Cast Iron doorstop makeover!

This is such an incredibly easy and effective makeover! 

I remember playing with a cast iron Iron when I was a little girl, pretending to iron my dollies clothes with it. Times have changed - I HATE ironing and somehow manage to get away with not needing to all that often. But the one thing I still do like is the cast iron version. 

There's a little antique market just down the road from us and most days it has 100% junk, but I peer in every now and then, and was thrilled to find two of these cast iron irons (is the second "iron" defunct?).  For a grand total of £5 I walked away happy, and with a heavy load under the pram!

They have been sitting at the doors for a while now, and are perfect because Baby M can't lift them, unlike all the other door stop solutions we've had until now. 

I bought a can of Montana gold spray paint a few months ago, with the intention of taking it to Australia and panting some mugs/glasses for Baby M's Baptism. After finding out there's no way I can travel with it, I put it away for a rainy day. 

Or for today it seems!

I was going to just do this little project quickly in our stairwell, but having read through the extensive warnings on the back of the can, I decided to heed their precautions and brave the cold. Before Madeleine woke up this morning I ducked down to the courtyard with 3 things - an empty box, the iron and the spray paint. Oh and keys and camera, I mislead you! 

I didn't think the neighbours would appreciate a gold courtyard (although I think it would look kind of amazing) so I placed the iron inside a large empty box and got to work. 

It said it was fast drying, but Meg-fast and Mr Montana-fast are very different! The good news is that if you get it on your skin, it will peel off later (the paint, not your skin). 

After about five minutes I turned it on its side to spray the underneath. 

I then let it sit for half an hour to set on properly and then set it to work!

Here's the before and after....

I absolutely LOVE it!! I think it just looks infinitely more classy and interesting than the old one. 

So simple, so easy, so cheap and yet such a great improvement!!!!

And now of course, nothing is safe in our house! Mr M is going to come home to find everything gold! I seriously sit here looking around at everything in my sight and think "ooh that would look better being gold". Look out Baby M!!!!! 

Fast Diet - Week 4 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week four of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here.

I can't believe I am in week four already. One definite change in the past week is my body's adjustment to fast days. No longer do I wake up desperate to eat first thing now. I can usually wait until around midday to have my first meal for the day now. I find it incredible how quickly that has changed for me, as I used to require breakfast within half an hour of being awake!!

Another change for me is how I feel about myself. This would most likely be due to getting stuck into pilates again and enjoying feeling my muscles again, the return of some old friends!!! Even though there still hasn't been much of a change on the scales yet, I just feel more confident, and that in itself is a huge change. 

Lunch - Sweet Potato Wedges

Not unlike the Sweet Potato Fries I posted about last week, but the wedges packed a little more punch!! I still had the same amount, cooked with low-cal oil spray, but added some chopped coriander along the way to change the taste somewhat!! They are a very high calorie snack though, I'm not sure I should be using up so much of my quota on a humble yam!!

Snack - Cinnamon Cottage Cheese

This is a slightly odd one, I admit. When I was living in a share house throughout University I lived with a Canadian girl Laura, who in her spare time, was a health nut! She would take me out for "park sessions" which sounded so enticing, but involved whipping my butt into shape through cruel and unusual measures. But she also ate some things that at the time seemed kind of loopy to me, but have stuck with me as sensible ways to snack without overloading in calories. This cottage cheese snack comes from her. It is SO simple - combine cottage cheese and cinnamon, mix and eat! 

Dinner - Garlic & Chilli Prawn Salad

Discovering that seafood generally is low calorie was a very important discovery last week. I love seafood endlessly, so being able to eat it, even on a fasting day, makes for one very happy Meg.  I created this meal out of the basis of a Thai Beef Salad that I have made and loved for years and years.  I just searched for it on meg-made to link to it and realised somehow it has been overlooked for a post, so that will be remedied soon!!

I marinated the prawns in finely chopped chilli, garlic and coriander. Usually I would add oil to the marinate, but didn't for this recipe and the prawns were still well infused and tender. I made a simple green salad and really just grabbed whatever was in the fridge. I used mixed greens, red onion, red pepper and sliced cucumbers. All of these are low-calorie veggies too. I wanted a little sauce to toss over the whole salad, and so combined light soy, freshly squeezed lime juice and a drop of agave nectar. It just gives it a tang and ties all the flavours together.

This prawn salad is an explosion of flavours in an otherwise fairly bland day, a very welcomed meal to finish the day of fasting. 

Drinks

I noticed that I wasn't drinking enough water until it was too late in the day, so even though I didn't get a headache, I certainly noticed it the following day. I was dehydrated for sure. 

