FOOD Archives - Megan Taylor

RASPBERRY AMARETTI RECIPE

These amaretti biscuits are absolutely divine. I have adapted them from this recipe by Nadiya Hussain where she uses fresh raspberries. My adaptation doesn’t use fresh raspberries and are half the size but still soft but super chewy with a slight crunch to the outside.

These are the freeze dried raspberries I keep reordering from Amazon which I’m loving. Apologies for my rather substandard photos but I seem to bake these at night time and have never had good light for a decent photoshoot.

INGREDIENTS

4 medium egg whites
340g caster sugar
340g ground almonds
18g tubes of freeze-dried raspberries
1 tsp almond extract
Icing sugar

RECIPE

•Preheat your oven to 160º and line two baking trays with baking paper.

•Whisk your egg whites until they are firm. I find that if you can touch the egg whites and they don’t come off on your fingers then they are ready.

•Gently fold in the sugar using a spatula.

• Then fold in the almonds and crushed up freeze dried raspberries.

• Then add your almond extract and mix until you have a paste.

•Use a weighing scale to measure your dough into 20g balls.

•Fill a bowl with icing sugar and then roll each ball in the sugar until they are looking like lovely little snowballs.

•Spread the balls out evenly across your baking trays. They do spread a little bit.

•Bake for approximately 14 minutes. I like to switch the trays from the top and bottom shelf half way through.

An adaptation that I have been loving is lemon amaretti. For these I use the zest of two lemons instead of the freeze dried raspberries.

Please do let me know if you make them and send me photos on Instagram @megantaylorlondon .
I am sure you will adore them as much as my family and I do. …they also taste incredible when warm with a scoop of posh vanilla ice cream on the side x

THE BEST MULLED CIDER IN THE WORLD

I really like mulled wine but I have always been paranoid that my teeth are going to get stained. Last year I realised that mulled cider was a better option for my paranoia. I have to say this recipe was actually created by my super healthy hubby Liam. This drink will be a sure fire hit for your guests…if you let them have any. Make sure you check out the secret ingredient at the bottom.

INGREDIENTS

Cider
Brandy
Rum
Orange slices (I used these ones from Nims)
Cinnamon sticks
Coconut nectar

METHOD

• Pour your cider into a pan with star anise.
• Heat the cider over a low heat until hot.
• Pour a little coconut nectar in your mug.
(This is down to personal preference of how sweet you want it.
We used coconut nectar over honey as the flavour isn’t as strong).
• Pour your warmed cider into your mug, 3/4 full.
• Pour in half a shot or rum and brandy.
• Pop in a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT

The secret way to make this the best mulled in the world is by creating a cinnamon infused brandy. Four years ago now Liam popped a couple of cinnamon sticks in a Waitrose own brandy and left it in there. It is incredibly strong but as an addition to a cider, it immediately turns the cider into a festive scented treat for the soul.

Let me know if you make this drink or created a cinnamon infused cider. I would love to see pictures. Make sure you tag me on social media @itsmegantaylor

NO BAKE CHRISTMAS TREAT

Christmas can be a busy period in many peoples lives. We have shopping to do, cleaning the house, wrapping presents and that to-do list grows even more so if you are hosting. I have created an incredibly yummy sweet treat, which is half healthy and incredibly easy to make, but looks super impressive. The base of this treat is based on my rather incredible Vegan Millionaire’s Shortbread recipe.

INGREDIENTS

BASE

Coconut nectar
(I used this one from Coconut Merchant. If you are not vegan,
real honey can also be used but I personally prefer the flavour is the coconut nectar)
2 handfuls of mixed nuts
1 handful of coconut flakes
Heaped tablespoon of coconut oil
4 pitted Medjool date
Water

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

If you are vegan I have a chocolate recipe you can use here.
100g dark chocolate
Assortment of Guylian chocolate shells for decoration
(I got this incredible bag of all the flavours)

METHOD

BASE

• Mix and grind your nuts and coconut together in a blender under they resemble crumbled granola.
• Place your coconut oil in a saucepan on a very low heat. Once your coconut oil has melted place your medjool dates in and heat for a minute or two.
• Pour in a dash or two of water and a few minutes later, turn off the heat and blend the ingredients together with a stick blender.
• Pour in the nutty mixture into the sauce and mix together.
• Line espresso cups with cling film and tightly pack them with the mixture.
• Leave them to set and cool in the fridge for approximately 20 minutes.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

• Melt your chocolate in a pan over a low heat.
• Turn out your little mounds out of their cups and onto a plate.
• Pour your melted chocolate on their top but not all over.
Allow them to slowing drip down the sides by themselves, a la “drip cake” style.
• Pop on a very Christmassy chocolate such as Guylian.
• Another thought I had was to melt white chocolate over them to make them look like a Christmas pudding.

Let me know if you make these. I would love to see pictures. Make sure you tag me on social media @itsmegantaylor

MY AUTUMN MORNING ROUTINE (FOOD & EXERCISE)

Being freelance means that everyday is different for me. One day I may be on set filming, the next I may be at home creating content and on some other days I may be in town auditioning and doing meetings. I adore this lifestyle of unpredictability and the excitement of doing something different every day. The only thing that then can take a backseat is my exercise and nutrition. This Autumn I feel I have really got it down to a fine art. Read on for my typical morning that keeps me happy, healthy and set up for the day.

This post includes a paid for advertisement by Herbalife Nutrition, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

08:00AM

Can’t resist a bit of social media. I know it’s bad but there are some mornings when I just can’t leap out of bed so lying there and staring at that awful bright blue light on my phone seems to wake me up a little bit (there is actually a lot of science to back this up). I answer all of my messages on social media and respond to any urgent emails which I can do from my phone. After 10/15 minutes I eventually jump out of bed and get dressed into my work out clothes. I’m loving my Aussie Grip Apparel sports clothes at the moment because I can put my iPhone in the pocket of the leggings…more workout leggings need this!

