Reading List

Hello Blogosphere (is this still a 'thing')!

So, I've got a few posts lined up, on topics such as adult acne, ombre haircare and  a natural facemask I've been using. However, today I wanted to do a little reading list. I've recently got back into reading, I say recently; its been a few months! Its such a great way of escaping when you can't be bothered with the world. I used to always have my head in a book when I was younger, then as I grew up I left books for fashion/make up/boys (the usual nonsense!) Well, I'm back to my love and now and wanted to share.

I wanted to let you know of books that I've read and am currently reading.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseni

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

A beautifully written book, I seriously couldn't put it down. The relationship between Mariam and Laila is actually lovely; they're brought together for a horrible reason but the support they give each other shows that there are blessings in even the worst of situations. I don't want to give away too much, as I'll end up telling you the twist and turns of the story. But a great story on the way women are treated in Afganistan, from history to the modern day. 

Princess - Jean Sasson

In a land where Kings still rule, I am a Princess. You must know me only as Sultana, for I cannot reveal my true name for fear that harm will come to me and my family for what I am about to tell you.

A true account of a Saudi Princess. This is a trilogy of books, starting with the Princess as a young girl through to being a mother. This was such a great insight into the world of the Saudi Royal Family, we see them or members of the family maybe in Harrods buying the Chanel handbag we've been dying for like its the same price as a high street bag; but are they really happy inside? Once you've read Princess, you'll want to buy the trilogy.

Mayada Daughter of Iraq - Jean Sasson

Mayada was born into a powerful Iraqi family. One grandfather fought alongside Lawrence of Arabia. The other is acclaimed as the first true Arab nationalist. Her uncle was Prime Minister for nearly forty years, her mother an important politician. When Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath party seized power, and instituted his reign of terror, Mayada found herself alone in Baghdad, a divorced parent of two children, earning a meagre living printing brochures. Until one morning in August 1999 she was summarily arrested and dragged to the notorious Baladiyat Prison, falsely accused of printing anti-government propaganda. There she was thrown into a cell with 17 'shadow women'. 

Another true story written by Jean Sasson book with the same theme of women in the Middle East. If I'm honest, I still haven't finished reading this book, it got a bit too much for me when the story goes into the way the inmates are treated in the jail. However, I do want to finish this, maybe its just not for night time reading! 

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy

Does this even need a blurb?! The first book; loved! The second is okay and by the third, I got bored as it began feeling too 'obvious'. Can't wait for the film though!

Pride and Predjudice - Jane Austen 

Does this need any introduction!? I wanted to read a classic, broaden my horizons a bit! I'm currently reading this, so far so good! Its a classic, but still so true for some people in this day and age!

That's it for now! What are you guys reading? Anything you recommend?

Love Shameera xxx

I'm back!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a long, long time...Years in fact!

I totally lost my blogging bug; hitting blanks every time I wanted to write something.

So, whilst I'm not into this whole 'New Year, New Me' nonsense; you shouldn't need a new year to make a change, right?! I thought I'd take the plunge (albeit a post of waffling), and start this year blogging because, I don't want to look back at the end of 2015 thinking "Nothing's really changed for the better". I want to document it so I know what did happen! 

I'll continue to document the usual beauty products/treatments, but also personal challenges and experiences to make the blog more varied than it was before.

Okay, so first post over! I'm excited to re-start and not lose traction!

Love Shameera xxx

PrettyInTheDesert Giveaway

Go enter it now...Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

£££$$$£££ TAG: How Much Is Your Face Worth £££$$$£££

Hello!

Ok, I haven't been tagged, but I'm intrigued to know how much it is worth!

Skincare Routine

Face wash - Decleor Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse - £25
Day Serum - Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refiner £37
Day Cream - Decleor Hydra Floral £38.50
Night serum - Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - £51
Night treatment - Decleor Prolagene Gel - £36 and Retin A (Prescription - £6 or so)

£193.50 for my skin care...Not too bad, I was expecting it to be a lot more!

Makeup

Liquid Foundation Giorgio Armarni Luminous Silk - £30
Powder Foundation - Mac Studio Fix - £19.50
Eyeliner - Sabaya around £11

Only £60.50!!

Extra's (On days I feel like wearing more makeup!)

Highlighter - Mac MSF By CandleLight £18.50 or Sabaya Skin Glow (not online, but around £10)
Mascara - Giorgio Armarni Eyes to Kill £30
Primer - Urban Decay Primer Potion £12
Eyeshadow - MAC £11.50 each

£72...

