McDonald's Restaurant Revolution {Didcot} | AD

McDonald's Didcot | via

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a blog event at a recently refurbished McDonald's restaurant in Didcot. I must say I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from the event, but it was actually really fun! You may already know that McDonalds is undergoing a refurbishment which is set to completely change the way we order, and dine in their restaurants, if you haven't not to worry! This is what the event was all about, to show us around both the front of house, and the kitchen so that we could see what changes have been made, but also why these changes are good. So here I am to tell you all about the awesome new changes that they have made to make our lives easier! Firstly we were split into two groups, to make our tour easier, my group started off with the front of the restaurant, so let's start there...

McDonalds new self serve kiosks

One of the biggest, and most noticeable changes in the new restaurants is the new self service Kiosks! These are touch screen and are really easy to use, everything is clearly labelled and easy to see, they even have a little button which you can press if you are a child/disabled and need the screen to be smaller so you can easily see/reach everything.

McDonalds new self serve kiosks

We were taken through how to place an order from start to finish, so that we could really get used to how they work. The best part about these new kiosk's is that you can completely customise your burgers, so if there is only one thing you dislike you can take that out, or if like me you are really picky, you can just make it plain! What this means is that you can make sure that your order has been placed 100% accurately for every detail you want, meaning there is no confusion at the till point, or embarrassment if like me you get shy about a long custom order. There are of course still till-points available if you would rather place your order that way, but having both options is helping McDonald's to give customers more options, and reduce queue times. Once you have paid for your order and it is placed you are given a receipt with an order number, and there is a screen above the collection point which shows you when your order is ready to collect. At that point you just take your receipt up and then take away your food.

New digital menu's at McDonalds

Another big change with the front of house area is the new digital displays, which along with looking amazing, allow the restaurant to easily display specials to customers. I'm sure you all are used to seeing the big menu displays at McDonald's, and if you ever saw a breakfast change over then you'll know that staff had to manually flip over the displays to show the change over. Now they are digital they automatically switch over at 10:30 without the staff having to struggle with them. Although probably the coolest thing about the new digital screens is that they support animation, meaning that the menu can be living, so it can sweep across to display specials, as it has in the photograph above, or it can simply add a little twinkle next to a certain item to draw the eye to it.

Tablets for customer use

Looking around the new restaurant it is easy to see that the focus really has been placed on creating a greater customer experience. This is especially seen with the addition of a new tablet bar, at which there are several tablets that are for customer use. There are options to surf the internet and even some games on these tablets for your children to play whilst you enjoy your food. Throughout the restaurant there are even charging stations for people to sit and work on their laptops if they like, or even simply charge their smartphones.

New drink preparation area

The final change we really spoke about in regards to the front of house area is all about the way in which staff will serve the customers. Before the member of staff at the till would take your order and then go and make your drinks/compile the order. Now there is a dedicated team who deal with all of the drinks and ice creams for the orders, so the till server can ensure they are giving you their undivided attention. Not only this but there is also a new 'table service' so if you wanted when you order, either at the till, or the Kiosk, you can tell them which section of the restaurant you are sitting in, and they will bring your food over to you no problem. Along with this the staff member delivering your food carries with them at all times extra straws, napkins and sauces, just in case there is anything you require further once they deliver your food. Meaning that if you don't want to, you shouldn't need to get up at all. That's not all, there are dedicated front of house staff, whom along with ensuring the front of house is kept clean, will now provide a higher level of service by checking in with customers to make sure they don't need anything else, or just to provide some friendly chat to make customers feel more welcome.

Being put to work in the kitchen

After we were done with the front of house, we got shown around the back. Starting in the staff room we were given our own hats, aprons, badges, and hairnets of course so we could get ourselves prepped for our 'mini shift' in the kitchen, we actually got to keep the hats, aprons and badges which I was really excited about because the aprons is this cool denim material, best believe I will be wearing this around the house. Then we were shown the chiller to dispel some of the most common McDonalds myths such as, 'McDonalds uses powdered eggs', after having a look around the chiller myself I can ensure you the eggs are very much real. Then we entered the kitchen and washed our hands thoroughly, a very important task considering we were about to make our own Big Mac burgers! Believe it or not the buns don't come in pre-toasted, they are freshly toasted when a burger is made, and they toast in 17 seconds flat... How crazy is that?

