Mummy & Moose
clapping, napping and yapping our way through the day

Time to begin again, again. My Slimming World update.

I look pretty happy in this photo, don’t I?

Well, the truth is that I was happy. I had just joined Slimming World and I had decided that I was going to do something positive for myself and try to switch to a healthier lifestyle. Years of ignoring what I had been putting into my mouth had taken their toll and that it was time to make a change.

I didn’t have a weight target in mind. It wasn’t really about weight. I do of course want to look my best. However, I have found that since turning 30 my worries about what others see when they look at me have diminished at a pretty stealthy rate!

For me, my focus was on my health.

I already knew that 2 litres of cola each day and a penchant for drive thru food was costing me an arm and a leg. My habits needed to change. For my health and my purse!

So, the planets aligned and off to Slimming World I went. Determined that I was about to commit properly to something which would improve my life.

Fast forward nearly 6 months. Drum roll please..

..I AM THE SAME WEIGHT I WAS WHEN I STARTED THIS!

To say that I am not where I thought I would be by now is something of an understatement. I cannot pretend I’m not disappointed. I’d imagined I would be at least 3 stone down by now. Admittedly I am amused by it all too. But…

I was supposed to feel more like me

Because that’s it in a nutshell. I don’t really know the person I have become. She is certainly not who I was or who I imagined I would be. Maybe that’s just what nearly 40 feels like? Does 40 feel like giving up?

The fact of the matter is that I was ready to give up. On Slimming World. On myself.

Slimming world works. I know it works. I have seen the numbers in my book going downwards each week when I was making an effort to stick to it. The problem isn’t Slimming World. The problem is me. I have been sabotaging my own lifestyle. I wish I could say why but it’s not going to be that simple, is it?

I got a phone call on Friday night. It was my local chinese takeaway calling ME to let me know that their loyalty discount was ending that weekend and did I want to order food so I could use my discount? I shit you not. My takeaway phones me. That’s a problem.

Did I order food? Obviously I did. I enjoyed it too.

Actually though, I deserve better. So, today I will take a deep breath and walk through those doors into group. I will set aside a couple of hours for me. When I get home I’ll curl up with a cuppa and my Slimming World books and I will read through them again.

I will treat myself like a friend.

Hopefully this time around I will be able to make better choices. In a few months time maybe I will start to see a change. Not just in my body but my health too. Who knows. I will try to give myself a chance though. Wish me luck!

Living Arrows Week 24 2019

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Moose had an inset day on Friday so he was home for an extra day. Yay! Of course I had nothing planned for us to do and it turned out that my car was still in the garage while they waited on a part for it anyway. So, I had to get a bit inventive.

We ended up having a pretty good day. Cakes were baked (with minimal input from me) and LEGO was played with and we managed to shoehorn in a movie with popcorn – not to mention the epic battle sequence Moose and I sat down to draw.

Moose likes to make up Superheroes and draw them having a battle. We don’t call it violence <ahem> it’s “action”…

 

 

Living Arrows

 

 

 

 

Set Dinner at Royal China Chinese Restaurant Peterborough

There used to be a pretty good variety of Chinese restaurants in Peterborough but that has long since been the case. These days finding a good eat-in Chinese option is a pretty tough call.

One Saturday, Mum and I found ourselves pulling up outside her local Chinese restaurant.

The Royal China. What it lacks in kerb appeal – and it really does – it makes up for with it’s food and hospitality!

We were quickly seated and were offered a set menu which seemed like good value for money. The set menu is a 3 course option at £15 per head.

There is plenty of choice. We opted for mixed starters which consisted of 9 different dishes to try. The satay chicken was by far my favourite and probably the best I have ever tasted.

The spicy To-Ban Beef was a dish I hadn’t tried before but was lovely – nothing was overly spicy. Other dishes were 2 different styles of spare ribs, crispy seaweed, sesame chicken toast, prawn toast, spring rolls and chicken with chilli and garlic. It was brought out to us within 15 minutes of ordering and we were asked a couple of times if we would like any of the dishes topped up which was nice.

