Romwe

Hello my lovelies,

I've got quite a lot of bits and bobs gathered up since I've been "treating" myself with makeup and clothing instead of food and am going to do a bit of a haul post about it all for you. Only problem is I'm still waiting on three items I ordered off an online store called Romwe (which I ordered on 25th August).

I'd heard lots of great reviews about it through YouTubers I subscribe to and thought it would make for excellent low-cost "treats" - I don't want to break the bank with these things! Unfortunately I think they are trying to scam me out of more money, which is a bit disappointing. I paid around £50 for a handbag and two jumpers and now they are emailing me asking that I contact them to pay another £20 duty and taxes (they have sent two package and two emails so I presume they actually are looking £40 total), but I have never had to pay duty and taxes direct to a foreign company. Normally the postal service (Royal Mail/Parcel Force) contact me direct about shipping costs.

Considering I bought four bridesmaid dresses from China for my wedding last November and had to pay £40 tax and duty on them (which was calculated based on the total value of the items - £260) I think Romwe are trying to con me out of money. Maybe they don't realise that I buy quite a lot of things from China and know the tax and duty costs and where to pay them?

I've emailed them saying that I'm not paying that and that they need to either send my packages and stop messing around or just refund me. Luckily I've paid through PayPal so can open a case through there and have PayPal refund it out of their account.

Now that I've had this problem I've googled some Romwe reviews and found quite a lot of unhappy customers - people who have not received items and people who have, but the items have been rubbish. I think they must send popular YouTubers items to have them reviewed in order to scam subscribers into making purchasers. Obviously I'm not suggesting that the YouTubers know about this in any way, they probably think they are showing their subscribers affordable fashion from a trusted seller. Of course I could be completely wrong and this could be a big misunderstanding - we shall see.

I'm a bit down about it all really and to be honest I've had two cream buns today to make myself feel better, which actually makes me feel worse because I've probably just maxed out my syn quota for the week.

I've also calculated the costs on the tax calculator I normally use (which has always been accurate) and it has said that I should have to pay £10.13 maximum for all three items. I don't know if you can clearly see the screenshot below?

I've been doing so well with Slimming World, but I am an emotional eater - if I feel bad I eat, if I feel good I eat... see the problem? I've replaced feel good eating with buying little inedible treats, but don't have a replacement for the feel bad eating yet.

I'm sorry this post isn't very helpful or inspiring, but sometimes I just feel like eating a couple of cream buns and putting on my pyjamas to watch NCIS. This is one of those times.

Hope you are all doing a bit better than me today!

Big love,

Kiki x

Motivational Meal Plan Mondays

Hello my lovelies!

I don't know about you, but weekends can be my downfall. It's very easy to fall off the Slimming World bandwagon when your other-half offers to buy pizza... and garlic bread... and chips.... *ahem* on a Saturday night. So today I just wanted to do a quick Slimming world Monday meal plan for you all. I know a lot of you have very busy lives and need something that is not only quick and tasty, but is also SW approved - especially on a Monday! 

When I have a lot on my plate (no pun intended) I revert back to the good old green days - for me carbs are a little gift sent from heaven to make me feel full, satisfied and full of energy.

This is my typical busy day meal plan:

BREAKFAST - HEa & HEb

Two Weetabix with sweetener and semi-skim milk

Coffee and semi-skim milk

LUNCH - 3.5 syns

Uncle Ben’s Vegetable Express Rice (2 syns)

Small can of Heinz curry flavour baked beans (1.5 syns)

Water or a Diet Coke

DINNER - 2 syns

Batchelor’s Pasta ’n’ Sauce Macaroni (2 syns)

Water or a Diet Coke

SNACKS

Muller Light Fat Free Fruitopolis (1/2 syn per pot) - I would normally have a coupe of these.

In general a busy day for me would use up more syns than if I had time to make completely free meals but I don’t think this really matters. SW is about learning how to eat healthy no matter how much time you have and it gives you plenty of options to help you do that. Of course a little preparation would help me stay syn free on these days, but to be honest sometimes I’d rather use a couple of syns and have an easy life than struggle around an already busy schedule to prepare meals in advance. 

Today’s total syn count will be 6.5, which keeps me well under the 15 syn recommendation and I’ll have used 1 HEa and 1 HEb. If I’m feeling a bit luxurious tonight I might add another HEa worth of cheese to my Macaroni… the frivolity!

I hope you are all having a happy and healthy Monday! Don't worry if you've fallen off the bandwagon over the weekend (or even with that cheeky Mc D's on the way to work this morning), every meal is a fresh start!

Big love, 

Kiki x

You are beautiful, unique and valued...

 
Hello my Lovelies!

