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It’s Sunday soooo Tanny decided he wanted to sort out the shed and that’s cool. . . I’ve tried really hard to get excited about the garden this year but I’m not feeling it yet honestly. . . We do have some excited babies arriving though. Loads of cucumbers, tomatoes (but NOT the Crimson Plum AGAIN). Courgettes, The melons are popping up. All sorts is happening. . . I also have an entire tote of chocolate boxes filled to bursting with more seeds to get in at some point. Tomorrow is a new day and tomorrow I will sow some seeds which may or may not come to anything but I’m just going to let Mother Nature do her thing. . . My grapes though are looking excited and so is the horseradish which I will leave there to go to seed and do it’s own thing for as long as it likes. . . The peach actually has a couple of fruit on it this year as does the golden plum and the Loganberries. Definitely a bonus. The cherry however is having an aphid issue and so far ive been letting the ladybirds do their job but honestly it’s not looking good. I may have to just suck it up and bring out the foam. . . There is just so much to do and it’s all so very over whelming I’m not sure where to start or what to do first. We are desperately still trying to get the house in order is part of the issue and every time we almost have it something else changes the path. . . I guess if it were a straight road life would be very boring but right now I could do with a bit of boring to be honest. A morning of sitting out with my feet up with some mint tea picked from the mint grown from the roots sent to me by a friend and a book. Just a book. Nothing to learn, nothing to think about, just a story to take me away for a bit. I think Truckers by Terry Pratchett oughta work. . . Anyway there yah go now you can see what’s happening. I’ll let you see what’s happening next week. #bloosselfreliance #urbanhomestead #growyourownfood

It’s Fakeaway Friday!!! Chicken and Vegetable Noodles with Homemade Plum Sauce. Also probably some of my homemade Spring Rolls. . . Half a small wrinkly old red cabbage, 1/5th leftover white cabbage 1 past it’s best courgette/zucchini 10 wrinkly almost dead Spring Onions The very last brown onion 1 old red onion 2 forgotten baby sweet potato 2 starting to yellow Pak Choy 1 wrinkly Red Pepper/Capsicum 6 almost dead mushrooms 4 inches of sad Celery Leftover Roast Chicken shredded 4 packs cheap 2 minute noodles 1 litre stock/water to cook the noodles and keep. Slosh of Light Soy Sauce The dregs of my Hoisin Sauce 1 Tablespoon Sugar The last of my homemade plum sauce (about a pint/500ml) Cornflour Slurry (2 Tablespoons of cornflour in 2 cups leftover noodle stock) . . Stirfry off your veg Add the sauces and flavours Add the noodle juice Add the cornflour slurry Toss in cooked noodles and shredded chicken Stir well to combine. . . Yup that simple and btw … it’s enough for Tanny and I for not only tonight but the weekend. It would’ve fed my lot at its full capacity easily so 8-10 serves. For little more than the cost of the noodles £1.25 for 4 packs and leftover wrinkly veg from last fortnights shopping. Leftover roast chicken from lunch meat for Tanny. Emptied bottles of sauces I need to restock. . . Next to nothing in cost over the top flavour and happy healthy bellies you can’t ask for more really … oh and to purchase 2 single potions of chicken Chow Mein and get it delivered £24.00 + £7 for Spring rolls … I think we win. . . #bloosselfreliance #budgetmeals #leftovers #fakeaway #fakeawayfriday #fakeawaychinese #foodstagram #instafood #yum

It’s Thursday YAY!!! This week has been a bit of a struggle dealing with fibro flares in my hands. Thankfully I now have new compression gloves which help but it can still be a pain in the bum. . . So this morning i normally don’t eat much before around 8am but I really needed a boost around 5 so grabbed a piece of the frittata I made for dinner last night. However I have been noticing that around 8-9am I am properly craving veg. . . I don’t care if it’s raw or cooked but I NEED the veg in my morning and as much of it as I can stomach. This morning it was about grabbing everything I could and throwing it in a bowl… without having to cut it. . . Having plenty of leftover cut veg for salad from dinner last night I chucked it all in a bowl with some preprepped cabbage and tossed it in some satay sauce and salad cream. . . Best…. Brekky salad…. EVER!!! Soooo good, just hit the spot and honestly I’m loving it can’t stop eating it. . . Play with your food guys you never know what new favourite dish or meal you are going to create xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #veggiesforbreakfast #healthjourney

Tanny and I made our own chips for freezing but before we put the whole lot in we wanted to check which form of blanching would be best. Water or fat. . . Potatoes are notoriously tricky to freeze well. They have a tendency to take on too much water and go mushy on defrosting and recooking or warming. . . Before risking the lot we tried a small amount of each and froze them last night to have today. . . The results are in and the oil blanch wins!!! YAY!!! I can’t say I’m not happy about that it really does make me chuffed to bits. Sure it’s a bit more work to get it done but it’s going to be worth it in the end. . . 75p worth of potatoes turned into £10 worth of crinkle cut chips. Yup happy with that. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #foodtesting #homemadechips #chips #preservingfood #homemadefood

Our back garden is in dire need of help. I have honestly felt so overwhelmed with what needs to be done that it’s just been getting worse rather than better. . . My garden is where I feel happiest and yet over the last 12 months it’s been getting worse and worse and I e been putting off doing anything using my physical health as an excuse and then of course the weather etc etc etc. . . Today though Tanny got me outside. I got our tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes/zucchini’s, pumpkins and melons in. . . This week I will be working to sow everything and spend at least 10 minutes outside each day. Preferably first thing in the morning if out the front so I don’t have to encounter anyone and later in the afternoon if it’s out the back. . . Softly, softly, catchy, monkey, as they say. This year it feels even more important to get food in the ground and the pressure I’ve put on myself is a little too much. . . Time to step back and take a breath and do what I can when I can and that’s ok. . . At the end of the day if I can only get the tomatoes and cucumbers that’s not a bad thing. To be completely honest my trees have fruit on them this year and I still have herbs in the garden and raspberries that are going mad so it’s not like there’s not anything. Anything is a bonus and I need to remember that. . . Even a shuffle is forward momentum. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #gardening #veggardening #growyourownfood #gardeningformentalhealth #costoflivingcrisis

So Tanny made dinner. I always like to have a couple of boxes of his favourite burgers and chicken burgers on hand for those just in case days. He grabbed some marked down bread buns on the way home and he made us cheeseburgers with chicken burger and salad and homemade chips. Having the stuff on hand we have saved ourselves around £20 making it ourselves compared to ordering from the chip shop on the corner. (Not knocking them they’re great and we love them but right now we have to make things at home only). . . Turns out these potatoes make amazing tasting chips. Tasteless and floury as boiled potatoes and roasties but pretty awesome chips. Just as well we decided to make the decision to cut them all up for the freezer then. . . It’s May bank holiday tomorrow so he’s home and we can do some little things around the place to play catch up with the garden…. FINALLY!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #dinner #fakeaway #burgers #burgersandfries #foodstagram #instafood #dinneronabudget

It’s Sunday and with Tanny getting his shoulder checked out at the hospital he called me to say he wanted homemade burgers and chips for dinner. . . The potatoes were definitely worse for ware so I decided to prep up the lot that was left. I got myself a crinkle cutter a few months back and we decided to use it finally. When the average price of crinkle cut chips a bag is around £2 and we bought these potatoes for 15p a kilo we have a good saving of around £10. . . As much as that doesn’t really sound a lot it really is when you consider petrol or bus fare to go and get them as well. Right now the way things are every little bit helps and the last thing either of us want to do is waste anything. . . It also means we don’t have to send out for them either which saves even more money. It means as well we can use what we have and make at home what we tend to order for takeout which will be something we can’t have over the next month and that’s ok. . . Just remember guys if nothing else there are 365 days in a year. Imagine if we did one job a day towards our food security just how full our pantries and freezers would be and how little worrying we would be doing. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #onejobaday #pantry #freezingpotatoes #handmadechips #chips #wsstenotwantnot #frugalliving #budgetmeals #selfreliance #selfsufficient #urbanhomesteading

