Homemade Granola

I hope you're all keeping safe in this storm. 

One of my favourite things to eat for breakfast(or at any time of the day) is Fruit, Yoghurt and Granola. Many Cereals and Granolas are full of sugar. So much so that you can actually feel the sugar coat on your teeth after eating them🙉. I love the Happy Pear "Cool Jims" granola as it is one of the healthier ones and tastier ones in my opinion. When I ran out of it over the weekend I decided to make my own. 

Here is the recipe I used:

👉2 cups of oats

👉1/2 cup raw sliced/chopped almonds/cashews/brazil nuts (nuts of your choice)

👉1/3 cup of seeds(pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds etc)

👉2 tbsp maple syrup

👉1 tbsp raw honey

👉1 tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil

👉1/4 tsp vanilla extract

👉1 large pinch of salt

🍁Preheat your oven at 180

🍁Combine all ingredients in a bowl with your hands until oats and seeds are coated

🍁Spread the mixture onto a lined baking tray and place in oven for 10-20 mins(I left mine for 20 as I like it crispier)

🍁Cool before storing or serving

🍁This can be kept in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

Serving suggestions: I love mine with Strawberries, Grapes, Blueberries & Raspberries topped with "Liberte Natural Greek yoghurt".

I would love to know how it turns out. Send me a picture or tag me in your posts💕

Instagram: @roisindolanmakeupartist

Snapchat: @roisindolan

Roisin xxx

Blueberry Scones

For any of you that follow me on instagram @roisindolanmakeupartist, you might have voted on a recent poll I had up in relation to both Make-up and Recipes!

Anytime I post a picture of food I frequently get asked about what is in it etc. Over the weekend I made these Blueberry Oat scones. I would love to love porridge but I detest it no matter what way I try and eat it. So I find these are one of the best ways to get oats into me.

So handy to make. Here is what you need:

350g oats

2 egg whites

2 large ripe bananas

3 tbsp honey/maple syrup

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

125g Frozen blueberries

🥄Preheat your oven at 180

🥄Blend oats in food processor/nutri bullet to form oat flour

🥄Mix you oat flour and baking power in a medium size bowl. Add in melted coconut oil and mix with your finger tips

🥄 Put Banana, egg whites & honey/maple syrup into Nutri bullet(can also whisk by hand!)

🥄 Add this to your dry ingredients and mix well making sure all dry ingredients are moist

🥄Fold in your blueberries

🥄Spoon your mixture onto a lined baking tray 

🥄Pop into oven for about 25mins (I left mine a little longer as I prefer them a more golden colour
🥄Leave to cool on a wire tray for a few minutes before serving. They can be sealed in an air tight container /ziplock bag for 7 days (Can also freeze)

Serving suggestions: I actually really like them without anything but they are also delicious with Nut Butter 👐

This makes about 5-6 scones. Super handy & healthy for anyone on the go!

Let me know what you think of them 💁

Roisin xxx

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Banana Oat Pancakes

Seeing as Pancake Tuesday is just around the corner I've decided to pop this recipe up here as it is so simple and you most likely have everything you need in your cupboard already.

All you need for these healthy little gems are:

🥞2 eggs

🥞1/2 Banana (or full if you want a real banana-y taste!)

🥞30g of Oats(optional)

🥞Pinch of baking powder

(If you want to make the mix go a little further you could also add a dash of milk - or nut milk if you have it hanging around!)

🥄Put all your ingredients into Nutri bullet/blender. 

🥄Heat your non stick pan on 

🥄I like to cook mine with a small bit of real butter or coconut oil.

🥄Serve with toppings of your choice - My fav is berries & maple syrup🍓🍇 🍌

Happy Sunday!

