1 Minute Poached Egg

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Well, I still have no kitchen! It’s not so bad actually, we have an electric wok, a microwave, a toaster and a george foreman grill so whilst coming up with healthy recipes is a challenge but totally do-able. In fact, after 4 weeks we’ve yet to resort to a micro ready meal {#impressed}.

Since it was a bank holiday on Monday, I fancied a bit of a simple, yet comforting breakfast that was QUICK (bank holiday’s are for tea, toast and magazines in bed if you ask me!) – only one thing could match that description – poached egg on toast!

But since we don’t have a hob, I had to turn to my humble microwave to sort it out – I know there are a lot of people who think the microwave is the devil (and before moving, I barely used one) but I’ve been doing my own research and found some interesting results – but that’s for another post.

Anyway, this is a very simple, 1 minute poached egg recipe – perfect if you’re in a rush or if you don’t fancy the fuss that poached egg usually brings (or if you’re like me and can never seem to make it work!).

What you need:
1 egg
Vinegar
Salt
A microwavable mug (< seriously, you don’t want one that will crack!)
A slotted spoon

The you simply fill a mug half way up, add salt and vinegar, crack your egg, gently pierce the yolk and pop in the microwave for a minute! Remove the egg with a slotted spoon, making sure the water is drained off and serve on warm, buttery toast.

DONE! The perfect busy girl breakfast.

Happy National Watermelon Day

Thanks to Slim Paley for alerting me that it is indeed National Watermelon Day today!

Which is good news for me as watermelon has been on of my staples this week. Since I don’t have a kitchen yet (luckily, I have a toaster, microwave and grill so I’m not having to live on takeways) salads have been top of the menu for dinner almost every night.

So, in the spirt of National Watermelon Day I thought I’d share one of my favourite salads…

Watermelon & Feta Salad

All you need is:
• 180g feta, crumbled
• A bunch of mint, leaves only, any larger leaves torn
• 500g watermelon flesh, cut into chunks
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve with some freshly ground black pepper!

What’s your favourite way to serve watermelon? 

 

Love Kombucha

Kombucha: is a raw, fermented, probiotic, and naturally carbonated tea.

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Yesterday I had the best day at the BBC Good Food show. It was so good to see an increase in stalls promoting healthy, natural living. However my day got even better when I stumbled across @lovekombucha.

If you’ve not tried or heard of Kombucha yet then you need to give it a go. It’s a naturally fizzy, fermented tea based drink. It’s uses a SCOBY (AKA symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) to eat away at the sugar which results in a healthy, gut healing drink.

So why drink Kombucha? Well, as I mentioned above, it’s a great probiotic, increases energy, treats candida and improves pancreas function. It’s also stuffed with antioxidants and is a home remedy for acne, fatigue, hypertension, headaches, and constipation. Continue reading “Love Kombucha”

A quick note on achieving perfection…

I saw this via BrainPickings.org and had to share. Achieving perfection is something that we all strive for but as Dali says  we’ll not reach it. Not because we’re not good enough but because what we see as perfection constantly changes.

What do you think?

Pearl Barley Risotto

Pearl barley risotto
Pearl Barley is cheap, filling and healthy. So I don’t understand why more people don’t use it.

This pearl barley risotto is one of my staple go to dishes. Sometimes I use chicken, sometimes I don’t. Depends on my mood.

Don’t worry about measuring out the ingredients perfectly and add/remove things to your own taste!

What you need:
175g pearl barley
1 tsp olive oil
White wine (optional)
500ml vegetable stock
Parsley
Milk (optional)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
Parmesan

How to…

Heat the oil and fry the onions with the garlic. Next add the pearl barley and fry for around 2 minutes.

I’m lazy so I put all the stock in at once. Bring to the boil whilst stirring. After about a minute or two turn down the heat and simmer. At this point I also add some chopped parsley, a little parmesan and a glug of wine (this is optional but trust me, it’s nicer with).

Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes and keep stirring. At this point at a little milk (again optional) and a tad more wine {feel free to have a little sipfor yourself too- everyone knows wine when cooking is essential}.

Keep stirring.

Once the liquid has been soaked up and the barley is slightly chewy yet still firm its ready to serve.

Service with parmesan sprinkled on the top.

Marilyn Monroe | Thank you for the champagne…

Who said that thank you notes have to take a lot of time?

Just take this note from Marilyn Monroe…

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Now, if a 1950’s icon can find it in her schedule to write a thank you note (which, let’s face it, takes a tad longer than firing off an email) then I’m sure that we can all find time to show a bit of gratitude right?

What I’m Reading: The Sweet poison Quit Plan

What are you reading this week? I’m reading The Sweet poison Quit Plan by David Gillespe.

I’ve been obsessed with the idea of quitting sugar for quite a while now (after reading the amazing journey that Sarah Wilson has gone on) but I’ve not actually done it.
i quit sugar

This weekend, I had a bit of a blow out, seriously we’re talking frozen yogurt, chocolate and pizza. I can honestly say that on Monday, I felt so unwell, my skin looks dull, my throat is uber sore and I had a sugar/junk food hangover.

So I’m going to do my best to avoid the sweet poison (I think we all know half of the battle is what’s hidden).

I’ll let you know what I think of the book and keep you updated with my quitting sugar progress!!

Don’t be a slave to the scales – A Dr Oz Tip

Last weekend I settled down to watch the live conference from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. SO many great speakers but amongst them was one of my personal favourites Dr Oz. 

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Dr Oz is full of so much good advice (especially when it comes to the topic of weight-loss) that when I got to the States earlier this month, his magazine was the first one I sniffed out (unfortunately, my magazine obsession is still as strong as ever).

A point Dr Oz made during his #IIN lecture was that weight doesn’t matter – it’s waist size that’s really the key. Now as a total slave to the scales myself, this seems like a sensible idea.

Weight is no longer relevant (we’ve known this for a while), BMI certainly isn’t relevant (Brad Pitt would be classed as clinically obese if you went by BMI calculations) and it’s been long standing advice that we take measurements to be able to see the true effect of any weightloss.

But whilst measurements are all very well, the question is – if we’re not striving for a perfect weight then how do we know that we’re on the right track?

Dr Oz suggests that in order to find your ideal waist size you need to:

Continue reading “Don’t be a slave to the scales – A Dr Oz Tip”

Slow roasted veal shoulder with cheesy asparagus potatoes…

I’ve been reading about the resurgence of veal for quite a while. It’s always been a meat I’ve avoided due to the publicity surrounding how the animals are treated. However, Sainsbury have a range of “Freedom Foods” which means that any veal they sell has been reared by farmers in a dedicated veal development group where the calves are house in open, straw-bedded barns and fed on a diet of milk, water and fibre.

Slow Roasted Veal

I slow cooked this shoulder of veal and as I didn’t want to mask the taste of the meat too much I kept it simple with just garlic and olive oil.

 

What you need: Continue reading “Slow roasted veal shoulder with cheesy asparagus potatoes…”

A quick tip on public speaking…

Shyness

I’m not really sure where my show off streak comes from. My mother comes out in a rash at the thought of standing up and speaking in public and my father (despite having no confidence issues) would rather hide in the toilets than get up on stage (< that’s a rather funny story about the circus in Blackpool – one for another day).

Me however, I love it.

Don’t get me wrong I do have that pang of nerves, I remember my first time on live radio – the dry mouth, the worry of not knowing what I’d say if I didn’t understand the question etc.

But overall, I’ve most definitely got the bug.

However, for those who do get anxious when it comes to public speaking I saw a great tip on The Atlantic.

All you need to do is make a fist with your left hand.  Continue reading “A quick tip on public speaking…”