COOKING IN THE KITCHEN WITH HELLOFRESH

A few weeks ago I was invited to London for a super fun blogging event that involves one of my favourite things...food! Good food at that! I headed over to the very trendy HelloFresh HQ office in London with some other fab bloggers to whip up a storm and put our my limited cooking skills to the test – Masterchef eat your heart out.

Apart from delivering goodness to the nations doorstep with their recipe boxes, HelloFresh have just launched their new range, a tasty affordable takeout style bag called HelloFresh GO. I love the concept of this healthy hybrid that sits somewhere between take out meets homemade cooking.

FEAST ON VEGETARIAN DISHES // RIVERFORD FOOD BOX REVIEW

When it comes to eating healthy in our house we tend to do quite well if you minus the chocolate and crisps, as I'm always keen to avoid processed food where possible and although it takes longer, I enjoy creating home cooked dishes. Over the years I've found myself being less interested in the meat side of things, and instead look for other ways to create a tasty meal with vegetarian meals.

DINNER TO YOUR DOOR WITH GOUSTO BOX

Image via Unsplash

In a massive effort to feel fit this year I have taken the plunge into changing my daily habits. Even though I'm a slim build my fitness levels are awful, last night I attempted my first run of 2015 and let's just say I wasn't out there for long, plus I keep promising myself I'll get back into my daily exercise routine since New Years Day, but as always there's an excuse. F is sleeping so badly at the moment that I'm scraping around 5.30 hours sleep each night, with at least several interruptions so no wonder I want to hibernate and lay low on the sofa.

So rather than push myself, I'm taking a more relaxed approach. Eating well, drinking plenty of water, daily green smoothies, 10,000+ steps a day and fitting in active exercise where I can. My one downfall after a busy day is coming up with a healthy and nutritious dinner when all I want to do is order in noodles.

So when I was asked whether I would like to try Gousto, a healthy meal delivery service I was all ears. Our box arrived filled with goodies which would allow us to cook three meals, using organic products locally sourced (where available) in the exact quantities needed to prepare a fresh dinner from scratch.

No planning, no fussing, I dived straight in and pulled out one off the three recipe cards. I decided to try the Pomegranate Glazed Kofta, which was as amazing as it sounds. This Turkish dish was ready to eat in 35 minutes alongside fluffy couscous and natural yoghurt with lightly toasted pine nuts. Mouth watering yet? If the sound of Kofta's doesn't take your fancy how about Homemade Turkey Burgers in a Brioche Bun and Caramelised Leeks and Pork. As you can tell we opted for the meat box but there is a veggie box option too.

The box also includes next weeks menu with the option to choose from 10 different meals so you can customise your box to your tastes. You can choose a 3 meal box for two people at £34.95, and for four people for £49.95, and with your first order you receive a £15 discount and there is the option of a flexible subscription.

For me I would love to have one of these delivered every other week as a great way to break up the lack of meal planning that goes on in our house and a smaller box would probably be suffice for us. It's so nice not have to worry about cooking. Oh and I'd love to show you the finished meal but the boys got to it before I could snap it, so it's a thumbs up from them!

Do you meal plan in batches or just buy groceries on the go?

*We received a meal box c/o Gousto for the purpose of this post.

LOVIN DUBLIN CITY BREAK // PART ONE

Some of you might remember that I posted about my fear of flying which had literally halted any far off adventures for the last year. Well as of two weeks ago I faced that fear head on and did my first ever solo flight to the Emerald Isle, to celebrate Lovin Dublin and the culinary delights Ireland has to offer.

After leaving the house at 5am and trying to keep my nerves in check I boarded my Ryan Air

flight which thankfully was super short and smooth, and as I flew over the Irish coastline I think I actually whooped aloud much to the surprise of the guy seated next to me.I was met at the airport in style by a beautiful Bentley which was a huge thrill *insert cheesy grins all round* and driven to my pad for the night, the boutique Kelly's Hotel situated in the heart of the creative and entertainment quarter.Click to read more.

POPPYSEED AND GINGERBREAD FESTIVE COOKIES

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to festive biscuits, give me a reindeer shaped cookie and I'm a happy girl. So when thinking of traditions to call our own, I loved the idea of collecting a new cookie cutter each Christmas and making biscuits to give out to friends and family. Who doesn't love a good biscuit right?! 

You'll need:

Cookie Cutter
1/2 tsp Grated Nutmeg
1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
2tsp Ground Ginger
300g Plain Flour
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1-2 tbsp Poppyseed's
125g of Organic Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp of Golden Syrup
100g of Soft Brown Sugar

To make:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas mark 4 and line two trays with greaseproof paper ready for your biscuits.
2. In a large bowl sift the plain flour and add in the Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger and Bicarbonate of Soda. Mix well to combine the ingredients.
3. In a pan slowly melt the butter on a low heat and add the golden syrup and sugar, stirring until it has all dissolved.
4. Transfer the butter mixture off the heat into the bowl of flour, add the poppy seeds and stir until it forms to a stiff dough, get stuck in with your hands if you need to.
5. Flour a clean surface and roll out half your dough until it's around the thickness of a pound coin (5mm).
6. Press your cutter into the dough and slowly ease away the excess before placing onto your greaseproof paper, then repeat. Be sure to leave a gap of about 2cm between each biscuit.
7. Once you've filled your trays, bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. You want it to be a golden colour and watch it doesn't burn.
8. Carefully remove from over and leave to cool.

