Tag: plant based

Pregnancy: The Third Trimester – Week 28

Leave a comment

Last week was our first week in the third trimester, week 28! I can tell you now, the aches and pains are still present and thriving.

Oddly, this week, I’ve had more people ask me if they can touch my bump. Fortunately only friends and family, and most importantly, they asked!

Midwife Appointment

At 28 + 1, I had my regular midwife appointment. The midwife took my blood pressure, did the breath test, tested my urine sample as well as asking me the standard questions about my general health and wellbeing.

I flagged with her that I had started getting back pain and pains in the legs and she said that it was likely to be the start of sciatica, so that is something to look forward to…

Normally at this appointment, they would also measure the fundal height which is just an estimated measurement of the baby’s size based on the size of your belly.

Due to my gestational diabetes, I didn’t have this measurement as I was due to have a growth scan that afternoon anyway.

28 Week Growth Scan

As normal with any hospital scans, we parked up (which is always a challenge in itself) and headed to the ultrasound department. The scan didn’t take long and they measured baby up and were happy with what they saw. She was measuring at around the 55th percentile which was a relief to hear!

You will always be worried about your baby when you are pregnant, wanting to know that they are growing ok and that their heart is beating. It most certainly doesn’t help when you get diagnosed with gestational diabetes and read the risks of baby getting too big or even too small!

When taking my blood pressure during my diabetes clinic appointment, my heart rate was incredibly high. We weren’t entirely sure why, although I was ill with a sore throat. I was sent for an ECG and also sent to book an echocardiogram to try and diagnose the issue. My consultant thought it was best to get it checked as any continued increase heart rate would be dangerous for a natural birth and may mean a caesarean delivery or earlier induction.

I’m currently still waiting for an appointment for the echocardiogram so I am unsure if there is a more sinister reason for my increased heart rate, but I suspect we’ll find out in the coming weeks.

Attending a Wedding

We had a beautiful wedding to attend to during this week and these are my tips and tricks:

  • Wear a belly band! It will save your back, whether you’re in flats or heels.
  • If you wear a belly band, wear a nice flowing dress to cover it up nicely.
  • Bring snacks. This was especially important for me to help stabilise my blood sugars during the day, but also, the day is long as you’ll be happy you brought snacks (don’t share!).
  • If you’re wearing heels, bring flats to change into for the evening. Comfort is everything.
  • Finally, take lots of photos! Not just of the bride and groom, but of yourself. You won’t get dressed up like this often, especially during your pregnancy, so document it!

The Symptoms

Exhaustion seems to be creeping it’s way back into my life and the struggle to stay up to watch Married At First Sight UK or Big Brother is becoming very challenging after a full day of work.

My back is starting to ache a lot now and moving in general is a lot more inconvenient than it’s ever been. It takes me forever to get up off the sofa and even longer to walk to wherever I need to get to. There’s still plenty more weeks to get through, so wish me luck!

Got No Beef in Cardiff City Centre [3]

Leave a comment

Since the COVID19 lockdown and social distancing rules came into place, I have locked myself away and tried to minimise my contact with the outside world. Fortunately, I’ve been able to work from home so my contact with the outside world has been minimal.

However, when I saw that Got No Beef had re-opened in line with government guidelines and were also participating in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, I couldn’t say no!

So last week, I ventured out into the big wide world with my brother and sister to get myself some dinner and boy, oh boy… it did not disappoint!

The MVP burger with poutine tots

The restaurant has reduced the number of tables in line with the government 2 metre distance rule so capacity is restricted which is understandable. They’ve put up perspex screens and plastic barriers between tables which is great, as well as a sanitisation station at the front of the restaurant.

The menu has been revamped and there are SO MANY new options! You can tell that they have put a lot of thought and effort into what they’ve put together. It was near impossible to choose!

I went for The MVP burger and a side of Buffalo Hot CHKN wings. Descriptions can be found on the menu itself so I highly recommend taking a look at their website to read through it all.

The MVP burger (inside)

Pictured above is the inside of The MVP. With the ‘mozzarella’ disc inside on top of the burger patty, when cut in half displayed the most appetising melted ‘cheese’ ever. The burger had a drizzle of pesto across the top and marinara sauce on the base. It tasted incredible.

The poutine tots were even better and are possibly my favourite side on the menu. I will most definitely be ordering them with every meal I have there! The gravy is so flavourful and the ‘cheese’ on top just puts it over the edge.

The Buffalo Hot CHKN wings speak for themselves. The ranch sauce drizzled on top and on the side add to the dish perfectly. I personally prefer a hotter taste, but they were delicious and are perfect for those who just want a good kick on the tongue.

We made sure we left room for dessert so to finish off, we treated ourselves to Soft Serve Sundaes!

