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! :-)

Happy Halloween! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying your day. I love Halloween but don’t really have much opportunity to celebrate it, we don’t even get trick or treaters where we live! :-(

Last night I made a delicious autumnal vegan dinner:

Vegan Lentil and Swede Cottage Pie (serves 1):

• 1/2 cup of brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• Vegetable stock
• 1/2 large swede, diced
• 1 tsp of pure sunflower spread
• 1 tablespoon of soy milk

Begin by frying the onion and carrot in a little oil in a small pan. When the onion becomes transparent and the carrot has softened a little add the lentils and enough vegetable stock to cover everything. Simmer, topping up the pan with more stock as required until the lentils are cooked (about 20 minutes). While the lentils are simmering steam the swede until tender then mash together with the pure spread and soy milk until creamy. In an individual sized oven dish pour the lentils in and then top with the swede mash. Bake in a 200c oven for around 10 minutes until warmed through. Serve with steamed greens.

 

This was so delicious! I made the hubby a traditional version with beef mince and potato mash and I think mine was far more flavourful. This was extremely filling too, especially as I piled on the swede! I served mine with some steamed red russian kale and broccoli.

Desert was some RAW zesty orange chocolate and an unpictured russet apple.

This morning I made a quick smoothie in a bowl using some frozen fruit salad mix, soy milk, agave syrup and ground flax and nut mix topped with granola.

I headed to the gym and ran 10k on the treadmill – the first 5k I ran 0.5 mile speed intervals between 6 – 7.5 mph then for the second 5k I did 0.5 mile hill intervals with a 2% incline. Great workout! I finished off with 10 minutes on the step machine.

When I got back I had a slice of toasted soda bread with peanut butter and black cherry fruit sweetened jam.

I also had two unpictured russet apples. Lunch was another bowl of roast tomato and red pepper soup, same as yesterday along with a satsuma.

For dinner I made a Roast Butternut, Radicchio and Goats Cheese Salad. Basically some romaine lettuce, one head of chopped radicchio, about a cup of roast butternut squash topped with organic goats cheese, balsamic vinegar and some toasted seeds.

Very seasonal and very delicious!

I had been hoping on making a pumpkin pie for Halloween but the Graham Cracker pie crust I bought a couple of weeks ago had crumbled in its packaging. Instead I made a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie based on Mama Peas recipe (without the nutmeg or garam masala) – poured it into a bowl and topped with the Graham Cracker crumbs, maple syrup and some mixed seeds.

Yum!

October Review

October has been one hell of a month for me! I feel like I’ve really being under going a lot of change – from my new vegetarian diet to getting all my hair cut off!

This month I have:

• Kept up with my weekly spinning and yoga classes
• Ran 15k each week (split between a 5k during the week and 10k on a weekend)
• Lost 4lbs and half an inch off my hips

Just the same as last month, the weight loss has really surprised me. I have lost a startling 9lbs since I did the Great North Run in the middle of September. I certainly don’t feel like I need to lose any more weight and I’m completely happy with my body and feel that I’m eating enough. I never feel starving and I haven’t had a bingeing episode in a long time. I guess that may be why I have lost weight. At the moment I’m really happy with what I’m eating although I plan to include more whole grains so this may help to balance things out for next month. I’m also happy with how I’m exercising so I’m going to just continue weighting myself once a month and see how things continue. If I’m still at a low weight (for me) after Christmas I will have to think about trying to gain (can not believe I just typed that!) I like to have a few curves! Ultra slim would just not suit me.

I’m very happy that I have achieved everything I wanted to this month. I’m also doing well trying to focus on being healthy rather than slim. I used to beat myself up if I ate an extra snack – but now as long as its something that’s going to nourish my body I let that guilt go.

Goals for November:

• Continue with spinning and yoga classes
• Continue to run at least 15k a week
• Increase some of my resistance levels / change up my HIIT sessions a bit so they are more challenging
• In line with my thoughts in this post, continue to try and eat a varied plant based vegetarian diet including more whole grains and organic foods and reducing diary products
• Continue with my basic training plan structure but change DVD to Davina McCall Davina Fit DVD - Top fit and Bottom fit workouts (both on a Tuesday, Top fit on a Thursday)

Current stats:

• Weight 9st 5lbs
• Waist: 27 inches
• Bust: 35.5 inches
• Hips: 34.5 inches

What have you achieved this month? Do you have any goals for November?

July has been another great month in what has been a wonderful year so far!

