Putting the smooth in smoothie

Hello - remember me?

I have been so, so crap at keeping my blog updated since honeymoon. The weeks before we went were hectic, rushing round getting everything sorted and the excitement of our trip. And since we've been back it's been just as hectic, catching up on life and getting back into a routine.

However, I feel like my life has resumed some sort of normality again.

Just before I went on honeymoon I was contacted by a company who wanted to send me some samples of a brand of smoothie that they were promoting. I completely forgot all about it, until I got back and the lady had emailed me again. While sorting through my hundreds of emails I found it, and decided that the post-honeymoon detox would kick off nicely with said smoothies.

I was sent a big box with a whole host of flavours in - some of which sounded more appetising than others.

The Savse (pronounced Sav-Say) smoothies are based on authentic family recipes created in the 1980s by Nina, the mother of Savse's founder Guka Tavberidze to help cure an iron deficiency during her pregnancy in the 1980s.

Savse is the ideal fix for those looking for something deliciously healthy and naturally tasty. And, what's even better, is that each low-calorie bottle offers two of your five-a-day.

Savse, mening 'crammed' in Georgian, is filled to the brim with 100 per cent natural super fruits and antioxidant-rich vegetables, to ensure the tastiest, healthiest, raw smoothies - with no added sugars, colourings of water.

I love smoothies, but my main concern is always how much sugar is in them. They're pitched as being so healthy but, often, they are actually worse for you than drinking a big bottle of Coke.

These, however, are completely natural and are all really low in calories.

The first one I tried was the Super orange flavour (which contains mango, passion fruit, orange, carrot, celery, apple and lemon). It smelt beaut and it tasted just like Tropicana. It tasted like it should be so, so naughty and full of sugar.

It also reminded me of the mango and passionfruit iced drinks that they do at Starbucks and Costa - it was really refreshing and really tasty.

I then tried the Super Red one, which was just as nice. This one contained strawberry, kale, orange, broccoli, celery and spinach. I actually made myself a smoothie with similar ingredients at home before these were delivered, and it didn't look (or taste) anywhere near as good as this one.

I have also tried the orange and apple juices - which are beaut. The orange juice tastes just like proper orange juice - which is probably because it is! It also doesn't have 'bits' which is a big win for me, because that always ruins orange juice for me.

The apple juice was really tasty, too. Although, I must admit I preferred the orange out of the two.

The Super Blue (blueberry, blackcurrant, beetroot, strawberry, kale, spinach, orange and apple) at first taste reminded me of a Fruit Pastille ice lolly. It was lovely - very blackcurrant-y. 

The Super Green, which contains kale, spinach, pear, apple, lemon, kiwi, broccoli and banana, was the one I was least looking forward to trying. It looks really healthy, which usually means it isn't as tasty. However, that wasn't the case. It was really refreshing and I really enjoyed it.

The only one I didn't particularly enjoy was the Super Purple (beetroot, apple, lemon, lime and mango). The taste was ok, it was the smell that put me off. It smelt "very earthy" as my friend put it. It didn't taste as bad as it smelt, I will give it that, but it wasn't my favourite.

Other flavours that the range includes are a Protein Blast, a Protein Punch and Protein Smash. These are apparently perfect for pre and post workout - not something I have any experience or knowledge in whatsoever!

Overall, I must say I was really impressed. And I would definitely buy the smoothies in future. You can buy them in Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Co-Op, Boots, Ocado, Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Spar, Nisa, Planet Organic and Wholefoods.

They are priced around £1.75 for a 250ml bottle, depending on where you get them from.

Since its introduction, Savse has shaken up the smoothie market. It's not like other smoothie brands, as it uniquely cold-presses all of its ingredients to retain the essential goodness of the full fruit and vegetables. High pressure processing (HPP) is the sophisticated preservation technique used to ensure that all vital nutrients are locked into each bottle and removes any nasties, without compromising on taste or quality by using heat pasteurisation.

Basically, they're just really, really good for you. And they taste good - which is a double win!

For more information about the brand, you can find them on Facebook by following this link.

I understand now why they say the first year of marriage is the hardest

Our wedding day was truly the happiest day of my life so far.

You only have to look at our photos, and video, to see the beaming smile that was plastered across my face all day.

Image by Insight Photography.

Image by Insight Photography.

Image by Insight Photography.

Obviously, even without seeing my cheesy grin, you'd expect me to declare it as the happiest day of my life to this point. And, honestly, it was.

