Happy Girthday to Me!!

Yesterday was my 43rd birthday and, as my Crohn's seems to have been settled for a few weeks, the lovely Lesley decided it was time for a treat. My favourite! Chocolate Cake with all the buttercream and chocolate flakes you could wish for. Just a small one ("enough to serve 8" the box said - though these must surely have been tested on very small people with even smaller appetites, or perhaps eight people who didn't much care for scrummy chocolate cake!) Needless to say I dived straight in immediately after Lesley took the following picture........

Obviously nothing to do with overeating and more to do with steroids, but me thinks it's time I lost a bit of weight!!! (I never, EVER thought I'd hear myself saying that!) Fitness regime begins....

............just as soon as the rest of the cake is consumed!

Happy Birthday to me....happy birthday to me....

A Pinch and a Punch...

...for the first of the Month!

Welcome to September - let's hope it's a bit brighter than August was (in terms of the weather!)

And speaking of pinches, we're all feeling the pinch at the moment through rising fuel, household and food prices so I thought I'd let you in on a new discovery - Love Food Hate Waste (click on the link) is a site dedicated to reducing the amount of food we waste. It provides hints and tips for saving money, recipe and menu planners, it even suggests weekly menus and provides a shopping list specific to each menu.

Check out the site when you get chance - you might eat better AND save some dosh along the way!!

Happy hunting!

Emily's Foody Face

Emily decided to cheer up a dull Saturday afternoon by making a fruit foody face!

The best part being...

Eating her hard work!!

Well done Emily!

Recipe Request

Being a Yorkshireman I am always looking at ways to save a few quid here and there, but lately things have become so expensive, I'm having trouble making savings anywhere.
Having watched the Tonight programme on Monday I've realised that one of the ways we can make savings is by cutting back our weekly food bill - currently around £120 per week and made up of pre-packed 'ready meals', snacks and what I class as non-nuritious stodge.
Lesley is kitchen-o-phobic and so I do most of the cooking - I had a good mentor in that area as I grew up with my Nana and she passed on her home cooking tips, so I am quite able to make a good sunday roast, bread, pies etc - what I seem to have lost (or forgotten) is how to make a good soup from leftovers of a sunday roast or ham shank (Nana used to make it with yellow split peas etc.) and other simple, quick meals using fresh and traditional English ingredients. Cooking from scratch as opposed to buying ready made.
So, my request is for home cooking tips - quick nutritious meals from 'Ration Book' foods.
You can post them as comments or email me directly on gmcarthur@sky.com
All help greatly appreciated.
Gary