30.4.14

April/March Degustabox | First Impressions



I know I know, I still have posts to get up from last month's Degustabox! I am slowly getting round to it but I couldn't just let this one sit there without shouting about it! Sit tight for last month's posts but for now here is April/March's. Again, I never know what month to go with, I get the box at the end of the month but use it the following. What do you all think?

The box looks fantastic this month! More snack based than last month but I'm not complaining about that. I love a good snack! If you read yesterday's post though, I will be rationing the 'naughty snacks' and as always sharing them with Muj.

Starting top left and working clockwise we have Crabbie's ginger beer in the flavour Scottish raspberry, nice touch Degustabox! Really looking forward to trying this out as I absolutely love Crabbies! There were some recipes included for trying this out but I will probably just be drinking it from the bottle. I'll keep the recipes though as Muj and I really need to have another cocktail party soon!  (£2.19)

Next up is Mornflake Superfast which I'd never heard of before. It's a breakfast pot that you add cold water to and it 'magically' turns into milk (it's sprinkled with powdered milk, but maaaagic). These sound absolutely fab and I'll definitely be trying them out on days when I've hit the snooze button too many times and need to run to make my bus!  I got the fruit & nut muesli and raisin, honey & almond granola. There's even a wee spoon inside the lid so you don't have to worry about taking one of your own. (£1.20 each)

Item number 3 is from a brand again that I'd never heard of. Keogh's hand cooked crisps in the flavour Atlantic sea salt and irish cider vinegar sound absolutely delicious. In fact, I might just open them up and eat them now while writing this up! They are made in Ireland with natural flavours from local farms and they are gluten free. We all know I don't have an intolerance to gluten but I always love finding foods that everyone can try and I know plenty people that do have an intolerance so being able to show them things like this is always good! (£1)

Over half this box is from brands I've never heard of and Cawston Press is the next. This is a sparkling apple and rhubarb soft drink which I'm a bit dubious about trying as I'm not that keen on rhubarb but of course I'll give it a go! As you can maybe tell from their name, they only use pressed juice not from concentrate, there are no artificial sweetners, no colourings and no preservatives so I'm hoping it's a can of tasty goodness! (£1)

McVitie's Jaffa Cake Mini Rolls have been in my life a long time but the two flavours I received in the box are two that I've never tried; berry burst and tropical. There are 6 in each packet so 12 all together but I'm rationing myself to one every couple of days. Apparently they are 'brrrilliant frozen' so I'll definitely be trying that out! (£1.30 each)

I've seen so many adverts about Dr. Oetker products and I'm always salivating by the end of them so receiving these was an utter delight! It's cooking chocolate as well so hello cereal cakes! One bar is milk and the other is dark (which is my favourite kind of chocolate) so there will be a little bit of variety with the cereal cakes, well as much variety as you can have with cereal cakes! (£1.69 each)

Sticking with the chocolate theme, Lindt is my absolute favourite chocolate brand ever! It's so indulgent, so delicious, just amazing! There were three in the box so I've given one to Muj, sharing is caring and all that. The other two will be put away in the 'treat' cupboard and I will not eat them both in one sitting. If I start to think about it, I'll send a tweet out and you all have to shout at me! (80p each)

Second last product and again I've never heard of them! Clearspring are an authentic and organic fine foods company that have been going since 1993 and it's all Japanese foods. Apart from shop bought sushi, I haven't tried any Japanese foods so I'll definitely be looking more into this company! I was sent two sachets of miso soup which I've been told is delicious and I've actually been meaning to try it so this is perfect timing. (£1.29 each)

Last product and again, from a company I've never heard of Go Splash. Funnily enough though I have a post coming up in a few days on the exact same product just a different company! Now I have some variety. This is a blackcurrant sugar free water flavouring. You simply pour yourself a glass of water or buy a bottle if you're out and about, squirt some of this go splash into it and hey presto you have juice! (£2.45)

So this month's box is rather good I'd say, what do you think? 15 items this month totalling a cost of £20 which is fab considering it's only £12.99 a month for a Degustabox and that's including postage, however, I have a nifty wee code that will get you £3 off so free delivery and you only pay £9.99 for your box! Just enter the code "IV399" when prompted and you're welcome!

What is your favourite item out of this month's box? I don't think I can actually choose one!

As always you can find out more about Degustabox on their website, Twitter and Facebook

Alana x

29.4.14

Let's talk about weight baby

Let's talk about you (and more specifically) me.