From L to R: Rocky Road, Super Strawberry and Cookie Dough

We each treated ourselves to one which you can see above and Oh. My. God… they were unreal! There were 2 flavours on tap when we went, vanilla and biscoff. We were given the option of picking a flavour or a mix of the 2… and we all went for the mixed option!

I didn’t get any pictures that showed off the 50/50 split in flavour but it ran right through the middle and it was lovely. We tried a bit of each others and I have to say that Super Strawberry was my favourite and the biscoff flavour soft serve was my favourite of the 2!

I was so full from our mains and sides that I didn’t even manage to finish my sundae but everything was fantastic and totally exceeded my expectations.

Got No Beef are a small family run business and you can see how incredibly hard they have worked to where they have gotten. From day 1, when they travelled up and down the country showcasing at vegan fairs, to present day, working their socks off to bring us amazing vegan food in Cardiff at their restaurant.

I can’t say enough good things about them, but you guys will have to taste it for yourselves! Make sure you follow them on all their social media accounts at @GotNoBeefUK to keep updated, but more importantly, pop down to the restaurant and sample their wares. You will not be disppointed!

Freedm Street Deluxe Box [August 2020]

Leave a comment

I recently received my Freedm Street Deluxe Box in the post! For those of you that may not be aware, The Cruelty Free Beauty Box have recently changed their name to Freedm Street! For more details, check out their instagram posts.

Let’s move swiftly onto the contents of the box!

Again, nothing in this box disappoints! As always, there are various beauty products and snacks which I’m very much looking forward to digging into. Inside the box is:

  • Flawless Hydrating Toner (RRP £3.95)
  • Love Absolute Mulberry Milk Jelly Cleanser (RRP £24)
  • Pura Cosmetics Lip Scrub (RRP £4.99)
  • Lola Makeup Lash Extension Mascara (RRP £11.95)
  • Jorgobe Black Peel Off Mask (RRP £26)
  • UpCircle Gentle Exfoliating Soap Bar (RRP £6.99)
  • The British Crisp Co Handcooked Crisps (RRP 89p)
  • Brave Roasted Peas (RRP £1.39)
  • Beevive – The Bee Revival Kit (RRP £10.99)
  • Nourished Inner Beauty Stack Trial Box (RRP £29.99)

The contents of the box totals at £121.14 but only cost £39.95 as part of their subscription box!

I’ve yet to make a dent into yet as it only arrived this week but I’m looking forward to it already!

The Nourished vitamins appear interesting. I’m not sure how much benefit you’d be able to see with a 7 day trial but I can’t complain when it’s included as part of my subscription box! Each vitamin is individually wrapped and without opening it directly, I believe they’re gummy ones!

  • Beevive Revival Kit
  • Lola Lash Extension Mascara

The other more interesting product in the box was the Beevive Bee Revival Kit! It’s a little keyring with a little vial of sugar water which can be used to save the bees when they’re in need of a little bit of energy! I love the idea behind it but whether I’ll find good use for it is a different matter.

I also love the Lola Lash Extension Mascara. I didn’t take a picture of my lashes, but I loved it. The brush is great and leaves lashes well separated without any clumps for a nice wide eyed look.

There are so many other goodies included in the box with some wonderful brands that I’m currently using such as UpCircle and Love Absolute. I’m so excited to try them all out.

With the company rebrand, I highly recommend taking another look at the website to see what new products have been added!

Naturally Kind Food: Doughnuts

Leave a comment

I’ve written about Naturally Kind Food in some of my previous blog posts. They are a family run vegan business making delicious baked goods in South Wales.

During the lockdown period, they have started introducing more into their repertoire which has included doughnuts.

I was lucky enough to catch a post on Facebook a few weeks ago which allowed me to buy a spare box!

As you can see, they look absolutely incredible. I can barely remember what the flavours were as I devoured them so quickly but from memory I believe they were Biscoff, Lemon & Raspberry, Cherry Bakewell and a Sugared doughnut. All of them were filled with delicious jam or curd and it was amazing.

My personal favourite was the Cherry Bakewell. I already love Cherry Bakewells, but combining it with a doughnut was absolutely ingenius.

The doughnuts were so fresh and delicious. The fillings where incredibly and the doughnuts were still soft on the inside but firm to grip on the outside. They were the perfect combination!

All the other doughnuts were fantastic too. Full of sweetness and were delightful.

I highly recommend visiting the Naturally Kind Food facebook page where you’ll find lots of information. Give them a Like to keep up to date on their products and to make sure you don’t miss out on any opportunity for some delicious vegan goodies!

You can read my other Naturally Kind Food blog posts here:

Grind Coffee

Leave a comment

Tom and I bought ourselves a Nespresso coffee machine a year or so ago to save myself some money on my morning Starbucks trips, and it’s really done the trick. It’s a nifty little machine so if you’re curious, you can find it here.

