I’m just your average 20-something year old who just happens to have a lot to say about Music n what not! I’ve been blogging about Music since I was 14 years old n I made the decision in 2019 to take a little break and venture into something new. A baby, a wedding, n new site later n i’m back for more!
It’s nearly been a year since I brought back Music n What Not and not a lot has happened in that time. So as I prepare to heard into the second year, I thought we could have a little catch up/ behind the scenes update since there have been no new posts. So lets look back over the last 10 months!
July 2022 – May 2023
July 2022 I brought all the content from the Blogger platform over to WordPress and redesigned my blog The Unlucky Coeliac into the new updated Music n What Not. This entailed a lot of moving posts around, rebranding (which I am still not 100% happy with) as well as the lengthy process of unifying all the past posts including removing or editing some that were personal to the time period they were wrote in. During this time I also created Facebook and Twitter pages, moved my Instagram to a more personal page where it wont lose touch with the networks i’ve created as The Unlucky Coeliac and from my previous Music n What Not days.
All in all that process took a good month, month and a half to finalise and get into a position to reach out to some bands. Shout out to Wakening the Hollowand Everlitfor being the most patient people ever! I was feeling excited and confident to move into this new chapter of my blogging life.
Whilst all this was happening, I was going through redundancy with an employer I had been with for just short of 6 years, finding a new job and researching to enrol at University. If you are an OG reader you know what i’m like! For those who may be new or from The Unlucky Coeliac days, I don’t do things lightly and often have multiple plates spinning at the same time.. Hardcore multitasking is what I like to call it..
I got a new job working part time, for the first time since I was 19, which was an adjustment in itself. I found the degree I wanted to obtain and enrolled in my first year and said goodbye to my previous employer!
This brings us nicely to November 2022, where I begun market research! We live in a very digital world where TikTok and Podcasts are around us 24/7 and trying to slot back into the music reviewing industry, I had to make sure that I was aware of what was happening in real time and in short what I need to do to be noticeable too!
This has then led to creating videos on TikTok, creating more Reels on Instagram and ensuring that these link to the Facebook page. Now they haven’t been completely about music and not all make it across all platforms, but they are great ways of me testing my skills and improving before diving in with the music ones. It sounds very crazy I know, but trust the process! Especially as this platform is all this music and what not…
Before I knew it Christmas had been and gone and University was beginning for me! So the last few months from January 2023 up until now I have been balancing studying and assignment writing into my normal every day life.
What’s next?
Moving into the second year of Music n What Not I have a lot of plans and what better way to speak them into existence than sharing them with you all!
I trialled sharing my favourite and most played songs of the month on the Spotify page, which seems to have been received well, and is something I want to tweak slightly. You’ll have noticed theres no playlists after December 2022, this is because I am redesigning the way I create the playlists before uploading to the Spotify Playlists.
I feel i’m getting better at creating content for TikTok and Reels, at the moment I have stuck to making coffee, days in the life, and cleaning videos as they can be shared to both my personal and home Instagram accounts. The purpose of doing this was to test out my current skills and look into where there may be gaps that I can then learn to do! A big thing I want to look into this year is creating my own audio for this content that links in nicely to the blog platform too! As well as allowing for blog post advertising to be done more efficient and with the times.
And finally my biggest goal for this year is to post more! Whilst cosmetic appearances of the blog and the logo may be made in the next 12 months, I need to not let that continue to prevent me from posting here. I will be creating a content planner, planning more time for writing posts and continue to ignore any imposture syndrome that creeps in from the past that resulted in the 4/5 year hiatus!
And thats it… We are up to date, caught up on my side and are two months away from the new and improved Music n What Not‘s 1st Birthday!
So.. How have you been?
As always, thank you so much for reading and being present here on Music n What Not! I hope you are well and can’t wait to see you again!
Today is December 3rd, which is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. A day I have always found important but more so since family members have been diagnosed with disabilities, I myself have and becoming an adult. It has become more important now because I have had first hand visibility to the lack of inclusivity out there for those with disabilities! It’s slowly getting better, but there is so much more that can be done…
This years theme is;
This focus allows employment, both accessing and remaining in, to be improved whether with technology and/or innovative solutions supporting with employers increasing their hiring for those with disabilities. It also will help to support those with disabilities in obtaining/remaining in employment by paving a way for new ideas to be really investigating the current support “options” improving them and removing insufficient ones. All in all this is providing a stepping stone in the pathway of the right direction to massive inclusivity for disabled persons.