Yeah so it's been a while since I properly weighed in. I've still been weighing myself each week but I've not been taking note of the number; basically I've been jumping on, looking at the number, saying 'ok' then jumping back off again. I need to stop that so from now on I'll be weighing myself on the Monday morning and then getting the weigh in post up later that day or Tuesday morning. I'll probably go with Tuesday as it gives me time on the Monday to write it up and get it scheduled but not have to worry about getting the post up straight away if I'm working or whatnot. 

So yesterday I weighed in at 232lbs. My last posted weigh in, I was 229.8 and that was the 19th February! Considering how shitly I've been eating and the lack of exercise, I'm quite surprised that I've only put on 2.2lbs! I can't rely on that though, I need to knuckle down and get back to eating healthily prepared meals (including breakfast Alana!) and exercise needs to find it's way back into my life! Although I'm always on my feet at work it's not really exercise, it's keeping me from sitting on my ass all day sure and sometimes it can be rather sweaty (mmm nice) it's not quite the same as a good workout. My poor wee Nikes have been abandoned the past few months so it's time to dust them off and get to it! 

Hopefully Muj and I will be starting C25K again soon, although this time I'm going to try and not almost break my ankle! I'm also going to get back into the habit of bringing out the exercise gear that sits in our cupboard. The amount of Netflix I watch in bed is ridiculous and so from now on, I'm going to get the elliptical or exercise bike out, as often as I can depending on work shifts; I don't want to be doing it at 11.30 at night and making my neighbours hate me! I'm also going to start getting off the bus early on the way home. Rather than waiting for it to go all around my town before getting to my stop, I'm just going to get off and walk for 5-10 minutes. 

I've been thinking about downloading a couple apps for squats, crunches etc to build up how many I can do in a day. If you know what I mean and have any recommendations then feel free to let me know! Speaking of apps, I need to start logging my food again on mfp. It sounds bad but it's easier to make me feel guilty about what I've eaten if it's all recorded and I can see it. Or if I'm thinking about eating something, I can put it into the app then see how that affects my calories, fat then hopefully make the right choice.

I've been making some pretty poor choices concerning my diet recently and I've now decided that that is quite enough. I feel like I've hit a bit of a milestone I suppose you could call it. I'm no longer disgusted with myself when I look in the mirror, I'm actually quite happy and proud of myself but I know what I'm putting into my body isn't good for it and isn't nourishing or fuelling it the way it needs to be and so that's what I want to focus on mostly. Sure weightloss would be great, it might make me feel a bit more comfortable but my main focus should be is this food good for my body? That's not to say I'm going to cut out absolutely every 'bad' food, I will still indulge but on the whole I really want to pay attention to what I'm eating and drinking.

As always, any tips, suggestions, etc are most welcome either here in the comments or you can email me (alanagetshealthy@gmail.com) if you don't want to post it publicly.

Alana x

28.4.14

Moma! Porridge | Eating my Degustabox


Remember these wee pots from last months Degustabox? Well a couple of weeks ago, Muj and I were both up at breakfast time so we decided to try them out. It's very rare we are both up at the same time and even rarer if it's still breakfast time. Muj has four jobs and now that I've started mine, our hours are all over the place and unless we are both off at the same time, we don't get to see each other all that much.

I've probably mentioned before but I struggle with breakfast. If it's still really early I can't face eating anything but if I leave it too late it's time for lunch! I'm always on the hunt for breakfast foods so if you have a suggestion that isn't toast or cereal, I'm all ears!

The pots were so easy to make up, boil the kettle and fill to the line. Just like a Pot Noodle but you probably won't feel as guilty after eating these! I stuck with the original flavour and Muj tried the cranberry and raisin one. Despite trying some orange infused raisins from Graze I'm still very anti-raisin!




As you can see Muj put just a little bit too much water in hers and miraculously I put in just enough! We were both in a bit of a hurry the morning we tried these so we couldn't sit down and enjoy them properly but they were delicious! I managed to eat about 2/3 of mine but just couldn't finish the rest. I certainly felt the benefits though, I had so much more energy and it filled me up until lunchtime! Now that the days are longer and the weather is better however, I don't really want to eat hot porridge in the morning, to me it's an autumn/winter brekkie so I probably won't be rushing out to buy these again but once the darker colder days swing around I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them.

Have you tried Moma? Will you try it now?

Alana x

26.4.14

EOTD | Actually playing with my makeup!



