Quinoa Patties

With the beginning of the new year, like most people, one of my "new years resolutions" was to eat healthier and exercise more.

I've never really been one for dieting but I wanted to indulge less and hopefully feel a little healthier. Be doing things this way I found it a lot easier to eat healthier for longer, I'm still doing it now. Rather than trying to cut things out of your diet and flitting from one diet plan to another.

Not long after trying out this healthy eating, I came across quinoa it seems to be very up and come this year, even Nandos have a quinoa salad. It's a great source of protein and is loaded with antioxidants, along with lots of other health benefits.

Generally I just boil it and use it for a substitute for rice or couscous, with some salad and chicken or fish, or with some roasted veg. However there are lots of other ways you can incorporate quinoa into your diet. Like these quinoa patties:

What you need:

1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 slices of toast
1/2 an onion
1 cup of peas
2 tablespoons of pesto - I went to red pesto as it's my favourite
1-2 eggs
1/4 cup of flour

First things first you'll need to cook the quinao. You'll need two cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa, bring this the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the water has gone.

Pop your toasted slices of bread in a blender or processor and blend until they become bread crumbs.

Combine your cooked and cooled quinoa, chopped onions, peas, pesto and egg in a mixing bowl. Once the ingredients is mixed it's time to stir in the flour.

Now take a handful of the mixture, mould them into patties a little larger than your palm. Next place them onto a baking sheet. 

Once you've moulded all your patties pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes so they can dry out and firm up slightly. 

Add a little bit of oil to a pan and on a medium heat cook the patties. Once in the pan, lightly press the patties with a spatula. Cook them for around 2-3 minutes and then flip them over and again press on the other side with your spatula. Make sure you don't over flip them, you don't want them to fall apart, I suggest just flipping them once or twice.

And they're ready to eat!

G x

Spring Clean

How beautiful is the weather today? As much as I love the autumnal colours and Christmas! I do have a soft spot for spring even with the April showers that come with it. 

It's now the time of year for cleaning and sprucing up your pad to make it ready for the sunnier weather.

I've not long moved into a new house and I've been trolling through pintrerest looking for inspiration in how to decorate my bedroom. It's been a hard decision as I love the crisp neutral white rooms with grey and cream tones with a few accent pieces to add a little colour; either aqua blues or mustard yellow. Or alternatively on the other side of the scale I adore the boho styled bedrooms, with vibrant colours and designs. It's been a through choice, I can tell ya!

Here's my bedroom inspiration and the designs I've been lusting over:

The love the neutral tones of this room. The different shares of grey are build-able and add layers of texture to the room.

The neutral tones of these bedroom looks, keep your room looking crisp and fresh, with a suitable addition of colour worked in create a gorgeous bedroom.

I have the ideas, I just need to make a start on sorting everything out. Hopefully it will be just as I imagine soon!

Keep an eye out for bedroom diys! Look do love making things so I'm sure I'll be getting creating with my room soon.

*images from pinterest

 G x

Brownies With An Interesting Twist

Have a sweet tooth but feel a little guilty indulging with rich, delicious chocolates and deserts, we'll I've got just the thing to fix that, why not give these sweet potato brownies a try. I found the recipe from The Body Coach's Instagram page and just had to try them out.

What you need:

400g Sweet potato 

100g dark chocolate

30g oats

50g chocolate whey protein

half a teaspoon of baking powder

2 egg whites

75g raspberries

25g nuts 

few drops vanilla extract

Pre heat your over to 180 degrees celsius 

First things first you'll need to cut up your sweet potato and make sure you peel of the skin. Pop the chopped potato in the microwave for about 10 minutes, so it's soft enough to mash up.

Mash the potato up in a bowl and add your oats, protein powder, egg whites, baking powder, raspberries and nut.

Next you'll need to melt your chocolate. Take your time with this, you don't want it to burn. Once the chocolate is all melted add it to your mix and mix all your ingredients together.

Spoon your mixture into an over proof tin, I just just a cake tin. Leave them in there for to bake for 25 minutes. Add some extra raspberries and other berries or maybe some geek yoghurt or fromage frais for the perfect desert or tasty treat.

Indulge without the guilty feeling after!

G x

Last Minute Date Ideas

So it's Valentines Day tomorrow and it doesn't matter whether you're in a relationship or single. It's a day to show or tell those you care about the most just how must they really mean to you. Share the love people!

If you haven't got any plans for tomorrow, but want to or have just left your date planning a little late this year, then look no further, I have a few date ideas that might just save the day:

1. Picnic under the stars.

It does what it says on the tin. All you need is a blanket, some picnic food and drink, your loved one and of course the stars. Easy Peasy!

2. Camping

Or for those who don't like roughing it so much, you could go Glamping instead. You don't need much just a tent and some sleeping bags. Cuddle up around a camp fire, under the star lit sky and maybe toast some marshmallows and make s'mores - yummy!

3. Stay at home

There's no need to go out and pay a fortune on a standard set meal. You can just stay in, cook dinner or order your favourite take away. Cuddle up on the sofa with a blanket and watch a film.

Head over to Gimme Some Oven, for the recipe to make this amazing popcorn and make your night a little extra special.

4. Bike ride

Back to basics. You could even try out a tandem, one of those bikes for two peoples, this could be interesting and fun to say the least. Take a spin around your local park or along a canal.

5. Spa day

Now who doesn't like getting pampered. You could either make a day of it at a spa and let someone else look after you, or do it diy style and make some face masks yourself. It's a great stress free way to spend Valentines Day.

