Back to School Lunch Box Meal with #PowerofFrozen

Now that we are coming to the end of the long summer holidays it is time to start thinking about the children returning to school. The return to school also brings the return of preparing packed lunches. I don't know about you but making packed lunches always seems like a chore, it is always done at the end of the day and I often get stuck for ideas. So when Iceland challenged me to devise an easy recipe for a healthy packed lunch I knew that it would need to be a lunch that will not take long but that would also be full of healthy foods that the kids would love. The one way I find that my children tuck into a salad is if it is fun, colourful and with mayonnaise.

The beauty of this recipe is that the majority of the ingredients are frozen so there are no worries about whether you have the fresh ingredients to prepare. Even the bread rolls are frozen! One of my packed lunch fails has to be not having enough bread or forgetting to defrost some fresh bread. When I defrost bread that I have frozen it never tastes as good, so when I saw that Iceland stocked bread rolls that could be baked from frozen I knew that they would be a must have! I was not disappointed the rolls came out of the oven just like freshly made bread rolls do.

For my back to school recipe I decided to make a rice salad. Rice is full of carbohydrates so acts as a fuel for the children's bodies. The return to school can be tiring for them so they need all of the energy they can get to keep their bodies and brains going! The addition of an egg provides them with protein to help keep their energy level up. The tuna provides them with healthy omega 3 fatty acids while the vegetables give them their much needed vitamin goodness! When using frozen foods you are guaranteed to have a high amount of vitamins as the vegetables are frozen at the optimum time after picking to preserve all of the goodness that wears off as they ripen.

Today's recipe is colourful, fun and full of goodness. This is what I did...

Cheese and Meat Platter from Aldi

Every Friday the hubby and I enjoy our weekly date night. It is a night for just the two of us. Once the twinnies are in bed and J is upstairs playing or watching television the hubby and I tuck into some delicious food, paired with a glass of wine and watch a movie. One of our favourite foods to enjoy has to be cheese, cold meats and wine. Sometimes knowing which cheeses to choose can be difficult so today I thought that I would share with you my top cheese and cold meat selections from Aldi. Cheeses can sometimes be expensive, depending on the type of cheese you enjoy, but in true Aldi style, they offer the best cheeses at unbeatable prices.

Here are my top cheese and meat selections from Aldi...

CookBlogShare Week 35 Plus a Sneak Peek at some Carnival Vista Food!

Hello and welcome to week 35 of CookBlogShare. Having been absent from the linky for two weeks it is lovely to be back. I hope that you have all had a great couple of weeks.

After our holidays I simply have not had time to cook let alone write a recipe. So for this weeks linky I thought that I would share with you four sneaky peeks of just some of the meals that we enjoyed while onboard Carnival Vista. As you can probably imagine the food was fantastic and we were always full! There was so much to choose from and even now I am realising that there were places that we missed. I am going to be sharing more posts over the coming weeks telling you all about the food that we enjoyed as well as what we got up to during our cruise. But to get your taste buds going I thought that I would share with you today a bit of a taster of the speciality restaurants that we visited.

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 29th August 2016

After a truly amazing holiday, it is back to reality and back to cooking meals again. I will admit to enjoying having our meals cooked for us. But now that we are back home it is back to the kitchen for me. This weeks meal plan has been written using what we have in the freezer and the fresh ingredients that we picked up on our way home from the airport. We found an Asda on our journey and popped in. At last I am trying their well known Wonky Veg boxes. We picked up two boxes full of veg for just £3.50 per box! So we have a lot of lovely fresh vegetables in the fridge!

Last weeks meal plan was so good! I am going to be writing lots of Carnival Vista foodie posts over the next few weeks. There was so much food and activities to do I simply cannot write it all in just one post! So keep an eye out for those.

Now back to this weeks meal plan, This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Forza - Shake It Slim

You may remember that in the past I have written posts about how I want to loose weight and suddenly stopped. Today I thought that I would tell you why I stopped writing them and what has changed.

