Lately I’ve been trying to cut out white flour and refined sugar almost entirely. It’s not easy when I’m nearly 8 months pregnant and craving chocolate, cake, crisps, biscuits, sweets….constantly. So I’ve had to find a few ‘sweet’ alternatives. I found this recipe for sugar-free brownies online by Davina McCall.
Sugar free chocolate brownies
As usual I didn’t quite have all the ingredients to hand and I’ll tell you what I did differently, but essentially the were the same. I would love to try them again and make them gluten free too – maybe tomorrow!?…and yes I did sprinkle a little icing sugar on the top but only a little and wouldn’t have if I wasn’t showing them to you!
Ingredients
125g Dark Chocolate (100% cocoa)
100ml milk
100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
175g honey
150g maple syrup
Seeds scraped from ½ split vanilla pod
50g cocoa powder, sieved
3 eggs
150g wholemeal spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
My variations!
Chocolate – I only had 50% chocolate to hand but would like to try again with darker, my 50% was dairy free though.
Milk – I use oat milk as we’re dairy free, it’s great for baking.
Butter – as we’re dairy free I use Pure sunflower spread in all my baking, it’s perfect, you wouldn’t know the difference – unless you need a ‘buttery’ taste.
Honey – didn’t have much honey left in the cupboard so made up with maple syrup, obviously made it a bit more expensive but yummy!
Spelt flour – didn’t have spelt flour in the cupboard so used ordinary wholemeal flour, figured it was better than white.
Preheat the oven to 190c/170c Fan/Gas 5.
Grease a 30cm x 20cm brownie tin and line it with baking parchment. Leave the paper sticking up at the sides to make it easier to lift the brownie out when it’s cooked.
Method
Put the chocolate, milk, butter, honey, maple syrup and vanilla seeds in a saucepan. Warm over a very gentle heat, stirring regularly, until everything has melted and you have a rich, glossy – looking batter. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.
Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes and then beat in the eggs. Finally add the flour and baking powder. The mixture at this point will look grainier than usual because of the texture of the flour.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes until it is just set in the middle but still nice and gooey
Remove the tin from the oven and use the baking paper to help you slide the whole brownie on to a cooling rack as soon as possible so it doesn’t continue to cook
This is the first time I’ve made brownies and cooked them perfectly – usually they’re either too soggy in the middle or too hard on the outside because I’ve been paranoid they weren’t cooked right – these were just perfect. I would try them again with spelt flour, or with gluten free flour, or maybe just with ground almonds instead and definitely with darker chocolate and possible dark chocolate chips – or just chunks!
For people who run small businesses, it can be hard sometimes to stand out from the crowd. Competing against big multi-nationals who may sell similar things to you, at a fraction of the price – how do you make yourself different?
Changing what you sell doesn’t make you stand out as much as making sure the service you offer is better than everyone else’s.
How often have you bought something from a multi-national and received a personal ‘thank you’?
I don’t mean an automatically generated message, which cleverly has your name on it to appear personal but you know is the same message they send to every customer – I mean a real personal ‘thank you’ written just for you.
Be different, offer that extra personal touch and send a personalised ‘thank you’, if possible hand written.
PS If you think sending a thank you card would help you build better relationships with your customers you might want to consider contacting me for a bulk deal.
I don’t claim to have the best Facebook page there is but I’ve learnt a few tips over the last couple of years and wanted to share them with you. I don’t have any official social media training or background – I’m in the same place as you, just learning as I go along and offering to share my little experience with you. So here are my 5 steps that I have found have increased my reach on my Facebook business page, grew my audience and stopped my posts being ‘lost in space’.
1 Understand your audience 2 Understand how Facebook business pages work. 3 Likes 4 Post reach 5 So what do I post?
Whether you run a Facebook page or a group for your small business, the principles of getting your audience to engage and what to post are still the same. Using Facebook to develop your small business is hard work, like every other aspect of running your small business! Don’t expect it to be easy. Later I’ll post about networking and some ideas of how to network without spending your whole life on Facebook. In the meantime if you want to pop over to my page and say hello, please do, leave me a link and I’ll say hello back on your page but don’t ask me to like just cos you’ve liked my page! As my 4 year old now tells his sisters when I’ve said no to something, ‘Not happening!’ (Read on and you’ll see why)
Firstly, you need to ask yourself, ‘Why do people go on FB?’
