Fry’s launches a huge new range of ready-to-eat vegan products

November 8, 2017, 7:23 am

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Family company Fry’s is well known for being a firm vegan favourite.

They make a whole host of cruelty-free meat alternatives such as prawn-style pieces, sausages and pies – and their chicken-style schnitzel even made one Metro.co.uk writer realise that ‘actual meat really is pointless‘.

The company just announced that it’s launched a huge new ready-to-eat chilled range, which means picnics and lunch times may never be the same again.

The range includes new lines like chargrilled beef-style strips, a spicy three bean pasty and premium boxed pies.

Get your bellies ready, pals, for here is the whole range.

Fry’s new ready-to-eat vegan pieces

Read the full story

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I went to a meditation disco and it was better than therapy

November 8, 2017, 8:00 am

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Let’s get something straight: I am not cool.

I do not go to pop-up gin festivals or visit obscure galleries at the weekend – I spend 70% of my weekends in the office.

Experts think unleashing your inner child could be the key to easing stress and here’s why

I do not know good places to eat that isn’t the Thai place by Balham station. I live in Balham, for god’s sake.

It was therefore, with some trepidation, that I agreed to give up my Sunday morning for an event called Shavasana Disco.

It would begin with a guided, Vedic meditation –… Read the full story

Chronic illness is not a competition – so stop comparing

November 8, 2017, 8:00 am

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As somebody who blogs a lot about what life is like with chronic illness, there are lots of things I’ve come to expect.

I expect that people might not know much about Inflammatory Bowel Disease – the condition I live with.

10 pieces of advice for a newly diagnosed IBD patient

They might not understand how it’s different to other digestive diseases and how it’s much more than an ‘upset stomach’.

But while I expect the occasional, misguided comments from those who aren’t in the know, what infuriates more is the opposite: comments… Read the full story

Photographer celebrates the freedom of getting naked

November 8, 2017, 8:00 am

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Are you a never-nude?

Or are you more comfortable letting it all hang out?

Our attitudes towards nudity can reveal a lot about our comfort with our bodies, whether we hurriedly get changed in the gym so no one can see our tums or use our weekends to wander around entirely free of clothing.

In a time of comparison and intense nitpicking of every part of our bods, it might be wise for us to get a little more comfortable with being naked.

Not just so we can learn to feel our legs wobble and see our stomach bulge, but so that we can show other people that their bodies are worth celebrating,… Read the full story

Are Love Hearts vegetarian, vegan or halal?

November 8, 2017, 8:30 am

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How do you really tell someone you love them? Give them a sweet that says Heart Throb obviously.

Love Heart sweets are the funniest sweet to share and laugh about but what happens when you want to give your vegan friend a Love Heart sweet that says, My Girl?

Will they be able to eat it?

What about people who follow a Halal diet? Are Love Heart sweets okay for vegetarian, vegan or halal diets?

Read the full story

Like making sloe gin? Map of where sloe bushes grow in London

November 8, 2017, 8:31 am

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Those who live in London may have already given up on the idea of making their own sloe gin.

But believe it or not – it’s actually entirely possible to find blackthorn bushes growing in the city.

It’s completely free to forage for sloes to make your own batch of sloe gin, as well as foraging other berries, nuts and greens to eat.

How to make sloe gin the Hayman's way

There are plenty of good sloe gin recipes online but Kirsty at Hayman’s recommends filling a jar or bottle half way with sloes and adding in the gin (she uses Hayman’s).

After it has had… Read the full story

There’s no such thing as mutton dressed as lamb – let’s wear what we want

November 8, 2017, 9:24 am

≫ Next: Thinking about beauty at 30 will give you a new perspective on life – here’s what I learnt

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Comfort has become my keyword when it comes to buying new clothes.

Take a look through my wardrobe and you will see a colour palate of black, dark green, dark blue and maroon; lots of jeans and functional clothing.

Experimental, it ain’t.

But how did I get to this point?

I never really followed fashion as a teenager, but I did take risks with the clothes I wore.