I have mentioned before that I once suffered with eating disorders but, thankfully now, they are behind me. This came with finding my inner peace and happiness. But finding my body confidence did not come as easy and I have been trying to loose weight again. But I have one problem. I like to eat, I like my food, come on, I am a foodie blogger, I need to love food to write passionately about it. Before I decided to put my calorie counting, not eating, rigid diets behind me I was asked if I would like to try some shakes to which I agreed. So when the Forza Supplements Shake It Slim shakes arrived I was curious to what they were like as I was wanting to trim up a bit ready for our holiday.

The starter pack contains all the shakes that you will need for one week, 14 shakes. There are two ways to use the shakes:

• Replace 2 meals with shakes
• Replace 1 meal with shakes

The 2 meal replacement is for weight loss while the 1 meal replacement is for weight maintenance. I decided to have just the one shake for breakfast. I am truly awful at having breakfast. I often find that I am too busy and simply forget about the most important meal of the day. This is how Shake It Slim has helped me. I have been having a shake in the morning as my breakfast and kicking my metabolism into action!

The shakes mix up easily and create a smooth drink. I have tried other powder shakes in the past and have found some of them to be difficult to get a smooth drink without using a powerful blender. But Shake It Slim shakes mix with the water using just a shaker cup.

Each shake contains just 204 calories as well as 22 different vitamins and minerals to promote good health. They come in three delicious flavours, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

After having a shake at breakfast followed by healthy meals have I lost any weight?

To be honest, I do not know. I have stopped stepping on the scales. Instead I am going by how my body feels and how my body looks. I definitely feel less bloated and am not snacking as I was when I missed a breakfast meal or shake. If this is thanks to the shakes or thanks to eating a healthy balanced diet you decide. I will admit that I am swaying to the healthy eating option but if you do not have time to sit and have a meal these shakes give you the perfect and healthy option. If you want to loose weight the best way to do it is by exercising and eating healthily.

Now that I have said goodbye to the fad diets I feel stronger in myself. For the first time ever I am accepting how my body shape has changed since having the twins and that it is now part of me. When I don't eat or am stressing over calories I am so miserable and moody. I don't want to feel like that. I want to feel happy and my body needs to eat healthily for both my physical and mental well being. Also have a daughter! I do not want her to think that she needs to be obsessed with dieting as I once was. We all need to show our children that having a healthy balanced diet is essential and that you can enjoy a piece of cake or some chocolate in moderation. We need to stop showing our girls how our bodies should look according to the media. We are all different, we all have different shapes, there is no "perfect figure" and we need to embrace our bodies as they are! This may not be the review that you were expecting but I am being honest. They are nice drinks, they probably do help you loose weight if you have more will power than I do but they are just not for me and I do not want to be hypocritical and tell you something I do not believe in.

If you would like to try the Shake It Slim starter pack it retails at £25.99 and is available at Boots and Holland and Barrett. Or you can order directly from Forza and pay £18.99.

Disclosure: I received a Forza Shake It Slim for the purpose of this post. All words, views and opinions are my own and 100% honest. No cash payment was received.

#PowerofFrozen and Kids in the Kitchen - Chocolate Eclair Ice Cream Sundae

Now that it is coming to the end of the summer holidays, the kids are starting to get bored and us parents need new ways to keep them occupied. If there is one thing that all three of the kids love it is spending time in the kitchen either helping to prepare their lunches or baking.

When Iceland challenged me to come up with a recipe that the children can help with I knew that a dessert would go down a treat with them all. I don't know about you, but our plans often change depending on the weather, if I have work to be done and what the kids want to do on that day. So having fresh foods can often lead to waste if we get busy doing something else. But when buying frozen foods you know that if you need a last minute activity for the kids or they simply come and say they want to make something you know you have got the ingredients in.

J and I went shopping to our local Iceland to pick up some supplies. As we have had some gloriously warm days we decided to make an ice cream dessert. There are so many different ice creams to choose from. Iceland stock their original ice creams in vanilla, Neapolitan and raspberry ripple. They also have some delicious Italian gelato ice cream in cherry ripple, vanilla and caramel swirls. To go with the ice creams there was a wide choice of toppings and additions!

