Saturday Is Caption Day! - #Satcap

Well it's Saturday again.. So here is my #Satcap entry for this week! I really don't know what possesses Aalliyah to do these random things, but she wouldn't be Aalliyah without her weird and wacky personality :-)

Do you have a funny caption to go with this picture? If so I'd love to hear it! Why not head over to Mammasaurus where you can check out loads more entries and have fun captioning!

Tortilla Wrap Pizza - Weight Watcher Friendly

This is a must for all you pizza lovers! Pizza is not the best thing when you are counting points, but you can still enjoy the a delicious pizza with this recipe!

What you'll need:

1 Tortilla Wrap (3 pro points)
1-2 Tea spoons of tomato purée/pizza topping (0 pro points)
30g Grated Mozzarella Cheese (2 pro points)
3 Salami pieces (1 prop point)

**The above pro point values are dependant on size/brand used.

Method:

Take your wrap and lay flat.
Spread the purée thinly over the wrap with the back of the spoon. Make sure the entire wrap surface is covered.
Sprinkle the cheese over the wrap evenly and then finish by adding the salami pieces.
Place under a grill or in the oven for 5-10 minutes. 
Cut up in quarters and enjoy!

**Cooking times may vary so keep an eye on you wrap pizza as they cook quickly due to the thin base.

This is a fantastic little recipe and one that you can tweak to your own personal tastes. Add a bit of anything you like to the top of the pizza!

Saturday Is Caption Day - #SatCap

It is Saturday again, (boy do these weeks keep flying past) which can only mean one thing.... Saturday Caption time! Do you have a funny caption to go with this picture? Those poor chicks.. Aalliyah looks set to devour the whole of "chickville".

Have a go at captioning some more great photographs with Mammasaurus.

Have a great weekend!

The Fabulous 50

As most of you that follow me know, I have been on a weight loss journey with Weight Watchers since October last year. A journey which I was hugely sceptical about and one that I didn't hold out any hope of getting anywhere with. In fact if it wasn't for a friend of mine posting a status about considering joining herself, I would have probably never even joined. So here's to her (She knows who she is)

I'm so glad that I did decide to join as I have had such good results and find it so easy to follow. Its not a diet for me and is more of a lifestyle change which is even better as it has a positive impact of Aalliyahs health and lifestyle as well as my own. I am always cooking from scratch now as opposed to bunging anything in the oven. I eat truck loads of fruit and vegetables now (as does Aalliyah) and because I am not buying any high calorie or sugary snacks, Aalliyah is eating much more balanced and healthy snacks every day. On top of all the healthy food choices, I am getting so much more exercise now than I ever did before. I try to walk anywhere and everywhere (within reason), do regular workouts at home and play all kinds of energetic dance games with Aalliyah (xbox). Aalliyah has always had masses of energy so she welcomes any excuse to come along for walks now which in turn is making her more fit and healthy, and has helped her asthma massively  to the point where she was easily able to take part in cross country trials earlier this year.

So why have I named this the fabulous 50? I hear you say. No, I haven't reached that golden age just yet, although the grey hairs indicate I'm not far off! I was actually presented with a certificate at one of my weekly meetings a few weeks back. It was to mark my achievement of losing 50lbs. A massive milestone and one I never imagined I would lose. I still think to myself , why didn't I do something sooner? I have been unhappy with my weight for the best part of my life so could have made a change a long time ago. But that doesn't matter. What matters is I made the decision to change what I wasn't happy about and with determination and a positive, can do attitude I am seeing the results!

I have managed to meet (online) lots of people who are also on a weight loss journey and weather it is through blog posts, Facebook, or even Instagram pictures, I have found each and everyone of them to be a great support.

So thank you to everyone who takes the time to stay updated on how I am getting on and for all of you who let me share in your weight loss journey too!

Here's to the next 50!!!!

Do you have Instagram? If so I welcome new followers. Click the following badge to be taken to my IG profile where you can follow me and I'll glady follow you too.

Follow mysidekickandme on Instagram

I regularly post my weight watchers related updates using IG. Through self portraits to meal photos. So if you would like some support on your journey then please get in touch by any means.

My Easter Break - In An Egg Shell

Ok, So we are done with the snow, ice and freezing cold temperatures of winter and Easter came to mark the beginning of spring, sunshine and an indication that summer was on its way! The only problem was that when I woke up on Easter Sunday morning ready to forget the diet for one whole day and devour everything anything in sight, I was greeted with the not so pleasant site of lingering snow which had been laying around taunting me and my thoughts of summer for days! Looking out of my window I could see the wooden bench in the garden topped with snow and my flower pots each with a frozen layer of ice. I turned around expecting to see gifts under the tree, not chocolate eggs and daffodils. Needless to say I was not dreaming of a white Easter and I'm pretty sure no one else had banked on it either given the sizzling temperatures this time last year.

