On being Thankful

I just wanted to take a few moments to thank you for reading my blog.

Thank you for commenting, I love hearing from you!

Thank you for liking a post on Facebook.

Thank you for pinning a recipe.

Thank you for retweeting something small I have written.

Thank you for liking a photo on Instagram.

And thank you for visiting my Etsy store and perhaps even making a purchase.

Homemade Chickpea Falafel Wraps (GF)

I made my first chickpea falafel years ago when we were living in Melbourne and they've been on regular rotation ever since.

My funniest memory of them though was two years ago just after my daughter was born. I had a doula for the few weeks who was very healthy, a little alternative and VERY surprised that "I" had made falafel (not even "she" made them herself!).

I was as much insulted as I was pleased for surprising her!

A Wonderful World of Wusthof (Wusthof knives review)

Investing in a set of good kitchen knives has always been on our "must buy" list, which was always ranking below other essentials, without knowing just how valuable they could be!

With the amount of cooking I do, I really can't believe how long I've waited to have some good knives.

We spent months and months researching knives, because we wanted to make sure we were getting the absolute best we could afford and getting the right knives for us. 

Through a combination of gifts from family and our Christmas presents to each other, we finally put together the perfect set of knives.

ANZAC Biscuits with Caramel Ganache

Today is ANZAC Day. A day to commemorate the anniversary of the day our Australian & New Zealand troops landed in Gallipoli.

It is a solemn and significant day back home, and again, it makes me miss being home.

Coming from a military family, and ever since I can remember, I've always been at Dawn Services on ANZAC Day. 

And until I moved to the UK and had a baby, I never missed a service. 

Confetti-filled balloons to celebrate turning ONE

To celebrate my Etsy store turning ONE this coming week, and to say thank you for supporting my little dream, I am giving away some of my much loved confetti-filled balloons!

confetti-filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti-filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti-filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti-filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti-filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti filled balloons confetti-filled balloons

Gluten Free Brown Sugar Cookies for every bunny

Wishing you such a wonderful Easter Sunday. 

The Easter Bunny has had a bit of a struggle finding us this year, so we are having a very low key Easter (but so far I've managed two serves of ice cream before 2pm, so don't feel too sorry for me!).

How to Creme Caramel with Donna Hay

I hope you are having a great start to the Easter weekend! 

We are away for Easter this year but I thought I'd keep sharing some sweet treats that are perfect for Easter entertaining. 

Did you see yesterday's Maple Bacon Fudge? 

Today's sweet treat is Creme Caramel which I attempted for the first time last weekend when we had Uncle Luke over for dinner and thought this Australian recipe was so simple and so delicious that it is definitely worthy of an Easter dessert.

Donna Hay is an Australian cooking guru.

Maple Bacon Fudge

It's fudge time.

It's Easter time.

They go one go hand in hand!

Every year it has been our tradition at Easter time that Husband and I would bake fudge (to make me less mopey about being allergic to chocolate).

We really only ever make it just this one time of the year, so whenever I send him a photo of fudge on the stove, he knows Easter is near!

But I wanted to introduce you to something kind of amazing this year....

My Favourite 5 Fast Diet Recipes

mum-made: Ashley from Words About Waverly

Last month I announced an exciting new series on my blog called mum-made. A wonderful thing has happened through blogging and I wanted to share it with you.

Living in London has had its definite perks, but it is also so very far away from our family and friends in Australia.

And having a baby really made the distance palpable.

We have always been staunchly independent, so I'm not sure how much help we would have accepted anyway, but being in London has also had its challenges, and I was feeling so alone in motherhood.

meg-made it to Bake-a-Boo (review)

Bake-A-Boo. The name just works doesn't it?! 

Combining youthful mystery with the promise of gluten free sweet bakes, Bake-A-Boo is not only cute by name, but it is cute by decor (and delicious in nature)!

Easter Crafting - Bunny Ear Bags

I have a complicated relationship with Easter.

From the age of 9 chocolate has given me migraines and so wasn't exactly excited to see what the Easter Bunny had left in my basket.

I always felt like such a deprived child slowing dissolving my sickly sweet sugar egg while everyone's chocolate melted in their fingers.

Oh to eat chocolate again... anyway, I digress. 

So then I grew up.

A little. Not completely.

Homemade Nakd Bars (Larabars)

I've been thinking about making my own Homemade Nakd Bars for some time, and finally got around to it this weekend.

And they were SO simple!

I have made another batch since and played with the flavours a bit too.

Ever since becoming gluten intolerant a year or so ago I have loved Nak'd bars!

They are based on blended dates and sultanas mixed with a variety of different nuts and flavours.

Weekender Biscuits (GF)

This is one of those recipes from The Australian Women's Weekly "Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits" cookbooks that I think every kid growing up in Australia would know, but the rest of the world raises an eyebrow to! There's a lot of things in that category I have discovered, but don't worry there's not a trace of vegemite to be found. If you'd rather, think of them as "Cornflake Cookies"

I think these are called Weekender Biscuits because they don't last more than the weekend. 