We decided to go for their Bellissima Chocolate Italian Gelato. This ice cream comes with three irresistible flavours in one, white chocolate flavoured ice cream with white chocolate flavoured ripple, chocolate and cocoa flavoured ice cream with chocolate flavoured ripple and lastly hazelnut and chocolate flavour ice cream with hazelnut and chocolate flavour ripple.

In the end we decided to get the following ingredients...

Today we are going to show you a super easy, delicious sweet treat that not only the kids will love but is perfect for the whole family to enjoy. As much as we all love a good old hot pudding and custard it just won't do in the summer, plus I wanted this to be a safe and easy recipe for the kids to be fully hands on without the worry of the oven. Plus my kids are not very good at waiting for things to bake, like most children when they want something they want to be able to enjoy it as soon as they can. What is even better is that this recipe requires no preparation. You simply need to defrost the eclairs for 30 minutes and then let them go!

This is what we did...

Aldi's Quick and Easy Fajita Dinner Kit

As much as I love cooking all of our meals from scratch, sometimes I want to have a quick and easy meal that doesn't take too long. When I was shopping in Aldi the other week I spotted their Quick and Easy Fajita Dinner Kits. We love Mexican food and it really is a favourite meal of ours.

The Fajita Dinner Kit is priced at just £1.25 and each box contains:

• 8 flour tortillas
• 125g tomato salsa
• 30g fajita seasoning

All that you need to add is 450g of beef or chicken and 300g of vegetables. 

Today I am going to tell you how I got on making beef enchiladas using this kit. This is what I did...

Weekly Meal Plan - The Carnival Cruise Edition

This weeks meal plan is certainly going to be the most exciting meal plan that I have written to date. This weeks meal plan is brought to you via Carnival Vista!

Finally, our holiday with Carnival has arrived and I cannot wait to tell you all about the foodie delights that can be found on board Vista. Being their Foodieseeker Blogger gives me the perfect excuse to explore what food there will be on offer.

This week we have got some meals pre booked which I will tell you about in my meal plan. The other days we will be quite spontaneous and decide what to eat when meal time arrives. I am looking forward to having a week off from cooking and house work. It is going to be lovely having someone else do all of the hard work for me!

I have written a list of restaurants that we would like to visit. I just hope that we manage to visit them all! Check out the list:

• Seafood Shack
• Blue Iguana Cantina (Mexican cuisine)
• Gut's Burger Joint
• Lido Buffet
• Horizons Dining
• Fat Jimmy's C-Side BBQ
• Bonsai Sushi
• Mongolian Wok
• Pizzaria del Capitano
• Room Service

Last week we visited the Italian speciality restaurant Cucina del Capitano and Ji-Ji Asian Kitchen which I will be telling you all about once we are home.

This is what we will be enjoying this week thanks to Carnival...

#FoodieseekerFriday - Our Carnival Journey So Far and Expectations!

Over the last eleven months we have been counting down to our holiday on board Carnival Vista and now the time for us to enjoy this amazing vessel has arrived. For today's Foodieseeker Friday I thought that I would look back over the last eleven months and reflect on our Carnival journey so far.

Back in June 2015 I met the lovely Carnival team while at my first BritMums Live conference in London. I nearly did not apply to be an ambassador as I honestly believed that I would not get selected. But on the second day of the conference I went and had a look and after speaking to Carnival's Lucy I decided to have a go, at the end of the day I had nothing to loose, did I! So I filled in the application form and kind of forgot about it. That was until I received an email that had had the title of...

"Winner! Carnival Cruise Line Fun Seeking Family Competition"

I sat down before opening the email. I simply could not believe that we had been selected as their Foodieseeker Family! Keeping it a secret was so hard but I was over the moon when I could finally make the big announcement on my blog. At that time Vista was still being built and we had the pleasure of following her development. Watching Carnival's videos on their You Tube channel as the development progressed have only added to our excitement. It has been a privilege to watch her go from the ship building yard to water, from completion to her launch.

Red Cabbage and Radish Slaw

Summer time barbecue and a good coleslaw go hand in hand. Homemade coleslaw is so quick and easy to make and can be made according to taste.

