I don't know where to begin?!

My garden allotment is giving me such pleasure. Every day i head outside to have a nosey and check on my growing plants. I must check my courgettes like 3 times a day to see if they have grown. I don't know what i expect to see?! a marrow? hahaha.

I said in the title of this post that i do not know where to begin and this is very true. I am not so good at organising my thoughts really. So this is why yet again ( so sorry ) i have not posted when i said i would because i don't know what to write about first, plus with being back at work and then coming home to be mummy again it has been hard to have any time to myself really.

Do i group some things together and write down my successes and problems? or do individual posts?. This is what i will be thinking about today, in hope that later on today or by the end of the weekend i will have something uploaded.

One thing i must say though is how much i have loved growing each and everyone of my plants, whether it is fruit or vegetable. Growing you're own is the most rewarding and satisfying project and hobby you can have i think, i can say this with such confidence because i have so many hobbies on the go haha. And although this is my first year i think i will be getting quite a lot from my garden allotment and i don't mind if some things do not work because this year is about learning and preparation. I do have big plans for my garden but due to lack of funds and to be honest time, i have to do things in steps and hope that i have time and money to complete what i have my heart and mind set on.

So i will leave that as it is for now and i will work on my next post :)

So excited to finally share my little journey with you all. 

Speak to you soon and thank you for visiting me xxxx

Long time no speak..

So when i last made a proper post i said how i was going to do a budget and try and live frugally through April but something happened at the end of march beginning of april in my life which was very stressful and i lost all will when it came to the whole savings thing.

Since then lots has happened and i can not wait to share it with you all.

Firstly i joined slimming world again. I had no idea you could it as a vegan but you can! So i will be making a post about that if any of you are thinking of joining, so keep an eye out for that.

Also, my veggie garden is now becoming very productive and its becoming rather colourful so i will do a post on what im growing and any troubles i have had along my short journey. So i have not completley given up on living the frugal dream :).

I am so excited to share it all with you. so over the next few days look out for that post. 

Welcome to my new readers, i love having you here. I hope you enjoy the content. 

I don't have the most exciting life but what i have i enjoy and i am grateful for and more than anything i love sharing it with you all.

I have not forgotten the recipes too, i just needed to take that time off and now i am back :).

speak to you very soon xxxxx

 

Thank you xx

I love seeing where you are all from, it's exciting and makes me so happy.

I have readers from all around the world, I never would have thought I would be this lucky. I love talking to you.

I would love to know how you found me. where you recommended or did it just pop up from somewhere? please let me know if you would, please comment or email me telling me where you are from and how you found me. Would make my day if you do, I'm so interested.

I shall now rather excitingly list my amazing audience and grin stupidly in the process :D ..

U.S

U.K

Russia

Ireland

Australia

Philippines

Malaysia

France

South Africa

Germany

Italy

Poland

Austria

Canada

I hope No one was left out.

How amazing is that list!

Back in April 2015 my audience was US, UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland- So you can see how far I've come just short of nearly 2 years and why I'm very happy and proud.

Thank you so much for supporting me. Please recommend me to any friends or family that you think may be interested and keep visiting me. I hope to be more regular with my posts as my darling daughter now has a bed time so the evenings are mine again which is rather strange.

Please hit the follow icon on my blog to further show your support <3. Until the next blog stay safe and remember to always smile because not only does it make you feel good but you could brighten someone's day without even knowing it <3 xxx

Upcoming Content..

My blog has never had much structure to it because I was never that serious or dedicated to it, but I hadn't done a post for such a long time and I realised how much I missed sitting there typing away to you all and now I FINALLY have my own laptop the only things keeping me away is motherhood and house work :( booo!

So over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking, this tends to happen when you don't have many adults to converse with haha. My thoughts somehow bought me to realise I want to be more self sufficient. I was sitting with Pippa outside a CO-OP branch near mine and I saw an advertisement for vegetables and it was advertising certain bags of veg for under 80p - Can't think of the exact price and it got me thinking about how expensive it actually is in the long run.

So my thought process then became- GROW YOUR OWN! My dad has his own allotment and it is still in the beginning process as it requires so much attention and preparation and he only has so much free time and lets face it the UK climate doesn't really help much, and so I'm used to hearing what he has grown or is growing and I became rather envious that he has all that space. I am very creative and I have dabbled in growing veg in my previous garden but it was too hot and my plants soon dried up and died in the little green house I had so I soon gave that short-lived hobby up, until now.

