Body Revolution comes to the UK!

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Great news for Jillian fans here in the UK – the fitness guru has finally launched her amazing 90 programme here! You can purchase the entire thing here: http://www.hsm.tv/fitness/product/jillian-michaels-body-revolution for £99.99, which is a great price considering what’s included. You get (and I’m quoting from the site here) “15 all-new DVDs, Resistance Cable, Fitness Guide, customizable 90-day Fat-Burning Meal Plan complete with grocery lists, delicious recipes, and daily menus, 90-Day Journal. PLUS, a bonus 7 day Kick Start Your Metabolism diet plan to detox your body and help you curb your food addictions.”

As for me, I’m not able to purchase one of these programmes, but I’m currently working on a variety of Jillian DVDs and a calorie restriction of 1200 daily. I recently purchased Extreme Shed and Shred, so expect a review of that soon!

Anyone out there getting the Body Revolution? Let me know what you think! Or, if you’ve already got one, how did you get on?

French Sole Warehouse Sale!

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I have to admit, I’m a bit of a brand obsessive. I don’t love a lot of brands, but when I get into something, I can be incredibly loyal, even if whatever the product is is squarely out of my price range! French Sole is one of those products that I fell in love with, but couldn’t really afford. I first became really aware of the brand on the lovely Duchess (aka Kate Middleton) very shortly after she got married, as she piroutted around Waitrose’s carpark wearing a pair of their pretty flats. I fell in love because I LOVE ballet flats, and this company was literally the brand to bring them to the masses – beloved of Diana in her day, too. I had a mega crush on their sparkly gold Henriettas last year, but alas, couldn’t really get a size that felt comfortable on me for the price. Then I discovered their limited edition Union Jack shoes at the end of 2011 and stalked them until they were made available in the UK. They were launched in shops only, but I hassled the poor people at the warehouse until they very kindly sent me a pair for the princely sum of £125 – more than I could really afford, but easily justifiable for the beauty of the shoes, in my opinion! (Many thanks to those long suffering warehouse staff for sending them to me before they were really available, I was so grateful I sent them a card!).

Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw on Facebook that the company was holding a warehouse sale this weekend, so to treat myself after a fairly horrendous deadline, I got up at 6am, so I could get ready and drive an hour to get to the sale. I ended up getting there half an hour early, but they were already letting people in! IMG_5716

This is what the warehouse looked like on a dreary October morning – complete with a food van (that I was too excited to buy anything from!). IMG_5717

This is the sight that greeted me inside – the sides were set up with shoes out on the table corresponding to the sizes, so I immediately ran over to the 40 section. IMG_5718

There were so many beautiful shoes, I just stared for a bit – then I saw people were picking up the shoes and trying them on, so I immediately pulled my socks off to join in! At this point, I had no idea what the prices were, but that wasn’t going to stop me… IMG_5722

They had bargain bins with pairs for £10 each, but I couldn’t find anything in there that I liked, so I began to grab pretty shoes at random, hopping up and down and slavering at the display like some kind of uncontrolled pervert in the red light district. IMG_5720

Honestly, though, can you blame me? IMG_5719

I eventually worked out that the pricing seemed to be £20 or £40 for the boxed pairs, so I went nuts and grabbed about five pairs that were literally so awesome I couldn’t believe it might actually be possible for me to leave without them. I then hobbled over to the corner to try them on… IMG_5723

These are the pairs I came away with, and I love each one. Starting from the top middle, a pair of quilted white flats with a black toe (very Chanel-esque), a pair of gorgeous brown-bronze flats (which you can’t see in the photo, but are actually lined with black fur), another pair of quilted shoes in brown with patent strips on the toes, then possibly my favourite, the brown glitter pair so similar to the ones I coveted last year (except not the same colour, but since then I’ve bought a similar pair in gold and black, so these are perfect!), and finally, a cute pair of plaid flats with a bronze shimmer finish, and more patent strips on the toes. The quilted pairs were £40 each, and the others were £20, which means I got around £600 of shoes for £120. Very. Pleased. The only thing that’s not too good is that it’s been fair too cold to wear these anywhere since I bought them – roll on spring, please!

(Even more amazingly, Vogue featured French Sole four times in their list of 100 best shoes for A/W 2012, and two of those styles – 28 and 53 – are very similar to the ones I picked up at the sale! Dare I say I prefer the shape of the ones I bought, though? Cos I do!  http://www.vogue.co.uk/jewellery/news/2012/10/best-shoes—autumn/winter-2012-13-designer-heels-flats-and-sandals/gallery/59)

Happy birthday to me!

