Easy Low Fat Ice Cream Recipe

This low fat and low calorie ice cream recipe is so delicious and indulgent that you wouldn't know you'd made it at home in your own kitchen!

I'm making one of my favourite foods with a banana based recipe again like my post on gluten free and low calorie pancakes. This is another recipe passed on by a colleague at work that I just had to try and I was so glad that I did!

Yet again, the recipe is so unbelievably simple with ingredients of:

• 5 small or 3 large bananas
• 100ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence or extract

It makes a thick creamy 'ice cream' like texture that you can add your usual ice-cream toppings to, such as fresh fruit, syrup, chocolate chips and more.

Method:

• Peel ripe bananas and cut into small chunks around half an inch thick or smaller
• Place into a tupperware bowl on some greaseproof paper
• Stick into the freezer for 1+ hours or until frozen
• Once frozen, put into a strong blender or food processer
• Pour over milk and tbsp of vanilla essence or extract
• Whizz until creamy texture achieved and serve!

The recipe makes two big bowls of ice-cream but you could also pour it into the tupperware and re-freeze if you don't finish all of it.

I tried this recipe on the boyfriend this week since he has a huge sweet tooth. We both absolutely loved it! We topped ours with fresh strawberries for extra fruit servings and put some artsy lines in.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

(Using 150g Sainsburys Bananas, 50ml Sainsbury's Semi-Skimmed Milk, 100g Sainsbury's Strawberries, 1tbsp Vanilla Extract Sainsbury's)

Calories:  213
Total Carbohydrates (g): 50

Fibre (g): 6

Sugars (g): 39

Protein (g): 4

Fat (g): 2

Saturated Fat (g): 1

Sodium (mg): 3

Potassium (mg): 690

Vitamin A: 6% of RDA

Vitamin C: 124% of RDA

Calcium: 11% of RDA

Iron: 8% of RDA

I hope you enjoy this recipe if you give it a try! Let me know in the comments if you've tried this recipe and know of any other flavours we can try next. I think peanut butter would be good to add or maybe toffee sauce. Either way, I'll be having this again in no time!

Tabitha

Xx

My Little Box | March 2015

My Little Box was spectacular again this month with a theme all about women as superheroes. An amazing range of samples as well as feeling empowered is exactly what I need from time to time.

My Little Box March 2015 Contents:

Kerastase Lait Cristal | £20
Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream | £12
My Little Beauty Lips & Cheeks Pencil | £10.50
Superstickers | £4
Gat Rimon Super Hero T-Shirt | £29

Kerastase Lait Cristal
I mentioned on my Birchbox March 2015 post that I love receiving hair products and samples like this reaffirm my reason why. This conditioner is amazing. I am a fan of all and any L'Oreal products which you all already know. But this took my fandom to a higher level - my hair has never felt so soft. I've mentioned before that my hair is like old rope at the best of times. This conditioner made my hair feel so nourished and pliable. Plus the scent is so gorgeous. I am currently torn between saving the rest of this sample for a special occasion or just treating myself to amazing hair until I can get my hands on the full size product.

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream
I'm not usually a fan of Caudalie products as the scent is usually a little too rose-y/old lady for me. But this hand cream is really lovely. I took it into work to keep on my desk and have been using it constantly. My hands feel so moisturised and soft. I think I've finally found a hand cream that actually encourages me to use it!

My Little Beauty Lips & Cheeks Pencil
When I first swatched this on my arm, I was so excited to try this one out. The colour is a gorgeous coral that I thought would compliment my skintone perfectly for spring. While the colour is just as lovely as I first thought, the texture on this product is not good. It feels very grainy and I didn't enjoy feeling like I had sand on my lips for a few hours. The colour wears well and didn't transfer for a good few hours but I don't think I'll be wearing it again because of that texture.

Gat Rimon Super Hero T-Shirt
As a rather rotund woman, I was concerned about having received an item of clothing that claimed to be 'One Size Fits All'. I won't lie to you and say that it fit just like the model on the front of the My Little Box magazine, but I could get it on and have it be a tight but comfortable fit. It's a bit short on me but will be perfect for lazing about the house on weekends.

All in all, another incredible month by My Little Box. My favourite is still the Diane Von Furstenburg My Little Box in October 2014 because I am clearly an underground designer fiend but I can honestly say I haven't been disappointed in a single one of their boxes so far.

Are any of you subscribed to My Little Box? If so, which has been your favourite so far?

Tabitha
Xx

Birchbox | March 2015

I've been excited about receiving the March 2015 Birchbox since I got to pick which Benefit Mascara I could be sent. I decided on the Benefit Roller Lash and have been using it every day since. This month's box was teamed with Habitat and had very cheerful packaging.