And the grand total is £325.70...!! I don't think it's too bad! (I'm joking, its far too much!!)

I tag everyone to do this, and let me know once you have so I can feel better about my total!! Lol!

Love ShameeraXxX

Arabian Nights

Hi Everyone!

We're getting one of our lounges done up, and I wanted to go for the Middle Easter/Moroccan look. I love how its so rich and opulent, and still comfortable. Its so beautiful. I'm bored of all these all white/ all cream...lifeless rooms, I love colour and brightness. I hate clutter though, so I like to still keep it minimal.
We chose a colour called Eastern Spice (3) by Dulux, as on the tester page it looked like a mix of that sunset orange/brown. Unfortunately, it's actually more orange! However, it's a really beautiful colour...
Now our lounge has floor to ceiling windows, so it can get very bright so the orange can look a bit much, but I'm thinking once the carpet and curtains etc are all in it'll look much better.

So, the look I wanted to go for was:

 Ok, so this is a bedroom lol...

 I just love this below room...So bright, but gorgeous! Obviously not to everyones taste though...

So far it the paints been done and looks likes:

I didnt want to show the whole room as it's a mess with the old carpet and painters bits and bobs!

That's the colour, with the door, I want to put some material draping over it.

Old carpets....and everything else!!

Once it's all fully done, I will do an updated post with the full look, just wanted to get your ideas on what you think is a Middle Eastern style room??
 Lanterns, candles, cushions and drapes are all obvious, so now to go find them. Where would you recommend?

Love ShameeraXxX

Past posts you may be interested in (Edited with a few more!)

Hello Everyone!

As I've recently gained a few more followers...Which always makes me so happy as it means people are actually reading my blog! I thought I would just do a post of older posts I've done that might be of interest to you...

• Skincare Tips
• Haircare Tips
• Hairloss products that worked for me
• Hair tips here and here
• Bodycare Tips
• Neem Facemask
• Properties of Honey
• Free Radicals
• Help with finding a new job
• Roaccutane (1)
• Roaccutane (2)
• Garlic Shampoo
• Oil Treatment
• Green Tea recipes (1) and (2)
• The Oil Cleansing Method
• Benefits of Raw Coco Butter.
• Weightloss & Anaemia 
• Salt Water Cleanser
• Emu Oil Review
• Healthy Foods & Tips

Love ShameeraXxX

Guest Blogger - A Diary of a Detox

Hi Everyone,

TGIF right?! This week has gone by so slowly! 

Today, I have a treat for you, my friend Verity did a detox last week, and I had asked her to keep a diary to post for you guys and here it is. Its really tempted me to detox, but I dont want to do it alone...! 

Verity's Detox Diary

Me and my partner, Rob, decided that we needed to do a detox - his reasons were that he is trying to lose weight and couldn't seem to shift any so wanted to get the ball rolling and my reasons were that I've felt so lethargic and under the weather over the last few months that I needed to try something to give myself more energy.

We decided to follow the detox guide give in Tony Robbins 'Life Balance' Plan. This detox plan is aimed to cleanse, detoxify and renew your digestive system through following a relatively strict detox regime which involved not eating anything other than a vegetable broth in the evening and the occasional green leaf juice and by taking several supplements which aid the digestive and immune systems. 

Day 1: 

It's really important in a detox to ensure that you drink alot of water.... so throughout day one I drank like a fish and pee'd like a race horse!! This detox required that we take our supplements first thing in the morning, midday and in the evening. It wasn't too bad taking these (enormous) pills at first but eventually I felt so hungry that taking the pills just made me feel sick. We both felt hungry by the end of the day and were actually looking forward to our 'vegetable broth' which is just water with vegetable stock in! All in all, day one wasn't too bad - we felt really hungry and were a little more tired than usual but apart from that it was a piece of cake! (mmmmmmm cake!)

Oh and all day I had a crazy craving for apples and pears... I don't like apples and pears! 

