August 2012 has quite simply been one of the best months I’ve ever had!

My fancy dress 30th Birthday party was amazing! I loved my vintage sailor girl look :-)

That sounds a bit over dramatic but its true! I’ve just been having an absolute blast. Let me explain, this month I:

• Set up a limited company for my new business adventures
• Celebrated my 30th Birthday
• Had a fantastic Birthday party
• Celebrated my Mam’s 50th Birthday, my cousins wedding, the birth of my best friends little girl and the birth of my cousins little boy!

I’m looking forward to sharing more details of the business stuff soon, all I can say right now is that there are some really amazing things going on in my life at the moment around this. All of a sudden the jig saw pieces are falling into place and its so exciting!

One of many cocktails!

Along side really getting things going with the business and my birthday, I think what has made this month so enjoyable has been spending a lot of time with my family and friends and being out socialising. In addition to that, my eating has been the most relaxed and with less associated guilt than I’ve experienced in a long time. I’ve drank red wine and cocktails, peanut butter brownie batter and raw birthday cake and loved every second of it!

Peanut butter brownies – bit of a recipe fail, but tasted amazing non the less!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I do still have kind of an ‘all or nothing’ mentality, but that is easing off a lot. This month I’ve really enjoyed my food and feel like I’m finding a good groove. I had mentioned that I was calorie counting just to help guide me around making sure my energy requirements were being met, but I knew I didn’t want to be doing this all the time. This month I’ve stopped calorie counting and weighing myself. I know I’ve eaten a lot more than usual over the month but even if I do step on the scales and see a gain, I honestly do not care. Something must be working out as I can still fit in my ‘skinny’ jeans although I do feel more curvy and like I may have packed on more muscle.

One of my favourite reoccurring meals this month – scrambled organic eggs and avocado

This month I’ve really started incorporating more fats, dairy and eggs and its working so well for my body. I still do my best to get those products from the most healthy and ethical sources but I’ve been able to let go of a lot of ‘vegan guilt’ because I’ve been coming to realise that this is just how my body works at its best and that has to be my priority right now.

My Chilled Summer Soup

I’ve made some tasty recipes which I think showcase this new way of eating for me:

• Chilled Summer Pea Mint and Avocado Soup
• Fig, Goats Cheese and Walnut Salad with Honey and Sea Salt
• Coconut Milk Pancakes

Plus I have another vlog for you! I’ve missed vlogging and was looking forward to reviewing a few of my August favourites:

As you can see I kind of like that almond butter ;-)

September

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Oh how I love this time of year! I am beyond excited for the autumn, I adore the leaves turning red and golden, snuggling in warm jumpers, eating my weight in kabocha squash, bon fire night, making huge pans of soup, russet apples…I could go on and on!

My goals for this month include:

• Build on what I’ve already achieved with my eating and finding what works for me
• Make more progress with all my business goals, including website development which will also include a KHGS re design!
• Keep on top of my IIN Nutrition School studies (which have been awesome so far)
• Have a wonderful staycation in Brighton
• Start journaling as I do some self reflective work

So quite a lot of things I want to get progressed in September. As well as really looking forward to going to Brighton, I’m also looking forward to beginning journaling. In our course materials from IIN we got an amazing 3 month journal to work through. I’m going to take that as an opportunity to do some serious self reflection, particularly around my healthy living practices including some diet experimentation. I already feel like I’ve realised so much about my body, i.e. that I do better eating more fat and protein, and I’m interested in exploring this in more detail and testing out so theories and ways of doing things which I intend to use with health counselling clients in the future.

September Sponsors

I’m very happy to be working with all of my sponsors again for September, please get some of their great discounts and deals and take a look at their links under my sponsor section. All of them have some fantastic products that I genuinely love so take a look!

How has August been for you? What are you most looking forward to in September? Are you working towards any specific goals? Best thing about autumn for you?

Today I have another Vlog for you! I’ve been getting quite a few questions about protein powders, which ones I use, where I buy them from and how I use them. Hope you find this helpful!

Sorry I seem to have my serious face on in this vlog! I promise I’ll be much more smiley in my next one ;-) I could have talked for ages on this topic but I didn’t want the vlog to be too long, therefore I don’t generally talk about our protein needs in a more holistic sense. If this is something you want me to cover let me know!

As I talk about in the blog my favourite protein powders are:

• Sun Warrior – Vanilla and Chocolate which I get from iHerb (use code AGA105 to get $5 off your first order) but which you can also order in the UK from Red23
• Spiru-tein – My faves are Peanut Butter Swirl and Cookies and Cream. You can also order these from iHerb but if you are looking for a UK based seller try Health Mantra.
• Good Hemp is a UK based company and you can order directly from their website. I also believe that some of their products are available in Holland and Barrat stores. Here’s a link to my lovely super fudgy raw protein brownies!

I think at some point I also talk about peanut flour as a good protein source. This is one of my faves! Again, this is available from iHerb.

