Enjoying The Last Days Of Summer Whatever The Weather*

When you're a child the days seem to drag, weeks seem like months and summers seem to go on forever. When you're an adult though the weeks and months tend to blur into one, and your life seems to be flying by at a million miles an hour. It hard to believe it, but this weekend is the last bank holiday for most us in the UK, till Christmas. What a scary thought, and with the children going to back school soon, and college and university starting up again, for many of us this weekend probably signifies the unofficial end of summer 2017.

Unusually for the UK, the bank holiday weather forecast doesn't actually look that bad, especially if you live in the south of England, but come on lets be realistic, in this green and pleasant land of ours we're never far away from a shower of rain. Although we've had the odd nice day, by and large this summer has been a bit of a washout. I'm still praying that we're going to get the Indian summer that the newspapers keep promising us, but in the meantime we need to use a bit of that British resolve and make the best of it. So this bank holiday weekend, put your latest DIY project on the back burner, crank up DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince and Summertime, on a waterproof speaker like the Panasonic Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker and enjoy the long weekend, and the last days of summer, whatever the weather.

Unlike most people in the UK I'm not the biggest fan of barbecues but if the weather's decent a bit of al fresco eating is the way to go, so get outside and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Get the music blasting, chill down some bottles and cans, and some soft drinks, or maybe even make up some jugs of Pimms or cocktails if you're feeling fancy. and then prepare enough food to feed the 5000.

Pop some potatoes wrapped in foil in the barbecue coals, then make or buy some nice salads, breads and accompaniments, and then fill your barbecue with enough sausages, burgers, chicken, and chops to feed the entire street.

In order to host a good barbecue though don't forget to provide a few vegetarian option for both vegetarians and people who are trying to stave off the meat sweats. As a vegetarian I've been to barbecues before and the only thing that I've been able to eat is the salad - not ideal. Thankfully there are loads of barbecue friendly, veggie options available including steaks, burgers and sausages, just cook them indoors or make a foil parcel on your barbecue to keep them away from those meat juices.

If you want to be a bit fancy though and really impress your guest then why not treat them to a veggie kebab or two. Kebabs always look so impressive but they are so easy to make, stick some things on skewers, add some sort of marinade and then pop them onto the grill. The possibilities are endless but why not try adapting my Lentil, Roasted Vegetable And Halloumi Salad recipe. Serve the lentil and rocket mixture on the side, and pop chunks of pepper, courgette, and halloumi on to some skewers, and then brush with olive oil, lemon zest and thyme leaves and then grill until the cheese has browned slightly, and the veggies are charred - simples and a bit more exciting than a burnt sausage!

Let's be honest though, as I've just said when does the British weather ever cooperate. The weather forecast promised fine weather so you plan for a barbecue or a picnic and then what happens? well the heavens open and all of your plans go out of the window! So what do you do? well like with all things you should have contingency plans, so if it rains, bring that picnic or that barbecue indoors.

Put on some summer themed tunes, and light some candles to set the scene, then if you can, move your furniture to sides of the room, and spread out either a paper table cloth or a picnic blanket on the floor. Get some cushions to sit on and some cozy throws to wrap yourself in, and then bring out some cactus, flamingo, or pineapple themed napkins, straws, glasses and paper plates, and bring out a board game or two, and before you know it you'll have forgotten all about the rain

It goes without saying that whatever your were going to cook outdoors, you can cook inside on the oven or grill, but why not impress your guests and be a little bit more experimental with you indoor picnic fare. Have a little look online at sites like BBC Food and you'll be sure to find lots and lots of summery recipes. to take both your indoor or your outdoor picnic to the next level (I'm loving the sound of the Ploughman's Cheese And Pickle Tart!). At the end of the day who cares if it's raining, with the right setting, music, food, drink and company, does it really matter that summer is nearly over?

