VEGAN MAC CHEESE

In an attempt to be healthier, and because I already had all but one of the ingredients in my house, I made a vegan "mac cheese". I'm not vegan, I eat fish and eggs and dairy, but I can appreciate a tasty vegan meal, especially when it involves pasta.

It's really easy, all you do is blend up some butternut squash and sweet potato, then add in some fried onion, mustard powder, seasoning, paprika, stock, coconut milk, and soy sauce. Blend that all together and you're done! See the actual recipe on kitchentreaty.com.

Mine turned out a lot....browner than the one in the picture, which could be because I was naughty and used a red onion instead of a white onion, and the sauce was less creamy than the picture as well, but it was still nice. Maybe I should have used the Nutri Ninja instead of the food processor, but then I would have had to do it in batches and I didn't really want to do that. 

The sauce was delicious! It didn't taste like cheese, but I didn't really expect it to. It was a whole different kind of delicious. At first it was kinda sweet, I guess from the coconut milk, so about halfway through my massive bowl it started to get a bit sickly. I added some more soy sauce to make it more savoury, and it continued to be delicious.

The recipe states that it makes loads of sauce, and it's not wrong. I am only one person anyway (though I am one greedy person), but I found that the sauce lasted me another three fair size portions, and it kept well in the fridge for a couple of days.

I will definitely be making this again in the near future since it was so easy. The only part I didn't like was washing up the food processor at the end, but I suppose you can't have it all!

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TERRIBLE FOOD

I have eaten AWFULLY this past week. I'm actually not even mad, I'm impressed at how much terribly unhealthy food I've managed to squeeze into my body. It's been a week long binge on just crap. I'm ashamed. I've had three takeaways (they were delicious for my mouth parts, not so much for my insidey parts), sooo many crisps, nachos, alchohol.....ugh. 

One of the three takeaways... not all for me! Even I couldn't eat all that.

And then my friend treated me to Pizza Hut buffet. I didn't even touch the salad. 

The human body is amazing. I'm still okay after getting so few of my five a day, and so many of the carbs and fats that are supposed to mess us up. I guess for now my body is just kinda dealing with it. 

But I say NO MORE. It's only a matter of time before I do start feeling sluggish and tired all the time, not to mention weight gain and general health. I've just eaten a banana for breakfast (I don't have any other breakfasty food in the house right now really), and I'm going to make a vegan "mac cheese" for lunch, mostly owing to the fact that I already have all the ingredients apart from coconut milk, but also it looks pretty healthy. 

I do have the obstacle of a BBQ tomorrow for my friend's birthday. but I'm thinking I will make some healthy BBQ-able snacks. Here are some ideas:

- vegetable skewers

- stuffed aubergine

- salmon in foil

- aubergine steaks

- homemade bean burgers

- quorn chicken style fillets to put in a tasty wrap with lettuce

- pineapple

- bananas in foil with some choccie inside as a treat

That's actually quite a few ideas for me to run with, so I think I'll be fine. I'm gonna browse Pinterest as well just in case I've missed anything super tasty, you can pop over and see my BBQ board for such inspiration. I'm also thinking I might do some fruit skewers with bananas and strawberries drizzled with white chocolate. I am super looking forward to do a healthy BBQ now :)

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ADRIAN MADE SUSHI

Sushi is definitely one of my favourite genres of food. It helps that as a pescatarian I can actually eat most of it, and I LOVE fish especially in its raw or smoked forms. Plus, food that's designed to be popped straight into one's mouth is really just the best thing. All food should be made this way. Imagine "roast dinner bites" or "full english breakfast nibbles". That would be amazing and should definitely be the future of food. 

Naturally, given my love of small rice based foods, when my friend Adrian wanted to make a bunch of sushi for our friends I was very happy to host, and Super Sushi Saturday was born. 

Tofu parcels, filled with rice and carrots

Tuna mayo with cucumber and smoked salmon with cucumber

More tuna mayo with cucumber and avocado, and carrots, avocado and cucumber

Delicious selection

Honestly, I don't know how to make sushi myself, I've not tried it yet but I will be in the near future. It looked quite straightforward; you get the nori, put it on the mat, put some rice on, put some filling in, and roll it up... but I'm quite sure from what I've heard it's not all that straightforward. Maybe Adrian should do a sushi party where he teaches us all to make it too... though we'd probably just get drunk and end up with a weird but somehow kinda tasty sushi casserole or something.,..

