Hopped back on the wagon

This week is going well so far, I've been OP every day with only occasional dipping into my flex points, putting some time in at the gym, and here I am almost at the end of the weekend (my toughest time) without a struggle. Hurrah! The little blips on the scale from the last 2 weeks were the kick up the butt I needed to get myself back on track. If I don't lose this week then there will be a lot of investigation, not to mention tears and tantrums!

This next part is long overdue but I have been too busy to get pictures off my camera. These are from the Sunday lunch at my friends' house 2 weekends ago. I just wanted to show off the fantastic food we were fed there.

This was Viv's starter. It was amazing. Puff pastry filled with asparagus and goats cheese, accompanied by a 'Venus nipple' (little pepper) which was also stuffed with goats cheese, and a red pepper sauce. It all worked beautifully, it was just wonderful.

Mo's main course of parcels of steamed sea bass on a bed of fennel and lemony couscous. The fish was melt in your mouth gorgeous and the flavours in the parcel were just incredible.

This was actually Mo's main course for the 2 vegetarians but I couldn't resist stealing a little taste as it looked and smelled so good. It was Morrocan style vegetable and chick pea curry served with a slightly different couscous. Also very delicious.

They are both wonderful cooks and besides the puff pastry and goats cheese that I used some flex points for, everything was OP. Well, maybe not the dessert which was an extremely alcoholic lemon syllabub! I actually didn't eat all of it as I was driving and was convinced it was strong enough to send me over the legal limit! There was also a home made carrot cake but I said no thanks and just had coffee.

I wish I could boast of such successful cooking adventures myself but I feel like a bit of a failure in the kitchen this weekend. I made 2 recipes from WW's online recipes but they both turned out less than wonderful even though I followed the recipes exactly so I'm not sure I will try any more. I've cooked from their books before and those have turned out great but I'm a little skeptical about the measures in the online recipes now. Yesterday I made a beef Lyonnaise casserole but even though I used the exact measure of stock it asked for in the recipe it came out really wet. Today I tried a fish and chips recipe that replaced breadcrumbs/batter with instant polenta, which I was very curious about, but it was just weird. I think I might stick with the books and conventional recipes for now. I'm lucky that J likes to cook and is a good cook too. We share the cooking and often cook together. I can't wait until we move in together, I really think it will make things easier. He doesn't know this yet but I'm hoping that he will cook on my gym nights so I can eat as soon as I get back and not necessarily just the quickest thing I can throw together, as is my routine right now. I'm also thinking we should get a slow cooker/crock pot for those nights. I just can't wait to get settled.

Anyway, I'm pleased to be back on track and hope it will last without too much trouble. I also hope it will show on the scales and elsewhere. My only foreseeable struggle this week will be Chinese New Year, I have a family dinner on Wednesday. It might not be too bad though as it's the evening after my weigh in and while I'm not going to deprive myself and be a party pooper I won't have to go too crazy.

I'm just reading this post back and it's kind of a mish mash! I think I've got post gym high or something, my brain is in a muddle and I'm rambling! I'm going to sign off before I start rambling about something else.

I hope everyone is doing okay. Especially everyone who has also been a bit wobbly lately. If we start to jump back on the wagon and hold out a hand to help the others up, there should be enough room for all of us on it!!