Recipe: Quick Chicken Curry for One

This is a really quick dish that you can make for lunch, that doesnt require too much preparation or too many ingredients, but you end up with a nice big tasy bowl of sumthin! As explained in the serving size, it is a good meal for one, but you often end up with a fair bit of sauce leftover, so you can save some of the sauce to have later on a baked chicken breast or grilled lamb chop, or you can chuck it into any casserole or stew to add flavour.

Quick Chicken Curry for One (serves 1, with a little extra sauce)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
½ red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
Handful fresh coriander, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
1 chicken breast, diced into large chunks
1 tsp tomato paste
1 generous tbsp Balti curry paste
½ tin chopped tomatoes
200ml chicken stock
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the red onion, garlic and coriander in the rapeseed oil for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, tomato paste and curry paste, and cook for a further few minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook on a high heat for 20 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste, and serve with some extra chopped coriander on top!

Monday Meeting: The Rubbish Diet Challenge Wk 4

Welcome to Week 4 of The Rubbish Diet Challenge. I can't believe that already we're almost half-way through. In one way, it feels like a hard slog, but in other ways, the time's been whizzing along, and it will be Week 8 before we know it.

Sadly I didn't get a chance to publish the regular Friday Journal during Week 3, due to battling a cold and Wi-Fi failure, but did you spot the latest news from Sainsbury's?  In a bid to help reduce food waste, their new labelling will now advise customers that they can freeze products right up to the Use By date, replacing outdated advice which instructed households to freeze on day of purchase. That's great news and hopefully other supermarkets will follow and update their guidelines too.

By now, anyone taking part in The Rubbish Diet should have got to grips with their local recycling services, discovered the extra facilities that are available through local shops and have started thinking about what food waste really means to them.  New habits will be starting to fall into place and while these are put into practice, participants will be wondering what else they can possibly do, to cut down their landfill waste even further.

Well in the world of waste-busting antics, there's always that little something.


So are ready for Week 4?  If so, it's time to grab your Marigolds and get cracking.

Week 4 is all about domestic chores. Sorry. It's never been my highlight either. I'd much rather be creative around the house, having loads of fun rather than clearing it up.  But one has to be responsible and I soon realised that cleaning and clearing up needed my creativity too, especially  if I was going to commit to reducing my waste even further.  Some of the things I tested a few years ago fell by the wayside, but most of the changes have remained in place, saving bags full of waste and pockets full of cash, as you'll see from some of the mini-challenges that are set for this week.  More information and background material can be found in the online guide that accompanies the challenges detailed below.

1. Reduce the burden.  This week it's time to go through your kitchen cupboards and sort out the bad from the good.  Many cupboards will be bursting with cleaning products that have been bought as a result of impulse purchases, but end up sitting there gathering dust while households rely on a core number of products.  Recognise which ones work for you and promise not to succumb to temptation again. Promise to use up the spare products soon or give them away to friends or via Freecycle.  When buying cleaning products in future, look out for condensed products or consider using natural alternatives. These days, you can even buy microfibre cloths for many aspects of your household routine, which promise to scrub and buff up your surfaces without needing any chemicals at all.

2. Reuse all you can. Of course, this principle carries through the whole of The Rubbish Diet, but when it comes to cleaning and household chores, it is amazing how much waste can be reduced through replacing disposable and consumable products with reusable items. I used to spend a fortune on disposable wipes, paper towels and sponges until I switched to washable cleaning cloths and longer lasting washing up gear.  Equally, having switched to Eco-balls and more lately the Eco Egg, I have also saved hundreds of pounds on laundry powder, and this has helped slim our recycling bin too.  So, as you work through your household chores this week, think about changes that you could ease into your lifestyle and try giving them a go.

3.Recycle those empties.  Household cleaner or detergent bottles are now classed as one of the more widely-recyclable containers in the UK, which means they are collected by most local authorities. So, even if your council does not accept the wider variety of plastics, they may still collect these.  If you are not in the habit of recycling these bottles regularly and are still unsure if your local council takes them, you can check easily, by calling your local council or visiting the Recycle Now website.

