Currently

Obsessing over: Pears and Rhubarb. I never knew I liked them so much. Looking at them you wouldn't think they are as lovely as they really are. But I guess don't judge a book by its cover eh? Although.... the cover is usually what draws me in. Whoops. 

Working on: getting more organised and prepared. We've had a big clean out and reorganising decorating the house. Seeing as we are probably going to be  here longer than we were thinking we really are wanting this to feel more homey.

Thinking about: what I'm going to spend my first big pay check on. I really need to swap some clothes like jeans and pants that I've been wearing for way too long now. 

Anticipating: This summer. I'll be going to visit home in June. JUNE. That means the last time I was home was about a year and 3 months. I won't have physically seen my mother since July. So many things have changed since the last time I was there. I not only have one adorable 2 year old nephew he is now a big brother to Easton. (As my mom and I were skyping yesterday Braxton walked in the room and tears literally just flowed out of my eyes. There he was so big. He waved and said my name and then when I asked him if he liked being a big brother his eyes got very wide and he shook his head very fast up and down. We introduced Luna to him and he smiled that cute little smile I hold onto.) My parents build a back porch and the house renovations are coming along well. My parents just got a dog last night. A gorgeous black lab named Silas. My mom has been wanting another dog for awhile now but I think even though my childhood best friend black lab Heidi passed a way my first year in Uni it's always felt as if we were trying to replace her. My mom said that he already has settled in so well and wanted to sleep in bed with her and Jim last night. I can't wait to feel sun with that disgusting humidity. I want to have some Chik-fil-A. I want to get in the car and drive without a plan and just stop wherever I fancy. 

Listening to: David screaming at the computer screen as he is watching the Everton match! Be glad your not on this side of the computer. I want to say it's just a game but I learnt along time ago that is by far the worst thing to say. 

Eating: You'll just have to wait and see won't you? ;) 

Wishing: that I still blogged as much as I used to. More content and less faff. I will categorise this also in the "working on".

Ps. I forgot to put credit for the Currently's I found them here

carrot and parsnip soup

Got to love some soup. Something nice and light when your hungry but not hungry enough for a big meal. It's nothing too fancy but thought I'd still share.

Now this only makes two portions but You could always just add and adjust to however many your feeding or even if you wanted to make a weeks worth to take to work or something?

Carrot and Parsnip Soup

5 Carrots ( Peeled and chopped)
2 Parsnips( Peeled and chopped)
1 organic vegetable stock cube
pinch of oregano
pink of sea salt
Non-fat Greek Yoghurt


I just chopped and peeled the Carrots and Parsnips and set them in a pot to boil. I splashed in the oregano and sea salt and then put the stock cube in the mix. Once the vegetables were soft I gave them a wizz in the blender. I didnt blend too long because I like it a bit chunky and not too runny. 

Then once I put it in my pot I added a few spinach leaves and a dollop of non fat greek yoghurt for some extra creaminess.

I really want to start making more soups for work. If you have any good soup recipes shoot them my way :)

Hope yall are having a nice day! 

Smoothies

I used to make smoothies all the time,  smoothies with loads of ice cream, yoghurt, fruit juice and then add fruit on top of that. Thinking this was healthy when in fact the amount of sugar going into such a smoothie was in fact the opposite. 

So I guess you could say I've steered clear of smoothies for a few years. So I thought I would give it a bash. 

I used one grapefruit, one banana, a tsp of ginger, 1/4 cup of total non fat greek yoghurt, and added some ice to make it a bit thicker. 

This actually made more than enough and had some left over. Now I must say though if you don't like Grapefruit, you won't like this. The grapefruit does empower most of the flavour but I like it. 

I do want to sometime maybe putting homemade peanut butter in the mix for a more indulgent treat, but for now this little pick me up will just stay sans peanut butter. I also want to give somehow putting some white tea in the mix or earl grey. I think that would add lovely flavours.

Do you have any Healthy Smoothie ideas? I'm dying to try more. I've heard of different Green Smoothies. What do they entail? Share share share!!!

Music Mondays

Hi gang. Happy Monday.

How was everyone's weekend? Depends I guess whether your an Everton or Liverpool supporter. Unfortunately the blues lost in the Semi-Final. Sad times. It was such a brilliant experience though I must say; just disappointing the outcome. So if I don't talk about it it didn't happen right?

Mooooving along to our new Monday feature. I'd like to introduce you to Hannah from DaisyDigital. Hannah and I have become friends via blogging/twittersphere. She has amazing music taste and is always blogging remarkable music reviews. She has a real knack for overlooked bands and is consistently giving me recommendations. I've yet to check out a band that I haven't liked. So get your iTunes ready and here's Hannah...

Hello there. My name is Hannah, I am 20 and come from a little place near Liverpool and it's pretty fair to say I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with music. So much so, I jumped at the opportunity to do this little feature with Tanja. I hope you enjoy. Being lucky enough to live not too far from Liverpool and sharing my time between here and Leeds, where I study at University, this past year has seen me attend more gigs than ever before and I love it. So, Tanja and I have decided to do a little feature for you, also known as Music Monday.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the 5 Must Listens this week... I guess this weeks picks are influenced by the sunshine bursting through my skylight today, all somewhat hypnotic Summer songs.

1. Bedouin Soundclash - 'Rolling Stone'. Coming from the Canadian groups fourth album, 'Light The Horizon', Bedouin Soundclash yet again strike gold. This time, in a somewhat understated mix of elegant, clean cut reggae come soul. The perfect song to relax and sing along in the sunshine to.

