Recipe - Energy Balls. One bowl, no bake, too easy

Around the same time that I looked into doing my first marathon and ultra I also started reading "Born to Run". So, naturally, when I went Googling for fuelling on long runs I really wanted a recipe that would use Chia seed.
As with most things that I make I took ideas from a few sites and came up with this creation

One bowl, no baking required. Couldn't be easier.

The ingredients are things I always have in my pantry so I know that I can always make them.

I literally just put everything into one bowl and mix. Generally I start out using a spoon but then resort to hands as its the best way to gauge consistency

Once all of the ingredients are mixed simple shape them into balls. You could even make bars out of them but I need something little to easily pop into my mouth as I'm running.

I got 25 balls out of the mixture.

This is the size of mine

The best part of this recipe is that its fully adaptable.

Here are some things that I've tried:

* Toast the oats or coconut, or both. It's a lot nicer when toasted but most of the time I get lazy

* Add chocolate chips

* Regular oats or quick oats both work fine. Swap out with whatever you have on hand

* Shredded or desiccated coconut both work fine. As with the oats, swap out with whatever you have on hand

* Instead of coconut, use trail mix. Personally, I found this harder to chew/digest on long runs but it was really tasty

* Adjust the amounts of wet ingredients to suit your taste. I am not overly fond of honey, and too much peanut butter makes my mouth dry so I tend to add honey, peanut butter and chocolate spread into a 1 cup measure without really measuring any of them, as long as the total is 1 cup

In terms of calories I don't have an answer because I'm calorie counting challenged (ie I don't do it). 

On a few of the sites that I looked at when searching for a recipe the numbers varied between 90 and 200 calories per ball. The only time I consider calories is when I'm packing for a long run and know that I need to aim for 200-300 calories per hour. In which case I count these as 100 calories each. No idea how close to the truth that is and can't be bothered to work it out. Please tell me if you do though

Energy Balls

Makes: About 25 balls

Time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients

·         1 cup oats

·         ½ cup shredded coconut

·         ½ cup honey

·         ½ cup peanut butter or chocolate spread (or a combination of the two)

·         ¼ cup LSA mix (Linseed, Sunflower seeds and Almond mix)

·         2 tbs Chia seed

Method

1. Stir all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined.

2. Shape into balls. 

3. Refridgerate (this helps them to hold their shape)

That’s it! Easy 

Thinking out loud

When is a person's sexual orientation going to stop being news?
Seriously.

Confessions of a guilty mum - Hooray, school holidays are finished

School starts back today.
Wahoo.
And I don't know who's more excited - me or the boys.

The truth is, I'd love to be posting Instagram photos of us hanging at the beach or updating my Facebook status about the movie we just watched together but nope.
Because work doesn't stop for school holidays.
So for us its work, and what I have termed the Grandparent shuffle train.

My boys split their 2 weeks of holidays between 3 sets of grandparents (split family on one side) who live 20 minutes away, 1 hour away and 2 hours away.  They come home for the weekend but more often than not it's only for Friday and Saturday night.
So out of 3 weeks of  holidays that have just finished they literally spent less than a week at home.

They're at that age where they aren't old enough to stay home by themselves, but hanging with the grandparents is quickly losing its lustre.

And they miss their own bed. They miss being comfortable in their own environment.
They actually get sick of Maccas and lollies and all the treats that are the privilege of grandparents.
They miss playing footy in the front yard with their Dad when he gets home from work.
They miss playing with the neighbourhood kids.
They miss my kisses and nagging.
Ok, maybe not the last one. But I'm sure they miss me.

And we miss them.
We miss telling them the same thing ten times.
We miss that crunch under our feet of broken biscuits and crackers.
We miss doing a load of washing each day.

But what we really miss is our 'normal'.
Our family dinners where they rank the meal out of ten. (I often get 8's and 9's BTW)
Our family handball championships.
Our family bike rides.
Our family '4 in a bed' selfies

So, while a lot of my friends are sad that they'll miss their kids now that school is back, I'm looking forward to spending much more time with them.
Hooray for school

Is this the end of the road?

I'm not really sure how a casual chat while running with a friend turns into me signing up for a 25k trail race that is 5 days away, but that is exactly where I found myself last week.