On to the duck!

Plenty of succulent duck meat and fresh chopped spring onion and cucumber with pancakes. I thought that the hoisin sauce was a little too salty but not enough to complain about. Mum didn’t notice it at all and we happily munched our way through all of it.

The main course

I feel like to get a good measure of how good the place is you need to try a Sweet and Sour dish at a chinese restaurant. With that in mind, I opted for the Sweet and Sour Pork. Mum went for the healthier Cantonese Pork. We both decided on noodles for our side dish.

My Sweet and Sour Pork was absolutely lovely. The balance was just right and the pork wasn’t too chewy and nice and crispy. Don’t be put off by the small portions, it was made really clear to us that we only had to ask if we wanted more and they were more than happy to oblige.

Mum’s Cantonese Pork was well received and the bit I tried was delicious. The noodles were lovely too. Nicely flavoured and not too oily which is something I have encountered at other establishments.

We honestly didn’t feel the need to order any more than was brought out to us but we were asked several times if we were sure. In the interests of a thorough investigation of the food on offer, I decided to leave room for dessert.

I was glad I did

The desserts are not included in the set menu but they are really reasonably priced. To add one to your meal, Royal China charge just 90p! I opted for the cheesecake but there was a pretty good choice on offer. Ice cream, toffee apple (when do you see that on a menu?!), profiteroles, banana fritters, or lychees.

As well as my cheesecake I also ordered coffee. The coffee here is really good. I don’t know about you but I hate it when I have had a nice meal and then a bitter coffee ruins it at the final hurdle!

A nice surprise

Along with our coffees we were presented with a little plate of complimentary pick & mix style sweets. I had thought that I was a sensible grown up of 37 years but it turns out that being presented with free sweets has much the same effect that it had on me as a child. It was a lovely touch.

The Set Menu

royal china werrington peterborough set menu

Would we go again?

So I guess that’s the most important question, isn’t it? Before we visited The Royal China I checked out Trip Advisor for reviews. I read that the staff were a bit rude, that the place was freezing cold and it wasn’t an entirely pleasant place to visit.

What we found was a welcoming, well set up Chinese restaurant that while it looks a little run down outside is a great choice for a meal. All of the members of staff who we encountered were very polite and professional. We were very well looked after during our meal without it feeling intrusive. The menu was incredibly good value and the food was utterly delicious! We will definitely be back for a return visit and I quite liked that there is a separate section which would be good for hosting larger party sizes making it a good option for family get togethers.

Looking for other restaurants to try in Peterborough? Why not check out our review of Turtle Bay

Ad | A nod to the 90’s with Walkers and Girl Power!

This a sponsored post. All opinions remain my own.

Let’s make something abundantly clear, I was not the Spice Girls biggest fan. The idea of Geri et al turning up on my doorstep would not fill me with happy thoughts. They would probably only be there to have a word with me about the ceremonial burning of their debut CD on a small fire in 1997 anyway. The CD belonged to one of my sisters and frankly, they had it coming. There are only so many times you can expect someone to put up with Wannabe at top volume after all.

Grrl power

I did buy into girl power though. There was a very definite influx in the 1990s of strong female voices in music and as a teenager at the time I absolutely loved it. There was a mass of them to choose from too. I still adore many. Shirley Manson, the lead singer of Garbage is definitely who I would choose to share a bag of Walkers crisps with even now. Shirley embodied everything that teenage me wanted to be in life. Not only could she write beautifully, she looked fierce, spoke out for what she believed in and she didn’t care what you thought.

There was so much female forward music in the 1990’s though. Gwen Stefani to Missy Elliot, Lauren Hill to Courtney Love ..and of course, Alanis Morissette was God. I mean she literally was God. In the movie, Dogma.

via GIPHY

 

Superwomen

There were kind of a lot of Superhuman females on our screens in the 90’s too. This was the decade which brought us Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed and of course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Buffy Summers was a happy go lucky cheerleader who also happened to be the Slayer, protector of the Hellmouth and the World. Leader of the Scooby-Gang, with a tragic love life. She’s a big sister and orphan, and has the entire weight of the world on her shoulders. Buffy is one of the best examples of how a woman is not defined by the length of her skirt or the twirl of her hair. It’s her actions, day in and day out that prove her worth.

