Sunday 28 August 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Sunny Bank Holiday Weekend

Well, I guess it's so far so good this week at the moment! We've had some lovely warm weather (yes, the odd day of rain but I can cope with that!). It's now Sunday night and it's Bank Holiday Monday tomorrow! Hurrah! I've even treated myself to a naughty day off too - fabulous!

How has your week been? I've had another busy one again, but I'm not complaining. Unfortunately though, it just means I can't post as often for you - so, I hope you all understand. When you're self-employed it can be very difficult to switch your brain off, so I'm doing my best to try and chill a little more. Spending less time on my mac and more time pottering around the kitchen - juicing, cooking, baking etc etc. It's been so nice too, I think it can be very easy to get carried away with work and forget to give yourself some time. As my lovely yoga teacher was saying this week, we need to do more 'being' and less 'doing'. I hear you Adele! I'm working on it :)



Yummy breakfasts this week! This was a chia seed pudding with nut butter and frozen berries.


Simple Acai bowl here with my usual fav toppings!


I've started to love this smoothie bowl - here is just half a cup of water, 1/4 cup of oats, frozen strawberries, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 a banana and a spoon of acai powder. I love to serve this with granola underneath and all my toppings on top (obviously ha ha).


Managed to get a sneaky breakfast in at The Garden in Hale with my Mamma this week. Here is their 'Good Morning Greens' and the 'Sweet Potato Harissa Hash'. I can't explain how delish this sweet potato hash is! Yum!!


Really delicious plant based meal one night this week (well for me anyways, hubs had salmon)


These 'goodness bowls' as I call them are becoming a firm favourite in the house at the mo. Big bowl of brown rice at the bottom and then lots of veggies on top - then smothered in my special tahini dressing. Here I have roasted some little gems and also onions and peppers. Plus I fried some sugar snap peas that we had left over in the fridge - this was DELICIOUS!


One of my fav lunches on Friday this week at The Greenhouse in Hale. This is their selection of 5 salads and a peppermint tea. I seriously adore this place, best selection of veggie salads in Hale by far! Plus, I get a little shopping in too at the Health Shop next door. Can't complain with that he he!


Friday night we had some friends over, so I decided to cook a big feast of a meal. I love having guests over for 2 reasons...
1 - I get to cook a big meal which I adore to do
2 - You can make such a big selection of food you get so many tastes

Above is a giant 'Arabic Style' Salad with roasted/chargrilled veggies


Here are my Miso marinated aubergines with pomegranate, chilli and coriander dressing


2 chickens for hubs and our guests (one is harissa and one is sage, lemon and onion)


Homemade harissa hummus and some pittas


Finally, here are the leftovers! I made the TASTIEST pitta sandwich ever!! Oh my, oh my! This could have been the nicest sandwich I've ever had - wowsers!


Finally, Saturday night was dinner at Artisan in Manchester. Will do a mini write up of this place for you all next week. I have been here so many times, but for those of you who have never been, I will give you some info - stay tuned :)

Then today... well its been a day of chilling and also fitting in a bit of work. Lunch with the family - we had dim sum at Ocean Treasure in Manchester. I will be honest, it was a bit of a long wait for food and so by the time it arrived, we just scoffed it down  - so no pics I'm afraid! Then, some chickpea curry to round off the day. Proper comfort food today, just what it should be on a Sunday.

I hope you've all had a lovely week and have a nice day off tomorrow!

Thanks so much for reading,


Emmaline x
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Monday 22 August 2016

MEATLESS MONDAY: Sweet Potato & Lentil Breakfast Patties

After a week off blogging (sorry peeps! It's been crazy busy last week and I just couldn't find the time), I have a new recipe for you. This was a complete experiment that went so well. I had left over sweet potato mash and also some harissa lentils. You don't need to have leftovers though, you can make this from scratch (but might be a bit easier if you have some mash in the fridge ready to go!)


Ingredients:

1 cup of sweet potato mash
1 cup of green lentils
1 cup chopped kale
4 tbsp Gluten free flour
1 tbsp harissa spice blend or paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt and pepper
oil for frying



Method:

  • Preheat the oven to around 150/175 degrees celcius 
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together
  • Heat up some oil in a fry pan - maybe around a tablespoon to cook 3 patties
  • Take a small handful of mixture in your hands, roll into a ball and then press it flat
  • When the oil is ready, fry the patties in batches of 2 or 3
  • Cook on each side for around 3 mins or until golden brown. 
  • Once cooked, transfer to a baking dish/tray and place in the oven to keep warm and finish cooking through - keep adding cooked patties to the dish until they are all cooked.
  • Serve with a fried egg, a sprinkle of parsley or coriander and some chilli sauce
Thanks so much for reading, I hope you get to try it out!


