Sharpham Park

Did you know it was Farmhouse Breakfast week last week? I was sent some lovely new spelt cereals from Sharpham Park to try out but unfortunately I'm only getting chance to blog about them now. But every day has a time for breakfast, right? What is your favourite way to start satisfy your morning hunger?

I was quite excited to pour a bowl. I've been having porridge with a big dollop of nut butter every day for the past couple of months. Whilst I'm by no means bored of this, I feel it is definitely time for a change.

Left: Farmhouse Granola. Right: Miller's Muesli

I love ingredient lists that are full of nutritious foods. This made these two Sharpham Park's cereals an automatic winner for me but what about the taste? I tried the granola..

Of course it tasted beautiful. Deeply satisfying, not too sweet and full of different textures (which always plays a strange part with me - like I'm eating more than I am because my eyes can pick out different pieces). I added a small banana to it too which complimented the taste perfectly..

I may try it with warm milk next time with this cold weather. Do you have snow where you are? It certainly feels chilly enough to snow here in Essex but I'm yet to see it sprinkle down from the sky. Roll on spring/summer! Also, roll on my planned bowl of Miller's Muesli tomorrow morning which I am yet to try out. I'll keep you updated.

Pilates DVD Review & My Physio Assessment (Hypermobility)

*waves* Sorry for my two week absence but a whole bunch of stuff has been going on. I'm still hoping that I can get into regular blogging again soon but for now I'm just going to write you a post on my physio assessment, plus a quick review of a new pilates DVD.


A couple of years ago I was in tremendous foot pain. After being suggested numerous named conditions, I discovered that I am in fact hypermobile. I haven't yet got it under control but I am a million times better than the girl who used to be on her feet for 20 minutes crying in agony. I have limited my exercise and general standing time.


Having started my new job at a nursery I have noticed the pain in my knees worsening. Sitting on the floor and small chairs, bending down, picking children up and cleaning has all equalled to a lot more stress on my knee joints. I attended another physio appointment this morning and it was quite helpful.

It was explained to me that as my body is unstable/unbalanced, my joints overcompensate (particularly my knees and feet/ankles taking the strain). The Physiotherapist said that once I gain core stability, balance and strength, my upper and lower body muscles will take more of the strain = less pain/clicking/aching.


I was given this exercise sheet to complete every day, with another meeting in three weeks time.

He said that restarting up at the gym would be a very good idea although to do ten minute short bursts of cardio so as not to stress my joints. The best news ever was when I was told I could eventually start running again (I miss it so much) but I need to regain strength first of all. Most importantly, I am not to do any squats. I did one in front of him and he said he could see just how weak my joints are as my knees automatically come inwards. Similarly, when I stood on one leg, he mentioned how much the foot on the ground was overcompensating the loss of balance by flipping over to one side.

This assessment came in perfect timing with a pilates DVD I was sent out to review. I know how beneficial pilates is for hypermobile people but I don't half struggle getting into it. I'm such a fast-paced cardio queen. I tried it out this morning.

If you go ahead and Google Lynne Robinson, you will see so many great reviews and praise of her pilates experience.

Pilates The Core Workout was only released on the 26th December 2011 and incorporates the Pilates principles of concentration, relaxation, alignment, breathing, centring, co-ordination, flowing movements and stamina.

For a beginner, as I am, I found her verbal instructions very easy to understand. It is hard to follow a fitness routine which focuses on posture when you're constantly tilting your head to the side to watch how it's done. I also found the first chapter of the DVD interesting where Lynne is talking about your spine and how everything lines up. Whilst learning about how your body works, it helps further when conducting the exercises.

I have yet to try out the second part to this workout, and after one try I obviously cannot yet speak of the benefits. I will keep practising and learn to be patient! Do you follow a pilates DVD or attend a class? How do you look after your joints?

Pilates the Core Workout is available to buy on DVD from www.amazon.co.uk and www.bodycontrol.co.uk from 26^th December 2011.  RRP: £14.99

Happy New Year

I hope you've all had a lovely couple of weeks celebrating Christmas and New Years! I don't know about you, but I'm sort of looking forward to things getting back to normal now.

As I'm writing, I'm gobbling up the rest of my marzipan Gluckschwein sent to me by my mum :) It's German/Swiss tradition around this time of year. It also tastes amazing. I forgot how much I love marzipan. I usually disallow myself to have it as I could polish off a block in a minute!

