Endo Recipe Book Review

I recently purchased Recipes & Diet Advice for Endometriosis by Carolyn Levett* for two purposes: firstly to explain what foods to cut out and why, secondly for the recipe ideas it contains. On both fronts I've been very happy with the purchase.

                                        

The first few chapters deal with what foods to avoid and the science behind them. I found this bit particularly fascinating, especially learning exactly why each food exacerbated endometriosis in particular. Although I knew some of the things on the list weren't exactly 'healthy', I didn't realise they could have such negative effects on the body. For example I knew soy wasn't good from a salt-content perspective, but I was surprised to find that every aspect of mass-produced soy is bad for you as the process removes all the good nutrients and aluminium from the containers is slowly absorbed into the end product.
The chapters are broken down simply and the science-y bits are really easy to follow (if not understand!).

The beginning of the book also deals with foods that will help you in your recovery - liver friendly ingredients to help with detoxing, along with lists of specific fruit and veg that contain vitamins directly useful to healing from endometriosis. I've found this section extremely useful when trying to flavour new recipes I'm testing - consulting the spice rack for its medicinal uses instead of just the flavours I can create.

Another aspect that I've found helpful is that throughout the book there are sections explaining alternative ingredients you can use in place of the banned ones. For example stevia, cacao or carob can replace sugar depending on the recipe you're using. There's also a lengthy section explaining the different benefits of alternative gluten free flours. These alternatives can be a bit pricey though so I'd definitely pick recipes that use the same kind of flour so that you only need to buy one.

The majority of the book is dedicated to recipes; from drinks and starters all the way through to desserts and baking, not to mention party food options. This is where the true value of the book is found, as a lot of sources will tell you what you can't eat but very few will help you work out what you can. All of the recipes are extremely basic and conform to a completely vegan diet, so that absolutely anyone can use them. This leaves plenty of room for you to add your favourite white meat or fish to the dishes.

Whenever I'm planning our meals for the week I've taken to having this book nearby. I'm very fussy when it comes to food, but even if I don't like the exact recipe it's excellent for getting base ideas to build on.

If I had one complaint it would be that the book has typos scattered throughout and you can tell it wasn't professionally written. The author is an endo-sufferer and wants to share what she's discovered and found to help. It's not a big problem, these things just jump out at me!

Overall this book is absolutely invaluable and if you're an endo sufferer it should definitely be on your bookshelf! Or even if you just want a healthier diet that isn't full of the additives and hidden nasties that regular products are now becoming overloaded with.

*This is an Amazon Associate link.

Wheat, Gluten & Endometriosis

As promised, I'll be going into more detail about why you need to cut out certain things when on the endometriosis diet. The list is rather extensive and the explanations for some can get rather lengthy so I'll be doing them as a series of posts rather than flooding you all at once.

Today I'll be focusing on wheat and gluten, as cutting out this particular one has had a huge effect on me already and can be of help even to those who don't suffer with endometriosis.

                             

More and more people are waking up to the evils of gluten and wheat, no longer the healthy staple it used to be thanks to years of genetic modification and pesticide use. Gluten is now used in food production as a binding agent, much like eggs are when you're baking a cake. The problem is that it's new genetically modified form doesn't just bind ingredients in the food - it moves through your digestive system like glue and binds whatever it fancies. It has slowly developed from a nutritious ingredient in almost every area of cooking to something you should avoid if you don't want to incur the nasty list of symptoms it can cause.

The most common symptoms can include;

• Gas
• Bloating
• Queasiness
• Abdominal cramping
• IBS
• Irrational mood swings and emotional problems, even depression
• Fatigue

But if you have a gluten intolerance or an allergy called coeliac disease the symptoms can be much worse; neurological disruption, fibromyalgia, migraines and inflammation & pain in your joints.

As you can see, it's nasty stuff even if you're completely healthy. The problem when it comes to endometriosis is that you may have a combination of disorders that are all fed by wheat, compounding the problem. It's not uncommon to also suffer from Candida (a yeast infection in the gut that is fed by sugar), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, cause currently unknown) or some level of gluten intolerance (anything from a mild irritation up to coeliac disease) - sometimes all three at once.

