The Blog
It's September, Happy New Year!
Saturday 9th September 2017
So, the children are back at school and your brain is busy trying to erase the horrific memories of the diet you have all consumed over the holidays. You need to remove the niggling guilt of the ice creams on the beach, the cocktails on the all inclusive, the bags of crisps, picnics, milkshakes, popcorn and all the other things you decided were fair game...you need a New Year!
I reckon the school summer holidays end up being a little like the Christmas period we have, when over indulgence and relaxed attitudes over the food we eat is acceptable and endured. As the weeks of sun diminish, the long, light evenings start to shorten and the daunting job of school shoe shopping begins to rear it's head, we are all building ourselves up to "when they go back, this eating has to stop!"...sound familiar?
September is a time for a new energy and a time to embrace new habits and brush off the ones you were doing so well with before the end of term came along. The children no longer need their taxi requirements, hotel, restaurant and secretarial services 7 days a week and now its time to take hold of yourself.
I have already began to remove the snacks in the cupboard that seem to be acceptable during the holidays - you know the ones, crisps, chocolate, anything with processed sugar and a whole heap of ingredients you have never heard of, never mind tried to find out if they are actually good for you. The sorts of things that would never be acceptable lunch box fodder that's for sure!
I have started developing my menu plans again, fixed to the wall, plain to see. I thankfully have said goodbye to the days of "oh, I don't know what's for dinner or what time dinner is"...I HATE being that disorganized. However, again, it seems okay to adopt this attitude in the school holidays.
I have now begun a new system with the lunch boxes. When I have been cooking all day for work, developing new recipes, trying new ingredients and generally dismantling the kitchen, it can be quite hard to muster up the energy or interest to pack a lunch box. Now, my lunchbox number has increased with numbers (thank you Government for the past 3 years of paid school lunches), it seems imminently sensible to put some proper effort in to what my own children, and myself, eat for our lunches.
I am currently trying to experiment with what we eat in the middle of the day. What will give us enough energy to see us through the afternoon, to take on PE, clients, lessons and the daily 4pm SLUMP? What will we enjoy and be delighted by as the lid comes off; a presentation of mouthwatering treats to make us smile?
I will be sharing these lunch boxes with you. No more trauma of what to pack up, I will do the planning for you; you just need to buy it and pack it. Tips on snacks, recipes and time saving plans will help you develop your own lunch system you will wish you had years ago.
So, instead of making new resolutions of better eating, a healthier life for you and your family and an exercise regime you WILL (but don't), stick to in the New Year, maybe make September the time for the "new you"? January is more about staying under the duvet I reckon. It's dark, cold, notoriously miserable and poor, why give yourself such challenges at what is already known to be a difficult time?
Organise yourself NOW.
- Make some meal plans (recipe inspiration available on the website and Facebook).
- Set up your on-line shopping to give yourself more time and less waste. Follow the Lunch Box System (available soon).
- Think about getting up a bit earlier to do a bit of exercise that will get you moving in the morning (there are so many YouTube home based exercise routines to help that you don't need to go to a gym), set yourself 10,000 steps a day challenges.
- Make time for your friends.
- Do those jobs that have sat niggling over the summer.
- And SMILE!
September's here, schools back, and you're BACK ON IT!