Blog – Page 2

Making A Meal Of It: Learning How To Host A Dinner Party

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Hosting a dinner party can be a daunting task for a lot of people. If you don’t like cooking or lack the experience to handle something like this with confidence, it can be hard to relax and enjoy the evening you’ve put so much time into. Of course, though, an event like this doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. To help you out with this, this post will be offering some useful tips which will make the process of hosting your dinner party much easier. There’s no need to worry about the meal you’re making; you just need to have a good time.

Planning Ahead

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they are hosting a dinner party will be failing to plan ahead. It’s all too easy to think that it will only take a couple of hours to prepare your meal, but this is rarely the case, and you need to be planning at least a couple of days ahead. Any food which can be prepared ahead of time should be done before the big day. Not only will this save you time when it comes to making the main meal, but it will also help you to avoid being held up by mistakes or missing ingredients. Of course, though, you have to be careful to make sure that the food you serve is nice and fresh.

Following Recipes

Cooking isn’t easy for a lot of people, and many people struggle when they decide to go it alone with their food. Reading recipes used to be the only real option to help with this, though this has changed in recent times. Recipes are still crucial to your cooking experience, but you don’t have to read them; you can watch them, instead. A dessert like Sopapilla Cheesecake can look very challenging to make when you see the end results. But watching a video of it being made, though, you will see how simple it really is, and there are loads of other meals and desserts which can be cooked like this.

Putting The Work Down

Finally, as the last tip to consider, it’s time to think about what you’re going to do once you’ve finished cooking. With any luck, your time in the kitchen will be just about over by the time you have people coming through your doors. This will give you the chance to rest, relax, and enjoy the work you’ve done to make everyone a great meal. It can be easy to stress or worry about this, but you won’t be able to enjoy yourself if you’re feeling tense. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t created the best meal in the world, as it will soon be eaten, and you can get on with having fun.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling much better about the idea of having people over for a dinner party. People struggle with work like this all the time, but it’s important to remember what you’re doing this for!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Make Your Desserts Healthier

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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A great dessert can be the perfect way to round off a meal or celebrate a special event. However, you needn’t abandon your healthy eating regime simply to enjoy a good dessert. If you want to avoid harmful additives, tons of sugar and unhealthy fats, take a look at these top tips for making your desserts healthier and tastier.

Switch to dark chocolate

If a recipe calls for chocolate, don’t automatically reach for a bar of white or milk chocolate. The added fat and sugar content will make your dessert less healthy than it could be. Instead, substitute it for good quality dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa will have less sugar than other options, which means your dessert will be healthier than you expect. What’s more, you’ll get the delicious taste and texture of chocolate without the sugar overload.

Use sweet fruits

Rather than relying on lots of sugar or sweeteners to flavor your desserts, use sweet fruits instead. Raisins, figs, and pineapple are all widely used in desserts, partly because of their sweetness. With a homemade date bar recipe, sticky cinnamon figs or a skinny pineapple cheesecake, you can enjoy a decadent dessert, without unnecessary sugar or calories.

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Steer clear of cream

Adding cream to a dessert automatically increases the amount of fat it contains. If you like adding a dollop of cream to your dessert, try flavored yogurt or natural Greek yogurt instead. With a range of options available, you can opt for a low-fat addition to your dessert or choose a flavor that complements the dish. Depending on what you use, switching out cream for yogurt could save you hundreds of calories and a good deal of fat too!

Have dessert on the go

When you’re planning your meals, be sure to incorporate desserts you can eat on the go. As well as enjoying a sweet treat after a meal, you may crave something sugary in the afternoons. By having sweets and desserts on hand, you’ll always have something healthy to snack on. Fruit bars and no-fat cookies are a great option, so plan ahead and keep a batch in the freezer for when you need them.

Try whole-wheat flour

When recipes call for plain flour, try using whole-wheat instead. As plain flour is refined, it tends to be less healthy. By switching to whole-wheat, you’ll make your desserts healthier and increase their fiber content.

