Healthy snack ideas

We are a nation of snackers. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing because as long as we keep crisps and chocolate as treats and eat them in moderation there is nothing wrong with the odd naughty sweet or salty snack as long as we eat a nutritious balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and wholefoods. It would also be a lie if I didn’t say I ate some crisps or chocolate this week but I did eat some healthier snack options and did add lots of fresh fruit where I could to my snacks.

This blog post should give you alternative and healthy snack ideas which are filling and easy as well as being great for any time of day and night. Because it does help to fill the void and rumbling tummy and I think a great place to start is cereal. Everyone knows that cereal is a great way to break the fast in the morning but it also is a delicious, quick, cheap and convenient way to snack as well. I snacked on cereal a lot last week, and granola is my favorite at the moment, I normally bathe my cereal in soya milk and top it with fresh berries and soya yoghurt. Cereal can easily be jazzed up by adding fruit, nuts or yoghurt and makes it more substantial and interesting so cereal doesn't have to be plain and boring. 

I would recommend topping with cherries or strawberries and Alpro soya Vanilla yogurt is so thick, creamy and luxurious that it becomes a match made in heaven. 

The cereal I had were both from Asda's 'Chosen By You' range and both were very delicious and crunchy, I got the Maple and Pecan crisp and the Strawberry crisp variety too. Ultimately dress your cereal up in anything you like and let me know what you like to put on your cereal in the comments below. 

Another super easy snack idea is normally a lunch time staple. However one of my store cupboard favorites is soup. Soup takes minutes to heat up and is great when you want something hot. One of my favorite flavors is cream of tomato soup and is incredibly cheap and easy to get hold of. Obviously soups with beans, lentils, chunks of vegetables and pasta will be more filling and of more substance and it is important to keep an eye out for salt and added sugar content because a lot of processed soups are full of salt and sugar. If you make a lot of home made soup at home you can easily freeze your soup and keep it in the freezer until you need it. Another great thing about soup is that a lot of them count to your five a day and that is always good to know. 

Yoghurt and fruit is another great snack, much healthier than ice cream but it still can be interesting and is able to be customised with whatever toppings you like. You could crumble biscuits or nuts or spoon some jam and mix it in with the yoghurt and fruit. The yoghurt I have tried was Alpro soya plain and vanilla yoghurt, the plain yoghurt reminded me of plain Greek yoghurt and was really thick and creamy but the vannila flavour was really yummy and delicious.

And my last snack idea is a sandwich, I used Violife dairy free cheese and used salad to add more flavour and texture to my sandwiches such as lettuce, red onion, peppers, cucumber and sweetcorn as well as HP BBQ sauce to add a smoky flavour to the sandwich. Amelia and I have found that Vitalite margarine tastes really natural and is a great Vegan margarine, so we spread the bread with it when we are making sandwiches or toast. We tried a flat thinner bread which is great for making a snack size sandwich, but you can use bread rolls or normal sliced bread, it doesn't make much difference.  

I hope this has helped and given you some simple yet inspiring snack ideas. Listed below are the products I have used and how much I paid for them. I hope you are having a lovely day! If this or any of posts on our blog have inspired you or got you curious about anything please comment below and let us know what you think. 

Products mentioned or pictured:
https://groceries.asda.com/product/crisp/asda-chosen-by-you-maple-pecan-crisp/910001962186 - Maple and Pecan Crisp - £1.98
https://groceries.asda.com/product/crisp/asda-chosen-by-you-strawberry-crisp/910001954794 - Strawberry Crisp - £1.98
https://groceries.asda.com/product/grapes-berries-cherries/asda-growers-selection-strawberries/998058 - Strawberries - £1.50
https://groceries.asda.com/product/grapes-berries-cherries/asda-growers-selection-cherries/910002574727 - Cherries - £2
https://groceries.asda.com/product/dairy-alternatives/alpro-plain-soya-yogurt/910000297653 - Simply Plain Alpro Soya Yoghurt - £1.35
https://groceries.asda.com/product/cheese-slices/violife-original-vegan-slices/910001579904 - Violife sliced cheese - £2.48 


Jasmine

This post is not sponsored. 

Our Big Day Out - 7th June 2016

After a busy year of stressful university work, exams and coursework. It was finally time to treat ourselves and indulge in the little pleasures of life. For us that meant a day out together to have our nails done, go shopping and watch a movie. Grab your tea and have a nose into what we got up to on this very special day.

10:00am- Jasmine and I had both gotten ready and travelled to the bus stop to arrive in Leicester city centre to go and get our nails done. Not only was it a sunny day, but the bus driver let us on for free! This was the best way to start the day.

10:30am- Jasmine and I arrived at 'the Beauty refinery' in Leicester city centre. Located at 101 London Road, Leicester. We both chose to have shellac nails, but instead the beautician recommended 'glamlac' nails. Which we were both a little uncertain on at first on whether this was a knock off or not. However we were both very happy with the nails, and the lady who did our nails was very friendly and we are considering going back for another treatment soon. Considering I have very short nails, the beautician did a excellent job for what she was given to work with. However the cuticle treatment was uncomfortable, this involved the lady pushing back the cuticle and cutting it with a small device. Shellac nails at this location retail for £25, and they take around 45 minutes to apply.