If you aren’t concerned about your protein being vegan there are a lot of other options. My Protein have a massive selection available – I have previously used the True Whey products. I have also enjoyed using Maxitone products which are readily available in Tesco’s and Boots.

As I say in the Vlog, my preference is for Sun Warrior – its the most natural and least processed (apart from raw plain hemp) and for me, it tastes the best. However it ain’t cheap, and some people have found that they don’t like the taste. But one thing I have found is that people’s protein powder preferences are highly individual so its worth trying out samples when they are available.

If you are apprehensive about ordering from iHerb I am planning a ‘how to’ post which explains the best way to order from the UK and avoid any nasty customs charges, so stay tuned.

Do you use protein supplements? Why do you use them? Which are your favourites? Any other topics you’d like me to make a Vlog on? Don’t forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel!

A little while ago I did a post about being organised around your finances. For some time I’ve been wanting to do a post about generally being organised as I often get asked how I manage to fit so much in when I work full time, study, write this blog etc

I thought a good way to this would be by twittering away in a vlog!

As I say in the vlog I absolutely love Evernote and use it every single day, definitely check it out. I also recommend taking a look at this How to Be the Most Organised Person in the World Infographic – it is amazing!

What are your organisation tips? How do you stay on top of things?

For today’s vlog I thought that an interesting topic to chat about would be alternatives to refined sugar. I’ve been finding more and more that whenever I eat things with refined sugar in them I feel less than great. In the vlog I look at some of the alternatives to refined sugar that I use and how I use them, enjoy!

As I say in the vlog I made a very delicious recipe using the Truvia and it turned out great!

Courgette, Date and Pecan Bread (vegan, refined sugar and fat free)

• 175g / 1 1/4 cups of whole meal spelt flour
• 40g / just under 1/4 cup of Truvia (or other granulated sweetener such as xylitol)
• 10 - 15 pecans, chopped
• 2 medium grated courgettes
• 6 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 pot of baby food apple sauce (about 100mls / just under 1/2 cup)
• 2 tbsp of ground flax mixed with 6 tbsp of warm water (flax eggs) – could replace with two eggs
• 1.5 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of mixed spice

Pre heat the oven to 180 and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Mix all of the ingredients together in a big bowl, reserving a few nuts for the top of the loaf. Pour into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour, covering the top of the loaf cake with foil 20 minutes before the end to prevent over browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing:

This isn’t your usual loaf cake – its dense, chewy, sweet and utterly delicious! It doesn’t rise as much as other cakes either, but I feel that just adds to the hearty texture.

Filled with sweet sticky dates and chewy pecans, its almost reminiscent of a sticky toffee pudding!

With such a great taste, its hard to believe that this is fat, dairy and refined sugar free! This also freezes very well, I’ve been enjoying a slice spread with nut butter alongside a smoothie for breakfast and it hits the spot!

How do you feel about refined sugar? I honestly think it just depends on the person, and for me I know it does not make me feel great! What’s your favourite alternative to sugar? Have you tried any of the ones featured in the vlog?

Hi everyone, hope you are having a great week so far! Recently I’ve been sent quite a few teas to review. I though a fun way to review them would be to do a vlog!

Now I have to apologise in advance for this video, it’s my first ever vlog and I haven’t done a great job. I didn’t realise that the camera was on the other side of my iPad so it appears that I’m talking to the wall instead of the camera, plus the angle and lighting isn’t great. I also probably pronounce everything wrong. However I’m still posting this, at the end of the day this is me! Just keeping it real ;-) Hope you enjoy listening to me blather on…

Here’s the details of the teas in the vlog plus some brief notes on my thoughts:

• Twinings Green Tea Selection (£2.50 for 25 tea bags) – not a huge fan of fruity teas but some nice flavours within the pack.
• Twinings Green Earl Grey Tea (£1.39 for 20 tea bags) – will definitely be buying this tea again, loved it!
• Cho Yung Tea Weight loss (£33.59 for 30 tea bags on Amazon – FYI no way would I be paying that for these. I say in the vlog that it has a great taste but I can’t comment on whether or not it would support weight loss)
• We Are Tea Serenitea (£4.95 for 15 tea bags) – not a huge fan of fruity tea but the brand look great and they stock some other lovely looking blends.

Teavivre teas – big fan of all of these, just to add to my review in the vlog they are sold by weight and also have sample sizes available on the site which I think is great so you can try a small amount and see which blends you prefer.

• Premium Grade Dragon Well Green Tea
• Organic White Peony Tea (my fave)
• Bailin Gongfu Black Tea
• Bi Luo Chun Green Tea
• Jasmine Dragon Pearls Green Tea

Have you tried any of these teas and if so what did you think? Any thoughts on the vlog? Haha, please be kind ;-) Would you like me to do more vlogs? Are vlogs in general something you enjoy?

I would just like to begin with a huge thank you to everyone that commented on my last post. You have all been so supportive and kind! I will be working my way through responding to all of those comments. I really do feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now, the future has never seemed brighter!

