Thursday 29 September 2016

Thursday 29th September 2016

Woke up to a heavy downpour and after the usual morning 'waking up' activities (shower, teeth, hair etc. etc) I headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on and saw that the garden looked like a tornado had hit it!!!! My little green plastic garden house was flown across the garden, its contents absolutely everywhere (parsley, coriander, basil, rocket and fennel :( along with the garden chairs and parasol!  So of course that was my first chore of the day.

Finally managing to get back into the house without the door slamming me and the walls, I put the kettle on and started to make my porridge.



This morning I headed out to Cambridge for a spot of shopping with friends and got back at 12.30pm in time to eat my very tasty sushi lunch, courtesy of Wasabi in Cambridge and then get to work baking for an order later today.



As I sit now and catchup with my blog and emails and general admin, I can smell the sweet delicious aromas coming from the kitchen and know that the 'Coffee and Walnut' cake and the 3 tier 'Chocolate and Strawberry' cake will come out wonderfully ready for cooling and then decorating all before 5pm pickup!  Now enjoy a cup of lemon and ginger tea whilst my mind is buzzing to get all my thoughts and ideas down on paper (well laptop) so until soon I will leave you with todays thought for today.



THOUGHT FOR TODAY



Wednesday 28 September 2016

Wednesday 28th September 2016 ~ Future Business Planning

The sun is shining, the temperature is pleasant, I'm warm and fed, what's there not to be happy about?

Setting your intention for the day and getting into the right positive mindset certainly helps to get you through the day in the right mood, feeling energised, powerful, excited, motivated to get on and do whatever you want to do.  Days like this make you know that anything can be achieved and to never give up.

For me, the morning started early to get some food/cake orders out and now catching up on some admin, emails and future planning.

So much is going on (which I will share with you the exciting news in due course so keep tuned in) however in order to make things happens, behind the scenes, a lot of planning needs to take place as well as research, connecting to the right people (after finding them or luckily at times them simply showing up where you don't expect them!) and simply ensuring that all areas are covered.

Being a very organised person and in a previous life having had many years of being a Project Manager, I love having the skills to work on all the activities that need to take place behind the scene and it's nice to know to utilise your key skills and seek help from other professionals for the skills that you don't perhaps have!  This week I have been lucky to find a few of those people who can benefit the growth of my future business plans and I can't wait to get things going.

Today, however, I am meeting with friends and heading to Milton Keynes for a spot of Ikea shopping and then lunch before heading back to cook and bake and work on my exciting business plans some more.

This morning, I enjoyed a delicious porridge with fresh bananas and blueberries.



Don't know what lunch will bring and dinner will see me enjoy the rest of my pasta bake that I made from yesterday with some salad......see planning ahead has its benefits right?

Yesterday evening I also made some of my delicious Raw Energy Balls in 2 flavours:  Coffee and Walnut and Chocolate and Orange........delicious and I will be taking them with me to enjoy with friends on our journey today.



Sometimes I like to leave you with a thought.......I have a lovely calendar which has inspirational thoughts for today for each day and I loved todays thought.  This got me thinking in so much as how true the saying is and we all need to watch the company we keep and the conversations we get wrapped up.  I know sometimes 'gossiping' can be fun but be aware the direction it goes on and when it starts heading in the direction of another person...............definitely 'FOOD FOR THOUGHT'........

"When you agree with people who gossip, you will be the next one they slander"!

So on that note, have a lovely day and until soon 'be good and be healthy'! :)






Tuesday 27 September 2016

Tuesday 27th September 2016

"Time flies when you are having fun" - I hear this statement all the time and having just sat down for the first time today, I realise what this statement means to me.


This phrase sums it up for me.  By doing what you love, sooner or later, you will get what you want in terms of attracting the right people, the right situations, the right thoughts, decisions and ideas etc. to enable you to continue doing what you love.  And of course when you are working on what you 'love', it becomes fun, no longer a chore!  This 'aha' moment came to me quite clear today whilst making future plans more in the direction of what I love to do 'creating, people, fun, passion, enthusiasm' and so much more.

Do you ever feel like that?  Suddenly whilst doing something you feel a euphoric moment embracing you, showing you that you are on the right path?  I would love to hear from you on this and your experiences!  I find sharing experiences and ideas is so wonderful because not only can you connect with people from all walks of life on this level, you can also learn from each other and have 'aha' moments where you never even new that idea existed!  Very clever and exciting right?