2. Alabama Shakes - 'Hold On'. Following their release via. Jack White's Thirdman Records last year, this group of highly talented musicians are currently riding on the wave of new found fame. This band have so much hype at present, with constant radio play over the past few weeks enabling them to quit their day jobs and get acclimatized to the very bright future ahead of them. Hold On is a fabulous introduction to the band, blending their bluesy yet subdued rock style. With vocal comparisons to the likes of legendary Amy Winehouse and Macy Gray, I predict these guys will soon be selling out gigs here there and everywhere.

3. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - 'Home'. One of my Summer anthems from last year, I still can't get enough. I lose track of the number of contributors to this band. I think I counted ten last time. Regardless, they sound sublime. This song proves a unique take on the country and folk genre, resulting in a lively, charming song, perfect for this time of year.

4. Little Dragon - 'Ritual Union'. Having been going now for fifteen years plus, this song illustrates the talent behind Swedish electronic band, Little Dragon. The title track comes from their third studio album, released last year. The electronic beats are teamed with beautiful rhythms and melodies throughout and hey, it even made it to the catwalk at London Fashion Week!

5. Bahamas - 'Caught Me Thinking'. Toronto based Aife Jurvanene, or better known as Bahamas releases his first single this month taken from his debut album, 'Barchords'. I heard this a few weeks back and honestly, I think it's up there with the perfect Summer song. It takes me to a fantasy land of dancing about, sand trickling through my toes.  I can't help but hear a retro come dance sound, reminiscent of 50s soul and swagger idols. Whats more this guy seriously knows how to play guitar!

So there you have it, I hope you've enjoyed the first Music Monday post! Thanks Tanja :) x

French toast

Woah Man. I forgot about French Toast there for a minute. Then for some reason today as I was organising the cabinets I realised that the bread was on it's last day. 

Bing a little light in my head ticked. 

French toast. Now I've never actually made French Toast but I've always heard how to make it and also just kind of thought I'd try what I thought and then if it doesn't work try and consult this little thing I like to call Google. Fortunately, google wasn't needed. 

What was needed:(this was made for one person so I would double if you were making for more than two because there was some left over with mine)

Not so fresh bread ( I used 1 1/2 slice)

1/4 cup Hazelnut Milk

1 tblsp cinnamon

1tblsp nutmeg

1 egg

Whisk together the above; excluding the bread, and once whisked dip the bread in both sides. 

Heat a pan. Now this step you could probably use butter, oil or whatever you use to cook/fry with. I just used that oil spray. I even though this isn't super HEALTHY I wanted to try and cut corners the most I could without loosing the tastiness of French Toast. Plus if you soak your bread enough it doesn't really need much added to cook in.

Once pan is hot I just dropped the bread in constantly turning sides not letting it burn or really get to crispy. (You can always keep it in longer if you wanted it crispier((is that a word?.. is now..))

Then your done. 

I ate mine with some fresh berries. But the options really are endless. 

Powdered Sugar, maple syrup, peanut butter, butter, bananas the list goes on and on. 

How do you have your French Toast? 

Homemade Granola

I love cereal and granola, but the facts are most cereals or granola are pretty packed with not so friendly ingredients. So I was decided I wanted to attempt to make my own granola, a healthier version ofcourse (in moderation) and cheaper.

I've gone about doing it 3 different versions and third version is by far my favourite. 

So here goes:

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup flaxseed

175g dry roasted peanuts( you could do cashews or almonds here or you could use jar peanut butter. I did this the second batch and it was good I just really liked the texture and flavour of the homemade better)

2tbsp cinnamon

dash of ginger/nutmeg

1/4 cup no sugar added raisins

1/4 cup walnuts

1 1/2 tsp agave nectar ( you could also use a healthy maple syrup, honey, or sunflower oil) 

So I put the dry roasted peanuts in the blender/food processor and blended until they made peanut butter. I used about 1/4 cup of the peanut butter and put the rest in a jar for later use. (i.e. celery peanut butter sticks for a mid afternoon pick me up)

Then I put all of the above in a mixing bowl (while the oven is heating at 215C)

If it's really crumbly add more peanut butter or agave nectar. I like more chunky granola than tiny pieces so once all mixed I placed the pieces on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. I kept my eye on it I wanted it a bit crunchier so I left it a bit longer but after 10 minutes checked very often. 

Once the time was up I turned the oven off but left the baking tray in too cool. About half and hour later I just poked it(the first go around I broke it all apart immediately after it came out of the oven without letting it cool and it was alot softer and less dense) to feel if it was hard or not. Don't grab until completely cooled off or your bigger pieces will fall apart. 

Then do as you please with it. :) 

I personally like it with a bit of Almond or Hazelnut milk. 

 

I also saved loads and just reach in the jar every once in a while just for a sweet treat.

Hope you have enjoyed. Let me know what your thoughts are?

hello hello

Soooo hello strangers. How is everyone doing? Did you have a very Chocolatey Easter? Well I sure did. I wasn't tooooo naughty on the chocolate but I'm thinking about doing another Clean Eating Challenge just to get to feeling better and everything cleared and cleansed. That kind of makes me sound like a freak. I'll accept it. So since you've last heard from me : David has turned 23. We celebrated in Leaf.  I've had my first week at Utility under my belt and I'm absolutely loving it. My American passport has arrived. My hair hasn't grown although I've asked it to everyday. I've actually missed blogging and after getting into the big swing of things will be making it a big priority to get things going. Right this girl is going to make my lunch for tomorrow and then climbing into bed. Oh adulthood you really excite me. Ok my lovelies who are still faithfully reading, thanks for bearing with me. Ps. Did anyone watch Crucifixion on Channel 4 the documentary about Gunther von Hagen's recreation of the Crucifixion using real passed on humans? I really want to know people's opinions and have some feedback.

Ciao Bellas