Ths weeks plan...

I am juggling back to school with studying with my Mum's ill health at the moment, so as I promised back here, I am planning out meals to save my sanity.

On this weeks menu, we have -

Beef San Choy Bow in lettuce cups
Crunchy Lemon Spice Chicken Salad
Glazed mustard pork steaks
Chicken Schnitzel
Pan Fried Fish and veggies
Shepherds Pie (low carb version)
Coconut Curry and cauliflower rice

Sound OK?

My last two weeks weight loss enjoyed as a result of My Special K will be built upon too. I am road testing a new eating plan - for the next three weeks I shall be following and road testing the Tony Ferguson Weight Management Program.

If you go way way way back in my archives, you'll see that when I very first started to lose weight, I was on a shakes program. The lovely husband and I were chatting about this a week or two back, and saying how very prescribed plans do actually work well for me. It takes away choice and temptation, keeps me highly motivated, and shifts weight quickly. I am lucky that I am already educated about food and intake. I am also lucky that I maintain weight well. So a program that involves shakes that is low on carbs is an effective plan for me to follow in the shorter term.

The meals above are all from the Tony Ferguson Cookbook - all are low carb and low GI, and are my evening meals. For breakfast and lunch I shall be drinking shakes and enjoying fruit for morning and afternoon tea.

So, I shall let you know how I go!

Tell me - shake based diets - are you a fan, or skeptical?

Lemon Melting Moments...

The kids go back to school on Monday.

We have nothing much more planned for this last weekend of holidays aside from lawns and laundry.

I realise I have to deal with the lunchbox monster again as of Monday.

So I asked Olivia (who is just about to go into year three. How did THAT happen?!) which home made baked treaty thing she loved best.

Straight away she told me that she loves "Grannies chocolate crumble cake" best, but her second best favourite is "the crumbly round white biscuits squashed together with lemon icing stuff".

Ahhh, they'd be Lemon Melting Moments then...

Ingredients:

125g butter, softened

3/4 cup (115g) plain flour

1/4 cup (45g) icing sugar

1/3 cup (50g) custard powder (or cornflour)

Icing

60g butter, softened, extra

2/3 cup (110g) icing sugar

Juice and zest of one small lemon 

1. Preheat oven to 160`c
2. Line 2 cookie trays/baking sheets with baking paper.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat butter until pale and creamy. Add the flour, icing sugar and custard powder (or cornflour) and then use a wooden spoon to stir to combine.
   
4. Using your hands, roll teaspoonful of the dough into balls. Place the balls 3cm apart on the lined trays.
5. Use a fork dusted in icing sugar to gently flatten. Bake in the preheated oven, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 20 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
   
6. To make the icing, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the lemon rind and juice and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
7. Spread the icing mixture over the flat side of half the biscuits and sandwich together with remaining biscuits.
8. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tell me, do you make homemade stuff for your kids lunchboxes? What is their best favourite?

PS I have linked, through this recipe, to a whole load of beautiful bakeware on Kitchenware Direct. I shall be linking to them ongoing for a few reasons. I have worked with them before, and the lovely people at Kitchenware Direct have been kind enough to sponsor my attendance to the upcoming Digital Parents Conference. As well as this, they are a brilliant online store for all my cooking requirements and I use them a lot!

Serendipitous!

When I was drowning a sea of nappies and suffocating in the fog of mundane, caring for three little babies, I often wondered whether I would EVER be able to go back to work.


I used to be a career girl.


Then the three under three situation made it virtually impossible to return.


Something inside me told me that I was not ready to return. Would I ever be confident enough to return?


The three little people at my feet made it hard to even contemplate.


Occasionally, I would wistfully look at Seek to see if there were any part time roles that could fit in around the kids, and around childcare options. On one such search, back in about 2007, I also stumbled across the Career Mums website.


I felt inspired when I found that site. Other Mums, all with great skills, all in the same boat as me, making the choice to get back to work. A website that understood the need for flexibility. It felt hugely reassuring to realise that I was not the only mum dithering over choices.


