A couple of weeks ago I was kindly sent some of the new Total Greek Yoghurt Split Pots to review:

As I don’t like to eat too much dairy, especially non organic (I’ll mention more on this later) I shared some of these out with my work colleagues too, as I thought their opinion on the product could be quite interesting.

I tried each of the different varieties:

Tropical:

Honey:

Strawberry:

Blueberry:

Each variety has a different fruity compote or honey alongside some 0% fat Greek yoghurt. Each pot contains around less than 130 calories apart from the honey variety which has 167 calories.

As the pics above show, I enjoyed some of them just as snacks straight from the pot but I also tried a couple as part of a larger meal with fruit etc.

My first impression with each of these was how sweet they are. The compotes do contain sugar along with the other natural ingredients, and even with the yoghurt to balance the sweetness out I did find it a little too much for me. I also found the compotes to be a little ‘artificial’ tasting although once you had a few spoonfuls they tasted a lot more pleasant. The honey pot was a real surprise as I was not expecting the honey to be set, this was actually quite nice though.

My work colleagues who also tried the pots absolutely loved them! I think it could be the case that because I don’t eat a lot of sugar I find things sweeter than other people.

These do make fantastic little snacks and the protein from the yoghurt should ensure that the sugar in the fruit compotes doesn’t leave you with a sugar crash. I did enjoy them more when pairing them with fresh fruit – the strawberry one with apple and grape nuts cereal tasted lovely!

The Total Spilt Pots are currently available at Waitrose.

So would I buy these myself? Although I did enjoy them I have to be honest and say no. I would much prefer to buy Totals other products as I reviewed here. I am a huge fan of Total Plain Greek Yoghurts, particularly the 2% fat which is just gorgeous and would rather buy a big tub of that and add my own fresh fruit with no added sugar.

The Organic Question

I have mentioned a few times that when I do eat dairy I prefer to go for organic. I know that some people would argue organic certification may not result in a better quality product or better welfare standards, to be honest I really need to spend some time doing my own research into this so I’m better informed. I asked the representative from Total if they had any plans to develop organic products. Here is her response:

‘Our product is made in Greece and in Greece they don’t acknowledge the need to certify their produce as organic - because the issue of Genetically Modified food is not a problem over there (as it is in the UK). This is because the methods of dairy farming in Greece are much more natural!’

So there we have it, that does make me feel a bit more comfortable in eating my favourite 2% Total Greek every now and again.

Have you tried the Total Greek Yoghurt Split Pots? Are you a fan of spilt pot yoghurts?

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a great week! Here’s a quick recap of my exercise and eats over the last couple of days:

I started my Tuesday with a Yoga for Runners 20 minute podcast – great way to get the blood pumping and get focused before work! Breakfast was another big smoothie containing kale, strawberries, frozen peaches, vanilla rice milk, vanilla hemp protein powder, spirulina, matcha, mesquite and ground flax. I topped it with some bear coco cherry pie granola and gojis:

Yummy! Although my smoothies have been turning out a pretty yukky sludge colour recently, just goes to show you shouldn’t judge on appearances!

Lunch was a mug of miso soup followed by a big sun dried tomato high protein hummus topped salad containing lettuce, spinach, carrot, alfalfa sprouts, beetroot and sugar snaps. I also had two big apples:

I watered the hummus down a bit and then mixed it all in like a thick salad dressing, yum!

Before I went to Body Pump I ate a mixed berry Trek bar. Body Pump was awesome again, I love doing the clean and press, I feel proper bad ass with those big weights!

Dinner was not pancakes, I just wasn’t in the mood for them despite it being pancake day. The way I look at it is I can have pancakes when ever I like, I think pancake day used to be more special when I never ate pancakes!

Instead I had peanut soba noodles with edamade and veggies. I cooked some soba noodles and made veggie noodles using two small courgettes and my spiraliser. I quickly stir fried some shredded bok choy and sugar snaps then added the soba noodles and veggie noodles and some frozen edamade. I made a lovely sauce using peanut butter, lime juice, fresh ginger and soy sauce:

This was delicious, the peanut sauce was really good!

Dessert was a rainbow Fruit-ein protein shake made with vanilla rice milk, ice cubes and xanthan and guar gums for thickness. I topped it with a few flaked almonds:

My stomach was a bottomless pit last night so I also snacked on a few of my favourite pink lady apples.

This morning I decided to start work a little later and get a gym workout in first thing. I did 30 minutes of speed intervals on the treadmill and managed to slightly increase my usual speed :-)

I also did 30 minutes total HIITs on the step machine, cross trainer and bike and then did my abs and core. I managed to hold another 2 minute plank, I had been worried that when I achieved this time on Monday it had been some kind of fluke so I was extra chuffed!

Breakfast was one of my gorgeous Almond Quinoa Muffins with a chopped pear, Total blueberry split pot yoghurt and pumpkin and sunflower seeds:

I love this combo! The split pot was also pretty tasty but I think the blueberry compote was a little bit artificial tasting for me.

Lunch was some Pea, Broccoli and Pesto Soup with some cherries:

Mid afternoon I just snacked on some of my high protein sun dried tomato hummus with cucumber and sugar snaps for dipping. Dinner was a lovely combo of quinoa with kidney beans, courgette, red pepper and parsley served on top of steamed swiss chard and kale with shoyu and ume vinegar:

This was so so satisfying and utterly delish! I made a big portion so I have tasty leftovers for tomorrow too.

To make dessert I wanted to try out a little experiment:

Instant Coconut Milk (makes 4 cups)

• 4 cups of water (I used bottled)
• 3 tablespoons of coconut flour (I used Tiara available from Goodness Direct)

Add both ingredients to a blender and blitz! This amount of flour produces a texture similar to kara coconut milk (although not quite as smooth). You could add an extra tablespoon if you prefer it more coconuty and creamy or you could also strain this through some muslin cloth if you wanted a smoother result. Adding some cocoa powder or raw cacao powder and agave would give you chocolate coconut milk! This could be a serious money saver!

I used some of my coconut milk with frozen raspberries for a quick dessert:

Simple and lovely!

I’ve had a real craving recently for simple meals like my quinoa, kidney bean and veggie dinner. Kris Carr from Crazy Sexy Life calls them Buddha Bowls, Carrie from Moves and Munchies recently described similar meals as Luscious Bowls and Matt from No Meat Athlete describes them as a Green, a Bean and Grain. 

The formula I like to keep in mind is:

• Whole grain or healthy carb - millet, brown rice, quinoa, buck wheat, couscous, barley etc or starchy veggie like sweet potato
• Protein - beans, lentils, tofu, or non vegan protein
• Veggies – raw or cooked, possibilities are endless, but I always try and include a leafy green!
• Healthy fat – could be in the form of a sauce or dressing like a coconut curry sauce or green goddess dressing or just some plain oil, avocado, nuts or seeds
• Seasonings - soy / shoyu, vinegar, braggs, nutritional yeast, herbamare, fresh or dried herbs, garlic, chilli, ginger etc

Actually so many good meals can be broken down into this formula!

Whatever you call them (I quite like the Buddha Bowl name myself) I think they are great: cheap to make, provide almost endless variety and are so healthy. I’ll definitely be playing about with this kind of meal more often especially while I’m trying to keep my grocery budget in check!

Do you eat ‘Buddha Bowl’ type meals? What’s your formula for a perfect meal?

Even though it was bitterly cold this morning the sunshine certainly made it feel like spring is on its way!

I started my day with 5 minutes of yoga / meditation. I’ve been doing this for the last few days and it has been amazing. I just sit in child’s pose and go over the day ahead and try and focus my mind a bit. Then I do a few yoga poses, whatever feels right each morning. This morning I went into down dog, then low lunge, warrior 2, bound side angle pose, chaturanga, up ward facing dog and back into down dog to repeat on the other side. I finished off in child’s pose again and just said a few affirmations. Honestly it makes me feel so much better taking that 5 minutes to start my day.

Breakfast was some quinoa porridge (1/2 cup of quinoa flakes, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp of oat bran, 1/2 cup of vanilla rice milk, 1 cup of water and brown rice syrup) with 1 chopped apple, fresh blueberries, pecans and maple syrup:

I also enjoyed a maple walnut coffee, so good!

I’m trying to drink more miso soup so I started lunch with a mug of barley miso then had my salad which contained lettuce, spinach, carrot, sugar snap peas, beets, alfalfa sprouts and a sliced wild garlic tofu fillet:

I also had an orange and more blueberries:

Mid afternoon I snacked on a couple of delicious cookie dough balls:

I then hit the gym and did 30 minutes of HIITs on the cross trainer and step machine followed by my abs and core – almost unbelievably I managed a 2 MINUTE PLANK HOLD! I was buzzing, I’ve met my goal of holding a 2 minute plank already! I then did my 30 minute spin class :-)

Dinner was 2 big mushrooms stuffed with some veggie loaf and baked in the oven. I also had some parsnip chips and steamed greens with braggs, mixed seeds and herbamare seasoning:

Dessert was 2 chopped apples and 3 strawberries topped with a Total strawberry spilt pot yoghurt and some grape nuts:

This was lush! I was worried the strawberry sauce would have been too sweet but it was perfect, especially with the fresh fruit.

Spring wardrobe review

Now that the weather should hopefully start to warm up I’ve been thinking about my wardrobe and what existing clothing and accessories I’ll be trying to get some wear out of as well as what wardrobe updates I’ll be on the look out for. As I’m on a budget I need to make the best use of what I have!

At the moment I’m living in leggings, boots, longer length tops, dresses and cardigans. I’m looking forward to breaking out of my style rut with a couple of new looks. Things that I love that I already own include my neutral colour blazer, my breton stripe tee (I adore breton stripe!), grey converse and my denim shirt dress. Matched up with a few new pieces and I should be set for spring!

 Loafers: Dorothy Perkins £32, Wide leg trousers: Topshop £42, Pointed pumps: ASOS £25, Red ballet t bars: urban outfitters £28, Floral skirt: New Look £21.99, Swallow bird earrings: Republic £4.99

I love wide leg pants as a change to all the skinny jeans and slim leg trousers I’ve been wearing. I also love the floral print skirt for wearing with the striped tee or plain vest tops, tights and cardigans until it gets warmer. I’m desperate for some new shoes and the pointed flats and red shoes have straps across the foot which is great as normal pumps just end up falling off my feet! I quite fancy a pair of cheap loafers too and I’m always looking out for animal themed jewellery like these swallow earrings!

What will you be wearing this spring?

Still buzzing from my 2 minute plank hold :-) Catch you later!

Hi everyone, happy Friday! I’ve had a jam packed couple of days including some tasty eats and great workouts:

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I kicked off Thursday with a yoga flow from Slim Calm Sexy Yoga. I did the full body toning flow. It only took me 15 minutes and was a great way to start the day. After work I hit the gym for my upper body workout / intervals. I started with a 5 minute warm up on the cross trainer then did the following routine:

• Dumbbell pullover on stability ball x 8 reps with 9kg db
• Chest flye on stability ball x 8 reps with 2 x 6kg db
• Lower back raise on stability ball x 10 reps

x 3 sets

• shoulder press – 6 reps with 2 x 6kg db
• bicep curl – 6 reps with 2 x 6kg db
• lateral raise – 8 reps with x 4kg db

x 3 sets

• tricep dip x 15reps bw
• bent over row – 8 reps with 2 x 8kg db
• upright row – 8 reps with 2 x 6kg db

x 3 sets

• push up on bench x 10 reps bw
• dumbbell wood chop – 10 reps each side with 8kg db

x 3 sets

I finished off with 20 minutes (2 x 10 mins) of HIITs on the step machine and bike. This morning I was back at the gym for a quick 30 minutes of HIITs on the cross trainer, step machine and bike followed by my abs and core exercises.

Thursdays breakfast was some porridge topped with fresh pineapple and coconut flour sauce. I used 1/2 cup of Rude Health Fruity Date Porridge with 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, water and rice milk:

I love how much coconut sauce you can make from just one teaspoon of coconut flour, it just eats up water!

This mornings breakie was a delicious smoothie containing romaine lettuce, frozen banana, frozen peaches, vanilla sun warrior, spirulina, matcha green tea, mesquite and a generous amount of peanut butter, topped with gojis and cacao nibs:

This was another monster smoothie! I love adding lots and lots of greens (I used almost a full head of lettuce in this) to give plenty of bulk so that I get really filled up. This was the nicest tasting smoothie I’ve had in a while too, got to love that peanut butter!

Lunch has been the same the last two days – a big salad beasty containing lettuce, carrot, cucumber, red and yellow pepper, red onion, mixed beans, braggs seasoning and some nutritional yeast flakes:

Yesterday I also had some grapes and a nectarine and today I enjoyed a juicy pear and an orange.

Snackies have included the last of my leftover cookies and an apple:

I also tried another Total split pot today, this time the honey variety:

The honey was set which I wasn’t expecting but it still tasted lovely.

Yesterdays dinner was a serving of my Moroccan Tagine with mixed rice and steamed spring greens with shoyu, ume vinegar and mixed seeds:

Loved this! So glad I remembered I had some stashed in the freezer. Last nights dessert was some of my pumpkin protein pudding with graham cracker crumbs and when that didn’t satisfy me I also snacked on a couple of apples and a pear.

Tonight I had a grilled wild garlic tofu fillet in a wholemeal pitta with some of my high protein sundried tomato hummus, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts plus some raw carrot and a side of steamed kale with shoyu:

This was so satisfying, like eating a big burger! I made the hummus using my original high protein hummus recipe but with an added 1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes in oil drained and with the 2 tbsp of oil left out – I ended up with a huge portion – I’ll be eating hummus for the rest of the week :-) Dessert was two chopped apples and half a bar of conscious raw chocolate:

This variety contained lucuma and yacon root. It tasted ok but not as nice as the other varieties I have tried so far.

As I’ve been working from home today I took advantage of the opportunity to be near the kitchen and baked some bread for James and made some baked Seitan sausage for me! I’ll share the Seitan recipe soon, but wow it looks so good! Seitan is a meat alternative made some gluten flour in case you were wondering - I had no idea what it was when I first heard about it!

I also got my organic veg box delivery today as well as a trip to the farm shop and the supermarket. I think I may have gone a little overboard with the fresh produce yet again:

Includes: swiss chard, kale, cos lettuce, round lettuce, celery, courgettes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, spinach, spring greens, bananas, apples, pears, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, broccoli, carrots, beetroot, butternut squash, parsnips, avocado, sugar snap peas.

Its a good job I love my fruits and veggies! I have to say nothing makes me happier than a fridge full of fresh mostly organic produce, I’ll enjoy eating my way through all this over the next week.

I have a very busy weekend ahead, I have to study for my course, catch up with some work, see friends and family, fit in a run and go on the hunt for a new car!

I’m searching for a new car to replace my little 8 year old Ford Ka, I’m just looking for another small, economical and environmentally friendly run around. Do you drive? What kind of car do you own? Any favourite models? I quite like the Peugeot 107:

Fingers crossed I find something that doesn’t cost a bomb!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend planned! :-)

Hi everyone, I’m in shock that we are now almost in July, I can’t believe how time has flown this year! Hopefully we’ll be getting more weather like this:

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June has been a great month for me! I have:

• Increased my running speed consistently
• Continued to work steadily through my Diet and Nutrition Advisor course
• Ran another successful giveaway
• Joined the WIAW party
• Enjoyed two great blogger meet ups with the lovely Nicky and Jessica
• Continued to listen to my body and stopped calorie counting
• Enjoyed simple seasonal meals
• Shopped – a lot ;-)

I have a really great July ahead including a short break to one of my favourite places in the world Brighton, and I’ll be attending Kendal Calling Festival in partnership with Alpro Soya!  I also have the Great North 10K. There’s a couple of other things I’d like to focus on this month too, including meditation and mental clarity.

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These days it feels like my head is set to explode with all the ideas I’m working on and I really need to find some clarity and focus so I can achieve my plans. I also want to look at my beauty routine, as even though my skin and hair are in good condition, I’ve just been feeling a bit ‘meh’ and could do with a focused effort, especially with my make up!

I was also a bit disappointed that I lost a couple of lbs this month. I always want to be honest with you here on the blog, as this is all part of my journey. I thought that because I was feeling really good, putting in strong performances with my running and honouring my hunger signals I would be maintaining my weight, as I have successfully for the last few months, rather than loosing more (FYI, weight loss is no longer a goal for me). I’m now in a position of wanting to gain a couple of pounds, bring on the nut butter!

My goals for July:

• Do the Great North 10K in under an hour (I would love to manage under 55 minutes if possible!)
• Continue to train for the Great North Run consistently and without injury
• Make sure that I’m fuelling myself properly to prevent any further weight loss and to gain weight instead
• Continue to try and take a frugal approach to grocery shopping when possible
• Change up my interval training and get more structured with my resistance training – this was a goal last month that I didn’t really look at. My focus will still be my running though :-)
• Enjoy my time in Brighton and the Festival, especially the food!
• Start to do some meditation and really focus on bringing some of my ideas to life
• Review my make up routine and make a bit more of an effort

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July Sponsors

I’d like to welcome back sponsor Viva Pure for their second month of sponsorship. I’m also happy to report that the Goodness Direct discount code will be valid until the end of the year, so if you haven’t taken advantage of it yet you still have plenty of time!

You may have also seen on a few blogs that Total Greek Yoghurt are running their Fit for Summer Campaign and have been asking healthy living bloggers to submit their top ten healthy living tips. In addition to giving you some of my tips I’ve managed to wangle it so that Total are my sponsors for July and that of course includes an awesome giveaway!

1 lucky winner will receive a month’s supply of Total Greek Yoghurt!

To enter (each of these counts as a single entry – please leave a separate comment for each one):

• Leave a comment to this post with one of your own top tips for healthy living
• Follow me via Google Friend Connect or ‘like’ my Facebook page (links under the ‘follow me’ section on the right) or follow me on Blog Lovin or Twitter and leave a comment below stating that you have done so
• Tweet about this giveaway mentioning @keephealthstyle and leave a comment below stating you have done so
• Post about this giveaway with a link back to this post on your blog and leave a comment below stating that you have done so

Giveaway open to UK residents only (sorry International friends!) and closes at 12am GMT Thursday 7th July 2011, good luck!

For an extra chance to win check out Total’s own giveaway too!

As a ‘mostly’ vegan I don’t eat Greek Yoghurt at the moment but I know a lot of you guys love Total so I didn’t want you to miss out on winning!

Of course, before I go I need to give you my very own Top 10 Healthy Living Tips:

Drink water – I think this is so important! Drinking plenty of water should be something everyone does, water is vital for all of our metabolic processes, lubricates our joints, flushes out toxins and improves our skin! 2 litres a day seems to be the most widely recommended amount, I know I drink a lot more than that when I exercise though.

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Eat whole foods – eating a diet that consists of mostly unprocessed whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains will ensure you get a range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants needed for good health and vitality.

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Move your body – do some form of exercise 3-6 times a week. I don’t think it matters what you are doing, just that you are getting your body moving, your heart rate up and the blood pumping! Exercise is proven to improve your mood, support detoxification and generally give you a glow!

Be joyful – take joy in food! Who says that to be healthy you should exist on bland tasteless salads? Yes, food is fuel but food is so much more than that! It can be our connection to our environment, a way to show someone you love them, a social act to bring people closer together and most of all food should bring you pure unadulterated joy :-)

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Honour your body – listen to your body and learn from it and the signals it gives you. Teach yourself the difference between true hunger and boredom or stress eating, but don’t be hard on it when you do eat because of those things. Eat what makes you feel your best, don’t worry about labels or what other people think, love and honour your amazing body and treat it with kindness and compassion.

Take care of your mind – good mental health is just as important as having a healthy body. Look after your own mental health, try and be positive, use affirmations and avoid negative self talk, see the best in people, avoid exposing yourself as much as possible to things that bring you down.

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Take the pressure off – I think all too often we feel the pressure to be perfect, to do all the things on our to do list, to cook that tasty meal, do the washing, clean the house, study, work, exercise… Sometimes it just all adds up! Take the pressure off yourself sometimes, no one is perfect. Try your best when you can, but there’s nothing wrong with taking an extra rest day, getting a take away instead of cooking and letting the house be a pig sty for one more day!

Seek balance – Everyone needs to find their own level of balance that they are happy with. Some people prefer to eat clean whole foods at all times, some eat well during the week and eat what they fancy at the weekend. The fact is that to be at your healthiest you need to find a balance between eating healthier foods and not so healthy foods that works for you!

Choose healthy over skinny – My final tip, and one that is really important for me, is to move beyond the ‘I want to be skinny’ mentality. If your focus is on taking care of your body (and mind) then motivating yourself from a health perspective is going to be so much better for you, especially in the long term!

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Hope you’ve enjoyed my tips! Good luck with the Giveaway!

Last night I mentioned that I had received a special delivery - check out this amazing haul of Total Greek Yoghurt!

I’ve kindly been sent these tubs of Total 0% fat and regular Greek Yoghurt to sample to my hearts content. As a long standing fan of Total 0% fat Greek yoghurt I’m pretty excited. Obviously I’ll be eating my way through this over the next couple of weeks and I have some great recipe ideas. When I’m done I’ll be posting a full review of the products. As I have a few product reviews coming up I have developed a full disclosure and policies page (see the pages list on the left hand side of the blog) which explains my review policy. Basically, I will always be giving my honest opinion on any products I may review for the blog including all the positives and negatives.

Anyway, on to today’s eats. Breakfast was two slices of toasted fruited rye bread with almond butter and a bowl of banana and strawberries on the side.

Mid morning I snacked on some fromage frais with walnuts and goji berries.

Lunch was more of my Basil Tofu salad from last night followed by strawberries.

 

Gym fuel was these lovely We are Bear Cherry Berry Fruit Nibbles:

I did my usual HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout for 45 minutes followed by abs.

Dinner was a delicious stir fry with chicken breast, spinach, courgette, orange pepper, carrots, soya beans and red onion with ginger and soy sauce.

Desert was a tasty chocolate orange protein cake (1 scoop of chocolate whey, 1 egg white, 2 heaped teaspoons of apple and blueberry puree, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of natural orange flavouring combined and microwaved on high for 2 minutes) and a chopped apple.

I’ve also had another apple to fill me right up.

Quick update on my Big Budget Challenge – I’m still plugging away and to date I haven’t broken any of my rules! I managed to pay my credit card off at the beginning of the month and my aim is not to use any more credit. I have to learn to live within my means. I’ve loved using ebay to sell old clothes and make some money and I have plenty more items stored away under my bed ready to be sold. One of the aims of my Big Budget Challenge was to stop frittering my money away on little things and spend more strategically. Having planned ‘sprees’ such as the ones I had in Brighton, on my birthday and for my Home week have worked well so that I still feel like I’m enjoying life but I’m not wasting money or sticking stuff on the credit card whenever I fancy.

While I’m talking about budgeting I saw this fantastic post on Kath Eats Real Food – I thought these tips were excellent for saving money and being healthy:

• Our grocery cart is 90% fruits and veggies, often with a sprinkle of dairy, some canned goods, dry grains and the occasional meat. Think about what you want your dinner plate to look like when you fill your cart.
• I think about the cost per serving when I eat. For ex) sardines = super cheap per serving. Deli meat = very expensive. I generally put one “expensive” thing in my cart each week, like goat cheese, smoked salmon, olives. If you get all the expensive ones at once, you’ll eat them all before you know it!
• When I do buy meat, I get only the portion that we need for one meal – like half a pound of grass-fed beef or two fish filets. I rarely buy meat frozen or in bulk, mostly because I don’t think it’s that appealing that way.
• I rarely buy things in boxes (used to buy Kashi crackers and cereals all the time!). I try to use what I do have and what is much less expensive – oats, bulk grains, homemade bread instead of buying it pre-made in a box. Chips are the exception!
• Most of our dinners really do revolve around vegetables with the exception of one or two each week. Save expensive meats for restaurants when you’ll already be spending more anyways and eat cheap beans while you’re at home.
• I rarely buy desserts at the grocery store. I’ll wait to get a dessert (like a box of chocolates) as a gift or just save dessert for going out for yogurt or something.

I thought these were excellent tips. I’ve certainly started reducing the amount of meat I eat and I’ve started to eat more beans. I probably need to work on only getting one expensive item a week!

I’m really looking forward to experimenting with my Greek Yoghurt. Are you a Greek Yoghurt fan? If so what’s your favourite way to enjoy it?