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Movies, Meals & Muddling Through Life February 2020

February 2, 2020 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Wow this last month or so seems to have passed in the blinking of an eye. It seems like only a moment ago that I was wondering how I’d get used to writing 2020 and suddenly we are here and just getting into the second month.

I’m glad we are edging closer to Springtime. I normally like the dark nights and wrapping up in hats and scarves but this Winter already seems too long. I am longing for lighter evenings and days without coats. Being able to walk a lot especially by our local estuary in the daylight has huge benefits for my mental health and apparently for physical health too, not just from the exercise but the Vitamin D too.

Movies

At the cinema I have watched Jojo Rabbit, Bad Boys for Life, Spies in Disguise and Little Women. I loved Little Women – in fact I really want to see it again, it is a truly fantastic remake and I urge you to check it out. Only one point I will make is that it’s not all in chronological order so if you haven’t read the book ( you really should ) or seen the original film then you may find parts of it confusing. Jojo Rabbit is also a great world war two film which is surprisingly comedic although highly emotional in parts, the role of Jojo is played by Roman Griffin Davis and he is outstanding. Bad Boys was good fun and easy to watch, although slightly gorier in parts than I expected. The kids enjoyed Spies In Disguise and it was more than just watchable for grown ups too.

At home I haven’t watched any new films unless you count some really old school Disney films with the kids.

TV

I seem to be a bit of an anomaly at the moment as most people seem to be watching one of the reality shows currently gracing our TVs, Love Island and The Masked Singer to name just two. I will admit giving Love Island a cursory glance on the first episode but I realised that I just can’t get invested in it. It is all so samey. Instead I have just been watching Netflix and more recently Apple TV due to a free pass from my phone provider.

So far over the last month on Netflix I have watched 60 Days In and I blitzed through Virgin River. Virgin River is a very easy to watch drama set in a beautiful town in North California, it’s quite quaint and simple and I like it a lot. 60 Days In was just fascinating, members of the public were sent to live as criminals in an American Jail for ( you guessed it ) 60 days. It was a bit mad, occasionally predictable and just an interesting watch. My favourite recent watch has been The Morning Show on Apple TV, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon who both play really great characters – I finished it within a week ( it’s only 10 episodes ) and I LOVED it.

Meals

I am almost back into my cooking groove. In the last few weeks alone I have baked banana breads, nutella cookies and soda breads galore. I have started baking something for one of my family members each week to say thank you for some of the support they have shown me over the last year. So far I have managed to bake for 3 of my siblings and if you know my family then you’ll know I still have a fair way to go. I’ve also been trying to cook a new dish each week with the girls, nothing especially exciting but I want them to enjoy cooking food and realise how important variety is.

Everything Else

To be honest life has been a little topsy turvy this last month. My anxiety levels seem to be higher than normal and I am waiting on some further hospital tests on my back which is probably not helping. Cooking more, walking a little more and just spending as much time as possible focused on fun with the kids is keeping me sane…just 🙂

Am having a bit of a contemplative time, trying to work out what I can do to improve and change things in my life. I need to work on a few areas and one at least is making sure that eventually I am doing a job that I love. Overall I am working on my health and I have also started taking regular supplements which were a gift from an online friend ( not an AD). I am taking Omega 3, Active Energy and Vitamin D from a company called Vegetology, it is still early days but I think they are having an impact. My energy levels are definitely higher and I am sleeping better at night too.

I have a few press events to look forward to over the next few months as well including a Feel Good trip to Bath which involves a trip to the Thermal Bath ( my first ever ) and wow it could not come at a better time. I’ll keep you posted on that!

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Looking After Your Mental Health Part 1

January 28, 2020 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Despite what some magazines will tell you not all problems are fixed by a manicure or a hot soak in the bath. Now I do firmly believe that a bath can make most days better but over the years I have discovered ways to take better care of my mental health. As we all should. Mental health is as important if not at times more important than physical health. And poor mental health impacts your physical health which to me seems downright cruel.

Photo by Natasha Spencer on Unsplash

I don’t pretend to be a master of my mental health. Quite often it gets the better of me, I am however getting better at knowing what to do to pull myself out of those murky waters. I can recognise the feelings, the symptoms and whilst I can’t stop anxiety or stress from quite literally kicking my butt, there is something to be said for knowing as much as you can about your enemy and how to beat it.