When I make a coleslaw I try to add some extra vegetables to the mix. This not only makes the slaw even better for you but adds so much more flavour.

Today's recipe is for a favourite combination of mine and has a fantastic colour too! This dish is perfect for a summers meal al fresco.

This is what I did...

Blueberry and Coconut Pancakes with Team GB and Aldi

I am sure that you will agree that Team GB are doing an amazing job in Rio and are certainly raking in the medals! When you are needing to sustain your energy levels, whether you are an Olympic athlete or just a busy parent, eating the right foods is essential!

Over the last two weeks I have been sharing with you some recipes that have been created by Aldi and the English Institute of Sport. So far I have shared with you Chilli Turkey Burgers and some Classically Sweet Oat Bars. This week I am telling you all about a truly delicious way to start the day with some fruity pancakes. We all love pancakes here so these pancakes went down a treat and I found them to be a great way to get the kids to eat some extra fruit. The recipe uses blueberries, but, if like mine, your children do not like blueberries, you can simply substitute them with some berries that they do like. This recipe is so versatile and can be adjusted to taste. Aldi have some more great recipes on their website so pop over and take a look!

Bananas are a fantastic source of energy and really are one of the best natural sources of rapid energy sugars. They are also high in vitamin B6 and rich in potassium and fibre. So if you are looking for a breakfast or even a snack which is going to give you some get up and go then these are for you!

This is what I did...

Covering the Bills Over an Expensive Summer

We all know that the summer holidays can be an expensive time of year. The kids are off school and you want to make the most of the time by going for days out or taking holidays.

At the end of the summer holidays all parents have to do the dreaded school uniform shopping trip. This year we have been amazed by how much it has cost us. Our eldest is now going up to secondary school so has needed a completely new uniform, which includes specially embroidered items which have cost us an absolute fortune. This is before we have even considered buying school shoes, football boots and trainers! This year is costing us even more as the twins are starting full time school. When you are buying three pairs of school shoes, three pairs of trainers and uniforms the bills certainly do mount up.

My Escudella Recipe Plus Catalan Foodie Hamper Giveaway

Regular readers will know that I used to live in Gran Canaria and whilst I was there I fell in love with the Spanish and Catalan cuisine. It is healthy, full of flavours and dishes that keep you wanting more!

I was recently asked if I would like to talk about Catalonia. We are due to fly into Barcelona soon so this has got me thinking about one of Europe's most beautiful city that is overflowing with culture. But being the foodie that I am, food plays a big part in my travels. I love to try new foods and discover new cuisines. The cuisine in Catalan is very similar to Spanish cuisine. They use similar ingredients which I love.

Picture courtesy of Inntravel

Today I thought that I would share with you some of my favourite dishes and also share with you a recipe that I have created using some delicious, chorizo style sausage that came all the way from Catalonia. I am also excited to tell you that one lucky Hijacked By Twins reader can also win their very own foodie hamper of artisan foods direct from Catalonia!

The meal pictured above it a dish that would be a perfect lunch. Fresh bread that has been gently grilled topped with a variety of vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, peppers and artichokes then topped with olive oil and deliciously fresh anchovies. This would go down a treat with an ice cold glass of either a local cerveza or rose wine from a local vineyard. I simply adore being able to sit by the sea and eat while basking in the Mediterranean sun, what bliss!

As well as the many sea front eateries Barcelona also is the proud owner of 22 Michelin star restaurants. So you know that whether you are visiting Sagrada Familia, the iconic Gaudi designed church, shopping down La Rambla, or watching the Magic Fountain of Montjuic you are guaranteed to find a restaurant that everyone will love.

Today I am sharing with you my version of an Escudella a Catalan stew. For my version I have used root vegetables and a chorizo style Catalan sausage. This is what I did...

#FoodieseekerFriday Holiday Clothes!