08:15AM

I wake up Coco and take her for a walk and then feed her. Coco will stay asleep for longer than us if we don’t wake her. We woke up at 11:30 last Sunday and she was still snoozing when we went down to her. She’s like a teenager.

09:00AM

I head off to Liam’s bootcamp class if I am free on a bootcamp day. I love going to bootcamp because you get a full body workout and get to do some cardio whilst hanging out with a lovely group of people. I also really like being able to workout whilst being instructed as someone else is pushing me and Liam is amazing at teaching the class in a fun way. If it’s not a bootcamp day I go for a 6km run and listen to an inspiring podcast. I have been listening to The Influencer’s Podcast lately and found it incredibly inspiring on days that I am creating blog content. It get’s you in to a great frame of mind and enables those happy endorphins to spread around your body so you can be really productive. Do you like working out in a group with an instructor or working out by yourself?

MY AUTUMN MORNING ROUTINE (FOOD & EXERCISE) | Megan Taylor

10:00AM

I personally really like to workout on an empty stomach because I hate that feeling of running about and feeling the food bounce around in my stomach. It is also widely researched that working out in the morning before ‘breaking fast’ (breakfast) increases your fat burning potential, helping you burn more fat during exercise. Lately, for breakfast, I have been using Herbalife’s Fruit Burst recipe made by chef Rachel Allen. I am a huge berry fan, always have been. Although this recipe also makes me feel like Summer is still in the air, I’ve given it a little seasonal twist using blackberries. These crisp bright autumnal mornings and a Formula 1 raspberry and blueberry shake can only make you smile. Shakes are perfect to take along with you on your commute if you are in a rush. Check out the recipe I have adapted below. Rachel Allen’s other recipes for Herbalife Nutrition are here.

Serves 1
• 26g Formula 1 Raspberry and Blueberry flavour
•150g natural Greek yoghurt (I buy Waitress own full fat where there are no added fake sugars)
•100g mango
•1 tablespoon of lemon
-Blend all of these ingredients together till completely smooth.
-Add 15g porridge oats if you want to include some extra carbs. I am personally happy to exclude the porridge oats and I am fully satisfied until lunch.
-I always have frozen berries in my freezer and in the Summer when the weather is hot the frozen berries give you an extra icy hit.
-Top Tip: If your berries are about to turn, chop them up, put them in a container and store in the freezer to make juices and smoothies.

10:15AM

After a quick shower I sit down at my desk and reply to the rest of my emails and then get started on my latest project. You may think that 10:15AM is rather late to actually sit down and work but I tend to finish working at about 19:30. Also, everyday has a completely different schedule. Let me know what is your favourite breakfast in the Autumn months? x

WATERMELLON BOMBE RECIPE

Whilst waiting around at an audition I saw a watermelon cake in some magazine. I was quickly ushered into my casting and never had the chance to read more about it but it stuck in my mind. It reminded me a lot of this amazing Christmas ice cream Panettone cake I make each year. Well, I have made something inspired by both and it came out pretty darn good. It’s fun and super quick to make. It would be a great cake/treat to make with kids and even though it is sweet with watermelon, it’s insanely and surprisingly super healthy.

INGREDIENTS

Small watermelon (because they have less black seeds)
Greek yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt if you are vegan)
Mixed nuts
1 square of dark chocolate

METHOD

• With a sharp knife, cut your watermelon in half and cut of the skin (do you call this the skin or rind? hmmm).
• Now that you have your dome shaped watermelon, place it on a plate you want to serve it on. Not much bigger than your melon and one that you are happy to use a sharp knife on.
• With a cake spatula swipe yoghurt all over the melon, smoothing across it evenly.
• Place a handful of mixed nuts in blender for a couple of seconds to roughly chop them. Then sprinkle them on top.
• I melted one square of Panachocolat Orange & Fig chocolate in a pan on a low heat with a big teaspoon of coconut oil. You could use any chocolate but you need very little. Once melted drip across haphazardly over the “cake/bombe”.
• Leave to set in your freezer. It will be ok to serve after about 45 minutes but longer left the better.

Let me know if you make this, I’d love to know what you think and see pictures x

VEGAN MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD RECIPE

If you just immediately find out how to make these super scrumptious goodies then skip on past my waffling but for those that fancy a little background to why I made these then stick around for the next paragraph 😉

So, I have had an idea for vegan millionaires shortbread for quite a while. I have always had a sweet tooth and I am quite fond of millionaires shortbread but find it a tiny bit too sweet and I know it’s not good for me. I have made vegan chocolate before and am incredible nutty and coconut combined thing. That’s when I thought, if I can make caramel then I could make a millionaires shortbread. 4 hours in the kitchen and a lot of ingredients provided by Coconut Collective I managed to make something so delicious that you would never guess they were vegan, never mind then having no refined sugar in them. If I could, I would mass make them for you all and send them through the internet pipes but sadly that’s not possible, so for now, you can make your own with my tried and tested recipe.
(Some of these ingredients were kindly gifted by Coconut Merchant but this is not a paid post in any way).

INGREDIENTS LIST

BASE

2 handfuls of mixed nuts
1 handful of coconut flakes
Heaped tablespoon of coconut oil
4 pitted medjool date
Water

GOOEY CHOCOLATE LAYER

Coconut Merchant coconut and cacoa spread

VEGAN CARAMEL

Coconut nectar
Coconut butter

VEGAN CHOCOLATE TOPPING

Cocoa butter
Coconut nectar
Cacao powder

VEGAN MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD RECIPE | Megan Taylor

METHOD

BASE

• Mix and grind your nuts and coconut together in a blender under they resemble crumbled granola.
• Place your coconut oil in a saucepan on a very low heat. Once your coconut oil has melted place your medjool dates in and heat for a minute or two.
• Pour in a dash or two of water and a few minutes later, turn off the heat and blend the ingredients together with a stick blender.
• Pour in the nutty mixture into the sauce and mix together. Pour your mixture into a cling film lined box and squish down as tight as possible.