So what do I do?

These are just a few of the ways that help me to get through difficult days. Some of this may work for you but it may not. We are all unique and will have different coping mechanisms. I would urge you to keep a little notebook or even a folder on your phone. Write down EVERYTHING that improves your mood or makes you calm. Everything. That particular brand of tea. The way you feel around certain people. A song. A special form of exercise. All of it. It is what I have been doing for a little while now and whilst you don’t need to know all of my notes and some of course are quite personal, there are some which are more general and perhaps even obvious. I’ll share a few each month.

  1. Re read a favourite book. I find this especially helpful when my mood is low. I don’t feel like taking in new information and sometimes I simply can’t. An old book, a much loved favourite is a bit like a hug from a parent. It’s easy, it’s comforting and you know exactly how it makes you feel. Not into reading? Watch a favourite film. My go to film for unwinding is Julie and Julia. It is about food and writing so perfect for me!
  2. Get up and move. I am not talking about exercise (yet) but we all get days when we don’t want to move from our beds. I definitely think you should let yourself rest as much as you need but too much time under a blanket especially during the day time can make me feel a lot worse. It gets harder and harder to want to get up so most days even if I don’t have to I bite the bullet and get up before 9. If the girls aren’t here then before I settle down to have breakfast or relax I do a wash load or maybe see to the cat or I’ll sort out the recycling. Something easy which requires little brain energy.
  3. Eat the right food. Ah I am a sucker for junk food or a takeaway when I’m stressed. Sometimes because I have little to no energy to make food and often little appetite and sometimes just because it tastes really good. I still indulge and this is not about calorie counting but sugar highs and lows aren’t great when your mood is a bit all over the place. Too much salt and grease also makes you feel lousy, can upset your belly ( which anxiety already does) and well it is expensive too. If I eat more fresh food, more greens, less processed stuff straight from a packet then I feel better. In my head I feel like I am taking care of myself and it seems to have a knock on effect.
  4. Drink more water. Dehydration makes your whole body feel lousy and can give headaches and interrupt your sleep which then impacts your mental health. So drink more.
  5. Busy your mind. This is great for anxiety and that seemingly never ending restless feeling. Find something that occupies your mind fully – for me it’s baking with loud music playing. My hands are busy, my mind is going full throttle with timings and measurements and I don’t have time to worry. I know it’s not for everyone but I like both my body and brain to be tired before bed. Find your thing and do it. Baking is mine.
  6. Be with your easy people. It may be family or friends or a partner, for me it’s my parents, children and siblings plus a couple of friends I have had for 10 years+. I can be with any of those people and not have to think about what I say, what I’m wearing or what I have to do. It’s just easy. I am comforted by their presence and I feel so very lucky to have that. Sometimes even now knowing that it helps I still try to avoid these social situations because my brain is stupid but looking back I know that I feel better for time spent with them.
  7. Exercise. This is without a doubt one of the best things you can do for your mental health. While I wait for my next MRI I am limited in that all I can really do is walk a little bit and it is so incredibly frustrating. If you can exercise, do it. It releases endorphins, it improves your mental health. If you do it outside you get vitamin D and fresh air and well just do it. As much as you can, as often as you can.
  8. Look for positives. I won’t go into this too much as I have written more about it here but just try every day looking for the small good things in your day. Tiny things like a great coffee, a smile from a stranger or a brightly coloured door. Anything at all. Count them up. I started this late year and it has helped improve my days.

That is the first chunk of many, I have loads more to share. I know some of these will seem fairly obvious but when you are in the middle of it whether it be depression, anxiety or stress then you forget. You forget how it feels to be better, to feel normal again and these help me. I hope they help you.

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Movies, meals and muddling through life January 2020

January 7, 2020 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

It’s a brand new year and I still can’t quite get used to the fact that we are in 2020. Does anyone else still find it really strange? Life seems to be moving way too fast these days and I’m trying my very best to enjoy all of the moments. I haven’t done one of these general life updates in a little while. I have really struggled to reclaim my writing mojo but I’ve started to plan out some writing time in my days just 30 mins here or there and I am slowly getting back into it.

So what’s been happening?

