Earlier this month I posted about my word for 2013 - Grace.   Just as a reminder, grace is defined as:

This recipe was so easy to make and only took a short time to prepare and cook. Plus, using this for breakfast each morning at work has meant that I could have a little more of a lay in each day - perfect!

The great thing with this recipe is that you could add pretty much anything that you want into it and it will work. So if you fancy being adventurous then by all means go ahead.

Servings: 5-7
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Syns per serving: 0

Ingredients

4 Eggs
Mushrooms
1 Red Chili
Bacon
500g Fat Free Cottage Cheese
Onion
Sweetcorn
Mixed Peppers

Method

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees.

2. Mix the eggs together, but just enough to mix them and not beat them.

3. Add the cottage cheese to the egg mixture.

4. Using Fry Light cook your mushrooms, bacon, red chili, onion, sweetcorn  peppers and anything else you want to add.

5. Add this to your flan dish and then top with the egg and cottage cheese mixture.

6. Cook for 30 minutes or until firm.

This is lovely for a breakfast meal or as a lunch with salad or warm veg. Yum!

I have heard so many good things about Essie and all their nail polishes but as of yet I haven't really wanted to pay out the money for these little bottles.  I love painting my nails but hate it when they only last a few days. While I love beautiful nails, I am far from careful with them, and so I know that if I do go to the trouble of painting them, I need to always use a base and top coat.

Both of my basic store brand bottles were almost finished so I decided to spend an hour or so walking around Boots having a look at my different options.  While strolling along I came across the Essie stand and as I still had some vouchers from Christmas I decided to treat myself. I came home with Good to go, all in one base and Chinchilly.

I was so pleased with the quality of these items. I started with the All in One coat which nourishes and enriches my nails and once dried I moved on the colour. While the chinchilly colour was thick and full of colour, I decided that two coats of color were best. After about 15 minutes I then put the Good to go top coat and loved how this not only provided great cover but is also a quick dry and chip proof coat.

And what was my first experience of using them like?  Well here I sit, 5 days later, and I don't have one chip.  I love these products and despite the price tag on them, I think I am hooked for life!

What is your favorite Essie colour?    

Servings: 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 12 - 14 min
Syns per serving: 1

Ingredients

3 eggs
6 tbsp sweetener
1 options chocolate or 11g Cocoa powder
1 mullerlight yogurt
50g Flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

I'm late. Most of these sort of posts are done in the first few days of January however I wanted to spend a little more time looking at what my plans are for 2013 and how I want to achieve them.  I don't want these plans to swept under the carpet in a few months time because they didn't fit into what I actually want to achieve for this year, or because my expectations on myself were too high.  I want them to be specific, realistic, and broken down into a month by month plan to keep them achievable.

The first week of 2013 I decided that I was going to spend some time fasting and praying about the year ahead. I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about my life and I realised that this year I wanted to shift my focus to being different in my daily life.  I want to make small changes each month that will impact that daily life.  These changes will cover my priorities and will help me to focus my energy on the right things for me. I am so excited about what 2013 will bring.


These are the five priorities I set for this year:

1. Take care of myself emotionally & physically - including focusing on living my personal boundaries
2. Focus my energy on doing well at Uni and at work 
3. Nourish and my relationships with friends & family
4. Be open to opportunity and possibility
5. Have more fun, try new things and be happy in who I am 

• Spend time in God's word each day - For me, this is very important to me. I know that it would be more ideal for me to do this first thing in the morning but I know that if I set up my intention as such it would not be long before the snooze button wins out. 

• Blog twice a week - I think that starting with twice a week is a good place to start.

• Create a study planner and include some rest time - I have realised that being organised is key to doing well at Uni. I also understand the importance of blocking out free time in which I can rest and have some fun. 

• Maintain focus on my health journey - I plan to ensure that no matter what happens this month that I will be going to each and every weigh in. I also want to remember the importance of celebrating success along the way.

• Find a new job - This is a big deal for me at the moment. While I know I probably wont be working in that new job by the end of January, I do intend to be already applying for new roles.  

Do you make resolutions or goals at this time of year?

1. Cooked my very first meal from Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals recipe book - it took me 45 mins!
2. One and a half pounds lost this week - four and a half in total now.
3. The studying has really begun this week.
4. We had a girls night out and went to watch Pitch Perfect. Loved it!
5. We are having crazy cold weather at the moment. Snow, snow and more snow!

How has your week been?

1. Due to the recent floods the farmers field now looks like a lake. Beautiful to look at - probably not so nice for the farmer.
2. First weigh in and I lost 3 lbs.......oh, and I won slimmer of the week!
3. I appear to have a pretty bar infatuation at the moment.
4. Cognitive Psychology here I come. First week of studying begun.
5. A happy me.

How has your week been?

Sunday afternoon was the great week ahead cook off!  My week evenings are so busy that I thought I would be a little better prepared for this week by cooking up a few dishes to separate and freeze.  It honestly didn't take me that long and now I have a freezer full of delicious meals.  One of the recipes that I tried this week was the Slimming World Caribbean Turkey and vegetable Stew, and here are the details below.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1½ - 2 hours
Syns per serving: 1

Ingredients

1 red onion, peeled halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp jerk seasoning
750g skinless turkey breast steaks, cut into 3cm pieces
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
300g cherry tomatoes
250g button mushrooms halved
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
400ml chicken stock
1 level tbsp gravy granules
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme leaves to garnish

Method

Who knew that making ginger bread houses were so difficult and took so much concentration!  Don't get me wrong, it was loads of fun to make it and put it together but it only lasted long enough to get a photo or two before falling to pieces.

This kit was created with the suggestion of it being suitable for children from the age of six.  Six?  It took three adults, working together to get it to look this bad.....lol
There is no way that children would be able to make this, but like I said, despite the evidence that you can see it really was a lot of fun to make!

1. A lovely morning spent writing in my journal and reading my kindle
2. I joined Slimming World
3. Using my new lunch bag for work
4. Using my new food processor
5. A lovely evening treat of hot chocolate, a biscuit and a chocolate bunny

My five favourite photos from this week. How was your week?

As has been the general practice for a few years now, with the beginning of a New Year brings a new word for that year.  You can read all about One Little Word here if you haven't come across it before, but basically it's a word that you choose that encapsulates how you want to live or what you want to focus on during the year ahead.

If you hadn't yet guessed, my word for 2013 is Grace.  Grace is defined as:


To get my heart, mind, soul and spirit in the right place for this year ahead, I am going to be doing a daily 12 hour fast for the first week, starting today.  The thing that I love about the fasting is that you can choose what you want to fast from - it doesn't always have to be food.  It can be anything that has meaning to you. That being said, I am however going to fast from food.  I am looking forward to making this sacrifice, to have it hopefully bring me closer in my relationship with God.