Thanks for all your comments to my 2010 review post! I loved hearing about how your year has been and look forward to reading about what you have achieved. I can’t believe we are now into the final few hours of 2010! This year has been such a good one but I’m eagerly awaiting the start of 2011.

Yesterday I woke up really pretty rotten and full of cold. I decided I would still do my usual DVD for a little strength workout as all my symptoms were above the neck. I made a well tasty breakfast of apple and sweet mincemeat oats topped with pecans and a drizzle of soy cream.

My last sweet mincemeat oats!

I started perking up a bit so I had a walk into town. While I was there I ended up having a splurge in Holland and Barrats on various bits and bobs that I intend to use as part of my January challenge as well as some other things:

I purchased:

• Vita Coco Coconut Water – I love this stuff, great for hydrating you. I’m going to try it blended in smoothies
• Dr Stuarts Detox Tea
• Cool Oil – this is a great source of omega fats that I’m going to use on salads
• Sweet Freedom sweetener – I’ve wanted to try this out for ages!
• Acai juice – this is full of antioxidants – I’m going to add a shot of juice to smoothies and juices
• Pure pear and apple spread – I’m going to add this to porridge and spread on top of sprouted wheat bread
• Spirulina Greens Powder – derived from algae this is chock full of vitamins and minerals, I’m going to add this to smoothies and juices
• Milk Thistle Tincture – milk thistle supports the liver and its role in the detoxing process, I’ll add a few drops to smoothies and juices
• Echinacea Tincture – this is believed to help against colds and support the immune system
• Vegan multi vits – as my plan for next month is vegan I thought it would be a good idea to take a multi vit to make sure I’m not missing anything
• Emergen-C sachets – these sachets contain a range of vitamins to support the immune system
• Bear fruit yoyos – love these!
• Pecan Pie nakd bar

I had a really tasty lunch – leftover roast veggies in a toasted wholemeal wrap with chilli cheese served with roasted broccoli:

This was so delicious! I had to use two wraps to hold it together as they had been in the freezer and had started breaking up. I also had 4 satsumas and some pomegranate seeds:

Mid afternoon I snacked on another serving of my Pumpkin, Rhubarb and Ginger mix topped with some Bear Apple Crumble Granola.

I also made myself a emergen-c drink with a few drops of Echinacea tincture to try and fight my cold:

Dinner was so so good! I saw a little bag of cubed butternut squash in M&S half price so I roasted it and made up a salad including a bag of mixed spinach, rocket and watercress, organic goats cheese, dried cranberries, chopped maple roasted nuts and a dressing made with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard.

This salad was seriously the bomb! For dessert I polished off the remainder of my violet creams.

I love these so much! Before bed I had a small glass of red wine.

This morning I woke up feeling miles better – those emergen-c sachets must be good! I had a lovely big bowl of Dorset Cereal Muesli Nutty muesli with a chopped apple and vanilla soy milk and a glass of fresh orange juice for an extra dose of vit C:

I also had a Christmas coffee with vanilla soy milk and agave. I did a bit of grocery shopping and picked up these magazines:

Yoga Magazine and Ultra Fit. I’ve never bought these magazines before and I picked them up on a whim hoping that they might give me a little added inspiration for next year – I have to say the Ultra Fit cover models body is amazing – I’d love more defined abs! I’ve only had a quick flick through them but I was very impressed. Have you read Yoga Magazine or Ultra Fit? If so what did you think?

Mid morning I headed to the gym for a 1 hour HIIT session on the treadmill, bike, step machine and cross trainer. I was really chuffed with the 20 minutes I spent on the treadmill, I increased my hard interval from 30 seconds to 1 minute for a few repeats and felt great for the whole workout. I finished off with some abs exercises.

Lunch was 6 oatcakes, 3 with garlic cheese and 3 with light cream cheese and chilli jam (nom!) plus some carrot sticks, marinated olives and 2 juicy plums:

I spent the afternoon clearing out my wardrobe of old clothes that no longer fit, sorting through my make up bag and washing my make up brushes. I had a bit of time so I thought I would have a run through of the Y Body Plan DVD which I had kindly been sent to review. I need to run through it a few more times before I do a full review but my first impressions were very good.

After my workout I snacked on half a tub of Rachel’s Organic Cherry Greek Yoghurt.

 

Dinner was fab - I had some spinach, rocket, watercress and carrot with Cauldron Moroccan Falafels, hummus and olives:

I love falafel and should really make it myself more often. For dessert I made up some extra indulgent cookies and cream protein ice cream with Spiru-tein cookies and cream protein powder, soy milk, lots of ice, 3 big scoops of tofutti vanilla ‘ice cream’, guar and xanthan gums then topped my bowl with my 2 of my fave oreo cookies:

Delish! I’m now happily stuffed :-)

I’m getting so excited for the New Year! What’s your plans for seeing in 2011? I’m meeting James when he finishes work and we are meeting some friends for drinks before going out for some food then coming home to watch movies with a bottle of wine.

