NEW! Natural soap - The Little Soap Company

I'm all about the natural me. I've been meaning to make my own soap (once again) when I have the time but certain circumstances mean that I have to put that on the back burner for now. So, I finished my Dr Bronner's Liquid Castille soap (really good, might review it another time), and was on the hunt for a soap that I could use in the meantime of me making a fresh batch of soap. So I obviously didn't wash during this soap-less time. I joke.

MySupermarket is my holy grail for grocery shopping, and I somehow stumbled upon this soap. What drew me to it was the fact that I was going to make a liquid soap of the SAME SCENT so it must be fate right? Only £3.50 in Tesco which is really reasonable for an organic bar of soap.



The Little Soap Company, dainty and quaint sounding, their website will give you a more of an insight into their mantra and ethics. Very promising a first glance.

It was packaged in cardboard(??) or some sort of evidently recycled material that pleased me, but didn't surprise me at all, due to it's eco nature. The smell beautifully radiated through the packaging and it was an instant hit - went straight in my basket. Needless to say, that I'm a sucker for all things natural.

Organic Lavender & Rosemary Bar Soap (110g): Pure Organic soap made with the finest natural ingredients and totally free from detergents, SLS, alcohol, parabens, sorbates, silicones, sulphates and preservatives.

I used it as soon as I got home, and strong notes of lavender and rosemary lathered well onto my skin and permeated my bathroom and further. If you're not a fan of strong scents then this isn;t for you. It feels like I'm having an aromatherapy session of some sort when using it, but sadly, I don't know if it's because my nose it too accustomed to the smell, the scent does not linger on the body. Regardless, I feel clean and relaxed due to the nature of the aforementioned essential oils.

Sidenote: I am trying my best to reduce my waste, which is quite difficult if you're someone like me that wears heavy makeup on a daily basis. Baby wipes and black soap are a thing of the past, so I'm using a homemade cleanser to remove the excess makeup. This however does not completely remove all and does not clean the face either. Face washes that I own are targeted for acne/working on my (beyond) problematic skin so I don't want to waste them on clearing makeup off my face. It was then when I decided to use this soap to clean my face as well.

I mean, it's all natural, right? The soap doesn't claim to be anything other than a natural soap and going by the ingredients, seems perfectly fine to use on my face. I am thoroughly surprised and imrpressed by how clean my face is feeling, and it could be a coincidence, but my acne scars are clearing up a lot quicker than usual too so that is a massive bonus too!

There is nothing to fault with this product, a no frills soap, cruelty free and natural so I would genuinely give it a 10/10/ In fact, I've just gone onto their website to see what else they have to offer and the reviews are conclusive with mine.

You can buy the soap and read reviews here:https://www.littlesoapcompany.co.uk/product/english-lavender-rosemary/

Ingredients: Organic Palm Oil (Sodium Palmate), Organic Coconut Oil (Sodium Cocoate), Water (Aqua), English Lavender Oil (Lavendula Angustifolia), English Rosemary Leaf Essential Oil (Rosmarinus Officinalis), Salt (Sodium Chloride), Citric Acid (Sodium Citrate) and naturally occurring within the Essential Oils, Linalool and Limonene.

Vegan Wagamama - VEGATSU

So I FINALLY had the time to go to the Noodle Lab here in London, which is an experimental branch of Wagamama, which, like the former suggests, displays a wide variety of classic and new dishes to try. In fact, the menu has lots of vegan and veggie meals available!

I already knew what I was ordering, the long awaited Vegatsu. My newly vegan colleague got the same, and my other colleague, got King CookDaily's collaboration with Wagamama - COOKMAMA. My non vegan colleague loved the CookMama (pictured above) and said it was filling, so filling that she took half of it home so I cannot wait to try that out too.

Service was fairly quick, but oh my, the serving size did not disappoint! I can literally eat for England, so when I say I was bursting at the seams after this, I am being deadly serious. I got some of their usual vegetable gyozas because I love them, and, like I said, I'm a hungry person.

