Saturday 27 April 2013

A few of my favourite things..

Hello all happy Saturday! Hope your having a lovely day. I know I am and after a busy morning I've dubbed today onseie day!

So as I lay cosy on my couch I've decided to share some pretty little bits and bobs I've fallen in love with this week. Because every day deserves a little something pretty!



Favourite wedding accessory: These are amazing! I love the idea of having a beautiful white wedding dress with a sneaky bit of colour hidden away.












Favourite cruise pick: So with all this hard work I've been doing plus with my amazing cruise holiday fast approaching how could I not want a stunning new bikini!


 
 



 
 
Favourite dream house: Keep seeing this pop up all over Pinterest! So without a doubt I've decided to paint a wall in my kitchen with chalk board paint, when I have my own kitchen that is...
Favourite moment of bliss: Every time I look at this photo I feel so relaxed it's crazy! All you gotta do is replace that tea with green tea and you have yourself a perfect moment.







Favourite wedding dress: This dress is amazing!
The detail on the top is simply perfect.















Favourite Breaky moment: Bread and butter with coffee, pure heaven.

               
Favioute cheat goodie: Hello its a jelly dount with a
peanut butter glaze need I say more!















Faviourte quote to live by: Always use to think I was a mermaid when I was little. Guess it must be true!

















Well until next time have a great weekend and make sure to find your own little piece of bliss today!
 
  

Links to bliss:
 
1) http://www.weddingchicks.com/2012/05/23/anniversary-wedding/
2) http://www.dailylook.com/
3) http://pinterest.com/kak20/home-sweet-home/
4) http://pinterest.com/kak20/lifes-beautiful/
5) http://www.heatherchristo.com/cooks/2013/02/06/peanut-butter-and-jelly-donuts/
6) http://danseurs.tumblr.com/post/23715129524/by-lorena-arance
7) http://pinterest.com/kak20/wedding-dresses/
8) http://studiowonder.org/this-quote-this-pic-2/
 


      

Friday 26 April 2013

Healthy Bites

Hey guys hope everyone has been having a great week! Mines been quite busy with a combination of my final uni assessment and taking my workout routine up a level, I did a combo of yoga and HIIT this morning and I feel great!

Monday nights goodie! Greek yogurt, chia seeds, banana, berries, roasted hazelnuts and honey.
How good does that sound! The roasted hazelnuts made this and the combo of honey with the greek yogurt was so good.

Been going a bit chia seed crazy this week. Their amazing and everyone should buy them!
Another craving I've had this week is cereal. Dan started me off when he bought Cheerios and then last night on a late night shop I came across new whole wheat rice crispy cereal and bam! I was sold it's so good!
Like I said today I did yoga as well as a HIIT workout and after I was so worn out I knew I wanted to make a smoothie to kick start me again. So here it is my Banana Peanut Butter and Chia seed smoothie!
Nice to know that there are ready meals out there that still are good for you as well as filling! This was my dinner tonight and it was great, It's Birds Eye Thai Prawn stir fry.

So here's what I did with my Zero Noodles. Me and Dan love seafood marinara so that's what I decided to make and it actually tasted alot like the real thing! So buying this stuff again!


As I write I'm nibbling away at raspberries, watching Master Chief in the background and surfing the yummy world of Foodgawker!





Thursday 25 April 2013

Raw food

A few years ago when ever I would hear the term Raw Food two things came to mind, hippies crunching away at carrots and that Sex and The City episode where they go to that hip new raw food restaurant ewwwwww!  Yet here I am today loving the ideals of it, crazy how things can change so much!

Lately I've been obsessed with vegan/raw food recipes and to be more specific sweet goodies. But before I get onto that heres a few facts.

Benefits of a Raw Food cleanse;

  • Increased energy.
  • Get rid of nasty toxins.
  • Weight loss!
  • No more naughty cravings.
  • More pillow time.
Wow all that just from a little tweak in your lifestyle, ok well maybe a big tweak but as a cleanse or detox I think anyone can do it! Now onto a few pinterest recipes I'm eager to make once I obtain a blenderrrrrrr!

