How to throw the perfect spring picnic.

Hey readers, 

The best in everyone is brought out by picnics, for some reason. It's challenging to beat the combination of delicious cuisine, clean air, and enjoyable company. You can have the ideal spring picnic if you prepare in advance and keep things straightforward.

So below are things to consider to throw a perfect spring picnic. 

 1. Location.

 The most crucial factor is where you will have your picnic. Both the outfit and the food will benefit from being informed. For example, if you have to walk to the venue, you can't serve an expensive spread or wear wedges and a sundress.

2. Time. 

Plan the picnic so there will be adequate daylight for eating and engaging in activities. You can choose any time you like for the picnic to begin if it is on a Saturday. 

On Sundays, many individuals don't have to get up early for work, so none of your guests will feel rushed. 

If you choose to have the picnic on Sunday, I advise planning to have your guests arrive around 11 o'clock. This will give you the rest of the afternoon to eat and participate in outdoor activities.

3. Packing your hamper. 

Carefully select your equipment because a leaky cool box is the worst. Make sure your Tupperware is tightly closed before you leave, and place any particularly fragrant goods in a plastic bag. 

A cool box is  

 helpful for keeping your picnic supplies chilled on a hot summer day.

For young children, plastic bottles or cups work best to prevent breakages. If you're bringing wine glasses for adults, think about getting a small tray so they can rest there while you pour and in between sips. 

If you're tasting wine that has been cork-sealed, don't forget the bottle opener!

4. Plan for activities.

Make plans for your day. A picnic frequently involves more than just food. Check out the local events to determine what to bring. 

Bring fun athletic gear, such as a soccer ball or Frisbees, if the park lacks a playground.

Another option is to bring a board game that is enjoyable to play outside, like Twister.

If you're in a natural preserve, consider hiking to a picnic area!

5. The menu. 

Everyone attends a picnic solely for the food. Yet, your menu of delectable dishes needs to be filling and delicious. 

The fantastic company, fun, and games are just as welcome.

In most situations, everyone pitches in to make the food available. Still, you should be aware of any vegetarians, vegans, or those with allergies or intolerances attending your picnic. 

To avoid cross-contamination, you'll need to keep some items separate and use different utensils.

Sandwiches, munchies, and cake would make up the classic picnic meal; there is nothing wrong with this formula other than the fact that it has been used before. How to spruce up the typical picnic cuisine is as follows:

SANDWICHES.

Choose sandwich fillings that won’t leave the bread soggy and cut sandwiches into tiny, delicate fingers. 

Arrange in separate containers to stop delicate flavours from being overshadowed by more robust ones.

Choose a quality bread or roll for your sandwiches, as the flavour will make all the difference. Whatever you choose, and no matter how you choose to serve them, ensure they are a picnic-friendly size.

Sumptuous sandwich fillings include:

Turkey with brie – serve cranberry sauce on the side.

Strong cheese – grate it and serve with artisan condiments such as chilli jam or pickle.

Tuna with spring onion – a delectable combination; add a hint of mayonnaise for moistness.

Jackfruit and BBQ sauce – shred the jackfruit as you would pork and add BBQ sauce, a delicious vegan-friendly sandwich.

SNACKS.

With sandwiches made and ready, the next thing you’ll need to think about is savoury snacks that complement the flavours of your sandwiches.

There are so many ideas it’s hard to know where to start:

Devilled eggs – these take the humble boiled egg to new heights.

 Hard boil eggs, and when cold, halve them, scooping out the yoke.

 Mix the yolk with a teaspoon of mayonnaise and flavourings such as mustard, a hint of chilli or a dash of Tabasco. 

Load the yolk paste back into the white egg case and garnish with snipped chives or a dusting of paprika. 

Transport in a sealed container, placing each egg half in a paper bun case.

Crudites and hummus – A delicious dip with some healthy chopped veggies to dip in is fantastic for long summer days and takes seconds to make with this handy dicer (chop chop!)

Pulse salads – ditch the iceberg lettuce for a salad with a sturdier base, such as a vegetable of a grain. 

Couscous is simply crying out for flavour, and don’t forget the humble cooked pasta is excellent served with watercress, chopped tomatoes and other summer veggies and fruits. You can even chop and serve in the same bowl with this useful Nicer Dicer Set.

Pastry parcels – fry off your favourite mix of veg, season well and pile into filo pastry cases. 