So in this new house it is slightly more difficult as my garden doesn't get full sun like the last one and what little patio we do have doesn't get much of that sun at all- My garden is big but it's mainly grass so I will be using pots and containers to grow my veg as I wanted them off the grass - mainly to reduce the chance of bugs and pests getting at my crops. So I will be talking about my struggles and successes of that venture which I'm looking forward to as well as tips and tricks to save you money.

The next lot of new content you will see more of will be recipes. Sweet and savoury and all VEGAN :). My sister can not have wheat or dairy in her diet so my next challenge is to try and make some very tasty vegan gluten free recipes not only for her but for you also. But feel free to make any of my recipes gluten free by swapping certain items to accommodate your dietary needs. I am also thinking of looking up popular recipes and doing reviews on them- this is just a thought for now.

So lots of new content is coming and the recipes are delicious and cheap. That is what I am focusing on, we are not all rich and even if you have enough money to buy certain brands or get take outs, we could all to with reducing our food bills- Darren informed me that last month we spent £300+ on food alone. Yet when we want food there never seems to be much to eat. So I have set myself a goal of reducing that bill by a huge amount and in April we will keep our receipts in hope of seeing a reduction and by how much. Along with the recipes I will talk about cupboard staples, items I use every day and the more expensive items I stock up on and why.

Apart from the veg growing and recipes I will talk about other aspects of my life - about being a mum, being vegan and other menial tasks.

I wanted to quickly mention that you will find a couple of recipes on my blog that are not vegan and that's because I only went vegan at the end of 2015, I don't want to delete it as that was part of who I am and I don't want to change that, but going forward it will be all vegan and it will most likely say vegan in the title just to reassure you.

I love writing to you so if you are interested then show your support by coming back to visit me :)

lots of love xxx

Book review!! #2

A while back now I did a book review and since then I haven't read much, especially since having Harlow. This review was a must because It very quickly became my favourite book ever. So lets get on with it.

You're The One that I want- Giovanna Fletcher

Darren bought me the book for Christmas a couple of years ago and I very quickly became unable to put it down - I was HOOKED :).

I usually find it hard to get into a new book, can sometimes take me a few pages to a few chapters to really start to like it but I was drawn in on the first page. The reason for this is the book cleverly started with the ending of the book and then everything is explained within.

It's a love story. I also feel we can all relate in one way or another, whether that's having a school crush, liking two people at the same time or falling in love with your best friend- It's very emotional and I even admit that I cried at the end. I will never forget where I was at the time- On a bus coming home from work at 10pm, completely gutted that It was over. I never wanted the story to end. It is so well written and with all the twists and turns that happen it keeps you wanting more.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything, I have uploaded photos above of the blurb and front cover so you can read that and see what the cover is like.

If you are in need of a new read then give this one a go, I can not recommend it highly enough. 10/10 from me!!

Give it a read and if you do then let me know what you thought of it.

Thank you for visiting- I will do another book review as soon as so keep an eye out for that :) xxxxxx

Interesting fact- Giovanna Fletcher is married to Tom Fletcher from the band McFly.. Just in case there are any McFly fans.. :)

Disclaimer- I do not get sponsored to do reviews

Does anyone else do this?

When I see people doing dishes on the TV or in films they stack them neatly and there never seems to be many dishes. However, when I do them I almost see it as a challenge to get all of my dishes done and to somehow fit them all on the wrack. It was only just now as I was stacking them that It got me thinking, I don't often see this in other peoples houses. I don't dry mine straight away because I hate the idea of dust going on my dishes so i let them drip dry.

I have so many dishes because I cook all of my meals from scratch, so yes lots to wash. Here is my mountain of dishes, let me know if you do this too so I know that I'm not alone haha :)

An emotional morning

Whilst Harlow was napping on me this morning I put on a recorded episode of Country file a winter special as I love looking at the hills and animals but now I regret watching it.

They where talking about cattle whilst standing with them and they where discussing the profits the farmers will get and touching the cattle and saying how much meat they will give from certain areas of it's body. It really made me sad and then on a different clip they where talking about sheep in the lake district and once again they where discussing the meat they will produce, they then make one of the sheep get into a cage which weighs them and then they spray the sheep, I'm assuming that meant they are nearly ready for slaughter :(. This really affected me. I just started crying and couldn't stop. The sheep looked so innocent and clearly uncomfortable and whilst it is standing there patiently, they are discussing its death and the money they make from it right in front of it :( ,completely disrespectful. 