I know it’s not easy to stay positive when you are on your weight loss journey, and IT IS A JOURNEY. Some of the worst things people can say to me is ‘how much weight have you lost?’, ‘can you eat that on a diet?’, ‘your being very naughty eating that’, ‘that’s such a bad food for weight-loss’ and ‘did you hear that such and such has lost over two stone already’.

I hate the way people think they have the right to judge me based on my weight and what I eat. I am on a weight-loss JOURNEY… and it will take me a while to lose the weight. The most important thing to me is that I am secure in myself no matter what my size or shape. My weight does not define me and it shouldn’t define any of you either. It shouldn’t change the way people talk to me or look at me. No one has the right to judge anyone based on their weight.

I am by no means a gym-bunny, but I’m no couch potato either. I don’t eat pizza and ice-cream all the time, but occasionally I do. That’s not a big deal. It’s life. People eat pizza. If you want pizza, eat it. Life is not about deprivation. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Don’t turn down a dinner invitation because you don’t want to eat something that may not be 100% Slimming World.

I firmly believe that SW teaches us the principles of healthy eating for life-long health. It is not a diet, it is a way of life. By making small changes, bigger ones will come, but it won’t happen overnight. I believe that the slow way is the best way.

I am not going to the classes this time around because I don’t want to be weighed. I don’t want to feel the disappointment if I stay the same weight, or horror of horror, gain half a pound! I don’t want to explain myself if I have a gain. I’m not ashamed to fluctuate in weight. It’s normal. The body stores and loses fat all the time.

Each and every one of you are beautiful, unique, valued and LOVELY in your own individual ways. Embrace and celebrate that.

Big love,
Kiki x

A quick supper of Feta and Tomato Stuffed Chicken

Hello my lovelies!

This is a super quick, super easy slimming world recipe that I threw together last night for a quick supper. This is for two people so just multiply the ingredients as necessary.

I served this with salad and Mash Direct chilli baby bakes. I’m not too sure how many syns they are, but I don’t think they could be that many. If you are worried at all about using something that you don’t low the syns for then please just use the baby boiled potatoes in the micro bag (the ones from Tesco - I hope you know what Im taking about) or rustle up some SW chips or a baked potato.

I was also going to use up the rest of the asparagus and tenderstem broccoli for some extra super free but they had gone off… oops!

STUFFED CHICKEN

2 chicken fillets

50g feta cheese

Handful of Plum or Cherry tomatoes

1 chopped scallion (green onion)

4 strips of bacon (fat cut off)

LETS COOK!

1. Get your oven heated up to 190oC and chop up your tomatoes and scallion.

2. Place the chicken breasts on a large piece of grease-proof paper and give them a bash until they are about 1.5 cm thick (I cover them with greaseproof paper before bashing so the chicken doesn’t stick to the rolling pin)

3. Top them with the copped tomatoes, scallion and some crumbled feta. Cover with bacon and put in the oven. I just put mine straight onto the rack on the greaseproof paper.

4. Cook the chicken for 30-35 minutes depending on how crispy you like your bacon.

(Sorry, I had already started!)

It was super quick to make and really tasty! I hope you like it. Let me know if you try it or if you have any quick supper ideas like this. Bon Appetit!

Kiki x

Just a quick one...

Hello my lovelies!

Just a quick post to let you know that I'm doing a bit of a redesign on my blog, but don't worry, although the background and blog title may change, the posts will still be the same. I just want the blog template to reflect what this blog is about a bit better.

Let me know what you think!

Kiki x

Slimming World style Jamie Oliver Cajun Chicken

Hello my lovelies!

I know in my last post I wrote that I would try and make Sundays my outfits of the week post, but to be honest I've been putting them on Instagram daily and I feel like it would just be too repetitive to do a whole post on it, especially since my Intagram feed is linked to this blog in the panel on the left.

So instead I'm dedicating this post to food.. what else, ha!

A lot of you may not know this but I am super interested in cookery books and have amassed a little collection on my kitchen windowsill.

One of my favourite TV chefs is Jamie Oliver. I watch the majority of his cooking programmes and his food always looks soooo good. My lovely husband bought me two of his cookery books for Christmas two years ago, but I never got around to making any recipes from them because it was right around that time that I started Slimming World and just automatically assumed that none of the recipes would be suitable for SW. Oh how wrong I was. I recently got back into watching his 15 minute meal series and realised just how SW friendly his meals are!

The majority of the 15 Minute Meal recipes can be really easily adapted to be SW friendly - and more pocket friendly. Seriously, who buys corn on the cob over a tin of sweetcorn? And who has a griddle pan just laying around the house? Also, Jamie must have a seriously big stove top because trying to fit all these pots and pans onto the stove at the same time was just ridiculous. Rant over. For now.

