Nut butters, Snacks

Almond Butter

Almond butter is an absolute favourite of mine. I love it on EVERYTHING. It’s a good alternative to peanut butter (another love) and is also delish stuffed into dates, on apple, mixed into natural yoghurt, dolloped on top of breakfast, chia pudding, in porridge, on toast/crackers – whatever you want really! It’s packed with protein, good fats and is naturally sweet.

I have been spastically busy lately with a mixture of family stuff, friend stuff, health and exercise stuff and work stuff. All of the things. So today I decided I needed some meditative kitchen time to chill out and get my creative on – I’ve been useless with my blog recently, sorry! I really love making nut butters as it’s kind of brilliant really that you can take a raw and natural product of the earth, and with a little time and love, turn it into buttery delight that is so good for you!

Give the below a whirl if you fancy …

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Exercise rambles, Health, Snacks

The universe of the fit and healthy

Alright, so, this post is about running and pre-running/exercising snacks in general, but it’s mostly about running. If you’re mainly interested in the snack ideas, I suggest you scroll down to the bottom of this post, otherwise, sit back, relax and enjoy the ramble.

Running is my happy place and I LOVE IT. I’ve run since I was quite wee and I now feel like it makes up part of who I am. Running for me is my time to relax and zone, and a time when tend to ponder on life things and make decisions – how productive! I am however very aware that not everyone is like me and some people would rather stick pins in their eyes than go for a run, or to bootcamp (at the crack of dawn), or for a tramp, or water ski, and fair enough it does sound quite awful really with all of the plodding and sweating and lycra and rain and wind and stuff. I think it’s one of those things that you either love or hate, and don’t get me wrong, I don’t like all sorts of running – take sprinting for example – err no thank you. Yuck.

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Beverages & milks, Snacks

Coffee dreams and pottery mugs

Apart from the fact that when you’re an adult you can do whatever you want (within reason), another joy is that you enjoy things that when you were a child were YUCK. Coffee, wine, tea, vegetables, salad, going to bed, entire day walks … the list of glory goes on.

One of my own personal loves is coffee, mmm coffeee. Don’t get me wrong, I am also a huge fan of tea and drink more tea than I do coffee, but that’s what makes coffee even better – it has the treat factor. Another great love of mine is pottery – pottery mugs, pottery bowls, kitchen pottery anything! My super awesome and very dear friend Mecca, who fluttered back to her homeland of Canada last year (sob), is a most excellent potter. I went to a few classes with her, but unlike Mecca who had patience, skill and talent – I did not. Therefore, these days I’m all about supporting other people who are successful potters, and one mug at a time my flat is being taken over! Did I mention that I love my flatmates??

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Baking, Chocolate, Dessert, Snacks, Treats

Snickers Slice and Photography … need I say more?

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time with some very good and extremely talented friends of mine who also happen to be crazy good wedding photographers, check them out here: Tim Kelly Photography. Recently I purchased a new fancy-pants camera (a Canon 100D) partly because I like taking photos and wanted a decent camera, and partly so I could take some high quality food photos so not to blind you with shoddy images whilst you peruse my blog. The only flaw in my grand camera purchasing plan was that camera skills were extremely limited – thank god for auto mode. I LOVE my camera. It is relatively small and sleek, buuuuut unfortunately I wasn’t quite making the most of its whizz-bang functionalities.

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Snacks, Treats

Summer dreaming …

I find that people often fit into one of two categories – lovers of ice-cream, or not so much. I’m in the first category and am a huge fan. My fabulous flatmates are also on this wave length which makes it a danger zone but delightful at the same time, and we often have flat dates perched on the floor (why don’t we sit on the couches??) having natter sessions over ice cream. It is good. So good. Our other mutual flat love is of tea … and the heat pump … but I’ll save those stories for another day.

Recently Leonie (flatmate/flatwife/epic friend) and I have discovered the delights of the Wooden Spoon Boutique Freezery – oooh yes, craft ice cream, say whaaaaaaat?! Move over craft beer (jokes … sort of). Amazing. The Wooden Spoon gang are based in Wellington and their ice creams are like the homemade kind. The ice creams aren’t clean eating as such but they don’t use pre-made mixes, stabilisers or preservatives so that’s something and is ok for a wee treat. And oh, SO yum. Check them out here: http://www.woodenspoonfreezery.com/ Continue reading “Summer dreaming …”

Baking, Snacks, Treats

Bliss Balls

I’m a snacker. It is fun and yum and also when I’m bored it seems like a good idea (probably isn’t). I wouldn’t go as far to say that I am a ‘grazer’, but professional snacker – count me in. There is however a good way forward in the snacking department – which I have not always utilised. A few years ago my snacks would be any of the following: packaged museli bars, crackers, sugar-free this and that, low fat this and that, fruit flavoured yoghurts, cheese (mmm cheeeeese. I haven’t given this up!), fruit and carrots (still regulars), scroggin, chips, the occasional biscuit, although thankfully these are not my fav etc … you get the general picture, and it has only been through the process of research, education, listening to my body, trying new things and understanding what all the crap is in the food I was eating, that I have in more recent years distanced myself from these things and have embraced the ‘real’ food option. Now I’m not saying you need to go all ninja-like and cull the above (and others) but if you want to eat less processed food then starting with almost anything packaged and giving it the flick is a good way to roll. Now there are some exceptions for example, raw nuts that come in a packet, full fat plain yoghurt, cheeses etc. Just check out the label and if there is a whole lot of stuff listed in the ingredients list that you can’t pronounce, then it probably isn’t a bad idea to steer clear of it. Or at least have a go anyway, slow and steady.

Anywho, this post is actually about Bliss Balls, which you have probably heard of and are an easy clean eating snack that I like to make and are deliiiish.  Continue reading “Bliss Balls”

Dinner, Lunch, Snacks

What the kale?!

In a conversation at work the other day I announced – as I do often regarding various things, that brazil nuts are one of my fav things, which then sparked a conversation where a couple of my colleagues, and good friends, told me that brazil nuts remind them of me, along with grapefruit, avocado, spinach and green things. YUSS. This thrills me no end as I really like green things – all green things – not just foodie green things but green jackets, other clothes, manchester, bags, tea towels, drink bottles, need I go on? In fact green is my all-time favourite colour, closely followed by red and then probably blue. My wardrobe was awfully awkward a couple of summers ago as for a while green dominated and red wasn’t far behind. Now I’m as festive as the next person, but there is a limit people, and I hit it.

Green to me is vibrant, energetic and wholesome; and although we can’t be all of those things, all of the time (ridiculous suggestion!) I do like what the element ‘green’ stands for. I’m not saying everyone agrees, yellow is also quite fabulous, but green, I love.

Kale. Kale is another thing I love. And is green.

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