Month: June 2015

Summer has finally arrived!!

/ Lisy / Leave a comment

YAY!! At last summer is here in the UK! Its warming up nicely so I can finally get my nice and floaty wardrobe pieces out and I’ve been on the look out for a few new things.

I love this.. from theoutnet.com – I’m always after a bargain! Even though at £468, reduced from £1040, it is still somewhat out my price range & a bit yellow – which just doesnt suit me – it is the sort of thing I am looking out for.

Hopefully this little heatwave continues a little longer so I can enjoy the sun by the sea or at least outside instead of being stuck in the office…especially as there is no air con!! Even more reason to keep my wardrobe nice & floaty!!

So perhaps this from Dorothy Perkins at a much more reasonable £40 will work well..especially as DP usually have an offer on every once in a while.

Similarly, this tropical number from Wallis just screams summer to me! As a massive Wallis wear lover I think I will have to add this to basket on my next order!

So fingers crossed this lovely weather continues and I will treat myself to a new maxi dress…Shopping and sun really does improve your mood!

Freekeh Tabbouleh Twist

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Bored of the same post-work dinners I decided to make something new with something I had never tried before. 

Having seen Merchant Gourmets ready to eat Freekeh on offer on Ocado and having heard it apparently wins hands down over the likes of quinoa and other grains for being high in fibre and protein as well as being low fat, I had to give it a try. 

Freekeh is a green wheat that is harvested young which gives it a smoky, almost nutty flavour. 

This ready to eat version is perfect for those who don’t have much time to make a decent, nutritional and filling meal.  It can be eaten cold straight out the packet, or heated on the hob or whizzed in the microwave in just over a minute. 

I decided to use it as a replacement for bulgar wheat in a tabbouleh like dish.

In a bowl I mixed in four chopped tomatoes (fresh off the vine they smelt beautiful) with one larger sized banana shallot. I then added one chopped mini red pepper and one spring onion, these were rogue remains left in the fridge. To this I added some freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and a tiny sprinkling of salt before adding in a bunch of chopped parsley and mint. Finally, I added the freekeh and gave it a good stir. 

I served the lovely mixture on a bed of spinach for extra added goodness. And this is how it turned out… 

 

It was simple and delicious and took no more than 15 minutes to do.  Perfect for sorting the nights dinner and tomorrow’s lunch in one go, I would recommend it to all unless you are following a gluten free diet. 

It would also be perfect accompanied with chicken or fish, which I will probably do next time. 

It didn’t happen…foiled again.

/ Lisy / Leave a comment

My last post was August 2014, this is truly awful.

That last post was about getting better, sadly this isn’t what happened at all. My getting better plan was foiled. Again!

Well things did improve for about two weeks, and then it all went down hill. My health deteriorated quite a bit and finally the doctors seem to know what is going on. My treatment plan isn’t in full swing yet, but now I know what I’m dealing with I’m determined to pick myself up, do my best and not get down with everything that’s going on.

I have been lucky enough to have a couple of lovely holidays taking me away from all the stresses of work and day to day life and this change of scenery has helped me mentally and physically.

Even just a night away or day out has left me feeling a bit more optimistic about things.

I absolutely need to do something about work though.  It is crazy, beyond crazy.  Every single day there is some drama which has been and is quite draining. Especially when my boss isn’t exactly being supportive and isn’t listening to me or anyone and hoping the bad stuff goes away.

DON’T MIND ME TRYING TO HELP YOU AND YOUR COMPANY…..

Not that I would get any praise for it and not that I even expect to (because I don’t do sales – the boss only praises them) but it’s just I do feel responsible for the company. My boss even says its my ‘baby’ as much as his. It has done well, but I feel it is at a sticking point at the minute and my ‘present thinking’ boss can’t (still) get his head around things that need to be done for the future…no matter what I try to tell him.

But that’s enough of a rant. These posts are meant to be about things I love and being positive so I will stick with that.  Although the odd rant here and there, getting stresses out can help lead me to be positive…right?