12 month challenge

I am stealing this idea from a Facebook friend as I am so keen on self improvement and positivity at the moment.

Basically the idea is to pledge to take on a specific challenge each month which will enhance my life in some way. Here are my 12 challenges. I have yet to decide which month will be dedicated to which.

1. Read with the kids each night 

2. Exercise each day

3. Eat a piece of fruit each day

4. Read a chapter of a book each day

5. Fake tan once a week

6. Try one new recipe each week

7. Walk at lunch time at work

8. Have a family games night once a week

9. Finish decorating the hall way

10. Do something creative (e.g. colouring, drawing, make a hair bobble daily)

11. Write one blog post a day

12. Start watching a box set

So this month I am going to start with the exercise one. By daily exercise sometimes it will be a gym visit others it will be simply a set or two of sit ups or squats. 

Excited to get started x

Recipe... Whole meal savoury scones...

This recipe was actually passed on by my mum although I've adapted slightly by using whole meal flower and I used agrave syrup rather than sugar. They rose really nice but do have a very savoury taste. I personally would have them for breakfast or lunch rather than as a snack or dessert but I'm sure my kids would have them as a snack!

Here goes:

12oz whole meal plain flower or white plain flower

250g full fat Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons of sugar/honey/maple syrup or agrave syrup

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar or sugar substitute

Slowly add the Greek yogurt and stir slowly then use hands to bind together into a dough.

Kneed this dough until it reaches a nice even consistency ... In other words not too floury

Roll onto a surface lightly dusted with flour to about 2.5cm thick and cut out circles using a cookie cutter or a rim if a glass. 

Place these onto a greased baking sheet or line it with grease proof paper to save washing up.

Cook on 200 for about 20 mins until nicely risen and do a test with a knife to ensure it comes out clean...

Enjoy xxx

Breakfast/healthy snack easy banana energy bars

OThese are seriously the easiest, cheapest snack to make ever and are great for breakfasts, elevenses or basically anytime snacks really. 

Ingredients:

4 mashed bananas

Handfuls of porridge oats

Two tea spoons of cinnamon 

Squeeze of honey (optional)

Optional fillings such as ground almonds, seeds, dried fruit, dried coconut, nuts, chocolate chips

Directions

Microwave the bananas for 1-2 mins (depending on their ripeness) so they are nice and soft

Mash the bananas like mad so to create a purée and add the cinnamon, honey and optional filling and stir 

Add the oats a handful at a time stirring until the mixture reaches a nice consistency that can be spooned into a pre greased baking tray

Bake on 200 for 10 mins (these in the photo are a little burned as I was rushing round cleaning and left them in a bit too long

Simple Cooking on a budget- spiced turkey/chicken

This is another really simple recipe which is healthy and cheap to make. I like it because I can adapt it to feed myself and the kids.

Here goes:

Ingredients 

Chicken or turkey breast fillet chopped

Fat free Greek yogurt

Selection of spices... I used turmeric and cumin but you could use tikka or tandoori  spices or Cajun spice

Directions

Mix the spices into the Greek yogurt then add in the raw chicken pieces and mix to coat them in the mixture. Leave in the fridge for upto 12 hours to marinate.

Lay the chicken on tin foil on a baking sheet. Bake on 200 in the oven for around 20/25 minutes turning half way.

Serve on a pita bread with salad to create a healthy kebab... My kids enjoy it like this. I have it usually with salad and no bread as I avoid bread. Today though I roasted some tomatoes and courgettes and had it with these.

I like it because I can take out enough for the kids tea while leaving mine marinating for myself to eat later as I prefer to eat later.

I made it with turkey today but I would say it is tastier with chicken... Although turkey is cheaper and is lower fat.

In the past I have made this into more of a curry by adding the cooked chicken breast to a pan and stirring through additional curry/yogurt mix to create a sauce. 

Eating healthy on a budget... Turkey and bean bolagnaise..

It's been a while since I did any freezer cooking but I believe it's always good to have some ore prepared meals in the freezer for the days when the fridge is empty and the cupboards are bare.

Today I whipped up this easy minimum preparation turkey bolagnaise. 

Here's how...

Ingredients

500g pack of turkey mince

1 pack of mushrooms (use pre chopped to save more time)

1 bag of ready chopped onions 

2 tins of chopped tomatoes 

1 tin of bortoli beans (or any canned pulse really)

Fry up the mince, mushrooms and onions until brown then add to either a slow cooker or casserole dish on a low heat along with the canned pulses and chopped tomatoes. Cook for around 6 hours if using a slow cooker or 2 on 180 if using a casserole dish. 

Remove and divide into freezer proof containers.

This is so easy to make and can be bulked out further with other

veg with less mince used (I got 500g for the price of 200g on an asda delivery substitution though)

More on my bargain makeup...

On my latest makeup spending spree as well as the Revolution palettes I also picked up a MUA under eye concealer and a Sleek Makeup highlighting kit.

The concealer was only £3.00 it comes in 3 shades. Being super pale I bought the lightest shade 'luminous' as I like to use a shade lighter than my foundation. 

Here is how it looks on my hand...

As you can see it is quite pale. I have tried several under eye high lighters/ concealers including Dior, touché eclait, asda and Rimmel. Dior is my favourite but I would say this is a good budget comparison. I'd buy it over touché eclait or the asda one anyway.

Here you can see it under my eyes on a particularly tired Monday morning. It doesn't cover dark circles but it does brighten up the area.

On the above picture I have used my iconic 3 Revolution Pallete and must say I was really impressed... It lasted all day... Even survived a gym session after work (obviously only to be showered off afterwards)

Along with this I also used my Sleek highlighting kit. At £9.99 this was at the higher end of budget makeup and I was expecting it to be more of a contour kit (obviously I should have checked before buying what was inside) . It is however nice quality... Reminds me somewhat of benefit and their highlighters such as benetint and watts up.

The compact includes some ideas for where to apply each shade (below) which are handy. I followed these but also added a little of the lighter shade to the tear duct area. 

It's a nice little addition to my makeup kit as I don't have many highlighters and is something I would use on clients as well as myself. I feel it definitely made a difference to my makeup today and I felt I looked more radient and awake. 

Revolution Makeup - mermaids vs unicorns

As mentioned in my previous post I treated myself to some new budget makeup from Superdrug at the weekend to experiment with and allow me to play around a bit with different colours. At just £4 each this and the previously discussed iconic 3 were a bargain not to be missed.

As you can see in the photo below the pigmentation is really good, however you do need to apply more than you would with a more expensive brand such as my favourite Urban Decay.

The greens and blues are the 'mermaid' half of the palette and the purple sand darker blues the 'unicorn' . I tend to stick to nudes and neutrals rather than colour but there are times I do fancy wearing a bit of colour so at just £4 this is worth it for experimenting and trying out different looks.

I've only had a quick go of it but in the look below, I applied the first green shade over the whole lid with a flat brush, then used a bullet shaped brush to blend the darker two greens into the outer triangle then finally blended the darker purple shade through the crease with a blending brush. 

The colours go on nicely and blend well but I would like to play around with them more and create dramatic looks with eyeliner and lashes x