Healthy Snack Box - Graze

Hi everyone! Today's blog post will be a little different than usual. I'm going to tell you all about the company Graze.

www.graze.com

On their website it says that 'graze was started by 7 friends who all share a passion for food.

When we found we couldn't eat the food we loved at work, we asked around and realised there were loads of people just like us.

So we decided to stop playing off-peak foodies and go full time. We took the plunge, gave up our jobs and built the graze kitchen.

We now spend all our time sourcing the foods we love and finding even better ways to get them to you.

We hope you enjoy your graze boxes as much as we do.'

They send you out 4 of their many different snacks for you to try. The different types of snacks you can try are: Dips & Dippers, Guilt free High Tea, Breads, Crackers, Flapjacks, Olives, Natural Treats, Dried Fruit & Nut Mix, Nuts, Dried Fruits and last but not least, Seeds.

On the left you will see the 4 yummy snacks I was lucky enough to try in my box! I have the Cheddar, Red Onion & Chutney bread, Black Pepper, The Herb Garden and the Apricot Torte!

It costs £3.79 including delivery and you can choose, if you want, to have a box delivered everyday if you wish! I however, currently receive 1 box a week, every Thursday from now on and the box will fit through your letterbox, which is something I was worried about..

I think it's a great and affordable way to really find out what you like to eat and don't, plus they have options for Coeliacs, Vegans and people with Dairy problems. Which brings me to my next point. Under each snack on their website they have 5 options for them. The first being 'bin', which means never send me this. The second is 'try' which means I am open to trying. The third is 'like' which means send me this occasionally. The fourth is 'love' which means send me this regularly and the last is 'send me soon' which means they will try their best to send you that product in your next box!

When I opened up my box I had a little card which said welcome on the front and inside, it told me all the nutrition information of all the 4 snacks I received so you know exactly what's in them. You also get a little book which tells you all about the Company, which I think is a really nice touch!

You can't actually pick what you receive each week, however that is all part of the concept of trying new things! I hope you all enjoyed this yummy post and to top it all off, if you use the code below, you'll not only receive your first box free, your 5th box will also be free! 

'CRLFFMQ'

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted in a LONG time. But, I have been a busy bee over the last month or so...


Firstly, I finished my Digital Photography course and received my certificate! Woop woop *high five*


Secondly, it was my mother's birthday on the 21st March and we spend it as a Family seeing as the Sunday before (the 18th March) was Mother's day haha, isn't my mum a lucky one?!


Thirdly, I PASSED MY THEORY TEST! Which is great news as it was one of my 'hopes for 2012' and that means ....... I BOOKED MY DRIVING TEST! It's booked for Friday 18th May and finger's crossed I pass first time, right?! ;)


Fourthly, I bought my bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding! It's so lovely and I can't wait to see my lovely sister get married to a wonderful man, whose been a part of our family for a long time now and soon, it'll be official! ;)


Lastly, the reason I haven't been around much is because I've been having a good ol' struggle in life.. I seem to spend waaaaaaaay too much time thinking about the future rather than worrying about the now so hopefully things will start to change haha

Mum, Kevin, Me, Richard & Melanie

Kevin is my boyfriend, Melanie is my sister and Richard is my soon to be brother in law!

Pancake Day

Hey guys! I think pan cake day is more an English thing, I don't know but I decided to attempt to make some for the first time! From scratch and everything :D


To make pancakes, you will need: 

• 110g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 50g butter
• A sieve, a big mixing bowl, a frying pan, a spatula & whisk and something to measure ingredients with.

Step by step instructions


1. Measure out 110g of plain flour, then sieve into a big mixing bowl.
2. Add 2 eggs to the flour and start to whisk.
3. Begin to feed the milk into the mixture and mix until smooth.
4. Melt 50g of butter in a pan and add 2tbs into the mixture and keep the rest in the pan
5. Grab a paper towel and line the frying pan with the left over butter.
6. Add mixture to the pan on medium heat and cook for around 30 seconds.
7. Keep tossing until golden and a little crispy.

