Whatcha Grazin'?

What's inside my Graze box this week?
Well last weeks graze box went astray and ended up just not showing at all, which was sad and annoying but after a few stern emails they eventually gave me a full refund of my box. I then got my next box half price, but have since cancelled my Graze box orders again as it's just too much of a hassle right now as the postal system at my university is a little unreliable and can get confused what with there being so many buildings, so many floors per building and so many flats and rooms per floor...
Anywho, onto the box:

As soon as I got it (it arrived in my postbox at 8pm this night...)
I opened the olives which were a complete knock out and utterly delicious, but I knew I would like them. They're in a delicious oil and just really morish.
As a mid morning snack the following day I had the salt and vinegar nut selection which was also really really tasty. They could probably get away with using a little less salt and a little more vinegar though, just thinking for the health benefit side of things.
After lunch I ate the Boston baguettes with a dip that tasted kind of smokey, as though it had onions, a bit of tomato in it too. It was really good, but my problem with it, is that it really didn't taste that healthy at all, maybe almost too delicious for it's own good. Here lies the same problem that led me to cancel the last time, are these Graze boxes really that healthy after all?
Finally, coincidentally after dinner I ate the after dinner mint which had mint flavoured raisins in it which were interesting, it wasn't an overwhelming taste just as though they had a delicate hint of mint to the raisins but they still tasted much more 'raisin-y' than minty which is a good thing. The dark chocolate buttons included are also really good and creamy, and I usually find dark chocolate too bitter. It contained plain nuts too which made it a little more nutritional!

The box overall was great, I liked everything in it but my problems are the same as they always were:
I eat everything too fast, if this is meant to last me a week or even a few days, it's just never going to happen!
I don't think it's all that healthy, maybe it is if I was someone who snacks on crisps and chocolates but when I snack normally it will be on things like Olives, bananas and peanut butter, raw carrots and dip, oranges and maybe some chocolate here and there.
I think this encourages me to snack more than I normally would, the plastic containers are so little that I don't even need to be hungry to finish them, I'm just eating them because they are new, interesting and are there in front of me!

That's my graze wrap up, perhaps they'll encourage me to get another Graze box delivered with another tempting deal or discount code!

Soups up!

So it's getting cold and you need something warm and delicious and comforting like a bowl of hearty ol' soup! Right?

Here's how the soup goes down:

1.Melt a cube of butter in a big saucepan, then add one chopped onion, one small chopped potato, 1 carrot chopped, 1/2 a red pepper chopped and 2 cloves of garlic chopped for two whole minutes while you stir it all around.

2.Then add a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, a tablespoon of tomato puree, 2 and a half mugs of water, and a stock cube and let it all boil baby!

3.Once it's boiled, take it back down to simmering for ten minutes, then add a mug of uncooked pasta, and keep simmering for 5 or 6 more minutes.

4. serve up, eat up, enjoy!

Add crusty bread with butter for more deliciousness, my bread was just boring old bread unfortuantely

How I drink much more water

I have always been a water drinker, I remember when I was around eight years old my mum just stopped buying juice, the kind that you dilute with water, I was so confused, I always drank orange flvoured water and only drank plain old water when I completely had to and was really really thirsty and that's all there was to offer.

I remember drinking glasses of water feeling very sombre that my beloved juice that was leave my tongue bursting with citrusy tastes had been replaced with dull-old water that tasted of nothing and didn't make me want to drink more and more of it, then somewhere between finding water the dullest thing ever and being thirsty enough to have no choice it is a full on habit to drink water and now I drink nothing else. I've tried to drink glasses of juice again but I find them so sweet that my tongue stings!

Since all I drink is water I like to think I've become quite the water conisseur (haha) and I really CAN tell the difference in tastes between bottled and tap water (my friend did a blind water tasting expierment on me when I was aroudn 12 years old because she didn't believe me) I also CAN tell the difference between brands of bottled water and in my personal opinion mineral water is a little icky.. spring water is where it is at. My favourite is Evian (Incase you were wondering) Anywho, I've got a little side tracked...

