Tag: food

A few days in Edinburgh

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Hey Everyone, I hope your day been well.

This will be a fairly lengthy post sharing my short but sweet trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. So to start from the beginning my friend and I decided we’d take a little trip away just to have a break from the everyday normality. Edinburgh was a great destination because we were based in the city with lots of attractions to keep us busy for the 3 nights we were there. I’ve shared some of my favourite places we visited below.

Day 1 was all about getting familiar with the surroundings and figuring out were everything was. It was a short flight so I wasn’t really tired, more excited to explore the surroundings. We went to the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions.

Day 2 we went to the Edinburgh Castle which was such an amazing and historical building with so much to learn. We visited the Talbot Rice Gallery which was very interactive with lots to do and get involved in. There was also the Scottish National Gallery which housed a lot of art work, not really my thing but still interesting to see.

Day 3 was probably my favourite, we took a lovely long walk through Calton Hill, it was such a beautiful park and the views from the top were breathtaking. There were many historical figures throughout the park and many people taking pictures. I managed to get on the top of this stone building and get my picture. We also went to Chocolatarium Edinburgh which was a lot of fun and we had such an enthusiastic tour guide. We also went to a few of the Scottish gift stores, and I picked up some Scottish whisky salt, a fridge magnet (of course) and some shortbread.

Day 4 we had to check out at 12pm and catch the flight for 3.35 so you can imagine not much time to do too much but breakfast at Black Medicine Coffee and a short stroke down the road was just enough to get back, pack everything and leave out on time to get to the airport.

Waiting for the plane is what make me the most nervous, the arrival flight was pretty smooth and I barely noticed or felt a thing except for a mild block of my eardrums. Departing to go home was a bit delayed, but there is something so peaceful about being up so high in the clouds.

Overall it was a great trip, lots of things to do and see and very welcoming people. We stayed pretty close in the city and walked everywhere some days up to 18,000 steps. If I ever visit again I’ll probably explore more of the outer areas.

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Tips to reduce bloating

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Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well.

I was reading an article on Get The Gloss and I thought I would share as it was quite interesting. Generally I think most people know that some foods can cause bloating but it is also great to know the reasons behind it. To start from the beginning the main 3 things that cause bloating are: digestive muscles are more tense, eating foods that are hard to digest and gut microbes don’t work properly.

Common foods which can cause bloating:

  • mushrooms
  • garlic
  • onions
  • apples
  • beans, lentils, pulses
  • nuts
  • artichokes
  • soy foods
  • cauliflower
  • brocolli
  • kale cabbage

The above foods can cause bloating because they are short chain carbohydrates that pass straight through to the colon where they are fermented by gut bacteria, producing belly discomfort and gas.

I’ve shared my top favourite tips below:

  1. Soak your beans overnight
  2. Choose lighter lentils
  3. Opt for gluten free pasta
  4. Eat cooked vegetables rather than raw
  5. Cook from scratch

If bloating is an issue for you, I would really recommend reading the whole article (linked below) for a deeper understanding and more knowledge on how you could make changes in your food choices. Eating healthier foods and/or more vegetables and pulses doesn’t have to cause discomfort.

Link to the original article: https://www.getthegloss.com/article/how-to-combat-plant-based-bloating?utm_source=Get+the+Gloss+weekly&utm_campaign=0d41b4f13e-Monday+14th+March+2022&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e28c38ed98-0d41b4f13e-88040317&mc_cid=0d41b4f13e&mc_eid=752c056067

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Pork Mince with Fusilli Pasta

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Hey Everyone, I hope you are all well.

So this pork mince was actually left over from the gyozas I previously made and I think adding it to a pasta dish was the easiest thing I could do without compromising the ingredients and flavours it was already mixed with. It was a really nice meal for dinner and I even had some leftover for lunch the next day.

I’ve kept the recipe super simple to allow you to be as creative as you want depending on what seasonings and spices you’d like to eat. I also added some crushed walnuts, pumpkin seeds and grated cheese for a lovely topping.