Well the answer is lots. But let’s do this the way I always do, starting with movies:

Movies

The last three months have been quite film/movie heavy. In the cinema I’ve seen Frozen 2, Cats, Ford v Ferrari and Last Christmas. My favourite was Frozen 2, it’s a truly excellent film and I enjoyed it far more than the first. Fave moments for me include the Samantha scene and Kristoff’s 80s style ballad. Last Christmas was predictably cheesy but also made me think…a lot. As for Cats. Well. I can’t really begin to explain it. The kids loved it but I spent most of the film looking at my older sister and wondering what on earth was going on. It’s properly weird but I’m glad I’ve seen it so I can actually understand the reviews 😂.

Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash

On Netflix we have watched a wide range of kids films and Christmas Prince films and I have also watched Marriage Story and rewatched About Time again.

TV/Netflix shows

I don’t watch a lot of normal tv. I cancelled my tv licence last year as it was such a rarity so now I only watch terrestrial tv at my parents house. Last month I watched Gavin and Stacey which I quite enjoyed, mainly as I watched with all my family. Funny to see how various characters had aged or in some cases had not due to various face treatments. On Netflix I have watched a fair bit including You, Dirty John, Don’t F*** with Cats, People V OJ and an assortment of food related shows. You is a fairly creepy series which is focused on the life and loves of Joe Goldberg a handsome young romantic who has serial killer tendencies- fascinating but also creepy. People v OJ was really interesting and well cast. Don’t f*** with cats is a quite distressing watch and I wouldn’t watch it again, in fact if I had know what it was about I wouldn’t have watched it the first time but once you start it has you gripped!

Meals

My food life has been a little boring of late. I’ve had to spend a lot of time indoors and I ended up cancelling all of my Christmas work meals etc and to be honest I’m not sad about that. I am back to creating in the kitchen a bit more, not quite ready to share recipes but I’ll get there soon. Aside from the odd breakfast out with my mam, sisters and the girls I haven’t eaten out since maybe November when we had our fake Christmas meal. I am making some changes to what I eat at home, cutting down a little on meat consumption and just cooking mostly from scratch again.

Health

Ah where do I begin? It’s been a year of poor health which ended up with severe break and dislocation in my toe from stubbing a cardboard box, seriously. I’m healing up now thankfully and just awaiting results from my back MRI which took place just before New Years. I have managed to regain the heavy weight loss from earlier in the year so now I am just trying to maintain a healthy weight and exercise lightly when possible.

Life in general

I can’t deny that the last year has been incredibly stressful, probably the most stressful one of my life so far but I have definitely learned from it, I am not sure how much stronger I am for it but it’s taught me things. I do want to try and do a little more with the blog this year and also find some way to use it for good, whether it’s to help raise awareness for charities I support or to talk about important issues. The girls are flourishing and getting so clever and funny. They are great company these days and we talk about the most random of things and dance about the house to silly songs, current fave is Dance Monkey by The Tones.

The New Year

I’m not making resolutions this year but there are a few things that I started late last year which I’ll be continuing with. One is looking for the positives, I find it all too easy to be negative and I really want that to be a change for me. Last year with positive advent I made a point each day of finding all the little things which were positive in my day so I’m continuing with that. I’m also keeping a journal, one from Amazon which is one line a day ( actually about 3 lines) for 5 years, I think it’ll be interesting to read back on the different days and compare things. Each page of the journal has five spaces for each year for that particular day. This is the one I have:

I am also trying to walk each day even if it’s just a little, I still can’t overdo things as in a lot of pain with my back but walking is so incredibly good for my mental health that I owe it to myself to prioritise it. I’m also actually considering the food I cook and eat, making sure to eat proper meals even when the girls aren’t around rather than forgetting then grabbing some sugary laden treat when I feel rubbish. I know this year will hold challenges, it always does but by taking care of myself more maybe I’ll be better prepared for them.

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Part Time Veggie

January 5, 2020 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

I’ve often toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian or part time veggie for various reasons, financial and also along with most people I don’t like the idea of animals being killed or treated badly.

For years I’ve tried incredibly hard to use up all of the meat both to save money but also because I hate to waste meat more than anything else. If I cook a whole chicken then I use every part of it. Use by dates are noted and meat frozen if not used in time. I try to find free range meat where possible if I have been able to afford it. But I still feel like I eat too much meat. Most main meals ( evening) are centred around meat and often lunch will be tuna pasta or a ham sandwich etc. It’s something I’ve become used to as have the girls but I really do enjoy veg heavy meals so a change is needed.