But the weeks that followed were hard.

Everyone always says "the first year of marriage is the hardest". I never really knew what they meant before.

I always knew that our relationship and partnership wouldn't change after we were married, so I couldn't understand what people meant. Did they mean it was hard between the two of you? Do you suddenly start hating each other once you're married?

Now I totally see what they mean.

After so much build-up, excitement and expectation, then a wave of emotions on the day itself, it's quite a comedown once it is all over.

And, honestly, I just didn't know what to do with myself.

We haven't yet been on our honeymoon (only two weeks now until we jet off!), although we did go on a 'mini-moon' straight after we were married. This was lovely, and meant we stayed living in our wedding bubble that little bit longer.

But, when we came home, it was strange. Whilst I felt so incredibly happy and excited about embarking on married life, I also felt strange.

I don't want to say sad, because that sounds extreme, but I didn't feel normal. I didn't feel like myself. Changing my name on everything was so exciting - but it was also a strange feeling.

I just can't put my finger on what was wrong. I was agitated, stressy, snappy - even more so than normal!

The only thing I can think of is it being an extreme comedown from the wedding. From the two and a half year build-up, the excitement, the anticipation, the happiness - all over with.

Once our wedding bubble burst, and we went back to reality, it was weird.

Without sounding overly dramatic, there was nothing to focus on. Nothing to save like crazy people for. It was just suddenly all over.

I now understand why everyone says the first year of marriage is the hardest. They don't mean the marriage itself, or the relationship - at least not in our case. Tom and I have never been happier or more settled. We're making exciting plans for our future and looking forward to so many different things.

It's the circumstances - if even that - that they mean. The huge changes, the comedown, the pressure that's on you as a couple...

So many people have said to us about having a baby, starting a family and generally creating a brood.

While that is lovely, and I too am excited for all of the above, it does add a bit more pressure to us. To know that people are waiting to see when it will happen. I feel if I wrote a blog entitled 'We've some happy news to share' everyone would automatically assume we were having a baby.

There's been a lot of talk about this recently, whether it's right to ask people about starting a family. Of course, you never know what anyone is going through personally, and I am sure no offence or harm is meant when people ask.

It's just another example of the pressure newly married couples face in the first 12 months. Everyone automatically expects that once those rings are securely on your fingers that you'll start pro-creating.

I really hope I am not the only person who has ever felt like this. I'll feel even worse if nobody else knows what the hell I'm talking about!

I definitely feel like I've come out the other side now. We had Soph and Paul's wedding which catapulted us straight back into the wedding bubble. It was just beautiful.

Now we've got our honeymoon to look forward to and when we get back from there it's time for birthdays, bonfire night and the Christmas countdown.

Hopefully the post-wedding black hole is a thing of the past now. I certainly feel more bright and positive, that's for sure!

You may also like: Journo duo tie the knot at Yorkshire hotel

REVIEW: Abbey House Restaurant, Selby

Ever since Abbey House Restaurant opened its doors in November 2015, we have been massive fans.

It's our go-to place in town for special occasions. We've celebrated birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, the festive season and new jobs there.

So I was absolutely over the moon when I won a Facebook competition (it was a like and share this post, you know the type) which was run by one of Abbey House's local suppliers, Bert's Barrow, for a meal for two.

We booked in for Bank Holiday Monday, knowing full well that after the excitement of a wedding that I really wouldn't want to cook.

I have eaten at Abbey House more times than I can remember, but the reason I wanted to write a review this time was because I feel more people need to know about it. When we told friends where we were going, they hadn't heard of it. People asked what food they served, what it's like inside, how much it is etc.

The restaurant has an AA rosette - which is no easy achievement. They're only given to the real best - and Abbey House is Selby's only AA rosette restaurant. Yet so many people still don't even know about it. That makes me very sad. So, here's my attempt to make more people know about it. (Hopefully not too many that I struggle to get booked in for future occasions, though!)

We were booked in for 7pm, but arrived quite early. We enjoyed a lovely drink outside, taking in the last of the summer sunshine, before our table.

We were given the menu to peruse while we enjoyed our drinks. It's the first time we have been since the menu change, so it was nice to have some time to deliberate.

Our order was taken and we were promptly shown to our table - where we were given homemade wholemeal ciabatta to enjoy. I'm sorry there's no photo of this - we were both starving and dived in before I even had a chance to register!