For more information about this theme and events around it head to https://idpwd.org!
Whilst discussing inclusivity related to disability i’d like to share a little reminder of ways we can be more inclusive on a daily basis, especially with social media. So i’ve put together a little list below to start your inclusivity of persons with disabilities journey! These are all ones I try to be mindful of and include in my personal and work life too;
Thank you as always for reading! Remember that this post is written with love and the intention of raising awareness and resources. Please add any resources you may have in the comments below xo
Hey music nerds and welcome to my first official post back in the Music n What Not chair! I hope you are ready…
Now is it me or are the bands from our teenage years, yes i’m talking to you 90’s born kiddos, all coming out with new music?! I can’t help but wonder if this is one of few blessings from the pandemic. Whatever the reason is for 2022 being the year of my inner teen screaming with joy I am absolutely here for it!
The first band I wanted to dive into was You Me At Six with their first release in around a year, Deep Cuts. All in all this is a great track and honestly a great first release of what I can only assume is an upcoming album. It also feels like nice grown up version of the bands earlier releases such as Loverboy. So lets dive in more!
With a few nods to earlier releases Deep Cuts starts with an instrumental intro of drums and wavy distorted guitar, that like the end of the track feel like a trailing from a previous track on an album. Other than tease the ears, what this does is emphasises the 3 chord SOMETHING that features throughout the whole track. Its this SOMETHING that I can’t help but feel there is some Red Hot Chilli Pepper (RHCP) influence present for the band. As you listen carefully there is a small resemblance to Can’t Stop by RHCP and the way this is heard throughout in that same bold yet never overpowering way is quite clever and a great feature to the overall track.
Another clever thing about this track is how the instrumental and lyrical aspects bring what could be quite the tough conversation into a slightly uplifting rock song so seamlessly! Stripping back the lyrics we get a sense of a story being told of someone in love with the wrong person. Who that person is, well thats for listener interpretation but it could be anyone even Josh Franceschi to himself.
Please note; cover image created using official artwork of Deep Cuts by You Me At Six, by Music n What Not using Canva. Copyright of single artwork does not belong to me.
Hiya nerds, Leanne here! I would like to introduce myself a little…
I am in my mid/late 20’s, living in Birmingham (UK) with my toddler and husband. I have a huge passion for music, including getting into the nitty gritty of song development and forming connections to lyrics.
I started my first ever blog at 14 which is so cringe I will not even go there… After finding my writing style I then started Music n What Not back in 2015! Back then I was still very much a newbie and was using my little platform knowledge to build, with the help of a dear friend, my blog on Blogger!
Four years later I had a lot going on in terms of health and medical conditions, that I then dabbled for a few years with this blog under a different name! The Unlucky Coeliac was born and saw me sharing some very personal life experiences and a few gluten free food finds. But here we are 3 years later and something was just missing and blogging just felt like such a chore I barely did it…
What was missing you ask? Music!
For a long time i’ve convinced myself that music isn’t as heavily in my life as it was back in 2015-2018 as I don’t have direct links to the local bands (old school friends) I once did. I also stepped away from 3 Songs and Out, an incredible webzine that you have to check out, because I had massive imposter syndrome!!
The truth is, it still is a huge part of my life! Exploring new artists and bands, reliving my scene kid youth and even rediscovering older artists/bands are absolutely a need for me! I love talking music, sharing and receiving recommendations as well as just being an absolute nerd for the artwork, videography and story building!
Therefore I have decided to transfer all posts from Music n What NotVol 1 (Blogger edition) across so you can now also see those here too! 🤘🏼 And all The Unlucky Coeliac posts will be visible in my The Unlucky Coeliac page!
And what does that mean now?
I guess its a here we go again!
Buckle up and join me on an ever growing adventure down the rabbit hole that is music n what not…
Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok… A few social medias of many. Which ever one(s) you use you will know its absolutely brutal out there.
I’m quite lucky that the community I’ve been part of a Instagram has been one of those who live by a gluten-free diet or have disabilities or are friends and family. I’ve seen the abuse that influencers, those with a few thousand followers and celebrities receive. I’ve also experienced firsthand bullying throughout my school life and as a young adult. Never did I think that my safe community on Instagram would be tested!
