Guest Post: Tea Pigs - Matcha

As you all know (if you don't where have you been?), one of my very good friends Alex has an amazing food and fitness blog. I asked her if she would like to be a guest blogger on my website to which she said she would. She has chosen to write about one of her new favourite finds which which we both agree may be some sort of tea revolution. Alex has kindly sent me a sample of teapigs tea which I will be trying soon so you can expect a full review on here.

It's time for me to stop waffling now so I will say a massive thank you to Alex for writing this post and I hope you all enjoy it. Oh and for the love of god if you haven't, go and follow her!

Following my teapigs Office Fairy adventure, I decided to make use of my 20% discount code and treated myself to a product I've be wanting for months: matcha.

Everything you could possibly want to know about matcha is on the teapigs website, but here's a concise summary.

Matcha is a concentrated green tea, Japanese in origin and and a favourite of Buddhist monks, it's filled with healthy nutrients and amino acids.

Essentially it's the world's healthiest tea - 1 cup is the equivalent of 15 cups of regular green tea, it can help boost metabolism, give you a natural energy boost and help reduce stress.

As soon as it arrived I couldn't wait to unpack it and get myself a shot made up:

How is it? Given that I'm the girl who used to drink daily wheatgrass shots, I think this stuff tastes lovely and smooth (and I don't like regular green tea). I made that  little shot up with warm water from the kettle and whizzed it up with my aerolatte to make it nice and smooth.

What else have I been doing with it? Creating a Matcha Zing by adding a measure to a cup of Celestial Teas Lemon Zinger:



and adding a measure to some hot water and Kara Coconut Milk to make a matcha latte (now this tastes so incredible that I've had it every morning over the last week!)



I must say, this works great as a morning drink. I'm traditionally a coffee girl first thing to get me started but matcha is a lovely, mellow, gentle awakening - it really is a slow-release cup of natural energy.

I'm going to be matcha'ing myself on a daily basis for the next month. So far I've noticed more 'natural' energy, feeling really detoxed and I feel like it's regulated my appetite a little. I'll let you know how I get on over on my blog at the end of the month.

Weight Loss -- 1/2 a stone lighter

Source

It's the end of week four of my Rosemary Conley plan and I'm delighted so say that I've lost half a stone.

I am so glad I joined to Slim On line. Being able to enter what I eat on a day to day basis, talk to people on the forums and choose from a wide variety of foods is just amazing. Although I haven't changed that much about the way I eat, I know that I'm losing weight through eating the right amount of food for me. It's such an easy system to use that makes the shopping list and eating in the week a no brainer.

An example of what I eat every day would be...

Breakfast -- A red portion pot (about 30g I believe) of bran flakes and milk from my milk allowance (3/4 of a pint a day, although I tend to only need 1/2 a pint).

Morning Snack -- Half a banana/12 grapes/150g strawberries

Lunch -- A bagel with extra light Philadelphia

Afternoon Snack -- Half a banana/12 grapes/150g strawberries

Evening Meal -- Spag Bol

Pudding -- Two mini meringues, 1 tbsp of 0% fat Greek yogurt and 50g raspberries

Evening Snack -- Frozen mini chocolate (about 70 kcals) or an alcoholic drink (I've been loving Coors Light and Banrock Station Light)

Does this sound 'diet' like to any of you at all? It's measured out for me before I even start eating so I never have to worry. Sometimes I have both of my morning and afternoon snack at once (depends on my hunger levels) and sometimes I don't always have puddings and just have a treat instead with a cup of tea.

This lifestyle plan fits perfectly within my lifestyle and I am never veering off it again. I hear so much about other plans but this is my firm favourite. With the on line membership you get portion pots which, again, make meals a no brainer. The favourite part for me? I never feel that hungry, I have more energy and I never feel like I'm losing out.

Have you ever tried a diet plan? If so, what one and how has it worked for you?

FOTD: 21.04.12

Face -- Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation '003 Ivory', NARS 'Deep Throat' Blush
Eyes -- Naked Palette 'Sin, Smog, Buck', Chanel 'Sublime de Chanel' mascara
Lips -- MAC 'Angel'

Have a good weekend everyone!

Back To Basics

1: New house keys, 2: Brand new TV, 3: Saying goodbye to my old house

 4: A fun day out in Stratford, 5&6; Fun nights with friends

 7: Actually having a decent garden 8: Joining the gym, 9: Getting Back to Bascis with Rosemary Conley

If you've not guessed it, moving house is the main reason for my abscence since January. I've been SO busy but never fear, I am back now. This post is to let you all know that I'm  back but also give you a bit of an insight of what I've been up to.