Anyway, I tried out the Spicy Cajun Chicken with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Corn Salad this week and although it took me 30 minutes, not 15 (thanks Jamie!) it was still a beautiful meal, really high quality flavour and a few tweaks made it 100% SW friendly. It was honestly delicious. I divided the ingredients in half because I was only cooking for two, but the below is to serve four.

So here are Jamie’s recommended ingredients and my tweaks:

SALSA:

4 corn on the cob - substituted 2 cans of Tesco Value Sweetcorn

1 small bunch of fresh coriander

1/2 fresh red chilli

4 spring onions

3 ripe tomatoes - substituted a handful of plum tomatoes that were on offer in Tesco

2 limes - didn’t bother with these at all

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - left this out

SMASH:

800g sweet potatoes - 3 or 4 sweet potatoes depending on size

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce - this was syned at 3 syns between 4 people - I counted as 1 syn each to be safe

CHICKEN:

4 x 120g skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp Cajun seasoning

1 tbsp polenta - did’t use this

olive oil - substituted for Frylight

2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon - make sure the fat is cut off or use the rindless medallions

175g okra - substituted for asparagus and tender stem broccoli (come in a double pack in tesco)

20g feta cheese - used as HEA (or 5 syns - split between 4 I would count that as 1.5 syns per person to be safe)

Jamie says to get the kettle boiled and get a griddle pan on high heat. If you have a griddle pan, great, get it going. I don’t, so I got a non-stick frying pan on the go.

If you want to follow Jamie’s recipe, i.e using corn on the cob then I recommend you get the book or have a wee look online, I’m are it’s on his website. From here on out I’ll be changing the steps to fit how I did it SW style.

START COOKING

1. Drain the corn and cook it with some Frylight in a pan.

  

2. Wash the sweet potatoes, peel, then finely slice. Put the sweet potatoes into a large pot, then just cover with boiling salted water and the lid.

3. On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt and the Cajun seasoning. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to approx 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin. Put the chicken into a frying pan with some Frylight, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

4. Drain the cooked sweet potatoes, return to the pan and mash with the sweet chilli sauce, pop the lid on and leave on a very low heat. 

  

5. Slice the bacon and add to the frying pan (use the same one as the chicken if you have room, if not get another pan out, or take the chicken out of that pan). As soon as the bacon starts to crisp up, add the tenderstem broccoli and asparagus to the pan.

6. When the corn is slightly charred, put it in a bowl. 

7. Roughly chop the top leafy half of the coriander and add to the corn. Finely slice the chilli and trimmed spring onions, chop the tomatoes, and add to the bowl, then mix well. 

  

8. Serve the sweet potato smash with the chicken and veg, crumble over the feta, and serve with the fresh salsa on the side.

 I also added some rocket salad to the plates just to get a bit more super free food in there.

I’m thinking I might make a bit of a series of this - maybe trying one or two of the recipes from the book per week? What do you think? Would you be interested in that?

I really hope you give this one a try, it is super good. I have never been keen on mashed sweet potato, but with the chill sauce and the corn salsa and the whole combination of flavours, it was just so darn tasty that I actually crave it a bit! 

I reckon you could do this recipe with any meat too, it doesn’t have to be chicken. This is aimed at being an ‘extra easy’ day recipe, but you could easily leave out the chicken (substitute with a Quorn fillet) and the bacon to make it a totally green recipe. For a red day you would have to leave out the corn, and I’m not 100% on the sweet potato, but I’m certain you can use some substations for it, maybe butternut squash? I’ve never done the red days so I’m not too sure about it. If you do red days and you know more about them please let me know.

I hope you enjoy this one and you are all staying motivated and body confident. Remember that you are all fantastic no matter what your size or shape. Your weight does not define you!

Big love,

Kiki x

Curvy Confessions, Confidence and OOTD...

I have a confession ... since I dropped off the Slimming World bandwagon and put the weight back on, I haven't been too concerned with what I wear. In fact I've hardly given it a second thought - the last time I went shopping was before I got married last November. 

I have been in a bit of a denial about the weight gain really and simply refused to purchase anything in a bigger size, after losing weight on the plan and being very happy at a size 12/14. But this hasn't helped matters at all, it has in fact I think hindered me. 

I used to love buying new clothes (both before and after doing Slimming World for the first time) and the fact that I have become complacent about my appearance has got me in a bit of a rut. Does this ring true with any of you ladies?

