Beanies Decaf Flavour Coffee - Vegan & Sugar Free

If you saw my recent Tips for Cutting Down on Sugar post, you'll know that I've been trying to cut a lot of sugar out of my diet. So I was tantalised to hear about the Beanies Flavour Coffees, which claim to contain the right amount of flavour so that they don't need extra sugar.

I received Decaf Chocolate Orange £2.75, Amaretto Almond £2.75 and Irish Cream £2.75, which are all as deliciously tasting as they sound. I've been drinking these with soya milk and the flavours are strong, but don't overpower the coffee taste. As promised, the coffees don't taste like they need extra sugar and these three pots all have a richness that makes them feel quite naughty, even though they're vegan, sugar free and have 2 calories per serving. My boyfriend tried them and said he thought the flavours were too strong, but who would listen to a Nespresso addict like him anyway?

My favourite of the three is Chocolate Orange and I particularly enjoy a level teaspoon stirred into hot chocolate to give the flavour an extra dimension. A teaspoon of the Irish Cream flavour is really good in an Irish hot chocolate with a dash (or two) of whiskey which creates a creamy warming drink that has the perfect level of sweetness to bitterness. 
Beanies also do a range of instant and ground full caffeine coffees, including a Stash Box with nine flavours in which I think would make a great gift. Although I haven't tried it yet, I bet the coffees would be awesome for baking too- Amaretto Almond coffee cake anyone!? The choice of flavours is huge and perfect for those of us who have a sweet tooth and are looking to spice up the drinks cupboard. 






*This post contains one or more sample products

Sweet Tooth? My Tips For Cutting Down On Sugar

I've always had a sweet tooth but recently I'd found it really becoming a problem. I'd start the day off with something sugary and the end it the same way too, snacking on cakes, biscuits and sweets in the time inbetween. Since cutting out gluten and dairy from my diet a few years ago I've become much more interested in the ingredients of the foods I eat and the abundance of unnecessary sugar in everything from raw chicken to packaged fruit really made me think. Like milk, sugar is one of the things that wouldn't naturally be in our diet and I've got the fillings to prove it. 

I've managed to cut out a huge amount of sugar from my diet and I thought I'd share my tips for anyone wanting to do the same as I know how difficult it can be.

Don't try to go cold turkey

Completely removing something from your life that has become part of a routine can be really hard (think of a bad breakup, the end of a series on Netflix or when Tesco stopped selling your favourite cheese) so cutting down is much easier than cutting out. Slowly reducing the amount of sugary foods you eat is a much easier way of doing things than trying to shun it completely and then thinking about it all day.

Remove the temptation

It's easier said than done but if you stop buying things that are packed with sugar, then you won't have them in your house and you won't eat them because they're simply not there. If you run out of the cereal or biscuits that you usually buy, the next time you go shopping choose another food instead like Nakd bars which taste sweet but wont make holes in your teeth quite as fast.

Reward yourself

I can now go for days without sugar but when I do eat it I only do after 8pm. If you set a time of day in the late afternoon or evening after which you'll allow yourself something sweet, then getting through the day with healthier snacks will be much easier. You'll know that later you'll get a reward for your hard sugar-fighting work. As time goes on you won't even notice that "sugar o'clock" has come along and you can set your goals in days rather than hours.

Replace the addiction Cravings for a sweet taste can be really easily curbed by snacking on things like fruit and especially dried fruit which can be very sweet naturally. Yes, fruit does contain natural sugars but it also has so many vitamins, minerals and nutrients, plus fresh fruit is full of water too which we could all do with a bit more of. I've always been a fruit lover but I now eat it by the bucket load which is far better than filling up on chocolate, Haribo and toffee slices throughout the day.
Cook from scratch Cooking from scratch enables you to have pastries and baked foods in your house so you don't have to miss out on the things you like. I don't eat honey but Maple syrup has been a brilliant find for me in my quest to cut down on sugar consumption. It's all natural and is about a third sweeter than white sugar so can be used in baking to give a sweet and yummy taste while also helping to keep things moist. I substitute it for white and brown sugar in almost everything by using the volume of the sugar needed and reducing it by a third. You might need to adjust the dry ingredients to make up for the extra liquid, but for things like flapjacks (which I love and could eat all day) it just serves to make them more moist. 

