Cupcakes

I know I am not the most gifted cake baker in the world.  I have friends who are far better at it than I am; especially the part that involves making them look pretty.  I guess that's the bit where it moves from cookery (where I'm not bad) to art (where I'm a bit ropey to be honest...). 

Still, there's something really great about baking things with and for your kids.  It's Nathan's 4th birthday tomorrow (I know, where does the time go? My baby starts school in September... A post for another day...). He asked if we could take some cakes into nursery, and we did it today - as he won't be there tomorrow.

So here they are:



I know they could be neater, more glamorous and generally more artistic, but I think they're great.  Behold the glorious Rainbow Buttons, marvel at the little marshmallows, but above all - salute the Dolly Mixtures.  King of sweets.  Glorious variety in one little bag.  Marvellous.

You could understandably look at these and see blobs of cholesterol... 

But I see time spent with my kids, where we weighed stuff out (their favourite bit of the process...); where they cracked eggs without me freaking out about the shells going in (this has been a learning curve for me - I did fish a couple of little bits out...); Lots of stirring - without me having to hassle them to keep it in the bowl (a minor miracle! Tip - use a BIG bowl...), Blobbing of cake mixture (into the cases - I know, another miracle...), and counting down the minutes till the cakes were ready.  Not to mention, decorating the cakes without eating all the sweets at the same time. 

Miracles really do happen every day.

Toxic Strawberries

Before getting down to the point of this blog...  Does anyone think 'The Toxic Strawberries' would be a good band name?  I just wrote it down, and immediately thought it sounded like a rock band.  Ah well, I digress, and before I've even started...  Could be an ominous sign...

Anyway, carry on!...

Yesterday, Nathan and I bought some new strawberry plants, along with a few others, and planted them out in our garden.  We've been attempting to grow our own fruit and vegetables with limited success over the last few years.  Last year we managed lots of potatoes, a heap of green (should have been red) tomatoes which ended up as chutney, a few dodgy looking carrots and parsnips, and three baby corn-on-the-cob...  We did also grow some impressive looking courgette plants, without courgettes on... Oh well, never mind.

My motivation for trying again, was Nathan's appalled reaction to the shop bought strawberries we had recently.  Although Nathan happily eats other strawberry (OK...  jam) based products, he obviously hadn't eaten an actual strawberry for a while; and thus had decided that they were not just unpleasant, but down right dangerous.

Of course, the fact that the rest of the family were happily tucking into the strawberries didn't seem to help.  You would have thought I was trying to make him eat a raw oyster, or some sort of creepy-crawly from a bush-tucker trial.  The strawberries were, in fact, toxic - and no amount of cajoling was going to convince him otherwise.

In the end, I did what a lot of parents do.  I told him he couldn't get down until he'd eaten the strawberry; and in the end he did eat it.  I think, despite all the angst, he did actually like it in the end. 

Thinking back on Strawberry-gate; I am thankful that we have incidents like that relatively rarely now.  Nathan had a very difficult food phase (by phase, I mean year...) after being ill for a month with a bug, and then an ear infection when he was 18 months old...  He hardly ate any normal food for a month, and afterwards, he seemed to have forgotten how.  Out of nowhere, almost all foods had moved from the 'OK' category in his head to the 'probably toxic - avoid at all costs' area.  We spent the next year slowly re-introducing foods, until he was finally eating something resembling a normal diet.  It was a very difficult and stressful time, and I'm so thankful that we are basically over that now.

And so, we will grow our own strawberries.  Water them.  Talk to them.  Give them straw beds to sleep on, etc. etc.  And hope that by the time they are ready to eat, a certain person will have decided they are not toxic after-all...

In the mean time, I might buy some more from the supermarket.  Let the desensitization commence!

"I feel pretty..."

Don't ask me why I'm wandering around singing songs from 'West Side Story'...  Heaven only knows.  I am (completely unreasonably) blaming my friend Sarah - who I recently went to see perform spectacularly in a local production of Iolanthe (no - not even close to West Side Story - I know)...  Just seems to have made me remember every musical theatre production I have ever been in, or even seen...

Still, any excuse for a good sing...

Today I am extra pleased having bought a couple of items of new clothes from the local fashion house (Sainsbury's), that not only fit, but were in the sale, and look nice.  Marvellous. 

Brilliant timing too actually, as I have recently killed yet another pair of jeans...  I don't know what it is about me and jeans - but generally speaking - the relationship never lasts long, and they always end up dead!  Ah well, just as well my relationship with jeans has no correlation with my relationship with people... 