I know that's what happens but it's a living breathing animal with thoughts, emotions and social skills. We are all aware It happens but that doesn't make it right. The slaughter or murder of animals for food has become so normalised that people do not even question it. I was watching kids tv this morning with Harlow and they humanise the cartoon animals and give them human voices and chores and do basic every day activities and kids love them, the parents then buy the merchandise for their children and come sunday they sit down to a beef, lamb, chicken or pork roast? Are the children actually aware that they are eating their favourite cartoon character? Can children even link the two?? I know I didn't at a young age. It's so wrong :(

Like I said I know these things go on in the world but it doesn't make it right. I am also aware that I can not save all the animals, that's what makes It so hard.

Sorry this isn't a happy post but this is just some of the frustration and anger I feel towards this topic and I don't for one minute believe if you eat meat your a bad person but I do know we don't need animals to live off. I think more education on the subject needs to be given so we can all start seeing what is happening and start making a change. 

Thanks for visiting  me xxx

Vegan Banana bread

So the other night I was feeling particularly down for a couple of reasons so I went online and found this recipe, I had all the ingredients in and it seemed relatively easy so I made it. MY GOD!! It is so delicious and between Darren and I we ate the whole thing within a matter of hours and then the next day I made another one haha.
During the cooking process your kitchen smells so tasty!!

The main flavours that stood out to me where of course bananas and the nutmeg. Before going vegan I used to really enjoy egg custards and the level of nutmeg you can taste on the egg custard is the same as on this banana bread.

You don't need any fancy equipment just some basic cooking cutlery, a loaf tin and 2 mixing bowls.

I did do a freeze test on a thin slice (I was not willing to waste a thick slice if it didn't work out :p ). It took about 30 minutes to defrost it so if it was a thicker slice you would probably need to give yourself an hour to be on the safe side. The 30 minutes it took for my thin slice meant it was no longer frozen but it was still quite cold so bare that in mind if you are giving it to friends.

Freezing your banana bread is ideal if there is only a couple of you who would be eating it and you don't want to eat the whole thing, believe me it really is so easy to do. If you where going to take a piece to work with you it would be defrosted by lunch time or even a summer picnic.

The finished product is very moist and soft and like I said I got 12 decent slices out of it. It does not contain any refined sugar. Here is the recipe ;

It's very simple so I will list the ingredients and the instructions at the same time <3

Pre-heat the oven to 170 C or 338 F and Grease your loaf tin with a very small amount of melted coconut oil.

firstly if you don't have apple sauce in your cupboard then you need to make it, this is how I made mine. I used one small to medium apple, any will do. I peeled and cored the apple and cut each apple slice into 4 so they where small. I then put the apple pieces in a pan with a small amount of boiling water and allowed the water to simmer and the apple will start to soften. I used a potato masher to mash mine and if you feel you need more water then go for it but you only need a very small amount of this apple sauce so don't go too mad with the amount. (If you have little ones you could always double the apple sauce and give it to them on some porridge for breakfast)

4 spotted bananas

     1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup of apple sauce

1/4 cup coconut oil

1tsp of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

In your bowl you want to mash up the bananas, I used a potato masher. Do not worry if there are larger chunks of banana just keep mashing until you are happy, next add in your coconut sugar and use the masher to combine the two ingredients together. Then go ahead and add in the rest of the listed ingredients and mix well.

In your second bowl add

1 1/2 cups of plain white flour (feel free to use wholemeal)

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda/ baking soda

and mix really well, I used a whisk to ensure it was well combined. Then add all the ingredients together and when your happy its all combined, pour into your already greased loaf tin and put it in the oven for 40-45 mins.

Please note that every oven is different so you may just need to check on your bread to see how its getting on. If you use a cake tester, it may not come out clean because of the bananas and apple sauce and it will look under cooked if you cut it straight away but it will firm up as it cools. It is delicious warm and would be lovely with ice cream. This is not my recipe. I found it online and I will try and link them.

Darren and I went through our second cake quite quickly but we gave 2 slices to his folks to try and those four in cling film are currently in the freezer. The rest we ate the same day, it really is terrible but once you have made it you will understand just how delicious it really is. The only expensive items in the recipe would probably be the coconut oil and the coconut sugar. You can of course use castor sugar or even brown sugar. I luckily had all of the ingredients in already so no cost to me. Please give this recipe a go. It does not taste like it has no eggs or dairy in it and I guarantee everyone will enjoy it and will be rather impressed too. Thank you for visiting. Feel free to comment and tell me if you liked It as much as I do xx

  Side note- I have since made this banana bread and I only realised part way through mashing bananas that I had no apples to make the apple sauce so I took a risk and just added another small ripe banana and it turned out just fine. Much nicer with the apple sauce but it is still very tasty without  :D xxx

Slimming world review

One of the most Viewed posts on the blog is Slimming world updates. I Just wanted to clarify to my lovely readers that I no longer do slimming world (which Is probably obvious).