Total calories for the day = 415

Exercise

I did two classes of Reformer Pilates this past week, and one cardio session. I wanted to work out one night but it was miserable outside, so I ran up and down the stairwell for 30 minutes. I did lots of funny things out there in the privacy of darkness and with the accomplice of some funky music. I may have in done some dancercise!! 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 1.3kg (2.86lbs). Only a small loss this week, but still a loss so I'll take the win! I am so impatient, I just want to see the kilos drop off, but I guess I'm not doing enough on my non-fasting days for that to happen. I am toying with the idea of a 3rd fasting day, potentially doing a 1,000 calorie day in addition to the two regular 500'ers. Does anyone know if this would be a good idea?? 

Are you doing the Fast Diet?? Have you had a good experience or know any good tips to share? I would love to hear success stories or advice, there are definitely some easier days than others, so lets share how to achieve them!!!

meg xx

Baked Porridge a la Gordon Ramsay

We finally have a new TV. And when I say finally, I mean FINALLY! This is the first television that we have ever bought. We survived on what was affectionately known as "the postage stamp" for our first 4 years living together in Melbourne (it was deeper than it was wide!). 

And then we inherited a hand-me-down TV from a neighbour in Oxford that didn't actually receive signal. 

And then we moved to London and realised our flat was actually too small to even put a TV in, so didn't bother with one. 

And then, we moved our room around, and were sitting on the couch soon after and realised, we now have space for a TV! I had to give up a shelf in my book/pots&pans-case, but we could finally have a TV. 

I wasn't really fussed without one, we had plenty of devices to keep me up to date with The Mindy Project, but having had one for a few weeks, I absolutely love it and wish we'd done it sooner! 

I am so enjoying watching cooking and travel shows again, I had forgotten how much I love them. We've also been watching A LOT of Gordon Ramsay shows, in particular, his Ultimate Home Cooking series on 4oD. I just love it. At least one meal from each show goes on my "must try" list. And yesterday, I tried two out, well I guess it was three really, but the other posts will have to come later in the week. 

I had my brother visiting over the weekend and if you know him, you know he loves to eat. Being an ex-rugby player it used to take a thrice-daily-smorgasbord to fuel him each day, but now it is only a twice-daily requirement. I was watching Gordon's Baked Porridge recipe and thought it would be a great one to try out on Ash, fill that immense hunger!!! 

I wanted to make the porridge more "me" so used my favourite nuts and fruits in the place of a few suggested in this porridge. Instead of the recommended almonds and raisins, I used macadamias and dried apricots. But I will keep Gordon's recipe as is, because I can't be claiming this one as my own!!!

Ingredients (recipe here)

150g (5oz) jumbo rolled oats

seeds from 1 vanilla pod

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little extra to sprinkle

50g (2oz) whole blanched almonds

50g (2oz) blanched hazelnuts

75g (3oz) raisins

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks

500ml (18fl oz) milk, plus extra for serving

200ml (7fl oz) double cream

2 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds out carefully. I have never ever used real vanilla beans before, so was pretty excited with how incredible they are. If only they didn't cost £3 each, I'd use them everyday!!

2. Rub the vanilla seeds through the oats to infuse the flavour throughout the porridge. 

3. Chop the nuts and fruit of your choosing and place them in the bowl with the oats. Add the spices and mix well. 

4. Add the milk and cream and pour in an oven-proof dish. 

5. Bake in a 180C/350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid has all been soaked up by the oats and they are nice and tender. 

6. To create a crunchy breakfast creme brûlée effect, pour the demerara sugar on top of the porridge and leave under the grill for 3 minutes. I did this and half started to burn and the other half wasn't melting, so I got out my blow torch to finish it off. 

And serve warm and ENJOY!!

The spices and fruit and nut combo elevate the humble oats to another stratosphere!!! I loved the crunch of the nuts, the soft sweetness of the pear, and the sugar brittle on top is just sensational. It probably shouldn't be a regular weekday breakfast, but for a Sunday morning brunch it was divine!

We all added a little splash of extra milk to ours just to give it a little more moisture and next time I would probably take it out of the oven five minutes earlier too. Far more filling than a regular bowl of oats, we all didn't eat again until dinner time. But, when you see what dinner was, you'll understand our patience!!!

What a delightful way to enjoy porridge! I love this adaptation of a classic breakfast. I even think oats would be happy to finally be used in a luxurious and indulgent way.

Christmas Stockings : A Liberty Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, 
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....
For the meg-made Liberty of London Stockings are now here!!

