Healthy Veggie Soup.

Ohhh HELLO!

I have made this soup a few times now and not only is it really healthy but it's bloody delicious and everyone loves it. 

It's really easy to make and its great because you can make it with what ever you like so you know what goodness you are getting. 

I made a large batch because I was feeding myself and 4 men (who eat like horses) and there was still plenty left over which I divided up into containers and put in the freezer to have one day for lunch or one night when I don't feel like cooking. 

I went a little improv with the recipe but thats the great thing about it, you can make as much or as little as you like with what ever vegetables you please. What I used:

~ 2 x Medium Heads of Broccoli

~ 1 x Large-ish Cauliflower 

~ 4 x Carrots

~ 1 x Medium Sweet Potato

~ 2L x Stock Chicken or Vegetable (I used Chicken)

~ 300mL x Thickened Cream (For a healthier soup you don't need to add this)

~ Salt and Pepper to taste

~ Any other flavours or spices you would like to add e.g.Garlic, Curry Powder etc.

To Make the soup all you have to do is combine all the ingredients in to a large pot 

Bring the pot to the boil and boil the vegetables for at least an hour or until the vegetables are falling apart and some of the stock has been reduced. Depending on how thick you like your soup boil it for longer and reduce the stock down more of just don't add as much stock at the beginning. You can also add 1-2 potatoes which will help thicken the soup because of the starch in it.

Once you have reduced it down if you have an electric mixer/blender like a vitamix then you can blitz it up but if you don't, not a worry, just use a potato masher, thats what I used. Mash it until most of the vegetables have broken down and there aren't many lumps (even if there are a few lumps they will be that soft they will just break up when you eat them).

Once you are happy with the consistency this is when you add the cream if you want, If you don't want to add cream then its ready to eat straight away.

This soup is so delicious and so easy, its great for winter time because its hearty and healthy. I served it up with some homemade sausage rolls for the boys, but you can have it by itself as a sufficient meal. 

If you have any questions about the recipe or make it yourself please let me know or post a photo of your wonderful creation. 

x.

New Recipe Attempt #1: Breakfast Coconut Chia Pudding!

Hello There,

Yes so as the title suggests I had a go at making Coconut Chia puddings for breakfast because I have seen, heard and read a number of people rave about Chia seeds and how good they are for your health. I have wanted to try then of quite a while but I never knew what to do with them, well let me tell you, you can put them in pretty much anything, they don't really have a taste and the health benefits from them are amazing! 

I follow a number of health bloggers on Instagram and they are constantly using Chia seeds in almost everything they cook/create/eat so I thought I would give them a go in the form of Chia pudding and I will definitely be making it again! It was absolutely delicious and knowing that I am eating something so delicious but its so good for me is also a bonus! :) 

I brought my Chia seeds at a Woolworths Supermarket here in Melbourne, and they were around $9 something, I purchased the White Chia seeds but from what I have read there isn't really any difference between the White and Black Chia seed varieties besides the appearance, everything else with them is the same.

The recipe I followed was this one from the lovely blog I follow called Julia & Libby (Check out their other stuff while you are over there because they have some great stuff) I followed their recipe but halved the ingredients because this recipe makes enough for about 4 servings, so I had enough for 2 breakfasts, I also didn't have any Lucuma or Coconut sugar so I just didn't put those two ingredients in, but it still tasted wonderful with out them. I served mine with Banana and Apple because they were the fruits I had at home but these puddings would go with a number of different fruits. 

If you are thinking about trying Chia seeds then you defiantly should, with the amount of health benefits and diverse ways of using them they are defiantly something I will be buying from now on. 

If you guys try this recipe out, let me know, and if you have any other recipes you want me to try out then comment or link them below and I will give them a go! :)

Have a wonderful day!

x. 

Life.

Hey All,

I know, once again I have been slack and haven't posted in a little while, surprise surprise..

But today while I am sitting here passing my time by doing nothing much productive at all, I was on twitter and I saw someone tweeting about their Uni work and having a number of assessments due within the next week and it got me thinking.

I was the kind of student at school who would find every excuse in the book to do the least amount of written work in class as I could, as I was a more hands on learner and enjoyed the practical subjects like Woodwork, Art or Cooking. 

I would leave assignments right up until the last second, I would literally be sitting up until 4am the night/morning it is due doing the best I could with the time I had left myself to do it, and the funny thing is I never learnt from my mistakes, 6 years later and I was still doing it.. 

The though of Uni never interested me, going back to sitting in a class room doing written work for 4 more years after I had spent the last 12years doing just that and I never really enjoyed it. Instead I would rather be out there working, yes it's currently in hospitality but I am still enjoying it, because it keeps me busy. I work with some awesome people and I also get to meet a lot of different people and hear about their lives, what makes them happy and sad. It is amazing what you can find out about a person and how much of their lives some of them let you in on while only spending a couple of hours looking after their table and serving them a few drinks and some food.

I often look at the people who come into my work, I think about who they are and what they have gone through to get to the point in their lives that they are at now, have they had a hard life and worked super hard to have what they currently have, or have they grown up having everything given to them.. Are they a kind and considerate person, or are they going to be rude and put a downer on my day, luckily they are usually lovely and it makes my job easier, but the ones who are rude and abrupt, you can tell they haven't worked a day in their life in the hospitality industry. But enough of that..

I think the majority of the worlds population have this view that life is, being born, growing up, going to school, finishing school and having a clear idea of what you want to be and the career you are going to have for the rest of your life.. When I comes to this view I am definitely in the minority of people who believe this view of life is ridicules and old fashioned. I am currently 21 and I still have no idea what I want to be 'When I grown up' because I still don't feel as though I haven't finished growing up yet. In my view I still have so much to do before I class myself as a 'Grown Up'. I am still learning things, but things that are relevant to day to day life, not something out of a book that I might use 'one day' or something that 'could come in handy' if I was to find myself in a certain situation that would happen once in a blue moon. 

