Delicious raw chocolate fudge - recipe by Madeleine Shaw

One of my favourite weekend pastimes is to make (and then eat) delicious nutritious food. Being so busy during the week it's the perfect way to relax and to thank your body for putting up with the stresses of modern-day working life. Someone who inspires me in my weekend kitchen escapades is Madeleine Shaw; I've followed Madeleine on Instagram for a while now, and her recipes always look so tasty. She's a qualified Nutritional Health Coach who wants to encourage people to become the hottest, healthiest, happiest version of themselves, and her recipes are designed to enable people to enjoy their food whilst being healthy. I've tried a couple of her recipes over the last few weeks and they've all been amazing, but her raw chocolate fudge recipe is something else. It's also super simple to make. In all honesty, this is one that you really must try to believe just how delicious it is.

Here's some I made earlier...:

Ingredients

100g of coconut oil

100g of almond butter (I use Meridian) 

50g raw cacao powder

100g of honey

1 tsp of vanilla extract

A pinch of sea salt

The directions are also really straight forward - click here to see how Madeleine does it. 

The only downside is that some of these ingredients can be rather expensive - especially the coconut oil and raw cacao powder - but if you shop around a little you can often find some good deals. I may also try my next batch using drinking chocolate powder, just to see how a cheaper version tastes, however then you miss out on the antioxidants in the raw cacao. Another ingredient I may try adding in is grated orange peel as this could be a tasty seasonal addition for the upcoming festive period - a bit like a healthy Terry's chocolate orange! 

I really would recommend giving this recipe a go, it's my new favourite weekend treat, and it's packed full of goodness so can be enjoyed as a guilt-free indulgence.

Let me know if you make it, I'd love to hear what you think! Also be sure to follow Madeleine on Instagram and to sign up for her newsletter for some other amazing healthy recipes. 

Love Lucy x

Top 5 Healthy Food Instagramers to follow

Instagram is the perfect platform for healthy eating inspiration: it's visual, it's creative, and most of all it provides a constant flow of new and exciting foody-ideas. I love scrolling through my Insta-feed in the morning and seeing all the healthy juices, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and (best-of-all) treats that the health Instagramers of the world are sharing. I've always been interested in eating healthily, but it's easy to become stuck in a rut of simple salads and Special K, and healthy eating can be so much more exciting than that! Instagram is a great place to be inspired, and if you follow the right accounts you'll never be short of recipe ideas for all occasions.

So, here are The Beautifully Healthy Project's Top 5 Healthy Food Instagramers:

ONE: @madeleine_shaw_ 

TWO: @deliciouslyella

THREE: @Thewholefooddiary

FOUR: @hemsleyhemsley

FIVE: @mynewroots

All good healthy food Instagramers like these Top 5 don't just share photos, they also share the recipes (or at least the ingredients), so you really can see Instagram as a really accessible and visual cookery book. Many of them also have websites to offer further inspiration and ideas. 

So, get on Instagram, get following, and get making deliciously healthy (and beautifully looking) foods!

Live healthy, be happy. 

Love Lucy x

We Need To Talk About Cara

Cara Delevingne. The name that has the fashion world buzzing with excitement. The expression-filled face that is everywhere. The personality that bubbles over with a youthful vigour. There are even whispers that she will be, or already is, "The New Kate Moss". And as her friend Rihanna would say This Girl Is On Fire. Fashion Fire.

Needless to say Miss Delevingne has had a fortunate upbringing. She, along with her elder sisters Chloe and Poppy, attended prestigious boarding schools, and are friends with many an influential person from royalty to rockstar offspring. Her father is a "property man", and the girls enjoyed a luxurious upbringing in Belgravia, London. Not only was she born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she was also born with extraordinarily good genes and mile high legs!

But, to Cara's credit, where most people would rest on their diamond-crusted laurels, she's used her connections, good looks, and vivacious personality to her advantage, and has worked incredibly hard to prove herself in the ruthless world of fashion. She's fearless. And fashion loves fearless. She's not afraid to make a fool of herself, and I believe that's what makes her such a fantastic model with such a solid fan-base. Her Instagram is overflowing with goofy pictures which make you want to hang out with her, yet on the catwalk she transforms into a fierce creature who can carry any outfit.

She is even loved by Vogue - the ultimate seal of approval for any model wanting to make it. In the British February edition they released some incredible figures about her season - she walked in 38 shows, showcasing 54 different looks, spending an impressive four-and-a-half hours on the catwalk. No wonder she was named the British Fashion Council's Model of the Year.

She's become a regular in the Burberry campaigns and catwalk shows - some of my favourite "Cara" shoots - recently starring alongside Romeo Beckham. Take a peek at my favourite shot below, and also some of my other favourite "Cara" campaigns. 

These three campaigns are impressive feats for a 20-year-old model. She's shown she's versatile and willing to put the hard-yards in. However, the best is yet to come. The cover of the Spring/Summer edition of LOVE magazine was leaked on Instagram, and, you've guessed it, it's a picture of Cara on the front. I think it's her best yet. What do you think?

The issue is out on 4th February in the UK, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy to see the rest of the shoot. 

So, Miss Delevingne is doing pretty well for her young years! It's not even surprising that "la cara" in Spanish translates to "face" - she really is the face of the moment. 

Now all that's left to do is to wait and see how her career unfolds. What do you think Cara's future holds?

Love Lucy x