Leek and Ham Pasta

This so quick and easy to make and the milky, cheese sauce means its full of calcium, needed for growing bones! It can be made and put in the freezer too.

INGREDIENTS - 90gms of Pasta, 2 large leeks, 3 slices of ham (of the bone preferably), 150ml of Whole Milk, A handful of grated red leicester cheese, 1 teaspoon of cornflour.

DIRECTIONS -  Cook the pasta in a saucepan, while it is cooking, peel and slice the leeks into 5mm width pieces. Put them into a bowl with a tablespoon of water and microwave until soft. Chop the ham slices into small pieces. In another saucepan, put the milk and the grated cheese and turn the heat on low. Put a teaspoon of cornflour into a cup and a little cold water. Mix until dissolved  and pour in with the cheese and milk.  Turn up the heat and continue to stir until boiling and thickened. Take the sauce off the heat and when the pasta is done to your liking, pour the sauce over it, add the leeks and the chopped ham and mix.  This will give you enough for you and your toddler. You may want to cut your toddlers portion up into smaller bits.

Delicious!

Free Pregnancy Guide E-booklet!!!

I found this free booklet on my internet travels, take a look..its quite interesting for a freebie!

pregnancyguide

Diet Week 1 – Wednesday

Right, the 2lb’s lost yesterday must have been water as I am now back to 10 stone…oh well, that will teach me to weigh myself more than once a week!

Breakfast – One slice of toast with margerine, 1 cup of coffee with milk and 1 sugar (150 calories)

Snack – 1 marshmellow teacake and 1 cup of coffee with milk and 1 sugar (150 calories)

Lunch – Leek and Ham pasta (see my toddler recipe) and 1 pint of water (450calories)

Snack – Asda Chicken noodle slimmer soup (100 calories)

Dinner – Vegetarian “chicken” stir fry (see my toddler recipe – 250calories)

Total – 1,300 calories

Exercise calories burnt – 150 calories on the treadmill.

 

Angelina Jolie loses baby weight with Wii fit?? Do me a favour.

Obviously I’m bound to be a tad jealous of her post-pregnancy figure but this has to be the biggest lie on the face of the earth!!!! We all know how hard it is to lose weight after just one baby, but twins??? I think not. To be quite honest I am really disgusted that this has been implied at all. I mean she makes millions and all she does is play on the Wii to lose weight (cue hysterical laughter). What no personal Trainer, no home gym, no extreme dieting? I wonder if Wii’s sales figures have improved due to this story being published? I wouldn’t be suprised if the Jolie-Pitts are taking a slice of the profits (cynical and bitter that I am). Even if she had lost the weight that easily, it is extremely rare for a women’s tummy to return to the way it was after having twins. You would at least expect to see a saggy flap like the rest of us have. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t criticise any women for using whatever method they deemed fit to lose the baby bulge. It is completely down to personal choice in my opinion. After the trauma of giving birth, its quite a kick in the teeth to find a different body starring you back in the mirror. My issue  is that this is a obviously a fib and no-one has come forward to correct it. Women out there that will see Angelina’s perfectly toned, slim body and rush out to buy the Wii Fit. There have even been some stories claiming Jolie had a tummy tuck (or “mummy tuck ” as she reportedly likes it to be called).

Would do you all think? I would LOVE to know. Maybe I am just a bitter, jealous old jelly belly.

Diet Week 1 – Tuesday

Oh my god, I’m so happy…weighed myself this morning and I have already lost 2lb’s! we’ll be trying to concieve in no time.

So for today’s menu….

Breakfast – 2 scrambled eggs with 1 slice of reduced fat processed cheese melted in. A splash of milk and a teeny weeny knoblet of butter. (Calories approx. 270)

1 cup of coffee with milk and 1 sugar (calories 50)

Snack – Asda Chicken noodle slimmer soup again! I put a bit of chilli powder in to spice it up this time and a handful of frozen peas (Calories 110 incl. peas).

Lunch – ham and turkey sandwich with low fat mayo x 1 (Calories 320)

Cup of tea with milk no sugar (calories 35)

Snack – Go ahead cranberry biscuits x 1 pack (calories x 150)

Dinner – Asda good for you lasagne with extra cauliflour (Calories 370)

Total – 1,305 calories ( a little over my allowance but never mind!)

Can you really make money working from home?

