birthday break

A couple of days ago was my 19th birthday so I headed off to stay at Ickworth House for a few days and was blessed with non-stop sunshine and had the most chilled time that I've had in years. I've just got home and writing this post is making me wish I was still there! I'm going to write up about the Hotel and estate itself but for now here's some photos of what I got up to.

A beautiful mix up of wrapping paper..

Playing (posing) in the garden..

 Homemade Pimms and a beautiful French patisserie birthday cake..

 Heading out for my birthday meal..

Catching some rays down by the pond on day two..

The lodge house that we were staying in..

We said no to expensive room service and yes to a Chinese takeaway..

Before going out on the second night and looking like a human orange highlighter pen..

 Ickworth House..

Wellies for the little ones..

super low fat courgette pizza squares

I thought I'd get my geek on and post up a low fat recipe that I've been loving lately, I'm a complete pizza addict and find this the perfect alternative to a takeaway. I've been using the Warbutons Square Wraps for the pizza bases which makes them far less stodgy, is much lighter tasting and of course lower in calories. 

The first step is to grill up some thinly sliced Courgette and set it aside to add to the pizza later on.

Then spread the Tomato and Basil sauce over the base, you want to use enough so that the pizza won't be dry but you don't want it soggy either so don't go overboard. Avoid the edges too as then they will crisp up just like a proper pizza.

Next add on thin slices of Mozzarella but make sure it isn't too wet as it will make the pizza soggy which is not what you want.

Pop your pizza in a hot oven and wait for the Mozzarella to melt and allow the pizza to crisp up before putting on the courgette otherwise it will become too watery. 

Finally get the courgette on there, add a few leaves of Basil and use the grill setting on the oven so that the Mozzarella bubbles up and the Courgette heats through.

Finito. I always find that one pizza square is filling enough on it's own or with a salad for a lunch or tea time meal, I calculated that they come in at around 300 calories which is pretty much 1/5 of the calories than in a medium Dominos pizza. Let me know if you will try these pizzas out!

the isle of wight

Sorry that I haven't been around on this blog for ages but life has been getting in the way as usual. On the weekend I took a trip to the Isle of Wight and was blessed with absolutely beautiful hot weather and took some snaps to share with you all. I was only there for two full days so didn't do an awful lot but enjoyed myself nonetheless and met far too many cute dogs along the way. If you are thinking of staying on the Isle of Wight then definitely check out Cowes as it's one of my favourite parts of the island, it's a dainty little village right by the sea where the boating races are held. In my experience the Isle of Wight never seems to get overrun with tourists as most seaside resorts and manages to keep it's charm even well into the Summer season which is why I love it as a place to escape to.