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A BAD RUN

I've been running for a few months now, starting with couch to 5k and building up my fitness. Not all my runs have been perfect, in fact some of them have been super difficult, but I wouldn't say I've had a "bad run". Not until today. 

I get it now. I understand the concept of a "bad run". It was terrible. I did the first bit kinda okay, but then I just... couldn't. Physically I was fine, I wouldn't say my body was raring to go, but I don't have any injuries and I'm still a lot fitter than I was. It was more the mental challenge that got me. My head just didn't want me to do it today, and no amount of motivating myself was going to make me run. I could have turned round and gone home, but I didn't. Here's how I coped with my first real "bad run"

Firstly, I decided I would still complete the route I had planned for myself, even if I ended up walking all of it. I did end up walking most of it, but I did run some of it, which is infinitely better than I would have done if I had just gone home. Besides, walking is still exercise. It may not be the intensity I was intending and it may not get my heart beating faster, but I did still complete a 5k walk, which is more than if I had stayed plonked on my sofa. 

Look at all those calories I burned!

Secondly, I recognised that this was just a bad run, not a reflection on my fitness or progress over all. It's easy to become discouraged with exercise, especially when you are overweight and have recently been an "unfit" person. I suppose by many standards I am still an unfit person, but I'm a whole lot fitter than I was when I started back in May. It's important to remember that progress. I'm actually considering going back to one of the early runs of couch to 5k just to remind myself how far I've come. Running for one minute will be quite literally as easy as a walk in the park for me now, but I really struggled with that when I first started running. There is nothing more motivational than recognising the journey you've been on and the improvements you've made. 

Finally, I made sure to focus on my next run. This helped a lot just by acknowledging that there would definitely be a next run, that I wasn't going to quit because I'd had one bad run. I toyed around with ideas to make sure I stay motivated and to make sure that my next run isn't another bad one. It was a good time to reflect. Maybe I've been pushing myself a bit too hard, perhaps I shouldn't be expecting myself to run the part of my route that is uphill and super difficult yet. I could also try other things like making energy balls to munch on before I go for my runs to give me a bit more of a boost. Whatever I do next, I know for sure that I will be going back out there. I think I'm going to try a shorter route next time to build myself back up again without demoralising myself, and I'm going to focus on those high energy running snacks to help myself along the way. 

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100 THINGS TO BAKE

A long, long time ago (2012, to be a bit more precise) I made a list of 100 things I would like to bake. I wanted to encourage myself to try new things, rather than just baking shortbread or sponge cake all the time (though I do make a rockin shortbread). So I drew inspiration from the Great British Bake Off, from various magazines that I have lying around the house, and of course the internet, to compile my mega list.

I've managed to knock a few off over the past few years, but still loads to go!

I tried to put it into five sections of twenty each, but some are a bit tentative. Doesn't really matter.

Here goes...

