Weightloss Journey

FAJITAS

Published on January 19, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo19 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

The other day I made vegan fajitas – it’s one of my favourite easy meals to make and so I thought I’d share my recipe with you – I hope you enjoy!

(serves 4-5 people)

Ingredients:

1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
3 large tomatoes
1 chilli
1 can of kidney beans
Tofu (Instead of meat I use tofu, although I guess you could use vegan mince as well)
Fajita spices
Salad
Wraps

Method:

Chop up your onion, garlic, pepper, chilli and tomatoes
Drain the tofu and cut up, then marinate in the fajita spices. Tofu by itself is rather tasteless I feel, but marinate it in fajita spices and it changes everything.
Fry your onion and garlic in a little olive oil, once a little brown add the peppers and chilli. After 5 mins add the tomatoes and kidney beans
Wash the salad (I used Kale to fill the fajitas, but it is quite coarse so any other salad would work well too)
Fill your wraps (I recently discovered these amazing beetroot and spinach wraps in Tesco – I definitely recommend). Alternatively you can use romaine lettuce as a wrap which makes for a lighter fresh meal.

Now sit down and enjoy!

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HALLOWEEN MAKEUP TUTORIAL

Published on October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 by simplycarinaxo11 Comments

Good evening guys,

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year in part because I love dressing up and having some fun with face paint! So with only 5 days till the 31st here’s an easy skull inspired makeup look – hope you enjoy!

You will need:

White face paint – black face paint – a little dish of water – black liquid eye liner – black pencil eye liner – dark grey/black eye shadow – white eyeliner – black mascara – makeup brush – beauty blender/sponge

Fresh faced – make sure you have washed you face and moisturised it before you begin.

Start by wetting your makeup brush to dilute the white face paint and apply all over your face and down your neck. Use the beauty blender/sponge to pat out any brush strokes and blend the paint into you neck.

Next use the black face paint and apply similarly to your normal contour lines (as well as encircling your eyes in black) before blending in with your sponge. Tip – do one contour line at a time and blend in with sponge; if you paint on all the lines first they will dry very quickly and prove difficult to blend!

Once the basic contouring is done, keep layering on the colour till you have the depth you want before setting in with dark grey/black eye-shadow. Next grab your black liquid liner and paint on the nose bone or rather lack of and go on to blend your eyes into their dark surrounding with your pencil liner. Use it to fill in your eyelids and darken your waterline. Now it’s time to use your black mascara to define and darken your eyelashes.

And last but not least take your liquid liner again and draw on the stitched up mouth – start with the horizontal line before adding the smaller vertical lines. Remember to take the horizontal line all the way from right to left and over your lips not just from the corner of your lips outwards.

And there you have the final look! Nice and easy and quick!

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Love Carina xo

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ME

Published on August 27, 2017March 1, 2024 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hi friends,

I think it is time for a get to know me tag, I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was a good idea. So hope you enjoy getting to know me better.

1. Do you have a nickname?

Nope, not really. When I was young some of my friends would call me Cari and whilst at Uni I occasionally got Car, but nothing stuck.

2. Do you have any weird habits?

Erm, I have a little OCD tick with toilet roll having to face forward; as in to pull from the front and not the side facing the wall if that makes sense.

3. Do you have any phobias?

Agoraphobia – the fear of being trapped in a public place, the fear of not being able to escape.

So if I go to the cinema for example I need to sit on an aisle seat same goes for the theater and planes and trains…

4. Do you have any habits others find annoying?

Yes aha, I crack my finger joints all the time which others can’t stand.

5. What position do you sleep in?

I am a stomach sleeper.

6. What drink do you always order at Starbucks?

I try and avoid Starbucks to be honest. Being a barista I prefer to support independent coffee shops. If available, my go to would be a freshly filtered coffee, but occasionally I would also enjoy an oat milk flat white.

7. What is your favourite comfort food?

Ooh this is a difficult one. I’m really not sure; crisps are definitely high up there for snack comfort food!

8. What series are you currently watching?

Z The Beginning Of Everything – It tells the story of Zelda’s marriage to F Scott Fitzgerald. So far it is quite good, although it is not painting F Scott Fitzgerald in a very good light haha.

9. Who are your three favourite YouTubers?

I follow a lot of YouTubers who cover various topics from makeup to veganism. It’s hard to just pick three, however if I had to I would say currently my three favourite YouTubers are Helen Anderson (makeup & fashion), Kate Flowers (health & veganism) and the SacconeJolys (family life).

10. If you could only use three makeup items for the rest of your life what would they be?

Oh it would definitely be concealer as my skin is always blotchy and red and my mascara and brow kit to make my eyes more prominent.