Using whole-wheat flour, rather than plain, can alter the texture of your dessert a little bit, in most cases, you’ll barely notice the difference. Practice in advance and you’ll have a good idea of how to make the switch before you are serving your guests.

Choosing Healthy Desserts

When we are treating ourselves to a tasty dessert, it’s easy to choose things you know you love. However, you could be missing out on something even better! Be open to trying new dishes and flavors and you’ll find there are a wide range of healthy desserts to enjoy.

Thank you for reading!

Fashion

Why You Should Get Your Bellybutton Pierced

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

In the ’90s, belly button piercings were massive. It was one of those trends that took the world by storm. Teenage girls were begging to be allowed a navel piercing, and all of their favorite pop stars (looking at you Britney) were rocking the belly bar.

Since then, the trend might have died down slightly, but it’s still there. All those girls that got pierced years ago are still showing off their belly rings around the pools in the summers, and younger girls are wondering if they’d like to add an accessory to their belly button.

But at some point, you may have decided that you were too old. If you haven’t got it done already, it’s too late. But, whether you are in your late teens, early twenties, or 55, it’s never too late to get your belly button bejeweled. If it’s something that you’ve always wondered about, here are some of the reasons to get your bellybutton pierced.

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It Looks Great

What else are you going to do with it? Without a belly button ring or bar, it’s just a little hole in your torso. There’s just a long bit of body, with very little going on. Adding an opal belly ring is a great way to add something extra. It looks great, gives you a new place to add a shiny accessory, and will always look cool with a crop top or bikini.

It’s Easy to Hide

One of the best things about a navel piercing is that it’s easy to hide, and people will only ever see it if you want them to. It’s easy to throw on a long shirt, jumper or dress to cover it up, and most of the time, no one would ever know that you’ve got jewelry on your stomach. But, when you do want people to see, it draws attention and always looks cool.

Your Belly Will Never Look Better Than It Does Now

Well, this isn’t technically true. Your belly might look better if you exercise, eat healthily, and do tons of crunches. But, without effort, your belly will never look better than it does today. Generally, without working on it, our stomach muscles weaken, and our torsos become less firm as we age. Keeping a toned and tight tum takes more effort as you get older, so if you aren’t going to adorn it now, you never will.

There’s a Lot That You Can Do With It

Some piercings are quite restrictive. You might only be able to wear certain types of jewelry. Your belly button isn’t. There’s a huge range of jewelry available, and it’s much easier to change than a piercing that you can’t see or reach, as well.

You Want to

The very best reason to get your bellybutton pierced is that you want to. It doesn’t matter what other people think, how old you are, how toned or flat your stomach is, or how many stretch marks you’ve got. If you want your belly button pierced, find a good piercer, and go and get it done!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Cooking In Batch: One Big Myth Or Another Skill You Need To Learn?

February 14, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Batch cooking has become the biggest kitchen-based trend in recent years, with YouTubers and top chefs alike recommending this as ‘the’ solution for bringing ease to your meals. On the surface, the idea of being able to make everything in advance certainly seems like an appealing alternative on those nights when you’re feeling out of it.

Sadly, batch cooking isn’t always the easy solution we expect. In fact, given how long these batches of food take to make in the first place, they even risk costing you more time in the long-run. What’s more, the sheer quantities necessary can make cooking incredibly tricky, leaving you with excesses of washing up and an entire weekend spent in the kitchen.

That’s not to say that this is a total wash-out, of course. By merely facing up to the biggest batch cooking myths, you may, in fact, find that you can learn this skill with the following ease-focused pointers in mind.

Invest in the right equipment

Attempting to batch-cook things like rice in a standard pan is always going to add stress rather than removing it. Unless, of course, you invested in a rice cooker that really did bring ease to that easy teriyaki shrimp and rice dish you’ve been trying to master. Equally, a slow cooker can see you making large quantities of just about any meat dish with less than half the hassle. If you’re seeking effortless batch cooking without the slaving and washing at the end of it, then trust us when we say that the right equipment is the only way to go.