Making a Big Mac

So to make a Big Mac of course you start with toasting the bun, then you place the bottom bun in the right side of the case, the top and middle buns go in the left. The famous Big Mac sauce goes on both the bottom bun and the middle bun, followed by onions, and lettuce on both, I was being a bit stingy with the lettuce so I had to keep adding more and then two pickles on the middle... Then you open the meat trays and place one patty on the bottom, one on the middle, you lift up the entire middle section, place it onto the bottom and then close the lid of the case, which flips up the top bun, and everything should be in place!

Me with my handmade Big Mac

Here I am looking pleased as punch with my Big Mac, needless to say it DID NOT look like the ones in the adverts, (pictures to follow)... It was great fun getting to actually make something in the kitchen, but this was definitely the best way to show us possibly the biggest change McDonalds have made, and that is all about how they prepare/cook the food. So previously all of the burgers were batch made and completely finished and placed on a 'run' at the front of the kitchen, by the tills. Granted they were only allowed to sit there for 15 mins or so, but still 15 mins of a hot burger sitting on all of the salad meant that you could end up with a slightly soggy burger, still delicious, but maybe a little soggy. Gone are those days with the new kitchens! You may not know but for as long as I can remember McDonalds would batch cook their chicken products and leave them in these little warming drawers, only getting them out when an order was placed. It goes without saying that these were not left for hours and hours and were replaced if sat too long. Well now the same goes for the meat. The burgers are batch cooked and then the meat is set inside warming drawers until the burgers are made up. When an order is placed the burgers (and only the burgers) appear on the screen for those on that side of the kitchen, then they go through the entire process, just like we did, making the burgers fresh. This means that you get a completely fresh burger every time you come. The meat in the drawers isn't allowed to sit there any longer than the recommended time, and they all have their own individual timers, which alert the staff to when they have been sat too long. If the timer goes off the leftover meat is binned and fresh is made. It certainly makes me confident in the freshness of the product I am eating!

My Big Mac vs. The Advert

Once we were done in the kitchen we got to sit, and whilst we were waiting for the other group to finish, we got to sit down, eat our Big Mac's and ask any questions we liked to the Managers of several restaurant's in the area. I thought it would be really funny to show you what my big mac looked like next to one from the advert, needless to say I won't be getting offered a job in the McDonald's kitchens any time soon. What my Big Mac lacked in looks it definitely made up for in taste, and having not eaten a big mac for a good six years at least it was very satisfying. Although our food tasting did not stop there, we were all invited to try the new Signature menu, which consists of three new burgers with thicker patties; The BBQ, The CLASSIC and The SPICY. Every single person decided to go for the BBQ with their own alterations, I basically had mine without salad, and we even got them as as meal. Whilst we were sitting one of the managers kindly gave us all the gold stars to fill out our badges so that we could become honorary crew members, its amazing how excited we all were by these little stars!

The BBQ Signature Meal

The signatures come in their own stylish black packaging, and if you order a meal you even get a black container for your fries, which I am a big fan of, it just looks so sleek. The burgers come in a beautiful striped wrapper so that you can hold your burger without getting grease or sauce all over yourself. The BBQ burger that I chose comes with BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and then the items I chose to remove were lettuce, red onion and coleslaw. All of the signatures also come inside a Brioche bun, which if you've never had a burger on brioche, I recommend you do so right away, as it's hands down my favourite way to eat them! The big difference between the signature burgers and the regular is the thickness of the meat, and that is what makes them a stand out burger for me. Being thicker means that whilst you get a nice crisp coating on the outside, the inside of the meat stays really juicy, and is probably hands down the nicest burger I have ever eaten from McDonald's. The BBQ signature has quickly become my go-to order whenever I go to a newer McDonald's!

Once we were fully stuffed and had finished having all of our McDonald's myths busted, we slowly made our way out of the restaurant and home, I say slowly because I was so full I could only move slowly, but that's the best way I can think of to leave a McDonald's, with your belly full and a big smile on your face...

A big thank you to McDonald's in Didcot for hosting this event and being so gracious, if you are ever in that area I highly suggest that you pop in for yourself as all the staff there are lovely!

**This is a sponsored post for McDonald's and as such I have been reimbursed for my time and travel expenses, However all opinions within this post remain my own**

The Real Greek - Reading {Review}

The Real Greek, Riverside Reading | via

It feels like it's been a long time since I went to a blogging event, in fact it's been about a year since my last one! However when I saw the invite for 'The Real Greek' a brand new restaurant on the riverside in Reading, I knew I had to attend. So I shot a message over to my friend Lisa over at United Cakedom, and thankfully she was totally up for being my plus one.