I'm afraid I'm really not in the blogging zone at the moment. I hate forced posts so this is another short and sweet message again xx

Happy Christmas Bloggers!

I just wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas!! Enjoy the festivities, eat well and laugh lots. I shall see you in 2012! ♥

Minou is totally getting into the Christmas spirit this year!

Amy's Kitchen Review

A couple of weeks ago I was sent lots of Amy's Kitchen soup to try out..

One of my friends introduced me to this brand a month or so back when I tried her vegetable lasagne and pizza. I have been stocking my freezer up with at least one of Amy's Kitchen products since then!

Their tinned soup, however, never really took my fancy. I often buy fresh cartoned soup and make my own occasionally but since healthy eating I just totally disregarded tinned versions thinking it would be full of additives and whatnots. I was wrong.

So far I have only tried the Lentil Vegetable Soup and I was super impressed. It was packed full of wholesome ingredients (onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, spinach, green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato puree, water, lentils, olive oil, sea salt, garlic, spices and balsamic vinegar).

I'm looking forward to tasting the rest over the upcoming weeks. With my limited free-time with work and Christmas festivities taking over, heating up a bowl of this warming soup will make life that little bit easier for me.

Have you tried something from the Amy's Kitchen range? Do you eat tinned soup regularly?

[Random fact: As a child I used to have cream of tomato soup for breakfast! That, or a cheap tin of mixed peas and sweetcorn, eaten out of the tin with a big dollop of ketchup!] 

Secret Santa

Today something very exciting dropped through my letterbox..

Mari who blogs at Orange & Green was my Secret Santa, and a fabulous one at that.

I received the most beautiful card, not only for the gorgeous London winter scene on front, but Mari had filled it with words about herself and why she chose what she did as gifts. I'm so glad I am now aware of her blog (I've just added it to my Google Reader :))

These chocolates taste as luxurious as they look! I ate one within an hour of opening up the package..

 ..alongside my equally luxurious tea! Thank you ever so much Mari! I am thrilled with the thoughtful presents. Being such a tea lover, it's funny that I've have never tried white tea like this. It's very delicate.


Thank you very much Laura for making Secret Santa happen. I know it must have taken a lot of organising..and is still probably consuming some time whilst everyone else receives their presents and you link them all up! My lady should receive her present tomorrow or the day after and I can't wait to hear what she thinks about it. Do you prefer giving or receiving? Of course I absolutely love getting presents but to be honest, seeing the person's reaction after the time and consideration spent choosing their present is really what makes me excited about Christmas.

I thought I'd finish with a picture of my Christmas tree! The first one I've had in years due to constant moving and being unsettled. It is sparkling with lights but hard to capture by camera. A massive thank you to my gorgeous friend and her family for letting me/us have this. It feels very festive at home now :)

Have You Seen My Guest Post?

I wrote a guest post for the lovely Jemma whilst she's away. You can check it out here :)

And speaking of which, if you would like to do a guest post for me whilst I'm snowed under with work at the moment then please let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

Short & Sweet

I've missed you!


Things have been manic for me. It's been a shock to the system to go from basically doing nothing all day every day to 10.5 hour shifts with very active toddlers! It feels like I haven't spoken to anyone/been away from blogland for months! How are you all? Well I hope :) I'm going to try to catch-up with a few posts tomorrow. The good thing about these long hours is that I only work a four day week so hopefully can do weekly blog posts.


Apart from work there's not much to report except for some squash shopping..

Some squash meals..

And some squash loving..

I seriously cannot get enough of the Crown Prince Squash. There's some cooking in the oven as I type. I literally get cravings for the stuff. I have about 600g of it each day and that's only because I'm trying to ration myself slightly!


I've also found some new loves sent to me by the beautiful Nicky..

I was so excited to try the other flavours having only the Dark Chocolate Dreams in the cupboard. The White Chocolate Wonderful is my favourite by far, closely followed by the Cinnamon Raisin and Maple :) Feeling much love for these right now! Thank you Nicky ♥

I also received my prize from Laura's giveaway in the post this week. Thank you very much!