Et voila! Once cool you can decorate, store or get stuck in! Enjoy.

COCONUT AND SEA SALT COOKIES RECIPE

The other day F asked if we could bake some cookies, and not one to disappoint I quickly gathered some ingredients while trying to decide what to bake. Fortunately I had a packet of desiccated coconut in the cupboard which reminded me of my Nanna's one cup cookie recipe I used to bake as a child.

I had also been itching for an excuse to don our new personalised aprons c/o Getting Personal, me with my personalised Jamie Oliver Denim apron with its many pockets and industrial feel, and F with his Kids Doodle Apron which you can draw in with washable felt tip pens.

What you need:

A cup for measuring - the most important tool as it allows your child to do most of the cooking

1 Cup of self raising flour
1 Cup of desiccated coconut
1 Cup of sugar
½ tsp of himalayan salt or rock salt
½ a cup of melted soya butter
1 Egg

How to make:

1. Take one excitable child and one mixing bowl and arm them with a cup.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180c and grease a baking tray or baking parchment.
3. Sift the cup of self raising flour into a bowl and add the cup of sugar and coconut.
4. Carefully measure and melt half a cup of soya butter and add into the mix.
5. Lightly beat the egg and add into the mixing bowl.
6. Grate/add ½ teaspoon of Himalayan Rock Salt into bowl and mix all together with a spoon.
7. At this point you might find it easier to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, mixing it together by hand.
8. Using a small spoon or fingers, take a piece of the mixture and roll into a ball, place on the tray and repeat.
9. When placing them on the tray, space them out slightly as the cookies will spread.
10. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until golden.
11. Allow to cool and enjoy with a cuppa!

F loved baking these biscuits and eagerly sat by the oven waiting for the timer to ding and reap his rewards. I always find that cooking in the kitchen with little ones is a great way to spend time bonding and teaching them about patience.

What have you been cooking recently?

* We would like to thank Getting Personal  for providing us with our wonderful aprons and this fab Jaime Oliver Personalised Antipasta Serving Board which is great for parties and serving delicious bites on. 

Linking in with

CHERRY HEALEY AND THE CACTUS KITCHEN // RECIPES IN GLASS

The lovely people at Friends of Glass asked if I would like to join them in creating some wonderful recipes at the beautiful Cactus Kitchens in London with no other than *girl crush* super mama, TV presenter, Cherry Healey. Obviously I jumped at the chance and headed down to London last Friday with the lovely Fritha who was also attending. On arrival we were greeted with the smell of hot coffee and fresh pastries which I readily tucked into while chatting to some of the other bloggers and admiring the beautiful flowers that adorned the room.

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RYE, CHICKPEA & COURGETTE FRITTERS

I mentioned in this post that one of my new daily routines is to try to eat clean, to cut out dairy and to make as many meals as I can from scratch, reducing the amount of salt, sugar and stabilisers found in processed foods. At first this felt quite time consuming, but now I'm finding it easier to come up with simple fresh dishes and sauces that are rich in goodness and don't take an age to make. Last week we got stuck into this simple recipe and served it with fresh asparagus and homemade greek mint yoghurt, which F loves. It really does make me happy knowing what's going into his meals and seeing him leave an empty plate at the table.

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THE ETHICUREAN

Last week, as part of a surprise anniversary/birthday celebratory lunch, we drove out of the city and navigated the winding country roads in pursuit of fine tasting food. As we arrived at the award winning best ethical restaurant, situated in a beautiful walled garden, I knew I was in for a treat. The Ethicurean has been on my 'must do' list for ages, so I practically hopped, skipped and jumped over the threshold and into the earthy conservatory made up of cobblestones and rustic wood. As I soaked in the menu, my eyes feasting over the words, Paul readily took an impatient F out into the garden to burn off some energy, leaving me to sit back and relax. Wine was drank alongside the most perfectly cooked fish which melted on the tongue and there was even room for pudding, which was garnished with fresh raspberries picked straight from the garden.

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CHICKEN & MUSHROOM SWEETHEART PIE

One thing I've never been great at is making those hearty hot homemade traditional dishes, you know the ones, meat and two veg or a warming pie. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking up a storm in the kitchen and putting my baking skills to test when I'm in the mood/F is feeling cooperative, but pies have never really had my heart. So the constant requests from Paul have fallen on deaf ears, as I test out delicious culinary delights such as Conchilglie with Squash and Sage or Salmon Teriyaki and Soba Noodles, until last week when I set myself the task to get baking. Nothing fancy, no frills, just a pie and veg for us to tuck into, so after some searching and tweaking I came up with this Chicken and Mushroom Sweetheart Pie recipe.