Now I will say quite honestly that I don’t plan to become veggie as I do like meat and enjoy having it regularly – I know lots will disagree with that opinion but we are all entitled to our own and this is mine. I have however decided to cut down on my meat consumption. Every week will have two entirely meat free days. They won’t be the same two days each week as I’ll adapt for when suits best but I will do the two days every week and aim to do meat free Monday as much as possible.

I’ve looked into this a little and chatted to others who do this and there are apparently a lot of benefits from going meat free for at least one day a week. From helping with the environment to better heart health and the obvious one is financial.

I’ll keep you posted on how I get on. I plan on making lots of dishes using butter beans and chickpeas plus hearty vegetable stews and curries. If I enjoy it and find it maintainable I may look at going 50/50 but I do enjoy meat a lot and don’t ever anticipate it being a full time thing.

Are you vegetarian/vegan? Any recipes I have to try out?

Photo by Edgar Castrejon on Unsplash

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Everyday Positivity

January 3, 2020 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Happy New Year all. Hope the festive period was kind to you. I’ve spent the last fortnight in a bubble of family and food. Which of course is great but Christmas ends and January is hard on lots of us. Typically over the years January has been one of my hardest months, I have always found NYE pretty tough and the expectations that a New Year brings.

if I am being completely honest with you the reader, I have to admit that sometimes I can be a little too negative. The last few years haven’t been exactly straight forward and it can be all too easy to focus on the bad. There were so many times in 2019 when I sat and had a cry and felt sorry for myself. Crying isn’t always a bad thing and can definitely be good for the soul but some days it never seemed to end.

Towards the end of November whilst waiting for various hospital appointments to swing around for this constant back pain I broke and dislocated my toe – badly. For a few days I let that useless, painful feeling consume me. Breaking a toe probably doesn’t seem like a big deal unless you of course are the only adult in your home and you don’t drive! Combined with it arriving at that time of year when I had so many grand plans with the kids and well it broke me. I was in severe pain and I don’t tolerate pain meds very well so aside from the first 48 hours with gas and air to get it back in place and codeine I stuck it out after that with paracetamol. I ended up spending way too much time on my own and often felt stuck at home. My family as always were amazing, my sister in law ran the kids to school as often as she could, my parents showered me in their usual kindness and I was incredibly thankful for them. And just in general my family were ace. But it was so hard and I think it was the icing on the cake which made me really start to despair a bit at just how much was always going wrong.

I hated feeling that way. Lost, sad and frustrated.

On December 1st I made a pledge to myself to start focusing on the positives in my day, even if that day all I was thankful for was good coffee and a warm home. These little things, they are the big things. I shared on Twitter my plan for a Positive Advent and I invited others to join in, you can read about that here. I tried to do it every day without making it a chore, I skipped a day here and there, because some days it is really hard to force cheeriness. But for the most part I stuck with it, and so did others, so many of you joined in whether it was once or twice or every day and wow it helped. In fact by the end my original Positive Advent tweet reached nearly 20k people with nearly 1k engagements/responses.

When December 24th came and went and with it the end of Positive Advent I decided that this should be something I continue to do. And so along came Everyday Positivity. Finding little things about my day, maybe making a note here or there and a few times a week I’ll share them online. I don’t want it to be a challenge or a task I have to do but rather a burst of positivity in your feed every now and again. I have already begun to see that I am seeing more and more good things in my day. Minor things that would have upset me previously don’t seem quite so big a deal when I compare them to the good things. Yesterday my microwave broke and my back was incredibly sore but I also got to spend time with my big sis and her children for the first time in a few months ( she lives in Kent ). I had an evening with my mother and sisters while my kids played happily with their cousins and I came home to a cat in need of fuss and a warm house thanks to a well set timer. I’m starting to realise that life is hard for everyone, even for those whose lives seem rosy. We all have challenges, health issues, money worries etc. Maybe not all at the same time as has seemed this year but I’m stronger for it. By sharing these positive things I hope to help my brain focus on the right stuff, I also hope that others will see the occasional tweet and feel encouraged to seek out the good in their days.

If you are a regular follower maybe don’t expect me to be a ray of sunshine on a daily basis but know that I am trying. In all the ways that I can.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. 

