I’ve been a bit hesitant about announcing this but now seems like a better time than any to share this.

I’ve been trying to get a bit more creative (which you know) and I now have an etsy shop, oooooh, which only has a few items but some that will be perfect for Christmas.

First up is for the new students (or old if you fancy it), a "survival kit". It’s perfect as a little start up in case they forget anything and it is completely tailored to the individual.

Second, is the stationary box. If you love stationary as much as I do, then you need this. Again this is tailored to the individual dependent on the needs (if you work in an office or you’re in education etc.) and favourite colours of course.

Lastly, and most definitely my favourite, is the hot chocolate mix gift. It is an unbelievably cute present idea and such a simple but great gift for just about anyone!

That was a shameless plug right there, so here’s a couple of ideas for you to make yourself.

Chocolate:

My idea for this is to melt a load of chocolate over a pan of simmering water with a bit of butter then pour it into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Then you can add basically any decoration you like! I know for mine I’m going to add some mini marshmallows and candy cane and snowflake sprinkles. The great thing about this is that you can use any cocoa percentage chocolate and any decoration. You could add dried fruit for a bit of colour or even some glitter sprinkles!

The second idea I had is made with a lot of love! I’ve decided to do a gift basket for breakfast with various things you need. I haven’t made it yet but here’s a website that has tonnes more ideas you could use!


To win your very own Hot Chocolate Mix, enter here! UK only i'm afraid.


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D… is for Dinner

This has to be my favourite meal of the day. I’ve always hated the idea of breakfast and it’s normally quite boring too. Lunch just fills you up during the day.

So dinner is my favourite, it is normally when I will cook that dish that I’ve wanted to make for a while. It’s also when I will eat with family or friends making it the most sociable meal as well!

Here's a few reminders of what I've previously made:

Coconut Prawns with Glass Noodles

This is an amazing recipe I made this evening from the Clean and Lean Diet Cookbook, a definite buy for anyone wanting to eat really healthy food. Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I absolutely love cooking and I love to experiment with new recipes and make them my own. Obviously this blog is all about losing weight and eating a healthy diet so I thought this was a perfect recipe to share, and definitely one of the best dishes I’ve cooked in a long time!

As it says on the recipe page, top tip: ginger is good for your digestive health and can help your body to break down fatty foods.

Recipe:

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

20 tiger prawns, raw and unpeeled

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chilli, finely sliced

50g creamed coconut

3 tbsp of soy sauce

250g glass rice noodles

A bunch of coriander, to garnish

1 lime, quartered, to garnish

Method:

1. Rinse the tiger prawns under cold water
2. In a wok, heat the oil and gently fry the garlic, ginger and chilli, until well softened. Add the creamed coconut and 120ml boiling water. The sauce should be of a thick consistency. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes; do not allow to boil.
3. Add the prawns and continue to cook until they have turned pink.
4. Add the soy sauce and taste. Add more of both if needed to adjust the flavour.
5. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
6. Serves the prawns over noodles, sprinkled with coriander and a wedge of lime on the side.

This is my own take on the recipe, being at home meant I was able to use tiger prawns as they are quite expensive, if I was still at uni I would adapt it to what I was able to afford!! Also the original recipe used a green chilli but I decided to use a red chilli, which gave it a good kick.

Curry in the making!

The final dish!

Moroccan Chicken Pot Pies with cumin and a crisp filo top

One of my favourite dishes is chicken pie, unfortunately I would normally make that with puff pastry, not good for the diet! So I’ve been meaning to try this one for a while and it was absolutely delicious, a great twist on your class chicken pie. The spices work so well with the chicken and vegetables and the filo top tastes just as great as puff pastry would, if not better! You must try it if you love chicken pie. It says to serve with a crisp green salad but personally I don’t think that’s needed, maybe a bit of broccoli if you feel you want more veg.

So here’s the recipe and some pictures to make you want to try it even more:

Ingredients:

Spray oil

2 large onions, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

3 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

3 tbsp cornflour

600ml chicken stock

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

100g frozen peas

Salt and pepper

3 sheets of filo pastry

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Spray a little oil into a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute before adding the cumin and paprika. Then, allow them to toast for a minute.

In the meantime, toss the chicken pieces in the cornflour and a little salt and pepper until evenly coated. Stir these into the onion mixture and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the stock, stirring all the time to blend in the cornflour without any lumps. Turn up the heat and add the carrots, peas and seasoning. Allow to come to the boil, then pop a lid on and reduce to simmer gently for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping, slice up the filo pastry width ways and separate the sheets.

Once ready, divide the pie filling among six ramekins or hot pot dishes. Then divide the filo strips into six bunches. Pick up the bunches and lay one messily on top of each pie. The more bits that are sticking up and messy, the more likely the filo is to crisp up. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and piping hot, the filo is crisp and golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and serve.

For anyone wondering, there is also only 320 calories per serving!

Fisherton Mill

I started the day by taking my Nan to Wilton Garden Centre, because I’m just a good granddaughter! I normally just like looking at all the pretty pink flowers.

We then went to Wilton Shopping Village to meet my mum and sister for a spot of lunch. I had a lovely pot of tea while the others had homemade lemonade.

I obviously didn’t have any but I just had to share with you all these homemade cakes.

For lunch we each had different things (lucky for me taking pictures). My mum had the Moroccan hummus, chickpeas and olives open sandwich. My sister had the smoked chicken and avocado salad with new potatoes, green beans, crispy bacon and Parmesan croutes. While I had a Greek salad with roast aubergine pate.

We all completely cleared our plates; it is so yummy there! My mum and sister got cake while I took a walk. I mean look at how pretty it is.

I then went into a cute little vintage shop which I will definitely go back to when I get paid! I got some little presents in there though.

Fisherton Mill also has a shop and gallery but we didn’t go in there today. The café is always popular though and they have them in Salisbury and Wilton. I definitely recommend going there if you’ve never been.

It is clear that the food is all homemade and they change their menu relatively often so if you only go there occasionally then you will always get to choose from a different menu!

'Healthy' Double Chocolate Chip 'Cupcake' Muffins

These are just way too good, like you wouldn't believe. Make them, right now, and eat them. Trust me, it is so worth it and obviously the more chocolate chips the better, I definitely put in more than I should have.
And my housemates love them so much they polished the lot off, there's only two of them!

Ingredients:
200g Wholemeal Flour
75g Plain Flour
50g Chocolate Chips
25g Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Egg
2 Egg Whites
200ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
100g Low-Fat Natural Yogurt
50ml Maple Syrup
50ml Sunflower Oil

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C, ready to put the muffin tray on the middle shelf. Line a muffin tray with paper cases.
Place the flours, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. 

Beat the egg and egg whites briefly in a large jug, and then beat in the milk, yogurt, maple syrup and oil until smooth and well combined. Mix this wet mixture into the dry ingredients with as few stirs as possible to give a wet, sloppy mixture.

Pouring the mixture using two spoons, divide the mixture among the 12 cases. Pop the tray in the oven to cook for about 20 minutes (mine took a bit longer than this) and the cupcakes feel spongy to touch.
Remove from the oven and once cool enough to handle, transfer them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Though I must say they are amazing warm!