One of the best things about holidays has to be getting holiday clothes. I love getting new clothes! But I will admit to actually hating going out and trying on clothes. Since having the twins my shape has certainly changed and I find I need one size for my bottom half and a different size for my top. Plus sizes differ immensely from shop to shop. One size will fit in one but be too small in another. This can be really deflating and often leaves me feeling sad and self conscious. So this year for my cruise holiday fashion I have gone to Simply Be. I have often seen the adverts on television and have liked their clothes. But what really appealed was the easy payments that they offer. Buying holiday clothes for five of us can be so expensive! Being able to pay a monthly balance has made it so much easier as I did need a lot of extra items. I have not been abroad for six years and my other holiday clothes simply do not fit! So I have treated myself to a few key items which I will be able to wear both on holiday and when we are back home. I am going to be mixing and matching items and taking clothes that can be both dressed up and casual.

Here are my key items to pack...

Green Veg and Mint Risotto

Risotto is a great meal to sneak some extra vegetables into the kids. Today's recipe is easier and quicker than a traditionally cooked risotto. It requires a lot less attention and is perfect for when the kids are off school and we have less time for cooking.

This recipe focuses on green vegetables and is full of the flavours of summer. This is what I did...

Classically Sweet Oat Bars with Team GB and Aldi

Last week I told you how Aldi are Team GB's official supermarket sponsor for this years Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I shared with you the first of three delicious recipes that have been created with the help of nutritionists from the English Institute of Sport.and today I am sharing the second, Classically Sweet Oat Bars.

Today's recipe is perfectly practical for long days training and when athletes are competing and need energy on the go. These oat bars contain carbohydrates and provide a fast fuel to not only support performance for athletes but are also for us busy mums who need an extra boost! They are rich in micro nutrients that support general health and immune systems.

The beauty of today's recipe is that it is so versatile. If you have children who do not like raisins, like one of mine, simply substitute them with chocolate chips. If you want more of a sweeter bar add some honey. The possibilities with these bars are endless and so delicious trying new ingredients!

This is what I did...

#CookBlogShare - Week 31 - The Medal Winning Recipes Round Up

Welcome to the round up of CookBlogShare week 31.

This week I could not settle on one theme so I have entitled this round up the "Medal Winning Recipes". Each and every one of these recipes stood out and left me wanting more. Three of the recipes I cannot wait to try for myself but the fourth one is so amazing it definitely wins the gold medal and I will admit that I could never recreate it!

Here are the four medal winning recipes from week 31 of CookBlogShare...

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 8th August 2016

So far these summer holidays my meal plans have been so hit and miss. I think this is a mixture of being busy, the lovely hot weather and simply life getting in the way. So to make it easier this week I will be relaxing my meal plan. I have listed what I am planning to cook but just not allocate the meals to specific days.

This week I am going to be using up what we have got in the fridge and freezer in preparation for us going on holiday. As it is going to be yet another busy week meals will be ones that can be easily made and ones that do not take a great deal of time.

This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Week Commencing 8th August 2016

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta

Last week we got a lovely chorizo sausage which I will be combining it with chicken and pasta.

Back to School with Added Vitamins

In a few weeks the kids will be going back to school and we all know that when the kids return to school the germs return too. So keeping the whole family healthy is paramount! This can be done by eating a good, balanced, healthy diet, but sometimes we all need some extra help. That is where vitamin supplements comes in! Today I am going to tell you a bit about Emergen-C as well as a delicious way to bake with it! I will be sharing my recipe for my super good for you Orange and Lemon Emergen-C Cupcakes!

Emergen-C is packed with B vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes and more vitamin C than 10 oranges!*

But what do they do? Well, let me tell you...

• Antioxidants protect our cells from the effects of free radicals
• Vitamin C helps to promote a healthy immune system and fight off the bugs
• Zinc also helps the immune system by helping to maintain white blood cell activity
• Manganese is needed for healthy skin, bones and cartilage formation
• B1 Thiamin is vital for a healthy metabolism and it helps maintain a healthy nervous system
• B2 Riboflavin plays a vital part in breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and fats into energy
• B3 Niacin is part of the co enzymes that produce energy
• Vitamin B6 is a vitamin that the body cannot make. It helps to form energy rich compounds and niacin, red blood cells and fat metabolism
• B9 Folic Acid helps to maintain healthy levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood
• Vitamin B12 helps to metabolise food for energy and making red blood cells. It is the red blood cells that carry oxygen and may help to promote your energy levels
• B5 Pantothenic Acid is another essential nutrient that helps to generate energy from carbohydrates, proteins and fats

As well as the Emergen-C pictured above they also do an Emergen-C Kidz range which are for children aged 4 to 13 years old and come in three fruity flavours, fruit punch, orange and grape. So when they return to school you can give the whole family a boost of goodness in one simple drink! What a way to start the day!

