Unfaithful

So i have been slightly unfaithful to this blog.. i have got back into my fitness a little bit, i only did 1 workout last week but it was my ‘time of the month’ and i just get so exhausted its unbelievable! This week i have done one (yesterday) and i’m a bit unsure about whether to count it as a workout. You see, i did a different workout DVD, that i haven’t done in ages.

Now sometimes i do the ‘cardio’ section from this, but being only around 15-20 mins long, i never feel i work hard enough. So yesterday, i decided to follow it up with the ‘toning’ section.

Well, i nearly died.
Honestly.
I don’t remember it being that hard, i had to switch it off not even half way through.. bad!

So, i did work hard, i felt it and i bloody feel it today! My bootie and my back/arms muscles definitely worked.

But because i switched it off not even half way through, i feel like i failed. What’s your take on it?

On the food note, i haven’t really been watching what i eat at all. You see, we’re pretty skint right now.. and it’s SO hard to eat well on no money, no matter what anyone says. So i’ve been eating whatever we can afford really. Its bad but i don’t feel too horrible about it because i know its not my choice. I love to eat healthy, i love to be healthy and i would CHOOSE to be healthy, but its not feasible at the moment and i don’t really  have a choice right now, i’ve got to make do.

I just got in from grocery shopping and just wanted to share a few ‘new’ products to me and my shopping trolley.

First up, these blue diamond spicy BBQ almonds! I always see these on other blogs, mainly american girlies, so i was excited to see these and just bought them because of that reason! I’m sure they’ll make a yummy snack though!

And these wholegrain crisps! YUM! A little way to make my lunches/snacks healthier and get my wholegrains 🙂

Lastly, on the baking front, i’m super excited to make a breakfast oat cake  pretty soon!

What’s your fav thing to eat for breakfast?

14 day count down!

I’m really knuckling down now, it’s 14 days until we jet off to turkey, for our first holiday together. We’re going with my boyfriend’s mum and sister but it will still be great! 🙂

Somehow, i’ve got my motivation back! Reading all your blogs really helps me and gets me going! So today marks my first day. I forgot to weigh myself this morning but i’ll do it tomorrow!

Pre workout; 

Toast with pb and jam, coffee and water. (unpictured) @ 7:15am

Workout @ 8:40am.

Section ‘Cardio blitz’ from Hannah dvd-20 mins including warm up & intervals, i was SWEATING! Abs sections from Vicky dvd!

Breakfast/Post-workout @ 9am

A good start to my first day i think 🙂 i’m pretty happy!
I’m working 11am-8pm today so i made use of my morning rather than staying in bed or lazing around! I’ve packed a lunch and snacks to take with me;

Couscous, tuna in oil and sweetcorn! Yummy! 🙂

Snacks; Baked crisps, a square of chocolate and some dried apricots. I’ve also got  a nature valley bar if i ‘need’ it 😉

Because i’m working late, Warren will probably eat before i’m home and i’ll grab a salad on the way home! I don’t like eating heavy when it’s late, i get that ‘sicky’ feeling the morning after!

 

What do you take for packed lunches? Any ideas for healthy balanced snacks?

p.s happy april fools day!

Losing the way.

I feel i have lost my way lately. With this blog, healthy eating and life in general. I haven’t been watching what i eat or working out. I’ve put on a whole stone from when i feel i was ‘happy’ with my body. It’s making me feel down because i don’t feel happy in my own skin. I don’t feel attractive, i don’t feel like going out and i don’t really have an excitement for life. Now don’t get me wrong, i know i’m not huge. But i’m not happy either and that’s what bothers me more than what my number on the scales is.

Janetha posted an amazing post the other day, and you just have to read that to see what i’m trying to say about slacking.

I have no motivation to workout or eat healthy really. I’m feeling like everything’s a chore and i’m way too tired to even care. It’s annoying me (and the bf) because i just feel so down all the time and don’t want to do anything. I need to snap out of it and get some energy back!!

 

Here’s what i think is contributing to my lack of motivation and energy:

-Not having a work life balance. I work long hours and i’m often tired so on my days off, i just want to rest and not do anything.

-I don’t get much fresh air. I drive and get the bus to work then i’m in a hot spa all day and then i got home, cook and go to bed.

-I’m eating the wrong type of foods and too much of it. My general meals are ok but snacks and bad!

-I think of a workout as a chore, no to de-sress and me time. I feel rushed to get a workout in so i don’t bother.

-I’d rather stay in bed and cuddle than get up early to workout.

