Category: Blog

Dry January…

You all know I love my vino but after the excesses of Christmas and well, the past year I’ve decided to take part in Dry January. 31 days without alcohol!
8/365 Red Wine...

I want to do it to feel a bit better, save a bit of cash and also to raise a bit of money for Dementia UK. I know a lot of people are doing the same thing for Cancer research but Demential UK is such a fabulous charity. They are committed to improving quality of life for all people affected by dementia.

If you could spare any money to sponsor me then I’ll be so grateful…

My page can be found HERE

Why give up alcohol for 31 days? Well that’s enough time for you to give your liver a rest, bloating should go down, skin will get clearer and that wine fog should clear!

Sarah Wilson (who is a patron for the Australian equivilent FebFast) had gives some good reasons to quit:

  • Eliminating alcohol from your diet is a quick way to lose weight. One beer is the caloric equivalent of a meat pie. Two glasses of champagne is one fifth of your recommended energy intake for a day. Ouch!
  • If you have an autoimmune disease, or any health concerns, alcohol makes things way worse. It’s highly acidic stuff, and disease can only be cured when we alkalise our systems. Less acid and we heal faster. Having a month out will really give your body a chance to heal.
  • I believe in rest. Pausing. We go so fast, so hard, we get stuck in ruts. To pause, to take time out from anything gives our bodies and psyches a chance to recalibrate. Breaking a drinking habit (however strong or weak) refreshes…so that when you have your first drink in March, you choose it and you enjoy it and things feel new.
  • Just doing something different, seeing what you’re capable of when you don’t revert to a “drink after work” or a “night at the pub” is special. It gets you creative, alive to yourself and your friends and partner.
  • And if you’re quitting sugar: Wine, spirits, champagne and beer ARE low in fructose (it’s the sugars that       ferment to become alcohol). However, the toll on your liver is HEAVY and while you’re detoxing sugar, it’s VERY much worth assisting your liver as much as possible.


I’m going to do an audio diary for BBC Radio Wales so you can keep up with my progress if you’d like…I’m also going to be uploading it to audioboo (details to follow)

Are you with me??

 

 

 

Espresso Martini – Recipe

If you’re looking for something a little more sophisticated to drink over the holidays then I whole heartedly recommend the Espresso Martini. It’s also a great drink to make if you’re having a party as you can make quite a batch of it.

What you need:

Equal measures of:

Butterscotch schnapps
Chilled Espresso coffee
Tia Maria (or any other coffee liqueur) 
Vodka

Simply pour it all in to a jug, stir, add ice and serve.

It’s quite strong (as it’s mostly pure alcohol) and the coffee does give it a kick so be warned you can’t drink too many of these!

Faux Viscount Biscuits {aka mint chocolate ritz}

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Everyone knows I love jaffa cakes, I’m the number one jaffa cake connisseour but I also do like a cheeky viscount, especially at Christmas time. Which is why I am now absolutely IN LOVE with this recipe. You don’t think that it would work {I mean ritz and chocolate hmmmm} but trust me, it really does!

How to make faux – viscount biscuits in a few simple steps!!

What you need:

A packet of ritz crackers
2 x 100g bars of chocolate (I used milk chocolate)
Peppermint essence

Method:

Line a tray with some tin foil.

Melt the chocolate.

Add a few drops of peppermint essence to the melted chocolate and mix in.

Take a packet of Ritz, dip them in the chocolate and place on the foil.

Leave to set and voila Faux Viscount Biscuits.

Yum!

How to make a record bowl

I know some people may think of this as sacrilege but if you’ve got an old vinyl hanging around and want to upcycle then it takes just a few steps to turn it in to a funky bowl.

They make great gifts of Christmas!

Place your record over a tall mug and place in the oven (which should be pre-heated to around 120˚).

The label should be the only part touching the base of the mug. This will allow the record to take it’s shape.

It will only take a few minutes so keep a close eye on the record. Once it starts to soften, remove from the oven and leave to harden.

It should stay soft for a few seconds so if you want to mould it a little more do so, just be careful as it obviously get’s very hot.

And then you’re done…


A quirky record bowl perfect for filling with Christmas nibbles…

Winter Warmer – Sausage and Lentil stew…

Takes approx 40 minutes to prep and cook…

Serves 4

What you need…

Olive oil
8 sausages
1 red onion (chopped finely)
1 clove of garlic
1 red pepper (sliced)
250g red lentils
300ml vegetable stock

Method

Cook the sausages until brown and then remove.

Next fry the onion, garlic and pepper until soft.

Put the sausages back in and also add the stock and lentils.

Bring to the boil before leaving to simmer for around 20 minutes (make sure the lentils are soft and the sausages are cooked).

Then serve and enjoy!

The latest must have beauty product – Fotoshop by Adobe

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

I don’t tend to weigh in on the use of photoshop in the media. After all, I’m a writer but still use a spell check and I don’t have an issue with singers using auto-tune or a builder using a hammer. I see them as essential tools of the trade.

However, I saw this video this morning and wanted to share…

We’ve all seen those ridiculous late night infomercials selling beauty products where the results are hugely amplified but in reality the before and after shots have just been subjected to a spot of photoshopping.

What do you think? Do you think the beauty industry should start shunning photoshop? Should adverts show real results?

You don’t have to rely on a healthy body image or self-respect anymore –
now that’s the power of Photoshop.

 

Super easy & uber healthy roast pepper & tomato soup…

I refuse to believe that you can’t eat healthy whilst on a budget. This dish cost 78p a head and was super quick to prepare. I’m not a massive soup fan but I just love this recipe. It takes barely any prep and it’s utterly gorgeous!

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Right so all you need to make 3 bowls is:

• 2 red peppers
• 1 onion
• 6 ripe tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• vegetable stock*
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What to do:
• Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the red pepper and coat in a little olive oil. Place on a baking tray with with the cloves of unpeeled garlic and roast for around 20 minutes.

• Whilst the pepper is roasting dice the onion and fry in a little olive oil.

• Cut up the tomatoes and add them to the onions. I don’t bother skinning or deseeding the tomatoes because it’s a waste and it just adds to the flavour. Simmer until the the tomatoes are soft.

• Add a pint of stock

• Take the peppers and garlic out of the oven and add to the tomatoes, onions and stock.

• Simmer for about 15 minutes and then blend.

DONE!

Just before serving I added a bit of milk to give it a creamy taste but this is totally optional.

* you can substitute stock for a tin of toms if you want a bit of extra tomato.

A real person, a lot like you.

I was going to write a blog post this evening about work but then I stumbled upon this video by Derek Sivers.

A real person, a lot like you.

It’s a gentle reminder to all of us that at the end of every computer – is a real person.

Something that people may like to remember when they’re leaving nasty comments on blogs or sending emails full of hate.

It’s dehumanizing to have thousands of people passing through our computer screens, so we do things we’d never do if they were sitting next to us. – Derek Sivers

It’s a sad fact that most of us (especially those who write or produce anything online) are used to the fact that there are people out there who will make nasty comments on almost a daily basis. One of my regular writing jobs brings out the same person time and time again. He clearly feels it worth his while reading what’s been published but still takes time out of (what I can only surmise as being very empty) day to leave a comment reminding me how rubbish I am (in his opinion, of course).

Although, this video isn’t really about those nasty little trolls, it is a good reminder in these days of virtual communication it’s more important that ever to start being considerate and to treat people the way we expect to be treated.

And be aware, people will ALWAYS see the negative comments. It could be a stream of 100,0000 messages but that one nasty comment will always stand out.

Think before you send.

Enjoy the video!

A real person, a lot like you from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.

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