Tuesday 29 July 2014

Recipes: Chinese Yakisoba Stir Fry

Hi everyone! I thought I'd share another recipe I've been loving recently. I've been trying to eat a lot of protein and vegetables at the moment but it's sometimes difficult to eat tasty food that's also good for you but this is one of my go-to recipes that delivers on nutrition and flavour. I hope you enjoy :)






Ingredients (for 4 servings):

2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of Asian-style chilli paste (you can leave this out if you don't like spicy food)
Soy sauce to taste
Half a medium head of cabbage
1 onion
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 pounds of cooked yakisoba noodles
Pickled ginger to taste

Method:

Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium to high heat. Put the chicken and chopped garlic into the pan and fry for about a minute. Stir in the chilli paste and continue to cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes, or until the chicken has browned. Add the soy sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Finally, set aside the chicken mixture into a bowl. In the hot pan, stir in the chopped cabbage, onion and carrots until the cabbage has wilted and reduced in volume. Put the chicken mixture back into the pan with the cabbage, add the noodles and cook until the noodles are tender and the chicken is completely cooked. Serve immedietly and garnish with the pickled ginger.

Let me know if you try out this recipe and what you think :)

Tam x

Monday 28 July 2014

Day Trip To Cheltenham

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :) It was such beautiful weather in the UK that I didn't want to waste it sitting inside the house, so on Sunday I went to Cheltenham to soak up the sun and do some last minute, pre-holiday shopping. If you've never been before I would definitely recommend you take a trip there, there's a huge range of shops, including some amazing high end stores on the promenade which I love going into just to lust at items I could never afford (Karen Millen is my favourite for this). There's also some beautiful areas to walk around with gorgeous, Georgian houses and amazing parks.

One of my favourite places to go at the moment is Whole Foods in Cheltenham, it's basically a massive supermarket and restaurant which only sells really healthy, organic food and produce. As I'm trying my best to eat really healthily, we decided to go to there for lunch which was AMAZING! I had brown rice sushi with salmon and avocado, I'm obsessed with sushi at the moment and it was honestly the best sushi I've ever had!

I also needed a few bits for my holiday so went I went into Boots (the one in Cheltenham is massive and has two floors) just to buy a few essentials and I also bought a gorgeous sun hat from Accessorize, I actually first saw it in Tanya Burr's 'Summer Fashion Haul' video and thought it looked amazing so I'm so glad I managed to find it. I'll put a link in the 'What I'm Wearing' section below so you can see it on the website.

I took a few pictures on the day which I'll put below, so I hope you enjoy them!







What I'm Wearing


Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters
Necklace - Newlook
Crop Top - Newlook
Skirt - Missguided
Shoes - Newlook
Bag - River Island

Let me know what you guys got up to this weekend

Tam x

Saturday 26 July 2014

Style Edit: The LBD

Hello everyone! I thought I'd show you my latest purchase from PrettyLittleThing, enjoy!









What I'm Wearing

Boots - H&M

Every girl needs a little black dress in her wardrobe and luckily there are some fabulous ones available on the high street this season. I'm actually going to Ibiza in a few weeks so naturally I needed to update my summer wardrobe and a LBD is essential for any night out. This one from PrettyLittleThing immediately caught my eye. It's a bit different to others that I've seen on the high street at the moment and I think the little shoulder pads and sheer mesh details make it look much more expensive than it actually is. I personally love the androgynous, vampy look and think this dress would look great paired with studded accessories and a leather jacket, with a dark, vampy lip but you could easily make this more feminine with a pink lip and fishtail braid. Be warned, this is one of those dresses that you'll need a strapless bra for and it's VERY tight so this isn't one to chuck on after you've eaten an entire large dominos pizza to yourself (don't lie, we all do it!) Leave me a comment and let me know where your favourite LBD is from.


Tam x

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Style Edit: Candy Colours

Hello everyone! I thought I'd show you another piece I bought from the Missguided website which is now on sale! Candy colours are a classic trend for summer and this sweet polka dot dress is one of my favourite from the Missguided collection.









What I'm Wearing

Dress - Missguided
Flower Crown - Newlook
Necklace - Newlook
Denim Jacket - Topshop
Sandals - Boohoo

This dress isn't for everyone; it's very feminine and reminds me of a dress that Ariana Grande would wear. However, if you wanted to tone down the sugary sweetness, you could create an interesting contrast by pairing it with a studded denim jacket and cut out boots. The dress has an under skirt made of netting which gives it a 50s rockabilly feel while the cut out side detailing updates it for SS14. The puff ball skirt means that this could be worn by almost anyone of any shape because of its very flattering a-line shape which skims any problem areas. You could wear this to a summer picnic or even pair it with some white heels for a cute party look.