Enjoy 😊

Roisin 

xxx

Healthy Granola Bar Recipe

Anytime I post a picture of this I always get asked the recipe so I've decided to post it here so it doesn't disappear in 24hours from Snapchat or Instagram! So simple & so delicious 😍

🎀1 Cup Almonds

🎀1 Cup Oats

🎀1 Cup pitted dates

🎀3 tbsp Peanut butter (I used crunchy)

🎀3 tbsp Maple Syrup 

🎀Optional (2-4 squares of dark chocolate)

✨Roast the Almonds and oats in the oven for 15 mins at about 200.

✨Blend your dates until they form a real sticky consistency.

✨Melt your peanut butter and maple syrup in a pot on a medium heat until they combine(almost like a caramel).

✨Mix all together in a bowl.

✨Place in a lined tin/tray.

✨Melt your chocolate and drizzle on top.

✨Freeze for 30 mins. 

You can cut into squares and keep in a ziplock bag/air tight container for 1-2 weeks in Fridge/Freezer. 

Happy Snacking 😘

Roisin

xxx

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Winging it in Mexico!!

Finally getting back to normality after the most incredible trip to Mexico and New York!!

I have had so many requests to do a blog post about it all so I hope this will answer the majority of your questions.

*Disclaimer*

We absolutely winged it all so I think finding the 'Mexican baby Jesus' on our first day which is meant to give you a "Year of good luck", rubbed off on us!!

We only booked our flights the last weekend in November so it was a pretty last minute decision. We booked our flights through Skyscanner which linked us to Sky-tours.com. We flew mainly with "Air France".

We both were working long hours coming upto and all over Christmas & New Years so we never got a chance to plan what we would do/where we would go/stay etc!

Before we left we had only booked 4 nights in the "Aloft Hotel" http://www.aloftcancun.com  It is located in the Zona Hotelera. It was about $55each per night.

The night before we flew I booked our transfer from Cancun airport with www.hoppa.com. The fare was about €14. 

When we arrived at our hotel it was 24hours since we had left home but we were so excited to check the place out as we were right beside the strip, where all the nightclubs were. 

We went for some food and then took a walk down by the strip. The place was hopping!! There are loads of promoters standing out on the street trying to get you to come into their club. Prices vary depending on the club. (Here's the Cavan woman coming out in me!!!) I would never pay the first price they tell you. ALWAYS haggle with them because you will 100% get the price knocked down!

Anyone that I had been talking to that had been to Cancun before said "Coco Bongo" is a MUST!!

It is the Big one with these guys outside it, so you sure as hell won't miss it.

We found a stand inside the Forum which is located on the strip beside Coco Bongo.

We were making enquiries about some of the tours/activities so the man at this stand gave us a good deal because we were buying a few packages off him.

Entry for Coco bongo is usually around $85 - This includes Shows, Express Entrance, Free Bar.

Another recommendation we got was to do the "Chichen Itza" Tour. This usually costs around $80.

It Includes transport to and from your hotel to location, a buffet, guided tour around the ancient Mayan ruins of the Chichen Itza and a stop off in a Cenote (an underground, fresh water swimming hole) on the way home.

We got the Coco Bongo tickets for $65 and the Chechen Itza tour for $40. And he threw in a Coco Bongo T shirt !!

The first night we just went for a few drinks to "Monkey Business" as we wanted to be fresh for the first full day of the holiday.

Nearly every hotel in Zona Hotelera has their own roof top bar/pool area. We took it easy and explored the beach while getting our bearings. 

We attended Coco Bongo on the Saturday night and it was 1000% worth every cent! As some of you may know, I am a dancer so this was right up my street! They were incredible!!! 

Our lucky streak was just starting and we somehow managed to get ourselves a VIP area so we had an incredible view for the whole show while a waiter brought us drink the entire night!! (far to easy to get use to!!) Once the show is over the music continues till about 4am onwards!!!

The next day we went to the Mandala beach club. We got a double sunbed for free for the day while we sipped cocktails and had a little boogie. 

Monday morning we were up bright and early for the bus to collect us at 7am for the Chichen Itza tour.

