Food| Remedies for colds.

As you might have guessed from the title, I'm feeling a little under the weather,  Christmas/ New Year blues has given me a cold.
Now, thankfully, its not a streaming cold where I completely feel like death, but is definitely enough to make me want to have all my nutrients and anything to help shake it.
This is where the wonder medicine of ginger comes into play. Now I have not always been a fan of raw ginger, to be honest I never really gave ginger much thought until the last couple of months- but it has become my SAVIOUR whenever I feel groggy.
Two drinks which have really helped me shake off this cold are nothing new and innovative but nonetheless;


Hot Lemon, Ginger and Honey:

Simply take an inch of Ginger and put in a boiling jug of 300ml of water for about 5/10 minutes. You then add either a couple of lemon slices or lemon juice with about 1 teaspoon of honey (you might like it sweeter its entirely up to you) then stir till its dissolved. I then more the contents into a mug and drink. The temperature is hot to lukewarm which I think is more soothing for a sore throat. You also can leave the ginger and lemon in the mug while you drink it, which creates more flavour or when you more it you can use a sieve- completely up to you.



Carrot, Apple, Orange and Ginger Juice:

I take two oranges, two carrots, 1 red apple and about an inch of ginger and simply put through a juicer to create this juice, it makes approximately about 1 glass. Alternatively, you can use a blender by peeling the carrots, juicing the oranges beforehand, cutting up the apple and ginger into thin slices and then blending with a small glass of water added to it. Once it is all blended, just put the mixture through the sieve and it leaves the juice. Either way, it is super simply.


                                                                   Love Kelly xxx

Book| Madeline Shaw- 'Get the Glow'.

So recently I have become obsessed with cooking, I have literally spent everyday making something new in the kitchen- most of which were successes and some not so much.
However I have discovered a little gem of a book- 'Madeline Shaw's Get the Glow'. I've always been intrigued by healthy food and ways to make it exciting in my everyday food instead of boring salads. Over the past year there has been a surge in healthy eating blogs, writers, you tubers and I have become fascinated by all of them especially Madeline Shaw and Deliciously Ella.
I think these two stick out for me the most, as they both hardly use any special ingredients and all ingredients can easily be found in my local Sainsburys.
Therefore I decided to treat myself to Madeline Shaw's book, which had- pardon the pun, glowing reviews online.
I have tried around 4 or 5 of the recipes from the book, which is hardly enough of the recipes within the book.
However, I did try a little gem- Turkey Meatballs. These are divine, something about them is so full of flavour. I did make them with pasta both times as my family weren't brave enough to try the courgette.
I also made the Orange and Pomegranate Chicken, which was also divine and full of flavour. This one I was a little hesitant about due to the odd flavour combination- but the sweet crunch at the end was perfect.
All in all I have found this book to be perfectly useful in my entrance to a more healthier lifestyle.

But it did make me think, that this book has inspired me into something new- which makes me realise how odd it is that one thing can change your lifestyle in the smallest way.



                                                              Love Kelly xox

 Food: Healthy Easting in the Past Week 
_____________________________________________________________________________

As you know I prefer healthy food compared to junk food, I just find it makes me feel better. Over the past week, I realised I have been eating a lot healthier than I have in the past. I think this is important, not forcing yourself to eat healthy but slowly getting into a healthy routine through by first healthy snacking then healthy breakfasts, dinners, lunches. 
I have taken pictures of everything I have eaten over the past week, but the 2 spontaneous photos are of some of the things I have been eating. 

Breakfast:
I usually have porridge made with almond milk and topped with fresh fruit. 

Porridge. 

Lunch:
Either Ryvita's, wraps or a salad (these include chicken, pepper, lettuce, cucumber) 

Salad with chicken and smoothie 

Dinner:
Stir fry's with chicken or just a plain vegetable one, salmon and vegetables or a pasta with a homemade sauce (freshly made) 

poached egg on my stir fry

Stir fry and quinoa 

Snacks:
Bevita biscuits or fruit and yoghurt. 

yoghurt and fruit

 Hope you had a good day

Kelly 

xox

Food: Homemade meatballs and Spaghetti. 