Well yah know sometimes life just throws us a curve ball. Sometimes life throws us curve ball, after curve ball, after curve ball, until you feel like you have whip lash from your head being snapped into every other direction than forwards. This year has had its moments and we have just got to a place where we felt like we are clawing our way back to “normal” again when we got hit again this morning. Our home is owned by a housing association as part of social housing. At the beginning of this month the local council who had been managing the properties handed the management back to the housing association. We held back setting up a direct debit for our rent as we had just cancelled the one to council and we’re told they could possibly take the rent out anyway. When it became clear that wasn’t happening we paid our rent to bring us up to date and set up the direct debit. Over 2 days of this week our housing association has taken 2 months of rent. Leaving us in a really not good situation. Obviously we still have other bills to pay etc. I had just topped up our stores from where we’ve had to use them over the last few months and it looks like that this month we will have no choice but to use what we have again with only bread and milk runs being done… if that. This is why we prep and are prepared. The unexpected life things that occur that we have little or no control over. I have the peace of mind now to know we have what is necessary to live a relatively comfortable life this month. Sure there won’t be over the top extravagances but we will make do and make life enjoyable anyway. Life may throw us a curveball from time to time but it doesn’t mean we can’t hit a home run anyways. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #selfreliance #selfsufficientliving #prepping #urbanhomestead

I’ve only been busy for the last hour and this is what I managed to make. . . 10Litres of Laundry Liquid 1.5 Litres Liquid Castile Soap 2 Litres Dishwashing Liquid . . All I have left to do now is the Fabric Softener and that will literally take me 5 minutes. . . My back isn’t happy today though and after a week of fibro flaring I figure let’s not push our luck. Tomorrow is another day. I had hoped to get the kitchen soapy ones done today so I could move onto other ones tomorrow but all good no worries. . . Time to clean up, feet up and chill out. Honestly I don’t understand everyone’s fuss about making your own cleaners it’s so quick and that lot will do me and Tammy for the next 6-8 months possibly longer. . . The last batch of laundry liquid I made for us lasted us 3 years!!! We only do 1-2 loads a week so we don’t go through a lot and it’s a front loader as well. . . Honestly I’m more than happy to do this even if it were once a month. I did when the kids were little it saved us thousands over the years honestly and I don’t really have to worry if kids played with it or if the animals got into it. . . Think about making your own. The ingredients I have will last us years and cost less than 6 months of what was in the biggest white bottle you see there. Think about it. Videos coming soon xox . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #homemadecleaningproducts #cleaningproducts #selfsufficient #selfreliant #zerowaste #costoflivingcrisis

Today is making the cleaning products for the year day. It honestly still amazes me not only how quick it is but just how much money we have not only saved over the last few years but also the fact that these ingredients are the originals I worthier made or bought 5 years ago and we still have enough to make enough cleaning products for the next 15 or so years sitting on this table right here. . . At the time the whole lot cost me approximately £60. When I think about a bottle of laundry liquid costing around £20 and we used to go through one every 2 months then and now spending less than £2 to make enough for around 168 washes. It’s a no brainer for me. . . Of course now I make pretty much everything and the house always smells a lot cleaner and fresher than when on the odd occasions we’ve had to purchase shop bought. . . These recipes and instructions are going to start being available in video form on Self Sufficient Sundays over on my YouTube from 2nd June 2024 where I will be sharing with you the odd and sometimes a little more worrying jobs, tasks and skills that come with being self sufficient/ self reliant / zero waste / homesteading / prepping. Yah know whatever you want to call it. . . The point is things are changing and I want to show you guys how easy it is to save hundreds of pounds/dollars and show you just how really easy it is to make all this stuff yourself. Oh and safer to. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #handmade #handmadecleaners #selfsufficient #selfsufficiency #urbanhomestead #zerowasteliving

Brekky time!!! This morning I need carbs. So today is a carb load day. Does that mean I’m going to stuff myself full of donuts? No it really doesn’t. It means I’m going to find nutritionally dense yummy food that has a mix of mostly low GI but a few higher GI foods in to have a happy balance. . . This is why this Baked Sweet Potato with Homemade Marscapone Cheese and Grated Cheese with Sweet Chilli Sauce is perfect for me right now and a great way to start the day. Quick release sugars to get me going and slow release to keep the momentum in the day. . . Time to get up and going today lots to do and figuring out what order has taken me a whole day and I’m still not sure so I’m just going to get cracking lol #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #veggiesforbreakfast #food

Slowly whittling away at my equipment list. This is an Italian terracotta sprouter. Perfect for the kitchen window and having fresh micro greens or sprouts on hand all year round. . . Sure I’ve been using jars for years but I’ve wanted a stackable one like this to replace the one I lost in New Zealand 20+ years ago. . . The only ones I had found until recently was the plastic sort but I am working at having more natural materials like clay, wood, metal, glass, stone, bamboo, linen etc things that can be repaired or repurposed rather than thrown away. . . This little sprouter is perfect and easy to use and will look fantastic and be very useful on our kitchen windowsill. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #handequipment #zerowasteliving #selfreliance #selfsufficient #sprouter

Some days all I want are pickles. Whether pickled in a brine, a vinegar or fermented all are welcome on a day like today. . . My body tells me what it needs and when and when it craves pickled that tells me my gut is in need of help. Although I am good a lot of the time days like payday (which was yesterday) I treat myself to a coffee and something a bit naughty but not made by me. . . I have been noticing increasingly that the day after these days I need pickles. Clean flavours, gut helping bacteria, blood cleansing, helping to remove the old, stale bacteria, leaving me feeling happy and Sautéd whiteout feeling stuffed and bloated. . . Most of these I’ve made myself. Fermented Beans, Broccoli Stalks and Spring Onions, Pickled White Fish, made by me and the Olives and Pickled Silverskin Onions bought the other day from Lidl. . . I’m actually halfway through this bowl and am looking at it thinking I may have to leave the rest for later. . . One thing to remember though if you choose to eat like this is my bowl is for someone who does this fairly regularly. For anyone starting out I would choose one thing from this or cut everything down to a quarter of this amount and slowly work my way up. . . Why? Well… good bacteria tend to remove bad bacteria in a rather violent and explosive way if allowed to do so unchecked. Adding a pickle or a fermented vegetable to you meals regularly will help to keep your gut in good order without the “hostile takeover”. . . Try new things you never know what your new favourite food is going to be. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #pickles #fermentedfoods #onemealaday #foodstagram #instafood

The last week we have had plunging temps again as low as 2C in the middle of the day so Tanny decided that today he wanted something hot and comforting for dinner… Chicken Casserole. . . Today it is almost 20C … thanks Mother Nature you are your hormonal temper tantrums can go away now please 😂 . . It’s yummy though and will make him happy and that’s what counts and will keep him going for the next couple of days for less than £1 per day xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #budgetdinner #budgetmeals #mealprepping

A day of chilling and organising and chatting about life, the universe and everything with my BamBam over cheesecake. . . Which he took a moment to think about as it is completely different to a shop bought cheesecake so he had to get his head around it but once he had he declared he loved it and wants to try it again when the raspberries are fruiting. . . I have to admit he’s not wrong raspberries in this cheesecake sound like a bluddy lush idea to me and I can’t wait to give it a crack. . . The rest is going to work with him for his mates at work to show them what happens in our house with their marked down milk lol. Can’t wait to hear what they say. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesecake #workinglunch #mummysontime #blooandbam

It’s editing day!!! Which means I need sustenance I can graze on and keep myself going while being enough nutritionally and exciting enough for my one meal of the day. . . DISCLAIMER: this of course does not include the one piece of cheesecake I will be having around midday with my son before he takes the rest with him to work. . . What I have found with encouraging myself to have the one meal a day thing is variety is key. It doesn’t have to be a lot of food just as long as there is a variety of textures and flavours that cover all areas of my taste and texture needs. . . Today I have Rye Sourdough (not made by me) with Herby Clabbered Cheese (made by me) one slice with a Romaine leaf the other with Rocket/Arugula. Both with Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Cucumber, Pickled White Fish and Onions (made by me) with lots of yummy things scattered for picking at…. Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Peanuts, Wakame, Mandarins, Dried Mango Skin Crisps (made by me) Pickled Onions and Gherkins (not made by me). . . Even just looking at this lot my eyes are telling me … it’s too early and too much. However I will be ready for it later and when I am it’ll be perfect. . . Oh wait the Pickled White Fish ? Yes there is a video on how to make it and it’s coming out today as part of #AnglerApril2024 at 5pm BST. So look out for it and go check out all the other amazing fishy videos in the playlist on @9_acre_family_farms YouTube channel. . . Ps. Yes it’s shelf stable and no, no pressure or water-bath canning involved. Simple, quick and great in an emergency freezer break down!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #preservedfish #whitefish #pickledfish #onemealaday #wholefoodnourishment #foodstagram #yum

