Big Fat Liar

I am sorry... I lied.

Back in 2018, I decided to get back to blogging. I have never been more wrong haha. As I noted in that post, I went into teaching a week after that, and since then, I have never been busier (or happier!). I have so many hilarious stories from the classroom that I will save until I retire, but for now, here's an update. 

I'll be honest... part of the reason I didn't update my blog is because of the huge spiel I made about healthy eating, getting back down to a size 10/12 and losing the 7kg. I have done none of the above. However, I have made a big change in the past 8 months... which, done properly, could help me achieve this goal. 

Back in July 2019, I decided to go vegan. I had been toying with the idea for years and tried when I was about 14 and lasted two weeks. I like cheese so much, that I thought it was going to be impossible. However, when my family came home from Dubai, I decided to give it a go. Just for the summer whilst they were here (easy, as my dad cooks like a boss). But then it stuck, and here I am, 7 months on and never better!

I am definitely going to stick with being vegan. It's so much easier than I thought it would be. I thought my first post back could be a bit of a top ten list of things I've tried and loved from mainstream restaurants; because people always say that being vegan is too difficult (it is not!). 

I want to do a quick disclaimer that I am not trying to convince anyone to go vegan. Everyone is entitled to their own choices without judgment. I just want to shed some light on some ways you could try vegan food if you were interested. There is SO much out there now that is not even known about outside the vegan community; and without jumping straight into that, people are missing out on some amazing things. Anyway... let's just do it. 

1. Subway Meatball Sub (sans the vegan cheeze as it's not for me) and also vegan patty
2. Zizzi's jackfruit pepperoni pizza.
3. Pizza Express' jackfruit pepperoni pizza.
4. Papa John's jackfruit pepperoni and sausage pizza (see a trend yet??).
5. Greggs vegan sausage roll.
6. Chiquito's vegan fajitas (omg these are incredible).
7. KFC Vegan chicken burger.
8. Yo Sushi's pumpkin/ tofu katsu curry with a portion of vegetable gyoza on the side.
9. Nando's Supergreen Burger with pineapple and portobello mushroom.
10. Costa's vegan breakfast panini with a soya gingerbread latte on the side

These are not in any particular order, and I have not even explained my choices. I will add pictures of these amazing things another time, as I do have them! However, all of these are firm favourites whenever I go out, and there's still so much I haven't tried yet. Veganism is booming in the UK at the moment, and I hope it continues! 

I'm not going to make any empty promises about when my next blog post will go up (not that anyone is sat here waiting around for it..!) but I hope I will get a chance to write one soon. 

For now... TTFN!

BACK TO BLOGGING

Hello all! 

Long time no see - and a lot has changed. To sum up my life very very briefly since Wednesday 27th May 2017 (last time I blogged...):

• I graduated Loughborough University with a 2:1. 
• I got a job in a GP surgery as a receptionist, and have since moved on to work as a teaching assistant at the high school I went to sixth form at. I am now going to be teaching in (gulp!) less than a week!
• I am still with my boyfriend, and have just got back from a trip to Denmark to see my brother get married, and Disneyland Paris for the 25th Anniversary!
• My family are all in Dubai (and have been for over a year now..!) - one of the main reasons I have not found the time to blog for a while. I am now having to run a house (albeit, not my own house) so time is not my friend with this juggling act! I have visited them out there quite a few times!
• I have gained about 7kg......

The last point is the main reason I am writing this blog post. I have really yo-yo'd with my weight over the past year... I say yo-yo... I just went down once and then back up haha. But it has been a struggle none-the-less. Living on your own can be absolutely detrimental for me in terms of weight gain - no-one can see me or judge me for buying my third Dominos in a month, and the calories just racked up. 

However, since hitting a milestone on the scales (and not a good one!!), I have realised that the time has come to make some much better choices with my food. I am trying the lovely Lizel Jayne Strydom's point system method at the moment, to better control my portion sizes, and what I eat. I have taken my before photos, but until I (hopefully) see some progress, I am not brave enough to share them!