At the beginning of December 2021 I created a reel, following the trend that shows you with your best friend when you first met and what you look like now. Over a period of 2 weeks I received numerous comments about my appearance, my weight and a few comments have been made about my friend. I started off trying to educate those that your opinion might not be wanted by the recipient etc. But im human, theres only so much before you get sassy back through a protective defense. It’s been hard, really hard.
I ended up disabling the comments on the reel, which even resulted in receiving a dm telling me to turn my comments back on and that I was a coward. After this I took some time away from TheUnluckyCoeliac, an instagram page i’ve put a lot of work into. Building my presence in the community, advertising my blogs of the years and even sharing insights into my life. It felt heartbreaking to step away!
I’m so glad I did, it was only a short time away but the feeling I felt when I came back was incredible! TheUnluckyCoeliac is my brand, it is my hard work and dedication, its me putting back into a number of communities that have helped me along the way. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished and I will not be drove away from that again. It gave me a boost of resilience that I wasn’t aware I was lacking. And for that, I will remain an advocate for anti-bullying, disability, new mothers and so much more!
One thing I think everyone needs to remember on social media is; you only see what someone wants you to see, all the hard times are hidden. Therefore be kind. Before posting it ask yourself these questions;
If it was you on receipt of what youve typed, how would you feel?
If it was your child, niece or nephew receiving comments like yours would you be happy?
Is that the character you want to be known for?
Is there something that you need help with, which is the reason behind this action?
To those who wrote those nasty comments on my Reel; I hope that whatever it is you’re going through, someone is there for you. I hope you never have to endure the feeling that you made me feel. I forgive you, and hope you can forgive yourself. And finally, please reach out for help if you haven’t. Don’t be afraid to!
The gluten free world has been shaken recently by the update that Costa coffee has swapped to a gluten containing oat milk as well as a soya milk with a may contain warning. Is this the end to a gluten free Costa coffee?
I reached out to Costa due to seeing some mixed messages on instagram and here’s the breakdown!
Firstly when I heard about the commotion I checked the Allergen Matrix available in store and online. It’s a table showcasing all their food and drink items and the 14 allergens, with the below code;
YES in white font with a red background = allergen present
C in black font with a yellow background = the allergen isn’t in the ingredients but present in the site of manufacturing /supply chain and therefore there is a risk of cross contamination
N in black font with a green background = the allergen isn’t an ingredient
Yes in black font with a blue background or no in black font with a orange background = suitable for a dietary requirement (vegan or vegetarian) with information from the product manufacturer. Doesn’t take into count in-store cross contamination from management/preparation methods
With that in mind the gluten free safe milks (with no cross contamination warning) are semi-skimmed/skimmed/whole milk and almond milk. The oat milk is a direct gluten containing milk with the soya and coconut being marked as cross contamination due to manufacturing site. So if you are diary and gluten free it would be advised to avoid the soya and coconut, but almond is safe. If you are just gluten free you can also have the cows milk.
Then there has been some talk about the milk steamer and cross contamination. Now I’ve never in the 4 years I’ve been diagnosed been warned about the milk steamer, not even in the session the NHS provides. I have, however, still researched into this and discovered that as long as the outside is cleaned and in between each use it is turned on and off, there are no risks of cross contamination. Costa have confirmed that all Costa shops will have designated milk jugs for each milk and that there are no cross contamination risks from the milk steamer due to the cleaning completed between each use.
All in all this means unless you pick a gluten containing milk (or a cross contamination risk milk) then as a gluten free individual you are safe to drink in Costa!
Thank you to Costa Coffee for the information and official statement in regards to the milk and steamer.
Its no surprise that I, along with many others, feel completely mugged off by the government in light of the recent news. If you haven’t see it, a long story short is numerous parties were held and attended by our government when the rest of us were locked down…
I am full of so many emotions and didn’t quite know what to do with it all! After seeing numerous posts on instagram by influencers, speakers in the house of commons and your average joe, I have decided to write down why I’m angry in hopes of a sense of release and that someone else out that doesn’t feel crazy for being so angry too.