Anyway, moving on...

Last week when it was raining (again), and we were stuck in the house (again) I decided to calculate my BMI.  BMI (or Body Mass Index) is a guide which uses your weight and your height to calculate whether you are a healthy weight - or not.  There are other ways to do this, and it's by no means a cast iron rule, but it gives you an idea.

I guess writing about my Dad losing weight in my last post made me think about it.  Since having my children I've lost a little bit of the weight I gained through having them, but not all of it...  I guess that's not unfamiliar territory to a lot of mothers.  In my experience, looking after small children is very tiring - but not actually very good exercise...  It seems a bit unfair really.

So anyway, my BMI actually worked out at 26.2, which really isn't bad at all considering the healthy range for BMI is 20-25.  It made me think; actually my perception of my figure and how I look is probably not very accurate.  I think (or thought) of myself as an overweight person, when really - I'm a 'slightly-less-fit- than-I-could-be' person...

So - what to do...  Hmmm...  Time for some action points I think:

1. Stop worrying about it - the more I worry about this sort of thing, the more I want to eat cake anyway... 
2. Try to keep up the exercise - I find this is good for the mental health as much as anything, but I'm sure it would help with the toning up a bit too.  So God, if you could stop the rain - and make it nice and sunny - I'll do some more cycling...
3. Try to dress with a bit more thought...  After all, the kids are big enough to not cover everything I wear in snot now...  I know there are things I wear that look nice, and things that make me look like a slob.  It's not rocket science...  That said, we all need to slob sometimes; everything in moderation!
4. Pray.  After all, God promises He can renew my mind (see Romans 12), and I'm sure most of my issues with my body are actually in my head.

Oh, and maybe a bit more singing:

"See that pretty girl in that mirror there!...."

The biggest loser...

I can't believe there's actually a programme on the TV called 'The Biggest Loser'.  What's even more difficult to comprehend is that actually, this is a coveted title...  The contestants on it want to be referred to as 'The BIGGEST Loser'.  Oh my goodness.  They have actually made weight-loss a competitive sport.

I haven't watched by any means all of this programme; but I've pretty much grasped the premise.  Lots of over-weight people live together in a house (OK - huge mansion...), trying to complete horrible challenges (watching them trying to resist the chocolate was particularly painful), being encouraged (shouted at) by personal trainers whilst they exercise, all before a team weigh in...  The team with the highest combined weight-loss is safe from elimination (Yes, well it is 'reality TV' - you couldn't really get away without an elimination could you...  Best not to think about it in a dieting context though...  'Elimination' could refer to something else entirely...)

I'm not sure whether I'm impressed, shocked or just really sad for the contestants, but it does seem like a very emotional and stressful experience.  Each weigh in has them dripping with more sweat than the sessions with the personal trainer...  Still, I guess if it's working for them - you can't knock it.  And they do have Davina Macall there to be soothing / encouraging too.  I guess the big question is whether they will be able to keep the weight off once they return to the real world.

My Dad has been overweight (to a greater or lesser degree) for the whole of my life; but recently, he has become our family's own 'Biggest Loser'.  He's lost over three stone now with help from Weight Watcher's (and from my Mum - she's lost a stone herself, just by being supportive and not leading him into temptation... Well done Mum x) 

So Dad, this post is dedicated to you.  Congratulations on losing weight whilst remaining in the real world, and not being shouted at...  I salute you. Gxx

New year, new look

No. Do not adjust your set.  You are in the right place...  I have just changed the template I'm using for my blog.  What do you think?  Do you like the new look?  I thought the new year was a good excuse for a change.  Ah, the joy of being to change the look of something completely by just pressing a few buttons...

Have you made any new years resolutions this year?  I haven't really - I guess I just don't like setting myself up for failure like that... (sorry, not very optimistic that...) 

However, the new year does feel like a natural opportunity to make a new start.  I guess I'm not making any new resolutions - just dusting off some of the old ones, and seeing how I get on.

I wonder what precentage of the new year's resolutions that are made are health and diet related?  My guess would be that it would be at least 80%.  Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately...  Goodness knows what we'd end up looking like...  Hmm...) you can't change the way you look just by pressing a few buttons.  Any movement towards a healthy BMI will take effort and perseverance.  I'm honestly not sure how this one's going to go, but the boys and I did manage a 5 mile cycle today, so I guess that's a good start.  The boys are also selflessly working there way through the remaining Christmas chocolate...  The things they do to love and support me!