Vegan and raw ice cream!






















Samoas raw pie! This is my absolute favourite cookie EVER!


 


















Raw chocolate and raspberry cake mmmm!















Blueberry Lemon Cheese cake drool!


















Ahhhhhhh think I just died and went to Raw food heaven.







Links to Raw heaven:

1)  http://www.veggie-wedgie.com/?p=1505
2) http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/03/08/samoas-girl-scout-cookie-pie/
3) http://chickypea.com/?p=785
4)http://rx4foodies.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/raw-blueberry-lemon-cheesecake/

Yoga for beginners

So today I woke up and felt absolutely horrible, I really wanted to workout but my motivation was rock bottom. After a few hours of avoiding my sneakers I came across something I had been wanting to try for ages, yoga! It's actually another Jillian Micheal's workout video, and I was so excited to do something different and give it a try!

It's true what they say that yoga's a way of life or that it's a practise. The video lasted for 30 minutes and man was it great! I thought it would be easy but it actually pushed me harder then I thought, I was sweating just as much as I do in my other fitness video. So without a doubt I'm adding yoga to my workout, I'm also gonna try it out on my Sundays off as well as days when I'm not felling too great.
 
OMG HOW CUTE! hehe
 

Ha! 
 

So keep watching this space, I'm sure you'll be seeing much more on my new found love YOGA!


So to my friends out there any of you every tried yoga before? 
Favourite positions?
Have you ever tried Aerial Yoga??

Namaste!              

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Chia seed pudding

So yesterday I walked around the whole food store and picked up a few bits and pieces, those things being some chia seeds and a packet of Zero Noodles! Both things I have never used before and am excited to try them out this week. I'm gonna do another post on Zero Noodles later in the week but today I give you my first ever chia pudding!

Recipe-

  • 1 Tbsp of chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup of almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp of PB2
  • sprinkle of chocolate chips!
Simply combined everything in a serving glass making sure everything is well mixed and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then presto you have a healthy filling dessert to nibble on!

Chia seed pancakes

This is a great easy recipe and once you know the basics you can add what ever you want!


Basic recipe-

  • 1 egg
  • half a banana
My extra bits and pieces-

  • tsp of chia seeds
  • pinch of cinnamon
Mash up bananas and mix in the egg, this is the basic batter. Now add what you like or follow my recipe. Once the rest of the ingredients are mixed in add the batter to the pan and cook like you would a normal pancake. Once cooked add some strawberries, greek yogurt and honey ( Honey goes great with the bananas!). Then sit back and enjoy your guilt free pancakes!

So whats your favourite mix in? I'm always looking for new ways to make the most out of my pancake addiction!

Monday 22 April 2013

Cheat meals yay or nay?

I've always had a weakness for naughty sweet treats. My nights use to be filled with whole packets of chips and bars of chocolate. I use to think eating these treats were ok because I use to have a habit (which I now know is so bad!) of skipping breakfast and having a small sad little lunch. I've learnt so much this year and feel so much happier and healthy because of it!

So now that you have an idea of my past eating habits you can imagine how hard it's been cutting out and changing my lifestyle. I've done well so far but like any normal human I still crave my goodies! That's when I came across the idea of a Cheat Meal. Basically the idea is by having one cheat meal a week it stops your body from plateauing by confusing your metabolism.

Like changing you workout every 4 weeks the same can be said for your food. If your body starts to get use to the food your eating that's when weight loss becomes harder. So by having something different you shock your body and your body continues to burn baby burn! Even though it is a cheat meal there are some guide lines it's best to stick too.

  • If your willpower is weak then think about having a cheat snack instead, mini bag of chocolate etc.

  • It's a Cheat Meal not a Cheat Day!

  • Just because its a treat doesn't mean you have to eat enough for the whole day.

  • The day after get back into the swing of things with a sweaty workout and a yummy healthy breaky.


With this awesome news I've already picked my Cheat Meal for this Saturday wanna know what it is?? Drum roll please brummmmmmm brummmmmmmmm

In England this stuff is hard to find! But I found it and it was only 1 pound! woohoooo!

