Sunday 31 July 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Chia Puds, Burnt Truffle, Mowgli and Caffe Grande Weekend!

So, it's been a very busy week - like VERY busy! Not that I'm complaining though. How has your week been? Good? Busy? 
I've been so busy with the clinic, having work done at home and fitting in as much yoga in as possible, I've not really had much chance to blog.


I had a super tasty chocolate chia pudding though which is always nice!


We also had a healthy taco night too. Which were super delicious! Yum! I will put a recipe for these up soon!


Then, Saturday night we treated ourselves to a delicious meal at Burnt Truffle in Chester. It makes such a change visiting this side of Manchester/Cheshire instead of the usual Manchester/Trafford Centre trip. We had a very indulgent 3 course meal and the food was really good! Blog post coming soon!


Finally, today after work we ventured out to the Triangle and went to Mowgli Street Food Restaurant for something different. It was really tasty - these are the Chaat Bombs.


We also had the 'chip butty' and Tamarind Fries. Super delicious but erm... these are not chips or fries! They're roasted potatoes ha ha! Either way, I didn't care! They tasted amazing - Plus I was so so hungry, a Ritz cracker would have been amazing!


We also had the Temple Dahl and some rotis. Major carb attack but it was so worth it!


All gone!


Then, we really pushed the boat out and went to Cafe Grande in town for dessert and tea! Not something we would usually do but it was such a nice afternoon it was nice to stay out. Here I had the waffles and hubby had the strawberry fruit tart. These waffles were actual heaven! I highly recommend them! Yum!!

Now it's time to chill, get some work done and get to bed! It never stops!

I hope you've all had a great week!

Big Love


Emmaline x
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Monday 25 July 2016

LITTLE GEMS: London Calling!

I love it when a week that's not going so well suddenly takes a turn for the better! I had one of those this week. It wasn't a bad one but it went oh so well this weekend!


Delicious Brekkie before getting on the train! I LOVE avocado on toast! Yummy!


When we got there we went for some tasty lunch to this great little French place called NAC. 


We had a seat at the bar and had some of the tastiest lunch of the weekend!


Super cute little place


I had a sneaky bit of halloumi with a super delicious salad - butternut squash, courgette, iceberg lettuce and toasted macadamia nuts!


Poached eggs with avocado on toast for Miri


And Chicken Sliders with chips for hubby :)


Then, afternoon tea at one of the most amazing places in London! Laduree in Covent Garden! I literally could have sat there all day!


Check out the awesome view from Laduree!


Rose macaroons, salted caramel and chocolate, plus a chocolate eclair for hubs! Seriously the rose macaroons were mind - blowing!!


Lucky ladies making purchases!


Then, that evening we headed over to Knightsbridge to the super cool Yashin Sushi Restaurant!


Here is the Yellow Fin Sashimi and Salted edamames


This is their raw, root vegetable salad


Sexy sushi! Smoked Salmon squares and asparagus tempura maki rolls


Homemade layered tofu dish


Prawn Tempura! Check out this cool presentation!


Plus this cool sticky sweet sauce in a test tube! Awesome!


Then... yes there is more ha ha! We went to Kensington Roof Gardens for a dessert on the terrace outside. Another place I could have sat for hours!


Breakfast the next day was at another super cool place called Cocomaya. Seriously delicious!


Here is their Cherry and Polenta cake!



What I loved about this place is there is no menu! Everything is all made fresh on the day and then you just pick what you want from the selection. We were so lucky with the weather this weekend, it was scorching! Managed to get some more sunshine as we sat outside for breakfast. Seriously this was one of the best London trips I think I've had!


Smoked salmon brioche buns


The MOST delicious seeded toast ever!


Wowsers! Chocolate stuffed brioche doughnut/heart attack on a plate breakfast ha ha!



How amazing is this spread!

















Finally, a walk on Primrose Hill to walk it all off! What a fab time! Thank you hubs and Miri! You guys made it super amazing - couldn't have asked for more! - Plus, thank you Miri for all your wonderful suggestions! All places I've never been before! Big Love!!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x
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Thursday 21 July 2016

FIVE FAVOURITES: Ways to keep cool at 2am!

I know it's been pretty hot at the moment - like roasting hot! It's been a bit challenging some nights to get to sleep and then once you are asleep to stay sleeping! I find if I have my fan on to begin with  can just about get to sleep, but it's when you wake up at 2am and can't stand the heat - that's when I struggle!



I have now got a few methods that work for me to help me get to sleep in the heat so I thought I'd share them with you. The heat is probably going to come and go over summer, but this way at least you're prepared for the next hit!

1 - Wet your hair
I did this one last night and I really found that it helped me stay a little cooler in the night. You can either just wet your hair (I find my hair can go a bit greasy though this way) or wash it and apply some hair treatments. I woke up this morning with a soft, curly mane! Luurvely!

2 - Dampen a sarong
One of my beautiful clients gave me this idea and I swear it works! If you find it's stupid o'clock in the morning and you just can't stand the heat then try this. Saturate an old sarong in ice cold water and wring it out. Simply drape it over you with the fan on in the room - I swear I almost shivered it cooled me so much!