Some days you need a day of rest. Some days you end up having a flare you don’t expect. Today is that day for me. . . After having a wonderful over due catch up with a very dear friend this morning I ended up having a fibro flare. Not a major one. Thankfully. However enough to stop my hands from being useful. .. . So tonight dinner is simple and needing no tools or dexterity to eat. Thankfully Tanny made me a couple of crumpets. One with golden syrup and the other with ketchup. Both comforting from when I was younger and one of the things I like when I’m flaring. . . Tomorrow is another day. Take one day at a time. Your body will tell you when enough is enough. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #fibrowarrior #comfortfood

Soooooo little known factoid about me I’m what is classed as a “Prepper”. Personally I prefer the the term “being prepared” I also blame Brownies and Girl Guides for this mind set “Be Prepared” which was hammered into us all. . . Tanny in his way has supported my preparedness over the last few years. He doesn’t always get it. But he is slowly seeing the sense in my hard work making sure our home is stocked with enough for if tough times occur. Like they did for us for the last 4 months of this year. . . We found ourselves having to pay massive amounts of money to the council due to their bungling of our council tax. Yes you read that correctly. They even had people coming to the door to collect. Thankfully we managed to deflate the situation but it did mean we only had £20 a month to spend on groceries … for 4 months. In fact this all started the week of Christmas and much of a Christmas had to be done using stores, without looking like I did it that way. . . Thankfully I was prepared, or somewhat prepared for this kind of eventuality. The point I want to make is that being prepared isn’t about the world ending events. It’s about getting through the everyday events that can effect our everyday lives. It’s about making sure there is as little disruption as possible from our day to day and should the SHTF events happen we will find ourselves in a better position than most and therefore able to help our immediate and extended family more so than if we were not. . . Anyway long story short Tanny has been showing a little bit more than a passing interest lately. He went as far as to throw this in the trolley at Lidl yesterday. He asked me if I wanted 2 of them because they were only £5 and I said absolutely. He made a cheeky quip about me playing tie ups with them and I said “only if I get to play with my knives” and he promptly decided that it was better to have just one this time. Such a chicken 🐔 at least he’s trying :) . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #beprepared #bepreparednotscared #readyforanything

Ok I officially did it I cut the cheesecake. Here are@my very honest, non biased, thoughts on the cheesecake. HOLY SH!TST!CKS IT’S FOOKING AMAZING!!! . . It’s light, not clawing in the mouth. It’s not overly cheesy. The texture is creamy with a little ricotta texture, not gritty at all but enough to give it that something necessary. It isn’t overly sweet. If anything it has some natural savouriness to it that makes it the perfect treat or finishing course to a meal. The lemon and oranges give it a hint of flavour throughout with small pops of flavour with the pieces of fruit that enhance the flavour without overpowering it. The base has soaked in a lot of the excess moisture and has come together to make a perfect cakey base without being too heavy or overly crispy. I will say that the lemon slices are a little overly dried for this and excessively chewy. However they do compliment the cheesecake so well with just enough chocolate to make this dessert a little decadent without being too much. . . All in all I’m really pleased with it. In fact if anything it makes me feel like everything I did was more worth it than I could ever have imagined. . . Would I do this again the same way? Absolutely I would in fact I don’t want to ever make a cheesecake any other way again. I mean I might play with flavours but that’s about it. . . Don’t be scared guys to try new things guys. You never know what new skills you will gain and what new favourite thing you will create. Enjoy the journey. . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #enjoythejourney #cheesemakingathome #cheesemaking #cheesecake #yum #foodjourney

Today I want quick. Quick, simple, tasty and nourishing. I was thinking something hot because it’s brass monkies here at 2C in the middle of the day. In the end though after doing the grocery shopping the idea of cooking really was last thing on my list. . . Of course having this for my main meal means I get away with having a piece of cheesecake cos yummy yummy cheesecake!!! . . Feet back up this afternoon and chill out resting ready for the week ahead. Another week and another new project YAY!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #onemealaday #realfood #budgetmeals

It’s Saturday and Tanny finishes work around 10am but stops in at home before going on his round for our Saturday morning bacon butty, this morning with added black pudding and this afternoon being our catch up with rest from the busy week. . . For me how you see this now is my idea of heaven, feet up, popcorn covered in bacon salt (never, ever, ever, sweet cos 🤮), my weekly glass of coke, which thankfully they have brought back full fat lemon coke after 20 years!!! (Anytime they want to bring back full fat lime that would be welcome as well) and dinosaurs 🦕 lots and lots of dinosaurs. . . So I’m off for the rest of the weekend have an awesome one guys and have some fun, follow your bliss and do the thing that makes your heart happy xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #saturdayisrestday #restday #followyourbliss #makeyourhearthappy

Sneaky peek of the finished cheesecake before it went in the fridge to finish setting up overnight. . . I have had so much fun with this. Tomorrow though is the day we are going to try it. For today though I’m going to go and try to wash off all this stickiness from the making process. . . Thankfully I’ve managed to stay on top of the dishes and the kitchen is reset for tomorrow. Feet up time now and a well earned rest. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesecake #slowfood #scratchcooking #scratchcookingandbaking #yum

Everything here I made or preserved myself. Much of it in the last week. Today I am turning much of it into one of the most wonderful cheesecakes I have ever made and it’s been a journey. . . A journey of discovery and rediscovery. A journey of love and grief. A journey of confidence building. A proper rollercoaster of everything that makes life good and you and I better. . . I need another coffee before I get started. I’m so worried about it all going wrong at the last moment. I will be taking my time and everything will be made without machines. Just hand utensils and equipment. I feel I need to go that way for this particular creation. . . So another brew so I can get my courage up. I pinched of the biscuits for my breakfast. A slice of this cheesecake will be my main meal today because DAMN!!! So a couple more moments of reflection and reminding myself all I’m doing is mixing these wonderful ingredients together. That I can do. . . Have an awesome one guys, get yourself out of your comfort zone. Do something that stretches you and enjoy the journey xox . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #selfreliance #selfdiscovery #selfsufficiency #cheesemakingathome #cheesecake #foodstagram #slowfood #scratchcooking #backtobasics #costoflivingcrisis

I decided I wanted dinner but it had to be something that really isn’t heavy or hard to digest. It also had to be something to use up some of the leftover wonky veg from the fortnight. I figured a Thai inspired Green Curry Veg Soup would work. . . Like all things when you use a little of this and that it soon all adds up to a massive pot. Which I love in one way and honestly despair on the other. It means finding ways to eat the rest that won’t cause food fatigue. Tanny can’t eat this as it’s far too hot for him and me I am not sure what to do with the rest. I guess I’ll figure it out tomorrow. . . Honestly though 1/2 Cauliflower, 1 Leek, 2 Cups Sweet Potato, 1/2 Yellow Pepper, 1 Handful of French Beans, a dozen Mange-tout, 2 Cups Celery, my last Globe Courgette/Zucchini I grew last year. 4 Litres of veg stock, 1 can of Coconut Milk, 1 Tablespoon of Thai Green Curry Paste.. . . Chucked it all in the pot except the beans and peas and let it simmer for 20 minutes and threw the beans and peas in….it was honestly that simple. . . “I am full as a goog” as my dad used to say. Ready to put my feet up and watch a bit of tv before bed. What would you do with the leftovers of this curry soup? Let me know in the comments below xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #soup #plantbasedwholefoods #thaigreencurry #yum #budgetmeals #leftovers

