Sugar-Free September - Ways to Eat Less Sugar #SugarFreeSeptember

Welcome to Sugar-Free September!   It always used to be said that fat is the enemy- recent studies are suggesting that in fact it’s not fat we should be steering clear of, but sugar.   Aside from an increased risk of diabetes, a high-sugar diet has been found to increase weight gain; risk of heart disease; risk of cancer – the list goes on.   I’m no expert so rather than explain all the scientific theory behind what too much sugar...

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Bring out the Branston - Barbecue Recipes with Pickle, Relish and Sauce

“Bring out the Branston” – the advertising slogan for Branston Pickle – is something I associate with cheese sandwiches, not barbecues. But the brand, which started life in 1922, is now known for more than just pickle and has a range of relishes and table sauces. By inviting a group of food and lifestyle bloggers to the London Barbecue School, they were able to showcase just what you can do with their products - and there wasn't...

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Meal Planning Monday 2016 - week 35

A friend of mine did something called Sugar Free September last year where she went a whole month without eating any sugar - I can't remember if she was able to stick to the plan 100% but she certainly did very well, lost weight and felt a lot better. It was on her recommendation that I bought a book called I Quit Sugar, which is full of great recipes, even if they tend to take a bit longer than just putting something from the freezer...

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Cheddar and Mustard Loaf

  I wanted to make some bread to have alongside a barbecue at home so had a look in my Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking. This is the book that came out to accompany the series before last that was won by Nancy. There's a whole section on bread, and I hadn't made any of the recipes from the book, so decided to have a go at the cheddar and mustard loaf. It turned out really well, even though it was left to prove for a lot longer than...

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Chicken with Awesome BBQ Spice Rub

  Last year a friend gave me Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube – The BBQ recipe book, which I’ve used several times when we’ve done barbecues at the weekend. During the week, even though we have a gas barbecue so the cooking itself is quick, I don’t want to faff around in the kitchen and am more likely to do something simple like a tuna steak, sausages, or ready-made chilli beef koftas, which my husband loves and work really well on the barbecue.   This...

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Travel review: Galapagos Islands and Finch Bay Eco Hotel Part 2

Part 2 of my travel review of the Galapagos islands, where we were based out of the Finch Bay Eco hotel in Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Thinking that the sightseeing might be quite tiring (it was) we had decided to leave ourselves one day free to chill out in the hotel. Unfortunately there was never much sun at the hotel (though when we walked around other islands it was blazing hot – it all depends on which island you’re on) so I didn’t...

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5 Easy Lunchbox Salads you can take to work for lunch

I've been eating a lot of salads lately, and taking one in to work every day for my lunch. It's cheaper than going out and buying one every day and this way I can put exactly what I want into it. Sometimes I get into a bit of a rut eating the same salads every day and end up looking around the internet for inspiration so I thought I'd share my current top five. Please excuse the simple presentation - this is literally how I take the salads into...

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Have a Great Day Cat Card

I have a folder for greeting cards I was given once, that has a page for each month where you can write down who has a birthday or special occasion, and there's a pocket on the facing page to store the cards for each month. I use that for the cards I've made, and recently found this one among my craft stash (I have a whole cupboard full of stuff) - so I had made it ages ago (literally years) and never used it! I had some cat stickers on a...

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Travel review: Galapagos Islands & Finch Bay Eco Hotel, Santa Cruz Part 1

  Part 1 of the Caroline Makes review of the Finch Bay Eco hotel in the Galapagos islands It was on another holiday that my husband and I chose the destination for our honeymoon. He’d proposed just before we went to America and we were in Chicago at the Fields Museum – which I highly recommend – and had bought entry tickets that allowed us to watch the 3D movie as well. It was a David Attenborough-narrated film of the Galapagos – which would...

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