Muesli is also a great sugar free food to make as it can be eaten at any time of day with any type of milk. I throw dried fruits, chopped nuts and seeds into a bowl then add about twice as much oats and a really good glug of maple syrup. I then mix everything together and spread out on a silicone baking tray before baking quickly at about 180° until it's all toasted and lovely. Its brilliant straight out the oven but can be kept in a sealed container and enjoyed for days.

Instead of eating sugar morning, noon and night, and I feel like I control the sugar instead of it controlling me. My body (and my teeth) are thanking me for it! The only times I particularly do choose something sugary over sugar-free is with things like fruit squash, as I'm not keen on the taste of artificial sweeteners and they're just another chemical I don't need.

If you have any other sugar fighting tips I'd love to hear them!

#WrapMe Photo Wrapping Paper

I came home a little while ago to find an unexpected parcel waiting for me and I never would have guessed what was inside! After tearing through the outer wrapping I saw my cats' faces staring back at me straight from the wrapping paper of a little gift!

The gift inside was absolutely perfect for me. If you know me in person (or follow me on Twitter) you'll have already got the sense that I'm a bit of a crazy cat lady, so I'm not going to pretend that I won't be flicking through Homemade Treats For Your Furry Friends any time I get the urge to cook and whip up a treat for my fur babies.

The real treat though was the photo wrapping paper. I'd seen personalised wrapping paper, phone cases etc before and to be honest thought they were a bit gimmicky but when I saw the pictures of my kitty cats on this paper from Wrap.Me I was genuinely excited and thrilled that someone had gone to the trouble of choosing the photos. For that reason I think it's a brilliant way to dress up a gift, especially if you'll be sending it through the post (although I'd love to see a friend's face as they pulled the present from a gift bag!).

The paper is matte which gives it an expensive look and it has the Wrap.Me logo on the back which actually looks very useful to use as a guide for cutting straight lines. On the Wrap.Me website you can upload up to 30 photos to use on your paper, either from Instagram, Facebook or your desktop, and you can also choose different border styles. The paper costs from £4.99 for a single sheet up to £14.99 for a large roll and Wrap.Me offer free delivery in the UK.

If a friend has a birthday coming up I would definitely recommend taking a look at the Wrap.Me website and maybe making your own wrapping paper creation for their gift. I'll definitely be hanging onto the paper that I received as it reminds me of the cute times I've shared with my cats (however soppy that sounds!). So some fun or meaningful photos of memories you've shared with a friend would go a long way to making their gift even more special.

What do you think of the idea of personalised photo wrapping paper?

5 Instagrammers You NEED To Follow

Elle_Wills
This Brisbane based realism artist creates gorgeous drawings that are girly with an edge. She draws everything from rappers and tattoed beardy men to donuts and scenes from Breaking Bad, but settles on lovely ladies that wouldn't look out of place in the pages of a magazine, or even on your wall.
And if you fall in love with one of Elle's creations, her prints are very reasonably priced! 

Dreamy_Touch

Malaysian based Maimona posts lovely flatlays including stationary and food that will make you swoon at their cuteness as well as their composition!

Angelicablicks

If you're dreaming of bright colours and summer sun, Stockholm based blogger Angelica is your girl. She posts beautiful fashion and lifestyle photos from her travels. 

Galialahav
If you're planning a wedding (or just love beautiful dresses) Galia Lahav is definitely worth a follow. Known for lace and low backs, both her wedding and evening wear are the stuff a girl's dreams are made of. And even if you're not getting married, a girl can still dream right?

Chrisspy
For beauty inspiration look no further than Chrisspy, a makeup artist with a penchant for bold looks and winged eyeliner. Her makeup looks range from edgy to girly and she gives great tips and product recommendations.