Although I'm not planning either a big get together, a picnic or a barbecue this weekend I'm definitely going to have a good time regardless of the weather, and I'm going to take some time out to listen to some good tunes and enjoy some good food. Do you have any big plans for the bank holiday weekend? Let me know in the comments x

*Sponsored Post

Foodie Friday On A Saturday - My Hello Fresh Experience

I think at some point we've all pondered the question - what do I have for dinner? It's one of the most obvious questions we ask ourselves on almost a daily basis but sometimes it's one of the hardest to answer.

How many times have you stood in front of the fridge, and all of a sudden your mind goes blank. Even if there is food in there, you can sometimes feel uninspired when it comes to food. Don't get me wrong I love cooking and I do experiment occasionally with food, when I have the time, but more often than not I make, and eat the same things over, and over again.

So what do you do when you're bored, the fridge is empty and you're lacking in inspiration? Well the most obvious answer is to let somebody else do the cooking, and go out for a meal or have a takeaway, but if you love being in the kitchen, there are other ways, you can read through some cookery books, you can take a trip to your local supermarket or farm shop or you could try one of the many meal delivery or box schemes that are out there.

Probably like most of you I'd seen the adverts for Hello Fresh on TV but it wasn't  something that I'd never thought much about, that was until I received a £25 gift card in a recent Glossybox. An odd collaboration with a beauty box but after a little discussion with Mummy Lou and a look at the Hello Fresh website, we decided to use the voucher and order a box.

Some meal boxes on the market deliver ready prepared meals but Hello Fresh is a little bit different. Every week the chefs at Hello Fresh create delicious, and nutritious recipes in their own kitchens, and instead of being sent a ready meal, you're sent the freshest and best quality ingredients to make the recipes in your own kitchen, usually in less than half an hour.

There are a few different boxes to choose from a Classic Box, a Family Box, and a Veggie Box. Obviously being a vegetarian, I went for the Veggie Box, which is ideal for lacto ovo vegetarians like myself - It contains no meat or fish but it does potentially contains eggs, and dairy products. My one issue is that some of the recipes do contain wheat or gluten but as you'll see there are ways round it.

The Veggie Box that I got costs £36 and comes with the ingredients to make three, generous main meals for 2 people, but you can also get a Veggie box that makes 3 meals for 4 people if you have more mouths to feed. The Classic Box works in a similar way and you also have the option of getting a 5 meal box, and the Family box provides 4 meals a week for 4-5 people.

The good thing about the Hello Fresh scheme is that it flexible, you don't have to buy what you don't want, you can pause and stop deliveries at any time or you can just get a one off box when you feel like it. All the boxes are delivered on a Monday and then you can see a preview of the next weeks meals and if you don't want them you can just pause your account.

I enjoyed my first box so much that I got another one delivered on Monday and this was it.

My boxes were delivered by DHL and I received emails from both them and Hello Fresh ahead of my delivery. My goodies came in a strong cardboard box divided up into a couple of section depending on the food type. All of the chilled items came with ice packs and well wrapped up in insulated packaging, and the rest of the items were well protected with brown paper.

All of the vegetables, fresh herbs and tinned items arrived in excellent condition.The vegetables were firm and unblemished, I received pasta that was made in Italy and the tinned tomatoes and lentils that I got were organic.

I also received a paper bag containing two fresh garlic cloves, and little individual, portion controlled plastic pots of spices.

Finally I received an insulated bag, filled with ice packs and my refrigerated items - fresh peas, real Cypriot Halloumi, a small tub of Creme Fraiche and some real Italian Buffalo Mozzarella. No smart price items here - just good quality, premium, authentic products

So you've got your ingredients then what ? Well for every recipe you received a full colour recipe card, that gives you full instructions on how to prepare every aspect of the dish. The card also provides allergy advice, and nutritional and calorie information. It also gives you a little bit of inspiration behind the dish and an idea of what to expect from it.

The first recipe that I tried this week was Lentil And Charred Vegetable Halloumi Salad.

