Getting back on the right track..and into the kitchen

Its taken a while, but following last months tummy upset it seems to *finally* be behaving itself, and my appetite is slowly returning, along with the desire to cook. I always seem susceptible to tummy stuff, fifteen years of IBS and chronic indigestion over the past few years to add a little extra fun to the party, and after a long spell of being settled it decided to remind me its still there. I wish it wouldn't but I am back in my smaller jeans so its not all bad....!

Food plays a huge part in my happiness too, and I had felt a little low in mood again, with poor appetite and finding myself making food but then not wanting to eat it (shock horror!) but that seems to be back on the right track and the sun is starting to shine again. I recently discovered a site called Happify which I am exploring in a bid to boost myself naturally. Also letting go of the guilt of buying pre-prepared stuff helps... Nutrition plays a huge part in our overall health, eating the right foods does help boost things but occasional treats never go amiss, especially if your appetite has been off! Vegetables are great, not to mention fruit and we are well stocked up right now thanks to my dad having access to a local market and discounters, but sometimes a girl has got to have chocolate! Cadbury's often send me a few treats, most recently was their share bag of Crunchum's. Me and B couldn't decide if we liked them or not. However it took three bags to fully decide. And whilst we like the slightly salty crunch, after strenuous testing we prefer hands down their chocolate Pretzels which managed to sneak in the weekly shop!

Now I am cooking again with more thought, there has been quite a few decent dishes coming out of the kitchen, and the odd cheat item! I am baring my soul here and admitting not everything here gets made from scratch and that its okay to cheat some times!

Last week when I had my eldest niece A over, and we decided to explore some of our Polish heritage and purchased a packet of Pierogi from the local deli, which visually reminded my of the Chinese dumplings we so love to eat and pudding. Yep, pudding. Ours was translated as being cottage cheese flavour, and expecting a savoury meal I quickly made up a butter and pine nut sauce...to find out they were slighly sweet, almost like icing sugar sweet! We still ate them, washed down with some Polish Kiwi and Strawberry juice but was unusual...

Another bit of a guilty pleasure sort of cheat was newly discovered 'sesame ramen' instant noodles, tarted up with some peppers and sliced frankfurters. Not very glamourous but was exactly what I fancied to eat! My dad had originally picked up the sesame noodles, and I recently found an oriental supermarket only ten minutes away so can buy them to my hearts content!

Last on my list of cheat delights was discovering those pre-filled pastas with a gorganzola and walnut filling! Dressed with a little oil, on a bed of rocket and baby spinach it made for a lovely late night after work dinner!

So I promise some 'real' dishes will start featuring again soon and thankyou for baring with me!

Anne
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