We were both really impressed with the menu choices. Abbey House has a set menu - £13 for one course, £19 for two courses and £24 for three. It's really good value, especially when you see the quality of the food.

For starter, Tom went for the ox tongue, tomato chutney, Yorkshire blue, garlic, lovage oil.

While I opted for the Beetroot cured bream, chorizo jam, hummus, lime dressing, pickled cucumber.

I had never tried bream before, I did spend some time googling its taste/texture before ordering it. But I have to say, it was beautiful. The chorizo jam and hummus was perfect with it, as was the pickled cucumber.

I normally don't like cucumber, or hummus, but it all worked wonderfully well together for my starter. It's always nice when you try something new and it's a hit.

I can always count on Abbey House to be the place I try something new, because I always know it's going to be the best quality and prepared in the tastiest way.

We ordered a bottle of Merlot - our favourite tipple - to enjoy with the rest of our meal as we waited for our steak.

The atmosphere in Abbey House is lovely. The decor is simple yet elegant, and the vibe is really chilled - but you still feel like you're somewhere fancy.

The restaurant is spread across two floors, a smaller downstairs and a much larger upstairs. There's even a private table at the bottom of the ground floor, away from all the other diners, which is perfect for more intimate occasions.

Everything, even down to the music playing in the restaurant, just ticks all the boxes. The staff are friendly, pleasant and very conscientious. Nothing is ever too much trouble!

For mains, we ordered the flat iron steak (which is only served medium rare) with watercress, shallots, chips and pepper sauce. For good measure, we added a side of onion rings on. And when you see what they look like, you'll see why!

The presentation is impeccable - as you can see.

The chips are out of this world, as are the onion rings. They're proper onion rings in proper batter - just talking about them now is making my mouth water!

The pepper sauce is beaut, too.

I have to say, the steak at Abbey House is up there with the best steak I've had. It's cooked to perfection and is usually always my go-to main course. I really should be more adventurous and try some of the other delights - which include lamb rump, coley and pork - but I know I love the steak so much. And the chips.

We were both a bit stuffed after our main course, but we couldn't not have desserts.

The desserts are out of this world.

I think I must have tried almost every dessert they've done. From an upside down cheesecake when they first opened to an insane brownie.

Their new dessert menu includes chocolate tart, vanilla ice cream, raspberry parfait, a set lemon custard with Italian meringue and white chocolate and lime sorbet; as well as doughnuts.

Tom went for the milk chocolate tart with yoghurt and Tonka ice-cream, mango and cocoa nibs.

While I had the doughnuts with cream cheese, cherries and caramel.

They were proper fresh, homemade doughnuts and were just incredible.

The caramel sauce was out of this world too, and the cream cheese worked really well with the sweetness of the doughnuts and caramel.

They were the perfect way to round off an incredible meal.

As we finished our wine we both said how amazing the meal had been.

A few more tables came in while we were eating, but it wasn't as busy as it should have been.

People of Selby and surrounding areas - you don't know what you are missing!! Abbey House should be booked up weeks in advance - the most sought after tables ever.

If you don't believe me, then perhaps the words of celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager will convince you.

Rosemary was dining at Abbey House the same night as Tom and I, after her appearance at the nearby Sherburn Craft and Food Festival.

When the head chef, Lee, came out of the kitchen to chat to her, she was full of praise for the dishes she tried. She couldn't have complimented Lee, his menu and his creations any more if she had tried.

I felt so proud hearing her speak so highly of the place - and I only hope more people go out and try the place for themselves.

Our meal was part of the competition prize, but our drinks and side orders were to pay for. In total, this came to £34, meaning that were we to pay for our meal too, our bill would have been £82.

For a three course meal for two people, with a bottle of wine, gin and tonic, glass of prosecco and side of onion rings - especially of the calibre it was - I don't think that's at all bad.

The quality of the food speaks for itself - I tried to make my photos look as impressive as possible but, honestly, they don't do the incredible taste justice.

If you don't fancy the set menu on an evening, I can highly recommend Abbey House's Sunday dinner menu. It's one of my favourite places to go for Sunday lunch, purely because it's such good value for money. And, just like the rest of their menu, is excellent quality.

It's also one of my mum's favourite places, too. Being coeliac she struggles to find places that can adapt their menu to her allergies. Abbey House are more than accommodating, often creating gluten free desserts especially for her! They honestly can't do enough for you.

If you don't believe me, try for yourself. I would highly recommend it!