Hello everyone, hope you are all having a great week! Thanks for all your comments on my last post about glasses and laser eye surgery, I’ve found everyone’s different perspectives fascinating! Its also reminded me that I really ought to get my eyes tested. Today of course is my usual What I Ate Wednesday post. I’m still enjoying doing these posts as its the only time that I really blog a proper day’s worth of eats and its been great looking back over old WIAWs to see how I’ve changed over time!

These are my eats from Monday, and as usual I had my hot lemon water when I got up:

Then it was off to the gym! I still can’t stomach anything before I work out. I did 5 minute warm up on the cross trainer then my strength workout from Female Body Breakthrough – it was a heavy / low rep day and it was tough. I’m still aching from it today!

I finished my workout with 10 min HIIT on the step machine and 10 min HIIT on the bike. After going home and getting showered I made a lovely refreshing breakfast:

I blended kale, mixed frozen berries, an orange, 1 scoop of Good Hemp Strawberry Fit Shake, water, ice, ground flax and a touch of stevia then topped with some Kashi Honey Almond Flax Crunch. It was lush! I also made myself an iced Clipper Indian Chai tea:

Before I left for the gym I’d made myself a cup and left it to brew and cool. Then I just added some rice milk and lots of ice, it was lovely.

We had another scorcher of a day on Monday so I dressed for the warm weather:

OOTD: statement necklace: New Look, striped vest top: H&M, black midi skirt: Warehouse, gold sandals: Next

I love that necklace so much, I think it looks really unique and striking, I got a lot of complements on it!

For lunch I’d packed up a salad:

This included romaine, cucumber, red onion, red pepper, beetroot, chickpeas and some of my tahini dressing. I loved how the chickpeas had turned a bit pink from the beets!

I had brought the remainder of my Vegan Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake into work for my colleagues to try a slice so I ended up treating myself to another piece as a mid afternoon snack:

I do think that this gets better when it has been left a little while as the fruit flavour intensifies, yum! Everyone at work seemed to enjoy it and commented that its not overly sweet like a lot of baked goods. That actually held me over well until dinner! When I got home I just wanted something pretty quick and easy so I nuked a sweet potato and piled it high with some cannellini beans, red onion and grated vegan cheese. I popped that back in the microwave to melt the cheese a little and then served with a handful of spinach:

I’ve never been a fan of baked beans but I guess this was a ‘Laura’ version of the classic jacket potato with baked beans and cheese. It was really tasty and I have to say I’ve been won over by that cheese. Its the Tesco own brand mild free from cheese and I will be getting it again for sure!

I had some strawberries, blueberries and a smidge of tofu cream leftover from making the cake so I mixed it all up and called it dessert:

I ended up with a massive bowl full, it was delicious! After pottering about for a bit I went and picked James up from work. By the time we got home I was feeling hungry again so I whipped up a quick smoothie in a bowl:

My current smoothie addiction: Cherry, Vanilla and Sea Salt (frozen cherries, vanilla sun warrior protein powder, ice, water, good pinch of sea salt, couple of drops of vanilla stevia) topped with, you’ll never guess… Popchips! Don’t ask me where that idea came from, I was thinking of the sweet and salty thing and had just put some Popchips aside to take to work for a snack the next day. These were the original flavour Popchips (I don’t think it would work so well with the other savoury flavours!) It was so so good, I can’t wait to do it again!

Before bed I made myself a mug of Pukka Three Tulsi tea:

I love the flavour of this tea and the colour of the packet ;-)

Ooh I think that was a tasty day of eats indeed! Have you ever made a version of a classic / traditional meal that’s more suited to your tastes? What are your thought’s on the smoothie and crisps / chips combo? What’s the most unusual food combo you’ve tried?

Hello everyone! How's your weekend going? Mine has been great, I kicked it off on Friday night by making a lovely meal. Last weekend I had cooked up some pinto beans from scratch and really fancied something warming and comforting so I came up with this delicious chilli!

