Info all Articles

Hi everyone, hope you’ve been having a lovely weekend! I’ve had a great one, today I was out for Sunday lunch to celebrate Mother’s day with my Mam and Grandma :-) I decided to rock my £3.50 eBay skirt:

Outfit of the day: drop crystal earrings: Oasis, blazer: Topshop, pink long sleeved top: Dorothy Perkins, bag: H&M, floral skirt: eBay, black tights: M&S, grey peep toe boots: Oasis.

It feels like I’ve been eating so many colourful foods this weekend! Looking back to Saturday, we had a lovely relaxed morning – I made a big pot of sencha green tea and just chilled out while eating breakfast. This was just delicious:

A slice of my coconut banana bread with strawberries, apple blackberry tofu yoghurt and passion fruit. I know I’ve said it before but I adore that tofu yoghurt and it tasted so good with the coconut banana bread. Just so I can link back to it here’s the super simple recipe that I use to make the yoghurt:

Simple tofu yoghurt (makes two servings)

• 1 package of mori nu silken tofu
• 1 small jar of fruit puree / 3 tbsp of pureed fruit (I’ve been using hip organic baby food!)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Chill in the fridge before eating. I really love its plain creamy taste – dare I say it, almost as much as Greek yoghurt! It certainly makes a nice vegan alternative, at least for me!

Lunch was a beautiful ‘rainbow’ salad. I just loved all the colours in this!

It included cos lettuce, sweet pea shoots, alfalfa sprouts, carrot, yellow pepper, beetroot, sugar snaps and cucumber plus a load of mixed seeds for added protein and crunch. I made the simplest and tastiest dressing inspired by a recipe in Veganomicon using 1 tbsp of tahini, 1 tbsp of sweet white miso and water, it was utterly delicious.

I went for more posh green juice too:

Posh because I drink it from a wine glass ;-) This was my first green juice sans fruit – it contained celery, romaine, cucumber, broccoli, lemon and ginger and tasted surprisingly good without the added sweetness of the usual apple or pear. I’ve also had a few colourful fruit filled bowls:

Dinner was a a socca pizza type creation. I made up the usual socca and topped with a thick layer of my broccoli and olive high protein hummus, broccoli and brussel sprouts roasted in coconut oil, beetroot and alfalfa sprouts:

This was really good and very filling but I think would have tasted even better with regular hummus! I also had some 74% dark chocolate with mint from Plamils – it tasted amazing!

Sunday morning I was up for my run. I decided I to go for a nice relaxed 9 miles (the furthest I have ran this year) which I did in 1hr 25 minutes with an average pace of 9.32 which I was really happy with. It was a good run but it did feel slow and tough at times. It was nice to hit the 9 mile distance though and I felt really strong at the end, even managing a bit of a sprint finish! I was thinking back to last years training and how achy and tired I felt after some of my runs. So far this year I’ve had none of that, my recovery seems to have massively improved.

Breakfast was a delicious chocolate cherry beet green smoothie made with a big cooked beetroot and the usual maca, mesquite and ground flax then topped with peanut flour sauce, grape nuts cereal and cacao nibs:

So good!

I was a little nervous of visiting the restaurant for Sunday lunch as I didn’t want to have any problems finding something vegan to order. I shouldn’t have worried though as ended up with some penne in a lovely roast veggie and tomato sauce along with a big salad. My tummy wasn’t so happy with the white pasta – it always bloats me up now - but I had a few cups of green tea when I got home which made me feel better.

For dinner I made a huge pan of my favourite spring soup – Courgette and Watercress. For such a simple recipe this really tastes fab:

I had a couple of bowls full, just so nourishing and delicious. I also had more tofu yoghurt with strawberries, blueberries and a little bit of granola:

All in all a lovely weekend has been had!

I’ve also managed to be quite productive which is always good, I got another assignment completed for my diet and nutrition course and had a lovely Sunday cook up session so I have meals ready for the next couple of days, as well as an extremely well stocked freezer. I think next week will be eat out the freezer week!

Do you like to eat a rainbow of different coloured foods? I love to try and eat lots of different colours – mainly because they are so pretty but also because eating a range of colours ensures you get a full range of nutrients. I have Colleen Patrick – Goudreau’s Colour Me Vegan cookbook on my wish list – it has a range of recipes based on the colour of foods!