The lovely Tonia Buxton | via

When we arrived we were seated and it wasn't long before we were greeted by the lovely Tonia Buxton, who pulled up a chair and began talking us through the menu. Tonia, for anyone who doesn't know, is THE woman to talk to about Greek food in the UK, she even presented a TV series called 'My Greek Kitchen', so we knew we were in good hands. Before this experience I had never actually eaten Greek food ever, a fact which Tonia was blown away by! She talked us through some of the staples of a Greek meal, before mentioning a special promotion they have at the moment with real Greek watermelons. They imported watermelons directly from Greece and have used them to create three special dishes that will only be available for a month, one of which was a very interesting combo of watermelon and feta which we we decided to try. Tonia even helped us place our first order in to the waitress, which I welcomed as I had no idea where to begin. She certainly made me feel very at ease, especially when I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the food, (spoiler alert: I loved it).

Little plates all stacked up!

I must say one of the things I really liked the most about the food is that it is all small plates that you can share. So it means that if (like me) you are a little fussy sometimes you can order something with a friend that you can try, but you know they will eat if you don't enjoy it. Also the plates come stacked on these little stands kind of like how you'd expect afternoon tea to be served, which is very practical considering how many plates you are likely to order with the food being so delicious!

From top left to bottom right: Flatbread, Tzatziki, Green Pea Fava, Watermelon and Feta.

We started off with some flatbread with various accompaniments including Houmous, Tzatziki and Green Pea Fava. Whilst I haven't really eaten Greek food before, I must admit that I had of course tried Houmous, I mean who hasn't? I enjoyed every single one of the dips with the flatbread, but I must say my favourite had to be the Tzatziki, it was so refreshing alongside the other dishes that we sampled later on in the meal. We did try hard not to immediately fill ourselves on all of the flatbread, but it was very hard not to with it right in front of us. Along with our flatbread came the watermelon and feta salad which was one of the specials. Honestly I'm not that big a fan of watermelon personally, so I knew this dish was never going to be a hit with me. I tried both the watermelon and feta on their own, and then together as intended. I can see why this dish was put together, it makes sense, the saltiness of the feta with the sweetness of the watermelon, they compliment each other well, but it just wasn't to my personal taste. If you are a big fan of sweet and salty combinations then this dish is definitely one for you. On the plus side this dish helped me try something brand new, Feta cheese! I know I can almost hear the gasps, I had never tried feta, I don't have a reason, I just hadn't. Now I have I can honestly say I will never look back...

Another point I absolutely must mention at this point is the service. I've never been to a restaurant with friendlier waiting staff, and they often anticipated our requests before we even asked. Lisa managed to drop her fork, and before we could even turn to ask for a clean one a member of staff was straight over to the table with a fresh one for her. I think they did an amazing job of striking the balance between being attentive but at the same time leaving us alone to enjoy our meal. I will certainly be comparing service everywhere else I go from now on to this experience.

From top left to bottom right: Prawn Saganaki, Pork Belly, Falafel, Caramel and Pecan Cheesecake.

After we had overdone ourselves on the bread we had our other dishes delivered. I don't eat seafood but Lisa was very keen to try the prawns, which she said were delicious. I myself ordered the pork belly, a dish that I often enjoy at home, and also some falafel which was another Greek dish I had yet to try. I can hands down say that the pork belly was the best that I had ever eaten, and for me was the stand out dish of the evening. I've never had a pork belly the just melted like butter in my mouth, it was incredible. Lisa was laughing at me because I said I wanted to marry the pork belly, honestly I was only half joking, that's how good it was! The falafel was also delicious but unfortunately greatly overshadowed by the pork for me. What I liked the most about the falafel was that it was so crispy on the outside, but the inside was really soft and chewy, my favourite combination of textures in a single dish. We did also order some of the Med Chicken, (rosemary marinated chicken thighs), in a food induced haze, and when it arrived we struggled through it, and it didn't disappoint.

Finally somehow we managed to muster a bit of a second wind so that we could sample a dessert each. Lisa went for the Greek Filo Custart Pie, and I went for the Caramel and Pecan Cheesecake. Cheesecake for me is probably my favourite dessert and one I often default to as I know I am bound to like it. I am so glad I continued my pattern and settled on the cheesecake because it was delicious and also unlike any cheesecake I have ever had. Whilst the cheesecake itself was definitely sweetened I would say not as much as others I have tried, and as such the cream cheese was still detectable, which when paired with the sweet caramel was to die for. I have a very big sweet tooth and I can happily say that it was satisfied with this dessert. At the end of the meal when we were completely stuffed the staff even offered to box up the leftovers for us to take home, I let Lisa have them as I'm not a great fan of the same food the next day!