Another food post- I seem to be loving my food recently!!! This is one of my favourite meals I like to make for my family, and was probably the first meal I made on my own and completely from scratch (such a chef!) Ever since I was a child, I have loved cooking and recently started being a bit more adventurous, although this probably isn't the most adventurous meal; however it is fairly easy to make and quick so thats a bonus. 
I loving making food from scratch as I then know exactly what is in it, and can always put the best fresh ingredients in to the recipe to get the best flavours and make it as nutritious and healthy as possible. 
This recipe came from a Comfort Food Cookbook, and consist of fresh basil, glaric, onions, parsley. 
I love cooking Italian food, as its probably the only thing the whole family eats (as we are all fussy in our own special way) But nonetheless it is a very yummy dish to make,and usually theres too much for all of us to eat, so I freeze half of the food to have another day; basically getting 2 meals out of one recipe. 

Ingredients:
The Sauce: 
2X 400g of Tinned Tomatoes 
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic gloves (although I have learnt to just put 2 in) 
1 large onion
 Fresh basil 
Meatballs: 
250g of beef mince
25g of parmesan 
2 eggs 
100g of breadcrumbs  
10g of chopped parsley 
3 tablespoons of extra virgin Olive oil.  

Method: 
1)Added the tinned tomatoes, extra virgin oil, chopped up garlic gloves and onion into a saucepan and simmer for 40 minutes. 
2) Add all the meatball ingredients together and stir together with a wooden spoon, create the meats balls into walnut size balls and cook for 10 minutes and then turn over and cook for another 8 minutes in 180 degree oven temperature. 
3)Boil your pasta for however long you usually do (I had fresh pasta- so it only took 5 minutes) and then it should all be complete! 

The Sauce- after all ingrediants are added

The meatball 'mixture' 

The meatballs

The finish product (I did try and make it look pretty!)

Hope you had a good day!

Kelly 

oxo

Food: Porridge

I absolutely love breakfast, it is my favourite meal of the day; no idea why!! 
My favourite thing to have for breakfast especially in the colder months is porridge topped with fruit. 
It not only warms me up by also keeps me full for most of the day, and when travelling around London all day everyday, I don't like lugging around loads of food.
I have found the best results for a creamy porridge is soaking the oats and water overnight and then in the morning adding the milk.

Ingredients:
1)Half a cup of porridge oats
2)Half a cup of water
3) Half a cup of milk (this time I used almond milk- New Obsession!!) 
4)Then top with the fruit of your choice I usually like Banana, blueberries, raspberries, grapes. 

Method: 1) Measure out half a cup of oats and half a cup of water and soak in a saucepan, covered up overnight- I usually put a plate over the top. 
2) In the morning, measure out half a cup of milk (of your choice) and pour into the saucepan with the oats and water. 
3) Put the stove on a low heat and gently stir. 
4) Cut up your fruit in preparation while your porridge continues to heat up (stop occasionally to stir the porridge) 
5)Once the porridge starts to come together to form a thicker mixture, and there is heat coming off it, then take it off the heat. 

Serve in a bowl with your fruit on top and then enjoy! 

Hope you have a lovely day 

Kelly 

oxo

Food: Healthy eating. 

I have always been a healthier eater, I just prefer eating fruit to a packet of sweets- strawberries are so much nicer. 
But recently, for some unknown reason, I have been eating a lot more healthy food and really putting care into my dinner choices. 
Therefore, I thought I'd share my very simple (I mean 3 ingredients) smoothie. 
Over the past 2 days, I have had real trouble eating, believing it to be caused by my wisdom teeth coming through (ouch!)- it has left me with a swollen jaw and pain. 
So I have literally been living off of smoothies, and my favourite one is a raspberry, banana and almond milk one. 

It's a really simple method of putting all the ingredients into a blender.
I usually cut up the banana first, chuck in the frozen raspberries. 
Then, for the almond milk, usually about half of the height of the ingredients is fine for me but the Almond milk depends on how thick you like your smoothie to be. 
In the pictures it doesn't look that appetising but I suppose how you make a simple smoothie look good? But I do promise it tastes so good!! The think I like about it, it's so simple to make, even if you are in a  rush. 

-:2 hand fulls of frozen raspberries

-: 1 banana 

-: Almond milk (to taste) 

I hope you enjoy, and have a happy Friday!

Kelly 

xox