Why it's Important to Ditch the Stress and Think about the Fun Stuff

Life with two kids, who don't seem to like sleeping much, a dog, husband and a pretty full on job can be pretty exhausting sometimes. Life BK (before kids) seems a murky memory, a distant dream of spontaneous nights out, loose change that jingled in your wallet, clothes that weren't covered in snot/food/dribble (delete as appropriate) and sleep... And sometimes, despite the many, many joys that being a parent to two crazy, demanding and beautiful children brings, you lose sight of the happiness and fun of life around you and instead get caught up in the stress and minutiae of everyday life.

I read a great article this week about the fears holding women back in the workplace: The Secret Fears that Hold Back Women in the Workplace.   I'd had a tough week for a variety of reasons and was feeling a bit despondent and stressed out about things  (a story for another time). One of the points in this article really resonated with me, it was about the idea that stress is often self inflicted and down to the pressure you put on yourself to be perfect and that sometimes it is ok to relax a little, try to do your best and not worry about things going wrong before they actually happen. Sound advice. But for me, de-stressing is also about focusing on the best bits of your day/week and not forgetting the things that have made you laugh and smile as you rush to panic about the work you need to do, the meal you need to cook or the house you need to clean.

And when I looked back at my week, there were quite a few things that had made me laugh or smile: like the kind words I received from friends when I was feeling unsure about a decision I had made; my beautiful bunch of Friday Flowers that my husband (almost without fail) buys me every Friday; the new 'cool' words that my class taught me so I could be 'down with the kids' and had me lop and calling everyone bae for the rest of that day...until I realised what lop meant!

And of course my children, who never fail to raise a smile as they wake me at 5am and then proceed to bounce up and down on me making clip clip noises like I'm a pony or think it's hilariously funny to    apply your make up to their dollies, themselves and half the living room furniture just as you are expecting guests. But that's life and that's the joy of it.

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How To Use Up Overripe Bananas

Bananas are a definite favourite in our house and we always have plenty in the fruit bowl. The problem is, that they often become overripe before we get round to finishing the bunch. Well we hate waste and we love cake, so here is a simple little banana loaf recipe to use up those lonely ripe bananas. It's easy and quick to make and tastes delicious.

Ingredients

150g butter

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs beaten

2 ripe bananas (mashed)

150g self raisingflour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g Dark chocolate chips

Method:

• Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4
• Cream your butter and sugar together
• Beat in the eggs
• Mix in the banana
• Fold in the flour, baking powder and chocolate chips
• Pour into a greased and floured loaf tin and cook in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes until golden on top. (To ensure your cake is cooked, insert a skewer, if it comes out clean, your cake is cooked.)

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Quick and Easy Soy and Honey Glazed Salmon

I'm always on the look out for super easy and super tasty recipes that use fresh and healthy ingredients and this salmon recipe certainly ticks all those boxes.

15 minute prep-time        10 minute cooking time

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets (skin on)

100mls dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons of lime juice

2 tablespoons honey

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1cm piece fresh ginger, crushed

Handful of chopped coriander to garnish

Method:

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, lime juice and the crushed garlic and ginger until the honey has dissolved and pour into a dish large enough for your salmon fillets
2. Lie your salmon fillets, skin side up into the bowl and allow to marinade for 10 minutes
3. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the salmon and marinade sauce and fry for 7 - 10 minutes until sauce becomes sticky and salmon is fully cooked. (Fry skin side down for longer for a crispy skin)
4. Serve with rice and fried courgette and garnish with coriander
5. Why not keep a little of the sauce back before marinating so you can flavour your rice with it?

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