Helen Keller

positive
Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

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Positive Advent 2019

December 2, 2019 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 2 Comments

Social media can be kind of crazy. Some days you feel like you are talking into a void. You say something, you may even thing it’s a clever something or a funny something but not a single reply out of 6000+ followers. I remember when that used to bother me, just slightly and before I realised that the majority of people these days follow 500+ people each. Not everyone will see your tweet about your cat walking like a human and that’s ok. I tend to use Twitter more these days for ramblings, catching up with news and bookmarking funny cat videos for the kids. It’s still one of my favourite social channels alongside Instagram.

This week I had one of those thoughts. About how nice it would be to share positive thoughts and thankful thoughts in the lead up to Christmas. I’ll admit that if I’m very stressed or ill I can feel low quite quickly and I wanted to challenge myself to start seeing more positives in my day than negatives. Positive Advent began. I decided that each day I’d share an amount of positive thoughts that correlated with the date so on the 1st I shared one, today I’ll share two and so on until the 24th when I hope to share 24! 

Yes 24 positive or thankful things from one day! How will I find them? I’m not sure. Some days certainly feel more negative than positive
But that’s the point. Finding the little things and far more importantly actually noticing them and shining a light on it.

Yesterday was the first day. I popped a tweet out and well it surprised me. So many of you. Replying, retweeting and YAY joining in. It was a good feeling. A really good feeling. Even if you don’t join in I encourage you to read the various replies on the hashtag, it brightened my whole day reading the responses and seeing my feed so positive and happy. Thanks to you all!

I’ve put a brief description of what Positive Advent is below, no super strict rules or guidelines. I may blog about it each week and feel free to join in with that but there’s no pressure to link back or credit me etc. Just enjoy it.

Positive Advent 

Post something which you are thankful for each day or something positive happening in your life. Each day increased the amount. The important thing to note is each day you are increasing the amount of good things you are looking for rather than adding one new thing each day. Hopefully in time helping those partaking to notice positives over negatives more often.

Day 1 – one thankful or positive note
Day 24 – twenty four thankful or positive notes 

Don’t feel obligated to join in every day. This is meant to help improve your mental health not add more pressure. Join in once, every day, every week or not at all. Be a lurker and just join in from the sidelines. Do whatever suits you or nothing at all, I am doing this for me rather than to have hundreds joining in. Every one who does join is a bonus 😊.

Thanks for reading and for all of you who replied yesterday – thank you for lifting my spirits.

If you want to follow this on social media you can do so by using the hashtag #positiveadvent – prior to yesterday it hadn’t been used in a few year so should mostly be related to this challenge. Note to self: get a brand new hashtag next time.

You can follow me on twitter here or Instagram here but you don’t need to be following to join in, please feel free to tag me though as I’d love to read more positivity in my feed.

positive advent

Image courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash. Go check her out, she’s amazing.

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Christmas Gift Guide 2019

November 20, 2019 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

It’s that time of year again and I don’t know about you but I am feeling reasonably well organised this time. I have a good idea in my head of what the girls want for christmas and my family started a new tradition so we each buy for one other family rather than individual gifts for each child. I am one of ten children for those who don’t know and most of us have children now and as you can imagine it can get both costly and stressful. Instead we now draw names out of a hat and buy one more expensive gift for that family or couple. I made a small hamper of gifts last year for my brother and his wife and children and this year I am doing the same but for a different brother and his family. I don’t have the budget to go crazy for my children and I am also sensible enough to know that children don’t need £300’s worth of gifts at the ages of 6 and 8. The time will come when they will request iPads and fancy trainers I’m sure but for now they have a sensible pile of gifts and a stocking with bits and bobs. I still buy for my parents and the girls grandparents etc so I have rounded up a selection of gifts for men, women, children and even your cat. Hope it helps!

Please note some items have been gifted for inclusion, some are random bits I’ve found or brands I like to support:

For the kids:

Nestling:

One of the new toy crazes for this year. I think the girls will have lots of fun with this super cute Nestling:

Adopt an animal:

Izzy is a real animal lover and I think she will love this adopt an animal tin from The Personalised gift Shop. There are a few different options including Sloths, Llamas and Tigers.

Soft toys

Most kids are obsessed with soft toys and I know my girls have their beds covered in cuddly toys for bed. These penguins from The Gift Experience are just gorgeous.

Science in Wonderland

Have yourself a budding scientist on your fan or just a fairy lover? This kit from Smyths toys looks amazing and educational too!