Usually I find the "protein" part of the meal is overshadowed heavily by it's carb/veg counterparts, and the ratio is way off. However, this was most definitely not the case. In fact, I could say that there was more than enough of the seitan (the chicken alternative) to go round. Accompanied with a generous portion of white rice, slathered in their infamous curry sauce and a lovely, fresh side salad, my tastebuds are salivating as I'm typing this - it was delicious!

I rather simple dish when you think about it, all the elements worked so well together. I haven't had the chicken alternative to compare but I don't even care (rhyming level 100), it was like comfort food that you'd want to curl up onto the sofa having a quiet night in...I should've ordered another to take home. The only "negative" was that it was a bit salty...I think it was the curry sauce but I really don't mind considering I love anything savoury.

VEGATSU: £8-9, seitan coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs covered in an aromatic curry sauce with sticky white rice and a side salad 

Overall I'd give this a 9/10 just because the average person might have some reservations about the salt, but I liked it. Also, because the dish does contain seitan covered in panko breadcrums, it isn't for those with a gluten sensitivity (like me), or worse. Now, usually I can eat gluten once in a while like this meal, but with the stress of recent events and what not, the gluten has had a really bad effect on me, so will sadly not be having the meal anytime soon :( but hopefully, they see how many people love this dish, and will decide to make it a permanent dish at ALL Wagamama locations.

This is going to be a short post. I am obsessed with NAKD Bars and have been for the longest. I always stock up on them when they're reduced down to 50p in the supermarket (MySupermarket is literally the best thing ever for quick comparison, I'll probably do a post on it sometime).

                           

Anyways, back to the post, NAKD has recently come out with a new flavour in their bars (well, two if you count the Lemon Drizzle, but that's been out for a while and I'm not a fan of lemon so...*shrugs*), and the other one is "Blueberry Muffin". Now let me tell you, I'm not a fan of cakes but I used to LOVE blueberry muffins, and made healthy alternatives for breakfast all the time! 

What I love about this bar in particular, is that they've got actual bits of blueberries in them! They've got the flavour PERFECTLY. My absolute favourite was Bakewell Tart...was...it's a close 2nd now 

So, after all that I'd date it 10/10 for everything *off the buy a case load*

NEW! Tesco's vegan ready meal range!

So I spent the little bit of money I had left for the week and bought this purely because it was NEW and VEGAN. Vegan ready meals? Now that is something I can get on board with. 

It is from a new brand exclusively made for Tesco called Wicked Kitchen. At first glance I thought this is for those that have an extra few pennies to live the lavish life of buying gourmet ready meals. I do personally think that this isn't for the everyday, minimum or low income wage person to grab everyday, but nevertheless, a treat for the majority. Saying that, it is priced at the same price or a bit lower than Tesco's Finest ready meal range.

There was a plethora of dishes in the range available in my local Tesco (albeit a large Tesco Extra store), but was told by a colleague who informed me that she saw it in the small Tesco Express', which is quite mainstream - so that's good!

So, the dish I got was the Gunpowder Potato Chana Masala - I love me a good curry (if you see my Instagram, you know I'm not lying), so you could say I'm a curry connoisseur (I'm not). I was very scrupulous of the flavours but oh my goodness - the aroma that brushed past my nose was something else. 

Fragrant notes of saffron, curry leaves and cumin were plenty, so I was expecting a lot from the taste, which also didn't disappoint. The chickpea curry was flavoursome, the potato was seasoned well and the rice was lovely.

I'd genuinely give this a 9/10, I thought it could do with more sauce, but I just wish I had more as it was so lovely!

East meets West fusion - Mediterranean vegetables x Chickpea Tikka Masala curry

20mins / Serves 6

I live off homemade curries like 90% of the time as they're so easy to make! This recipe is even easier if you're having a lazy day, as all the vegetables are pre chopped too. The pre made Tikka Masala sauce is absolutely beautiful and is also gluten free! (Recipe for homemade tikka masala sauce coming soon.) This is lerfect for if you're hosting a dinner party too and you don't want lots of extra veg hanging around.

