Yearly Archives: 2016

Healthier Baking with SugaVida

21st November 2016
I’m using the word healthier in place of healthy in the post title because I’m not sure that the cookies I’m sharing a recipe for would pass as a “health food”- they still contain real butter and white flour after all. I’m definitely not the kind of person to jump on any dietary bandwagons but I’m all for a bit of experimentation so when I was given the opportunity to test out the UK’s new “super sugar” SugaVida I jumped at the chance. Actually this was more for the benefit of my best friend’s Dad who has recently been told his blood sugar is higher than it should be- he’s been really careful with his diet but has been mourning the lack of my baked goods…I decided to put my thinking cap on and come up with a bake that he could enjoy but wouldn’t undo all of his hard work.

Before I get in to the recipe I’ll explain a bit more about SugaVida. It’s essentially an alternative to traditional sugar and also goes by the name of Palmyra Jaggery which is a crystallised, unrefined nectar. Because it has a low GI it is suitable for diabetics and can be used in place of sugar in hot drinks, baking and cooking. It’s also packed with other nutritional benefits- one teaspoon of SugaVida contains 36% of the RDA of vitamin B12 (in fact, SugaVida is the only plant-based source of B12 which is great news for veggies and vegans), 210% of the RDA of vitamin B6 and a whopping 500% of vitamin B1. What’s more, SugaVida is organic, ethically sourced and sustainable for the communities who farm it!

I decided to make cookies as my first experiment, a nutella type cookie in fact, although I used Jim Jams low sugar chocolate hazelnut spread to continue on the virtue front.
Ingredients:

100g Jim Jams chocolate hazelnut spread
100g unsalted butter, softened
175g SugaVida
1 egg
250g Self raising flour

You will need also need a baking tray lined with baking parchment

How To:
Heat the oven to 180c, 160c fan. Gas 4.

Place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter and SugaVida n a mixing bowl and beat well until smooth (an electric whisk helps).

Beat in the egg then beat in the flour to make a stiff dough.

Shape the dough into large walnut sized balls and place on a baking tray spaced a little apart. Flatten with a fork and bake for 15 mins until golden. allow to cool and store in a cake tin- they keep well, if you can resist them!

The SugaVida reminds me very much of a dark, muscavado sugar so adds a real caramel taste to the cookies. This combined with the chocolate hazelnut spread was a real winning combination and already a second lot has been requested. They are so quick and easy to make that I don’t mind and I’m hoping to experiment with some more low sugar bakes in the future so my bestie’s dad no longer needs to miss out!

SugaVida is available at major retailers now with an RRP of £6.49 for 250g. Yep, it’s pricey but if you’re baking for an occasional treat for someone who would otherwise miss out, or are planning on using it just to sweeten hot drinks then it’s not too bad.

Let me know any diabetes friendly baking recipes you may have in the comments, I know they’ll be appreciated!

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Posted in baking, food, review, snacking

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Gift Inspiration: Garden Collage

20th November 2016

Ok, so I feel I need to preface this post by saying I know that the company I’m featuring today are based in the USA and the majority of my readers are based in the UK but a) they ship internationally and b) the products that they sell are just too gorgeous and wish list worthy not to post about!

Allow me to introduce you to Garden Collage– a shop jam packed full of hand picked, beautiful and environmentally minded products. My first destination was of course the homewares department…this is how I know I’m getting old- I often bypass fashion and beauty and head straight for accessories for the home!

Once I pulled myself away from pages and pages of beautiful items I delved a little further in to the online store and had a good rummage around the gifts for the garden (another strange love of mine given that I have no garden) and have popped together a little gift guide/wish list to suit all tastes and budgets.

Is there anything on this list that has caught your eye? I’m really, REALLY taken with the copper tea infuser and the moroccan style basket- oh and the gnome crayons as well, too cute!

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Posted in christmas, gifts, inspiration, shopping, wish list

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Hot Iron Holster review and giveaway

18th November 2016
I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and admit I’m not the tidiest of people- clean yes, but tidy not by a long shot! My bedroom is probably best described as an assault course and since having my hair restyled this has become even worse (and more dangerous) as I now use both a straightener and curling wand each morning then leave them lying around to cool- and trip over, and burn myself on.

Thankfully I was recently contacted by packing sorted who must have some kind of psychic insight about the state of my floor because they offered to send over one of their products, the Holster Products Hot Iron Holster*.

The Hot Iron Holster is a heat resistant (up to 260 degrees celsius) silicon holster designed to safely store your hair straighteners, curling wands and other styling tools whilst heating up, being used and whilst cooling down. You can pretty much use this anywhere as it grips on to any smooth surface. It’s been an absolute saviour in my bedroom and would also be a perfect travel companion as it folds up small and is easily fixed to and removed from surfaces.

The Hot Iron Holster costs £18.99 from www.packingsorted.co.uk and comes in a choice of four colours- pink, white, black and purple.

As well as sending me a Hot Iron Holster to review I’ve also been given a second one to giveaway to one lucky reader. If you fancy getting yourself a bit more organised, not to mention safer then just follow the simple steps below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This really is a great product and would also make an ideal Christmas present for anyone who uses styling tools on a regular basis!

Good luck, this giveaway is open to UK readers and upon closing I will contact the winner and pass their delivery details on to the PR who will send out the prize.

