Weekly Meal Plan - Week 2 2017

It is not often that I say this but thank goodness it's Monday and a new week!

Last week was manic. J returned to school on Tuesday while the twins returned on Wednesday. Just as I was getting stuck into some jobs on Thursday I got a text message from J's school to inform me that the school was having an emergency closure! After just 2 days at school they were closed again due to a power cut, then on Friday it was a teacher training day so last week was not as "back to routine" as I was hoping. But this week, fingers crossed, everything will be back to normal.

In my meal plan last week I told you about how I was planning our meals following the FODMAP plan. Last week this was a huge success. All of our meals were delicious and I really am looking forward to continuing on with this eating plan and hope to find that it does make a difference to the hubby's digestive health.

Leftover turkey with pesto kale and mango salsa

Slimming World crispy chicken with low FODMAP, syn free naked salad

Broccoli pizza, recipe coming this week

20 Questions to Ask your Children

Have you seen the latest craze on social media where parents ask their children a series of questions? As you can imagine the answers to the vary from child to child dependent on age and gender. But you can guarantee that the answers will portray a variety of sentiments. They really do give us a glimpse into their imaginative minds. So when Shepherds Friendly asked me if I would like to have a go and ask the children a series of questions I thought it would be a great idea. I love the idea of asking the same set of questions next January to compare their answers as they get older.

Their answers made me smile, made me giggle, made me gasp and, of course, made my heart melt. This is what they said...

Naked Coleslaw - Low FODMAP and Syn Free

For the next few weeks we are following the FODMAP eating plan.

For years the hubby has suffered from digestive discomfort and one day while he was looking on the internet he discovered the FODMAP plan. FODMAP stands for Fermantable Oligo-saccharides Di-saccharides Mono-saccharides and Polyols, otherwise known as FODMAP's. FODMAP's are carbohydrates that can be hard to digest and cause digestive discomfort and eliminating foods which contain these carbohydrates can ease symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, gases and bowel problems. They are found in various fruits, vegetables, dairy and many other foods. After doing my own research and visiting various different websites I now have a list of FODMAP foods. The list is divided into two sections, high 'red' FODMAP foods, which I need to avoid in the hubby's meals and low 'green' FODMAP foods which he can eat.

This has meant that my meal plans need to be planned more carefully. Now when I write my weekly meal plan I am carefully looking at the ingredients that are needed for each individual meal and adapting them accordingly.

When I was planning this weeks meals I found a recipe in the Slimming World magazine that I knew everyone would love, but it was served with a homemade coleslaw which contained many high FODMAP ingredients. This got me thinking how I could make a coleslaw type salad that is both syn free for me and, of course, low FODMAP for the hubby. What I created was a huge success and is now a firm favourite.

This is what I did...

#SimplySeasonal - January 2017

Welcome to the first ever #SimplySeasonal!

SimplySeasonal is a new, monthly linky dedicated to the foods that are at their best this month. This year I want to pay more attention to mother nature and use as many in season fruits and vegetables in my cooking as possible. Foods that are in season can often be cheaper and it is a great timetable to follow if you have a vegetable garden.

Each month I will give you a list of the fruits and vegetables that are in season. I am sure that you will be surprised by how big the lists are going to be, I know that I was! To join in simply create a recipe using at least one of the seasonal ingredients, blog about it and share it. The recipes can be vegetarian, vegan, contain meat, be sweet, anything goes as long it contains seasonal ingredients! 

So lets celebrate produce that is at its best!

Leftover Turkey with Pesto Kale and Mango Salsa - Aldi Recipe

As always when January arrives I am craving healthier meals. Don't get me wrong, we had healthy meals over Christmas but our meals were all out of routine and we all enjoyed some treats. As well as craving vegetables we are also feeling the pinch. Like most families we spent a lot both during the run up to Christmas and over the festive holiday so now it is all over we are having to tighten the belt a bit. This includes my shopping budget. I am looking for as many ways as possible to save some extra pennies. I am using our new chest freezer a lot and am freezing food so that it is not wasted but also gives us some more food options. Thankfully one shop that we can all depend on is Aldi!

Before Christmas their super 6 vegetables were down to just 19p each, so I stocked up! I got so many carrots I have even managed to blanch and freeze some. I was excited to see that their Super 6 offer this week included some of my favourite fruit and vegetables. While I was looking through their website before doing my shopping I also discovered a section that I had not seen before, Feed the Family for £5. This immediately caught my attention and needed further investigation! I found 3 different recipes that Aldi have created using the key products in the Super 6 deal over both fruit and vegetables and meats and fish. So I decided to give one of the recipes a go.

I finally decided to try the Roasted Gammon Joint with Kale and Mango Salsa. But as I had got a lot of turkey leftover from Sunday I replaced the gammon steaks with slices of turkey but did make the kale and the mango salsa.

This is what I did...

Weekly Meal Plan - Week 1 2017

Hello, happy new year and welcome to another year of meal planning. Towards the end of last year I was tempted to stop meal planning. But having not planned last week I have realised why I do plan. Last week I dreaded the question "What's for tea?" but when I meal plan I am ready for it and can relax knowing that I have a plan in place.

I have tried to food optimise as much as I could over the Christmas period. I was so disappointed when I went to get weighed at my Slimming World group the Friday before Christmas as I had put on 4lbs. I think that my reduced steps and activity as the children were at home and I was sat working really did have a devastating effect of my weight loss plus the Christmas treats and alcoholic drinks certainly did not do me any favours! This however did give me a bit of a kick up the backside and during the Christmas week I did allow myself treats but did not go mad and drank a lot less that I usually do at Christmas. When it came to stepping on the scales last Friday I was delighted to see that I had managed to maintain my weight. Now that the festivities are over I am back on plan and raring to go!

Another change in our diets is for the hubby. After suffering from digestive problems and doing a lot of research we are going to be trying to follow the FODMAP diet. FODMAP's are a collection of poorly absorbed both simple and complex sugars. They are found in various fruits, vegetables dairy and other foods. Eating foods with a high amount of FODMAP can be hard to digest and can cause pain. So I have a list of low FODMAP foods and am going to be sticking to those for, initially, the month to see if it makes a difference. So watch this space!

Now on to this weeks meal plan. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine. Our meals have been so unorganised and we have had many a late meal which is not great. The hubby and J are back at work and school tomorrow and the twins return of Wednesday so then it will be back to normality.

This is what we will be enjoying this week...