So, with the enthusiasm and nervous excitement of a kid starting school plus the naivety that comes along with it, I found myself setting the alarm for 4am last Sunday morning.

Having never done over the magical 21.1km half distance, I thought that a 25km race would be a great way to see how my fitness is progressing.

Zoey and I ready to run . During the week I'd arranged for Zoey, someone i'd met through Running Mums Australia, to meet me at my house for a lift up to the race. It was the first trail race for both of us so we could be nervous together.. 

I'd also never done a trail race before and had literally only ever run a local trail twice in the space of 12 months so I knew that speed wasn't going to be a factor.
This run, I rationalised, was going to be an experiment on my ability, my endurance, and my 'fuel' needs.

At the start line I felt the part with my borrowed hydration pack. The fact that I had only borrowed it 3 days earlier and had not really run with it did worry me a little, but I went with the 'glass half full' on this one and simply hoped for the best.

Someone gathered all of the runners around and explained that the course was marked and that we "should be right". He also casually mentioned that the first 2km were uphill.
This is where ignorance comes in handy - I hadn't investigated the course only to ask opinions of a couple of people I knew who'd run it. They used words like "evil" and "brutal", which possibly should have been a good indicator of what I was in for but it didn't deter me.

And we were off.
When my Garmin buzzed to let me know we were at the 2km mark I silently noted that there was still quite a bit of uphill to go. Mr Race Explainer at the start line was right I guess - the first 2km was all uphill; but so was the next 2km!

Having only done large halves in cities I was surprised at how quickly the pack thinned out, which meant that at some points in the race I could see no-one in front or behind me.
When there were people near me there was little chats. The main question seemed to be if I'd run this course before. When I explained that I had never run a trail race before I did sense that some people found it amusing that I had decided to start with Nerang State Forest. But, at the same time, I got the impression that they thought it was a great thing to see a newbie out there.

I'd love to say that I remember the course better, but I don't. Somewhere around the (I'm guessing) 7-8km mark there was a really steep decline. There had been a couple of declines by this stage and my aptly designed road shoes (Asics Kayano's) had been holding up ok in the grip department. But they were not ready for this one.

I am glad to report that I didn't fall but I did come close. Close enough to make me literally stop and make a conscious decision to walk down the rest of the hill with careful foot placement.
I was surprised at how quickly my feet had been getting away from me and I really didn't give the dry terrain enough credit.

At around the 50 minute mark I had to walk up a hill and so I thought it was a good opportunity to have my first Gu. To be honest I didn't feel like I needed it but I really wanted to fuel properly and what I'd read about fuelling always seems to say that you should do so at somewhere between the 45 and 60 minute mark.

"Heartbreak Hill" was the next encounter. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a couple of photos so I quickly whipped my phone out and snapped a couple of images. Like many landscape shots though, the photos don't do it justice. It was so steep in points that I was in almost a crawl position to get up little ridges.

After Heartbreak Hill it was a couple of flattish km before the aid station. I gulped water and scoffed a couple of snake lollies. I wasn't sure how snakes (or lollies in general) would sit in my stomach but I am a sucker for lollies so couldn't pass them up.


The next thing I faced was the aplty named "Gutbuster" You know a hill is steep when you are being passed by people on horseback and the horses are struggling to get up the hill.
But the view from the top was beautiful - It alone made the race worthwhile.
And all I could think was, well if this is the top then a good portion of the last 11km should be downhill. Yahoo.
A guy I'd spoken to earlier in the run passed me around this point. He and I had chatted about this being my first trail and first time over the 21.1km distnace. He gave me a pat on the back and told me that I was doing "really well. Really, really well"

My second Gu went down at this stage. Again, I didn't feel that I needed it but in hindsight I think both of them were well spaced.

In the few days before the run I had calculated that in order to finish in under 3.5 hours I would need to maintain an average pace of 8:24 min/km.
A couple of people (the same ones who used the words brutal and evil) did tell me just to aim to finish and that 3.5-4 hours would probably be a better time frame.

While I never went in to this run to 'race' I am someone who still needs personal goals and mentally I like to finish strong. So I did just that.
In the last 6-7 km I played the mental game of reeling in the runner in front. I managed to pass a few people and stay on my feet.

