Almond Milk

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Are you an Almond milk drinker? – like it in your coffee? Porridge?

Well this recipe for Almond milk will get you wondering why haven’t you been making your own before it sure has me! It’s so easy and it means you know exactly what you’re putting in your body!

So you will need an Almonds, almond milk bag, you can buy this here. You will also need a sealable container/jug you can store it, a blender, a large bowl

So here we go… take 1 cup of almonds and soak these over night in water.
The next morning, rinse the almonds and pop in a blender, this doesn’t need to be a super powerful one. Add 3 cups of water and blend until smooth.

Next take your nut bag and a mixing bowl and strain the almond milk through the nut bag, squeezing to ensure you get all the juice out.

Transfer the mixture to your sealable jug and voila! Delicious Almond milk that will last up to 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge! Enjoy.

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My kind of town Chicago is…

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So recently I’ve been super lucky enough to visit the Windy City across the pond (Chicago).

Wow what a trip, being my first time in America and getting to visit such a friendly American city! I literally felt like I was on an American movie. So I am going to list my top 5 things to do in Chicago;

1. Anish Kapoor Cloud gate –  in millennium park.

this is/must be one of the most famous reasons to visit Chicago, this amazing sculpture of the Bean is incredible (and great for a cheeky selfie) you’re able to see the city’s skyline in its reflection. The sculpture is huge and very impressive

2. Architecture boat tour – sunny days are best for this.

Hop on a bus to find out all the information about the history and architecture of the city! It’s super fascinating and gives you a great angle to look at all the buildings and find out how and when they were built!

3. Navy pier – this was a beautiful pier and is home to the worlds first (at the time) Big Wheel, unfortunately it has been replaced by a shiny new one (pictured below). Keep an eye out as there are fireworks throughout the summer and the Pier is a great place to view them from.

4. Baseball – Chicago is home to 2 Major league baseball teams, the Cubs and the White Sox. We were lucky enough to get to watch the Sox in a Match against Washington Nationals. This was a brilliant American experience, I also learnt a thing or two about Baseball which was great fun!

5. Sky deck – A room with an amazing view! This took our trip to the City to a new level. It was a great experience being able to view the whole city from such a height. If like me you feel a bit daring you can take a step out onto the 360 glass rooms and get the complete Sky Deck experience! (see below image)

 

I hope you get to check some of these fun (touristy yes I know) things out and enjoy Chicago as much as I did!

Easy Granola

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I have been super busy these post months! But I have got some delicious recipes and some great things to talk about so keep your eyes peeled and your bellies ready for a treat!
This is the first of a few recipes to try this is a delicious breakfast treat you can prepare at the weekends ready for the week (if you can keep it in the Jar that long).
**please note all the ingredients I use are Organic

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You’ll need:

  • A variety of nuts, I use raw Cashews and Almonds – 2 handfuls of each
  • Seeds – I use raw Sunflower Seeds -2handfuls
  • Goji Berries – 1handful
  • Oats – 4handfuls
  • Desicated Coconut – 1handful
  • Acacia Honey -2-3tablespoons
  • Pinch of Salf
  • Dash of cinamon
  • 1/3 of a vanilla pod

To make:
(this step is optional) Soak the nuts seeds and Goji Berries in water for a minimum of an hour.*
Pre heat the oven to 150°C (fan).
In a bowl mix the berries and nuts with the oats,Acacia honey, Salt, Cinamon and Vanilla.
Take a sheet of baking paper and lay the mix down evenly.
Place in the oven untill starting to brown.
Sprinkle the Desicated Coconut over the browning mixture and place back into the oven.
Once golden brown remove from the oven and leave on the side to cool.
Place into an drystore pot and serve portions for breakfast along with almond milk, and fresh berries.

*I soak the nuts, seeds and berries to release any toxins and help with digestion.

 

2016

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  2016 so far for me has been super busy and very productive. I have really given myself time to reflect on 2015 and how I want to do things slightly differently this year. 

So you may have noticed that on the right hand side somewhere I have an etsy badge, click the link and you’ll see what I have been busy getting up to so far this year….Yes that’s right, I am now the proud owner of my very own etsy store. All of the things you see have been designed by me… I am in love with the gift cards, super cute. So please head over there.

I have also been debating taking up vlogging, this is something for me that seems so much more personal and nerve racking… I don’t know why even. So in the next week or so that is what I am going to start getting up to! I will of course upload my vlog here…. I feel nervous even committing to you all I am going to make one!
So how’s your 2016 going? Have you got things you’re trying to do differently? I’d love to know!
See y’all soon 

X

Blueberry pancakes

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So 2016 so far has been super busy for me for May reasons, I’ll explain in my next post. Part of what I am trying to do for 2016 is enjoy the naughty food I love with a healthier twist and this recipe is one I have to share! It’s super easy and delicious! The pancakes are gluten free and dairy free.

Ingredients:

Almond flour 1.5 cups

Eggs 3

Almond milk 1 cup 

Oats 1/2 cup

Handful of Blueberries

2 teaspoons of Coconut oil

Honey to taste (optional)

Method:

This is the super easy, whisk together the Almond Flour, Almond Milk, Eggs and Oats until you have a pancake consistency. Then add in your blueberries.