I would have to say that my favourite food colour is green – apples, kale, spring greens and cucumber are some of my favourite veggies!

What’s your favourite ‘food colour’?

Thats funny feeling weird, not funny ha ha! I'm glad this Monday is nearly over, its just been one of those funny days. I had a lovely breakfast this morning, porridge made with water with a chopped apple mixed in topped with cinnamon and almond butter, it was just what I needed to start my Monday!


I had a strange morning at work, just didn't seem to be able to get much done as I had two back to back meetings. In between them I snacked on a pot of greek yoghurt.


For lunch I had some of my delicious courgette and watercress soup and an orange.


I had another afternoon long meeting which just drained me, so I really enjoyed having two of my cherry bakewell babies as gym fuel!


I hit the gym for my cardio interval workout, found it hard going but managed a full hour made up of 15 mins of intervals on the cross trainer, treadmill, bike and step machine at my usual levels and speeds. I then finished off with 3 sets of my abs exercises. I was just a big sweaty mess after that!

After the gym I had a little bit of time to call in to my newly refurbished Sainsbury's to pick up a couple of things. They've made the store much bigger, I ended up buying two t shirts without really thinking about it!


I followed that with some chocolate mint protein goo, yum!


Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea, regular tea

I'll be having another feta salad for my dinner tomorrow, mostly because its lush, but also due to the fact that whenever I buy some food that only I like (I'm working on the hubby expanding his palate) I end up having to eat it in some way, shape or form for a few days on end so that nothings wasted. So apologies when things get a bit repetative! Does this happen to anyone else? Sometimes I wish that the supermarkets would sell things in smaller individual portions, but then again I can use the freezer to store a lot of things by individual portion. Hope everyones Monday's been good!

Thanks for all your comments on my new blog design! Seems that everyone is liking it which is great. I definitely feel its more ‘me’.

This morning I went out for a very tough run. Before I left I ate a chocolate chip Clif Bar.

I had bought this from Whole Foods on my trip to London and it tasted gorgeous!

After the first couple of miles I started to have problems with my right leg, it felt really achy and tight. After my knee injury a few months ago I didn’t want to push it and end up injured again. I considered turning back a few times but I kept going at a pretty slow pace. It was really windy as well which didn’t help! Here’s my splits:

I did 10.2 miles in 1.43. I stopped at mile 6 to eat 4 dates and stretch my leg. I also drank half a bottle of orange Powerade diluted with water in my bottle while I was out. You can see I really just wanted to get home – I ran a pretty fast last full mile!

I refueled with a chocolate and banana smoothie (1 frozen banana, 1 scoop of chocolate whey, oat milk) to which I also added this sachet of this Green Lightening Wholefood powder (kindly sent to me by Sarah a few months ago). I topped it with some raw cacao nibs, goji berries and flaked almonds.

I was still hungry after I’d ate this so I decided to have a small bowl of muesli (Dorsets Cereals Roasted and Toasted mixed with jumbo oats and oat milk) alongside my morning cup of green tea.

After chilling out for a while I started on my day of cooking and baking. First up are some amazing muffins! Thanks to Jo for the recipe for these – see here for the original recipe which I’ve adapted slightly. I’ve also added in the cup conversions from grams as I know I tend to post recipes with cups as this is what I personally find easier:

Banana and Walnut Muffins (makes approximately 15 regular sized muffins)

• 220g / 1 cup wholemeal self raising flour
• 150g / 2/3rds of a cup brown sugar
• teaspoon of baking powder
• teaspoon of baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 120mls / 1/2 cup of veg oil
• 120mls/ 1/2 cup of full fat Greek yoghurt
• teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 mashed bananas (I used 2 large extra ripe ones)
• 100g / half a cup of walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180c. Combine all the dry ingredients apart from the walnuts in a bowl and then all the wet ingredients apart from the mashed bananas. Mix the wet into the dry and then fold in the mashed bananas followed by the walnuts (reserving some to top each muffin). Spoon the mixture into muffin cases, filling each case 2 / 3rds full. Top each muffin with some of the chopped walnut. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.