Since becoming a full time, stay at home mum, I have fallen into the trap of work from home scams. Not that I’d admit to anyone I know personally…far too embarrassed. I did, however, come across a website that does have very genuine opportunities and I have already had 2 job offers after some intense interviewing. I think due to the fact that they get applicants from all over the place, the do have to be more thorough with telephone interviews. One of them I applied for required me to do a rigorous online test which took all of 2 hours for me to complete! There are legitimate jobs ranging from Online Moderators, paying £12.00 an hour, to comission only internet sales roles. A lot of them require some kind of relevant experience especially the travel industry related positions. You may well know of it already but for those that don’t, I just wanted to share my knowledge of this site with you as we all know, times are hard what with the credit crisis, and no-one wants to resort to frigging leaflet distribution in this weather!

Here is the web address - www.workingmums.co.uk. Click on “Search all Jobs”. Make sure you select  “homeworking” in the drop down list under “location”.

If anyone knows of any other good sites like this one please make a comment and list the web address. I can’t stand the scams and so many people get caught out by them. I tell you some bugger is getting rich from them and it won’t be you.

It has just dawned on me that its been over a week since I last hoovered!

How rubbish! I usually have to do it every other day as we have a very large dog that sheds hair like its going out of fashion. Its christmas though and Harry’s toys are constantly covering up the carpet so no one will notice. Just out of interest and because it would make me and a lot of other people feel a lot better to know how often every one else hoovers. I hope I am not the only one who (occasionally mind) picks up the hoover 5 minutes before visitors arrive!!

Christmas Vegkey Pasta

This is a great way to get some veggies into your toddler and use up any left over turkey you have before you have to throw it away. We don’t do waste in our house!!

Baby Stir Fry!

INGREDIENTS : Turkey leftovers cut up into toddler sized bits, 150grams of pasta (any kind will do), a roasted vegtable pasta sauce – I got mine from Asda (ownbrand), a sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese.

You can add any leftover vegetables you have, including brussels, or just cook up some frozen veg, chop and add in to the mix.

DIRECTIONS - Cook the pasta until tender, drain and stir in a splash of olive oil to stop it sticking. Add the chopped turkey and other leftovers or any vegetable you fancy, pour in the sauce,  stir the whole lot up. Then sprinkle in the cheese and stir again. Seperate the mixture into two freezer bags and pop into the freezer. Each bag will provide a lunch for both you and your toddler. Harry loves this pasta as much as I do!

Enjoy!

How does a second baby effect your relationship?

I should imagine that most women thinking of concieving  for the second time will spend a lot of their day thinking about this subject. Its alright when you conceive your first baby. Both partners are wrapped up in the romantic idea of having a baby and have the enviable bonus of not knowing exactly how much a baby will turn your life upside down. So for those of us thinking of doing the whole thing again (we must be crazy) you can’t help but feel apprehensive of the change that comes with a new adddition. It only seems like a few weeks have passed since you got yourselves back on track. I wonder if there is a way to limit this, if only for the sake of your relationship with your partner. I read a quote somewhere once that “having a baby is like throwing a hand granade into a relationship”. I couldn’t have put it better myself! Here are a few things I plan on trying, if you know of any then please let me know…I am going to need all the help I can get.

• Make sure that both of your children’s naps coincide – that way you will have some me time during the day. Whether you want to use it to relax or pamper yourself ready for when your other half gets home, it will make all the difference.
• Get both children in bed by 7pm – Although this may not be practical in the first few weeks, the sooner you can get your newborn into some sort of routine the better. I know its easier said than done but if you can have an evening together just you and your partner, even if its a couple of times a week, you will able to keep things going on an even keel.
• Dinner date once a month- if you are happy for a family member to have your kids overnight then you can go out for a romantic meal. If you don’t feel comfortable with leaving your children then get them tucked up in bed and plan a romantic meal at home. Turn the TV off and let the flame of your love burn once more!!!

Lets face it, if one baby takes up a lot of time then I think its safe to assume two will take up double the amount. Just think of when they are older and you can delegate chores and get them to make you a cuppa while you read a book. Ahhhh, I knew there was a reason why people had kids

Diet Week 1 – Monday

Please feel free to join in with me on my quest to lose a stone. I have to do it before we ttc which will hopefully be in January!

WEEK 1 WEIGH IN: 140lb’s (10 stone)

I must bare in mind this beautiful poem  – is this dieting worth it??? I am having second thoughts after reading this.

http://theshapeofamother.com/blog/perfection-anonymous/

Breakfast – 1 cup of tea with milk and 3 Slices of French Toast with Flora on and 1 Banana (Calories approx. 250)

Lunch – 1 mini pork pie, a handful of honey roasted peanuts (Calories approx. 350 – Oooops!)

Snack – Asda Chicken noodle slimmer soup (Calories 100)

Dinner -Asda Good for you Chicken and  Broccoli Pie (Calories 311)

1 cup of coffee, milk and 1 sugar (Calories 50)