New years resolution - Feb 2015 update - Get Healthy

Exercise

Week 1

I started off the month pretty well. My husband has just started a new airsoft events company (Drone Airsoft). So on the first of Feb I walked at least a mile up and down the path from the base.

On the 2nd I actually, shock horror, managed to get my push bike out of the shed. I cycled down the local Tesco for some chopped tomatoes and milk. Although, I admit that I did grab some lunch for an excuse for a sit down.

I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't do any serious exercise the rest of the week.... 

Week 2

Again, started off well. I went over a friend's for a craft day. Before we could get any work done we had to take her dog out for a walk. This turned out to be a fantastic plan. I'm really lucky to live in Dorset. We have heathland really close to us and this was a perfect place to be on a Sunny Feb afternoon. 

Meal Plans

This month with meal plans really did not come together. It did turn out that I ended up fighting a cold for most of February which just won't go away. 

Eating was very much a random creation by day. 

I did manage to make a lasagne from scratch. It's about the 4th one I've done, but definitely my best.  I love making it from scratch. It is really not that difficult and so much cheaper than buying the pre made packs. In addition, making it yourself means you are consuming so much less sugar than the commercial jars of sauce. 

Here is a few rules I swear by for Beef Lasagne. 

Tomato sauce: 

2 x tins of chopped tomatoes. 

300ml of beef stock. 

Herbs and spices mixed in to preference. 

Simmer for about 40 mins - stirring regularly. 

While the sauce is simmering fry off your mince. Highly recommend going for extra lean. I brought some beautiful mince from a local butchers and this worked perfectly. 

Once it's browned off mix in with sauce. I also usually add some frozen veg to the sauce as well. Adding it now means the sauce absorbs the flavours of the veg. 

Leave to simmer further until the veg has defrosted. 

White sauce:

Usually this is done with butter. Last time I had no butter but buttery flora. This worked well as an alternative. 

So I melted the butter in a small non stick pan. Then I mixed in the plain flour and milk. The main thing here is to keep the heat low. It needs to combine but not burn the mixture. 

Turn your oven on to warm - I usually use Gas Mark 6. 

Building the lasagne

When choosing the pasta sheets - cheap is never the answer. I always find this never quite cook properly unless you cook them a little first. If you don't want to have to pre cook your pasta use fresh egg pasta sheets. Most of the big supermarkets sell these. They also freeze really well. 

Great a lot of cheese. My husband and I love cheese. This is reflected in our lasagne. 

Layers

Your layers will depend on the size of your dish. I have a large glass dish. Spare lasagne freezes really well.

Grated cheese on the bottom. 

Layer of white sauce. 

Layer of pasta. 

Layer of tomato and mince mix. 

Cheese

White sauce. 

Pasta

Tomato and Mince Mix. 

Cheese 

White sauce. 

Pasta

Tomato and Mince Mix

Cheese. 

Cook for about 20 minutes in the center of the oven or until golden brown. 

You want the pasta to be cooked with ideally a little bit of a crunch. 

Have you made a lasagne? Have you got any hints and tips to spruce it up?