My favourite healthy week night recipe

I have one really bad habit. Okay, I have many but there is a particular one I am referring to. So it all begins rather innocently, in fact I eat like the next Twiggy all day; nut nibbling and carrot crunching galore- seriously! But then 7pm strikes, I bundle in through my front door, head straight for this odd oversized cupboard my mum refers to as the breakfast pantry and stick my sugar craving hands straight into a box of cereal. When I’m done with this I’ll grab a spoon swirl it with peanut butter and stuff my little mouth with every Ryvita, and funny dairy-free fad product I can get my hands on. Then once I’ve showered and changed into my comfies, I come down for dinner, I’ll always have seconds. This is immediately followed by a cup of tea- mint because obviously I’m not going to waste my precious calories on milk blegh! But I don’t mind a side of chocolate digestives- the thins though (you can eat more biscuits for the same number of calories and my simple brain is easily tricked into rather quite liking that).

They do say the first step to recovery is recognition and acceptance. Well, I recognise and accept I’m a big fat pig in the evenings. Whilst most things I eat are healthy they are eaten in unhealthy quantities. So I have been working on either:

• a)       Exercising in the evening – not my preferred method
• b)      Eating as soon as I come in so as not to have several ‘rounds’
• c)       Ignoring my own advice and shovelling it all in anyway
• d)      Making much more filling, healthy but easy dinners that I actually look forward to (all day actually)

So I thought I would share my current favourite easy but filling and delish week night recipe.

Mexican buddha bowl

Ingredients

Shredded iceberg lettuce

Black pinto beans

Salad tomatoes

1 packet of microwaveable brown rice

Paprika

Coriander

For the sweetcorn

I use the vegan violife prosociano because I think it tastes like Mexican queso (cotija) and I like to not eat too much dairy during the week for hormonal reasons but you can also use parmesan

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the guacamole

1 ripe avocado

1 tbsp olive oil

½ Lime Juice

¼ finely slice onion

Salt and pepper to taste

-          Thoroughly rinse the black pinto beans with water in a sieve then season

-          Cook the rice as per instructions

-          Arrange lettuce in a big serving bowl

-          Slice salad tomatoes and throw them into the bowl too

-          Microwave the sweetcorn and ingredients for 45sec on max

-          Arrange pinto beans in a bowl and the rice

-          Sprinkle paprika across the rice

-          Mash the avocado, mix with the other ingredients and place in the bowl

-          Add in your sweetcorn, top with coriander, and a big dollop of yogurt or cheese if you like!

S

My dirty little coffee

I have a dirty little secret and I'm willing to share it with you but you have to swear to secrecy!

Well... Do you? 

Okay, here goes. I spike my coffee and it's filthily indulgent and I think that you should be doing it too. 

So start making it (I use a Nespresso machine). If you don't have a machine then heat up your milk in the microwave and froth it with a fork as you pour it over your coffee.

Are you ready?

Scoop a large heaped gooey teaspoon of Nutella into your mug and give it a good stirr. Watch your velvety chocolate goo swirl into  an abyss of milky coffee until it disappears. Ciao bella you have one hazelnut mocha.

Now off you go to curl up and enjoy and don't tell a soul! 

Aussie is the new Scandi

The new phase of the Scandi minimalism has been seeping into our lives for a while now. Whether it be the rye bread and cinnamon-bun filled Nordic bakery, the perfectly sparse kitchens everyone is having fitted or modern and clean fashion brands such as Malene Birger or Acne studios- it has been taking over the fashion, lifestyle and blogging world.

Trends and fashions pop up and disappear as quick as you can finish your glass of tigernut milk. Scandi style does seem to be lingering but, I have recently noticed there is a new kid on the block beginning the slow but sure take over. Our across the pond friends in Australia are leading the way in fresh and modern cuisine, fashion brands notably the best bikinis ever and their light and nature-filled interior trends. In this post, I will introduce the trend so you can get to grips with it before we're on to the next one...

