A month a go i watched a documentary on netflix called "what the health". If you haven't already watched it, seriously you should. its a proper eye opener.

After watching it i made the decision there and then to go vegan, for me it was a pretty quick decision. I'm normally that person that can make decisions at all. So from that moment forward i was vegan., Without thinking about the impacts of family cooking, eating out, food bills etc. I didn't even give myself a chance to talk my out of it. The only person i had to convince was ray, and it was pretty easy. Having someone to do this with me was a whole lot better.

Our rules as a family; 

We were all going to do this together so we kind of had to set some sort of rules of what we can and cant have, what we are allowing mason to have that kind of thing.
Firstly we had to think about mase, he still has milk at bedtime and wont drink any other milk, I've tried. so he still has that. But the last month we have really cut it out. Maybe he has one bottle a week now which is so good for him. He hast asked me for cheese for a few weeks either. He will carry on eating fish, and he has things that have eggs and milk in, hes 4, we cant deprive him of a cupcake or ice cream when were out.

As for me the only thing I've allowed myself to have is quorn, which has re hydrated egg whites in, and some things with milk powder in.

Ray eats the same as me plus some tuna. He eats 6 meals a fay so feeding him full of quorn is expensive, impractical and smelly.


Food Shopping;

Our first food shop was a little pricey, because we went out and brought all the mill seeds, chia seeds and maca powder thinking we needed it, turns out they smell like ass and you " need " them. Like i said before we eat quorn so not officially vegans but vegan meat alternatives are expensive. A moth in and im trying to avoid quorn at every dinner time as we've found it gives us all a bit of a dodgy stomach, and i don't think its that great for you. I Started off shopping at aldi getting all my fruit, veg and grains from there and then going to tesco to get all the dairy free alternatives, and it was coming out about the same price as our normal food shop so around £65-80 a week depending on what we need. but the last couple of weeks I've been doing the whole shop at tesco, and its been more on the cheaper side, so we shall see when i need to do a big shop again.

Eating out;


When i stopped and actually thought about the practicalities of being vegan, i thought i would be ordering chips from every restaurant i go too, turns out that's not the case, just order the meat versions without the meat ad cheese. I had a very nice 'Pulled Pork Wrap' from the slug and lettuce the other day, no pulled pork no cheese, it was basically rice and veg in wrap, and the staff were really ice about it. Also if you have a Zizzi's near you check out their vegan pizza's!They're yummy,




So What Do I Eat 

A typical days for me goes a little like this,

Breakfast; Shreddies or muesli with soya milk

Lunch; Pitta with tomato pure and vegan cheese melted on top [dot have it unmelted,its horrid]

Dinner; Chickpea curry, rice and veg or quorn steak strips fajitas

Snacks; Fruit, carrots and cucumber with hummus.

I'd love to have those lush salad bowls that's you see all over instagram but the reality is, we now eat a lot of chips and salads never look that nice, who has the time!




Do I Miss Eating Meat?

The answer to that is no, not at all. Being at a BBQ this weekend confirmed that as well. The Meat looked nice then when i saw the bones afterwards i was immediately happy i didn't eat any of it. I do however miss ice cream and sweets, but I've substituted it with vegan friendly cakes/puddings which actually taste better than the real thing. Some of which i can post to the blog at some point.


Do I Feel Any Different?

Yes, I lost about half a stone in the first 2 weeks and my skin is a thousand times better than before. I no longer have acne and my skin is a lot less oily. I also have alot more energy even with working nights a my moods are more mellow. i don't tend to get that  moody anymore.


All i all I'm enjoying being "vegan" . Its not been as hard as i thought it would be, and I'm not singled out as we are all doing it. there are some good choices in supermarkets and its not as expensive as i thought it was going to be.

If anyone has any questions leave a comment below and i will respond as best as i can.

i was so unsure about writing this blog post in the fear of over sharing.But at the same time I feel like if just one person can relate then it would make me feel loads better.

I'm not sure about you but all i see on my feed at the moment is people popping out babies, or announcing they're  pregnant. And while this makes me so happy for them it crushes my heart a little bit at the same time. I get asked alot about "the second baby " and i always give a half hearted answer. You know the ones where your just like " yeah its kinda an idea, maybe in the future" blah blah blah but inside im screaming i would of popped out another 2 by now if I could!