Pictured- Top left Amelia's nails, bottom right Jasmine's nails.

11:30am- It had been a couple of hours since we had eaten our breakfast, so as you can expect we were both very hungry. We chose an independent cafe in Leicester city centre called 'Holly's'. Located at 13-15 St Martins street, City Centre, Leicester, LE1 5DE. As a constant Holly's visitor, I have to say the service here is impeccable, the food is tasty and the prices are student friendly. Jasmine had a avocado, goats cheese and pepper wrap with salad. The bang for your buck was amazing as we were both left full. Jasmine spent around £5 for her wrap and a bottle of water. I chose a Jacket potato with cheese, beans and salad. Again I spent around £5 for the meal and a bottle of water. We were both impressed by Holly's and would highly recommend this cafe.

Pictured- Jasmines salad wrap.

Pictured- Amelia's jacket potato.

12:30am- We travelled into the city centre and decided to do some shopping. I have to say we did not see many items we wished to buy. We both had a Starbucks, Jasmine chose a strawberries and cream frappuccino, and I had a chocolate frappuccino. We spent around £5 for these drinks together. Jasmine bought a face mask from lush- cosmetic warrior £6.75. You can read her review here. I also bought a charm from pandora, which had a daisy detail. This charm retailed for £45.

Pictured- Pandora Charm.

Pictured- Cosmetic Warrior face mask.

3:00pm- We arrived home from our busy day out. We decided to put a film on Netflix but instead we both fell asleep half way through.

5:00pm- We decided to go for a walk to wake ourselves up and have some dinner. We both had toast due to feeling so full from lunch.

It was a fantastic day out and a much needed day to spend on ourselves.

Comment Question- What is your favourite way to spend time for yourself?

Amelia

Check out this post-
http://cupsofteafortwo.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lushs-fresh-face-mask-cosmetic-warrior.html

Previous Post-
http://cupsofteafortwo.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lushs-fresh-face-mask-cosmetic-warrior.html

Items mentioned-
the Beauty refinery- http://www.thebeautyrefinery.co.uk/
Pandora daisy charm- http://www.pandora.net/en-gb/explore/products/charms/791259en12
Cosmetic Warrior face mask- https://uk.lush.com/products/cosmetic-warrior

This was not a sponsored post.

Lush's Fresh Face Mask: Cosmetic Warrior - Tried and Tested (Review)

This post is about two of my favourite things: Lush and face masks, so its a no brainer that Lush Fresh face masks are one of my face cleansing routines and I love finding new masks to try. Today I am going to give my thoughts on Cosmetic Warrior which I bought after my previous Lush face mask (Mask of Magnaminty) run out. I bought the product on Tuesday, 7th June with Amelia - to find out more about the day including getting out nails manicured and what scrumptious food we had for lunch see Amelia's post: Our Big Day Out.
So gather round with your preferred tea of choice and you could even apply your face mask.

I bought this product in Lush in Leicester, situated at 11 Gallowtree Gate, and am a regular browser and buyer in this store. The staff are always helpful and happy to give their thoughts and advice. I was recommended this product by a member staff who applied some to my hand and massaged it into the back of my hand and was surprised how smooth and creamy textured this mask, especially when masks for normal to oily skin types are normally thick and clay textured. This mask is available in 75 grams and costs £6.75 and it must be refrigerated when not in use and used within 3 weeks.

My first impressions on the product when I opened the black 100% recycled pot was the aroma of the mask, it has a pungent and strong scent. As soon as the container was opened the smell of tea tree drifts up, soon it is joined with the sweet sickly smell of honey and they mingle into a rather odd scent.  There is also a smell of raw egg which is bizarre and the smell of the product might put some off and it is definitely a draw back for the face mask.

The smooth consistency is a really highlight of this face mask, if you have skin which is more on the oily side then you will know how rare it is to come across a face mask for normal to oily skin types which is smooth and so creamy as this mask. Cosmetic Warrior is definitely very gentle and suitable for for applying to inflamed red spots without further enraging them or feeling uncomfortable and sore on them.  It is very lovely and refreshing to have a mask and skin care product that is soft, creamy and lightweight on the skin when applying and leaving to dry. 

It is important to highlight that this product is not vegan as it contains honey and free range eggs. It is approved by the Vegetarian society but is not a vegan product.

The natural ingredients contains a lot of natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties. The honey is antibacterial and the tea tree oils and the garlic are great natural antiseptics. The kaolin clay is very good at cleansing skin but is lightweight and smooth. Furthermore, there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives so it does need to be kept chilled in the fridge and used in a few weeks. 

I would recommend washing and cleansing your face before applying the mask and ensuring your skin is patted dry before application. Apply a generous layer of the product on the face, but make sure you leave areas of bare skin around the eyes and lips. Then let it set on the skin for 5-10 minutes. Just enough time to make another cup of tea! Then once dried wash off using warm water before patting the skin dry and applying moisturizer. 

Overall rating: A smooth and creamy textured mask that leaves the skin feeling smooth and clean after. However the smell of the ingredients are not complimentary and the smell of egg is detectable. 

What is your favourite face mask? Have you got a Lush face mask you cannot live without? Let me know in the comments!

Jasmine


Items mentioned: 

Cosmetic Warrior: https://uk.lush.com/products/cosmetic-warrior 

This post is not sponsored.