The only way to get rid of these symptoms, whether you're just looking for a healthier diet in general or you're looking to ease endometriosis, is to eliminate wheat and gluten (also found in barley and rye) from your diet completely. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.

In a study of women with endometriosis 80% found their pain was greatly reduced when they cut wheat out of their diet. This jumped to 100% when they also cut out gluten.

Cutting gluten out of your diet is no mean feat, don't get me wrong. I've now taken to reading the ingredients list on absolutely everything I eat (checking for wheat and other ingredients in the naughty list)! But once you experience the rewards for all the hard work you put in you become reluctant to go back to eating gluten products. Some women find their pain is reduced and some find it disappears altogether, it all depends on the cause of your pain. But in either case it's worth giving it a try - what have you got to lose?

To give you an idea of the difference it can make, here's a snippet of my own experience:

"I have suffered bloating to varying degrees throughout 2013, blaming everything I could think of; water retention before a period, weight gain during a period and IBS just to name a few. I'd attempted to go gluten free a few times and it did show some improvements but never enough for me to think it was worth it.

When I got my diagnosis and subsequently had my op I dropped weight dramatically (2lbs from the surgery alone and then another 6lbs in 4 days when I got home) and the reason for my problems became obvious. Every organ in my abdomen was so swollen that once I'd reduced the bloating I was just revealing the extent of the swelling without realising it (a scary thought!).

Pre-diet I had been eating anything I fancied, partly because I was so grateful to have my appetite back and partly because I knew once I started the diet there would be a lot of things I'd miss!

On day 1 of the diet I was going to the shops, which warranted more than the loose fitting pjs I'd been living in! Since I'd lost so much weight I thought I'd try to put on a pair of jeans that hadn't fit me in 2 years, to no avail. My stomach was still too bloated despite the weight loss.

On day 2 I woke up and looked a lot slimmer in the mirror (my enemy and best friend). This time I was going to visit family and figured it was worth another try. To my amazement the jeans fit. Not completely comfortably, but I could do the button up. I wore them out and everyone said how amazing I looked.

By day 4 I could do the jeans up and had wiggle room. To say I was shocked doesn't even come close.

I'm now on day 7 and my stomach is still a little bigger than I'd like, but my internal organs are still going back to their normal size so it's something I can live with. I'm just shocked at how fast everything went back to normal once I started on this diet! It's definitely worth it for me and I find I don't crave my old comfort foods because I know the consequences."

I'm wary that this post is getting a bit long again, so I'll put the alternatives to wheat in another blog post for you. I really hope this has given you an insight into why so many people struggle with wheat and convinced you that it's at least worth giving it a go. Experts recommend 2 weeks gluten free to get it out of your system and see the real effects, so don't get disheartened if you don't see results immediately. :)

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Recipe: Endo-Friendly Turkey Chilli

Ingredients:

• 400g Turkey Mince
• 100g Brown Rice
• 1 Tin of Organic Chopped Tomatoes
• 1tbsp Tomato Puree
• Herbs and Spices (I used Sage, Parsley, Minced Garlic and Chilli Flakes)

Method:

1. Brown the turkey mince in a pan until it's cooked through and drain the fat.
2. Set the brown rice cooking according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Add the tomatoes to the mince and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add in tomato puree to thicken the sauce, along with herbs and spices to taste - experiment here and see what flavours you like! In the past we've tried everything from paprika to mint to see what results we'd get. Only add a little at a time as the flavour will concentrate while the sauce simmers!
5. Leave the mince to simmer, stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked. It should thicken down and concentrate over time.
6. Drain the rice and serve everything up!

Here's what ours looked like:

              

If you try this recipe let me know how it goes. :)

The Endo Diet

Having done a lot of research into Endometriosis and alternative treatments that help the condition, I've come across a number of things that are said to help. The method that crops up most often is the 'Endo Diet' - a diet that cuts out all foods known to aggravate the condition. The list is pretty extensive!

There are countless testimonials saying their pain has all but disappeared and some even claim their endometriosis has gone entirely. So it's time to test out their claims and try it for myself. :)

My first step was to buy Recipes & Diet Advice For Endometriosis by Carolyn Levett*. There are lots of books out there that explain the diet and the science behind it, but this book comes with 260 recipes that are Endo-friendly, all the way from starters & soups to baking and party foods. Once you see the list of things you can't eat, you'll understand why this is a God-send!