Interiors

The nature-inspired and laid-back Aussie style is the crux of Australian interior design. Australia is home to 9 out of 10 of the most poisonous snakes (!!!!!) and many more wild and wonderful creatures and crawlies. The reason for their diverse wildlife is the amazing ecosystems and environment that they host. Beachy and leafy landscapes create the perfect homes for creatures and also inspire airy interiors for the perfect human homes. This green, outdoorsy vibe forms the basis of  PIP+COOP, a Melbourne based styling company created by their interiors-obsessed director, Cassie Thomson. Their relaxed and nature inspired rooms are undoubtedly home goals for any interior loving girl. They do not completely neglect the fashionable Scandi-style but instead create an incredible blend with breezy Aussie interiors.

Food

If you have never seen the Australian programme My Kitchen Rules then you need to rethink your TV schedule. In teams of two (mother, son, boyfriend, girlfriend etc) candidates compete cooking together in a 'Masterchef-esque' competition. They invent 'instant restaurants' in their homes complete with menus and decorations. The challenges are inventive and nail-biting and range from traditionally Aussie BBQs to catering major events. Not only is the programme itself amazing but the cooking style and ingredients that are local to Australia are way better than anywhere else. This for me sparked my interest in Australian cooking and luckily due to new restaurants dotted around the capital, we can now benefit from this in London!

Dickie Fitz

Open for breakfast (get buttermilk waffles with salted peanut, yogurt, fresh strawberry syrup), lunch (get wild garlic & nettle soup with goats curd) and dinner (get rib-eye on the bone, bone-marrow, lemon).

48 Newman Street
W1T 1QQ
London
0203 667 1445

Granger & co

They handmake their own almond milk and orders come in big and small plates so perfect for sharing! I would recommend definitely ordering the ricotta hotcakes with bananas which come drenched in honeycomb butter and a deliciously infused syrup.

175 Westbourne Grove 

London W11 2SB

+44 20 7229 9111

Farm Girl

Farm girl is new and 'a holistic and healthy, yet comfortingly simple approach to Australian cafe culture in the heart of Notting Hill.'  Best of all they're dog friendly! Order the no-bacon coconut BLT, you'll be surprised...

59a Portobello Rd
London W11 3DB
+44 207 536 2108

Fashion

Aussie-girls like Miranda Kerr, Margot Robbie, Elle Macpherson and the abikiniaday.com bloggers introduced the world to this new form of casual chic. Your checklist: breezy, laidback, chic, sun ready.

Bondi Beach

Sydney Streets

Check out my Polyvore here for details on items: alicerosewrites.polyvore.com

Beauty and Wellbeing

Australians and the aforementioned girls are also the front-runners in the health and beauty world. Their entire way of living perfectly gives way for health and wellbeing. In 2014, the organic sector in Australia had driven record growth in the $1.72 billion industry and has only continued to grow. Meanwhile mindfullness courses and yoga have been on the strong up. A huge campaigner for such activities and owner of her own organic beauty brand is the face of Australia to the rest of the world:Miranda Kerr. She set up Kora organics in 2009 which is now retailed on Netaporter.com and is made up of 100% Australian skincare using a blend of natural and certified organic ingredients. Just as with the rest of this Aussie style it is all about the natural- keep it fresh and organic! Get the Aussie-look with crispy with sea-salt wavy hair, lashings of mascara and a dewy complexion (thanks to moisturiser and a good highlighter). Your checklist: green tea, lots of yoga and salt spray.

ARW x

The Met Gala: Best Dressed (and what I would wear)

The Met Gala has been deemed the Oscars of the East- graced by so many celebrities and put on in a truly spectacular fashion. Once a year, American Vogue or should I say Anna Wintour the Queen Bee and face of the whole Vogue brand. This year the theme was Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of Technology and was hosted by the queen herself and chairwoman of the gala; Jonathan Ive, chief design officer of Apple; Taylor Swift; and the actor Idris Elba. 

The Theme Embracer

Clare Danes actually used technology in creating her light-up Zac Posen gown- definite winner!