I am probably the worlds biggest halloumi lover (read my post in praise of the squeaky cheese here) so this recipe was right up my street. Basically you char grill the red pepper and the courgette in a little bit of olive oil, before mixing with the drained green lentils and rocket. You then top it with an
easy salad dressing made with a sprig of thyme, some lemon juice, seasoning and olive oil. Then you toss the halloumi in a little olive oil and some lemon zest before frying it till golden. Top your salad mix with the halloumi and you're done x

In a word - amazing - The saltiness of the halloumi combined perfectly with the tangy dressing, the earthiness of the lentils, the pepperiness of the rocket and the sweetness of the peppers. This was a really nice, and surprisingly filling dish that I'll definitely make again. The only things I needed to add were some salt, pepper and olive oil, and I had some thyme and some lemon left over.

The next meal that I made was something I wasn't sure about at first but it's something that I will definitely make again - Mustard Seed Green Bean Salad With Roasted Sweet Potato.

This was probably the most complicated of the 3 recipes, because you were really making three separate things, it was still pretty simple though and the step by step instructions were easy to follow.
Seeing as I'm a bit of a sweet potato addict the wedges were easier enough to make and they were served with a creamy creme fraiche, lemon and ginger dip. Alongside that you made a salad with fresh peas, sugar snap peas, and green beans, with added red onion, red chilli, garlic and lemon zest, all topped with mustard, nigella, and coriander seeds roasted in oil.

This dish was a real taste explosion that made the most of some really fresh ingredients. The sweet potatoes were sweet and caramelised, the dip was zingy and creamy, and the bean salad was full of fresh flavours, with a hit of warmth from the raw onion, garlic and chilli, and spiciness from the roasted seeds. As I say this dish really surprised me by just how good and how filling it was, and by the multitude of different flavour sensations. I didn't use all the chilli as it was a little on the warm side and I had some ginger and some lemon leftover, and again the only thing I needed to add was oil, salt and pepper.

The final recipe was a nice quick and filling Italian meal, Rigatoni Caprese With Olives And Mozzarella.

This recipe came with a packet of Italian made dried rigatoni pasta which was obviously crammed full of wheat and gluten so I substituted it for the same amount of gluten free pasta. I couldn't find any free from rigatoni but pasta is pasta so fusilli it was. All of the recipes list the allergens quite clearly and it's pretty easy to substitute or replace your own ingredients if your don't like something or if you are allergic.

This was probably the quickest and easiest recipe of the three, you just a really basic tomato sauce, with organic tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, black olives and lots and lots of fresh basil. Just mix your sauce in with pasta and top with some fresh basil and torn up buffalo mozzarella.

This was a really simple recipe but again it was a recipe that came into it's own because of the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The olives were strong and salty, the basil was hot and peppery and the mozzarella was incredible and easily the nicest that I've ever had. It was firm on the outside and beautifully creamy on the inside. The only additions were salt, pepper and olive oil but I have to admit that I add the a little bit of red chilli to give it a bit more of a bite. This wasn't the most exciting recipe of the 3 but it was a good staple recipe that could be the base for many more meals.

My Hello Fresh experience so far has been a good one,  the quality of the ingredients has really, really impressed me and the recipes have all been tasty, plentiful and easy to follow. Even if your not a regular cook I don't think you'd have a problem following the recipes and if like me you are a dab hand in the kitchen then these recipes will hopefully inspire you to experiment and try out new things and different ingredient combinations.

The boxes aren't cheap but with the box that I get each meal works out at around £6 per potion, per person which isn't that bad when you consider what you spend on a takeaway or in a restaurant. That said I won't be buying a box every week but for an occasional treat or for a when time is precious or when I'm lacking in inspiration, I'll definitely indulge again.

If you fancy trying out a Hello Fresh for yourself, just go to the Hello Fresh website, sign up using my referral code A2NEYL, and get £20 off your first box x  Whether you're a hardcore foodie or even if your just a lazy, this could be the answer to your stomachs prayers. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x

Foodie Friday On A Saturday - What I Ate In December

Hi everyone and welcome to a slightly late What I Ate In December post.  I've really enjoyed writing these posts over the years but lately I think that they've become a little bit repetitive to write and I suspect to read, so for that reason this will be my last foodie review of the month post.

