WALK 40 KILOMETRES FOR CHARITY & MAKE IT MATTER DAY #SPENDITWELL

Today June 1st is Marks & Spencer's Make It Matter Day and I am joining the nation to turn my daily autopilot decisions into more enriching choices, to say 'no' instead of defaulting to 'yes', and to make decisions that count.  I will be sharing this choices in my social media with the hashtag #SPENDITWELL  So join us and share this blog.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/s/spend-it-well

Also on 10th of June I will be doing the Moonwalk Scotland, walking 26.2 miles (42 km) wearing decorated bra (this year's theme is jungle safari) for Walk the Walk.  I'm doing this as part of my 40 challenges in my 40th year. To donate you can visit my donation page by clicking the link below.

https://moonwalkscotland2017.everydayhero.com/uk/BbJing23

photo credit by: Lorna Coyle

photo credit by: Lorna Coyle

So join me on my social media on June 10, 2017 and leave me a message of support or encouragement during my walk.  Thank you for your support and donation.  I really appreciate it.

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

https://www.facebook.com/janette.itaas

https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

NATIONAL VEGETARIAN WEEK and PAD THAI RECIPE

Tomorrow is the start of National Vegetarian Week and I'll be joining and eating veggies for a week.  I will be sharing what I eat in a day for the whole week on my social media.  I may also share some of my favourite vegetarian recipes here on my blog.  So join me and sign up and together let's enjoy veggies for the whole week!

Sign up here to join and for recipes and ideas:

http://www.nationalvegetarianweek.org/newsletter-sign-up/

To kickstart my going vegetarian for a week, I will be sharing with you my favourite vegan pad thai recipe.

For the ingredients you will need:

200g rice noodles

2 courgettes

2 carrots

1 bell pepper

1 packet Cauldron marinated tofu pieces*

For the sauce you will need:

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup peanut butter 

1/4 cup kecap manis or tamari

2-3 Tbsp agave**

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger root, grated

*this is my favourite but you can substitute it with any other tofu or you can omit this altogether 

**adjust the sweetness according to your taste

1.  Whisk sauce ingredients in a large bowl. 

2.  Cook the noodles as per packet instructions then add to the large bowl.

3.  Ideally use a spiralizer to create noodles from courgettes and carrots but a box grater will work just fine.  Place the shredded vegetables in the large bowl.

4.  Slice the pepper into strips and then add to the large bowl.

5.  Mix the noodles and the vegetables with the sauce.

6.  In a non stick pan dry fry the tofu pieces until crispy.

7.  To serve place the noodles mixture on individual bowl and sprinkle tofu pieces on top.

Enjoy!

If you tried the recipe please share, leave me a comment and tag me on any of my social media.

https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

ALLERGY AWARENESS WEEK

Last week (April 24 - 30, 2017) was Allergy Awareness Week and I supported Allergy UK by joining Give as you live.  Give as you live is a shopping and price comparison website with a heart.  A percentage of every purchase you make through their website will be donated to charity at no extra cost to you.  So if you're interested and wants to join follow the link below:

https://www.giveasyoulive.com/refer/R9UuYwoygX5KlO7EZYHwog7ahEK-2BPs4bPQ-3D-3D

This year Allergy Awareness Week focusses on allergic eczema.  Although not severe, I myself suffer from eczema.   So this year, it is extra important for me to support Allergy UK and their work.

So what is Eczema? 

Eczema, also known as 'atopic eczema' or 'atopic dermatitis', is a skin condition causing inflammation and intense irritation.  Eczema symptoms tend to be caused by dry skin.

What does Atopy/Atopic mean?

Atopy or being atopic means having a genetic tendency for your immune system to make increased levels of IgE antibodies to certain allergens.  An atopic individual is likely to have more than one allergic condition during their lifetime, such as eczema, asthma, hay fever or food allergy.

Can food allergy cause eczema?

