My new shoes arrived today! They fit, they’re comfortable and both my daughters think they’re pretty cool. I think that’s probably a result. Hopefully I’ll try them out tomorrow on my lunchtime run, but my toe is a bit hurty today, so we’ll have to wait and see…

It looks like Sports Direct have got a load more stock so if you missed out before, go and take another look.

In the spirit of healthiness etc. I’m going to share one of my recipes, developed and modified over many months. Veggie burgers can be quite difficult because they tend to fall apart when you look at them. Meat burgers, on the other hand, hold together quite well because the meat fibres bind them (a tip is to mix them well, drawing out the fibres with the back of a fork or spoon. don’t blend them or you end up with meat puree). Maybe I should point out at this juncture that I am not a vegetarian.

So here it is:

Veggie Bean Burgers

1 medium carrot, grated

1 medium potato, grated

1 pepper (red, green, whatever), chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or one or none or four)

1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 can of mixed beans in water, rinsed and drained

2 Tbspn porridge oats

2 Tbspn plain flour

any other spices as desired, e.g. curry powder, cumin seeds

salt and pepper

tablespoon olive oil to mix in (optional)

Half crush the beans in a pan using a potato masher or something similar. Leave the mix fairly rough so that there are identifiable beans in it. Mix in the rest of the ingredients thoroughly then add enough water to loosen the mixture up a little (about a couple of tablespoons).

Leave for five or ten minutes for the porridge oats to swell then form into four largish or six smaller burgers on an oiled non-stick oven tray.

Cook in the oven at 200°C for about twenty minutes until browned. Serve in a bun with salad, grated cheese – whatever you like, really.