The Healthier Option With Tesco {Sponsored}

This post is Sponsored.

I remember when JAMIE OLIVER was first on TV, my parents probably found him to be a breath of fresh air and I, as a teen, found him entertaining and he definitely made cooking look more interesting. JAMIE OLIVER's time on TV made him a household name, which I find amazing when I think that I was part of the young generation who saw him do it. I remember at school going to one of the big food shows and he was the main event. We had tickets to watch him cook and it was great. In fact I remember friends waiting in a queue for him to sign autographs and one of them fainting, but this was over 15 years ago now and a lot of that day is forgotten. I think my brother has had all of JAMIE OLIVER'S cook books; they sat on the shelf in the kitchen at home and were used as and when.

 I suppose it has only been as we have grown older and taken on cooking for ourselves that the use of recipes disappears a bit. We try to cook most of our meals from scratch and really just make it up. We are very conscious that if you do it yourself you have control of what you put in. That means extra veg and less salt or even just making something simpler than suggested, we just like the control and that helps us create a more balanced diet.

When Tesco asked us to try one of the NEW RECIPES JAMIE HAS DESIGNED WITH THEM we were only too happy to have a go. I really enjoy writing about family food as it is something Rob and I have a lot to say about. Life is made better round the dinner table and we really like to provide meals that fill our bellies and our hearts when we sit together on an evening.

JAMIE has designed a range of new HEALTHIER RECIPES to encourage people to swap out food that won't fill our bodies in the right way. We all know JAMIE OLIVER is a pioneer for healthier eating especially with children and really the best place to encourage that is at the family dinner table. 

I was allowed to pick one recipe, which we then would make ourselves, so we decided to have a go at a classic FISH FINGER SARNIE. Now we are no stranger to a white bread, breaded fish finger sandwich. In fact, often after swimming we have them as they fill you up, so I really wanted to try a healthier version.

The recipe itself is great and easy to follow. I love that it shares how to make your own coleslaw, which we like to do anyway and it offers the healthier substitutes, like using yogurt instead of mayo, which I think tastes so fresh!

Not only is this recipe pretty straight forward really, but the cost is great too, at £1.80 per portion it makes it so cost achievable which often seems to be the off putting thing in healthier eating.

This FISH FINGER SARNIE is obviously quite different to the ones we would have; with fresh salmon, peas and slaw you really are getting a treat for the taste buds. And with a more comforting side of sweet potato wedges rather than chips we were absolutely blown away by how good this was.

I love seeing Rob's reaction the most with this kind of project as he doesn't usually like following recipes, more making it up as he goes along. He is so wise and great at trying to keep us all on a balanced diet and when he turned round and said how good it was I knew we were onto a winner.

For us, healthier eating really is a lifestyle change. It isn't just a choice as to whether you are going to eat a certain amount of healthier meals in a week, your whole method of shopping has to change and you need to make your entire lifestyle healthier. It is easier than you think to do and starting with what you put in the kitchen cupboards really helps. Plus, don't always think of food as just healthier, think of it as delicious because it truly is and there is absolutely no way that JAMIE OLIVER is failing with this range, you just need to be confident to try it and you will find that getting healthier food in you is easier than you think. 

My Top 10 Favourite things about Autumn!

I feel I am going to talk a lot about this season in a lot of my posts but I think that is only fair as, in my eyes, it is the best one! Even though I know Rob would say "Why Choose?" I still can't deny the fact that autumn makes me feel alive. I also think it highlights that secretly orange must be one of my favourite colours even though I would very much usually deny that; in the season I really can't!

So for me, I easily can think of 10 reasons why I like autumn but I suppose my question is can you?

I like autumn because........

1. I can wear jumpers with ease of pretty much knowing they won't come off all day!

2. I can get all my wonderful pairs of boots out from under the bed ready to wear for the next 6 months!

3. I can walk to town knowing that my lungs will be filled with cool air that will revitalise me.

4. I can enjoy dressing in layers but not wearing hats and gloves and trying to hide every bit of skin.

5. I can see the beauty in the end of a plant's journey for the year. It is amazing how flowers and leaves give us the most spectacular display before they disappear for the winter. 

6. I can enjoy pumpkin season which isn't just for Halloween. The next three months are pretty much my favourite for this reason!

7. I can enjoy the elements from the comfort of my own home. I love being inside and watching weather outside. I find such comfort in having my four walls protecting me as rain comes down. 

8. We can light the fire! It is one of the best things we have ever got for this house. A wood burner right in the centre of the sitting room which creates the most perfect atmosphere for the cooler days.