Well that’s it for now, until next time peepes, I hope you enjoyed this post!

Love Carina xo

VEGAN WRAP PIZZA

Published on June 22, 2017June 24, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Good morning guys,

Yesterday I decided I would try making a pizza with wraps. I have seen so many people doing this and thought it was about time I tried it. I was plesantly surprised! It was yummy!

I started by putting a very thin layer of tomato pasta sauce on a wrap and then putting a second wrap on top. I thought a slightly thicker base would be nicer and the little tomato sauce stuck the two wraps together. Then I topped the second wrap with more tomato sauce, shallots, cherry tomatoes, vegan feta, salt, pepper, dried basil, parsley and oregano and cooked in the oven for about 10 mins till cheese had melted and the wrap looked crispy. Finally I topped it with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic. It really was rather tasty and I shall definitely be making this again! Its so quick and easy!! And filling!!

Have you ever tried wrap pizzas?? What are your favourite toppings, I’d love to know!

Love Carina xo

WEEKEND AWAY – HEN DO EDITION

Published on May 15, 2017September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hello guys!!

Let me firstly apologise for not posting in like 10 days, oops! I have just been so caught up in moving (although I’m still not in the new house yet), working, having friends visit and otherwise just being so exhausted that I’ve really not had the energy to concentrate on my blog. I still feel very drained of energy, but as it is currently quiet at work I thought I’d start this blog post and hopefully get it finished and posted for you this weekend! So onto Emily’s hen do!

What a fabulous weekend! Everyone had a brilliant time! It was packed with activities but also very relaxed and full of fun and quality time with Emily’s best Ladies!

Friday:

Emily’s mum Debbie, Kim and myself arrived earlier at the house to set up. It was such a beautiful house – very lux! Set in Coldingham just across the border into Scotland with sea views and 5 mins away from the beach!

When we got there we sorted out rooms, made some cocktails and then waited for our online shopping to arrive before tidying it all away and setting up a yummy buffet and drinks reception.

At about 8pm the rest of the hens and Emily the bride to be arrived and we toasted with prosecco and enjoyed some scrumptious fajitas! After food we played a reveal game where Emily got to find out what was happening throughout the weekend and we reminisced over some of our memories of us with Emily through a slideshow (here some of my memories)

Those of us who weren’t too tired then also made use of the hot tube for a nice soak before heading to bed.

Saturday:

Rise and shine at 8.30am for a yoga session led by me and a yummy smoothie bowl breakfast made by me!

At 10.30am we left for Potadoodledo, a pottery painting studio where Emily and I have been before, so I knew it was an activity she’d enjoy. Everyone had a great time getting their crafty fingers out!

We painted for about 2hs and then headed back for lunch before relaxing a little and painting our nails. In the afternoon we went for a short walk along the coast to St.Abbs which was nice although short as we had to hurry back to get ready to go out. When we were ready we got a taxi to Berwick where we had booked a table at a Lebanese restaurant and enjoyed some food before heading out for some drinks and a bit of a dance. I was unlucky however (probably due to a salad overdose) and was super bloated meaning I ended up having a peppermint tea whilst everyone else was sipping on cocktails haha.

Of course when we got back a couple of us made use of the hot tub again – bliss – sitting in the pitch black at 1am in warm colour changing water with a pint in one hand!

Sunday:

We had planned another yoga session but it did not occur as some were hiding in bed aha and some of us tried to make breakfast (pancakes) but failed as the pans there were terrible and just stuck, so it ended up being muesli with fresh fruit!

So it was a relaxed morning and we were so happy as the sun came out, the weather couldn’t have panned out better as we had beach games planned for this morning. Our first game was to split into two teams and we had 10mins to gather things from the beach such as driftwood and shells to then create and decorate and Emily out of sand in 20 mins. I was a really funny task and everyone had such fun. Afterwards Emily had to complete some tasks to receive her award – a picnic on the beach. We had rhymed together some pirate style verse telling her what to do, it included running up a hill and declaring her Love to Andy to the sea, being buried in sand and lastly having to run fully into the sea, all of which she laughed at and did without any qualms aha, so she earned a glass of prosecco on the beach and a tasty picnic.

Although it was windy it was soo beautiful and we had a lovely time next to the sea! The next activity on the list was a spa afternoon, so we returned to the house and started off with Pimms and a dip in the hot tub! Next we put on some face masks painted more nails and then played a game, Codenames to be exact, a really fun game I’d urge you all to try! We’d made it even more special though by creating personalised cards related to Emily, although that did make the game so much more difficult!