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch at 2:46:13. I was elated.

I don't know how to articulate this run other than to say it was fun. There wasn't any pressure, people who passed me or people who I passed wished me luck.

I ran, I walked, I chatted, and I smiled. I grinned actually. 

I enjoyed running. I couldn't see if I was front of the pack, middle of the pack or back of the pack.

I didn't need to, because it didn't matter.

Back home that afternoon I felt wonderful about the whole day and just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, the official results were released..

and I had placed 8th female, and 29th overall.

My first trail race, my first time over 21.1km couldn't have gone any better.

A couple of days have now passed and I think i've picked up a bug... the trail running bug that is.
Its a bug I'm happy to have, and I can't wait until the next time

Some things to note:

* I had approx 1.5 litres of water in my hydration baldder - I couldn't have calculated that better if I'd tried. I literally had the last sip just past the finish line
* I had brought 4 Gu gels with me. My initial plan was to have them at the 45 minute mark, 1 hour 30 mark, 2 hour 15 mark and 3 hour mark. I ended up having one at the 50 minute mark and one at the 1 hour 40 minute mark, with some lollies from the aid station at the 12km point. I haven't ever really felt much benfit from Gu's in the past but I do truly believe they helped this time
* I need trail running shoes if I am going to do this again. My road shoes didn't grip very well and I fear I may lose some toenails due to the downhills. 
* Trail runners, in general, were friendlier than road racers. Granted, I've only done 3 road races and I wasnt exactly a conversation starter myself on any of those but this run felt more (i really don't know the right word here so I'm going to go with) community-like.

* I mentioned at the start of this post that it I was running with a friend when I decided to do this run. That friend completed the 50km race on the same day, and placed 9th female. Amazing stuff. I am so glad that I got to see her out there on the course too as she was heading out for her second loop of 25k.

Jill in beautiful contemplation phase. She rocks!
*Also note runner in 'sandals' behind her - I passed this guy on his way out to do his second 25k. I'm still baffled as to how he did such a rocky course in those shoes

The day I reached my peak

Something really quite remarkable happened to me last weekend... I placed in a race

I came second. Me. I can hardly believe it. 

The race is a annual local fun run challenge. There are 2 distances - a 5km or 10km.

The 10km is simply the 5km course done twice. And its not a fast track as there are a couple of steep hills.

(The number of hills depends on who you talk to. I was told 3 hills; 2 on the way out and 1 on the way back. But, for the record, it sure felt like there was more than 3)

I decided to enter the 5km race as mentally I simply couldn't handle getting to the finish line and then heading for the hills again. I also only officially committed last Wednesday, 4 days before the race. I didn't prepare for it, as such.

So, race day.

I arrived with my boys (who were signed up to do the 1km kids dash) just as the 10km started, which was great as I got to cheer on some people that I knew.

The 10km finished, I chatted with some friends, then watched the boys and all of the other kids run.

About 10 minutes before the start of my race we ambled down to the start line. 

I had the butterflies that you get from any such scenario but I wasn't nervous about doing a great time or placing or anything like that. I'd had a quick look at the past results and saw that they were in the 24 minute area. As my PB for 5km is around that and due to this being a hilly race I didn't even look too closely at the times and just thought I'd aim for sub 30 minutes - ie give myself about a 5 minute leeway to allow for the hills slowing me down.

When the race started I don't even recall if it was a gun or hooter or just someone saying go... because I was chatting to my friend, her daughter and her daughters friend.
This friend of mine, Alisha, is fast. She's really quite amazing and I admire how quickly she's built up her speed too. I thought that if I could just stay with her then i'd have a good race.
The first hill came and, well, I don't mind hills and I just had a bit more speed in my legs than Alisha did on the day. I debated hanging back so that we could run together but I knew Alisha wouldn't want that, just as I wouldn't expect her to do for me.

It was an out and back race so as we got to the second big hill I knew there was only about 500 metres up and I'd start to see the people who were on their way back.
All males, more males, then one female who had a different ribbon on (indicating under 12 age group - yes under 12 - a gun in her own right) and then one female in the open category and then that was it.