I did however want to say that I loved doing it and as you can see I did lose a lot of weight. I highly recommend it as it's not restrictive at all and if you put the work in, you really do lose the weight.

One main reason I don't follow it anymore is because my main goal at the time of doing it was to lose weight to qualify for IVF and I did it. When I was pregnant I barley ate especially in the beginning because of feeling so sick, and also I became vegan a few weeks before the IVF. As far as I'm aware Slimming world don't do a plan for plant based eaters, please correct me if I am wrong. And seeing as I would have to do all the meal planning and researching about syns with sweet and savoury vegan foods such as cheese and chocolate, I didn't think it was worth the money. But if they did do one in the future then I would really consider going back on plan. 

I did speak to a rep about it in October and she said that a lot of people are turning plant based. I asked if they had any recipe books or plans for a plant based diet yet and she said no but the more people ask about it and enquire to Slimming world the more likely that it will happen, so fingers crossed and if your interested then get asking :).

When I was on the plan I found a great deal of support, information and inspiration on Facebook groups. Just do some searching and add yourself. I also googled the syns of specific treats if they weren't in my book.

Good luck to any of you that are doing the Slimming world plan :) Wish you all the success that you so desire <3 xx 

Meet Harlow

Hello, 

I have already told you that my beautiful daughter Harlow was born on sept 27th 2016 but I have not yet shared any photos of my little angel.

She is such a cutie and I just adore her so much, I was unsure of whether I wanted to post any photos of her on my blog but the ones I have chosen she will be with me so none of her alone.

She is such a happy baby and she laughed for the first time a few weeks back and it was magical!

Here she is ...

I know I am biased but isn't she just so cute xxx

  

R.I.P Our beautiful Doggy

I have some terribly sad news to share :(, our beautiful furbaby Jack passed away on October 21st 2016 peacefully in our arms.



Life truly will never be the same and our home is so empty without our little boy. I had jack for 6 years almost to the day and Darren shared our fury friend for nearly 6 years. Just as i described him on his shared page with pippa, he was a loving and very loyal dog and we are so sad to no longer have him in our lives and at our sides. 

He became very sick in his last two weeks, it was so sudden and the vets predict it was most likely due to a brain tumour. Like i said it was so sudden and he had such a terrible time that the kindest thing for him was to let him go. I still can't talk too much about it, it's still too soon. He wasn't alone as i said both Darren and i where with him to the very end. Jack was my first Dog and he will forever be so special to me. 

It has been a few months without him and it's been a difficult time. I just hope he knew how much i loved him, all those days i didn't kiss or cuddle him or just look into his beautiful kind brown eyes i will always regret, but you can't spend all your days doing that as you also have your life to live and i understand that but when you lose someone close to you, you always wish you could go back one last time or you wish you would have appreciated them more. The problem is you won't know you'll feel that way until they are gone and i have learned so much since his passing.

We still have pippa and she hasn't been the same since he's been gone. The first few days where the hardest, we just wanted to be able to sit her down and explain what had happened but obviously that wasn't possible and it made his passing even harder with her missing him. We have a little mat in our kitchen and jack used to sit on it but especially in his last weeks and pippa would just sit there and wait and even now to think of that it really upsets me.
 Since then she has been a little bit better, we have since washed that mat and everything jack was in to try and make it a little easier for her but like humans she will mourn for him. 

We had all of this to contend with whilst seeing to our newborn baby, she has been my best distraction through it all. when you have a newborn or a baby or child in general, you have no time to sit around and mope because they need feeding or changing or just need you and i have found myself on random days at different times, just crying because i miss him so much and i am always so busy and when i catch up with myself, it hits me all over again and it really is the hardest thing.

So this post was mean't as a final goodbye to my jack, so all my readers know and to anyone else out there who has ever loved and lost a pet no matter how big or small, i know how you feel and i am so sorry for your loss.

One thing that gets to me is that Harlow will never grow up with jack and i was never able to get a photo of them together and when we feared we may lose him, he was that sick it wasn't even possible for that to happen and it didn't look like jack anymore. 

To my jack, you where my first proper pet and i fell in love with you big time, you where my best friend through really hard times and i loved how you wouldn't leave my side if i was sad or crying, you where such a loving, loyal and beautiful companion and i will miss you with all my heart. I am so sorry you where sick and that Darren and i couldn't make you better. You bought both of us so much happiness and we hope you had a good life, we will always miss you and you will never be forgotten. Thank you for loving me the way you did and i will never forget the way you looked into my eyes.
love you always- my matey jack <3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  

 21/10/2016 I lost my best friend x