Sourced Box Deliciousness

My favourite time of the month has arrived, my August Sourced Box popped up on my door step and this time it did not disappoint.

Life Travels | London Adventure: Brunch at Muriel's & The Natural History Museum

After two days of walking miles on end we started our final day in London a little later than expected. But our lazy sleep-in just gave us an excuse to head to Muriel's Kitchen for a spot of brunch. 

A Weekend of Food & Fun in Cork

So late weekend my boyfriend and I decided to head off to Cork for the weekend to give ourselves a mini getaway. I recently got my driving licence (yay) so we took advantage of the family car to do the 3 hour drive in style. 

As it turns out it's very hard to do any exploring when it's wet and windy so to be honest we spent the weekend going from one eatery to another....

On our last night we decided to visit Scoozi, an Italian that showed with with great reviews on TripAdvisor. Inside, your surrounded with a cosy, warm atmosphere and decor consisting of old china plates hung on the wall, cottage floral wallpaper and regal chandeliers. 

I went for an easy vegan no cheese pizza with a delicious crispy base and spicy sauce and the boyfriend went for an interesting hazelnut and pesto burger.

For dessert I opted for some vegan chocolate buttons I had in my bag but the boy went all out on some Mars Bar cheesecake. 

I have to admit I may have tasted a bit and it was really delicious. I'm usually not a big fan of cheesecake but this one had a fluffy, light textured filling as opposed to the traditional, more solid filling. A solid 5/5!

We decided to finish the night off with a walk up the hill in the rainy mist to get a bird's eye view of the city.

(make it quick before you get run over!)

I think this weekend was really needed by both of us and I can't wait for our trip to London in a few weeks time!

Thanks for stopping by.

Ciara xx

Vegan Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Hello everyone!

Today I thought I would share with you a breakfast that I have been obsessed with over the past few weeks and that is my chocolate protein smoothie. Its has a balanced amount of carbs, protein and fats to set you up for the day and satisfies your sweet tooth cravings in a healthy way.  Its super quick and easy to make which makes it perfect for a busy morning or if you're like me and you're starving when you wake and can't wait!

Here's what you will need:

1: 2 Bananas (I would recommend frozen)

2: Approximately 300-400ml of your dairy alternative milk of choice or water.

3: A handful of pecans or any other nut you want. I'd recommend walnuts or hazelnuts.

4: A cup of ice to make things frosty. (if you use frozen bananas you don't need to add ice)

5: A chocolate flavoured vegan protein powder of your choice. I'm using Sunwarrior protein which I'm loving at the moment.

6: A tsp of cocao powder or cocoa powder will do the job too.

All you have to do next is bang all your ingredients into a blender and blend it all up until everything is smooth. 

And here is the finished result.

Sorry I don't have a Pinterest worthy image to show you but my hunger made me impatient...

I usually pair this with some cereal and berries to make my breakfast a bit more substantial. Also we can't forget a cup of hot coffee! Try adding oats or peanut butter if you want a heartier smoothie that will keep you fuller for longer.

Let me know if you try this out and if you thought it was tasty!

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx

Vegan Food Heaven in Barcelona

Hey guys,

I've been so excited to share this post with you because it's all about one of my favourite things, food. And delicious vegan food too!

Now my family and I had been in France for 3 days before my sister and I went to Barcelona for a night. Let me tell you, from my times in Paris and general experience of eating in France, being vegan there is pretty tough. They love their cheese, their meats and you'll find a bit of something animal-based in nearly everything you pick up in a shop or look at on a menu. While I try be plant-based like 99% of the time because that's what I find makes me feel good I don't mind if there's maybe a little bit of milk hidden somewhere in my cereal or bread. France however was another story because save for bread and super oily deep fried chips there wasn't anything nice and nutritious for me to eat. That's why I was super excited to go to Barcelona because after a quick Google search I found loads of cool looking vegetarian and vegan restaurants to go to.

So without further adieu lets get the ball rolling.

Gopal Vegan Deli Shop

This place was seriously the best! They mainly serve 'beef', 'chorizo', 'chicken' sandwiches and burgers with sides like chips, salads or patatas bravas. My sister went for their house 'Gopal Buger' and I went for the 'Chorizo' Sandwich with a side of fries that came with a tasty dipping sauce.

But the best part about this place were hands down the donuts! I wish I had a few more days to try them all because they were seriously good. The first night I had a chocolate and coconut combo which was tasty but the next day, our last day, I went for the Oreo donut which stole 1st prize. They legit taste like regular donuts if not better because they're not as heavy.

CatBar

We went to CatBar for dinner to try out their burgers I had read so much about. So good guys, so good. My sister isn't vegan and she loved them too. 

Boqueria Market

You can find so much good food here so it suits vegans, vegetarians and standard diets alike! We went to one of the many awesome fruit vendors to pick up breakfast. All this gorgeous food for €5!