All in all I would consider my first real Greek dining experience a success, and I can't imagine having done it anywhere more perfect that at 'The Real Greek' in Reading. I had a fantastic time with some amazing company, and I couldn't recommend the food highly enough, especially if you've never had Greek before! Feel free to visit The Real Greek's website to see if they have a restaurant in your area... Also a massive thanks to my good friend Lisa of United Cakedom for keeping me company and helping me scoff the food!

** I was invited to review the restaurant and was giving this meal experience for free, however all opinions stated above are my own **

Artigiano's Cocktail Tasting

A couple of weeks ago an email landed in my inbox regarding a cocktails tasting event at Artigiano's in Reading. At first I was a little unsure about going as I have been sober for a year and a half now. Then it struck me that this would be the perfect event for myself and Lisa from United Cakedom to meet up after having not seen each other for a good few weeks, thankfully she was available so the plans were set in motion... Artigiano's is a speciality coffee shop during the day, and a really great cocktail bar by night, they also serve freshly baked artisan food, and very regularly have live music available in the evenings, making it the perfect place to go and chill with friends over a refreshing cocktail.

Our own personal cocktail bar...

When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely PR who organised the event, Heidi, who told us a little about what she does for the brand, and also about their other locations. We were also offered a drink to get us started, so I asked for a mocktail to be mixed up for me as I wasn't planning to drink. Once everyone arrived we were introduced to our mixologists for the evening, and taken through the cocktails that we would be sampling.

Shaking up that cocktail goodness!

One by one the cocktails were made for us, and as well as getting to watch them being made right before our eyes, we were also taken through each step of making them. Thankfully we didn't have to take notes though as we were given the recipes printed out with pictures so that we can easily recreate them ourselves at home, which I thought was really nice of them!

All of the cocktails!

Pictured above you can see all of the cocktails that we were lucky enough to be able to taste, it was a nice mix of different flavours, and different alcohols. As you may have been able to guess from what I said above, I wasn't planning on drinking any of these, but as they were made right in front of me I was fascinated, so decided to have one small sip of each cocktail, just so that I could give a decent opinion on them. So let's go through them one by one, starting with the cocktail on the far left, 'Arti's Espresso Martini'.

Arti's Espresso Martini

Arti's Espresso Martini:

This Martini actually only has three ingredients (not including the coffee bean garnish), so is really simple to replicate, but you of course be needing a cocktail shaker for most of these recipes, but I believe you can pick them up in most supermarkets fairly cheaply!

This cocktails includes: 25ml Kirov Vodka, 25ml Kahula, and a double Espresso. This is shaken for a few minutes with ice so that it becomes frothy, then strained into the glass carefully. There was a bit of a trick to making this one as if you just pour it into the glass you don't get the foam on top. You have to continue to wiggle the shaker when pouring so that the foam comes out first. To finish this cocktail you simply float some coffee beans on top of the foam, and you are done!

I can't say I had ever drank a Martini before this event, and I got to try two, and of the two this one was my favourite because it was just like drinking a coffee, although the consistency kind of reminded me of Bailey's.

Porn Star Martini

Porn Star Martini:

This cocktail comes with a little something extra on the side, a small shot of Prosecco we were advised by the experts that it's meant to be drank alongside the cocktail, sipping between the two for the best taste.

This particular Martini includes: 50ml Stoli Vanilla Vodka, 50ml Pineapple Juice, 12.5ml Passoa, 12.5ml Prosecco, 1/2 a passion fruit for garnish.

Add all ingredients except the garnish and Prosecco into the shaker with ice and shake for a few minutes. This is another cocktail where you need to build up the foam, as you need to be able to float the passion fruit in this, so shake it for longer than you think. Strain into the glass, shaking as you do so, this will help the foam come into the glass first. Garnish with the passion fruit, and pour the shot of Prosecco to go alongside.

This was the second ever Martini that I had ever tried, and it was very sweet, I could easily have drank the entire glass, must say though I'm not a great fan of Prosecco, so I probably wouldn't order this one again.

Bramble Cocktail

Bramble Cocktail:

Bramble was the smallest cocktail of the bunch, and looks perfect for a summer BBQ.