Bookeez

Both girls love to write their own stories and make little booklets out of folded paper so I think they will love this make your own book set from John Adams.

Bic Gelocity Pens

I always include some kind of arts and crafts bits in the present pile or popped into stockings and these pens look great and not too childlike so will meet with the 8 year olds approval!

Johnson’s Baby Gift Set

We are longtime fans of the Johnsons bedtime range and still use it most weeks. I always include bubbles of some kind in the girls stockings as well as bath bombs and new flannels. These gift sets are perfect for parents of young babies up to early years.

Books:

We always have new books for Christmas, both girls are really getting into reading and doing so well that I want to keep encouraging it. This year so far I have ordered The Excitable Edgar book from John Lewis and am looking at a new Matt Haig book too – we loved the Truth Pixie books and Evie and the animals so I’m considering The Girl Who Saved Christmas.

Lava Lamps

Red candy have some gorgeous gift items including this beautiful black and gold lava lamp

Slap Ninja:

Slap Ninja looks like the kind of toy everyone will be pulling out at christmas parties for little kids and big kids alike. really looking forward to doing this with the kids!

For grown ups and big kids:

Sous Chef:

Sous Chef have a huge range of gorgeous food and kitchen related items in their online store including these salted caramel truffles from Artisan Du Chocolat

Yumbles:

Yumbles is another food and drink based website with lots of gifting options including this night before christmas hamper:


RTC100 Tyre Inflator

For the people who like more useful gifts, this digital tyre inflator may save some trips to the garage!

Nextbase Dash cam:

Next base have a range of dash cams to suit all budgets including this one for £149.99 with emergency SOS and Alexa built in.

The Ribman Gift sets

Have a food lover in your life? The Ribman has some great sauces and gift sets that nearly always sell out so go check them out and quick!

Yankee Candle:

If you know me at all you know I love candles and I was sent a gorgeous Sweet Maple Chai candle from Yankee and it smells incredible.

dav

Quality St at John Lewis:

Did you know you can order personalised tins of Quality St at John Lewis and choose your own flavours to go inside? I went for the strawberry and orange cremes and the purple ones!

Beanies Coffee

Beanies coffee have lovely gift sets including flavoured coffee jars like this:

Love Leggings

The most comfiest leggings I’ve ever owned. Great for both adults and children and a great price for what you get.

Canvas Prints from Canvas Art Rocks

There are so many gorgeous canvas and poster prints on Canvas Art Rocks, from Banksy murals to fave sporting moments as well as mugs in hundreds of designs. I like this Banksy poster:

Maykher

Maykher is a gorgeous Welsh brand that I love to support. They make the most amazing beanie hats, as well as lots of other products and have recently launched these beautiful candles. They are an ethical and sustainability focused company that I urge you to go find out more about.

The Preservation Society

The Preservation Society owned by the very lovely Angharad is a Welsh food business that I have loved for years! It was one of the very first brands I started to look out for at local food markets and her products are incredible. My favourite used to be the candied jalapeño syrup but everything I have had from her has been 10/10. she has lots of gift options including this Christmas All wrapped Up set or maybe a Jam Subscription package would be perfect for someone you love.

Baked By Mel Barabrith

Mel makes the most incredible Bar Brith and you can order it to be delivered to your home or to a gift recipient. Seriously delicious and a personal recommendation from me!

Guylian Chocs

Guylian have beautiful boxes of chocolates for Christmas this year, they are available in most large supermarkets, I’ve linked to Tesco above for ease of shopping:

Zippo Heatbank

We all know one person who is always cold and this rechargeable heat bank from Zippo is amazing. It also charges up devices such as mobile phones so it is a really handy gadget.


For your cat:

Gus and Bella:

This is a subscription box for cats and cat owners, the Christmas box is delightful. My fave bits were the cat socks and the gorgeous cat bauble for the tree. Tiger’s fave bits were the gingerbread cat nip toy and the sausage treats. I like that each month you get introduced to new cat food brands and get an idea of what your cat may like without forking out on a large pack. get 10% off your first box with code MUNCHIES10.

  • As stated some items have been gifted for inclusion in this gift guide.

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The Pork Lovers Tourbus

September 10, 2019 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

*AD* This post was commissioned by Interporc for the Pork Lovers tourbus campaign.