March 2020 we went into lockdown, I was 5 months pregnant with our first child. Our parents first grandchild. For a long time I was worried pregnancy wouldn’t be something I could do, as I didn’t think my body would handle it. I was so convinced I even brought it up in a pain management psychologist appointment, months into the start of my relationship with my now husband. I was scared that if things got serious and I couldn’t ever be pregnant he’d need to know before it was too late. So its safe to say this pregnancy was incredibly special and important to not just my husband and our parents, brothers etc. But it was incredibly special for me to be doing something I’d feared I wouldn’t be able to do.
Lockdown meant no visitors, pregnant people were considered vulnerable at the time so I couldn’t even go to the shops. Food shopping was done in turns by our parents and dropped off at our front door. Facetime was the only way to communicate with anyone other than each other, and I was working from home like the rest of the country. I found it really difficult to not be sharing key parts of pregnancy with our family and friends.
Birthday present doorstep drop off
I have anxiety, pre-pregnancy is was heavily situation based; eating somewhere I hadnt before, meeting new people, travelling somewhere I hadnt been before and flying were my triggers. Pregnancy increased it massively and I continually felt anxious and being in a global pandemic where you’ve been told your vulnerable made it even worse! I was not in a great place at all, but I continued to work, told my colleagues (we are quite a small team which is really nice) that I was struggling and we all supported each other. Ted was great with it all, our parents were understanding and I have my friends being incredible too. My maternity cover had also just joined the team around April time, so I was able to focus solely on her and we began the handover process.
April we received the news that Ted’s nan had covid. There was a wide panic and stress and worry spread through our families. She was in hospital, but restrictions meant no one could visit. No one did. She came home and still no one visited. Front door drop offs of food shopping and birthday gifts were made. We had a family quiz night over FaceTime and then the next day we received the heartbreaking news that she’d gone. Theres nothing more gut wrenching then waking your partner up to tell them that their Nan is no longer with us. I rung my head of department, told her what had happened and turned off my laptop. I rung my Mom and burst into tears. That day I left the house, my parents had done tests and came to get us. We went and sat in the garden of Ted’s grandparents to be together as safely as we could. Still keeping guidelines in our minds despite wanting to cuddle and comfort each other.
Respects paid by my employer to us via a delivery due to working from home
In May, at 7 months pregnant I stood (and sat as there was one bench that was taken in turns to sit on by many of us) outside the funeral with my father in law, whilst we supported our family at a distance still sticking to the rules. He couldn’t be with his wife, neither could the other husbands of Ted’s aunties, and I couldn’t be with Ted as they said goodbye to their mother/grandmother. No wake could be had, because we stuck to the rules.
July, I went into labour. Excluding our fathers going to work as their jobs meant they still worked (but were testing constantly and being extremely careful) our parent were isolating because I am the only driver and knew i’d need help getting to and from the hospital. With both sets of parents with us I went into hospital, went home and went back. They waited outside with Ted till he could come in, then they waited as long as they could. Teds dad had work so had to go home, my mom was struggling with her conditions so my parents went home. I dont think anybody actually slept that night.
Then when I gave birth via emergency C-section everything crumbled. Our baby was poorly, he needed additional care and the only hospital that could do that was the other side of Birmingham to us. I saw my baby for a minute before he was taken to NICU and then again for another minute before he was transported to another hospital. Ted left and then until I was discharged the next day on the afternoon I didn’t see my baby, Ted or anyone. I was alone in the hospital vulnerable, riddled with anxiety and fear. I wasn’t allowed a visitor because everyone was following the rules…
In NICU at the hospital our baby was in only one parent at a time could go in, which meant neither of us had the emotional support from each other than we needed. It also meant that until I was discharged Ted was the only one able to go in, so not only had he been up all night he was now getting all the information about our baby and was having to ensure I was told but also our parents. He was so exhausted but didn’t want our boy on his own for more than was necessary. Again all this was because of the rules and guidelines hospitals followed that were given to us by the government…
I was informed I was still considered vulnerable as I was coeliac and hadnt had a pneumonia vaccine. After having the pneumonia vaccine we thought we were safe to start integrating with a slightly normal life again. Just as I was starting to adjust, we then were told that our little one was considered vulnerable because of his medical history. So back into isolation we went… This time we did the food shopping but it was our alone time. One of our parents would have Lewis we would go food shopping, come home put it away shower and then have Lewis back. Then after months we were told this was incorrect…
After months and months of isolating ourselves and our little one, with very few walks in the park to at least say hi to friends we were expected to go straight back to “normal” because thats what the government said to do. Again we followed the rules…
We followed the rules consistently, even wearing masks longer than everyone else seemed to do. We put our son at risk of lack of social skills because we were advised to shield him. We had to suffer alone in turns trying to understand what was going on with our son in NICU and piece information together as we were updated on different things. We stuck to the rules religiously and all while they partied, laughed, joked about the right answers to give…
I never get involved in politics on my socials or on here and I will continue not to, but I will say I am angry, I am hurt and I feel utterly let down by our government. But I will still continue to do what I believe is best for my family, friends, colleagues and more! Like Gina Martin post on Instagram said, I will continue to be better than them who have made fools of themselves and let us down
Another year has come and gone so quickly, I cannot believe i’m saying it but it’s Christmas season! And what better way to get into spirit then thinking of all the food you can buy for the holiday period (being mindful of waste of course)!