A few weeks ago i was diagnosed with PCOS ( Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) at the age of 23. I kinda knew for the last 18 months something was up because i was only having periods every 3 months, i was like a hairy little ape and no matter how hard i tried, loosing weight was becoming impossible. Now having PCOS doesn't make you completely infertile but it makes the whole process about 100 times worse. 1 in 10 women have PCOS and although there's no real reason as to why some of us get it, its mainly due to genetics and lifestyle. On top of that there's no real cure either, you just have to manage it and hope that the symptoms get better. Exercising and eating healthy all help along with some vitamins and supplements will all help. At the moment i am taking a supplement called Inofolic which will help with my insulin levels and hormone levels. I also take Vitamin E,D and omega fish oil. All of which have been scientifically proven to help with the symptoms of PCOS.

If you've followed me on instagram for a while your'll know that i gave slimming world a go last summer and it was kinda working, then i started working nights and the whole thing went tits up. So now i have to try again, but this time i'm doing it my way. Loosing weight isn't just about my own vain reasons now, its so i can grow my family and be as healthy as possible.




So im making a public pledge from tomorrow, (of course not today i had chocolate at 3am this morning) I am not starting, but getting back into my gym routine and my love of fruit and veg. I'm joining the gym tomorrow and i will get there as often as i can. I will start my day with grapefruits and smoothies and live in hope that i can ignore all the chocolate at work.

                                                   
Like I said, the whole reason of this post it to speak about it, maybe there's someone else out there struggling with the same issue at a young age like me. My advice would be find a doctor that will take you seriously. I got laughed at by 3 doctors because i'm young and already have a child. I'm a 23 year old adult and i know what i want. Ask to be referred and ask for all the tests you can.







So look out for meal post,work outs  and medication and vitamins as i start my journey to a new healthy me so i can have a proper answer for that "second baby " question. And if anyone has any questions about the medication or supplements i take leave a comment below.

we all have some imperfections we want to change and mine is my acne scars on my face. Theres lots of creams and oils out there that claim to be the best thing but im yet to find something that works as well as this Turmeric and honey face mask.

I had seen some where online about how turmeric can help with lightening up some dark patches of skin and how it had been used for 100s of years in Asia to help with dark circles. It is an anti-oxident and has anti-bacterial properties which help balance out the skin.

Along with Turmeric, Honey naturally has anit bacterial properties. which help to heal and prevent acne, which are both a lot more gentle on the skin than some shop brought products out there.

H E L L O 2 0 1 7 

Its been a while! Once again the real world took over and i had to give the whole blogging thing a break, But I'm back and to kick things off ive decided to give you the recipe for some slimming world friendly brownies. Two reasons, I've re joined,yes me going it alone failed I was not following the plan at all. Ad secondly christmas is still so fresh not everyone is ready to ditch all the chocolate, well I know i'm not. 

So here's some brownies that are only going to cost you approx half a syn each...Basically means you can have about 4. winner!

• Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180
• spray a cupcake tray with fry light 
• Separate the egg yolks and whites and set aside.
• In a bowl mix together the egg yolks, cocoa powder, sweetener and vanilla essence. 
• A little water will need to be added at this point as the mix will be a little stiff .
• Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks
• Carefully fold the cocoa mixture into the egg whites so that both the mixtures are well combined.
• separate the brownie mixture into the cupcake tray evenly. 
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes until a knife or skewer comes out clean from the middle of the brownie.
• leave to cool for a few moments and then prize them out of the tray. 

so as some of you know, i now live with my darling boyfriend. Dont get me wrong i am loving it hes great but there are somethings that fucking grind my gears! so heres some things he does that pisses me of.

1. walks through the door and takes his shoes off in the middle of the floor in any room
2. takes his socks off and leaves them wherever he likes
3. puts his dirty dish right by the dishwasher... seriously? are you trying to make me mad
4. leaves the bathroom floor soaking wet EVERY SINGLE TIME  
5. he hits my left boob about 20 times a day as he walks past me
6. he always asks me where his stuff is like im his properties keeper!
7. He leaves broccoli stalks in the sink! EW
8. he moves the coffee table every evening to rest his foot so he can ice his ankle... is my living room a treatment centre?
9. He farts really loud all the way to the bathroom in the morning at 5.50am!! FUCK OFF! 
10. he shits with the door open EVERY TIME!
11. he teaches mason the stupidest of things, like to throat punch me... apparently its "banter"
12. he uses my phone to look at stupid conspiracy theories. why is he pretending hes intelligent ? 
13. he puts BBQ sauce over my meals like they taste like shit...RUDE
14. he hates that im addicted to instagram. hes such an old man 
15. he makes out to everyone he hates me but i know hes a big softie that still spoons me most nights!
16. Leaves my pegs all over the place when he's really kind and does the washing. 
17. Empties the dishwasher and puts the stuff back in the wrong places and claims he doesn't know where stuff goes...after 5 months?! Seriously!! 