I prefer to add Jam and wrap into a parcel

I have my pan cakes with Jam, but you could always have Syrup, sugar and lemon or sugar and orange! Or whatever you fancy :D


Hope you try it yourself and have some tasty treats!

I am now officially a legal adult!

Well now, as you are not aware, it was my 18th Birthday on the 12th January and in England, I am now legally an adult (it feels great :P).

I ate a Calzone and it tasted amazing!

I spent my actual birthday with my boyfriend and we went to a restaurant called Bella Italia in the centre of Nottingham and we tried some Italian food hoping to get a taste for when we hopefully go to Rome later in the year. Let me tell you it was amazing! I think my boyfriend's words were 'if this is what Italian food tastes like, let's go baby' haha bless! After eating we had the the biggest Mochaccinos ever! We didn't order desert at the restaurant as my mum bought me a real tasty birthday cake :D


After the meal we headed to my house and spent the evening with the family and I honestly loved my birthday this year. I was really happy and glad to be around everyone. I got such lovely presents and lots of money which I'm really happy for.


Then on Saturday 14th January, me and my friends all went Bowling at a local bowling alley and I won! ;) great feeling, but it was nice just to relax and unwind for a change and have a fun time with my friends. I had my first experience of drinking out with people too, as I'm not really into alcohol or drinking ect, but again, it was fun and  I had a great time :)


My boyfriend wrote in my card 'I hope 2012 is everything you want and more' and I have the biggest feeling it will be!

Hopes for 2012

Hey guys, I know everyone always has their 'new year resolutions' like losing weight or finding a job or whatever but I just want to share with you the kind of things I have hopes for next year.

I've never been abroad before, like, I don't even have a passport.. So, the first thing I plan to do is apply for a passport!!! The reason for this is because I'm planning to go either Paris or somewhere in Italy (Venice or Rome) next December with my boyfriend for our 3rd Anniversary. 

Even though I've never left England and it's like a year away, I'm already so excited! :)

Also, I plan to pass my driving test in a couple of months, I know that if I say I've not even done my theory people will be like 'wow, you're not far along then' but acutally, I've been driving since September, I just keep putting the theory part off! Maybe I should get a move on.... I hope to take my theory in January or February and then take my test in March or April. 

Oh and you know what  that means, saving up to buy a car ... insurance ..tax. *yawn* I can't believe it's going to cost me like £2500 on insurance alone! 

I'm pretty excited at the prospects of next year and as I turn 18 in like two weeks, it'll just keep getting better! I hope...

So, main things I'm looking forward to are;

• Getting my passport
• Going abroad
• 3rd anniversary with my boyfriend
• Turning 18!
• Passing my theory and practial test
• Owning my first car

Pretty high hopes, huh?

Christmas Haul

First of all, I'd like to start by saying that I was SO excited for Christmas this year for some reason and that it lived up to everything I hoped it would!

I didn't really ask for anything for Christmas this year so I wasn't really expecting much but I was greatful for what I received. 

Together on the same setting.

Anywaaaay, firstly, my boyfriend got me some 'mooncandles' which look and smell like candles but they have a bulb instead of a real flame. I got 3 in a box and a control and they have 12 colours or you can have them on multi-coloured! They smell amazing too so that's great! :)

He also got me a really lovely mug which said 'Rachael, I love you, Kevin' on it but unfortunately it broke before I could use it!

My mum bought be a book about dreams and what they mean which I thought was interesting and some lovely festive socks, along with some nice brown ankle length boots! My dad got me a stylophone which is also pretty cool! 

My sister and brother in law gave me a 'Where's Wally' calender and an AMAZING canvas print of me and my boyfriend, which I've yet to put up!

Last but not least, my brother got me a CD of my FAVOURITE band's new album which I finally got around to listening to! Of course I got chocolate aswell, doesn't everyone?!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with loved ones and got everything you wished for!

Multicoloured and looking grooooooooovy!

This what the Stylophone is that my Dad got for me.
How cool does that look?!