Now onto a yummy way to get some goodness into your body. My Orange and Lemon Emergen-C Cupcakes. This is what I did...

Orange and Lemon Emergen-C Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup/175g flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup/150g caster sugar

3/4 cup/150g coconut oil

3 eggs

Juice of half a lemon

Juice of half an orange

1 sachet of Emergen-C orange, if baking for children aged 4 - 13 use Emergen-C Kidz range

Method

Pre heat the oven to 356F/180C

1 - Place the coconut oil and sugar in a bowl and mix together

2 - Add the eggs, one at a time with a little flour to prevent curdling

3 - Mix in the remaining flour and the sachet of Emergen-C

4 - Finally fold in the lemon and orange juice

5 - Divide the mixture between 12 cupcake cases and place in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for 20 minutes

6 - Once thoroughly baked remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before enjoying

When I was planning this bake I was going to add a topping of frosting but when I tasted the cakes I realised that they tasted perfect just as they are. But you could add frosting to your cakes and add some more Emergen-C!

Here is to a happy, healthy and successful year kids!

#FoodieseekerFriday - What To Pack!

Now that we are getting closer and closer to our holiday my mind is constantly thinking about what we need to take with us. What I will need, what the hubby will need and what all three kids will need. What they will need to occupy them on the plane and what they will need on the ship.

I will admit to getting stressed before we go on holiday. I am fine once we have left home but the build up to leaving can leave me quite stressed and anxious. So to help alleviate the stress I make lists for everything. Now we are really getting closer I have actually got items on my "things to buy" list ticked off at last. Clothes wise we are all sorted we just need to added extras.

Today I thought that I would share with you my top must haves when going on holiday...

Swiss Style Muesli Cake and Degustabox July Contents

It is Degustabox time again! With some of the contents from this months surprise box I have made a
delicious cake. But before I tell you about my cake let me tell you what came in July's Degustabox.

• Seabrook Crisps Limited - Seabrook have released some limited edition flavours. I received a bag of their Lattice Food Heroes with chorizo flavours created in collaboration with Three Little Pigs.
• Jordan's - Swiss Style Muesli is so much more than just a breakfast. I have used this muesli in today's recipe.
• Bahlsen - Choco Leibniz milk chocolate snack packs are lovely little treats that are perfect to pop in your bag when going out!
• Brookside - These Acai and Blueberry flavoured dark chocolate treat were a new product for me and one that I love! The dark chocolate balls contain a lovely fruity centre. They are good for you as well as a treat!
• Itsu - Edible seaweed is an Asian delicacy and one that I am keen to try. These crispy seaweed thins can be eaten as they are or added to a dish for extra flavour and texture.
• Sarsons - Sarsons, the vinegar experts, have recently released their very own Balsamic vinegar. This vinegar is lovely paired with extra virgin olive oil for dipping sour dough.
• Orkla Foods Sweden - These sweet pickled Swedish gherkins are so good! I love pickles and gherkins and was not disappointed with these. You can see them being used in my recent Team GB post.
• Cracker Drinks Co - Cracker Drinks' Pineapple, Coconut and Lime drink is made with natural fruit juices and contains no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. This juice goes perfectly with gin to create a quick and easy summer cocktail style drink!
• Nestle Rowntree - Rowntree have given the classic fruit pastilles a make over with their new Infusions. They have three new delicious infusions of orange and grapefruit, raspberry and pomegranate and apple and elderflower. This bag of sweets has been hidden away from the kids, they are mine!
• Alo - I recently tried an Aloe Vera drink while I was in London and really enjoyed it so I was pleased to see this drink. Aloe Vera has so many health benefits, the list goes on and on. You can read more about this drink here.
• Qcumber - The hubby recently tried Qcumber drink when we were eating out and we both loved the cool refreshing taste of this drink.
• Rejuvenation - In the past I have received other flavours of the amino acid enriched spring water, Rejuvenation. So I was pleased to see a new flavour arrive this month. The Spanish Orange flavour is so refreshing and perfect for a hot summers day.
• Berrywhite Ltd - Each can of Berrywhite organic drink counts as one of your five a day. All ingredients are natural and they add no artificial preservatives, no added sugar or fruit extracts.