These turned out beautifully! You could possibly reduce the amount of oil as I think the full fat yoghurt adds enough fat. You could also add some chopped dates in addition to, or to replace some of the sugar. I ended up with 12 regular sized muffins and 5 smaller ones. I had a muffin with a cup of tea mid morning and it was just delicious! My parents, friends and their kiddies have all tried them today and loved them, the kids were begging for more! Excellent recipe for a healthier muffin without sacrificing any of the taste.

For lunch I had a bowl of freshly made Courgette and Watercress soup.

My two best friends and their kiddies came round for a few hours, it was great to catch up with them. We drank tea and they ate muffins while the kids played. I was exhausted after a few hours with them, I don’t know how people with young children do it!

For dinner I made recipe no 2!

Baked Falafel Bites with Tzatziki Sauce

For the Falafel (makes 8 mini bites)

• 1 tin of cooked chickpeas
• 1 small red onion
• Half a handful of spinach
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Pre heat oven to 180c. In a food processor mix all ingredients until well combined. Don’t over process – you still want the mixture to have some texture. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Divide the mixture into 8 small balls and press down to form a mini burger type shape. The mixture may seem a little wet, but don’t worry they turn out perfectly! Bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes turning half way through using a fish slice (as at this point they will still seem a little ‘wet’).

Serve with the following tzatziki sauce:

Tzatziki Sauce – makes one large serving

• 2 tablespoons of full fat greek yoghurt
• 4 inch long chunk of cucumber with seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint

Combine all ingredients in a little bowl and serve.

I served my baked falafel bites with a big plate of spinach, cos lettuce and red cabbage, the tzatziki sauce and a big tablespoon of caramelised onion hummus.

This tasted out of this world. I’m no falafel expert, but I know they are usually fried. These little baked bites cooked perfectly, are healthier than the fried version, and went so well with the tzatziki and the hummus. You could also serve these in a warm pitta or wrap.

For desert I made myself an epic fruit plate! I have lots of fresh fruit at the moment and something in my body was just craving this. My plate included cantaloupe melon, strawberries, a chopped fig, blackberries, blueberries and a sliced nectarine topped with a sprinkle of chopped mint.

My five a day on a single plate!

August Review and September Training Plan

This month I have been focusing on my running as the Great North Run is only a few weeks away!

Here’s what I have achieved this month:

• Increased my longest distance ran from 9.5 miles to 13.5 miles
• Lost 1 pound
• Surprisingly – lost an inch off my hips and waist and 1/2 an inch off my bust!
• Not missed a planned workout and started my speed work running

I love doing my monthly review as sometimes I forget what I have achieved. After all that worrying that I’m eating too much and gaining weight I’ve actually lost weight and inches!

This month its all about the Great North Run on 19th September (three weeks today!) So I’ll be focusing my training on this. The next few weeks I’m going to take a very flexible approach to my training, (which is a first for me since starting this blog!) I’m going to listen to my body and aim to put in my best possible performance at my first ever half marathon. I’ll be aiming to achieve at least 2 strength based workouts which are likely to be DVD’s – I’m thinking Davina Superbody, Super Sculpt Section. At least 2 HIIT cardio sessions of 30 minutes with core and abs work. At least two runs – a longer distance run and a shorter speed work run. I’ll be tapering these runs in the two weeks before the big race. I’ll also be aiming to do yoga for runners twice a week when possible as well as daily stretching and use of my foam roller to keep my legs loose. As my leg is still rather sore I think I’ll be giving the HIITs a miss tomorrow and just doing an hour of relaxed cardio to loosen it up a bit.

Here’s my starting stats for September:

• Weight: 10st
• Bust: 37 inches
• Waist: 28 1/2 inches
• Hips: 35 inches

Can’t believe that in 3 weeks time I’ll be sitting here blogging about the Great North Run!

What have you achieved in August?

I’m very happy that we have a bank holiday in the UK tomorrow. I love being able to relax on a Sunday evening without the thought of work the next day.  Tomorrow I’ll be gyming it and fingers crossed I’ll actually be going to my first barbeque of the summer if the weather holds out. Does anyone have any big plans for the last bank holiday of the year?

I've been feeling a little bit of a minor cold threatening to take over my head the last couple of days so I stuck a couple of lemons in the trolley during my shop on Sunday, as hot lemon and honey is my saviour whenever I feel a cold coming on. I'm really glad I did as when I got up this morning there was some definite cold symptoms lurking, theres nothing better than some warm water and lemon juice first thing in the morning to help clear your head!