We’ve been habitually buying our coffee pods from our local supermarkets as they’re so accessible, but of course, terrible for the environment. I’d spent some time researching other offerings and tools such as re-usable pods that you can re-fill but the reviews were often off-putting.

Instagram ads then came and saved the day. I saw an advert for Grind coffee and started following their Instagram page. Grind are a London based coffee shop and most impressively in my opinion, offer a coffee subscription service. What this meant was that you can subscribe to their coffee to receive regular deliveries. This meant there was potential to never run out of coffee!

To start, I thought it would be sensible to try the coffee, so I bought a refillable tin of their House Blend from Amazon.

What I should mention also, is that their coffee pods are compostable which was a big factor in my decision to give them a go and make the purchase.

The Grind aesthetic is really simple and cute. The brand is so distinctive with their pink colouring and clear bold font across their packaging. The refillable tin is great. It’s got a screw cap, and when it first arrived, the tin was sealed like a can which I thought was good and keeps the coffee fresh before we could get round to it.

The coffee itself tastes fantastic. I could easily say that it’s the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. It’s incredibly smooth and not too bitter. I’m far from a coffee expert, but I thoroughly enjoy the taste of their coffee.

So I decided to take the plunge and subscribe to their coffee. You can choose a subscription that suits you, which also include decaf coffee and their Black Blend (which I haven’t tried) and you can choose how many and how regularly you want to receive your deliveries.

They are posted in letterbox friendly packaging so you don’t need to be home to accept the delivery which is incredibly handy!

As you can see from the pictures above, the aesthetic is carried through to all their products and the subscription boxes are no different.

The pods are only slightly more expensive than the ones you can buy so easily from the supermarket but with the added benefit of being compostable. So with the flavour being so fantastic, it just made the most sense.

After trying their coffee, I’m so pleased that I’ve decided to subscribe. It’s nice to know that we’ll be kept well in coffee!

OnePlanet Pizzas

Leave a comment

So… Pizza. More specifically, vegan pizza.

OnePlanet Pizza are a vegan pizza company who do frozen vegan pizzas. Who doesn’t love the convenience of a frozen pizza when you just can’t be bothered to cook. I’ve tried one before that I bought from a local vegan shop and I enjoyed it.

You can order their pizzas online via their website and the more you buy, the more you save. So I bought 5 for £5.60 each. It is quite pricey for a frozen pizza, especially compared to some of the options that are available in our supermarkets these days such as the offerings from Chicago Town and Goodfellas.

I ordered 2 meatless pizzas, 2 chick’n and sweetcorn and 1 mushroom pizza, all with wholemeal bases.

They’re a reasonable size and the minimal packaging is really good to see. Ingredients and cooking instructions are all really clear on the packaging and it’s nice to see all the toppings so clearly.

The first pizza I tried with the chick’n and sweetcorn which I enjoyed. The fake chick’n wasn’t really like chicken but it was nice to have that meat replacement, and who doesn’t love sweetcorn. The vegan cheese is the show stopper in my opinion. It melts beautifully and tastes pretty good.

The second pizza I tried was the meatless pizza. I somehow managed to forget to take anymore pictures but it was fine. My only criticism is that the onion chunks were certainly prevalent and incredibly overwhelming in parts but it was still a decent pizza. I don’t think I’d order it again.

And finally, I had the mushroom pizza which I think was my favourite. Again, no pictures, but the delicious cheese and I am a huge fan of mushrooms so it was a big contributor to my love for it.

I was a big fan of the wholemeal base, and it was nice to have the option to choose from the wholemeal or their classic white base which you wouldn’t be able to do with store bought pizzas.

Overall, the pizzas were good. I wouldn’t be rushing to buy them again any time soon due to the price, but it’s nice to see convenient offerings from a vegan company who know the market and are trying to help the world and not just jump on the vegan bandwagon!

Make Up Revolution: The Mascara Revolution

1 Comment

I’m not one to switch up my make up too often as I know what I like and what gets me the look I normally like. I’ve been using the KVD Beauty Go Big Home or Go Home but at a pricey £20, I thought I’d switch it up.

I popped to my local Superdrug earlier last month where they had a 3 for 2 offer so what better opportunity to try out a new product?

Make Up Revolution are cruelty free and offer lots of vegan options so I took the plunge and spent the £8 of their Mascara Revolution.

The packaging is simple, yet appealing and bold with the rose gold and black. It’s quite a large tube. Similar to the large tube for the KVD Beauty mascara.

The brush is quite big with a curve in the middle mimicking an hourglass. I never really understood why mascara brushes were so different and what benefit they brought. I’m more of a dan of the standard shaped brushes.

The product sat a bit clumpy and thick on the brush, and with the curve in the middle, more of the product sat there. I wasn’t entirely filled with confidence when I saw it.