Day 2: 

I wake up at 3am with an overwhelming urge to vomit... which I did! I felt so poorly! I felt sick and could barely move without making the nausea feel worse so at about 8am I gave up trying to sleep and just sat on the sofa and watched Grey's Anatomy and felt quite sorry for myself, my poorly belly and my increasingly sore head. A few hours later Rob finally emerged from bed (so lazy!) and announced that he too had a really bad headache. We decided that we couldn't keep this up for another few days and that we'd make a small adjustment in our detox plan; we were going to have some juice! Rob went and bought us some fresh berries, apples, pears and oranges and we made a mixed berry juice for lunch... at the time I thought it was the nicest thing I'd ever had plus it took the edge off both our headaches. My nausea eventually subsided and we just spent the rest of the day watching films and being quite lazy as we were both too tired to do anything else. That evening I started to get pains up and down my legs... it felt like I'd run a marathon as all my muscles hurt. I had a terrible nights sleep as my legs hurt so much that I couldn't get comfortable and the pain kept waking me up. 

My craving on day 2 was potatoes! 

Day 3: 

I got up quite early again as my legs were still hurting... thankfully they weren't as bad as they were however my back and neck had joined in the party so I was pretty much aching all over. I did a bit of research and discovered that this is quite a common issue with detoxes as whilst toxins are stored all over your body, they particularly like to hang out in the leg region, so when you stop eating, these toxins are released into your blood stream and that's where the pain comes from. Day 3 was probably the worst day for me, it felt like I had the flu... I was aching, I had a headache and I was really snotty.... Rob on the other hand turned into the energiser bunny! He complained that he had a 'fuzzy head' (oh dear!) but apart from that he was jumping around everywhere, and frankly doing my head in! We had another mixed berry juice for lunch and our usual vegetable broth for dinner (I really hated that broth by this point). As the day progressed I did start to feel a little better but I had no where near the Olympic levels of energy that Rob had. 

My crazy craving for the day was lamb and spare ribs - I don't eat meat so this was very very strange!! 

Day 4: 

Today we eat!!! When you do a detox they advice you to ease your way back into eating so as not to shock your body. Rob still felt absolutely fine and whilst I was still a little tired I felt so much better than I had over the weekend! We continued with our supplements and detox throughout the day and that evening we had our first meal in four days - we decided on having a small amount of bruschetta.... yummy!

Throughout the detox we both lost 6lbs - Rob put a pound back on and then lost it again a few days later whilst I've put back on 1.5 pounds and haven't shifted it yet - however we didn't do it to lose weight, we did it to restart our systems and to become healthier. I think the best thing about doing this detox for us is that it's kick started us eating more healthily. We only completed the detox four days ago so I'm sure we'll eat the odd takeaway or chocolate bar in the future but it has made us re-evaluate our lifestyle, both in terms of what we're eating and portion sizes. From an energy perspective, it's definitely increased my energy levels... I'm much more active right now and I'm definitely more aware of what is going on with my body. I found it interesting that I didn't realise how bloated I was every day and by reintroducing food slowly I've been able to identify different foods that my body reacts badly to. 

If anyone else is thinking of doing a detox, I can't stress enough the importance of doing your research, preparing in advance and making sure you have support whilst you're doing it. I wouldn't have gotten through 4 days if Rob wasn't doing it as well. Be aware as well that hydration is the most important part in any detox as well as listening to your body and being conscious of where your limits are! 

Thanks Verity, that was really informative, and very funny!! 

Has anyone else tried a detox? If you have any questions, let me know and I'm sure Verity will be happy to answer them for you!

Love ShameeraXxX

And the winner is...

So, the contest is over and the winner is Sinead with sending 4 followers!!

Well done!!

Email me @ shameera1@live.co.uk with what you want for £30, your address so that I can send it to you!

Love ShameeraXxX

Sunday Random-ness

Hello!

How has everyones week been? Mine has been pretty boring! I just thought I'd do a weeks in pictures/random-ness post!

So, on Monday I received an email from the people at Nakd Bars after they read my post and they sent me some bars to try :-) I haven't had them yet as I eat them during the week, so will update next week I have cocoa mint, cocoa delight and the berry one. I'll give this berry one to my friend to try :-)

This brings me nicely onto my contest - Verity is now winning with 2 new followers :-) 3 days to go if you want to participate!

Yesterday, I went to a wedding. Boring...!! I swear when I get married, I'm going to try and make it at least a little interesting for my guests...Don't know how, but I'll try! Anyways, my friend did my makeup for me, with Arabic liner...It looked amazing! She's so talented, I'm always telling her to create her own YouTube channel or blog.

I don't know why they say that the iPhone 4 camera is so good, I don't think the photos are clear at all....