I’m just so ready for the New Year to start – tomorrow I’m going to post all my goals for 2011, I can’t wait to get stuck in!

Hi everyone, hope you’ve all had a great Christmas! I’ve had a wonderful time and some amazing eats. I’ve also been spoilt rotten with some fantastic presents too.

I’ll begin on Christmas Eve. I started the day with some cardio in the form of Davina’s Super fit plus abs DVD. I then made myself another tasty festive breakfast: sweet mince pie oats with pears, egg whites and vanilla soy milk then topped with a crumbled gingerbread cookie, crystallised stem ginger, soy cream and some multi coloured sugar stars:

This was possibly the most delicious and pretty bowl of oats I’ve ever had!

I spent the morning making soup for Christmas lunch and preparing some mulled wine. Lunch was a bowl of Kabocha squash soup and two sliced apples. I headed through to my parents and snacked on a slice of wholemeal toast with butter, a banana, an apple and 4 satsumas before visiting one of my best friends then meeting up with the hubby and heading to the pub for a Christmas Eve drink! I didn’t get that lovely top in the end, as I couldn’t justify spending £50 on it – instead I went for my favourite basic grey tee with some sparkly accessories including a black sequined shrug and skinny indigo jeans:

When we got home I made myself the first of many festive snack plates. This one included 4 oat cakes with bousin garlic cheese, 2 chopped figs, an orange and two squares of amaretto chocolate. I also had two glasses of my amazing mulled wine:

So lovely!

Then came Christmas Day! We were awake at 6 am to have a truly fabulous breakfast including a toasted wholemeal bagel with light cream cheese, a glass of orange juice, festive fruit plate containing 3 satsumas, 3 figs, pomegranate seeds, passion fruit and Rachel’s Organic Greek Yoghurt with honey plus the best coffee ever – Christmas coffee with vanilla soy milk, agave syrup and a shot of amaretto liqueur:

Just perfect. We did the rounds visiting family and then finally got settled at my Mam and Dads and started preparing for lunch. I snacked on 2 satsumas while waiting for lunch, along with a couple of squares of Green and Blacks Maya Gold while decorating my cake. The table was beautifully set:

We started with some of my Leek and Roastie Soup:

My main was some of my Veggie Loaf with my maple and honey roasted carrots and parsnips, boiled brussels, my home made cranberry sauce and some gravy:

The Veggie loaf was wonderful, I’m so glad that I still have a few portions of this left, I can’t wait to eat some leftovers later today!

Dessert was a slice of my Chocolate Orange Cake:

 

This was utterly delicious. The cake had a wonderful fudgey texture, it was perfect. Everyone enjoyed it. We also had a traditional triffle available:

I was way too stuffed for seconds though! As I was driving I drank POM juice mixed with soda water along side my meal.

For my Christmas Day outfit I had decided to go for a bit of comfort. I bought the striped dress from Warehouse (£28) and teamed it with some grey tights and my beige long cardigan from Zara. I dressed it up with gold accessories – earrings from Orelia @ Topshop, Anchor necklace from Accessorize and Kitty Cocktail ring from Accessorize. I wore gold eye shadow and red lipstick from MAC:

We were so tired when we got home we had a 2 hour nap! I then tucked into some chips and salsa:

The chips only ingredients were maize flour, sunflower oil and salt. I also had a couple of sliced apples:

A little later I enjoyed a couple of margarita cocktails and 3 violet cremes, yum!

I have been extremely spoilt with lovely presents this year. For a gift between myself and James we bought a Blue Ray DVD player. I bought this fab juicer with money from my Mam and Dad:

Along with some goodies from tea pigs, beanies coffees and some goodies from Goodness Direct:

I also got these cookery goodies including Cath Kidson tins, Nigella Kitchen book, Vegan cookies invade your cookie jar, a cupcake cookbook and a juicing book that came with my juicer plus a kitchen calendar and organiser:

More chocolates!

A great pair of running tights and workout top from Adidas:

Some FCUK make up, smellies, plus a great accessories wall hooks, a diary and a £20 Accessorize voucher:

A stripy nightie and slipper boots from Accessorize, PJ’s, vintage style under ware set, wool tights and socks:

We also got a few bottles of red! Its been a really wonderful Christmas and I’ve enjoyed myself so much. I feel truly grateful for everything I’ve received.

There’s now a separate post which I’ve linked back to with all the recipes I’ve used over the last couple of days, they’ve all turned out so beautifully!  I’m happy that I’ve indulged a bit and enjoyed my food but don’t feel like I’ve gone over the top, although I do feel a bit overloaded on sugar! What has been your favourite food over Christmas?

I’ll be back later with my recipes, hope you all have a relaxing Boxing Day!

As the office is officially closed this week I can basically come and go from work as and when so I took the opportunity to have a relaxed morning, even though I was up early. I made a gorgeous bowl of hot 10 grain cereal with soy milk and water then added egg whites, 2 small chopped pears, sweet mincemeat and topped with some mixed fruit and nuts.

I also had a yummy gingerbread coffee. Just what was needed for some warmth this morning!