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It’s my 30th birthday today, and yesterday my husband took me to Heston’s restaurant in London, Dinner By Heston! It’s located in an extremely posh hotel – but that was fine by me, because I was wearing my extremely posh outfit, so I felt more than prepared to meet the challenge! Heston actually says there should be no dress code to enjoy his food – which is a nice sentiment, but generally it feels good to wear something that feels appropriate to the price tag, which in this case was fairly astronomical. Untitled

The dining room is fairly cozy and not too intimidating – you can see right into the kitchen, which is a great touch! You can even see the pineapples for one of the puddings turning on a spit (although, not really in this photo. Clever me). Untitled

In this pretty awful photo you can see that the lights are actually formed of jelly moulds, which is another neat nod to the culinary arts. The dark wood floors, leather chairs and panelled walls create a very masculine atmosphere, like an old boys’ club or something, which suited the very traditional and ‘meaty’ menu on offer. Before you start, though, you’re given some exceptionally crusty bread to nibble on! Untitled

Delicious – I sometimes reckon all I’d need for a great meal would be a loaf of good bread and some butter – but of course, I always find a way of complicating even that, ha… DinnerbyHestonstarterThis is the sort of menu on offer. Sounds intriguing, no? Untitled

This is what the Mr. had – Rice and Flesh – and very delicious it was too! Although, very filling, because he really couldn’t eat much else after this! Untitled

This was mine: Salamugundy. Very tender and subtle, and not too filling. This part was important, because… UntitledThis was our main! A giant steak served with chips! Very delicious – I am a huge carnivore, so I was pretty pleased. I’d already tried the triple cooked chips at The Hind’s Head, and these weren’t really much different – crispy and moreish. The sauces were great, although the mushroom ketchup was served cold (as I expected), but in a small saucepan…? Untitled

Here’s a better look at that meaty bone! Droooool. DinnerbyHestonpuddingI have to say, though, the meal ended on a bit of a downer for me. I picked the Brown Bread Ice-Cream, as I’ve had that before at home and really liked it. The malted yeast syrup totally spoiled the dish for me, though, and I saw someone else eating the same thing making similar faces…
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It looked pretty enough, though! UntitledThere was also a pretty little chocolate pudding to finish off with.

I definitely enjoyed my trip to Dinner, and the food was amazing. If you’re a fan of Heston, you’ll definitely enjoy eating at his latest restaurant. I’m going to be a bit controversial here, though, and say that if you’re not going for the set menu, you can definitely get the same quality food elsewhere for the same or lower prices. That said, the set menu is a bit of a bargain, at £36 a head for weekday lunches. However, there are only two choices for each course, which you might find limiting…

The one remaining Heston restaurant I’d like to visit is, of course, The Fat Duck. However, I’m fairly sure this is off the menu (ha) until we win on the scratchcards or something… I guess I’d have to buy some first though!

Becoming Effie Trinket

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If you’ve seen my recipe for Katniss’ alternative plum stew, you’ll know that I love the Hunger Games. So much so that I’m planning a party (well, it had to be done, right?!) with loads of food, and costumes! Who else to dress up as other than the style queen herself, Effie Trinket?!

Looking at photos of Effie, it seems as though two of her major style signatures are puffy sleeves, and contrasting colours. Looking around on ASOS, I found this great, puffed sleeve coat from Liquorish:

Looks just like the kind of thing that Effie would wear, right? Even more so when you check out the back view and those awesome sleeves!

The item is much pinker in real life (you can check it out here), so I reckon the best colour pairing for this is teal! Something like this, sitting on top of a curly blonde wig!:

Hunger Games: Plum Stew for Katniss – An Alternative!

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I loved reading the Hunger Games – I think if you’re a foodie, you’ll really enjoy the descriptions that author Suzanne Collins put into her books. One of the dishes that stands out is the lamb stew that Katniss enjoys so much from the Capitol, and I’ve seen loads of recipes online which replicate it. However, I’m not a huge fan of sweet and savoury mixed together – unless there’s a whole bunch of spice added in! With that in mind, I really wanted to try a tagine version of this, since lamb and prunes is a fairly common combination. But then I was flicking through 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi, and found a plum and lamb curry! Now, this is made with fresh plums, not dried, but the flavour is so delicious that I don’t think anyone will be complaining about accuracy! Here is the recipe, which I have adapted slightly to reduce the calories. The original called for more oil, more lamb, and more plums – I think it would be better with less, hence my changes.