Facebook is not an online shopping platform, though people do use it to shop. Most people go on Facebook to catch up with friends, read something funny or see what the latest gossip is. In short they want to feel connected to something.
They generally don’t want to see adverts, horror stories or political/religious posts. Therefore keep your page fun and light hearted.
People want stories!
2 Understand how Facebook business pages work.
Facebook chooses which posts to show people. Unless someone has marked your page to receive all notifications from your page (which to be honest they are unlikely to do as I doubt your page is their main priority for going on Facebook)…then they won’t see your post unless Facebook decides to put it in their newsfeed.
Facebook will show posts that it thinks people will engage with (that means like, comment or click on).
There is no definitive list of words not to use but it does seem that words like ‘offer’, ‘sell’, ‘price’, ‘website’ etc will make your post less likely to be shown. Facebook wants you to pay for these posts as they are advertising. In my business I am not allowed to pay for boosting posts…and to be honest I wouldn’t want to. If my Facebook friends are anything like me they will be switched off by a ‘sponsored’ post! As a Facebook user I don’t want to see adverts.
So your posts need to be ‘engaging’.
3 Likes
Firstly – you want people who like your Facebook business page, to actually ‘like’ your page. No point someone clicking the ‘like page’ button and then not wanting to see anything you post. That makes Facebook think you’re not a very interesting page and therefore they are less likely to share your posts.
Who do you want to like your page? I would suggest that you want your friends to like it first – they already know you and are most likely to engage with anything you post. Surely the start to building any business is to engage with the people who already know and trust you – after all if you’re selling anything (product, service, idea) you have to sell you first.
You can invite everyone you are friends with on Facebook to ‘like’ your Facebook business page. On a desktop go to your page and scroll down the left hand side.
You’ll see the invite friends option at the bottom of that list. Click that then invite everyone you know.
The next way to get more likes is to start networking – but I’m going to do a separate post on that as it’s quite a big topic.
DON’T get hung up on likes – you may invite all your friends, they might accept and decide the next day to unlike your page – that’s cool, they weren’t your target audience then, they weren’t going to engage and you’re better off without them.
DON’T do ‘like for like’ – not worth it – both you and the other page end up with a meaningless like, makes your figures look good but doesn’t impress Mr Facebook and makes him less likely to share your posts.
You want people who like your page to really like your page so they’ll engage. (Think I might repeat myself a few times here – it’s important!)
4 Post reach
Your reach is all to do with how many people see your post. This is boosted by how many people like, comment or click on your post.
There are different sorts of posts, mainly 3 (status, photo, video).
A status is just a statement. A status that is brief and funny, or asks a simple question can be successful. Of course questions need to be answered so that helps to get a comment too.
Photos obviously help to show off products, this works well for me as I sell gorgeous Phoenix cards. I simply upload the photo onto my Facebook page with a nice comment.
Stop trying to sell the products
People want stories. Tell them a story and pick a photo that suits what you want to say. By all means put at the end of your post what the image is that you’re sharing, or put a link in the comments, below your post, to your website (don’t do it in the post, I have found it reduces the chances of Facebook showing it to anyone!)
Videos are great and usually get seen by a lot more people. You can do this in two ways – you can make a video on youtube, you don’t need a camera – you can do it via a slideshow of images, then share the video on Facebook. You can also do a slideshow of images (3-7 images) on Facebook directly.
Can you see where you go to post a status or a photo? If you click photo you now get 4 options with the last being ‘create slideshow’ – simply choose your (up to) 7 images and write a post to go with it.
It’s all about the clicks!
If you do long posts where people have to click on it to read the end then Facebook thinks that your audience are interested in your post and will show it to more people.
Here’s a post I did recently that got really good reach (my normal reach is about 200 people seeing a post)
You can see that 1,100 people saw that post – why? Because it was personal, most people who engage with my page are friends so they know my daughter and found it funny. It had a nice picture and people had to click on it to see the whole story.
If I click on the bit that says 1,100 people reached you’ll see what I mean about clicks
It’s not a perfect post – it didn’t sell anything or produce any leads – I didn’t do any ‘call to action’ like sharing where the image was from or my website link or say I was putting an order in. (might have if I’d realised it would reach so many people!!!) Obviously I don’t want to put a call to action in every Facebook business post, not when I post between 2-5 times a day.
