Life. Love. Travel. Food

When I started this blog, the first thing I did was come up with ideas of what to call it. To state the obvious, I settled on lifelovetravelfood - a bit of this, a bit of that, all the things I'm passionate about. 

After my first post, we were discussing it at work and my friend K explained to another friend that the idea behind my blog was that I wrote a bit on each section every post - a bit of life, a touch of love, my latest travel and lots of food. If I'm perfectly honest, that wasn't the idea at all but she made it sound so good so I just picked it up and ran with it. 

But as my blog as progresses, I worry that I might be starting to get a bit boring. Plus with some sections much bigger than others (and one day that 'travel' section is bound to dry up) I thought why not mix it up a bit. Gotta learn to love and embrace change! My next thought was to focus some blog posts just on one theme. So which ones gets the first solo act?

It seems a bit silly to blog about 'travel' when we've barely left the TW postcode, let alone the country so what could I possibly write about. I'll save that one for later. 

Keeping it local - by the river
in Staines (yes, Ali-G's hood)

Well, 'love' is always a tough one cause I don't want to write sappy things about B. That's really not my style. And besides, with my niece or nephew coming into the world in a few short weeks, I might save it for when I meet him / her for the first time. I can't imagine that won't be love at first sight. 

Summer is on its way - something I LOVE
(plus I don't think J would want me to put
up a pic of her bump - even though I
think it's absolutely beautiful)

So that leaves 'life' or 'food'. To be honest, I'm in a bit of a rut with 'life'. Nothing to complain about (although B will beg to differ) just nothing to write home about either. I continue to look at the bright side of life (because there's a LOT of brightness and so much to be grateful for) and remember what's important. Easier said than done, that's for sure. But perhaps I'll leave 'life' for another month when I've figured out what the future holds for me.

Life can be absolutely beautiful. A
stunning sunset in my usually less than
beautiful neighborhood. Taken from
my balcony

So there you go... It all comes down to food. Yessss!! Secretly this is what I wanted to talk about all along and spend most of my days talking about to anyone who'll a) listen b) feign an ever so slight interest in the topic. I don't preach. I don't judge (no J, I do not judge!) because no two people are the same and eveyone's opinions are different. Plus when people tell me that certain foods I eat are a scam and have no benefit and I'm getting sucked into a world of corporate marketing, that really annoys me. Each to their own I say and that's the way it should be for eveything.

A clean creation - coconut and buckwheat
pancakes. Don't act like you're
not impressed...

Oh look at that... now it looks as if this has turned into a blog post of it's own! I think I'm beginning to believe what my parents have said for years and what people at work are starting to come out and say... I do rabbit on a lot, don't I?!

One last thing. K, who writes over at somethingkatesaid this is my thank you for being the brains, the inspiration and the ideas girl behind my blog! I'd never have thought of it on my own, you creative little gem you! 

My love hate relationship with London

Life

Seriously London, what's with the weather? Spring so far has been cold, windy, rainy and grey. Sure, there's a blue sky every now and then, even a day of warm weather but come ON! Sort it out!

This was the only slightly gloomy
picture I had of the sky. I only
seem to take pictures of blue skies.
Grey just makes me sad.
Bank, London, May 2014

So I think you can tell from the above paragraph that I am WELL and truly annoyed with the weather at the moment. Does that make me a true Brit? Probably... oh dear, this isn't good.

My recent tweets seem to be a bit about the gym (yes, bragging I'll admit, I'm still amazed I've been to the gym so many mornings lately so I'm ALLOWED to brag) and the rest about the weather. I'm getting bored myself. If I followed me, I'd totally unfollow. Yawn. I've totally convinced you to follow me on Twitter now, haven't I?

Love

So with my above moaning, I actually need to congratulate the weather for being completely wrong on Thursday. It was meant to rain heavily all afternoon, while J and I were due to visit the Chelsea Flower Show. We were prepared for anything. Giant umbrellas, closed in shoes, jumpers and sunglasses, JUST in case. Despite checking my BBC weather app every few hours, the outlook still looked glum... And we were pleasantly surprised with spots of bright blue skies and NO RAIN!! Thank goodness. With most visitors being of the more mature age, it was slow going at the best of times. Pile everyone into a tiny space trying to look at a small garden and moving at a snails pace was bad enough but if it'd been raining, I think I would have lost it! I don't do so well in crowds at the best of time (ever since getting stuck in the most crowded street of my life at the end of Ramadan in Istanbul) so I was hugely grateful for the rain holding off.

