Coffee Ice Cream Floats

I'm not sure how this idea came about, I'm sure the majority of you have had an ice cream float, I on the other hand have not. I remember when I was in year 5 or 6 it was a friends birthday so we went to the galleria, I want to say we saw a movie? but I'm not entirely sure if we did or didn't and if we did I would not even have the first clue as to what it was. Anyway, before or after the potential movie viewing, we went to a restaurant, I want to say it was Frankie & Benny's but again not entirely sure, although this is besides the point. Basically my 10/11 year old self sitting in this restaurant with my friends and someone orders a coke float and in my head I'm thinking what the bloomin' heck is that, the drink arrives, it's placed on the table and I'm staring at it like .....dessert and a drink? Slightly baffled, a little confused and I'm sure probably entirely enthralled by the idea, but obviously not enough to ever try one. I'm not a big coke drinker, well, I'm not a big frizzy drinks drinker period, however I have now officially tried a root beer float and I'll be honest; I much prefer my root beer plain and my ice cream on the side in a bowl with chocolate sauce and brownie bits.

Side note: you are not crazy these drinks do look completely different colours. I made these while a friend was over so mine is made with almond milk and the other was made with cows milk and after my photographing was finished we drank them in the garden in the sun. and if you've ever made iced coffee with almond milk you will probably know it separates pretty quickly, luckily it's not that visible here.

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Muesli with Strawberries and Greek Yogurt (the best muesli ever)

Me and my mum are big muesli fan's we have a giant pull out cupboard full of nuts, seeds, oats and dried fruit. When I say full I mean it's sort of like a random bargain bin of pre-opened packets at wholefoods. In my head we even have a "muesli making station" because the pull out cupboard is right near the edge of the island and we both stand there making our muesli. If my dad is sitting on the island doing a sudoku I end up making my muesli on half of his paper.

When I started eating breakfast a few years ago I used to have this almost every morning, it's pretty much one of my favourite thing's to eat. I even went through a phase of having it for dinner as well; when I got in late and I didn't want to cook anything, this was just the cherry on top of a nice long summers day. I'll just warn you this pretty much tastes like dessert and if you're being finicity the only bad thing in it is the dark chocolate, so for something that tastes this good there's hardly anything to complain about; I just can't explain to you how amazing this is, you just need to try it.

It is the easiest thing to make for breakfast, aside from cereal; just throw it all in a bowl mix it up and eat it. I also kind of think it tastes so much better when you just mix everything together and then you don't even have to pay attention to what's on your spoon; you're pretty much guaranteed to get a bit of everything.

Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn (processed sugar free)

I made this back in February about 7 times when I was on a processed sugar ban and every time I made it I just couldn't resist and ended up eating it before I photographed it, although I think in my head I knew full well I wasn't going to. I actually have this thing about photographing yellow foods, I don't know what it is, but I'll put off photographing anything yellow for as long as I possibly can.

I used to hate making popcorn at home it always came out chewy and bleh and you'd end up with loads of kernels unpopped and sometimes burnt and if you put butter and sugar on it just tastes fatty and soggy. Popcorn became a new obsession of mine over the past year, we were never the family that went to the cinema and got popcorn so my obsession probably was inevitable, but it hit a new extreme when a few months ago while making popcorn with a friend she told me the most important life tip you will EVER hear! Release the steam! When you're popping your corn lift the lid up every now and then, or if you are a skilled kernel popper like myself (no bragging intended), just hold the lid above the pan enough to let the steam out but not so much that the corn can fly out the pan. Also, If you cook a few kernels first to heat the pan up and get it to the right temperature when you put all the kernels in the pan they'll mostly pop all at once and you'll just have a few anarchist kernels raging against the machine. I guarantee these tips will change your life forever, your popcorn game will never be the same again.

Watermelon & Lime Slushie (all natural & no added sugar)

In between the bouts of rain and high humidity it's been rather hot recently in jolly old england and all I want is fruit, salad , and anything iced; everything iced. I sliced my first watermelon of the year last sunday and just in time too it was rather hot, I mean I'm not talking Africa hot, let's be realistic it is only England.

I am not someone who enjoys laying in the sun all day and feeling the sun burn away at my skin, I don't think I'll ever understand people who do that, enjoying the sun is one thing, but burning your brains out is another.
Also, might I add, unless you're with people it sounds boring too, and if you fall asleep waking up all hot and sweaty; sounds like an awful way to spend a day. Moving on from this picture I'm painting for you of hot sweaty lobster people!

I was very surprised as to how my rubbish old blended coped with this so do not fret if you don't have a high powered fancy blender, although it would be nice if we all had one of those! This is so simple to make and really refreshing on a nice summers day - even if you do want to sunbathe all day I guarantee this will the the perfect accompaniment.