OMG, was I in second??

I couldn't believe it.

From then I just aimed to keep this girl in my sights. I still wasn't certain that I'd counted correctly and thought that there was a very good chance that I'd missed someone but as I got to the last km and started to pass officials a couple of them gave me a little clap and said "keep going, you're coming second"

OMG, I WAS in second!

I heard my boys yell out to me and my friends gave a little shout too and then I crossed the line and those officials were right.

I DID get second place.

As I caught my breath the girl who came first thanked me because I made her keep going as she though I might catch her. This was all too unbelievable.

I was beaming. I wanted to shout it out to everyone there. I wanted to talk about how amazing it was to anyone with ears. But I tried to restrain myself. I'm not sure how successful I was at that. All weekend I was grinning like the Chesire cat. Even, now, as I type this, 2 days later, I am still so super excited.

When they presented the certificates I found out my time was 24:02. I am so pleased with that as I was honestly aiming for sub 30 minutes.

Super excited to come second

And what else is great (maybe even greater than the placing) is the fact that any time a self doubt tries to creep in it is squashed almost immediately by the joy that I still feel.
Yes, it was just a local fun run with maybe 100 people in my race. Yes, it was only 5km. Yes, there are many people in the running community that I know who could beat my time.
But I am honestly not thinking like that.
I am claiming it.

Any race, at any distance, is open to whoever turns up on the day. And this was just my day.

This may very well be the peak of my running life. Even that makes me smile.

I simply had to get this down on paper so that when this feeling subsides I can relive it again by reading my own recount

And, because it made the day just that much sweeter -  my boys did great in the kids dash, my friend Alisha came 4th in the 5km, her daughter came 1st in the under 17's 5km (and she'd only 13). Plus my local long run running friend came 2nd in the 10km and another friend came 4th in the 10km. (They're all in the picture)

Speed or Distance?

Speed or Distance?

I honestly ponder this question continuously at the moment. I can't stop.

I really want to keep up my longs runs. Well, actually, what I should say is that I'd like to get back into my long runs on a regular basis. Anything over, mmm, lets say 12 or 13km.
On the other hand I find even the thought of long runs soooo boring. What a waste of 1.5 to 2 hours.

I kid myself by saying that as long as I'm running 5-8km a few times a week then I should be right to pull a half marathon out of the bag in a couple of months. Deep down I realise that's probably not a smart thing.

I am loving little speed goals instead. I've cracked under 5 minute/km pace for 5km and have managed to maintain it for 6km. What I'd love is a sub 50 minute 10km.

So, thoughts to paper, I think I should keep doing shorter, faster runs and get a long run every 3 weeks or so just to feel like I'm not losing that distance ability. If I run the half marathons that I have in my sights (one in March and another in July) then I can just take them as they come. No pressure, just fun run.

Easy? Yes, in theory. I just need to work out how to run without pressure on myself (from myself).

Thoughts would be appreciated..

Meal Plan _ Nov 18

Another week organised. It sounds a bit over the top but having the meals planned really makes me feel happy, like i have already accomplished one thing.


Monday
Cream cheese Beef rolls

 This is a dish that just needs to be tried to see how yummy it is.

Tuesday

Speedy Fried Rice


Fried rice is a great, filling mid week meal. The rice can be cooked in the morning in between harassing the kids to get ready for school and then its just a matter of throwing the rest together when you get home. For us Tuesday involves a dentist visit for one of the boys followed by footy practice so a speedy meal is ideal.


Wednesday

One-pan chicken with honeyed root vegetables and stuffing
I found this recipe on a free e-book. I can't pin it and i hope the link works as it wasn't very co-operative. One pan meals are also great mid week options


Thursday


Sweet caramelised pork and coleslaw
This is a new one. I'm going to cheat with regards to the coleslaw and just buy "dry slaw" (rather than grate all the vege's myself). I am thinking the addition of brown sugar to the pork rub and sauce will be a winner with the family.

Friday

Spinach and Feta turnovers


These are a firm favourite with son number 1. (Jury is still out as far as son number 2 is concerned). I always add some extra tasty cheese, paprika and nutmeg to the mix just for extra flavour. No set amounts of each, just whatever i feel is right.

