Christmas Challenge, day 1 and a helpful December planner

 Good evening, everyone.

Day one went fine until the cold I have been brewing really started to bit.   This evening was really a bit miserable and I've nibbled at this and that.  Oh, well . . .

Today's meals:

The mince pie porridge is amazing, really delicious.  Afterwards I had an apple.

Not quite what I had planned.  I used leftover potato and parsnip plus onion, pepper, mushroom and tomato plus some chestnuts and mixed seeds and grated cheese.
Really nice.

And that was that as far as the healthy stuff went.   Fingers crossed I feel a bit better tomorrow.  xx

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  Mince pie baked oats 🎅, fruit and yogurt

L:  cheese and cranberry 🎅 toastie (assuming the visit to the dentist wasn't too ouchy or it might be soup), salad; fruit

D:  Potato, parsnip and chestnut 🎅 patty with salad; fruit

Exercise:  circuits and advent calendar activity 🎅

The Extra Bit:

Our SW consultant, Heidi, posted this the other day.  I asked and got permission to share.

I'm going to use it as a way of tracking how December goes.  I will write in all the stuff going on but, also, I'm going to colour code each meal - green for on plan, etc.

Here it is, in case you would like to use it too: I don't think the spaces are big enough to use as a planner - not with my handwriting anyway - but useful in other ways..

Saturday evening, 30-11-24 and about my Christmas Challenge

(Pretty much written on Saturday but I was too tired to down and then upload the photo - please imagine this as sent Saturday evening.  Thank you) 

Good evening, everyone.

Do you remember that for the past three years I have had a Christmas Challenge where I challenged myself to make something with a festive vibe each day through December until Christmas Eve evening?
It was fun (for me), made me think a bit and kept things interesting.

(This next bit is copied from today last year as it still applies)

What constitutes 'festive'? Well, I decided . . .
anything from a Christmas Special magazine
anything categorised as 'Christmas' on recipe sites
anything from a Christmas recipe book
anything 'party-ish' - canapés and the like
anything containing cranberries, chestnuts, turkey, ham, smoked salmon . . .
etc, etc, etc
Oh, you get the idea, I'm sure. A very wide interpretation!

I'll still be following these strategies when possible (it won't always be possible)

1.  focusing on heart healthy, cholesterol lowering foods as much as possible

2.  Using intermittent fasting meal times - 8:14, so between eleven am and 7pm

3.  Following Slimming World structures, obviously - this doesn't change.

🎄🎅🤶🎅🎄

(I'm thinking I might use one of these cute 'special characters' to mark the festive bits)

I've already started using my Festive china, etc. I mean, what's the point of having anything special if you only use them a couple of times each year. I do have special tableware and I intend to get value from it all.
December can be very dull, dark, cold and gloomy so anything the brightens things up is a Very Good Thing.

So, tomorrow, My Christmas Challenge starts

Today's meals:

Breakfast and lunch were both fruit and, if I am totally honest, quite a lot of nibbles as I prepped the buffet.  Ooops!

Here we go - out Christmas Tree Day buffet and it was very much enjoyed.

Absolutely no SW facts for this but it was semi-Med friendly.

Totally back on it tomorrow with something to help me track one plan/off plan meals.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  mince pie porridge 🎄, fruit and yogurt

The first taste of the Oat Pantry Christmas limited edition (oooh - posh) porridges.

L:  Mixed bean hash with chestnuts 🎄; fruit

I have potato and parsnips left over from Friday night so I will add some speed veg and mixed beans and turn it into a hash.  I'll probably sprinkle over some grated cheese too.

D:  smoked salmon 🎄 and mixed bean salad; fruit

I will have some mixed beans left over to turn into a nice salad with some bits of smoked salmon from the freezer

Exercise:  I have plenty of housework and some washing/drying/ironing to keep me busy plus the start of Lindsey's advent calendar.  Yay!

The Extra Bit:

Just to say the oats and seeds crackers went down a real treat at the buffet - I am definitely making more.

Here's the link again, if you missed it the other day.

They're quite filling.

https://loveandflourbypooja.com/oats-and-seeds-crackers/