I’m trying to get my fair share of raw veggies in this week so lunch was a salad beast containing little gem lettuce, spinach, carrot, cucumber, red onion, red pepper and olives topped with a large dollop of roasted red pepper hummus.

I love hummus topped salad beasts! I also had an orange.

My mid afternoon snack was a slice of my easy spiced fruity couscous cake that I made yesterday. I had seen this recipe in the Cook Yourself Thin book and thought it sounded remarkably easy to make. When I got all the Rachel’s Organic yoghurt to use up I knew I had to try the recipe out, with a few adjustments of course:

Easy Spiced Fruity Couscous Cake (makes 6 – 8 servings) based on recipe in Cook Yourself Thin

• 200g of couscous prepared to pack guidelines and mixed with a few sprays of oil.
• 450g tub of low fat yoghurt – I used Rachel's Organic Low Fat Rhubarb Yoghurt
• 70g – 100g of dried fruit of choice – I used a mix of raisins, dried cranberries and chopped unsulfured apricots
• 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

Pre heat the oven to 200C. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 20 x 20cm cake tin. Smooth the top and bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and serve immediately or cool completely then store in the fridge to serve chilled.

 

This recipe is super easy and really healthy. It tastes nice and doughy too. If you like things sweet I would definitely increase the amount of dried fruit in this or add some additional sweetener, as it is its not overly sweet (which personally I prefer). You could experiment by adding different dried fruits or even chopped fresh or frozen fruits and different spices – I wouldn’t mind trying out apple, date and cinnamon!

After I shared the cake with my workmates I finished work and headed to the gym. My spin class wasn’t on so I decided to make up my own 30 minute interval routine on the bike in the gym. I speeded up, increased resistance or cycled standing up in time with the chorus / verses of the tunes in my playlist. I really enjoyed it! The 30 minutes few over and I felt like I’d had a great workout. I then did a further 30 mins of HIITS – 15 minutes each on the cross trainer and step machine followed by my usual abs exercises.

Dinner was basil tofu with swede chips, roast kabocha squash, steamed cavolo nero and ketchup, yum!

Desert has been 3 small chopped apples and some hazelnut dark chocolate:

I’ve missed my dark chocolate fix these last few days!

Tomorrows my last proper day at work – I think I’m just going to work a short day and then another short working from home day on Wednesday. I can’t wait to be off, I really feel like I need the break! Is Christmas time relaxing or stressful? I make every effort to ensure things are as stress free as possible! I like the period between Christmas and New Year for being able to get my head straight for the New Year to come, I love that anticipation of what’s to come!

Today has been another crazy busy day with a giant to do list to get through. I have to say I’m feeling super productive at the moment! I started out with a fabulous breakfast inspired by Tam – Sweet Mince Pie Porridge!

I made up my usual stove top oats using the power porridge mix then added a chopped pear, agave syrup a splash of vanilla soy milk and tablespoon of sweet mince meat. Oh my word this tasted amazing! Thanks for the inspiration Tam, it was like Christmas in a bowl! I also had a Tea Pigs Chilli Chai Tea Latte with vanilla soy milk.

I did some shopping in town and I’m happy to say that all my Christmas shopping is now done! I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of goodies for myself:

I can’t see a kabocha squash now without buying it! I also got some sweet chilli jam (will be amazing with some lentil loaf or cheese) some vegan vegetable bouillon and gravy powder, basil tofu, vegetarian parmesan style cheese, pecans, almond milk (until I get my act together and make my own) and some juicy dates.

During the day I snacked on a zillion apples and this Peppermint Stick Luna Bar:

I also enjoyed an unpictured freshly made raisin scone at my best friends house – it was delicious! I cut my sisters hair for her (I’m no hairdresser but I can manage to cut a straight line – and my sis is happy enough with that!) and my Mam helped me dye my hair – just my usual dark brown.

Dinner was two tofu sausages, steamed spring greens and maple and honey roasted carrots and parsnips.

The roast carrot and parsnips were a bit of a rehearsal for a Christmas lunch dish I’m going to make – just olive oil, honey and maple syrup mixed together with the veg then roasted – it worked very well and they tasted sweet and sticky, yum!

I also had another couple of apples with cinnamon and maca powder, yes I’ve been having another apple binge day. I guess I’d rather be binging on the apples than something else more unhealthy!

Luckily my appetite has calmed down a bit now!

Here’s a quick outfit of the day pic too:

I was just happy to be able to go out and not have to be wrapped up in 5 layers of clothing! I got this sweater from Next last week, the floral shorts from George at Asda several months ago and wore them with ribbed black tights and swede style knee high boots, both from H&M. I’ve never worn shorts like this and I though it looked nice for a change.

Next week is going to be insanely busy so I may have a bit of a random blogging schedule. I’ve been reducing my posts down a bit and trying to go for quality, interesting and packed posts rather than quantity. I don’t want to post daily for the sake of it! However, tomorrow I will be back with the healthy vegan Almond Quinoa Muffin recipe – even my Mam loved them so they must be good! Hope you’ve all had a great weekend!