Sine I moved out from home buying my own bottled water was becoming a bit of an expense that seems kind of silly when water comes from the tap (I just don't like the taste of most tap waters) After a little research, Amazon presented me with the Bobble water bottle. You unscrew the top, fill it up with water straight from the tap, screw on the top with the inbuilt filter and then the bottle filters as you drink.

I love this! The water tastes fresh, all the time and every time. The filter lasts you for about 2 months (or until it doesn't taste crisp and fresh anymore I guess) and I fill mine up at least 4 times a day, I take it to the gym, lessons, to my bed it's so practical. The only thing you have the change is the filter, the bottle stays with you for the long haul

I have the 500ml size, they do a litre size too but I think 500ml is more practical for carrying it around in bags.

Top tips:
-Don't squeeze the bottle too hard or you can damage it permanently

-Don't freak out about the black particles that may be floating in the water, they are compeltely harmless carbon particles that the filter filters out anyway

-The filters come in different colours if pink isn't your thing!

Cooking up a storm

Want something super quick and easy to eat that tastes good and is good?

Well look no further than Chef Alexia to help you out on a Thursday night.
You will need:

5 or 6 of those little mushrooms

Half a mug of peas

A small onion

Any type of pasta, spaghetti or gnocci

A can of tuna (optional)

Pesto sauce (optional)

-Boil a pan of water and cook your pasta or gnocci, while that's cooking chop up your onion and mushrooms into little pieces.

-Drop the onion into a hot pan for a little bit (use rape seed oil, it's even better than olive oil for you!) then add mushrooms and peas or any other veg you want to throw in.

-Once it's all cooked in the pan, drain the pasta from the pot, then throw everything back into the pot and mix it around, add your tuna and pesto sauce at this point too and mix mix mix

Done!

Voila!

Bon Apetit!

New video: Looking better when you feel ill

I wish I had a better camera to truly pick up the difference between the before and after, but hopefully you can tell that I'm less blemish-y and the redness around my nose has been zapped away!

My video is as follows:
But if you're super short on time I'll give you a brief outline and additional tips below!

- I avoided moisturisers while feeling all yucky and flu-like because I already felt super sweaty and gross, and didn't want to slather anything over my skin.
-If I really have to face the world while feeling gross I apply concealer to the redness on my nose, my blemishes, eyelids and under eye circles.
-I prefer to dust a super lightweight foundation all over my skin over the top of the concealer to make my skin tone appear much more even
-I dust the smallest amount of blusher on my cheeks to stop me looking 'ghost like'
-I apply vaseline to my lips (pots are more hygenic than tubes)
Adterwards don't forget to cleanse all the brushes that you used, and I washed the lid to the foundation that I used aswell (as I swirled the brush in the lid)

Other top tips:
-Using a seperate toothbrush for 'being ill' and keeping it in your bedroom if you share a bathroom with other people so that toothbrushes don't have to 'mingle'
-Get lots of sleep, as much as you can!
-When you can, remove all your makeup and apply vaseline to your nostrils if they are sore and red from blowing your nose too much
-Drinking peppermint tea is a great way to open up your airways and it's warm and soothing!

Sending lots of 'get well' wishes your way!

What's THE JUICE?

To help make getting up out of bed, I like to have a breakfast I can look foward to, to make the transition from asleep to awake a little easier.
I'd consider myself to still not be a 'morning person' but people  often ask
"How do you have so much energy in the mornings!?..I thought you said you weren't a morning person!"
I never really thought about the answer, until I realised it probably has a little something to do with my breakfast. I call it my 'Super Sweet Detox' because it is all three of those things!

So here's how it goes...

Take yourself a melon (Galia or Honeydew)
A handful of Blueberries
3 Applies

Chop it all up! The size of the pieces depends on how good your blender is- mine is an old rickety thing so I have to cut pretty much everything up into bite sized pieces

Throw everything in the juicer as you chop it up, it doesn't matter what order you juice it as it all gets mixed together anyway! Of course, Blueberries can go in as they are

You should have enough there for about two days- store it in the fridge in the meantime!