The ingredients for this cute little guy are: 37.5ml Belgravia Gin, 12.5 Lemon Juice, 12.5ml Créme De Cassis, 12.5ml Sugar Syrup, and 3 Blackberries for garnish. All of the ingredients except the Creme De Cassis and garnish go into the shaker this time. This cocktail has no foam requirement so this one can be shaken for much less time then the previous two. Add crushed ice to your tumbler before straining the mixture into the glass. Then pour the Créme De Cassis at the edge of the glass so that you get a beautiful looking gradient. Skewer your blackberries onto a toothpick or something similar, and then garnish the drink with them.

This cocktail looks so refreshing and cooling, which it totally is, but it also packs a big punch in the alcohol department, so don't let it's appearance fool you!

Classic Margarita

Classic Margarita:

I must admit that I have tried Margarita's before, and I'm not a big fan, they are just so sharp and salty and I don't understand it.

If unlike me you like Margarita's then here is what you need: 37.5ml Don Cruzado Tequila, 25ml Triple Sec, 125ml Lime Juice, Lime Slice, Cooking Salt. Start by wetting the rim of your glass and then dip it in salt so you get an awesome looking salt rim. Then put all the ingredients except the lime slice in your shaker and give them a good shake to mix. Pour into your glass, and then carefully float the slice of lime in the drink.

As I predicted this was my least favourite of the entire bunch, it is so sharp and salty, and just confuses the hell out of me, but I guess as Margarita's go it was pretty good, I'm not the best person to judge this one.

Cointreau Fizz Tea

Cointreau Fizz Tea:

The most intriguing of all the cocktails, this one involves tea, something which I rarely drink, but definitely made this cocktail memorable for me.

Ingredients for this guy are as follows: 50ml Cointreau, 1 peppermint teabag, 25ml Lime Juice, 1/4 Lime Wedge, Sparkling Water. This is the only one of these cocktails that doesn't involve a shaker, so it's even easier to replicate. Pour the lime juice and Cointreau into your glass and throw in the tea bag. Mix it together real quick. Then leaving the tea bag in the glass top up the glass with ice, followed by sparkling water, and you've got yourself a cocktail.

This was my favourite cocktail by far, it was refreshing, and fruity, and didn't even taste like it had alcohol in it, I could have easily downed the entire thing, but I didn't... The above five are just a few of the many cocktails they serve at Artigiano's which are priced at £8 or two for £12. Having had a look at the menu here are a couple of the others that intrigued me:

• Zombie: White, Spiced and Dark Rum, Brandy, Pineapple juice, fresh orange, grenadine and a mint garnish.
• Long Island Ice Tea: Gin, Tequila, Vodka, White Rum, Triple Sec, Coca Cola and Lime.
• Mint Julep:  Bourbon, Sugar Syrup, Mint and aromatic bitters, and a mint garnish.

Becoming Mixologists!

After we were taken through all of the cocktails we got a chance to make our favourite we had seen. Lisa went for the Porn Star Martini as she was fine to carry on drinking, but seeing as I am supposed to be teetotal, I asked to make a mocktail. This involved cranberry and lime juice in the glass, which was then topped up with lemonade, and garnished with a lime slice, this was both sharp and sweet, and seriously refreshing, so I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

Pizza time!

After getting everyone suitably tipsy (apart from me as I only had sips), Artigiano's kindly laid out some Pizza for us to eat, and to soak up all that alcohol. These were some of the best pizza's I had ever eaten. I ate the majority of the Margherita style pizza, which had a sauce almost like a salsa, and had red peppers, it was so delicious, but they also had pizza with olives on, which Lisa absolutely loved.

Goodie Bag!

Towards the end of the evening we were handed a goodie bag which had everything we needed inside to make a cheeky Gin and Tonic, including a really cute glass, in my favourite colour! There was also a craft beer which I gave to Tim which he seemed to enjoy and a small package containing some of their coffee beans, which if I had a coffee grinder I would probably get better use of. I guess I could use them in baking? We'll have to see...

I have to say a massive thank you to Artigiano's in Reading for hosting us and being so gracious, it was a great evening I would definitely recommend you head over and check them out, you can find them opposite the Broadstreet Mall pretty much on the corner of the highstreet. Also I couldn't leave this post without thanking Lisa from United Cakedom for letting me drag her along, and also for being an amazing friend, so go and check out her blog too.

***Disclaimer: I was given a goodie bag and free food and drinks at the event, however all opinions within this post are my own.

Visiting Itsu Reading

A month or so ago I was asked if I would like to visit the new 'itsu' store in Reading to see what I thought of it, and I said I would be delighted to! Seeing as the opening was a little while away they also offered to send me a goodie box so that I could get a feel for the kind of food I would be trying when I got around to going to the restaurant.

