FONDUE NIGHTS AT TWO BELLY CHEESE & BEER SHOP

It's not often I rave about food on here but when it's oh so right it's hard not to share! Now we're firmly past Veganary and cheese is back on the menu, I can't wait to tell you about Two Belly Cheese & Beer shop in Bristol. A few weeks back I went along to a fondue night full of all the deliciousness that follows to sample the evening events hosted at Two Belly, a new on the scene shop/eateries/event space ran by wife and husband duo, Lara and Dominic, who are on a mission to empower people with exciting cheeses and beers from around the world. I mean who could say no to that right?

Upping sticks from London, this dynamic pair have followed their passion and turned their vision into reality, serving up carefully curated pairings of cheese and beer to the vibrant city of Bristol and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

The minimalist Two Belly shop has gone beyond the normal store set up with its fun taster evening events challenging you to explore your taste buds. The long shared table transformed to an evening dining experience introducing the Beer & Cheese Flight £10.50 pp followed by Fondue with accompanying UK cured meats, sourdough bread and fermented pickles amongst a few of treats for dipping. 

The opening Cheese & Beer flight took me by surprise, the delicate pairing was nothing short of genius and me, who is normally not a beer drinker, was very pleasantly surprised at the tasty combinations:

Mad Hatter Brewing, Tzatziki Sour - Kirkham's Lancashire cheese, a raw Cow's Milk Hard cheese

Braybrooke, Session Lager - Innes Log, a Raw Goat's Milk cheese. 

Moor, Dark alliance, Coffee Stout paired with Beenleigh Blue, a Sheep's Blue cheese. 

The whole evening was an absolute delight, and dining in the shop after trading hours allows you to feel like you are in the midst of a personal dining experience with the 'chefs' themselves. Lara and Dominic were on hand to answer any and all questions about the cheese and beer, as well as their passion and background before launching Two Belly.

I love any meal that brings people together over a table and the Two Belly Fondue Nights are a far cry from the nostalgic scenes of the '70s, intead they have created an almost fine dining experience where you can bond over a melting pot of delicious cheese. 

*Two Belly invited me to attend their Fondue Night without any obligation to review the event. However I'm very happy to share my thoughts from the evening as the food and whole experience was delightful and hope you enjoy it too. 

FOODIE LOVERS GIFT GUIDE

OK so you've got you got your plant loving buddies covered and now it's time to pick up a few Christmas pressies for all the foodie lovers in your life! I sometimes find buying these gifts tricky as there are just sooooo many things to choose from! I've pulled together a little gift list to spread some Christmas cheer and get your taste buds tingling from a visual feast. Which ones your favourite?

1. the Roasting Simple Dish Dinners: £11.84 Amazon.

2. Gold Grid Wine Rack: £45 Oliver Bonas.

3. Ceramic French Press: £92 Yield Design via Etsy 

4. Ferm Living Ripple Glass Set of 4: £36 Amara Living.

5. Cheese Society Monthly Subscription: From £38 per month Cheese Society. 

6. Sipsmith Gin: £28 Waitrose..

7. Copper Marble Cheese Knives Set: From £27.50. West Elm.

8. Halo Plate: From £9  Denby Pottery. 

FORAGING IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

The closest I've been to foraging was picking blackberries as a child with my grandad and trying to eat them before I got back home. So when I was invited to experience a six course taster menu and stay at the award winning Tudor Farmhouse Hotel with the bounty of my finds from Foraging in the Forest of Dean, I was up for the challenge!

A QUICK AUTUMN/WINTER WARMER WITH CULLY & SULLY SOUPS

Autumn is officially here and I couldn't be loving the crunchy golden leaves and cosy dark nights at home more. I think I'm even feeling a little festive already! As the bump grows rapidly, so does my busy work schedule and I'm left juggling work, school runs, sleepless nights and hospital appointments. Fun times! So I'm rather pleased that I have found a healthy way to shave some time off my schedule with the rather delicious Cully & Sully Soups!

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.

#THECRAFTSMENSDINNER WITH MICHEL ROUX JR & BALVENIE

When people mention fine dining and good wine, it's easy to turn my thoughts to the sun washed vineyards of France or the rich Italian wines and freshly baked pizza that accompanied our pre-child travels. In fact it's amazing how much food and drink act as the markers to our adventures, like the time I sampled a delicious Croatian Brodet on the Island of Hvar as live music filled the cobbled streets *sigh*.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD AND A TASTE OF THE DEEP SOUTH

There are certain books that really stick with you growing up, ones that impact you profoundly, shaping your view of the world. For me one of those books was Harper Lee's classic To Kill A Mockingbird, set in deep south Alabama this compelling Pulitzer Prize winner has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and tells the coming of age tale of young girl named Scout and her brother Jem, as they navigate the dusty southern town during the depression and the trial of local black man who is wrongly accused of rape. The novel is written from the Scout's point of view, giving an interesting perspective to adults attitudes to race and class in the deep south during the late 30's, and my first real eye opener into the historical racial and political struggles across the pond.

