Health kick progress report.

Thought I'd just post a quick update on the Healthy New Year Project as I'm aware I've not been exactly verbose on the subject. It's all going well so far although I confess to turning to the dark side (a.k.a The Chippy) last night due to the stresses and strains of caring for a 3 year old in the processes of flexing her 'independence' muscles. I also hadn't taken into account how tired Willow would get with walking to school. We're almost 1.5 miles from school so suddenly walking 3 miles a day in addition to school PE, Dance club and swimming lessons is quite a lot for a 5 year old but we're building it up gradually and will get there eventually.

I'm sticking to the no mid-week alcohol rule despite severe provocation from the afore mentioned 3 year old and I'm polishing my running halo ('tis true I skipped a session on Saturday but it was my birthday) Food wise I'm not doing too badly but haven't blogged any recipes as they're all a bit 'samey' at the moment as I'm leaning heavily on slow cooked mutton, tinned tomatoes and lentils. I will throw in this tomato soup recipe though as I feel it's one of those that's going to become a staple of my repertoire. It's quick and uses just a few store cupboard basics.


Standby Tomato Soup
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 pack passatta (approx 500g)
A handful of red lentils
2 tbsp half fat creme fraiche
Generous pinch sugar plus seasoning

Throw everything except the creme fraiche into a pan and simmer til the lentils are soft. Add salt only at the end otherwise the lentils will stay hard. You can also add in any other seasonings you fancy such as chilli flakes, dollop of pesto, fresh basil or any other herbs you may have. Stir in the creme fraiche before serving. Tastes much nicer than you'd think!

I'm afraid I don't have a picture of the tomato soup so have decided to post a photo of last night's sunset instead. Beautiful at the time but the clear skies led to a sharp frost and frozen chicken water this morning.

It's been over a week!

Eeek, the only time I've left it this long to post before was when we were on holiday, I've obviously been resting on my Aspall's laurels rather too much. I did make the pork dish described in the last post (except it was mutton chops) and I'm pleased to say it lived up to my imagined version.

I'm about to embark on my annual health kick. I can never face a sudden lettuce/gym programme on Jan 2nd, too much of a shock to the system after the festive gluttony so I ease myself into it. My usual pattern is to go tee total from New Year to my birthday (23rd Jan if you're wondering) and then around my birthday embark on the healthy eating programme. This year is worse as my exercise programme was halted by the snow so I've hardly run (I say 'run', 'stumble' is probably more accurate) since mid-December.

So, my basic plan is: between meal snacks of fresh fruit only, running 3 times per week, alcohol at weekends only (but not this weekend), doing the school run on foot half the time (Willow not impressed) and, of course, cooking healthy food. Pictured is Pipling Xanthe, joining in with her Waybuloo inspired yoga programme.

My blogging mission will be to report back on the healthy cooking aspect. My goal is to find truly warming, rib sticking, joy inducing food that just happens to be healthy. I've ordered some cook books and I'm fretting about food photography: let the adventure begin!