GOOEY CHOCOLATE LAYER

• Simply spread Coconut Merchant’s coconut and cocoa spread over the nutty base.

VEGAN CARAMEL

•Melt 150g of coconut butter in a small pan on a low heat.
• Once this is fully melted and a squirt of the coconut nectar (you could use any syrup but coconut nectar is the healthiest option I could find). Mix this in, constantly stirring. It will immediately bind. Add more and more after examining each squirt of nectar. It can be tricky to get the perfect amount so take this process slowly. You will know it is ready when it turns into a pale and thick caramel appearance. Resist licking the spoon at this point because it will burn you!! …yup, been there.
• Immediately pour your caramel over your gooey chocolate layer and place in the fridge until set (about 15 minutes or the duration of how long it takes you to make your chocolate).

VEGAN CHOCOLATE TOPPING

• Fully melt your cacao butter in a small pan over a low heat.
• Turn of the heat and add 2 tablespoons of cacao powder to the melted cacao butter and stir in.
• Add one teaspoon of coconut nectar for sweetness (personal preference as to how much to add).
• Pour your chocolate over the set caramel and leave in the fridge for a further 10 minutes.
• Et voila, all set and yummy and ready for munching.
• (If this step is too much effort then you could always melt down a vegan chocolate bar such as Pana Chocolate, Kakao or Ombar).

What do you think of this recipe? Are you going to give it a go? I promise you won’t regret it.

SUGAR FREE SWEET TREAT FAVOURITES

I try my hardest to be as healthy as possible without feeling deprived. The sugar free sweet treat options out there at the moment are incredible. There are so many brands creating new and exciting healthy treats which taste incredible. I do find that they all come at quite a price, especially when compared to a standard Mars or Galaxy bar which are cheap and often on sale or in an offer of 2 for 1. The great thing about the healthy sweet treats is that they are quite rich in taste and fill you up quicker so you honestly don’t need as much. I am here to show you my latest sugar free sweet treat favourites but check back here to my sweet treat faves from 2017 which are all still on my list.

ADAM’S

I stumbled across these scrummy goodies in Whole Foods last week. I often make a trip to Whole Foods chocolate/sweets section to find out if there is anything new and I was so excited to find something I had never seen before. The price tag was a little hefty but expected in Whole Foods. They are actually a bit cheaper on their own website which you can find here. There are about four different flavours to choose from. I have only tried the mint one and I adored it!! It tastes a lot like the Panachocolate mint bar but has a wonderful chewy centre. Each cube of yumminess is enough to sate your sweet appetite but it’s hard to resist having another one.

KAAKAO

My local health food shop had these bars at the counter and I was intrigued by the cool design but having already got a full basket of expensive goodies, I gave it a miss. Then, on my next visit there was a lady demonstrating them as such, with samples and after one taste I had to buy a couple of bars to take home. You can buy the Kaakao strawberry bar here and the original bar here.

SUGAR FREE SWEET TREAT FAVOURITES | Megan Taylor

NUGGLET’S

I have spoken about Livia’s Kitchen goodies before but they were much bigger balls of date/chocolate. These ones are a whole lot smaller and perfect to pop in your bag for an on the go pick me up. I actually prefer these small ones than the big ones, the ratio of filling to outside chocolate is perfect for me. The raw choc brownies are my favourites out of the three Nugglet’s flavours…seriously good. You can by Livia’s Kitchen raw choc brownies Nugglets here and the raw cookie dough ones here.

OMBAR

OK, so this isn’t exactly new to me or my readers but the bigger bars are new since my last sweet treats blog. You can see a full selection of the Ombar goodies on Ocado’s website here but Waitrose themselves have the larger bars which you can see here. I am most fond of the Coco Mylk bar but Waitrose are often sold out in store which is insanely upsetting.

Have you tried any of these before? Which are you most excited about?

INTERVIEW WITH JANE’S PATISSERIE

I was lucky enough to meet Jane at a blogger meet up with UK Blog Awards last year and we have kept in touch ever since. Jane is the sweetest (no pun intended ;P …she actually prefers savoury!) person you can meet and is definitely a girl after my own heart…she has created an eBook full of Christmas treats! Jane spent many years working at Waitrose part time but recently took up full time blogging. If you take a quick glimpse at her incredible following on social media it wouldn’t surprise you…she is ever so popular and rightly so. Click on her links at the bottom of this site and see her amazing creations.
Click here for Jane’s recipe for the featured image of the amazing chocolate doughnuts.

GET TO KNOW JANE

•YOU HAVE JUST BECOME A FULL TIME BLOGGER. WHAT GAVE YOU THE CONFIDENCE TO TAKE THAT LEAP OUT OF EMPLOYMENT?
To be honest, it was partly to do with not wanting to work in customer service anymore, and because I finally thought if I don’t take the leap now… when will I? I knew my statistics had been confidently growing, so I just thought lets go for it!

•DO YOU MISS YOUR WAITROSE DISCOUNTS FOR INGREDIENTS?
Oh yes… I definitely miss it! I rarely used it for ingredients as I usually buy in bulk, but wow I just miss the discount in general haha!

•WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE COLLABORATION SO FAR?
My favourite collaboration so far has probably been with Nestle on a coupe of videos, and I should be doing some more with them as well! They loved the fact that my dog was called Rolo!

•WHAT IS YOUR DREAM BLOGGING COLLABORATION?
Brand wise, there are just too many to mention.. luckily with food, there are so many collaborations out there! It’s just being brave enough to make them happen! Other than that, I’d love to do a baking video or two with Zoella, or Cupcake Jemma, or Juliet Sear!

•ZOELLA MENTIONED YOU IN A VLOG AND FOLLOWS YOU ON TWITTER. HAS THIS HAD AN IMPACT ON YOUR FOLLOWING?
Oh yes definitely! When she baked my Biscoff Cake, it quickly went to the most popular cake on my website and stayed in the top 10 recipes since! My youtube subscribers and twitter followers have also grown since we’ve tweeted each other a couple of times!