6. Old school video game night

Remember how much fun we had playing all those video games when we were younger, like Mario Karts, Sonic, Zelda and all the rest. Why not dust them off and play them again, personally I think this would be a great way to spend an evening.



I hope this has given you some inspiration and whatever you're up to, whether you single or taken I hope you have a wonderful day!

G x

What's In My Travel Bag

I'm off to Paris this weekend and I can't wait. I'm so excited to see the Eiffel Tower, drink red wine and eat lots of baguettes and delicious pastries.

Trying to beat though winter blue, I booked a weekend getaway for my friends birthday. There's a few of us going, so it'll be nice going away with a group of us. The last time I went to Paris was for our year 7 French trip, I'm pretty sure lots of schools did this sort of trip. It seems like a life time ago, so this weekend away will be a completely different experience.

I've finally started my packing and as the title suggests here's what's in my bag:


Passport & tickets

You're not going to get very far without these, so make sure they're packed. If you're going to forget anything make sure it's not these. I'm pretty sure I double check I have both my passport and tickets 3 or 4 times on the way, although I know they're in my bag I just have to check again away - does anyone else have this problem?

Warm Clothes

Now because we're going in January/February time, it's going to be cold! So I have to make sure I've got suitable clothing to wrap up warm and packed lots of thick jumpers. Also don't forget your fluffy hat, gloves and scarf if you off somewhere cold like me.

If you're just going for a weekend away, just clothes in general are a good idea, obviously change the type to suit your destination and activities you have planned.

Makeup

 If you're girl you're most likely going to want to pack your makeup, I've tried to pack light so I've only got my basics; foundation, eye liner, mascara, concealer, blusher, powered and then a eye shadow palette and lippy incase somewhere that calls for fancier makeup.

If you're taking makeup remember makeup remover and of course your toothbrush, tooth paste, hair brush and any other toiletries you need if you hotel or wherever you're staying doesn't provide them.

The Extras

If you're going on a long journey you might want to pack some things to keep you occupied along the way. I'm taking my kindle because I'm currently reading Knife Edge, by Malorie Blackman, its the second book in the series. I'm really liking it, it's a easy read and one you can really get into.

If you not into reading there's plenty of other things you can take to help the time pass. Headphones are a good idea if you like listen to music; and lets be honest who doesn't like music. Or maybe a pack of cards, you can play with these on the journey or if you have time to spare in day or evening, they're very handy to have and you can get the tiny packs so they don't have to take up too much space.

I also have to make sure I've got a notebook and pen to hand just incase a burst on inspiration hits, I like to have somewhere to write it down. I'm still a little old school in this why, although I have an iPhone I much prefer jotting down notes in a notebook as a posed to one my phone. Although I guess my phone can be my back up.

Essentials 

Of course you can forget these items:

You phone is a must, obviously for emergences it's good to have your mobile. If you have a smart phone they're are so many reasons you need to make sure you have it. I'll be using mine as a camera for a start, to capture all the special moments and I don't have an actually camera any more as my last one broke :( and I haven't replaced it because I just end up using my phone instead, plus my phone takes up less space. You smartphone, if it has a map app can also be handy when you're lost. Although make sure you don't rack up a nasty bill and check the roaming cost before you leave if you're travelling overseas. You don't want to get a shock when your bill arrives.

Also don't forget your purse and if you have to change up any currency!



And I think that's everything I'm taking, if i've forgotten anything I'm sure I'll be able to get it in France, just as long as I've got the important things it's all good! I hope you have a lovely weekend whatever you're up to and let me know if you're also planning a weekend away, I'd love to hear what you're taking.

G x

Crafting: Personalised Coasters

I find a personalised gift is alway a little more special than a shop bought one. The personalised coasters are easy to make and are a sure fired way to put a smile on someones face, or even brighten up your home.

First things first, here's everything you need to get started:

Mod Podge and paint brush
Cork, or cork coasters (You either cut the shaped coaster you want from a piece of cork or you can do what I did and get pre cut ones. I thought this would be a lot easier and would make sure they're all symmetrical.)
Photos
Scissors
Pen/pencil

Step One

I you decided to cut you own coaster, this will be the perfect time to cut these to the size and shape you want.

Next up you'll need to cut out your photos so they're the same size as your coaster. All you need to do is turn your photo over so you have the blank size facing up and trace around your coaster with you pen. Then simple cut around your markings.

Step Two

You'll now need your Mod Podge and this is where things can get a little message, so make sure you put down some newspaper so you don't get glue absolutely everywhere, like I almost did.

With you paint brush (I didn't have a paint brush so used an old foundation brush, which did the job just as well.. waste not want not eh?) take a bit of the Mod Podge and cover one side of your coaster.

Next take one of your photos and place this on top, holding it firmly in place while the glue dries. Once your picture has dried firmly in place, pick up your brush again and cover you photo with a layer of Mod Podge. Let this dry fully and then add another coat.

Once your coaster is dry trim off any bit that hanging over the edge of your coaster.

And there you go. Follow these steps for all of your coasters until you have a full set. I did six but you can do as many as you like.

Try with a ribbon and your gift is all set.

I made these for my Mum for Christmas. She loved then, here face literally lit up when she unwrapped them. I don't know about you but I love giving gifts I know the person will love and they're fun to make. I enjoyed going through our old photo albums and reminiscing while I picked out the perfect ones.

G x