4.Downsize your rubbish bin. If you've experienced a huge boon to your recycling activities since Week 1 along with a diminished amount of rubbish, it's time to celebrate by reorganising your bin bags! Not only will this provide you with a physical sense of achievement, but it also creates a physical reminder amongst your household to keep on going.  If your actual kitchen recycling bin is smaller than your rubbish bin, try switching them around and make more space for your recycling. Another technique that you can try is to remove the rubbish bins from everywhere else in the house, or particular rubbish hotspots e.g. the home office, bathrooms or bedrooms to ensure that everything is brought to the kitchen for sorting to disposal.  Some councils also allow you to swap your large wheelie bin for a smaller one, just like Terry-Anna, one of our bin-slimmers from Ipswich, discovered a few weeks ago.

And of course on the subject of our bin-slimmers, today's the day for catching up with how they are getting on with their individual missions. Most of them will still have another week to go until their rubbish gets collected so as the results come in throughout the day, please note that many of these will be interim figures.

1.  Terry-Anna.
Household: 2 adults, in Ipswich Borough, Suffolk. 
WK1 Weigh-in: 1.5 large bags, filling one third of a wheelie bin (fortnightly):  WK 4: 1/2 bag

2.  Ness.  @NessyThompson
Household: 2 adults & 5 children, a rural village in Mid Suffolk
WK1 Weigh-in:  2 full wheelie bins (fortnightly).  WK 4: 

3.  Donna.  @Donna_De
Household: 2 adults, in Tower Hamlets in London. www.beatinglimitations.com/blog
WK1 Weigh-in: 1 30L rubbish sack. (weekly).  WK 4:1 30L rubbish sack 2/3 full.

4. Amy. @AmyMarpman
Household: 2 adults in New York City.   www.beyondthebluebin.com
WK1 Weigh-in: 2 bin bags - estimated 9kg / 20lbs. (Weekly) WK 4: 2 bags (including one full of polystyrene), weighing 4.08kg/9lbs.

5: Kate. @BusinessPlumber
Household: 2 adults, in a rural village in Mid Suffolk : www.businessplumber.co.uk
WK1 Weigh-in: 1 unusually full wheelie bin - incl Christmas waste. (fortnightly): WK 4:

6: Jax. @LiveOtherwise
Household: 2 adults, 3 children & a baby on its way, in Suffolk Coast. http://liveotherwise.co.uk/makingitup/
WK1 Weigh-in: 7 small bin bags - filling one third or half of a wheelie bin (fortnightly). WK 4?

7.Melanie
Household: 2 adults, 2 children, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire
WK 1 Weigh-in:  3 large bin bags, almost filling a whole wheelie bin. (weekly).  WK 4 1 bag

8.Tim @Dotterel
Household: 2 adults, 3 children, Lincolnshire.  www.bringingupcharlie.co.uk
WK 1 Weigh-in: 1 full wheelie bin (fortnightly). WK4: 2 small bags, with another week to go until collection.

Don't forget, just because the Rubbish Diet challenge is already in WK 4, it doesn't mean that you can't join in.  Just visit the online guide to catch up with everything you need to do.  There's also lots happening on Twitter too, so to join in the conversation just use the hashtag #therubbishdiet, or tweet @karencannard.

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Beauty Tips To Sexier Eyebrows

Beauty Tips for Marvelous Eyebrows

Attracting Eyes! This definitely gives the beauty and prettiness for your face. By means of all of the different face shapes that tell how to style your brows can be puzzling, so it is the paramount manner to discover a professional to shape them for you.  Observe and go behind the information’s that are given beneath:

• First you want to conform the shape of your brows, which apt for your face
• Exactly your eyebrows must initiate straightforwardly above your nostril and it must be end at an angle out from your nostril and arch directly above the outer iris of your eye.
• For ever and a day maintain them trimmed and well sustained.
• Tweeze them day after day or include them waxed regarding every three weeks.
• Utilize a brow powder or quality pencil to remain them filled in and looking shapely.
• Utilize a colored brow sealer to envelop up gray hairs.
• Utilize a obvious sealer to maintain curly brow hairs in place.
• Don’t acquire your eyebrows waxed for at least 24 to 48 hours after tanning.
• Don’t acquire your eyebrows waxed if your face is tanned.
• Prior to receiving your eyebrows waxed, check with your physician if you are taking any oral or topical a skin condition medication, as skin may peel.

