Food Journal

I had a rough day at work on Saturday, remedy to this was a splurge in the co-op. Wine, Maltesers, crisps and cheesecake and home to order a chinese. Spectacular! Sadly I didn't manage the whole lot, but that can be saved for another day.

Sunday, after a lunch of a truly delicious chicken and stuffing sandwich (thank you M&S that was amazing) I got home from work expecting my dinner to be served to me as I walked in the door. This clearly didn't happen. The husband moaned after searching the cupboards to do a roast and found one jacket potato. However I reminded him that we had parsnips and chatenay carrots as well and a bit of chopping, peeling and boiling later they plunged into hot lard and duck fat to cook in the oven. To accompany, a pie (steak and kidney for me, chicken and mushroom for him - don't ask!!!), yorkshires, veg and gravy.

An almost roast, and very filling. However there was space enough for the final chunk of cheesecake. They day will finish with hot chocolates and crisps in bed. Perfik!

I've neglected you blog, I'm so sorry. To tell you the truth we've tried to be a bit tight with the wallet and have very little in the way of anything exciting.

I recently had the flu, and that is no over exaggeration. It wasn't a bad cold it was bed ridden, 'I feel like whatever I've got could kill me' flu. Possibly/probably swine flu. I lost my appetite in a big way, barely slept and was off work for a week. That was just before christmas and I'm still trying to recover now. I miss being able to properly eat a full meal. But I lost nearly half a stone from it so all's not bad.

Christmas meant the arrival of another of my dad's massive food hampers. We've now enough chocolate, nuts and crisps to feed us all year. As well as some repulsive white chocolate maltesers, what a waste and a torture. I hate white chocolate and love normal maltesers and watching the husband eat them is just awful.

Tonight however I had a scraps epiphany, we had half a leftover roast chicken, stuffing and a ham joint in the fridge. As well as half a swede and a mound of potatoes. As well as a few other bits and pieces I'll talk about later. Anyway, it started with chopped swede, potato and broccoli stalk thrown in a pan to boil for the mash, which I mashed up with butter and smoked cheese. In another pan my favourite homemade white sauce with chopped up chicken, ham and stuffing and some bits of leftover cheese, cheddar and smoked cheddar. Throw the chicken mix in a dish, top with the mash, oven bake for 15 mins, then grill for 5 mins and done. De-flipping-licious. Leftover scrap meals are my favourite. Creative, cheap and wasteless. Made two meals for dinner and two for lunch tomorrow.

The ham joint was a bargain find in Tesco, it's a massive block of ham which we bought for £2.50 and we'll be eating it for days, weeks isn't an option as it's cheap because it expires soon. I've still got 3/4's of it left. A ham and cheese bake, ham sandwiches, green eggs and ham, ham this and ham that awaits...

We've been so naughty this weekend. We started with me demanging that I cooked my husband a fry up, and boy did I deliver. Sadly I like more things on my fry up than he does, so I got black pudding and fried bread as well! Lucky me. Only downer was that due to my husbands insistence that our sausages had to be over 80% pork (these were 97% from Tesco, yay me) they were then over complicated with extra herbs and spices and just not the kind I like. I am a cheap 40% sort of girl. I wanted some Richmonds and I got fancy namby pamby sausages. Dislike!

That was our lunch. I further spoiled him by getting an M&S dine for a tenner meal. We've had a few of these before and they're always delicious but high in fat, sugar, salt and various other forms of bad things.

I never quite know what to buy for a main, I went from Seafood Pie, to Chicken Parcels, to a Moroccan Tagine, then found Beef Roulades, stuffed with spinach and ricotta and a vine ripened Tomato sauce and rosemary potatoes. The sauce was amazing, and perfectly complimented. The potatoes were lovely but a mistake for the main I'd chosen. All in all it was very tasty, but not special. The blackberry and apple pie was apparently the type of pie my husbands loves (news to me) it was a puff pastry lattice jobbie and was very yummy. Luckily I'd just stocked up the cupboard with a new carton of custard so we were in dessert heaven.

On that note, yes I have made my own custard, and yes it is incredibly delicious, even if you accidently make it lumpy as I did. But for the mess, the stress and extra washing up it's worth just buying a tub of it ready made.

Then today (Sunday) I did roast beef and yorkshire puddings with veg and roast parsnip, carrot and potatoes, gravy and yorkshires. And leftover apple & blackberry pie for dessert. This was the best meal of the weekend and was totally spot on. Fantastic and a perfect end to a proper foody weekend

Never a truer word said, by one very large man who clearly loved to eat.

