Tefal Fresh Week 2013 Update

Well, we're nearly at the end of the Tefal Fresh Week for 2013.  To be honest, I did think that we eat pretty well as a family but this week has shown me that sometimes, we do reach for the fish fingers, chips and beans at least once a week (especially on evenings where the children have after-school activities and my house seems like Euston Station!)

But, we did it, although we had a little slip-up on Friday after school!  A packet of Quavers and a handful of marshmallows invalidated our efforts throughout the week!

Aside from this faux-pas, here's our final menu for the week that we used and hope will inspire others to have their own Fresh Week in the weeks to come!

Monday Breakfast
Shredded Wheat or Weetabix cereal & milk
Monday Lunch
Poached egg on homemade toasted bread, piece of fruit, glass of water
Monday Tea
Spaghetti Bolognese - recipe here.  Make double the sauce and use the leftovers for Lasagne on Wednesday
Homemade sponge cake and homemade custard
Fruit juice
Monday Supper
Piece of fruit, glass of milk

Tuesday Breakfast
As Monday
Tuesday Lunch
Quick pasta salad - pasta, boiled egg, salad, drizzle of olive oil
Tuesday Tea
Homemade chicken curry - no particular recipe!  Chicken, onions, red & green peppers, garam masala, cumin, chilli powder, fresh tomatoes, garlic.  Fry the chicken until cooked through, add all other ingredients, simmer for 10 mins & serve with boiled rice.
Piece of fruit, fruit juice
Tuesday Supper
Piece of fruit or homemade toast, glass of milk

Wednesday Breakfast
As Monday or porridge (for my kids, I hate porridge!)
Wednesday Lunch
Leftover chicken curry on pitta bread, salad
Wednesday Tea
Homemade lasagane with leftover sauce from Monday, salad
Fruit salad - melon, strawberries, grapes with a drizzle of single cream
Wednesday Supper
Piece of fruit, glass of milk

Thursday Breakfast
Scrambled egg on homemade toast, glass of milk
Thursday Lunch
Ham salad with pitta bread, piece of fruit
Thursday Tea
Sesame beef stir fry - recipe here.
Thursday Supper
Homemade toast or sugar-free cereal, glass of milk

Friday Breakfast
Sugar-free cereal or porridge, fruit juice
Friday Lunch
Prawn salad with garlic mushrooms - recipe here.
Friday Tea
Smoked haddock with rice & peas (onions & garlic too) - my own "drier" version of risotto!
Friday Supper
Homemade toast, glass of milk

Saturday Breakfast
Poached egg, toast, fruit juice
Saturday Lunch
Ham salad with crusty roll, fruit, glass of water
Saturday Tea
Homemade meat pie, mashed potato & cauliflower/broccoli  (Mum's "flat" meat pie - recipe to follow!)
Piece of fruit

Sunday Breakfast
Boiled eggs & homemade toast soldiers, glass of milk
Sunday Lunch
Homemade leek & potato soup, bread roll (Leeks & onions from the garden!)
Sunday Tea
Roast lamb dinner, carrot/turnip mash, peas & sweetcorn, homemade gravy.
Fresh fruit salad & cream
Sunday Supper
Piece of fruit, glass of milk

And that's it!  Snacks in between meals (usually just after school) we're fruit or carrot sticks and drinks were fruit juice, milk or water (however hubby & I snuck some tea & coffee in there too!)  My children have school lunches, so throughout the week, they ate at school.  I would include here what they have eaten too, but whenever I ask them what they have eaten, the answer is always, "I don't know" or "I have forgotten"!  I trust that they have eaten and that they have eaten well!  I'm sure if they weren't fed, they would definitely have something to say about it!

So, I hope we have inspired you to have a go at eating fresh for a week.  We will definitely do it again but will still rely on some "convenience" meals such as fish fingers and pizzas when we're really pushed for time!

Tefal Fresh Week 2013

From May 13th until May 19th, we've taken the Tefal pledge to "eat fresh", committing to give up processed foods for one week.  One of the aims of Fresh Week is to discover easy ways to get more fresh fruits and vegetables into your family's diet.

Generally as a family, we mostly eat meals cooked from scratch but do eat some processed foods so we're taking this opportunity to make fresh food alternatives to the processed foods that we may usually eat.  It will also be interesting to find out whether cooking from scratch is cheaper and quicker than the "convenience" alternative.

I'll be posting each day what we've eaten and the recipes that we've used so you can keep an eye on me!  Lunches and evening meals will be pretty easy as well as snacks throughout the day, but I think that the biggest challenge will be breakfast time!  We'll have to incorporate a bit of flexibility when it comes to this meal; we won't be eating highly processed cereals but will be allowing cereals such as Shredded Wheat, Weetabix and mueslis!  Eggs (scrambled, boiled, poached and fried!) will all be OK, but I think I'll be sick of eating eggs and toasted homemade bread by the end of the week!

Throughout the week, there'll be lots of social activity via Twitter (use the #freshweek hashtag), Facebook and Pinterest, so join in the conversation and maybe win some great prizes!

You can sign up to the pledge here and join in the fun!

Good luck to anyone else joining in - link your blog in the comments below and we can share tips and boost support if we run out of steam half way through the week!