 

So i’m trying to change these things. I’m starting to change the way i think and feel. Here was breakfast this morning;

2x weetabix, a handful of clusters, soya milk, cinnamon and soya yogurt. Also a mug of coffee unpictured.
I then took the dogs out for a few minutes and took some deep breaths of fresh air!

Today i’m going to focus on being happier 🙂

 

Any tips for motivation? How do you get out when you’re stuck in a rut?

Analyse my diet!

So today i had a day off and decided to snap everything i ate. I’m going on holiday to Turkey on the 14th April and i really want to have a bikini body to be comfortable in. I thought giving you an insight of my days eat would help you give me some advice on what i can change to get bikini ready!

Baring in mind, yesterday i had my braces changed and so i’m finding it difficult to chew and bite down, therefore i have to eat ‘soft’ foods for a few days!

I started the day with some oats, 1 sliced banana, full fat soya milk, cinnamon and low fat peanut butter.

i love the way it melts, mmm!

I left a good hour to digest this and guzzle down a litre of water. I then did a small workout. Just a 10 min warm up, 15 min cardio workout and 10 minutes abs & cool down. All from this DVD, which i LOVE! I’m easing in the exercise slowly, so i don’t become exhausted in the first week. I’m planning to do this quick workout every other day, then increase it.

After my workout, i took a long shower and then it was lunch time!

I had sausages in the fridge that needed cooking, i cooked them all and then used 2 to make a sandwich for my lunch, with ketchup and wholemeal bread! 🙂 Probably my favourite thing to eat..

I also had a coffee and a go ahead oat bar after my sandwich.

For my afternoon snack i had a small bowl of soggy cereal with soya milk.

A mix of shreddies and cornflakes. yummy!

When Warren got home from work, we decided to have a go at making a mexican omelet.

Recipe to come, it was delicious, i had 2nd helpings!

 

From analysing my diet i can see;

– It’s very carb heavy (even though it’s mainly wholegrains),
– It’s really lacking in fruit and vegetables,
– I could do with some protein packed snacks, instead of sweet carbs.

 

Do you have any ideas how to improve my diet? Any protein packed snack ideas (suitable for my lactose intolerance)?

A sunday kind of breakfast.

Only a Sunday deserves an extra big, yummy breakfast, especially when it’s a working Sunday!

First course…

Cornflakes, cheerios and oat parcels with blueberries and soya milk.

Second course..

Coffee with 2 slices seeded bread, spread with PB and lemon curd. Delicious!

This definitely filled me up and lasted me throughout my 6 hour day!

Do you eat a different breakfast on the weekend? What’s your favourite weekend breakfast?

P-p-p PIZZA!

So yesterday was day one of shredding and i made pizza for dinner! My eating was good, and my pizza was extra good! Lawrence loved his and wanted a second one! (he didnt get it!) Next time i could rustle up some chips with his!

It was pretty simple, i just topped a tortilla wrap (it wasn’t wholewheat though, woops!) with some tomato puree and a sprinkling of parsley, i then added some sauteed yellow pepper, mushrooms and spinach (L just had pepper) and topped with slices of pre-cooked chicken and a grating of reduced fat mozerella cheese. Voila!

(sorry for crappy iphone pics, L took my camera home to charge overnight so i should get it today all nice and charged :D)

Then just grilled it until the side of the tortilla went crispy and the cheese melted.

Soo yummy and i’m not even a big fan of pizza! 🙂 Lawrence was sceptical about the tortilla wrap, but he loved it! (and so did i) Where it crisps up around the edge is super tasty!

Lawrence’s was a little less colourful…

.. just tomato puree, yellow pepper, chicken and lotsa bbq sauce 😉 (he hates cheese! *gasp*)

You should definately try these!! Go, now! 🙂

As for today, i’ve had my breakfast that didn’t include peanut butter, shock horror!! I had hot banana yogoats topped with cinnamon and maple syrup 😉 and am now waiting for it to digest before i start shredding it. I can already feel it in my thighs and calves after yesterday, they hurt! Today, i know i will feeeeeel the burn! 🙂

I’ll drink up my definity shake after shredding and have 2 kiwis and a teeny bowl of cereal. Lunch…  a Sausage & cheese wrap.. with a protein muffin & PB for lunch dessert. (First attempt wasn’t too good)

Today is Friday, which i am pleased about in one way (its the weekend soon woooo!) and not so pleased in another way (Friday is my late shift, i don’t finished until 7:30 & don’t get a break  😦 Standing for 6.5 hours is pretty boring!!) So i’ve packed up 2 snacks to eat throughout the afternoon, a definity crisp bar and 2/3 of fage 0% with 1/2 banana, some black grapes and 1 sq crumbled dark chocolate. Yummy!! I may eat 1/2 bowl of Covent Garden’s winter vegetable soup (soo good and high protein!) when i get home, depends if i am hungry or not! I’ll probably just want to collapse in my bed 🙂

Have a good Friday bloggers!