Double the meals you’re already cooking

Even with a slow cooker to hand, setting about unique recipes for batch purposes can still set you back. That’s why it’s also worth doubling up on meals you’re already making. This couldn’t be easier with that equipment behind you, yet it saves you from ever having to think about batch efforts. Instead, you’ll forever have food ready to go, all for much the same amount of effort you’d have put in anyway.

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Always have a plan for batch meals

Many people also find that merely finding places to store that excess food isn’t easy, resulting in either crammed freezers or wasted fridge food. As such, our last pointer for actual ease here is always to know what you’re doing with those batch dishes. In general terms, fridge storage, especially of things like meat and rice, is only possible for three days. As such, you should only ever batch cook these if you know you’ll be eating them within that time. Equally, you should only put batch meals in your freezer if you have a set plan to eat them within a month. This ensures they stay fresh, while also guaranteeing these efforts don’t make your freezer impossible to manage.

They might have been lying when they said that all batch cooking was easy but, with these pointers, you should find that this is a skill that you’re still easily able to master!

Thank you for reading!

Food Nutrition

Can You Make Healthy Food More Enjoyable?

February 12, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

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Eating healthily would be a lot easier were it not for the fact that a lot of the healthiest foods are considered by most of us to be the most unpleasant. For example, just imagine your joyful reaction on being told that chocolate is good for you … followed by the sheer horror when you realise that they’re talking about super-dark chocolate, the bitter stuff that you’d usually walk right past. And what’s the healthiest citrus fruit? It couldn’t be a zesty tangerine, could it? It has to be grapefruit; great for your heart and immune system, but an attack on the taste buds.

There is even a trope about foods that are like this: If it tastes bad, it must be good for you. And so, while most of us would rather be eating loaded fries or ice-cream sundaes, we make the smart, selfless choice and settle for the healthy option. It’s the correct option, even if it sometimes feels wrong. However, healthy eating doesn’t need to be this hard. As long as you keep in mind a few simple principles, it can be rewarding – and even tasty, at times.

1. A little seasoning goes a long way

One of the first steps many of us make when changing our diet for the healthier is to say goodbye to fries and other potato side dishes, and welcome salads to our usual rotation. It’s a smart choice – especially if you include healthy options like carrot and beetroot in your salads, doubling up on beneficial nutrients. What a lot of people don’t realise, however, is that salad needs seasoning – and will be no less healthy for it. A little salt and a pinch of black pepper will give any salad an extra dimension – as will a dash of lemon or lime juice.

2. What you eat, and how you eat it, are both important

When we are advised to make changes to our diet, it’s usually for the purpose of getting specific nutrients: avocados are loaded with a hefty nutrient profile, while cruciferous veg like broccoli and Brussels sprouts also pack a punch. These foods are also among the most commonly-cited foods people don’t like. However, you can brighten up avocado by serving it on toast for a tasty contrast between crunchy and soft, while this honey balsamic roasted brussel sprouts recipe will change the mind of even the most hardened sprout-skeptic. In each of these cases, the food retains is nutritious benefits, while gaining a new taste.

3. If you don’t like it now, give it a chance

The truth of the matter is that much of our distaste for the healthier foods to which we switch comes from unfamiliarity. Part of the reason it’s so common to find children who are fussy eaters is the fact that if they’re not familiar with a food, they assume they won’t like it. And maybe, the first few times they do try a food, they really won’t like it. Adults are just the same – it can take a few tries to get to enjoy some of the healthier foods out there, and that includes grapefruit and dark chocolate. But as your palate becomes more habituated to them, you’d be surprised by how much you can begin to enjoy a food you once disliked.

Trial and error is an important part of making the switch to healthy eating. But give those foods you “don’t like” a chance, and you may be surprised by what you learn.

Thank you for reading!