Meal Plan - Nov 4

Organised for food for the week. YES!


Monday

 



(Herb crumbed) baked salmon
I cheat and use pre-packaged bread crumbs and I normally add more/different herbs than just basil - parsley and chives work well. A few comments suggest adding lemon rind which I have done when I have a lemon in the fridge and it makes a nice flavour addition. One of the comments said that they add pinenuts to the crust mix which sounds delicious so I will try that this week.
I'm going to pair it with cheesy zucchini rice which is a new one for me but sounds delicious.


Tuesday


Homemade baked beans with Eggs and Chorizo
I've made a recipe similar to this one in the past without the chorizo but I like to try variations of recipes and this one sounded good. The vegetarian version is pinned onto my board this week (find it here)

Wednesday

Phad Thai (Chicken)
As with Tuesdays meal, I've mad Phad Thai quite a few times and each time i try a new recipe - Mainly because I don't think ive ever truly nailed it so I keep searching for that fail safe recipe. (I don't think there is one for Phad thai though - I think it has more to do with a very hot wok and getting the noodles just right)

Thursday

Maple pork and Maple apples
Mmm, maple sweetness. Should hook the boys in, especially the youngest one. Teamed with roast veg I am hoping this one is a winner


Friday

Chicken, Pumpkin and Leek parcels


These have been on my 'to try' list for a while and this is their week. The boys play touch footy on Friday nights so my plan is to have these all ready and just have to cook them when I get home while the boys shower. I do have one non-pumpkin lover in the house so I might consider other veg in a couple of them

Meal Plan - Oct 7

Yesterday I got my longest run (16.97km) done since completing the Brisbane half 2 months ago. It was hot but it felt good. Not my fastest time but I am truly just happy to be out there and hopefully inspiring a couple of other friends to keep going. I do have to be mindful of the wildlife though - at one stage a quite large brown snake was inhabiting the same path as I was running along. I chose to let him have the path and ran along the road instead.

On a food note, another week of meal planning is done after a couple of slack weeks. It really helps to not only save money and time but also means that we eat healthier as I don't end up buying impulse items at the supermarket every afternoon.


Monday

 Tandoori Chicken
For some unknown reason I've been craving this one lately but never got around to making it until now. Simple to prep and quick to cook. It's great done on the BBQ too.

Tuesday

Steak and roast potatoes
It's great BBQ weather here at the moment. Warm but not too hot and no mozzies, yet. My boys ask for these potatoes nearly every week when I ask for their input on the week's meal plan. What i love about the site where I got the recipe (Natasha's Kitchen link here) is that she posts the how to photos for each recipe. Personally, it makes it so much easier to decide if I'm going to like a recipe.


Wednesday

Slow cooker Chicken and Chorizo pilaf
Quick and easy. Perfect for mid week.

Thursday

 Teriyaki Pork meatballs
I 'd feel weird if I didn't have a recipe from Budget Bytes (link here) in my meal plan. Beths site is one that i regularly check for new recipes. The last time that I made this one both of my boys had given it a 10/10 before I even had a chance to sit down and start eating myself.


Friday

(Herb crumbed) baked salmon
I cheat and use pre-packaged bread crumbs and I normally add more/different herbs than just basil - parsley and chives work well. A few comments suggest adding lemon rind which I have done when I have a lemon in the fridge and it makes a nice flavour addition. One of the comments said that they add pinenuts to the crust mix which sounds delicious so I will try that this week.
I'm going to make home made baked chips to go with this one rather than a salad

Recipe - Healthy muesli bars

Healthy muesli bars

Ingredients

2 bananas

2 cups quick oats (also called minute oats) Regular oats will also do i just like the fineness of quick ones

1 tbs LSA mix

1/4 cup cashews and almonds  - chopped. You can chop them as finely or coarsely as you like. You could even leave them whole but as I was making this for kids I needed them to be chopped. You can also use any nuts you like - I simply had almonds and cashews in my cupboard today

1/4  cup choc chips - Optional. If you'd prefer to leave out the chocolate simply add more nuts to make up to half a cup in total

1 tsp vanilla ess - Optional
Honey

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (approx 355 F) and line a rectangular pan with baking paper.
2. Mash the banana

3. Add the oats, LSA, nuts, choc chips (if using) and vanilla (if using)

4. Mix until combined

5. This is where the honey comes in. If you feel that the mix is a bit dry simply add some honey. I sometimes only add 1 tbs just to help with the binding. The mix can be dry if you've used regular oats or if the bananas were on the smaller side. If you don't feel that you need it simply leave it out.

