Thursday 31 March 2016

Golden, Oat Flapjacks

Hi everyone :)


I recently bought a individual brownie mould tin and it's amazing - just think of a cupcake/muffin tray but square moulds instead of round! Such a great invention. I have been looking for other recipes I can make so I get full use out of it and I thought about these yummy, golden, oat flapjacks!

They are simple and easy to make and don't require lots of ingredients and it's thinks you normally have stored away in your cupboard anyway.

I will mention if you are young then please get an adult to help as this recipe includes hot sugar which is not nice if it comes into contact with your skin.


Ingredients:
150g butter
75g light soft brown sugar
3 rounded tbsp golden syrup
250g rolled oats

Method:
1. In a pot (over a low heat) melt the butter, sugar and syrup.
2. Once melted remove from the heat and add the oats and stir until the oats are coated in the melted mixture.
3. Spoon the mixture into the moulds and press with something flat - I used the back of a teaspoon.
4. Baking time does vary - if you want a soft crumbly flapjack then put them in for 15 minutes and if you prefer a crunchy (nearing on burnt) flapjack then 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven (after your desired time) and leave on a cooling rack to cool.






Are you a fan of flapjacks? They remind me so much of my Gran as she used to make them all the time! Let me know what you think! If you want to check out the original recipe you can find it HERE.



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Tuesday 29 March 2016

Creme Egg Brownies

Hi everyone :)


I really should have posted this before Easter but I never got the chance to make them as I was waiting on the brownie tin I ordered (that's my excuse anyway). I still managed to bake them on Easter weekend so that counts doesn't it? This version of a brownie - the creme egg brownie - is made around Easter however that doesn't mean you can't make them at any time of the year as creme eggs are available in supermarkets all year round.

You also don't have to use creme eggs - there are galaxy caramel eggs too which make a great alternative.

I managed to get this recipe from SORTEDfood. I found them on YouTube a few months ago and have been watching lots of their videos ever since. They also have a webpage which includes all their recipes they make.

Ingredients:
150g dark chocolate
100g butter
200g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
75g self-raising flour
40g cocoa
6 creme eggs




Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170ÂșC and line the 12 individual moulds with strips of baking parchment.
2. In a glass bowl over a bowl of simmering water add the chunks of butter and chunks of chocolate and mix until melted and glossy.
3. Add the sugar and stir well until dissolved.
4. Add the eggs, flour and cocoa and mix together.
5. Using a spoon or piping bag divide the mixture into the 12 moulds.
6. Cut the creme eggs in half so you have 12 and then pop one on top of each brownie and press slightly.
7. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool






What did you get up to on Easter weekend? Did you bake anything or have an Easter egg hunt? Let me know in the comments below. If you want to find the original recipe or check out SORTEDfood's webpage then the link is HERE.



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Thursday 24 March 2016

JAKE

Hey everyone,


I bought 'JAKE' last year and just never got round to writing a post about it. In my quest for Healthy Eating - because lets face it ... I'm really bad with what I eat! I'm dreading my mum coming next week as I'll be questioned with 'are you eating properly?', 'you look thin!' etc etc ...

JAKE is a meal shake that you can use to replace one of your meals throughout the day ... each pack contacts a third of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs per day. You can replace all meals and consuming three packs a day will meet all requirements that your body needs - they do recommend building up to that and not just switching completely though. 

I bought 20 meals worth and that cost around £50 - it's expensive but I wanted to try it to see if I liked it. You also receive a free shaker with the first order so you can get started straight away. You just mix the meal pack with 400ml of water and shake for a minute to get rid of the lumps and make sure its mixed properly and then drink. 



There are 3 different products available from JAKE - you can get:

JAKE Light - which has less calories per meal and is suggested if you are looking to loose a few pounds
JAKE Original - the original version (the one I bought) for anyone looking to eat healthily and maintain a healthy weight
JAKE Sports - for someone who lives an active lifestyle, this pack has more calories and protein than the others

As I mentioned (and you can probably tell from the picture) I bought JAKE Original - as I'm not watching my weight or going to the gym much (at the moment). I did find the shake rather thick so I did use 500ml of water rather than the recommended 400ml just so that it was a bit thinner.




I'm not a stranger to drinking protein shakes - as I went through the protein shake/gym phase last year so the flavour of the JAKE shake was similar to that of the protein shakes and didn't bother me. It's a pity they don't do different flavours - maybe they might bring it out in the future.


Overall if you have a busy lifestyle or sometimes can't get a proper meal then I would highly recommend these as they are a great idea! There is lots more info on the JAKE webpage HERE - you can compare the 3 products and learn more about the company and what the products can do for you.

Let me know in the comments below if you have ever used them or heard about them. 



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Wednesday 23 March 2016

Links of London

Hey everyone


I fell in love with London when I first visited on a trip with my local YMCA centre. I love city life - when I lived near Glasgow (in Hamilton) I couldn't get enough - I spent more time in Glasgow with friends than I did at University (yeah probably why I didn't last long). When I first visited London I was young and didn't have much cash - I'd spent months saving up every penny I could from my weekend cafe job so things I bought were the typical tourist things like key rings from London Aquarium and a tea towel for my mum.


When I moved to England I stayed in Slough (for 6 months) and London was only 20 minutes away via train so I took frequent trips on my days off into the big city. I had lots more cash (and a few credit cards) so trips were funner and better - mainly because I spent whatever the hell I wanted.


One shop I fell in love with was Links of London in Covent Garden. They do lovely friendship bracelets and over the years I managed to accumulate four of them - they are quite expensive to some people (I think the most I've spent is £125 on one). I also got one for my mum's Christmas a few years ago and she loved it - although she did tell me off because she knew roughly how much they cost.