Kids/Nannying

How To Make Education More Fun For Your Kids

February 12, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Image by free stock photos from www.picjumbo.com from Pixabay

There comes a time when kids realize that they are learning and suddenly become disinterested in it. They see it as a chore, something that they have to do in school and not something they want to continue doing at home or in the school holidays. However, there are some sneaky ways you can keep your kids learning all the time, and they won’t even realize it, they’ll just think they’re playing, here are a few to help you out if you’re struggling to get your kids to get their heads down and learn.

Write A Quiz For Them

You would have to make this fun so it doesn’t appear like a test, but more of a ‘pub’ quiz without the ‘pub’ bit. Choose a theme where you can either weave in things that your kids are struggling with and need to focus on more, or simply quiz them about the film they have just watched or the day trip you went on to help them with their memories and to keep their brains sharp. You can also weave in spelling questions without them realizing, for example, one question could be a word they’re finding difficult, type it into a word unscrambler to see what other words can be made out of it. Write these down and get them to guess the original word.

Invest In All The Right Tools

Do you ever find that you’re more excited to get to the gym if you’ve treated yourself to some new trainers or gym gear? Well, kids are the same, if you invest in all the right tools, fun pens, highlighters, paper, and sticky notes, then your kids will be keen to use them and spend more time learning.

Make It A Game

Turning any lesson into a game will always make learning fun, and again, your kids won’t even know they’re learning. You don’t have to spend all day prepping a game to play; there are loads of pre-made games you can buy, which will teach your kids all sorts of skills, while they’re still having fun. The most popular, fun, and effective games are usually the simplest, though, so don’t overthink it. Make sure you play with your kids too, show them that it’s fun and you’ll all have a great time and learn loads too.

Ask Your Kids Make Their Own Board Games

This is fun as it keeps them busy, but you also get a good game at the end of it. Ask your kids to choose a topic or theme that they love, so it could be Disney, cats, football, anything they like. Then get them to design a board game around their passion. This activity requires your kids to research their topic, work out the rules, and write simple directions for others to follow. So they learn a lot from it without knowing it, and then everyone gets to play afterward.

Learning can be a lot of fun, so make sure you don’t take the fun out of it!

Thank you for reading!

Food

5 Ways to Break out of Your Cooking Comfort Zone

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Cooking is a wonderful skill to learn that can save you money, impress your family and even lead to a healthier lifestyle. However, cooking tends to be something that we don’t really practice. Instead, we often cook out of necessity whenever we’re hungry, or if we’re preparing meals for our kids. Rarely do we go out of our way to try something new, and this can lead to us creating a comfort zone that is difficult to break out of.

As a result, you might find that trying out new recipes can eventually get difficult. It might even reach a point where you’re scared of variety, especially if other people are going to be tasting your cooking. So in this post, we’re going to help you by suggesting five different ways to break out of your cooking comfort zone.

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1. Cook for various occasions

Cooking for different occasions, even if it’s something you’ve made yourself, is a great way to push yourself to try new cooking techniques and ingredients. For instance, why not try to cook a delicious brown sugar pineapple ham for the festive holidays? You could even try baking cakes and chocolates for Valentine’s day. Maybe you and your kids could have a curry night during the week, or maybe you’d like to try making special desserts on the weekend.

2. Equip yourself with proper tools

It’s important to invest your money into high-quality tools to help improve your cooking. Whether it’s a food processor to make prep easier or a sharp knife to make slicing a breeze, it’s vital that you equip yourself with the right tools for the job.

3. Avoid single-purpose tools

However, it’s also important to avoid single-use tools that might look fun to use but are ultimately pointless. Avoid relying on fad tools that clog up your kitchen and stick to basic tools that can be used for countless different purposes.