Bake in a moderate oven and well excellent; slip into your picnic hamper. You can add chicken or turkey to these parcels too. 

In fact, you can get as inventive as you like with 

the fillings – why not try cooked beef with stilton, for example, or ham with peas in a light cheese sauce stuffed inside a pastry case.

Nuts – potato crisps are all well and good, but they can feel a bit samey after a while. Nuts (and seeds like pumpkin) make a great alternative when you need something savoury to nibble on.

DESSERT.

There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy a sweet treat at a picnic. From cake to full-on desserts like cheesecake, there are ideas galore.

Cupcakes – a great idea for picnics; cupcakes can be stashed away in plastic containers and then passed around your assembled picnickers.

Victoria sponge – sometimes, the wheel doesn’t need re-inventing, and if there was ever a cake that looks at home at a picnic, it is a sumptuous Victoria sponge. 

Add extra decadence with a layer of whipped cream and jam.

Scones – another old favourite that never goes out of fashion, the humble fruit scone with jam & cream (or is it cream & jam?) will also be welcome sweet fare at your picnic.

Cheers for reading X 

LowPriceFoods.com review.

Hey readers, 

With the cost of living affecting our income, we are trying to find ways to save money. One way to cut down on food costs is to buy food that has a best-before date.

 The best before date, sometimes shown as BBE (best before the end), is about quality and not safety. After the best-before date listed on a product, the food will be safe to eat but may not be at its best. Best-before dates appear on a wide range of foods 

including:

* Frozen foods (such as peas, chips and ice cream).

* Dried foods (such as pasta and rice).

* Tinned foods (such as baked beans and canned tomatoes)

cheese.

The best-before date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the packaging.

There are a few websites that offer best-before food at low costs prices so you save money and also reduce food waste so it is a win-win situation all around. 

One of the websites that cater for this is called Lowpricefoods.com which specialises in bulk food short dates food, snacks, confectionary and drinks. 

You can make a saving of 70% off supermarket prices and there are regular bargains to be found each week. 

I have also previously done a review of an alternative low coast food website called Best before its gone so do check that blog post out as well. 

What I received. 

2 X Cadbury double decker chocolate bars RRP £4.50 I paid £2.50 for 3 packs. 

12 x Jacobs baked crinkly variety packs 2 packs RRP £3.00 I paid £2.25.

Lily O'Brien's petit desserts chocolate collections RRP £8.00 I paid £3.95. 

2 packs of Seabrook loaded rings zingy prawn cocktails RRP £3.58 I paid £1.95. 

4 packs of M&S Collection turkey feast crisps share bags RRP £5.95 I paid £2.50. 

1kg Luxury chocolate broken biscuit assortment RRP £5.95 I paid £3.95.

 

3 x Monty Bojangles cocoa dusted truffle boxes RRP £8.99 I paid 2.50. 

In total if I had brought the items at the original cost I would have had to pay £39.97. 

However, with the reduced price due to best before the date, it cost me £19.60 giving me a saving of.

The shipping cost me £4.45. I had a discount code "RA50" which gives you £2.50 (double check if you are using this as it might not be valid. 

If not then just google Low Price Foods discount codes as there are regular ones to be found on the internet. 

Overall I think it is a good way to save some money on food and snacks. It is also good to help reduce food waste. I found the delivery was about 8 days with Evri delivery service.

 I had no problems with delivery as I had an order number and got notifications when my order was out on delivery.

My Package was well secured with cardboard boxes and within the boxes were smaller cardboard boxes that protected the food items to protect the goods such as crisps and biscuits. 

The food was absolutely fine for all my family, and the crisps weren't as crisp but that was fine I didn't expect that as they had a short life but they still were enjoyable.

 I can't complain, they were good bargains and definitely be making another order in the future as it is a great way to save some money in my grocery shop. 

Have you tried Lowpricefoods.com? love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X

10 reasons why i love carbs

Hey readers,

Is it just me or over recent years carbohydrates are frowned upon. In some cases, some people even fear them due to this myth that carbs make you put on at least 3 stone if you dare eat a portion of mashed potato or a bowl of pasta.

So, instead of fearing carbs in this post I am going to tell you reasons why you need carbs in your life. I have selected my top 10 reasons why I love carbs.

1. Exercise

 Carbohydrates are good because they provide energy which is fantastic especially if you want to do exercise. 

Nothing is worse when you have a plummet in low energy. I for one have experienced this and it has led actually to me to binge eat which then turns into a cycle of self-sabotage.

