I'VE MOVED!

Hello!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for everyone's amazing support of me writing this blog. I've enjoyed writing it so so much and have learnt a lot too. Since doing some work experience in London, I came up a new and even more exciting idea that I hope you will love too. As you know, I'm a student in Bristol and passionate about restaurants and food, so I have decided to set up an online magazine called...

T I M E  T O  B R I S T O L. 

Please visit: www.timetobristol.com 

Twitter: @TimeToBristol

The idea behind the magazine is to create a place that gives Bristolians and visitors, inspiration and ideas about things to try and experience in Bristol and beyond. I find many websites that give advice on things to do and places to visit in Bristol contain too much information and so are extremely time consuming to visit. Time To Bristol is for when time is short and you want to be told of a good place to eat or something fun to do in a short and concise way.  You may not always agree with my advice, but it will be from my personal experience and I shall only give my honest opinion.

If you want focused advice on great restaurants, places to drink and new things to experience in Bristol, then this is the site for you. And what's more, the magazine isn't just limited to Bristol. In the EXPLORE section, I will primarily be looking at places to eat and drink in LONDON.

Time To Bristol will be 80% food based with every café/restaurant hand picked by myself, so that you can visit the very best that Bristol has to offer. The aim is to save you time, trawling through numerous 'average' and 'poor' reviews as these places simply wont make the cut! On every restaurant review there is also a TIME TO eat section so that the indecisive types among you can simply follow my advice! 

I hope you will enjoy reading Time To Bristol and I would love to hear your opinions on the new website. 

Thank you, 

Amelia x

Gym - 10th August

Interval workout:

Treadmill

15 minutes interval running - 3mins speed 10, 2mins speed 13.5 - repeat

5 minute rest

15 minutes interval running again - same as above.

Spinning

35 minute interval spinning - 'hard' level. 20.6K. 

Weights

All 3 sets, 10 reps

- leg press - bicep curls - weighted arm abduction and adductions

Coconut Energy Balls

When I was shopping in Whole Foods Market,  a company called Bounce Energy Balls were promoting their energising balls. I tasted two varieties of their balls and to my surprise, my friend and I didn't enjoy them at all. Although they were flavoursome, they tasted quite dry and were seriously overpriced at £19.45 for a pack of 12 or £1.49 each, which seems ridiculous given their size and not certainly not a price a penniless student will be willing to pay! I wanted to experiment by making my own energy balls. They're simply delicious and because they're homemade you know exactly what you're putting in them. I made them as a sweet, healthy snack or as a pre-workout energy booster. I let my grandmother try one and I've literally had to hide them at the top of the fridge to stop her from scoffing the lot! They really are that good. The best part is that once they've set, you can keep them in the fridge to have whenever you want and they should keep for up to three weeks.

Makes 12 balls

8 medjool dates

1 tbsp of coconut oil 

3 heaped tbsp of desiccated coconut

2 tbsp of chai seeds

2 tbsp of milled flaxseeds

1 tbsp of almond butter (or peanut butter)

1/2 a cup of nut, fruit and seed mix (or almonds/any nutty mix)

Method

- Ensure the medjool dates are pitted.

- First, blend the nut, fruit and seed mix (or almonds) in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until sticky and smooth.

- Roll up 12 balls, place onto a plate and freeze for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and store in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

Bone Daddies - Review

My rating out of 5: 5

The best ramen in London. Goodbye Wagamama and hello Bone Daddies. For me, there is always a mental foody benchmark with which other versions are compared.  Burgers are either better or worse than McDonalds. Pizzas are in competition with Pizza Express and the humble sandwich either falls short of or exceeds the Pret Normal. Ramen for me has to exceed the student holy grail named Wagamama, that place where your treated like school children and forced to sit on a long bench packed with strangers. That place where they scribble your order onto your placemat incase you change your mind when it arrives and where "your food could come at different times because it cooks at different speeds." We know food cooks at different speeds, so why not do what most restaurants do and devise ingenious strategies for coping with this small issue?!

Soft Shell Crab with Chilli Ginger Sauce

Thankfully, Bone Daddies has got it all right. It's officially my go-to place with a group of friends when we're walking around Soho and want a guaranteed delicious, fulfilling and all round great place to eat. Situated on 31 St Peter Street, you'll see a black fabric covered entrance which sometimes has a long queue outside, full of hungry diners awaiting their ramen feast. Upon entrance, you're greeted by a friendly, outgoing member of the waiter staff who will see you to your seat straight away. Amongst the loud music, the atmosphere is buzzing with young, enthusiastic people passionate about great food. The attention to detail is fabulous; on the table, you're presented with a white, plastic Bone Daddies bib for the messy pups among us. What makes me laugh every time are the black hair ties presented in a little glass jar, so the ladies can release their inner cavewoman and not worry about getting their hair being covered in the delicious ramen juices. 