My favourite part of the day was visiting the Cenote on the way home. I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to water activities even though I absolutely love them, I'm not a great swimmer so I don't trust myself. Thank god they had life jackets because this was honestly one of the best experiences. The water is SO pure.

We arrived back in Cancun around 8:30pm, went for dinner and that night we went to the club "Congo" which was $25 for your entry and open bar for the night.

Tuesday we checked out and booked a hotel in Tulum on bookings.com. We got a bus to Tulum which is about 2 hours from Cancun. We got the "R-1 to ADO" (This is the main bus station in Cancun)  which is only $1 (or $12mxn pesos) outside our hotel and from "ADO to Tulum" was $344mxn pesos for two people so about $10USD each. The bus was super comfy, loads of leg room and a film.

We arrived at the "Harmony Glamping & Boutique hotel" https://www.harmonyglampingtulum.com to the cutest room. We had our own little balcony which was over looking the pool, the bar and ''Flow Restaurant"

The hotel is located about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Tulum so we took a dander that night but before we left our room we saw this sitting on the table so we decided we would get up early the next morning to do some Yoga!!

The outdoor restaurant at the hotel was so delicious!! I'm a massive foodie so this was ideal! It was all freshly prepared with organically grown veg that we saw them pick from their gardens! This was our breakfast after a super relaxing Yoga session <3 

   

We rented bikes that afternoon and cycled to the beach. The beaches in Tulum are just as stunning as the ones in Cancun if not better! Met some great people.

Tulum is very chilled out and completely different to Cancun in my opinion but I loved it too.

The tastiest veggie burger EVER!!!!

We stayed three nights in this place and it was around €35 each per night!!

We checked out and fuelled up in another gem cafe we found called "Tunich".

We heard there was a massive Techno music festival on the beach so we decided to go to that for the craic  fun!! (I've never even listened to techno-should have done this before I went to it!!) 

It was the "Storyteller Ibiza" Dancing into Dreams festival. Crazy, Strange and no idea what I was getting myself in for haha but still glad we went. 

We booked into the hotel where the party was on. It was called the "Papaya Playa Project". http://www.papayaplayaproject.com

This was our Jungle room for the night 

The views were incredible over looking the beach!

Me & My Bestie ready for the night <3

    The party went on from about 7pm - 9am the next morning!!!

That day we got the bus to Playa Del Carmen. This was around $3 each. It took about an hour from Tulum. On the way, we booked a hotel on bookings.com called "Hotel Posada Mariposa" http://www.hotelboutiqueposadamariposa.com. It was located in the centre of the town in an area called ''Little Italy". It was surrounded by some beautiful restaurants/shops/pubs. It was $32 each for a night but we didn't like the fact we had no windows in the room so we checked out of this hotel the next morning.

We found this beauty around the corner from it called the "Soho" Hotel. This was roughly $50 each and we had a lovely balcony with a hammock too.

                                                It was roughly 5-7mins walk from the beach.

Breakfast at Bio-natural was so delicious. Loads of healthy options mainly vegan & vegetarian.

We got offered a free sun bed at the Coralina Beach club here so we set up there for the day. We done some jet skiing which was so much fun!! We bargained him down to $55 for the 2 of us for 30mins. 

We ate in "50f Friends" and "Wings army" that night. We went to Mandala Club. It was free entry and normal prices for drinks. 

The next day we had to check out of Soho as they were fully booked for the night. This was probably the first time we wished we had planned ahead as we had moved hotels the past 3days in a row. 

We then checked into the "Fiesta Inn". Another lovely hotel located just 2 blocks from Soho! 

We chilled out and wandered around the shops. We booked an adventure day for the Tuesday in Boca Del Puma

It was $45 which included our transport to and from your hotel, Quad biking, Zip lining & another Cenote and lunch.  

Upside down Ziplining!!! My Face !!!