2.  Delicious.

I eat carbohydrate because of the simple fact that they are delicious. I think is whenever it comes to food is moderation is must and it is ok to have carbs as part of a healthy diet.

3. Lose Weight. 

 It is funny because actually, carbs can help you lose weight if you eat the right carbs correctly such as brown bread, pasta, and bread along with vegetables and nuts.

4. Full up.

 Carbohydrates fill you up and leave you filling fuller for longer.

5. Type 2 Diabetes. 

Carbohydrates control your blood sugar level and help reduce the risk of getting type 2 diabetes therefore even more reason to tuck into them and enjoy. 

6. Diet. 

 I have in the past tried out the Atkins diet but in all honesty, it made me feel super miserable. I  just love carbs and what is even better is carbs makes me feel so good. So, now I am not going to sacrifice them to lose a few pounds. I would rather be fat and happy any day of the week. 

7. Versatile. 

 Carbs are so versatile that you can fry them, boil mash, grill and even oven cook them. This makes cooking with carbs so appealing to use them when adding to meals to make them interesting. 

8. Brain Fuel. 

Carbs provide fuel and brain power so key to helping if your studying and need help to working out information out.

9.  Full up. 

Carbs name your belly feel happy as they provide fibre which helps keep the bowels moving and lower the chances of constipation. The focus should be on using wholemeal grains as they have the best qualities in the food and better for your digestive health. 

10.  Vitamins. 

Wholegrain carbs provide vitamins such as vitamin B and iron which helps with keeping the blood flowing around in your body. Also, carbs help with keeping your immune system strong therefore fighting off any germs and keeping your body healthy.

Do you love carbs?  Or are you scared to even look at them? Love to hear your thoughts below.

Cheers for reading X

Review of the Biscuit Baron *AD*

Hey readers,

ADVERTORIAL.

There are so many different subscriptions to chose from if want to see something exciting in the post every month. However, have you heard of The Biscuit Baron, well if not let me tell you it is something little bit different.

The biscuit Baron is a subscription box that provides biscuits from different countries every month. The company knows that biscuits are a love for British people and they want to explore further with how different countries like their biscuits.

What does the subscription box contain?

* 5-8 full-size packets of biscuits (with one savoury option included).

* A score chart to rate each biscuit on a scale from 1-10, a great activity to do with family or friends.

* A fact sheet with information from the country and a little bit of history.

Pricing.

There are several opinions you can just from a one-off plan with no renewal to 1,3,6 or 12-month subscription plan. Subscription boxes start from £15 per box, coming down to £13.33 for long-term plans and that includes the delivery in that price as well.

My verdict.

At first, I thought it was a bit expensive but then I thought of other subscription boxes and what you get in them (some of the miniature items) this was good value. I received five items and them full size as well so I thought it was a great way to try out new foods from different countries with a twist.

I like the fact that you get some new information from the country and I really had great fun scoring the biscuits on the chart with the family.

I liked the different varieties so you got a mix including savoury. My children got to try something new and learn something about the country of Italia.

They would make a fun Christmas present and something different for someone to try.

This is what the box looks like with all the items included in the Italian box.

Ringo Cookies.

A cookie that is a two-toned biscuit with a creamy filling that is packed full of energy but not too heavy. Brilliant texture for dunking and would make a great afternoon snack after school.

 

Testing out the duckability and get 100% Perfetto!

Tenerezze.

I think these biscuits were popular, the taste was beautiful with the lemon flavour and the texture was soft and crumbly, beautiful!

Biscuit galore!

Pan Di Stelle.

These biscuits are a cute design. Pan Di Stelle translates to Starry Bread. They go really well with a glass of milk because they taste of cocoa and hazelnut and a chocolate pastry.

Milllefoglie.

Millefoglie is a multilayered pastry with a sweet topping, funny enough it works really well dunking in a glass of milk and when dunked keeps the firmness without breaking apart.

Taralli Pizza Style.

These are the savoury item. They are small ring-shaped products with twisted ends typical for the southern regions.

 They had a lovely herby flavour though for me personally a bit too salty for my tastes. That being said my boys absolutely loved them.

Amaretti.

These biscuits are beautiful in flavour with the almond and have a lovely firm texture to them. They go perfectly with a perfect with a coffee.

Finally here is what the rating card for the biscuits below.

Cheers for reading X

I have gifted a subscription box in exchange for a review. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own

My Sunday Photo 08/07/2018