BAKING

•WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO BAKE?
Through time really.. apparently my Granny was baking all the time when I was little, I just don’t remember this! I then went to Cookery School in 2014 which quickly improved my skills!

•WHO IS YOUR BAKING HERO/INE?
Mary Berry, the queeeeen.

•WHAT’S YOUR SIGNATURE BAKE?
Probably my Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake… its my favourite recipe as well!

•WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CAKE FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY AND WHICH SHOP HAS THE BEST CAKES?
I actually love Carrot Cake the most, so I always bake myself one or ask for one! I quite often will end up with Chocolate Cake as well though..! I always crave a cake or five from Crumbs and Doilies! They always look amazing! But supermarket wise, i’m equal for Waitrose and Marks & Spencers.

•WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING IN THE KITCHEN AND WHICH RECIPE WOULD YOU SUGGEST FOR A NOVICE?
Is it bad to say staying on top of the cleaning up? Sometimes I’m really good at cleaning as I go, but other times its like a whirlwind has hit and it gets a little stressy! A Victoria Sponge is the most simple recipe. It iss a simple ratio recipe, and its the cake they use to test ovens and such work. Always worth a go!

•DO YOU KNOW OF A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO BUTTER ICING?
I often suggest a ganache type frosting, which you can make with Dark, Milk or White chocolate so theres no butter at all!

•HOW DO I STOP MY MACARONS FROM COLLAPSING?
You have to really practice with macarons – i’ve had great successes and failures with them. It’s about the ‘macaronage’ stage, where you’ve whipped it all up nicely, folded, and then you have to get it to the correct texture by basically wiping the mixture against the side of the bowl… hard to explain!

•HOW DO I MAKE MY CHOCOLATE SHINY?
The best way is to temper the chocolate, but thats quite a long process really… so its best to store it correctly once melted, and melt it slowly in the first place so the sugar doesn’t bloom and cause the white spots you sometimes get.

INTERVIEW WITH JANE’S PATISSERIE | Megan Taylor

QUICK FIRE

CREAM / BUTTER
Cream

CAKE /BISCUIT
Biscuit

CHOCOLATE / SWEETS
Chocolate

HOT CHOCOLATE / COFFEE
Hot Chocolate

CHRISTMAS / EASTER
Easter

SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTAR

•YOU ARE THE QUEEN OF PINTEREST. HAVE YOU GOT ANY TIPS TO HELP PEOPLE ACE PINTEREST?
Pinterest is one of those ones that can be great one minute, and then a bit mediocre.. but its honestly trying to set some time aside every day (for myself personally) to pin some new pins, and re-pin old ones. You don’t want to just pin your own stuff, you need to branch out! However, even I struggle doing this every day, so I now use Tailwhind, where you can schedule pins. Much easier!

•WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WANTING TO GROW TO YOUR LEVEL ON INSTAGRAM?
Just keep at it! Interact with other people that you follow, or on hashtags that are relevant to you (such as #Baking) and be regular with your uploading! Try and post a picture every now and again where your followers will tag others and increase your following as well (such as food pictures!).

•WHAT ADVIDE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WANTING TO GO INTO FULL TIME BLOGGING?
You really can’t rush into it, because of the financial side of things. I ran my blog alongside a job for the first 3 and a bit years, so it wasn’t a quick thing! You have to have a plan laid out, and make sure you stick to a schedule of work before and after going full time. Make sure you work on all aspects of your social media, and just work work work! It will pay off eventually!

SOCIAL LINKS

WEBSITE • YOUTUBE • INSTAGRAM • TWITTER • PINTEREST • EBOOKS

WHICH SUPPLEMENTS I TAKE AND WHY

Do you use supplements? I have grown up taking Vitamin C and Echinacea but wasn’t quite sure why people took so many more fancy tablets? Surely if your diet is good then you don’t need to pop those pills? Well, as I have grown older I have realised that even though I have a good diet, those extra pills can really help, for different reasons. I don’t take too many, only 4-5 in as many days. I am not great at remembering to take them and hate leaving them on the kitchen table because they make it my house look messy. So, when I remember to take them, I do and they really do make a difference. I have listed the tablets which I take below with a brief explanation as to why I take them. Let me know what you take and if there are any more that I should consider, especially as a vegetarian.

SILICA

You may have read a fairly recently blog post of mine where I raved about Silica. I spoke about how I take them to help my nails grow. I can really see the difference when I forget to take them. My nails grow so much faster when I am taking silica. Silica is also great for your hair and skin. As a female who wants long and strong nails I find Silica is an absolute must have.

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D is great for a number of purposes including skin cell growth, repair, immune system. A typical vegetarian diet can lack Vitamin D so I use this to top me up incase I have inadvertently not consumed enough. Oh, and with the lack of sun here right now it helps a great deal.

VITAMIN B12

I decided to start taking Vitamin B12 at the beginning of this year and I think it is doing me the world of good. It is thought to boost your mood, energy, concentration, mental function, and the immune system. All of which I felt I needed after the Christmas break. I have felt so much better in the last couple of months, yet this could also be down to the fact that I am eating a whole lot less sugar. Either way, I think B12 was something that I really needed. Also, as a vegetarian, my source of Vitamin B12 is seriously small so I have to succumb to taking tablets.

WHICH SUPPLEMENTS I TAKE AND WHY | Megan Taylor

VITAMIN C

I used to be a bit of an effervescent Vitamin C gal but then Liam read that they aren’t full of as many goodies as the proper complete Vitamin C tablets. So, after Liam’s research we now take Vitamin C in the form of tablets, they are rather beasterous but worth stomaching. I used to only take them when I was feeling run down but I now take them about 4/5 days a week.

