FOOD REWARD CHART

Willow's eating habits are pretty dire. I do my best but the kid hates trying new foods. & vegetables (with a passion). 

She's 2.4yo so a little young for this kind of bribery but it works to an extent. She still won't eat huge amounts of the new foods but she will try them & this has resulted in a few new meals that she will now eat. 

The only downside is that the chart i printed from the Internet is ten stars before receiving a reward & that feels like a long ol' time for a toddler! So I've included the odd star for helpful behaviour/not taking three hours to get dressed. 

I've also started juicing/blending with her, we pinched the name Brenda the Blender from 'Bing' & it seems to be working well. (making sure it's more veg than fruit & brushing teeth well yada yada).

Anyone have any tips for feeding a fussy toddler? 

A DRESS KILLED THE INTERNET

It's navy & black isn't it?! 

Looks so polyester & scratchy and probably only slightly better in gold & white. Bleurgh.

'apparently' this dress appears as different colours with some saying black & blue, gold & white, & I've just seen one dude say brown, haha. 

And then this.

Just waiting for Si to confirm those with bad eye sight see gold & white haha. 

What colour do you see?!

SNOW GLOW ELSA ~FROZEN~

The wigster has been saving up (it lasted three days before i caved) for Elsa. She's been SO spoilt recently, mostly because of guilt- I'm always working/trying to buy myself five minutes peace to get some work done. 

Elsa was £35 & worth every penny. Willow literally hasn't put her down since we bought her (evidence below) 

She comes with Olaf. He doesn't do anything but he is massively cute. The only thing that gets me about kids toys (other than the mess/cost) is how often we end up doubling up on them. She has FIVE Holly's from the Little Kingdom because she comes with most of the sets. & now she wants the Anna doll who also comes with Olaf. Annoying. 

Did i mention that she finds the film too scary to watch?! 

BLEACH LONDON TOTAL BLEACH & WHITE TONER

I recently tried the 'Bleach London' Total Bleach & White Toner. They were 3 for 2 in Boots (UK) & thank the hair Gods that i chose two boxes of bleach & one toner because their portion control is shocking. Unless you have a cute pixie cut buy all of the bleach (two boxes was plenty for my thick, just above the shoulder hair) or risk the walk of shame back to Boots for another box. The quality is fantastic so it makes sense that the quantity is less.

So this was the results. (See end of post for the before pic)

I'm really happy with the colour. I love it even more now that i have some dark roots. I'm dreading doing my roots in the future as my hair here was already pre-lightened, new hair means I'll have to go through the awkward yellow cringe stage. & I'm also hoping to keep one centimetre of dark roots which i will cock up if i try to do it myself.

I was really impressed with the 'Bleach London' kit. The bleach does what it says on the really cool/hipster box & it really does lift the colour better than any of the 5000 home dye kits that I've used in the past. The hair reincarnation conditioner that comes in the box is literally the best thing ever. The toner removed the last of the yellow & left me with white sparkly hair. Yay. My hair actually felt in better condition after this bleaching session. WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?! 

Although I'm probably going to the Bleach salon in the future, for fifteen quid I'm chuffed with the Bleach London home dye kits. 

This was the before pic (my child loves me really).

I'M FAILING (KIND OF)

I'm trying to stay positive about this but for someone that eats well (plant based, mostly organic, cooked from scratch yada yada) my kid eats like a teenager with the munchies. 

She's two. She should be eating healthy meals, cooked from scratch, right?! Snacking on carrot sticks & hummus, no?! Well.. She doesn't. I bin most of her dinners untouched. It doesn't matter what i present her with, unless it's sausages & waffles it goes in the bin. If i run out of ketchup even the waffles go in the bin. She eats porridge for breakfast which is great, & she does love fruit. But i don't believe I've ever seen her eat a vegetable, well not one that looks like a vegetable.. Apart from potato obvs. 

In my defence. If she eats crisps they are mainly organic corn puff things that cost a packet. Her ketchup is almost always organic & well it is a tomato. & i serve her healthy food 'most' days. I'd love nothing more than to sit down & eat an actual dinner with her but she is SO anti trying anything new & binning good food is soul destroying. 

So I'm going to make it my mission over the next few weeks to try some sneaky sneaky healthy meals that look like waffles & sausage. Will report back with any recipes! 

HOW IS THIS OKAY, OK! MAGAZINE?

Browsing Twitter this morning i came across an 'OK! MAGAZINE' article about ex Eastenders star Elaine Lordan. 

http://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/eastenders-actress-elaine-lordan-drinks-wine-in-street

The article itself tells us that she has previously sought help for alcohol addiction, the same year her mother committed suicide (throwing herself in front of a tube train no less), she later suffered a miscarriage & shortly after her father passed away. & today she will wake up to pictures of herself downing a miniature bottle of wine all over the internet. 

Why is it so acceptable to kick someone when they are so very down?! This isn't an attack on 'OK! MAGAZINE'. I read it, i enjoy it, & i do have an interest in celebrity crud. 

My point is shouldn't whoever signed off on this story question the damage this story, & many like it could do to someone in an already fragile state? Is there no way you could have turned this into a positive? Maybe you could have reached out to her & offered help? 

