planted up the veg patch this weekend - so although I'm expecting not to be able to move tomorrow we have veggies for the summer. And potatoes! All of which is very exciting, I just need to remember to water them now.

This week is as busy as ever - Guides, Brownies and an overnight camp at the weekend for me - M's getting ready for Les Mans next month and we're both battling against the sea of stuff that comes with the baby.

Breakfasts - I'm back on overnight oats for the most part, with the occaisional scrambled egg and mushrooms.

Lunches - This week I'm having syn free minestrone soup - Harry has it with most of the liquid drained out.

Suppers -

Monday: Leftover roast chicken, baked potatoes, carrots, broccoli and stuffing

Tuesday: I'm on a chip walk with the Guides - M is having pizza

Wednesday: Bacon and butternut squash pasta

Thursday: Chicken, broccoli and mushroom stir fry with rice

Friday: Cottage pie

Baking this week was dairy free almond macaroons - recipe up later this week.

As always, don't forget to pop on over to At home with Mrs M to see what the other planners are up to. 

Meal Planning Monday - an easy week

I've had a few weeks off meal planning on the blog, it feels like 10 months of sleep deprication caught up with me and I metaphorically hit a wall. I felt like I could have slept for a 100 years, and was walking through treacle just trying to keep going. Last week, something shifted and that fog started to lift. I'm sure the weather helped. Anyway - back to meal planning. Some things don't change - money is still tight, and we're shopping carefully, making use of special offers.

Breakfasts - I'm having overnight oats, and piles of fruit. Harry has porridge, toast and a banana. Seriously, that baby can eat for England at breakfastime.

Lunches - Last week we had Syn free tabbouleh with salmon - Harry had his mixed up with a little olive oil, houmous or warm tomato puree to help it stick together.  The weather isn't quite what it was, so I'm going to make minestrone this week...

Suppers -

Monday: Mum very kindly gave us a bowl of beef casserole for supper last night. I had it with brocolli, M with pasta.

Tuesday: Leftover bacon and butternut squash pasta, the recipe for this is going up on the blog this week as it's awesome.

Wednesday: Schnitzel, homemade Slimming World friendly chips and veggies

Thursday: Roast chicken, roast potatoes and veggies

Friday: Leftover chicken, baked potatoes and veggies

Saturday: Stir fried chicken, brocooli and mushrooms with rice for M and more veggies for me.

Sunday: A fresh batch of Butternut squash and bacon pasta

So that's it, another week, planned late but planned nonetheless. Be sure to pop on over to At home with Mrs M and see what the other planners are up to.

Meal Planning Monday

I thought Spring had sprung last week - I divested myself of my winter coat, donned my sunnies and ballet flats, happily enjoying the sunshine. My thoughts turned to warmer days, lighter evenings and lots of time in the park with Harry. Then of course the weather caught up with me and it turned freezing again, and once again my attention was taken by baked potatoes, casserole and comfort food.

Harry and I are pretty much in our stride for our weeks, between Playgroup, Rhyme time, and Hartbeeps we have a busy time of it. Sometimes fitting in naps and meals mean things go slightly awry, but it's a learning curve. This week we have all of those things and Harry's weigh in at the Health Visitor clinic. It's a nervous time. Almost as nerve-wracking as mine, but for the opposite reason.

Breakfasts - porridge and fruit for me, Harry's having porridge or pancakes or toast at the moment as we're off eggs.

Lunches - I've got minestrone soup that I made at the weekend. Syn free and delicious. I really do like it.

Suppers -

Monday: Leftover ham and veggies with baked potatoes

Tuesday: Ham, egg and potato wedges

Wednesday: Ham, egg and mushroom omlettes

Thursday: Root veg dhaal (will blog this week) with rice

Friday: Leftover dhaal with roti

Saturday: Freezer surprise

Sunday: It's our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate, we're treating ourselves to a Dine in deal from M&S.

Baking wise I made Cherry and almond buns (post up next) at the weekend and those, plus some wonderful dairy free Welshcakes from Mark's mum will probably mean that I don't lose any weight this week!

Here's holding on for more sunshine next week - as always, don't forget to hop on over to At Home with Mrs M to see what everyone else is up to.

Getting better - minestrone soup for the soul

We're all in the process of shifting these rotten bugs, and I always turn to soups to help. There's just something about a hot bowl with lots of veggies and other good things in it that makes me feel better.

It was actually a suggestion at Slimming World that I try making soup - one of the things I struggle with is snacking. Biscuits and tea had become a bit of a habit during my pregnancy and then to 'keep me going' when breastfeeding. It was a habit I needed to shift, and happily I seem to have managed it. That said, fruit in the middle of winter is only ever going to have a limited appeal, and a cup or bowl of soup keeps me going nicely. This is the second time I've made my minestrone and although it's not in the slightest bit authentic I do really like it.

My minestrone (serves 6-8)

1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 sticks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 peppers - I use red and yellow, diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 box passata
1 big splodge tomato puree
2 big handfuls of small pasta (or just break up some spaghetti)
2 pints of chicken/ veg stock
Fry light

Spray a big saucepan with Fry light and soften the onion, garlic, celery and carrots for about 10 minutes or so. If it starts to stick, add a splash of the stock
Add the other veggies, give the pan a good stir
Add the tomatoes, pasta and tomato puree, and fill the tomato tin up with water and add that too
Add the stock and leave to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes
After the soup has been simmering it should be nice and thick - add the pasta and if it feels like it might need it, another tinful of water
Turn the heat up so the pan's at a gentle boil for 7 or so minutes to cook the pasta through.

It's now ready to serve, you could garnish with shredded basil, and if you're not on Slimming world or dairy free (or both!) a big handful of grated chese in the middle of the bowl would be fabulous.

Don't feel restricted by this recipe though - if you have tinned beans, then add some for some extra fibre and protein (and if you're me to make it go a bit further although this makes lots and lots). Lardons would add some extra flavour, or even chopped leftover ham - if you've done a ham in Coca-Cola lately it's a great way to use up the end of the joint. Which is now making me want to do another ham. If you've got some courgettes or mushrooms, they'd be nice additions too.

I don't serve this with bread, because of the pasta. But I know that soup is always better with bread for dunking.