5. Press the mix into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for approx 20-25 minutes. Cool and then chop into muesli bar slices.

Great for school lunches and I find mine will keep for a few days wrapped in baking paper and in a tupperware type container

 

Recipes - Choc Orange Brownies

Choc Orange Brownies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/3    cup   cocoa

1        tsp    Bi-Carb/baking soda

1/2    tsp salt

1/2    cup sugar (Can be brown sugar or caster sugar. Either is fine. Brown sugar will give you a more caramelly flavour in my opinion)

1 tsp  Vanilla ess

1/4  cup vegetable oi;

Juice and zest of 1 orange (You can actually increase this to 2 if you really want/like the orange flavour)

1 cup Milk or Buttermilk. (You can even substitute for warm water if you want this to be dairy free)

Optional: Choc chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees (355 F)

2. Grease or line a baking pan. (If you want thicker brownies go for a smaller pan, thin brownies go for a bigger pan. I tend to just get out whichever I find first)

3. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl

4. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the sifted dry ingredients.

5. Mix until all combined. Add choc chips if using

6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-40 minutes (depending on thickness). Cool (or not!) and eat. Yummy

 

 

While I have no idea of the actual nutritional stats these are what I consider to be on the healthier side of baking as there is no butter, no eggs and only 1/2 cup sugar.

A great way to use the mountains of oranges growing on my tree.

 

 

Meal Plan Sept 16

I had my 20 year high school reunion this past weekend. Leading up to it, I was excited and nervous all in one, but I ended up having a great time. Facebook took a lot of the guess work out of knowing who was who but I still found myself looking at a couple of people for a few minutes while the old brain clicked over.
In all I think everyone looked great - we must've been a good looking year to have aged so well! ha ha.

Looking towards this week, I've settled into my new job but realise that I need to be careful with what I plan for meals at the beginning of the week when I am doing 9-5. Thankfully my husband is a great help and so I can tell him what needs cutting up and what he can do and that saves me time when I get home, otherwise we aren't eating until 7-ish and it simply allows too much snacking time (mainly by me! the kids are fine).

So this is what we'll be eating:


Monday

 Mexican Chicken & Bean bowls
As I do with all my mince meals, I'll grate carrot and zucchini into the mince mixture. I serve this one like Nachos but  not all cooked together - I serve the mince mixture in bowls and then add a little bit of grated cheese and a handful of corn chips - The kids still feel like they are getting nachos but its a healthier way to serve it up. Win win. If I was really good I could toast some tortillas and that could cut down on the salt from the corn chips...but after working all day that may cut into the 5 minutes I get to relax!


Tuesday

Pork sausages and mash
Plain old bangers and mash - An oldie but a goodie. I do my mash as half normal potato and half sweet potato and add a dash of sour cream if I have any (which I will have leftover from Monday's dinner).


Wednesday

Fried rice
Quick and easy. Perfect for mid week. Instead of bacon I'll have vegetarian and I'll add a tin of Tuna for the boys.

Thursday

 Honey Mustard Chicken strips
I haven't made this one before but I'm thinking it sounds pretty delicious.


Friday

Bolognese Pasta Pie
I haven't made this one before either and I am hoping it's not too fiddly. I think that the boys will like it though so I am going to give it a go. There's tons of recipe variations for this one online and the one i have linked to seemed easy and gave step by step photos - I love step by step photos.

Have a great week

New shoes. Yay!!

In general, I am totally hopeless at making decisions on bigger purchases.
Having to spend our money gets me that little bit anxious - for example, it took me about 12 months to decide on a new dinner set and I was only ever looking at plain white ones. We went without a dishwasher for about 2 months before I was forced into buying one. And, as my first pair of running shoes - well that took me about 5 months to decide on. I must've tried on about 20 pairs of shoes at around 10 different shops.