This stew is spicy and rich, and the sharp, sour taste of the plums really balances against the savouriness of the lamb. You can eat this with rice, or naan bread if you prefer. I’m planning on serving this at a Hunger Games-themed party I’m having next month, but you don’t really need an excuse to eat this – it’s great, and not too high in calories, either! Just make sure that you go easy on the oil, and that the lamb is very lean and trimmed of all excess fat.
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 x 1/2 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 3 cloves
  • 4 green cardamoms
  • 1 inch piece cinnamon
  • 3 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 500g lean stewing lamb
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 to 1 cup finely chopped ripe plums with skin on
  • 3 tbsp coriander leaves
  • 225ml lamb stock

METHOD

  • Heat oil in a deep pan and add the onions, frying until they’re golden brown – around 10-15 mins. Add the garlic, ginger, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, and green chillies. After one minute, add in the turmeric, coriander and chilli powder, and stir well.
  • Add the lamb to your spiced, aromatic mixture, and fry for five minutes. Then, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the lamb is semi-dry. Stir well to make sure everything is coated and beginning to go golden brown.
  • Add the plums and stir. Follow with 2 tbsp of coriander leaves, and the lamb stock, then simmer on low for 30 minutes.
  • Serve sprinkled with additional coriander, and serve with rice.

You can freeze this recipe, which serves four! The calories work out at 312 per serving.

Courtyard Deli, Falmouth

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One of my favourite places when I went to Cornwall this year was the Courtyard Deli in Falmouth. A hidden gem, this gorgeous deli provided me with two of my favourite meals on holiday. (Who am I kidding, I didn’t eat anything that wasn’t amazing on holiday this year!). One was a lovely picnic, which I’ll discuss in a later post, and the other was a lovely tapas meal that we enjoyed on our final evening.
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The deli is off the main road in Falmouth, but is easy enough to spot thanks to this cool little sign. Once you turn up the narrow alleyway, you’ll be greeted by a pretty sight: IMG_3922

Inside, it’s just as beautiful, because there are shelves stacked with all manner of amazingly gorgeous foodstuffs. IMG_3923Check out those delicious bowls of juicy olives! I promise, I did not steal any of them… IMG_4978

The Deli does tapas three nights a week, and it was incredibly quiet when we went on the Friday night – so quiet we were the only ones there for most of the time. Usually, this would be a sign of bad food, but I am pleased to report that this was certainly not the case! They definitely deserve to have people knocking the door down to get in, so if you’re local to the area, make sure to plan a visit, you won’t be disappointed!

As my husband is a massive carnivore, we decided to start off with a meat sharing platter. To be honest, I thought this would be a little bit boring – I do love cured meats, but it’s very simple to make something like that yourself, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. So, I was pretty pleased when it arrived, and was utterly delicious! IMG_4974The potatoes were waxy and fresh, and the chorizo was a real standout – juicy, tender, salty and crisp. I’d never enjoyed chorizo as much as I enjoyed this simple, fried offering, and I’m a pretty big chorizo fan anyway! IMG_4982I also had some garlic prawns, because I made a pledge to myself I would eat seafood every day while in Cornwall. I love seafood but my husband hates it, so I never really get to eat it that often. Hooray for holidays! IMG_4983Om nom nom – this was halloumi cheese and strawberries – a weird combo that tasted oh so right! The salty, squeaky cheese went perfectly with the soft, sweet strawberries. I’ll have to try this at home! IMG_4967

We also had a pretty standard bread platter (although, no white bread? Strange…), and I enjoyed a deliciously sweet blush cider.

I would definitely recommend a visit to the Courtyard Deli – friendly staff, great food – what else do you need?! IMG_2078

People Tree: Marie Fleece Wrap Cardigans

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Ever love an item of clothing so much you’ll pay full price for it, twice? I’m not saying “no regrets”, but I definitely didn’t think twice purchasing both colour versions of this amazing fleece wrap cardi from People Tree. Not at the same time, I add – I’m not nuts (or wildly rich). But sometimes, when you get yourself a winner and you just know you’ll be wearing it for years, investing in another colour just makes sense!

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First of all, it’s fleece, so it’s warm, and not too formal looking. Secondly, I love the kimono style and the cinched waist because of the belt. Thirdly, the grey version especially is a win-win for me – no cat hair shows up! Ah, the glam life…
Anyway, good news is, this is currently on sale for half price at People Tree, for £32.50. I heartily recommend this very versatile jacket – every time I’ve worn it, I’ve been complimented on it! Now that’s how you can tell a good item of clothing…

30 Day Shred: A Review

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It seems to me that there’s only a very finite amount of ways to exercise. There are hundreds of types, yes, but the way you do exercise is limited to certain scenarios. Obviously, if you’re a builder or do a physical job, that’s your exercise. You can take a class. You can go to the gym. You can go jogging or swimming. You can workout in a home gym. You can do exercise DVDs. You can play games on your computer. I’ve tried most of these things – except the physical job stuff. I think learning a trade so I can fit exercise into my daily routine is taking it a bit far… Of all the methods you can use to get fit, exercise DVDs are by far and away the best method for me. I don’t have to leave the house, adding travel time onto my workout sessions. I don’t have to wait for people to be finished with workout equipment. I don’t have to buy extra equipment. I don’t have to keep to other people’s schedules.