To celebrate the release of Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee's second novel, which has taken the literary world by storm seeing the largest number of sales since JK Rowling's Harry Potter, I was invited to Bristol's own Mockingbird Cafe to attend a fab book group discussion of the classic novel while enjoying some of the Deep South Culinary delights. 

As we gathered to discuss our fond memories of the book and how we felt after revisiting it as an adult, we had the opportunity to tuck into chunks of rich delicious Lane Cake and buttery Southern Tea cakes noted in novel, as well as Devilled eggs, Buttermilk Biscuits, Molasses Baked Ham, Pickles and Pimento Cheese, giving us a true flavour of a the Deep South, I mean what better way to spend a morning and lift the words of a page than by sharing a brunch and a bygone era with friends?  

I remember the teacher who handed me my first copy of this book and being asked to read the first chapter as homework, after taking in the first few pages I became engrossed and spent the next three nights with a flash light under my duvet, pouring over the words until falling asleep exhausted. I loved how it described the decay and corruption of small town and the infamous line of beloved character Atticus Finch: 

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Picking up this classic has made me want to revisit some more of my old favourites or those that help shaped me growing up. On my thirteenth birthday my dad tasked me with completing the beast that is Papillon, another fab read if you fancy it. For those who haven't read To Kill A Mockingbird I can't recommend it enough and I know that I can't wait to get my hand on the sequel.

What was your favourite book growing up?

MY PERSONAL FITNESS JOURNEY AND EATING HEALTHY

Over the last eight weeks I've been really focusing on getting fit and have been making dramatic changes to my eating habits. So far I've been keeping this rather quiet on the blog and IG, but I have been inspired by friends/lovely bloggers who are also on a personal fitness journey such, Keri-Anne  Gingerlilly Tea, Hayley from Southwood Stores and Catherine from The Triple Triangle, to get myself into shape. After a very over indulgent Christmas full of rich food, chocolates and crisps, I was left feeling sluggish, tired and not fitting into my usual clothes, but now spring is here I want to get back in control of my bad habits.  

I've never really been one to do sports, at school I was the kid that was last at every sport in P.E and being naturally slim I've not really paid much attention to what I eat, but as I get older I'm becoming concious of being a good role model for F when it comes to healthy eating and exercise. 

So for the last month or so I've been exercising 25 minutess a day and trying to swap meals for healthier options, using Deliciously Ella for inspiration and using an eat clean diet where possible, making sure to avoid any processed food, sugars, dairy and wheat. 

I've created a seperate IG account to keep track of my fitness progress and snap pics of my meals to keep me motivated, and I'm using my FitBit to track my progress too. 

I find exercising makes me feel happier, probably all those endorphins being released, and making smarter choices with food has really boosted my energy levels. Here are some of my recent meals:1. Fruit! I've been using fruit as a snack rather than reaching for biscuits, crisps and cakes. Plus F really enjoys coming along for the fruit haul. 2. Raw energy Coconut and Cacao Bites from Deliciosly Ella. I made a load of these with F and keep them in the fridge incase I need a boost. 3. For lunch I've been eating more open sandwiches. My favourite is Organic wholemeal Sunflower Rye Bread, avocado, tuna, sprouting lentils and tomatoes.4. Breakfast has always been a tricky one for me as it is the meal I tend skip even though it's the most important. Instead I've been trying to have an energy filled start to the day with a bowl of porridge made with Almond milk, topped with cinnamon, whole almonds and poppy seeds. 5. I have rediscovered my love for salads with this healthy Nicoise Salad made with tuna, sprouting beans instead of olives and potato, fresh peppers, egg and poppy seeds.6. Homemade soups for lunch are great as they are healthy and filling. I've been trying different recipes and always accompany it with some fruit and hot lemon water.7. Pomegranates are one of my favourite things to snack on in front of the TV. This is my weakness as I want to eat lots of crisps and dips, but as this fruit is fiddly it occupies me while wanting to snack and it's super tasty too. I'm really hoping to stick to this new way of living and I have invested in some work out gear and equipment to get me going. I'm going to post once a month about what I've been eating and also a bit more about my workout routines to keep a log of my progress and in the hopes it might be inspiring. I hope you'll follow me along my journey.

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // A GOOD CUPPA

It's been two weeks since we launched our new series Style In Your City, which showcases your life. That's right we want to create a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I really enjoyed reading your posts and seeing all your stylish photos over on Instagram. My favourite post from the last fortnight was by These Four Walls, I loved how Abi takes you for a stroll up her neighbourhood street.

This week we're focusing on a good cuppa. As you know I am a bit addicted to caffeine and I really look forward to my first sip of the day. It seems that I couldn't have chosen a better city to live in with such a vibrant cafe culture, full of exciting pop up restaurants and quirky spaces.

Click to read more

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.

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.

This post in pic heavy so click to read more