Ahhhh the art of cheesemaking. I have found this week of experimenting absolutely one of the most profoundly enjoyable things I’ve done in years. As I wrap it up with Ricotta today with yesterdays Marscapone swinging from my cupboard I think about what’s next. . . Where to go from here? What experiments in relearning skills do I go to next? I don’t want to go to another round of cheesemaking yet. I still have much to do with everything I’ve made this week. . . I’m thinking Sour Dough Bread making. I haven’t done it in years. I mean like 4 years which is when I last had a play with it. I really want to get it right though and I want to try a heap of different discard uses. . . Before all that though I think I need to make something rather wonderful with a bit of all these cheeses. It’s kinda what started off this journey in the first place… the extremely rare want of cheesecake. . . Not a baked cheesecake. MY cheesecake. The one I used to have to make 40-50 of a week in different flavours as it was that popular. I made so many of them while working that I was out of for years. Not to mention a rather unfortunate over exuberance on the part of my mother with a Sara Lee when I was 2. . . The point is I really do want one … if only just a piece and I think I have the flavour chosen as well. So while all the cheese is finishing doing it’s thing I shall go make some not quite ANZAC biscuits for the base and treat myself to a couple of them with a brew while I think about my dad who was an ANZAC. . . He would’ve been pretty angry about the carryings on today and would’ve said “they’ve learned nothing” in between moments of “how quickly they forget” followed by “what a waste of lives” and he’s not wrong. . . So in his honour this cheesecake will be in his favourites St Clements and I will have the moment of knowing everything from the base, to the decoration on top was made by me and I know my dad would’ve loved it and been chuffed to bits. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesemakingathome #cheesemaking #marscapone #ricotta #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #preparedness #slowfood

It’s Thursday YAY!!! So last night I made an amazing Asian style salad it’s been dressed already so obviously it has to be used. It’s cold this morning though so I had to think of something. . . I had some leftover mushrooms, cut a couple of slices of tofu and diced it and threw in some palm hearts “spaghetti” and stirfried it. Then added a couple of tongs of the salad from last night and tossed it. . . A wonderfully nutritionally dense breakfast that will keep me going all day. This would be perfect for a meal for the day and it may yet end up as such. It just depends how busy I get. . . So lush, light and enough crunch to keep me happy and interested as well. Don’t forget you don’t have to leave leftovers as leftovers. Changing things up can have an amazing effect on your mental health as well as meaning you avoid food fatigue. It saves you money, makes meals fun, cheap and quick and honestly who doesn’t want any of that. . . Play with your food you never know what you can come up with xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #brekky #onemealaday #leftovers #budgetmeals #wastenotwantnot #plantbasedwholefood #yum

When one of you is a full on carnivore and I don’t mean the sort that “is cos it’s a cool diet” … I mean the variety that “if it doesn’t look like a slab of meat he ain’t eating it and vegetables are an afterthought” variety, and you are predominantly a herbivore. Where meat is an afterthought. Making meals can be challenging. . . It doesn’t have to be though and it doesn’t have to be hard. Sometimes all you have to do is make a base salad and mix whatever flavours you want to add to it. Tanny has pan fried chicken, I have tofu. Both of us are well fed and not feeling as if we are eating something too different from the other and I don’t have to make 2 separate meals. . . Oh what is it you ask? It’s a South East Asian Inspired Salad. Made using leftover veg and stuff from our fridge. It does pay to have a cupboard that has all kinds of bottles of “weird” to help inspire you and turn bits of this and that into something amazing and flavourful and not just soup. . . Oh and if you shop at Asian grocery stores or ethnic stores they are always happy to help and it’s way cheaper than the supermarkets and the jars and bottles are bigger !!! . . Play with your food guys it makes life more interesting especially at a time it feels like it could be all dull and lifeless. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #salads #flexitarianhousehold #budgetmeals #budgetmealsthattastegreat #costoflivingcrisis #leftovers

When you start cheesemaking you get this by product which is incredibly good for you but we aren’t always sure what to do with. . . What do you do with your whey? What ideas have you seen or heard of? And What ideas haven’t you tried you’d like to but you’ve either not had time or you’re too scared to ? . . Let me know in the comments below. I’m going to try out 6 different uses for mine or 1 recipe per bottle I have by the end of the week. If you share with me the uses you have been a bit scared to try then let me try them for you and we can do it together… just keep it clean and family friendly kids cos yah know yah mam might be watching like mine does lol 😂 . . Let’s just get through our fears together and make some awesome things xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesemakingathome #cheesemaking #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #wastenotwantnot #slowfood #backtobasics #scratchcooking

It’s Wednesday and honestly I made a massive stuff up yesterday which annoyed me a lot so this morning I wanted to start my day well. . . So Bacon pieces, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, spinach. No bread, no noodles, no grains. All in one pan so minimal washing up. Cos let’s be real here this weeks washing up pile has been massive and the less I have to do the happier I’m going to be 😂 . . So why am I making a bit deal about doing this each morning? Well bottom line I’m working towards one meal a day. This is for my health. This is so I can have surgery. . . So yeah this for me is a big deal. It’s getting me into a pattern of good behaviour and not bad. It’s hard not gonna lie but doing this helps. I really hope in doing so some of you get some ideas for alternative breakfasts for you or meal a day options. . . I got this. You got this. We got this. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #onemealaday #yum

Yah know this cheesemaking thing is becoming a massive money saving exercise. . . I used to make Labneh very similar to this when my kids were younger and they used to go wild for it. Now I find out after doing a quick look I am saving nearly £36 a jar making my own and not buying the artisan jars. . . The one on the left is Rose and Chilli. The one of the right Tarragon, Mint and Lavender. Both utterly lush!!! and literally only took me 15 minutes of my life from start to finish over 2 days. Ok 45 minutes over 4 days if you include making the yoghurt as well. . . I can’t wait until the weekend soooo much yumminess to be had once everything is made :) . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesemaking #cheesemakingathome #labneh #labnehballs #yum

It’s “Take Care Of You Tuesday” so this morning I wanted something yummy but not heavy. After having the day off yesterday I really need to get stuck in today. . . Mushrooms, Spring Onions, Spinach and Precooked Potatoes tossed in butter and yes I mean the real stuff and some of the yoghurt I made that turned out a little bit thinner than the rest. . . Although yummy the potatoes are a bit meh. That’s ok though next time I may fry them off a bit first to get a bit more brown and crispy before adding the rest in. . . This will keep me going until dinner time tonight. Which is also quick and simple as it’s already made. Leaving me lots of time to get the fun things done. . . How are you taking care of you today? Let me know in the comments below xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #veggiesforbreakfast #foodstagram #yum

“But Bloo … cheesemaking takes forever, I don’t have the time”… . . Really… really… you don’t have the time to pour a tub or 2 of plain yoghurt into a cloth lined colander over a bowl and leave it there overnight or around 12 hours? . . Pretty sure while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil you could do it and still be tapping your fingers waiting for the water to come to the boil. . . It doesn’t take hours. Not for all cheeses. Sure some take a bit more work at the beginning but many really don’t and these are the everyday cheeses we can make and use and save loads of money on buying by making it ourselves. . . This is 3 jars of my homemade yoghurt. I literally did this waiting for the kettle to boil. It’ll be ready for dinner time tonight. I need to go get dressed now to get ready for my day. Job done!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cheesemaking #labneh #slowfood #zerowaste #wastenotwantnot #yum #cheesemakingathome

This morning I’m hitting the ground running. Bam wants a mother and son day so all my work has to be done by 9am. . . This means it’s a coffee on the run day… well it would be only I had to make the decision to take ten minutes to eat something first. . . I don’t want anything heavy as I have to do a lot of things. So a cooked breakfast is out. Most of the veg I prepped for last week is gone so now I’m down to what I can grab. . . Since I had just made Tannys lunch for work I used what I could grab. Instead of wheat based bread though I chose rye crackers, used some of the ham, fresh boiled egg and some of the last of the block of cheese with a teeny drizzle of salad cream. . . Today is about convenience not about the right balance etc. and that’s ok. Some days are like that. Mondays and Tuesdays I do my prep for the week so we have more convenient pre prepped grab and go foods. Today this is it. . . So let’s get going and get this day started I’m excited to see what this week brings :) #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #grabandgo #yum

Did you know that sour milk that has split to solids and liquids separately is the most basic and easy way to start cheese making. . . I’m sure like me you’ve had the odd bottle from time to time do what is known as “clabber”. It’s actually fine and really good eating still. Not to mention the whey you get has a million and one uses on its own. . . A couple of years ago I made a video on things you can do with sour milk. This year I’m experimenting with the cheese making and yes I very purposefully “clabbered” this milk to make a cream cheese. . . Yes there will be a video. Yea there are LOADS of videos coming. Things are changing on my YouTube channel and all will be revealed very very soon. First off though go check out my Top 5 Things To Do With Sour Milk. It is one of my most watched videos and is likely to become a “part 1” very very soon. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #zerowasteliving #selfsufficient #selfreliance #sourmilk #cheesemaking #cheesemakingathome #wastenotwantnot #skillsharing #foodie #yum #beprepared #bepreparednotscared