First things first, drinks! The drinks menu is fantastic ranging from soft drinks to 'hard' cocktails and 'harder' spirits. I've never been disappointed with the drinks so will recommend the ones I've tried before as I simply can not choose the best. I've had the delicious mango and passionfruit Chuhai 2.0 cocktail (£8.20), the Tokyo Mule which contains rum, yuzu, shochu, ginger beer and bitters (£8.50) and the Prosecco Brut Zonin (£5 a glass) - not all in one sitting mind! But chose what you fancy as you really can't go wrong. I would say not to order the green tea however because at £3, it isn't worth it and you may as well spent another couple of pounds on something more special. 

Let's move onto the starters or so-called 'snacks'. I'm going to recommend three of my favourite snack dishes which are great for sharing. The soft shell crab served with a green chilli ginger sauce (£8.50), the gorgeous tenderstem broccoli with yuzu kosho mayo (£4.50) and finally the sweet spicy pig bones (£8) which is my friends and my personal favourite and can be found on the specials menu on the wall. 

Sweet Spicy Pig Bones

OK, ramen time! Now, I am a massive chicken lover and the first time I came to this ramen bar, I had the Tantanmen 2 which was very delicious, but having tried a couple of the pork dishes, I really do believe they're the ones to get. I am yet to try the seafood Kimchee ramen, but every time I've had the perfectly tender pork it's been fantastic. The noodles are hands down the best I've ever tasted and the flavours are clean and punchy served with an abundance of energy. No matter how many times I've said to my friends 'you'll have to help me finish this,' I always manage to finish it with absolutely no help at all. It's just too good! The only disappointment about this bar is the confusing opening and closing times:

Mon 12pm-3pm & 5.30pm-10pm
Tues & Weds 12pm-3pm & 5.30pm-11pm
Thurs, Fri & Sat 12pm-12am
Sun 12pm-9.30pm

You can understand my confusion when I went with a couple of girl friends on a Monday evening and by 10pm, the lights were on, the bill was on our table and we were given all the signals possible to politely ask us to leave. I guess it's my fault for not looking at the closing times beforehand but either way, the waiting staff were very up beat and happy to have us and a few more diners, even though we overstayed our welcome by 30 minutes (sorry!). All in all, Bone Daddies is a fantastic place to eat. The waiting staff are fun and efficient, the atmosphere it buzzing and the ramen is the best you'll find with a price that won't give you a minor heart attack when the bill arrives to the table. No doubt I'll be back again very soon!

Bone Daddies: 31 Peter St, London W1F 0AR

The Good Life Eatery - Review

My rating out of 5: 4.5

I think it's safe to say that this new healthy eating craze has hit London hard. It's not uncommon to be confronted by a paparazzi shot of a trendy celeb sipping from the straw of an ultra green hulk-like coloured smoothie as they walk to the gym. Just a quick trip to M&S will further this newfound health craze where you can easily grab a bag of salt and pepper kale or vinaigrette and beetroot crisps. Am I complaining? Absolutely not, I love it! Forget about Crocs and UGG boots, this is the best trend that has hit the UK in a very long time.

 Situated on 59 Sloane Avenue, The Good Life Eatery is a little gem bursting full of health and happiness. After walking through the tiny entrance, you're instantly hit by the overwhelming popularity of the place. This little eatery is buzzing with young energy and enthusiasm about all things healthy. Everywhere you look, there are beautiful, young (monied) ladies filling up the limited 25 seats, having their weekly gossip or planning which exotic holiday they intend to experience next. Funnily enough, on the table next to me, there sat a well dressed French male catching up with a slender American lady who (of course) came with her overly spoilt precious pooch which sat quietly beneath the table.

Entering the café, it wasn't clear at all if you're meant to find your own table, order your own food straight away or whether someone is meant to come to you. This was a little confusing at first, but in no way spoilt our overall experience of the eatery. Yet, for future reference, do try and find your own seat, go up to the till and see the menu to order your food and drinks. 

The sense of 'organicness' runs throughout this café. From the earthly wooden entrance sign, to the nutshell interior with exposed brick walls, ricketty wooden tables and metal stools. This organic feel is accomplished terrifically and is only the tip of the iceberg of what this eatery has to offer. Now onto the important bit - the food and drinks.

It serves delicious food which leaves you filling perfectly satisfied, guilt-free and not bloated. The lunch menu is scribbled in a school-like manner on a blackboard behind the counter and consists of a mixture of salads, sandwiches and smaller plates such as avocado chilli toast.  The salad prices range from £10.50-£11.25 and the sandwiches from £7.10-£9.00 (plus a little more £'s for optional 'extra protein.')My friend Annabel and myself wanted to have a protein shake and a lighter dish for lunch and trust me, it was incredibly fulfilling. I had the beautiful sweet potato and dukkah dip (£3.75) with spelt crispbread and Annabel had the avocado chilli (wheat free) toast (£5.50). Both were absolutely delicious, the generous serving of sweet potato dip was seductively smooth with a hint of spice and worked terrifically with the crunchy crispbread pieces. I would have preferred it being served warm rather than fridge cool, but that's just me being picky! Annabel's avocado dish both looked and tasted amazing. The avocado was the perfectly ripe and the eatery was not stingy on its portion sizes.  I recommend that if you visit this eatery, you can not leave without trying one of their raw pressed juices or superfood protein shakes. At £6.55 each, they aren't cheap but they're totally worth it! If you're the tropical type, why not try the Coco Verde or the Pineapple Immunity pressed juice but if you're into the green health kick, the Drink Your Salad looks like the juice to get. However, the crème de la crème was the superfood protein shakes. There are four mouth-watering shakes to choose from and each one is contains 15g of protein powder plus the added protein from the nutritious ingredients. I have listed below the shakes so that you can have an idea of their incredible nutritious qualities.