The Sexy Siren 

Emily Ratajkowski shot to fame for her Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke video appearance and has been causing a storm with her wreckless sex appeal ever since. This Prabal Gurung dress meant that she quite literally 'out-sexed' everyone there. 

The Best Crew

Taylor Hill, Stella Maxwell and Maryna Linchuk are the next generation of Victoria's Secret Angels and who wouldn't want to be them? Watch your wings Miranda, Alessandra and Rosie!

The Timelessly Elegant 

Just three months after giving birth to son Rocco, Rose Byrne looks amazing and incredibly on trend and elegant with her off-shoulder custom-made Ralph Lauren. 

The Hottest Couple

The hottest couple and for now most robotic couple of the moment has to be Zayn and Gigi. Gigi's hair scraped back looks amazing with this Tommy Hilfiger dress. 

The Worst Dressed

I have to admit I have never been a fan. Sorry Lady G but less is definitely more!

And Finally....

The Hypothetical Me

Gown by Haney, Shoes by Alaia, Bag by Alexander Mcqueen. Necklace by Rosantica

How to be the perfect dinner guest

The moment we flick over our diary pages to May and peek a slice of sunshine through the otherwise grey clouded skies, we find our weekends suddenly filling up with scribbles of arrangements and brave BBQS. We tentatively riffle through florals and tea dresses in the shops and stock up on nibbly bits should we dare to do the hosting ourselves. The other day the Daily Mail created a quiz on the strength of your social etiquette knowledge in order to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday. I have always considered myself to be well brought up and well mannered, I of course took the quiz with surety of success- to my absolute horror, I scored a mortifying 40%. I would definitely not be invited back to the Queen’s 91st birthday tea! Luckily, I have thoroughly revised what I got wrong and pulled together some of my own tips for being the perfect guest for you. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, traditions of politeness and rules of chivalry are dying off. For some reason, I can’t imagine the Kardashians heading off to teas armed with the perfect scented candle at the socially correct time and I just don't see Kanye pulling out a chair for his Queen. We are living in changing times but in my opinion, there are some things that should never be compromised on...

1. Dress to Impress 

There is something about a dinner party that brings to mind old fashioned ditsy dresses and red lipstick. If I am hosting I tend to keep my Cath Kidston apron on the entire time- for effect and because I am a massive clutz. As a guest or hostess, I find that pulling on a dress for a dinner party not only looks more feminine and traditional but also is much easier to style. Follow Kate Bosworth's lead and wear floaty sorbet colour and a simple pair of strappy heels. For a more casual or colder dinner, I would suggest a simple jeans/ smart jumper combo- keeping it feminine in colour!

Cos, £69

BRORA, £259

2. Arrive 10 minutes Late

MADE.com, Aurelia, £29

This was one I got wrong in the Daily Mail quiz and I must say timekeeping is not my strongest point. The one time that I do make an extremely conscious effort to be on time is if food is involved. This is because a) I like food but b) because as a budding amateur chef myself, I know that timing is everything- the difference for a proud, puffed up souffle and a sad and soggen-looking souffle is seconds. 10 minutes allows your hosts a 10 minute amnesty for shoving mess to the side, lighting a few candles and arranging canapes. Nobody wants an early-bird when you are still covered in flour and the house is a mess, smelling of burnt rolls.

3. Bring the Perfect Gift

The Perth Soap CO, Holiday Gift Set

For me, this is probably the most important part of etiquette and general politeness. A scented candle or a bunch of flowers are always going to be a fail-safe option to go to and actually my mother has taught me to keep a small collection of scented candles on hand at all times. However, taking something a little extra thoughtful and different can make the difference between being a good guest and the perfect guest.

I would recommend The Perth Soap Company, passionate about quality, they create beautifully packaged luxury cleansing bars which feel like a real treat to receive for your host. A particularly spectacular venture of theirs is the Holiday Gift Set which contains a vanilla fig, fir and grapefruit and sparkling champagne all infused with argan oil (which they also make beautiful bottles of by the way). The smell upon prising open their packaging is that of a glittering sunny garden party- both rich with champagne and fresh with fir. Not only is the actual product deliciously glamorous but the packaging is right on trend. The stoney grey and blush is perfectly aligned with the trending colours for all interior designers and would add a tone of luxury to any bathroom.