Last week I was invited to join the Pork Lovers roadshow organised by Interporc as it stopped in Cardiff for a brief visit.

Who are Interporc?

The Interprofessional Organization Agrifood of the Porcino of White Coat (INTERPORC), is a non-profit organization which all sectors of the value chain of White coat porcine are represented: Production, transformation and commercialization. It is the most important Interprofessional oranization in the meat sector due to the volume of pork production in our country.

The Pork Lovers Tour bus is a celebration of pork and on board you can learn lots about the various cuts of meat as well as enjoy plenty of delicious samples. The knowledgeable staff are on hand to educate you about the benefits of pork and what cuts are healthiest. There is an onboard nutritionist and chef. The chef cooks various dishes during several demos throughout the day and there are often cookery classes involved too.
I have long been a fan of pork and the Spanish style of eating with Serrano ham and chorizo being particular faves. 

pork lovers

A lot of people don’t typically think of pork as a healthy meat but it has a low saturated fat content and is high protein. For example a 100g serving of pork tenderloin has approximately 290 calories but over 25g of Protein. When dry, the protein content of lean pork can be as high as 89% — making it one of the richest dietary sources of protein. It contains all nine essential amino acids necessary for your body’s growth and maintenance. For those worried about fat content don’t forget you can always trim the fat from various cuts such as pork chops – although for me I’d rather eat a little less and enjoy one of the tastiest parts which to me the fat is.

The chef taught me a simple tasty dish that is easy for home cooks of all levels. 

You will need:

Spanish bacon

A mix of peppers sliced into strips

Red onion cut into long slices

Extra Virgin olive Oil

Mozzarella

We started by frying strips of peppers and red onions in extra virgin olive oil until softened. We then set these aside before cooking 4 rashers of Spanish bacon. Once cooked we layered the strips of bacon so that they overlapped, we then added a pile of cooked peppers and onions and topped with strips of mozzarella. We then wrapped the bacon into a parcel and secured with sticks. We served with the remaining veg and a drizzle of balsamic syrup for a nice flavour contrast…oh and a beautiful glass of Spanish red of course.

The various cuts of meat you can buy especially Serrano and chorizo are just perfect for these last days of Summer. Especially if like me you love some easy Al fresco dining. One of my favourite ways to enjoy is by wrapping Serrano ham or even bacon around asparagus and baking or griddling on the hob. Drizzled with a little good quality oil it’s delicious and easy!

pork lovers tour
pork lovers

What pork dishes do you enjoy? Would you like to see more pork recipes on the blog because I’m inspired right now!

If you can’t wait check out a pork recipe I already have only my site for Candied bacon with Nutella sauce. It’s a favourite for any Pork Lovers!

Thanks to Interporc for inviting to be part of their campaign.

pork,#porkchops, #serranoham, #deliciouspork,#porkloverstouruk, #porkloversuk, #PorkLoversRecipes, #serrano, #jamon, #tapas, #quicklunch, #foodstyle, #tasty, #spanishfood

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8 Ways To Enjoy School Holidays On A Budget

August 8, 2019 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you but I am always a little bit surprised by just how much the summer holidays cost, even when you don’t plan on going away for a real holiday. The cost of keeping your kids entertained 24 hours a day and more importantly fed ( I mean seriously …snack after snack after snack) can be a bit much when you are on an already tight budget. I decided that as much as I wanted to give the girls the best summer holidays I could manage that I realistically couldn’t afford to do paid activities all the time. And that is ok. Kids need some days where they are allowed to be slightly bored, to create their own entertainment and to just play in the house. Don’t let the world of Pinterest and Facebook tell you otherwise. We have chill out days where I catch up on household bits whilst the girls play or craft or colour..or you know what sometimes they just watch telly. We normally end up curled up watching a film with popcorn and having a real lazy day. However I and they would go stir crazy if we did that all the time. Here are some of my favourite and simple budget friendly ideas to keep your little ones busy during the holidays:

Camping in the garden – we have done this quite a lot this year. There are so many benefits to camping by your back door. You have access to a fridge, a bath and of course wifi! There is something so exciting for kids to sleep outdoors, yes you may not get them to sleep super early but in the holidays thats not such a big deal.

Exploring with a checklist – make a list or even just verbally give them 5 items they need to find. We do it with things like funny leaves, a particular colour flower ( we don’t pick them, just have a look and maybe take a photo ) or a cool rock.