Recipe: Pork mince with fusilli pasta (serves 3/4)

Ingredients
1 tsp oil

200g pork mince seasoned

1 tsp tomato puree

250ml pasta sauce

150ml chicken stock

3 portions fusilli pasta

50g sweetcorn

Topping: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cheese

Method

  • Heat the oil in the pan add the seasoned pork mince once hot and cook until it is no longer pink.
  • Mix in the tomato puree, pasta sauce and chicken stock then leave on a gentle simmer for 20 minutes until the pork is fully cooked.
  • Next cook the pasta and sweetcorn, drain and set aside.
  • Add the pasta to the mince pork mix and stir well, leaving on a low heat for 3 minutes.
  • Serve once done.

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Homemade Buttermilk Naan Bread

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Hello Everyone, I hope you have a great day.

So I had some leftover buttermilk that I didn’t want to waste and I thought what could I make with roughly 150ml that would take too long. First thing that came to mind was naan bread and here is the recipe. It is soft and chewy making it the perfect addition to any meal.

They are soft, super light and just so delicious. There is something about buttermilk that really comes through in the flavour, perfect for dipping and eating with. I also love adding the oil to the mixture because it makes cooking them in the pan so much easier.

Recipe: Homemade buttermilk naan bread (makes 5)

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour

1/3 tsp salt

1/4 tsp caster sugar

150ml buttermilk

30ml oil

*optional melted butter for brushing

Method

  • Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
  • Stir in the buttermilk and oil using your hands to form a soft and smooth dough.
  • Knead the dough for 5 minutes and leave to rest for 30 minutes in a bowl covered.
  • Heat a pan on a medium heat, divide the dough into 5 equal balls and role out each one to form a naan bread shape, roughly 0.3cm thick.
  • Carefully cook in the pan for 30 seconds on one side then turn over and cook for another 30 seconds. Turn over again turning the heat down and cook for a final minute.
  • The naan bread should be fully cooked with brown spots, repeat until all are done.
  • Place on a plate covered with a bowl to keep them warm until ready to eat.
  • Optional to brush with melted butter before serving.

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Prawn and Lentil Stuffed Pitta Bread

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Hey Everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog today.

So believe it or not, this meal was actually freshly made, even though it looks very similar to a previous post (Quinoa and Lentil Salad). However this time I didn’t add any quinoa and used it as a pescatarian filling for some pitta breads.

You could easily not add the prawns and it would still be a delicious vegetarian filling idea. It was pretty simple to make (even after a days work) because many of the components don’t require that much preparation or cooking.

This recipe kind of gives me dal vibes which I believe is a type of Indian cuisine however my lentil mixture doesn’t contain as much liquid and it was more of a thick texture. This was super delicious, mildly spiced with a mixture of paprika, chilli powder, garlic powder and salt, and makes for the perfect filling.

Again, this is another recipe where I haven’t included amounts so it gives you the freedom to follow packet instructions especially with the lentils or depending on how much you want to make, also with the turmeric and chilli powder a little sprinkle goes a long way.

Ingredients
Quinoa
Red lentils
Vegetable stock
Turmeric
Chill powder
Pumpkin seeds, toasted
Kale
Spring onion, finely sliced
Desiccated coconut
Sweetcorn
Oil for frying
Prawns (sprinkle with paprika, garlic powder, salt)
x2 pitta bread

Method

1. Cook the quinoa and lentils adding the stock, turmeric and chilli powder to the pot.

2. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, then also cook the kale for a couple of minutes in the same dry pan and set aside in a bowl. Add the spring onion and coconut to the bowl.

3. Just before the quinoa and lentils are cooked, mix in the sweetcorn. Drain off any liquid.

4. Gently fry the seasoned prawns for a few minutes then mix into the lentils and corn along with the other ingredients in the bowl.

5. Lastly, toasted the pitta for max sixty seconds, just to heat them up and stuff them with the delicious prawn and lentil filling and serve.

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