Hi friends, happy November! Can you believe it’s November already? When I was a kid, a year felt like forever—birthdays and Christmas couldn’t come soon enough. Now it’s the opposite–my birthday sneaks up too fast. And Christmas feels like it’s here before I even have a chance to get ready! So before I blink and it’s Monday again, let’s jump into some of this week’s favourites.
I started the week with a cold that hit fast but, thankfully, only lasted a couple of days. I still have a bit of a lingering cough, but I was surprised at how quickly I felt well enough to get back to work. Usually, colds take me down much harder!
Five-Minute Win!
In what has to be a record, I was in and out of Service NSW in five minutes! I received my license renewal letter a couple of weeks ago (maybe more!), but it went straight into the ‘procrastinate’ pile. Waiting in a queue to get my license renewed isn’t my favourite. But this week, I lucked out—I walked straight in, got my ticket, sat down, and my number was called almost immediately. The guy took my photo, and fingers crossed, it’s less scary than my passport, but I won’t know until it arrives. I paid, and I was out in five minutes. Five minutes—what a win!
The Perks of Health Insurance
My husband’s doing amazing with his weight loss! Since he has osteoarthritis in his right knee (he had a knee replacement on the left one in May), he qualifies for Medibank’s Better Knee, Better Me program. This program focuses on exercise, weight management, and pain relief strategies to help avoid another knee surgery. He also receives food supplements like shakes, soups, and bars, all covered by Medibank Private. Plus, he has virtual sessions with a dietitian and a physiotherapist. It makes all those hefty yearly premiums worth it!
At the moment, he’s only eating one main meal at home. To help him along, his caring wife (me) made him some cauliflower rice the other day, and he was thrilled! 😉 hehe.
I bought a great big cauliflower and thought I’d try copying what I saw on reels—just cut it up and toss it in the blender, easy! Well, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. The cauliflower chunks kept getting caught in the blades, making the process messier than I hoped. But on the upside, I ended up with plenty of portions to freeze for later!
When I first mentioned cauliflower rice to Steve, he moaned—a lot! I don’t blame him; who doesn’t love carbs? But he ended up enjoying it when I served it with pot roast for dinner. It probably helped that he was starving—everything tastes fantastic when you’re hungry!
New Appliances
Air fryers have been around for a while, and it seems like everyone I know has one. We finally took the plunge and bought our first one this week!
Sam has been wanting one for ages because he lifts weights and is really conscious of his diet—protein, protein, protein! With Steve also focused on losing weight, it just seemed like a good time to buy one. My verdict? They’re fast and convenient, making healthier cooking a breeze. The homemade wedges turned out super crispy and got a tick, but the meatballs came out bouncy instead of juicy. They tasted good, but I could have bounced them off the wall! Maybe I just need to get the hang of the cooking times—we’ll see.
I also bought a new hairdryer—the Shark Speed Style. After my haircut, the hairdresser confirmed my suspicion that my old (ahem, cheap) dryer was burning my hair. She cut off the crispy ends, and I didn’t want to keep damaging my hair. She recommended the Dyson, but at around $700, I’ll keep it on my wishlist for later. Instead, I opted for the Shark, which is light, quiet, and comes with various attachments. After a few washes, I’ve finally got the hang of it, and I truly love it!
Sam also bought an Apple TV, which he connected to our lounge room TV. I think he wanted it to stream shows from his computer, but I’m not entirely sure since I thought our smart TV was enough. Anyway, he loves it, and that makes me happy. We don’t usually splurge on so many tech items in one week, but since Sam works at a cool electronics store, he gets a generous staff discount. I hope he still gets a shift or two at this store, even when he graduates and becomes a nurse. He agrees!
That wraps up this week’s favourites! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead. Take care, and I look forward to being back here on Monday.
Linking up with Andrea and Erika
So I feel like an expert in cauli rice! Buy the bags of frozen and let it thaw on counter – get as much moisture out. Then cook in a skillet with avocado or olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and really brown it. The more cooked the better. I use it as a base for a burrito bowl, Greek bowl, Asian bowl. I love it! If you get a big head of cauli, roast in oven on high heat (chopped up) and it’s so delish!
I love cauliflower rice and have made faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower before too that was nice and creamy. It definitely took me a little while to get good at cooking things in our air fryer but now that I’ve got the hang of it I do love it.
Yay! I am glad the cold cleared off quickly and great timing with getting your license renewed.
Well done to your husband with the weight loss! The cauliflower rice sounds like a faff to make but it’s good you got a few portions to freeze.
I love my air fryer, I hardly use my oven now. Have fun with it. x
We have an air fryer and we didn’t use it for awhile but now we are using it again!
I have been wanting an air fryer for ages!! I have also had a go had making cauliflower rice and it didn’t turn out quite right and I made a massive mess! #MMBC
What a great program for your husband, a good thing to take advantage of for sure.