No.  Children are born with the tendency to have eczema and many things can make their eczema worse.  These are known as eczema 'triggers'.  Eczema in children can have various triggers, which food can be one especially in babies.  However, food are not the primary cause of eczema.

Eczema Treatments

EMOLLIENTS

Emollient lotions and creams are prescribed for treating eczema and dry skin, and are, in their simplest form, mixtures of oil and water.

TOPICAL STEROID CREAMS

It is sometimes necessary to apply topical corticosteroids (e.g. hydrocortisone), as these reduce inflammation in the skin caused by eczema.

*  You can find a whole host of useful tips on Allergy UK Eczema Factsheet where I got these informations by clicking the link below.

https://www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/35-eczema

So please help and support Allergy UK by joining Give As You Live and spread the word with your friends.  Please leave me a comment on any of my social media when you sign up.  Thank you!

 https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

I'M ON A DECHOX

This March I am chucking the chocolate and going on a DECHOX to help British Heart Foundation fund its life saving heart research.  That means absolutely no chocolate bars, no chocolate cake, no choccy biscuits with my tea, not even any chocolate sprinkles on my cappuccino are allowed. And that's why I need your help.

I was late in signing up but I will still give up chocolate for the whole month of March.  As a matter of fact I'm giving chocolate up for 40 days all throughout lent. Please join me or donate at bhf.org.uk/dechox  

Thanks a million chocolate buttons!

Help me chocolate-spread the word by sharing my blog on Facebook and Twitter.

Or follow me on any of my social media.

https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

#ChallenJing40

I AM GOING SUGAR FREE

This February I am ditching the sweet stuff and giving up sugar for 40 days to raise money for Cancer Research UK and helping to beat cancer sooner.  Help me conquer my cravings by sponsoring me.

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/challenjing40

Cancer survival rates have doubled over the past 40 years.  Consistent progress is being made but improvements to technology and ground-breaking work offer new opportunities to find different ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and improve survival rates even further.  Help Cancer Research UK improve results even faster.

The Low Down:

So come join me guys and let's beat cancer together!

You can follow me on my other social media sites on:

https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

#ChallenJing40

40 CHALLENGES IN MY 40TH YEAR UPDATE

Hello family and friends welcome back to my blog.  It's been a while since I last posted on my blog.  I can't believe it's already February and Valentine's Day is just around the corner.   In January, I started a new job, so my challenges has been put on hold for a while as I adjust to the new job.  So far I love it, keeps me on my toes, challenging at times, but I know for sure it will be rewarding in the end.

So...I am currently looking into my 40 challenges and will be slightly changing the list a bit.  But one thing will never change, I will continue to help one charity each month as part of my challenge. 

For the month of January,  I helped and donated to WaterAid by drinking only just water!

This month of February,  I'm helping the charity Cancer Research UK.  Last Saturday,  4th of February was World Cancer Day, and I volunteered for 4 hours collecting money and I hope to continue volunteering for other causes.   I also signed up in taking on Sugar Free February as part of my challenge. So please sponsor me and donate at

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/challenjing40

So here are the updated list for my 40 challenges:

1.  January - Drinking just water (WaterAid) √

2.  February - Sugar Free (Cancer Research UK) √

     http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/support-us/find-an-event/sugar-free-february

3.  March - DECHOX (British Heart Foundation) √

     https://dechox.bhf.org.uk

4.  April 24 to 30 -  Allergy Awareness Week (AllergyUK) √

     https://www.allergyuk.org/awareness-weeks/awareness-weeks

5. May 15 to 21 -  National Vegetarian Week √

     http://www.nationalvegetarianweek.org

6. June 10 - Walk 40 km for charity (Walk the walk: the MoonWalk Scotland) √

     http://www.walkthewalk.org/challenges/the-moonwalk-scotland-2017/

7. July - Plastic Free July

    http://www.plasticfreejuly.org/getting-started.html

8.  August 8 - Severe ME Understanding Day

     http://www.25megroup.org/campaigning_Severe_ME_Day.html

9.  September - World's Biggest Coffee Morning (Macmillan Cancer Support)

10.  October 20 - Stand Up to Cancer

     https://www.standuptocancer.org.uk

11.  November - Movember 

     https://uk.movember.com

12.  December 10 - Human Rights Day AmnesTea Make 40 cups of tea in a day

       (Amnesty International) 

       https://www.amnesty.org.uk/amnestea

These challenges are currently ongoing:

