Bloo's Self Reliance

Off down to Devon next week for my friends memorial and of course I never stay with my sister empty handed.

My brother in law has become quite the master chef (nothing to do with me ;) ) so I’ve been busy bottling up a selection of my homemade essences.

I have to admit my hands smell like coffee and Frangelico at this point and I’m not upset about that at all!

Time to forage around and see what else I can take down with me as well cos yah know it’s been a while since I’ve seen them and it’s not like they can shop my pantry like they could before :)

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 10

Bloo's Self Reliance

YOUTUBE making it even more difficult for UK creators…

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Bloo's Self Reliance

Today has been hard. To be honest the last month has been horrific and it’s still not over.

It’s taken a month to be able to actually organise my friends cremation and by the end of the month we will be able to have a memorial.

It’s been a lot. Today has been a struggle and struggle means take a day and look after me.

Today turned into a self care day and for the first time in 8 years I decided to make Baked Mac and Cheese and while learning Jeff was cremated this morning at 8am I decided a brew and hob nobs were in order. He would’ve approved. He would’ve approved more if it was tea but I need to sleep so coffee it is.

(It’s an adhd thing)

I’m soon off to Devon and when I come back things will be very different.

So if you’re going through it and you to take a day… take a day. If you need more than a day… take as long as you need. Just don’t unpack and live there xox

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 25

Bloo's Self Reliance

Times like this is why I make meals and freeze them.

Its times like this that are why I preserve food during the year.

If nothing else making 2-4 batches of meals so we have 1 now and 2-3 for the freezer mean that we have options.

Tanny is working full time some weeks 6 days a week. His job is very physical and coming home to cook from scratch meals means normally a tin of soup and a toastie or a sandwich.

Having meals like this lasagne able to be pulled out of the freezer in the morning and if nothing else can be put on close to when he’s coming home so all I have to do is turn on the oven or meals that can be placed in the slow cooker and left to go all day. Take the pressure off.

Living with chronic pain and illnesses means I don’t know from day to day what I can do. So using the days I can do and making it so there’s more left for the days I can’t means I can still take care of things and know i am able and still as self reliant as I can be and don’t feel like I’m a burden or unable.

Our home still has good healthy meals made with as good a quality ingredients as we can afford or grow and we can still eat decently without living on cheese toasties and 2 minute noodles.

I’ve got this. You’ve got this. We’ve got this.

#selfreliance #chronicillnesswarrior #mealprep #prepardness #lasagne

1 month ago | [YT] | 14

Bloo's Self Reliance

Some days a picky tray works.

I am doing my best to not just grab just the snacks foods right now so I picked a colour and raided the veg drawer.

The turkey is sliced up and from the freezer leftover from Christmas. The cheese is part of one of the 5Kg blocks Tanny brought home and we grated for the freezer and sliced and put in trays in the fridge.

It does pay to put a little bit of this and that away for moments in life where making a whole meal can be challenging.

It is important though to take care of yourself and make sure your body is taken care of because if you don’t how do you expect to get through this and do what you need to do.

Grief sucks a big purple aubergine BUT you need to remember your loved one needs you to take care of you so you can do what it is your part in all this is to do.

It may be all you need to do is grieve and that takes a shit tonne of energy. Your mind and body will need the nutrients to help you be able to move forward and get through so you can walk with it.

Many of us are needed in more physical ways. To help sort through things, walk people through paperwork, do our everyday things still like run the house, feed the family, cleaning, laundry assorted other crap and still possibly hold down our job without punching someone in the face … with a chair. It all takes nutrients.

Today I picked green. My friend was a hedge witch and so am I it seemed appropriate. I am also having a fibro flare due to the stress of the last week and forgetting to take my meds so my right hand is all but useless and feels like I missed the tent peg with a lump hammer.

This for me is a perfect compromise between cooking and prepping. It gives me nutrients to keep going I don’t need to put a lot of effort into and I can pick at it when I feel like I should probably eat something.

I know it’s hard right now but you have to come first. Grab some bits and pieces and do you. The rest can let you have this moment. It’s not like they’re going anywhere for an hour or so.

Big Love

Xox Bloo xox

1 month ago | [YT] | 12

Bloo's Self Reliance

For those wondering if I’m looking after myself … I am.

I ate my veg and because I was a good pixie I got to have an ice cream.

Just to let you all know this is utterly awful!!! Don’t buy them. You’ll hate it.

Doesn’t taste a thing like Nutella … tastes far more like Frangelico and I know how people just don’t like it.

Being the wonderful human I am I am offering to take both off your hands so you don’t have to go through the torture of these hazelnut laden items.

Feel free to send me your leftover Frangelico or Utopia magnums. Also accepting donations so I can help others in the community by buying them all because I’m just that much of a martyr.

Love you all, take care of yourselves. Another update soon.

Thankyou for all the loverly messages

MAHOOSIVE HUGGLES
Xox Bloo xox

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1 month ago | [YT] | 10

Bloo's Self Reliance

Day 24 of 90 - Eating Only What’s In The House.

Breakfast - I have a new favourite dessert in Pastel Del Nata or Portuguese Custard Tarts. I found some in the frozen section of Farmfoods a while back and figured 99p wasn’t awful for 6 of them and grabbed them.

The last 4 ended up in mah belleh for brekky this morning because it seemed like a sensible thing to do.