Just Singles 3 Dates 3 Months - Challenge One

The thing that puts me off writing about current longterm relationships is what to do when they end- do you go back through your posts and re-draft those with any mention of the person, tweet meaningless drivel until past tweets are pushed off the end of the twittersphere, or remove social media pictures in case they resurface as reminders? Some previous relationships have ended quickly and/or badly but, as they say, when life gives you lemons add some salt and down a bottle of tequila. Ok maybe they don't say that, but it's the lemon option that requires the least skill in the kitchen.
While longterm or recently passed relationships might be off the blog agenda for me, there's no reason why new ones should be, and when I was asked if I wanted to take part in the Just Singles 3 Dates 3 Months Challenge I thought it sounded like a good chance to have a bit of fun, do something with my lemons (and hopefully write some interesting posts!). The challenge is to use unusual ways of securing 3 dates over 3 months (with one of them being JustSingles.com) and to blog about each date-finding method. I've never had an online dating profile before but with over 2 million members across dozens of niched sites, it should hopefully be a doddle!

The ideas for the second and third challenges came to me easily but I had a bit of trouble with the first until my friend told me about a local company that had just launched a 'Green Scheme' and were having difficulty getting people to sign up. I decided to offer them my services for the afternoon, going door to door with their survey questions and trying to drum them up a bit of interest (all with an ulterior motive of my own of course). I'd basically be trying to chat people up in their own homes, and what could be easier than that..!?

Off I trudged on a rainy afternoon last week, armed with a green folder full of information (most of which I forgot almost straight away) and my phone so that I could live tweet my experience on the #3dates3mths hashtag. I had a list of questions to ask each person- some were very useful to know before you on go on a date- what to do you do for a living? Do you own a car? And (most importantly) are you married? Other answers I really could've done without, things like- how many wheelie bins does your house use? What do you recycle? And are your cavity walls insulated?

I had high hopes that meeting a nice sexy guy would be easy, but after I encountered married woman after married woman my confidence became a little dashed. About half way through the afternoon I was invited in by a very nice man called Jerry, who had the house to himself and owned a lovely fluffy ginger cat. Jerry was eighty three. We talked for a while but it was quite clear that Jerry was neither interested in the Green Scheme nor a date with me.

It was about half an hour before home time that a door was opened by a lovely looking tanned guy in a wifebeater, who shot me a bright smile after I asked if I could ask him a few questions in his porch. Josh turned out to be very nice (unmarried, renting, doesn't recycle batteries) and, while I didn't pluck up the courage at that moment to ask him on a date, he did agree to me texting him which I took as practically a yes to the date anyway. I went home feeling pretty chuffed with myself that I was well on the way to completing a successful challenge and decided that two days later would be a suitable time to send the first text. Unfortunately, it all went a bit downhill from there.

After a pretty general "Hi how are you, remember me?" type text came a reply calling me 'Kirsty crazy face', which was... well at least there are worse things to be called. After my Australian Dream Boy (his words) and I had chatted for a bit, I saw an opportunity to secure the date's date. Unluckily I was busy on both of the days suggested and this news was met with a weirdly angry rant- phrases like "Look whatever I don't really buy that", "if not then no problems I won't cry" and "I'll stop wasting my time" came through with a sentiment that's quite hard to capture in a blog post. I responded with a disgruntled message explaining why I was busy and, to be honest not too bothered about seeing him again by this point, I left it at that.

Our final communication came the next day in the form of an unexpectedly over-cheery message asking if I'd found myself a 'new Australian Love Bunny' yet and ending in "Let's not fight in front of the kids again :)". I was pretty baffled- one minute a cold outburst, next minute chirpy over-friendliness and god know where the kids came from! Honestly I couldn't be bothered to reply; I'm not one to bow to men's hormonal tantrums, especially from those I've only known for 5 minutes, so instead I decided to just put this one down to experience.

Unfortunately as you can tell Challenge One was a bit of a failure for me, but I've got much higher hopes for Challenge Two which involves pubs and costumes no less! And at least I've learnt one thing- men who don't recycle batteries just aren't worth my time.