Left hand side with mascara on

Applying the product wasn’t an issue, even with the brush shape. And surprisingly, it applied very evenly across the lashes. It gave me a bit more volume and a little bit more length which is exactly what I wanted. My only criticism is that it did group my lashes more than I liked but for £12 less than my usual mascara, I can’t complain.

The mascara is a decent mascara for the price. Other online reviews don’t speak as positively about it as I do but I do think I’ll be sticking to my usual but it’s good to know there are other options out there.

Naturally Kind Food [2]

6 Comments

I wrote about Naturally Kind Food a few weeks ago after winning their cakes and I have seen their cake boxes with no-contact delivery plastered all over my social media, so I thought I’d treat myself.

I contacted NKF on Facebook to arrange a delivery date and payment. You are confined to the delivery dates available as they are running everything themselves from the baking of the cakes right through to the delivery service!

The box is £20 and filled with SO many goodies from different flavoured cakes, brownies, bars and tarts. And so instagrammable!

Tom and I have made our way through everything now and it was honestly so delicious. My personal favourites include:

  • Lotus Brownie
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Slice

I mean, it was all amazing to be honest with you but those 2 were particularly highlights.

There are so many treats in the box and it comes with a note which includes everything that is contained in the box and their ingredients. Not every box will be the same as it can change depending on what they bake but I can guarantee you that each one will be absolutely delicious.

We’ve even been lucky enough to receive a second box from Tom’s mum and dad as a treat! What I did spot was that some of the cakes were different so I’m really looking forward to trying those out.

I truly recommend taking a look at Naturally Kind Food if you’re in the South Wales area. The treats are absolutely delicious and it really brightens up my day. And for £20, who could possibly say no?!

Make sure you follow them on Facebook and Instagram too to get updates on any delivery areas and dates!

Umberto Giannini Flowerology Colour

Leave a comment

Not being able to leave the house had my roots in absolute chaos. I’d seen adverts on social media for Umberto Giannini’s Flowerology Colour range which is vegan and cruelty free. They have an equivalent Colour Care range too but I haven’t tried that.

Anyway… moving onto the product! I ordered 4 boxes of Dark Brown 3.0 as this was the darkest option available and the multi-buy was on offer. There are quite a few colour options available ranging from blonde and dark brown so make sure you take a look at the options!

My hair colour is very dark naturally so I needed it. My hair has been a shade of red for many years now so going dark was a bit of a change but I already feel so much better about my hair.

It is recommended that you do a patch test 48 hours before to ensure you don’t react to the product so make sure you do that! Application itself is just like any other box dye available on the shelves of supermarkets and beauty shops. my hair is quite long but 1 box was just about enough. After seeing the finished dye, I probably could have done with a little more product…! After leaving the dye on for 30 minutes, wash off and voila!

You can see the before and after results in the images above. I’m much happier with the darker hair and the results were decent for a box dye! The colour was exactly as I expected and it covered up my previous dye well. It’s a little patchy in places but that’s definitely a reflection of my self dying capabilities.

I think another round of colouring will sort out the patches so I’ll give it a few weeks to settle down before dying it again but I’m really pleased with the end result.

It’s quite difficult to find a vegan hair dye but Umberto Giannini are certified cruelty free and vegan meaning that their products do not contain any animal products nor are they tested on animals.

I would definitely check them out to see what they have to offer, and as I said, there are loads of other hair care products available to browse and shop so I would have a look. Based on their hair dye, you’re onto a winner!

OMG IT’S VEGAN

Leave a comment

I’m sure we’re all very familiar with Facebook and Instagram ads, but I came across an interesting one a few weeks ago for vegan sweets! As we’re in lockdown, I thought I would treat myself to my favourite fizzy sweets so thank goodness for OMG IT’S VEGAN.

I highly recommend a visit to their website to see their full range of sweets which is spectacular with so many different sweets in so many different sizes on offer.

I am a huge fan of fizzy sweets in particular so I treated myself to a 1kg bag of mixed fizzy sweets, a jar of apple sour belts and a jar of strawberry fizzy pencils.

The jars are so lovely. They’re a good size and currently on my home office desk for me to snack on during conference calls! I’ve barely made a dent in them so far.

The kilo bag of mixed sweets is incredible and I am so happy with the mix in them. They make for a great insta photo too.

My only criticism, of myself, is that I should have ordered the bigger bag!! There’s still plenty in the bag but I’m dreading how upset I’ll be when the bag runs out.

The service was great from start to finish. I got updated when my order was dispatched and very shortly after, it arrived! Regardless of this, with COVID19 still amongst us, we have to remember to be more understanding with our delivery services as they are doing their best.

Anyway, I’m so pleased with my OMG IT’S VEGAN order and I heartily recommend that you visit their website for some delicious treats.