Recipe: Spicy Bean and Watercress Soup

So I still had another pack of watercress in the fridge that had been in there for aaages and it had to be used up, so I thought I would make another soup again. I have got such a bad cold at the moment, just sniffling and sneezing all over the place, so I thought I would make something a little spicier than i normally would too, so that I could actually taste it properly! However, i felt like i didn't want to make the traditional milky/potato-ey watercress soup, so i decided to be a little experimental and just chuck in loads of bits and bobs from the fridges/ cupboards that needed using up. It turned out to be absolutely delicious, and Nick loved it too (and was surprized by how spicy it was as well!). It is important you try and pick pretty much all the stalks off the watercress- because you want it to wilt in the soup just like baby spinach would- takes about 15-20mins to trim but it's worth it, you can just do it during stage 2 whilst the soup is bubbling on the stove. You can also blend all of the soup if you want it smooth, but this time I wanted a bit of texture.

Spicy Mexican Bean and Watercress Soup (serves 3)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium white onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sundried tomato pesto
100g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 medium potatoes, diced
1 tsp cumin
Small handful fresh coriander, chopped finely
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
1 x 215g tin Discovery Mexican Spicy refried beans
75g watercress, trimmed of all stalks
Salt and pepper to taste
Philadelphia or sour cream for garnish (optional)

1. Sautee the onion, celery and garlic with the butter and oil in a pan for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pesto, tinned tomatoes, potatoes, cumin and coriander, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the stock and sugar, bring to the boil, and cook on a medium/high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the refried beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Add the trimmed watercress, and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste, and blend 3 large landlefuls of the soup in a blender (about a third). Return the blended soup to the pan, stir, season to taste, and bring back to the heat. Serve, each bowl garnished with a tsp of Philadelphia or sour cream if you like.

Beauty tips for Teenage Girls

Beauty Tips:

It’s Correct! Naturally all girls are beautiful and cute. It is the endowment of the God to girls. Each and every girl, all over the world, will take effort to spend lot of money to maintain their beauty. In particular teenage girls are spending more effort and money for make-up. At the same time, they are collecting so many tips to sustain their beauty. Read out the most up-to-date and priceless beauty tips for teenage girls:

 

Obtain Special Care Of Your Skin

No matter how greatly makeup you put on. Your skin may seem to be bad if you don't take care of it suitably. Formulate certain methods to clean your face at night with cleanser to eradicate the oil and dirt from your skin. Also moisturize your skin subsequent to wash it to keep it soft and supple.

Don't exceed Your Makeup

Many teen girls don't appreciate that less is more when it comes to wearing makeup. As an alternative of buttress on eye shadow and blush, keep it simple. Even out your skin tone with highlighted moisturizer and add pink blush to the apples of your cheeks. Make your eyes stand out with gold eye shadow and a combine of coats of black mascara. Concern light pink or nude lip gloss to your lips and you are all set to go.

Keep Your Hair Moisturized and Healthy

One of the most significant beauty tips a teen girl must know is to keep the hair moisturized and vigorous. To realize this, you should get your hair trimmed each two months and keep the heat styling to a smallest amount. If your hair is feeling dry and damaged, regard as deep-conditioning your hair on one occasion a week. Fortunately you don't encompass to spend money on an expensive deep conditioner if you have olive oil accessible. Warm up 1/4 cup of olive oil in the microwave for 30 seconds and concern the treatment to your hair. Abscond the olive oil in your hair for 30 minutes and dip it out with shampoo.

Published: Take a Break My Favourite Recipes Magazine

Hey guys. You know i mentioned a couple of months back about the fact that i might be published in this magazine?? Well, i have been, twice now infact, and have now become a regular contributor! Well, i have at least been published in the past two issues, and know for a fact that i will be published in at least the next two issues, so that all sounds very positive to me. This is a national magazine as well so this is very good news.