Ok so for now, enough philosophising :)

As mentioned today, it has been a morning of meetings and engaging and exploring fresh new ideas and planning for the future.  However in the background this meant that planning to ensure there was food in the kitchen was key.

Having woken early this morning to ensure I was prepared for my wonderful day ahead, I also planned my food and prepared a delicious quick and easy veggie pasta dish which, as soon as I got home, I put in the oven for 30 minutes, whilst I got settled into my home office and checked emails etc, and before I knew it, my lunch was ready!  Happy Days.


Lunch - Veggie Pasta Bake (GF & Vegan)
Serves 2
1 cup gluten free rice and spinach pasta (boil until tender - 10 minutes)
1/2 cup of brown lentils (boil for 20 mins) **100g of lentils gives you 9g PROTEIN **
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of peas & sweetcorn combined
1/2 cup of carrots sliced small
1/2 cup of celery sliced small
1/2 cup of mix peppers sliced small
1/2 cup broccoli (including stems)

White sauce (made from 4 tbsp gluten free flour, 3 tbsp sunflower oil, 8-10 tbsp soya/almond milk, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs, 2 tbsp fresh parsley (or dried) 1/4 tsp turmeric.

In a saucepan, saute all the veggies in 1 tbsp of sunflower oil for about 10 minutes on medium heat.  Add in the chopped tomatoes and mix for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile make your white sauce in another saucepan by first adding the oil until warm, add flour until mixture comes together. Add milk until the mix becomes a smooth creamy sauce (not too thick, not to thin) and then add the herbs and spices.

Mix the white sauce into the veggies and then add the pasta.  You can add some cheese on top if you like.  I added some Violife grated cheese which melts quite well.

Put the mix into an oven proof dish and bake on 180C for 30 minutes.  Alternatively you can cover and save to cook later.


This recipe serves 2.  Enjoy with salad.  Share with a friend, family member of save for later - that's dinner taken care of :)


http://virtuosofoods.co.uk/recipes/



Monday 26 September 2016

Monday 26th September 2016

Hello everyone,

Well its been a good few months since my last post.

I don't really have an excuse in so much as to say that 'life' just got in the way, figuring out where life was guiding me and in which direction and whilst getting caught up in this 'Game called Life', I decided that 'Blogging' and holding myself accountable for what goes on in my life and what I can truly offer my readers, I decided to re-start my 2016 Food and Mood blog, so here goes....

However if you are on Facebook and Instagram, you will have seen I have been quite active in promoting my business as well as sharing with you some useful 'hints and tips' as well as some delicious healthy recipes for you to try at home....so all was not lost over the past few months.

Over the past few months, since my absence from being here online and connecting with you all, I have been some what busy in trying to identify what I wanted to do with my life.  Although all is not that clear, with a foggy haze, I have ideas in mind and plans in progress of where I feel my future should be heading.  So keep tuned in as when these plans take off, exciting times are ahead!

Today is Monday and as is most common in todays society, it is a great day to start again and make a fresh start.

I woke early and after completing some household chores and catching up with some emails, I had breakfast.  Breakfast consisted of porridge surrounded with delicious fresh and in season Figs and Blueberries.  Figs are now in season and with it being one of my favourite fruits and of course having many health benefits of which one being helping to keep you 'regular' what's not to love!


After breakfast I got ready and headed out.  Although the weather was a little dull, and as soon as I stepped out, I was showered with a few droplets of rain, I ventured out, undeterred by what the weather could have in store.  I headed out towards the River as I felt I needed its calmness and sanctuary...(and the company of the ducks whom are plentiful)!




Returning from my walk, although I was dressed quite warm as the weather has taken a cold turn (14C when I headed out this morning) I felt a chill and throughout the day, nothing I did quite managed to warm me up (from shopping to cooking, to laundry & ironing, to sitting and catching up on calls and emails) until finally I put the heating on in my office and made a delicious cup of warming hot chocolate.


Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free)
~ Serves 2
2 cups of soya milk (you can use almond, coconut or milk of your choice)
4 tsp raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Sugar to taste (I used 2 tbsp of coconut sugar). 
Put all the ingredients in a pan and gently bring to the boil.

This delicious healthy alternative to hot chocolate and the heating finally kicked in and now I can say that I am feeling warm, flushed, turned heating down, taken my jacket off and hair up am able to focus on more important tasks to hand......down to Business!

There is lots going on in my world at the moment and sometimes, although it doesn't feel as though things are moving fast enough for me, they are moving in the right direction.  I will share more with you on this soon so keep tuned in.  So with this in mind, I bid you a good afternoon, until soon......