homemade mushroom, onion and leek soup.

shopping list
♥ 500g mushrooms, finely sliced
♥ one leek
♥ one onion
♥ a handful of spring onions
♥ three garlic cloves
♥ 30g butter
♥ 500ml vegetable stock
♥ black pepper






begin by putting all the onions and leeks in a saucepan with the butter on a medium heat for around 5 minutes. when they have caramelised, add the sliced mushrooms and do the same for another 5 minutes. 


next, add the vegetable stock and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. keep stirring add a little black pepper to taste!




finally, put all ingredients in a blender and whizz up until the desired thickness. looking back i would've made mine more chunky - it was so tasty but difficult to take an attractive looking picture.


i've only just got into attempting to make my own soup - let me know if you have any tasty soup recipes! :)

a guilt free chocolate bar? meet ohso probiotic dark chocolate!

oh so chocolately. oh so yummy. and oh so... good for you? surely not? i present to you a brand new (almost) guilt free chocolate bar that loves your tummy.

ohso probiotic chocolate bars are made from 53% dark belgian chocolate yet also contain the optimum daily amount of probiotic to help support your digestive health. only 72 calories too!

i've never really been a fan of the probiotic yoghurt/drinks as i never really saw the point of when i'd drink them. i have cereal for breakfast every day and if i want a snack i grab some fruit (of course the occasional cupcake too!) and i've always thought they seemed quite breakfasty.

i have to say though after a meal i do often get that urge to eat something sweet, even if it's just something small. trying these out for a week i really enjoyed having one of these yummy bitesize bars as a sort of pudding. i once heard somewhere it's actually quite good to just have a couple of squares of dark chocolate after a meal to say to your body "i'm full thank you!" i honestly don't know if i felt any different from the probiotic side of things but i'm sure if you tried them out for a while - who knows? most definitely a better alternative to those runny yoghurt drinks any day!

follow on twitter @ohso_chocolate ♥

the old bulls head, woodhouse eaves, leicestershire.

after asking on twitter for a leicestershire country pub recommendation last sunday... i was not disappointed by the reply of "the old bulls head."

with the windy country lanes and lush green views, it was hard to believe i was only a 20 minute drive from leicester city centre! there was also a scarecrow festival going on in the village - as we drew nearer we were greeted by straw-like pirates, astronauts and even a scarecrow eating a full english breakfast. 

the pub itself had a really nice homely feel, with a nice beer garden which we made use of! :)

i asked for a starter and small version of a main to come out at the same time so that i could try a couple of different things. i went for chargrilled asapargus (£6.25) which came with a poached free range egg and hollandaise.

i also had prawn and scallop panciotti pasta (£8.95) - handmade parcels of scallop and prawn with a tomato and saffron sauce. for a large main this was £13.95.

to be honest i probably shouldn't have chosen such contrasting flavours as i felt spoilt for choice and could have enjoyed each individually. the hollandaise was perfectly creamy and the egg was just gooey and yum! 

in comparison, the pasta was delicate and you could actually tell what seafood was inside unlike some other ravioli style dishes. 

in all i would recommend this pub to couples, families and groups of friends alike. would definitely return for the sunday lunches. (thanks sim!)

www.theoldbullshead.co.uk

covent garden soup co. red thai sweet potato and coconut.

fresh red thai sweet potato, coconut and steamed vegetable soup.

three of your five a day.
252 calories.
around £2-3 in large supermarkets.

"a delicious, smooth base of flavoured sweet potato, red pepper, coconut, ginger and the heat of red chilli, nestled underneath spinach leaves, bamboo shoots, sweet potato and red pepper chunks."

a really quick, tasty and wholesome soup. you simply put in the microwave for five minutes - this steams the vegetables on top and warms the soup underneath. you then remove the little sleeve keeping the veg at the top and it drops in :) 

i just had to post this on my blog because i really recommend it for a lunch to take to work - i thought it was a really great idea for a soup packed with veg which was surprisingly filling! x