Take a Break's My Favourite Recipe magazine is a little recipe magazine, that uses only readers recipes- no professional chefs. Also, for every recipe you get published, you are paid £25, and every "cook's tip" you get published, you are paid £5. I have got my Black bean chilli, Red onion, goats cheese and red pepper tart (they named it "Cheesy Tart"- lol) and my Chickpea and Mushroom rissoles published so far, as well as one of my cook's tips. I also won a £50 prize from them early on when i joined their facebook page, and also have a cookbook on the way as well! It works out as £130 + a cookbook so far, not bad earnings ey??? Plus every issue, if you are published you get the chance to win £500 as well, but i'll never win that one though because it's one of those voting things- its not about how nice your recipe is, just how many of your mates can be bothered to vote for you.

I'll be giving you a shout once i've had a few more recipes published in this mag- this is brilliant publicity for me as a food writer!

Meet the bin slimmers from Suffolk

Every week, I like to find out more about the households that have taken on the Rubbish Diet Challenge and who have allowed me to have a physical or virtual rummage through their bins.  And this week, we're back in my own county of Suffolk to catch up with a couple of bin slimmers, Kate who lives in one of Mid Suffolk's pretty villages and Jax who lives over on the coast.

Meet Kate

Kate lives with her husband in Mid Suffolk, just a few miles away from Ness, who was featured on the blog a couple of weeks ago.  I had the pleasure of visiting her quite recently, where she was brave enough for me to rescue a few things from her kitchen bin.

Kate has been making great progress on slimming her bin over the last few weeks (just two and a half bags this fortnight), and I wanted to find out what were and still are her key challenges. She admits, like anyone trying to reduce their household waste, that it's in changing her habits.

Never having given great thought previously to what she threw where, her Rubbish Diet has prompted Kate to look at the new recycling facilities that are available locally. Having realised she can recycle a lot more than she'd thought, she is now focusing on trying to introduce new habits.

It is interesting what comes up during such discussions and Kate has revealed that parking issues at her usual recycling site have, in the past, made her lose patience to the point that she's previously bunged stuff in the landfill bin rather than face driving there. However, she's now keen to try out the Bury St Edmunds site, which is about the same distance away, as well as local supermarket recycling areas, which she knows are much more than just bottle banks these days.

Kate also recognises that since most of her household waste comes from ordinary domestic groceries, she's going to try to stop and think before she buys, to reduce packaging in absolute terms, and to ensure what she buys can be recycled.  And thanks to the wide range of plastics recycling available in Suffolk, that means she will be able to recycle a heck of a lot.

More information about Kate's progress can be found on her blog www.businessplumber.co.uk and via Twitter where she tweets as BusinessPlumber and SaffronKate.


Meet Jax

Jax lives with her partner and their growing family in one of Suffolk's large towns in the Suffolk Coastal district.  For a household with three children, aged 12, 8, and 2, and another baby due in March, her rubbish (filling half a wheelie-bin every fortnight) isn't really excessive, but she knows there are other ways to reduce it down. 

For Jax, the hitlist mainly includes recycling Tetra Paks, (for which she's currently hunting down her local recycling point), reducing packaging where possible, and replacing her daughter's night-time disposable nappy with washable alternatives.

With the news that most film packaging and hard plastics can be recycled at our county's Household Waste Recycling Centres, Jax's bin should be well on the way to slimming down over the coming weeks.  She's also planning to test out the Bambino MioSolo nappy so hopefully that will make a difference too.  And with a supply of other regular reusable nappies to hand, when the new baby arrives sometime around Mid March, this shouldn't have a major impact on the household bin.

It will be interesting to see whether the new arrival will decide to make an appearance during the challenge's Zero Waste Week in week 8. If so, we might all have to down tools and celebrate.

Follow Jax over on her blog at LiveOtherwise and she can also be reached at Twitter under the same name @LiveOtherwise.