5 So what do I post?
Funny, engaging stories
Quotes or sayings – these work well for me. I use Canva to put the quote on to one of our notecard images, I can then put my website link on the picture, not the post writing, which I think seems not to stop FB showing it to people!
A collage of images – again I use Canva to do this – I think it means that some people will click on the image to see the detail and therefore FB shows it to more people. Picmonkey is also another good site especially for photographs.
Here’s an example of one I made for my page
National Days – if you’re stuck there are some good websites like nationalwhateverday.com that tell you what supposed national days are (it’s American but don’t think that really matters whatever country you are in). Write an interesting fact and find an image to match, of a product if you can.
Personal stories – why do you do what you do? For me, being a Phoenix Trader involves eating a lot of cake and luckily people like posts with cake on them! – with these you want a ‘call to action’ something like ‘ask me if you’d like to know how you can do this too’.
Videos – obviously you can make your own but you can also share other peoples. Keep a look out in your personal newsfeed for videos that others share and that get a lot of views (it usually says under the video how many people have viewed it). You don’t have to share immediately – if you click on the little down arrow at the top right hand side of the video you can ‘save for later’. Then you can share it when you’re stuck for something else to share. It might not lead people to buy anything or join your business but it improves your reach and helps to get people to like you!
Finally – a few DON’Ts!
DON’T
share anything that is controversial- political, religious or otherwise.
whinge, e.g. don’t say ‘no one is seeing my posts so blah blah blah’ – it’s very tempting but to be honest most people couldn’t care less, you’re not going to get any sympathy!
share anything too personal about your children or anyone else (I probably cross the line occasionally on this because I innocently think I’m safe living on the edge of the world as I do).
share a photo of someone without their permission.
PS – IF THIS HAS BEEN USEFUL TO YOU, OR IF YOU’D LIKE TO ADD YOUR TIPS, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT.
Flamingo Paperie are always looking for new artists to add to the fabulous range of cards that they produce. I thought it might be helpful to share information about the artists that design Flamingo cards, stationery and gifts. Our exclusive illustrations by Alison Vickery were amongst our bestselling designs in Phoenix Trading.
As well as producing fabulous artwork, Alison Vickery also runs workshops for all ages, as she said about herself,
“As a member of Gloucestershire Art for Schools, I enjoy running Art Workshops for children who always like to see my Phoenix artworks, picking out the ones they have seen or sent as cards. The children are excellent for the ego as they say things like ”you are one of the best Artists in the World”, I then come down to Earth with an elderly group who sometimes nod off.”
Everyone who is an Independent Flamingo Paperie Partner or is in my Customer Club gets to vote on which designs get through to each new product launch. So becoming a Flamingo artist is not necessarily as subjective as you might expect. Conversely 1000’s of people will vote on your design.
One of my favourite designs and so suitable for spring was Narcissi and Pink Hyacinth
Alison also takes part in the Stroud Open Studios in May each year.
Find out more about how to become a Flamingo artist. Go on – give it a try – and I look forward to seeing your work in the next Trader survey!
And if you’d like to know how you could have the privilege and joy of selling her work too then ask me for more information about becoming a Flamingo Paperie Partner today.
This recipe is completely vegan and completely delicious (just cause it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s not delicious!). It has a mellowness from the coconut milk and a tartness from the orange juice taste. It’s also very healthy for you. The ginger and orange zest livens the pudding and makes it a memorable experience. You can eat this as dessert, breakfast or even as a snack. The pudding is fresh and pungent.
400
milliliters of Canned coconut milk
1
cup of Water
3/4
cup of Orange juice
2
teaspoons of Natural vanilla extract
1
pinch of Kosher salt
1
cup of Basmati rice
4
tablespoons of Honey
2
teaspoons of Cinnamon
2
teaspoons of Ginger root, chopped
2
teaspoons of Orange peel, chopped
In a sauce-pan mix the coconut milk, water, orange juice, vanilla extract, salt, and rice. Put the pan over a medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil and then turn the heat down so that it comes to a simmer. Slightly cover the pan leaving a small space for the steam to escape. Stir the rice every 5 minutes so that it doesn’t stick and burn. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed turn the heat off and place the lid over the pan. Let the cooked rice sit for about 5 minutes.
