Thursday 21 June 2012

Slow Cooker - YUM

Don't you just love winter?
Snuggling under a warm blanket, the fire place, jackets, scarves boots, uggs, gloves the list goes on and on.

Well even if you aren't like me and in love with winter there is one thing that surely everyone loves about winter and that is the food! Am I right? Hearty Soul Food.
All those homemade chunky soups and stews.

Here is a recipe that a friend of mine put on her facebook recently and it combined two of my loves the slow cooker and Mexican so I was excited to try it and can confirm it is awesome! She also has a great BLOG here with lots of recipes & mummy tips
So to share the warm yummy Mexican slow cooked love here it is; 

Mexican Rice Bowl

Ingredients;
500g of chuck steak or stewing steak any cheap cut that is marbled is perfect for the slow cooker. Cut into palm size chunks
1/2 cup water
I jar of salsa - as spicy as you like
1 satchel of taco or burrito spice mix - I used 'old el paso'

To Serve;
Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
Chopped Tomatoes
Chopped Lettuce
A few Corn Chips Crushed
Cooked Rice

Toss the meat in the spice mix and chuck it all (meat, water, jar of salsa) into the slow cooker on low for 4~5 Hours give it an occasional stir.
When cooked stir through some sour cream.

Assemble on a bed of rice with grated cheese, another dollop of sour cream, small sprinkle of corn chips for crunch, and lettuce and tomato. 

Melt in your mouth slow cooked mexican beef rice bowl


Bon Appetite



Sunday 17 June 2012

Top 10 Helpful Tips - when starting a market stall

With the first markets under my belt here's what I learned; 

1) Location Location Location! Get in early with the organisers and get a good location
2) Have at least 3 changes of $50 I only had a float of $90 in various notes and coins and needed to get more change  of $50's early on. I also told someone I didn't have change of $50 and lost the sale.
3) Introduce yourself to the stall keepers next to you, its great for atmosphere but also if you need to nip into the loo they can keep and eye on your stall for you.
4) Do a practise run of the table set up before hand so that you can do it quickly and confidently on the day.
5) Make your table display appealing to the audience you are trying to attract. For me it is mainly mothers I want at my table so I had a really kid friendly colourful table with lots of lollies and sweets. 
More on the display as it is the most important tip I have - do some online research there are plenty of sites with market displays. be individual, quirky, creative and make sure once its set up you stand back and look at it from the front. 
6) Have plastic tubs organised I had one for my table display that had all the table clothes, table signs, chalk, plastic bags, packaging etc in it. I also have plastic tubs for my stock so its easy to pack and unpack. Also these make great little benches under the stall table so you can keep things on them.
7) Scope out the markets first well  to understand if your product is viable there. In my case my instinct was telling me people don't go to the market to buy party goods and they might only have a $30~$50 total spend budget in fact i would think most people don't plan to spend anything at all and its all impulse buys. So what I decided to do was sell sweets and in doing so attract lots of people to my stall so I could then talk to them about my party products and give them a business card. I'm essentially using the market as a platform to spread the word. 
8) Have all your stock priced, its also a good idea to have signs so that people that don't plan to stop and look can quickly see what you have and how much it is - this will encourage them to stop. 
9) This one seems obvious but be friendly, smile and chat 
10) Have fun


Diet Review 4 Months

Well I've been on the no carbs / low carbs diet now for over 4 months.

My conclusion is this is not working for me. Why I'm not sure I really have change our eating habits. I snack better, I have cut our white flour and white sugar. Eat mostly protein and fruit and vegetables.

Which I'm sure are all good things that are going to vastly improve my life and even my life span.

However I can honestly say its not a realistic diet to stick to especially if you have a partner or family that wont be on the same diet. My man no way hose he just wont compromise with pasta, rice, bread or sugar!
So cooking 2 meals is complicated and counting carbs daily is not reasonable.

I haven't noticed a huge difference in weight loss in total 5 kilos have come off and stayed off the 4 months. That is all though! My clothes size and looks are the same. I also don't feel any better or more energetic I might even feel slightly worst than before as I'm not as 'regular' anymore.

My plan now is to continue eating better snacks and less carbs and next time I see my doctor I will ask about other weight loss options.

So my update although not entirely positive is what it is. I guess its all part of the journey the ups and downs, the next step for me is more exercise ...can someone please send me their inspiration for this as I have none, ziltch, nada, zero.

Saturday 16 June 2012

The Launch of my business is Near YIKES!

I haven't really done an update recently on my business.

I completely underestimated the time it would take to get all the stock, get myself ready and organise all the red tape. I am nearly there now though. The launch is so close I can taste it.

 I have 20 theme parties for kids and adults all ready to go & they are sensational.

I had loads of fun designing art work for my labels, packaging, flyers, business cards and making little signs and cute table displays for the market stall where I will launch everything.

The final thing I am waiting on is council to come and inspect my kitchen which makes me all jittery inside. Although I am clean we are renting at the moment so I feel sorry that I will be judged on someone Else's inferior kitchen. Such is life.

Here is the first sneak peak of some of my range. 

Batman

Spiderman

Disney Princess
Sponge Bob Square Pants

Barbie
Disney Cars
Hello Kitty
Thomas the Tank Engine