When it arrived I was delighted to see a good selection of snacks, from chocolate covered rice cakes and skinny popcorn, to wasabi peas. I honestly haven't had a chance to try any of this yet but I can't wait to sink my teeth into these yummy treats!

Now onto my visit... I decided to go up to Reading on Tuesday and visit with my mum as we haven't spent a time together just the two of us for a little while, and I was already going to be in Reading for an appointment anyway.

On entering the store the first thing I noticed was how clean and neat everything way, there were fridges on the left hand side displaying all the yummy and very healthy food you could buy, including Sushi, salads and noodles.

The staff were so friendly and helpful and in no time we had decided upon what we wanted to eat. It was as simple as taking what we wanted to the counter, except the hot food items which you just order at the counter.

The decor in the restaurant is simple and clean, much like the food. There are round tables with stools where you can sit, and there are also plenty of sauces on hand that you can add to your food to enhance it further.

We got a fair amount of food for our money! We both had a Chicken and Coconut pot, then shared a Khobez bread to dip in the soup. I decided to have a smoothie, which had banana, strawberries and apple juice in it, it was delicious and filling. Then I couldn't leave without trying their chocolate mousse pot, even if it was a little naughty! Mum decided to pick up something healthier and went with the dark chocolate rice cakes.

Here are some close-ups of the yummy food! The pot was really good, it's honestly not normally the kind of thing I would go for, but I'm a big fan of chicken and noodles, and the broth that came with this was amazing! It was so full of flavour but at the same time simple (in a good way). It was also really filling, I often find that food that is healthier for me doesn't fill me up, but this definitely did. Thankfully I still had plenty of room for the chocolate mousse pot as this was hands down my favourite thing, and not only that but is probably the best chocolate mousse I have ever eaten. Normally I find chocolate mousse too rich, but this was just right, and the consistency was absolutely gorgeous.

Overall I had a really great experience at itsu in Reading, everything was delicious and I really felt like I was eating healthily (with the exception of the chocolate mousse), and my mum had a great meal too. The only thing was I ended up with a random giant splinter in my smoothie which took a nice chunk out of my tongue, and instantly stopped me drinking it. Obviously this was a freak accident, the only thing I can think of it being was the skin of the pineapple being left on and then blitz in the blender, which may have made it into a sharp splinter. I in no way blame itsu for this as it could literally happen to anyone, but I thought I would mention it anyway to cover everything.

If you want to give 'itsu' a try you can head on over to their website to find the nearest store to you.

Have you visited an itsu restaurant before, if so what did you think?

**Disclaimer: I received a goody box, and £20 worth of vouchers to use in the 'itsu' restaurant so that I could experience their food. However this does not effect my writing, and all the opinions above are my own.

Friday Favourites: Healthy Recipes!

As you can imagine since starting my diet last Monday, I have been looking high and low for healthy recipes for Tim and I to eat. When looking for recipes I'm looking for things with a lot of fruit, vegetables and meat in there as we are allowed as much (within reason) as we like. Then maybe with a few extras (cheese) that we add onto our weekly pro-point count.

Pinterest has become my saviour when it comes to finding healthy recipes and I have already found so many that I will be able to use, and some I've already made. If you saw last week's Sum Up Sunday post then you will know that I made Banana pancakes, and also banana and oat cookies to help keep our sweet cravings away, and they were some of the nicest recipes I have tried. So this week I thought I would share with you some of my Pinterest healthy recipe finds!

Skinny Orange Chicken

The image above is the Skinny orange chicken, and don't you just want to dive in and eat it. Everything in this recipe is free for Tim and I to eat, so we could have a plate of this without jeopardising our diets, and plus we love food like this!

Mozzarella Dippers

I believe it was McDonalds that first got me hooked on Mozzarella dippers, and now every time they bring them out I have to have them as much as I can... Well, I used to... When I stumbled across this on Pinterest I squealed, now I can have healthy(er) Mozarella dippers without feeling guilty. Unfortunately neither of the 2 ingredients used in the making of these are on my 'Filling and Healthy' list, but I would happily spend a few pro-points on them!

Chimichangas

My god do I love Mexican food... These Chimichangas look so glorious, I practically dribbled when I saw this pin. I haven't had a chance to read the recipe for these yet, but I am assuming that I would only have to count the cheese in them towards my pro-points, because every thing else in the picture looks like it would probably be on the list.