I do sometimes wonder why I am like this and if I'll ever get better at spending money. I am NOT a shopper. If I ever find myself in the situation of being with girl friends at a shopping centre (which I try to avoid) you will most likely find me out on the husband seat!

I think the reasons for my anxiousness stem from the following:

      1. I worry that I will get buyers remorse and/or have picked the wrong product. When I buy something new I ask for everyones opinion. And then I ask them additional questions. I research on the Internet, for way more time than necessary. I read as many reviews as I can. I go to shops and harass the staff there with a lot of questions. And believe me, I ask a lot of questions.
     2. Spending money on myself and for things that I am going to use. Growing up I was taught to be mindful of money and, extending on from point one, I hate the idea of spending money on something that turns out to be wrong. And spending money on myself is much much harder than spending money for my boys.
     3. I think there's a part of me that likes the research side. Much like a holiday - the planning is half the fun.
     4. A fear that I will see the same thing on special somewhere after I have already purchased. I always hold out hope for some super special deal. Consequently I have missed things in the past which have simply been discontinued; which inevitably puts me back to square one.

Anyway, after 9 months and around 1000km in my running shoes I really knew that I needed a new pair. The 'bounce' was gone from my old ones and my shins were not liking the pounding on the pavement.
I had read about a shop in Brisbane and went there with a few ideas in mind of what to try.

The guy who helped me was great. He watched me run in my old shoes, listened to what I do running wise and then brought out a few pairs for me to try on. I went in with the idea that I'd try Asics Kayano (what I was currently wearing) plus, based on the info I'd gathered from other people, I would also try Altra's and the Brooks Pure range.
Well, he didn't even bring out the Altra's or Brooks Pure. So I asked why not. He was knowledgeable enough and got both pairs for me to try so i could feel why they may not suit.
I tried a few more on, and some were comfy, some were definitely not right for me and I was able to narrow it down to 2 pairs. In the end I couldn't go past what I knew and had worked so well for me for the last 9 months.
And I committed - then and there in the shop.
OK, so I did have to ask him to hold them for me while I went and had a coffee to think about it, but I went back and bought on the day. BIG deal for me.

What I really really liked about this shop, and a big reason as to why I purchased from there
is that they give a 14 day guarantee on the purchase - I can wear the shoes for 2 weeks on any terrain and if I get pain or excessive blisters or something just isn't right then they will swap them over. Perfect for someone like me who fears committing to a purchase.
(For reference this place is called Intraining - their site is: http://www.intraining.com.au/)

My new PINK Kayano's. The photo doesn't show it very well but the laces are fluro yellow too. No chance anyone will miss me coming in these!
 

I couldn't wait to try them out so I took them for a spin that afternoon around the place where I grew up. I even ran past my old primary school - the place where I ran my first school 'fun run' 28 years ago.

And the verdict - So far, so good!

Meal Plan Sept 9

There's quite a few people who I follow on facebook who also meal plan each week.
I love looking at their ideas and reasons for doing a meal plan.
My main motivation for doing so is because it saves me time and it saves me money. It saves me time because I can start to prep in the morning and there are no mad dashes to the supermarket after work. It saves money as I am one of those people who always gets a couple more things than what is on the list.
Another fantastic thing about doing up a meal plan each week is that the rest of the family know what's for dinner too - It saves the nagging voices of starving* children asking me twenty times "What's for dinner". They simply go to the fridge and look at the list that is written up there.
(*I'm going to make a big assumption and presume that people actually know that my children are NOT starving, and that it's just a figure of speech)


Monday

 Home Made Pizza
Ive really only put this picture for ideas. We all have different pizza toppings in our house and this is always a winner


Tuesday

Chicken Schnitzel and potato salad
I actually don't make the schnitzel in the picture and in fact the link doesn't take you to a recipe. Essentially I set up 3 plates - one with plain flour, one with a lightly whisked egg and one with breadcrumbs, mixed herbs and finely grated Parmesan then simply dredge the chicken through all 3 in order. Then I use cooking spray and lightly fry them. They are delicious and I try to make leftovers as they are even better cold


Wednesday

Beef and Rice Noodle Stir Fry
I usually add extra vege's to this one. Things like baby corn, capsicum, broccoli, cauliflower or mushroom work well.