I will mention that for my Christmas (or maybe birthday) Dave got me one and I loved it - it was their Wimbledon limited edition bracelet - it was purple and green and looked great however I went travelling with work and somehow managed to loose it in the bed sheets and never saw it again - I expect some housemaid is wearing it somewhere.


The friendship bracelets come in different sizes and colours so there are lots to choose from. I believe (might be wrong) but Links of London also have an eBay page with reduced bracelets too. I don't think there is any difference and they are not cheap knock-offs.

This is by far my favourite one and I've been wearing it for around a year. The material does get a bit dirty what with the dirt you pick up but you can wash them in soapy water and it dries pretty quickly (according to the instructions). This one is a nice ocean blue with a pinkish-red either side.

I have two others (as I said above that the other one went missing - sorry Dave)




The first bracelet is dark blue with a black outline and the second is pure red.

I'm currently looking at other new bracelets - as you can never have enough! But it does take me forever to choose one when I want them all. Let me know in the comments if you have ever bought anything from Links of London for yourself or for someone as a gift.



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Tuesday 22 March 2016

LUSH Easter Haul 2016

Hey everyone :)


It's nearly Easter - can you believe it? As soon as Mother's Day was over and done with the supermarkets transformed overnight and were full of eggs and anything Easter-related. I said it last year and I'll say it again ... this year is going fast!

This post (as the title gives away) is about LUSH's Easter range ... I couldn't wait to get my hands on these amazing products! I bought 8 in total and it came to around £45 (inc P&P).

Fluffy Egg (bath bomb) - £2.95



This is one of my favourite Easter products because it smells like one of their Christmas lines: Snow Fairy. It's sweet, florally and smells like candy floss.

Humpty Dumpty (bath bomb) - £6.95


This is a very creative bath bomb. Similar to an egg as Humpty Dumpty was an egg ... you can crack it on the bath and inside their is an actual fried egg! This is a very citrusy bath bomb and has notes of Brazilian orange oil and bergamot oil.

Somewhere over the Rainbow (soap bar) - £4.25



I'm a big fan of the soap products that LUSH do. As you can probably guess by the name of the soap - it's the colours from the rainbow and as you can see I got the orange/red/yellow part. The soap is a fruity soap and reminds me of fruit pastilles - it has Sicilian mandarin oil, neroli oil and rose absolute - so very florally too.

Ultraviolet (bubble bar) - £4.95


As the name suggests Ultra'violet' leaves your bath a lovely purple colour and full of bubbles. It's a bubble bar and sometimes I like to use this sparingly meaning I normally split the bar in half and use it for two baths instead of one. This is a florally scented bubble bar and smells of jasmine absolute, rosewood oil and ylang ylang oil.

Bunch of Carrots (bubble bar) - £6.25


Something that screams 'Easter' are these carrots. They are not really bubble bars but you run one under the water and it leaves your bath smelling wonderful! They are re-usable (not sure how many times) so you can get more than one bath out of each. They give your bath a tropical smell with notes of buchu oil, Sicilian lemon oil and bergamot oil.

Bouncy Bunny (shower jelly) - £3.95


Apologies you can't actually see it but this was the only picture I took before using it. I love, love, love shower jellies - I don't know why - they are just so cool. Maybe because it's a jelly and you can take it in the shower! This one stinks and I mean honks of orange (Brazilian orange to be exact) but its amazing and so refreshing. It's in the shape of a bunny (incase you didn't get that from the name). You can chill or freeze before a shower or you can just use it straight away. They last for ages and make lots of bubbles.

Golden Egg (bath bomb melt) - £3.95


This is a 'luxurious' bath bomb ... or that's what I would call it. It's called the golden egg and it really is! It's covered in gold sparkly dust that just get's everywhere! It leaves a lovely golden shimmer on the water that turns a golden yellow colour. The scent is a mixture of sweet wild orange oil, bergamot oil and olive oil. There is also lots of fair trade columbian cocoa butter so it leaves your skin soft and lovely.

Which Came First (bath bomb) - £6.95


Another citrus smelling bath bomb that definitely wakes you up - this scent is created with grapefruit oil and lemon oil. There is also vanilla absolute too which gives a soothing and relaxing smell too.





Have you tried any of LUSH's Easter products yet? Let me know in the comments below.



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Wednesday 16 March 2016

Cappuccino & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Hey everyone :)


This weekend was quiet and relaxing and I got a new game to play on my Playstation 4 - you may have seen it advertised everywhere - it's called Tom Clancy's 'The Division. It's very similar to Destiny and I'm enjoying it so far. We also went to the Lakeside Shopping Centre near Basildon in Essex so that was fun although I'm watching funds so didn't really buy anything but it was still nice to get out and go somewhere that's not Hemel or Milton Keynes.

This week I thought I'd go back to making cupcakes as the last couple of weeks I've made different things. This recipe was just Cappuccino Cupcakes but I wanted to add some chocolate and had a packet of chocolate chips in my cupboard so I added those. But they are optional of course.

Ingredients:
110g self-raising flour
110g caster sugar
110g soft butter
2 large eggs
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
Optional: 100g chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a muffin tray with 12 cases.
2. Using either a bowl and wooden spoon or a food mixer - add all above ingredients into a bowl and beat until incorporated. Try and not over beat the mixture.
3. Spoon the mixture into the 12 cases and bake for 15-18 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and leave in tray for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack until completely cooled.

I then made some cream icing to go on the top ...



Ingredients:
110ml double cream
110g icing sugar

Method:
1. Add the cream and icing sugar to a bowl and beat until the cream holds itself.
2. Either using a piping bag or a spoon - decorate the top of the cupcake. I used a spoon and used the back to coat the cupcake.
3. Sprinkle some cocoa powder on top for decoration.


Did you make anything this weekend? Let me know in the comments below.



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