What Sophie Said

This is one of my favourite go-to dinners. It's quick to make and can easily be adjusted to use up any veggies that aren't going to be at their best for much longer. I've made this for friends and family plenty of times, and it's also a great one for leftovers, when the spices have had even longer to combine and sit together. I originally used a recipe from The Pool (one of my favourite websites ever, hands down), but as mentioned I now sort of throw together different variations based on the same core dish. Ingredients: 1 chopped onion 1tsp ground ginger (or small knob fresh, grated) 1tsp ground coriander, plus some fresh 1tsp ground cumin 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 vegetable stock cube, dissolved in water 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 red pepper, chopped 1 courgette, chopped 1 tin chickpeas, drained Fry the onion in some oil, then add in the garlic and spices for a few minutes. Next, add in the vegetables (here I've used pepper and co...

I've been eyeing up people's Happiness Planners on Instagram for a while now, and my sister clearly read my mind, presenting me with my own on Christmas Day. I waited to start until I had finished a couple of other journal-style projects I was working on, and dived into the first pages at the end of February. I've now completed my '100 days to happy', so thought I'd share my experience with this beautiful little journal. I haven't planned a structure to this, really, so I'll just put my thoughts under headings as they come to me... Daily habit One of the things I've been really working on is adding in little daily habits to my routine. I add one in, get used to it, then throw in an extra. That way, it's a little change at a time but they add up to have a big impact. I've written a post about my habit of reading for 30mins a day , and the rituals now also include meditation, foam rolling, and my pride and gratitude jo...

Today's recipe post has become a firm family favourite. It's so simple but full of flavour. The pesto seems to enhance the flavour of the salmon fillet even more, the roasted tomatoes are delicious, and we team it with brown rice and veggies, or simply a roasted vegetable selection as shown here. You will need: Pesto  Salmon fillets (1 per person, and we usually make extras for lunches) Cherry tomatoes, halved Accompaniments of your choice - pictured here are roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash, courgettes and red, green and yellow peppers, and some garlic spinach. In the past we've served it with brown rice, broccoli and peas.  This couldn't be much more easy if it tried. Preheat the oven to about 200 degrees Celsius. Line up the salmon fillets on a baking tray and spread a layer of pesto across the top of each. Top each fillet with some halved cherry tomatoes for a burst of flavour. Pop into the over for about 15 minutes. Serve...

What a year it's been so far. As we move into the sixth month of a year that has been eventful both in the wider world and in my personal life, I'm feeling reflective. The past six months have been full of change. I've been back up north since December, now, and focusing on recovery from four years of anxiety and other related issues, which all came to a head almost exactly one year ago. In June 2016, the picture looked very different to today's. The issues I'd been ignoring or hiding from those around me refused to be ignored any more, and I was in a complete state. I couldn't eat or sleep, everything terrified me and I'm not going to lie: it was a scary, scary period. That was my signal to change my life. For years I had been trying to pretend I could cope, but my body was now telling me I couldn't - I needed to face it all head on. After a period working with an incredible counsellor in London, I left the big city to practice what...