With this, I have started to learn to make some delicious recepies that I wanted to share; not only for others to potentially benefit, but also for myself to look back on when going gets tough, and I want to make something delicious because I am craving something bad for me. 

Finishing my ramble, here is one recpie in particular that I want to share; with many more on the way!

REESES PIECES NICECREAM (WITH NO REESES PIECES INVOLVED!) - serves 2

Ingredients 

• 200g frozen bananas
• 1tsp honey
• 1/2 tsb peanut butter (more if you would like)
• 1 tsb cacao powder
• around 150ml (but I do kind of guess how much) almond milk/ soya milk/ whatever plant milk I have in the cupboard
• Toppings: anything from frozen blueberries, cacao nibs, mixed chopped nuts and sunflower seeds!

Method

1. Shove the above in a food processor or a blender, and blend until like a thick smoothie. 
2. Place in the freezer for around 1 hour, and then serve. 
3. That simple!

I absolutely love this recipe as it is so simple, and tastes so delicious. For more of a peanutty taste, add more peanut butter! For more of a chocolatey taste, add more cacao, use a chocolate flavoured  plant milk or even add cacao nibs into the nicecream!

I have worked out, with the help of Liezel Jane, that this recipe is around 250 calories per serving (the above recipe serves two). It is full of fibre, and some protein, and tastes absoltely DELICIOUS. Whilst I don't recommend that you have this everyday, theres actually not much in here that is bad for you... so eat away!

Anyway - stay tuned for updates. Heres hoping I get back down to a size 10/12 from a size 14/16!

Thanks for reading :D

DUBAI

The blog post you have all been waiting for!!! Lol I am just kidding. I have never been more sure that no-one is waiting for this. Although hopefully my dad will give this a read seeing as it heavily features his amazingness! My brother too... as he does feature too!

So as a few of you may know, my dad emigrated to Dubai over the Christmas break. Whilst this has been ridiculously difficult for us all, it has given me an opportunity I thought I would never have. I visited Dubai in February, and have never been more excited in all my life to write a blog post. I have wanted to sit down and write this for a while... but have been so busy I never got round to it! Here it is! :D

Thursday 26th January 2017

Booked my flights...

Wednesday 1st February 2017

I boarded several trains and a plane on my way to Dubai International airport. I experienced my first Yo Sushi along the way, and a 16-hour journey (8-hour overnight plane). Lots of sleeping and reading was done on the flight...

Thursday 2nd February 2017

When I landed in the morning, I jumped straight on a metro (the metro system in Dubai is insane... it's essentially like the London Underground, except it is overground, and only has two lines. So easy to negotiate, and I was on and off it like a pro by the end of the weekend, travelling from one end of Dubai to the other!), and got off at the Dubai Mall. It is PHENOMENAL. It is absolutely huge, and full of amazing shops and fun things too. Spent some pennies, and I saw the waterfall, the aquarium... and so much more. But most excitingly, I SAW MY DAD! 

We wandered around for a while trying to find each other, went for a spot of food in the immense Food Court, and then had an awesome coffee at a little coffee shop he likes (which I now love too) after wandering round the shops. After a big heart to heart and catch up, we wander to go and watch the fountain show outside the Burj Khalifa, and see the Burj lit up beautifully. Absolutely AMAZING experience, followed by food and negotiating a chaotic car park, and I finally got to see where he is living for the next few months. 

In the evening, we went out to a bar and saw a band called Carpe Diem perform... they were the most amazing live band I have ever seen in an almost underground bar (although I can't say I have seen many... that does not diminish how awesome they were!). They are on YouTube if you fancied giving them a look-up... they were so good. Very very late night, after probably the longest day of my life... but so so worth it. 