There are countless celeb stories that the media can report that are welcomed by the person being publicly dissected. As her agent hasn't responded to 'OK!' yet I'm guessing this story won't be a welcomed one?! 

Anyway, i personally wish her well. I hope that she turns this into an opportunity to seek help. 

I'M STRUGGLING WITH THE JUGGLING

Now that I'm back at work full time, albeit from home, it's tough. I'm struggling to fit everything in. 

My days are split between trying to earn as much as possible (self employed-get back what i put in etc + likes pretty things) & wanting Willow to have a fun fulfilling day (with less than five hours Peppa Pig). The house is bordering on chaos most days & i feel exhausted just thinking about the housework. Willow has drawn on EVERYTHING & the fact that i let her play with pens just so that i can get five minutes peace probs isn't helping. 

I'm sticking to the healthy eating as much as possible & although exercise has been out of the window - I'm working on it! 

I did find the time to buy some 'Bleach London' products this week so a review is imminent! (Bald by christmas?!) (how many times can i bleach my hair?!).

So things are tough at the moment & we are just trying to find a routine, but once i do i will find more time for blogging, & bleaching my hair etc ;) 

Anyone have any tips on juggling work & mum stuff? Or how to stop my kid living on potato waffles (post on that later).

WILDWOOD CANTERBURY/HERNE.

I've noticed more & more as the weather is changing we're spending way too much time sat indoors at soft-play (eating cake). Basically i bought some new jeans & my ass won't fit in them. We're not talking Kim K but still.. 

In the summer our spare time was spent exploring, which usually meant lots of walking/that thing, ermm, exercise. So i decided last week that we need to get wrapped up nice & warm & enjoy some outdoor play!

I'd heard good things about Wildwood & willow loves animals so we made the trip. & it didn't disappoint. I signed us up for membership which is £5 per month for me, Si & willow. It's such a beautiful place. 

BORED DURING NAP TIME?! CRAZY COLOR LAVENDER

So over the last few months my hair has been chopped, bleached, bleached, bleached, started falling out, & coloured purple.

I used the 'crazy color ' in shade lavender. I think it cost me about £3.50 on eBay. My hair was still patchy from bleaching it (damn gold tones why you no leave?!). So the lavender is patchy but i kind of like it that way. Overall it was pretty easy to apply. I forgot to get gloves & ended up with ridiculous bright purple hands (lasted ten mins in the bath). I left it on for half hour & the pic above was the result. It's fading nicely as in, the colour is still purple & not too grey! But it is fading pretty fast. I'm not sure that I'd do it again. I'm hoping to get my hair the blond that i want & then just get the roots done. Hoping! 

JUICE/RAW DETOX

I'm a bit late reporting back after this. But i survived & I'm a better person for it (health wise anyway!). 

I started the detox early evening so the next & first full day was the absolute pits (i imagine the second day if you start in the morning). After that i felt full of energy & my appetite was pretty non existent.

When i started eating meals again i swore I'd avoid sugar as I'm clearly addicted by the withdrawal symptoms i had, well avoiding sugar i did not. I ate all of the sugar. But i am slowly cutting back & using maple/date syrup as an alternative to refined sugar. 

I'm trying to juice & eat raw for one full day a week & juice twice a day everyday. Here's a couple of my favourite recipes. 

5 large leaves of kale
1 lemon
1 large apple
A 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger
1 sprig of fresh mint & water.

1 handful of basil leaves
1 cucumber, cut in half lengthwise
½ lime, zest and pith removed
1 apple, cut into wedges & water or ice. 

Kale has strong antioxidant health benefits which aids the body in fighting cancer. Lemon juice is antibacterial, high in vitamin C & the juice is alkalising for the body (balancing the bodies PH). Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer properties, protection against rheumatoid arthritis & hydrates your lymph system. Apples, well an apple a day keeps the dr away, right?! Ginger is a rich anti-oxidant & anti-inflammatory. Cucumber is 96% water! but the water is naturally distilled making it superior to ordinary water. 

Juice is a great energy booster. If you need a quick pick me up for post-nap fun ;) 

DAY TWO JUICE DETOX

Just a quick update. Yesterday i felt pants. Really hungry, weak & my head was pounding! I nearly caved a few times but managed the whole day on juice & a few nuts. (This is big for me because i eat loads & have zero will power!) 

I've been juicing apples, carrots, melon, red grapes, cucumber, ginger, raspberries & strawberries. I'm not great with green juice so I'll go back to that when I'm just juicing twice a day. I knew if it was green juice five times a day I'd give up.

Anyway day two and i feel SO much better. My headache is gone this morning & so has my appetite! I'm not craving sugar anymore & I'll be avoiding it for good now (the refined kind). 

I'm planning to get through today & then I'll add one meal a day. Noodles & stir fry etc. Very much sticking with whole foods as often as i can. 

I'm going to do some research on juicing & the best fruit & veg to use and then I'll do a post on what I'm adding to my diet long term. I'm thinking of a 24hr juice detox every Monday & juicing twice a day everyday? 

JUICE/RAW DETOX

Hello all! 

