• Green smoothie with mixed frozen berries, strawberry hemp, usual add ins topped with cashew butter and muesli
• Booja Booja truffles
• Simple dinner of baked tofu with red and brown rice and sautéed black kale
• Raw Chia Carrot Cake Pudding
• The cute bag I got from my Secret Santa at work
• Gorgeous dinner of caramelised brussel sprouts with roast squash and beetroot mixed with chickpeas topped with parsley and dried cranberries
• New cushions for the living room – I love them!
• Gingerbread porridge with pears topped with a crumbled gingerbread star cookie and maple sugar – NOM!
• The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s CD’s finally arrived!
• My new metallic shift dress from Topshop
• The room all decked out for my works Christmas celebration event for the charities and community groups we work with
• False eyelashes ready for getting glammed up tonight!

I’ve had a great week but have been so busy I haven’t had much time to get the ‘good’ camera out and have been snapping images left right and centre using my phone instead!

I love this week in December as I always seem to have a few parties to go to. Last night for work, we had our annual Celebration and Awards evening for the voluntary and community organisations we support. As Development Manager I do the awards bit and it was so much fun! I danced and sang along to Christmas songs until my voice gave out. It made me so happy to see a packed dance floor mixed with people from all walks of life – from young people in care, the British New Age Kurling Champion, the older ladies from the Lace making group to kids from the local theatre group, it was just fantastic!

Tonight we have our staff Christmas party which I’m really looking forward to! Its going to be nice to get glammed up for a change, hence the false eyelashes – I haven’t worn any in ages!

I’m going to go and take my milk thistle tablets now to help avoid any nasty hangover tomorrow as I have a packed weekend of present wrapping, food shopping, cooking and baking and perhaps even some allotment time weather permitting!

What do you have planned this weekend? Any Christmas festivities? Hope you have a great one whatever your up to!

This week I’m giving you a different day in the exciting life of Laura ;-) and going with a Monday! This is Monday just gone when I had to work late. Working late always throws me off a bit with my eating and appetite!

I started the day with a very relaxed gym session. I wanted to do some kind of workout but nothing that would impact on my knee, so I did 6 x 10 min sessions on the step machine, rowing machine and bike, alternating between machines so I didn’t get bored, and finishing up with some abs and core exercises.

When I got home I had this delicious breakfast waiting for me!

Carrot Cake Chia Pudding (serves 1, vegan, can be raw)

• 2 grated carrots
• 2 tbsp of chia seeds
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I used sun warrior)
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of raisins
• 1/2 – 1 cup of water or non dairy milk (I used water as I find the protein powder adds enough creaminess)
• 1/2 tsp of agave or other sweetener to taste (I used 4 drops of vanilla stevia)
• 1 tbsp walnuts

In a bowl, combine the all ingredients apart from the water / milk and walnuts. Slowly add the water / milk until a thick pudding has formed. Pop into the fridge covered for at least 2 hours (I left mine overnight). Check the pudding consistency and add a little more water / sweetener if needed. When ready to serve top with the walnuts.

This was really good! So filling and so seasonal, I’m in love with all things cinnamon and ginger spiced right now! This would also taste great with apples in place of the carrots or dates instead of the raisins. If you don’t have vanilla protein powder just make sure you use some milk and the vanilla extract for the creaminess and flavour.

I decided to liberate my wardrobe for work again!

 OOTD: leaf necklace: so old I can’t remember where from!, grey tee: H&M, skirt and belt: Dorothy Perkins (sale), black tights: M&S, shoe boots with zip: Nine West.

I love that bargain skirt (only £7!), and it felt great to bust out my old shoe boots that I bought when I was in NYC 3 years ago!

For lunch I had a tasty salad containing romaine, orange pepper, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, beet, chickpeas, olives and a hemp dijon balsamic dressing. I also had a few black grapes on the side:

Mid afternoon I snacked on this bag of home made sweet n salty popcorn (so lush and way cheaper than buying the packs) carrot sticks and my favourite Cocoa Mint Nakd bar:

I was working late so when my hunger reappeared I snaffled a few of these Lydia’s Organics raw green veggie crackers that had just arrived in my iHerb delivery:

These are so good, very crunchy and chunky with a great savoury flavour! I also hot footed it to the supermarket around the corner and picked up a pack of pink lady apples:

Minus the two I ate, although these did remind me why I don’t mind forking out for organic. These were covered in wax that I had to scrub off, ugh! Note to self – when working late pack more snacks!

When I eventually got home I made my ‘go to’ late working dinner, a smoothie!

This contained kale, rainbow chard, frozen blueberries, 1 tbsp hemp powder, lucuma powder, barley grass powder, vanilla stevia, water, ice, xanthan and guar gums and topped with 1 tbsp of cashew butter made into a sauce, buckwheaties and coconut shreds. Delish!

Does your appetite sometimes surprise you? I had (rather naively) thought that the snacks I’d packed would see me over. I’m glad I had the crackers on hand and the option to just run to the supermarket! Do you ever work late? How do you manage your eating around this? I don’t like eating a full meal after 7pm (snacks are a whole different matter!) as it leaves me feeling too full when going to bed. A green smoothie packs in a lot of good nutrition while still being yummy and is easily digested.

Hope your all having a great WIAW!

Don’t forget to check out my great GOOD Hemp giveaway!