That night we got a bus back to Cancun. We checked into the Krystal Grand hotel http://www.krystalgrandpuntacancun.com for 2 nights. This was $80 each per night. We went back to the forum where we bought our coco bongo and chichen itza tickets. We purchased the Boat trip tickets to Isla Mujures for the next morning. These were $45 each.

We woke up the Wednesday morning and there was a tropical storm so it was cancelled. There wasn't much to do except go shopping!! La Isla is the closest shopping centre to the Zona Hotelera. Only $1 on the bus and the same to the one downtown.

We pampered ourselves and packed our cases for New York before getting ready for one last night in Cancun.

 We went to Mandala for our last night. It was $30 in with a free bar for the night! The club doesn't close till about 5am. Fabulous idea when you have to be up for a flight in 3 hours!!

Wow, that was a long ass blog but I hope I have answered all your questions. If there's anything else, just send me a message on either 

Instagram: @roisindolanmakeupartist

Snapchat: @roisindolan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakeUpMeBeautifulByRoisin/

Restaurants in Cancun:  

Casa Tequila 

Surfin Burrito

Wings Army 

Chuchito Perez

Limoncello 

Texmex

Restaurants in Tulum:

Flow

Burrito Amor

Tunich

Restaurants Playa del Carmen:

Eat Italy

Bio-Natural

50f Friends

Wings Army 

Lughnasa 52

Looking for a delicious place to grab something to eat in the heart of Dublin?

Last week I was kindly invited into Lughnasa 52 for a complimentary lunch. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I LOVE food!!! So you can imagine how delighted and excited I was when they contacted me. 

The new pop up restaurant is located upstairs in South William Bar, 52 South william St, Dublin 2. When we walked in, we were cheerfully greeted with a smile. Immediately I got such a good vibe in the place. 

We were seated upstair, with a view of the street. The place was really cosy which is exactly what we wanted after trecking around in the bitter cold on Black Friday. 

There was an excellent choice of food on the menu which is served from 12pm-4pm.

I chose the delicious steak sandwich which was served with crispy onion rings and tasty sweet potato fries. My friend Ellen got the Flat bread which was also super yummy. 

It was exactly what we wanted as we had been out the night before!! There was lots of other (healthier) options on the menu too. Both our meals were priced at €9.95 which is an absolute bargain for the quality & quantity of food that we got. Especially in the heart of Dublin!! 

I would highly recommend checking this place out. Thanks again to Sean & Denis from Lughnasa, I will definatly be back again soon. 

Check out their social media for more info. 

Facebook: Lughnasa https://www.facebook.com/Lughnasa52/

Instagram :@lughnasa52 

Roisin xxx

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Vivienne O'Connor "Collection Two"

As many of you might have seen on my snapchat last Friday evening, I attended the launch of Vivienne O Connor 'Collection Two' Spring/Summer'18 preview.

What a night. I had the pleasure of doing the makeup for these four beauties from assets model agency.

Vivienne is a new Irish fashion designer who launched her first collection, ''Collection One" in July 2017. Her passion and incredible personality shines through her beautiful bespoke pieces. From dresses to two piece suits she has something stunning for your special occasion.

It took place in the luxurious Westin Hotel Dublin. The perfect location for an invent like this. I spent the evening with some fabulous people including the famous bloggers @funkyfashionfrolics  https://www.facebook.com/funkyfashionfrolics/ Paul and

Mike.

Vivienne O' Connors collection is available from Jennifer Wrynne boutique in Powerscourt town centre and www.jenniferwrynne.com. For other stockists nationwide and the uk you can check out www.vivienneoconnor.com

You can catch a quick preview video of the night over on Irish Fashion magazine https://www.facebook.com/Irish.fashion.magazine/ 

Vivienne is working on some more exquisite pieces including a bridal collection. I can not wait to see what else this little gem has ahead for us. Here is a few more pictures of the night!

Continued success Viv!

Roisin xxx

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