3 places in London to go for a quick lunch

Sometimes when you're dashing around London trying to fit in anything and everything, you don't always want somewhere to have a leisurely lunch. Places to see people! But that chicken ceasar baguette from Pret can only be eaten so many times. So here are three quick, cool and tasty independent eateries that are perfect to fill your belly before you soak up even more sights and run those errands. 

1. Banh Mi Bay
Vietnamese is one of my favourite cuisines. It's a fairly new one to me but I love how fresh, flavoursome and interesting it is. Hannah introduced me to Banh Mi Bay which specialises in the Banh Mi Baguettes. You can choose from a traditional roll or a french baguette before picking your filling - warm or cold. I opted for the warm spiced pork - what a good shout that was! For just a fiver, the Vietnamese roll comes bursting at the seams with pork, oodles of pickled shredded carrots, fresh cucumber and fiery chilli. Keep in mind it's not for the lighthearted! It's a great choice to a takeaway and they have three outposts dotted around central London.

2. Sampa
I stumbled into this Brazilian coffee shop by chance when I decided to shelter from the rain in Leather lane. Offering a delectable choice of sweet treats from slabs of red velvet cake to fruit custard tart to gooey chocolate brownies, it's the perfect place to get a sugar rush. I loved the industrial vibe with green succulents, rough wooden tables and mix-matched collages on the wall. It has the cool East London hipster vibe down to a tee - in central London. I spent a good few hours stuffing my face with cake with I blogged and didn't feel rushed at all by the staff.

3. Peyton and Byrne
I touched on this in a post last week but I couldn't leave it out! Again it offers fantastic sweet treats, healthy salads, decedent hot chocolates and scrumptious sandwiches. There really is something for everyone in this joint. Thanks to its central location in Covent Garden, it's in the middle of all the action. I personally recommend the roasted vegetable, pesto and mozzarella ciabatta. Perfection!

Do you have any suggestions for a quick bite to eat?

Read more

Recipe: Fruity breakfast bars

Breakfast is the most important meal of a day but so easily missed. A quick slice of buttery toast, a flaky croissant from the coffee shop or a plastic bowl of cereal hurriedly eaten on the train are often the choice for busy commuters. But you can be healthy and still eat something substantial on the go. Flahavan's challenged me to #betteryourbreakfast and put together something a little different for the morning. Make these simple fruity breakfast bars on a Sunday night and you'll have something tasty and filling for the rest of the week.

Ingredients:
50g desiccated coconut
250g Flahavan's Irish Porridge Oats Multi Seed*
100g chopped dates
1 can of condensed milk
125g mixed nuts
75g apricots

Method:
1. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan. Pre-heat the oven at 130 degree - adjust if you're using a fan oven.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl before pouring in the milk. Give a good sure to ensure everything is coated.

3. Line a 9x13 inch pan with greased parchment paper before pouring on the mixture. Make sure it's all evenly spread and pat it down with a spatula.

4. Pop in the oven for around 30 minutes or so. Keeping checking them as some ovens cook quicker or slower.

5. Leave in the dish for around 15 minutes.

6. Cut into 16 chunky slices and let them cool down completely. Store them in a cake tin to help keep them fresh.

As always please do send me a tweet if you make them, I'd love to know!

Inspiration for the recipe taken from Queen Nigella!

Read more

OOTD: Chunky roll neck jumper

Outfit:

Khaki trench coat: Primark (similar)

Two tone chunky knit roll neck jumper: New Look

Navy soft touch skinny jeans: ASDA* (similar)

Two tone brown and black heeled leather boots: TK Maxx (similar)

Poppy red medium lily: Mulberry

I took fashion advice from Hannah Gale and went on the hunt before Christmas for some long-line chunky knit roll neck jumpers. The girl has a cracking collection. I eventually came across some on New Look that tickled my fancy - this two tone jumper was one of two that I ordered. Now I want to order all the chunky knits in the world. They're cosy, easy to throw on and allow you to still feel put together yet as comfortable as wearing your jammies outdoors. Win win situation all round. Now when is payday so I can buy more?

Ah Neals Yard - an Instagram wet dream eh? I met up with Lily and Sarah whilst dragging along my RL friend for a brunch date at Dishoom and a bit of Shakespeare culture with Dame Judi Dench in A Winter's Tale. You should have seen my best friends gobsmacked face when we all whipped out our cameras to photograph our breakfast. The girl didn't know what had hit her! A Winter's Tale was fun. I didn't really have a clue what was going on for the first 20 minutes and really should have done prior research. But by the second act I was laughing at the jokes and it was a pleasure to see Dame Judi in action. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday I tell thee. 

Read more