Plus size wars- My take on body size.

So this was an interesting TV programme...  Not that you need a TV programme to ignite the plus size debate.  I’m  cynical of the label ‘plus size’ to describe sizes 14 upwards- as someone who views herself as slim, I wear a size 14 in jeans (these ones are the long leg Eden range from Dorothy Perkins and I own about 5 pairs click here).  

Two of my recent lovely buys from H&M and Primark for my holidays were a size 16, which I know is ridiculous because at 6ft 1 and 11 stone, 3lb, there’s no way I’m a size 16- this is all down to cut, style and the way sizes vary widely on the British high street. 

Oh dear...size 16 bikini bottoms, damn you Primark! But hey, I look good!

Shock horror- size 16 shorts!! Those abs coming along nicely though...thanks for showing them off, H&M.

I did leave one comment on Twitter about the show, saying how I thought the girls were fabulous but was concerned about their health and was immediately told that it was none of my business...hence this post.  Sorry Twitter, but 120 characters just wasn't enough for this one!

As I’ve said about this food blog from the start, I’m not a nutritional or fitness expert but I believe that moving around a little and putting the right food in your mouth allows your body to naturally be its healthiest weight and shape.  I despair at starvation to be supermodel skinny and loathe fad diets like Juice Plus and slimming pills.  The only things I have cut out of my own diet are refined white sugar and white carbohydrates.  As a girl who needs carbohydrates and sweet things though, I have swapped all white carbs for brown alternatives and use unrefined sugars such as maple syrup to sweeten dishes.  If I want chocolate, ice cream, takeaway, booze or a humungous chip barm on white bread, I’ll have it....BUT ONLY IN MODERATION and as a treat rather than it being a regular part of my diet!  I’m slurping on wine as we speak, in case you were wondering.

I truly admired the confidence of these girls on the programme and the way they inspired that same confidence in others.  As a tall girl, I was forever bullied at school, found it hard to buy clothes that fit and wish that I’d had some sort of a role model like the bloggers featured on the show.  The girls were fun, bright and had beautiful faces I would die for but for me, I just felt that the health risk associated with being a real plus size (and by this, we’re talking well over a size 18) is just too great.  Being overweight is problematic enough, let alone when you throw full on obesity into the equation.  When I was 10lb heavier last year, I was still within a healthy BMI.  However, as a runner, those extra 10lbs made a difference!  I was slower; there was certainly more bounce around my hips and I suffered with my knees too.  Plus, the only reason why I was carrying the extra weight in the first place was because I was sneaking too many sweet treats and the weight was all down to the main enemy: refined white sugar.  My body didn’t need the sugar and when I ditched it from my diet, I ditched the excess weight as a consequence of that healthy decision.  Being obese and overweight is quite simply a health risk, and I stand by that opinion no matter what backlash I may get for saying it.

‘Perfection’, and all our warped views of this, should not be about a skinny body, it should be about a HEALTHY body.  If you exercise and put the right things into it, this will be a natural process that happens to your body as a result of your choices and you WILL look your very best.  Yes, there are factors outside an individual’s control, plus some health and medical issues that can cause weight problems.  However, I stand by my opinion that the majority of people who are either obese or extremely skinny didn’t get there as a result of eating a healthy, balanced diet which cuts out the bad, chomps on the good and has a little treat now and again.  Rather than worrying about clothing companies catering to our differing sizes, perhaps the emphasis should be on educating people, regardless of their size, as to what your body needs to be in its very best and healthiest shape.  We need to love our bodies enough to treat them like a temple, then THEY can work the magic all on their own to transform into the size they want to be for you.

I have a bag of kale and I'm not afraid to use it!

Apologies about this post being late, though there's no excuse really saying I've had two weeks off work.  I've been pretty lazy over the break, having tried out virtually no new recipes and hardly visiting the gym either.  I'm not beating myself up about it though as that's what holidays are for.  On the weekend I was due to post this, I was in York with my uni mates guzzling plenty of prosecco and munching on cream tea and gastro pub food.  Bliss.

Despite my lack of cooking over the holiday, I did buy a bag of kale from Aldi.  It's certainly a food everyone is raving over; I was keen to try out a kale crisp recipe!  I preheated the oven to 170 degrees, drizzled some olive oil, salt salt, ground garlic and ground black pepper into the bag, shook up the lot of it and placed on a baking tray. I baked the kale in the oven for about 15 minutes and was actually disappointed with the result.  The kale didn't really have a nice flavour and tasted quite bitter, though the cripsy texture was nice and reminded me of seaweed you get from the Chinese takeaway.  Some of the brower, crispier leaves tasted worse than the greener ones.  I didn't munch all of my superfood crips and instead went out and got a caramel McFlurry #fail

Not to be put off, the next night and using the last remains of my kale, I went for the simple option and just boiled the stuff with a little sea salt for about 8 minutes.  The result? A much tastier side dish in the form of a superfood and a change from the veggies I usually eat.  Winner!  I'll definitely try the kale crisps again though- maybe now I'm back to normality at work my cooking will get a bit more into the swing of things! 