Friday 3rd February 2017

Late-ish start after a hectic night before, but we headed straight off to a place called Deira to see the "Souks" (markets). I saw the Spice Souks, the Fabric Souks, the Gold Souks, and went on the coolest little boat across the river. I bought some gorgeous little tops for next to nothing, and then we went for lunch. Lunch at a little, very breezy, Moroccan-type place on the river, and after a hilarious walk back to the car in rain and what felt like gale-force winds, we jumped back into the car for a trip to a place called IMG World of Adventure: AN INDOOR THEME PARK. It was so cool, we queued for AGES to get into an awesome haunted house, went on some fabulous 3-D simulation rides, and best of all... mastered the children's laser quest. Had some food at Samosa World, and headed home. 

Saturday 4th February 2017

Beautiful sunny morning, so shades on we headed straight for Jumirah Beach. It was so beautiful and warm, and the views were phenomenal. I read my book for a bit, and dad had a bit of a nap, and then we walked back via Subway.

We then did the experience of a lifetime, which was the Desert Safari. Basically, we set off at 3pm from our hotel in a Landrover, and drove out to the Desert. The first stop was a Quad-Bike park in the middle of the desert, which me and dad JUMPED at the chance to try out. We jumped on a bike together, and rode off through the desert (it was a designated area, not just the whole desert), and had literally the best time. After that, we went "dune-bashing" in the Landrover, and stopped to see the most gorgeous sunset over the desert. It felt like a film, and after taking a MILLION photos, we drove off to see a dance show, had some dinner, and got some henna (well, I did), and I also got the chance to see a camel really up close, which was so cool. Enjoy the hundreds of photos I will now post of the desert... it was so gorgeous...

Sunday 5th February 2017

Early start as I went into work with dad (the weekend is Friday-Saturday in Dubai!), and saw his office. Weirdly, it's an open plan office with like treadmills and fake grass in it and stuff... straight out of "The Internship" film about Google. SO awesome. 

I then jumped on the metro and met up with my brother and his colleague Joakim, and we wandered round Deira together and had some lunch at the same Moroccan place I went with dad. 

After a well-deserved catch-up, I got the metro back to the hotel, and Carl and Joakim went back to theirs, and we freshened up ready to meet for dinner. Dinner, however, was in the best place ever, called Global Village. This was an attraction with miniature (but still huge) versions of famous landmarks from countries all around the globe, alongside markets, a river, food stalls GALORE, and beautiful lights everywhere. There were performances and dancers everywhere you turned, and booming music from the different cultures you visited. We had some dinner at an Indian, and then said our goodbyes. 

Monday 6th February 2017

One of the crappiest days of my life... said goodbye to my dad in the morning, and got back on the metro to the airport...

Thank you so much dad for letting me see your little world right now, and for helping me arrange the trip. Thank you for the countless meals out, and the drinks, and the desert, and the quad bikes... and the shopping, and the hugs and the heart to hearts. It was one of the best weekends of my life, and I cannot WAIT to visit again. I hope you enjoyed this little summary! 

If any of you managed to read all the way to the end here, either my writing was incredible, you are procrastinating from revision, or you were simply interested. I can't believe I managed to get halfway round the world all by myself... I was genuinely so proud of myself. Anyhow, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Nutshell

So my life in a nutshell right now. In case you were interested...

I am in third year at University now, which has been absolute CHAOS. I am currently writing my dissertation, which has been the sole focus of my life since January. I had a bit of a nightmare with it, as I had to get full ethical approval to carry out the study I wanted to do. It wasn't difficult as such, it was just a lengthy process and meant I started data collection much later than I had anticipated. ANYWAY. All data has been collected: if you are reading this and you took part, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I owe all of my success to you. And if I fail my diss... ;) I am kidding. But on a serious note, thank you so much to everyone who helped me out. It made such a big difference and you will never know how grateful I am!

To all that don't have a clue what I am on about, I am writing a dissertation surrounding how the direction of attention can influence our memories and emotions based around a "traumatic" event. It's actually quite interesting, and surprisingly under-researched as I am coming to find... but I have enjoyed it so far so hopefully it will get better. 