Ingredients: cost - £4.20 (All from Tesco)

Chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables (Contains aubergine, red pepper, yellow pepper and courgette) - £2
Free From Tikka Masala cooking sauce - £1.50
2 × can of washed and drained chickpeas

Additional:

1-2 onions (depending how you like them)
2 tbsp garlic mince or 2 garlic clovea
Seasoning to taste (I added about 1 tbsp of garam Masala, cumin, turmeric and hot curry powder. Also some mixed dried herbs)
Half a tin of coconut milk (optional, could add chopped tomatoes instead - I did 1/4 of both)

METHOD

Let the frozen veg defrost by about 25% prior to cooking.
Sauté the onions in a little oil or some water if you're oil free. Add the herbs and spices and fry for about 1min and add the chickpeas to the pan. Continue frying for a couple of minutes.
Add the vegetables. The vegetables to contain a little oil so it should assist in keeping the previous ingredients moist.
Cook until the vegetables are defrosted by about 80% and add the Tikka Masala sauce.
Simmer for 10mins before adding either some coconut milk or chopped tomato.
Leave to cool and serve how desired. I served mine with long grain rice.

Hope you enjoy!

Basic Banana Bread

Serves: 5 / Time: 10mins prep, 35-40mins cooking time

Banana bread is my favourite lazy day breakfast food. And by lazy day I mean Monday to Friday, working week where I do not have the time to make breakfast in the morning. Well, I just value my sleep more and I'm not that much of a breakfast fan. But I know I'll get hangry and have no energy an hour later so in my adult life thus far, I've made it a habit to eat breakfast. Adulting at its finest, eh?

Jibber jabber aside, when I make this, I slice it up and can either it cold or warm it up (the latter being my preference). I would wrap it up in foil to keep it warm,  and carry it to eat on the tube...during rush hour...lush. Now I tend to eat it whilst I'm doing my make up, and it's nod messy like cereal or a smoothie BUT...it's so filling!

Ingredients:

2 cups oat flour*
1 cup self raising flour*
3-4 large bananas
1 cup plant milk
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cinnamon (I add more cos I love it)
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp coconut oil (optional if oil free)

I use gluten free flour - I but gluten free oats and grind it to flour in the blender, so I always have some on tap. Gluten free AND vegan baking is different from the "norm" so keep checking the oven to make sure the mixture hasn't burnt/dried out.

METHOD:

Mix the flours and cinnamon sugar in a bowl together.
In a blender, mix the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
Transfer the wet ingredients to dry and combine until fully mixed.
Grease a bread tin or line it with baking paper.
Transfer the mixture to the tin, put a few banana slices on top to decorate and put in the oven for thirty minutes.
Check to see whether the mixtureis firm or not. Leave in the oven for ten minutes.

Once down, take it out on a cooling rack and serve anyway which you please.

Hope you enjoy!

♡ Peace n love ♡

Green Smoothie pt.1

Serving size: 1 large (meal), 2 small (snack) / Time: 5mins

So, this is one of my go to green smoothie recipes. I have a fair few variations so watch this space! I often have this on Saturday morning when I'm not in a rush to go anywhere, but I've left it too late to eat anything and therefore deliberating whether to eat lunch or breakfast. I guess that means brunch but yknow when you just can't be bothered to make something? And you want something quick to eat? But filling and nutritious? Yeh, this'll do it for ya!

Ingredients:

-Big handful of spinach


-Handful of kale
-1/3 of a mango or 80g frozen mango pieces
-1 banana
-250ml apple juice
-200ml water (or to your desired thickness)
-Half the juice of one lemon
-Tsp of spirulina
-Tsp chia seeds (optional)

Method:
Funnily enough, just whack into a blender (after you've washed all your fruits/veg ofc - click here to see how I wash mine thoroughly) and Bob's your uncle!

Hope you enjoy this refreshing smoothie!