Once that arrived I spent the morning reading through the science-y stuff and working out what foods I'll be saying goodbye to and which new friends I'll be greeting. Without going into great detail, here is the list of foods to avoid:

• Wheat/Gluten
• Red Meat
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Caffeine
• Eggs
• Alcohol
• Yeast
• Soy
• Additives & Preservatives

As you can see, it's pretty much everything you'll find in a normal diet. You may be thinking there's nothing left to eat, but you'd be surprised at how much I can still eat - I was!

For example chicken, pork, turkey and fish are all fine (as long as you're careful about the source), along with all gluten free products like breads, pasta, rice etc. Fruit and veg are fine too, natural sugars are okay. Plus herbs and spices are really good to include, so it doesn't have to be a bland diet.

Next stop was Asda to stock up on a few healthy items. I won't be jumping feet first into this diet, it'd be too extreme for my body and pretty heavy on my bank balance! The plan is to slowly use up what we have in the cupboards and replace them with the healthy alternatives over time.

We bought:

• Organic chicken stock cubes
• A fruit syrup alternative to sugar
• Almond milk
• Gluten free cous-cous
• Organic Virgin Olive Oil
• Organic tinned tomatoes (high in antioxidants)
• Turkey Mince

It came out as a pretty expensive shop! My favourite find was definitely the fruit syrup, which I used in my porridge this morning. It was quite a subtle but sweet taste and can be used in all kinds of things - tea, coffee, porridge, spread on toast, in baking and cooking etc.

                                             

We've now come up with a meal plan for the week, some of the meals being the new healthy version and some still being from our normal diet. Tom is going to be doing this diet with me (with some red meat added in for his man-needs!) so we'll be easing into it gently.

This blog is getting pretty long now so I'll leave it here! Over the next week or two I'll be throwing in some recipes that we've tried out (including the turkey chilli one from last night) along with a more in-depth explanation about why each of the foods are being cut out.

If you find this topic interesting or know someone who might benefit from the information please share my blog. :) It was quite scary at first getting a diagnosis with no known cure, but having looked around and talked to people with the illness it's really reassuring knowing there are things you can do to help. I'd love to be able to pass on that experience to others!

*This is an Amazon Associate link.

News and Promises

Hi all!

Has it really been 5 months since I last posted? The time really goes fast!

This time I have a legitimate excuse and hopefully my promise to blog more regularly can be kept from now on. I've had all manner of health problems since April and all my energy has been put into keeping up work and having something that resembles a social life! After months of doctors looking at me with a puzzled expression, I was finally taken into hospital 2 weeks ago and all was revealed.

I've been suffering from severe endometriosis (information can be found here) which has led to a lot of pain, tiredness and general grumpiness over the months. I was in hospital for a week, had a minor op to find the problem and fix it, and my health has been improving dramatically ever since! I'm immensely grateful for all the doctors and nurses I came into contact with, they are all incredible people and the care I received was second to none. So thank you to all the staff at Southmead Hospital Cotswald Ward for your help. :)

So there's the news, now for my promise!

I'm completely changing my life, from the inside out. I've already got more energy and that's only increasing each day, so it's time to do something with it. :) I'm going to be tackling our finances harder than ever before (3 weeks off work isn't cheap!), overhauling my diet to get my health back up to scratch and getting crafty again as I find things to do during my recovery. All of this means I'll have plenty to blog about, so that's what I'll be doing!

I won't be promising a daily update, as that was very difficult to keep up even in peak health. But I can promise 2-3 posts a week and possibly some featured posts or guest posts to supplement my own. :)

And that's all I have for you today! I'm off to be inspired by recipes, project ideas and frugal blogs. ;)

Eco-Friendly Easter Ideas

Hi guys!

With Easter just a week away I thought I'd give you some quick ideas on how to keep things green and save money. :) The activities especially are either very cheap or free!

Easter Eggs:
1. Buy easter eggs with as little packaging as possible.
2. Try to buy fairtrade/organic wherever you can.
3. Make a list of everyone you're buying for and get them all at once to save on transport costs.
4.  Buy the eggs on your regular food shop to save an extra trip to the shop.
5. Keep the plastic packaging from the inside as moulds so you can make your own next year!