Look it's my face with make up on it! Now that the weather is getting nicer and my skin is clearing up thanks to the sunny days we are getting, yes even in Scotland we've been having some nice weather in between all the raining and clouds! I decided I would start playing about with my makeup and showing you all the results. Much like my cooking, I'm a total noob when it comes to war paint but I give it a go anyway.

I used my Technic electric palette that I've had for who knows how long now! I've been getting some serious envy with all the posts going about with the Urban Decay Electric palette so decided to work with what I've got (for now). I attempted to use three shades and blend them all together, really need to get my hands on some Real Techniques brushes soon! I call this look Mermaid because I felt like a sassy mermaid once I was finished.

It's a bit picture heavy after this just to warn you. I'm yet to find my favourite pose so for now you can have them all! Also you can see my multicoloured eyes in these pictures, I love them! Not as good as my friend Elfy's though; she has two different coloured eyes! Groovy as Prof. X would say ;)








And of course at the end I stick my glasses on and you can barely see anything!

My eyebrows are just a wee palette I got from my old eyebrow lady before I moved house. Face is MUA primer, natural collection foundation and Stila powder. I'll get better at these kinds of posts, I promise.

Alana x

24.4.14

Maille Culinary Challenge | Chicken noodles with kale and soy vinaigrette

I know what you're thinking, me and the word culinary don't really go together now do they? But as I've said, this year I want to start cooking more so when I saw the email about this in my inbox I thought bugger it, I'll give it a go! This is my first recipe with one of the two items I was sent out.


Seeing as I'm a total noob when it comes to cooking and I'm still rather terrified of the kitchen, I went with something really simple that I knew I could do without cocking up! I present to you my chicken, noodles and kale with Maille's soy vinaigrette with toasted sesame seeds. Bit of a mouthful!


I love the way the vinaigrette looks in the bottle, everything all layered and I kind of didn't want to use it and ruin it but I'm sure it'll settle down again and go back to looking pretty! I was sent a rather large bottle and only used a small portion so there's plenty left for future recipes!

The ingredients for this recipe are very simple (surprise surprise). All I used was a half packet of mini chicken fillets from Tesco, a packet of egg noodles again from Tesco, a bag of kale and the Maille vinaigrette.

Chop up the chicken, or if you're me and get frustrated with knives not doing what you tell them to, whack out the scissors and get cutting! I used a couple sprays of Fry Light extra virgin olive oil spray, since finding this, I haven't cooked with oil, it's so much simpler and doesn't bog your meals down or make them feel slimy!
Once the chicken was almost cooked I used the whole packet of noodles and turned the heat up a bit to get them cooked. The kale again was a full bag and that just went into the microwave. Once everything was nearly cooked, I used about 3 tablespoons of the soy vinaigrette and added it to the chicken and noodles.

Rather than have a bed of noodles which is what I see most meals with noodles, I decided to use the kale as a base. There was much more of that than noodles! Chicken and noodles on top and hey presto, I was done! It took about 20 mins from prep to cooked







It might not be the most fantastic or technical meal but it did the job and tasted lovely. The vinaigrette wasn't too overpowering although if I were to replicate this recipe again, I might use just a tad more.

What do you all think of my attempt at cooking?!

I'll be posting the second recipe in the next couple days and it will more than likely be just as if not simpler than this. Gotta start somewhere right?!

Alana x

22.4.14

Finding balance

I've read about other bloggers having difficulty managing their working life and a blog and I never thought much of it. Then I got a job! I've only been there just over a week and I haven't even opened up blogger or bloglovin on my computer, tablet or phone. It takes me just under two hours to get to my job then I'm there for up to eight/nine hours depending on the shift and a further almost two hours to get home again. By the time I do get home, I eat something then go to bed! The only reason I'm writing this is because I'm off until Friday! I'm going to use this time to get some posts read and hopefully get some written and also to catch up on housework! My room is a bloody tip and now that I have a couple days to get it sorted, I'm going to pounce! Or nothing will go to plan and I'll sleep the entire time, who knows ;)

I'm still getting used to being on my feet for long periods of time. My wee Shoe Zone shoes are holding up for now but I'll definitely need to get another pair soon. I don't know if I've actually said on here yet what my job is, but I'm working away in McDonald's. My fifth time round to be precise. Sure it's not glamorous or whatever but it pays the bills, I'm out the house and working and I'll make some new friends in no time! Plus being on my feet and moving about a lot will definitely help me lose some weight! You get a meal allowance but I've just been having salads and wraps, sure sometimes I will indulge but that's ok just as long as I don't do it every time I work.