Thursday

 Spinach and Feta turnovers
To add some extra flavour I generally add some cheddar, nutmeg and paprika to the mix. Yum

Friday

Beer Batter Fish and chips
Can't go wrong with fish and chips!

Meal Plan Sept 2

I start a new job this week.
Which is kind of a big deal as this is the first job I've had in around 3 years which involves me leaving the house to go to work. No more slippers on my feet in Winter. No quick dash to the clothes line if it starts to rain. I'll probably miss my coffee machine the most of all. We've built up quite a relationship in the last few years.
On the upside I get to leave the house to go to work. Working from home means that you never leave work, and that can get very annoying. I'd get on the Internet at night or on the weekend to look at something and I'd think, oh, I'll just check the work emails before I log off; suddenly an hour or two has passed. It will be nice to finish work and leave for the day.

I'm still hopeful that I will have the time and energy to make all the dinners on this list:


Monday

 Honey Spiced Chicken
I 'm still loving the website called Budget Bytes and this is another recipe from there. Seriously check it out if you haven't already


Tuesday

Stuffed Capsicums (Slow cooker)
I am hedging my bets that son number one won't like this one all that much because of the capsicums. However, I am hoping that he likes the filling and I'll just eat his capsicum. My Mum used to make a recipe like this one when I was a kid. I can't remember if I liked it or not, but I'm willing to give it a go now!


Wednesday

Cream cheese Beef rolls
Always a winner in our house.


Thursday

Coconut Prawns
I've done these before and they're very yummy. My first job was in a Thai restaurant and they used to make a dish similar to this but their sauce was just mayo and curry powder, which i think is nicer than the lime mayo in the recipe. And actually, I'll personally be doing this with chicken instead of prawns - But only because son number 2 is allergic to prawns so they are a big no-no in our house unless we feel like a late night trip to the emergency department!

Friday

Braided Spaghetti bread
OMG i feel full just looking at this one. But it sounds too good not to try. I read a few of the comments and a good suggestion was to butter the bread dough with garlic butter before placing the spag bol on top

Meal Plan August 26

The days are certainly getting warmer and I think this Summer will be a hot one. We spent all weekend at the beach, and technically it's still Winter.
It means I'll have to start looking into summer salad type recipes.

The best indication of the warmer weather presented itself at the supermarket this afternoon - Nectarines. They were pretty expensive (I paid over aus $1 for each) but I just couldn't help myself.
Summer fruits are the best. And my boys were so excited when they saw them so it was worth it.

Nothing fancy on the menu this week. Starts off with 2 household favourites, followed by a new one (again from Budget Bytes which is a site I am just loving at the moment) and then a simple quiche on Thursday and a baked rice dish on Friday.

Here's the menu:


Monday

Slow cooked beef roast
I am making this one because i want to use the leftovers on Wednesday night. No other reason really. I'll pair it with roast veg including these potatoes which one of my sons asks for every time he sees that i'm cooking potatoes.


Tuesday

Baked spring rolls
I really shouldn't put this link as i make quite a few changes to the recipe, but in a way that shows how adaptable it can be. The main changes that i make are swapping the ham for grilled chicken fillet which i shred and also swapping celery for grated zucchini

Wednesday

Beef stuffed potatoes
This is what I plan on using the leftovers from Monday for. The recipe looks great and I'm hoping that it is well received by the boys

Thursday

Crustless bacon & cheese quiche
This is another recipe that is very adaptable, and I'll be honest, I don't actually use this recipe - it's just the closest one I could find to the recipe that resides in my memory bank. I actually have alot of recipes in there (my memory bank) but its quite time consuming to write them down and take step by step photos and I'm a bit time poor at the moment.
Some other ideas aside from the recipe are - grated zucchini, tomato slices layed on the top before baking, ham instead of bacon, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes. You can also add spices or mustard to the egg and cheese mix.

Friday

Baked Moroccan chicken
I tweak this one a bit as i found it too dry the first time i baked it. The 'tweaks' are: * Add 1/2 cup white wine * Reduce rice to 1 1/2 cups * Add mix veg as well as peas

Do let me know if you try any

Jen