So to get back to feeling more myself I had a little clear-out, got rid of everything that doesn't fit (too big or too small) and only kept what actually fitted me. The worst thing is trying something from your own wardrobe on and having it be too small, I don't know about you but that just really puts a downer on my whole day.

What was left was actually pretty decent on the whole and I have had a mini-splurge online for a few bits and pieces that will update everything that's left. I'll upload a haul when everything has arrived.

So I thought I would make my Sunday posts Outfit of the Day posts. For this week I only have two outfits, but since I have decided to do OTTD posts it will give me the motivation I need to dress well everyday and hopefully every Sunday I will have seven detailed OOTD for you all. I'll also upload daily pictures to my Twitter and Instagram and would love you to share your OOTD with me too. You can find my Instagram and Twitter on the panel on the left.

So these are my Saturday OOTD. I went out and about vintage furniture shopping during the day then had a quick change to go meet a friend for dinner. Apologies about my dirty mirror and non-existent camera skills!

For my day outfit I'm wearing:

Black & White Flats - Matalan - £12 (which will be in the haul post)

Black Supersoft Skinny Jeans - Primark - £8

Black & White Stripe Oversize Jumper - H&M - £18

Curvy girls can absolutely wear skinny jeans. I think they look gorgeous paired with over-sized jumpers and flats or boots.

I was in a bit of a hurry to get changed and out the door again to meet my friend for dinner, but still wanted to make an effort. It was a casual dinner at a lovely local Chinese place so I stuck with the same flats and the handbag I had used during the day to save on time.

For my evening outfit I'm wearing:

Black & White Flats - Matalan - £12

Thick Black Tights - Primark - £2.50

Grey Swing Dress - Matalan - £14

Cream Oversize Cardigan - Tesco - sale item approx. £10

The only new item I'm wearing here are the black and white flats from Matalan, everything else was already in my wardrobe. It's amazing what you can find when you get rid of all the clothes that don't fit! What do you think?

Big Love,

Kiki x

Our new addition...

So rather than post a load of photos of the newest member of our little family, I thought I would do a (rather long at nearly 8 minutes) YouTube video. I'm not particularly skilled in any way at videoing or editing so it's not the best video I'm sure you have ever seen, but I thought it would be better to see their interaction on video.

He is a Bichon Frise and is almost 9 months old in the video - he is also afraid to come down the stairs. I am hoping he will grow out of this problem as he doesn't have a problem with any other stairs, but something about these ones freak him out a little!

Without further ado, I'd like you all to meet Peat -

Big love,
Kiki

Quick update on the past year....

So I've had a little think about how I'm going to sum up the goings-on of the past year without making it too drawn out and boring and have decided to just make a quick five point list, and if anyone is interested in hearing more detail about a particular thing just leave me a comment or send me a tweet (@MrsKirstyWJ) and I'll get on it... like a car bonnet - mad apologies about that, couldn't resist.

1. We bought a new house
2. We got married
3. We went on honeymoon
4. We renovated our new house
5. We got another puppy

I wish I would have documented the whole renovation process a bit more but to be honest it was buying the house and starting renovations that kept me away from here for so long. It was a really difficult task, especially because we were doing it on a spend as we earn basis so there was no bulk loan taken out for the work. Glad of this now... not so happy about it at the time, because everything was so slow and so much hard work even though we had a lot of help from friends and family. We are just putting the finishing touches to the house now - finishing off the front garden and the attic so at least I'll be able to share that with you as we do it.

Oh, and for all of you that followed my 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' blog where I uploaded a lot more diet related stuff, I just want to say that I am still eating healthily, not totally slimming world approved all the time but it's going good. I try to make a lot of freezable meals on Sundays as during the week I can be too busy to cook and don't want to resort to take-aways too much - not only for the healthy factor, but also for the pocket factor! I'll hopefully do a Sunday evening post with my meals for the week. And if anyone would be interested in me doing a food shopping haul video (of affordable healthy eating on a budget) let me know.

Talk later,

Kiki x

Only me again...

So I've coming running back from wordpress with my tail between my legs (sort of!). I haven't totally given up on it and my blog over there is still live, if a little (okay a lot) outdated!

A lot has happened since my last post and I am working on a little post that will hopefully bring everyone up to date on what's been going on and what I've been doing! As you can see I still love the word little... little annoying, but hey, that's why you love me! Not desperate or anything... ha!

I'm going to do one longish post on here just to cover everything we have missed out on together... and then I'll just update as it happens from there.

I'm a bit reluctant to give up on the wordpress blog 100% so I may still update it too - maybe do daily blogs on one and weekly updates on the other... who knows... the web is our oyster!

Let me know your thoughts and feelings on the matter... but lets all try to be nice, we are all friends after all.

Big love,

Kiki x