Also, yesterday I was talking to my friend and we started talking about ourselves as babies/kids, which made me want to look at my old photos...I was obsessed with Barbie!! I had the house, car, dolls, everything...! I made the mistake of telling him my cousin called me pudding, so that is now my new name :O lol!

Me with Barbie...

I also watched Mean Girls 2...Rubbish compared to the brilliant first one! I loved the first one, I can still watch it when I'm bored...So funny! The main actress was rubbish, never seen her before, so don't even know who she is....Whoever she is, she cant act!!

 So, what have you been up to this week?

Love ShameeraXxX

Skin care...Carried on

Hello Everyone!
Did you know today was meant to be the happiest Monday in the year? I can't say I was particularly happy or sad...Haha! How about you?

So in this post, I spoke about my Estee Lauder serums that I have been using and loving. The next part of of my skincare I wanted to talk about was some items from my Decleor QVC TSV.
In the pack, I got a Foaming cleanser, Day Cream, Night Cream, Face oil and my fave Prolagene gel. To be honest, I bought it for the cleanser, day cream and Prolagene gel.

Cleanser: This cleanser says its suitable for all skin types, and it says it promotes radiance. I love love love this cleanser so much. It clears off all makeup, leaves your skin squeaky clean & definitely radiant. However, I wouldn't say it's for all skin types...It's not for sensitive or dry skins. I would say it's best suited to oily skin. Also, if it goes in your eyes OMG...stings!! It's paraben free so doesn't later up, but it foams up nicely on the skin.

Day Cream: This cream is for advanced ageing, for mature skins...So not for me! However, the glow it gives is great, so I carried on using it. I tried to take photos to show the glow, but it wouldn't show up even with a HD camera. I've been using it for a few days, and it seems fine...no breakouts or puffiness which can come from using anti-ageing products. The texture is surprisingly light for an advanced anti-ageing cream. Nothing amazing to report!

Prolagene Gel: This is technically a body product, used to diminish marks, re-generates skin and helps revitalise the skins support structure. I love this product! I've been using this over my Advanced Night Repair, and over the past few days the redness from my skin has totally gone, my skin looks so much clearer, and I need less foundation. I always remember Alison the QVC beauty expert going on about how this product cleared her acne scarring, how amazing it is & I've always been sceptical of anything they say but I thought, let me try it & I have to say I like it. It's a gel texture, but is moisturising enough to not have to use a night cream, however dry skins would need something extra. Another great combination with the Advanced Night Repair, to be honest, better than the Creme De La Mer, and a hell of a lot cheaper!

Overall, I'm happy with this routine I've been using as I can see some good results.

What new skincare have you been using??

Love ShameeraXxX

Get Nakd

Hey Everyone!

Hows your weekend been? I went to watch Swan Lake yesterday, and although the story was really good, I loved the dancing! It was amazing, Natalie Portman did a brilliant job. Really impressed.

So, why get Nakd I hear you say? Well, I've found these great bars which are yummy, and made from dates, nuts, fruits and natural flavours. They're vegan, all natural, no added sugar, gluten, wheat, dairy & GM free, so are actually good for you.
I've spoken about the benefits of dates in my post here, and this article in the Daily Mail has a list of nuts which are good for you. So, in moderation, this bar is great.

Looking at the nutritional info, the carbs content looks high, but one of the girls on the Cosmo forum explained it brilliantly to me, so I had to share:

"Basically there are complex carbs and simple carbs. Simple carbs are sugars. So when you read a label, it says Carbs and then of which are sugars. Sugar hits the bloodstream fast, if too much sugar is in the bloodstream insulin is released.

Before a work out, you want slow release carbs so that you get a steady supply of energy to the blood and muscles. The muscles also store sugar in them and after exercising the muscles stores (glycogen) are low. Whne you eat sugar now, it going into the blood, but before insulin reacts, the muscles are empty so suck up all the sugars quickly. When excess sugars aren't sucked up by the muscles insulin tell it to be turned to bodyfat."

I was eating these before my workout, but have since switched to after if I'm working out during the day, rather than evening.

I bought a mixture box which came with 18 bars for £14.99.

