Warm Quinoa, Butternut Squash and Broccoli Salad

This is the result of reading Deliciously Ella's website on the way to work - I got some inspiration, did a super quick shop on my way home, and the result was that good - I had to share!

This is by no means an exhaustive recipe - I made it up as I went along, but I hope you get the jist so you can enjoy this too.

What You Will Need 

1 small Butternut Squash - shaved and diced
1 Red Onion - chopped
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
450 - 500ml boiling water
1 tablespoon Honey
100g Quinoa and Buckwheat Mix (Tesco do a great mixed bag)
Olive Oil
Broccoli

Method

1. First preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Then put the diced Butternut Squash and Onion into a roasting tray and cover this with Olive Oil and Honey - now stick this in the oven for roughly 30 mins or until soft. 
2. Boil the water and mix in a stock cube, leave or stir until fully dissolved. Soak your Quinoa mix in a pan of cold water and mix - this is to wash the chalky taste away. Drain away the cold water.
3. Pour the Vegetable Stock water and the drained Quinoa mix into a pan and leave this to simmer for 15 mins or until the water has been absorbed. 
4. Cook the broccoli - I had a ready made packet which I just cooked in the microwave.
5. When everything is cooked, mix together and enjoy! 

Simply, so healthy and filling. The great thing about Quinoa is it will last for a few days, so enjoy the left overs too! 

What I do to relax...

Just a nice simple post today on what I like to do to help me relax. As a bit of background, I work in a busy and fast paced environment, I suffer from anxiety and over the past year I have started to feel a little out of control of my life. I find myself too tired to do anything for myself and I was, up until recently, in a vicious cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep. So this post is just a totally honest 'what I do for myself' kinda post. 

So first off I drink tea. As of 2 months ago I have kicked caffeine drinks out of my life. At work I was going through so many cups of tea a day, I was always anxious or stressed and feeling my heart beat was just sky high. I tried a little change of swapping tea and coffee to herbal tea, and I feel great. I wasn't in to herbal tea until I tried the Teapigs Peppermint (excellent for tummies, I have one after a big meal). I drink the Twinings Camomile and Honey throughout the day. its yummy and a cheaper alternative to Teapigs. 

Secondly, I watch TV, and by TV I mean...F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I love this!! And it's on repeat pretty much all night. I have figured I like to watch programmes and films where I don't have to think too much, or get all tense and worked up. I love a good comedy or a rom-com and to just feel happy and relaxed. Film wise I tend to navigate towards typical girly films such as "The Women" (I love Meg Ryan) and "The Other Woman".

A tidy room = a tidy mind. I definitely relax best when my room is clean and uncluttered. I actually also like the actual cleaning itself...(old lady alert!)

Finally, I love to watch YouTube. Unfortunately I get so into watching that I don't realise how many hours are passing! Originally, it was Essie Button, Amelia Liana and Fleur De Force who first got me addicted to watching. Nowadays I also like to watch:

• Pixiwoo
• The Lean Machines
• Viviannadoesmakeup 
• Lily Pebbles 

So I hope you enjoyed this post. What do you do to relax? I'd love to know! 

You can find me on Instagram @aprilhannahblogs

The Best Gel Nail Varnish Ever!!!

I have found it, I have found the one!

So for the past few months my nails have been a total nightmare, no matter what polish I use, even with my Seche Vite, they would be chipped and flaking within one or two days. Well...Not no more! The Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy polishes are the bees knees, the bomb, the best, incredible! 

So this is the first shade I bought, 400 "Royal Flush". I didn't even have to use two coats with this. I mean, I did, but the one coat was just as opaque as two. I used two because I wanted a long lasting, chip free colour. 

Now this nail varnish is very very thick, At first, I wasn't sure if I liked the consistency, but it was something I got used to and I appreciate that for a gel effect, its going to be a thick product. The other slight downside is the brush - I'm just not 100% convinced its the best brush for the easiest application. I also thought it was slightly wonky and so I struggled to get a straight line towards my nail bed. 

Despite the few picky points above, this varnish lasted perfectly for 6 days! That is totally unheard of for me, I am a picker, I wash my hair every day, I had been on a night out and this had seen me through it all!

I had to go and buy more...

So this little number is 110 "Lady Luck". Now I have only had this on for 24 hours but so far so good! What I would say about this shade is it definitely has become a lot brighter on my nails, we are now talking highlighter pink. I do like it, it is a little bright for me and I do much prefer its colour in the bottle, but maybe next time I'll use a white base and see if that helps. I have been using Essie Base Coat and Seche Vite Top Coat. 

All in all I would highly recommend these nail varnishes, and I will certainly be keeping my eyes out for more shades! 

You can find me on Instagram @aprilhannahblogs

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