I then did my Davina Superbody Super Sculpt section DVD workout. It felt so good to be doing a new routine after doing the same one twice a week for a month. I really enjoyed doing this and even went and used my big weights for one section to add some extra burn!

For breakfast I mixed together a scoop of vanilla whey with some natural yoghurt and then added the last of my rhubarb compote, some jumbo oats, grape nuts and a spoonful of almond butter. It was delicious.


I'm going to really miss that rhubard, going to ask my Uncle for some more!

I felt much more energised at work today. I had my supervision session with my manager and we discussed how I've been having difficulty focusing and have been generally feeling a bit 'off' the last month. I'm very lucky to have an amazing boss, she's very understanding, into personal development and is even a trained Reiki Master. I felt so much better after speaking to her, she's even going to look into getting some personal coaching to help me. All benefits of working in the voluntary sector I think!

Lunch was a bowl of Courgette and Watercress soup - just so tasty!


Followed by 2 chopped kiwi and some grapes.


Mid afternoon I snacked on some carrot and cucumber with houmous.


For dinner I decided to try out a recipe I'd seen on this blog, Quinoa and Bean Stuffed Peppers with Feta. I cooked the quinoa in some vegetable stock and then mixed with some kidney beans and some feta then stuffed two halves of a red pepper with the mixture. I then baked it in the oven for 20 mins at 200. I served mine with some mixed salad leaves, red onion and beetroot.


This was really tasty, will definitely be making this again!
Desert was a nice and easy bowl of frozen raspberries, plus a couple of chopped peaches that needed using up with hazelnut and almond rice milk.


Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee

While I was having my supervision session with my manager we also touched on how I was feeling generally. She was concerned that I'm putting myself under a lot of pressure to keep the weight off and that I could be displaying some obsessive tendancies. I know that I am a very 'goal' orientated person and that one of the down sides of this is that I can become obsessive if I don't keep myself in check. I know that some people could even argue that writing this blog everyday and photographing my food is rather obsessive, but I feel this blog is good for me in so many ways, including helping me to achieve my goals, giving me a creative outlet and sharing my interests with other like minded people. I don't think I'm obsessive at the moment but I know I need to keep an eye on any 'unhealthy' behaviour. Has anyone ever suggested that your interest in health and fitness is obsessive? If so how did you handle it?

Just another quick reminder to check out my GIVEAWAY post for the chance to win some nakd bars and pampering treats!

Hope your all having a good week, this bank holiday Monday off is great but it always leaves me with my days mixed up for the rest of the week! See you tomorrow x

What a totally amazing chilled out day I've had!
I think the clocks going forward must have left me feeling a bit weird as I woke up at midnight and could not sleep. I ended up having to take some herbal sleeping tablets. They worked but when I woke up my head felt really fuzzy. I did something I haven't done in ages and had breakfast in bed while watching the Australian Grand Prix (go Button!). I had a mug of warm water then some home made muesli mix containing puffed brown rice, jumbo oats, quinoa flakes, ground flax and grape nuts with skimmed milk and some red grapes for sweetness.


I pottered about a bit then got on with my workout - 20 mins of Davina Body Kick Fit section followed by my weights routine as laid out in my March training plan. After I'd done that I had a serious craving for a green monster so I blended up a load of spinach with a frozen banana, vanilla rice milk, a scoop of vanilla whey, a spoonful of peanut butter and a bit of water. It was absolutely yummy!


I then started on my cooking. Firstly I made some Courgette and Watercress Soup, taken from Sophie Dahls cookbook, Miss Dahls Voluptuous Delights. 

3 Courgettes, chopped
Bag of watercress
1 large white onion, chopped
Veg Stock
Olive oil

I fried off the onion in a little olive oil on a meduim heat until translucent, then added the chopped courgette followed by the veg stock. I let it simmer for 10 mins then added the watercress and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. I let it cool, then used a hand blender to blend till smooth.


This is slightly different to the original recipe as that included cream which certainly isn't in my fridge! For something so simple, this tastes really lovely, like spring in a bowl! This recipe made 4 portions. I'm going to freeze two and have the other two during the week.

