27 Ways To Make Your Macaroni Cheese Cooler | Top Tips

I love Macaroni Cheese. It is by far my favourite meal, and one of the few things I never tire of eating! At uni, it is a staple for my friends and I because it is so cheap to make, amazingly tasty as well as super filling. Because we ate it so much, we started to vary what we put in it to make it slightly healthier and more interesting. Here is a combination of our ideas, and some of my own to give the classic Macaroni Cheese a little something extra!

When you’re making the cheese sauce:

Get Cheesy - swap the classic Cheddar for...

1. Blue Cheese

2. Red Leicester - this will give the sauce a deeper yellow colour, which I loved as a child!

3. Stilton

4. Mozzarella - this will give a very mild taste, so I would suggest mixing it with a stronger cheese, or adding it on top if you bake the macaroni in the oven

Once you’ve created the cheese sauce:

Keep It Simple - add these easy ingredients

Pesto Genovese Macaroni Cheese

5. ½ teaspoon of Marmite (it really enhances the flavour of the cheese, and as long as you don't go majorly overboard, doesn't taste at all like Marmite - take it from a Marmite hater!)

6. Black pepper

7. Crushed garlic

8. Top it with breadcrumbs and bake it ‘till you make it (or until it’s golden brown)

9. Basil - fresh is probably better

10. Pesto - my favourites are Pesto Genovese and Sun-Dried Tomato

11. Worcestershire Sauce - for a kick!

After you’ve combined the pasta and sauce:

Have A Health Kick

Pea and Chicken Macaroni Cheese

12. Leeks - fry/caramelise them first and then stir them in well so they’re evenly distributed

13. Mushrooms

14. Caramelised Red Onions

15. Spinach - add with a couple of minutes to go on a very low heat or after you’ve taken the macaroni off the heat to prevent wilting

Broccoli Macaroni Cheese

16. Broccoli

17. Peas

18. Tomatoes - sundried or fresh, either stirred through the pasta or used on top if you’re baking it

Red Pepper Macaroni Cheese

19. Peppers

20. Sweetcorn

21. Spring Onions

And/Or Make It Meatilicious/Fishy

Bacon and Pea Macaroni Cheese

22. Chicken

23. Bacon

24. Tuna

25. Ham

26. Salami

27. Pepperoni

Now get cooking! You can thank me later.

P.S. I love to make all the recipes that I post about, however we are currently getting our kitchen redone so I am without cooker (and have been for over two months now!). I was way too excited about this post to wait for it to be finished, but rest assured I will be posting pictures of all the macaroni I eat when that happy day arrives on Twitter and Instagram! All these pictures are from this Pinterest search.

How To Fake A Tan On Holiday | Top Tips

I'll hold my hands up now! I know I promised this post is LONG overdue, I have just been enjoying lying around doing nothing too much the past couple of days! Won't happen again (will probably happen again)!

Anyways, down to business.

Year round, if you want to, it is all too easy to achieve the desired 'sun-kissed glow' by using fake tan or tanning moisturisers. But when you're on holiday, how are you supposed to fake tan AND swim in the sea? It's such a clash of interests. If you're lucky and have naturally tanned or dark skin, or are one of those people who can be in the sun for five minutes and look bronzed, then you will have no trouble with this change. However, if you're like me and take a good while for your skin to get accustomed to the sun enough to tan, and even then only go a 'honey brown' at best - then these tips are for you.

Here's the tips that I abide by to fool people that I'm a lot more tanned than I actually am:

1. Work the neon
Now I am just the latest in a looooong stream of people saying that neons and bright colours help you look more tanned, but we wouldn't all be saying it if it wasn't true, right? Whether it's your nails, bikini, flip flops, sunglasses - all neon is good neon when it comes to the illusion of the bronzed goddess.

Neon orange nails - I don't know how it works, but it does!

 2. Steer clear of white
...at least for the first couple of days, then go crazy with it! When you've got even a little tan, white will make it look a thousand times darker and deeper, however I find if I wear it before I've done a few days in the sunit only makes the fact that I'm quite pale more apparent! Instead go for brights or light pastels in the first few days.

3. Buy a tan assisting sun cream
This tip will actually help you tan for real. My go to is the 'Nivea Protect & Bronze suncream', which I have used since 2012. It contains no fake tan, just all the right ingredients to enable your skin to tan better than it ever has before. It really works for me!

I know I'm wearing white, it was a few days in haha!

4. Try not to wear too many dark colours
This is almost the same tip as with wearing white, but in reverse. Dark colours, I find, drain my skin of any tan it may have got, so I try and steer clear of them for the first couple of days.