I haven't had these cookies in such a long time, but when I was in Jersey and bought an entire box of Gluten Free Cornflakes (to last just 5 days) I had plenty to spare and so I thought I may as well try and see how they go being gluten free. And well, they were delicious to be frank! 

Rolled in cornflakes (which can be GF) and filled with sultanas (to add some moisture) you would never know they aren't the real deal. We ate an entire batch when we were wandering around the Jersey Zoo, so I had to make another batch to photograph. Shame. 

All the kids gobbled them up too, and each batch lasted just the one day, so maybe they can be called the Saturdayer Biscuits in our house! 

I thought I'd share it with you this fine Friday morning in case you are looking for a new cookie to try this weekend, or want a nostalgic trip down memory lane! Either way, nom nom nom. 

So whatever you call them, however long they last, they are definitely worth making this weekend!

I hope you have something fun planned for the weekend! We are hoping to cheer Oxford on in the Boat Race (unless its raining, we are fair-weather supports) and are hoping to get to the V&A. What have you got on?

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

The Swimsuit Edition (making a nappy-accessible toddler swimsuit)

Sorry if you saw the title and thought you were going to see me in a swimsuit on here, I don't mean to induce panic!!! I promise you, that will NEVER happen!!!

No, no, don't worry, this post is about adding snaps (or press studs) to baby girls' swimmers so that they are easy to change them into a swimming nappy (diaper). 

nappy accessible swimsuit nappy accessible swimsuit nappy accessible swimsuit nappy accessible swimsuit 

I have always had a bit of an obsession with baby shoes, and these days I have an obsession with baby swimsuits. They are just so cute! I have been taking Maddie to swimming lessons since she was 6 months old and she is such a little fish. She just loves being in the water and gets so excited she jumps in first (much to the horror of the lifeguards!). 

The whole process of going swimming though is not without its effort. The pool is about a half an hour walk from home, so we get suited and booted, pack all essentials and snacks and head off. I learned (the hard way) a long time ago that whilst swimming nappies are great for the actual swimming part, they don't actually hold that much on dry land, and so doesn't survive the 45 minute home-to-pool process without drenching baby, clothes and pram. Not fun!

So, I started adjusting Maddie's swimmers to have snap closes at the bottom to remove this problem. 

The hardest part of this little project is cutting into a pair of gorgeous swimmers!!! I mean seriously, how cute are these...

(Aunty Julie, this one is for you!)

 You will need matching thread, scissors and snap closures, which you can buy as individual snaps or in strips. I used strips but either would work.

I like to cut at the natural seam at the bottom of the swimsuit because it makes them more easily line up when you are finished. Pin the snaps in place and sew into place. 

Remember that one strip will be on the inside and will snap onto a strip on the outside (makes little sense now but when you are doing it, have a test before sewing!!). 

The finished product looks like this:

And you'd never know that they have been altered, other than we are now the first ones in the pool each week, not frantically running late and joining in half way through The Wheels on the Bus!!

It is so simple and I truly don't know why the makers don't factor them in already, but it makes the world of difference! So then you can get them all in their togs with a regular nappy and when you are poolside just change the nappy without having to get them fully undressed. 

Here's where I got each pair this season (and there may be a few sneaky hidden ones ready for summer, but shhh don't tell Husband!).

Hatley Whales
USA: Saks 5th Avenue
UK: Little Sunflowers 

Baby Gap (SOLD OUT)
http://www.gap.com

Zara Baby (RED ONLY)
www.zara.com

If your bub loves swimming and you are irked by the whole swimming nappy capacity issue, this is a quick fix that will make you do an internal pat on the back every time!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

The Fast Diet Recipe Files - Thai Pumpkin Soup (with carrot and sweet potato)

Happy Tuesday!!! I hope your week is off to a great start! The sun is shining in London, so everything is automatically much brighter, without even trying!!!

I have been trying out lots of new recipe ideas for the Fast Diet lately and some have been rather bland but others just bursting with flavour. This soup is of course the latter, I'm not going to share the rubbish ones that will make you want to feast instead!!! Whilst things are starting to warm up in London, I am still sneaking some soups in before the salad season really begins. 

Pumpkin soup was always my go-to meal when I was sick, it was like a hug from the inside. I still love it so much, but pumpkin is not as readily available in the UK as Australia so I don't tend to make it so often. 

Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files 

This Thai Pumpkin soup is perfect for the Fast Diet because it is low calorie but intensely flavourful! I was expecting red curry paste to be high in calories, but when you are only adding 1 tablespoon, the mere 17 calories are exceptionally effective. Stay tuned for a world of curries coming to the Fast Diet Recipe Files!!

Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files 

With only 195 calories per serve, it is chocked full with vegetables and being nice and thick it is perfectly filling. I made this for lunch and then had it for dinner I loved it so much!!! 

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!