It consisted of cocoa orange, cashew cookie, pecan pie and ginger bread. I didn't want to review till I had tried them all. They're all yummy, except for Pecan Pie...As nice as it sounds, it tastes like plastic...Yuck!! Just don't try this!
My fave is cocoa orange, as it tastes as it should and has a chocolate like texture so curbs any cravings you may get in the afternoons, or is that just me?!
Ginger bread has a nice, delicate ginger/warm flavoured taste, I really enjoyed it with my morning coffee.
Cashew cookie has a nice, light nutty taste that is nice for a post gym snack (great descriptions right?!)
I would next like to try the coco mint, as I can imagine that one being nice!
I got a free berry flavoured one, but I'm not a fan of fruity/berry flavoured bars so I'll add that into my contest prize!

Has anyone else tried these? What do you eat to curb your chocolate cravings??

Love ShameeraXxX

Yesterday I met a really nice makeup counter girl...

Hello!

How is everyone? I've got a few things to update on, first I'll do a few skincare items, and then I'll do one on a new health food bar I've found.

This is going to be a long one...I'll start with Estee Lauder.

So, yesterday I went into Boots to pick up a bottle of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, and I got such a nice sales assistant. Don't you love it when you get a really nice one, who is really helpful and just wants to keep giving you free things? This one was lovely! I literally spent my whole lunchtime speaking to her lol! So, with my Advanced Night, I've been using the whole pipette worth of product, as when I previously bought it I didn't have a nice sales assistant, it was one of those old ladies plastered in makeup. So, I've been using far too much, as all you need is 3-4 drops worth for the whole face and neck. When I tried this last night, it's so true! Previously, I had to wait for the product to sink in till I could put my face cream on, last night it went in straight away, ready for cream. She explained how the product protects and repairs damage, and how it actually has 20 patents. With this product, I love it because you can actually see the difference in your skin as you continue to use it. You can learn more about it here.

The second product I've read about, but never tried was the Idealist Pore Minimising Skin Refinisher. Now this product I am really impressed with. This is your day serum, so you use it then moisturise. I have used this for 2 days now, and I can see a difference in my pore sizes. I think this is just the product having short term effects, but with time I want to see if it does actually improve them permanently. Apparently, it can improve them by 65%! My makeup goes on smoother, and it has such an amazingly, silky feeling. If you get the chance to try this product, I would really recommend it just for the look and feel it gives your skin. To learn more about this product, go here.

Picture to break up the words!

Then, she gave me a few samples, one being the new Daywear cream. Basically, it's the same as the old formula but with a lot more protection. She got out a piece of card, and put some cream on one blob, and left the other plain and shone a UV light on. The unprotected one got damaged straight away, however the Daywear didn't at all. I'm skeptical about these kinds of things, of course if you put something on a piece of card it wont damage! It comes in Normal/combination, Dry and Oily formulations.
She also gave me the tinted version. This one I was impressed with, it's a normal, white cream but once you rub it in, it turns into a glow. I love it so much! It's great for days you dont want to wear foundation, or under foundation for a more, even look. There isn't any coverage at all, but it'll even out the skin.
You can learn more about these products here.

However, I've got a new moisturiser that I'm trying out....

That leads me nicely onto my Decleor Today's Special Value purchase from QVC. I bought this for the Cleanser and Prolagene Gel. I think this post is getting quite wordy now so I'll go into the benefits of these products in another post...Leave a little suspense!

Have you tried any new skincare lately?

Love ShameeraXxX

Bloated like a Balloon!

I've been bloated since New Years day, and I just cant seem to get rid of it! It's so uncomfortable now as it makes my belly look huge, and no amount of sit up etc seems to be eliminating it.
I researched it, and they said to have a look at what I'm eating, however my diet hasn't really changed. I've not added or taken away any new foods, so I'm really confused :-s

I've tried Activia, drinking more water, I've even taken a laxative (not a nice experience at ALL!)....Nothing seems to be helping!

So this post is a question to everyone....How do I eliminate bloating??! I'd love any suggestions, and who knows other people out there could be suffering too, so it may even help someone else!

Love ShameeraXxX

Quick EOTN Post

In a previous ramble post, I mentioned my new fave eye makeup is navy on the waterline.
Pardon the zombie eyes, the flash blinded me!

Such a poor photo, but I thought I'd put it up...

 Not a very pretty photo and no mascara :-s

Also, I just wanted to remind you guys..Only 2weeks left for my contest! If you want to enter, or have entered don't forget!!

Love ShameeraXxX

How I clean my brushes

Hello Everyone!

How has everyones week been? I'm so tired, as I've not had a proper nights sleep for a few days, as I keep waking up at random times like 2am or 4am then can't go back to sleep :-(

Anyways, before I go onto how I clean my brushes, I just wanted to show you my new hot water bottle...

