lifestyle Archives • COOL THINGS I LOVE

Renovating and Opening a Restaurant & Bar in France!

July 9, 2019 5 Comments

La montagne noire restaurant and bar france

Hi Lovelies,

Sorry I haven’t been very active on the blog recently, I have been up to my eyes working! Well I guess if you really love what you do then it doesn’t really feel like work at all. That is true in my case since renovating and opening a restaurant and bar in France! If you happen to follow my blog, you will know that we have been working hard to get our restaurant and bar ready for the summer.

So a quick recap and the low-down on our big project – welcome any new readers! We bought a restaurant and bar in sunny south of France around six months ago. My partner and I had been on the lookout for a potential business opportunity but we had no idea we were about to stumble across the opportunity of a lifetime. We already have a restaurant in France up and running for around 5 years now but it is a 50/50 partnership and that restaurant is taking off now. It took a few years to get it up to scratch but is now running well and a success. read more

Lifestyle

FDA Medical Device Approval Flaws (Red Flags)

August 15, 2018 2 Comments

Hi Everyone,

Today I’m bringing to your attention the important and potentially life-saving information on the FDA medical device approval flaws. Red flags are flying up everywhere when it comes to medical device approval and it is one scary, scary thought. As most of us assume, any medical device that gets inserted into our body has been through rigorous testing and approval to be deemed safe for use on the open market. Unfortunately it is a severely unregulated and under-tested system which is downright dangerous and worrying to the health of the general public. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) is the most important consumer regulation but the system in place for medical device regulation and approval doesn’t work. read more

Diet, Recipes

How to Make Yoghurt at Home with a Yoghurt Maker (Sugar-free Berry Coulis Recipe Included)

June 20, 2018 2 Comments

Hi Guys!

As part of my health kick where I am sticking to the Mediterranean diet principles and trying to eat more homemade and locally sourced produce, I have decided to make my own yoghurt at home. I love it and it tastes better than store bought so here is how to make yoghurt at home with a yoghurt maker!

I had been buying a probiotic yoghurt to eat for breakfast in order to help balance my gut health every morning. Probiotic translates as “for life,” from its Greek and Latin etymology and they are good bacteria that help balances your gut microbiota which results in a healthier body and digestive system. You can read more about gut health in my recent post here – How to improve gut health naturally. read more

Diet, Recipes

A Typical Day on the Mediterranean Diet

April 11, 2018 3 Comments

Hi Everyone,

I decided to post a typical day on the Mediterranean diet to show how I am progressing and give an idea of what it involves. So far I have been enjoying the Mediterranean diet as it isn’t too restrictive, like previous diets I have tried in the past. It is more of a healthy lifestyle plan than a diet but you lose around 2 pounds a week on average and that is what is considered ‘healthy weight loss’. It is more sustainable than most quick-fix diets and it allows you to eat regular meals and even have a glass of wine with dinner, so for me that is working well. I do love my food and wine! read more

Diet, Lifestyle, Weightloss

Mediterranean Diet Basics and My Weight Loss Journey

March 28, 2018 No Comments

Hi lovelies,

I am back in France after a lovely summer in New Zealand but unfortunately the weight I had planned to lose over there is still in place and I didn’t stick to any diet or workout regime over there. I had visions of running every day and becoming a healthier version of myself but I was in constant holiday mode so I never really got around to it haha. Oh well, I am ready for the challenge now and more motivated than ever!

Righto, so here is what happened in New Zealand. After living in France for the last 3 and a half years, I have missed sliced bread. Sounds crazy but you can’t get a decent sliced pan of plain bread here! There are so many and varied breads to choose from and boulangeries on every street corner that the old sliced pan never really took off here. Growing up in Ireland, we ate white sliced bread every day. Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and toasties whenever we felt like it. So I basically missed that, being my comfort food for so long. Needless to say, once we arrived sliced pans were abundant and we were munching on white sliced bread daily. Our local shop was quite expensive over there so vegetables were really over priced. Unfortunately, being in holiday mode ( ah feck it, I’m on holidays! ) I ended up buying sugar-laden muesli bars every time I went to the shop and became hooked on them. I was probably eating 2 a day, thinking they were better than chocolate bars and a healthier option. At least thats what I told myself! read more