Food

Thanks to Kathleen for sharing her delicious recipe and her story with us. It is a pleasure to have her in my little blog space. Scroll to the bottom to see where you can find her online and enjoy this perfect soup between snow showers in Northern Ireland! 

Name: Kathleen Henderson

• A food lover for how long? I would say that I have always loved food! However, when I moved to Northern Ireland in 2010, after marrying my husband Daniel (a Coleraine native), I started to get more into nutrition simply because I started cooking more from scratch. Most of the familiar foods that I grew up on in America were not available over here and so I started cooking more from scratch and feeling better for it! I studied medicine for my undergraduate degree and therefore healthcare was always important to me, however, moving to Northern Ireland became a shift for me towards focusing on the role of nutrition and lifestyle in the prevention of ill health.

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We first tried this recipe after the birth of one of our boys. My dear friend Hazel made it for us one of the nights we, no doubt, needed it after attending to a newborn amidst the mayhem that comes with adding sprogs to your brood. I have a feeling it originated from Jamie Oliver but can’t find it online. See his other sausage recipes here.

The tastes and flavours stuck with us and we have been making it ever since. There are a number of reasons for it appearing on our weekly menu- the first being how easy it is. The second that the kids eat it (they pick out the leeks sometimes but everything else they eat) , the fact that the leeks re punchy in flavour, the sweetness of peppers and the rich saltiness of the whole dish is delicious. Then of course the affordability of the ingredients. I grew up in the countryside where potatoes featured heavily in our dinner choices and they are so versatile and economic, they along with the sausages make up the bulk of the recipe. Continue Reading…

I am so pleased to introduce you to Caroline who resides, bakes and raises her squad of four kids in Monaghan. To kick off the back to School mayhem she has this delicious treat recipe for us that we can rustle up in no time.

Protein bites are so popular on the blog that I know you’ll love it and that is why I asked Caroline to share one from her new business, Healthy bites. All the links to her artistry can be found in the short interview below.

Enjoy and thank you to Caroline for sharing her wisdom! 

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It goes without saying, if a cocktail is easy to make and in my hand quicker than I can say Mr Freeze, I’m drinking it!

This Panacea cocktail is just that. Continue Reading…

Stephanie and I have memberships at David Lloyd and we love to train together.

I think it stems from a similar interest in workouts that are based on fun and often high intensity. See more on my instagram.

We are both in a postpartum frame of mind so gaining a positive attitude towards our bodies is at the centre of our training.

This is good when we workout together for encouragement and accountability.

Over the course of the past few months we have pushed and challenged each other in sharing our circuits with one another (as well as sharing our soundtracks!) Such a fun friend to have!

Stephanie makes us gym girls her protein banana bread and post workout bites from time to time which is so generous and just delightful to have with coffee, especially for me, when I finish my work upstairs in the cafe at David lloyd. Continue Reading…

Healthy breakfasts.

I have always been an advocate for breakfast, it may be my favourite meal in the day. Although saying that, I love a cold meats platter lunch, or a steak dinner or a pizza.

Nonetheless, a good start to my day includes a decent breakfast.

The further I get into eating whole foods and nourishing foods for my body, the more intrigued I am about the variety of good stuff out there which can be sourced locally and/or easily in our larger supermarkets.

I asked my instagram followers to share their favourite healthy breakfasts and I have included their recipes amongst the other links. Continue Reading…

Holy heavens I can finally breathe!

What a whirlwind year with so many adjustments and stages and fun.

Career wise I made the shift and invited another member onto my little team in the studio.

Stephanie is an interior design and architecture student who helps me to process orders and has added so much flare to the design side of my business.

All the info you receive inside your prints has been made by Stephanie. I give her a project and she flies with it.

We added another babe to the family, little Abraham.

With having all these lads and no girls in our brood I was determined when I found out he was due in April, to at least share a birthday month with one of them so I was thrilled when he arrived four days after my birthday on the 30th. A small but a significant thing, for me.

My Grandmother, who this blog is named after passed away in February which really shifted life.

My mum’s side of the family are a close bunch but Granny was the glue that held us altogether. I can’t help but cry when I see amazing carol singers giving up their time to go to old people’s homes, something that Granny, even in her years of dementia adored and sang along to.

Christmas can be a tough time, right? Continue Reading…

I am SO excited to finally have figured out a snack recipe using the chocolate protein powder that I just can’t deal with in my smoothies.It is too fake tasting for me.

I make a protein shake using a shot of espresso, scoop chocolate protein powder, almond milk and dates which is nice but not great. It’s like an iced mocha, I guess.

Peanut butter has managed to feature in my last two recipes but after years of finding it all too sweet, I am a complete convert. It is packed with sugar though so I have just bought this which is the same taste in smoothies but a third of the sugar content.

If you would prefer you could use almond butter instead of peanut butter to cut out additives but in terms of protein I think it’s the difference of about 0.5 of a gram. However, I am new to the numbers game with regards to protein so don’t take my word for this.

The balls themselves have approximately 4.5 grams of protein so double them up if you want a whopping 10 grams (!) of protein post workout. Continue Reading…

Just when you thought life couldn’t get any better,

I pop a recipe for clean drinking (aptly named by my sister in law after she visited and we made her some) in your inbox- boom! Continue Reading…

I have been working out since Abraham was about five weeks.

I mostly walked with the buggy since he was three weeks and have been *trying* to eat well. By well I mean lean meats and increasing my fruit and veg intake (I explain our whole food diet here).

I have been aware of the amount of protein I have been putting into my body as it can have so many benefits, even for a breastfeeding Mumma like myself (read this article for more info).

I know the jury is out on whey protein and whether it is necessary in our diets but I have always enjoyed the novelty of including it in protein bars or adding flavour and bulk to my smoothies.

Then I read this article by the body coach which made me feel OK about enjoying protein powder drinks as an *additional* part of my diet.

Here is the recipe that I know is so simple but I genuinely adore it and so do our kids.

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