3 years ago I was getting ready for my first Christmas as a newly diagnosed coeliac and my god was I worried. “What will I be able to eat”, “can I still have cheese and crackers”, what do I do about going my Nan’s?” All these questions, plus more, spun round my head!
Then I headed to Instagram and saw people like GlutenFreeAlice, GFBlogger and MyGlutenFreeGuide. What a relief!! So here I am repaying to the community what was so incredibly helpful for me…
Welcome to my Christmas 2021 Gluten Free Food Guide 🎄🤍
This guide is simply pictures and the supermarket location that I’ve spotted in the UK. Some items are Holiday Season specific and others are everyday items that maybe you’ve not tried yet or didn’t know where to buy them, or they’re just gonna be extra tasty this Christmas!!
Please note I will continue to add to this the more I find things throughout December! I also haven’t included ingredients or prices (for all supermarkets) of items, but have included a weblink for each store where you will be able to find this information out.
I definitely cannot wait to get my Christmas shop this year! Keep an eye out on Instagram to see what I end up getting!! Let me know what treats you buy in the comments or using the hashtag #TheUnluckyCoeliac 🤍
It’s no secret that I am a parent, or that alongside blogging and creating content I am in full time employment. Therefore when it comes to feeding myself or my family a lot of the time it needs to be quick, easy and well still packed full of nutrition! I wont lie, it doesn’t always happen that way and well thats okay! A fed happy family is the best I can ask for.
Here you’ll find a collection of meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and those in between times when you realise you haven’t eaten but your child has! This is something i’ve been working on over the last few months that i’ve tried in real time and during real life! They work, they’re tasty and the fill your tummy…
Moving from left to right, row by row we have;
Gluten and dairy free pancakes
Ingredients; 1 cup gluten free flour, 1.5 cups of milk alternative I use soya, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Method; add to a mixing bowl the flour, pinch of salt and a flat teaspoon of baking powder. Heat your milk in the microwave/stove (however you like, I actually use my swan milk frother. The add the milk and two drops of vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and mix. In a pan put a teaspoon of coconut oil 9or oil of choice), heat until melted and lower the heat to low-mid. Spoon amounts into your pan to your desired size of pancake you’d like and allow to cook. Once the pancakes are showing lots of bubbles then flip them. I find that gluten free pancakes can look a little pale, so don’t let this dishearten you! Top with your choice of toppings, in the image I’ve gone with peach yoghurt (no dairy free) for Lewis and crunchy almond butter and syrup for myself!
Gluten free porridge
This one isn’t dairy free as we were trying to encourage lewis to try milk, he isn’t off formula yet and that’s fine with us/him and his health visitors. You could easily swap the milk for a milk alternative at a 1:1 ratio as that is what I usually do for myself.
Ingredients; 3/4 cup gluten free oats, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon honey & fruit to top (optional). Method; add the oats and milk to a pan and heat on a medium heat until it starts to thicken, then add the honey and lower the heat. Depending on the consistency you would like it does vary on timings. I find for a thick yet still smoothly falls off the spoon texture it cooks for between 8-10 minutes in total. For a thick doesn’t move kind of porridge you wanna keep it cooking for around 15 minutes. Remember to keep stirring when cooking porridge otherwise it will stick!!