Right, that's all I'll say about the weather for the rest of this blog, promise! To get on with it, I had the most wonderful day on Thursday. I got up early to do yoga, had a delicious breakfast, called Mum and Dad (happy birthday Dad!) then set off to meet J for a lovely girly day out. We had some appalling service at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (this is not the place to rant) followed by some excellent service and a wonderful, posh, fancy, dainty, delicious three course lunch. Then we went to the Chelsea Flower Show, somewhere I've wanted to visit ever since I saw it on Better Homes & Gardens (don't judge me for watching it!) I knew it would be B's idea of hell so I was thrilled when J said she'd love to come with me.

This show epitomises England and it was absolutely WONDERFUL! The colours, the flowers, the designs, the gardens, the perfumes. Just lovely! But I'll let my pictures do the talking...

The lovely gardens
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

So many gorgeous garden
accessories for sale. I
loved these copper flowers
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

My favourite photo -
a gorgeous Iris
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

Lovely little bumble bees
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

Hyacinths, my favourite.
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

Of course I took a picture of
a pineapple. A PINK pineapple.
Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014

Travel

It's a long weekend here in London right now and it might come as a massive shock to you all, that we're spending it in London. That's right, we're not travelling. We're spending five whole weekends here. But hey, it's not all bad! Only two weeks till our summer holiday to Cyprus! But that's for my next blog.

And so to our travel adventures for the month of May. This trip saw is visit the wonderful little country of Lithuania. We arrived really late on Friday night, actually it was early Saturday morning at 2.30am. When we finally got up on Saturday morning, we explored the town of Vilnius before taking a bus to Trakai. 

Vilnius, Lithuania
May 2014

Vilnius, Lithuania
May 2014

Street art stalls
Vilnius, Lithuania
May 2014

Trakai is a lovely town by the lake, where the local Lithuanian's holiday in the summer. We had our first taste of local food, but I'll save that for the next section, and explored the pretty surroundings. 

Pretty Trakai, Lithuania
May 2014

Our bus back to Vilnius was interesting. Travelling on quite possibly the oldest bus in the world, it was full up so we stood the whole way back along the highway. Not quite sure it was legal but hey, we made it one piece! Back in Vilnius, we discovered a great, if not slightly odd, brew pub where they brew their own beer and serve only local beers.

The menu... and these pages were
rather normal in comparison. What the??
May 2014

In our lovely hotel, we we're lucky enough to be upgraded to a superior room with a gorgeous view of the city. This meant the much talked about Sky Bar (with a slogan 'As close as you'll come to space'... bit of an exaggeration) boasting the best views over the city was a bit 'meh' but that's only because we had the exact same view from our room, just six floors lower. Still, we enjoyed a very reasonably priced cocktail while we were there and came back before bed for a delicious Espresso Martini. I'm a bit of a snob about these. I know what I like and most places make rubbish ones but Sky Bar did not disappoint.

Frozen margaritas at Sky Bar
Vilnius, Lithuania
May 2014

Vilnius sunset
Lithuania
May 2014

Everything in Lithuania was so incredibly cheap. A posh night out where we had three courses, drinks and all within our own private dining room, cost us less than a very average meal in London (even if we used B's favourite 'Taste of London' card). Plus we found a bar where you could get a stein of beer for £1... Yes. £1. You know you're on to a winner. We actually struggled to spend money! That's never happened before!!

On Sunday, we enjoyed wonderful massages and were both very intrigued to know what the 'erotic massage' entailed. Neither of us dared to ask. After some pretty epic stodgy for lunch (hey, we had to try the traditional foods!) we took the bus to Kaunas. We explored this sleepy little town very quickly so took the opportunity to visit a few great bars, selling local craft beer at rock bottom prices. You could get 1L bottles fresh draft beer for £2.14! Happy days.

Streets of Kaunas, Lithuania
May 2014

Dinner that night was ridiculously cheap. We shared a HUGE platter of meat, meat and more meat. Oh, and some gherkins and sauerkraut made up the vegetable side of things. Plus two desserts, water, drinks, tea and vodka to end... for £14! Crazy! So yes, this made Lithuania even more appealing to us. When you struggle to spend money and walk into a shop, 'forced' to buy pretty souvenirs you don't really need just to get rid of local currency, it's a great place to visit.