In other news, I have started living healthily! Well, this sounds drastic... I haven't cut cheese or chocolate out of my life entirely, and yes, as I am writing this, I am eating a millionaire's shortbread mini-bite. HOWEVER. I have not eaten the entire box, and I have not been over-indulging on the foods I know are bad for me. I have also really taken to the gym again after a busy period and lots of time off from it. Even though I am super busy at the moment, I am taking the time to attend Legs, Bums and Tums, Pilates, Dance.. and just ordinary gym sessions when I can. I have started running... and set my new personal best of 36 minutes at a 5k, which I was SO excited about as I am completely not athletic at all. 

What else has happened... hmm...

I have seen my lovely boyfriend a few times, had a few crazy gin and tonic nights with my housemate (which were awesome), seen my family, finally got my Tinkerbell tattoo (picture below), dyed my hair purple, and then accidentally dyed my roots orange (more on that to come), fixed my hair (sort of)... oh yeah... and I WENT TO DUBAI. More on that soon... I want to do a whole blog post about that weekend as it was phenomenal. But yes. A lot has happened since I last wrote on this blog! 

Anyway, if you have managed to get to the bottom of this, thanks for reading and I hope I didn't bore you too much! Stay tuned for more exciting blog posts to come... I'M BACK. 

Technology is killing our souls.

Okay, so the title was a bit ominous and extreme... but I have been thinking about this for a while now, as I sumbmitted a project on friendship in Psychology last year. It's interesting how Facebook and other social medias have allowed us to hold on to our pasts with everything we have. Like... how many people do you have on Facebook that you haven't seen or contacted in the past 5 years? Why are they on your Facebook in the first place?

Surely these networks should be for keeping in contact with people you see often. Keeping in contact with those best friends who slipped through the net and moved abroad. Or friends at Uni you met, who lived abroad to begin with. Or for those friends you don't have time to see often, due to work, family, or other commitments.

Instead, it's become a platform of stalking your old classmates who have had babies, got "fit" or married. The friends that put on weight, or lost it. The people who are volunteering in Africa, and then the ones who share political posts about Donald Trump. 

It's not necessarily a bad thing that social media is so advanced; how would we know these things otherwise? Human nature is often about being curious, and comparing your own life with other people's (trust me.. I'm a psychologist ;D). But do you really want that person to share your life experiences, if you haven't seen them for more than 5 years? They are doing exactly the same to you; they are sitting with their current friends saying "look at this person I went to school with... look what they've turned out like!".

If you are reading this, and you haven't seen me in more than 5 years, don't take this personally. I'm not saying I don't want you in my life in any way. Those people who were so special to me once; I love being able to see what you are up to, and share in the beauty that your life has become. And I am also glad that you can share in my life too! I mainly mean those people who you didn't really know in school. Or those who friendships that didn't end as well. Or people who you never really got on with in the first place...

I am just finding the whole concept of Facebook strange at the moment. We are using it as a way to promote products, share pointless memes and vines (albeit they are often very funny). Don't get me wrong; Facebook is an amazing tool. It's innovative, and modern and reaches out to a large population of people. It's genius really. I just sometimes wonder about peoples motives when they use it.

I just think back to those days where you would wait a week for a reply to a handwritten letter you'd sent, but how beautiful that was when it finally arrived. A tag in a Facebook status, a mention in a tweet, or even a private inbox is just not the same.

Just something to ponder... feel free to leave a comment if you disagree/ agree... I'm always interested to hear other people's opinions!

Dear the man I met on the bus

Dear the man I met on the bus,

I know you will probably never read this. But I hope that this reaches you in some way.