Activities:
1. Why not try using natural dyes to create your own coloured eggs?
2. Organise an Easter Egg Hunt for kids or even adults!
3. Bake your own Easter Biscuits.
4. Make an origami rabbit!

Some friends are coming to stay at the weekend and their little boy is 3, so I'll definitely be trying some of these ideas myself. :) I'll make sure to take pictures and post the results!

Recycling: For Children

Hello!

Who's enjoying this fantastic sunshine? It was so nice being able to leave my coat in the car today, even if it was a bit chilly in the shade! Today my post is all about the next generation and how we can inspire them into a greener way of living before they even learn the bad habits we have!

My generation grew up in a world where consumerism wasn't a problem that had to be tackled - it was openly encouraged. There are so many new inventions, clothing trends, gadgets every single day - the world has more and more to offer in the way of entertainment and we are taught to reach out and grab every opportunity we can and there's nothing wrong with that. I encourage you to experience all you can and reach for the stars in every cheese-filled moment you have on this planet. Just make sure that as you do so you think of all the generations that will come after you're gone and make sure that opportunity will still be there for them when the time comes.

Todays' generation is growing up in a world of conflicting attitudes - the one I describe above, but also the new eco-friendly attitude. We're realising that we can't sustain our current habits indefinitely. More and more people are waking up and trying to stop all the damage we're doing. The best thing we can do for our children is to educate them now, so that it becomes natural by the time they're adults.

There are a number of ways you can teach your children about recycling and it really varies on their age. Young children will learn best with fun activities such as making a parachute out of recycled materials whereas older children are more likely to enjoy making their own recycled paper or invisible ink!

It's also a really good idea to get them involved in your recycling efforts around the home. If you have different bins for each item make sure they understand the difference and get them sorting their own rubbish - with a little help of course! It might also be helpful to have pictures on each box with examples of what to put in, so they get to know the less obvious items that can be recycled too.

If you have a compost bin get them involved there too. If you don't already do it, then get them to help you set up a compost bin. You'd be surprised by all the things you can throw in a compost heap and sharing the learning opportunity with your family will be a fun activity that everyone can take part in.

The most import part of all this is that you explain why you're doing it at every step. Children are sponges and if you teach them the habits now the planet will have a whole generation of eco-conscious adults in 20 years time.

What eco-activities do you include your children in?

Recycling: By Numbers

Morning!

Sorry about the no-show yesterday, I was really ill through the night and used the morning to sleep in before work! Since I've still been catching up on sleep I've found some nifty (yes, I just said nifty!) little inforgraphic images for you today that show some amazing facts about the cost difference between recycled and virgin materials.

The first one gives facts about the average UK home - what we waste and the difference that we'd make if we changed just one habit. It also mentions some good eco-friendly cleaning products, some I've mentioned in the past and others I can focus on in another post if you're interested. :)

This next one I found really interesting because it includes facts like how many times a certain item can be recycled and how Eurpoe's recycling efforts compared to America's in 2010!

Hopefully some of those facts will get you thinking about how you can step up your recycling efforts!

Tomorrow I'll be looking at the next generation and how we can teach and inspire them to create green habits now that will last for life. :)

Recycling: Your Food

Good morning!

So far my recycling series has focused on big things you can do; donating to worldwide charities and looking at recycling on a national level.Today I'd like to look at the recycling you can do at home, specifically when it comes to meal times. There are a few simple steps you can take to ensure very little (or nothing at all) gets put in the bin when you prepare a meal.

Save the bits you wouldn't eat.
They may not be good enough to eat, but they're not without their uses. Vegetable peels and meat bones still contain a lot of flavour just waiting to be utilised. Collect all the leftover bits from your ingredients through the week and keep them in a bag in the freezer. Once the bag is full it's time to make stock! Throw it all in a slow cooker or a giant pan, fill it up with water, season it and just leave to simmer for a few hours. The water will absorb all the flavour, creating a nutrient rich stock ready for making soup another day. When it's done, strain the liquid to remove all the bits and chuck all the leftover 'stuff' on your compost heap. For those who want a step by step guide I plan to write one in the coming weeks.