Kaunas, Lithuania
May 2014

Glorious blue skies
Kaunas, Lithuania
May 2014

Our magnet - disappointing. Nothing overly exciting to be honest, just a traditional flag magnet. That's ok, you can't have it all!

Food

So May hasn't been the best month for me in terms of eating healthy. I've been busy a lot after work and eating really well when going out is HARD! The options are always the same and they're so boring. I know, excuses excuses! Anyway, here are my highlights for this month in the food department.

In Lithuania, we tried many traditional foods, including kibinai - a meat filled pastry, very much like a Cornish Pasty or an empanada (yours are STILL the best I've ever had V!) Zepplins - huuuuuge stuffed dumplings. Honestly, it was ridiculously big!  And so stodgy, served with a bacon cream sauce and not even a piece of lettuce on side. I'd have killed for some lettuce garnish!! When we were ordering, we asked for two and the guy asked us if we'd ever had one before. When we had no, he said, "Do not start with two. I suggest just one. Just one." Boy was he right! We also tried potato pancakes - shallow fried of course, and served with sour cream. No salad. Don't be ridiculous! After these, I felt like I'd eaten an entire buffet. So. Full. 

Stodge.
May 2014

Our posh meal out in Lithuania was actually a modern Italian restaurant where we enjoyed beef carpaccio; goats cheese with hazelnuts, pesto and an apple salad for entree; rack of lamb (for B, clearly, I'm still a lambatarian!) duck with potato gratin and two wonderfully delicious, sweet desserts. We usually try and eat the local, traditional foods when we're visiting a new country but I'm not sure my stomach could have taken stodgy for two of the three meals per day. Even B struggled and that's saying something!

Now on to an even posher meal with lunch at Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay. I went here with J, just the two of us and it was so lovely (well, most of it). I can't for the life of me remember all the posh names they used for everything so I'll just say what it really was without fancying it up. Asparagus with quail egg; artichoke with a lemon beurre blanc sauce (ok that sounds posh) baby vegetables (the way the French Maître d said it made it sound SO much better) and a garlic crouton. Rabbit three ways; pork three ways. They did describe each tiny little well thought out element to us but I've clearly forgotten and this isn't the type of place where you ask if you can take the menu home with you so you can write it in your diary or take a photo of it (to be judged even MORE!) Dessert was something beautiful and strawberry for J - one looked like a fresh strawberry roll up, it was so fresh and wonderful. Mine was three types of mousse which were dark chocolate, milk chocolate and caramel (I understood those when he described them to me) And to finish, strawberry icecream balls coated in white chocolate, a chocolate something that was incredibly rich and delicious and rose water jellies. I'm so good at describing things, hey?!

Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay. The poshest
of posh lunches
May 2014

Everything was delicate and beautifully presented with a thousand staff on hand, each with just one job. There was a guy whose job was bread. That's it. Just bread. And a guy whose job it was to walk from the kitchen to the doorway with food. He didn't step into the dining room, oh no, there were two people to bring the food from the tray to your table. It was all very lovely and a very special occasion but so over the top and we clearly didn't fit in there. If you ever go, check your shoes. They severely judge you on your shoes. No one escapes their wrath, not even a nearly eight-month pregnant lady. Oh no... But let's not go into that, I will just get angry all over again and I've already done that when I gave them a not so glowing review. I wonder if they'll publish it...

And now to the days where I have actually been eating well. Here's what we've been having. Teriyaki salmon salad; chilli beef in lettuce cups; corn fritters with chunky salsa and bacon; spinach turkey burgers and so much more. B has even started happily cooking these types of meals. Today, he even asked for fruit salad for breakfast instead of a big breakfast. We had bacon in the fridge and he opted for fruit. I know, I'm continually amazed!

Teriyaki salmon salad
May 2014

Delicious turkey and spinach burgers - getting
a little obsessed with turkey lately
May 2014

In the sweets department, I've made so many things that I'm enforcing a ban on myself to not make any new clean sweets until I've eaten what's in my freezer. I actually find this really difficult because I love to cook so much and get a thrill out of making something clean that often tastes better than the sugar, preservative filled packaged

supermarket stuff. A few of my favourites are cashew cacao bliss balls; rhubarb, strawberry and blueberry clean crumble; raw coconut roughs (again, they're awesome!) raw mocha cake (yuuuuuum!) and my favourite, caramel chocolate cups. They. Are. Amazing. 