I LOVE Christmas. I love the food, the drinks, the decorations. But I especially love the 1st of December, when we put up our tree, drink egg-nog, and hang our stockings by the fire (and in Australia, by the AC).

We were recently at Liberty and I got swept up in the beauty that is Christmas at this gorgeous store, and just knew I had to share some of this with you!!

So this year, I am sharing my love of Christmas with you in the form of some beautiful Liberty of  London Christmas stockings!!!

Liberty of London is iconic, classic, elegant, and festive, and now your house will be too, with this little piece of London to adorn your fireplace. Made with beautiful Liberty of London fabric, lined with a heavy-duty polkadot cotton, and finished off with gold sparkly trimmings.

These stockings are a break from tradition without losing the magic and enchantment of Christmas. You will love having these on display until Christmas Eve and they are sure to add sparkle to whatever socks and jocks are left behind by St Nick.

The original Gold Edition stocking comes with a gold ribbon loop and belt around the neck of the stocking.

The Gold Deluxe Edition has all of the regular features, but with the addition of some extra sparkle. There is a small gold sparkle bow attached below the loop, and a dainty wooden star with a glittery initial of your choosing. All of these sparkles elevates your christmas into fairy tale festive season you've been dreaming of.

And then with a twinkling I heard on the roof, 
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof! 

On...

On...

On...

And the remaining 5 little reindeer may be causing a clatter if these 3 are exhausted by Christmas!!

Now available on my Etsy store, limited number of each colour available, so if you'd like to have a little bit of London in your living room this Christmas, get in quickly before they all dash away!!!

Happy pre-Christmas season!!

meg-made it to Jersey & ate at The Treehouse (among others)

And I could quite possibly never leave.

If France and England were to ever date, their whirlwind romance would result in the teeny tiny Island of Jersey.

Jersey is one of the Channel Islands which lies on the French side of the English Chanel, and in my opinion is combination of the best parts of France and the best parts of England. It is fresh crusty bread, soft creamy cheese, quaint cobbled-stone-lined streets, dreamy French-named towns and streets, but all in an English speaking town just a 40 minute flight from London.

Oh and the home of my Brother, and his family, which makes it pretty much one of the best places on Earth.

We spent some time there last month getting to meet my newest nephew Finn, (could he be any cuter, seriously?!)

This trip reminded me how much I just love the ocean and having so much of life being associated with the beach. Growing up we would "summer" at Byron Bay each Christmas to visit my Gran, and I think the beach will always be a special place because of that. 

And everything we ate was beach-based, which I bloomin well love!!! 

We went out for lunch one day to a gorgeous little restaurant in St Brelade called the Treehouse. They have a really generous gluten free menu available and an amazing indoor and outdoor play area, so we were all set!

I had the Piri Piri 1/2 Chicken (I was really REALLY hungry!!) and a glass of Rose. It felt like it was one of the last lingering days of warm weather, so I wanted to have one of my last glasses of Rose for the season. 

Everyone else had incredible looking cheesecakes for desserts, but the only GF option for me was ice-cream. Not a problem! When it's Jersey Ice Cream it is never a problem. Jersey is well known for it's cream, from the gorgeous brown and white Jersey cows. 

We had glorious seafood and SPECTACULAR company. Oh how I love this little Isle! 

With sunsets like these, overlooking the little English houses by the sea...

And being able to drive around these two ADORABLE cousins made me one extremely happy Mama/Aunty!!

A bit of a random post, but I just wanted to share this great little Island, and my adorable little family!!

Fast Diet - Week 3 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week three of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here.

Week three, and what a rubbish week it was!! I apologise for having virtual radio silence on meg-made last week. I try to keep my blog a positive little haven of mine, and so didn't want to compromise that with the woes of a sick mama. 

It was a difficult few days of fasting though (not complaining, just being open and honest). On the first day I got a fast and furious 24 hour cold, and on the second fasting day I had a migraine, and in between, two days of IBS. To say I felt like depriving myself of all kinds of comfort foods would be LYING, but that is why I chose to continue on with the fast that day. Migraines are just the most soul-destroying illnesses. I would gladly go through all the surgeries I have had twice over if I could trade in suffering migraines. Since stopping breastfeeding the occurrence of mine has dramatically decreased, but I still get utterly wiped out when I do get one. And throw in the mix a little one year who can't see that Mummy is sick and still wants the same amount of love and attention. And then, remove my usual go-to comfort source for the day, and its sure to be a rough old fast day!  But wait, I thought this was a positive blog.....okay, moving on, you get the point, migraines are the pits. 