Voila! The end result (alright, alright I know it looks a little incy wincy bit like someone vomited, but thats the texture of the apples- If you buy apple juice and it looks like that, then it's the 'real deal' and fresh from the apple) If you want the colour to be a little more vibrant, throw in some more blueberries!

Why you should try this...
It is filling despite it being a liquid form- if you really can't handle having nothing to chew on in the morning then have a banana too!
It simply tastes good
You can sip it on your journey to work (less rushing around in the morning)
It is thoroughly good for you (unlike most cereals which have a lot of junk in them even when marketed as 'healthy')
It gives you more energy and the energy is released slo-o-o-w-l-y so that you can power on for longer
Blueberries are a superfood- they hold magical powers (well kind of) here's what research tells us:
-Blueberries can improve memory
-Blueberries can postpone the onset of cognitive problems frequently associated with aging
-Blueberries can reuce damage to muscles following overly taxing exercise
-Blueberries can protect the nervous system from stress
-Blueberries can protect the retina from sunlight damage and oxygen damage

Top tips...
If the thought of getting up in the morning to prepare this fills you with horror, prepare it the night before and store it in a jug in the fridge
Take the seeds out of the melon to half clean up time (those pesky seeds get everywhere)
When an apple is blended, it all tastes the same so you may aswell go for the cheapest

Happy juicing!

'Cup of tea guvna?'

Whilst I'm not intending to fulfill the British stereotype as being a tea lover (I myself am not fond of them unless they're the herbal kind, and sometimes even not then)
I do like to drink peppermint tea a lot, a lot, a lot sometimes I have four mugs of it a day!

I used think that it was just something delicious to drink but then I discovered lots of awesome health benefits so I upped my intake of the beverage.

Health benefits include:
Improvement of all kinds of belly trouble, whether indigestion, upset stomach, stomach aches, travel sickness, nervous stomach, butterflies in your belly, abdominal pain headaches and even improve concentration!

I had a mug before I took my driving test when my belly was indeed very nervous and I went through a phase of being prone to stomach aches and depended on peppermint tea to relax the muscles then too.
My favourite brand is Pukka three mint tea:

It's delicious and I love the spearmint taste of it, plus it leaves you with spear-minty breath which has got to be a good thing!

Here's the mug I'm working my way through now, is it totally gross that I find it really refreshing to drink it cold too? Haha, I'm not sure, let me know.

I leave the tea bag in the mug of boiling water for as long as possible to get a really super strong flavour, but if you like your a little weaker then take it out quicker of course!

So if you need a new hot drink in your life or trying to wean yourself off regular tea or coffee and need a beverage replacement, then try peppermint tea.
Or just try it if you like the taste of toothpaste!

The Two E's...

Eat to be nourished

Exercise to be fit

I can't take credit for this quote but I sure think it's an important one. Especially at this time of year-it's apparently the most depressing month in regards to weight because we all wake up to the realisation that we've not been able to shift that 'Christmas weight'

When I think about the amount of people around us that are unhappy or want to lose weight, this quote is what always springs to mind, it's as though people need reminding (myself included!) That indeed it's not about being so skinny our bones can be seen through our skin, or going to bed with our stoamchs grumbling.

It's about doing a workout whether it's at the gym or in front of a workout show on the television because of that wonderful 'zing!' you feel running through your blood afterwards that means we're a little less puffed out once we get to the top of the stairs (or is that just me?)

It's about thinking 'I could eat this fried chicken or burger..... orrr..... I could eat a chicken sandwich with some tomatoes, salad, maybe a little mayo and pepper'

It's tough to fight against impulse but I think about how I'll feel afterwards and that makes the decision for me, not only is the fried chicken greasy, bad for my skin, salty and fatty- I'm also going to be hungry in a short space of time because there's no real 'substance' to junk food and it doesn't fill us up for long- so we technically have to eat more because of it!
Something like a sandwich has more to it and will keep us from falling asleep in the early evenings from low energy.

So remember if you or anyone you know is feeling misguided about where to go or what new fad to follow to improve confidence within their body: Eat to be nourished. Exercise to be fit

Apple smiles all round!