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Hello everyone, we have reached the weekend yet again! I only wish we were going to be in for some sunshine but its looking like its going to be another wash out here in the UK at least :-(

I’ve had a busy couple of days but eats have been so good! Today I just had one of those days where everything I’ve eaten has been fantastic.

I was starving after the gym this morning, and in a good example of what I was talking about in Monday’s post, I decided to change from what I had in my meal plan and go with what I was craving instead. I had a huge bowl of Dorset Cereal low fat flakes with 2 chopped apples, home made cashew milk (which tasted amazing) and lots of dribbly almond butter:

This so totally hit the spot! I think I’ve found the trick to make cereal more filling and that is adding on the nut butter, this kept me full for ages.

Lunch was some raw wraps filled with smoked tofu, my creamy high protein hummus and alfalfa sprouts plus carrot, sugar snaps and cucumber on the side plus a nectarine:

I have to say I’m not overly keen on the smoked tofu, I think I’ll try the rest of the block and see if it grows on me though.

As I’ve been working from home today I had access to my blender so for a mid afternoon snack I made a raspberry chocolate super food smoothie containing frozen raspberries, vega choc a lot protein powder, water and some maca powder:

This tasted delish and was very filling, I love the raspberry chocolate combo!

Dinner was a rather randomly thought up salad that tasted so good I’ve decided to blog it as a quick recipe!

Warm Sweet Sesame, Sweet Potato and Edamame Salad (serves 1, vegan)

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/2 head of broccoli
• 4 asparagus stems
• 1/2 cup of defrosted frozen edamame / soya beans
• 2 cups of spinach

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of sesame seeds to garnish

Begin by either roasting or microwaving the sweet potato. While the sweet potato is cooking make the sauce by combining all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Chop the broccoli into florets and trim and chop the asparagus into bite size pieces. Lightly steam the broccoli and asparagus so that it still has plenty of bite. Plate up the spinach then top with the steamed broccoli and asparagus, plus the cooked sweet potato chopped into small pieces. Lightly steam the edamame and add to the plate followed by the sauce and the sesame seeds, enjoy!

I just loved this warm salad! The flavours went together so well and I just loved the beautiful green and orange colour.

For dessert I had some Lindt chocolate with Sea Salt and 85% Dark:

Yesterdays breakfast is certainly worth a special mention too:

Toasted farmers market linseed and fig rye bread with PB&Co Mighty Maple Peanut Butter (amazingly good!) plus the most wonderful Blackberry and Apple smoothie. I veganised my original recipe by combining frozen blackberries with a chopped apple, cashew milk and ground flax (plus the usual gums for a little thickness) then topped with some treacle pecan granola, plus a big mug of black tea pigs chocolate flake tea.

Grocery Shop Round Up

I haven’t done too badly on the grocery shop front, as payday is approaching we are down to the last of our budget so I’ve been really trying to just get the essential fresh stuff and make use of things I already have in the cupboards.

Weekend shop: organic carrots, strawberries, mushrooms, cherries, avocado, red and yellow peppers, romaine lettuce, celery x 2, cucumbers x 2, sugar snaps, courgettes, blueberries, tahini, spinach, skimmed milk, frozen mango, cherries and raspberries, 6 happy eggs, large meat feast pizza, cooked ham, US Women’s Health magazine. Plus unpictured toiletries and other household stuff / birthday cards etc. Total: £58

Monday shop: coriander, unwaxed lemons, spring greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, sugar snaps, mushrooms, courgettes, skimmed milk, coffee, sugar, Total: £13

Quick shop yesterday: spring greens, kale, spinach, broccoli, organic carrots, sugar snaps x 2 (yes, I am clearly addicted), asparagus, alfalfa sprouts, organic passata, skimmed milk, high juice, meat feast pizza, sweet potato, unpictured large bag of crushed ice and quorn chicken pieces Total: £20

I think the fact that this has mostly been fresh fruit and veggies is great, however its very interesting (and slightly scary) to see just how much fruit and veg I eat, as most of it is eaten just by me! I guess its fairly obvious what out of this stuff is for me and what is for James ;-)

I’ve also found that we have saved a fortune by buying a large jar of passata tomato sauce instead of branded pasta sauces like Dolmio (which although they have good ingredients lists do contain added sugar). Now I just add some garlic, onion and italian seasoning to the sauce and it tastes great, and better yet, James loves it!

Do you make DIY versions of some of your favourite grocery items at home to save money? Along with the tomato sauce I’m also a fan of making my own hummus and curry sauces instead of the shop bought stuff. As well as saving money, you also tend to avoid the hidden sugars and artificial preservatives that can sometimes be in store made products.

Any big plans for the weekend? I will be meeting the lovely Jessica tomorrow and I’m thinking of moving my usual Saturday morning run to Sunday, mainly because the weather is forecast to be pretty nasty tomorrow, plus my legs are a bit tight so the added day’s rest will do them good!

Hope you have a great weekend and don’t forget - last chance to enter my giveaway for Cosy Tea and Rude Health Goodies, winner announced tomorrow, along with other exciting news!