It's definitely going to be a struggle getting a good balance between work, blogging, exercise, preparing healthy meals and just chill out time but hopefully after a couple months I'll be in a good routine and it will all be fabulous! She says whilst crossing her fingers and toes!

How do you find a good balance?


4.4.14

My Be:Fit experience

                     


A couple of posts ago (here) I mentioned that I was down in London to visit friends and attend Be:Fit. I'll write more about my actual trip soon but today I wanted to just talk about Be:Fit. I'd never attended any events like this before and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I knew there would be companies there and talks but I don't think I quite grasped the scale of it all.

I was very kindly given a free ticket to attend on the Friday from Big Shotz through their twitter. They were running a competition and all you had to do was tell them why you wanted to go. My reason was that I lost 50lbs last year and I feel like I've lost my way slightly these days. I thought that Be:Fit would be a great kickstart to get me into the healthy frame of mind again.

From the moment I woke up on the Friday I knew it wasn't going to be a very good day. I woke up feeling very anxious and apprehensive about going. There was even a wee period where I thought about just not going altogether! But I got ready and headed through on the tube to Old Billingsgate and tried to put the negative thoughts to one side.

As soon as I walked in, I realised just how big this event was, the whole place was filled with stands of so many companies, upstairs and downstairs was teeming with people and I arrived at 10.10am, just 10 minutes after the doors had opened! I'm definitely far too used to my not very busy town. After this I tried to adjust and think logically about how I was going to get around. Well logic went out the window pretty much! I wandered aimlessly for about twenty minutes then went upstairs to listen to a chat and Q&A session with Danielle Waterman and Marlie Packer, two of the UKs top female rugby players. I've never played rugby before, I'm much to much of a big wimp but I thought the chat was really good and actually quite inspiring. If it wasn't for the possible injury and definite pain aspect, I'd definitely give it a go after hearing them talk about it. After their chat, I went back to wandering around feeling like a very small (fat) fish in a massive (fit) pond.

I didn't go in with any money (which was my first mistake!) so I couldn't buy any of the products being showcased but I did come away with plenty leaflets and information (and even a couple of freebies, I'll get to them in other posts) if I decide to get anything in the future. Unfortunately, what with my anxiety sky rocketing, I didn't even get to stop at every stand. If there were too many people at one, I'd just move on and forget to go back. All in all I only lasted about two hours before I had to leave. I could feel I was on the verge of a panic attack or bursting out crying, or both. I was really disappointed with myself for not taking full advantage of this amazing event so I think I'll be going back next year.

A couple stands/companies stood out for me, those being Lindwoods, Metcalfe Skinny, Vegesentials, Enhance and Little Miracles. I'll definitely be trying out their products soon and I'm sure there were a lot more companies that I want to try but these are just off the top of my head.

I think one of the main reasons my anxiety was so crippling that day was because I was there on my own. If it had been in Glasgow or Edinburgh there might have been more of a chance of going with people I knew so maybe next year when I go I'll make sure I've got someone to go with! I did however bump into the lovely Kat who writes talesofapaleface. Unfortunately I was right in the middle of a freakout and forgot her name so I didn't make the best first impression. Hopefully I can meet up with her next time I'm in London and show her I'm not a complete arsehole!

So overall I'm taking my Be:Fit experience as a somewhat positive one. I got to see some companies I might never have seen otherwise and I am feeling totally ready to throw myself back into a healthy diet and exercise. I said to Muj last night, I actually miss being a sweaty mess after a good workout!

Did you attend Be:Fit this year? If not, do you think it's something you would like to go to?

2.4.14

Taj Aloe Vera Drink


Ok I've been meaning to get this post published for weeks now and I've been a very naughty blogger! Now that I am back though, I'm going through the couple of draft posts I had waiting and getting them finished and published. I was sent these Taj Aloe Vera drinks to try out and while I'd heard of Aloe Vera drinks before I'd never come across them to try them out so I was quite excited to receive them! As you can see from above I was sent original and strawberry.

It might just be me but whenever I see the words aloe vera I'm reminded of the joke, what does Jack Duckworth say to his wife. It's awful I know but it makes me smile!

