Food Feast

This week has been the best week ever in terms of food. I've sampled some utter beauties- from elegant afternoon tea sandwiches, to big, meaty burgers!

One of the best things London has to offer is its amazing variety of different foods! So, this week (last weekend included) I set about to discover some hidden gems that London was hiding away...

On Saturday I headed, with my mum and sister in tow, to Chilango's in Angel- a Mexican 'fast food' restaurant with a twist! Tucked away in the vast array of card shops, boutiques and cafe's, Chilangos is, to the untrained eye, easily missed. However, once you walk in the door, there's no way you'd forget it in a hurry! The décor is fab- neon signs, wooden benches and brightly painted walls immediately give that Mexican feel, but the food- well, that is something else.

 

I chose to get a salad box and queued along the front to choose what to put inside- chicken, salsa, salad, guacamole, onion and a 'special' dressing- all freshly prepared that day and simply delicioso!

Not only that but we were given a complimentary lemonade (PROPER cloudy lemonade) and nachos with yet another pot of that gorgeous guacamole!

Sunday's are, in my mind, made for sleeping in late, catching up with missed TV and EATING! Me, my sister and my mum, who was down for the weekend, all agreed on such a belief and followed it to the T!

When we felt that we had slept quite enough, and had finished watching X Factor from the night before, we headed off to St Paul's in search of a cute little tea place for some tea, light sandwiches and the all important cakes!

We stumbled upon 'Café Concerto' which offered the best cakes and pastries along with soooo many sandwiches and other snacks! I chose a chicken, pesto and sun blushed tomato ciabatta with crisps, and a strawberry cheesecake for desert- YUM!

 

 

And when I got home my flatmates had made some cupcakes which they urged me to try! They were banana and honeycomb flavour with ice cream in the middle! What more could I have asked for?!

On Wednesday me and a friend on the search for a pizzeria came across Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) in Covent Garden and it was by farrrrrr the best place I've been to eat recently!
I got a Smokin' Joe burger- beef patty, tomatoes, aioli, pickles, onions and smoked cheddar cheese- with skinny fries all for 30% off- ahhhh the perks of being a student!

I probably don't need to eat for a week now as this week has truly been a food feast!

Is there any other hidden gems in London that you've come across and just can't wait to share? If so, please comment below- I can't wait to go and uncover some more!

How to do the 5:2

It’s the diet of the moment that allows you to eat whatever your heart desires (within reason) for 5 days of the week whilst loosing weight and becoming healthier! According to experts, doing the 5:2 diet could help you live longer as well! No wonder it’s the ‘it’ diet right now…

However, before you all get excited for this new wonder diet, there's one thing to consider first: the unbelievable difficulty you must endure on the two fasting days! I’ve been trying this diet this week, mainly because I wanted to see whether my will power is strong enough, and thought it my duty to report back on how I found it…

Today is my second, and last (YEY), fasting day of the week, and what a long day it has been! The one thing that is difficult about this diet is simply knowing what to eat that comes in at under 500 calories! So, I’ll talk you through what I had today…

Breakfast/ Lunch-

2 rice cakes at 29 calories each

10 blueberries at 8 calories

A spoonful of Sainsbury’s low fat natural yoghurt at 30 calories

 Snack-

1 McVities Chocolate Digestive at 89 calories

 Tea-

Innocent’s Mexican Chilli Veg pot at 324 calories (not only was this half price at £1.95, but it was realllly good too!)

 

= 509 calories

I then factored in all the walking I had done-uni, then to Covent Garden, the back to uni, then to Sainsbury’s and then back home- and came to the conclusion that I had burnt off those 9 calories (and probably quite a few more) to come in at under 500 calories for the day.

I plan on trying this diet out next week too and have found LOADS of meal plans online that I hope to try out, which will hopefully make these fasting days much easier to deal with!

 For example, ‘Woman Magazine’ has some great ones- http://www.womanmagazine.co.uk/food/500-calorie-meal-plans-52-diet/?pid=10014 …the chicken and cashew nut stir fry looking very tempting! Also, I tried out their pan-fried lemon chicken and couscous recipe on my other fasting day (Tuesday) and it was delish!

S, XOXO

Have you tried the 5:2 diet out? If so, do you have any recipe ideas that you think are great for the fasting days? Leave comments below!

My Monday Morning Moan

Now I know in my last post I said that I was a ‘glass half full’ kinda girl, but I do believe that a good moan is great for the soul…

Monday is the most hated day of the week, with people’s first moan of the day occurring within 10 minutes of them waking up on this most glorious of days- and that, my friends, is a fact.

