Stress, comfort food and a few lovely recipes
Well I have had a bit of a nightmare 24 hrs. My laptop has decided to give me the blue screen of death! I've only had it since August so its still within warranty but I'm worried that I'm going to lose stuff that I haven't backed up. I feel totally lost without it! There's been tears and tantrums from me while the hubby has been trying to fix it, I didn't realise how much of my life is on that thing. Luckily the hubby has been kind enough to set me up on his laptop so I can still work and blog. Then, this morning when I went on his laptop to start working I hadn't copied my files over properly on to my memory stick so I had to drive all the way to work and sort that out. I've just had one of those days when everything has went wrong!
Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on it. I read a wonderful quote on Ellies blog this week 'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional' - I like this way of looking at things, bad things happen, but its up to you how you deal with them. I know thats easy to say when its just about something silly like a laptop but it makes me feel better anyway! I've spent all day comforting myself with food and relieving stress through cooking so I'm begining to feel much better now.
I started the day with a cup of warm water and lemon and then did my Davina DVD for 40 mins. For breakfast I made myself a wonderful smoothie in a bowl with frozen cherries, spinach, chocolate whey and vanilla rice milk. It was so thick and creamy, just wonderful.
Since I was working from home today I thought I would go and do my food shop first thing so that it was out of the way. I ended up with a huge haul:
Plenty of fruit and veggies including strawberries, blackberries and a big pineapple as a treat, milk, edam cheese, natural yoghurt, hummus, regular oats and jumbo rolled oats, frozen fruits, rice cakes, decaf coffee, red lentils, red kidney beans and a couple of new things to try: soba noodles and some Dorset Cereals! The Dorset Cereals were on special offer and I just couldn't resist them. I hope I don't fall foul of the snackies with these, we shall just have to see!
I then sat down to start doing some work and realised my mistake with my files so few in to work and back as quick as possible.
For dinner I decided to indulge in making a big pan of soup:
Pea, Brocolli and Mint Soup (makes 4 servings)
1 large white onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large head of brocolli broken into florets
About 700g of frozen peas
a large sprig of fresh mint, leaves finely chopped
Hot vegetable stock
Fry of the onion and garlic in the oil on medium heat. When the onions have softened add the brocolli followed by the hot stock and half of the chopped mint. Simmer for ten minutes then add the frozen peas. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the peas are cooked through and the brocolli is tender. Remove from the heat and blend using blending applicance of choice. Return to pan and heat through, checking seasoning and adding more chopped mint if required. Serve topped with a little more chopped mint.
Another simple and delicious fresh soup, just what I needed today. I had a lovely big bowl of this soup along with a fruit plate of 1 chopped kiwi, 2 strawberries and an orange.
I managed to get a good bit of work done in the afternoon before I took a break for my mid afternoon snack. When I had been shopping earlier I had picked up some blackberries on special offer and had started to dream up this smoothie creation:
Braeburn Apple and Blackberry Smoothie (serves 1):
1 braeburn apple sliced and half chopped
1 small punnet of blackberries
1 small bottle of pressed organic apple juice
4 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
Reserve some slices of apple and a few blackberries if your feeling in the need for something pretty to look at, then blend all ingredients into a smoothie. I served mine with the sliced apple and reserved blackberries as a garnish, what can I say, I find pretty looking food a comfort!
This was bloody gorgeous, so fruity and sweet, just delicious!
For dinner I really fancied a stir fry but I wanted to try something a bit different, so I thought up this recipe:
Chilli Ginger Lime Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews (serves 1 hungry person)
1 chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces
Selection of favourite stir frying veggies chopped into bite sized pieces or made into ribbons using peeler
2 teaspoons of grated ginger
2 teaspoons of chopped red chilli (I use lazy chilli from a tube)
1 lime
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
handful of cashews
Create a marinade for the chicken with 1 teaspoon of both the ginger and chilli, the juice of half the lime and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Leave the chicken to marinade for a few hours. When ready to make, start by quickly toasting the cashews in a dry wok for a few seconds. Put cashews to one side and fry the chicken in a little oil, adding the veggies depending on how long they take to cook. I used brocolli, asparagus, kale, carrot, courgette and red pepper. Make up a sauce for the stir fry using the rest of the chilli, ginger, lime juice and soy sauce. When the veggies and chicken are cooked transfer to a plate and top with the cashews followed by the sauce. Start eating!
This was really good, the chilli, lime and ginger worked really well. It was a huge portion from all the veggies, but I do like to add extra bulk to my meals that way, so it was just the right size for me. Would work brilliantly with pak choy, bean sprouts and steamed fish as well. Total foodgasm!
For desert I decided to try out Ellies suggestion and microwave some of my Berries and Cherries Dorset Cereal with a little water and serve with some greek yoghurt.
Thanks for the tip Ellie, this was gorgeous!