Jazz up your leftovers.
Even the name leftovers sounds unappealing - no one wants to eat what they didn't want last night! But with a little thought and preparation you can completely transform your meal.
- Most leftovers will keep for 2-3 days depening on the ingredients, so there's no need to have the same meal the next day. As long as you keep track of when the meal was made you can leave it a day or two before eating them.
- Another trick is to add fresh spices and herbs to the leftovers when you heat them up, to revive the flavour that has been lost over time.
- Some leftovers lend themselves as an ingredient in another meal. For example when Tom and I make chilli or bolognese there is usually leftover mince. We freeze this and next time we're having pastabake for dinner (which in itself is pretty boring) we defrost the mince and add that in to give the meal some extra flavour.

Start a compost heap.
This is a great tip for reducing your waste in general, not just when it comes to food leftovers. You'd be amazed at just how much you can throw on a compost heap, from leftover veg and cardboard to wine and even human hair! You do have to put a little thought into it, making sure the pH level stays balanced and there's plenty of air in there (this will stop it getting that nasty smell), but overall it's a really simple way to reduce the amount of rubbish you throw away.

Recycle and reduce the packaging.
The easiest way to do this is to buy things fresh; from the butcher, the veg shop, your local farmers market, anywhere that sells fresh produce will already be limiting the packaging they use. When buying fruit and veg from the shop try not to use the free plastic bags if you don't need them (for example bananas, oranges and apples already come with a protective skin - they don't need a bag!).
Any packaging that can be recycled should be - glass jars, cardboard sleeves, plastic trays - there's no need for them to go in the bin. They can be reused (glass jars are great for storing things) or put in the recycling. Just make sure to wash them first - especially if they've been in contact with raw meat.


The great thing about looking at your meals from an Green point of view is that you find you reduce your food bill as well as your rubbish output. You find yourself only buying the amount you need (I've started weighing out the actual recommended amounts of rice and pasta instead of cooking 'what looks about right'.) and finding unusual ways to reuse your leftovers rather than bin them.

Could your meal habits do with a revamp?

Recycling: Unusual Things

Hello again!

I'm really enjoying this new routine of blogging each morning. It gets my brain working and I feel like I've had a productive day before I've even started!

Today I want to highlight some of the things you can recycle that maybe you hadn't thought of. Everyone knows about the obvious; glass, cardboard, plastic, paper etc. but did you know about some of these:

Glasses
Why not donate yours to Vision Aid Overseas and give someone else the gift of sight!

Batteries
Batteries are one of the most toxic items of household waste, so if you recycle nothing else please recycle these. I know Asda stores have a recycling point and so do many other big supermarkets.

Empty Make-Up Containers
Stores like Lush and MAC let you take back your empty pots so that they can recycle and then re-use them. Lush will give you a free facemask for each pot you take back and for every 6 items you send Back to MAC they will give you a free lipstick!

Cleaning Supplies
Many shelters and charities are grateful of anything you can donate; including cleaning supplies you're not going to use! Contact your local shelter to find out what kind of supplies they need.

Packaging Materials
Everyone should keep their bubblewrap, packing peanuts and boxes for sending gifts etc. but if you don't, UPS accept packing materials.

Bras
Give your ratty old bra to Oxfam instead of throwing it in the bin and know you're helping a good cause!

Shoes
Nike have a fab scheme that turns your old shoes into running tracks, sports arenas and playgrounds! A quick google will show you loads of different places that will accept your shoes.


I've tried to just include things you can recycle in this list, rather than things that can be donated to charity or re-used. (Although the items in this list can often be re-used too!) There'll be another post focusing on re-use ideas later in the series.

Can you think of any other items that most people wouldn't think of recycling?

Recycling: The Snowball Effect

Good morning!

As part of a re-vamp for my blog I'm going to be doing a series on different aspects of recycling - some of the topics will include unusual things you didn't know you could recycle, where your recycling goes and todays' topic: the snowball effect.