Anyway, our experience started oddly, there were some very strange staff there, one depressed barman and and over enthuiastic waiter. Not a bad looking menu, and I went straight for the thing that I saw first, perfect menu placement there. A fish parcel and they happily swapped by rosemary roasted boiled potatoes (which did sound lovely but I was totally not in the mood for them) for chips. My husband had venison pie with mash and my mum & step-dad had traditional fish & chips (which I tried and it was very tasty, superb batter). The chips were excellent, the venison pie was delicious and without the little stringy bits you get in beef) and my fish parcel was gorgeous (actually, a bit of a shame it wasn't something a bit tastier like salmon) and the white wine sauce was perfect and every other bite had a dash of aniseed. Top class.

There was a hefty wait for desserts, husband had apple, sultana and cinnamon crumble, I basically had sticky toffee pudding, and mum & step-dad had apple pie, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Downsides? Well, the wait for desserts, the odd service, the not knowing if food had cinnamon as it "wasn't in the info pack" (well read the ingredients list ,durr), it not being warm enough in the pub and the little fruit flies that buzzed about us constantly no matter how many were killed.

Upsides? The look on the waiters face after the husband him to get an ambulance on standby after I said I'd take the allergy risk eating the sticky toffee pudding. Ha!

And of course the lovely food.

Overall 3.5/5

Wow, I was allowed a take away at the weekend, it was so exciting. We ordered from different places, I had my chinese, the husband had an indian.

Yum yum. I was so excited by it and ate so much my belly ached. I had won tons, fried chicken with chilli and garlic, and egg fried rice. It was just so delicious. He had whatever was in the picture, with a little won ton sailing on the rice and a naan. Nice isn't it?

On Sunday we made a delicious bap of bacon, brie and sundried tomato with crunchy salad. It looked so superb I had to take a picture, from my angle I saw a face. Sundried eyes, a bacon nose, brie lips and a lettuce tounge.

New food crushes? Well I got super over excited after trying Branstons Mayo with a twist of peri peri, which is amazing on sandwiches, really lifts them, makes tuna less fishy and a touch spicy and interesting. There's a whole range, pesto, lemon & garlic, mustard & onion and sweey chilli. Cannot rate it enough.

And new love, couscous, which I can devour by the bowful and is very low maintenance to make. Especially delicious with a salad, boiled potatoes and my favourite dressing of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper all tossed together in a bowl.

Tomorrow night will be chilli con carne and jacket spuds for my guests. A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc is in the fridge. It'll be a nice relaxed night

So I'm sat on the train, click-clacking away, swaying from side to side pondering on things and the latest world events.

• "is lady gaga's meat dress art, a statement about how she is perceived, animal rights gone wrong, or just a sign of how mental she really is?",
• "how has the pope's visit affected us, and does him wearing red shoes mean he's easy as it would with a woman, and why did he drink fanta with the queen?",
• "does it matter that we know who the stig is?".

All clearly some of life's great mysteries.

But I'm stopped mid thought and an empy discarded bottle of Pepsi catches my eye. Now I'm not one for either it or Coca-Cola. It's brown, made from vegetables, and doesn't quench your thirst. Pointless. Anyway, this bottle is 600ml, 100 more than usual, but why? No one would actually notice or appreciate the size difference so surely it just appears more expensive and less people buy it.

When actually it could be reduced by 50ml to 450ml, charged the same and few people would be none the wiser and Pepsi could rake in the profits.

Am I in the wrong job? This is my second great business idea I've had today. The other was me saying how much better a cardigan would look with one different coloured button. Is it purely down to some big ass praise from a top boss today saying my little dept is the best one he's seen in the company? I'm clearly the next Richard Branson, and my cola would be considerably better, and pink

Advice from Macmillan cancer support for cancer sufferers:

Overview: The building-up diet

Many people with cancer find there are times when they can't eat as much as usual, and sometimes they lose weight. This section shows how to get more energy and protein without necessarily having to eat more food.

There are many reasons why people with cancer sometimes can't eat as much as they ordinarily would.

Cancer itself, or its treatments, may make you lose your appetite. Some people find that they do not feel hungry, or feel full soon after starting a meal. Other people find that food makes them feel sick or that their treatment makes some foods taste different.