Apart from that running issue June has actually been a great month! My Jubilee Party was such good fun:

I also got my hair restyled:

…and gave the blog a make over, cleared out my wardrobe and sorted out all my books, CD’s and DVD’s!

I did pretty well working towards my June aims, I’ve ordered part of my fancy dress costume for my 30th Birthday party, been to hot yoga once a fortnight and generally enjoyed myself – which was at the expense of one of my other goals – to reign in spending, oops ;-)

Loving my new fashion buys!

As I reported yesterday the running hasn’t been going so well but I feel so much better in myself without the pressure of training for the Great North Run.

Last month I sent out my market research questionnaires for my business ideas and the response has been wonderful. Thank you to everyone that took the time to respond, your input has been incredibly useful! I’m happy to say that it looks like my ideas have some merit to them so I’m pushing forward. As I said in yesterdays post, there are some exciting things ahead!

I also blogged the following recipes:

• Raw Nutella Brownie Bars
• Cherry Almond Muffins
• Cherry and Brown Rice Salad

Plus my Vlog on Protein Powders! Here’s another vlog for you which I hope you will enjoy, my June Favourites:

Aims for July

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• Carry through the changes I discussed in yesterday’s post
• Get my business plan finished including a full action plan to start working my way through
• Get formally signed up with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition for my health coach course!
• Get a good few of my draft blog posts published – I have quite a few drafts and ideas for new posts as well as readers requests
• Enjoy Kendal Calling!
• Make sure all the arrangements for my 30th Birthday in August are sorted and plan how I want to spend the day itself

I really could not be more excited about signing up for my certified health coach course! I’ve been looking at that course for over a year now, and since I’ve never been more certain of what I want to do with my life, now is the time to bite the bullet! The course looks amazing and the philosophies around nutrition and health a line so well with what I already believe. I know I’m going to learn so much!

I’m also especially excited about heading off to Kendal Calling music festival again this year. I just have my fingers crossed for good weather or else camping isn’t going to be that fun!

July Sponsors

I’d like to welcome back my lovely sponsors Teavivre, iHerb, Goodness Direct and Viva Pure, check out the links for some great discount deals. I am also welcoming back Coyo who have some new products available this month – new coconut yoghurts in mango and raw chocolate flavour! They have also been able to reduce their prices by a third due to volumes increasing and savings they have made! How brilliant is that? I love that this company seek to make their product more affordable without reducing quality. Check them out – see their website for a list of current distributors.

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to a new sponsor for July, Lazy Giraffe! Please take a look at their range of jewellery, it is stunning and so elegant – perfect for a gift or a treat for yourself. I’m tempted to treat myself to this sunburst necklace!

How was June for you? Do you have any goals or aims for July?

Well what a lovely month it has been! September has been filled with some good stuff, most of all our holiday to Brighton…

I also did my Reiki course, practiced some self reflection and had a great blogger meet up, in fact I met up with 4 other bloggers this month which was great :-)

I’ve did really well against the goals I set myself at the start of the month, the IIN course is going really well and things with the business are progressing steadily.

I also blogged a couple of lovely recipes for Amaretto Stone Fruit Crumble and Harissa Spiced Chickpeas and Courgettes with Lemon Tahini Sauce as well as some info on blending coffee with a fat source such as coconut oil or tinned coconut milk. And I can’t forget to mention my vlog with my top organisation tips!

I have another little vlog for you today with my September favourites, if you watch until the end I also have a little thank you message for all you lovely readers :-)

Don’t forget to subscribe to my You Tube Channel!

October

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Now that autumn is in full swing I’m looking forward to really enjoying all it has to offer! I’m hoping that I might be able to pick up some good autumn produce from the farm shop and market this week and of course I can not wait until Halloween, bring on the pumpkin :-)

My goals for this month include:

• Really focus on getting my diet back on track – I have a few issues that need addressing and nutrition is the place to start!
• Make a start on getting our living room decorated
• Meditate more
• Start saving for Christmas
• Continue studying hard on my nutrition course, making progress with my business stuff and journaling

I have several issues that I really want to get sorted in October via better nutrition. First of all I’ve been experiencing some problems which I think are linked with stressed adrenals. The fact that my periods are still MIA even though I have gained a considerable amount of weight back (plus more since Brighton) alongside some other symptoms of stress indicate to me that I need to make some changes. I’ve blogged about how sugar makes me feel before and I really need to reduce it down as well as my coffee intake. I only drink 1 mug of coffee a day but I feel really jittery when I do have it so I’m going to have to really reduce it unfortunately. Meditating more often should also help reducing stress. I also feel like I’ve lost the rhythm I had going back in May / June time with my eats and since I’ve had holidays and birthdays and I’d like to get that back!

We would also like to start making progress with getting our living room decorated while also trying to save some money for Christmas (not quite sure how I’m going to tackle that one!) as well as keeping up the momentum with everything else I have going on too!

October Sponsors

You can find out more about my sponsors for October in my spotlight post, please check it out for some great savings!

How was September for you? What are you looking forward to the most about October?