Baked Mozzarella Chicken Rolls

Another mouthwatering picture, am I right? I love Chicken, I love it in breadcrumbs, and I love melted cheese, throw these three things together and you've got a winner for me. As soon as I saw this pin, I knew I would have to try it out. I would probably serve this with a small jacket potato and a side salad, and that would make the perfect (almost pro-point free) meal for Tim and I. 

Boiled Eggs

Technically it's hardly a recipe but I have been really craving boiled eggs... I've never even really liked runny yolks, but I want them so much. I hate to say this but I have never actually boiled an egg... If like me you haven't then Egg Recipes has some boiled egg recipes you can follow.

Banana Oat Cookies

Finally I thought I would share with you a recipe that I have already tried. One night last week Tim and I were desperately craving chocolate, so I whipped up these cookies, and at 1 pro-point each you cannot go wrong!

What your favourite recipe that you have ever stumbled across on Pinterest?

**Disclaimer: I own non of the photos in the above post, please follow the links provided to see the original content

A-Z of Me: F is for Food Obsessive

Believe it or not, I actually used to be a very fussy eater. In fact I went through a period in my life where all I ate for dinner was peanut butter on toast, and also another phase where all I ate was plain pasta with cheese on it. Thankfully since going to Uni and having to fend for myself a lot more, my tastes seem to have developed. I still can't stand tomato ketchup or baked beans, but beyond that I have made progress.

I think it's really since Tim and I have moved in together that my passion for cooking has grown. We got ourselves a subscription to BBC Easy Cook magazine, and that gets dropped on our doorstep once a month, giving up plenty of new ideas!

I really feel like the thing to remember when you try a new recipe, is that you have to eat it, so if there are any ingredients in the recipe you don't like, then replace them for something you do like. Secondly it's important to not be afraid to try new things, and slightly more complicated recipes. As long as you follow a recipe step-by-step then it should turn out pretty decent. However if you don't have time to cook, then having a ready meal once in a while won't harm you either...

Here are some of my favourite things to cook (and eat):

• Lasagne
• Hunter's Chicken (chicken stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, with BBQ sauce)
• Cowboy Stew (BBC Food recipe)
• Paella (Schwartz Flavour Shot)
• One Pan Roast (BBC Food Recipe)

Here are some foods that I would like to eat more of, along with a recipe I plan to try:

Fish: I've never been a massive fan of fish, but whenever I see TV chef's cooking it, I think it looks so yummy. Recently I watched Mary Berry's Absolute Christmas Favourites and she showed off her Christmas Eve fish pie with a crouton topping. It looks seriously delicious.

Eggs: I've always been a bit funny with eggs, not really liking them to be runny, and as such I don't really often cook any egg based recipes, though I really feel like I should. A lot of people debate about what kind of eggs to buy nowadays, but for me I just like to make sure that they are British Lion Eggs, that way I know they are safe for me. I also know people used to worry about the cholesterol in eggs, but to be honest those kinds of things never worried me. Having a look on the BBC website I came across this recipe from the Hairy Bikers, that sounds to die for...

Vegetarian: I went veggie for a whole month a few years ago, and it opened my eyes to a new way of cooking and eating. Since then I haven't really tried to continue eating vegetarian, but I think sometimes it makes a nice difference to have it. This Sweet Potato Curry sounds right up my street, I wonder if I could convince Tim to eat this...

So there you have it, I hope you've learned a little something about me and my eating habits today, and please let me know in the comments what food you would like to eat more of.

My Ultimate Baking Wishlist...

Seeing as I have been getting back into baking recently, and you can check out what I have made so far here. I have been scouring the internet looking for the perfect baking tools to assist me in my baking quest!

From top left to bottom right we have:

1. The Andrew James Electric Food Stand Mixer in Black: This is Amazon's most popular stand mixer, I myself am desperate to own a Kitchen aid, however I am aware that their price tag is way out of my reach at the moment. So I'm looking for an alternative, and at £79.99 this looks to be good value for money.

2. Andrew James 'Spare' Bowl for Mixer: Obviously needing this is dependent on me having the food mixer, but as most recipes call for several mixes and icings, I thought it might be handy to have two bowls. That way I don't have to pause in between to wash the bowl up so I can get on with my baking. This one costs £18.99

3. Andrew James Stainless Steel 5 Piece Mixing Bowl Set: I'm currently using some Poundland plastic mixing bowls, and whilst they do the trick, they are cracked (still working though) and they do get scratched a lot by my hand mixer. Having a stainless steel set would mean that I wouldn't have to worry about them cracking, also they come in various sizes, handy for baking. At £19.99 I think this set is definitely worth giving a go!