 Breads and Doughs

freeimages.com/Pascal Thauvin

1. Basic White Bread

2. Wholemeal Loaf

3. Soda Bread

4. Spelt Bread

5. Baguettes

6. Ciabatta

7. Focaccia

8. Rye Bread

9. Crumpets

10. Teacakes

11. Hot Cross Buns

12. Sourdough

13. Brioche

14. Plaited Loaf

15. Chelsea Buns

16. Doughnuts

17. Pretzels

18. Flatbreads

19. Gluten Free Loaf

20. Tiger Bread

Cakes

freeimages.com/Sarah-Kim Boyd

1. Swiss Roll

2. Ginger Cake

3. Genoise Sponge Cake

4. Carrot Cake

5. Coconut and Raspberry Layer Cake

6. Simnel Cake

7. Chocolate Truffle Cake

8. Pineapple Upside Down Cake

9. Fondant Fancies

10. Smoked Salmon Cheesecake

11. Red Velvet Cake

12. Angel Cake

13. Eccles Cake

14. Jaffa Cakes

15. Sachertorte

16. Spekkoek

17. Vanilla Buns

18. Almond Cakes

19. Mazarins

20. Princess Gateaux

Biscuits

freeimages.com/Dominic Morel

1. Vanilla Biscotti

2. Oat Cookies

3. Gingerbread House

4. Madeleines

5. Tea Cakes

6. Macaroons

7. Fancy Iced Biscuits

8. Gruyere Biscuits

9. Digestives

10. Party Rings

11. Toffee Biscuits

12. Finnish Fingers

13. Coconut Slice

14. Florentines

15. Fortune Cookies

16. Anzac Biscuits

17. Pretzels

18. Pfefferneusse

19. Stilton and Sesame Biscuits

20. Sea Salt Water Biscuits

Puddings and Other Treats

freeimages.com/Sarah Encabb

1. Flan

2. Black Forest Gateaux

3. Brandy Snaps

4. Breakfast Waffles

5. Apple Crumble

6. Custard

7. Crème Brulée

8. Soufflé

9. Créme Caramels

10. Sticky Toffee Puddings

11. November Pudding

12. Rum Babas

13. Bread and Butter Pudding

14. Jam Roly Poly

15. Summer Pudding

16. Queen of Pudding

17. Toffee Apple and Pecan Pudding

18. Baklava

19. Strudel

20. Poached Pears

Pies and Pastry

freeimages.com/Marina Garcia

1. Bakewell Tart

2. Egg Custard Tart

3. Key Lime Pie

4. Lemon Meringue Pie

5. Croissants

6. Cheese Twists

7. Fish Pie

8. Tarte Aux Abricots 

9. Lemon Meringue Pie

10. Mince Pies

11. Pithivier

12. Mille – Feuille

13. Pecan Pie

14. Profiteroles

15. Éclairs

16. Danish Pastry

17. Pain au Chocolat

18. Samosas

19. Vol-au-vonts

20. Leek and Goat’s Cheese Pie

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CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

I've done more baking! I've made a deal with myself that if I'm going to have sweet treats, they need to be things I've baked for myself. Then I can bake and hopefully still be healthy and lose some weight. 

This time I used an old recipe from a Good Food magazine. I don't even know which year it's from because in an attempt to trim down the amount of stuff I have taking up space, I've cut out all the recipes I like the look of from my magazines. Saved loads of space, I highly recommend getting a recipe folder and putting all your favourite recipes into sections to save space and make finding things to make a lot easier (paperchase do a whole load of really nice ones).

Anyway, I made a chocolate and orange cake with Louise. It was supposed to be like a big jaffa cake but we left out the jelly bit, since Tesco didn't have any gelatine or vegetarian equivalent. We just did the orange sponge and the chocolate topping. The recipe can be found online here.

It was so easy, one of those where all the ingredients go into the bowl at the same time and then you just whisk them all together. It's supposed to be "a bit of a challenge", which I suppose must refer mainly to the orange bit, which we didn't make. The choccy topping was really easy too. All we had to do was heat the cream then pour it over the chocolate and leave it to melt. We were sceptical about doing it that way, but it really does work. 

We started eating it before the chocolate had set properly, but it was still super delicious. The chocolate dripped down the side of the slice a bit, which if anything made it even better. 

I think I need to figure out how to be better at food photography. I'm pretty abysmal at the moment. All I want to do is eat the food to be honest. 

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C25K IS AWESOME

I have recently started running.

Why? Why on Earth would a person put themselves through this willingly?

Well. I am a very unfit person, determined to get to a healthy weight again. I LOVE food. Food is delicious, food is a hobby, food is life. I have tried many times and many different ways of losing weight through dieting over the years, but none have worked for me in the long term. The best method I found was Slimming World. I actually lost  a couple of stone a few years ago on Slimming World, but then I got a desk job and promptly piled it all back on, and more. The plan is great, but I found I could only really gel with it once for long enough to lose weight without going to group, and I am a penny pincher extraordinaire at the moment so I cannot justify £5 a week (doesn't sound like much, but it adds up). Besides, I love baking and this is very restricted on SW. It can be fun to play around with recipes, creating low syn treats, but there is only so much fun I can have with eggs and sweetener. Sorry. Anyway, my point is, I struggle with restricting my diet. I can eat healthier most of the time, but I wanted to try a different approach: exercise.