Emmaline x
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Sunday 14 August 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Feasting Weekend!

I seem to have changed the theme of the 'little gems' to more of a 'what I ate this week' kind of post ha ha! Is it quite sad that all the 'little gems' in my week all relate to food? I think not! There is the odd thing here and there, but this week it was pretty much all yummy food related! Did you have a good week? Busy? Or are you off on holiday? Spending time with the kids? Whatever you were doing, I hope you had a good one :)

I've had some seriously good breakfasts this week...


Coyo with granola and fresh strawberries, bee pollen and seeds


Delicious homemade porridge with Almond Milk and a berry compote (this is so quick! Check out the recipe here)


Really tasty smoothie bowl with granola, bee pollen, chia seeds and nut butter


Plus a super lazy Sunday breakfast of chia pudding with fresh strawberries and some super seeds. I'm not really one to buy pre-made foods if I can make it myself fresh at home, but now and again these Chia Pods are really handy to have in the fridge. They come in different flavours and actually taste really good. I've checked out the ingredient list and its really simple too (so no nasties in there!), plus it seems to have a really good shelf life so keeps well in the fridge.


I've also been adding these 'Superseeds' to everything at breakfast. They have different flavours too so you can get savoury ones as well as sweet. This is the chocolate brownie one and it's great on granola and smoothie bowls.


Here I had fresh fruit with bee pollen, Superseeds and a Chia Pod. It took me minutes to make and was super tasty. Normally I would make my own and I would recommend you do too. Chia puds are so quick to make the night before, but if you forget or just fancy one in the morning, these little bad boys are good to go!


Went to yoga on Wednesday night and I normally would go home and get some dinner, but this week I just didn't have time. So, I stayed at work and got a sushi takeaway from a nearby restaurant who make it fresh. These are Victor's Flamed Salmon Rolls and the Soft Shell Crab Spider Rolls - Yum!


I also go to making some new products for the TSUI apothecary range this week. Super excited to add some products to the range - there is so much coming from this brand! Watch this space...!


Had a tasty lunch at Alberts on Saturday, I know it's pretty big! I wouldn't normally go for something like this for lunch but it was the best option out of everything on the menu. If I didn't go for the fish it was a Cheesy Bread and Butter Pudding option which really didn't tickle my fancy! Just weird!


So, I got this idea from Manchester House! If you ever have some passionfruit at home, this always makes them super yum! It's a crispy toffee shell on top. Make sure your passion fruit is ready first - it needs to be all shrunk and crinkly (this is when it's at it's sweetest). Then sprinkle over some brown sugar and carefully melt it with a blow torch (or you could put it under the grill I guess).


 Yum! Super crispy top and tastes delicious! Just don't burn your mouth peeps! I hope that goes without saying!


Went for a lovely afternoon tea with some friends on Saturday to Caramello in Didsbury. I absolutely love this place, it's like my new chilling spot (The Garden always has my heart though!) They make fresh homemade gelato and cakes. I know I'm not big on the dairy, but they have tasty sorbets and macaroons so that was my option. Plus one of the nicest peppermint teas ever! You must check it out, plus the decor is so gorgeous! Love it!


Then, it's an oldie but a goodie! Saturday night, can't beat a bit of Pizza Express! 2 courses for £9.95 - cheap and cheerful! I know it's not always the most glam place, but it's one of those places where as a rule you know what you're getting. Here we had dough balls and the tomato and mozzarella salad - standard but yum!


Then, I had the Superfood salad and hubs had a pizza. Some kind of Pollo pizza something? Can't remember the name but it was chilli crazy! Rather him than me ha ha!




Then, finally today we went to good old Alty Market for lunch after I had finished work. I went to the newer bit outside and had a Black Bean Mexican Wrap from GUD vegan. This food is so tasty, it's all plant based street food and has so much flavour. Top right is their polenta chips and then we got some roast potatoes and hubs and a pulled chicken sandwich from Nationale 7. I still think the plant based must be the best (and he did too!). Then, it was all washed down with a green tea - bit of a globe trotting meal (Mexico for the burger, English Potatoes and Japanese Green Tea) but some how it worked!