What are your favourite candy coloured summer items?


Tam x

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Recipes: Spanish Fish Stew

Hello everyone :) I thought I'd post something a bit different today and share with you one of the recipes I've been loving lately. If you're trying to be healthy this is a lovely meal to have with salad or you could serve it with some crunchy ciabatta bread. Of course you can switch up the ingredients to make it less spicy (take out the paprika and cayenne pepper) or replace with chicken if you don't like fish.








Ingredients (for 4 servings):


A handful of parsley
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1 lemon (or bottled lemon juice if you don't have and lemons)
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
500g of floury potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1tsp of paprika
A pinch of cayenne pepper
A tin of chopped tomatoes (Italian tomatoes are the best)
1 fish stock cube
A tin of chickpeas
200g of peeled, raw king prawns
500g of any white fish chunks of your choice (I use cod or basa)

Method:


Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan and throw in the onion and potato. Cover for 5 minutes until the onion has softened, then add the remaining oil, garlic and spices and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. Pour in the lemon juice, tin of tomatoes, half a can of water and crumble in the stock cube. Season with a little salt, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir in the prawns and chickpeas and place the chunks of fish in the pan so that they are covered by the sauce. Reduce the heat, place the lid back on and cook for around 8 minutes, stirring once or twice so that everything is heated evenly. Once the fish is cooked through, remove the heat and scatter with chopped parsley and serve!

Nutritional Information:


Per serving
328 kcals
39g protein
33g carbs
11g fat
2g sat fat
5g fibre
5g sugar
1.92g salt

I hope you liked this recipe and let me know if you try it yourself :)


Tam x

Monday 14 July 2014

Classic Co-ords

Hello everyone! For my second blog post I thought I'd show you one of my current favourite outfits to wear on a night out...enjoy :)







What I'm Wearing

Top - Missguided
Shorts - Missguided
Boots - H&M
Ear Cuff - Accessorize
Glasses - Urban Outfitters

I absolutely love these co-ords, they're so flattering and the Aztec detailing makes them really on trend for SS14. They're actually on sale on the Missguided website at the moment so grab them while you can, they were reasonably priced to begin with and they're an absolute bargain now that they're discounted. These co-ords combine two trends that I love; crop tops and high wasted shorts! The fact that they are black with detailing on the side panels makes them so slimming as it draws the eye downwards and they only show a small amount of your midriff which is very flattering as its the slimmest part of most women. I wear these out so often, if I'm ever having trouble finding an outfit or putting things together for a night out, this is such an easy option because the top and shorts go together so there's no worrying about what to pair it with.

What's your go to outfit for a night out?


Tam x

Tuesday 8 July 2014

How To Wear: The Maxi Skirt

This pastel pink maxi skirt is one of my summer wardrobe essentials, it's so well made and although I remember it being quite pricy, I think investing in key pieces that you can re-wear is essential. I bought it last summer from Asos and have worn it to death so I wanted to style it with some pieces from this season's high street and give you some inspiration to re-work last season's styles.

Look 1 - Shopping in style




What I'm Wearing

Watch - Next
Jacket - Topshop

This look is really casual and easy to wear, pairing the skirt with light colours and soft, casual fabrics creates an informal and effortless outfit which could be worn to a summer BBQ or if you're just popping to the shops.

Look 2 - Nearly nude




What I'm Wearing

Top - Zara
Shoes - Miss Selfridge
Watch - Next
Earrings - River Island

This look is slightly more dressed up and could easily be worn to a summer party or dinner. The Zara crop top is so versatile; it has pink, cream and green tones in it so you can pair it with so many different things and the filigree print is perfect for summer. Pale pink can be a difficult colour to wear as it can wash out some skin tones but this nearly-nude look is so girly and wearable, I love it! 

Look 3 - Summer Evenings




What I'm Wearing

Top - H&M
Necklace - Topshop
Bag - Oasis
Watch - Next

Adding a black crop top and gold accessories instantly turns the maxi skirt from a day piece to an evening piece. I am in love with this H&M crop top, it actually has cut out detailing on the sides, which you can't see in these photographs but it certainly makes the look more grown up. Just add heels for a beautiful outfit you can wear on a summer evening, to dinner or out for drinks.

I hope this inspired you to re-work  the old pieces in your wardrobe. Leave me a comment to let me know what your summer wardrobe essentials are.


Tam x