Soft cheese and avocado toast
I know it’s not dairy free but so can easily be! Cheese is my downfall and as this isn’t an allergy/intolerance but an upset upon large consumption I can play with diary a little more than others. But there are loads of great soft cheeses out there if you are lactose free, vegan or dairy free! So I would recommend going with one you know you like as it will make this brunch classic so much nice and enjoyable for you!
Ingredients; 2x bread, 1 avocado, soft cheese of choice (I used Philadelphia), black pepper (optional) and lemon or lime juice. Method; toast your bread to your liking, whilst it’s toasting slide the knife around the avocado to cut it in half and the twist and pull the two halves away from each other. Remove the seed and peel your avocado. Slice into small strips, as thin or chunky as you like. Once your toast is done, add about 1.5 tablespoons of soft cheese to each slice and spread evenly. Top with half an avocado on each slice, sprinkle of lemon/lime juice and as much black pepper as you’d like! Then tuck in and enjoy!!
Chicken curry
Ready for the controversial comment… This is made using a jar of pre-made sauce! I know… (* the curry sauce I used and am referring to is the Aldi own jalfrezi jar that comes with spices to use. If you are using other brands/styles you may not have spices to use and just the sauce. Therefore you can disregard the adding the spices section of the method).
Ingredients; chicken thighs (1 per person), 1 x peppers (Add more if there aren’t already peppers in your curry sauce), 1 jar of curry sauce*, 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. Method; chop the pepper into small chunks, heat a frying pan with a bit of oil; I used rapeseed here. Brown off each side of the chicken thighs, then add the peppers and the spices from the curry sauce. Once fried off, turn of the heat and add to your ingredients to the slow cooker. Top the chicken, peppers and spices off with the tinned tomatoes and curry sauce, season with salt and pepper, then cook on low for a few hours. About 2 hours in I remove the chicken thighs and shred them in a bowl, then reintroduce them to the slow cooker. About 30 minutes before serving, if you are preparing fresh rice start to cook it now. Alternatively for speed we used Tesco own frozen microwave plain rice and prepared them minutes before serving. There was enough here with the sauce being a little thinner than a standard curry due to adding the tomatoes, and the chicken was thigh meat that was shredded, that it fed the three of us and provided lunch for the next day.
Alternatively if you don’t want to use a slow cooker, this will simmer nicely in a large pan on the hob! You can also add more veggies in such as cauliflower for extra 5 a day or even remove the tomatoes to get a thick sauce.
Tuna and egg salad
This is definitely one of the easiest meals! All need to do is just grab all the salad ingredients that you like and bang in a bowl! Then add tuna, some soft boiled eggs, bit of pepper and top it with your favourite sauce/salad dressing!! In the image you will see that my go to for this salad bowl is lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, sweetcorn and I did (after I’ve took the photo) top it with some good old mayonnaise!
Cheesy Tomato toast
Now out of all of the images this one probably isn’t the most attractive looking meal, however, it’s super tasty, super speedy and even my little one loves it! All you need is a few tomatoes of your choice you can use standard tomatoes, beef tomatoes or even little plum tomatoes. You want to chop them into slightly smaller chunks, pop them into a hot saucepan with an oil of your choice; I tend to use the fry light garlic as it just gives that extra little flavour to it. And you wanna cook it on a medium heat so that the tomatoes start to wilt down you get some natural tomato juice but you don’t lose the chunk so do not mash the tomatoes. Then when you’ve got a slightly more liquidy consistency you want to add the cheese of your choice (I just stick to a standard cheddar), take it off the heat and just stir through! The heat of the tomatoes will naturally melt the cheese and then you want to pour it on top of some toast!
Baked bean chilli
I know what you’re thinking baked beans and chilli surely not. Well I’m telling you yes this is a vegetarian style chilli using baked beans, it’s super quick and I made it whilst washing up on my lunch break one day! Ingredients wise you’ll want one tin of baked beans, it doesn’t have to be Heinz it can be any supermarket own brand as long as it’s baked beans in tomato sauce. Then you’re going to want hot smoked paprika, chilli flakes, garlic granules and hot sauce! In terms of hot sauce I used the Crucials hot sauce and literally just used a splash! Send it’s as simple as adding all the ingredients to a source burn heating on a low to medium heat by until it is hot and serve it with some rice! The level of spice is completely up to you, I like a hot spicy chilli if you prefer a more milder chilli swap the smoked hot paprika for standard paprika and you can also skip the hot sauce. I served mine with a slice of bread with some cream cheese, controversial I know but I love a bit of cheese with chilli!