This month I have:

- Had a great time in Brighton including two blogger meet ups with the lovely Tam and Cat:

  

- Enjoyed one of the best meals of my life

- Completed the Great North 10k and achieved a personal best of 49.57!

- Continued to improve my running in general

- Started introducing more structure to my resistance training again

- Had the blog featured on the Channel 4 Food website!

- Reviewed my wardrobe and make up and generally gave myself a boost in terms of my appearance.

- Bought my Excalibur Dehydrator!

- Attended the Kendal Calling Festival with Alpro Soya (more on this to come!)

There are a few things I wanted to do this month that I just haven’t been able to including more time for meditation, focusing on sticking to a grocery budget and completing more assignments for my diet and nutrition course. I’m actually ok with this, I’ve had an amazingly enjoyable and successful month in all other respects and sometimes you need to remind yourself that you are not Wonder Woman and can only do so much!

I also blogged last month about my weight and that it had dropped again (when I am now looking to gain a little weight or at least maintain). My approach with this has been to add in a lot more nut butters, banana’s, bigger servings of chocolate and protein powders and continue to listen to my body. That may not sound like a lot, but I’m sticking with what I feel comfortable with right now and I’m happy that this month I have gained! For the first time I can genuinely say that I feel completely positive and happy about that :-)

Goals for August

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• Have a great Birthday!
• Continue with my training for the Great North Run half marathon in a consistent way and without injury
• Continue to fuel myself with wonderful foods and listen to my bodies needs while making sure I eat enough
• Experiment with my Dehydrator
• Complete more assignments for my course

August Sponsors

I’d like to welcome back Viva Pure, Goodness Direct and iHerb as sponsors this month. Don’t forget that the discount codes are all still valid if you fancy treating yourself to some goodies. PB&Co anyone?

I’m taking a break this month from running a sponsor giveaway as I have ran one for the last three months and let’s just say I have some really exciting stuff in the pipeline for the blog in coming months so I’m putting all my energy into that!

If you are interested in sponsoring the blog – you don’t have to be a business - if you have a blog and are looking to develop it and attract more readers you can sponsor me too – I’d love to support other bloggers! Its extremely reasonable, I’m not doing it to make a lot of money put it that way, and anything I do get goes straight back into maintaining the blog and hopefully making it better :-)

If your interested please email me at laura@keepinghealthygettingstylish.com

How was your July? Do find it tough trying to meet all of your goals? What are your goals for August?

Well it has been exactly 31 days since I started my January Kick Start Plan. I haven’t drank coffee or caffeinated tea (except green tea), I haven’t ate heavily processed foods, refined sugars, soy milk, dairy, eggs, or any other animal products and I have ate a shed load of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and lovely fresh juices.

And I’m feeling awesome! I also apologise in advance for the long winded post but I feel I have loads to talk about!

I know some people would have been pretty put off by the ‘detox’ word, and I guess you could describe what I have done as a kind of detox, but it hasn’t really felt that restrictive. The focus for me has been on filling up on amazing healthy foods which have left me feeling vibrant, allowed me to sleep better than I have in a long time and improved my skin.

Some of the delicious foods I have been eating include:

Green smoothies and fruit smoothies

  Blended quinoa porridge

Cashew cream with fruit and granola

Nori wraps with cashew ginger pate

Cabbage wraps with home made broccoli, courgette and olive hummus

Salad beasts

Moroccan butternut squash and chickpea tagine

Soya bean and veggie thai green curry

Raw chocolate!

Even though I hadn’t drank a lot of coffee or ate buckets of sugar I still experienced a ‘detox’ headache in the first few days. In the middle of the month my energy levels dipped – although I think this was mostly due to improper fueling than the plan itself, but now I’m feeling really good and brimming with energy.

The plan I have followed has also meant that for the last month I have been vegan.

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I went vegetarian last year after doing some reading and coming to the conclusion that it was the right path for me. I really wasn’t sure how I would deal with the vegan element of the plan, especially as I wasn’t eating processed foods or lots of soy products. I was actually amazed at how well I did. I can honestly say I have not missed animal products one bit. This leaves me in a difficult position. Do I continue to remain vegan or do I go back to being a veggie?

At the moment I feel more comfortable being a vegetarian that eats vegan most of the time. I think that allowing myself the flexibility to occasionally eat free range eggs and dairy (organic as often as possible) is right for me at the moment, plus I have a fridge full of feta and veggie parmesan cheese that needs using up! However, I really do think I’ll end up eating a mostly vegan diet overall, and I’m really happy with that.