How cute is he?!

Now, I don't know about you, but I refuse to spend money on brush cleaner...I'm sorry, but no! I know it has alcohol in which disinfects etc...but nah!

I have always found it hard to get my Mac Stippling brushes white clean, no matter how much I would clean them with Dove soap, they wouldn't turn white. Then one night we were staying over at a Marriott, and I was bored as there was nothing on and we had eaten etc...So I decided to wash my makeup brushes. I used the Marriott bath soap, and I have never had brushes this clean before!

Now, if someones staying over at The Marriott  their job is to get me the bath soap! I have quite the collection! As I only use the soap once a week (or there abouts!), they last for ages, and even better it's free!

Before....

Give it a nice clean with....

Et Voila...After...Sparkly white!

So, the conclusion to this post...Hotel soaps are the best brush cleaners!

How do you clean your brushes?

Love ShameeraXxX

Recipe: Tabbouleh

Hey Everyone!

I am in soooo much pain today, from damn squats at the gym on Friday! I was in pain yesterday, when we went out, I literally had to crawl up the stairs lol! I cant bend my legs :-s I'll have another walk/run on the treadmill now to hopefully loosen up my muscles.

Anyways, I can't remember if I ever put up a recipe for Tabbouleh on here! It's a Middle Eastern salad made from Bulgar wheat, so it's filling and yumm. When I'm in Marble Arch, I need to have Tabbouleh! Yumm...! The best one I've had was in Dubai. So a while ago, I decided to find the recipe and make it!

The base of the recipe requires bulgar wheat. This is basically wheat in its whole form, making it high in fibre, and therefore good for the digestive system. It is rich in vitamins B, particularly in thiamine and niacin. Thiamine is very useful in the digestive and nerve system. Niacin helps in the digestion of the proteins. Zinc, iron, riboflavin and trace minerals like magnesium and selenium are also found in bulgur. Also, as it's a complex carb, it will keep you fuller for longer.


The authentic recipe has parsley and olive oil but I've adapted it so I have fresh coriander instead of parsley as I don't like the taste as much when I make it at home (Weird right?!), and I don't add olive oil as I just prefer the strong lemon taste. So you can just adapt it using what you like, add anything you want to it!

Ingredients

Bulgar Wheat (I prefer the coarse kind)

Tomato

Red Onion

Half a Cucumber

Lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fresh Coriander

Fresh Mint

Method

Bulgar wheat is just like couscous whereby you soak it in water and it swells up. This is why I've not put a quantities, as you can make how much you want.

Boil some water, and in a bowl pour in your bulgar wheat, squeeze half to one lemon, depending on how much you like lemon. I love it, so I squeeze the whole lemon, and cover it with boiling water. Leave it to soak. Stir it every now and then, till it's soaked and cooked. It should take about 30mins. Then squeeze out any remaining water with some tissue.

Till it looks like this:

Chop up all the vegetable in fine dices, and the herbs in really thin strips. Add all this to the bulgar wheat once its cooled down.

Drizzle olive oil if you want, some salt and pepper and you're done.

Final product:

You can then pack up what you don't eat, and keep in the fridge, it stays nice for a few days.

I eat it with grilled chicken pieces, in pitta bread or just on its own, I love it!

Let me know if you try it, and if you adapt it in anyway so that I can try it too.

Enjoy!

Love ShameeraXxX

P.s dont forget to enter my contest here!

Asda Haul haha!

Hello!

Hows everyones Saturday been? I've been to the gym, had my threading and monthly microdermabrasion facial done, and had my car washed. I've also changed my blog...What do you guys think?


So, last night my mum & I decided to pop into Asda as there was nothing on and it would save us from having to go today for the weekly shop. Love Asda so much, I'm sure I'm not the only one!

I picked up a new coat, its a duffle coat (£35) which is quite light-weight so will go nicely into Spring (Sorry for the poor photo!):

Onto the reason for this post, the yoghurt's! These yoghurt's were on offer for 50p each so I thought may as well try them. I'm usually a snob when it comes to yoghurt's, where I'll only buy Rachel's Organic yoghurt's, but as these were so cheap, and a lot less calories I thought why not?!

The coconut one is nice, although not as creamy as the Rachels Organic ones, but still nice. However, the lemon one is absolutely gorgeous! It tastes citrus-y, but not too much. It's such a nice, light tasting yoghurt which could easily be a dessert. Yummm...! If you see them, I suggest trying them out.