Smacking children should be banned in the rest of the UK too

I chose clothes I loved – a children’s Powerpuff Girls t-shirt was my top of choice for nightclubbing at one point – that weren’t… Read the full story

Thinking about beauty at 30 will give you a new perspective on life – here’s what I learnt

November 8, 2017, 10:00 pm

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Thinking and writing about beauty at 30 is a bit terrifying. And for me, it feels quite vulnerable.

I know, you’re rolling your eyes at the histrionics. But when I paused for a moment to look at how my appearance and beauty regime has changed over the course of a decade, it was hard not to admit to myself that I’m getting old.

What having adult acne has taught me about beauty

It’s not necessarily because I feel old or that I look old (having recently been ID’d while… Read the full story

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If you want a date you’ll need to work on your grammar

November 8, 2017, 10:24 pm

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If you’re not having much luck on the dating app front, then we might have a theory why.

Forget your (lack of) height, your terrible profile photo or the fact you’re clearly in a relationship.

Have you ever considered that your sentence structure is putting potential suitors off?

According to recent research by dating app TrueView, you’re 68% more likely to get a response to your message if you use proper sentences.

Probably because it’s 2017 and we’re not 15-year-olds on MSN Messenger acronym-ing the hell out of life.

The dating app discovered that users are 45% more likely to get… Read the full story

Why is it so easy for men to ignore their own mental health, even while helping others with theirs?

November 8, 2017, 11:00 pm

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Mental health affects everyone, even though some men refute such a claim.

It’s just as real as your physical health.

Here’s what it’s like to depend on disability allowance only to be thrown off it

One thing’s for sure when it comes to mental health: anyone – no matter who you are, what your background, whether you’ve a good job, plenty of money, a loving and supportive family – can be struck down with any number of issues from panic attacks to severe depression.

Mental illness is indiscriminate. No… Read the full story

85-year-old Doreen receives prestigious award for her contribution to sumo wrestling

November 8, 2017, 11:03 pm

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If we asked you to picture someone who’d made a significant contribution to the world of sumo wrestling, you probably wouldn’t imagine Doreen Simmons.

85 years old and small in stature, Doreen, who’s originally from Nottingham, looks a little different from her sumo wrestling pals in their mawashi.

And yet she’s just been awarded with a prestigious Japanese honour for her contribution to the sport, having dedicated herself to sumo wrestling for 25 years as a star commentator.

Being awarded the Order of the Rising Sun is a pretty big deal. The medal was established in 1875, and is one of the highest orders bestowed by the Japanese government.

And now, Doreen gets… Read the full story

Cannabis ad brilliantly mocks all those corny campaigns for prescription medication

November 8, 2017, 11:29 pm

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If you’ve ever watched TV in the US, you’ll have seen a few of them.

Those ads praising the life-fixing wonders of prescription medication – for everything from tummy trouble to migraines – showing happy, well-adjusted people living perfect lives as the voiceover rushes through potential side-effects.

This advert is a little different, because, well, it’s advertising weed.

Briteside’s ad starts off like a regular medication advert, showing a woman who’s a little overwhelmed by life (we feel you).

‘Sometimes you need to stop worrying and take a… Read the full story

Lush’s Twilight spray might be their next big cult product to help you sleep

November 8, 2017, 11:51 pm

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Hey, remember the hype around Lush’s Sleepy lotion?

Mums praised it for sending their babies off to snoozetown. Long-term insomniacs said it helped them drift off.

It quickly sold out in stores (don’t worry, it’s been restocked), and tubs of the stuff popped up in every blogger and Influencer’s Instagram posts.

It was a big deal, basically. Lush stuff is exciting in itself, but if it’s Lush stuff that can also help us get some damn rest, people get really into it.

So we’re warning you now: If you’re keen to try this product, pop down to your… Read the full story

Habit burgers are coming to London

November 9, 2017, 12:20 am

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You might not have heard of Habit, so let’s do a quick recap.

Habit is a burger chain based in California with locations across the US. It serves things such as the BBQ Bacon Charburger and tuna steak sandwiches.