Here is what I ate to get through one of my fast days last week.

Breakfast - One poached egg on grilled tomatoes

This week saw the purchase of some low-cal oil spray, and it has changed my world. Who knew! One spray equals one calorie, and so you can just spray a few misty oil sprays into a pan to help the cooking process out. I photographed all 3 of these tomatoes, but only ate two of them (and counted calories for two). 

Not sure how to poach an egg,  I did a little viewtorial on it here...

Lunch - homemade Courgette & Mint soup

Finding the correct calorie count was the most challenging component of having this soup for lunch!! Oh and sticking to the right portion size too!!

All this soup consists of is courgettes, fresh mint, water, cumin, garlic salt, cinnamon,; and a small teaspoon of no-fat yoghurt to serve. I didn't want to add stock as I knew the salts would up my calorie count too much, so just kept it really basic. The mint and cumin were the star flavours that enhanced the courgette, and I found that it was delicious without being heavy. 

When searching for calorie information prior to making my soup, I found a delicious Pea & Courgette soup from London Unattached. I followed this recipe for a guide on quantities and calories,  but obviously left out the peas! 

Snack - Sweet Potato Fries

The photo is terrible sorry!! But the fries were not. They are dead easy to make and were filling enough to see me through the afternoon before dinner. I needed some kind of comfort this particular fast day, and so when I spotted the sweet potatoes in the fridge, I practically hugged them!! 

Peel and chop one sweet potato and lay it on a baking tray. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 20 minutes, tossing half way. The sweetness of a baked sweet potato combined with the heat of the paprika gives a lovely symbiosis of flavours, without costing too many calories. I know that a lot of people save up their daily amount of calories and just have one big meal, but for me, I need a little bit of sustenance a few times a day, I just do.

Dinner - Fluffy Crab & Courgette Omelette

Ever since we had breakfast at Customs House in Brisbane, I've been wanting to make some form of crab omelette. I was browsing through the Fast Diet Recipe Book and saw a prawn omelette that sounded incredible. I followed this recipe, however, substituted my crab meat for prawns and used less egg yolk to reduce my calorie count a little more.

Ingredients, serves 2
100g crab meat
1 courgette, grated and liquid removed
4 egg whites and 3 egg yolks
Chilli flakes
Salt & pepper
Oil spray
Parsley for serving

Method

1. Grate the courgette and squeeze all of the liquid out.

2. Combine the courgette, chilli flakes (or tabasco) and crab meat in a bowl.

3. Separate the eggs and keep the yolks to the side. Season.

4. Whisk the egg whites with an electric beater until fluffy.

5. Combine the egg white and yolk together and gently mix through with a metal spoon.

6. Spray some oil into a pan and gently cook the crab/courgette mix for a few minutes until it starts to brown a little.

7. Add the egg mixture and cook until the bottom of the omelette is brown.

8. Finish the top of the omelette under the grill (or flip if you are a whole lot more talented than me!)

9. Dish up and serve with a little sprig of parsley.

If you aren't following the Fast Diet, I would probably serve this with either a tomato relish or a chilli jam type sauce. It was great on its own, but a little extra sauce would really give it that last bit of zing!

Drinks

I had about 32904 litres of water over the day, real terms, probably 2.5L. I could only take medication to help my migraine when I had food in my belly, so relied mostly on water to get me through the lingering headache. 

Total calories for the day = 467

Exercise

I started back at Reformer Pilates this week. I was doing it quite consistently before summer travel interrupted my routine, and I loved how I felt doing it. I was actually getting stronger, a bit more toned, and enjoyed the time on my own to not think about anyone else's needs for a whole hour! So kicking it off again on Friday night was fun for me. 

In addition to this, I did two 30 minute walks, with the pram, up and down hills. 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 1kg (2.2lbs)

Overall I definitely found this week a tough one, but I was really proud of myself for sticking with each fast day, even though I wasn't really feeling my best. I am enjoying the challenge of what to eat all day, and maybe the dormant accountant in me is also enjoying the numbers game, don't judge me! I was happy that I was down another 1/2 kilo this week, it surprises me each week! I do love that it is just two days of modified behaviour. I am gradually figuring out which foods keep me fuller for longer and so I feel like by the end of this diet, I will probably eat the same thing each time!! 

Are you doing the Fast Diet too?? Do you have any tips or recipes to share? I would LOVE to hear them! I'd also love to know how much exercise other Fasters are doing, as I kind of think I should be doing more.... 

Photo Phriday #29