What I have missed is coffee!

I love my flavoured coffees a couple of times a week, I feel like I’m having myself a little treat and I have really missed that. Detox tea just doesn’t cut it! I’ve also missed being able to eat more tofu and my spiru-tein protein powder (I’ve left these out as they are heavily processed and contain processed soy). 

So, at the beginning of the month I was carrying 4lbs ‘Christmas’ weight which came off pretty easily and on top of that I have lost an additional 5lbs, which I did not need or want to lose. I know I have some issues around fueling properly and eating enough when working late to figure out, but that’s for another post, and believe me I have a few thoughts I need to get out of my head on that! My new training plan has also gone very well – I wanted to focus on improving my plank hold time, work towards doing a full press up and work on my abs and general muscle tone. I’m really happy with the tone I have in my arms, especially my shoulders and my back. My stomach is definitely looking more defined too!

I last took my measurements at the end of November and since then I have lost an inch from my waist and hips and 5lbs. Current stats: height 5’6, weight 8st 11lbs, bust 35.5 inches, waist 26.5 inches, hips 33 inches.

All in all I feel I’ve had very successful January, but I still need to suss out how I can eat better to maintain my weight and not lose anymore. In fact I’d feel more comfortable gaining a few pounds but as I said, I could write a full post on this so will save my thoughts for then.

There’s also a few things I’ve done during the plan that I will continue to do:

• Make my own hummus rather than shop bought
• Drink freshly made juices
• Make my own almond milk
• Eat more raw foods
• Enjoy home made salad dressings full of good fats
• Eat lots of yummy raw chocolate!
• Take a vegan multi vit every day
• Add spirulina to my smoothies (gotta love that green!)

How has January gone for you? Have you started any new habits that you will continue on with into the rest of the year?

Before I go here’s a few pics of yesterday’s eats including a yummy new recipe! Before going to the gym I had a slice of sprouted wheat bread with apple pear spread and a detox tea:

I ran 5 miles in 45 minutes doing speed intervals on the tread mill and was chuffed to stick it out longer than my usual 30 minutes! I then did 15 minutes on the step machine, bike and cross trainer at a steady state for a total 1hr 30 minute cardio workout.

When I got home I made a fabulous big green smoothie containing spring greens, two nectarines, small frozen banana, pineapple coconut water, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, spirulina, matcha and maca. I topped it with half a pack of Bear Coco Cherry Pie Granola and goji berries:

So good! A little later I had a fresh green juice made with two apples, a pear, cos lettuce, celery, cucumber, ginger and lemon:

For a late lunch / early dinner I had a Beetroot, lentil and sunflower seed pattie on top of a huge super salad:

The salad contained lettuce, carrot, red onion, red pepper, cucumber, sprouts, herbamare seasoning, braggs and some cool oil. As I had lots of beetroot to use up I thought I’d try making up a new recipe based on the roast veggie and sunflower seed patties I made a while ago.

Beetroot, Lentil and Sunflower Seed Patties (makes 4 large patties)

• 3 medium beetroots, roasted until tender
• 1 tin of green lentils, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon of ground flax
• 1 tablespoon of water

Add the roasted beets and lentils to a food processor and blend until the mixture starts to come together but still has a little texture. Add the ground flax and water and lightly blend again. Put the mixture into a bowl and add the sunflower seeds, mixing well. Form into 4 large patties. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least on hour before cooking (can also be frozen). I coated mine in a little spelt flour and fried on a medium high heat in coconut oil for 10 minutes a side. The flour coating just makes them a little crisper. These don’t hold together amazingly well so you have to take care when flipping them!  These are so good, love the nutty little sunflower seeds!

I followed this with some blueberries and pomegranate seeds:

Then I was up and out for James work leaving do. It wasn’t a big  night out, just a few drinks after work. I always drink soda water with ice and lemon when I’m driving. When we got home I had a cocoa orange nakd bar, 4 chopped apples (two shown here) and a cup of sleepytime tea:

As I’m off work this week we are having today as a bit of a chill day. I’ve been trying to re organise the kitchen a bit and have made my first attempt at Socca which is a pancake / flatbread type dish made with chickpea flour, I know its going to be a big favourite of mine from now on! I’m also going to make some cookie dough balls! I’ll share pics and recipes tomorrow. Hope all your weeks have got off to a great start!

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!