Wagamama fun and a New Car

So since I posted on Monday I've lost another 1lb not as good as my weight loss last week, I grant you, but every little helps.

I have gone a tinsey bit off the diet way as I had a fantastic dinner at Wagamamas. Okay it's a chain but I think the food is really good and with having a toddler a meal out anywhere is a special occasion. 

We had duck dumpling for starters. I had a cheeky glass of fizz to go with them.

Well why not... 😄

Then for my main I had Firecracker chicken.

It was very spicy but oh so yummy.

The hubby had teriyaki soba.

I did have a dessert shh don't tell my diet club. I had Banana Katsu, battered banana with Salted Caramel ice cream it was so yum. I dread to think the calories.. 

Apart from the normal work stuff and the amazing up and downs of being a parent. The little one is still not sleeping properly but I getting us to running on only a few hours sleep. 

I bought a new car yay.. So excited.. Although I need to wait till March to get it. I'm getting a Suzuki Swift, in black. 

So good news for me as I've got my own car and great news for my hubby as he gets his car back..

Also it's a 5 star safety rating with ISO Fix which is so important for the little one.

I think it the perfect combination of safety and style... 

So far so good

Well my New Years resolutions got off to a flying start.

I've managed to lose 5.5lb (2kg) in my first week of dieting with Slimming World.

I'm so happy but it's not all been plain sailing, as the the below comparison picture shows.

My Husband and I, thanks to my Parents got to go for a nice meal out at a local Kent Pub - "The Farmhouse" in West Malling toddler free. which you all know meant I could eat without a screaming fit.

 I had a seafood linguine to be good. The other half had a burger followed by their sticky toffee pudding and I had nothing. He also left a bit of it, it took every inch of willpower not to finish it but I managed lol.

With trying to eat healthy I've been cooking up a storm.

This week I've made Turkey Chili.

All you need is:

Turkey Mince

1, Courgette

1, Bell Pepper

Mushrooms

Red Kidney Beans

500g chopped Ttomatoes

Chili Powder (I had hot but you can have mild)

1 vegetable Oxo Cube

Brown the mince add all the veg, kidney beans, Oxo cube and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.

To top it off I added home made chips (Fries) and added Salad.

I've been a busy bee in the Kitchen and with a young child it is difficult as we have a low oven so if I'm doing a lot of cooking I have to put the baby gate up so he keeps away from the hot oven. He obviously doesn't like it and stands at the gate and makes his feeling known lol.

So I spend a lot of my cooking time running over to him and giving reassuring hugs that I'm only cooking and haven't abandon him in favor of a Kitchen appliances. 

I used the basis of the Slimming World Quiche recipe and made.

Roasted Aubergine (Egg plant) & Courgette (Zucchini) Salmon Quiche

I roasted 1 bell pepper with 1 Aubergine and 1 Courgette at the same time cooked for 20 Minutes the Salmon. 

While this was cooking I took 4 eggs and 300g of fat free cottage cheese and mixed added a bit of Salt and pepper for seasoning and mixed together. 

Then when the salmon and the veg were done I lined a bottom of a dish with the roasted Aubergine poured over half the egg mixture then added the courgettes, peppers and the flaked Salmon before Pouring over the last of the mixture.

I then put this back in the over for another 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

What your left with is pastry free delicious quiche. 

To add to my busy cooking schedule last week I also had to attend a two day course to get my re-registration of my Prince2 (Project Management) Practitioner exam. The course was very intense and with the little one demanding most of my attention when I got home it was a bit tricky to do the home work. So fingers crossed I passed (I won't find out for a few weeks).

The upside is the training facility was in an Awesome location. Right next to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. As the weather was nice (Chilly but nice) I did a bit of sightseeing in my lunch.

I do love London even though I've seen these sight loads of times before I still love it when I near them.

On Sunday I was up early but due to one thing an another getting the little one up and fed. I decided I wanted something slightly more interesting for breakfast so I made Syn free Spicy Potato cakes.

All you need is a potato a grater and some Quark (a soft low fat cheese).