The second thing I made was some Veggie Burgers (more on that in a mo). After I'd cleaned up the kitchen I went and did 45mins of my Yogalates DVD, I had planned on doing the full hour but my mind was just drifting on to lunch. I made myself an amazing salad of spinach, little gem lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot, red onion, roast red pepper, beetroot, and feta cheese. It was quite possibly the best salad I've ever had!

I also had a couple of little chopped apples.

After chilling out in front of the TV some more, I got on to making some Cherry Bakewell Babies! I had some cocktail cherries to use up after I made my Chocolate Mousse with Cherry Compote a couple of weeks ago. I was inspired by both Chocolate Covered Katie's fudge babies and Averies Oat and Raisin raw cookies and I came up with this.

Cherry Bakewell Babies

1/2 cup of porridge oats
1/4 cup of dates
1/4 cup of whole almonds
1 tablespoon of raisins
6 Cocktail Cherries

I started by blending the oats in the food processor to a semi fine powder. I then added the dates, almonds and cherries and blended some more until the mixture started to clump together. I then added in the raisins and blended some more. I rolled the mixture into balls and popped into cupcake cases.


These are far too tasty! They taste just like cherry bakewells! I know that cocktail cherries aren't the healthiest ingredient, but theres not much of them in this and they give a wonderful flavour. I'm sure that dried cherries would also work well. I ate two of these with a cup of green tea as a mid afternoon snack (plus some of the mixture out of the food processor and another 6 cocktail cherries may have found their way into my mouth in the process!). I also had a bowl of red grapes.


For dinner I had one of the Veggie Burgers I'd made earlier using a recipe inspired by Angela at Oh She Glows. I used:

1 tin of chick peas
1 small red pepper, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
a handful of spinach
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 teaspoon of hot chilli powder
Wholemeal spelt flour
1 tbsp of pumkin seeds
1 tbsp of sunflower seeds

I basically whacked all the ingredients, except the flour and seeds, in my food processor and blended till smooth. I then added the seeds and mixed in flour gradually until the mixture reached a thick consistency. I got 4 burgers out of this mix, I wrapped the rest in clingfilm and popped them in the freezer. I fried mine in a hot pan till browned and cooked through then served it with some steamed brocolli and brussel sprouts.

I followed that with an orange.

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

The weekend has flown over again, I can't believe its back to work tomorrow. At least its a short week, I'm really looking forward to Easter this year. I'm expecting a bit of a blow out food wise next weekend so I think I'll be trying to be as healthy as possible this week in preparation! I think that I saw a Lindt Dark Chocolate Bunny at my Mam and Dads yesterday and I know that J has a secret stash of Cadbury's Creme Eggs somewhere. Whats your favourite Easter treat? Hope you have all had a lovely weekend x

I woke up with some serious DOMS in my arms this morning. I was a bit worried about doing my usual Davina 'Pump' DVD but I got on and did it, luckily most of the moves in the DVD didn't hurt the areas where I was sore. I don't mind a little bit of DOMS to make you feel like you've really worked your muscles!

Breakfast was a bowl of 'Bounty' porridge - banana, oats, chia seeds cooked with water with a scoop of chocolate whey and some dessicated coconut on the top.


Not quite like a Bounty bar but as close as I'll be getting any time soon!

I was famished by the time lunch came round and dug right into my salad which was the same as yesterday - mixed leaves, spinach, tuna, kidney beans, light mayo, spring onions, carrot, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.


Followed by a large portion of red grapes.


I was having to go to a late meeting so I made my afternoon snack a little bigger than usual with the addition of savory rice cakes to my usual babybel lights and apple.


By the time I got home I just wanted to make something quick and easy so I had a bowl of my favourite Courgette and Watercress Soup with another couple of savory rice cakes.


Followed by a large bowl of frozen raspberries in vanilla rice milk.


I think I'm going to have another nice apple later too.


Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

I got very excited today when my friend Charlie emailed me with the details of the EAT! NewcastleGateshead Food Festival. We have booked tickets for the launch event which includes loads of posh eats, local beers and cocktails! I can't wait, it sounds like so much fun and it will be lovely to have a posh night out with my best mate. Theres also loads of other little events going on that weekend including a fair trade market and a cupcake festival!

Have you been to any food festivals? I seem to be hearing about a few of them recently. I'm still counting down the days till Friday this week, I have a day full of meetings tomorrow and Thursday which means I'll get nothing done, but at least I have Friday free to catch up as best as possible!