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

It's been an AWESOME week!  It was the first week of the Easter holidays which started with a large chocolate egg!  We then went on a road trip to London and The Making of Harry Potter.  I was really good along the way and packed loads of healthy snacks, meaning that my first Big Mac meal of the year, followed by a huge full English at the hotel the next morning, were completely guilt free! I definitely eat differently when I'm away from home and out of a routine but that is totally fine because indulging for a couple of days makes absolutely NO difference when you eat well 80% of the time. Simples!

Because it's been a busy week, I haven't really had time to do any real cooking or trying new recipes.  The slow cooker has been out though- it currently has a gammon joint in it for dinner tonight; I also used it to make my Easter dinner of Morrocan Lamb tagine.  The recipe below is a concoction of various ones on the internet and it is really delicious!  You can fry your lamb a little before you throw it into the slow cooker as this gets rid of some of the fat which you may notice once the dish cools/ defrosts if you have frozen it.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Ingredients:

800g minced lamb (two packets if you're buying it from Aldi)
1 onion, chopped
1 heaped tbsp of plain (or gluten free) flour
2 tsp of ground cinammon
1 heaped tsp of coriander leaves, cumin, turmeric, ground ginger
1 tbsp runny honey
300ml lamb stock (made from a lamb stock cube according to packet instructions)
1 400g can of chick peas, drained
A large handful of dried apricots, halved
2 large handfuls of baby spinach

Method:

1.  Basically- throw it all in apart from the spinach.  So mix the lamb with both the chopped and dry ingredients in your slow cooker pot.  Then add the lamb stock followed by the honey and give it all a good stir together.

2.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  About half an hour before the dish is done, add your spinach leaves and mix through. Season with the salt and pepper if needed.

3.  Serve with either baby potatoes, brown rice, couscous or even a salad.  Freeze any leftovers.

No photograph of this one- I've been super efficient today deleting old pics and uploading others. Whoops...

I have got a picture though of my latest Aldi bargains!  I have raved about Aldi several times in this blog and always seem to be using their ingredients- they're not sponsoring me or anything, it's just that their food is so good!  I was an Asda girl until last year when I decided to give Aldi a whirl.  i did my full weekly shop for a fraction of the price.  Their fruit and veg is miles cheaper and much fresher than it ever is in Asda; Aldi's meat is also much better too in terms of quality and price.  It seems too that Aldi have realised the new trend for healthy eating and are stocking things that I had to previously go to Holland and Barrett for- things like seeds, ground almonds (a flour replacement), etc.  This week's haul of lovely healthiness was as follows:

First up, a bag of kale...not sure what exactly I can do with it, but it is considered a superfood and is full of antioxidants, vitamin K, antioxidants...you name it, it's got it! Plus it was only 75p. I also picked up a bag of milled linseed (£1.99 per bag) with goji berries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  All of the ingredients are ground so that you can sprinkle this on porridge, salads, in yoghurt or use it in smoothies.  It's basically a nutritional top-up for your fibre and Omega 3 levels and contains lots of healthy fats.  The little box of trail mix was 49p and like the milled linseed, is sugar and additive free.  It's a selection of sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds that you can graze on through the day and these are more superfoods that you would pay a fortune for in a health food shop.  Basically, get it all down you- it's good stuff!

I suppose next week's post will be dedicated to my experiments with my bag of kale.  Wish me luck!

Happy eating xxxx

My Kitchen at McManor

This weekend has been a weekend of rest.  I did make a lamb dinner whilst it was Easter.  Instead of a roast lamb dinner (which I'm not a massive fan of), I made a lamb tagine in the slow cooker- recipe to follow next week.  In the meantime though, I wanted to share with you my favourite room of the house: my kitchen-diner!  This is the room of my house that is used the most- from dinners for family and friends, to date night meals with my man!  It is also the traditional meeting place for me and the girls before we head out for the night- we sit around the table for drinks.

I got my kitchen from Ikea and it was fitted 5 year ago after a bad break up and felt like I was giving my home an overhaul and fresh start.  It's been my favourite room ever since!

The diner part!  Complete with pretty vintage things to make it into a traditional country kitchen!  All furniture from Ikea is the best quality furniture I've ever bought.

The kitchen- where all the cooking and recipes happen!

These jugs were bought from a place called Country Baskets, as were the pictures below. click here

These pictures were made by a colleague at work and are so pretty

My house is nicknamed McManor, the tiles for the sigh were a gift from France; the bunting from the Haigh Hall vintage fair Click here for Haigh Hall site.

My 'cook' sign from Next.

Random, vintage-style nik-naks in my welsh dresser which is from the Hemnes range in Ikea.

Random, vintage-style nik-naks in my welsh dresser which is from the Hemnes range in Ikea.

Random, vintage-style nik-naks in my welsh dresser which is from the Hemnes range in Ikea.

I'm off on my Easter holidays now, so hoping to try some new recipes.  Have a fabulous week of real food!