Pinto Bean and Aubergine Chilli (vegan serves 2-3)

• 1 large onion
• 1 aubergine
• 1 pepper (I used a yellow pepper)
• 1 courgette
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of tomato passata
• 1 cup or 1 tin of pinto beans (black beans or black eye beans would also work)
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder

Begin by chopping the aubergine into cubes, putting it in a colander and sprinkling with salt to remove the bitterness. After 10 minutes fry the aubergine until it is browned, set aside. Chop the onion and fry in a little oil over a medium high heat until softened then add the pepper and the courgette chopped into pieces. Continue to fry for a few minutes then add the aubergine. Fry for 3-5 minutes then add the chopped tomatoes, passata, beans, spices and cocoa powder. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until all the veg has softened and the tomato sauce is thick and syrupy. Serve!

I ate mine with some roast purple potatoes, steamed greens and avocado. Its the first time I've tried adding cocoa to a chilli recipe but it works very well to add depth of flavour. The purple potatoes were unusual, they roasted up lovely (I used coconut oil) but I'm not sure I'd make an effort to buy them again, I much prefer sweet potatoes!

For a late night 'snack' I made a massive bowl of popcorn with melted coconut butter:

This was delish! Other tasty eats from the weekend include yesterday mornings breakfast:

Cherry oats with cinnamon topped with tofu cream and pecans, yum!

For lunch, a smoothie made with beet greens, banana, chocolate sun warrior, maca, ground flax, berries powder, water and ice topped with massive amounts of sunflower seed butter, muesli and extra raisins:

I totally added more muesli and nut butter as I ate it off the top, so good :-)

After a 30 min treadmill run, 15 min bike and my kettle bell class, I came home this morning and devoured another Protein Buckwheat Bowl:

So loving these! I made this one with chocolate sun warrior protein powder and some almond extract then topped it with raisins and dried mixed berries, it was gorgeous. I also ate a big bowl of grapes, I was ravenous!

Oh and I have to give a quick mention to these amazing raw flat breads from Viva Pure:

These are sweet onion flatbreads and I had them with veggies, avocado and olives. They are so tasty! I'll definitely be treating myself to those again. I can't forget this lovely snack I had too:

Fresh figs with tahini, tofu cream, honey and bee pollen, it was just utterly wonderful!

Last night we went out for a meal to celebrate my Dad's and my Sister's birthday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOTD: jewelled necklace: Topshop, stripy tee: Topshop, buckled wide belt: Dorothy Perkins I think?, green skirt: Urban Outfitters, black tights: M&S, ankle boots with zip detail: New Look, metallic clutch bag: Accessorize, chunky ring: Topshop

I really love this outfit! I can't wait to wear this combo again, of course it features my favourite stripes and I just adore that green skirt, I think its so unusual and very 'me'!

We went to a pub called The Old Mill and I had some Spicy Vegetable Enchiladas:

Delicious! These were packed with vegetables in a spicy tomato sauce and were super filling, although I still found room for plenty of chocolate when I came home! We had a fun night looking through some old photographs of us all when we were little and my Dad when he was a teenager, it was nice to be reminded of good times.

Yesterday morning we hit the shops as I wanted to return another of the dresses I had bought in the sales to exchange for something in a bigger size, no point in kidding myself if I'm aiming to gain weight right? I am really loving all the new season fashion, the colours are great! I ended up spending a bit more than the sale dress I was returning and bought this new season dress:

Warehouse: £42

Its blue polka dot with neon coral highlights on the arms and with the belt. I love it! I also got some jeans from Primark in black and dark rinse and some cropped workout pants from TK Maxx.

Do you have a current favourite outfit?

How's your weekend been? I'm looking forward to more of that chilli for dinner this evening! I also have an interesting week ahead, tomorrow we are having a planning day for work and I'll be going to my first taught yoga class in almost a year! I have to say I'm pretty glad to be seeing the back of January next week too, I can't wait for the spring! Hope you have a good one whatever your up to!

I’m happy to say that I’ve had another pretty productive week! I seem to have peaks and toughs with my productivity, but this week I have done a lot of thinking and planning – see my thoughts on writing a personal mission statement at the end of the post. A few things are starting to come together, at least in my head, and I think that’s half the battle sometimes.