As a result of the website, I managed to get inspired enough to apply and secure some part time work around the kids. Just for ten hours a week, but it was enough for my dormant skills to reawaken.

And It also got my creative juices flowing again, and so I also began to take my blogging and my social media interests a whole lot more seriously.


Through blogging and writing I have been lucky enough to get to know the talented Allison Tait, whose blog Life In a Pink Fibro was one of my early faves. I remember her blog when it's header was a ropey snap of the Fibro's roof line. And through strange coincidence, it turns out that Allison knows the lovely Kate Sykes, founder of the Career Mums site.

I find out that not only do they know one another, but they are working together on a book...a book called...Career Mums.

All of these facts collide at the same time that my youngest, Lexie, starts school.

Serendipitous indeed.

I ordered the book on pre-order and devoured it the minute I received it.

Simple but often overlooked advice is given succinctly. The book is brilliant at the business of confidence building. 

The practical advice from experts is an eye opener. It made me realise that I had my own personal elevator pitch all wrong.

The book gave me a huge surge of hope to be honest. The "going back to work" thing, in my head, has become a huge issue. 

• I want to work in a role that utilises all of my skills, but I only want to work part time.
• I want a job that matches my skill set, but my children come first these days.
• I want a job that stimulates me, but I also want to be able to walk away at the end of the day and feel no pressure.
• I want a job that pays well, but that also offers family friendly flexibility.

Before reading the book, the above statements were all more of a wish list. Fantasy land - not attainable, so I probably was put off before I even started.

But, now that I have absorbed the book and all it's sound advice, I feel really confident in being able to pitch to organisations for the kinds of roles I am after.

I have a meeting set up with a potential new boss next week - I shall let you know how I go!

In between times, if you'd like a copy of the Career Mums book, just go here.

I have a copy of the book to give away, so if you'd like to be in the running for to win this, all you need to do is leave me a comment, telling me your current career goal. (And if you'd like to nip over and "Like" Career Mums on Facebook, that'd be tops too!)

Diet Road Test Result!

Last week saw me road test he My Special K personalised eating and exercise plan.

Cost: $0
How? Online.
Variety: Huge variety of foods. The My Special K site asks you to personalise your profile, which I did, and it gave me a weeks worth of menus (as well as a shopping list) which made life very easy. The kids and the lovely husband and I all ate off the menu and so all ate the same, which was great. This meant we deviated from our usual fare, which was great for all of us - I was nicely surprised at some of the really interesting meals that the kids happily ate. The foods and meal plans are low calorie, wholesome, non-processed choices. A wide variety of all foods.
Ease: Easy to stick to, easy to eat.
Did I have to eat nothing but Special K? Nope. Any wholegrain low fat low sugar cereal would do!
Exercise? Yes, daily. (I did two gym sessions and a swim and walked the other days.
Hunger levels/feelings of deprivation? None. I did fancy a glass of wine on Saturday night, so I had one. This is probably the only time I deviated.
Results: I lost 1.4kg (And yes, I am happy about that!) and 8cm all over.
Would I/Could I stick to it? Yes

So there you have it!

Smug...

Don't you love it when you find a new item of clothing that is just PERFECT for everything.

I get a sensational feeling of utter smugness, knowing that a particular item looks good, feels comfy, and that it suits me and my many required "looks".

School drop off Mummy? Not too try hard, but neat and respectable? Check.
Studying Mummy? Cool, comfy and crease free? Yep.
Oh my goddess I have an appointment which I forgot about and have nothing ironed but need to look presentable? Superb.
Weekend dinner out at a nice pub restaurant? Crisp but relaxed? Can be dressed up with a little classy bling?
Office day today? Is it smart enough? With tailored pants, oh yes it is! Phew!

Above all else, despite losing a bit of weight, I still need all my clothing items to be FLATTERING.