Alternatively, bring something edible for after dinner. You must always, always okay this with your host as this could completely spoil their plans. A really lovely ideas is to bake or buy different biscuits or 'petit fours' for after dinner with fresh mint teas/ coffees. Find a recipe for some beautiful goodies here: https://laurenconrad.com/blog/2016/02/recipe-box-rose-cupcakes-and-white-chocolate-dipped-berries/

4. Use the Correct Cutlery

and always put your napkin straight on your lap! (tip from my mummy). This helpful little guide should help you to identify some of the more obscure cutlery that you may come across in the royalist of households. If in doubt, start from the outside and work your way in...

5. Converse with Confidence

Whether you know the other guests well or not it is important to make an effort with everyone around the table. I always think that there is nothing more awkward than being sandwiched between two different conversations unable to input. Here are a list of conversation topics for those like my dad who are blessed with social awkardness: 

- An outfit related compliment

- Jobs (a no-no according to the Daily Mail but I disagree)

- How a couple met

- The news (nothing political) - something lighthearted see my Happy Edits

- How good the food is/ recipes

- Upcoming holidays which may lead to great travel tips

6. Leave with Grace

It is the end of the night, the boring couples have trickled out with sheepish babysitter excuses and the hostess is eyeing the mounting leaning plate tower that has formed in her sink. No matter how warm your tummy is from wine and how comfortable the newly upholstered lounge chairs are, you absolutely must not miss this vital social cue. There is no hostess in the world that is so hospitable that she is not yearning to clean up a bit and curl up into bed- let alone the cooking, carrying plates in heels is no easy feat! Graciously walking out the door is a life skill and must be handled at the perfect time. It should always be started with  a 'thank you so much for having me, it was so lovely- truly the best dinner/BBQ/luncheon I have ever been to!'. Offer to help with any washing up and insist you escort yourself out if your host is busy. On this note, I would strongly advise a thank you text the next day to assure you invite back!

ARW x

Eat, Pray, Love

Frid(y)ay is always the best day of the week which is why I chose it as the day that I publish my happy edit. To go alongside this I thought I'd do a focus on some of my favourite things today. So here is a round-up of some of my favourite blog posts from other bloggers in the style of one of my favourite books and films: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Bennet.

Eat

If you haven't heard of Erin Gleeson yet, then you may be familiar with her signature style of recipes. She creates beautifully illustrated step by step visual recipes. For anyone who is a visual person like myself and strains their eyes poring over a more traditionally-wordy recipe book, this is the much easier and more modern way that means you will no longer struggle. Not only are her recipes simple and modern but so is her food. Her recipe book 'Forest Feast' is exactly that, think fairy lights and sitting on stumps of wood in a forest whilst devouring rainbow-coloured earthy salads, baked and stuffed beefy tomatoes, followed by light ricotta chocolate mousse in vintage 20s champagne glasses. She almost convinces you to, like her, trade in your city life and shack up in a little Hansel and Gretel styled cottage in the woods hosting nightly feasts for the locals and creatures. Get lost in her recipes over at www.theforestfeast.com. I would highly recommend a visit to your local market before!

Theforestfeast.com

Pray

In this day and age taking a few minutes out of your life to focus on yourself can seem pointless, time consuming and unrealistic. We all think of those gym-going, health bunnies who wake up at 5am to meditate, body brush, sip lemon water and squeeze in their HIIT. Don't get me wrong- I would love, love to be one of these people and I do once in a while wake up early and head to a spin class. However, I just find it completely unrealistic to maintain and make such a life and personality change! I just love my time in bed too much.

