Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

The things that make me different are the things that make me – Winnie the Pooh.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 3 spend for June was £35.73. Total spend to date for June is £186.72. A lower spend last week because we were away for a few days. Food spends whilst away are paid for from our holiday/treats account.

Made full use of this week’s free electric from our provider.

I bought some silver jewellery cleaner for half price in the Arg0s sale (£4).

Taking advantage of seasonal fruit and vegetables in our meal plan this week, especially bags of wonky peppers that are better quality at this time of year.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Spicy bean and vegetable stew (H@iry Dieter’s recipe), with homemade wholemeal sourdough and wild garlic butter from the freezer.

Tuesday – Tahini-dressed courgette and green bean salad (River C0ttage Veg recipe). Garlic, mint, and salad leaves are from the garden. I will substitute the tahini with peanut butter, and the sundried tomatoes for fresh cherry tomatoes.

Wednesday – Tuna & mixed vegetable pasta bake (He@rt UK recipe). I will use seasonal vegetables, rather than cooked frozen vegetables as per the recipe. Also using wholemeal penne rather than wholemeal macaroni, because that is what I have. This recipe includes cottage cheese.

Thursday – Sweet and sour chicken (H@iry Dieter’s recipe), with a small portion of rice. Garlic is from the garden and water chestnuts were a personal discount offer on my Nect@r app this week. I will use chicken drum fillets because they are an economical choice for this recipe.

Friday – Ping meal (as above) – cook once, eat twice – saves on time and energy costs. However, today I will replace the rice with vegetable stir-fry and whole-wheat noodles.

Saturday – Only me this evening, so something from the freezer…. probably spinach and chickpea curry, with naan bread.

Sunday – Oven chips, frozen fish and peas.

Healthier lifestyle.

I read that eating 30 different plants a week is a proven way to boost your gut microbiome’s diversity and support overall health. It doesn’t just mean fruits and veggies – nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, lentils, herbs, spices, even coffee all count toward your weekly total. You can only count a specific plant once a week, and there is a scoring system, so you will have to research to find out more. Anyway, I decided to count how many different plants were in Monday’s main meal – a total of 15.75!

Last week’s step count was 52,416.

Completed 0 free online workouts.

Completed 4 free online meditations.

Simple pleasures.

Sunshine.

The bedding plants in the pots are colourful and filling out nicely.

Harvesting our homegrown strawberries.

Leisurely breakfasts enjoyed in the garden.

Perfectly ripe white flesh nectarines (purchased at a reduced price 😉).

Books read 13/26 – The Monsters of Templeton – Lauren Groff. Shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers 2008. Passed on to me by a friend.

Willie Cooper arrives on the doorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York in the wake of a disastrous affair with her much older, married archaeology professor. That same day, the discovery of a prehistoric monster in the lake brings a media frenzy to the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Smarting from a broken heart, Willie then learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie.

‘Groff combines history and tradition in a multi-layered story of roots, friendship and the dependability of legend’ – D@ily Mail. A book with so much in the mix.

Thanks for popping by and taking the time to read my diary.

KintsugiWhippet

Love your updates - they cheer me up and give me inspiration.

KajiKita

How could you have 15.75 different plants in Monday’s meal? I am confused by the fraction … 🤔

Life sounds very civilised and pleasant for you, I’m glad 😊

KK

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82044469#Comment_82044469

Hi @KintsugiWhippet, thanks for your kind words. I try to keep my posts positive. That isn't to say that life is always perfect, just that I prefer to dwell on the positive rather than the negative.

Today's simple pleasure - we took delivery of our new to us car.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82044523#Comment_82044523

Hi @KajiKita, thanks for taking the time to comment. Based on my limited understanding that most whole fruits, vegetables and grains equal 1 point and herbs and spices usually equal 0.25 points each, below is a breakdown of my scoring for Monday's meal (spicy bean and vegetable stew H@iry Dieter's recipe):

Aubergine (1), onion (2), garlic - not in the recipe but I add it to most things because it is good for you (3), yellow pepper (4), red pepper (5), sweet potato (6), courgette (7), tomato (8), lime (9), cannellini beans (10), mushrooms - not in the recipe but I had some to use up (11), whole wheat flour - sourdough (12), rye flour - sourdough (13), pumpkin seeds - sourdough (14), wild garlic - homemade wild garlic butter for the sourdough (14.25), fresh coriander (14.50), ground coriander (14.75), chilli powder (15), smoked paprika (15.25), extra virgin olive oil (15.50). Followed by a fresh coffee (15.75).

I am willing to be advised by those who know more about this subject than me, i.e. I am unsure about the points allocated to the grains used in the bread and perhaps the lime isn't a full point because I only used half of one, etc. That said I was pleasantly surprised by the total.

Just wanted to add that I very much enjoyed reading your informative post about your holiday 😊

KajiKita

Ah, I get you about the 0.75 plants being related to herbs. 😊
I would call the lime a whole plant as the volume was significantly more than the herbs.

Glad you enjoyed my holiday posts 😊

KK

Willow1983

Happy new car 🚗 I make the hairy 🚲 sweet and sour recipe too and it’s a fab recipe the sauce is delish 😋 Willow.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82045373#Comment_82045373

Good morning @Willow1983, lovely of you to pop by. DH is thrilled with our new to us car. Nice to meet a fellow fan of the H@iry Dieter's recipe's.

Today's simple pleasure (technically yesterdays) - the heavenly scent of the lilies and jasmine in the warm still air when we sat out in the garden late yesterday evening.

KajiKita

We have Jasmine in the front garden here and it’s gone bonkers after last year’s hot weather. The scent is wafting over us when we are on the patio at the back of the house 😊

KK

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82045823#Comment_82045823

Morning @KajiKita, the conditions this year appear to have favoured our jasmine too. The day lillies are also doing amazingly well.

Today's simple pleasure - some much needed rain showers this morning.