Lately I've become a huge fan of The Simple Dollar, a personal finance blog written by a guy in America. He's got tons of great ideas on frugality, ways to cut down on bills, free activities to do etc. and I really reccommend it to people looking for some fun ways to cut back. :)

Recently I read his blog The Snowball Effect: How Little Moves Can Create Huge Effects Later (he's a fan of long titles!) all about how a habit that saves a small amount of money when done regularly can add up to a large amount of money in the long run. It's a concept I think about often but struggle to convince others of, so I was really happy to find a blog that showed just how big a difference it could make. I got thinking on how I could relate this to other areas and did some number crunching of my own to relate it to recycling. I've focused just on plastic water bottles so it's easy to demonstrate.

Tom takes 2 plastic bottles of water to work with him every day and he works 4 days a week. That comes to 400 empty plastic bottles going to landfill or 7.6kg every year if you don't recycle.

We try to re-use the bottles where we can - some are put in the fridge/freezer to make them more efficient, others I re-use myself as I'm fine with tap water. One or two are used to make the toilet flush more efficiently.

Tom regularly asks me what's the point when I'm trying to save just a few bottles, so to save you asking here is the point:

I save approximately 50 bottles from various re-use ideas a year. That's 950g of plastic - 1/8th of our yearly use.

950g isn't very much you might argue, but lets look at it on a national scale. There are 25 million homes in Britain, so let's make a low estimate that 10% of those homes have a similar bottle usage to us:
That's 2.5 million homes throwing out 19,000 metric tonnes of plastic a year. If each of them could save just 950g a year, as a nation we'd be saving 2375 tonnes. That's a bit more impressive isn't it!

To look at it from just our personal perspective is very narrow minded - when I find a new use for a bottle I'm not thinking "Great, I've just saved 19g from landfill." I'm thinking of all the bottles I'll save in the same way for the rest of my life. If I save 1 bottle from landfill a month I will save 720 bottles in my lifetime (assuming I live to the average life expectancy of 82). If I continued re-using at my current rate and never found another use for a bottle again, I would save 3000 bottles or 57kg of plastic. That's almost my own body-weight in plastic.

That is the point.

Hibernating

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my recent absence! Instead of giving the usual excuses of life being busy and not having time for blogging, I'll give you a real explanation.

I can't remember if I mentioned it at the time, but I went on a Spiritual Development Retreat with a fab group of people in October. Whether it's your kinda thing or not, don't worry I'm not gonna start trying to convert people or writing long winded posts about spirituality! Haha. Since then I haven't really felt any different, if anything I've been a little more volatile than usual if you ask me! But now I've had a chance to let it all 'settle in' as it were and reflect back I can see the differences. Mostly quite subtle ones, which is nice - I didn't go wanting to change radically overnight.

As I look back now I feel like I've been hibernating, strange as that may sound. I've always understood the cycles of the seasons and how others liked to follow them, but I've never been one to follow them myself. When Winter comes around I want to be out doing everything I can to not succumb to the Winter Blues. Tom will tell you how annoying I can be trying to get him to join in too! Even this year I've been struggling against sitting at home relaxing, to the point that I went out and made a snowman in the dark because I'd missed the daylight hours working!

But despite my resistance, I've noticed a definite change in my approach to Winter this year. Although I did do a lot and get things done, I also did a lot of nothing at all. I slept loooong long hours, struggling to wake up in the morning and more than once rolling out of bed and into work still half asleep. I wrapped up warm instead of defiantly refusing to wear a coat even in freezing temperatures. I gave up on the diet, wanting that extra protective layer from the cold. And funnily enough I ended up losing weight anyway, so I think my body was grateful!

At the time I thought it was my body's way of recovering from a long year of constant illness, taking time out to get back to normal and forgetting what it's like to be constantly bouncing from 'under the weather' to completely bed bound on a near-weekly basis. And in a way I suppose it was, but more importantly I think I was giving in and following the seasons like we used to. Back before technology gave us not just a City That Never Sleeps, but an entire world that doesn't sleep.

If I'm completely honest, despite my protestations and constant attempts to do something, I'm really glad I was defeated. That sounds really negative, like I've given in, but I don't mean it negatively. The defeated side was the 'modern me' that is always trying to work harder, do more and bend time to my will in order to get things finished. The new me is happy to just kick back and relax, knowing that I'll be more productive if I'm well rested and in a much better mood to boot!