Healthy Bites

So this week I'm proud to say I'm officially a twitter bird! Got the Twitter icon up there in the corner and everything! Still getting the hang of all the hash tags and other bit and pieces but one step at a time I guess.

So now onto my Healthy Bites!

So Dan really wanted to try Old El Paso one pan rice dish and though I didn't quite like the idea of a carb filled rice meal I decided to give it a try, my way of course! I merely added heaps of salad and instead of mindlessly adding the rice to a bowl I measured a cup full. See you can have your cake and eat it too!

Was so excited to try this breaky combo today! You probably saw a snippet of it in my healthy shopping post, it's The Food Doctors cocoa and tangerine granola. I had it with a cup of greek non fat yogurt and a Tbsp of PB2. YUM YUM YUM! Felt full for ages really great post workout meal.

 


Tonight I decided to go vegetarian. I made some yummy sweet potato wedges with sweet chill sauce and greek yogurt so good! Always use to have wedges with sweet chill and sour cream when I was younger and it's so nice to know I can make all these changes and still eat the things I love!

Sunday 21 April 2013

Food shopping the healthy way!

In my house hold Sunday is food shop day! I remember when I first moved out of my parents house, food shopping was a hassle and the things I came home with were beyond shameful..

But hay ho we all learn and here I am nearly three years later I have learnt from my mistakes and have a shopping layout that helps me keep in budget as well as come home with healthy yummy food!

Dan rewarded my awesome shopping skills with a yummy soy ice latte, plus a little snack from our shopping endeavours. Realised that my mid morning snack was 100% Vegan, starting to consider a vegan month??..

So here are a few things from my shopping today so excited to try them out! But first a few tips on how to get the most out of your foodie day.

Foodie Tips!

  • Make a list- I love this part! Each Saturday in my free time I goggle and put together a list of what I wanna make for the following week. I break it down into Dinners, Lunches, Breaky and snacks/cooking items. This helps you to stick to a guide of what you want and above all a budget! Every time I forget to do this list I manage to go over budget...

  • Don't shop on an empty stomach- Whenever I do I'm crabby and all I want is bad food! It's plain and simple eat before you go.

  • Take your time- Enjoy food shopping, once you find a love for food you'll put more care into what you eat. Have fun with it!

  • Key healthy foods to stock up on!
-Fruits-I get frozen seems I get more for my money and their great for smoothies.

-Veggies- Great for lunches during the week. 

-Eggs- This is the best thing to stock up on, I have egg white omelette's for breaky and then I hard boil them for salads, the chooses are endless!

-Nuts- Great sprinkled on yogurt, I always get hazelnuts I absolutely love them.

-Portion size snacks- I always get a few chooses to keep things interesting during the week.

My weight loss progress!

Hey guys so originally I was gonna take photos of my progress but I've decided now that I wanna save that until the end of my Bikini Challenge. So instead I decided to share with you guys my measurements! I've decided to do it every second Sunday so today is my first ever progress day scary... Na it's not that scary really more exciting seems I did in fact make progress! Check it out.

7th of April Starting point-

  • Waist 31 inches
  • Hips 39 inches
  • Thighs 24 inches
  • Upper arm 12 inches

21st of April first measurement!-

  • Waist 28.5 inches
  • Hips 37.5 inches
  • Thighs 22.6 inches
  • Upper arms 11 inches  
I'm so thrilled with my progress! Nice to know this way of life is paying off cant wait to see my progress on the 5th! hehe


Amen!
 

Friday 19 April 2013

Roasted peaches and cream

Mmmmmmm sounds good doesn't it? This was my dessert tonight and god was it yummy. It's simple easy to make and above all healthy and low in fat!


Recipe-

  • 1 peach
  • 5 hazelnuts roasted and chopped
  • 2 Tbsp of non fat greek yogurt
  • a few drops of vanilla
  • a few drops of honey
  • pinch of cinnamon
Cut an X on the bottom of the peach and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then remove the skin and preheat the oven to 200c. Next place the peach in a baking tray and pour abit of the blanching juice in the bottom of the ramekin. Sprinkle the cinnamon on the top and bake for 20 minutes. While baking mix greek yogurt and vanilla together. Then merely assemble as seen above and enjoy! It was so addictive I'm sad to say I licked the bowl clean, but seems its healthy no guilt for meeee!