Clean crumble - yes, it really can be done
May 2014

Raw mocha cake. I have slices of this
in my freezer - dangerous... I just want
dessert every night.
Recipe testing for the lovely Merrymaker Sisters
May 2014

Mmm... sooo yum. Raw caramel chocolate cups
May 2014

And finally, a new surprising change in my life. My love of breakfast. It used to be the most boring, unexciting meal for me. Cereal or toast. Yawn. But now I love it and actually look forward to it. Often as I'm walking to work, I get excited knowing breakfast and coffee have almost arrived! The best is a cashew, mango and lime smoothie. It's absolutely delicious! I think I'll make one of these for breakfast tomorrow. Yum!

Always prettier served in a jar with
a stripey straw
May 2014

Checking in on those New Years resolutions

Life

On 1 January 2014, like many people, I set my New Years resolutions. I've had resolutions since I was about 8 years old and don't think I've ever achieved any of them. Still, I quite like the idea of starting fresh so continue to write them down each year and promptly forget about them a few days into the month. But to me, 2014 felt different. I can see some of you rolling your eyes at this but it just did for me. So I tried to be a bit more realistic and set goals that I thought would actually be achievable.

1) Update my blog monthly

2) Eat cleaner

3) Move more

4) Stop biting my nails

So here's my quarterly update on my progress so far.

1) I think you all know the answer to this one. Yessss!!! Although before I get too cocky, I remember starting 2012 and 2013 off well for the first few months so I won't count this as a great success just yet.

2) This one has been the surprise for me. Eating healthy and cutting out the junk has always been something I thought was unachievable, boring and highly unlikely for me to pursue. Whereas in reality, I think this has been the most fun for me! Creativity is key, don't count calories (count nutrients) and be organised. I used to dread the thought of cutting out sugar and while I haven't done it completely, I've taken out most refined sugars from my diet and am quite happy with my substitutes. Don't worry, wine is still on the menu as is chocolate. Just not as much as I used to have and this just suits me fine.

Don't pretend you don't think these look
delicious! Paleo Anzac biscuits

3) Rather than my usual unrealistic 'exercise daily' or 'run four times a week' when I know I won't be able to keep that up (and running actually doesn't suit my body and I really struggle to do it regularly) I decided that 'move more' would be much more achievable. Move. Whether it be yoga, swimming, a session at the gym or simply walking lots when we're away travelling this one has become quite important to my day now.

In March, I completed 31 days of yoga. A challenge I set myself just because I wanted to see if I could do it (and was always in awe of my gorgeous yogi friend M who used to tell me she'd just completed yet another 30 day challenge - again?! Even the weekends?! Impressive!) I decided March was a good month because we weren't travelling too much so I wouldn't have to move hotel furniture around all that often! Long story short, I did it and loved it and my reward for achieving my mini goal is a lovely long massage. I can't wait! I think mini goals with little rewards are so important. If you're anything like me, a reward gives you something to re-focus your thoughts on when you feel like giving up.

I heart yoga! My favourite pose,
headstand. And I'm not leaning against
the wall in case you're wondering!

4) Funnily enough, I think my most challenging resolution is to stop biting my nails. In case you're wondering,  haven't started biting them again, I promise! It's just with 20 something years of this habit, they're not as strong as they should be and break easily which really frustrates me and sometimes makes me wonder why I bother! I'm being patient and I think if I make it to six months without any relapses, I'm going to buy myself something gorgeous from Lorna Jane because this is one that really does need a reward. And I would much rather new gym clothes than a manicure cause a top will last much longer and any excuse to buy LJ is good in my eyes!

Love

I'm on the countdown to a few things at the moment - not wishing my life away, I just find I work better when I have something to look forward to.

Just having a good day - sunshine
in the park! It's what you do
when you don't have a garden!

A new niece/nephew will arrive in June to join the incredibly squishy and chubby delight that is my niece R and the ever so cute, stylish, cool chatterbox of a nephew K. They bring me so much happiness, I can't even begin to describe it. Even J's bump, I just love it! Expect a lot more Aunty bragging to come.