This is a sponsored post in association with JustSingles

21 at Twenty One

As my 22^nd birthday looms closer (my mum is already asking for a birthday list), I'm feeling older than ever but still a bit like a bewildered toddler just finding my feet. A lot has happened over the last few years as I'm sure has with many other bloggers- family, relationships, health and wealth have all gone up and down, but I've been thinking about the little things that have surprised and confused as well as amused me. This is a little list of many of those things- a light-hearted take on things I didn't think I'd be feeling/experiencing at this age, some of which have an explanation, some don't need an explanation, and some literally have no explanation- but most make me feel more like I'm turning 72 rather than 22 this September:

1. Not being able to cope with temperatures under 20 degrees.

2. Not wanting to go outside because its windy, its raining, or the sun has gone behind a cloud for 5 minutes.

3. Looking at virtually underage schoolgirls and wondering if they're dressed sexier than me.4. Buying massive spanx-type granny pants to go under tiny clubbing dresses.

5. Wondering if tiny clubbing dresses have become a bit too tiny.

6. Not actually wearing the tiny clubbing dresses despite massive spanx-type granny pants.

7. Telling myself I'm still growing to justify that third sausage at dinner (I'm not getting any taller but width-wise I'm not so sure!).

8. Asking the OH if he thinks lightly groomed ladyparts are 'exotic' because I'm getting bored of the upkeep (a definite no, I bought 20 more Gillette.)

9. Varicose Veins- on a recent trip to the Dr I mentioned some prominent, blue and sore veins at the back of my knees, the Dr said nothing can be done to prevent varicose veins or stop them getting worse but I was sent off with the delightful news that “if they get really bad and painful you can have an operation to pull them out”. Pull. Them. Out?? I will be buying compression stockings pronto.

10. Thinking that looking 'mumsy' isn't such a bad style after all (the first one will be called James, thanks for asking).

11. Buying lovely little homeware items for some home I don't actually live in.

12. Sneaking the OH past my dad like a schoolgirl despite never actually bothering to sneak when I was a school girl.

13. Getting up in the middle of the night to deal with frogs throwing themselves at the bathroom wall and the cat crying because no ones awake to accept her generous gift.

14. Cellulite- previously thought of by me as an affliction of only the over 40s, the back top of my thighs would thoroughly disagree. My general hate of exercise prevents me keeping up a good squatting routine so it's likely I'll never be found in a pair of hotpants (although not sure I really want to wear hotpants anyway).

15. Stretchmarks- another misconception of mine as a young girl, I thought stretchmarks were only really common post-pregnancy. However at about 13 I suddenly stretched and widened out, and although my stretchmarks haven't faded that much in nearly 10 years I've come to accept them as an interesting tiger stripe skin accessory à la this lady here.

16. My skin not suddenly becoming even and spot-less as soon as I turned 20.

17. Actually missing being at school- at the time school felt like torture: horrible early mornings, teachers and subjects I didn’t get on with, homework and worrying about exams. I never thought I'd miss it but looking back it was actually pretty easy and such a laugh even with a few exams thrown in (and 25 young girls' hormones clashing in one room). Is it too late to train as a teacher? Maybe I could go back and relive my glory days!

18. Having to think about rent, proper weekly shopping, home insurance etc. I'm back living with my Dad at the moment but when I did have to budget and try to do some maths (terrible brain for numbers) it all felt a bit too grownup and perplexing!

19. Bunions- before you groan, bunions aren't as bad they sound. Generally thought of as an affliction of the elderly, in a mild form it just means the bones in your foot stick out slightly while your toes point inwards a bit. Years of wearing my school shoelaces loose, followed by jamming my feet into the front of heels and wide Primark flats have left me with slightly prominent bones on the outside edge, delightfully named 'Tailors Bunions'.

20. Going Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Low Acid and Low FODMAP- the thought of giving up milk chocolate, cheese, apples, pastry and Haribo would've sent me into a cold sweat a few years ago but, while this 'diet' is hard for the first few months especially, I'm proud of myself for sticking with it and  want to say a big thank you to Mr Sucrose (and his cousin Glucose) for helping me through it.

As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty grannyish at the moment but I know I'm not the only one. If I'm like this now, imagine what I'll be like at 30!