5. Slap some sunnies on and take a picture
If worst comes to the worst and you really do not tan - First: put some sunnies on - everyone looks more tanned when you look at them in sunglasses, including you. Second: take a picture, up the contrast, slightly lower the shadow and a tanned goddess you will be (as far as anyone at home knows at least)! Work your skin in all its natural glory and celebrate the fact that you won't get wrinkles when you're older.

Well there you have it, my top tips for pretending your tan's better than it actually is, hope you enjoyed!

Top 10 Things To Do | Budapest

It's the final Budapest post! This time, it's my list of favourite things we did when we were there, hope you enjoy!

1.  Go inside Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen’s Basilica)
I know I mentioned that St Stephen's was my favourite building to look at it my last post, HOWEVER, you can go and explore the church, for a small donation! Inside are the most awe-inspiring ceilings, stained glass windows, and statues. It proves itself to be just as fascinating on the inside as it is the out.

2. Experience the nightlife
If you only visit one bar in your entire life, make it Szimpla (I'm probably exaggerating how good it is slightly, but it is THAT amazing). One of Budapest's ruin bars, and named as The Lonely Planet's 3rd best bar in the world, it is one of those places that just can't be done justice in pictures or words. There are speciality cocktails, a maze of different rooms and levels, graffiti and awesome decoration everywhere, a stage, a food booth and even a leaflet of Szimpla's Guide to Budapest! Ahhhh, I want to go back so badly!
Asides from Szimpla, there are many other great destinations, two others I visited whilst I was there were Kèkló, the self-proclaimed "coolest bar ever", and a club called Instant (it has the most insane house music room in the basement, but if you're scared of a little (a lot) of sweat, it may not be right for you!) The Budapest nightlife really does have something to offer everyone!

Here's Ella and I looking extremely happy in Szimpla

3. Go on a free walking tour
Walking tours are by far the best way to learn about a new city, and these ones are great because they run on tips, meaning you pay what you can afford to. It isn't for the faint hearted, lasting about three hours (make sure you take some snacks and have breakfast beforehand, we didn't and suffered!), but you get invaluable background knowledge to all the most famous landmarks, and some you wouldn't know existed without their guidance! Some of the best information they gave us was that all the fountains and taps out and about in Budapest are drinking water, meaning you don't have to pay for bottled water!

4. Visit Gelarto Rosa and get an ice cream shaped like a rose
If you haven't seen my post on these wonderful creations, here it is. I cannot describe how brilliant these ice creams actually are, and I am yet to hear about anywhere else that makes anything like them, especially for the same price! For 500 HUF, which works out at less than £1.50, you can get two delicious flavours, which I think you'll agree is a bargain!

5. Spend some time in a bath house
We visited Széchenyi Fürdõ, the biggest bath house in Budapest, which is located at the end of Andrássy Avenue near Hõsok Tere. There was a huge selection of baths, including two outdoor pools (hot and cold), heated and non-heated indoor pools, rapids (inside and out), steam rooms, different temperature saunas (we accidentally went in the hottest one, which was 60-80 degrees, I felt like my insides were on fire) and hot tubs. It was heaven!

6. Sziget Eye
The Eye was located in our favourite park, to the right of St Stephen's. We saved going on it till the final evening, and I really would recommend doing this for the beautiful view you get of Budapest at night. It was under 2000 HUF, and you get at least three trips round - great value for money!

7. Get a pedal bike/car and go round Margitsziget (Margaret Island)
We were a bit too excited doing this, especially seeing as we went round during a thunderstorm! However, if you're looking for a bit of shameless fun and a lot of laughs, rent one of these beauties and pedal away! By far the best way to take in the beauty of Margaret Island.

8. Take Tram #2 and go down the Pest side of the Duna
For great views of the Buda side of the river, this is a must! You can buy a single tram ticket at any tube station for 350 HUF - a ticket can be used on either a tram or the underground. Make sure you stamp your ticket using the machine as soon as you get on the tram, ticket inspectors are often plain clothed! Go towards Margaret Island from the Chain Bridge and you will also get a close and personal view of Az Országház (the House of the Nation).

9. Visit Fõvám Tér Piac (the Great Market Hall)
I love food, and exploring foreign markets and supermarkets, so this was a no-brainer for me. They literally sell everything here, from linens to Russian Dolls and paprika spread (a Hungarian delicacy).