My little R's footprint. Isn't it
just the sweetest?!

Spring is here! What a wonderful time of year! The clocks go forward so when I leave work, it's still light and means I can enjoy more of the night before it gets cold and dark. It's almost no tights season! My favourite!! I'm desperate for some sun as my fabulous tan (quiet Miss B, I know you never think I've been tanned in my life!!) has completely disappeared and I'm so incredibly pasty and craving sunshine. This is also the longest time until winter is back and means summer is on the way, yippee!!

Stunning! A beautiful Spring afternoon in
Brockley, East London

Spring in St James's Park, London

Call me a geek but I'm really excited about going to the Chelsea Flower Show this year. Ever since I saw it on Better Homes and Gardens, I've always wanted to go. J and I are going together and have booked a posh lunch at Gordon Ramsay's that day too. I can't wait! 

Then there's Wimbledon. On our first Summer in London, it was at the time when we were unemployed. This allowed us to be able to spend the day queuing for ticket to spend the afternoon in the outside courts. We didn't see any huge games but we had a ball (pun totally intended). This year, we were lucky enough to win the chance to buy tickets for Centre Court! I am SO excited and absolutely can't wait to rub shoulders with the other posh people who are there. I will definitely be on celebrity-spotting patrol and also plan on having a glass of champagne and eating strawberries and cream like all the rich people do. It will definitely be a different experience to last time when we didn't buy any food because it was too expensive and drank pint cans of Carling that we'd brought into the grounds (you're allowed to take in alcohol before you think we smuggled it in). We were so classy... 

And one last thing I'm looking forward to... Holidays! Yes, more holidays! Lithuania in May (country number 44 or 45, I've actually lost count and need to check on the accuracy of this!) and Cyprus (45/46!) for nine nights in June. Hot, summer, beach, sun, pool, BBQ, another magnet to buy. What more could you want?!

Gelato in Sicily - holidays are awesome!

Travel

Speaking of travel, what a month April has been! First, we took a trip to the stunning country of Iceland. We stayed at the Hilton and thanks to B's frequent travel and gold card membership status, were treated to a room upgrade, free breakfast, spa access and executive lounge passes which included free drinks each night. Dangerous! We explored Reykjavik on the Friday and to be honest, there's not a lot there. We took full advantage of the hotel that night, I went to the gym and spa (complete with a free shoulder massage) and enjoyed (perhaps a little too much) the drinks that night. Needless to say, thanks to the first night, I didn't get my money's worth any other night after that! It was too painful!

Reykjavik, Iceland
April 2014

On the Saturday we took a tour of the Golden Circle. We saw the impressive Geysir, stunning Golden Waterfall, stood on two tectonic plates at the one time (Dad, you'd have been very jealous!) saw how they make rye bread by burying the mixture in the steaming mud, and spent time in the natural thermal baths. Can't say I enjoyed what they call an Icelandic sauna, the sulfur just smelt SO disgusting and it really burnt the inside of your nose!!

The view from the bus window on
our Golden Circle tour
Iceland, April 2014

The Geysir going off
Golden Circle, Iceland
April 2014

Golden Waterfall - stunning
Golden Circle, Iceland
April 2014

That same night we took a Northern Lights tour by boat. It was pretty freezing and as we were the last two people to get our thermal overalls, I ended up with XXL with the crotch coming to below my knees. It was a good look! 

We did technically see the lights and even saw a glimmer of green for a brief moment but as the night was extremely cloudy, it wasn't the greatest of sightings. Still, we DID see them so I guess it's one more thing ticked off my to do list.

In magnet news, like the other Scandinavian countries, Iceland's selection was very disappointing. We got one with puffins on it, cause they're cute and the only others were ugly troll Viking-like magnets which I couldn't bring myself to pretend to like. Iceland was beautiful and I wish we could have spent more time exploring the incredible countryside. Well worth a visit.

And then there was Easter in Sicily. We flew in to Catania late Thursday night and drove straight to the sweet little town of Cefalù. On Good Friday, we drove along the coast to the town of Mondello for stunning beaches, warm blue skies and the most beautifully clear water. 