The second stage of making dehydrated milk powder. Pulling it off the silicon sheets. . . I’m actually surprised at how plastic this looks like little shards of a too old plastic that shattered. . . What I will say is this. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be removing it from the silicon sheets. The very teeny bits at the edges are a smidge sticky still so I am picking the dry stuff around them as for me there is not enough between the trays to make it worthwhile going back in the dehydrator for. And that’s ok. . . I may just scrape them into the milk for making ricotta at least then they won’t go completely to waste. . . What skills are you learning or revisiting this year? What has surprised you at how really simple it is that you kicked yourself for not doing it sooner? Let me know in the comments. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #scratchcooking #dehydrating #milkpowder #dairy #foody #selfsufficiency

Although I make and use mayo and salad cream I’m not a huge fan and frankly here in the UK ready made foods are literally drowning in them. . . I’m an effort to make use of some precooked potato and leftover veg from the salad dinners I made earlier in the week I used some of the yogurt instead of mayo or salad cream for the dressing and honestly I’m not sorry. . . 4 Cups of precooked large diced potatoes 1/4 cup chopped spring onions 1/4 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped green pepper 1/4 cup chopped cucumber 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes halves 1 cup homemade yoghurt . . That’s literally all I used and just mixed it all together. . . Simple and delicious, not heavy and claggy like many potato salads. . . What do you make with yoghurt that may be a little out of normal for you or others around you? Let me know in the comments. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #yoghurt #potatosalad #salad #potatoes #yummy

It’s Friday and frankly I honestly cannot believe my breakfast this morning. . . Granola, banana, honey, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds and HOMEMADE YOGHURT!!! I’m so excited I sat here for 5 minutes staring at it. . . Now anyone who has purchased and used and eaten plain yoghurt will probably know it has a very sour taste and can be very unpleasant. I think that’s what I was worried about but honestly this homemade yoghurt isn’t. It is so far from it. It doesn’t even need the honey. . . I made my yoghurt using a 2Litre bottle of milk. It was marked down to 60p. I used half of a 500g natural yoghurt from Lidl as the starter the full tub cost £1.65. From that I got 6 pint jars and 1 old jam jar for less than £2. I’m so excited. . . I know the chances of me being able to use it all just eating it as yoghurt is slim but more likely if it’s going to taste like this!!! There are things I want to do with it though and I’m going to start playing with that a bit today …. Squuueeeeeeee. . . Now listen here for a minute you need to move past the fear of new things. Try the new food, try the new skill. Don’t be scared what’s the worst that’s going to happen? You won’t like it? It doesn’t work exactly as you wanted it to the first time? So try again or try to make the food in a different way. Sometimes we like foods cooked a certain way but not others. So try them all … then you can say “well I like it this way, just not this way” and that’s ok. Practicing new skills is the way to get better at them. Relearning old ones is like riding a bike after 20 years, sure you’re wobbly but take a minute and it’ll come back to you. . . Stop being scared of life guys. You got this. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #homemadeyoghurt #yoghurt #breakfastofchampions #yummy

Tanny is craving salad at the moment and I for one am going to encourage that 100%. This is his favourite way of having salad right now as it’s up to him how he has it whether it’s as a sandwich or as a salad. . . I have to admit for me it’s about the ease of it. Do I like mixed salads ? Sure I love them but this week has been so busy I just literally have not had the time or the spoons to get it done. This though means just topping up his meats, cheeses and eggs and any veg that’s run out and he can add whatever else he wants. Whether that’s pickles, fermented veg, chutneys, relishes, salad dressing, whatever, all I have to do is dump it all on the table and that is Perfick after a long day of doing the things. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #salad #lazydinner #eatwhatyouwant

Did you know that if you have a dehydrator like this one you can not only dehydrate your own milk powder but incubate your yoghurt at the very same time!!! . . I feel like I am the Dairy Queen!!! I also have a bowl on the windowsill making clabber. Ricotta next … . . Relearning skills you haven’t used in a long while is so very important. It’s like taking your first steps after you break your leg. Sometimes we have to get over the fear of messing it up or it all going wrong and just do it. . . For me I wanted my kitchen reset. I wanted my house to feel more at peace, clean and tidy. As much as I have done my best I have to accept my home is lived in and not a show home. There is always going to be stuff on the floor and table. There is always going to be washing waiting to be folded and dishes drip drying in the rack and that’s ok. . . With Bam bringing me marked down milk from work now I can make proper use of it and make my own cheeses and yoghurt again. I am very excited about this as the cost of things is sky rocketing by the day. It means we can still have the yummy things without it causing chaos to the bank account. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #scratchcooking #slowfood #dairy #milkpowder #yoghurt #dehydrator #homemade #lifeskills #practicallifeskills #foodstagram #yummy #zerowasteliving #selfsufficient

Thursday morning lazy brekky. . . Yesterday honestly I had a bleh day. This morning knowing what I have to get done I need to get started on the fun jobs means I didn’t want anything incredibly heavy for breakfast but I wanted something sustainable. . . Last night we had salad for dinner so I thin sliced some sour dough bread and used some of the leftovers for breakfast. . . Some may think the bread is a lot but honestly it isn’t. It’s less than 1/2 cm thick, sour dough and the size of half a slice of sandwich bread. In reality what I have here is smaller than 1 slice of sandwich bread and better for my gut. . . I have to admit I am feeling very tired this morning but saying that if I have an early nap I’ll be ready to go by 9am so I think that’s my plan today before kicking off with a busy day. . . Even though I’m tired I’m actually feeling really good in myself my stomach is feeling good but last night not so much. I’d made myself a potato bake and honestly never again with dairy. The bloating and gas buildup was absolutely noxious and painful. . . All good though I am learning what to have and what not to have and that is really important. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #healthjourney #yum

It’s Wednesday!!! I am really enjoying finding quick and tasty ways to have an awesome breakfast each morning. . . This morning in the time it took to toast this sour dough toast I was able to throw together some spring onions, coriander and baby spinach wilted it all in a pan and added 2 eggs and scrambled them together. . . The whole thing took me less than 10 minutes and I have a nutrient dense breakfast that is utterly amazing and will keep me going until lunchtime. . . I’ve started having green jasmine tea after meals and I don’t know if it’s because the meals I’m preparing myself are better or the tea is doing it’s job but I’m feeling sooooo much better in myself. Especially in the mornings. . . I’m going to need the extra energy today as I only have a few short hours to get my work done before I ave a call with my sister which means tools down and feet up while we have our weekly natter setting the world to rights. . . Join me and set your day up right guys. I’ve been finding due to having a breakfast like this and a light lunch I don’t actually need a meal at night. Which is fine I don’t need the fuel then. . . Have an awesome day guys xox . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfast #nutrientdense #vegetablesforbreakfast #vegforbreakfast #breakfastofchampions #foodie

It’s Tuesday another big early week work day. Taking 10 minutes to fuel my body properly is really important. . . Rye Sour Dough Toast with 1. Vegemite and Tomato 2. Vegemite and Banana 3&4 Thai Tuna Salad. . . Thai Tuna Salad is a staple for me. One of my absolute favourite salads ever. It’s fresh, it’s light, it’s versatile, simple and keeps for days. (If I let it last that long). . . THAI TUNA SALAD 3 tins 150g tuna (preferably in oil as it becomes part of the dressing) 1 Bunch Coriander (flat leaf parsley for those of you with “the soap gene”) 1 Bunch Mint 1 Red Onion 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Flakes 1Tablespoon Fish Sauce Juice 1 Lime (Lemon works if that’s what you got) 3 Tablespoons Veg Oil if you have tuna in water. . . Chop Herbs roughly, slice onion thinly, add everything to a bowl and mix well. . . Serve however you want, on toast, in a bun, on rice, as a side for a BBQ, whatever your heart desires. Just don’t share it … cos you will be made to make it for every single gathering. The kids will also come running and give you puppy eyes for this one. Mine is 32 and comes running from across town when he hears a tin open!!! . . Enjoy it guys however you choose to have it xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #tuna #tunasalad #thaitunasalad #breakfast #breakfastofchampions #foodstagram #instafood #yum #foodie