December is one of those months where the majority of us just eat and drink till we burst. I had the best of intentions but the minute the sweet dish appeared they went right out of the window. Unlike in previous years though I did eat a lot of proper meals instead of snacking so it wasn't all bad 

First up is a new recipe for me and something that I adapted from a recipe I saw in Tesco's free magazine. This Courgette, Basil and Ricotta Tart , was ridiculously easy to make. All you need is some puff pastry rolled into a rectangle , I used Genius Gluten Free, Then mix a pot of ricotta cheese with some grated Parmesan or the equivalent, a beaten egg, some pesto, and some torn up basil leaves. Pour it on top of the puff pastry leaving a border, then top it with sliced courgette and bake. When it's just about done sprinkle with pine nuts and a little grated Parmesan and put it back in the over for a few minutes. Garnish with basil leaves and scoff :)

Christmas to me means cheese month and whilst we still have a cheese board left, I ate a hefty amount. including the 3 varieties that went into my Triple Cheese and Onion Strata.

I also made another Pimped Up Macaroni Cheese, some Broccoli and Stilton Soup and a huge batch of my Broccoli, Stilton, and Walnut Pasta

and probably the biggest cauliflower ever, made into a comforting batch of cauliflower cheese.

Sticking with the cheese theme I also made a version of my Creamy Mushroom And Basil Pasta but with some added cherry tomatoes, red pepper, and Quorn pieces.

Cheese also plays a big part in my Christmas Eve foodie routine, as well as dips, and a cheeseboard, traditionally me and Mummy Lou always indulge in a mozzarella, pesto, basil and tomato ciabatta roll sandwich

and of course some homemade gluten free mince pies, 

and some mulled wine.

Christmas dinner is per usually ended up being the meal of the year. This year alongside my veggies, I had homemade gluten free Yorkshire pudding, veggie gravy, homemade gluten free sage and onion stuffing, Quorn Roast, and a The Real Pie Company Gluten Free Nut Roast, which was a nut roast full of cranberries, leeks, mushrooms and huge pieces of nuts all wrapped in fabulous buttery gluten free pastry.

To put it politely I was absolutely stuffed and as a family we all needed an hour or so's rest after our dinners and some pretty decent Aldi champagne before we could move on to our Christmas pudding.

This year, my gluten free pudding came from Sainsbury's and very nice it was too, rich, and dark and full of fruit. I had mine with creamy custard and just a touch of cream for good luck. Apologies for the blurry photograph, it was nothing to do with the champagne I promise ;)

As much as I love my cheese and my chutneys and pickles, for my December 2014 was all about my sweet tooth. As well as the mountain of chocolate that I got for Christmas I also  guzzled my way through most of Starbucks and Costa's festive delights. When it comes to Starbucks Red Cups, I'm usually a Toffee Nut Latte girl. Last month though I branched out and consumed several Eggnog Lattes and towards the end of the month I discovered the delights of the White Chocolate Mocha.

For most of the month I was a creature of habit in Costa and I stuck to my favourite White Hot Chocolate but I did make one deviation for one of their Sticky Toffee Lattes which was yummy. I also bought a mini pack of this years festive Monin syrups so I can make my own Brownie and Chocolate Orange hot chocolates.

Speaking of chocolate I also made up a festive batch of Nigella Lawson's Sweet And Salty Crunchy Nut Bars,

and several portions of delicious Calico Cottage Fudge including the fabulous Salted Caramel flavour.

I also made a batch of Gluten Free Gingerbread (click here to see the recipe),

some of which I used to make a No Bake Gluten Free Raspberry And White Chocolate Cheesecake.

