Haitus!

Hi Guys! You may have noticed that I took a little blogging break.  Blogging is a lot more work than it looks (just ask any blogger), I've had a good long break and am ready and recharged to blog again.

I am going to kick off this come back with a product review. Or maybe its more of a brand review because I love every item they make!! The brand I'm talking about is British based Naked Bodycare. Kinda sucks that they are only available in the UK because I know they would be a big hit in America. Seriously Naked products are totally kickass. Hopefully one day they will jump the pond over to the US.

All products produced by Naked are at least 97% natural and 100% totally free of parabens, petrochemicals, sodium laureth / lauryl sulfate (SLS) and phthalates! And they don't test on animals. Awesome right?

In case you are wondering why only 97% natural here is a little snippit taken from their website.

You may also ask why only 97% natural? Well, the remaining 3% is made up of things like the preservative system (stops the product going bad after opening ) plus things like emulsifying agents which are necessary to stop ingredients from separating ( we don’t like divorce ). However some of our products are actually 99.5% natural as they didn’t need as much help to behave.

My entire shower routine consists of products from the Naked range. My favourite products are...

Naked Detox Deep Cleanse Shampoo - I use this shampoo once a week to remove any product build up that may be left on my hair.

Naked Care Sensitive Shampoo - A nice mild shampoo for everyday use (or every other day in my case)

Naked Rescue Intensive Care Conditioner -  Good moisturising thick sticks to your hair conditioner. Love it!

Take Care Naked – Orange Blossom Body Wash - Smells so lovely. Mmmmm orange blossom :-)

Perfect Getaway Cream Cleanser - A nice moisturising cream facial cleanser. Its not meant to be used in the shower but I totally do.

Naked Skin Blinking Lovely Eye Make-Up Remover -  Gets rid of pesky eye makeup in a jiff. Contains witch hazel and aloe vera and is fragrance and alcohol free.

24 Hour Naked – Coco de Mer Body Butter - Who doesn't love a good body butter?

So there you have it those are my favourites but I love'em all! Go check out the online  Naked Bodycare store by going here . Alternatively their products are also available in your local Boots and Super Drug.

Dog Popsicles or Pupsicles

The weather here in England has been nice and warm this week. Its been lovely to be able to go outside without getting rained on. My dogs love to sit outside and soak up the sunshine but when they come inside they are hot and panting. So I decided to make them some popsicles, why should they miss out on yummy summer time treats? I mean we eat ice creams and popsicles when we are out enjoying the sun so our pets should too.

Denver, Savannah and Dallas eagerly watching me making the treats. Bristols was in there too but she got pushed out of the photo.

I suggest buying a popsicle mould just for your pets treats because the plastic may hold on to the fishy flavor even after being washed and I'm pretty sure you don't want salmon flavored popsicles. I bought a set of 2 that makes 12 popsicles at the £ store for £1. You can get them at your local discount store for a £1/$1 or two.

Salmon & Carrot Pupsicles

Ingredients:

• 1 can of salmon or tuna in water, rinsed if it contains salt
• 2 carrots, washed
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used 0% fat Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup water or homemade beef or chicken broth (store bought has too much salt)
• small rawhide sticks (as many as you have popsicle moulds)

Directions:

• Place carrots into a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Alternatively you can grate the carrots.
• Add the salmon/tuna, yogurt and water to the carrots in the food processor and blend until nicely combined.
• Place mixture into a container such as a measuring cup with a pouring spout to make it easier to fill the popsicles moulds.
• Pour the mixture into your popsicle moulds leaving about 1/4 inch at the top. Place a rawhide stick in each mould and place in the freezer until frozen.

 

Banana Oat Muffins

I have another adaptation of one of Ina Gartens recipes for you this week. Like the granola recipe I have made some changes to suit my tastes and what I had on hand. I love the way these muffins turned out. They are perfect for a quick breakfast and freeze well too.

Banana Oat Muffins

Adapted from Ina Gartens Banana Crunch Muffin recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2  eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't over mix.

Fold the oats and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with oats or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Freezer directions:

Place muffins in zip lock freezer bags or air tight containers and keep in the freezer. When ready to eat remove from freezer and thaw on counter or in the refrigerator.

Ina’s Granola Bars

I usually buy Natures Valley granola bars but after watching Ina Garten make a batch on the Food Network I decided to have a go myself. I have made granola before but I never feel that the recipe is perfect. Its always missing something. Well not anymore! Ina’s recipes is PERFECTION! The bars came out crunchy yet still chewy and they have just the right amount of sweetness. P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N I tell you!

You can find Ina’s original recipe here. I made a few changes to my bars because I didnt have a few of the ingredients in the kitchen but they still came out great. You can play around with the fruit and nut combo in this recipe. You can even use maple syrup in place of the honey for maple granola bars. Mmmm I bet that would be good maybe toss a few pecan in there too.

Granola Bars

Adapted from Ina Garten’s granola bar recipe found here.

• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 by 12-inch baking dish with foil.

Toss the oatmeal, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through making sure not to burn. Toast until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the raisins and cranberries and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the foil lined pan. Using a silicone spatula or your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 15 – minutes, until light golden brown. BE SURE TO CHECK AFTER 10 MINUTES TO MAKE SURE ITS NOT BURNING.  Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Note: Add a 1/2 teaspoon of good quality orange extract for a yummy orange and cranberry granola bar.

Happy Saturday!

Berry Pickin

Ranjit and I went to a Pick Your Own Farm called Lotmead Farm. At the moment the strawberries and raspberries are ready for pickin.

They have their strawberries growing on tables so there's no bending down to pick them.

This is one of the raspberry fields.

We picked way more than this. With all the berries we brought home I made 2 small batches of jam, froze some and saved some to eat fresh.

When we finished with all the berry picking we wondered over to the animals were there is the cutes little pony. He's the one on the right. That's is momma on the left. Aint he just so cute! He is only a month old and as cute as can be! I wanted to take him home with me.

The Roof is on Fire!

Well not really but we did have a small house fire last Monday. Our electric kettle malfunctioned while we were out of the house and caused some damage. We are counting ourselves lucky because it could have been a lot worse. There is smoke damage in most rooms but that can be fixed with a good scrub down and a few fresh coats of paint.

The kettle or what was left of the kettle.

Some of the smoke damage.

I've been cleaning for the past two weeks but there is still so much to do. I think the horrible smoky smell is gone from the house now and the kitchen is usable though it still needs a new counter top and the walls need painting.

Got a recommendation for cleaning up after a fire? All this smoke damage is super hard to clean off and it is covering everything in my house! EVERYTHING! Every single item in this house has to be washed and scrubbed down. So I am grateful for any tips on how to make the job easier.