The process is so easy I made a little video:

So as I said a great week so far on the Diet front still need to get my other resolution off the ground but I am feeling healthy and fairly happy. Must be all the vitamins from all the fruit I've been snacking on.

So wish me luck with this weeks endeavors.

Think I'm just glad to be cooking again as it was a bit weird having a cooking blog with no cooking lol...

New Year and hopefully an improved me..

So it's 2015 the year in which I turn 35 which means in most surveys or online forms I will go into another box.

I've got a few months until this happens but I never really get the wobbles about life on my birthday. I normally get them at new year. There something of a finality to the death of the old year. even though it only a few days go it the past. 2014 is so last year.

So now we are faced with a fresh bright (albeit rain/cold) brand spanking new year and what to you intend to do with it?

I of course have resolutions/goals for the up coming year which are:

• Loose weight
• Eat at a Michelin star restaurant
• See a West End Musical (as thanks to the little one I haven't been to one since 2012)
• See a Opera and the Royal Opera House 
• Wear more bright colour (My wardrobe is distinctively dark)
• Bring lipstick back (I don't really wear make up but plan to get a couple of nice bright shade and brighten up my lips from time to time)
• Move Home 
• Have more fun especially with the little one (now he's getting bigger and I can drive taking him to more activities we can do together I'm thinking Farm, seaside and all that fun stuff).

So not the biggest list in the world but now it is out for all the world to see at least I can check back and have a barometer of how I did at the end of the year.

I'm debating whether I should add find a new job??  Hmm this is a hard one especially if you've got a young child. I am currently in a job where I'm slightly unfulfilled with the tasks I'm set but apart from that they are very accommodating. I can work from Home every Friday to help with childcare they very good if I have a last minute disaster. Also the people I work with are very nice.

I do live quite far away from were I work over 3 hour round trip each day. But I worry that if I did jump ship to be nearer or do something more exciting would I have the flexibility you need when you have young family?

This is a very hard question as it something even though I would want to ask not the best thing to come up in a interview "Do you mind if I've got to leave the office at short notice or work from home 1 day a week?" think that would be the death knell for any chances of being made an offer of employment.

I do think the government needs to do more (oh no my soap box is out) as loads of company now have the tools for home working and flexible hours. I think they should work with business to encourage this more from the out set. I.e. put it in a Job spec -  willing to take on people who don't want to work a full week or be more flexible in the hours they do.

As I'm of the opinion just because people are in the office it doesn't mean there working and if the jobs getting done does it really matter where they are based?  Although these are just my own opinions and because I am in this situation maybe if I didn't have a toddler I'd have a different point of view.

So the job think is a like to have, I've been keeping an eye out and if anything interesting does happen I'll keep you posted lol.

As for the top resolution I have re-joined Slimming World. I originally joined in Jan 2013 and did quite well lost one and half stone (21lb, 9.4kg), then I got pregnant. Although when I got weighed last night I weighed a stone (14lb 6.5kg) less than when I first started back in 2013 which is good yay. This means I need to loose around 2 stone (30lb, 13.5kg) to get to my target which is not so good :(

I'm going with friends and have compiled a shopping list so hopefully this will spur me on to greatness, well thinness anyway. I have set myself the time limit of getting all the weight off by July for the summer.  I won't be going a Michelin Star restaurant until I'm at target which is another incentive.

As for the West End Musical and the Opera resolution, I am open to suggestions if any of you have seen a great show or know a of a great Opera. I have never seen an Opera live so happy to take all and any recommendations. With Musical I have seen Wicked and Lion King but apart from that no of the other show I've seen over the years are currently on in the West End (London).

For the more fun I am going to channel the young me and do all the things I wanted to do when I was young even if it just having fun on the swings (which are my favourite of the playgroup apparatus)

Also  the year culinary wise has started out great my Husband made me a lovely dinner the other night. It was a really simple yet super yummy and very well presented.

All you need is Duck Breast Marinated in Ho-sin Sauce and a bit of Soy. Roast for 30 min then place on a bed of finely chopped Spring Onion and Cucumber.

It was very very nice.

And now with SW I will for a few week be posting some yummy health meals to get everyone through the winter blues.