So onto today; what made me realise all this was that now Spring is starting to poke its nose above the ground and say hello, I'm doing the same. I'm reconnecting up with friends I haven't seen for a while, working on new projects at work and preparing to jump back into this whole 'diet & exercise' thing I've heard so much about! In addition to all that, I've just passed 10,000 views on this lovely little blog I set up a year ago now and I think it's time I celebrated by getting back to posting regularly. :)

I've got one or two posts in mind for you already - this weekend I'm making my first attempt at making a Spelt & Honey loaf which I'll be taking plenty of pictures of for you! But I'd really love your input too - what do you want to see more of? How To Guides? Tips on money saving and frugality? More serious things like my blogs on Renewable Energy etc? All with an eco-friendly twist of course! Let me know in the comments below. :)

Valentine's Flapjacks

Happy (late) Valentine's Day everyone!

Sorry this post is a day late, I didn't want to risk Tom seeing it and knowing what I was up to so I delayed it until today! But the gift I made can be adapted to suit any occassion so I feel it's still relevant. :)

For Valentine's Day I made Tom some bite-sized flapjack hearts, along with getting some other bits and pieces (card, bottle of wine, candle etc.) that I presented on some red tissue paper. Soppy I know, but we'll have been together 2 years this month so I thought a bit of effort was due!

So here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

250g Porridge Oats
125g Brown Sugar
150g Butter (add more if it's not mixing well)
2-4 tbsps Golden Syrup (depending on how gooey you want them)

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C

2. Melt the sugar, butter and syrup together in a saucepan on a low-medium heat until mixed well.

3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the oats a little at a time, making sure they all get coated in the mixture.

4. Place the mixture onto a lightly greased baking tray and smooth out flat OR to make shapes, use a shaped mould like in the picture below and make sure to pack each mould as tightly as you can so they don't crumble. Push the individual flapjacks out of the mould and place on a baking tray.

5. If making one big flapjack bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. If bite-sized pieces bake for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Leave to cool, then enjoy!





Mixture, moulds and ready to bake!

So what did you all get up to for Valentine's Day? :)

Make Your Own... Chocolate Vodka!

Hello!

As promised here is one of the gift ideas I used this christmas; Chocolate Vodka! Annoyingly I didn't take a picture before giving it away, but to give you an idea of how it'll look here is a picture of someone else's:

Picture taken from www.randomlyhappytoday.blogspot.co.uk

The recipe I used was as follows:

300g Chocolate (I used Galaxy)
100ml Single Cream
700ml Vodka

However it came out really strong and was actually too much for me (it makes just enough for you to have a little too) so I'd recommend using more cream and less vodka. Another recipe I found suggested 300g > 400ml Cream > 600ml Vodka, which would come out much creamier.

Method:

1. Break up the chocolate and melt it in a bowl over a medium heat.
(Note: the chocolate will seem to solidify as you add the cream, don't panic and just keep stirring, it goes liquid again.)
2. Stir in the cream until it's well mixed and smooth.
3. Lower the heat and stir in the vodka, taking care it doesn't boil.
4. Once well mixed, use a funnel to put the vodka in the bottle (either the original one or one you've bought specially).
(Note: pouring the vodka through a seive will get out any remaining lumps but shouldn't be necessary if you've stirred it well enough.)

So there you have it; homemade chocolate vodka that's perfect as a gift or at dinner parties etc. Serve it on the rocks or even stir it into hot chocolate for a delicious treat! Let me know if you give this a go and how it turns out. :)

How To... Re-use Christmas Cards

This weekend is when most people will be taking down their Christmas decorations. Millions of cards will be thrown in the bin, but I sincerely hope none of my readers are among those throwing them out. Christmas cards are incredibly simple to re-use; all you need is a pair of scissors! For those of you a little more creative, some ribbon and a hole punch can also be used to jazz things up.

The easiest cards are either the small ones or ones with a repeat pattern on the front, the most fun are those with different patterns, motifs and images that you can get creative with! Simply cut the backs off of the cards and cut the fronts into tag shapes. You can either punch a hole in a corner and add some ribbon, or simply leave them as they are. Not only have you saved the card from the recycle bin (once again, I hope my readers won't be putting them in the normal bin!) but now you don't need to buy tags next year. :)

Here are the ones I've made this year;

If you turn your cards into tags post pictures below, I'd love to see them!