Bbq Pork Chops, rice and Garlic Potatoes
Facemail is a mixture of supermarket preprepared that you just cook and cooking from scratch. The barbecue pork chops are from Aldi, they are gluten-free and you would just cook them following the instructions that you find on the packet. The rice is a mixture of a golden veg frozen rice bag and I frozen plain rice bag. Then the potatoes is a recipe from my friend and she said it is a slimming world recipe that she’s just tweaked, so it might not technically be syn free if you followed the slimming world diet but it does make some really nice tasty potatoes. All you need is some new potatoes or potatoes that you chop into smaller chunks, oil, garlic, smoke paprika, salt and pepper! Heat some oil in a ovensafe dish and pop your potatoes into some water and hope to parboil. When is your potatoes are parboiled, I do tend to do mine slightly longer than the recommended power boil I am so I do it for 20 minutes, you want to transfer the potatoes to the hot oil in the dish (that you’ve heated oil in) please be careful it will splash and it’s hot. once potatoes are in the hot oil using a large spoon you want to ensure that all the potatoes are coated then what I tend to do is cover the potatoes in a mixture of garlic granules or garlic powder smoke paprika salt and pepper. I do this now by all but you can do is create a small little season mix in a smaller bowl and sprinkle it over the potatoes. Would use potatoes and I seasoned pop them in the oven for 20 minutes, again I parboil my potato slightly longer than the recommended, you will need to ensure you are checking your potatoes before serving. When you’ve got about 10 minutes left before everything is due to be ready popularising your microwave cooking for how long it tells you to do, you don’t have to use a frozen rice bags you can use standard micro rice or if you’ve got the time cook some rice from scratch! When the rice is ready, plate everything up and serve!! It’s actually so tasty and quite a moist meal, so you don’t require anything else. But if you did want a nice sauce to go alongside I would probably recommend like a garlic mayo/ garlic aioli or a bbq.
So I’ve paid the last two photos together as you can either do them as a pair so little one has the pizza toast and you have the bruschetta style mozzarella tomato toast or you could do everyone has one or the other. For the pizza toast it is a simple as toast your bread, once it’s toasted both sides add a small layer of tomato purée and some mozzarella cheese on top. Pop it under the grill, you do not wanna use a toaster when you’ve got the toppings on and wait for the cheese to melt! That is enough time for the tomato purée to cook through. And then you good to go you have some pizza choice you can always add more toppings to eat such as pepperoni or some pancetta or even some roasted vegetables, it is completely up to you what are you top your pizza toast with. For the Pusheta style mozzarella tomato toast what you want to do is great a little bit of garlic and smeary along your bread toast to bread under the grill trace madness it will be the better way to do it when you’ve got the garlic on top winch of toasted it then add your mozzarella and tomato slices diagonally on top of each other. Then you wanna do a sprinkle of salt and pepper and then if you’re feeling super duper fancy a nice gulp of balsamic vinegar! And then we have a pizza toast and bruschetta style mozzarella and tomato toast.
I hope these recipes have gave you some inspiration or even you’ve looked at it and gone yes that is what I want to make! The purpose of this post was to show that yes sometimes mom guilt/dad guilt creeps in and you feel like these quick simple meals are actually awful! You may feel they don’t offer enough nutrients and I just want to reassure you that they are tasty and fulfilling, we’re all doing our best and out best is all that we can give and that our children ask from us! As long as your child has been fed and watered, and you’ve been fed and watered that’s all that matters! See it this way, if you don’t eat properly you won’t have the energy to do the things you want with your child and that again is just going to trigger this mum/dad guilt!
If you do use one of these recipes then please tag me in your Instagram post, use the hashtag #TheUnluckyCoeliac, or drop a comment on this post! I would love to hear your thoughts, see what you enjoyed and even what you didn’t! If you’ve got ways of upgrading these meals let me know!! Do you have any quick and easy meals? Let me know, drop them in the comments section as well sharing is caring after all! I would love to have a go at some of your quick and easy meals for the working parent!
Music n What Not 