The Lose Weight The Old Style Way Thread.

cheerfulness4

Some really interesting ideas MrsMc. I've not tried added grated carrot or porridge to my mince. When would you pop the porridge in? Have been getting away with adding lentils to the mix without the kids spotting. They can be picky little toads. :rolleyes:

I love the potato and onion layers in the oven, had forgotten about it. How do you make your corned beef hash? I'm sure I read somewhere that you have dumplings with it but can't work out how they would cook. My C Hash is just mash and the meat.

Lastly, managing to grow a few veg successfully. Used to have an allotment but FIL was brilliant and did it all, I just did the digging. This year had beetroot, rocket, r beans, radishes, leeks (tiny) and courgettes in the garden. (got 1) Lots of other things got washed away. Oh and a very fruitful plum tree. I have a little greenhouse, so I have the potential to get good and produce more.. The year before I had a glut of tomatoes but no freezer. :mad:

Eating better so far today.

Toast for breakfast.
HM soup for lunch (remains from a lamb stew from freezer)
banana, 2 clementines and an apple for snacks.

Thinking about setting myself some landmark goals. Not sure, what do you all think. A positive or negative thing?

jennyjelly

I've just made my meal for tonight and it smells fab.

Layers of sliced potatoes and onions with half a tin of chopped toms and one thin slice of mature cheddar in the middle of it all. A sprinkle of salt on each layer of spuds, a very tiny bit of olive oil on the top, and in the microwave till it's all soft.

Yum - healthy, cheap and delicious! :T

jennyjelly

Cheerfulness, I have to say I really don't think specific targets are helpful as they just set you up to fail - for example vowing to lose a stone by easter can make you feel so useless if you don't achieve it.

Incentives, on the other hand, are great. Rewarding yourself when you do reach a certain milestone, however long it may take, is far more positive than giving yourself the stress of a time limit.

Just the way my psychology works - I'm sure it's different for everyone.

JoJoB

That sounds very nice jennyjelly.

I made a veggie shepherds pie last night from a store of dried adzuki beans, black beans and green lentils that have been sitting in my cupboard for a year because I've not known how to go about soaking and cooking etc. However I gave it a go, and it tasted lush. I didn't know that the dried beans would triple in size once cooked so I have the bonus of loads of left over shepherds pie base that I have frozen - just need to get it out and bung some mash on top when i want shepherds pie again. :j

So I am doing a bit better on the healthy eating front now. Better than two days ago when I ate a whole tub of icecream and then had stomach cramps and tears and squits for 3 hours!

cheerfulness4

JoJoB wrote: »

That sounds very nice jennyjelly.

I made a veggie shepherds pie last night from a store of dried adzuki beans, black beans and green lentils that have been sitting in my cupboard
!

I have those in my cupboard. Could you share how you made it? Kids love shepherds pie.

About the icecream -
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: sorry but know what that feels like. Been there.


Jenny - that was what I was worrying about. Set myself up for disappointments in the past so not sure this time. Goals or rewards. hmmm. Like the sound of rewards :rolleyes: just wondering if I will attain them without landmarks to reach for. I just go round and round thinking it out.

jennyjelly

Ooh JoJoB, that icecream thing reminds me of a time when I ate 16 (yes SIXTEEN) bags of Walkers Cheese & Onion crisps in one go then threw up all over the coffee table and spent the rest of the day in tears.

I'm surprised I can still face them but sadly my craving is still huge!

I bet you'll be back on the icecream by next week!

That shepherd pie sounds nice - can you post the recipe (or point me in the right direction if it's already on here somewhere)? Ta.

jennyjelly

Ok, I've had a think and this is my idea for the OS Healthy Eating Incentive Scheme.

Every day put £1 into a jar. It shouldn't be hard because you won't be spending it on chocolate or crisps (or icecream!) but if it's a bit of a stretch just do alternate days, or even a couple of quid a week, whatever you can afford. Seal the jar so you can't dip into it, or if you are as weak willed as me give it to someone else to guard.:rotfl:

Every time you lose 7lbs :j you get all the money in the jar to spend on something totally frivolous (but not food related!). You don't have to feel guilty because you put the money there in the first place by giving up something totally frivolous and unhealthy. If you want to give it to charity do it and get a warm glow, or buy a big poster of Johnny Depp;) , whatever you really want. Then seal the empty jar and start again, heading for the next milestone.

Eating the way we do our weight loss is not going to be fast (slower is healthier anyway!) so you can probably expect five or six weeks worth of treat money for each half a stone landmark on your downward journey.

Anyone else going to join me?

JoJoB

veggie shepherds pie recipe:

Use whatever dried beans you have lurking in the cupboard, but adzuki beans are particularly good as they have a meaty texture. Lentils are also nice to mix with whatever beans you have.

I used equal amounts of green lentils, adzuki beans, and black beans. I soaked the beans overnight and then cooked with the lentils till all were soft (took about an hour compared to the recommended 3 hours on the packet - I guess this varies from batch to batch). Cooking consists of bringing to the boil and then a gentle simmer.

While these are cooking dice and fry/sweat 1-2 red onions in a wok or other deep-sided pan.
Drain cooked beans/lentils and add to the onions.
Add a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes and mix well.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce (I use the veggie version)
Add 1-2 tablesoons of ketchup
Add 50-100mls of veggie gravy to give the juice a meaty taste.
Cook for about 10 mins on a low heat.
Add more worcestershire sauce or ketchup if you think it needs it. You can add salt and pepper too, but i don't use salt any longer.

Pour into sheperds pie dish and top with mash potato.

Top mash potato with grated mature cheddar cheese and bake in a hot oven (180) for 20-30 mins.

jennyjelly

Thanks JoJoB that sounds totally delicious. I have so many ancient beans lurking in my larder it will tidy up for me too!

cheerfulness4

Jojo - thanks so much. will cook up a batch tomorrow and batch freeze. I may just make it till payday yet!

jenny - shall give that some thought. Interesting idea that I think could work, may just have to tweak for next month as not a penny to spare. IOU's in the pot or think of something non-money that could be an incentive for January. hmm maybe if I lose half stone, someone doing a housey job for me - like clearing the outhouse out in readiness for my seed sowing. Hate that job. OH and DS1 are really supportive, altho OH bought me a bag of haribo today, a big one. <sigh> I have no willpower.