ECHINACEA

When growing up my mum had always given me echinacea when I was feeling ill. The brand I have always used is A.Vogel. They also make echinacea sweeties which are scrumptious but no doubt full of sugar. The liquid is absolutely gross to taste so I can only have it if I put drops of it in an effervescent vitamin C shot. Even though I don’t normally use these type of Vitamin C’s anymore, I have my go-to packet for ill days when I need to take echinacea…bleugh.

Do you take any of these supplements?

EASTER PARTY SLICE

Happy week of Easter and a heavily chocolate filled week. This following recipe is pure badness. There is nothing healthy about this recipe but the marshmallows are vegetarian so that makes me happy 🙂 . I believe there are 5 different chocolates in here and they all combine to make a seriously scrumptious Easter goodie. The recipe I have made is based on the idea of a tray bake, but there’s no baking involved. It is also based on the idea of a chocolate slab, but it’s too thick to be named a slab. I also cut it into squares, so shouldn’t really be called a slice. Oh well, I have decided to name it an Easter Party Slice but it can definitely be used for any occasion. I hope you enjoy the yummiest pudding I have ever created.

INGREDIENTS

Rice Pops (as much a desired-I used about 1/8 of the packet linked)
Vegan marshmallows (35g)
Maltesers small bunnies
Maltesers (80g)
Smarties (118g)
x3 bars of dark chocolate (540g)
White chocolate (approx 90g for decoration)
100s & 1000s (for decoration)

METHOD

Melt your chocolate in a pan. Very slowly over a low heat, constantly stirring.
Turn off the heat and chop your marshmallows into small pieces.
Mix in your marshmallows into your melted chocolate.
Pour in your rice pops and completely cover them in the chocolate.
Pour in your Maltesers and half of your smarties.
Pour all of your ingredients into a foil lined deep tray, baking tray, or in my case old biscuit tin.
Pat down the mixture so it is well compacted into the tin and now you can get decorating.
Sprinkle your 100s & 1000s and smarties over the mixture.
Melt your white chocolate and use a spoon to splash it about in an arty fashion.
Leave to set in a cool room and once you have cut it into your slices/slabs add the bunnies to the top.
I originally added full sized bunnies to every slice but needed my slices to be smaller to accommodate the amount of people.
So, I chopped the heads off and popped the heads on some slices and upturned feet on others.

I hope you enjoy these delectable goodies. They have barely lasted 12 hours in our house and they are all gone. Be sure to tag me if you make them x @itsmegantaylor

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY | LCHF VEGETARIAN

Back in January I wrote a blog post on how and why I was aiming to lose weight. It is one of my most read blog posts. It was received with mixed reviews. Some were inspired, whereas others were telling me to get a life…in a nice way haha. Well, if you read the post you would understand why I was aiming to lose a small amount of weight. Find out at the bottom of the post my results from 6 weeks of healthiness. I have also filmed a ‘What I Eat In A Day’ You Tube video…my first video in a little while now (I fully intend to film more so please do let me know what you would like to see).

WHAT I GOT UP TO

My initial blog post describes what I got up to in the 6 weeks but in a nut shell I was working around a bit of a low carb high fat lifestyle with no alcohol (minus 2 cocktails for a celebration) and no sugar (biscuits, chocolate, cake, crisps). I did however have a few veggie Lebanese take aways, a few yummy pizzas, sugar free healthy chocolates from Ombar and Booja Booja. So, I definitely wasn’t feeling at all deprived. In terms of exercise, I kept it pretty similar to my normal weekly routine. I went for 2-3 runs a week, clocking about 16km all in all. I attended Elevate’s bootcamp 2-3 times a week. I was ill for about 2 weeks during this period so slacked a little bit during those weeks.

HOW MUCH I LOST

As you may have read in the previous post, I did not weigh myself before, after or ever really because I don’t own weighing scales. I like to use a measuring tape because I believe that is a far more accurate analysis of your body shape, especially as I do a lot of exercise which could mean that I put on weight with muscles. I have listed below how much I lost at each section of my body.

WAIST: -2 cm
HIPS: -2 cm
Left Thigh: -2.5 cm
Right Thigh: -1.5 cm

AFTER THOUGHTS

I am really thrilled with my results and have felt a whole lot less bloated which I was how I was feeling all of the winter period. I am definitely going to keep up my healthier lifestyle. I am going to exercise as much as I have been. I am only going to drink once a week (more than I did during this six weeks but less than before). I didn’t really miss drinking alcohol per se, but I did miss the social element so I am going to be a little more lax. With regards to less healthy food, I am going to stick to the healthier chocolates more of the time, which sadly costs a whole lot more. I find that I can’t gorge on them as much as naughty chocolates and biscuits and the cost of them definitely restricts me. Yet, Easter is a whole other situation…bring on the Cadbury’s chocolate eggs ;p My biggest thing to come out of all of this is that I fit in my teeny Zara mini skirt again after it being too small for me for over a year.

VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HER

Yes, I know Valentine’s Day is a bit of a commercialised holiday that some people hate. Yet, I am baffled as to why anyone should hate on a day that is designed to be nice to each other, personally I think any excuse to declare how much you love your partner, family, friends should be pushed and celebrated. So without further ado I am here with my Valentine’s Day gift guide predominately geared towards presents for the girlies…because we deserve to be treated right!? So, show this to your loved one or maybe you should treat yourself, there is bound to be something you want in here. I have some gorgeous undies, yummy chocolates and must have beauty buys which range from the affordable to the luxe treats. Although I haven’t done a male gift guide this year, I thought the same concept applies to the gifts I suggested for last year 😉

UNDIES

Gorgeous underwear is definitely strongly linked with Valentines Day. I can tell you that currently my absolute favourite brand for stunning and immaculately made undies are from Fleur Of England. With stunning lace and super soft sheer fabric you will forget you are wearing anything. I can’t bear wearing underwear with underwire that is misshaped and digs into your bones and skin, you won’t get that with Fleur Of England lingerie. I have two sets and feel like I am wearing absolute luxury, I just wish I had known the brand existed when I had got married. The set which I am currently loving and which is featured in my image is the Margaux collection. You will want to find a way to have the bra on show in some way, the straps are so delicate and soft over the collar bones. Oh, make sure you check out the sublime detailing of the buttons on the bra and knickers. They look like the sort of detail you would get on a wedding dress.

VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HER | Megan Taylor

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Next week I happen to have a Valentine’s Day make up and hair look coming out but in the mean time I wanted to share with you some of my must have romantic beauty products. Joan Collins and Charlotte Tilbury have some wonderful pink and red colours and to top it off they both have stunning packaging in gold and rose gold which can really turn a nice product into a fab-u-lust product. Other great beauty products which are perfect for Valentine’s Day are body oils, bath oils and body creams…all of which can be shared with your partner. Some of my current faves are iMantara’s Jasmine body oil and Ren’s Rose Otto bath oil which is filled with 10,000 rose petals!!

FASHION

Even if you’re not in a relationship, why not get in the lovey-dovey vibe and dress romantically. I know I will be wearing pink to celebrate the occasion. I am wearing the gorgeous bow back jumper from Jigsaw in the featured image, it’s absolutely adorable in an adult girly way. I am a huge lover of pleated skirts, I find them incredible feminine and make me feel like I am floating on air like a fairy (yes my inner child is definitely trying to escape). My current lust item is a long floaty dusty pink pleated skirt like those below.

EASY EXTRAS

A few extra ideas for those that are pushed for time would be the traditional bunch of flowers or box of chocolates. A very easy and fun way to send flowers is through Bloom & Wild‘s letterbox flowers. My favourite chocolates of the moment would be Booja Booja‘s raspberry truffles. They are healthy, sugar free and dairy free but taste like absolute heaven (I have talked about these a lot in the past hehe)…they also come in a pink box, bonus. A super romantic present which I would love to receive would be a modern day “mixed tape”. Pre-fill the iPod shuffle with a romantic playlist or songs that mean something to you and your partner.

Which product is your favourite or gifting idea?

DETOX YOUR INSIDES WITH THESE PRODUCTS

January is coming to an end and most New Year, New Me aspirations are dwindling. The most simple ways to help detoxify your body and help rejuvenate yourself back to brilliance is through ingesting some of these fab products. Did you catch last week’s blog on products to help detox your outsides? I am back with more detox-centric products, but this time with some amazing products to help detox your insides. Bring on the food and drink…and powders.

THE POWDERS

Powders can be consumed in juices, smoothies, protein shakes and even sprinkled on yoghurts or in smoothie bowls. My favourite way is to add any powder to a smoothie to mask any flavour of the powder. I find that most powders taste far too earthy and feel worse than I should once consuming them. The only powder that actually smells and tastes good is Perricone MD’s Super Greens powder, they actually taste like a fruity kids squash! …totally stomachable 🙂 Perricone’s super greens also come in handy little sachets which you can see in the picture below. If you are often on the road travelling this would be an amazing product to pop in your bag and add to your glass of water each morning. Other greens which Liam and I often use and have in our cupboard are spirulina and chlorella. Spirulina is an incredible supplement to add to your daily intake if you are a vegetarian or someone who suffers with low iron. The green powder has 3900% more iron in it than spinach. Both spirulina and chlorella are great antioxidants and help with detoxifying your body. You can tell how incredible their nutritiousness is by the darkness of their colour in the image below…insane, you could make some incredible paintings with those powders!

DETOX YOUR INSIDES WITH THESE PRODUCTS | Megan Taylor

THE TABLETS

Tablets take a little bit longer to dissolve and infiltrate your body yet they are great if you need to boost a certain aspect. These are the two products which I recommend. I take silica tablets daily to boost the healthiness and strength of my hair and nails. I find these tablets are amazing for the job. Check out Monday’s post where I talked about the two products which help my nails grow. Another tablet which I take, yet far less frequently is milk thistle. Milk thistle tablets are great to take when you have indulged a little too much. It is actually widely known to be a great tablet for a hangover because it is designed to help the protection against liver damage. Are you back on the booze yet? Maybe you should give them a go.

THE LIQUIDS

Liquids are easy to include into your diet and there are some tasty options out there. Two drinks that Liam and I drink are coconut water and more recently kombucha. I would say that coconut water can be a bit of a “required” taste. I’m not much of a fan but want to include its potassium and magnesium benefits into my diet. I tend to add it to my smoothies so its flavour isn’t so obvious. Liam on the other hand drinks it like water. Kombucha has began to grow in popularity and is actually rather yummy. Kombucha is basically a fermented tea, I think it tastes like slightly off sweet apples…yet, get that thought out of your head and it can be quite yummy hehe. There are so many claimed benefits to the drink including detoxification, improved digestion, weight loss and many more benefits. It is definitely a drink to be researched into further. My only hesitation to it is that it is very heavy in sugar. What do you think about it?

Do you already use any of these products? Which is your favourite?

HOW AND WHY I AM GOING TO LOSE WEIGHT THIS MONTH

Welcome to January and the typical, “I’m going to lose weight this month” blah blah blah. Well, this is my aim and before you say, you’re not fat. I know I’m not fat but in my chatting below you will see why I need to shed a teensy bit for myself. Everyone has their own reasons and below are mine. Make sure you comment below if you are on a quest this month so we can all support each other.