I was touched by your story about your wife, and felt it needed to be shared. After a light hearted discussion about the buses, you opened up to me, a stranger, all about your late wife, and how you toured America's National Parks and collected the information leaflets at each one. I just want to let you know that I've made it my personal mission to do the same with my partner (although he doesn't know it yet!). The passion you told the story with was inspiring, and made my day. You spoke about your wife with such happiness and love, and I admire that. I have told many people about that bus journey, and have written this as a reminder to myself, and to share the story wider. There are good people in the world. People who will chat to a stranger as if they were a friend.

I saw you sat on your balcony the other day. I hope this doesn't sound like I was stalking you. I simply saw you as I drove past. You didn't see me, but I was moved... You looked so happy sat watching the sunset, and I hope that what I saw was a true reflection of how you were feeling at that moment. You are such a friendly person who made that one particular bus journey (and I have been on MANY) something to remember and treasure. So I thank you for that.

Love,

The Girl with Purple Hair

India 1.0 - Food

I landed back in the UK on Sunday night, after a heck of a lot of delays and two long flights. Almost missed my connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to London, and lost a Fitbit in the process (whilst trying to carry a roll-mat across the globe...). It was all-around an interesting experience. I want to do several blog posts about my month in India. I want to tell you all about the kids there, all about the food and amazing things I ate, all about the experiences I had, the temples I visited, the Campus I stayed on... I just have so much to tell you all, and so many stories, if you are interested in reading them. I won't post them all at once, because that would be madness, but my plan is to write as many as possible over the next few days, so they are fresh in my mind and as genuine as I can get.

I had an absolutely amazing time in India... I saw some beautiful temples, spent time with the most fantastic bunch of children I think I have ever met, stayed in various stunning locations throughout Tamil Nadu (the south east state of India), even visited Kerala (just) for a day, and most importantly... I ate a ridiculous amount of wonderful, and beautiful food. 

I think this blog post will be about food, as I think it is probably the easiest to describe, but there is a lot to go through, so grab a cup of tea and get comfy if you plan to stick this out until the end! I won't describe everything I ate, as that would take weeks. But key things that you might not know about, and pictures will be provided. 

Spiciness rating: 1 = milder than yoghurt, 5 = medium at Nandos, 10 = blow your brains out. I have eaten India food all my life, so if my ratings are off... I can only apologise. Everyone's taste buds are different! Things that were a 10 at the beginning of the month, can become a 4 by the end... so bare with me.

Drinks

Bit of an odd one to start with, but I had some amazing drinks that I thought you would like to see... so here goes!

Lassi

Served in a lot of restaurants, it is a yoghurt-like drink. Can be flavoured (e.g. banana, like the one in the picture, or mango), but generally comes either sweet (with sugar), or plain. Very yummy, and very classic.

Pineapple juice

Needed a special mention; it is literally just fresh pineapple juice, but served in a little shop just off the main high street in Madurai. It was 35p, and made with pineapple and crushed ice, as far as I was aware. Amazing!

Cold Coffee

From the same shop as above; it is a beautiful coffee milkshake type thing. It tastes like caramel coffee, with sugar, ice-cream and cream. It is so tasty; and was only 50p!

Masala tea

A tea made with spices. Tastes a bit like chai tea. Often served on the street in small paper cups for around 15p, but the best one I had was made with fresh spices in a restaurant in Kodaikanal. Yummy!

Sauces and accompaniments

Coconut chutney 

As it sounds; coconut chutney is a chutney made with coconut (sorry to state the obvious!). It often doesn't actually taste of coconut, but has the texture of liquidised desiccated coconut sometimes. It looks like something that will make your dish milder, and this is generally the case. However, in some, more local, restaurants/ cafes, this chutney can often have a bit of a kick, so be careful!

Spiciness rating: around a 4; taking into account that it is sometimes a 2, and less likely, an 8. 

Sambah

Sambah is a sauce/ gravy served with loads of things in India. It is orangey in colour, and usually contains a lady's finger, some other vegetables and many spices. 

Spiciness rating: 2-6. Generally around a 4. 