Yes I realise I have moaned for a whole paragraph about the weather, but hey.. I'm british and thats what we do best!

Anyway, In spite of the weather, both myself and Aalliyah still managed to have a wonderful Easter as I hope you all did too. There was the typical roast dinner. I opted for a nice joint of pork for the ever so selfish reason that I hadn't had roast pork since starting weight watchers in October, so we were having it.. End of story!

Me and Aalliyah had lots of fun making some Easter inspired treats for her class, which she gave out on the last day of term, when she also came home with some goodies for winning first place in the egg decorating competition.

No Easter is complete without a bit of bonnet making.. Aalliyah also made her very own town called "Chick-ville"

Plus we had a beautiful Easter stroll in the Spring sunshine snow. There is just something so "British" about seeing a beautiful blooming daffodil..poking out of 4 inches of snow! 

Surely we have had the worst of it now? We have put up with an Arctic Winter and now Sprong (Spring gone wrong) Can we please just have a sizzling summer full of sunshine, sunshine and that other thing that went missing last year... Oh yes.. SUNSHINE! 

Good luck to the first person that moans when it's too hot!! You know there will be someone!

How did you spend your Easter? I hope what ever you did you had a wonderful time celebrating.

Sneaky Snacky Squirrel - Review

Sneaky snacky squirrel is another fantastic game from Learning Resources. Designed to help build up fine motor skills , easy enough for children to play from approximately 3 years old, but fun enough to still be enjoyed by children of any age and even by the parents too!

In a nut shell (pardon the squirrel related pun) the object of the game is to fill your piece of tree stump with one of each colour acorn. Players take it in turns to spin the spinner and follow the given instructions.

The first thing that struck me with this game was the box. I was so impressed with how funky it looked! Every single board game in Aalliyahs bedroom (and there's ALOT)  has a bog standard square box but this was so quirky and fun. I love the fact that the box was tree shaped, something so simple but immediately catches the attention of children and in my case the mums too!

I must admit when I quickly read the back of the box, I did have my reservations on weather or not the game would actually be as fun and or entertaining as it sounded and was worried it would be for a much younger audience. I do love being proved wrong...

Me and Aalliyah both had a whale of a time playing, and it didn't get boring even after the 6th or 7th time round. Aalliyah loved the squirrel shaped tongs that you had to use to pick up the acorns and loved the fact that I kept landing on the windy spot, which meant I had to put all my acorns back and start from scratch.

Overall I was extremely impressed with this game. I love the fact that it is so simple to follow and yet can entertain children of all ages. This game will fast become one of Aalliyahs favourites to pull out on rainy days.

If you fancy buying the game for yourself, why not head over to Learning Resources. Click on the following link where you will taken directly to there site where you can purchase Sneaky Snacky Squirrel as well as check out other products in their fantastic range.

Click Here To Buy Sneaky Snacky Squirrel

Chocolate Nest Cakes

These tasty crispy cakes are the perfect thing to make with the kids. Besides the melting of the chocolate, they need minimal supervision and will have a blast making them. They are perfect for Easter when topped with some mini eggs and really resemble a birds nest. Aalliyah has so much fun making them for her class as an end of term treat. Needless to say they all had a blast eating them too!!

What you will need:

Shredded Wheat (Approx 15 Biscuits)
300g Milk chocolate
Mini Eggs 

Method:

Place the wheat biscuits into a large bowl and start crushing with your hands making sure not to leave any big bits in.

Next take the chocolate and break it up into a glass bowl, place the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Gently stir the chocolate as it melts until it is all melted. 

Take the bowl off of the heat and place to one side. Next take your bowl of shredded wheat and gradually shake the contents into the bowl of chocolate gently stirring as you continue to pour all the wheat in until it is all evenly covered in chocolate.

** I found that pouring the wheat into the chocolate as opposed to the other way round was much easier as it didn't clump together and set to quickly.

Next take a table spoon and start filling up your cake cases, gently pressing them in the middle with the back of your spoon, making a nest shape. Top one or more mini eggs and then leave to set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

Then... Enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add a bit of what ever you fancy.. Maybe add in a mix of dark and milk chocolate? Or add some dessicated coconut for added flavour.

This recipe makes approx 30 smallish crispy cakes, so alter the ingredients to make more or less.