It's been a good week this week, I got lots of work done and had such a busy week in the clinic. Think it might start to slow down for a few weeks whilst everybody is away, so maybe I can sneak an odd day here or there for some much needed R and R!

How about you? Are you getting a break anytime soon? Don't overdo it now!

Thanks so much for reading! Have a great week!

Big love,



Emmaline x
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Monday 8 August 2016

MEATLESS MONDAYS: Healthy Tacos

This started out as something completely different. I was going to do the famous 'Walnut Tacos' that I believe Beyonce loves (and so do I) but long story short - the walnuts ended up on the bird table! So, I decided to continue with the healthy tacos, but instead use black beans. Turned out super delicious and so I thought I would share the recipe with you all...


So, this is all about what you like on your tacos. If you want to use meat then use meat, but for me, black beans work perfectly here. I just use drained, organic, tinned black beans from either Unicorn grocery or Sainsburys and fry them in a pan with some tamari and lemon juice. Then I've added some homemade guacamole (smashed avo in a bowl with some fresh coriander, lime, salt and pepper), chopped tomatoes, crispy onions and pomegranate. I had about 4 of these wrapped in a large romaine lettuce leaf. I also just chargrilled some courgettes, aubergine slices and peppers.

I can't really call it a recipe as it's more on your own taste, but I'm sure you get the drift!

Happy Eating Folks!

Thanks so much for reading,


Emmaline x

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Sunday 7 August 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Let the Sun Shine In!

Well, we're at the end of another busy week again. Lots of working and developing new products (which is uber exciting!) and as usual lots of eating!


I managed to get the most delicious breakfast in mid-week with my Mamma at The Garden in Hale. As I'm sure you know this is one of my all time favourite places to grab a bite to eat and I'm in there at least 5 days a week!



Mum went for the avocado on toast (Good Morning Greens) and I went for the sweet potato hash (Harissa Hash). I think this is my all time favourite breakfast I've every had there! I've been trying to cut out eggs, but now and again I don't mind having them in my diet (they must be free rage and organic though).



Then, I had a lovely day out with my good friend and went for lunch in Victors in Hale on Friday where we bumped into hubby too - so he joined us for lunch. 


I chose the sushi (always Flamed Salmond Roll and Tempura Spider Roll), my friend had the beef hot dogs and hubs had the Poached Eggs Royale. Seriously yummy lunch - I had been craving Victors sushi for a while and it definitely hit the spot!


Saturday breakfast was pancakes! I've not had these in such a long time and they were so so delicious! You have to make this recipe which I adore! 


I used to serve it with normal natural yoghurt, but now I use the Coyo yoghurt and it tastes even better in my opinion. Especially washed down with a refreshing peppermint tea! Happy Days!






We went to Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens in Didsbury in the afternoon and had a walk around. It's just so beautiful there and we couldn't have asked for better weather! 





We also dropped by at the new Caramello Patisserie and had a lemon sorbet (for me) and an ice cream for hubs. Completely forgot to take a picture of my food - I was obviously way too eager! I will definitely take one next time though - the place is so 'cool' (no pun intended ha ha) and the cakes are amazing!


We also bought the biggest watermelon ever! I managed to sit with a spoon and devour a quarter of it - perfect in this hot weather!



Then, dinner on Saturday night was a goodness bowl at home. I absolutely adore these, super tasty, lots of flavour and good for you too! (There's brown rice underneath incase you're wondering how it fills us he he)

I cooked a massive veggie breakfast on Sunday morning for all the family. By the time I had finished rushing around the kitchen though the plates were half empty and so it was a bit late to do a photo! It was good though, super filling! So filling actually that we didn't have any lunch.


Dinner was a super delish meal at Red Chilli on Oxford Road, Manchester. When I eat out I will have a bit of fish now and again as sometimes it's a better option than the vegetarian. Tonight we had a sweet pepper fried fish, tung choi vegetables with a Malaysian sauce and salty egg tofu (yes that sounds random but it's so tasty! I guess a proper traditional dish - my favourite style).


Then home to see my cat, eat some more water melon and then bed for me! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Did you eat anywhere nice?

Thanks so much for reading,


Emmaline x
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