Five minute mug cake

When I first heard of this recipe, I knew it was a keeper. I remember hearing it on the radio about five years ago, and quickly grabbing a pen and paper to scribble it down to make sure I could remember it. I needn't have bothered, as just a few years later, "in a mug" recipes seem to be all the rage at the moment! I wanted to share this one with you all, because I think it's perfectly suited to baby loss mums. For months I struggled to cook or bake, but this recipe barely qualifies as cooking or baking! It also has chocolate, and we all know there are times when chocolate is the answer! It's meant to make a single serve, although I find it's quite large to eat by myself and often end up sharing with my hubby. It's also very quick, so the need for comfort food can be quickly satisfied.

Not pretty, but tasty. I promise.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4T    plain flour
4T    sugar
2T    cocoa
1      egg
3T    milk
3T    oil
3T    chocolate chips (optional)
Splash of vanilla essence (optional)

*Add the dry ingredients to a mug and mix well. A bigger mug is better, as there'll be less overflow when cooking.
*Crack an egg and add it to your mug. Make sure you mix well, making sure not to leave pockets of flour in the corners.
*Pour in the oil and milk, and mix.
*Now is the time to add the chocolate chips if you have them, as well as the vanilla essence.
*Pop your mug into a microwave and zap for 3 minutes on maximum power. Depending on the size of your mug, the cake may rise above the rim and start to look a bit strange. That's ok, it will still be tasty! In the photo above, the mug is ginormous; an ordinary mug will give you a very different looking cake!
*Your mug cake is cooked! Take out of the microwave, and enjoy! After all, you slaved over this! ;)

A cold, being forced to rest and getting things done

Last Friday I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold. And sure enough, I woke up Saturday with a (not so) lovely cold that has knocked me about for a few days now! It's nothing serious, and if I wasn't pregnant, I'd probably just take a few Cold & Flu tablets and be able to continue on with my normal activities. However, those tablets aren't recommended in pregnancy, so I've been limited to the traditional remedies: rest, and hot honey and lemon drinks made for me by my wonderful husband (thanks Marcus)! I have barely been out of the house since getting sick, but that doesn't mean I haven't done anything! ON the contrary, I've done heaps of things. (Not really, but I'm trying to look for positives and not feel quite so helpless about being home sick!)

So without further ado, the things I have achieved while stuck at home sick for six days:

*A tax return
*Kept the house relatively tidy
*Made, printed, laminated and put up a meal planner (as I find cooking much easier if I know what is ahead). It's nice and colourful on the fridge, and I like the sense of organisation it gives me!

*Made two meals worth of chili con carne and some mini quiches for lunches
*Finally got around to labeling some plastic containers that store our card games. It's only taken me about 12 months to do...
*Watched almost an entire season of Gilmore Girls (an excellent use of my time!)
*Created a Facebook page for the blog. That's right, Deeper Still is now on Facebook! I thought it might be nice to have a place to share my blog posts and other baby loss articles or information, as well as getting to interact a bit more with readers who I don't know in person! You can find the page by clicking here - there's not a lot up there yet, but I'll probably post there more frequently than I have been writing blog posts.

As well as the things listed above, I've managed to completely forget about an appointment that ordinarily I would NEVER forget (although thankfully it didn't matter that I forgot), used one box of tissues (and counting), and stayed in my pyjamas a whole lot more than I have in a long time! Oh, and I ordered some Tupperware :D

So it hasn't been the worst week, even though I have been sick. While I do miss being able to just take a Cold & Flu tablet and get on with life, it's been a good lesson in actually taking time to rest when my body needs it. After this week, I'm sold on the hot honey/lemon drinks to relieve a sore throat! And I'm curious - what's your best natural cold remedy?