Just a quick update today. I've been letting things slide a little but I'm back on it now (new trainers & all ;) ). I'm doing a three day juice/raw detox (with the exception of coffee because this is a mummy blog & coffee plays a bigger role in my survival than oxygen at the mo). 

I'll let you know if i see any improvements & what 'meal' plan i follow. At the moment (started last night) I'm just juicing what's in the fridge but I'll do some research today (& shopping) & update you all. 

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | SILENT SUNDAY

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | CHICKPEA & SPINACH CURRY

I've been trying to make up meals that i can freeze, or at least eat again the next day. Now that I'm back at work I'm more pushed for time than ever so cooking in a batch is a must. These curried chickpeas are amazing & it's really healthy too (you don't have to add roast potatoes but i kinda recommend it!) 

This isn't a recipe as such but a vague idea of what i used. 

So in a bowl i mixed a small amount of fresh ginger, finely diced with three cloves of garlic & some curry powder & garam masala. I added a little olive oil & made a paste. 

I fried off two small organic red onions until soft & then added the paste. 

Then i chucked in three tins of organic chickpeas & two of tomato passata.

Added a few handfuls of organic spinach & some coriander & a squeeze of lemon & some Himalayan salt.

Amazing! 

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | NIVEA FACE CREAM?!

Okay, so you probably won't get fit using this. But I want to talk about all kinds of 'mum' stuff & make this a good blog for naptime reading too. 

So i received the 'mumsnet swears by' email & there was a thread about this Nivea moitsuriser. I remember my mum always using this in the 80's/90's but I'd never tried it myself. Reading some of the comments mentioning 'glowing' & 'celebs use it' & 'SAME INGREDIENTS AS CREME DE LA MER' (that stuff costs a packet) (i need to get another job during naptime to afford that these days). I rushed straight to Boots and picked this up for less than two quid. 

I've been using a pretty pricey Dior moisturiser & this is undoubtably better. My skin IS glowing but not oily, my frown lines are better (& the kid is poorly so believe me I've been frowning!) & my complexion is much better after less than a week! I'm so impressed with this that it will take a lot for me to change (at least until the next mumsnet swears by email..) 

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | SPARKLING MINERAL WATER

I've got a really exciting Friday night post for you. Nope, no i don't. Sorry!

I hope your evening is more exciting than mine. I just wanted to mention that I've been drinking a lot of sparkling water this week (unflavoured), & it kinda feels like a naughty water drink! It's weird. The bubbles definitely trick my brain into believing that I'm drinking something tastier than the nothing juice that is water.

I'm drinking as much water & green tea as possible & it's definitely improving my skin, & my stomach is starting to look flater! I think i may actually be getting some results.. 

Kaya X  

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | CHEESY ROAST POTATOES ALA NUTRITIONAL YEAST

I probs should change the title to 'how to get fat during naptime' for this post but stay with me!

Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast packed with ermm nutrients.. Honestly this stuff is a game changer. It's so good for us. High in B vitamins, protein, fibre & essential minerals. & it tastes a bit cheesy even though it's vegan (& gluten free). I rolled my potatoes in oil & then coated them in nutritional yeast & baked. It didn't burn & they were the perfect amount of crispy. Eat them responsibly & they are a great addition to a healthy diet.

Kaya X 

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | WHEN I NEED SWEETS (MEDJOOL DATES & NAKD RAISINS)

Healthy eating, healthy eating, healthy eating, BAM: a whole packet of biscuits, four chocolate yoghurts & a sugar crash from hell. That's how i normally roll. 

So I'm doing my best to make sure that i have healthy snacks around me all of the time, & I'm also making much better choices at the supermarket! These probably won't count as a diet & i will still eat chocolate yoghurts & cookies, but I'm hoping it won't happen as often.. 

Medjool dates have always been a favourite of mine. They truly are natures sweets. They are full of natural sugars so it's best not to eat all of the dates, but still better than four chocolate yoghurts..

There are at least fifteen minerals found in dates: including selenium, believed to help prevent cancer & important in immune function (i take selenium to keep my thyroid in place!), protein, containing twenty three types of amino acids, some of which are not present in the most popular fruits, such as oranges, apples, and bananas. Unsaturated fatty acids include palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. & full of dietary fibre! 

Another thing that i have been eating like crazy recently is these little beauties! Cola & Lime flavoured raisins. They taste like sweets but with zero nasties, i believe that they also make cherry ones. They are just raisins & citric acid but they taste amazing! You can get these in tesco's. 

Kaya X 

HOW TO GET FIT DURING NAPTIME | BENEFITS OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

Warning: tastes vile.

I found this by chance when i was looking for something else, as you do on the internet! With so many great benefits & the added bonus of possible weight loss i sent Simon out for some at the weekend. The first bottle i bought is an organic one from the supermarket but after reading more i learnt that it needs to have the 'mother' to work, so i went to the health food shop yesterday & bought another bottle. I think it was around £4 & I'll use the original bottle on salads etc. I've been taking two cap fulls morning & night and i actually feel more energetic already.. Weight loss is yet to be seen but i ate my body weight in gluten-free bread yesterday so..

Kaya X