Plot twist to the ToDo list just by finding a box of veg desperate for attention. It’s ok though it has to be done. Le sigh I really wanted to do the really fun things today. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #todolist #plottwist

Got round to making Tannys second quiche cos yah know he asked so nicely. . . He wanted a breakfast quiche which is Bacon, Sausage, Black Pudding, Mushroom and Tomato on top. Thankfully no beans 🤢🤮 . . He is loving this so I am happy. Also he finished off the dishes for me cos I got on top of the bulk of them while our grandson was sleeping lol . . Tomorrow is a sorting out day and hopefully Friday I’m going to get some cleaning liquids made cos I’m busting a gut to get them done but can’t do it while wee man is over … cos he will drink them … or at least try… not a good idea. . . Anyway lots of stuff to do for the rest of the week. Lots of filming to do … MASSES of editing to do and hopefully by the end of next week I will be all caught up and onto the new schedule. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #quiche #itsbeenaday #dinner

It’s April and the cheap balloon garland I bought is only just starting to look a bit sad. I honestly left it up to see how long it would take to be no good and frankly I think we more than got our £6.50 worth out of it since it’s been up since the week before Christmas. . . Now I can bring a few of the balloons down for littles to play with and honestly it’s a nearly free entertainment for them keeping them busy for hours. . . I know some have issues with Temu (who I’m not sponsored or affiliated to in any way) but honestly I have picked up so many amazing bargains like this over the last 12 months. I’ve cut my kitchen wish list in half for a fraction of the price with great quality utensils and equipment and ended up filling the littles a toy box with amazing wooden toys I would never pay for in the normal shops. . . Sure I shop local when I can but honestly going out in town where I live is a horrible experience as we are a tourist town and I have been pushed off pavements and into the road by so many that I really avoid it if I can. . . Needless to say I will shop online a lot and prefer not to have to bring home a mountain of things so I get them delivered where I can. For things like this garland I would be looking to pay around £20-£50 anywhere else and honestly I don’t see the point. Obviously this is a great quality and should I want another I will do exactly the same and buy from the same place. . . Many of us shop around and shouldn’t be made to feel bad for doing so. Just because we don’t have thousands in disposable income doesn’t mean we can’t have nice things. So use the resources you have without guilt and have the nice things where you can. If anything this experiment has proven once again many stores here are over pricing their stock and robbing people at the till for profits. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #balloons #temu #bargain #bargainshopper #bargainshopping #quality

It might be Tuesday but that doesn’t mean you can’t take 10 minutes to make yourself something awesome for breakfast. . . It’s taking me ages to write this cos I’m too busy stuffing my face so bear with me … . . “But Bloo why are there green things on your plate?” Well I’m glad you asked, the stick looking things are some of the pickled garlic scapes I made last year and have been up until now too scared to try. TOTES WORTH IT THO!!! Ermahgaad!!! They’re amazing!!! So are these fermented beans I made during the week. . . So not only do I have the yummy things that aren’t typically seen as good for you but I also have things to combat that by adding in fermented and pickled foods. This is also something I need to do when Tanny isn’t home due to the garlic content and his allergy to the gas. . . This mornings Brekky is brought to you by “fook the world I’m worth it!!!” #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastofchampions #breakfast #fermentedveggies #veggiesforbreakfast #foodie #yum

Tanny is home today cos I may have accidentally poisoned him yesterday. . . I was sorting out and processing the onions and the bag f peels and off cuts I left in the kitchen and his face literally blew up. He was choking and coughing all night long and this morning his eye is swollen and he can’t see properly. . . So in an effort to apologise I made him one of his bestest favourites… Bacon and Mushroom Quiche. Not gonna lie it’s lush and the wee man is here too and once he wakes up will probably want some to. . . Tanny now has a smile on his face so that makes me happy. His eye is a lot better this afternoon so hopefully he will be back at work tomorrow. . . So it is now decided, just like I do garlic day every year I will now have to have an onion day while Tanny is at work so this doesn’t happen again or rather it is less likely to happen again. . . Le sigh… at least he’s easily pleased afterwards. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #quiche #baconandmushroom #bacon #mushroom #scratchcooking #foodstagram #yum

Being self reliant includes doing things for the kids that don’t cost anything and help expand their knowledge, curiosity, motor skills and inventiveness. . . Kids need to learn about their world and be encouraged to do so without screens and by doing. This has literary kept my 3year old grandson busy for the last hour. With no sign of hun getting bored. . . Just a few bits out of my baking cupboard and racks and he’s good to go. The rice mix is basically my blind baking mix and everything else just bits I have floating around the kitchen. . . Kids don’t have to have expensive toys and games all the time. Sometimes the simplest and best stuff is real world objects you already have around the place. . . Self reliance embraces this and encourages a real world approach to bringing up the kids. Sure he has toys and he has screen time but this is his favourite time of day. . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #kidsonabudget #sensorytoys #sensoryplay

Honestly @asda and @lidlgb I am disgusted by this. Out of 5 bags of 15p carrots I bought from each of yourselves late on Saturday afternoon . This is what I’ve had to deal with this morning. . . Every carrot has rot damage, several have had to be thrown altogether. This cheaper veg I am aware is basically grade out and glut but that is no excuse for this kind of awful ability to keep. . . It wasn’t that long ago that our veg was keeping for up to 2-3 weeks sometimes longer. Even the veg in offer now it’s not even keeping 48 hours. . . Many families rely on these offers to feed themselves and yet they are going to have an awful shock at this level of rot. I have had 3Kgs of waste due to the rot out of 10Kgs of carrots. . . I hope you start doing better as this is truly awful and means I now have to set aside a day I can’t really afford the time to do this early in the week to process these so we don’t lose any more. . . Please do better. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #groceryhaul #carrots #cheapveg #offers

Why waste half of the broccoli? I paired my stalks with runner beans and spring onions and some herbs and flavours to turn into fermented pickles for salads and other yumminess. . . Time to start looking after my gut health and do it within budget which means using EVERYTHING not just the pretty bits. On a mission now to make healthy good eats with all the bits we normally throw away. . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #fermentation #fermentedveggies #broccoli #beans #guthealth #plantbasedwholefoods #zerowaste #costoflivingcrisis

Roast Dinner for me means Yorkies for brekky with Golden Syrup and Cream. . . It started for me as a dessert but as life has gone on I literally have to have pudding for breakfast cos I just could never eat it all at the same time as my main meal. . . I tend to ignore dessert for the most part. I know I know I make them, I enjoy making them but I really have to be in the mood to actually eat them. We have family and neighbours to polish off the puddings most of the time lol. . . So here we are … pudding for breakfast and Tanny has just called me a minger cos yah know he’s from Yorkshire and it’s different for him it’s more of an appetiser or entree served with gravy before the main meal. . . My way is more of a southern UK thing, his is more traditional in the North. Both are correct. Fight me on this and I’ll introduce you to the argument on what 50 different places in the UK call a bread roll. Trust me it’s not something you want to get involved in. . . What’s your favourite breakfast or special occasion food that makes your heart happy? Let me know in the comments below. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfastideas #dessert #yorkshirepudding #samebutdifferent #foodstagram #instafood #foodie #yummy

Tanny and I have been very busy this week and honestly we are up for another big one this coming week. We decided since it’s chocolate day we would not embibe as “required” but make do with a little roast lamb dinners instead with homemade Yorkies, mashed carrot and swede, marmite roastie balls, other roast veg and some cabbage and beans. Oh and homemade gravy of course and homemade mint sauce. . . Loads of leftovers for meals in the week now so that’ll make life easier. Have an awesome whatever it is your celebrating and remember it’s cheap chocolate day tomorrow!!! . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #roastdinner #scratchcooking #sundaydinner #lambroast #yorkshirepudding #foodstagram #instafood #yummy #yum #foodie

Received this awesome parcel for the garden from a very dear friend who I have learned a lot from over the years. Who was bullied off YouTube by other gardening channels. . . I will absolutely miss his videos every week but I am honoured to call him friend and talk to him offline to. So excited to see how these all come up I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt later on today xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #gardening #growyourownveggies #growyourfood