Lunch - a few days ago I chopped up a honeydew lemon and I figured it needed using before it finally went the way of the compost bin so I ate it for my lunch.

Dinner - The leftover Chicken Schnitzel from last nights dinner Tanny had his with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, cheese, ham and salad cream and me I put hummus with mine and grilled vegetable pesto with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and cheese. Honestly we are discussing having them again tomorrow with some of the Southern Fried Chicken Tenders we have in the freezer.

We shall see we have some other ingredients that desperately need using up as well soooo who knows.

Been doing some internal work on me today so it’s been a bit exhausting. Spiritual and healing work while also researching for my book and for recipes that may work with some ingredients we have but need to turn into something else.

My infused water today was just frozen lemon slices and I forgot my hot drink this morning due to needing to go back to bed to gain an extra 3 hours sleep.

All good though another day another day without buying food out or meals through delivery services and that’s a great thing.

#selfreliance #eatwhatyouhave #leftovers #budgetmeals #saving

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2 months ago | [YT] | 7

Bloo's Self Reliance

Day 23 of 90 - Eating What We Have In The House.

Today has been a chill out day. Yes I have lots to do but when you get 4 hours sleep then your awake for 4 hours then you get 4 hours more sleep you tend to need a self care day and that’s ok.

Breakfast - I am now for my breakfast having an anti inflammatory and genuinely good for you brew. Collagen, miso, seaweed, turmeric and pepper and honestly it’s lush and a great way to start the day that’s nice and chill and light.

Lunch - yeah ok so I might have had a tub of ice cream jump into my lap and demand “finish him!” And may have had to comply. Don’t judge I’m sure you’ve done worse!

Dinner - we’ve had a couple of chicken breasts floating around the freezer for months and they started showing signs of freezer burn so time to turn them into one of our favourites Chicken Schnitzel. Tanny and I shared the big one and had the leftover potato bake to go with it. Leaving us one for tomorrow.

I’m honestly loving this challenge … Tanny I think is struggling with the concept as he brought home marked down food items from the shop. Mixed salad, mushrooms and wraps. Which means dinner is easy tomorrow as I will do us chicken schnitzel and salad wraps.

Much to do on the morrow and I’m glad I took time out to chill today. Look after you because honestly no one else will.

#selfreliance #budgetmeals #leftovers #chickenschnitzel #zerowaste

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2 months ago | [YT] | 8

Bloo's Self Reliance

It’s Day 22 of 90 - Eating What We Have At Home

This last week went a bit sideways honestly. We ended up having to purchase drinks and no cook ingredients due to the heatwave. We aren’t upset about it but it has put savings back a bit.

Yesterday I did a stocktake of the chest freezer and found a bunch of smoked haddock and some pies Tanny got from his work and a potato bake I made from the Easter veg.

Brekky this morning j felt I needed some anti inflammatory help so lots of chilli, Thai spices, noodles and smoked haddock and frankly was just what I needed.

Lunch - I forgot… I did too up my infused water though with some honeydew melon and mint.

Dinner - Steak and Kidney Pies (not gonna lie this was a shock honestly thought they were steak and ale), potato bake for me, mash for Tanny, peas and gravy.

I enjoy steak and kidney pie … Tanny not so much. All good though.

Me though couldn’t eat all me dinner. I tried. I did all I could but tomorrow is a new day and I’m not going to force myself to eat when I don’t want to.

This is the thing, it’s a big deal for me to leave food on my plate. I grew up in a household that didn’t leave food because children are starving in Africa. Also anything left was breakfast the next morning.

It’s taken me until now at 52 to be able to be comfortable leaving food if I can’t eat it or don’t want to and saying no.

Understanding that you don’t have to eat everything just because it’s there or bad things happen is so important. It’s like knowing you don’t have to eat the whole burger or all the chips or finish off the leftovers before allowing yourself a different meal.

We got this.

#selfreliance #eatwhatyouhave #budgetmeals #foodtrauma #itsoktosayno

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2 months ago | [YT] | 8

Bloo's Self Reliance

It’s Sunday and I’ve been catching up on sleep for a lot of today.

We missed out dinner last night because we were both so tired we fell asleep before we could eat. This of course meant Tanny made burgers for breakfast.

This led to another nap and us waking up and remembering we have a 5 litre tub of ice cream in the freezer and both wanting a bowl and that then was lunch.

This afternoon I got to fold the washing, stocktaking the chest freezer,sorting out the rest of the dresser because Tanny fixed the rest of the cup hooks on it before collapsing in a heap and asking Tanny if he really did want pie and potato bake for dinner to which he looked at me and said “noooo let’s do that tomorrow I’ll just have a cheese sandwich”.

This of course was the correct answer because I’d just seen Karen’s Sunday tea tray from @lavenderandlovage and thought I really need to do this more. Of course by this time of day though for us it’s the equivalent of 7pm at night so I just grabbed what I could that didn’t require cooking or effort and put it all together and I couldn’t be happier.

-wafer thin ham
-homemade cheese and onion mix
- salmon paste
-slices of cucumber and tomato
-Ryvitas
-honeydew melon

I still have my infused water cup going from yesterday I’ll have to refresh it tomorrow but for today it still has just enough flavour to make me happy.

#selfreliance #sundayafternoon #selfcaresunday

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2 months ago | [YT] | 10