Info all Articles

This morning I was up at the crack of dawn to go out and do my last big long run before the Great North Run in two weeks. I fuelled up with a Pumpkin 9 Bar.

These are different from the regular 9 bars as they have no carob topping so they are slightly less fat and calories but not quite as tasty in my opinion!

I set off with half a bottle of cherry powerade diluted with water and 6 dates in a bag which I ate at mile 7 when I stopped at the corner shop to buy more water. My run was pretty awesome: I did 13.2 miles in 2hrs 5 minutes. Here’s my splits:

I think the GPS went a bit off in the last two miles but I’m really happy with my times. My legs felt ok too apart from a bit of tightness at my hips.

When I got home I made this delicious smoothie:

Tropical Recovery Smoothie (1 large serving)

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen mango
• 1 small carton of acai and pomegranate coconut water
• 1 scoop of vanilla whey powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut

Blend all ingredients and serve topped with the desiccated coconut.

This was fabulous! So hydrating and refreshing.

After chilling for a bit I decided to try baking some bread! I had seen Madeline from Greens and Jeans make this Irish Soda Bread – I decided to give it a try but change up the recipe a little:

Wholemeal and Spelt Irish Soda Bread with Greek Yoghurt

• 1 cup plain wholemeal flour
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2  tablespoons of cold butter
• 2 cups of spelt flour
• 1/4 cup of Scottish oats
• 1 cup of Total full fat Greek yoghurt
• Milk

Preheat the oven to 190c. Start by mixing the wholemeal flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into chunks then ‘rub’ into the flour mix (as if you were making scones or pastry) when the mixture looks like bread crumbs add the spelt flour and oats then add the yoghurt and start to combine into a dough by kneading the mixture together. Add milk a little at a time if needed to bring the dough together. Turn out the dough on to a floured service and knead a couple of times into a ball. Place on an oiled baking sheet and cut a big cross in the top. Bake for 40 minutes until browned.

This was amazing! I can’t believe that making bread was so easy. I had a big chunk of warm bread with some butter, black cherry jam and chunky peanut butter, along with a cup of English Breakfast tea. Just perfection!

This was pretty filling so I had something more lunch like later on. I sautéed some courgette, spinach and garlic then added some tomato sauce and topped with some spicy chickpeas.

After cleaning the flat, visiting my parents and friends I made my way into town and headed to the market for a big fruit and veg haul. They always sell off some of the produce on the cheap after 4pm so I got some bargains! While waiting for the hubby to finish work I popped to a cafe and had a cup of green tea and snacked on this apple pie Nakd bar as I has started to feel a bit faint and nauseous.

As today marks the 6 year anniversary of the day me and the hubby met we thought we’d treat ourselves to some nice food. I went to Marks and Spencer and bought a salmon fillet and a bag of bean sprout and pea shoot stir fry mix. I also picked up a bottle of teriyaki sauce. I oven baked the salmon in the teriyaki sauce and served on top of the stir fried veggies.

The salmon was perfectly cooked and delicious.

For desert I got a bit creative:

Amaretto and Black Cherry Greek Yoghurt Desert (makes one serving)

• 3 heaped tablespoons of Total full fat Greek Yoghurt
• 3 tablespoons of amaretto liquor
• 1/2 cup of defrosted dark sweet cherries
• 1 tablespoon of flaked almonds

Mix the amaretto with the yoghurt until smooth. Add the cherries reserving a few for the top and lightly stir in. Fill a bowl of glass and top with the cherries and flaked almonds.

This was sooo good! I will be making this again and again it was just yummy!

We’re also going to open a lovely bottle of red wine now too!

I’m really looking forward to my rest day tomorrow, I’m hoping the wine will help me get a good nights sleep too! I may do some light yoga to stretch my legs out a little. It seems that my little muesli binge last night was actually a good thing as I did feel supercharged with energy this morning and I think that extra fuel did me good. Well I am off to enjoy my wine, Hope your all having a fantastic weekend!

Hi Everyone! Hope your all having a great weekend :-)

I started Saturday with my usual run. I was extra proud of myself for going out at 7.15am in the dark and cold, however I wrapped up warm with my pink waterproof jacket and new gloves and I was fine. I think I may have conquered my aversion to running in bad weather! I did 6.2 miles in 1hr, running a pretty hilly route which was fun for a change. I always feel set up for the weekend after getting a run in first thing on a Saturday.

Eats have been really tasty, breakfast yesterday:

Amazing vanilla protein pancakes (3 egg whites, scoop of vanilla whey, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder) with 2 sliced plums, almond butter and maple syrup sauce (1 heaped teaspoon of almond butter, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, splash of milk, warmed in microwave and combined till smooth) then topped with a teaspoon of Rude Health Granola. These were just so delicious, I love my weekend pancake treat!

Breakfast today:

Spelt and egg white seeded wrap with crunchy peanut butter and sliced apple. I love these wraps, honestly I think I could eat them everyday!

I’ve also made a couple of very ‘traditional’ style dinners, as the hubby loves this kind of thing. Yesterday was bangers and mash:

2 tofu sausages (97% pork sausages for the hubby), white bean mash (low GL recipe, 1/2 can of cannellini beans mashed with soy milk and 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder), steamed broccoli and kale with red onion gravy. This was just spot on!

Today I made a beef mince dinner:

Lean beef mince with onion and gravy and steamed broccoli, kale and carrots (plus mashed potatoes for the hubby and sis in law).

Fruity deserts have included blueberry and pear smoothie in a bowl (1 sliced pear, frozen blueberries, soy milk, ice cubes, topped with granola)

Fruit plate with orange, plums and figs.

How I love fresh figs! Last nights pud:

Cherry amaretto desert, just gorgeous!

Yesterdays lunch (and what will be tonight’s dinner) a big salad of lettuce, spinach, cucumber, red onion, tomato, tuna and olives with balsamic dressing.

De-lish! I’m really hooked on olives at the moment.

I also plan to have the last portion of my strawberry frozen yoghurt for desert.

Here’s some Outfit of the day action for you:

I love layering at this time of year: boots: asos, skinny jeans: peacocks, silk tea dress: warehouse (from about 5 years ago!), cardigan: new look, belt: topshop, bag: mango, scarf: accessorize, bangles: oasis. This is one of my favourite floral dresses, its a little big for me now so its perfect for being belted in at the waist. I love the colours in the dress too.

I also got some goodies from my sister in law as a belated birthday gift:

Dior mini eye shadow palette, Clinique mirror, mini palette, face wash, dramatically different moisturiser, lip gloss, mascara and Paul Smith rose body lotion (love this!)

I love the colours of the eye shadows in the little Dior palette. As I can no longer afford the Urban Decay Naked palette I had on my wish list I’ll be making best use of these instead.

Are you a fan of the traditional British dinner? Every so often I get a bit of a craving for them and I do like to make them for the hubby every once in a while. Bangers and mash and beef mince with veggies always remind me of the dinners that my Nana and Grandma used to make. What’s your favourite traditional family dish?