After School Chefs

The children have been back at school for a couple of weeks now, and our routine has had to change from the laid back days of the summer holidays. I have noticed that the children are ravenously hungry when they return home, so I have started to get them snacks ready for as soon as they get home. Something quick and just about instant like carrot sticks with something to dip in, fresh fruit, that kind of thing. Not long after the snacks have been devoured, you can guarantee they will still be hungry, and during the #Afterschoolchefs challenge I was reminded how useful it is to have a few boxes of fish fingers stashed away in the freezer!

We enjoyed the childhood favourite, the fish finger sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised at the nutritional information, of particular importance to me is that fish fingers are low in sugars, which seem to be hidden in so much these days!

One of my fondest memories of fish fingers was one year when it snowed so much that we were snowed in, and we made an igloo. We went to the village shop and bought fish fingers and put them in a little fridge compartment that we had made in the igloo. It was so cold that they kept there until lunchtime and we had fish finger sandwiches. I think most people have an opinion about whether you use plain or buttered bread, do you grill or fry, do you use any sauce? For me and my little after school chefs it has to be buttered bread, grilled fish fingers and no sauce, thank you!

This post is an entry for #Afterschoolchefs Challenge, sponsored by Birds Eye. Learn more on the Birds Eye Facebook Page. http://bit.ly/afterschoolchefs

Review of the Noom app

Last week I participated in the Noom challenge. I have already written about it https://saraheatonwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/noom-challenge/

Now I will take a look back at last week and how it has already changed my habits. I had a couple of false starts with Noom before, used it a few days then fizzled out. Noom has introduced new features on Noom pro like the group feature, where you can be part of a group and share ideas and motivate one another. That really worked. I found it only took a couple of days for me to feel like logging meals, exercise and so on was not really that much of a drag. Noom gives you relevant articles to read every day, or little challenges like eat more vegetables. As I said before I don’t really feel like weight loss is a major thing for me, and definitely not something I want to be obsessed about. For this reason weighing is only once a week with Noom, and it is only one feature among many many others. There are even recipes!

In our busy lives I would say that Noom is an ideal assistant in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and I will continue to use it.

Get over it!

This is a bike with a trailer.
I’m taking my 4 and 5 year old children to school in it.
I am not giving you a lift.
I am not a rickshaw walla.
It’s not hard work compared to walking a mile each way with them.
I do not need hollers of encouragement from passing transit vans. Of course I’m doing well. You don’t know the half of it.
I’m just taking my kids to school.
Get over it.

Noom challenge

Woah! That’s better, resized the image. Anyway, hello. This week I am doing the #noom challenge, using the Noom app for a week and reporting back on how I get on.

I found out about #noom at the #britmums conference in the summer. One of the first people I spoke to was the very lovely Sarah from #noom and we spoke about all manner of things not just the app. I agreed I would give it a go. Noom is a tracking app to encourage healthy lifestyles. Not necessarily a ‘weightloss’ app, it does a lot more than that.

Above I have bravely posted a screenshot of the noom app page which gives you the log of what you have entered. There’s the waist measurement, let’s get that out of the way first. Being a woman it fluctuates, but if waist size bothers you, you can track that. Above that is the weight log, now I have not updated that this week but I know it is less than 149. I just put 136 because that is what I was just over a year ago, but with stopping breastfeeding and having a partner who is an amazing chef, my body has just changed a bit. For me it’s not about numbers, I have a heap of jeans I want to get back in to! Thing to remember with this is don’t weigh too often, once a week, on the SAME scales. It has above that a record of workouts and exercise. Again I have not logged any, feeling all dizzy and exhausted yesterday I thought it wise not to do anything strenuous. Usually I go to spin class two or three times a week, dance once a week and walk 4 miles a day doing the school run. That will be replaced soon by riding my bicycle with my little ones in a trailer. Excited!

At the top of the log page is a meal log. Once you have logged a few meals it is really easy, as it is easy any way, because any item you have had before comes up in a list, so you can just tap it in and it’s done. As I said this is a healthy lifestyle app, handy for busy mums like me. My son joked that my phone was telling me to have a snack, but as you will know if you have young children, it is all too easy to forget things like eating regularly.

Noom also has a pedometer which I really must set up to a higher goal, as the app has set it at 6800 steps, which for me is usually completed somewhere around midday! Having said that it is good to have a little pat on the back for completing something.

The coach page has tasks for you to complete throughout the day, like logging meals and logging workouts, even little hints like sleep more, I like that one!

Day 31, The best things about August

Ok a day late but then I have had an extra day to reflect! Can’t pick just one thing.

Our trip to Swansea, so lucky with the weather and even more lucky to get back before the people carrier packed up!

My littlest turning 4.

It being the school holidays, having fun as a family and getting to spend quality time with my children.

Doing the Skyride in Leicester. It would be a great place to cycle the rest of the time if it had viable cycle paths!

My children who are in school being excited about going back to school. My son who is home educated making plans for this year.

Making chocolate truffles for the first time (how did I miss doing THAT before?) and them being amazing.

A wonderful meal here http://www.the-white-peacock.co.uk/