How to get motivated for a workout!

So I'm usually pretty good at getting up and working out but like any normal human being my motivation does slack from time to time. There are heaps of scenarios that can lead to this but here's one I had last night.

I'm not a huge drinker but last night I gave into one of my friends and agreed to go out clubbing. In my own little world I like to think that all the dancing I did cancelled out the amount of alcohol I drank, a girl can dream right? After an awesome night out I arrived home at around 3 and crashed unaware of what would face me the morning after. Luckily for me I know my limits so no ugly hangover greeted me when I woke, I did however have the annoying problem of  not wanting to step a foot out of bed!

Now here's where the helpful tips I use come in handy!

  • Roll with the motions- For me this involved preparing a healthy breaky. No thoughts of the workout merely getting your head in the right mind set.
  • Dress to impress!- When you wake up have your gym gear ready and waiting, having it stare and judge you from the corner is more then enough to more your butt.
  • Gogggggle- The Internet is full of motivation, click onto Health section of Pinterest, surf for 10 minutes and I promise you you'll find that little kick to get you moving.
  • Just think 'The end result far out weighs the pain'' keep going your future self will thank you!
And I'm proud to say I did do my workout and for the rest of the day I felt great! Sore but great!

Before

After 
Don't worry though I was all smiles after my workout! 

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Healthy Bites

Here are a few healthy snippets from my week!

For breakfast I had some warm oatmeal with some bananas, strawberries and peanut butter, great for a chilly morning.

My new obsession is turkey bacon! It's a bit pricey but as an extra healthy protein it's worth it! My lunch was an egg and bacon open sandwich with cooked tomatoes and broccoli, great power packed lunch.


Now my partner is obsessed with mexican fajitas boxes and I love them too, but not so much the hefty calorie intake from the tortillas! So with that in mind I opted for lettuce instead. I thought it would be plain in comparison but it actually tasted really good! Defiantly a great healthy option!


Ice Coffee and PB2 Chocolate!

So today I started 30 day shred level 2 and ow my word was I in pain! I went in thinking 'ow yea might be a bit hard but I can do it'.... Yea so not what happened! if I could sum it up in one word it would be pain, just pain. But after the 30 minutes of torture I realised that that's a good thing! Level two was a breeze compared to this yet I got results so I can only imagine what level two will bring!

The best part of my morning was right after my workout there was a knot at the door and low and behold there was a delivery for me, my PB2 Chocolate arrived 2 days early! I saw this as a reward for my hard work hehe. Loving the spread by the way! Its chocolate peanut spread for only 45 cals whats there not to love!


Also this week I tried my hand at ice coffee with almond milk! Just brewed some coffee and poured it into ice cub trays then poured the milk over the frozen cubs. It was great and had an awesome kick!




Tuesday 16 April 2013

30 Day Shred Level 1 Complete!

I've finally reached my first mile stone in this intense workout and I feel great! I thought I would find it hard to do the same workout every single day but instead I found myself bouncing out of bed to get my workout started! After a lot of research I prepared myself to feel sore and tired but was surprised that though I did feel stiff throughout  the day the morning after was not as painful as I would of thought. And for those of you who are thinking 'well yea duh that's because you didn't work hard enough!' I worked my butt off everyday day and I have the sweat to prove it! hehe Just think that the stretching after my workout played a big part.

Now for those of you who are thinking of doing this awesome workout but are a little put off by the intense dedication required, I say if you want results after even the first 10 days that you can see then what you got to loose! I found that the biggest change was my hips and thighs slimming down and best part that little pouch on your tummy that every girl hates! Well mine is getting smaller and smaller and is practically nearly gone!

If you want to get the most out of your workout here are a few things too keep in mind.




So give it a go! Trust me if you put the work in you'll be amazed at the changes you see!