Disneyland Paris tips and tricks

I went to Disneyland Paris in December and had THE best trip. Here's a few tips and tricks to make the most of your trip.

. Book the extra nights deal

We had four nights for the price of two in a Disney hotel, although you could see everything in 2-3 days you can go and do all your favourite things again with the extra days and nights!

. Stay in a Disney hotel

Not only are most of the Disney hotels within walking distance but you can also get free shuttles all day from your hotel to the parks free. It also entitles you to extra hours in the parks, which you need if you want to get your photos with the characters. Minnie and Mickey are always at the parks really early and if you don't get in the queue early enough you won't get a photo!

.Stick around for the fireworks and the shows in the daytime

They really are magically, if you don't fancy it, take this time to get back on some of your favourite rides as the queues tend to be much smaller at these times.

.Use the fast track system

 Some of the new and popular rides, Ratatouille, Tower of Terror etc have very large queues. The fast track system gives you a ticket and gives you a time slot to come back later avoiding all the main queues!

.Go in all the shops 

Although a lot of the merchandise in the shops looks the same it is not, each shop has something different!

. Take your own water and snacks in to the park, even left over breakfast :) 

Contrary to what people say you are allowed to take your own food and drink into the park! Water, drinks and snacks are very expensive so save where you can by taking your own in! 

Most importantly ENJOY!

Taste testing Arla High Protein Yoghurt

I have been on a health kick for the last month or so now and so far I am super pleased with how I am doing. When shopping I often look for a sweet treat which isn't going to hinder my weight loss. I came across 'Arla protein yoghurt' in a local supermarket, on sale as it is a new product, so I thought I would give it a try.

I bought the yoghurt for just 62p, usually price £1.24. The packaging is very eye catching and the ' 20g of protein' sign is very prominent on the packaging. I presume from this detail  that they are targeting their product at the health conscious and gym goers of society, in light of protein products being as popular as they are in the current market. 

On trying the product I wasn't particularly impressed, although there is a very large quantity of yoghurt and it is very smooth in texture the flavour was overall very bland. Due to the large amount of protein it was also very filling so I only managed half the pot. I like the idea of the yoghurt and the benefits of the high added protein, but it certainly wasn't the sweet treat I was looking for. Perhaps, with some fruit or a drop of honey it may be quite enjoyable.

For more information on their products their Website is www.arlafoodsingredients.com

Carrot cake - loaf tin

You will need

175g wholemeal self- raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons mixed spice

150ml sunflower oil

175g soft light brown sugar

3 medium eggs

100g raisins, currants or sultanas

250g grated carrots

                                              

Cream cheese topping

200g cream cheese

Vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of icing sugar ( or more, depending on how you like it )

The baking - The cake

. Preheat your oven to 180c, prepare your tin grease with butter and or baking parchment

. Sift the flour into your bowl stirring, the salt, baking powder and spice

. Stir in remaining ingredients untill well mixed

. Pour mixture into the tin and bake in the oven untill cooked (you can check this with a skewer, push skewer into the middle of the cake, it should come out clean when the cake is done)

The baking - The icing

. Sift your icing sugar into a bowl

. Mix the cream cheese untill the mixture is soft and fluffy

. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 

Let your cake cool, ice the top, garnish if you like.

Five fun things to fill your weekend...on a budget

Some of my favourite things to do on a budget...

. Live locally to a Waitrose?

 Get a Waitrose card and get a free tea or coffee in their cafe everyday! Then mabye treat yourself to one of their cakes or toasties. 

Join on Waitrose.com/mywaitrose

. Bake.

I buy my baking ingredients from Aldi as its so reasonably priced and honestly tastes no different. You could spend a whole afternoon baking tasty treats for under £5

. Visit your local Revive shop, charity shop, flea market or car boot and find a upcycle project. 

Wether its something as simple as a old photo frame to personalize,pillow making out of old materials or even an item of furniture all these things can be picked up so cheaply and will keep you entertained all weekend

. Take a walk

Visit a local duck pond, take a relatives dog through some muddy fields or even pop to a nearby town for some window shopping, with spring coming there's no reason not to grab some wellies and get exploring on the weekends

 

. Movie day / night

If the weather really is drab, get together with your girlfriend/boyfriend, group of friends or even family and short list your top 3 films to watch, make some home made snacks and relax

Rose tea

I recently spent the day in the lovely quaint town of Winchester. I was lucky enough to stumble across a small independent coffee shop, Café Monde.  As we stepped in we were greeted by friendly staff who told us to take a seat upstairs. We managed to grab a cosy seat by a window in the corner, perfect for people watching and admiring Winchester’s culture. We were sat on old wooden tables and chairs and surrounded by old artefacts, including a very old vintage radio playing the music in the background. The overall feel was very casual and cosy – perfect.

Gazing over the menu I was very impressed the variety of teas, as well as the delicious vegan, gluten free and vegetarian options on the menu. I always like to try new things, especially teas, so I choose a Rose Tea. 

The tea was presented in a charming red teapot, with the ‘Brewhaha’ packet delicately attached. Once brewed the tea was quite an ‘English breakfast tea 'colour with a sprinkle of pink. The aroma was sensational; it honestly smelt like fresh cut roses. The taste is very dry and fresh and not too sweet at all. 

Brewhaha teas are made using the finest Sri Lankan tea; Ceylon tea is renowned around the world for being the best tasting tea. They package Brewhaha tea in Sri Lanka which adds to its freshness. After buying a box of the Rose Tea for myself in the café, I had to check online to see if I could keep my supply stocked up! I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of teas available on their website, including a variety of fruit teas as well as ‘super cleansing’ and ‘slimming’ tea. Check them out for yourself on …   http://www.brewhahatea.co.uk 

So try some Rose Tea and visit Café Monde if you get the chance :)