The Spice Girls are back!

Nowadays my sisters have their own families to annoy but it was nonetheless amusing to see The Spice Girls pop up on a Walkers crisps advert last night during the final of BGT. The Ad was pretty funny too! We loved the Mum.

The advert opens with a presenter reporting outside what appears to be a regular semi-detached house, announcing that the ‘number 1 Spice Girls Fan has won a VIP tour ticket’. As the girls appear on screen rushing towards the house, what was initially thought of as a regular home, turns out to be a shrine to Spice Girls. Memorabilia is scattered across the walls and the super fan eagerly awaits their arrival, Walkers crisps in hand.

Flash forward to inside the house, and following a friendly exchange of words, Baby Spice turns to the super fan, hand outstretched for a Walkers crisp, which is where it all begins. As the fan swerves her advances, viewers including Googlebox’s Malone family and Walkers aficionado Gary Lineker, watch on as the action unfolds. Determined not to give up his mouth-watering crisps, the final scene sees the girls’ car screech away from Dev, with the VIP ticket back in their hands.

WALKERS SPICE GIRLS

Luckily for Walkers fans, this means the title of “best ever fan” could still theirs.

Out of the many hilarious and over the top submissions that were entered into Walkers’ Best Ever Fan Challenge in the week leading up to the ad premier, one lucky fan will take the title thanks to Dev’s misstep.

Fans were asked to post a Spice Girls related snapshot from back in the day, or to create something new and share on their social channel of choice, tagging @Walkers_Crisps and hashtagging #BestEverFan. The prize? Four VIP tickets to the Spice Girls concert on Wednesday 15th June; an exclusive meet and greet with the girls, plus 5* accommodation and travel – it’s the ultimate prize for the best ever fan.

But fret not there are other exciting prizes for those that don’t win the golden package, including 2 pairs of standard tickets to the Spice Girls concert and a range of Spice Girls merchandise.

Were you a Spice Girls fan in the 1990’s? I would love to know which 90’s star you would share a bag of Walkers crisps with? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Slimming World friendly meal planning – Our menu 24/05/19

Well. It’s all gone horribly wrong. In the words of a favourite meme of mine; Not only have the wheels fallen off, I have burnt down the cart and used the insurance money to buy cupcakes.

I have been steadily gaining rather than losing lbs. Not due to the meals on my planner but the bloody snacking! Still, at least all of the Easter chocolate is now gone. Finally!

I am having another retinal bleed so blurry eyesight means a lot less chopping and prep and a LOT more grab and go. I am determined that I am going to push through though. In fact I need to.

The plan is to plan- and stick to it. What do you do when you feel your willpower slipping?

This week in food

Friday: My lovely Stepmum is cooking for me so MrG and the kids have pie and veg

Saturday: Nandos style butterfly chicken breast with mediterranean rice (frozen from aldi 1.5syns per portion) and salad.

Sunday: Roast Pork, honey glazed roasted parsnips and carrots with brussel sprouts and mash.

Monday: Lamb koftas with salad and flatbread

Tuesday: Sausages and chips and beans.

Wednesday: Salmon with baby sweetcorn, and green beans* and jersey royal potatoes*

Thursday: Chicken pesto pasta and pea shoot salad

*included in the Aldi super six this week. keeps the costs down

Breakfasts: Trying to keep the expenditure to a minimum because it’s half term and frankly I would rather spend the dosh on having some fun with the children. With that in mind breakfast will be mainly porridge and fruit (I have a stash of frozen sweet cherries so I can add those to my porridge)

Lunches: I am going to try to make lots of hard boiled eggs and salads this week. The weather looks well suited for it and they are easy enough to make a take on days out.

If you are interested in seeing some more Slimming World friendly meal ideas feel free to check out one of my other plans here

 

Katykicker