Once you have the right consistency, heat the pan with the oil inside spoon in some of the mixture ( I was able to get 3panckes in the pan at the time as I made them small) ensuring you have a few blueberries in each. Heat on a medium heat for 3-4 mins depending on how thick you make them, then flip them over.

Serve in a stack on the plate and and sizzle with honey to taste.

Enjoy!

To make these slightly more savoury don’t add the blueberries, smash up some avacado and cook up some bacon as a topping to enjoy..

  

Cauliflower Base Pizza

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So for my birthday I was super lucky and a great friend brought me a brilliant book by ‘Sarah Wilson’ called ‘I Quit Sugar’. This is a truely delicious cauliflower based pizza and it’s super healthy too! I’ve adapted the recipe myself but you can pretty much put whatever you want onto it. I couldn’t not share this with you all!

A great way to eat healthily and deliciously this January,  

So to make this delicious pizza (enough for 2), you will need;

For the base:

1 cauliflower- grated, cooked, drained and cooled

100g goats cheese

1 egg

Sea salt and pepper to taste
Topping:

2 tablespoons of Passata

4  tenderstem Broccoli  stalks

1 finely sliced red onion

2 eggs 

And whatever else you fancy really
To start pre-heat the oven to 200C. So to make the base mix all the ingredients together. Flatten the mixture out to around 1cm thick onto baking trays the mixture can make 2 large or 4 small pizzas spending on how you want to divide the mixture. Cook these for around 30-40min until the base is crusty.

Remove these from the oven and the add your topping, really this can be of your choice or you can use my suggestion. If using my suggestion, smear the Passata over the base and lay your toppings on top leaving the egg till last. Find somewhere to crack the egg, and then place into the oven for a further 10-15 mins (or until the egg is cooked)

Serve warm and enjoy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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A big Merry Christmas from me to all my lovely readers! I hope you’ve all even well and truely spoiled. 

Sorry I have been out of touch, I’ve been enjoying an amazing Christmas with my family on a beautiful island on the west coast of Ireland and what a treat we had, and amazingly beautiful place that made feel so grateful to be able to experience it with all my loved ones.

I really hope all of your Christmases were filled with family, food and fun!

Here’s a quick video I put together of my time there, please don’t judge my editing skills as it has all been done on my iPad!*

 
 
* please note the music is by an amazing artist Ben Howard and it is not mine.

Birthday Surprise

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IMG_2847 copyThis year for my Birthday I was in for a lovely thoughtful surprise from Josh. All I knew was that the Tuesday before my Birthday I was to have nothing planned after work that evening and that he would meet me at work. That Tuesday came, we walked through Hyde Park and I still had no idea what we were doing or where we were going I was looking at everything and suggesting that it might be it…

However we then showed up outside Claridges, I was so excited to be so lucky to be dining in such an amazing place (whilst feeling slightly under dressed). We walked into such a Grand Entrance that just sparkled. We were shown to the restaurant where we left our coats and bags in a cloak room and made our way into Fera a 1 Michelin star restaurant (ahhhh I was so amazed happy and excited and this point). We were treated so well with a glass of Champagne waiting for us. We were having a set menu which came with a nicer price tag and a great variety of foods.

The Service was out of this world, we had some delicious taste warmers followed by a tasty 3 course meal! I was in a foodies heaven.

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Chocolate Treats

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The Other weekend me and Josh were setting off to Central London, for some shopping and to see the iconic Harrods Christmas lights! They really do make you feel christmassy. We then went in to see if we could see any decorations for the tree that tickled our fancy, and on the way to the Christmas hall, got completely distracted by the Godiva Chocolate Cafe, and boy what a great distraction it was. With so much chocolate around I think anyone would struggle not going in there.

We were seated really quickly, but then we were left with the difficult decision of what type/form of chocolate should we get? Hot chocolate, cold chocolate drinks,white, Milk or dark, fondue, cake, crepes or chocolates. I mean seriously I’ve never seen such a variety of ways chocolate can be done. So finally having spent a fair bit of time choosing our decisions were made. I opted for a white hot chocolate and josh a dark hot chocolate, along with a chocolate cake layered with mouse and genâche served with a hot chocolate sauce. Essentially chocolate on chocolate.
Yes, it was delicious, yes it was sickly!  It really is a great place to take that Chocolate lover in your life.

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‘Tis the season to be jolly

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So I’m sure if you follow any of my social media accounts you’ll know I’m fully embracing the Christmas spirit this year! I am so excited… The tree is up my Christmas jumpers on, just the presents to finish buying.  

  

But I wanted to take the time to write this post to really think about what Christmas is for me. Yes it’s about the giving and the sharing, it’s about everyone, including all of those people who are less fortunate than us all around the world. It’s about helping others in ways that you can, to spread this Christmas spirit. It really makes you realise how lucky we are to have amazing people around us roofs over our heads and the Internet to even be able to read this post.

Today I have done some small things to try and help in my own way, donated to a food bank and brought a big issue, yes they’re only small things but the more people that do all these small things the bigger the community spirit and the more people able to enjoy Christmas. 

So here’s a Christmas challenge, don’t just walk by that big issue seller, help them out and buy that edition, buy some extra mince pies and give them away so we can all help those less fortunate around us, and enjoy doing it.