So, what better way to start the week than letting it all out- all that anger and annoyance that has built up from the previous week, all those things niggling you about the week to come…

I believe that a good moan means we can start the week right- refreshed, ready and a whole lot more positive! So, without further ado, here comes my Monday moan…

1)    Uni work. Need I say more? It has well and truly dominated my weekend, leaving me not much time to go out and explore my new home! I missed going to my first car boot sale on Sunday because of it! So, cool antique hunting has had to have been rescheduled for next weekend…

2)    People who update their statuses on Facebook to things like ‘I’m sooooo annoyed right now’, then, when someone asks them why they respond with ‘It doesn’t matter bbz’, or ‘I’ll inbox you <3’. NO. Now we’re all intrigued to know why you’re annoyed! Do not attract our interest to then just go and disappoint us!

 

3)    People with awful grammer grammar! I mean, I can cope with the odd mistake, but what annoys me is people who make repeat mistakes with words such as ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’, people who use ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ e.g. ‘should of…’ Now, I’m not a grammar genius, and mine isn’t always perfect but I do try my best, and I definitely know- and apply- these most simple of grammar rules!

Phew.

I’ve got to say I feel a lot better now, and ready to take on the week ahead with a refreshed mind! ‘’Breathe out that negativity, breathe in that positivity; breathe out that negativity…’’

Do you want to get something off your chest? Do you agree with one of my Monday moans? If so then comment below!

Northern Girl in a London World

 

I’ve been a Londoner for officially a month now, and it’s been an experience to say the least! I’ve had my highs and my lows, tried things for the first time, and even some things for the last time…

Growing up in a very small village in the North of England, the bustling streets and hectic life of London living was, to put it mildly, quite a shock. I’ve only just become accustomed to the ‘walk quickly or be pushed to the side’ rule, only just perfected my ‘tube face’ (to be explained later) and also just realised that my Oyster card is as important as a limb- I can’t get anywhere without it without facing some real problems.

My first day alone in the big smoke holds both good and bad memories. Let us start with the bad: (best to get it over and done with, so I always say) I got lost. I know what you’re thinking ‘it’s a big city, you’re here for the first time, it’s understandable’ and yes, whilst those factors may be true, they don’t really apply to this particular occasion. As, I managed to get myself lost inside a tube station. The peculiar thing was that I got lost in trying to exit it, even with the numerous ‘way out’ signs. I apparently looked like the average Londoner, and so was followed by three (equally as lost) Chinese tourists. They followed me as I walked up and down the same flight of stairs THREE times, as I walked along the train platform TWICE, and as I slumped against the wall exasperated and flustered.

With tiredness looming, and the prospect of never seeing sunlight again I decided I simply had to pick myself up, dust myself down, and try once more. With my three new best friends in tow, I kept my eye on those ‘way out’ signs like my life depended on them and, miraculously, I somehow made it out. I felt the cooling breeze of the outside world, saw the glistening sun in the sky, and was hit by the smell of Chinese sweet and sour sauce. Freedom.

The annoyance that previously filled my body was completely forgotten about once I stepped foot onto the cobbles of my favourite street: Oxford Street of course! With my student loan safely tucked away in my bank, and my brain tuned in to my new mission, I strode away from the tube station and lost myself in a world of clothes, shoes and bags…

The countless hours I've spent, in this month alone, sat on various tubes has taught me more about people than the past 18 years of my life ever have. Not only do you see some real fashion disasters and, shall we say, 'odd' behaving people, but you also get the pleasure of observing everyone's 'tube face'. For non-tube passengers, a 'tube face' is that facial expression everyone adopts when their phone has run out of battery and they thus have no way of entertaining themselves. When you're sat directly across from a complete stranger, it is not really very appropriate to stare right at them so, instead, you plaster on your 'tube face'- the 'I might be physically here, but mentally I'm somewhere else' look, the expression where your eyes are glazed over, your mouth neither smiling nor frowning, and your head facing no way but straight in front. Yes, after a month I have managed to perfect such a face- no more awkward staring contests with the person opposite me now...

An aspect of London living I will never be doing again is asking for directions. Why? Because after following someone's 'reliable' directions, I ended up in Demark Hill- i.e. very far away from where I wanted to be- in the rain and the cold, with only my scarf and a thin Topshop jumper to protect me from the elements. Long story short, what should've been a 45 minute journey took me nearly 3 hours (no exaggeration).

But one good thing London has given me is Froyo! Frozen Yoghurt. Those two words alone can turn my bad day right back around! So, it's not all bad...

So, there's my first rant over and done with! I promise my posts won't always be like this- I really am a 'glass half full' kinda girl! Don't believe me? Well, make sure you read my next blog post to be proved wrong!

S, XOXO

 

I hope you enjoyed reading my first post, and are liking my blog! Any advice? - I'm a complete newbie so any is welcome!! Is there anything you love or loathe about London life? I'd love to hear about it so please comment below!