Back in 2014, it was also rated as the best burger chain in the US. So it’s a pretty big deal.

And now, The Habit Burger Grill is coming to the UK – London, to be exact.

The Habit Burger Grill plans to open their first British branches in London suburbs, to appeal to people who can’t be bothered with fancy hipster burgers at a higher price point. The first spot will be in Bromley.

Read the full story

You can now actually have breakfast at Tiffany’s

November 9, 2017, 12:49 am

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s is the dream.

It’s been the dream since we first watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s, since we first read the book, and since we realised that having breakfast at Tiffany’s isn’t a real thing, because it’s a jewellery store that sells expensive tin cans – not a brunch spot.

We had to just make do with doing things Holly Golightly style and wolfing down a croissant while staring through the store’s windows.

Until now, that is.

That’s right, fellow Audrey Hepburn fans. You can now actually, properly, have breakfast at Tiffany’s, because the iconic jewellery store is opening its first ever cafe.

Read the full story

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A bar entirely dedicated to prosecco is coming to London

November 9, 2017, 1:04 am

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Forget Valentine’s Day, there’s only one day to bookmark in your diaries for February: the launch of London’s first bar entirely dedicated to prosecco. Yup, really.

The bar, located in Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge, will stock premium prosecco from Veneto, Prosecco DOCG.

Owner Kristina Issa wants to bring the same quality of prosecco she loved in Italy to London for us to sample (how generous of her, we say).

‘The idea came to me over drinks with friends back in January. I love prosecco but could never find a glass of the same quality here in London compared to Italy,’ she said.

‘I wanted to create a bar that feels both luxurious… Read the full story

13 reasons November is the absolute best month of the year

November 9, 2017, 2:00 am

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When you think of November it’s easy to write it off as the holding month between Halloween and Christmas when very little happens.

But don’t wish the 11th month of the year away so quickly – there’s plenty to enjoy and feel happy about.

There’s the autumn weather, the pre-Christmas planning and – of course – the epic spectacle that is Bonfire Night.

Here are 13 reasons November isn’t just an okay month, but actually the best month of the entire year.

1. Your advent calendar selection

Whatever your bag – gin, beauty, beer, cheese, chocolate – there’s an advent calendar for that!

These little beauties need to be up and ready… Read the full story

5 things you should know about gluten-free baking

November 9, 2017, 2:00 am

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In 2010 my daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease that necessitates a strict, life-long, gluten-free diet.

It didn’t come as a huge surprise; I had been intolerant to gluten for numerous years and she had the classic symptoms of stomach pain, bloating, diarrhoea and lethargy.

5 ingredients in gluten-free foods that will surprise you

Up until that point, I had avoided baking… Read the full story

Calling an item of clothing ‘flattering’ is really offensive – please stop

November 9, 2017, 2:16 am

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My relationship with fashion got off to a rocky start. 

Despite being a normal size 10/12 in my middle to late teens, I had decided that I was fat.

I was also 5”7 with a 5 foot best friend (she’s wonderful, but her tininess does mean that I look like Gandalf next to a Hobbit when we stand together) and was surrounded by people who were a size 4.

My friends would waif around trying on bikinis and hot pants and slinky dresses while I, despite being a perfectly normal size, was relegated to the dark, miserable area of ‘flattering’.

Flattering meant corduroy a-line skirts. Wrap dresses. V-neck jumpers. Bootleg jeans.

Which… Read the full story

100-year-old woman receives more than 600 birthday cards from total strangers

November 9, 2017, 2:22 am

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Okay, everyone. Here’s your daily reminder that people are generally lovely. We could always do with one of those.

Lizzie Picken never got married and doesn’t have children, so she was expecting a rather lonely birthday when she turned 100 this week.

But instead, she woke up to 638 cards (plus some gifts) celebrating her big day.

Staff at Evergreen Residential Home, where Lizzie now lives, put out an appeal on social media, with the aim of getting 100 cards sent in time for Lizzie’s birthday.

Clearly that appeal went better than expected, as more than 600 cards and gifts turned up.

Read the full story