Birchbox March 2015 Contents:

- Benefit Roller Lash | £19.50

- Catherine Malandrino Style de Paris | From £50

- Philip Kingsley Smooth Cream | £18

- Serenity Skincare Dead Sea Bath Salt | £9.50

- Lord & Berry Brozer in Sienna | £19

- A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi | £7.99

- Birchbox & Habitat Exclusive Notebook

Benefit Roller Lash

I fell in instant love with this mascara! I wasn't a fan of "They're Real" by Benefit so my expectations weren't too high for this one. I was wrong to be hesitant - the formula does exactly what it says on the box and curls my lashes to perfection. I will definitely be investing in the full size when the sample has run out.

Catherine Malandrino Style de Paris

I don't mind sampling any high-end scent but there isn't a lot that can tear me away from my Diesel Loverdose. That said, this has a gorgeous scent and if I was ever in the market for a new perfume, I'd definitely consider this one. It smells like satsumas and grapefruit with just the tiniest hint of licorice. I could still smell it on my skin 4 hours later so the staying power of this one is decent too. 

Philip Kingsely Smooth Cream

Shine and luxury scents in your hair - what more could you want? My favourite thing to receive after makeup is hair products. I tried this one when I wore my hair down and slightly wavy for Mother's Day. It smells like it should cost £60 and the tiniest amount made my hair smoothed out and shiny without being heavy on my hair. 

Serenity Skincare Dead Sea Bath Salt

I don't have a bath so I couldn't actually test this out. I tried to palm it off to my boyfriend for his Mum as well as to a few of my friends but none of them were keen on long baths. Personally, you can't keep me out of a bath and I can't wait for the day when I have a house with one in it. Maybe I'll save this until then.

Lord & Berry Bronzer in Sienna

I've always heard great things about this brand but have never had the chance to try any of their products. The colour of this bronzer is absolutely gorgeous and application was smooth/subtle enough that it doesn't look orange or cakey. I still love my Sleek Face Form palette but this is a nice alternative that I can actually wear on my super pale skin.

There's a coupon inside the box for 20% off Habitat valid until the end of this month which will be great for some.

Personally, I'm just excited for the Sneak Peek card inside this month's box that said next month is a Tatler Box! It looks like we might get to choose a Laura Mercier product as well. As a fan of their primer, I'm definitely excited!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have any Lord & Berry products you'd recommend that I try.

Tabitha

Xx

How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

It's the step we all-too-often skip but one of the most important processes to ensure your makeup application is as flawless and hygienic as possible. 

We use makeup brushes multiple times on our face and in our products but when is the last time you cleaned your brushes? Best practice is probably to wash them after every use but who really has time for that?

I try and clean my brushes every few weeks if I can. If I find I'm breaking out or my makeup feels a bit muddy, it's usually sign that a brush cleaning is long overdue. It's so easy to clean a beauty blender sponge because they're supposed to be damp when using them. Brushes have to be totally dry though, and that's when cleaning them becomes a pain. 

Even so, it's important to keep them clean so that they last longer, but also because a clean brush is the best way to apply perfect makeup. Luckily, cleaning them is really easy.

1. Assemble your brushes 

Personally, I like to wash all of my brushes at the same time. Even if I haven't used the brush since the last cleaning, I'll do it with the others because most of us store ours in the open air and dust can settle on the bristles.

2. Rinse under luke-warm water

Rinse off all your brushes with luke warm water. Try not to let the water get too hot otherwise you can melt the glue that is holding your brush bristles in place

3. Fill your palm with specialist brush cleanser or baby shampoo

I don't actually have specialist brush cleaning products because I'm broke so I make do with what I can get my hands onto on the cheap. I like to use a very mild baby shampoo that isn't going to dry out my brush bristles but will foam enough to get between the fibres and remove stubborn makeup.

4. Swirl your brush in your palm 

This will help get the makeup out from between the bristles. Don't worry if your palm starts to look filthy - the more product coming out, the cleaner your brushes will be. Keep swirling until the cleanser/soap is running clear.

5. Rinse brush under running tap

Try to avoid getting the piece holding the bristles wet if you can. The glue holding the brush together can't take water or heat very well and keeping this dry will help your brushes last as long as possible.

6. Squeeze out excess liquid and leave to dry tilted downwards

It's important that none of the damp or leftover water makes it's way into the top part of the brush with the glue. I use a wooden spoon and some paper towels so that all my brushes lie at a tilted angle. If you have a two-sided brush like my foundation brush, leave this flat so that neither side is compromised. I then like to put mine on a tray in front of the dehumidifier so that they dry as quickly as possible. Try not to leave them out in the sun to dry as this can melt the glue.

I hope this was helpful to some of you. As we approach Spring, I'm taking a moment to spring clean my makeup collection. There's nothing better than fresh makeup!

Tabitha 

X