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Posted in christmas, gifts, giveaway, review

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Ground Control to Major Dave- grab 15% off of your Wedgie order now!

17th November 2016
It’s the season of giving and this evening I’m re-visiting one of my first gift guides of the year and reminding you all how awesome Meet the Wedgies are.

I was beyond excited when I saw the news of a new character launching on the Wedgie site…yep, my musical hero David Bowie has inspired a door stop (didn’t see that one coming eh?!)

Introducing Major Dave! I cannot wait for him to come and live with me! I can’t get over the little biographies that come with each Wedgie character, Major Dave is described as follows…

“Meet Major Dave (seen here wearing his 1st outfit): Recently picked for the preliminary stages of a T.V talent contest, Dave has decided to take his cover act career full time. With a pocket full of protein pills and his helmet on, he’s hitting the road. Oh, but hang on a minute, what about his doorstop duties, errm … “ground control to Major Dave?” #ziggystardust.”

As I mentioned in my original post about Wedgie these really do make for the most fantastic, and unique Christmas gifts for those hard to buy for people in your life and if you’re looking to make a purchase then now is the perfect time to do it! Between NOW and the end of this month you can get 15% off of your Wedgie purchase when you use my code DREAMWEDGIE at the checkout!

Are there any characters that you’d like to see captured in Wedgie form? Leave your ideas below and let me know who you’re bringing home for Christmas…

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Posted in brands I love, christmas, gifts, shopping

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Gift Inspiration: Luxury Skincare from SkinChemists (and a hefty discount!)

17th November 2016
As I have mentioned in previous posts skincare is still a bit of an un-explored area both in terms of blogging and in real life. It’s taken me a good 29 years to truly embrace taking care of my skin and this year in particular I have had the pleasure of trying out all manner of products. None so luxurious as the ones I bring you in today’s post though- SkinChemists recently sent me over a few products from their Advanced Caviar range to try out and whilst each of these products retails at between £82 and £85 each if you stick with me and read on you’ll find out how to claim a whopping 70% discount between now and the end of the year.
At first I wasn’t overly enamoured with the idea of caviar in my skincare, I had a vision of lumpy fish eggs in my mind that I couldn’t shake. However, reassured that this wasn’t what would turn up having read the science behind the product I decided to put my fears to one side and give it a shot!

Caviar is actually a highly nutritious marine complex that contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids which both balance and brighten the appearance of the skin whilst protecting against harmful UVA and UVB rays. Packed full of vitamins and minerals caviar saturates your skin with goodness and boosts collagen production to firm and smooth the skin.

So, lets see how I fared…

First up is the Advanced Caviar Hand Mosituriser* (£82). The hands are one of the first parts of your body to show signs of ageing and mine were far from being in tip-top condition due to the cold weather and general neglect. This hand cream contains caviar extract (of course) as well as seaweed extract and coconut oil. It smells incredible, that’s the first thing to note. It’s a gentle scent, fresh and for want of a better word…posh. This has worked absolute wonders on my cold, dry and chapped hands and I’ve been using it every night before bed without fail. It’s pretty much a miracle worker- which I suppose you’d expect from a hand cream costing £82- I almost didn’t want to love it just because it’s so far out of my normal price range I won’t be able to replace it indefinitely!
The Advanced Caviar Duo Moisturiser (£84) is a blend of caviar extract, neroli oil and seabuckthorn fruit oil and claims to provide natural nutrition and protection for your skin whilst leaving it revived and hydrated.

I often find at this time of year my skin becomes quite tight feeling from central healing and since I’ve been using this moisturiser twice daily since it arrived that has lessened. Again it’s a wonderful smelling product and I would say my skin is definitely looking brighter from it- not an easy achievement for me at this time of year. I’ve been struggling a lot with random blemishes lately as well which have been getting me down but since using this (and it could of course be coincidence but I choose to think not) they are finally clearing up!

Finally we have the Advanced Caviar Facial Serum (£85). Again this of course contains caviar extract along with seaweed extract and aloe vera to boost, hydrate and smooth the skin. Out of the three products this is probably my favourite. There is something so luxurious about skincare serums and with it’s fresh, light scent this makes me think of being in a salon when I use it. I’ve been using this as part of my night time skin care regime (oh yeah, I actually have one now!) and I’ve noticed a definite reduction in the fine lines around my eyes as well as my skin generally feeling a lot clearer and less irritated by the cold air and central heating.
As I mentioned above, I really didn’t want to love these products purely because of the price but I am so glad I got to try them as they have made such a difference. It’s made me realise that some things are 100% worth splurging on as I haven’t found any other product that makes such a visible difference to my skin and that in turn gives me a much needed confidence boost.

If you’re itching to try these or to treat someone special to a real skin care treat for Christmas (imagine your mum’s face as she unwraps one of these luxe tubes!) then you can a HUGE 70% off of the Advanced Caviar products (note, it’s only the advanced caviar products, not the wild caviar) by entering the code CAVBLOG1 between now and the end of the year. This makes the products closer to the £20 mark so now is definitely the time to buy!

Let me know if you do make a purchase and what you think. Also feel free to leave your skincare recommendations in the comments.

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Posted in beauty, christmas, gifts, shopping, skincare

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