13.  Receive postcards from 40 different people from 40 different countries (Postcrossing)

14.  Send 40 postcards from my hometown (Postcrossing)

 15.  Post 40 blog entries

15.  Do 40 hours volunteering 

16.   Learn to say Hello in 40 languages

17.  Learn to say Thank you in 40 languages

18.  Visit 40 cities in England

19.  Eat 40 different kinds of Fruits

     https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fruits

20.  Eat 40 different types of Cheese

21.  Makeover my wardrobe (Dress with 40 items or less in 40 days)

http://bemorewithless.com/project-333/

22. Raise £40 at a car boot sale for charity

23.  Read 40 books

24.  Bake & sell 40 cupcakes for charity

25.  Bake & sell 40 donuts for charity

26.  Collect 40 shiny £1 coin for charity

27.  Visit 40 of London's most unusual museums

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/Londons-most-unusual-museums-50-of-the-best-part-one/

28.  Listen to the top 40 best selling singles of all time non stop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_singles

29.  Listen to the top 40 best selling album of all time for 40 consecutive days

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums

30.  Ride for 40 minutes on a horse

31.  Vlogging for 40 days 

32.  Sell 40 things on Ebay for charity

33.  Visit 40 pubs in 40 different towns or villages in Essex

34.  Have a movie marathon with 40 in the title

35.  Do Hadrian's wall trek

36.  Ride the slide at arcelormittal orbit

37.  Cook 40 new recipes

38.  Learn a new skill

39.  Abseil for charity

40.  Tandem skydive for charity 

The list of challenges I've completed:

Buy a complete outfit for £40 √

Go vegan for 40 days √

Go Gluten Free for 40 days √

Do 10,000 steps a day for Cancer Research UK √

Make and sell 40 greeting cards for Movember √

Drinking just water for WaterAid √

You can follow me on my Twitter, Instagram & Facebook account

https://twitter.com/BbJing23

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OUR WEEKEND IN DERBY

Last Saturday, September 17, 2016, we (with husband) went to Derby for the weekend and I love it! We took the National Express from London Victoria Coach Station.  This was our second time to book with National Express, what's great about this coach is if you book your ticket well in advance you get a great deal off your ticket.  We stayed in the Premiere Inn (Cathedral Quarter) and it was awesome.  The room clean, the bed was so comfortable and the best part of the room was the view of the Silk Mill and the river Derwent from our hotel room window perfect.

What I would like to have done differently was arrive Friday afternoon instead of Saturday in order to get inside Derby Museum and Art Gallery to visit the world's largest collection of Joseph Wright's paintings and Derby Silk Mill.

Here are the reasons why I love Derby and why it's a must visit.

1.  Derby Pyclet Parlour

I love these flat crumpets!  I think they are better than crumpets in my humble opinion.  Paul tried it with salmon and horseradish cream and he loved it.  I tried it with Stilton, honey and walnuts, and even though I'm not a big fan of Stilton, the combination of the three was so perfect that I'm now converted. I love it. Great news you can now order online at  http://www.pycletparlour.co.uk

2.  Derby Cathedral

This magnificent cathedral dates back from 14th century and one of Derby's dominant and majestic landmarks.  I love the tower and it's cathedral bells.  Each day the bells played out different tune sounding out nine in the morning, at noon and six in the evening.  We were so pleased to attend the Cathedral Eucharist on Sunday.  The service was beautiful and the choir was excellent.  For more information visit their website at http://www.derbycathedral.org