I am determined to become one of those people that actually enjoys running. I used to work with people who would make time most days to go running because they loved it, and I have been assured that after a certain point I will too. If I can get fit, lose weight, and not have to restrict my diet (within reason), I am going to be incredibly pleased.

I also want to prove to myself that I can actually do a thing and stick to a thing. Historically I am bad at that.

This is where couch to 5k comes in. It's a 9 week plan which builds  you up week by week, starting with a series of one minute runs, all the way up to being able to run 5k. The plan is specifically designed for people like me; unfit, overweight, self-confessed potato. I have the app from Change4Life, which is a bunch of podcasts which tell you when to start and stop running, and full of helpful tips. I highly recommend it. You can even listen to music at the same time cause it dims the music automatically while the podcast is talking.

I have tried the plan before, but I always managed to make excuses to give up. My main excuse was "I don't have the time". Well, now I have plenty of time so any excuse I'd have to come up with now would be super weak, So weak, even my laziest self would see through it.

I'll be honest, at first it does seem insurmountable. I thought how can someone like me, someone who struggles to run for even a minute, ever expect to be able to run 5k?! Well. I just completed day 1 of week 4. I ran for three minutes, then five minutes, twice, with intervals of walking.

I ran for five minutes. 

I ran for a total of sixteen minutes.

After only three weeks, I have gone from struggling to run for a minute, to being able to run for five straight minutes. More importantly I actually enjoyed it. To people with any real level of fitness this will probably seem silly, but to me it is so significant. I believe that in five more weeks I will be able to run 5k. And I will feel like I have achieved the impossible.

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LEMON TART

I used to bake all the time, in fact for a while I even had a blog devoted to baking. Alas, life got in the way and laziness prevailed, and I stopped baking regularly for quite a long time. Thing is, I LOVE baking. I love mixing and sieving and rolling and tasting the mixture. I hate waiting for it to cook. But I reeeeeaaaallllly love eating it. 

So, now I have all the time in the world, I thought I'd have a flick through some of my old foodie magazines for something yummy. For the recipe I found, we have to go back in time to the September 2012 issue of Delicious magazine, which as it happened had a page bookmarked as something I really wanted to make. This here recipe for a lemon and lime tart:

I've not made a lemon and lime tart before, but it turned out to be quite straightforward. I've made shortcrust pastry loads of times, so that was easy, but I did forget (and it's not mentioned in the recipe) that pastry shrinks when you cook it. I trimmed the top of the pastry to the top of my tart dish, then when I took it out of the oven to remove the baking beans (actually some dried chickpeas, much cheaper and just as good!) the sides had shrunk to about 1cm. I ended up butchering some taller sides with the leftover pastry before putting it back in the oven, which actually worked surprisingly well. Not the neatest of edges, but it did the job.

The filling wasn't too difficult either. Basically mixing some egg with some sugar and lemon/lime juice, then plopping in some zest. It was super runny, which I didn't expect. I thought I might have messed up somewhere but it turns out that's how it's supposed to be.

The actual cooking part was easy but boring, as was the chilling at the end. Those are the most difficult parts for me because I am very impatient, especially when it comes to food. As far as I'm concerned the only place food should be is either in my mouth or my tummy. We ate some nachos while it cooled to stave off the urge to delve in while it was still hot. 

This was the outcome: 

Just kidding, that's the picture from the magazine. 

Here's the one I made:

It's supposed to serve 12, but that's 12 normal people. We are greedy people. 

Also you can see my dodgy edges from where I had to bodge them together. 

YUMMERS. 

The recipe specifically states that it's best eaten on the same day. While I would agree it was best when it was fresh, it was still tasty a couple of days later too when kept in the fridge. It went a bit juicy on top, and the pastry a bit soggy, but it still tasted good. 

All in all, I'd give this tasty tart a 7 out of 10. I'd rate it higher, but I did mess up the edges a bit.

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