Nutritional Values etc...

Coconut:

Lemon:

They also had a toffee flavour, but that didn't sound appealing to me!

Let me know if you try and like them too.

Enjoy your Saturday night!

Love ShameeraXxX

P.s Don't forget to enter my contest here!

Gym Buddies...Good idea or not?!

Hello Everyone!

TGIF right? This weeks been far too long!

So, I went to the gym today after a loong time. I've been working out at home, but just not been feeling up to going to the gym. So, my friend and I made sure we went today.

Ok, so this brings me nicely onto gym buddies...Yes or No?

I've always preferred gym-ing on my own. I like having a friend with me, but doing my own thing. I like to have my own workout plan, and doing what I want to. However, my friend who has recently started coming with me messes up my workout completely. I used to do at least 40-50 mins cardio with weights, since I've started with her, she does 20mins cardio then a few weights. She's so annoying! It's like I don't mind, do what you want but not if you expect me to do the same. I then have to say I'm staying and then do my bit. Then, she talks the whole time so wastes time that I could be working out and going home. Today, she got a phone call and expected me to wait around for her whilst she was speaking to the person on the other end..!! It's ridiculous!! Because I don't want to be rude, I can't tell her to shut up haha! I am now going to just go on my own without telling her...Really bad, I know but whats the point of going to the gym for 20mins of cardio? That  too only because I told her I'm not doing just 10mins! I feel like doing an extra 10 min run on the treadmill right now at home so that I can feel like I've done something!! (Sorry for the moan!)

So, what do you prefer? Working out alone or with company?

I think good, motivational company is great:

However when they just ruin your workout it absolutely fumes me :@!!



Love ShameeraXxX

Ice Cream Diet...What??!

Hi Guys,

How's everyones week been? I'm so tired, so glad it's Friday tomorrow. Looking forward to the weekend, we'll probably go out to for dinner/shisha cafe...Good times haha! What are your plans?

Anyways, omg I was just searching for healthy diet tips on google as I wanted a healthy lunch idea for tomorrow and I came across The Ice cream Diet!!

It says that new research suggests that the nutritional makeup of ice cream when eaten as part of a balanced diet may help burn fat faster than if you had not eaten the ice cream. A serving a day may help in other ways such as keeping bones strong, burning fat more efficiently as it is high in calcium which has been proven to help weight loss in the long term. Now, I don't know about you, but this sounds amazing to me...!! I can eat a Mcflurry a day lol!

So, how does it work?! You must stay within within your calorie allowance of 1500 calories for women or 2000 for men. As long as you do, you are free to eat that ice cream. Women get 1 cup, which is the equivalent of 180 grams of cream ice cream or 240 grams of fruit sorbet, and men get 1 1/2 cups of ice cream every day. You'll still lose weight because the ice cream is factored in to the diet. It's basically just a healthy diet, with a cup of ice cream included...Good Times!

Here are a few meal plans I found on a number of different sites for anyone who wants to try it:

Monday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 1 peach
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 1 peach.
Dinner: 100 gr. of spaghetti and 100 gr. of grilled steak, 200 gr. of carrot and salad.

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 3-4 apricot
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 3-4 apricot
Dinner: 80 gr. of rice with tomato, 200 gr. of fish.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 2 apples
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 2 apples
Dinner: 100 gr. of spaghetti with garlic sauce, and 100 gr. of ham without the fat, 200 gr. of salad

Thursday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 1 peach
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 1 peach
Dinner: 150 gr. of baked chicken and 200 gr. of lettuce and carrot salad.

Friday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 1 banana
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 1 banana
Dinner: 2 baked potatoes and 200 gr. of roasted chicken, 200 gr. of eggplant and pepper salad.

Saturday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 1 pear
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 1 pear
Dinner: Pasta salad (80gr. of noddles and 50 gr. of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes) and chicken.
Sunday:
Breakfast: Coffee or tea and 3 whole-grain toasts, maybe with light fruit jam.
Morning snack: 100 gr. of strawberries
Lunch: Ice cream
Afternoon: 100 gr. of strawberries
Dinner: 200 gr. of vegetarian pizza.

 Find 3 more plans here, here and here!
 

Unfortunately, I don't think this kind of ice cream would be allowed...

 

Let me know what you think, and if you decide to try it!

I'm off to bed now!

Goodnight Everyone,

Love ShameeraXxX

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