Utter perfection.
Mondello, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

The locals found it quite amusing that we were dressed in shorts and singlets because at 18°, it was freezing to them as they wore turtleneck jumpers and big winter coats. If it's sunny, I will always assume it's warm and sitting in the sun, sipping beautiful Italian white wine and eating freshly caught seafood, I'm allowed to have thought it was 'hot'.

Catania, with a tiny view of
Mt Etna in the background
Catania, Italy - April 2014

We stayed in Cefalù for three nights and it was the most beautiful town. We did a hike on Saturday to see stunning views across the town and sea. The town is formed of tiny cobblestone streets with amazing restaurants, bars, bakeries and shops. We ate VERY well (but I'll save that for the next section) and really just spent our time wandering around and planning our next meal. The perfect kind of holiday if you ask me! Despite having been to Italy twice already, I still wanted to buy a magnet, mostly because they have such good food ones! Keeping it local, I ended up buying a cannoli magnet - a traditional Sicilian biscuit filled with sweet ricotta. Yummmmm!! Oh, and it makes a pretty cool magnet too!

The view from the top
Cefalù, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

View from the top over Cefalù
Sicily, Italy
April 2014

Food

I think this section needs to be hijacked with everything we ate in Sicily cause it was just so good! Pizza, pasta, gelato, wine and seafood were the main stars of the show. Pizza seems simple but the number of bad pizzas I've had is a little sad but Sicily didn't disappoint. The best of the weekend was my Rustica pizza - spicy salami, mushrooms, tomato and blue cheese. What a combination! It even won Ben's vote, even when he was eating his usual favourite, seafood marinara pizza.

Pizzas with our lunchtime view.
Mine was the one on the right - best
pizza everrrrrr!
Cefalù, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

Another favourite was ricotta. On one day, I actually ate it for three courses AND a snack during the day. It's nothing like the basic stuff we get at the supermarket and I'm officially sold - salted ricotta, sweet ricotta, what a wonderful food! A giant donut filled with sweet ricotta was one of my favourite things and if I'd had my way, I'd have eaten one every day.

Ricotta stuff donut and a ricotta
stuffed cannoli. Along with an iced coffee
and an espresso - this is what dreams
are made of!
Cefalù, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

Ricotta overload - deeelish!
Cefalù, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

One of the things I adore about Italian food is the simplicity of it. Fresh, handmade pasta with just a few ingredients - the best being ravioli stuffed with artichoke and topped with squid and cherry tomatoes. That's it. Nothing more, no sauce, nothing fancy. Wonderful. And the simplest salad was one of the best dishes of my weekend. Tomato, basil, olive oil and buffalo mozzarella. An entire mozzarella ball just sitting in the middle of my plate. It was SO simple, fresh and just beyond delicious!Just thinking about it makes me happy!

Incredible tastes including the BEST pasta
and BEST salad. Sigh... take me back!
Cefalù, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

One of many, many, MANY gelato cups! This one
was death by chocolate and coconut - heaven!
Catania, Sicily, Italy
April 2014

I think I need to move on from Italy because I could be here all day, telling you about every single thing I ate! Time to get back to the food I love to make at home. Clean and healthy.

One of the best clean recipes so far is my coconut rough chocolates. Raw, clean, and free from dairy, gluten and refined sugar. SO good and not only approved by B, but also my even fussier anti-clean brother-in-law, L. A few more delicious recipes I've tried include coconut flour pancakes (YUM!), burgers with a mushroom bun, paleo spiced nuts, carrot cake with cashew cream icing (free from refined sugar, gluten and dairy - don't screw your nose up at it, it was YUM!) and a smoked salmon and avocado toad-in-the-hole breakfast sandwich.

Smoked salmon and avocado toad-in-the-hole
on gluten free bread. Mmm!

Clean, raw coconut rough - SO good!

Coconut flour pancakes (gluten free) with
crispy bacon and fresh homemade juice -
best Sunday breakfast ever

Clean and healthy carrot cake. One half with
cashew cream icing (girl) the other with
'proper' cream cheese icing (boy) 

I am spending a lot more time reading the list of ingredients in foods lately. I find it fascinating how much 'stuff' is in our food! Something as simple as dried dates have SO much extra stuff in there - why? What's the point (I know it's so food has a longer shelf life) and what is it doing to our insides? I love being able to make better foods with fresh ingredients and knowing exactly what's in there. Food is still my greatest love, it's just my recipes now contain less nasties and that can ONLY be a good thing.