For the times when I am feeling particularly inspired, I do head over to www.intentblog.com. They have some amazing articles on spirituality and meditation and for me this is enough. I actually downloaded the app Headspace recently on a colleague's recommendation and although it is truly a great app, I personally just couldn't get into it. But, when I stumbled across the below illustration on Intent Blog, I don't know whether it is because as I said above I am a visual person, but I found it super easy to follow. I now try at least three times a week at any time of the day to follow this. It does really provide a few minutes of de-stress and there has been so much research on the health benefits of this time to yourself. I have set the time constraints of what works for me but it really can be done as much or as little as you find useful.

Another article I love on their site: http://intentblog.com/i-am-not-my-work-fear-and-mindfulness-in-entrepreneurship/#more-287085

Intentblog.com

Love

A study conducted by MyHarmony.com found that by 2031 half of all couples will have met online. This really points to how the channels for meeting someone have changed so rapidly in the last few years. I think that expectations have just become increasingly high, we all want that sickly-candyfloss-sweet love. When you're sitting on the tube watching the cooing couple bobbing along on their morning commute secretly thinking there's no way they are that happy- rest assured they probably met on Tinder and they totally have their problems too... Life isn't like The Holiday and sometimes we do need to put our best foot forward and get out there.

I recently went on a quadruple date and my boyfriend and I were the only ones who had met 'organically'. The other couples are no less happy than we are because of this. My best friend also recently remarked that she wanted to meet a guy naturally and for it all to fall into place, I straight away told her that whether someone is right for you or not has nothing to do with where you meet. I guess that fact is that we need to realise that there should be no stigma to meeting online- technology is something to be utilised and taken advantage of. We have so many opportunities to meet amazing people who may not have happened to be walking past and graciously caught us as we slip over like in movies!

The only thing that we need to be aware of on the internet is that you can be anyone and search for almost anything. My Domaine happens to be one of my favourite websites: it encapsulates interiors, careers and lifestyle in one incredibly informative swoop! They published this article on the traits that we all find the most attractive, and why not use them to our best ability? http://www.mydomaine.com/most-attractive-traits. Why shouldn't we put our best foot forward? After all, confidence is the number one most attractive trait

Mydomaine.com

The Weekly Happy Edit

The 5 happy things showcased in the news this week...

1. Shrek and Smurf: The Rescued Coloured-in Kittens 

These two gorgeous little kittens were rescued by police when investigating a house in Bradford. They are now being cleaned well cared for and well be ready for happy new homes very soon!

2. Paralympian's Stolen Bike Returned

Tim Farr is a British paralympian with a huge personality. So, it is no wonder that when his £5000 specially-made bike was stolen from outside his house, a crowdfunding site for a new one raised nearly £2000. Well, this money will now be donated to charity as his bike has been recovered from a pawn shop after being sold for just £150.

3. Gene Therapy Reduces Sight Loss

Sight-loss is undoubtedly an incredibly difficult disability to deal with. A new and recently proven therapy now represents hope for thousands of those who would otherwise become blind from the rare disorder called 'choroideremia'. A treated patient said of the therapy 'it has opened a new chapter of my life for me when I thought that the book was about to close'. 

- Jonathan Wyatt

4. Mother Reunited with her Kidnapped Son 22 years on

Zou Qixiu was reunited with her son who disappeared from their home in 1994 at the age of four years old. He was abducted my human traffickers and sold to another couple. After recently having his own child he thought about the anguish his mother must have suffered and still be suffering. He got in contact with 'Baby come home' website and tracked down his mother. His parents were illiterate so could only do what they could to track him down which including going door to door. There were huge celebrations on his return.

5. Disney to make Maleficent, Mary Poppins and Jungle Book Sequels (and Cruella)

Any release of a Disney movie is good news to me! Fortunately, we have four to keep us busy. There will be a Marry Poppins sequel starring Emily Blunt, a Jungle Book and Maleficent sequel (starring their original casts including Angelina Jolie) amd to top it all of a brand new 101 Dalmations spin-off called Cruella. They also confirmed further future releases- in 2017, 2018 and 2019 which should be more than enough to keep our thirst for Disney quenched.

Have you had any happy news this week?

ARW x