Wednesday 29 February 2012

What's Made Me Happy This Week..


A collection of things that have made me a very happy little monkey.
  • I have been eating so well (lots of recipes for you coming up) lots of low fat but really tasty food. I've managed to resist so many tempting meals and snacks and have been cooking all my food from scratch. I was thinking about doing a 'week in food' next week, let me know if you'd like to see that
  • As well as eating healthy I've been exercising and don't get me wrong I've exercised before I'm not totally lazy but I've just never been consistent in my routine and let it all stop after the first few times but lately I've been running at my local beach and I started Zumba tonight. I've exercised for 4 consecutive days in a row and I just hope I can keep it up.
  • I GOT INVITED TO AN EVENT! The lovely Laura mentioned the possibility of an event a few weeks ago but today it was confirmed that I'll be going to the Inglot event in Aberdeen next Friday. Very exciting and will be so good to meet other bloggers from where I live. I'll blog all about it after I've been with lots of photos and no doubt a haul of some of the things I buy. Now I've just got to figure out what to wear...
  • My mum came to visit me on Friday. I'd missed her and hadn't seen her since my Grannys funeral two weeks ago so it was nice to see her on happier terms. She's like my best friend and we speak on the phone all the time but obviously moving away for college means I don't get to see her as often as I'd like. She gave me some very meaningful jewellery that belonged to my granny and we had a good chat.
  • My iphone that I had a drunken incident with (I spewed all over it and it was already cracked) that stopped working in November randomly starting working again. I'm just using it for the ipod now because I bought a new phone and it's smashed so bad but it's handy to have another ipod incase my phone runs out of battery.
  • Summer is coming which means all the beautiful summer clothes are hitting the shops
  • Every day is a day closer to my HOLIDAY I can't wait for the sun
  • My mum bought me new exercise clothes and I'm in love they are so comfortable and easy to wear and not to mention two of them are pink, one is purple and another blue. Colourful and pretty work out clothing is such a motivator. I'll blog about them as part of my fitness series.
  • I reached 100 followers on Twitter
  • I'm off tomorrow and I get paid!
So as you can see I've had lots of things to feel happy about lately. What is making you happy just now?

Carmen xx

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Healthy Prawn, Vegetables and Rice Dish

It looks tastier in real life honestly..

so today my boyfriend did that really annoying thing where he wanted a Dominos knowing full well how much I love them but that I'm also on a quest to eat healthier and lose weight so for the first time ever I TURNED IT DOWN! that might not seem a big deal to some of you but it felt so good.
I was really tired and couldn't be bothered taking ages to make something but obviously wanted something low in calories and healthy. You can make this so much healthier and better for you but I had to work with what I had.
So I through this together and it tasted so good! You can completely alter this for you're personal preferences but I'll tell you what I did.

SERVES 2.

What You Will Need
Rice (any kind, I used Basmati because it was all I had)
Vegetables (I used a Morrisons mushroom stirfry kit)
Prawns (My prawns where cooked already so took less time to make. you could use chicken or beef)
Sauce of your choice (I used sweet chilli)
1 teaspoon of Oil
Pot
Frying pan

It's really simple so here goes:
  1. Pour the rice into a pot of boiling water (for around 12 minutes)
  2. Wait around 7 minutes and then add the oil to the frying pan
  3. Pour the vegetables you want in to the pan
  4. Let them cook constantly stirring for around 3 minutes
  5. Add a little of the sweet chilli sauce
  6. Whilst doing this you should be checking on your rice
  7. Once the water has pretty much disappeared but has a little bit pour it in to the frying pan
  8. Stir the rice, vegetable and sauce together
  9. Add the prawns and stir in some more sauce
  10. Let it cook for another minute
  11. Serve and enjoy! 
Total Calories = 366 per person (Not bad for a really filling main meal eh?)


What are your favourite quick and healthy recipes? Would you like to see more recipes?
If you try this let me know!

Carmen xx

Saturday 18 February 2012

The Help - Book Review


The Help - Kathryn Stockett


Cover
I have the cover from the film so it's nice but I usually love the covers that were brought out before it was released as a film but I couldn't find it. A cover isn't that important but I do think it's nice to have an appealing cover its usually what attracts you to the book in the first place.
Why did I choose this book
This book is so hyped up I had to get it and I really wanted to see the film (I still haven't got round to seeing it yet) and I like to read the book before I see a film.
Description
Jackson, Mississippi, 1962 Aibileen is a black maid: smart, regal, and raising her seventeenth white child. Yet something shifted inside Aibileen the day her own son died while his bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is by some way the sassiest woman in Mississippi. But even her extraordinary cooking won’t protect Minny from the consequences of her tongue. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter returns home with a degree and a head full of hope, but her mother will not be happy until there’s a ring on her finger. Seeking solace with Constantine, the beloved maid who raised her, Skeeter finds she has gone. But why will no one tell her where? Seemingly as different as can be, Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny’s lives converge over a clandestine project that will not only put them all at risk but also change the town of Jackson for ever. But why? And for what? (taken from Amazon)
Thoughts
I loved this book! Plain and simple. Although I (obviously) wasn't around during this time I feel like its a really accurate potrayal of the stereotypes, violence and segregation that existed. Everytime I thought I knew what was going to happen I was shocked again and was kept guessing all the way through the book. I was very emotional through out this book and some of the things that are described are hard hitting and really make you think what kind of world we live in but there is also humour within The Help as well. It was one of those books that when you realise you're getting near the end you try you're hardest to slow down because you don't want to finish it but also you can't put it down because you need to know what happens. I don't want to give anything away but I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the civil rights movement or anyone that wants a book that will stay with them for ages.
Rating 
*****


Rough guide of the ratings
* really did not enjoy this book
** wouldn't recommend it
*** had some good moments
**** would recommend it to a friend
***** loved it