Hence I am totally loved up with the range from Yummie

I have always been a fan of "shape wear" or "foundation" pieces - a close girlfriend of mine is a stylist and she swayed me this way a year or two back - no matter how much weight I lose, I still have lumps, bumps and crevices. A smooth silhouette is crucial, regardless of my size!

So when I read about Yummie, and how the control and shape is within the actual clothes, I was immediately intrigued - such a simple and obvious idea, but not something I have come across before.

Simple, comfortable, classic styles, all with the ability to smooth out my muffin tops and tyres? I am there.

The full range of lightweight, breathable, super soft wardrobe staples are designed to be worn by themselves (or under anything for a layered look.) Constructed with a patented dual fabric technology, the edge is derived from a firm control midsection panel which secretly smooths and shapes the midsection, camouflaging unwanted lumps and bumps. The genius behind Yummie is that it is a wardrobe essential and is the first shape wear that’s sexy, functional, comfortable and lovely to be seen. The innovative intimates, clothing and denims slim, smooth, and shape with unbelievable comfort, style and trend-setting designs.

If you would like to win one of the above Yummie tanks (Original, Strappy or Invisible Skinny), all you need to do is this:

Who's the boss?

I am not a big fan of soft drinks, but on the odd occasion, I can be tempted by a can of icy cold fizzy pop.

The hard stuff for me - if I ever do indulge, I like full strength - none of the diet kind with the fake sugar - give me the real deal!

And I was amused the other day to realise that the can I grabbed from the servo fridge all had names on.

(I ducked into the servo whilst leaving my kids in the car in the sun like the perfect mother I am not - but I would rather stab myself in the eye than take them all into the shop to pay for petrol and have them nag me to death for ice cream and lollies....)

Anyway, here is the name I was lucky enough to see on my can -

I love this so much that I am keeping the can to recycle it as a pen pot on my desk.

The kids think this is very funny - that Coke made a can specially for ME, because I AM the boss.

The lovely husband was mildly amused by it, and of course questioned the kids. "Is Mummy the boss? I thought I was the boss?"

Charlie cocked his head to one side and said, kindly, but with a little bit of uncertainty -  "You can be the boss, if you want Dad?"

Olivia looked very worried by this stage. "But Dad, you do know that Mummy really is the real boss? Maybe you should just be the boss of the garden?"

To which Lexie added - "You can be the boss at the weekends Dad. If you want? Then Mum is always here to make sure you are doing it right?"

My children know the score, evidently. They understand the hierarchy!

How about you? Who is the boss at your place?

I have a plan...

One of the plans I have committed to this year (one of many, I should add. I suspect I am being a little ambitious!) is to meal plan properly.

Last year was my year of "online grocery shopping" which I am still truly in lust with. I've been faithful to it.

I want to add to the satisfaction of online shopping by meal planning properly in the first place, so that my groceries are a little more organised and so that my food dollar goes further and so that we all, as a family, try more new dishes.

That snap you see up top there? That's Olivia, at the Australian War Memorial this summer where she came upon the Allied Works Council Cooking Guide - from the 1940's - a guide to feeding Australian forces with economy and flavour...

I read the guide with Olivia - perched on a an old bench in the discovery zone of the museum. It was a delight to read and I was transported back to a time when homemade was the only way and everything from scratch with no preservatives was the norm.

Whilst I won't be serving up chops for breakfast, the book really reminded me of how very satisfying it is to cook and eat from weekly plan. How sensible it is to create meals that in turn create additional meals for the following week. It is an economy of time and energy as well as produce.

The guide reminded me of how my Granny used to cook. Plain fare, fresh food and plenty of it. My Mother taught me too, to cook with flair. My aim is to combine the two - via a meal plan....which I probably share via my blog.

I have not started yet - but I do have a idea to scribble down meal ideas of the back of envelope. I have spent time previously being inspired by this post too.

Tell me, do you menu plan? How? What works? If not, why not? Tell me all!