3 - Summer Hot Water Bottle
This is a bit random, but super cooling! Half fill a hot water bottle with cold water and place it in the freezer to cool. Before you go to sleep take it out and wrap it in a towel (to absorb and condensation - we don't want a wet bed!) and put it in your bed. This will cool your sheets down and you can even keep it in your bed to keep you cool all night!

4 - Create your own air con

Why not try placing a bowl of ice underneath your fan in the bedroom at nice. The fan should pick up the cold air from the ice and blow it around the room!

5 - Cool YOU down




Instead of just trying to cool the room and then bed, why not cool your own body down. Either a cool shower before bedtime or even just running your wrists under the cold water tap can really help. Seems to cool your whole body down not just your hands!

I hope you've found this post helpful!

Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x
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Sunday 17 July 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Wagamama Jamma Wamma

Ha ha! I just love this title! I can never just say Wagamama without adding 'Jamma Wamma' for some stupid reason :)

How has your week been? My clinic has been super busy this week so not that much has been going on.

We did manage to venture out though on Friday night to the Trafford Centre. There was some stuff I needed to get and so we thought we would eat there at the same time. I go to Wagamama quite sporadically and the food is alright. It's quite expensive for the quality of food, but unfortunately that's what you have to pay in the bigger shopping malls in their restaurants.


Hubby went for the 'Firecracker Rice' with prawns - which I think had quite a kick!


I chose the Pad Thai with Tofu which was ok. To be honest I was so hungry I think I could have eaten anything and enjoyed it!


We also munched on so vegetable gyozas too. The food here is ok but sometimes the service is a bit random. Drinks always take forever every time I go and I understand that food is done at different times, but when one persons mains comes out first and then you have to wait five mins or so for the other mains it makes it a bit difficult - but who cares! We had a nice time mooching around the shops and I had a full belly so life's good!



I also did a bit of an experiment with a chocolate chia pudding recipe. I've wanted to make one for a while but I kept forgetting to make it the night before. Anyway, I finally made it the other night and it was so yummy! I will post the recipe up on Monday for this. I definitely recommend trying it for a change.  I topped mine with bee pollen, goji berries, cacao nibs and some frozen berries - delicious!


Then finally today we went for dinner at the super yummy Railway Cafe, above is their delicious dragon roll and below... well it's a hell of a lot of food ha ha!

I completely forgot to take a picture so here is one from mid way through ha ha! Seared tuna, mushroom bao, green mango salad, broccoli and mushroom skewers (which is the empty plate at the end!) I have such a full belly now - good times!

I hope you've had a lovely week everybody!

Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x




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Saturday 16 July 2016

MEATLESS MONDAYS: Chia seed Pudding

I know it's called a 'pudding' but I have never thought about having this for dessert! For me, it's more of a breakfast thing. It's also the best breakfast to have if you're in a rush too as you make it the night before and then just top it in the morning - super speedy!
Here's how you make it...


Ingredients (serves 2):
  • 250ml Almond Milk (or any other milk you prefer)
  • 4 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tsp raw cacao powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Toppings of your choice
Method:
Simply blitz the milk, maple syrup, vanilla and cacao powder in a high speed blender until they are all throughly mixed together and pour into 2 bowls with the 2 tbsp of chia seeds in each. Stir it together and pop in a lid and put it in the fridge ideally overnight.

When you're ready to eat the pudding, give it a good stir together (it can be a bit clumpy if not!) and then cover it with your fav toppings. I like bee pollen, cacao nibs, goji berries and frozen berries. You can also add maybe some nut butter on top or even some granola too if you wanted a bigger brekkie!


(Here I've added some coyo to make it a little creamier!)

Sit back and enjoy!

Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x


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Friday 15 July 2016

EATING OUT: Harvey Nichols Mcr

So, I had the pleasure of eating out TWICE at Harvey Nicks in Manchester in the same week - consecutive days actually to be precise! Once for a light dinner with my Mamma and then again for The Well Connected's Yoga Event. 
I have been eating this restaurant for years and years and I can say I have never (as yet) had a bad meal there - I think the food is just getting better with age ha ha!

I also believe that it's won an award for the best restaurant in Manchester too! Pretty impressive! I don't know if I would say it's my fav overall - but it's pretty damn good if you want a light meal which is beautifully presented.


So, this was a bit of a 'pre-meal' for me as I was going for dinner afterwards he he! I knew my mum wanted some food so I thought I'd eat something light with her. Here I had the tuna sashimi and some olives. It was a teeny tiny starter portion, but was super tasty.


Mum went for the falafel with baba ganoush and a tahini dressing and she said it was delish!


Seriously loving the presentation here!

I then came back the following night for the Well Connected Yoga event. It was such a fun night with lots of yoga, talks, a 3 course meal and also an amazing goodie bag! All the food was super healthy, dairy free, gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.


Please forgive me, I can't remember the full menu but this I think was courgette, crispy kale with some tahini dressing.


Then for mains we had falafel with a salad and mango with a sweet chilli dressing. This was so so delish but was seriously garlicy! ha ha!


Finally, we had a coconut and mango rice pudding. Oh wow this was so yum! Quite rich though so I couldn't eat it all.

I love coming to this restaurant if I'm coming for a shop in town. Yes, there are quite a few new restaurants about in town now, this is an oldie but a goodie though! 
Maybe check it out next time your in town

Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x

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