As many of my readers will know for the last year and a half I have been following a Slimming World diet and focussing far more on being a happier and healthier me. This has meant that my passion for cooking has soared and I spend so much more time thinking about food, trying out more recipes and ultimately spending far more time in the kitchen.
Something that has really helped me and stopped me getting bored of my meals has been other online blogs. Some of my favourite slimming world friendly blogs are pinch of nom and two chubby cubs. They both offer such exciting new ideas, and new concoctions. As a vegetarian, with a sister who is gluten intolerant too, I love how much you can narrow results on Pinch of Nom. It is also perfect for finding delicious desserts!
As I am in the kitchen far more than before I am keen for it to look bright and fresh. Jon and I purchased our house two years ago and the kitchen is finally decorated. A full DIY job we designed, fitted and tiled the kitchen. I love it, clean, bright, white with some splashes of colour like our big red fridge. I still get a lot of advice from a facebook group called DIY on a budget. It is an addictive group and if you are doing any DIY or decorating its a must. My husband thinks I’m on it a little too much but I am always finding things that could be done up in our home!
A site that I have been going to a lot to search for different new items for in my Kitchen is Lionshome. Its a new shopping portal but links to so many different items, it doesn’t help my shopping habits! They feature an online magazine, to help you discover inspiring interior design ideas and home products. One of the posts dedicated to crockery called ‘dressing up your kitchen table‘ and shows so many beautiful examples below. I recently purchased some Instagram-friendly gold cutlery from Argos and think some beautiful crockery is needed along side it! Another that caught my eye recently was their ‘hot cross buns‘ article as I love my vintage scales and little kitchen accessories.
Whilst I stayed on plan with my diet up until my wedding in August since then I have found losing anymore very hard. I am now 3.5lb from my target, I am so close!! I will just have to stick with it as I cannot wait to be a target member. I am making sure that I am measuring everything with my measuring spoons and not guessing any amounts.
Instagram have a great community for Slimming World members. It is often my source of inspiration, seeing what people are eating, what they eat in a day, handy snacks or low syn on the go options. There are so many people posting, great for days when food ideas are slow!
When I am in the kitchen I like to listen to different audiobooks and different podcasts, one of my favourite being Criminal, ‘Criminal is a podcast about crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.’ Really interesting, often bizzare but thoroughly entertaining accounts and tales from a range of sources. I also highly recommend ‘This American Life’ as I just love the storytelling nature.
Please let me know any tips, tricks or advice for any of you food lovers out there who spend as much time as myself in the kitchen!
*sp