WHY

A small part of my work is that of a fittings model (if you don’t know what this is have a little catch up on my most read blog post ever here). As a fittings model, I am measured weekly and each centimetre of difference is noted down. I fit as a size 8 and am currently a large size 8. Over my almost TWELVE years as a model (how has that happened, my gawwwwd) I have been a super tiny size 8, a small size 10 and now a large size 8. I’m not sure how I have got a little bigger lately, no I am not pregnant, but maybe it’s because I have got older? Who knows? I exercise just as much as normal and eat a little healthier so I’m really not sure why. My slight increase in size is probably only about 1.5cm different from my smallest. This may sound ridiculous to some people but for me in my job it actually means quite a lot. I would rather sit comfortably in the middle of a size 8 measurement than bordering on the edge, therefore I am here to do something about it, and a new year is the perfect time and excuse because there are so many other people around me doing the same thing causing less distractions from my aim. I am not one to weigh myself on the weighing scales, I believe in a measuring tape and your standard skinny jeans to see how you are doing.
I will tell you how I aim to get back slimmer again in a moment but I want to let you know that I will come back again in the middle on February to let you know how I have got along, see if I stuck with it and how many centimetres I have lost or gained on my bust, waist and hips. I started this plan on the 2nd of January and will finish it on the 13th February, the day before Valentine’s Day…wish me luck…maybe I will be feeling super hot this Valentine’s Day ;P x

HOW

My main aim is to not feel deprived and left out whilst trying to be healthy so these are my plans laid out bare for all to see, which you may want to follow yourself (be sure to let me know if you are going to do the same. We can be health buddies).
DRINK
I don’t drink any soft drinks unless it is a mixer for alcohol so this isn’t too tricky for me but I am sticking to water and herbal teas for the whole duration. There are so many incredible herbal teas that don’t taste like a rubbish Ribena. In fact, you should check out my current favourite herbal teas here. I may fancy up my water with lemon slices but that’s as jazzy as I will be getting. I had my fair share of alcohol over Christmas so don’t feel deprived by not drinking for a few weeks.
FOOD
Food is a bit of a trickier one with many more bits and bobs to it. If you didn’t know, my hubby is a super brainy sports and nutrition kinda guy and last year wrote a fabulously successful ebook (I was one of the people to proof it so I have read it numerous times and can vouch for it being great) called Eat & Move which is based on a low carb, high fat lifestyle and comes with many great workouts you can do at home. This is obviously not a paid ad but I could rave about him for days…he is my husband after all. He has had many amazing case studies of people losing weight on his plan, getting back to health and exercise and even reversed their type 2 diabetes!!
So, my plan is to be low carb, this is NOT no carb but I will be eating only healthy carbs such as pumpernickel bread and lentils rather than lots of pappy bread and pasta and I will mostly be consuming them at breakfast and lunch rather than at dinner. I will be completely off bad sugars. I will eat a little bit of fruit and healthy chocolate such as Om Bars and Booja Booja ice creams and chocolates as my naughty sweeter treats. Here are my favourite healthy sweet treats which I will be allowing myself on a few occasions. My absolute favourite sweet but healthy treat which I constantly ask Liam to make is his sugar free biscuits, they are sooo good. The recipe for these is here.
EXCEPTIONS
My only exceptions to the alcohol “ban” will be on celebrations. This will include family and friends’ birthdays and any immediate family or mine and Liam’s work success’. If I book some crazy amazing TV job…I’m going to drink a bottle of Champagne and possibly some chocolate dipped strawberries, there’s no question! Maybe this will be the perfect drive that I need to go and get some amazing jobs and this excites me a huge deal.
FITNESS
I am pretty into my fitness and always have been so to do exercise in general isn’t a hardship for me. I adore that sense of achievement you get after a bit of exercise. If you need some motivational tips to get out exercising check out my blog from a couple of years ago full of helpful tips. My fitness aims for this little project is to keep up with what I normally do which is 2-3 bootcamp classes a week and 2 5km runs and 1 6km run. Yet, I am also going to try and include a few longer 8 or 10km runs during the few weeks. I am even going to try and add in some fun activities that I can do with Liam like climbing, trampolining, gymnastics classes and long dog walks.

Are you on a quest to lose weight or get a little healthier this month? Have you got any tips to share?

MULLED CIDER SURPRISE

Oooo Christmas is imminent and the parties are in full swing. If you are hosting your own Christmas party at home you will want to make this drink for two reasons. Reason number 1 is that it is scrumptious and makes your house smell like the best Christmas grotto in the world. Reason number 2 is most important because, if you guests spill this you won’t have to cover your carpets and furniture in salt to banish those red wine stains. Oh, and wonderfully this drink is really easy to make and you can make a big batch of it. You can leave the drink heating in the pan whilst you are busy touching up your make up. This mulled cider is served with a dash of brandy to give it the perfect kick. For another amazing cocktail recipe which you will love make sure you check out my El Presidente.

INGREDIENTS

Cider
Brandy
Cloves
Star anise
Orange skin
Cinnamon Sticks

(Liam filled this bottle of brandy with cinnamon sticks last Christmas and it tastes incredible!!)

METHOD

• Pour your cider into a saucepan.
• Pop in your spices such as cloves, star anise and cinnamon sticks.
• Put a lid on the pan and leave to heat gently on a very low heat for as long as needed.
(Longer the better if you want your guests to smell the delicious aromas when they enter your home).
• Serve in cute mugs with a slice of orange skin and a dash of brandy.

I hope you enjoy this scrummy drink and make sure you tag me in any pictures if you do make it.

THE BEST TEAS TO KEEP YOU WARM RIGHT NOW

I am loving tea at the moment. It is such a great hug in a mug during the colder weather. I have just noticed that I obviously really like tea as I seem to have written 3 other blog posts on tea in the last couple of years. I only got into tea a few years ago and I am rather picky with what I like. I don’t drink “builders tea”/”English tea” and I don’t drink coffee so herbal tea is definitely my thang. My current favourites are really yummy and very importantly taste as good as they smell. I thought I would share them with you as they are making me happy each day.

HEATH & HEATHER

How insanely pretty are the designs on these boxes! I love the pretty decoration and unlike normal I haven’t decanted the teabags into my big jar of tea but have had to keep them in these pretty boxes.