Spent the early hours of this morning experimenting making Baked Beans. The almost Heinz variety. It does need a little tweaking but honestly these could be the next thing we swap out from buying to making and canning ourselves. . . Which honestly I’m not unhappy about since the price of even the cheap tins has skyrocketed and making them not only means we are in control of what is in our food but also it’s easily comparable per unit to the middle range cost of store bought. . . Next will be to water bath them. 2 hours I reckon. That’s ok. Full video coming soon. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #bakedbeans #homemadeversusstorebought #homemade #makeityourself #foodstagram #instafood #yum #foodie #preparedness #costoflivingcrisis

It’s Apple Pie making day. Wanna see how it turns out you’re going to have to check out my YouTube on Wednesday at 5pm GMT as it is part of #piesofmarch2024 . . Back to work peeling and chopping this pie is a monster!!! . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #applepie #piemaking #foodstagram #instafood #yum #foodie #deepdishpie

Making a swap for the movie chippy bowl to a bowl with fresh and dried fruit, mixed nuts and seeds and some spicy dried mango peel. . . Not only is it healthier but it’s going to mean I can use up a bunch of ingredients we don’t normally use a lot of and need to rotate and replace for fresh. . . The other great thing about this is this will last a few days rather than the 30 seconds of a chippy bowl. Why? Because the ingredients are incredibly filling as they are nutrient dense and full of proteins and fibre. . . Swapping out snacks is part of the battle. Swapping nutrients dense wholefoods for highly processed ready made snacks and convenience preprepared foods is a major step forward. . . Sure it can be a bit more pricey but there are ways to make it cheaper and not as expensive. Preparing them yourself helps. Shopping around and making use of newsletter codes and special offers also help a lot. . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #healthjourney #wellnessforhealthiness #wellnessjourney #plantbasedwholefoods #foodswaps

New water feature at the bottom of road. I’m filling a 5 gallon bucket with water for drinking and cooking cos let’s be honest we’ll probably need it in a little while lol #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #prepared #prepardness #waterfeature

I have a few packets of Kelp Noodles I’ve picked up from cheap grocery stores online. When it comes to trying things like this I’m really not wanting to spend the full amount on them as a test. . . This morning though I needed a decent breakfast as I have a big day ahead. I normally do a noodle dish when I want to do this but I really didn’t want the carbs. Making today the best opportunity to try these kelp noodles. . . I used leftover peas from dinner last night, an over sized spring onion and some past their best mushrooms and Sautéd them off. . . The kelp noodles come fully hydrated so need no work you can use them straight from the packet. So they got tossed in once the veg were softened. . . They are pretty tasteless and the texture is that of rice vermicelli. I think they would be great to suck up a flavourful sauce not sure if they can be used as a crispy noodles so I might if you guys are interested do some experiments in a video. . . Do they work? Yes Are they a legitimate and good alternative to wheat or egg based noodles? Yes Do I feel better after eating them? Yes, I’m daft I could only eat a few mouthfuls before I was full so I think that bowl is my food for all day. I can just grab a mouthful when I feel like it but honestly I really don’t feel the need too much to eat today and that’s ok. This is there should I feel the need. . . So let me know in the comments if you’d like an experiment video and I’ll see what I can do. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #noodles #kelpnoodles #noodlesforbreakfast #glutenfreealternatives #vegetarian #plantbased #foodstagram #foodie #yum

For the last few weeks Tanny had been bringing home pallets to make our front fence around our in ground veg garden. . . Today he basically put them up temporarily using the metal spikes we were using to hold up the construction fencing before. . . Not this week but next week Tanny has 2 weeks off and we are going to be getting the posts and finishing placing the fence properly. . . I have to admit I’d love to paint it but the paint is properly expensive right now and until it’s drops in price it’ll have to stay as it is. . . So movement is movement and it’s almost time for me to get the seeds happening. I know loads of people have already started but we want to make sure they have somewhere to go first before starting anything too much. . . I have many seeds to get going with but right now we are taking each job one at a time and that’s ok. Tammy is back to work tomorrow so I have 4 days to sort out as much of the house as I can before my grandson come to hang out for the day. . . We are at the stage of sorting out where everything looks like a bomb went off which can be very overwhelming. No worries though we’ll get there and this year our garden is going to be awesome :) . . Oh yeah and do you see what we see? Cheeky things … going to have to take care of that very quickly before all we have is one thing and it’s not the dandelions lol #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #gardening #gardeningonabudget #reducereuserecycle♻️ #growyourownveggies #growyourown #palletfence

Courgette/ Zucchini Pancakes made with what we call here in our house “pancake milk” which is the milk that had gone sour, old plain flour that’s not much good for anything else, our big globe courgette we grew last year and still had sitting in a bowl on the kitchen bench and some leftover cooked onions from dinner last night. . . If you remember our over sized globe courgettes from last year I harvested them in September and have literally been running an accidental experiment to see how long they’d last for. They’re still going strong but the mid sized patty pan died 2 days ago. . . This experiment was really useful because it means sure we can harvest the little ones or the slightly bigger ones and use them immediately or preserve them straight away but we can also leave them and they will store for a good 6-7 months. Just like a pumpkin or Butternut. . . It also means when the cupboards are a bit low and we have ingredients needing to be used up we can pop them all together and have a great feed for something that’s cost us less than £1. . . Pancakes like this you can have anything you like in them. Tuna and onion is another firm favourite around here or even just plain with no flavourings so you can butter them or top with jam or syrup or whatever you like. . . This is a dinner plate and I have 3 on here. The mix I made made 12. Which is more than enough for both Tanny and I for a couple of days of breakfasts or snack style lunches. . . Just because you think it’s not edible doesn’t mean it is go check out my Top 10 Things to Do With Sour Milk video it’s my most popular video by far and maybe I may even do a part 2. Link in the bio. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #costoflivingcrisis #budgetmeals #leftovers #wastenotwantnot #foodstagram #zerowaste

I didn’t want to cook today. I really didn’t but I decided I could heat water in a pot so into the pot of water being heated up I added Spicy Chicken 2 minute noodles, some frozen veg mix and some soy based protein pieces that taste a bit like chicken. . . I then proceeded to wait 5 minutes for the water to come to the boil and the noodles to be soft and squishy. Threw it in a bowl and now I need to eat. . . We all have off days and today is most definitely one for me. We still need to eat though and if all you can do is heat water then this is a good option. Oh and remember it’s ok to take these days and do you… just don’t unpack and live there ok. . . Love you Loverlies xox Xox Bloo xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #foodstagram #food #instafood #selfcare

Self sufficiency is about learning the skills of the things you need but also the things you want. Being able to make what once were an expensive treat for a fraction of the cost and to your taste so there is never any disappointment is really important. . . I love making spring rolls. I made 22 today for less than the cost of one order from the Chinese takeaway. Normally to get them from the takeaway is £4.30 for 2. Now all the takeaways are making it a minimum order of £20 so then you’re spending 4 times as much as you’d wanted to just for 2 spring rolls. . . To make mine I went for a forage in the fridge and found a bit of old celery, 2 half dead carrots, half a bag of bean sprouts, 1 green pepper, 1 over sized spring onion, 8 mushrooms, some leftover gammon, the last few cooked king prawns from the big bag from Christmas and some chicken mini fillets I’d marinated in the leftover homemade plum jam from Tannys Pork the other day. A pack of spring roll wrappers for £3 and that’s pretty much it. . . All chopped into thin strips, rolled up in a wrapper and deep fried. Tanny loved them so much he had 3 and wants them for his tea tomorrow night. The rest have gone in the freezer for another time. . . For a big of scraps and some spring roll wrappers you can’t argue honestly!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #foodstagram #instafood #yum #springrolls #fakeaway #foodie #aelfsufficiency #budgetmeals #wastenotwantnot

Every year I pick a series I adore and rewatch it from beginning to end. Taking into account I have surgery coming up I decided that Stargate would happily keep me company during that time. . . Of course if I need more time there’s the films, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe as well. That should keep me going for a bit :) . . Rest time now though while I await delivers and then filming and editing YAY!!! #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #restwhenyouneedto #yourhealthcomesfirst #naptime