Tamarind/ green chilli with coconut chutney

I ate this a few times in various places, but can still not tell you exactly what it is. Have since had a google, and was correct in saying it is tamarind, but is often mixed with coconut. It is a sauce that is often spicy, but tastes of chilli, and goes well with dosa (see below). 

Savoury Foods

Masala Dosa

This is a staple food in India. Southern India specifically; as you wont find it in the North (or in most Indian restaurants you will have visited in your life). It is a rice-based crepe/ pancake, filled with potatoes and sometimes onion, marinaded in spices (it's a yellow colour). I ate this as breakfast, lunch and dinner (although not all on the same day!). It was often served with a coconut chutney (see above), a sauce called sambah (see above), and sometimes a green tamarind-type chilli sauce (also see above). Can also have dosa plain (see below).

Spiciness rating: 4-6, depending on where you go, and what time of day it is. Had one that was around an 8.  

Vadai

A savoury donut, that was described to also taste a bit like a potato croquette. It usually has mustard seeds in the batter, and served with sambah or coconut chutney.

Spiciness rating: 5. But this again depends on where you have it.

Idli

Only had this once, and I had it for breakfast. I was actually disappointed with this one dish, however I will still explain what it is, in the hope that you will find a more appetising one (I've had many in England that were lovely). Idli is a rice cake, but not in the way you will know of, like we have them here in England. It is soft, and it literally a savoury cake, made with rice flour. Again, served with sambah and coconut chutney, it is often served as breakfast in South India.

Spiciness rating: the cake itself; 1. The chutneys; see above.

Paneer 65

Okay, so this was my all-time favourite dish, ever. I absolutely loved this. Paneer is a type of Indian cheese similar to halloumi in consistency. It doesn't melt, but is usually served after having been deep-fried, so it has a crispy outer layer. It is then added to sauces like Tikka Masala, Korma, etc (in the North). Paneer 65 on the other hand, is the vegetarian, Indian equivalent to fried chicken (sort of...). It is cheese, deep-fried in a spicy batter. That's it. Cheese. In BATTER. It is so divine, I have attached several photos for your viewing pleasure... please enjoy.

Spiciness rating: 5.

 This one is actually Mushroom 65 - but just so you can see it's awesomeness, this was also incredible, so I have attached it. 

Breads

Laccha Paratha/ Parata/ Parotta

A bread that is served in a spiral shape, and is easily tearable. It is made with wheat flour, but is created slightly differently to parathas you may have had in England/ northern Indian paratha. It is my favourite bread in South India, and I will rave about it as much as I can.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

Stuffed Paratha

Similar to the above, but obviously, this paratha has things in it. You can get a million different types: masala (curried), aloo (stuffed with potato), paneer (stuffed with cheese), other vegetable parathas and meat filled ones. They are all delicious. I only tried a paneer paratha, but it was absolutely incredible. It tastes like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day (slightly dramatic, but thought I'd try and spice things up... mind the pun). See for yourself in the picture below- it was hot from the pan and absolutely delicious. You can buy stuffed paratha in England that you stick in the toaster... they are gorgeous.

Spiciness rating: depends on the stuffing, but around a 3. 

Chapati/ Chappati

Typical Indian flatbread that you may have seen in England. Similar consistency to a wrap, made with whole-wheat flour. Interesting story: I went to a cafe which served unlimited chappati, with various sauces and gravy. They just kept bringing them over!! All for only £1.10... ahh I miss India.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

Naan

Do I need to explain this?

Spiciness rating: unless topped with chilli, 1.

Dosa

As described slightly above, it is a rice based pancake. Often served slightly crispy, it can be plain and dipped in the chutneys/ sauces mentioned above.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

If you made it this far, you deserve a medal. Because I genuinely don't expect a single person (expect maybe Dom... and a few others from the trip) to get this far. And if they do, they are also troopers. But I hope you enjoyed this huge snapshot into Indian food, and keep your eyes peeled for another installment in the Sharla India Chronicles ;)