My Food Philosophy

So here is my first ever post!  As you may come to notice, I am the most disorganised person you are ever likely to meet, there is however one thing that I have to control and that is, you guessed it.....food!  I am an obsessive food day-dreamer, and from that comes my ability to organise my food! One of the reasons I decided to start this blog was when a number of friends asked me to help them with their weekly meal planning.  My own weekly food plan is what I live my life by (I know its sad), it hangs in pride of place in our kitchen, and fills each day with the promise of an enticing meal once we have faced whatever the day will throw at us.  Ever since I got married, which is nearly 5 years ago, I have organised our food the same every week.  Sunday morning finds me, wearing pyjamas and sipping a cup of tea and food planning, I choose meals (that I have been dreaming of) and order everything I'll need online to arrive on the next day.  Over the last 5 years, my husband and I have faced some dizzyingly high highs and devastatingly low lows, and melodramatic as it may seem, knowing that our evening meal is sorted was such a great comfort.  Through the madness of having a baby, moving house and family illnesses my planner has stood like a beacon of hope.  Is food a comfort? Stupid question, for me, defiantly yes!

My beloved meal planner

The quality and variety of the food we eat can take a real battering from what life throws at us, and the most common three barriers in my house are; lack of money, lack of time and diets.  Like many families with small children we survive on one salary, and our food budget is strict.  On the flip side, one of the benefits of being one salaried is that I am at home in the day so I can pick the times when Millie is napping or happily occupied to get cooking.  Right now time is a luxury I do have but I remember all too well the stress of finishing work late and having to produce a minor miracle and get some food on a plate at the end of a long day.  

The last barrier is the dreaded D word!  Dieting is something that many cooks are contending with, and it is food whilst dieting that I feel most passionately about.   It is this that my main focus will be on, as it is the most relevant to me. No surprise that my love of food has led to me needing to lose a considerable amount of weight!  I am currently dieting and to my own surprise am still enjoying a huge variety of tasty and filling foods.  This is the second reason I wanted to start a blog, I feel that all too often people feel they need to lower their standards when trying to eat healthily or diet and end up compromising the meals they eat. I believe that you can have serious culinary treats and still lose weight.  I also think that people who use food as a comfort (like me) will be fighting a losing battle by trying to banish that habit,  and it is my opinion that you can embrace the comforting aspect of food without compromising your diet too much.    I'll share my plans and recipes with you, and hopefully inspire you along the way!