I don't like the idea that just because you are no good at spitting stuff out on to a piece of paper that they have spoon feed you in class, doesn't mean you won't make a good Doctor, Scientist, or anything else for that matter. Some of us out here in this world are creative minded people who learn better when it comes down to doing the physical task the job or profession requires, I think thats why I hated school so much, they didn't cater for the creative minded as much as they did with the literal minded people. They just believed everyone was the same, yet they couldn't fathom how you could do so well and pay so much attention in one class but then you were a million miles away in another.. I was good at Woodwork, Photography, Art and Cooking, I also loved maths because there was always a correct answer, where as English on the other hand, I would dread that class, I would start counting down the seconds until it was finished as soon as I walked into the room. There was just no excitement in that class for me, They always encouraged you to write what your views on something were or to 'create' something and then they go ahead and tell you that it is all wrong. How can something someone has created in their mind be wrong. As a creative minded person I always had great concepts and ideas for stories to write but when it came to actually putting it on the paper I would forever struggle to express it in writing, and anything I did write was 'bland' or 'boring'. I always thought English was a little snippit of what hell could possibly be like, actually it was worse then what hell could ever be, Hell to me sounds so much more fun then learning English was for me, I don't think Hell would ever be a boring place, I have a feeling the devil would keep things exciting, in a place like that I would never be bored. ;) 

I have to admit though it wasn't my teachers that made me hate it, it was just the subject itself, My year 12 English teacher was actually one of my favourite teachers because she was good at what she did, she never made me feel stupid and she never gave up on me even when I asked her to.lol But it was just a shame that the subject itself that she was teaching I couldn't stand. 

Im the kind of person who whats to get out and travel the world, see everything it has to offer before I do something boring like settle down with a 'good career' that 'pays the bills' and gets me by. Yawnnn! There is so much out there in this big old world of ours and I think it needs to be experienced and seen by as many people as it can, We need to love and experience this earth because it and ourselves are not going to be around forever. I don't want to get old and look back on my life and wishing I had gone out and done more with it. I believe experiences and memories are so much more important in life then any object will be. 

There is a saying that goes "He who dies with the most toys is still dead" and ever since hearing that saying I have had a clearer view of where I want my life to go, Yes I still have no idea what I want to be but I know that I want to experience everything life has to throw at me and then maybe one day I will find out what it is I am supposed to be. That saying has slowly become my life motto, and I am trying to have a less materialistic view in life, instead focusing on the little moments that in day to day life nowadays go unnoticed, whether it be the random little bird playing in the tree or the way a leaf has fallen on the footpath, pure beauty is all around us and until you start to notice it your daily life you will never truly understand the pure joy and happiness this earth and your life actually brings you each and every day. Take a moment out of your day to appreciate the little things, because they might actually be a pretty big thing in someone else's life, they are also part of your bigger picture, and every little thing adds up to something great. The Queen bee would be helpless without all the worker bees, its the same in life, you are the person you are because of the people and things that surround you in life, without every little piece of the puzzle you wouldn't be who you are today, so be thankful for all you have and the amazing gift that is life and enjoy every moment of it.

Enjoy your Easter break with friends and family, create many a memory that will last a life time and stay safe.

x.

Post Ireland and UK depression.

Hello My Lovelies,

I do apologise for that lack of posting on my behalf over the last three months, well no quite a lack of posts, 0 post to be exact.. (sorry) The only person I can blame for that would be myself. I am a shocker for starting things and never finishing them, and I really need to work harder at learning to finish challenges that I start.

Over the last few days I have been thinking about my trip to the UK and Ireland which I took almost a year ago with 2 good friends. We spent 3 weeks traveling through England, Scotland and Ireland on a Contiki Tour with what can only be described as the greatest group of people you could ever possibly meet, I would consider almost all of them Family now. On that trip I made a bunch of friends that I will have for life, from all over the world and I'm soooo so thankful that I got to meet them and spend the time I did with them.

And due to it being St Patrick's Day yesterday, I had a massive feeling of post Ireland depression, wishing I was back over there in one of the greatest countries in the world with some of the greatest people on this earth, not only my contiki family but also just the general Irish population and people. The Irish are some of the greatest people I have ever met, they are probably the closest people to Australians you can get in terms of their sense of humour and their drinking culture. I just love everything about the Irish, they always seem so happy, carefree, welcoming, hospitable and not to mention their fantastic accents, I could listen to them speak all day. I have always had a love for the Irish, I also love the fact that my Dad's side of the family originated from Ireland many many years ago. 

I don't just have love for Ireland, but also for London and the rest of the UK as well. I just think London is one of the greatest cities on this earth, you can just go for a walk for a couple of hours and see so much amazing and incredible things. I felt safe walking around the city at night, a city that I had only been in not even 2 days. I would get on a plane right now and be back there in an instant if I could. I would seriously drop my life here in Australia this second if someone offered me a ticket and a job in London or anywhere in Ireland.

I am planing on saving up my money and going back over there before the end of this year to work. The London Pubs program seems like the best option for someone like myself, having worked in pubs and restaurants since I was 16, hospitality is what I know, and the pubs and drinking culture in London and the UK would be awesome fun to experience from both sides of the bar, not only drinking in them but also serving behind them. It would be an amazing learning experience and so much fun!

I just wish I could get paid to travel the world, experiencing different cultures and opening my mind to different traditions from every corner this amazing earth has to offer. That would be my dream.

I will leave you with some random pictures from my trip away and hopefully I will be able to share some new ones with you in a few months time when I am back over there once again, living it up in such an amazing country.

x.