How To: Soothe Puffy Eyes

The festive season has finally drawn to a close and we're all heading back to work; most of us slightly heavier than when we left! After a fortnight of over-indulging on food and getting less sleep than we should, it comes as no surprise that a few are suffering the puffy-eyed look of sleep deprivation.
There are plenty of remedies that can be bought over the counter, but for a cheap (and probably more effective!) alternative you should be heading to the fridge!

Not for a glass of cool wine or beer (that's how you got here remember), but instead for one of the following...

Cucumber
It's a cliche for a reason! All those women laying back with cucumber over their eyes are reaping the benefits of looking silly on camera in two ways. The puffiness will be soothed and reduced by the cold of the cucumber, while the high water content will help re-hydrate your eyes and prevent water retention. So grab a few slices from the fridge, pop them over your eyes and relax for 10 minutes. A quick nap wouldn't hurt either! ;)

Strawberries
Strawberries also have fab qualities that will help soothe those tired eyes. As with the cucumber, the cold will reduce the appearance of swelling for you. In addition strawberries also contain the natural ingredient alpha-hydroxy, which is used in many expensive facial creams to make the skin look younger and smoother. This time pop the slices underneath your eyes, directly on the puffy area, then relax for 10 minutes - nap optional!

Milk
It may sound odd, but a cotton ball drenched in ice-cold milk placed over each eye will do wonders for those tired bags! Keep your eyes tightly shut while they're in place for 10 minutes, then cleanse, tone and moisturise as usual.

Olive Oil and Tea Bags
Possibly the weirdest solution of the lot (and admittedly not from the fridge...) - place 2 wet tea bags in the freezer for a few minutes to make them ice cold. While they're chilling massage a small amount of olive oil onto your eyelids and place the tea bags over the top once they're ready. As with the other rememdies you'll need to lay back and relax for 10 minutes while it does the trick, then cleanse, tone and moisturise as usual.

Two tips to prevent bags from happening in the future...
- Drink plenty of water! Bags are often a result of water retention from dehydration, not just a late night. Keeping hydrated will stop your body from retaining water as it will have a constant supply anyway.
- Keep your facial products in the fridge. This will reduce any puffiness before it has a chance to become noticeable and may even increase the shelf-life of your products. Always check labels before just to make sure it's safe though!

Please note: The eye area is very delicate and you should only be using the lightest touch with any of these methods. It is also very sensitive so if you're in any doubt over any of the products mentioned above test them on the inside of your wrist or elbow first to check for an allergy. None of this information constitutes as medical advice and a GP should always be consulted if you think the cause is more than just a late night.

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year!

May the new year bring all your hopes and dreams into fruition!

 

♥

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas!

I hope you all enjoy this festive season as much as I know I will!

 

♥

A Little Help

Hi guys!

I wanted to ask for a little help from you all; in the new year I'm planning a re-vamp of the blog to get it busy again and posting more regularly. What I want to know is what posts you'd like to see more of, what are your favourite topics? With my work I'm moving more into skincare, relaxation and stress relief techniques so I could take it in the direction if you're interested. Alternatively I still do all my money/planet-saving ideas at work and at home, so I can keep it going in that vein if you'd prefer. Or if you enjoy the mix that I currently do I'm happy to stick with that. I'm pretty flexible really! So comment below and I'll take everyone's thoughts into account when planning my blog for next year!

Thanks,
Ami

Homemade Christmas

Hello everyone!

I have 5 mins spare before work so thought I'd share a great program with you before I go. This year I'm really focusing on keeping costs down but keeping presents big - not in size but in the thoughtfullness and care that goes into them. There are a few presents I'm particularly proud of and I will be writing guides for them so you can use them in the future, but sadly as family members read this blog I can't share before the big day!

What I can do though is give you a link to Kirstie's Homemade Christmas which is a program I've got on Series Link at the moment so I can use all of her ideas for our flat! I've only seen snippets so far (I'm going to have a viewing session all in one go to absorb the Christmassy goodness!) but it's all been amazing ideas like spraying pine cones gold and hanging them on the tree for decorations. :)

So what are you guys doing for christmas? Do you prefer to go the shop-bought route or will you be getting crafty this year too? I'd love to hear your ideas!