Have you all finished your Christmas shopping yet? I've nearly completed mine. I am getting very excited!! xx

Childhood Goat Fear & A Delamere Dairy Review

Are you a fan of goats' cheese? Or tried other goats' products?

When Delamere Dairy emailed me asking if I'd like to do a review I was excited but a little unsure as to whether I'd enjoy everything they would send. The first time I tried goats' cheese was when I lived in France a few years ago. It took a while but eventually I grew to love it although naively thought that there was only a few types.


Delamere Dairy opened up my eyes when a huge delivery arrived a couple of months ago and I've been gradually making my way through it. I am still munching through the hard cheeses but here is what I've tried so far..

 After a little internet research, I thought that the Honey Goats Cheese would go perfectly with my very first fig. It did. It was in fact amazing. I loved the subtle sweet flavour that came through in the cheese and the aroma from melting it under the grill for ten minutes was incredible.

I wasn't sure how much I'd like the Herb variety. When reading out what I had to my mum over the phone, her mouth watered over this the most but I didn't have such high hopes. In actual fact I found this to be my favourite. It went perfectly with my Wholemeal Bean Wraps. I love how the cheese logs are pre-sliced into six discs to make it easier when preparing your meal.

 The natural goats' cheese is something I usually have every couple of weeks (albeit a normally a different brand ). My regular lunch for the past few weeks has been a massive pile of Crown Prince Squash ♥ some cheese, and an egg for protein and fat. I also used the cheese scattered over my pumpkin soup (as recommended to me by a friend).


As always I give 100% honesty in my reviews and can assure you that this cheese is definitely going to be a regular in my shopping trolley, especially the herb variety! As well as excellent taste, it is fantastic to know that Delamere Dairy places animal welfare as a top priority.

Want to know about my childhood goat fear? Well, I was always unsure of them as a child..

..and this is why..

..the little bugger started chewing on my favourite dress!! Whilst I was upset absolutely mortified, my mother decided to take a photo rather than rescuing me and my brother evidentially found it hysterical! The dress had to be thrown out and whilst I am no longer scared of goats, let's just say I always keep a very close eye on them!

WIAW - My Seventh (Plus Some Good News!)

Hello party people! Big Wednesday love to you all, especially Jenn - the hostess with the mostess.

Total 0% Greek yoghurt with blueberry (123 calories). This stuff is amazing. I followed it shortly after with breakfast number two..

An apple (approximately 47 calories) and Organix Goodies Mini Gingerbread Men (108 calories). They had a lot of comments a few weeks ago when the poor things landed up in my porridge so just thought I'd say again - if you are looking for them then they are in the baby food aisle! I can't thank my friend enough for getting me addicted to these :)

Aww my mum who lives in Switzerland sent me one of her favourite bars which was super yummy (97 calories). I don't get to go out there often and miss her to pieces, especially with Christmas coming up.

Marks & Spencer salad with tomato basil chicken, cous cous and butternut squash (290 calories I think). Do you like my polka dot tights? A few minutes after this photo was taken a little girl got mesmerised by them and nearly fell into someone as she walked past with her head turned hehe.

This is a good new find - 3 ginger beef & 3 Asian salad wraps from Marks & Spencer (only 50 calories).

How sweet is this mini Lindt chocolate bear? I love him (60.1 calories).

Home-made bolognese with 500g of Crown Prince squash ♥ I can't get enough of this squash. It may lead to its own staring post (411 calories in total).

Graze natural vanilla seeds are so tasty. I think they're my favourite of their range! (164 calories)

Wow, what a lot of food and for not a lot of calories! All of that totals 1350.1! I hope you've all had tasty days. I've been a busy bee again so not had much time to blog catch-up. I'm going to do a little reading now and then some more over the weekend..but I'll be very quiet on the blog soon because..

I start a new job on Monday!!

Oh my goodness!! I was so excited when I heard the news yesterday afternoon. I literally jumped around the house laughing like a mad woman. I have been unable to find work since February(!!) and going from one office interview to the next felt pretty demotivating. Obviously I was awaiting something greater, something I'd been dreaming about since I left school - a Trainee Nursery Practitioner role in my town! I started a childcare course when I left school but after around six months I had to give it up as I became seriously ill with ME/CFS. I've announced it everywhere else and want to thank a lot of you for congratulating me. After sitting in my pjs for a good few months now it will be a huge shock to the system!!