L… is for London

31 October 2014


I think, or even better, I know that I love big cities. I have previously written about my love for New York, which you can read here if you missed it.

You have most likely been to Oxford Street, or at the very least heard of it. I love it, the business of it with what seems the ridiculous amount of people and the endless road of shops, and it seems to go on for miles! What can only be described as a shopaholic’s heaven!

Another part of London that I love is Knightsbridge. Home to Harrods and Harvey Nichols! There’s something about Harrods that I prefer to Selfridges. The building is so much nicer but it is almost guaranteed that you will get lost. Whenever I go there, I always go to the Food Hall. It is huge and there are so many treats that you can’t get anywhere else.

Similarly, Harvey Nichols food hall is again something else. It is much smaller than the one in Harrods but the products you can get there are more for cooking and baking as opposed to ready-made products, such as cakes or jars of sweets. My kind of place!

And last, but without a doubt not least, is the Natural History Museum. I could go there 100 times and still not get bored; I’m looking into going again there soon! The best part has to be the dinosaur exhibition. You just have to go if you haven’t been before.


Ilumi

27 October 2014

This is one of the most exciting blog posts I’ve done so far.


Ilumi are based in County Durham and they have produced a wonderful range of nut-, gluten- and milk-free foods.
The meals are so well thought out that they are safe to eat for people with certain allergies.

Taken straight from their website, their mission is: to create delicious, colourful, deeply flavoursome foods that our customers can trust, to make them accessible and convenient, and to spread the word about eating for wellness to the wider community.

I personally think that this is an amazing mission to have. I’m sure that many food companies out there have this, or similar, as their mission when creating food products but it is not always written so obviously on their website.

The products that I have been trying this week are under the 7-day meal plan, in which you get 10 x meals, 5 x sides, 4 x soups and 3 x ilumi-endorsed products. That’s 22 products for £44.99, bargain!






These meal plans are new and there are 4 options – 7-day, 14-day, 28-day and “try me pack”.
They are all portion controlled and so yummy plus you get to choose which meals you receive which is so much better than other companies who choose for you. I’m quite a fussy eater so I’d like to choose my food!!

The best part about their meal plans is that they can help you to:

  • Lose weight
  • Increase your energy
  • Sleep better
  • The meal plans are better value as you save over 30% than if you buy the products individually.
Not only do they send you your meal plan for your selected amount of days, on their website there are some helpful hints and tips that you can print off for yourself. On this page they give you a small shopping list that shouldn’t cost you too much, but it does help to ensure that you get all of your 5 a day. They also suggest to only have alcohol in moderation, as you should be anyway!

First up, the Spanish rice and vegetables. It comes in a tray and similar with your typical ready meal, you remove the sleeve, pierce the film lid and heat in the microwave for 2 ½ minutes.
In this pack there are 277 calories, I don’t think you can get a meal better than that!
It’s packed full of vegetables like butternut squash, yellow and red pepper, onion and tomatoes. Plus it’s made with brown rice instead of white rice.
Before I even sit down to eat it, I’m sold!
And once I’d eaten it, it turns out I got my hopes up a bit. I prefer my vegetables a bit al dente but these were really soft. The rice was perfect but it felt like there was just a bit too much seasoning for my liking!


It comes in a microwavable tray so it’s easy to cook!

Packed full of goodness!

The second product I want to share with you is the tomato and red pepper soup. At the time of deciding what to eat, I’d just done a long shift and wanted something I knew I would enjoy.
And it was so delicious! The balance of flavours was just right, and there were little pieces of tomato and red pepper, which gave it some texture. It wasn’t watered down at all and it wasn’t too thick like some soups can be, for me it really was the perfect soup!


Can you tell I enjoyed it?!

On the back of all their packets is a bout themselves with a line “irresistible taste you can trust”.
They claim to have their flavours locked in and 100% natural ingredients.


Nice and easy to understand!


*This post was sponsored by Ilumi and all views and opinions are 100% my own.



Apple and Blackberry Crumble

26 October 2014



I've had these ingredients just sat around for a while and I love to have blackberries in a crumble! This is such a great dessert for this time of year!

Ingredients:
Filling -
4 apples
1 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar
225g blackberries
Crumble Top –
170g plain flour
75g butter
75g sugar

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the apple chunks, water and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat and cook until the apples are soft, for roughly 10 minutes. Stir every so often so that it doesn’t stick. Taste and add sugar to see if it needs more.





Transfer the apples to a dish and add in the blackberries.


How cute are these ramekins my mum gave me?

I used my mums homegrown blackberries! And she just happened to have a few raspberries so I thought I would add them in too!

To make the crumble top, rub the butter into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs and add the sugar.





Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the filling mixture and cook in the oven for 30 – 45 minutes for larger crumbles and around 15 minutes for smaller, individual crumbles.

Serve with ice cream or cream!


It was delicious if I may say so myself!



K…is for Kingston upon Thames

24 October 2014

This is one hell of a beautiful place and somewhere that I get the pleasure of calling home!

I originally come from Salisbury and they are very similar except that in Kingston the shops are way better.

It’s in the name but Kingston sits on the river Thames and in the summer there is nowhere else I would rather be than in one of the pubs overlooking the river drinking a cold cider!

I’ve been through a lot in this place and sure it would probably be much easier to run away and start again but what kind of a person would that make me?

I’m not leaving anytime soon no matter what anyone says!
My life and my friends are in Kingston now and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I’m really looking forward to what I can achieve while I live here!


Plus as a bonus, I’m only half an hour away from London on the train which is great for when I want a day out there!


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