Sticky ginger cake with maple cream cheese frosting

Ingredients

For the cake:
200g self-raising flour
200g sugar (I used white granulated)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
55g margarine
1 egg
2 tbsp golden syrup
240ml hot water

maple cream cheese frosting:
philadelphia soft cheese
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup powdered icing sugar
15g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

mix all the dry ingredients to make a crumby texture, then add the wet ingredients and cook at about 150c for around 40mins

decorate

And enjoy the sweet, sticky goodness

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C25K day 3: Week 1 complete

I just finished the first week of the C25K. I actually found it surprisingly easy today. If I didn't know any better I would have thought I had done it wrong somehow. The running intervals seemed to pass very quickly and with little strain on my breathing, and the effects on my legs today are virtually non-existent!

I'm keen to get going with week two, but I am going to stay strict with my rest days.

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C25K day 2

I almost sacked off today's run to opt for a lazy day after a long shift at work yesterday, but I made myself get up and go. I seemed to get warmer than I did during the first run, but that could be down to the weather rather than me. Also, I didn't seem to pant quite as much. During the first run, about half way through I wanted to stop as I was struggling so much and really had to push through hard to make it to the end. This time however, I found the whole thing a lot more comfortable.

I did contemplate not giving myself a rest day tomorrow, but I think I am going to spend this evening looking for some different exercises to do during my rest days, maybe sit ups or something.

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Day 1 of the couch to 5k program

I am using the 'run double'  version of the app. And I just completed day 1.

It just goes to show how little I have been doing, especially as I re-weighed myself and have managed to put on about 4lbs in a little under 2 weeks. I found it a lot more difficult than I should have done, and now my legs are feeling a little jelly-like.

I am working on Sunday so I so think that I am going to go ahead and complete day two tomorrow instead of skipping a day, but will probably wait until the evening.

According to the calorie count on both the treadmill and the app registered at 214 calories, so that is what I registered on my MyFitnessPal app, which I have also begun again. I am a little nervous about my calorie count as the food at work isn't really the healthiest, but if I am careful I should be ok.

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Don't think I can put it off any longer...back to running

Since I moved home a few months back, I haven't done any running at all. I have been waiting to get the treadmill hauled up here, but with the amount of baking and cooking I have been/will be doing, I daren't put off doing anything to counter it any more, so it looks like tomorrow will be the day.

I'm not sure whether I should go to Thryberg country park, or just go and use my mom's treadmill -- I think the treadmill will be the best way to get back into the swing of things. I know a few people who are working their way through the couch to 5k program, so I downloaded the app and think I will build myself up again using that.

I am probably going to go ahead and load up a bunch of music onto my phone as my ipod was stolen late last year ( :( ), hopefully there is a way to work in the app with the music I play?

I tend to just listen to music I enjoy when I run, rather than focusing too much on a beat, I find it easier to 'loose myself' in the run that way! Upbeat music is absolutely the way for me to go, so I think I will go with

• Fall out boy's 'save rock and roll' album, 
• Poppy Brothers 'Mark of the beat'
• Scott Leftwich & The Atarians

I find all of the above really fun songs to listen to and any way I can make running easier can only be a good thing.

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Lasagne with home-made white sauce

Tonight I made lunch for my brother and I, so went for lasagne and served with crinkle chips and garlic bread. I used dolmio low fat sauce for the red, adding lea perrins to the mince, and made my own white using milk butter and plain flour.

To make the white sauce:
Heat milk just enough to melt the butter in a pan, then sieve 6 heaped spoonfuls of plain flour (one spoonful at a time) into the pan, mixing constantly, ensuring the sauce thickens but doesn't develop any lumps.

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Persistence pays off!

After the terrible failure of a few nights ago, I gave it one last shot tonight, and I'm really glad I did! Rather than using the original recipe that I found online, I used a youtube tutorial instead.

I used a SLIGHT modification on the ingredients listed on youtube 
- Sponge Cake -
3 eggs
100g Sugar
90g Flour (I used self raising)
15g Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Milk

- Soaking Syrup -
2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Hot Water
1 tbsp Honey

- Toppings -
400ml extra thick whipping cream
3 tbsp Sugar
450g Strawberries
Powdered Sugar (roughly 2-3 cups)

I also used parchment paper, and a spring form pan (I believe it is a 9" diameter maybe?)

Generally I just did what the video told me, it is made really simple to follow, and I found it useful to see what it should look like at each stage.

My cake decorating still (obviously) leaves a lot to be desired

But it tastes decent enough for my first attempt at a cake!

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