And now for a little me time
THE POWER OF ... SERIES
The power of meal plans
by Lorna Gordon
AT THE FLICKS
MOVIE TICKETS GIVEAWAY
There is no doubt our budgets are being stretched to the max at the moment , interest rate hikes and cost of living is making it tough for many people right now . One way you can help keep your food budget in check is by making a meal plan for the week and sticking to what you need instead of buying food each day , or randomly filling up your trolley with things that might make a few meals .
I have meal planned for years because I needed food on hand when I came home from work . I rarely wanted to go to the supermarket on the way home , so I made my weekly shop a priority . I have a list of meals we like that I add to if we try a new recipe and enjoy it , then choose from that and write out my grocery list . I know other people who have a rotating meal plan that works over several weeks , and people who batch cook and pull their planned meals from the freezer to make it even simpler .
Which ever way you decide to do it , meal planning helps you save money . If you have meals that need similar ingredients , group them together , that way you don ’ t have as much food waste and save some money . This means that you are going to the shop less so not buying the random items which can creep into shopping baskets . You will probably find you stick to your planned
Planning your meals saves you time and money . ( Unsplash Glenn Carstens Peters )
PODCASTS
The Worst Bestsellers
by Lorna Gordon
Love books ? Love a podcast ? Then listen up , book lovers , this podcast looks at the books we all love to hate , or maybe just love , the trashy and not so trashy best sellers .
The Worst Bestsellers is hosted by Kait and Renata and they are joined by a guest , as they delve into the world of popular books . They dig into the books that popular culture is enjoying and give us their thoughts on them . As they say , “ We are not book snobs . We make fun of the books we read , but our intent is never to make fun of the reader .”
The first book on the list when I checked this podcast out was by ( Our Lady ) Nora Roberts , and her new book Nightwork . The episode was a bit slow to start , but they soon found their stride and it did give me a laugh . shopping list , so again stopping buying unnecessary items just in case you might need them .
You can take your meal planning a step further and actually prep some of the items to save you time during the week , as I mentioned , you can cook some meals in advance and freeze them , or simply chop your veggies up and store them in the fridge .
If you need a special diet for health reasons , or want to make sure you are eating healthier , then planning in advance makes it much easier to stick to your dietary requirements , without temptation of an easy take away meal or pizza throwing you off your good intentions .
However you decide to plan your food for the week , there is no doubt that doing so has a lot of benefits . Will you give it a go ?
They look at new and old books , so have reviewed The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Other Boleyn Girl and then looked at Ann of Green Gables and a Nancy Drew book , so there are a huge variety of books on offer , all of which have been incredibly popular .
They don ’ t just look at books for adults , children ’ s books are also included in their reviews . What I like is that included on their website are blog posts of other books which are similar to the book they are reviewing so if you liked that book , you could find others to enjoy .
This is not a podcast to listen to while children are about as there is a fair bit of swearing involved , but it ’ s good fun and will give you some great suggestions on what you might want to read next . You can find their website at www . frowl . org / worstbestsellers /.
IMAGINARY Release Date : In Cinemas March 7 Director : Jeff Wadlow Writers : Jeff Wadlow & Greg Erb & Jason Oremland Producer : Jason Blum , Jeff Wadlow , p . g . a . Cast : DeWanda Wise , Tom Payne , Taegan Burns , Pyper Braun , with Veronica Falcon , and Betty Buckley Trailer : www . youtube . com / watch ? v = cvEtKe4w7pI Duration : approx . 105 minutes Classification : TBC Censorship Advice : TBC
From Blumhouse , the genre-defining masterminds behind FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY ’ S and M3GAN , comes an original horror that taps into the innocence of imaginary friends – and begs the question : are they really figments of childhood imagination or is something more terrifying lying just beneath ? When Jessica ( DeWanda Wise ) moves back into her childhood home with her family , her youngest stepdaughter Alice ( Pyper Braun ) develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement . Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister . As Alice ’ s behaviour becomes more and more concerning , Jessica intervenes only to realise Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be . Lionsgate and Blumhouse present , a Tower of Babble production . In cinemas March 7 .
WICKED LITTLE LETTERS Director : Thea Sharrock Writer : Jonny Sweet Starring : Olivia Colman , Jessie Buckley , Anjana Vasan , Malachi Kirby and Timothy Spall Release Date : In Cinemas March 21 Duration : 100 minutes Classification : TBC Censorship Advice : TBC
A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy . Based on a stranger than fiction true story , WICKED LITTLE LETTERS follows two neighbours : deeply conservative local Edith Swan ( Olivia Colman ) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding ( Jessie Buckley ).
When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities , foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime .
The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar , and a trial ensues . However , as the town ’ s women - led by Police Officer Gladys Moss ( Anjana Vasan ) - begin to investigate the crime themselves , they suspect that something is amiss , and Rose may not be the culprit after all . In Cinemas March 21 .
WE ARE GIVING AWAY 15 DOUBLE PASSES TO SEE IMAGINARY OR WICKED LITTLE LETTERS ! Just email us at info @ hdinews . com . au with “ Movie Giveaway ” in the subject line . Please leave us your name , address ( for posting tickets ), phone number and indicate your preferred movie . All winners will be notified by phone / email .
14 ISSUE 166 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT