I had another really lovely breakfast today - a slice of my Date, Carrot and Walnut loaf with almond butter and a green monster made with spinach, frozen banana, vanilla rice milk and a teaspoon of maca.

I was afraid that freezing the loaf cake would make it dry, but it was fine. I just took a slice out last night and left in the cupboard to defrost, so glad I still have 7 slices of this left!

Mid morning I snacked on an apple and two babybel light.

Dinner was a bowl of my African Inspired sweet potato soup with added spinach.

So filling! Followed by some strawberries and a chopped kiwi.

After my day full of meetings I snacked on half a coco loco nakd bar before heading to the gym.

The gym was having an open friends and family day so I had expected it to be really busy but it wasn't too bad. I did my usual hour of cardio intervals on the treadmill, step machine, cross trainer and bike and since I got there a little earlier I had time for 10 mins on the recumbent bike whilst reading a magazine to cool down! I then did 3 sets of my usual abs exercises including planks which nearly killed me!

Dinner was a repeat of Monday night, sauted courgettes, peppers and mushrooms with lean beef in a tomato and garlic sauce on top of steamed brocolli and spinach with some mixed salad leaves.

This portion was huge! I really loaded up on the brocolli as it was on the turn and needed using up anyway. It reminded me of a post on Oh She Glows about eating volume food. This was very much a volume food meal!

For desert I made my first attempt at making a protein cake.

Protein Cake

1 scoop of protein powder (I used chocolate)
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of apple sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and microwave it for 2 minutes on full. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't over flow from the bowl while cooking (mine nearly did!)

This tasted amazing! I was so suprised, it was lovely - cakey, gooey and sweet. This will definitely be a staple desert from now on.

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

I've been having one of those days full of deep and meaningful thoughts. I've been thinking about my job and the general direction that my life is going in. If I'm totally honest I'm not really getting loads of job satisfaction at the moment, even though my job is very good and I work for a brilliant charity. I feel like I need something new, however I think that the something new needs to be completely different and I have no idea where to start!

As far as my general life direction goes I'm very lucky to have an amazing husband who supports me in everything I do and who wants the same things as me. We currently live in a one bed flat and really need to get it sorted and on the market so we can move to a bigger place and start thinking about starting a family. I think I just get overwhelmed by the fact that everything has to fit together to allow things to happen, i.e. I need to be in a job on at least the same salary for us to be able to afford to move. Sometimes it all just seems so overwhelming!

Do you have a life plan or a '5 year plan'? Do you sometimes have those days full of deep and meaningful thoughts?

I've just found it all rather mentally exhausting! I know that things always have a way of working themselves out so I do try not to stress to much about it. Well on that very deep note I'll be off, hope all of your weeks are going great, not long till the weekend now! x

Thankfully I felt loads better this morning after yesterdays sickness, although still a little headachey. I slept from 7.45pm to 4.45am and it was the best nights sleep I've had in ages! For breakfast I had a big bowl of Dorset Cereals Berries and Cherries Muesli bulked out with some jumbo oats, chopped strawberries and kara coconut milk.

My apetite had definitely returned!

I was back at work today so I spent most of the morning catching up on what I'd missed yesterday! Mid morning I snacked on a chopped apple with some almond butter for dipping.

Its been ages since I've had apple with nut butter, it made the perfect filling snack!

Lunch was what I did have planned for yesterday - half a gala melon followed by a bean and salsa salad with cos lettuce.

I couldn't be bothered to chop the melon so I just ate it with a spoon! I ate the melon first as I read that its better for your digestion to eat fruit before other foods as they digest quicker, and since my tummy wasn't yet 100% I thought I would give this ago.

As promised, heres the recipe for the home made salsa.

Home made Salsa

1/4 cucumber
2 vine tomatoes
2 red onions
2 gloves of garlic (or 1 teaspoon of lazy garlic)
1 red chilli (or 1 teaspoon of lazy chilli)
1 lemon
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Finely chop the cucumber, tomatoes and red onion. Add the juice of the lemon and the red wine vinegar followed by the garlic and chilli and mix well. Serve chilled.

You could make this more interesting by adding some chopped mango or fresh herbs to the mix or for more tomato flavour some tomato puree. I use the tubes of lazy garlic, chilli and ginger as they are just less wasteful for me and they still taste very nice. I do still buy the fresh stuff, especially ginger, if I know I'll be able to use it up before it goes off.

I popped to the shops before one of my meetings to stock up on some fresh bits and pieces, I also managed to pick up some more of that Kara Coconut milk I'm loving so much at the moment!

Just before leaving work I snacked on one of my home made fuel bars.

I had been planning an outdoor run today of about 6 miles but as it was chucking it down and because I didn't want to push myself too hard I decided to try a treadmill run at the gym. Just before I left the house I quickly snacked on 3 dates for a little more fuel.

I did 5 miles in 46.56 and it nearly killed me! Heres my spilts:

Mile 1: (warm up) 10.00
Mile 2: 9.09
Mile 3: 8.50
Mile 4: 9.06
Mile 5: (cool down) 9.59

I found this quite tough, for one I don't really like running on the treadmill for so long plus I don't think I realised how tired I still am from yesterday. When I stepped off the treadmill I got a bit dizzy and faint, not good! I still did some abs exercises but left out the plank as I just didn't have the energy to think about it never mind try and do them!

For dinner I steamed a big plate full of brocolli and green beans and topped it with a sauce made from sauted courgettes and quorn mince cooked with garlic and tomato sauce.

This was very filling and yummy. I was really happy with the quorn mince (even the hubby liked it!) So much more convenient than beef mince and much lower in fat, I'll be making more use of this in the future!

Desert was a delicious little chocolate protein cake (scoop of chocolate whey, 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon of apple sauce, half a teaspoon of baking powder) with added dessicated coconut cooked for 2 minutes on high in the microwave and topped with more coconut served with strawberries.

I think I might have over cooked this as I usually like them a little bit doughy in the middle but it had a more normal spongy, cakey texture and was very dense and therefore filling!

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee

Thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday, I wish I had thought of some of your 'sick' food suggestions, they were all great and made much more sense than my sweet potato and salsa! I'm just so glad I'm pretty much back to normal.

I won't be posting tomorrow night as I'm straight from work to the Blues Gig. I think the hubby is suggesting that we have a quick stop by Subway for something to eat before the gig. I've never been to Subway so I'm hoping they'll be some healthier options, especially since I'm planning a big blow out on my favourite Chinese food on Friday!

So I will catch you up on Friday with the gig and the geekfest that is the Dr Who Exhibition! Hope the rest of the week goes well for everyone, I have my fingers crossed for more sunshine here in the UK this bank holiday weekend! x

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?

Happy Friday guys, are you ready for the weekend to start? I certainly am! Yesterday was payday (thank god) so I did a massive grocery shop:

I went to the farm shop and Sainsbury’s and bought:

Organic chicken, skimmed milk, 18 farm free range eggs, sheep yoghurt, Total Greek Yoghurt, Yeo Valley Strawberry Yoghurt, organic chicken thigh fillets (from the reduced section), organic minced beef, organic stewing steak, organic bacon (from the farm shop), organic Wensleydale cheese, organic soft goats cheese, crushed ice, frozen mixed berries, frozen cranberries, cooked ham, mild cheese, Cauldron plain tofu, romaine lettuce, organic purple kale, cauliflower, potatoes, red onions, bananas, parsnips, organic red pepper, pistachios, naturally sweetened strawberry jam, organic chicken and beef stock cubes, organic apples, organic passata, organic broccoli, organic courgettes, organic cucumber, prawn cocktail pringles, un-pictured pepperoni pizza. 

I didn’t realise quite how much organic stuff I had bought until I typed that out! That will keep me and James going for at least a month with just top ups for veggies, eggs and milk, oh and James regular Saturday night pizza! I also placed a nice big order for more Libby’s Pumpkin on American Sweets as they were reduced and an order for Sun Warrior on Red23 (check that site for an awesome range of health products) as that was also on offer and works out cheaper than iHerb once the taxes are added on. I always thinks its a good idea to stock up on things you know you will use while they are a little cheaper :-)

I’ve had some gorgeous food this week, but I have to apologise for the quality of the images, it has been so dull even during the day I’ve had to photograph in artificial light! I’ve really enjoyed warm bowls of porridge for breakfast:

Porridge made with 1/2 cup of oats 1 1/2 cups of water, egg whites and vanilla bean paste topped with avocado, local honey comb and bee pollen and sea salt

‘Courgette Bread Porridge’ (1/2 cup of oats cooked with water, egg whites, vanilla bean paste and a grated courgette) topped with pecans, cranberries and maple syrup

I loved that combo back this time last year! My favourite breakfast has to be this omelette with goats cheese and strawberry jam:

If you haven’t tried cheese and jam before you must! This tasted wonderful :-)

For lunches its been the usual salads with beans and avocado or soups and for dinner I’ve been having perfect tofu with baked hokkaido squash and steamed greens:

I’ve still be indulging in two of my current obsessions, no 1 being pumpkin:

Smoothie with tinned pumpkin, peanut flour, almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, ice, vanilla stevia

Obsession no 2 being protein cakes:

Chocolate protein cake (2 tbsp of chocolate brown rice protein powder + 1 tbsp of cocoa + 1 tbsp of egg white + 20 drops of stevia + 1/4 tsp of baking soda + 3 tbsp of water) made with a tbsp of caramel sauce in the middle so it came out with a molten caramel centre!

Work outs this week:

• Saturday – REST
• Sunday – 30 minutes cardio on cross trainer, step machine, bike, Kettlecise class
• Monday – Yoga class
• Tuesday – 30 minutes cardio on cross trainer, step machine, bike, Body Pump class
• Wednesday - 10 min warm up on cross trainer, first 2 sets of strength training workout 1 10 min HIIT on bike
• Thursday – REST
• Friday – 10 min warm up on cross trainer, strength training workout 2, 10 min HIIT on bike

As I blogged about in my WIAW post, I loved my yoga class, but the change to my usual workout schedule meant that I moved my Monday morning workout to Wednesday morning. I quickly realised this was not ideal as my body had just not had enough recovery time after the previous evenings Body Pump class - still rocking my increased weights too! In the end I just dropped the last set of workout 1 and did a more relaxed 10 minutes of HIIT. I’m going to have a rethink for next weeks schedule – it might actually be fun to change it up a bit anyway!

On the Love List this week…

Necklace: H&M, stripy top: Topshop, deep red soft skinny jeans: New Look

I am really loving this outfit! I got the pants at the weekend and I am in love with the colour. Also…

The Chalkboard – I’ve been reading this healthy living magazine style website for a while now but this week they have had some great articles // I wanna be Gwyneth – I found this Tumblr via The Chalkboard, so much prettiness! // learning about Ayurveda on my IIN course this week – I'm a mix of Vata / Pitta // the colour of the trees right now // finalising the new header + logo for KHGS and the new business – I think you will like them! // and the biggie for me this week – I’m going to be getting my very own office at work! The interior designer in me is doing a dance, I am a kid at Christmas excited about it!

In case you missed it:

• My review of UltraDEX dental care
• My reviews of Chobani and Simply Bars
• A couple of raves about Style Nibble and AlphaFit Magazine
• A recipe for 3 ingredient no bake protein bars

How has your week been? What is on your Love List this week?

Any thoughts on buying organic food? I know that organic is more expensive but when it comes to the meat I bought I actually thought it was pretty good value for the quality and factoring in how I intend to cook with it. That chicken will do for several meals and I’ll be making chicken stock with the leftovers. If I’m going to eat animals the least I can do is use every bit of it I can.

I am so looking forward to this weekend! I’m making time to see friends and family tonight, then tomorrow I am in need of a lie in and a day just pottering about the flat. Considering that the weather is forecast to be very cold a weekend at home wrapped up warm baking things sounds perfect! What do you have planned for the weekend? Hope you have a great one!

Hello everyone, hope you are having a splendid Sunday! So far today I’ve pottered about on the internet getting some tasks done, made a green juice and strong black coffee before heading to the gym for kettlecise and then enjoyed these amazing pancakes:

I mixed 1 scoop of Life’s Basics unsweetened vanilla protein powder with 6 tbsp of egg whites, 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 tsp of baking powder and vanilla stevia then topped with warm berries and peanut sauce. I love pancakes! I also love coffee, especially when it is served at Starbucks and its pumpkin spice flavour:

Oh yes I had my first pumpkin spice latte! It was lovely, perhaps a little bit too sweet but still delicious. I had that yesterday on a trip to town with James. OOTD:

Hooded leather jacket: Topshop, floral dress: Vintage from Beyond Retro, heart pendant: Topshop, wide black belt: thrifted, black cross body bag: H&M, black suede style booties: Primark 

I just love that dress! It was one of the things I bought on holiday from Beyond Retro in Soho. It could not be more perfect :-)

I got a few bits and pieces in town including some great bargains and a gift from James:

1. Business card wallet: gift from James from Paperchase, Erase Paste and Black liquid eyeliner: Benefit, burgundy soft skinny trousers: New Look
2. Vintage picture frames: charity shop, yellow satchel: H&M, black wool hat: H&M, naked shine conditioner: Boots
3. Regency photo frames: Urban Outfitters (I got 3 for £10)

James was so sweet to surprise me with the gift – he wanted to get me something I can put my new business cards in bless him :-) I was also really chuffed with the bag and hat from H&M on the buy one get one free accessories sale deal and the vintage picture frames are going to look great by the time I’m finished with them!

Most of my eats have been pretty standard stuff:

Giant salad with harissa hummus, beets and olives

Steamed tempeh with gingery peanut sauce, brown rice and steamed broccoli

I decided to try steaming the tempeh rather than frying it or baking it. It gave it rather a nice taste and texture – more moist than baking it which can sometimes leave it a bit dry.

I’ve been having bowls of semi frozen berries mixed with Greek yoghurt so that it goes like ice cream:

I’ve also been enjoying several of these babies:

Microwave protein cakes! Yet another thing I used to eat more regularly in the past. I made this one based on this recipe from the wonderful Purely Twins. My version is 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, 1 tbsp of mesquite, 1 tbsp of hemp protein powder, 1 tbsp of egg white, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, 20 drops of liquid stevia, 3 tbsp of water well combined and poured into a little ramekin and microwaved on high for 60 seconds. I have to say this turned out perfectly! I topped with some peanut flour ‘frosting’. I’m pretty sure that you could leave out the mesquite and just add an extra 1/2 tbsp of cocoa and protein powder in its place. So glad I’ve tried these again they will definitely be making a reappearance just like the egg white and spelt wraps!

I’m looking forward to chilling out for the rest of the day and getting myself prepared for the week ahead. How have you spent your weekend? What was the last bargain you bagged?

Good evening blog friends, I'm very glad Monday is almost done!

When I got up I had my now usual mug of warm water with lemon juice to get me going. My breakfast was a wonderful smoothie - fresh pineapple, frozen blueberries, oats, natural yoghurt and some water to help it blend.

Plus a few chunks of pineapple on the side. This was lovely - I love the blueberry and pineapple combo. If I hadn't been having the oats and yoghurt with it I would have added some fresh ginger - it really makes it zingy!

Mid morning I snacked on an apple and two babybel light.

Lunch was a bowl of African Inspired Sweet Potato Soup followed by 2 chopped kiwi and an orange.

Before leaving work for the gym I fueled up with one of my home made fuel bars - so delicious and chewy.

I had an awesome workout at the gym, for some reason I had plenty of energy and I didn't feel like I was going to have a heart attack on the treadmill like I usually do! I did 15 mins on the treadmill, cross trainer, step machine and bike doing my extended tougher intervals and I increased my top speed on the treadmill to 7.4mph. I then finished off with my abs exercises including the plank. I need to try and remember to wear my sports watch so I can time myself - its a bit more motivational when you can see if your improving!

Dinner was a stir fried turkey breast with garlic served with steamed brocolli, carrot and peas and a big dollop of hummus on the side.

The hummus went really well with the turkey and veggies, I definitely have a hummus addiction problem!

Desert was a vanilla protein cake (1 egg white, 2 tablespoons of apple sauce, 1 scoop of whey powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, microwaved for 2 mins on high) topped with some almond butter and strawberry jam.

This was so tasty, the almond butter melted on the hot cake. These make a perfect little desert!

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf coffee, decaf tea

Well I need to go and get myself sorted for our trip to Birmingham to see Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood tomorrow. As I'm down there I'll be MIA from the blog world until Wednesday but hopefully I'll have some interesting stuff to report back on! Although we won't be down there for very long its going to be like having a little mini break from things. Sometimes a change of scenery does you good, even if its just for a day. I'm doing the driving down there as well (its about a 4 hour trip) and my Dads a total back seat driver so that should make for an interesting journey! I'm going to pack some healthy snacks to take down, I don't mind those M&S food service stations but the other ones never seem to have any decent food at all. I'm really looking forward to having a nose about the Bullring and having a good look in Selfridges (I love their foody bit!) Luckily I know Birmningham fairly well as me and the hubby have been down there several times in the last couple of years while he was studying on his IT course so I would go and partake in my favorite pastime (err, shopping!) while he was on the course.

So this is me saying bye for a couple of days, hope all of your weeks have got off to a good start! x

It made a nice change to be able to get up this morning and not jump straight into a workout! I made a lovely breakfast - another layer up creation starting with chia seed porridge, blueberries, rhubarb yoghurt and topped with two tablespoons of Dorsets Cereals Roasted and Toasted Muesli.

Fab!

Mid morning at work I had a vanilla protein shake. I was hungry again by 12 so I snacked on a couple of funsized apples before I had my lunch.

Lunch was another chicken salad with the usual veggies - spinach, cos lettuce, beetroot, cucumber, carrot and red onion topped with peri peri spicy salad dressing.

I used far too much dressing on this (I didn't measure it out and just filled my little plastic tub so I could pour it on at work) but it is all healthy fats and I do like it spicy! I then had two apricots and two more funsize apples (I've had another big appetite day) which I had scoffed before remembering to take a pic.

Before I left work for the gym I had a little pack of pineapple flavoured nakd raisins, oh so lovely and sweet!

At the gym I started off with a 5 minute walk on the treadmill then I ran at a 10 minute mile pace for 30 minutes. I used my knee support and my shoe inserts have arrived so I tried them out as well. I was very happy as I didn't experience any pain while running and only a little niggle when I removed the knee support. I followed that with 30 minutes of HIIT, 10 mins on the cross trainer, step machine and bike and all at my new increased resistance levels. I followed this with 2 sets of my usual abs and then some stretching. I iced my knee as soon as I got home to try and prevent any inflamation, fingers crossed I'll be back out pounding the streets after my holiday!

Dinner was a veggie and egg white scramble. I stir fried some brocolli, asparagus, courgette, red pepper and spring onions with a little garlic and soy sauce then added two egg whites and scrambled it all together.

Desert was a chocolate orange protein cake, cooked so that it was still a little gooey in the middle, yum!

I've just finished off painting my toe nails from last night. For my quick home pedicure I just filed bits of hard skin, trimmed and filed my toe nails, exfoliated, and used some of my foot cream, then popped a pair of socks on. This morning I had lovely soft feet! I just love the coral colour so much.

I'm going to start on my nails now. The lovely Neenie has done a whole post on how to do a fabulous home manicure which I am going to follow. After reading your comments I am inspired to paint my nails with colour as well as my toes for a change. I might leave painting them properly till a bit later in the week to reduce the chance of chippage.

I'm definitely in holiday count down mode now, only two days to go! I've been thinking about how I'm going to have to make an effort to not go totally crazy with the food over indulgence while I'm away. I want to enjoy myself obviously, but I don't want to stuff my face and come home feeling like a piggy either. I guess I'm going to have to wait and see what the food is like when I get there. I am taking a little stash of healthy snacks with me, and a bag of green tea to keep me going. Do you still try to stick to some healthy eating prinicples when on holiday or do you go all out on the indulgences? I'm hoping I can find a healthy balance.

Well I am off to do my nails, they need a lot of work! Catch you tomorrow! x