Before I tried Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred, I’d honestly not done a workout DVD before. I had no idea what to expect. I’d done a few months of exercise regimes on the Wii (EA Sports, Wii Fit, etc), and they were fairly hard work, but you usually had to wait in between exercises, and thusly everything took longer. One thing you can say about 30DS is that there is NO waiting around between exercises.

I think I picked the 30DS DVD up at the beginning of January 2010. Not as a ‘New Year Resolution’, but just to keep my routine fresh, as I was losing weight for my wedding that year (August). In the space of a month, I lost 8lbs, by combining the 30DS with a calorie restriction of 1200 calories a day. It was completely amazing, and gave me so much confidence. With results like that, it’s easy to see why I am such a huge fan of Jillian Michaels!

So, that’s the results out of the way (hmm, maybe I should have kept that until the end?), so I’ll talk more about how the workout is structured. There are three 30 minute workouts (she says 20 minutes, but has since admitted this was a little fib to get people motivated – if you include warm ups and cool downs, they’re closer to 30 mins each), and the idea is that you start at level one, do that for 10 days, then level two for 10 days, then level three for 10 days, throughout the month. You can stop and have a break if you want to, obviously! I think the most rewarding aspect of the programme for me was being able to tell that you were getting gradually better with each repetition of the level. When you start level one, you’ll probably feel like you’re going to die. When you’ve finished level three, and go back to level one, you’ll feel like you’re on holiday. The progression you make in just a month is really amazing.

Since trying this DVD, I’ve only bought three other workout DVDs from other trainers or celebrities. One was a joke gift for my husband, which was the workout DVD of a Corrie star, which took about 45 minutes and felt like waiting for the bus – not hard, not tiring, just very, very boring. One was Davina’s workout (love Davina!), which again, I didn’t feel was efficient, but was okay. I liked the kick boxing elements, but other parts just didn’t feel like a real workout. Then I did Tracey Anderson – but the least said about that the better, really… I’ve since given up on other trainers, because I’d rather work my butt off for half an hour and do some real exercise, than fanny about for 45 minutes and not even get a sweat on. I also really like the structure and progression of 30DS. You have a set amount of time to do it in, you can measure your results, you progress through, and you have an end point. With other DVDs, it seems like you continue until you’re bored, or just lose motivation.

Oh, and Jillian also gets bonus points for her hilarious commentary. I know some people don’t like being yelled at from the telly, but I find it actually really motivated me to work harder. I’d rather watch Jillian telling me to kick my own butt than watch a celebrity tell me that the workout was hard and their legs ached.

You can purchase 30 Day Shred from Amazon (currently £4.99): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jillian-Michaels-Day-Shred-DVD/dp/B002RNOS2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346329577&sr=8-1. Or, you can download it from iTunes – which is actually really handy. I’ve downloaded it to my phone, so if I go on holiday I can do the workout that way with water bottles or cans as my weights! And, once you’ve completed 30DS, you can move on to Ripped in 30!

GOOD LUCK! – And, let me know if you’ve tried 30 Day Shred, and what you thought of it!

Tomatillo Salsa Verde kit from Riverford

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I recently tried a tomatillo salsa verde kit from Riverford.co.uk – it’s an organic veg box scheme which I’ve been subscribed to for just over a year now. I love Riverford’s ultra foody approach, and of course, I love trying new things – so when they offered a kit for £4.95 to make your own tomatillo salsa, I jumped on it!

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Tomatillos aren’t common here (I had only ever seen one once before I got this kit!) but they’re an important ingredient in Mexican cooking. They look like green tomatoes with papery skins.

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The kit came with a head of garlic, a punnet of tomatillos, a red onion, coriander, chillies, and a lime. Everything you need to make this recipe minus the sugar and salt!

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The kit was amazingly good value, and a great way of trying out tomatillos. I’ll definitely buy them again if I get the chance – and it sounds like the crop was successful, so hopefully they’ll be growing some more next year!

If you want to purchase organic vegetables and support eco-friendly farming, check out http://www.riverford.co.uk/. Find the kit here.

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