In the evening Debbie cooked a three course vegan meal (the whole weekend was vegan) and we all got ready for our last night which was bod girl themed, so we dressed up in our fancy evening attire and had a blast. The meal was scrumptious, the cocktails tasty and and the laughter hilarious as we played more games late into the night!

Monday:

So sadly Monday meant home day! We packed up and only had a brief stop to pick up our glazed and fired pottery before driving back to Durham!

What an amazing weekend it was though!!! Wish I was still there!

Love Carina xo

2 TASTY SMOOTHIE RECIPES

Published on April 25, 2017March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo3 Comments

Good morning guys,

As you already know I failed the smoothie cleanse challenge I set myself. The thing which really caused me irritation was not being able to eat anything, like physically being able to chew something. So in the end I resulted to having a breakfast smoothie, a lunch smoothie and a meal in the evening.

Sadly also apart from yoga I can’t remember going to the gym last week so I only lost 1lbs this week but onward and upwards! It’s a new week now! And I started it with a healthy day and 1 1/2hs at the gym yesterday! Today I had a yummy smoothie bowl for breakfast too – so the health game is back on!

Anyway I did say I’d share my favourite smoothie recipes with you, so here’s two for you – I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think if you try them!

Peanut Butter Blaster:

1 banana – 1 heaped tbsp of cocoa powder – 1 heaped tbsp of smooth peanut butter – small squeeze of honey – almond milk (however much you like depending on how runny or thick you like your smoothie)

Green Machine:

40g of fresh ginger – a good handful of mint – 1 squeezed lime – 3 squeezed oranges – 1 large handful of kale – 1 pear – 1tsp of greenboost powder – 1tsp of matcha powder – 1/2 mango (depending on how juicy your oranges are you can also add some cold green tea)

Enjoy guys

Love Carina xo

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY

Published on April 5, 2017March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Hello my beautiful friends,

Here’s a what I eat in a day from last week as I am currently in the Peak District!

So after a couple too many drinks the night before aha I had a breakfast to help cure my mini hangover. Dippy eggs, bacon and an Innocent smoothie.

I had a late start at work, my shift only starting at 12pm so I could enjoy my breakfast in peace and lunch at work was only at about 3pm. I got this yummy avocado chicken salad!

After work I hit the gym and so dinner was a bit later, but I was ready for it. I made a little portion of a chicken green veg stir fry with some corn on the cob, which I absolutely love to eat with just a little butter and salt – yummy!

Love Carina xo

2 STONE DOWN

Published on April 4, 2017April 3, 2017 by simplycarinaxo2 Comments

Good morning friends,

So I completely forgot to mention yesterday, but after a bit of a standstill the past two weeks (having been ill the first and then just not quite back into the swing of things the second) I have managed to loose 2kg / 4.4lbs this week!!! This finally brings me down to 89kg!! It has been quite a while since I have been under 90kg! I am soo happy to still be making progress.

So since I started my weightloss journey I have lost 2 stone! When I look in the mirror I sadly struggle to see any difference, but other people have commented they can tell, and when I put on my jeans I can tell I’ve lost as I need to wear a belt with them now to keep them up. So I guess the changes are starting to show slowly but surely! I can’t wait to see how my journey progresses!

Love Carina xo

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY

Published on March 14, 2017March 17, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hello my beautiful friends,

I am currently loving cooking and preparing my meals and love to share share this with you, so I hope you enjoy my What I Eat In A Day posts!

Breakfast – smoothie bowl topped with blueberries, pomegranate, coconut, cacao nibs oats and chia seeds.

Lunch – salad with tofu and beans

Dinner – fine noodle broth and some baguette

(Ps. please excuse some of the picture quality, the lighting in my house is terrible in the evening and photos just don’t come out clear at all.)

Love Carina xo

BEST FRESH JUICE EVER!

Published on March 5, 2017March 2, 2018 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey my beautiful friends,

Just a short post to share my absolute favourite fresh juice at the moment. Sadly juicing is just a bit expensive so I don’t always treat myself to this, however we do have a good market fruit and veg shop in Durham and sometimes they have some amazing deals on, so when I had a look the other day I stocked up! They had Jaffa Oranges (usually £1.85 in Tesco) on sale for only 60p!! Bargain!!!!!

Anyhow, to the drink – it’s nothing special, just freshly squeezed oranges and grapefruits, but the combination is kinda amazing!

I would usually squeeze 3 oranges to 1 grapefruit (although here I used 4 and a sprig of mint and squeeze of lime too). Just remember to pop in the fridge to chill or add and ice cube or two – it is the most tasty and refreshing when cool! Let me know if you try this and enjoy it too!

Love Carina xo