How to make eating on-the-go as healthy as possible

This is a collaborative post

Rushed mornings, late trains, dashing to pick up the kids, meetings that cut into your lunch ‘hour’ - most days don’t leave you with quite as much time as you’d like to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Being healthy on the move doesn’t mean eating a perfect, warm, healthy meal with a knife and fork for every meal - it’s about making the best choice that’s actually available to you. Let’s take a look at what some of those choices are.

Nutritional bases

The quickest way to stay full is to go with a base of protein and fibre. In a café, that might be eggs on toast with a side of spinach rather than a lone pastry; in a supermarket, it could be a low-fat yoghurt pot or cooked chicken with a grain-and-veg salad, instead of a beige triangle of white bread and crisps. 

If you’re pulling into a service station, then you could go towards something like chilli, soup, or sushi plus edamame. The point is to look at the options in front of you, assess which option is the healthiest, while also picking something that you actually enjoy.

Carry some healthy snacks

A handful of small items can really make healthy snacking a whole lot easier. Pack a spoon, a foldable container, a source of protein that doesn’t go bad (like some John West tuna), a couple of oatcakes, a mini nut butter and an apple in your bag before you leave your home. 

Suddenly, a plain yoghurt becomes a proper snack, a side salad becomes lunch, and a basic smoothie stops being little more than sugar in a cup. It takes almost no space, and saves you from the emergency that leaves you feeling tired and potentially even hungrier.

Photo credit Dana Sarsenbekova via Unsplash

Don’t be overly rigid

On a more general note, most dieticians would agree that the most important thing when it comes to eating well is not to be overly rigid. The most important thing is that you eat well over a long period of time, not that you eat a ‘perfect’ (but largely unpalatable) diet for just a few months, before ultimately cracking. 

If this means having the odd sweet snack, that’s totally fine. You just want to make sure that the majority of your food sources also contain healthy amounts of protein, fibre, fat and carbohydrates, so that your body is getting the building blocks it needs to keep you healthy and happy. 

Timing is important

That being said, it’s far more likely that you’ll crack and eat something sugary if you wait to eat until you’re absolutely starving. Stave off that extreme hunger with smaller snacks - nuts, oat cakes, rice cakes - and you’ll have a much more pleasant experience overall.

Eating healthily while on the go isn’t all that hard. What it does require, however, is a bit of forward thinking, and some adaptability. If you’re regularly in a rush, then those desperate bouts of hunger shouldn’t be unpredictable - plan just a little bit in advance, and you’ll make life so much easier for yourself.

Felt leaves for Autumn craft, styling them as bunting

A couple of years ago I made these embroidered felt autumn leaves. I love them! I really like the contrasting autumnal colours, the little beads that look like dew drops, and the varied shapes of the leaves. Usually I display them for autumn in a bowl on the sideboard, but this year I had a think about some different ways to style them as part of my autumn decor.

I decided that this year I would use the felt autumn leaves as bunting over my mantlepiece. I have some miniature wooden pegs in my craft stash so all I did was hang a length of thin ribbon and use the pegs to clip the leaves at intervals. 

My autumn decor is a little minimalist, but here's what it could look like, with a little help from ChatGPT!

Is a power cut going to affect my boiler?

This is a collaborative post

Boiler malfunctions never come at the right time. It’s always going to be during the coldest January chill, or when you have elderly guests coming to stay. Knowing what can affect your boiler and heating system can make these issues slightly less daunting, and also help you figure out how to fix them. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how power cuts can affect your boiler. 

A quick answer

In short, yes. Even gas boilers rely on electricity for their control board, ignition, circulation pump and (on room-sealed models) the flue fan. When the electricity stops, the boiler won’t be able to function, so central heating pauses and, on a combi, so does instant hot water. The gas may still be perfectly able to flow; the appliance just has no electricity to allow all of its other functions to operate.

Combi versus system boilers

A combi only makes hot water when a flow sensor sees a tap open and the electricity lights the burner. No power means no sensor, no pump, no ignition - so you won’t have any hot water from your taps, and no heating from your radiators either. 

