Kirstie's April Favourites 2017

Well, well, well looks who's back with a favourites post.
It's been a fair while since I shared my favourite things from the month but seeing as I had a fair few stand-out things in April I thought what better way to talk about them than in a blog post!

First up something which could actually now go into an empties post as I've finished them - Hairburst's Chewable Hair Vitamins!
I had spotted these heart shaped gummies on Instagram in late March and thought 'I like the sound of those', so when I was browsing Holland & Barrett after payday and spotted them at half price (£9.99) I couldn't resist popping them in my basket.
I have to say I definitely feel like I noticed a difference, as most of you know I have gone back to my natural hair colour after year of bleaching and have been letting my hair grow out from a bob over the past few months. I think all of these things combined has helped transform my hair into what seems to be the healthiest and thickest state it's been in since about 2006!
Over the course of a month I think my hair has grown about an inch - which if I'm correct is double the average. I would love to keep giving these a go but my current budget won't allow for a £20 hair splurge... maybe once they are back on offer I can start re-using them.

Now onto something slightly more random, the My Dad Wrote A Porno Podcast. Oh my good god this is so hilarious I have literally lost count as to how many times I've told friends to listen to it! The first two seasons had me bursting out into full on lols in public whilst alone... never a good look! I HIGHLY recommend this - season 3 comes out at the end of this month so you have a week or so to catch up and be totally scarred by the world of Belinda!

It wouldn't be a Kirstie favourites without some form of food stuck in there and the past few weeks I have been loving Deliciously Ella's Energy Balls and Protein World's Cinnamon Roll Slender Blend!

I actually, again, picked up the energy balls because they were on offer in Holland & Barrett (yes, I can spend ALOT of money in that store!) - they were only £1 instead of the eye-watering usual price of £2. I have to say these are such a fantastic snack whilst on the go, all natural ingredients and totally gluten, dairy and refined sugar free - I have nothing but positive things to say about these tasty balls! (okay regretting that wording...)
Like I've mentioned alot, I really love Protein World products and the Cinnamon Roll shake was a firm favourite throughout April - hands down my fav flavour from them.

Make-up time! I don't think I'm only blogger who's been a tiny bit mesmerised by the Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter + Glow Liquid Eyeshadows! Kitten Karma is SO fabulous - I can't wait to rock this this festival season - I'm pretty pants when it comes to make-up but this are pretty much idiot free, so so easy to use!

Neal & Wolf's Elevate has 100% been in a favourites post before! I bought a replacement bottle of this back at the beginning of the year and I honestly had forgotten how much I love this stuff. I pop a 20p blob sized throughout my hair when it's damp after being washed and let my hair dry naturally (I'm trying to grow it people!) - not only does it smell fabulous but it makes my hair feel so soft and smooth, a total hair hero!

As soon as I heard that the Embryolisse Radiant Eye Cream was a favourite with stars such as Elle McPherson, Ariana Grande and Scarlett Johansson I knew I had to try it out and jumped at the offer of a sample!
Working at home behind a laptop Mon-Fri my eyes and the surrounding area gets so tired, puffy and generally drained so this product has been a god send. As I don't wear any make-up when working at home (I mean come on that would be a total waste!) popping this on once or twice a day to refresh and relax my eyes has been incredible. It immediately wakes me up and feels so soothing - plus I can always see a slight change in my skin, it definitely does what it says with brightening any looks of fatigue!

Thanks so much for reading you lovely lot :) I'm so glad I'm back blogging around, there's definitely been in a big whole in my life without it!

Want to chat or see more? Find me below :

Twitter - @alohakirstie

Instagram - @alohakirstie

Facebook - /AlohaKirstie

3 Ingredient Gluten Free Chocolate Protein Pancakes

Finally! Back to the writing, it's been a week since my last blog post and it feels like forever - how I used to blog everyday is beyond me?!
 As I had mentioned in my previous post, it's time for my blog to have a bit of a content make-over..... so, here we go......

As you may have seen and read over my social media channels (Twitter/Instagram) I'm on a major health and fitness mission. 
No more late night biscuit scoffing sessions and squat avoidance, it's time to finally get myself looking and feeling the best I can, inside and out.

I've been eating clean and LOVING it! I feel fab and I'm loving my new routine of eating well and exercising. (Although HIIT class definitely killed me the other night!)

I've been looking at creating EASY and fun recipes for all meals (hello world of food Pinterest), and with my lack of knowledge in the kitchen and busy schedule I like to be able to make meals quickly and without the 'faff' of 57 different ingredients and scattered cooking times.

These pancakes are SO easy, with only 3 ingredients and taking only a matter of minutes these really are a fantastic start to the day (or snack!) and they taste great too!

All I use to create the mixture is :

1 x medium banana (ripe, not green)

2 x large eggs

2 x scoops of protein world chocolate slender blend (you can obviously do this with any protein powder/slender blend flavour, or maybe even a rice flour!)

Firstly I mash up the banana, which takes me straight back to having braces and living off soft foods every time they were tightened! (Mashed bananas and skips were diet staples.)
I then add in the eggs and whisk it all together.
Last but not least I pop in the 2 scoops of Slender Blend powder (I have chocolate but have just ordered vanilla too!) and mix it all up until it's even. I was a little worried at first that I hadn't mashed my banana up enough as it was a little lumpy but once you pop it onto the pan it really isn't a problem!

Just a couple of minutes or so on each side and you're done! Time to plate it up and add your favourite toppings!
 Photoed I went for raspberries, blueberries and a light drizzle of clear honey. The pancakes can be a little drier than you're usual everyday pancakes but with the added healthy toppings it's hardly noticeable! 
I think next time I going to go for a bit of peanut butter - I'm loving the Meridian's crunchy peanut butter at the moment which is 100% peanuts - no palm oil!

The best thing is that these are SO filling - no mid-morning snacks for me, these keep me full until lunch time!

With this mixture I made 1 large pancake but I think next I'll use it to create 2 or 3 smaller pancakes to stack... that's always more fun right?

What do you think? Are you a fan of quick and easy recipes too?

Follow