Todays meal for the day is Pork Belly with homemade Plum Sauce and Stirfry Noodles with Vegetables. . . It’s been a week and I’m finally back in the kitchen able to get things done. We’ve been dealing with major issues with government departments who don’t know what they’re doing threatening us with bailiffs and debt collectors and then sending us more than £3000 of council tax bills for a property we no longer live in and haven’t for nearly 2 years and they knew this and have no idea why we were sent 5 different letters on the same day!!! . . This on top of skyrocketing cost of living prices, bills all coming in after Christmas and desperately trying to keep on top of things. We are just like everyone else and are seriously feeling the bite of it right now. . . Thankfully we have skills between us and ways of getting things done on a rain water budget including using every single thing that we bring into the house to its absolute maximum. . . At some point this year we need a new oven, at this rate we aren’t quite sure how but it has to happen as ours won’t pass this years has safety check and can’t be fixed to make it so. We aren’t it’s first owners and it’s definitely 20-30 years old and not really built to last. . . We are working so hard to be debt free by September so our garden this year is so very important. It is going to be our lifeline quite frankly so this week seeds aren’t going in. . . It’s amazing sometimes people think we are above all this because we create content when the truth is we are no different to anyone else. We are humans and have human challenges just like everyone else. We got this though and we can do this together and this year you will see more of what we do this year. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #wastenotwantnot #budgeting #budgetmeals #lifehappens #costoflivingcrisis #costoflivinguk #costoflivinghelp #wegotthis

Creating content can take time. It’s a journey for some of us and that’s ok. In the last 30 days these 3 milestones have occurred and I’m so excited and grateful to all of you for all your support xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #youtuber

I am determined to regain my bread making skills this year. To kick off that journey Tanny came to me last night saying he needs to learn how to bake bread … it comes to pass that was his way of asking me to make him bread. . . Today I chose to use a great friend of mines recipe because I know she’s awesome and her bread is so good I would happily use it as a pillow to sleep at night. So check her out @mennonite_farmhaus cos she’s awesome. . . She’s known I wanted to give it a crack again for ages. Bless her she’s been messaging me on and off seeing how it’s going. Full disclosure … not as great as I’d wanted it too. My flour and yeast were way too old and our oven is definitely on the way out, but that’s somethings that can be remedied for next time. Not the oven that’ll have to wait a little bit yet. . . Tanny apparently has decided that he would like to try the rolls tomorrow after taking one look and saying he’s off to Thomas’s for a sausage roll instead. . . As LeAnne said “It’s a start” … she isn’t wrong everything takes practise. Especially skills like bread making. So one down and many more weeks to go this year so I will work on it in all kinds of ways and see where we stand in a years time. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #baking #learningtobakebread #learningtobake #bread #beginnerbread #yum #yummy

It’s been a baking day which has put a big smile on Tanny’s face cos he’s had dessert for dinner. . . . Videos for both the Victoria sponge and the Welsh Cheesecakes coming in the next 2 days as part of the #breakyourheartbake Collaboration hosted by @heavenlyhillshomestead1 @blandspromisedlandranch and @kettle.kitchen.with.tony honoured to be a part of it and to be able to help out a friend as well. . . #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #cakes #cakeoftheday #yum #foodstagram #instafood #foodie #yummy

Day 7 - One Meal A Day Challenge. To end the week out Tanny made breakfast. He decided he wanted a Yorkshire pudding breakfast wrap. Only he then decided halfway through he would make just big Yorkshire Puddings and fill them with breakfast. . . This is a new one on me not gonna lie. Not something I’d go out of my way for but for Tanny this is edible joy right here and anything that will put a smile on his face right now is top of the list for me. . . Today is going to be a baking day there is soooo much to get done so starting my day this way is definitely going to see me through happily until tomorrow. . . This week will be a big one and yesterday was a day of leftovers. Big things coming and lots to get done. Sunday being a rest day is a dream in this house it’s our big chores day and getting set up for the week day. Sure we chill out a bit but most of the day is chores and setting up. . . What do you do on Sunday? Or the day before your week starts for those who work the weekend? #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #breakfast #yorkshirepuddingbreakfast #onemealaday #foodstagram #instafood #englishbreakfast

Day 5 - 30 Day One Meal A Day Challenge. Today is a really busy busy day so my mea today is leftovers from making Tanny’s Mince Hotpot last night. . . Am I worried it’s meat based? No not really. I was more worried about making sure I was fed and had time to do the 300 things I have to do this morning. I am more worried of making sure I have good nutrition is seconds rather than spending half an hour preparing something. . . So there yah go … quick and simple and since today is an extremely busy one I better go… things to do … munchkins to prepare for. A kitchen to sort out, 2 videos to film, a zoom meeting and a workshop to write by 4pm ready for my live at 4.30pm today. Just as well dinner is prepared already I reckon :) #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #onemealaday #30dayonemealadaychallenge #30dayomadchallenge

Day 4 - 30 Day One Meal A Day Challenge. Soooo it appears I may have spooked a couple of you yesterday with my video. Sorry not sorry. It got your attention and I needed to to let you know what was occurring. . . With me kicking off the Wellness for Healthiness channel there is a @wellness_for_healthiness Instagram as well. And a group on FB which you can find if you watched the video in the description cos it’s private. Because to protect those who need a space to talk freely it has to be. . . Needless to say with the events of the last 24 hours I am literally feeling burnt out so this morning I got the left over roast veg and baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes, chucked them in a pan with a tin of chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and some hearts of palm spaghetti, seasoned it all with Ras Al Hanout and Turmeric and Taaaa Daaaa!!!! …. Breakfast. . . Tomorrow I’m thinking of dumping some greens in the leftovers and some coconut cream and some Garam masala just to give it a point of difference from today and of course some added nutrients as well. . . No I don’t have my muesli this morning I found it took me so long to eat it it really wasn’t worth the effort and after a hearty bowl of this roast veg stew I really dont feel the need for it either. . . Keep chugging on guys you got this xox #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #wellnessforhealthiness #healthjourney #omadchallenge #onemealaday #plantbasedmeals #foodstagram #instafood #yum

Day 3 - 30 Day 1 Meal A Day Challenge. Last Night Tanny wanted Baked Potatoes. I am not the biggest fan of potatoes… truly they are not my favourite I prefer sweet potatoes and will choose them over the other all day long. . . One of the biggest things I miss about living in NZ is the White Lady food truck at the bottom of Queen Street in Auckland who as a teenager introduced me to kumara chips … the rest as they say is history. . . So I popped in some sweet potatoes to bake while and a big tray of veg to roast off and voila… breakfast!!! And yes also plain muesli with plain coconut milk yoghurt, a banana, a few walnuts and some sesame seeds. . . After the shock of yesterday I really need to look at what is going on with my body. Since the doctors aren’t interested in helping then I will do it myself and figure it all out. It’s not like I’m not qualified because I literally am as a nutritionist, dietician, herbalist and naturopath amongst other things so why am I so determined to forget all that!?! . . For those who asked there is a video series coming out in this being released daily on YouTube from Monday. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #onemealadaychallenge #omad #intermittentfasting #eattolive #foodstagram #instafood #yum

Day 2 - 30 Day One Meal A Day Challenge. Last night I made dinner. Normally Tanny is happy to eat on his lap but he specifically asked me to have dinner with him. . . I explained what I was doing and he was fine with it. I did however have 2 onion rings and 2 chips with gravy just not to make him feel like dinner was poisoned or he wasn’t on his own. . . I had my dinner for breakfast and the onion rings (homemade of course) and chips were still crunchy!!! YAY!!! Honestly I’m good for the rest of the day that was a huge meal so the fact he wants baked potatoes for dinner I’m good with. I’ll bake some sweet potatoes for me because I prefer them and have those happily for breakfast tomorrow. . . So update on yesterday - I found myself after having a nap wandering the house. I wasn’t really hungry but my body was telling me I was missing something. I found myself some time later sitting at my desk with this jar of pickled onions and before I knew it had gone through half the jar! . . As a nutritionist I felt I needed to look up why such a craving would cause such an action and it turns out this is a behaviour I have had since I was a child. It may be the reason for it is low stomach acid. . . As someone who is both autistic and adhd one of our symptoms that is ignored a lot is digestive issues. Now I have so many questions!!! Is this the underlying cause of the IBS and diverticulitis? Is this why as a child and adult I have craved and loved pickled and fermented foods over every other food? It is quite probable. It is also a hypothesis I intend to follow up on. #bloosselfreliance #thebloopixie #onemealadaychallenge #autismawareness #adhdawareness #foodstagram #instafood #eattolive #yum