Carrot Cake Porridge

Since starting Slimming World six weeks ago breakfasts have become a meal that I look forward to. In the past I have, more often than not, skipped breakfast. This often leads to snacking. Breakfast is often known as the most important meal of the day as it gets your metabolism going and sets you up for the day.

Breakfasts do not need to be boring they can be easily transformed into something quite special. My favourite breakfast food has to be porridge oats. They are such a versatile ingredient that can be revamped into so many different flavours and accompanied with endless additional ingredients.

I recently shared my Fruit Layered Porridge Breakfast Bowl which has been a favourite of mine. That was until I tried today's porridge. While I was at my Slimming World group last week someone mentioned a carrot cake porridge bake. This certainly got my attention as carrot cake has to be my favourite cake. So when I got home I looked at my favourite carrot cake recipe, noted the ingredients and got planning as to how I could transfer the flavours into a porridge.

This is what I did..

Roast Chicken River Cottage Style

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting River Cottage based in Axminster, Devon. While we were there, before we dined on an outstanding meal, Senior Sous Chef Andy Tyrrell gave us a talk and demonstration on brining and curing meats. We were told how to transform pork into ham at home, how to cure beef into bresaola and even how to brine a turkey!

As Andy went through each process I sat scribbling away as I knew that I would want to try as many of the recipes as possible. So far I have only brined a chicken but I am planning to make a bresaola ready for Christmas! Today I thought that I would share with you how I brined the chicken as I was so happy with the results.

This is what I did...

Aldi Specially Selected Five Bird Roast

When we think of Christmas dinner we all immediately think about turkey. But there are so many other options for Christmas dinner. This year I will definitely be cooking a turkey but I am also planning on cooking a second meat. After sitting and looking through the meats that Aldi will have this season I was tempted by so many other meats. Unfortunately the fresh meats are not available until nearer the time but Aldi do have some frozen meat dishes in store that can even be cooked from frozen!

So far I have narrowed it down to the four delicious meats pictured.

• Goose - The fresh British goose from Aldi is free range and from the fields of East Anglia.
• Beef - This Specially Selected beef rib joint is from herds that have been reared in the great outdoors. They have been grass fed and slow grown to give the meat a high level of marbling.
• Venison - From 19th December Aldi will be stocking fresh venison haunch joints. Raised on open pastures of New Zealand this premium lean meat is complimented by a juniper berry jus.
• Lamb - Lamb is often associated with Easter but it is a versatile meat that can be enjoyed all year round including Christmas. This whole leg of lamb will be available from 19th December.

#CookBlogShare Round-Up and Week 47 Linky

Week 47! Wow the weeks are flying by!

Last week the CookBlogShare linky was hosted by Mandy over at Sneaky Veg and there was, as always, a lovely variety of recipes shared. Now that we are nearing the end of November we are starting to see more and more Christmas inspired recipes coming though. I have also loved seeing some of the River Cottage posts being shared after the event that was run by Foodies100. I am planning to share my post this week so keep an eye out for it!

When it came to selecting my four favourite recipes this week there was no common theme to go with. So this week my round up is simply called 'The Delicious Round-Up'.

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 46 of #CookBlogShare...

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 21st November 2016

Wow, Monday's are certainly coming round quickly!

Last week I wrote my first Christmas post, yes the big 'C' word is out there and over the coming weeks I will be talking about it a lot more! Like last year, I will be showcasing what Aldi have to offer this festive season. Last Tuesday I gave you a sneak peek at what you can expect to see. We are starting the week with a bit of a feast. Today we will be dining on one of my top Christmas meat finds and I am certainly looking forward to tonight's meal. Keep an eye out tomorrow as I will be telling you all about it!

My Slimming World eating plan has been going really well. I feel, for the first time, as if something has clicked in my head. I have started to go for the healthier options when selecting what to eat and am enjoying my food. When I attended my group last week I was delighted to have lost a further 3lbs but was a little disappointed I had not lost 3.5lbs as that would have given me my first stone. But it has made me even more determined to see a new number on Friday!

I am eating a lot more fruit and vegetables and have found that I feel so much better for changing my eating habits and cutting down my sugar intake. I just hope that I can continue it over Christmas!

Now back to my Weekly Meal Plan. This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Christmas Preparations

Can you believe it is Christmas day in just 5 weeks? Now that we are almost in December my thoughts are definitely turning to the festive preparations. I am starting to write my lists of what I need to do and what I still need to buy.

Being the foodie that I am Christmas dinner is top of my list!

Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

So far I have got ideas for the big day but I am planning on having a few trial runs over the next few weeks to find the perfect centre piece for the traditional Christmas turkey. Over the coming weeks I will be sharing how I get on and how I will be preparing my turkey on Christmas day.

Then I need to plan what I will be serving alongside the turkey. The vegetables, side dishes, starters, desserts, snacks, drinks, oh the list goes on!

Then there are the presents to buy!