Let's talk back to basics. As most of you will know if you follow me here, or on my YouTube channel, I have been trying desperately to lose weight. For most of last year I followed the Rosemary Conley programme and I then made the stupid mistake of believing I could do it alone. I stopped really looking at my food, and in the end.. I was undereating which really is never good for anyone.

Nearly two months ago I took the leap and joined the gym. I wanted to join for a while but with the Christmas rush, I decided to wait. I now go three times a week with my friend Louise who is amazing and very good at keeping me motivated. I now have to say that I love going to the gym. Raise your hands if you thought I would ever say that. No one? That's about right...

As well as the gym I also walk to work and back the majority of the time so all this exercise plus getting back to basics with eating is working. I took the leap and joined the Rosemary Conley online programme where I have amazing support and advice whenever I need it. I also can access all the yummy foods I can have week by week. I started off on a two week 1200 calorie programme where I lost 4lb. I am now on 1400 calories which means eating a pudding and a treat as well as three meals a day. More details of that to come in another post.

I plan on keeping you up to date on a weekly basis with how my diet/gym is going. I also have reviews/beauty products to share so keep your eyes peeled.

Beauty resolutions

 

My main beauty resolution for 2012 is to actually use my products and replace them as and when they need to be replaced.

The only thing I have bought (because it was the only thing I was allowing myself) is the Naked 2 Palette. Who can resisit it? And, the only other thing I need to get is a new eyelash curler.

I have what I would say is a medium sized collection of make up. It is in no way as big as some other people I have seen on YouTube and blogs. I have a nice collection and it's time I started using it. I don't want to get in the state where I am buying something only to find that I have something pretty much the same in my collection. 

Not only am I using make up products but I also have a nice skincare collection so I am trying to use that up to. I want new products, we all do, but I would like to use some I already own before buying lots more. A sneaky nail polish may peak it's way in from time to time but I also think if I buy a new nail polish I can get rid of one of my old ones. Some brands gloop far too quickly!

I think this is totally do-able and I have been pretty strong so far. I have seen a few things I want, but I'm not letting myself have them. I am planning on updating on my blog and probably YouTube when I have used some products up. 

On my list to use up so far I have:

MAC - 'Painterly' paint pot

ELF  - 'Peachy Keen' blush

Collection 2000 - Lasting Perfection concelear '01 Fair'

MAC - Cream Colour Base 'Pearl'

Rimmel - Stay Matte Powder '001 Transparent'

MAC - Studio Finish Concealer 'NW15' and 'NC15'

Bobbi Brown - Corrector 'Porcelain Bisque'

I'm a sensible beauty addict. Right? ;)

Recipe Corner - Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash soup!

For a few months now I have made various soups for lunch and taken them to work with me. I have made carrot and corriander, brocolli, tomato, carrot and courgette and many more. Today I made one of my favourite soups to date.

Isn't it amazing how this...

 can turn into this...

 Yummy butternut squash and sweet potato soup. How did I make this? Well, it was pretty easy.

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato

1 medium butternut squash

2 small onions

1 pint of stock

sprinkle of salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees

2. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel and dice the sweet potato and peel and slice the onions in half. Put in the oven for about 30-45 minutes

3. Once done add to a pan (or in my case, slow cooker) with the stock (I added 1/2 a pint, whizzed a little and added more water until I had the consistency I wanted) and use a hand mixer/food blender until you get your desired consistency.

4. Add the seasoning and you are done!

It's very simple but VERY tasty! :)

Let's get Naked!

I was SO excited when I received my package from Debenhams containing a product  I had been waiting for since it was announced before Christmas.. *drumrolls*

That's right guys, the Naked Palette 2. As I'm sure a lot of you are aware, the first Naked palette is a firm favourite of mine and I acutally use the palette most days. When I heard the new one was coming out and saw the swatches I knew I didn't need it, but I had to have it. Neutral eyeshadows are a must for me.


It retails at £36 (I got mine from Debenhams) and although it may seem a little pricey, you get 12 amazing eyeshadows. (L-R Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, Yok, Buste, Blackout). In addition, you get a double ended brush and a lip junkie in 'Naked'.  I have restrained myself so far and haven't actually used the palette but I will most definitely be using them tomorrow for work so my full view will come soon.


I'm so excited for this release and I believe it will be a lot easier to get hold of than the first one was. If you have the first one, you may not see the need for the second but they are different colours so I'd say why not treat yourself ;).