So they were my December eats, there are so many things that I haven't shown you including a massive dish of nachos, a tray full of roasted vegetables and of course my Christmas cake but I'm sure you've seen more than enough see why I'm so terrified to step on the scales on Monday - haha.

Although this series is ending Foodie Friday will continue into 2015, I'm planning on doing more recipe posts, some product reviews, some restaurant reviews and maybe a few What I Ate Today posts, but if there is anything else you would like to see food wise on the blog then please let me know x 

Foodie Friday - What I Ate In October And Tasty Little Numbers Mini Review

As I said in Monday's weight loss update, October was a bad month for me when it came to food. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it. I craved comfort food and that's what I ate. Looking back now at the pictures of what I ate maybe I was a little hard on myself in that post, okay I'm not showing you everything, but whilst there are a few treat items in this little lot, there a few healthy, and pretty, nutritious meals too.

An oldie but a goodie and one of my favourite meals ever, my interpretation of Nigella's Double Potato And Halloumi Bake. This version uses feta and mozzarella and I've also added some aubergine, jalapenos and courgettes. It's great as it is but I served the leftovers in gluten free wraps, with a little extra cheese.

I go through phases with food, and in October I had an aubergine phase, as well as using them in this dish I used them in another Mediterranean inspired dish, my Ratatouille Pasta Bake.

It's just a basic, chunky, fresh vegetable stew, that can be served with rice, a baked potato or pasta. Here I've mixed it with cooked pasta, and topped it with some gluten free breadcrumbs, mixed with some cheese, and a clove of garlic. Bake it in the oven till crispy and your done, a taste of the Med in minutes.

Maybe it's because of the change in weather, but I've craved food that makes me think of warmer climates. So I adapted my Veggie, Bean And Nut Burgers recipe and made them with chickpeas to make a kind of falafel, which I baked in the oven. I served them with a Greek inspired salad, and some char grilled aubergines, and a homemade yogurt, mint and garlic sauce.

The recipe made enough for two meals each for me and Mummy Lou, so I made the second lot into burger shapes and again I baked them in the oven, much easier than frying them in my experience. I served my burgers with salad, oven baked sweet potato chips, and a homemade yogurt and sweet chilli dressing.

Although the temperature has changed quite drastically over the last week or so I actually ate quite a bit of salad in October, I also made a lovely vegetable frittata which I served with crushed potatoes, homemade chutney and a touch of mayonnaise.

Despite my negativity I did seem to eat lots of vegetables, I know I should because of vegetarian but so many times in October the vegetables were the real stars of the meals I made. Mushrooms, for example, we ended up with an overload of mushrooms, don't ask! So I asked Mummy Lou what she would like and she said stroganoff. So I made my Mushroom Stroganoff which I pimped up with a few left over dried porcinis, and served with rice.

An old favourite for you next - yes Broccoli, Stilton, And Walnut Pasta! I seem to be making this all the time at the moment, thanks to my mums regular raids on Tesco's reduced counter. In fact there is a head of broccoli, a pack of peppers and a piece of Stilton in the fridge, I wonder what I'm having for lunch tomorrow :)

I also had a lovely mound of gluten free pasta with my Diet Coke Quorn and I served the other portion with rice. You can find my recipe here x Yes it sounds odd but it's definitely worth trying x

I love pasta and I love rice, but sometimes you need a bit of a change, tonight I've had yummy,creamy mashed potato, but in October as an accompaniment for my vegetable chilli (with added aubergine and courgette) I went for two different options.

Sloppy Joes! Not that common in the UK but huge in the States and elsewhere, the sloppy Joe is basically just some form of mince dish, aka chilli or bolognese served on top of a bread bun. I had gluten free buns, my mum's were fresh from a local bakery and smelled like heaven but I resisted and chucked a bit of cheddar cheese on to deal with my real bread cravings!

The rest of the chilli was served with some grilled cheesy polenta, I used to make this all the time but I haven't made it for years. You can buy it ready made, and vacuum packed but it's pretty easy to make. I sliced it, grilled it till crisp and covered it in yummy cheese. Served alongside the chilli, and some sliced avocado, it made a tasty and different meal.