3.  Silk Mill Ale & Cider House

I highly recommend this place and make sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment as the place was busy.  We walked in and we were lucky to get a table.  The food was great and the staff friendly.  We both ordered from the fish menu.  Paul had Brixed Grill and I had Port Issac and we both loved our choices.  For more information visit their website at http://www.thesilkmillderby.co.uk

4.  Cathedral Green, Derby Silk Mill and river Derwent

In 2009, the whole area of the cathedral green leading to the river Derwent was beautifully landscaped at a cost of £4.2 million.  At the banks of the river Derwent stands Derby's stunning Silk Mill and is the gateway to the UNESCO world heritage site.  The Silk Mill is open Thursday 3PM - 9PM, Friday and Saturday 1PM - 5PM and Sunday 11AM - 3PM and entrance is Free.

Statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Cathedral Green

Derby Silk Mill and River Derwent

View from our hotel window

5.  Cathedral Quarter Free Audio Tour

Explore the Cathedral Quarter by downloading these tours onto your MP3 player or by accessing them on your mobile phone through the i-tags on the signboards in the streets.  I suggest doing this tour first thing in the morning when there are not many people around.

http://www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk/media/

i-tags on the signboard

Follow me on Instagram for more of my city trips https://www.instagram.com/bbjing23/

Please leave me a comment on what city in England  I will do next.  Happy travels.

#ChallenJing40

MY VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL CITY OF PETERBOROUGH

Hello everyone!  So today, my husband and I visited Peterborough, the second city in England I visited as part of my challenge. We took the Cooks coach from Basildon, Essex.  We arrived in Peterborough at 1130 AM and had 5 hours to spend in the city.  So we headed straight to the Cathedral because I booked a 2 PM Cathedral tour and to be honest we are hoping to catch the tower tour which starts at 1130 AM but when we got there obviously the tower tour already started right on time. They had another Tower tour at 1:45 PM but it conflicts with the 2 PM Cathedral tour we booked.  So the Cathedral volunteer suggested we can just add £2 each on top of our prebooked Cathedral Tour to join the Tower tour at 1:45 PM.  And then purchase a Cathedral pocket guide for £3 to walk around the Cathedral on our own.  Since we had plenty of time to spare due to the rainy weather and we can't explore the city without getting soaking wet we decided to do just that.  It was a brilliant idea at that time until we got up to the tower.  I forgot that I have a fear of heights and the steps leading up to the towers were very steep so WARNING it's not for the faint-hearted.  We understand now why we need to sign a disclaimer form.  I survived it but I was holding the rails for dear life!  But you'll be rewarded with a spectacular view of Peterborough on a bright, sunny day.  For us not so spectacular as it was raining.  But still a great experience I will never forget.

Entrance to the cathedral is free but if you want to take photographs or films you will need to purchase a camera permit for £3.  But since we booked a tour, the camera permit is already included in the price.  There are 3 tours you can book in advance online before you get there or you can pay at the cathedral shop. £8 (£6 concessions) for the Cathedral Tour (2 PM Monday to Saturday), £10 (£8 concessions) for the Tower tours (selected date only) and £8 (£6 concessions) for the Precints tours (selected date only).  They have a special price when you book both the Cathedral tour and Precints tour for the same date for £13 (£10 concessions).   For more information you can check out their website at http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk

I highly recommend you to visit this magnificent cathedral.

After we visited Peterborough Cathedral, we only have time for a late lunch so we went to Argo Lounge.  They are located just right outside the cathedral along Bridge street, right next to Natwest Bank.  I love this place, the food were great, the atmosphere was pretty relax and they have a vegan and gluten free option.  For more information you can visit their website at http://thelounges.co.uk/lounges/argo-lounge/

Despite the rainy weather we enjoyed our day trip to Peterborough.