A random lovely thing from this week has to include my new house plants:

I got these at the weekend to replace one that had died and another than was over growing. I love having plants around the house, I think a room feels lifeless without at least a bit of green or some pretty blooming flowers in it!

This week I’ve been loving my breakfasts! I generally love breakfast in any case, its certainly my favourite meal of the day, but this week they have been exceptionally lovely:

Slice of toasted sunflower and chia seed bread with almond butter and black cherry jam with a simple green smoothie on the side

Have seen a few Cinnamon vanilla socca on various blogs so gave it ago! Stuffed with almond butter and fresh peaches

Fresh peaches, strawberries and honey pear with a bowl of tofu cream and granola plus a spoonful of sunbutter for dipping

Plus coffee with all of those, there is always coffee ;-) I’ve just been craving sweet fresh fruit all week! Other meals have tended to be the usual stuff:

A very green ‘clean out the fridge’ salad with romaine, quinoa, cucumber, edamame and avocado

Lentil soup and home made raw crackers – glad I saved that for lunch yesterday seeing as the weather was so dreadful a warm bowl of soup was much needed!

Raw courgette noodles topped with roast kabocha squash and tahini miso sauce – always good!

Green smoothie snack – with romaine, courgette, chocolate chip cookie dough spiru-tein protein powder, water and ice topped with dried figs and tahini

Strawberries, pear, tofu cream and Dorset Cereals Strawberry and Redcurrant Granola

Last but not least, a rice cake slathered with Justin’s chocolate Hazelnut butter!

This weeks workouts:

• Saturday – REST
• Sunday – Just over 9.5 mile run
• Monday – Gym – this strength and HIIT workout
• Tuesday – Gym – 30 minutes cardio HIITs on the cross trainer, bike and rowing machine, Body Pump (new release!)
• Wednesday – Hot yoga class 
• Thursday – AM 3 mile run, PM yoga class
• Friday – Gym – 5 min warm up cross trainer, 15 min treadmill speed run, 25 minutes of random strength exercises focusing on upper body and abs, 5 min bike cool down

Its been a fun workout week indeed! Running though to my parents house on Sunday morning made a great change to the usual out and back or loop running routes. Tuesday’s new Body Pump class was awesome, I loved the new body weight squats and squat jumps, lots of fun! Then I went for another hot yoga class at Yogalilies – it was brilliant as usual, extra sweaty! We even attempted some head stands and side crow pose but I think I need to work on achieving those! In this mornings workout I stuck to upper body strength exercises to give my legs a bit of a break ready for this weekends long run.

On the Love List this week…

Matcha loving!

When I saw that Tea Pigs had a 20% off offer on their Matcha Green Tea I couldn’t resist! I can’t wait to make some iced almond milk lattes! Also…

This post from Gala Darling with 100 things to do instead of wasting time on the internet – I’m already planning a wardrobe edit! // writing my own personal mission statement // exciting developments with my business! // Summer Solstice – I may not have done the 108 sun salutations but it was a beautiful sunny day and finishing it off with Hot Yoga and a chocolate avocado smoothie when I got home was perfect // anticipating the great weekend ahead – hair and wardrobe makeover!

Have you ever considered writing a personal mission statement? Or do you already have one? I’m quite into personal development and I’m so glad that I got round to spending some time developing my mission statement. If you haven’t done it I strongly urge you to have a look, its really helped to clarify a lot of the stuff going on in my life and help me to focus! Ditto with inspiration boards, I’m also a big fan of those!

In case you missed it:

• Check out my Dorset Cereals GIVEAWAY for a chance to win some of their lovely muesli!
• I talked a bit about foam rolling
• I gave you some of my tips to avoid the dreaded hangover!

How has your week been? What’s on your love list?

Well this has been another brilliant weekend! Yesterday we got up really early, had a quick breakfast and hit the road to Leeds.

Pink lady apple, Dorset High Fibre Flakes, hemp milk, simple and yum!