So for all the good bits inside - these drinks contain 46% pure aloe vera juice and pulp, filtered water, natural fruit juice for the flavours, stevia which is a natural sugar from a plant containing no calories or carbs! and all the natural flavours and colours come from the fruit meaning no artificial preservatives or colourings! Sounds good right?


I only managed to get a picture of the original flavour to show you the aloe pulp, for some reason, my camera wasn't picking up the strawberry flavour. I don't know if I've mentioned on this blog before but I hate 'bits'. I have to have my orange juice smooth or I just can't touch it, so I was a bit hesitant to try this but I gave it a go anyway!

I was actually pleasantly surprised, I didn't have any problems with the pulp at all. I thought maybe it was because there were actual chunks of aloe and not just wee gritty bits that are usually in juices. So the original flavour was ok, I found it a bit too sweet for me and found I couldn't finish the glass above which I was a bit disappointed about. Not everyone is going to like every flavour though I suppose. The strawberry flavour was amazing! It smelled and tasted just like calpol to me so I was more than happy with this.

You can interact with Taj foods and find out more about their products through their twitterfacebook and of course their website! I'll be trying out the rest of the aloe juice range to see if I can find a flavour to top strawberry.

Have you tried aloe juices? What did you think of them?


Degustabox giveaway!

Following on from my First Impressions post yesterday on March's Degustabox, I am back to give you all the chance to win April's box! I know I hosted a Degustabox giveaway a few months ago but they are just so fab that I can't say no! Not that you will mind I'm sure.

I just have two rules before you enter so please make sure you read them. Ok so to enter, you must be a resident of mainland UK (sorry Scottish Highlands & Islands and Northern Ireland) and you must be over the age of 18 (there are sometimes alcoholic products in the boxes so sorry again!)

Like last time, it's done through Rafflecopter and I will check all entries so no fibbing ta!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone entering!

If you want to just buy the next Degustabox I have a wee code that gets you £3 off! Just enter 4LCEZ when you make your order!

1.4.14

March/April Degusta Box | First Impressions


I never know what month to put these as because I get the box at the end of the month then use it the following month. Anyway, I have returned from my stupidly long hiatus and what better post to officially come back with than Degustabox! 

If you haven't read my previous posts about Degustabox, they are a monthly food box subscription service. Much like Graze boxes but on a larger scale. You receive 10-15 surprise products some of which are brand new to the market, you eat them and if you're like me, you blog about it! Of course you don't have to, but it's nice to share right? For more information you can visit their website here.



So before I jump into what I got I just have to say that Degustabox have actually changed who they send out your boxes with and this has also come with some fancy new packaging inside the box, which I absolutely love! I know right, getting excited about packaging... It's like giant bubblewrap!


And here are the goodies! I love that there is always such a mix of ready to eat foods and what I like to call recipe foods. It's like a gentle nudge every month to remind me to try out some cooking.


 How cute do these wee flavoured milks look?! I'm not the hugest fan of milk so I'm looking forward to trying these out. There were a couple coupons in the box as well to get a free 3 pack and a bottle from their 'adult' range that I'll be putting to good use next time I'm in Tesco!


 As some of you may know, I am awful at having breakfast! I can't have cereal every day as I know I'd get bored far too easily and some days I just can't face eating/cooking anything! I can't stand raisins so I'll be giving the bottom pot to Muj but I'll definitely be giving the plain pot a go! 


 I can't wait to try these two out, all I have to do is add mince and some vegetables and I've got a meal! I've got so many packets of pasta and jars of sauce in the cupboard that I really should use but these products from Organico will be getting used first!


 If you remember the last Degustabox I wrote about, I received some Maggi products that I absolutely loved. Anything to make cooking easier and more Alana friendly! These look like the could fall into the same category. I'm especially looking forward to trying the tagliatelle ones.


 My biggest vice, crispy and savoury snacks! Muj and I have already discussed covering the nachos in cheese and sauce and banging them in the oven so I can see that happening soon. I didn't know Tyrells did popcorn so that'll be a new on for me.


I've never tried any Chai products so I really have no idea what to expect when I try this out. It's chocolate flavour though so that's always a bonus! I love tea and I love lattes so I'm hoping that I'll enjoy them combined, we'll find out!

So overall, I am loving this month's box! I'll only be giving away one thing I don't like which is better than last month's box. Speaking of last months box, I received it when I had fallen out of love with blogging so I didn't write about it, if you're interested in what I got though, I'll gladly do a post about it, just let me know!


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