Incredible Hulk

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Wheatgrass, Spirulina, Raw Almonds, Coconut milk, Pineapple, Banana, Madagascar vanilla, Fresh Basil GF/DF

Berry Sunrise

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Blackberry, Blueberry, Banana, Almond, Milk, Raw Almonds, Honey GF/DF *high in anti-oxidants*

Choc Norris

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Almond/Hazelnut Milk, Avocado, Cacao, Cacao Nibs, Maca Powder, Banana GF/DF

Ninja Turtle

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Kale, Spinach, Coriander, Avocado, Cucumber, Ginger, Vanilla, Lime, Almond Milk, Chia Seeds GF/DF/SF

It was not an easy decision, but I had the Choc Norris after a recommendation from a regular standing in the queue. Annabel had the gorgeous Berry Sunrise. Both smoothies were absolutely delicious and really did keep us full throughout the afternoon. When (not if) I go again, I think I'll give the Incredible Hulk a try as that was another recommendation and one of their most popular shakes. 

All in all The Good Life Eatery is a fantastic place to visit for that on-the-go smoothie/juice or a fantastic health kick lunch. The eatery closes at 8pm on weekdays so if you're wanting to visit for dinner, then go at at least 6:30/7 to avoid disappointment. The lack in space and confusion of what to do upon arrival was the only reason for my 0.5 rating drop, but given it's popularity, no doubt it'll be upscaling or have some new larger eateries popping up some time in the near future. I simply can not wait to visit again.

2-in-1 Banana Breakfast

Ever feel like indulging upon a kingly guilt-free breakfast but simply don't have more than 20 minutes until you have to leave before the rush hour traffic or to that 9am lecture? Then this is the breakfast for you. The amazing thing about this breakfast is that you can use the same mixture for both the smoothie and pancakes! There's no need to worry about eating raw eggs in the smoothie because it's egg free and therefore vegan too.

 I love this breakfast because you can eat the pancakes with your friends or the family at the table then put the smoothie in a jam jar or sealed bottle to enjoy on-the-go. It will make all your work collegues or fellow students jealous, guaranteed. I really don't think anyone needs to worry about 'over eating' at breakfast because considering you're eating the right things, it's the only time of the day when you're allowed to eat like a king!

In my recent chai seed pudding post, I raved about the amazing properties of chai seeds, so guess what features in these beautiful breakfast? You guessed it - chai seeds. There is nothing different between the ingredients in the two mixtures apart from a little added dash of milk or water in the smoothie mixture to make it more drinkable. This breakfast truly is delicious and really worth giving a go! 

Makes 4 pancakes & 1 smoothie (serves 1 king) 

1 1/2 frozen bananas 

1/2 cup of rolled oats 

2 dessert spoons of chai seeds 

2 dessert spoons of milled flaxseed 

1/2 cup of water 

2 dessert spoons of natural yoghurt

1 tsp of cinnamon 

4 prunes 

a knob of butter or coconut oil to grease the pan

1 dessert spoon of pure maple syrup (smoothie addition) 

1/4 cup/a dash of water or milk (smoothie addition)

Method 

- Simply put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. 

- For the pancakes, put a large pan over high heat and add the butter or coconut oil to grease the pan. Turn down the temperature to a medium heat and add the mixture to the pan forming 4 pancake shapes using a dessert spoon. You may have to do this in two batches. 

- Flip after 1:30-2 minutes or until the side is golden and cooked. Turn off the heat and layer the pancakes with a fruit if your desired choice and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon or chai seeds (or both!). 

- Using the left over mixture, add the extra dash of water and some maple syrup of you have a sweet tooth! If you like your smoothies thick, then don't worry about the water addition. Pour the smoothie mixture into a drinks container of yor choice and sip away!

Enjoy!

Gym - 6th August

So, I've been doing long runs to keep my cardiovascular endurance up for a while now and I think it's about time for a change. I'm starting to incorporate interval training into my workouts. Interval training involves short bursts of intense exercise, with recovery periods in between. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an extremely effective form of exercise that makes your body work hard and burns calories quick. In fact, researchers at the McMaster University in Canada found that three 20 minute sessions of HIIT a week provided the same benefits as 10 hours of steady exercise over a two week period!

Workout

Interval run: 6.01K - 31:06 minutes - Steady speed 10 for 3 minutes, high speed 14 for 2 minutes. Keep on switching between the two intensities for the workout duration. 

Bike: 6.06K - 16:45 minutes - Resistance setting 15.

Bicep curls: 10kg, 3 sets of 10 reps.

4 minute light jog home and stretch.