9. I will never be old enough to not want to kick through the falling red leaves! One of the best parts of autumn.

10. I just love how as a family we become so together and how cosy we can get from just being in each other's company. 

Well, possibly one of the quickest posts I have ever written but just to add to it I thought I would also share this outfit. One of my current faves as everything is just right for this season.

DRESS / M&S

JUMPER / ZARA

BOOTS / ASOS

PUMPKINS MODELS OWN!

*Photos by BETTY MAGAZIE

Sometimes It's Just The Detail

When it comes to dressing, for me, I feel like the Autumn has brought with it a new lease of life. Once I got to the summer holidays I found it hard to shop, as in my mind I was conscious I only had six weeks to wear it before the weather changed. I preempted my own conversion to layers before it happened and knew really that there wasn't going to be much of my summer wardrobe I could take forward. That's been fine and I have kept out some skirts quite specifically, that I know will work again but really my end of summer buying become solely focused on getting new for autumn. I never buy anything in the summer sales as there just seems to be no point and I use that money to get items ahead of the game before I really need them. One of those items was this shirt from BODEN, I simply couldn't resist it and knowing how I dress I knew that the biggest detail on the shirt would lend itself in such a small way to all my outfits!

It's all about the cuffs on this outfit and I absolutely love that they just poke through and bring some yellow prettiness to this outfit. In fact it wasn't long ago that I was writing about yellow being my happy colour and even though it is definitely not the most popular colour in my wardrobe it sure does POP when I need it too!

Wearing it casually with jeans and a short jacket I have found that this shirt is going to sit perfectly under most things and just flirt a little when I need it to. You can't deny just how cute the broidery is along the cuff edges and just how smart it looks against other autumnal patterns. It is always the detail that draws the eye and when it comes to clothes sometimes it is just the finer details I notice that makes me feel confident in an outfit. 

For me, being able to share my outfit ideas with you is something I love doing so below are the links to the items.

JACKET /  TESCO F&F INSTORE

SHIRT / BODEN

JEANS / BODEN

SHOES & BAG / TKMAXX INSTORE

* Photos by BETTY MAGAZINE

Autumn At Grandma's

I write this post every year. I always end up randomly at my parents' house with a camera and the post kind of writes itself. In fact in previous posts there is always a similar theme because, to be honest, it always throws up the same emotions. I really feel like autumn is my new year. It comes around and I am more eager for it's arrival than that of the actual new year. I just feel it is a time that I truly feel alive. Maybe it is a red head thing? Seeing me blend into the changing colours of the leaves. Brown tones are big in my wardrobe this year too and I do genuinely feel like all is well because autumn is nearly here.

So what is it that is so refreshing? For me, it is really weather based. I just love it when it is warm but windy. We had that here at the weekend, not particularly cold {but I will be in checked coats regardless} but with this almighty breeze that blows your hair all over the place. But for me, I feel like it blows away so much more. I feel I can shed my skin and a year's worth of troubles can fly away in the wind. 

Seems silly but I feel my mental health is at a better place; a place where I can see again. A lot of that is also to do with the kids going back to school, finding my time to think and boy, do I like to. It just opens my head and yes in a way I can become selfish in enjoying that 'me' time with no burdens for 6 hours a day, but I need it and we have built a life that gives me that freedom to work part time and otherwise do my own thing.

I was flicking through some of the pictures from Mum's house. My sister, Kizzy and I took our three down the garden to where a conker tree has grown over the 25 years we have lived there. I swear that it was never there when we were kids and a few years ago we all noticed it! Not proper country folk obviously but in all honesty it is in the paddock where we were never allowed as children as there is a huge pond. It is a great space now though. Always overgrown or very muddy but it is like part of the garden with luscious green grass and some of the biggest trees I have ever seen. Still rules stand and our kids can only go in there with us. 

Every year now I try to take the kids down there just to get the conkers. Is there anything more autumnal with filling your hands with the golden brown conkers that you free from their shells? I love it and that in itself is such a wonderful action of rebirth. Picking up these cases which are part exploded to allow some interior treasure to come out. Pretty much a metaphor for how I am feeling right now too to be honest. 

As more cousins ran down the garden to join us it just made it even better. We were having the opportunity to all get together in grandma's garden which we hadn't done since my sister's wedding 2 weeks ago. What a difference it was, weather especially, but with lots of ribbons still in the trees it wasn't a distant memory yet, it just emphasised how lucky we are to have this space and an opportunity to use it to grow up in. 

With so much of autumn still to come I am so looking forward to more walks outside, enjoying the fire at home and opening up my little Hygge world all over again! Not sure what Hygge is, don't worry, I will be writing about it!

Here are some more pictures from Mum's.