Now onto the cake! This is what I did...

Supporting Team GB at Rio with Aldi

In a matter of days the 2016 Rio Olympics will begin and we will all be cheering for our national teams. Whether you are Team GB, Team USA or Team France, people all over the globe will be cheering on the pride athletes of their countries!

This year Aldi are proud to be the official Team GB supermarket sponsors and have asked me to share with you three deliciously nutritious recipes that have been working on in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport. The recipes are not just tasty but also have many benefits for athletes. Over the next three weeks I will be recreating the recipes myself and telling you all about how I got on and most importantly what we thought of the dish!

This week I am starting with Chilli Shredded Turkey Burger with healthy slaw and sweet potato wedges.

This is how I got on and what I did...

My Top Tips for Eating Healthy!

Regular readers know that I love healthy eating but believe in a balanced diet. Finding that healthy balance can be hard so today I thought I would share some top tips for healthy eating!

Healthy eating is an integral part of an overall healthy lifestyle that allows us to look and feel great. To help eat well and remain healthy at all times, here are some simple guidelines that you could follow.

Photograph courtesy of Real Foods

1. Don't Skip Meals

One of the most common mistakes and certainly one that I will admit to making is skipping meals, particularly breakfast. This usually leads to cravings that can be totally out of control. By the end of the day, skipping meals to consume less calories actually urges you to overeat. The secret is to eat regularly and a variety of foods. Curb hunger by snacking between meals, always paying attention to the size of your portions, though. To stay healthy, you need over 40 different nutrients. So, eat a wide variety of foods, in moderate portions. If you manage to keep your portions reasonably sized, you will be able to enjoy everything you like without having to eliminate something. A medium piece of fruit, a handful of nuts or seeds, or 50ml of ice-cream are reasonable serving sizes.

#CookBlogShare Week 30 Round Up and Week 31 Linky

Welcome to another week of the CookBlogShare round up and linky.

This weeks round up has absolutely no theme, they are just recipes that stood out for me this week. As always selecting just four and narrowing it down was hard. It is a pleasure to read your recipe posts each week so thank you for sharing them and joining in each week.

Before I go on with this weeks post. I want to say a huge thank you to Hayley from Snap Happy Bakes for co hosting CookBlogShare with Mandy and I since we took over the linky. You may have read in Hayley's post last week that she is now taking a bit of time away from blogging as she is due to have a baby soon. I just want to take a moment to wish Hayley all the best and that we look forward to her rejoining us once she is back blogging again! Now that Hayley is having a break Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie will be joining us and hosting the linky. Eb has been a loyal CookBlogShare blogger and I know that she will do a fantastic job hosting!

Now back to this weeks round up. As I said before there is no theme except from all four being such deliciously tempting recipes. Here are my four favourite recipes from week 30 of CookBlogShare...

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 1st August 2016

Yay we are now in August and our holiday is getting even closer!

Last weeks meal plan went a bit pear shaped. I was asked to go down to London last minute to attend a focus group with Fruit Shoot so I did have to change some meals. Instead of toad in the hole I made enough sausage casserole so that there would be some left over for the kids to have while I was in London. As I was only there for the day I picked up some treats from Marks and Spencer's on my way home for the hubby and I! After my day out I did not manage to do my shopping until the weekend so we had to make do with what was in!

This week we are starting the week with the hubby at home so were hoping that the weather stayed dry for a barbecue but it is now raining! Apart from that, we should be having a quiet week!

This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Week Commencing 1st August 2016

Monday - Turkey Burgers

These were going to be cooked on the barbecue but the rain has arrived so we will be having them cooked inside!