With a system or regular boiler feeding a hot-water storage container, the story is a little different. The tank may already hold a bath or two of hot water, so you may be able to use what’s stored, but you won’t be able to reheat it until the power returns. It’s also possible that the water won’t flow well, if it depends on an electric pump for heat.

What might still work during the power cut

Taps on a mains system should still be able to run cold water (unless your water is solely pressurised by a water pump), and a cylinder and radiators will hold heat for a while if it’s well insulated. 

Old gravity-circulation setups that run without a pump are rare now; unless an engineer from somewhere like Able Plumbing has told you otherwise, it’s best to assume your system needs power.

What happens when the power returns

Most modern boilers recover by themselves. Give it a minute, then check the fuses are still all flipped the right way, and look at the display. If you see a fault code, check the manual (and YouTube videos if necessary) to see what they mean. 

Next, have a look at the clock and any timers you’ve set. Even brief cuts can mean that it doesn’t know what time it is any more, so schedules may be an hour out and make the heating “mysteriously” late. 

Finally, check the pressure gauge on sealed systems; cold pressure should be around 1.0-1.5 bar typically. A power cut shouldn’t result in a drop in pressure, but if you bled radiators earlier, the boiler may refuse to fire until you top up via the filling loop, and it’s a good time to check it anyway.

Power cuts are annoying, and they can result in a break in your hot water supply. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about it, other than wait for the electricity to come back online.

Review - Rolife miniature kit - Elsa's Tailoring

I received this miniature kit in exchange for a review

Last week I shared an in progress look at the Rolife miniature kit Elsa's Tailoring, and this week I am delighted to share a full review of the completed kit! Elsa's Tailoring is graded with a five star difficulty level, meaning that it is one of the more complex kits available from Rolife. It takes around 8-10 hours to complete, but because it is assembled in small sections you can work on it in short or longer crafting sessions.

The kit contains everything that you need, apart from two AAA batteries. There is no painting and no glue required, as all pieces are adhered using small double sided sticky tape. A display box is available to purchase to keep your creation dust free, and detailed instructions are included.

This is what you receive in the box. As a more advanced kit, I noticed that the wooden pieces are thinner. This makes them a little more delicate when putting them together, but it also means that the overall impression of the finished build becomes more detailed and lifelike. 

Most of the work involves building is all the tiny bits and pieces that are put together to form the complete sewing shop. It's a combination of wooden pieces which are slotted together, cardboard pieces to press out and stick together, stickers, fabric and ribbon pieces to cut to size and some clear plastic windows.

There is a light in the shop which has some simple wiring to a battery box which is hidden in the bottom of the dresser and accessed from the back. 

I found the assembly instructions very clear and easy to follow. The assembly is broken down into lots of small sections, and each part is identified using labelled wooden sheets or stickered plastic bags. I had no problems working out which piece to use, and no missing pieces. 

Some of the assembly in this kit is a little more complicated than the simpler kits that I've worked on. For example this kit has a lot of fabric pieces which need to be cut to size. The size is given in the instructions, and in some cases I found it easier to create a cardboard template which I could use to cut the fabric. It's important to be accurate because the pieces need to fit together exactly.

Although no glue is needed to assemble the kit, I did use some of my own glue. Sometimes just to make sure that pieces were stuck firmly together, sometimes because I just found it easier as the little strips of tape can be a little fiddly. The tape was however excellent for sticking together any fabric pieces, for example the display dress on the stand which has ribbon around the base. The included tweezers were also very helpful, especially for the final positioning of pieces.

I love all the tiny details in the kit. I think that my favourite accessory is the ribbon holder display with miniature rolls of ribbon. I also love the little sewing machine and tiny scissors. Some elements are put together yourself, like the rolls of ribbon and the bundles of fabric, others are provided readymade, like the scissors and the necklace. The gold accent pieces really make the kit sparkle.

I loved completing this kit. Like all the Rolife kits, it's a really relaxing activity that you can work on whenever you have a few moments to sit down at it, and when complete it looks great on display.

If you are interested in trying a Rolife kit for yourself, you can receive a 10% discount on the Rolife website by using my code Jennifer10.

A tour into the DMZ from Seoul - the border between North and South Korea

In July this year we had an amazing holiday in Seoul, and one of the highlights was an organised tour from Seoul into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The DMZ is the buffer zone which marks the border between the two countries. It's about 4km wide and is a site of ongoing tension, with a significant military presence on both sides. 

We booked our tour with Get Your Guide and the tour was operated by PLK Travel. We chose the Seoul:DMZ, 3rd Tunnel and Optional Suspension Bridge Tour including the suspension bridge, and paid £213 total for four adults. 

Travelling with an organised tour is really the only way to see many of these sights. You can visit Imjingak Park without a tour, but you can only enter the DMZ on a guided tour in an official tour bus. It is possible to make your way to Imjingak independently and transfer to an official tour bus but this would require some extra planning and research and I'm not sure how easy it would be. 

Our tour departed from and returned to Myeongdong Station which was very convenient for us as our hotel was located close by. It was a full day tour, we left early in the morning and arrived back mid-afternoon, and it's about an hour's drive from Seoul to the DMZ without stopping. 

Our tour guide was Paul and he was fantastic. While driving between the sights, as well as telling us about what we were seeing he also shared a lot of information about his own personal history relating to North and South Korea. It was fascinating, and gave us a huge amount of background information to help us understand the history of the two countries.

There was also the opportunity to buy some North Korean currency on the bus which we took advantage of, a great souvenir to take home!

Gamaksan Suspension Bridge

Our first stop was the Gamaksan Suspension Bridge (I've read that these extra stops offered as part of tours are a way of spreading out the tourists a bit to avoid congestion at the DMZ sights). It's quite a steep hike up to the suspension bridge, but we were left to do this independently so we could take our time and stop along the way to admire the views. It was a fun hike and the bridge was very impressive. At the bottom of the hill there are toilets and a convenience shop for snacks. 

Imjingak Peace Park

Then we returned to the coach to drive to Imjingak. Imjingak Park symbolises the hope of a reunification between South and North Korea, and there are many sights monuments, memorials, and other interesting things to see here. We started with a guided walking tour which highlighted the main sights, for example the Freedom Bridge which was temporarily built to exchange prisoners of war in 1953. The Mangbaedan Altar, below, is a place for South Koreans to remember their loved ones that remain in North Korea. Our guide told us many stories about his own family's escape from North Korea, along with the possibility that he has cousins living in North Korea that he knows nothing about.

You can also see an old steam locomotive which was the last train to cross the Korean border. It was rescued from the DMZ and is filled with bullet holes. You can pay a little extra to walk a short way down the partially finished train track towards North Korea which has been built in the hope of one day connecting the two countries.

The Statues of Peace can also be seen here in Imjingak Park. These statues are memorials to 'comfort women', women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during WWII. There are a number of these identical statues located across South Korea, and here in the park there are two side by side. The idea is that after reunification, one of these statues will be relocated to North Korea, and the statue intended for North Korea has a blank tablet ready for a future engraving. 

We had plenty of time to spend here in the park, and there was lots to see. Some tours include a ride on the Imjingak Peace Gondola, and you can climb up to the gondola station and see the view. There is also a Dunkin' Donuts here and a few other food options, so it was a good place to grab some lunch. There's a really good article here with 15 Interesting Things to do at Imjingak Park near the DMZ which is worth a read if you are visiting and don't want to miss anything.

Dora Observatory

The drive to the Dora Observatory is when you enter the military checkpoint which is very strictly controlled. It's essential that you bring your passport on the tour with you, as soldiers enter the bus and check everyone. One of the many interesting sights along the way is the old toll gate on the road into North Korea, which is no longer operational.

There are also lots of signs warning of landmines, and signage to make sure that you know you are entering a military area.

Inside the observatory there are large windows which look out over North Korea, and lots of information about what you can see. This model shows the area, the big building is the observatory and the blue lines mark the edges of the DMZ. You used to be able to go outside up to the roof but this is not currently permitted, however the windows on the top floor offer a similar view.

At the current time you are not allowed to take photographs into North Korea from the Observatory, and this is very strictly enforced. Our guide had a selection of photos which he had taken before this rule, and he shared them with anyone interested. There was also a video playing which showed the same scenery that you can see from the windows, and the photograph below is taken from the video. 

Our guide gave us lots of really interesting information about what you can see from the observatory, including the flags of North and South Korea, the speaker system in South Korea which broadcast K-pop and news reports (the speakers were recently demolished), guard towers, housing tower blocks and industrial buildings). 

The Third Invasion Tunnel

Then we drove to the The Third Invasion Tunnel. This is one of four (known!) tunnels built by North Korea underneath the DMZ with the purpose of invading South Korea. It was discovered in 1978 and is an incomplete 1.6km long tunnel. The tunnel has been blocked and turned into a tourist attraction where you are able to walk down a section of the tunnel.

Before entering the tunnel you must leave all your belongings in a locker (so there is no photography), and don a hard hat. One tip - be quick with the locker and get ahead of the tour group. We spent too long faffing and ended up at the back, meaning that we got caught in a long queue at the end of the tunnel before the turn around point. The entrance to the tunnel is a wide, smooth pathway but the actual tunnel is very narrow and low, so it can be quite claustrophobic if you are there with a lot of other people not moving. It's also quite a tough climb, so you do need to be physically fit. If you don't fancy it you can just wait for your group at the top, there is plenty to see to keep you busy.

There is an illustration of the tunnel outside which is quite misleading - it's not to scale and the tunnel that you walk down on the left is much longer than it looks in the picture! There is an old monorail to the tunnel entrance, but I don't think it's operational at the moment.

Outside there is a reconstruction of the end of the tunnel so that you can take pictures, and also lots of other photo opportunities, including the large DMZ sign. Even though we were last out of the tunnel we still had plenty of time to look around the area.

Unification Village

Our final stop was The Unification Village. This is a small farming village located within the southern area of the DMZ. We didn't stop here for very long, just time for a quick visit to the gift shop which sells various DMZ souvenirs. There is also a stand selling vegan ice cream which was very popular!

Historically, DMZ tours have also included a stop at the JSA (Joint Security Area) but it is currently closed to the public after a US soldier crossed the border in 2023 during a tour which triggered increased tensions. It's unclear whether the JSA tours will resume in the future. 

Although I was a little apprehensive about taking this tour because of the ongoing tensions in the area, I'm really glad that we did it, and it was definitely a highlight of our entire trip. We never felt at all unsafe at any point, and it really was fascinating. 

It was very interesting to learn about the history between the two countries, and to realise that the people of South Korea are genuinely longing for a reconciliation with North Korea. 

If you are visiting South Korea I would absolutely recommend taking a tour to the DMZ, it will really enhance your knowledge and enjoyment of a trip to the country.

Some books that I've enjoyed recently - September 2025

Every now and then I love to share some books that I've really enjoyed recently, thinking that some of my readers might enjoy them too. These books were all borrowed from a friend with excellent reading taste that is kind enough to keep me supplied with fantastic books!

Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley

I love books about Japan, and as I mentioned recently I'm in the process of planning a trip to Japan next year so I'm eagerly lapping up anything that might inspire me. This book is a story within a story, set in Tokyo but framing a narrative set in the smaller town of Onomichi. Onomichi wasn't on my original itinerary, but I'm very tempted to add it in because it sounds like a lovely place! 

The story follows Flo, a translator from Japanese to English, who has no work, has ended her relationship and is struggling with her direction in life. By chance she discovers an unknown book left behind by a fellow passenger on the Tokyo metro and is drawn to working on a translation, even without being able to trace the author. The book alternates between Flo's experiences as she translates the book, and the entire text of the short novel that she is working on, which is the story of Kyo who comes to live with his Grandmother in a rural town so that he can focus on his studies and pass his failed medical school exams. 

I loved how the book travelled with the reader through the different seasons, and I loved reading about the relationships between the characters. It was beautifully written, and the descriptions really brought the locations to life for me. 

Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad

This was another book about Japan, which I was reading while taking notes at the same time. It's a biography by a YouTuber that I was unfamiliar with but am now following. He talks about how he moved to Japan as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, working as an English teacher in rural Japan. The first part of the book shares his experiences as he settles down to life in Japan, and then he goes on to talk about how making videos about daily life in Japan led to his career as a YouTuber. 

It was a really interesting read, especially about daily life in Japan and the challenges of adapting to a new culture. Even if you only have a very slight interest in Japan, the fascinating anecdotes make it a really interesting read.

Photo credit David Emrich via Unsplash

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book from the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a great read, although it did give me anxiety while I was reading it! It's about a woman whose husband is in a helicopter crash and presumed dead. They had lived a life filled with adventure, escaping from the small town where they grew up, but after his death she returns home and falls in love with a man from her childhood and they build a life together in the town that she left behind. But just after they get engaged her husband calls her, he is alive and has survived on a remote island with just the thought of returning home to her to keep him going.

I couldn't imagine how this story could possibly have a happy ending, and I was desperate to keep reading to find out how it would resolve itself. I won't spoil the ending, but I was relieved to find that it did reach a satisfactory conclusion!

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

A story about four very different sisters and their complicated relationships. When Nicky dies unexpectedly, her sisters Avery, Bonnie and Lucky reunite in their childhood home and learn to navigate their grief, addiction and heartbreak. I loved the strong characterisation of the sisters and it was very readable. 

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

This was quite a dark read, a coming of age tale dealing with themes of abduction and murder. One of those stories when you aren't quite sure if you are reading the imaginings of an unreliable narrator, and you want to keep reading to find out exactly what is going on. It was quite a long read, but it kept me interested with lots of twists and turns.

This was a great selection of books which I enjoyed very much. If want to see what I'm reading now, you can follow my reading over on my Goodreads account.

Review - Rolife miniature kit Elsa's Tailoring - a progress post

I received this miniature craft kit in exchange for a review

A couple of weeks ago I shared my review of the Rolife Miniature Kit Silent Corner Study. I loved putting this kit together, it didn't take too long but it was complicated enough to keep my interested and the finished miniature book nook is gorgeous. 

Now I'm moving on to the second kit which I received to review - Elsa's Tailoring.  

The Elsa's Tailoring kit is graded with a five star difficulty level. This means that it is more intricate and will take a little longer to complete. Opening the kit I could see that it contained a wider range of materials - as well as the wooden pieces, stickers, card cutouts and plastic accessories there is also ribbon and fabric pieces. The wooden sheets are thinner and the pieces are finer and more delicate.

This kit begins with the assembly of many small components. I just love all the tiny details! My favourite part so far is the little ribbon spool holder which you can see on the left of the white display case in the photograph below. It's so tiny and perfect! The display case and the dresser will be filled with accessories when the kit is completed.

There is definitely more work required when assembling this kit. All of the fabric pieces need to be cut to size, so I needed to make a template using a ruler before cutting. It requires a bit more thought and concentration than just slotting together wooden pieces.

The instructions are easy to follow and comprehensive, but you do often need to pay attention to the direction a piece is facing or the order in which to put parts together. No glue is required for this kit as pieces are stuck together using the supplied double sided tape.

My favourite part when putting together a miniature house kit is getting the main structure together! You can see that the light fixture is in place on the left side wall, this was really easy to assemble. The battery box is hidden at the back, it cleverly slots inside the base of the dresser. You need to provide two AAA batteries and there is a very small amount of simple wiring to do, just connecting two sets of wires and threading it through at the back to keep it secure.

The next steps are to build lots more tiny components, and then it's a case of putting everything in the correct place and making sure that it is all firmly stuck together ready for display.

I love that these Rolife kits are broken down into many small sections, so as long as you have some space to leave everything out you can come easily back to it after a break and add a little more. It's perfect for people that don't have the chance to sit down with a craft for hours, but have odd moments throughout the day when they can spend a few minutes working on it.

I will share a full update and review when I've completed the kit!