So, well done if you're tackling any new (or old) challenges this year.  Be gentle with yourself.  Remember that making a few small changes can make a big difference...  (Like saying 'no' occasionally, when you might have said 'yes'...)

Now - where did I leave my will power?

Time to worry, or time to sleep?

I've just put my younger son Nathan to bed.  He was really over tired, cranky and sad.  Throwing tantrums over the smallest things; apparently teeth brushing is tantamount to torture...  Above all, he wanted to not go to bed...  Unfortunately, this was the only thing that could improve the situation, so Mummy just had to persevere and get the little man into bed.  Once he'd calmed down, he went to sleep in about ten seconds.

It got me thinking:  how often do we do the same thing?  How many problems that we get ourselves worked up about; seemingly disastrous occurrences; could actually be improved by a good night's sleep?  How often do we worry needlessly, when we should really just go to bed?

There's a story in the Bible that I find really encouraging that's found in 1 Kings 19.  In a nutshell, Elijah has been very busy doing some awesome stuff for God, but then the King (a nasty piece of work called Ahab) and Queen (an equally nasty piece of work called Jezebel) find out about it, and threaten to kill Elijah.  He does what we'd all feel like doing in this situation - runs away and hides...

He then goes to sleep, and then is visited by an angel who basically tells him to eat, and then rest again, giving him the food that he needs.  God knew that Elijah was good for nothing without adequate food and sleep.  Remind you of anyone?

It's only after this that he goes and meets with God who comforts him and shows him the way forward.

I hope that little by little I might be learning which disasters need immediate attention, and which only need me to trust them to God and go to sleep.  God knows, I too am good for nothing without adequate food and rest.

The Best Brownies in the World??

A long time ago - I did promise to discuss the 'Best Chocolate Brownie Recipe' so I thought the time had come...  I have been talking about exercise a bit, so I thought it must be time to redress the balance!! :)

This recipe was given to me by my friend Rachel, but I can't recall where she got it from:

Rachel's Brownies

Ingredients:
150g unsalted butter
200g plain chocolate - chopped
175g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
75g plain flour - sieved
100g white chocolate - chopped
100g milk chocolate - chopped

Instructions:

1. Melt the plain chocolate and butter in a bowl over boiling water
2. Mix in the caster sugar and vanilla extract
3. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until all combined
4. Add the flour - beat until smooth
5. Stir in white and milk chocolate chunks
6. Pour mixture into 20cm square baking tin
7. Bake for 30 minutes - Oven temp should be 160 (or 140 if a fan oven)

So tasty - and gorgeous when still warm - especially with some nice ice cream...  Yummy. 

Try it out, and then let me know if you'd change anything.  Oh, and don't let them near anyone doing Weight Watchers, they're probably a gazillion points each...

Food is not 'bad'

Am I the only person worried by how much schools are pushing 'healthy' eating? 

My elder son Joel has just finished his first year at primary school, and during that time he's learnt a lot about all sorts of things.  He's loved school, which of course is great.  His school have helped him settle in, and generally been brilliant; so I don't want this to sound like a disgruntled parent rant...

Don't misunderstand me - I'm all for children eating healthily.  My children have a pretty good diet, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, sensible-ish amounts of protein, carbs etc etc.  Not too many sweets.  Even the odd bit of oily fish.  They aren't over-weight and their teeth aren't falling out.  All in all, they're a picture of health and energy - they're certainly active enough to be exhausting me over the summer holidays!

The thing is, Joel now regularly reads packaging on food and tells me how many calories there are in each portion, or how much fat they contain.  He asks me if they have too much salt, or too much sugar.  And I guess all of that is fair enough; what bothers me is how each food has been given the label of 'heathy' or 'unhealthy', 'good' or 'bad'. 

Joel recently told me that chocolate was unhealthy, which personally - I thought was a major disaster!  Not to mention a gross over simplification...  Chocolate has actually been shown to be good for all sorts of things. 

I don't think there are many foods that could truly carry the label 'bad', and I guess they'd be the ones full of artificial additives and things which when given to children, you knew that within 20 minutes you'd be scraping them off the ceiling. 

I think talking about how much your body needs of something, rather than whether it is good or bad has got to be the more sensible approach, especially where children are concerned.  Children are so impressionable, and at this early stage words from teachers are taken as gospel truth.  I think labelling any food as bad is potentially dangerous too, given that so many younger and younger children are considering dieting, and the rates of eating disorders in children and young teenagers are higher than ever.

Food is GOOD

The boys and I have just made a chocolate cake - we just won't eat it all today...