Picnic in the park. We probably do this about once a week where we will take some sandwiches and maybe a tub of strawberries and just spend a few hours playing in the park. Often with cousins, sometimes school friends or just us. Our local park is especially lovely at this time of year as there are so many wildflowers.

Kids club at the cinema – most cinemas do kids club screenings every single day of the school holidays from approximately £2.50 per person. If you pick up your own snacks in the supermarket this is really cheap morning out and perfect for the occasional rainy day.

Toy sort out day – now this may not sound much fun but pulling out all of the toys to clean and sort is actually a good way to pass time and also declutter. We look through our books and soft toys regularly. It usually ends up with a handful being donated to charity or younger family members and the kids end up in a corner with forgotten toys for a few hours.

Cooking/baking – if it’s rainy we may bake some banana bread or fairy cakes. If it’s warm we may make chocolate covered strawberries or cornflake cakes so we don’t have to turn the oven on.

Gardening – it is surprising how much of an interest kids can take if you encourage it. We have planted tomatoes, cucumbers and squash amongst other things this year and the kids have helped weed and water most days. They are really excited now that we are almost ready to taste our produce…as am I!

Check your local authority website. There are generally lots of free activities throughout the holidays, including outdoor film screenings and craft days. We recently spent the day at Cardiff Bay’s fake beach. The beach and splash pool were free, we did end up spending out on rides etc but you could do it quite cheaply if you wished. We also discovered these rather incredible lego sculptures.

What are your top tips for keeping kids busy without spending a fortune?

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Filed Under: Parenting/baby ·

Noztock 2019 Preview

July 18, 2019 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Once again this year my younger brother Josh is reviewing Nozstock along with his friend Dan, I’ll hand over to them for this preview of Nozstock 2019:

It’s that time where Britain becomes enthralled in the festival season, where globally known artists flock to the UK’s countryside to perform to scores of revellers. Amidst all this chaos, this weekend, on the Nosworthy dairy farm in Herefordshire the Boutique festival Nozstock will take place. Although small this festival is not to be underestimated; music, food, art, sustainability and community all flow through the very soul of this festival. This year’s theme is The Wizard of Noz so we expect to see some magical costumes and themes.

Last year we were delighted to be asked to join in the fun and the very same has happened this year! So here’s who (and what) we’re looking forward to seeing at the 21st annual Nozstock festival.

Sleaford Mods

Headlining the festival on Friday will be the punky, foul mouthed Sleaford Mods from Nottingham, or as they would say ‘Nottz’ this eccentric duo has toured the UK to premier their album ‘Eton Alive’ and will be livening up the main stage in Nozstock this weekend. If you’re planning on bringing children to the set, it might be worth bringing some earmuffs for them to wear else they may be coming home with some new… words in their vocabulary.

Notable track – Tied up in Nottz

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard

This denim clad clan from Cardiff are certainly not to be missed at this year’s festival, their 70’s-esque rock and roll sound will surely get the crowds in the mood for a dance. Formed in 2016 this four-piece has certainly gained traction with praise from Radio One and a set at Green Man festival. We’ll certainly be doing the ‘Double Denim Hop’ when these guys perform in the hidden valley.

Notable track – Double Denim Hop

Kings of the Rollers

Performing in the aptly named ‘Cubicles’ KOTR will definitely be dropping some stinkers for the crowds to enjoy, this DJ supergroup consisting of Serum, Bladerunner and Voltage are dominating the scene with their jungle influenced drum and bass sounds. It’s no doubt that KOTR will be keeping the bass rolling all night at Noz.

Notable track – Round Here

Soul II Soul

Are words even needed here? I mean this is a blog post so yes, but it goes without saying, it will be an honour to witness the genius of Soul II Soul in person and I couldn’t think of anywhere better to do so than Nozstock. Formed in London back in 1988 Soul II Soul are showing they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Notable track – Back to Life

Now Nozstock isn’t all about the music, this year we hope to take part in a few ‘extracurricular activities’ like beat the blacksmith, Anzahata yoga workshop, chicken sh** bingo and many, many more. The Wizard of Noz awaits!


  • Press tickets have been provided for this festival. All images have been provided by Nozstock.

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Filed Under: Festivals and Camping · Tagged: nozstock

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