The Autumn ASOS Edit

Grey skies, advent calendars in the shops already and the return of Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes can only mean one thing: it's officially autumn. We all know what a new season calls for - a wardrobe update. As usual, ASOS are my go-to fashion store and it doesn't help that I've now got Premium which is by far the best 9.99 I've ever spent. I've trawled the site for you (it's a hard life) and bundled together the best AW15/16 ASOS Collection pieces you'll definitely want to pick up for your new-season style overhaul...

Let me know if there's any other ASOS beauties I've missed but that I need to check out for Autumn! Will you be picking any of these up?

Green Smoothie Bowl | Frill Frozen Dessert

I'm all about the dairy-free ice cream alternatives right now so when Frill asked me if I'd like to try some of their Frozen Smoothies there was no way I could turn them down! I absolutely love the idea behind Frill Frozen Smoothies as they are 100% natural, there's no added sugar or artificial flavours and their products are completely vegan (as well as gluten-free for any coeliacs out there). There's a lot of fruit, vegetables, and fibre packed into Frill tubs so they really are a guilt-free treat.

I love green smoothies so I knew I'd like Refreshing Green but I actually thought it would be my least favourite out of Frill's current three flavours- who can resist the sound of Bursting Berries and Intense Chocolate? I'll be talking about these two in another post soon - but I'm so glad that this was the one I picked to try first. It tastes seriously amazing and I've found myself waking up craving a bowl of it, which is unusual for something so healthy! It contains basically everything you might put in a green smoothie if you were making one at home - spinach, avocado, pineapple, celery, apple, basil and just general goodness. It tastes really energising so it's the perfect base for a healthy breakfast (like below) but the subtle sweetness means it works well for an afternoon snack or after-dinner treat too.

This smoothie bowl is an amazing breakfast to leave you feeling refreshed, nourished, and ready for the day! It's super quick and easy - you can have it ready by the time the kettle's boiled! I found this worked best when Frill had softened a bit so I just made sure to take the tub out of the freezer as soon as I woke up in the morning, and then it's the perfect consistency after you're out of the shower. Alternatively, if you're pushed for time in the mornings, you could leave it in the fridge overnight and that would work fine too. All you need to do is scoop some Frill Refreshing Green out into a bowl and mix it around a bit to soften it up further. It stays quite thick and firm which I loved as it means it's much more filling than a normal smoothie - especially because I usually have to add quite a lot of liquid to my blender to get it to work. Then just add whatever you fancy on top! Here I went for:

Frill Refreshing Green Frozen Smoothie

Blueberries

Raspberries

Homemade granola

Chia seeds

and a drizzle of Agave syrup

Recently I've seen Frill Frozen Smoothies in my local Waitrose, and you can also pick them up at Whole Foods if you live locally to one. I absolutely loved Refreshing Green and will definitely be picking it up again for a healthy but super tasty breakfast option. Let me know if you've tried Frill and whether you like the look of this Smoothie Bowl, I'd love to know what you think!

One Simple Switch for a Healthier Latte

I stopped buying cow's milk as a step towards a more plant-based diet almost a year ago now, but soya was never really high up on my grocery list. Coconut, oat, hazelnut and of course, heart-eyed emoji deserving almond were always on the menu, but soy was something I only really had if there was no other alternative (I'm looking at you, Starbucks..). Don't get me wrong I love a good soy latte to-go, but I always felt that soya milk made the drink a bit sweeter than I would have liked and sometimes drowned out the taste of the coffee. Well not any more, thanks to Alpro Soya Simply Mild*. Simply Mild does exactly what it says on the carton and gives you all the goodness of normal soy milk with a more subtle and less sweet flavour. It's also non-GM if that is something that has put you off soya milk in the past!

Lets get the serious stuff out of the way first, and I'll try not to bang on too long about this, but it's so important for this beautiful planet we live on that we all try and reduce the amount of animal products we consume. The environmental impacts of the cattle and dairy industry in particular are huge. Cutting down on cow's milk not only helps combat climate change, but it's good for your health too! Luckily Alpro make it super easy to do this with their range of dairy alternatives that taste amazing - definitely better than the real thing!

Alpro kindly sent me a carton of their new Soya Simply Mild to try, along with an adorable Keep Cup and a milk frother so I could make my own lattes. I found Soya Simply Mild to be the perfect alternative to milk in a latte, it makes it taste creamy with just the right amount of sweetness but it doesn't leave you with that overly full, bloated feeling you (tell me it's not just me?) get from drinking lots of cow's milk in a warm coffee. Alpro's plant-based alternatives are a lot healthier than dairy so I didn't feel bad indulging in a bowl of creamy porridge made with Soya Simply Mild along with my latte, and for tea-lovers it's definitely the best plant-based milk I've found to perfectly complement your English Breakfast habit - mine's slowly creeping up to about 6 a day...