So yeah Barcelona was great all-round: food, weather, amazing beach, sites and shopping. I'm definitely going to have to go back for longer next time.

Perfect Chia Porridge

Hello everyone,

I'm back today with a quick post about the breakfast I have been obsessed with for the past few weeks.

Porridge! It's warm, filling and packed with energy to set you up for the day. A perfect low sugar, low fat alternative to cereal or deceivingly sugary granola.

All you need for this porridge bowl is:

40g (half a cup) of oats, I use Flahavan's Organic Porridge Oats
1 and a quarter cup of almond milk or your preferred dairy alternative milk
2 teaspoons of chia seeds

Optional:
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (I love my cinnamon so I lash it on)
Half a teaspoon of raw cacao powder

Go Wild and Garnish:
Any berries of your choice
A drizzle of soya cream
Coconut flakes
Sunflower seeds

I usually pop all the ingredients in my handy rice maker and time it so that my porridge is ready when I wake up in the morning but you can also microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in-between or you can use the hob by bringing your mixture to the boil then simmering and stirring until the oats have reached your desired consistency.

Tip: for extra 'creaminess' you can leave you oats, milk and chia seeds over night which is why I love my rice maker. Just remember to add in about a half a cup of water so that the oats and chia seeds don't soak up all the liquid over night. You can also add a little bit of coconut milk which makes them even more deliciously creamy!

Satisfy your Cravings with 'graze'

Hello lovelies,

So if you're like me and seems to be constantly hungry no matter what time of the day or suffer from eleven-sies nibbles you'll like what have in store for you today.

I found a voucher for a free 'graze goody box' in my monthly magazine and decided to give it a try. Whenever I get a bit peckish or hungry midmorning or in the evenings I try to snack on healthy foods, a handful of almonds/walnuts or apple pieces with some peanut butter (sometimes followed by another cheeky spoonful of peanut goodness..). However it's good to switch it up every now and again to get some variety into the diet, that's why I was seriously excited to get my graze box in the post.

Made from healthy, nutritious ingredients and none of those nasty additives, you can choose from 100s of snacks, they even send you a leaflet with the nutritional info of each snack you choose. Luckily for me they even have a breakfast box option!

Delicious banana dippers with toffee sauce.....

Dried fruit and chocolate chips!

I haven't tried the rest of my snacks yet but those flapjacks are calling to me...

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xxx

Christmas Dinner, Student Style

Hello lovelies!


Next week my flatmates and I are all splitting up for the Christmas holidays which meant only one thing, we had to have our own flat Christmas dinner. A lot of planning and timetabling was involved ( a kitchen table ma or may not have been rolled down 2 flights of stairs) but I think it was quite successful. I am proud to say I seasoned and basted my own chicken which turned out delicious. 

Of course all the girls were in the kitchen ( I made my Slutty Chocolate Brownies) while the boys did nothing but that wasn't too bad because they were the ones who were stuck with the washing up.

Not too shabby for just £5 a head from good old ASDA ;)

Then to settle our bursting bellies a few of us took a stroll around campus through the Christmas fairy lights.

Who else is ready for it to be Christmas Eve already?

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx

Co Co Markets at Marlay Park

Hello lovelies!


It's a beautiful sunny Saturday here in Ireland also one of my last weekends before I move away for college. To make the most of the nice weather we headed to Marlay Park to have a mooch about the Sunday markets.

I opted for a breakfast cr epe with egg, ham and cheese which was quickly followed up with a lovely white chocolate cookie.

We spotted these snack balls made of peanut butter, fruit and oats which seemed like tasty little treats to nibble on and I'm sure you can even make them at home.

I love going to markets and trying out new foods made by locals and it's a great way to spend a sunny morning. 

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx

More San Francisco City Exploring

Hello lovelies,

The sun was shining when we awoke on our first morning in the city which made our walk along Chrissy Fields even better. Chrissy Fields is a stretch along which you can walk by the marina and take in the view of the Golden Gate from across the bay. On sunny weekend mornings the place is packed with joggers, walkers and happy families setting up camp for the day.

As it turned out we had all worked up an appetite which left us ready to enjoy a gorgeous brunch at Roses's on Union Street.

'I don not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am'

My sister and I were in the market to pick up a Penny board so the only logical plan of action was to head on over to Haight street, a really cool hippy/vintage/ultra cool area in the city where things like tie-dye originated from. The street was full of really cool vintage shops and just when we thought we'd seen it all we walked into a cafe for a coffee only to run into a couple of nude men. Don't worry I didn't take any photos!

As if we hadn't done enough exploring that day it was time to visit Golden Gate Park and walk through the beautiful flower garden in full bloom.

And finally to top it all off we ended our day of exploring in the Japanese Tea Gardens.

I hope I haven't overloaded you with photos but we squished so much into one day it was hard to limit myself. 

There is lots more from my San Fran adventure to come so don't stray far.

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx