Well Hi there!

So my journey into blogging begins. I'm Mandy the name behind the Simply Delicious business. I wanted to be able to say hi to you all and show you more of what I do and share with you parts of my life and some of my recipes, not always the ones I use for my outside catering as that will be giving the secrets away, but more of what I do cooking for us at home and for friends.

Well Thirteen months ago I left a business I had owned for ten years, a public house in the small town of Bentham where I still live with my fiance James and fantastic dog Ellie. It was at the pub I learned to cook and developed more of a passion of what I love to do now. I decided to leave the business and become a caterer as 10 years in running a pub is long enough in my eyes. Even though I built up a very strong business over the years, eventually the long hours, no days off and lack of a real social life starts to get to you. Along with that I noticed my health was suffering and wasn't as good as it could be with erratic eating habits, picking and not often having a really good nutritious and balanced meal.

All that has changed now...

I eat well, I eat breakfast, I have found a love for healthy and vibrant foods, don't get me wrong we all slip a little sometimes and have to have some treats, but my god I am so much better than I was. I go to the gym and have stupidly early morning group training classes with some great lasses and trainer who I would now call friends. I go walking up mountains, I love the outdoors, there's no greater feeling than when you get to the top, which goes for anything in life i'm sure. We just got back from a week in bonnny Scotland with a couple of friends for the New year, and apart from my cold ( bloody typical timing) we really enjoyed it, breathtaking walks, in the middle of nowhere it was just so picturesque.

The thing is now I have a life back I want to live it afterall you don't live to work, you should be working to LIVE.

So I do work hard, I have my really busy times and some quieter, when i'm busy friends won't see much of me but when i'm not I now make the effort to do something different and hopefully with them too.

A fully balanced lifestyle is the way to go... to succeed you need time to focus and not be totally rushed off your feet all the time, you need ME time to do the things that make you happy. You need to look after your health as this will look after you in the long run and you need to spend time with friends and family, these guys helped make you into the person you are now.

We only get one go at it after all.

So that's enough about me today, but I will be back soon sharing some thoughts, ideas and recipes.

Thanks for reading!! :)