4. Taste new foods

It’s important to taste new foods to discover different flavours that you can try to incorporate into your own cooking. You might even learn about new foods that you really enjoy, so much so that you try to replicate it at home! Trying new foods is a great way to step outside of your comfort zone

5. Understand that mistakes are normal

No one cooks perfect meals 100% of the time. Everyone makes mistakes now and then and it’s important to learn from them instead of trying to hide behind them or avoid them. If you make a mistake in cooking, try to learn from those mistakes.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of establishing a comfort zone in cooking. However, if you follow these five easy steps, you’ll find that experimenting with your food and trying something new is a great way to expand your knowledge of cooking and increase the number of recipes you know. Don’t be afraid to try something new and give yourself a chance to grow your skills!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Cooking Yourself A Warming Dinner When You’re Feeling Out Of It

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife 1 Comment

Eating is something a sick person needs to do quite carefully. It’s important to have a lot of antioxidants in your diet during a time like this, and to ensure any sugar content is kept to a healthy and natural minimum. You don’t want to accidentally feed the bacteria currently invading your immune system!

Food is one of the easiest, most accessible ways to take care of yourself when you’re feeling under the weather, so it’s important to know what the best kind of food is for you right now.

If you’re currently sick, or feeling a bit sneezy, it’s time to make yourself a hearty dinner that’ll help you feel much better. Take the suggestions below into your kitchen and whip up something tasty and good for your body – your immune system deserves it!

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You Can Throw Soups Together Easily Enough

Soups are wonderful dishes to make if you’re ill or not feeling quite right – you can put all kinds of delicious and nutritious ingredients into a pot, add water (good for when a cold dehydrates you!), and then freeze any soup you don’t eat for another day.

Of course, chicken soup, or chicken noodle soup, is usually a person’s go-to here. But a tomato soup, or a vegetable soup, have similar restoring properties. They’re good for your stomach and other organs, and the hot steam that rises off of the bowl is great for your nose, eyes, and mouth too.

You could also try your hand at broths; they’re another great dinner for those of us feeling ill and tired. Why not try out a delicious bone broth udon soup? Broths can feel a bit heartier and heavier than simple soups, so if you like a bit more of a meaty taste, or you’ve got some bones to use up, whip up a broth for the household!

Mix Up a Curry

Got a blocked nose? Then it’s time to make a curry, or any other type of hot or spicy food that you like. After all, if you can pack some capsaicin into your mouth (which is what makes spicy food feel hot and spicy), you’ll be able to clear those sinuses and get all that backed up phlegm moving!

Put Some Garlic in it!

And if you like just sticking to some regular recipes, because you like to cook no matter how ill you’re feeling, and you have a varied palette, it’s time to put a lot more garlic into your meals.

Garlic is a very beneficial food to eat, as it has quite a few medicinal benefits – thankfully, it’s one of the most popular spices on the planet, so you’re guaranteed to have some in the cupboard. If you want to boost your immune system in general, a bit more garlic is a great rule to abide by.

If you’re feeling out of it, it’s time to cook up something healthy and hearty. Food is best for your body!

Thank you for reading!

Food

Classy Yet Easy Desserts Perfect For Dinner Parties

February 11, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Food is something we all enjoy. Our bodies need it to survive, and our brains draw energy from it, making sure we can get through the day just fine. And when it comes to mastering the cooking and baking skills we all wished we had, being able to throw a dinner party for your nearest and dearest, while also not sweating over what you’ll make, is a real skill too!

If you’ve got a dinner party coming up, and you want to be sure that every single person in attendance knows just how good of a cook you are (and to enjoy everything they put in their mouths!), we’ve got a list of classy yet easy desserts for you to know. Make sure you keep them in mind as you’re planning your sophisticated and fun menu for guests.

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A Pie is a Simple Classic

Pies are such versatile options – they can be both sweet and savoury, and they’re easy to whip together if you’ve got nothing else in the house. So, why not serve a nice, sweet pie for dessert at your dinner party? You can easily garnish the top with a flourish, and you can put all kinds of delicious fillings inside the pastry. Just learn how to make a sweet pastry or a pie dough and you’ll be able to do so much with so little!