We know Leeds reasonably well as my Sis in Law lived there for a couple of years so it was good to be back! James wanted to hit the record stores and I was just happy to have a look around the shops. Before we got stuck in we treated ourselves to a Starbucks:

Grande Vanilla Soy Latte, yes please!

I was really excited when I saw that a vintage fashion fair was taking place at the Leeds Corn Exchange:

I was extra happy as last week I missed the vintage fashion fair that was taking place in Newcastle. The place was packed with stalls:

I saw so many things I wanted to buy but I needed to keep to my budget! James very kindly treated me to this beautiful dress:

I love it! Its slightly big but will look fantastic with a bright belt nipping in the waist.

After hitting the vintage fair we went in search of food! Last week I’d put out a tweet asking for vegan friendly restaurants and cafes and both Sarah and Lauren had recommended Little Tokyo. As soon as I’d checked out their menu online I knew it would be ideal. It was a bit out of James comfort zone but he loves sea food and there was plenty of that on the menu. The restaurant looked fantastic:

I’m not used to having so much choice in a restaurant so it took me ages to decide what to get! I ordered an iced green tea which was sweetened with honey and tasted amazing, then for a starter deep fried bean curd spring rolls:

For my main meal I had the Yaki Soba noodles with veggies and tofu:

The chunks of tofu in this were massive! The meal was delicious and extremely filling, I even managed to eat the whole thing with chopsticks which for me is an achievement! James had some prawn dumplings for his starter and Udon Noodles with seafood for his main. We would both definitely go back again, there’s so much more on the menu that I’d like to try!

As I said I did do some shopping, first of all here’s what I got from Out of This World – and another little health food store:

Dried mulberries, green lentils, quinoa, brown rice, soy chocolate puddings (on offer for 99p) raw cacao and cinnamon kale chips, Maya Gold Green and Blacks mini chocolates, Pukka tea selection, Pukka Vanilla Chai tea, smoked almonds, natural glace cherries, dark chocolate covered coffee beans, tinned kidney beans and chickpeas (on offer)

I needed to stock up on a few grains and beans and decided to treat myself to the rest. I got the dark chocolate Reece’s cups from a speciality sweet shop, I just couldn’t resist them! Fashion wise I went crazy for accessories:

Floral head band (River Island), Jewelled cuff (Miss Selfridge), Feather hair chip (Miss Selfridge), Jewelled and beaded headdress that I intent to wear as a necklace (River Island), and in the background vintage fabric bunting

With festival season coming up I thought I’d get some nice accessories, I adore that headband / necklace! I was over the moon when I saw the bunting on the same stall where I got my vintage dress, its going to be perfect for my Jubilee Party!

The rest of the weekend has been just as enjoyable, I’ve coloured my hair, had a good cook up session making hummus with freshly cooked beans, baked tofu, made a wonderful orange basil salad dressing and a very special sweet treat recipe I’ll be sharing later this week! This morning I also got out for a pleasant but slow 7.5 mile run!

Other tastiness from this weekend has included:

peaches and cream oats with tofu cream

Blueberries and strawberries with tofu cream

Giant green juice made with a massive cucumber, celery, ginger and lemon

My simple dahl with a basic socca and steamed broccoli

The most amazing cherry coconut water slushie! I blended some frozen cherries with plain coconut water, a couple of drops of vanilla stevia and a pinch of sea salt. Incredible!

Kelp noodles with spiralised courgettes raisins, chickpeas and a tahini miso sauce

My current obsession (thanks to Jess) Lindt 90% dark dipped in hot sweet peppermint tea

I also have this slice of chocolate peanut butter slab for dessert later:

I got this from the counter at Out of This World yesterday but was too stuffed from lunch to eat it, I can’t wait to enjoy this!

We really did have such a lovely time yesterday, it was great to visit somewhere different and it was really good to spend time with James like that. We are definitely planning more mini day’s out back to Leeds, I need to work my way through the menu at Little Tokyo!

How has your weekend been so far? Are you a fan of Japanese food? Have you ever bought any vintage fashion?