Winter, dear, dear winter. I really don’t like you. I was going to express my hate for you but that seems a little strong maybe dislike, despise or detest would be better words. Don’t take it personally but your sneaky breezes chill me to the bone. My nose gets cold and red, my skin is dry and flaky and my fingers and toes don’t ever feel warm. No matter how many pairs of socks and slippers I wear. You bring nasty things like sniffles and colds, coughs and sore throats. It feels like every few weeks I am wiping somebody’s nose, calming a coughing fit or giving cuddles to a miserable child. 

Don’t get me started on the cravings for comfort food on these blustery winter days. Hot chocolate with gooey marshmallows floating on top, warming crumbles, pies and puddings call my name every day. The taste buds and body are willing and ready to partake of these wintry delights but I hold out with the little sliver of willpower I have left.  Your one saving grace winter is the pleasure I find in snuggling under a cosy blanket by a flickering fire and the need for healthy warming soups and stews. These nourishing foods help feed the sick and tired soul, to warm up the insides and feed the hungry hoards with cold fingers and noses. Winter I will be glad to see you go but in the mean time I will live with your presence. Just barely.

This delicious Chicken, Apricot & Pumpkin Curry is the perfect dish to make on those blustery and cold winter days that chill you to the bone. Hello today! You can either make it in a big pot in the late afternoon or pop it into the slow cooker in the morning and delight in the offerings at dinner time. If you are sick of the same flavoured beef stews which I kind of am by the middle of winter then this curry is the recipe for you. This dish is kind of a mesh between the classic apricot chicken without the copious amount of sugar and an awesome chicken curry. Winning. I am all about good food without the need for guilt in winter and this dish ticks the boxes for healthy goodness. Speaking of being healthy I signed up this past week with my sister to do a yummy mummy boot camp to get my booty…. Ahhh body back. Having children does wondrous things to the figure – not all are good things as most mums know. Like lots of stretched and saggy bits, expanding derriere and things not going go back to the way they were before kids. While having a baby is a wonderful thing I just wanted to feel good about myself so I am now slowly dying every Tuesday and Thursday while I run up stairs, do crazy amounts of squats, planks, crunches, sprints, boxing and who knows what else is in store. I did my first class yesterday and I really struggled to get out of bed this morning. My abs said hello it’s nice to see you again, its been a while! I’m walking a little slower and a little more careful today and feeling a little tender around the edges. I’m off to pop this curry into the slow cooker and lie on the floor and not move today. It's to cold to do anything outside and I'm to sore to move!