A cherry pie is a classic, and great to be served with whipped cream or ice cream. You can have a key lime pie if your guests like to have something sweet, but still with a bit of a kick to each bite. And if you want to go all out with new and interesting flavors, why not try this coconut and marshmallow pie?

A Cream Cake Always Impresses!

Cream cakes are wonderful things to chow down on, and thankfully, they’re not too hard to try and make. After all, cream sounds like it’ll be hard to work with, and hard to keep stiff and non melted during your dinner prep, but as long as you have a fridge and a recipe to follow, you’ll be fine!

And if you look up a tres leches cake recipe, you’ll be able to whip up something light, fluffy, and deliciously creamy ahead of time! That’ll make your dinner party preparations a lot easier on you, and might even give you time to throw together another appetizer, or learn how to make a couple of cocktails that you can pass around.

Learn How to Use Chocolate Properly

And finally, if you know how to melt and temper chocolate, you’ll be able to do so much with just a simple bar of your favourite chocolate from the store. Make a chocolate fountain, make a fondue, even make a lava cake for your guests to cut into, with a lovely ganache to be found inside!

Got a dinner party coming up? Put one of these desserts on the menu for a real hit!

Thank you for reading!

Health

Benefits Of Trying A Vegan Diet And What You Need To Do

February 10, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Becoming a vegan is fast becoming a trend amongst many of us, including well-known celebrities. It’s becoming more of an accessible lifestyle choice than ever before and there are many benefits why you should give it ago. For those of you unaware, being a vegan means you don’t eat any animal-related product; this means things like meat, eggs, and dairy products. It can be a difficult change to make at first, so it’s always advisable to take things slow and steady. A great way to become vegan would be to gradually change things over a period. This helps you avoid becoming overwhelmed and deterring away from your decision. However, if you want to give this lifestyle a go, then here are some amazing benefits to becoming vegan (with a few not so obvious ones to get you thinking).

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It’s great for weight loss

If you want to lose some weight, then having a vegan diet could be a great way to shed those pounds. Cutting out animal products from your diet makes it much easier to lose the weight and keep it off. You‘ll find you eat much better than you would have previously. You can even indulge your sweet tooth with this vegan pumpkin pie recipe that you can enjoy. Just make sure you still get all the vitamins and minerals you need. There is plenty of research online to help you discover what vegetables have what in them.

You’re thinking of the animals

A huge benefit, and possibly the reason why you decided to become vegan, is you are thinking of animal welfare. You have made it one step closer for better treatment of animals in the future. You may not think you are making a difference, but even just talking about your lifestyle choice will raise questions with others. You may even convert a few friends to your way of life and thinking. Becoming vegan shows your support for changing the conditions of which animals are treated. The unfair treatment of animals, especially ones bred for slaughter, can be horrific in some cases. This might be your sole reason to becoming vegan in the first place.

It’s an easy way to get your five-a-day

This could be a fairly obvious benefit but it wouldn’t be surprising if you smashed the five-a-day target and maybe even doubled it. Who could blame you when you are on a vegan diet? It’s a great benefit because you know what you are putting into your body. Your body will be getting an abundance of vitamins and minerals it possibly wasn’t getting before you started. Aim to eat organic as much as possible!

You become a much healthier person

Vegans have a typical lower level of cholesterol than other people on other diets, which means you would be a healthier person. Vegans also have lower rates in type 2 diabetes and lower body mass index. Even the rates of death, heart disease and cancer are significantly reduced. So not only is it good for the environment, but you are also taking the right steps for taking care of yourself as well. A lot of science and research has gone into discovering that you don’t need to eat meat to be healthy. Just make sure you’re eating healthy foods in place of meat, and be sure you’re consuming enough protein.

Let’s hope these benefits have inspired you to think about a vegan lifestyle or switch things altogether!

•Are you vegan? Have you thought about becoming vegan?

Thank you for reading!

This post was a collaboration.

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