CHAMOMILE & SPEARMINT
This is my current absolute favourite tea. I have fallen in love with the flavour of this tea. If you don’t like chamomile tea in general, much like my hubby, you will like this. The mint overpowers the chamomile and even though I like chamomile tea, I prefer this…sooo good. This tea is a great calming tea and perfect if you are feeling at all anxious.
RELAXING NIGHT TIME
I have tried valerian tablets in the past with mixed experiences (read my thoughts here). Even though valerian tablets are a little bit strong for me, I really wanted to have valerian to help me sleep. This tea doesn’t smell or taste as foul as valerian normally does. I love this tea. It’s quite faint in flavour but reminds me of a weak chamomile tea which I really enjoy. If you are looking for a simple sleeping aid, try this tea.

THE BEST TEAS TO KEEP YOU WARM RIGHT NOW | Megan Taylor

PUKKA

I have loved Pukka teas for quite a long time ago but my absolute favourite, the match mint is quite hard to find. I have only managed to find it in health food shops but not in Waitrose?

MINT MATCHA GREEN
In general matcha tea can be a little bit bitter and earthy to taste. If you find that you don’t like the flavour but are desperate to have matcha in your life then this is the tea for you. It is simply delicious. If you want to know a little bit more about matcha in general then check out my blog on ‘Why Is Everyone Talking About Matcha?’. The scent of the mint is so yummy. It’s almost like the mint flavour at the beginning of a tic-tac. Yum yum yum.
REVITALISE
Last month Liam won a hamper from Jasmine Hemsley and it was filled with lovely goodies but the one that really took my fancy was this Pukka Revitalise tea. This tea smells like Christmas and I find it really calming to the tummy. I don’t like cardamom in generally so it’s great that you can’t taste it. The flavour is stronger in cinnamon and ginger with some spices that make it taste a little bit like mulled wine. We only have one bag left so I need to buy some more asap.

Which tea do you most like the sound of?

EPIC FIREWORKS NIGHT S’MORES RECIPE

Don’t you think that Bonfire Night seems to be getting longer and longer these days? I know I have been hearing fireworks popping outside my bedroom window for a few weeks now. Along with fireworks night comes the open lit bonfires, or maybe in your house you may be lighting your first fire of the season. Whichever the case may be why don’t you make some s’mores! Liam introduced me to s’mores when we first met a full 13 years ago!! As a vegetarian, I don’t eat marshmallows very often because it is really difficult to find vegetarian ones, and they are also 3x the price of normal ones. These are the vegan ones that I found and used.

INGREDIENTS

Biscuits (I used rich tea)
Dark chocolate
Marshmallows
Chocolate stars
100s & 1000s
Candle/Stove/Fireplace
Wooden skewers

METHOD

• Melt some dark chocolate and pour into a bowl beside your flame.
• Squish a marshmallow onto a wooden skewer.
• Hold your marshmallow quite high over the flame and continuously turn it.
• When your marshmallow begins to flop a little bit use a fork to push it off into your biscuit.
• Place another biscuit over the top and squish the marshmallow down allowing it to ooze out of the sides.
• Dip your marshmallow biscuits half into the melted chocolate.
• Sprinkle your decoration over and munch away until you can’t eat anymore.

What are your plans this weekend? Enjoy your s’mores if you make them and be sure to tag me in any pictures if you do x

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES | TO THE BITTER END

Half term has begun and Halloween is upon us. Are you throwing a Halloween party? Have you got kids heading off for some Trick Or Treating? Do you miss that full bag of Trick or Treating goodies? Or are you just simply a chocolate fan? Well this Halloween cupcake recipe is for you. Don’t think too hard about how gruesome the actual concept of these cupcake are but just think about how they are a lot of fun for children and adults alike to make. There are a few elements to these cupcakes but well worth the effort and a great thing to occupy the kiddies this half term. Also, the actual recipes are super quick and easy to make. The reason for their name, which Liam came up with is because I used supremely dark chocolate making the “mud” a bit bitter and not very sweet. I would recommend using a sweeter chocolate than I did.

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES

Makes 8 large cupcakes
112g butter
112g caster sugar
2 eggs
112g self-raising flower
2ml vanilla extract
30g cocoa powder

TOMBSTONES

Makes way too many tombstones
Tube of black writing icing
50g butter
25g caster sugar
A couple of drops of vanilla essence
82g plain flour

MUD

1 packet of standard Oreos
50g of Chocolate

RECIPE

CUPCAKES

•Preheat oven to 175º
•Mix the sugar, flour, butter and vanilla extract until blended together.
•Add the eggs.
•Spoon the mixture into muffin cases or what I did was use silicon muffin cases. Only half fill your cases to prevent too much muffin overhang.
•Cook for 15-20 minutes. Check if they are done by popping a knife in the centre of each cake to see if it comes out clean.
•Leave your cakes to cool and slice over the rounded top to create a flat top to place your mud on.

TOMBSTONES

•Preheat the over to 150º.
•Add the sugar and butter together and mix together until light and fluffy.
•Add in the vanilla extract and flour and mix together.
•Use your fingers to bind together all of the ingredients until it turns into a lovely soft dough.
•Roll out to 5mm thick and using a knife, slice the shapes of tombstones and place onto a greased baking tray.
•Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden, you want these biscuits to be nice and hard before placing them into the cakes so leave them to cool for a while before attempting to assemble them or writing on them.

MUD

•Open up your Oreo’s and scrape out the majority of the cream filling.
•Put all of the Oreo’s in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to smash them to pieces.
•Allow the smashing to be rough. Having bigger pieces and dustier pieces makes for more realistic mud.
•Melt your chocolate and mix in the crushed Oreo’s. I left the dust from the bottom of the bowl to sprinkle over the cakes.
•Spread the “mud” over your cupcakes.
•Use a knife to slice a line on the cakes to pop your tombstones in.
•Once the tombstones are placed in, sprinkle your remainder mud dust over the cupcakes and tombstones.

VOILA, there you have some rather realistic tombstones which taste like chocolatey heaven, enjoy and make sure you tag me in any photos @itsmegantaylor