Some types of cancer make your body use up more energy, even if you are not very active. This can make you lose weight even though you may still be eating well.

People who are not eating enough, especially if they are losing weight, need more energy and protein in their diet. If you have often tried to lose weight previously, it can be difficult to change your eating habits when you have cancer.

However, if you have cancer and are losing weight you may need to eat differently to try to maintain your weight. Your doctor or dietitian may recommend foods that you would normally think of as unhealthy, but they have good reasons for doing this.

This section shows you how to get more energy and protein without necessarily having to eat more food. Not everyone will be able to put on weight with this building-up diet, but the suggestions should help to slow down, or stop, further weight loss.

A good diet is one that gives you everything you need to keep your body working well. Variety and balance are key to a good diet.

You should try to include everyday foods from each of the following groups:

Carbohydrates

Breads, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, potatoes, breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits and sweets contain carbohydrate and also provide energy, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Wholemeal and whole-grain varieties are especially high in fibre.

Vitamins, minerals and fibre

Fresh fruit and fresh vegetables are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre when eaten raw or lightly cooked, or made into juices. If the skins are left on, they contain more vitamins.

Dried and frozen fruit and vegetables can also be good sources of vitamins.

Protein

Meat, poultry, fish, beans, lentils, nuts, eggs, milk and cheese are protein sources which also provide vitamins, minerals and energy.

Fats

Sources of fat include: oil, ghee, butter, margarine, fatty meats, oily fish, eggs, cheese, cream, nuts, salad dressing and mayonnaise, full-fat milk, yoghurts and fromage frais. Some of these also provide protein, vitamins and energy.

NB: Make sure that eggs are well-cooked, and use commercial, not home-made mayonnaise. If your immunity is low, avoid paté, raw eggs and cheeses made from unpasteurised milk, such as Brie and blue-veined cheeses, as these foods may contain harmful bacteria.

If you are on high-dose chemotherapy, then your hospital may suggest you avoid additional foods - do ask them for advice.

Additional specific advice on Eating Problems can be found here, and further advice can be found from Macmillan Cancer Support

1 packet of meatballs, approx 5 per person

1 red onion , grated

2 garlic cloves , crushed

2cm chunk root ginger , grated

a pinch dried chilli flakes

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp olive oil

1 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

1 tsp chicken stock powder

100g couscous

150ml chicken stock

50g butter

½ bunch coriander , chopped

½ bunch parsley , chopped

• Fry the meatballs until sealed & browned all over. Add onion, garlic, ginger and spices.
• Add the tomatoes and stock and season. Simmer for 10 minutes, then cover and cook for another 20 minutes until sauce is thickened.
• To make the couscous put in a bowl with the butter and some seasoning. Pour over the chicken stock and cover with clingfilm. Leave for 10 minutes. Stir the herbs through and serve with meatballs.

Recipe adapted from Olive Magazine July 2009, taken from BBC GoodFood online.

A HANDFUL of watercress could help prevent breast cancer, a study has shown.

The vitamin-packed salad veg may provide one of the first natural defences against the disease.

Cancer experts found a cereal bowl-sized helping of the superfood triggered changes in blood cells that blocked tumour formation.

The chemical in watercress that makes it taste peppery - phenyethyl isothiocyanate, or PEITC - prevented cell damage. The substance, previously shown to cut cancer risk for smokers, stayed in the blood for days after watercress was eaten.

Experts at the University of Southampton had not initially expected watercress to work so well against breast cancer.

They decided to test it on 12 women with the condition only after watercress solution proved effective against cancer cells in laboratory tests.

The women were each asked to eat 80g packets - the size often sold in supermarkets - and were tested over time.

Professor Graham Packham, who led the two-year study, said: "Our research takes an important step towards understanding the potential health benefits of this crop.

"It shows that eating watercress may interfere with a pathway that has already been tightly linked to cancer development. This is not a cure for cancer but may well help to prevent the disease."

He added: "We need to follow this research with larger scale studies. Understanding the risk factors for cancer is a key goal and studies on diet are an important part of this.

"Relatively little work is being performed in the UK on the links between the foods we eat and cancer development."

Watercress, which is high in vitamin C, zinc and iron, has been shown to fight infections.

Tomatoes have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of developing tumours in men such as prostate cancer.

Breast cancer hits 45,000 women in the UK every year.

Article taken from The Sun newspaper 14th September 2010 

By EMMA MORTON, Health and Science Editor