You're now the proud owner of a beautiful little human, who is now going to be in your care for the rest of their lives.... daunting right?

Some say the first 2 weeks with a new born is the hardest, physically, mentally and emotionally and they're not wrong. Your are so in love with this little thing you've created, but you're so sleep deprived, you probably ache and you've probably had enough of people coming to see you and baby and everyone speaking in that silly high pitched baby voice. But looking back on my first 2 weeks with mason, it was probably my favourite.

I was thrown in at the deep end when i got home. i had 2 and a half days before my parents went away for 2 weeks and ray was away with work so I was going to be on my own pretty much most of the time.


The first night home is awful. No one tells you about your milk coming in, like its cruel. they tell you that labour is painful and all that but your milk coming in is a while different matter. That first night home I dont think i slept. Mason was feeding every hour and i was having hot and cold sweats my boobs had swollen and were like rocks. i couldn't put my arms by my side because they were just so painful! i remember being propped up by cushions all around me holding mason up to my boob my arms aways from them. it was horrible. I cried, alot. But that morning there was a knock at the door and god sent an angel in the form of a health visitor that was a breast feeding specialist! HALLELUJAH! I opened the door and in she came, i wasnt dressed, i had no make up on and you could see id be crying, but she came in and the first thing she said was " you poor thing, your engorged have you a pump, lets get you comfy" this woman needed a medal, she was so lovely helped me with masons latch and everything after that i felt a whole lot better about my parents leaving on the Saturday.

Saturday came and i cried again when my mum left, but i got my shit together and manned up. After they left and mason was napping i cooked up a massive batch of chilli and popped it in the fridge. Having dinners already cooked up is a god send. i remember heating up my dinner about 4 times once before actually eating it. [be prepared for cluster feeding, you will feel like a dairy cow]

Newborns sleep alot in the day, so make the most of it, everyone says sleep but in reality if you did that then your house would be a tip and yes that doesnt matter, but if you want people to think you have your shit together when they come and see you and the baby, then you will need to do a minimal amount of housework. [minimal being the important word in that sentence]. Some doctors say you cant hoover for like 6 weeks after a C-section but i think they just try and cover their backs, see what you can do but not hoovering for 6 weeks is a bit cray cray!

I did get cabin fever from being stuck in the house on my own, waiting for people for visit and waiting for the mr to be back from work. 5 days old i decided to take mason out and walk around my local retail park, thought it was the best idea ever, until the next day i was in so much agony. If youve had a C-Section please please please remember to take your tablets every 4 hours, and every day till you have no more left, if you feel better and stop taking them you will feel it the next day!

Ray came to stay a couple of days at a time, and it was as if nothing had every changed. as if the last time i saw him was last week not 8 months ago. Everything seemed to fall into place from then on, He was petrified to hold mason, he was tiny, i dont blame him, but he got used to it and now, i think hes got this parenting thing down better than me. I remember seeing the first time he held him, i had gone downstairs to get something and mason was crying, and as i came back upstairs through the banister i saw him just holding this tiny baby so awkwardly, just looking at him. Mason instantly stopped crying and he put their faces together and mason was sucking the end of his nose. I just stopped and watched, wish i took a picture. He would hate me if i reminded him of that though, he has the emotional range of a tea spoon. But i'll never forget.

2 weeks came and went so quick, before i knew it, Mason was eating every 3 hours, sleeping for 3 hours at a time during the night and i was feeling human again. Mum and dad were back and they met ray [the first time my parents met the father of their grandchild, ever so traditional me] and that was all fine. They approved.

My biggest tip...enjoy your newborn, take 1000s of photos of them milk drunk, those gassy smiles and upload them to facebook everyday so people get fed up, they really do not stay newborn for long. Those first two weeks are hard, but they are a blur of blissful happiness that you are never going to get back. You will get the sleep back, and you will get back to leaving the house in less than an hour, but it takes practice and time. you'll get there! Remember not to push yourself too much, But seriously just enjoy, try not to panic that your doing things wrong or that your not good enough. as long as that babies bum is clean and they are fed then your doing just fine.