Mix the honey, cinnamon, ginger, and orange zest in a bowl (leave a little ginger and orange zest for the garnish). Pour this mixture over the rice and mix gently with a fork.
via “Coconut and orange scented rice pudding” Recipe.
If you like this, you might also like Coconut Oil Chocolate Fudge
‘Fabulous You’ card. Got to have chocolates on Valentines Day haven’t you? If you think so too then this very tasty card is illustrated by Sophia Coleman.
Flamingo Paperie are always looking for new artists to add to the fabulous range of Flamingo cards that they produce. I thought it might be helpful to share some information about Alison Hullyer. Alison is one of the artists that designed Phoenix cards, stationery and gifts. Phoenix Trading has now closed and I am part of the new company Flamingo Paperie.
Alison Hullyer’s designs
One of Alison’s latest illustrations is a gorgeous notecard design. This is new in the February 2018 Flamingo Paperie range. This is illustrated by Alison Hullyer who has been an artist for Phoenix Trading since 2002, and now Flamingo Paperie. Her designs include animals, cars, age related cards, pencils, hearts…and lots more!
About herself, Alison says:
“I am continually sketching and looking for new ideas everywhere I go and feel very lucky that this is my job. It’s always a thrill to see my new designs come out in print, and I love the challenge of creating new artwork in a variety of styles, even if I am working on Christmas in the middle of summer!”
Members of the new Flamingo Paperie Customer Club will get to vote on new designs. This influences heavily which designs get through to each new product launch. This means that being accepted as a Flamingo artist is not necessarily as subjective as you might expect. In fact 1000’s of people could be voting on your design. This is something Alison particularly loves “as they know what sells and can provide valuable feedback from their customers”. So if you’d like to see designs before they go to print and have your say join my Customer Club today.
Alison is a member of the Cambridge Open Studios where 200 local artists open their studios to the public each year in July.
As well as cards, many of her illustrations are available in fabrics and coasters too and she has her own online shop.
Becoming a Flamingo Artist
Find out more about how to become a Flamingo artist. Go on – give it a try – and I look forward to seeing your work in the next survey!
And if you’d like to know how you could have the privilege and joy of selling her work too then ask me for more information about becoming a Flamingo Paperie Partner today.
I used Phoenix Trading’s butterfly and hearts paperchains. They are really sturdy and I love the fact they have patterns on both sides. However you could you wrapping paper and this double sided wrapping paper would look very cool. Just cut or guillotine in to strips and away you go.
These also make great Christmas decorations too, and you can string several together to make a pretty garland.
More Valentines Day ideas
Follow me on Pinterest for more Valentines craft ideas
Phoenix Trading were always looking for new artists to add to the fabulous range of Phoenix cards that they produce. I’m sure Flamingo Paperie will be too. I thought it might be helpful to share some information about some of the artists. Julia Rigby produced illustrations for Phoenix since 2002, with her very colourful artwork featuring designs with people, vehicles, beach huts, farmyard scenes and even a tower of shoes!
Julia Rigby about herself when illustrating for Phoenix Trading
‘“I can’t seem to stop!” she admits. “Working for Phoenix is a total delight – I can work around my children’s needs, in my own home, doing something I love. It is so exciting to see my work printed and the Phoenix team are so friendly and supportive. Whenever I meet Traders they always come up with lots of new suggestions for cards so I am never short of inspiration.’
She works mostly in watercolour, ink and gouache resulting in very bright, colourful designs.
You might not know that everyone who was an Independent Phoenix Trader could vote on which designs got through to each new product launch. The same will happen with Flamingo Paperie. What’s more, even being a member of my new customer club will mean you have access to these surveys too. Becoming a Flamingo Paperie artist is not necessarily as subjective as you might expect as 1000’s of people could vote on your design.
Alongside her cards her designs often become cross-stitch kits, most notably by Bothy Threads, and she also has a range of designs licensed to Wentworth Puzzles (whose jigsaws I adore!) including some of the Phoenix card designs like ‘Le Grand Depart’ and ‘Harbour Town’
If you’d like to know more about becoming a Flamingo Paperie artist please ask me. Go on – give it a try – and I look forward to seeing your work in the next survey!
Coconut and orange scented rice pudding
If you’d like to know more about becoming a Flamingo Paperie artist please