Drinks - water, green tea, jasmine green tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee
Well what a day! My cooking antics are all that has kept me me sane. I'm just so worried about being without my laptop, I hope that it can be repaired quickly.
Tomorrow I'm going to have to work extra hard to make up for the time I lost today trying to sort out the laptop! At least theres only one day left of the working week. Hope you are all having a good one, send me positive vibes for my laptop! x
Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on it. I read a wonderful quote on Ellies blog this week 'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional' - I like this way of looking at things, bad things happen, but its up to you how you deal with them. I know thats easy to say when its just about something silly like a laptop but it makes me feel better anyway! I've spent all day comforting myself with food and relieving stress through cooking so I'm begining to feel much better now.
I started the day with a cup of warm water and lemon and then did my Davina DVD for 40 mins. For breakfast I made myself a wonderful smoothie in a bowl with frozen cherries, spinach, chocolate whey and vanilla rice milk. It was so thick and creamy, just wonderful.
Since I was working from home today I thought I would go and do my food shop first thing so that it was out of the way. I ended up with a huge haul:
Plenty of fruit and veggies including strawberries, blackberries and a big pineapple as a treat, milk, edam cheese, natural yoghurt, hummus, regular oats and jumbo rolled oats, frozen fruits, rice cakes, decaf coffee, red lentils, red kidney beans and a couple of new things to try: soba noodles and some Dorset Cereals! The Dorset Cereals were on special offer and I just couldn't resist them. I hope I don't fall foul of the snackies with these, we shall just have to see!
I then sat down to start doing some work and realised my mistake with my files so few in to work and back as quick as possible.
For dinner I decided to indulge in making a big pan of soup:
Pea, Brocolli and Mint Soup (makes 4 servings)
1 large white onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large head of brocolli broken into florets
About 700g of frozen peas
a large sprig of fresh mint, leaves finely chopped
Hot vegetable stock
Fry of the onion and garlic in the oil on medium heat. When the onions have softened add the brocolli followed by the hot stock and half of the chopped mint. Simmer for ten minutes then add the frozen peas. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the peas are cooked through and the brocolli is tender. Remove from the heat and blend using blending applicance of choice. Return to pan and heat through, checking seasoning and adding more chopped mint if required. Serve topped with a little more chopped mint.
Another simple and delicious fresh soup, just what I needed today. I had a lovely big bowl of this soup along with a fruit plate of 1 chopped kiwi, 2 strawberries and an orange.
I managed to get a good bit of work done in the afternoon before I took a break for my mid afternoon snack. When I had been shopping earlier I had picked up some blackberries on special offer and had started to dream up this smoothie creation:
Braeburn Apple and Blackberry Smoothie (serves 1):
1 braeburn apple sliced and half chopped
1 small punnet of blackberries
1 small bottle of pressed organic apple juice
4 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
Reserve some slices of apple and a few blackberries if your feeling in the need for something pretty to look at, then blend all ingredients into a smoothie. I served mine with the sliced apple and reserved blackberries as a garnish, what can I say, I find pretty looking food a comfort!
This was bloody gorgeous, so fruity and sweet, just delicious!
For dinner I really fancied a stir fry but I wanted to try something a bit different, so I thought up this recipe:
Chilli Ginger Lime Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews (serves 1 hungry person)
1 chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces
Selection of favourite stir frying veggies chopped into bite sized pieces or made into ribbons using peeler
2 teaspoons of grated ginger
2 teaspoons of chopped red chilli (I use lazy chilli from a tube)
1 lime
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
handful of cashews
Create a marinade for the chicken with 1 teaspoon of both the ginger and chilli, the juice of half the lime and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Leave the chicken to marinade for a few hours. When ready to make, start by quickly toasting the cashews in a dry wok for a few seconds. Put cashews to one side and fry the chicken in a little oil, adding the veggies depending on how long they take to cook. I used brocolli, asparagus, kale, carrot, courgette and red pepper. Make up a sauce for the stir fry using the rest of the chilli, ginger, lime juice and soy sauce. When the veggies and chicken are cooked transfer to a plate and top with the cashews followed by the sauce. Start eating!
This was really good, the chilli, lime and ginger worked really well. It was a huge portion from all the veggies, but I do like to add extra bulk to my meals that way, so it was just the right size for me. Would work brilliantly with pak choy, bean sprouts and steamed fish as well. Total foodgasm!
For desert I decided to try out Ellies suggestion and microwave some of my Berries and Cherries Dorset Cereal with a little water and serve with some greek yoghurt.
Thanks for the tip Ellie, this was gorgeous!
Drinks - water, green tea, jasmine green tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee
Well what a day! My cooking antics are all that has kept me me sane. I'm just so worried about being without my laptop, I hope that it can be repaired quickly.
Tomorrow I'm going to have to work extra hard to make up for the time I lost today trying to sort out the laptop! At least theres only one day left of the working week. Hope you are all having a good one, send me positive vibes for my laptop! x
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