5 FOODS FOR HAPPY HEALTHY HAIR

IMAGE TAKEN FROM HERE

PERK UP YOUR WEEK #2

SPA: FAIRLAWNS HOTEL AND SPA, WEST MIDLANDS

FOOD: LUXEMBURGELI MACAROONS

FOOD: STEAK AND SALAD

I always um-and ah over my meal plans. As much as I love autumn and winter for their carb-filled and stodge-fuelled allowances, when it comes to food I still am one of those girls that sometimes just fancies something a bit different - something lighter. During a conversation with Islay the other day she sent me a picture of what looked like the most delicious salad in the world. What is more - the ingredients were listed underneath and I was lustful for it.

As much as I love autumn and winter for their carb-filled and stodge-fuelled allowances, when it comes to food I am still one of those girls that just fancies something a bit different - something lighter.

Knowing Dave hates salad I decided that I needed to be clever if I was to incorporate it into a dinner. He said he wanted steak and I said I wanted salad - so why not put them both together and whilst he was tucking into chips with his sirloin I could have the salad with mine instead. Simple pimple. Problem solved.

FOOD: APPLE AND BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

Crumbles are possibly the easiest dessert in the world to make. They're also one of the UK's favourite puddings too - especially as autumn fades into winter and everyone starts to crave the sweet and filling rather than the light and cool.

This is my Apple and Blueberry recipe. I don't use a strict recipe for it - I (as they call it in the catering trade) 'cowboy' the hell out of it. I have a rough idea about weights though so if you go with the guidelines I have sort-of created you won't be able to go far wrong.

This recipe makes three-four small portions. It's freezable though so if you don't want to eat it all in one go (try not doing) then you can simply save it for another day.

FOOD: HOMEMADE CHICKEN KIEVS

Dave loves chicken kiev. We usually buy the pre-made ones but having recently read somewhere online that the chicken in chicken kievs isn't really any of the good bits of a chicken I decided to start making my own - this is the recipe I came up with. It's a lot of common sense mixed with some added extras that cater to Dave's tastes - I've explained throughout though about the different ways to do this dish so if you don't like the way Dave has his then it's still simple to make these the 'normal' way.

DRINK: DON'T LIKE GREEN TEA? TRY THESE...

Everyone harps on about how great Green Tea is - packed full of anti-oxidants, a great alternative to caffeine, kind to the skin, used in so many great beauty products... we all know the benefits by now. The trouble is that it tastes, to a lot of people, disgusting. I know that I need at least three lumps of sugar to make it seem worthy of drinking, which that means that all that hard work the green tea is doing is going to be cancelled out by the amount of sugar I am clogging my insides with.

I've been drinking teas like this since I was old enough to be trusted with hot drinks. When I was younger I had eastern European Au-Pairs (foreign students that look after children and do the house cleaning in exchange for staying in your home, you paying for them to learn English at a college and paying them a small allowance) around me for a long time. These were the girls that introduced me to infusions and fruit teas. I've been drinking them ever since.

FOOD: DAIRY FREE ROSE & STRAWBERRY MACAROONS

I thought I would bring you something different today - something fanciful. I needed to start making things for myself that are dairy free as I have a slight lactose intolerance. If I have too much dairy I break out, I get stomach cramps and nausea and usually I end up in a lot of discomfort. Whilst I am willing to tolerate this for the sake of a Costa Coffee Vanilla Latte every now and again I can't allow this to happen every single day as it has been doing. A lot of people suffer with the same problems as I do so hopefully this will be useful for those that fancy a sweet treat without the lactose involved. Eggs, whilst classed as 'dairy' do not contain lactose, so for me I can eat them and use them in recipes - although I am careful not to eat too many because of the fat content in them.

This is the second attempt at making macaroons as the first attempt was unsuccessful and went very wrong. This is a very difficult recipe to get right the first time so practice will eventually make perfect. These aren't perfect but I'm still pleased with them nevertheless. In fact 'pleased' is a lie- I'm proud as punch, especially as my stepmother (who has been an amazing baker of sweet treats all my life) called me 'adventurous' for even attempting them.

FOOD: BEEF STEW

Beef stew is one of those meals that is so easy to make and requires no fuss at all that I make this a lot during the autumn and winter months. I was never 'taught' how to do this and I have never read a recipe on how it should be done. This is just my way of doing it - and as Dave will actually lick his bowl clean and go back for second helpings, I imagine that I haven't got it that wrong.

You can add dumplings to this recipe if you want to but I don't. I think they're is a lot of vegetables and meat going on in there anyway without adding excess to the mix. 

FOOD: CHICKEN & MUSHROOM LASAGNE

I've decided I want to try to incorporate some different things into this blog. I love beauty and I have written about it consistently but I feel that there are so many other things that I could share with you all. Hence, every Sunday I'm going to share a recipe with you for some rather indulgent food.

I'm very interested in food and I love cooking. I like to be healthy during the week and then indulge at the weekends. Here is the recipe for my favourite pasta dish: Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne. I've used a fully cooked chicken here (this saves me money as there is only me and Dave so I can get two decent days' worth of meals out of one chicken) but please feel free to use whatever type of chicken you like, be it whole breast or leg etc.

Also, this recipe works really well if you throw any other vegetables you want to in. Dave doesn't actively choose to eat vegetables so I have to avoid adding lots of yummy greens. However if I was on my own making this I would add courgettes and some spinach.