4. Andrew James Multifunctional Food Processor: I have a cheap Morisson's own food processor that is a constant source of annoyance for me, every single time I want to use it. It doesn't hold enough, and the blade never catches all the mixer. This processor looks neat enough, and comes with an army of attachments, and for £69.99 I think that it's a steal.

5. Andrew James Ice cream maker attachment for Stand Mixer: Another reason to buy the food mixer above, you can buy an ICE CREAM MAKER attachment. That makes me seriously happy as I love ice cream and would love to make my own proper stuff, this dreamy attachment can be yours for £29.99.

6. Masterclass 20cm Square Cake Tin: I've got loads of regular cake tins, but how cool would it be to make square cakes? Masterclass is a good brand of bake ware, and at £10.20, I'd love a couple of these to add to my tin collection!

7. 52pc Stainless Steel Piping Nozzle Set: Just think of all the cake decorating I could do with this set, the thought of it, literally makes me go giddy with excitement. 52pcs for £11.24 is a total bargain!

8. Silicone Rolling Mat: One thing I noticed when making my sausage rolls yesterday was how little fun it was to roll pastry directly onto my work surface, so one of these at £14.99 would really save my life.

9. Baking Beads: I bought some of these AGES ago and they have mysteriously gone walkabouts, so I need more of these in my life before I decided to make a tart, they're only £5.00.

10: Flat Baking Sheets: These would be perfect for when I am baking biscuits, and pastries to ensure they get an even bake, for £5.40 I think a couple of them could mosey on in to my collection, right?

11. Premier Housewares Cake Stand and Dome: How cute is this? I need a pretty serving plate for my cakes and this one is so beautiful. Yes, I don't strictly need this, but I WANT it, and it's only £17.14...

12: Savoy Disposable Piping Bags: Last and by no means least are some piping bags. I'm no stranger to a piping bag, but I'm forever having issues with mixture coming out of the top of them, probably because the ones available in Tesco are far too small. These one are large in size, and a professional quality, so I'm sure they'd be less hassle for only £2.35, right?

OBC #12: This Week I've...

This week has been a fairly quiet one for me, but I did get a fair amount of time to spend on doing some of my favourite things, so this is what I've been up to this week.

I've been reading...

Having seen the trailer for the movie adaptation the last time I went to the cinema, and thinking that it looked interesting, I decided to pick up the book. I have managed to read the entire thing this week, and after a very shaky start, I enjoyed it. I will be writing more about this book once I have been to see the movie, so look out for that.

I've been watching...

Some of my favourite Youtuber Gamers have been playing Alien Isolation this week, and so I decided to go back and watch the entire Alien franchise with Tim. He hadn't ever seen any of the Alien films the whole way through so it was fun watching them again with someone who had no idea what was going to happen. The Aliens for me are some of the scariest creatures in film, and watching the films again has only made me remember how much I loved them the first time.

Last week American Horror Story returned for it's fourth season, and I couldn't have been more excited. This was the first show that Tim and I managed to sit and watch through together, mainly because I normally skip ahead. However I have promised that I won't do that with this show seeing as we love watching it together so much. The season premier certainly wasn't a disappointment, with the correct amount of murder and downright weird goings on to keep us hooked. I'm already anxious to see how next week's episode is going to turn out.

I've been eating...

Tim and I found these in Tesco and they were on offer at the time, and I think we both almost died of excitement. I don't know about you, but Quality streets are some of my favourite chocolates, and the orange and strawberry cremes are by far the best. Every Christmas when there is a big tin  of these for the family to share, we always fight over the orange and strawberry cremes, but now we don't have to. To make these even more interested they have introduced a lemon creme, which in my opinion is equally as good as the other two. I'm hoping that these are not limited edition, because I will be repurchasing them again and again.

I've been playing...

I went to visit my brother yesterday and we wanted to find a game that we could play together. He has a PS4, but only one controller, so we can't really play anything on that. Then I remembered that we had loads of two player games on our old PS2, which we still have. So we plugged it in and dusted off this bad boy of a game. We all took it in turns to play, and honestly it was the most fun I have had playing a console game in a really long time. Although afterwards we all had massive headaches which we thought might have been from the resolution of the game... 

This game is actually a Facebook game, but it's actually a good one. I played this a long, long time ago, and then completely forgot about it, until one of my friends sent me a request for it this week. I started playing it again, and now I am completely addicted... I've also managed to be Tim addicted to ti