WIAW–an example of intuitive eating?

Happy Wednesday everyone, only one more day and we are officially into the Christmas countdown! I’m so excited!

Thanks again to Jenn for hosting the WIAW party! These are my eats and happenings from yesterday. I got up and did my usual Tuesday morning yoga – I did the Yoga for Runners 20 min podcast while trying to wake up! I drank some warm water with lemon juice while I was getting ready then made breakfast:

I had a wonderful kabocha squash smoothie (roast kabocha, vanilla sun warrior protein powder, ice, hemp milk, cinnamon, ginger) topped with shoyu roasted squash seeds, buckwheaties and maple syrup. I also had a delicious Vanilla Nut Teeccino with some stevia and hemp milk. I love Teeccino – this was a new flavour from iHerb, its caffeine free you brew it up just like coffee, its well tasty!

I decided to wear some of my new clothes I got at the weekend, OOTD:

New mustard yellow coat: New Look (half price), new wool snood: Primark, basic grey tee: H&M, black ankle length trousers: Whistles, cream flats: Next.

I had seen a very similar coat in Warehouse that I loved but when I saw this in New Look almost exactly the same and half the price I snapped it up! I’m in love with the scarf too, so warm and cosy!

I had a morning of meetings at work so by the time I got back to the office at 11am I was starving! I had some chopped veggies with some Red Pepper, Cashew and Mesquite raw dip and a pink lady apple (that turned into 2 apples as I was still so hungry!)

Red Pepper, Cashew and Mesquite Raw Dip (adapted from Kristen’s recipe, makes about 3 servings, vegan, raw)

• 1/2 cup of cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
• 1 large red pepper, de seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp of mesquite powder
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Pinch of salt

Transfer all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth, store in the fridge.

This would also be delicious as a salad dressing, spread on some crackers or in a wrap!

For lunch I decided to have something a bit different. A while ago I’d ordered these raw coconut wraps from Viva Pure. I filled them with some carrot ribbons mixed with tahini and raisins. I had more filling left over so I also made a couple of wraps with some nori (I keep some nori in my snack drawer at work now as every so often I get a craving for it and its handy for wrapping stuff in!):

These were so delicious! The coconut wraps had a nice texture and very mild coconut flavour. The carrots, tahini and raisins went surprisingly well with the nori too! These were also pretty filling, I had a Nakd bar with me as an afternoon snack but I didn’t feel hungry at all which is practically unheard of for me!

After work I headed to the gym. I did 20 minutes of HIITs on the cross trainer and step machine (10 mins each) and as I had some time I did 10 minutes on the rowing machine at a steady state before my body pump class. It was a good class but I am so ready for the new release!

Dinner was something I’d made at the weekend ready for a quick mid week meal – Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli (based on my Veggie Chilli recipe, vegan, makes 3 medium servings or 2 large)

• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 peppers, chopped (I used a yellow and green pepper)
• 1 courgette, chopped
• 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup or 1 tin of cooked black beans (I cooked mine from scratch)
• 1 tsp of hot chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

Begin by frying the onion and garlic in a little oil over a medium heat. Once the onions have softened add the peppers and courgette. Continue to fry for a further 2-3 minutes then add the sweet potato. Add the tinned tomatoes plus a little hot water if needed to cover the vegetables. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or so until the potato is tender. Add the beans and spices – adjusting amounts to your desired spiciness! Serve.

I got 2 large portions and one small portion out of the recipe. I had one of the large portions with some spinach and it was lush. The perfect comforting meal on a cold night! I also served it up in my pretty new bowl as I managed to smash my old favourite ‘pasta, salad, rice’ bowl! I was quite taken with the little hearts on this one and it was on sale :-)

For a bit of a dessert I made a bowl of protein ice cream with 1 scoop of peanut butter swirl spirutein, ice, water and stevia and topped it with peanut flour sauce and cacao nibs:

So so good! A bit later I had a nice big mug of cococardio while reading up on allotments!

In addition to that I also drank loads of water and lots of green and peppermint teas, I was so thirsty!

I think yesterday is a good example of how I’ve been trying to eat a bit more intuitively, I probably didn’t eat that much today compared to what I do usually but I was listening to my body. I ate that extra apple because I wanted to and didn’t eat the nakd bar just for the sake of it. In the past I’ve eaten according to my meal plan and at set times without really tuning into my bodies needs and that’s something I’m really trying to balance out. Now I’m becoming more comfortable eating more when I feel my body really needs it (rather than because I’m bored or stressed) and likewise I’m also trying not to eat just for the sake of it because its ‘time’ or because I have food available. I know that today I could have risked being low on energy for my evening workout but I feel like I know the signs when my body is really in need of more fuel and I was confident that I would have enough energy for my class.

Do you try and eat intuitively? What does eating intuitively mean to you? I know I’ve blogged a bit about this before – for me its something I’m constantly working on, some days I do well and other days I totally fail, but I know its worth the effort!

Hope your having a great week!

Big Budget Challengers, I’m going to be posting my final Big Budget Challenge round up tomorrow evening so if your doing a Big Budget post let me know and I’ll include you in the links!