10. Try all the food you can!
Gulyás leves, langos, strudel - you have to try it all! Hungarian cuisine was a thousand times better than I expected it to be, and I'm so glad we spent time tasting it all! We also tried to eat where the locals ate, and bought a picnic style lunch from supermarkets, experimenting with different meats, cheeses and breads.

Strudel

Bread rolls; salted bread (we thought it was sugar); two HUGE purple apples; Hungarian cheese
(delicious but salty); mineral water from a fountain; children's chocolate animal biscuits.

Gulyás leves! In English 'goulash', it is supposed to be a soup, not a stew, and I really miss it!

Seeded and non-seeded scallop shaped bread; cheese baguette; brie; pâté; mineral water from one of the fountains;
coconut chocolate bar (delicious) and a truffle chocolate bar (tasted so strongly of the Hungarin rum Palinka that I
couldn't eat it!)

Langos with garlic (top) and sour cream and cheese (bottom). It is essentially fried bread and
is a Hungarian dish that you definitely have to try! We found ours at the Great Market Hall.

Our starter on the last night: mixed hams with tomato salad and Hungarian bread

Our final meal! Ella had a spicy sausage casserole and I had pasta with 'fat bacon' (fried bacon
fat) and Hungarian cottage cheese - it was a lot nicer than it sounds, but quite heavy! The bread
was free, another brilliant part of eating in Hungary!

11. Soak in the culture
Some of my favourite parts of the holiday were when we just sat in a park in the city centre and soaked in the atmosphere of Budapest, or when we took some time to wander round the streets and see what we could discover!

A park near the Széchenyi Fürdõ where we sat and had lunch

There's Matthias Church in the background

Ella playing in a massive water feature we discovered on the way to Parliament

Okay, so maybe there are 11...

Top 10 Things To See | Budapest

As promised, here is my first Budapest post! It really is a fantastic city, and here are some of my favourite things that I got to see. (N.B. This list is my no means exhaustive, we only had four full days to explore!)

1. Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen’s Basilica)

This is the largest (and in my opinion, most beautiful) church in Budapest. It’s dome is 96 metres high, the same height as the one on the Parliament building, and it sits proudly almost opposite the Chain Bridge. It is hands down my favourite building in all of Budapest.

                           

2. Margitsziget (Margaret Island)

This island sits in the middle of the Duna, the river which separates the two sides of the city, Buda and Pest (I find the fact that the two different sides are called this a bit too funny). It is a beautiful expanse of sculpted green parkland with flowers, trees and shrubbery everywhere, and beautiful views of the city on either side.

3. Halászbástya (Fisherman’s Bastion)

On the Buda side of the city, Fisherman’s Bastion really is gorgeous. The cream-white walls and pillars and fantastical curving buildings, coupled with the fantastic view you get of Pest, prove it to be a photographers dream.

4. Mátyás-templom (Matthias Church)

If you visit Fisherman’s Bastion you will no doubt see Matthias Church. The roof really has to be seen to be believed. The tiles are native to Hungary and self-cleaning, meaning they don’t lose their colour, and cover the entirety of the church roof.

5. Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge)

The most famous of Budapest’s many bridges, and you can see why. Guarded by two lions at either end, it’s architecture is really one that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, but rest assured it, and the view down the Duna you get from walking across it, are beautiful.

6. Az Országház (House of the Nation)

This building is the third largest Parliament building in the world - two metres longer than the Houses of the Parliament in the UK, which it was modeled on. As a result, it is very difficult to photograph, but it is a truly spectacular building, one that is definitely worth seeing.

7. Hõsök Tere (Heroes Square)

You may have seen a picture of this on my Instagram. Heroes Square is a little way out of the centre of Budapest, at the very end of Andrássy Avenue, but is very much worth the walk. Built in 1900 to celebrate the 1000 year anniversary of the seven Magyar tribes arriving in the area of now-Hungary, it is a Unesco Heritage Site, and also boats the Palace of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts.

8. Budavári Palota (Buda Castle)

We didn’t actually go and have a proper look in the grounds of the castle, however I wish we had spent a little more time there. It rest on Castle Hill, and has not only beautiful architecture, but beautiful views of the Pest side of the river. Next time!

9. Dohány Utcai Zsinagóga (Dohány Street Synagogue)

It is the second largest synagogue in the world, and actually influenced the architecture of the largest synagogue, New York City’s Central Synagogue.

10. The Architecture
You can’t help but glimpse Budapest’s wonderful, eclectic architecture as you’re walking round, but try to pay extra attention to it, as in my opinion it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

I hope you're all feeling a major urge to jump on the next plane to Budapest, I know I am! Thanks for reading and happy travelling!