Mini Meatloaf Recipe (hide the veges)

SAMSUNG CSCGetting anything green into my son is a battle.  He puts on a fuss if we introduce anything new to his eating repertoire and, if really pushed to give new things a go will gag at the dinner table. Heavens forbid we try to feed him veges. It does my head in but we solider on. I needed to share that, thanks: I feel better now.

So, with my Bachelor  of Mummihood, majoring in trickery, I’ve become a master at hiding vegetables in his food.  This recipe below for meatloaf with a tomato saucey topping is a family favourite that always gets groans of delight from the little fella, as well as the big fella.  It doesn’t have a tonne of vegetables in it, but enough to ease me off my hobby horse and polish my halo that the kid has had something that’s nutritionally sound!  This is also a good weeknight meal that you can have on the table in half an hour.  I make these in large muffin tins: You don’t have to. Whack it in a loaf baking tin if you prefer (like a gingerbread loaf) and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Easy. (more…)

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Neutrogena Pore Refining Cleanser – Review

neutrogena-pore-refining-daily-cleanserBeing the owner of seriously large skin pores (aka mini moon craters) Neutrogena’s new range of product claiming to shrink and refine the look of pores had me both curious and hopeful. There’s a cleanser, toner and exfoliating cleanser in the range and I thought I’d give the cleanser a whirl. So, off I went to my local New World and added one to my trolley for the lovely affordable sum of NZ$13. (more…)

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Beetroot, Walnut and Feta Salad Recipe

SAMSUNG CSCI put a photo of this salad on Facebook and asked if anyone wanted the recipe – a couple of you waved your hands: So here you go!

Note, in the pics, I hadn’t added the dressing yet: I’ll do that right before I demolish it (I made this ahead of time for my work lunch tomorrow!). On that note: I have made this salad with a red wine vinaigrette and this orange one: This one is my favourite. There’s something special about the flavour combo of beetroot and orange 🙂

This is such a healthy salad that provides you with lots of nutrients. The walnuts are good antioxidants and promotes a healthy gut environment. The Beet Root is great at lowering blood pressure and even boosts the immune system! All of this, plus it’s really tasty!

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Chocolate Orange Bliss Ball Recipe

 

bliss ball recipeSince my bestie Rhonda introduced me to Froozeballs  I’ve been pondering making my own version.

Problem #1: My food processor has been dead all year (it died when I made  boozy hazelnut truffles on Christmas Eve – FYI Ten minutes later I smashed my iPhone…That was a bad day). Needless to say making my own balls hasn’t been an option.

After seven months of dithering over which food processor to purchase I finally got a new blitzer gadget recently and bliss balls were high on my ‘gotta get cooking list’.    I came up with this recipe simply as my orange tree is groaning  with fruit and screaming “eat me”, I was desperate to use my Equagold Premium Dutch Cocoa and after an over-indulgent shopping spree in Vetro, that just about required a second mortgage, I had lots of dates and nuts on hand. Et voila, Choc Orange Bliss Balls were born.

These are the ultimate moorish treat that can’t really do any damage and, I have it on good authority from my nutritionally-savvy buddy Tania that these tick the Paleo box. They are entirely natural, contain no sugar, just raw and wholefood goodness that’s pretty darn decadent (absolute foodie purists might want to sub the cocoa powder for cacao). I’ve got my creative on now: I’m already thinking what I’ll put in my next batch! (more…)

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Warm Burgundy Eyeshadow Tutorial ft MAC Sketch

SAMSUNG CSCI was conscious that I haven’t blogged a step-by-step eyeshadow tutorial for a while now. When I was expressing my love for MAC’s Sketch eyeshadow in my July Favourites blog post I had a lightbulb moment: I should do an eyeshadow tutorial featuring my beloved Sketch! Sorted.

What’s so special about Sketch, you might ask? Firstly it’s a beautiful plum/burgundy shade which suits all eye colours.  On blue eyes it makes baby blues ‘pop’; Sketch compliments brown eyes nicely and as for green eyed gals, it makes green eyes look, well, intensely green. It’s just gorgeous.  I also find Sketch really versatile: You can wear it on it’s own, all over the eyelid blended out really well, or you an pair it with purples/golds/pinks/browns. It really is a gem of an eyeshadow! (more…)

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Thai Beef Salad Recipe

Thai Beef SaladI adore this dish and so do all the blokes I’ve ever cooked it for, it’s definitely a ‘man appropriate salad’ and, if I do say so myself, it’s every bit as good as the salads I scoffed back on holiday in Thailand last year.

Generally I’m a massive fan of clean fresh Asian flavours, if you hadn’t gathered that already (there’s a few Asian recipes on this blog). The weather warmed up here in the Hawke’s Bay recently: Warm enough to get outside and fire up the BBQ to cook the steak! (more…)

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Signature Facelift at Simply Indulgent

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Before and after (cringe)

Simply Indulgent, a new beauty therapy business opened recently in Taradale, my local shopping paradise. I was super excited when I was contacted by Fiona, Simply Indulgent’s owner with the offer of a complimentary ‘Signature Facelift’ treatment so I could go and experience what she had to offer. Needless to say, I was “off like Mum’s undies”, or so the saying goes.

Before I get down to business, here’s a bit of an assurance – as well as a bit of a spoiler: I was so happy with the treatment that I’ve booked in for a follow-up that I’m happily paying for myself. I felt it was important to get that out of the way before you think about to wax lyrical about a complementary treatment because, well, I would like to receive more of them. I’d never do that. If I like something, I’ll yell from the rooftops. If I don’t, if it just didn’t work for me, well, you’ll hear about that too in the form of something like this blog post.

So, with those assurances out of the way, here’s a whistle-stop tour of what I had done and what I rated about it!

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My Favourite Things – July

Before I forget… You know how I was really grumpy in that blog post about that Schwarzkoph shampoo and conditioner that made my hair look like Worzel Gummidge’s? That story had a semi-happy ending: The conditioner is very effective as a shaving cream to shave my legs. All is not lost.

Now I’ve remembered that, lets get into this month’s beauty foodie favourites. (more…)

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