Little Miss Piggy!

Yesterday i was so hungry!! I think it was because i did 30 mins aerobics and then some abs work and then straight onto my weights. Usually i do my weights and cardio on different days or one in the morning, one at night, not the whole lot together!

For breakfast, i had the usually oats with banana and peanut butter, but i tried it with a dollop of greek yogurt.

I’m not sure how i feel about it, i didn’t mix the yogurt in so it tasted a bit sour when i had that part! Maybe i should mix it all together next time!? I also added my banana in half way through the cooking time, instead of just sliced on top at the end-oh what a difference!! Definately nicer with cooked banana!
After my cardio and weights workout, i had my usually greek yogurt and th eother 1/2 my banana but i crumbled my first ever protein bar into it!

This beauty was spotted in a health food store which i went into just to have a look. Needless to say because i had no money on me, it was an awesome shop and i wanted to buy everything! So my mum gave me the money to buy just one of these to try it! I thought it was ok, but being my first ever protein bar i didn’t know what to expect- it tasted a little weird at first but i got used to it and by the time i came to have the other half in the evening, i loved it! I plan to go back there tomorrow because i’m sure i saw some Almond butter waiting to be sold 😉

I think i was really thirsty after my workout and i didn’t drink enough, because i was craving cold milk! I should have just made a milkshake but being little miss pigy, i had a bowl of cereal and 2 kiwis!

I then had a second lunch! Geez!! What a fatty! Lol!I had a ham, cucumber and pickle sandwich.

I wouldn’t usually eat this much but i knew i had a dentist appointment straight after work at 5:10pm! Obviously i was at work so i couldn’t clean my teeth, so i didn’t have anything to eat from 12pm when i had my lunch before work, until about 6pm when i got home from the dentist! And i was quite hungry! I had the other half my protein bar, a lemon mousse and a spoon of peanut butter (naughty having 2 in one day!) and low and behold an empty pot!

I know some of you girls get excited about this but i don’t understand why. Why do you put your oats in it? Help me out girlies!!

The boyfriend was around after i had the dentist so i cooked something he wanted; Chicken Kievs! We had them with chips but i had a load of veggies (broccoli, green beans, peas and cauliflower) and a dollop of extra light mayo (we had no ketchup, shock horror!) too!

I really want to try to make my own chicken kievs one day, because i know they’re pretty calorific and fattening! These were a lower fat brand so they weren’t too bad i guess. It was then off to the supermarket for some late night shopping! I wasn’t hungry when i got back but the boyfriend brought some new cinnamon cereals so i had to try them! A bit of a food overload yesterday! Today is going to be alot better! I’ve already had my breakfast, and i’m shortly off for a practise driving test! Ahhh!! not long to go until my real one!!

Exquisite Eats

Last night i did do my weight circuit, and my abs workout, but i didn’t walk my dog. I got an early night and today i feel back to my normal self, yay! It was meant to be a resting day though, but i still did a 15 minute walk and my abs work!!

Today has been good, i have enjoyed every meal, everything’s tasted so good! Breakfast was the same as yesterday, porridge with 1/2 banana and PB! Yummy!! I snack on the other 1/2 banana and a snack pack of raisins. Lunch was this delightful plate of food;

A turkey ham, grated carrot and extra light mayo wholewheat wrap, cucumber disks with a spoon of light herb cheese and a packet of baked crisps! Yummy! Followed by a decaf coffee and 1/2 square of dark chocolate! Double yummy!!

At work at around 3pm, i snacked on a product new to me;

Nature Valley bars in 3 different flavours; Canadian Maple Syrup, Oats & Honey and Apple Crunch.  I tried a Canadian Maple Syrup one the other day and it was lovely. Today it was turn of the Apple Crunch, (as you may be able to tell i love apples and anything flavoured apple, hence the name of this blog!!) the result?? Absolutely delicious! definitely a new favourite product and one i’m going to buy everytime i visit the supermarket. It tastes like cinnamon and if you’ve ever had a cinnamon Danish pastry, it tastes EXACTLY like them! It was soo good and feels really naughty but they’re not too bad in terms of nutrition!  I had to come home and give one straight to my boyfriend to try and he agreed he will have to buy some! He’s not big on breakfasts, so i told him one of these with a piece of fruit and a light yogurt would be a pretty nutritious brekkie!

For dinner i made us an old favourite of mine..

Sausage & Tomato Pasta.
Serves 2.

You will need;

• 2 handfuls wholewheat pasta,
• 4 low fat/lean sausages,
• 250g shop bought or homemade tomato based pasta sauce,
• 160g cut green beans (or any other vegetable you want)
• balsamic vinegar,
• grated low fat/mature cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees,
2. At the same time, put 2 small pans of water on to boil; one for the pasta, one for the green beans,
3. When the oven has heated, pop the sausage on a baking tray and prick with a fork a couple of times,
4. When both pans of water are boiling, add your 2 handfuls of pasta to one saucepan and the green beans to the other,
5. Cook your pasta for about 15 minutes, or according to instructions, mealwhile checking the sausages are browning, turning them if you need too,

6. When the pasta is cooked, strain it and put into a seperate bowl,
7. Using the same saucepan you used to cook the pasta, warm the tomato sauce and add the cooked green beans,
8. When the sauce and beans have warmed through, add in the cooked pasta,
9. Take the sausages out the oven, cut into bitesize pieces and add to the pasta and mix,
10. Split the mix into 2 bowls, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and grated cheese and voila!

This is probably my favourite thing to eat! Everyone seems to think pasta is a diet enemy, but it really doesn’t have to be if it’s not white pasta or drenched in a creamy sauce. This really is delicious and nutritious!! As any recipe it can be mixed up with any type of meat (i sometimes use chicken or even sliced of ham) and vegetables (mushrooms is a good one!).

After this, I was in the mood for cold ice cream after getting hot from cooking, so i decided on one of these;

A yummy Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich at only 100 calories! These are also something i tried for the first time and again a success!! I will definitely be looking at what other products are in this range!! So all in all a delicious day in terms of food!

Tomorrow i am going to try something new, usually i get up at 7am, have breakfast and wait until 8:30am to do my workout.
That’s all good while i’m only working part time, but when i start full time, i’m not going to have time to wait around an hour before working out. So i think i’m going to try getting up, having 1/2 a protein bar and an apple, wait 20 minutes and then workout, then have breakfast after my workout. How do you juggle workouts with a full time job??

I also need help with my recipe page, i don’t understand how you can get sub pages to link to different recipes?? Mine are all in one post and  don’t like it! Any help??

Almond, Oats & more!!

Yesterday afternoon,  i had a lovely lunch, inspired by Gabriela’s post here.

A  whole wheat wrap with 2 vegetable fingers, a low fat cheese slice, a grated carrot and ketchup. It was really yummy and warm! But i didn’t really taste the cheese, so i might take it out next time! No point consuming calories if i can’t taste ’em! 🙂 I also had a teaspoon of PB and a naturally light bourbon vanilla yogurt with it.

My boyfriend came to see me in the afternoon, and like all Sundays we got a little bored. After thinking of what we could do, we decided to do my favourite thing and bake!! We made yummy crumbly squares!

Crumbly Banana Oat Squares.
Serves 8-10.

You will need;

• 175g butter/marg,
• 175g caster sugar,
• 225g self-raising flour,
• 100g porridge oats,
• 2 bananas,
• cinnamon (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees,
2. Grease and line a small loaf tin,
3. Cream together the sugar and the butter in a large bowl

4. Sieve in the flour and cut in the oats to make a thick textured mixture.

WARNING: Do not attempt to try the mixture at this point, you will NOT have any left!

5. Split the mixture in half and spread one half into the loaf tin.
6. Mash the bananas together and spread ontop of the mixture, add the cinnamon on the top.

7. Spread the other half of the oat mixture on top of the mashed bananas. Don’t worry if some of the banana squelches out the sides, this will just caramelise and become even more gooey! It should look something like this;

8. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on how efficient your oven is. It should have risen and be golden brown on top.

9. Leave to cool, then cut into squares and serve!
10. Enjoy all that lovely oaty banana gooeyness!

There’s so many different versions of this you could make! To make them a protein snack, swap half the flour for protein powder or make low fat/sugar versions by using low fat butter and a sugar substitute. You can use any fruit you like; stewed apples and raisins is one i want to try! If you have a go at these, i’d love to see how they turn out and what you thought 🙂

As i mentioned yesterday, i got some lovely new cereal from the supermarket, i had it again his morning with 1/2 a banana, some cinnamon a big mug of coffee.

Almond, Oats and more! This is seriously good, i cannot explain! Soo much better than granola! There’s something so yummy and comforting about oats, i love them in every form!!