The final main meal I had was the last of the month, and it was my traditional Halloween meal of Delia's Pumpkin And Toasted Sweetcorn Soup, and my Spicy Mexican Cornbread.

As per usual it was fabulous, and our pumpkin was so huge this year, that we have a freezer full of leftovers, nothing like stocking up for the winter.

The last few things I ate I guess you could call snacks. Snacking was really my downfall in October, but a little bit of what you fancy does you good, and at the beginning of the month it was all about American candy.

A raid on B&M Bargains produced this little lot of peanut butter heaven. One of my local stores had loads of American candy, and sodas in and I just couldn't resist. Of course I didn't eat it all at once and I did share some with Mummy Lou. In fact I haven't even eaten the M&M's yet because she hid them! In her mouth no doubt ! Speaking of chocolate amazingness though how could we ever forget my lovely Squidgy Gluten Free Chocolate And Caramel Brownies. The entire tray was gone in less than two days!

Ahh chocolate I love this stuff but being gluten free it's sometimes hard to find cakes and things that are actually nice. In October I had my first Perkier Foods experience. If you haven't heard of them they're gluten free food specialists. I'd craved their Tiffin bar for ages after seeing it on twitter and it didn't disappoint. The only two stockists I've found are Sainsburys and Asda, but they are well worth tracking down whether your gluten and wheat intolerant or not. My only wish is that they'd start using vegetarian marshmallows in their rocky road, nobody does in every gluten version I've seen, I want some rocky road too :(

Whilst I was in Sainsbury's I also picked up a packet of their icing topped gluten free mine pies. No it's never too early! Alas I wasn't impressed, it was a bit too dry and hard- M&S, and Udis, are usually the nicest so I'll be doing my best to get my hands on those, before my mum makes her annual epic batch.

Okay, all the snacks I've showed you far aren't the healthiest, but in October I also reached for some snacks for a company for whom potion control is key.

I was lucky enough to win a competition on twitter held by a brand called Tasty Little Numbers. They produce a range of products that are calorie counted  but about as far away from diet food as it's possible to get.

The hamper I was lucky enough to win contained, 3, 200 calorie ready meals, including 2 meat options which Mummy Lou enjoyed, a box of 6 packets of 100 Calorie Salty Malty Salt and Vinegar and a box of 6 packets of Sizzlin' & Smokin Bacon Rashes. It also contained an assortment of milk, white and dark chocolate biscuit bars. These are a gluten free wafer covered in chocolate and they were sooooo moreish, Mummy Lou ended up hiding those too!

The products aren't the cheapest but everything was so nice and the ingredients and quality were superb. I think it's a great idea when you want a snack everything is there for you and you exactly how many calories are in each piece. You can find out more about Tasty Little Numbers including stockists information from their own website.

Speaking of calories, I also indulged in a couple of coffee shop drinks last month, including another Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte and another Raspberry and White Chocolate Creamy Cooler from Costa.

Although the Christmas drinks have now arrived I've so happy that the creamy cooler seems to be sticking around this year, and I'll definitely be having one, once I've worked my way through pretty much the entire  Costa festive menu.

The final thing I ate or rather drank in October is a new love, Midori*. I've already mentioned it my green hair post but it deserves another mention. This stuff really surprised me, I always thought that it would be too fake and sweet, but it's anything but. I drank my little bottle mainly with lemonade but I can definitely see my adding a full sized bottle to my drinks cabinet.

So that's your lot. Some good, some bad, all delicious. I'm going to try and be good, and experiment a bit in November but most of all I'm just going to enjoy eating, enjoy cooking and enjoy food in general. I can see a few more winter warmers appearing in November's post so I'd love to know what your favourite food is when it comes to this time of year. Are you a soup or strew fiend, or do you lean towards the exotic? Leave me a comment and let me know x

(*PR Sample)