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Had to drag my lazy self out of bed at 6 am this morning, the first day back at work after time off is a bummer! After my usual mug of hot water I chopped up an unripe pear and nuked it in the microwave to soften it up. I then added some agave syrup, cinnamon, oats and natural yoghurt, it was just what I needed to start the day!
I had about 90 emails to go through when I got into work, and my to do list is huge. I can see plenty of over time coming up this week. Mid morning I had some cottage cheese and raisins. Totally loving this combo at the moment! Lunch was an apple followed by a bowl of my vegetable and lentil soup that I made over the weekend.


I worked solid (only stopping to have a bit read of blogs on my breaks!) till 4 then had a fudge baby and a cup of green tea to set me up ready for the gym.

I really need to give my training plan a total overhall and set myself some clear goals (was very inspired after reading Laura's post) but as this week is going to be so hectic I think I'll do my usual and start with a fresh plan next week. So the gym workout consisted of my usual cardio with intervals (treadmill, cross trainer, step machine, rower) and my usual abs sets.

Tonight we have house guests! My sister in law Katy and her friend Rachel are up from Leeds and stopping the night as she has a meeting up here tomorrow. Hubby and the rest of them have ordered a take away, but I have resisted the temptation and stuck to my ultra healthy home made bean burger with tons of salad and a little tomato sauce.


Followed by a bowl of frozen raspberries and vanilla rice milk.


I'm getting some seriously dodgy looks right now. I don't think they can understand that I actually prefer the bean burger to the greasy, fatty take away. I'm all for balance but I don't think a take away is a good Monday night meal. Nevermind, some people just don't get it!

Drinks - Water, green tea, decaf tea
Exercise - gym cardio workout with intervals and abs sets

Does anyone else have difficulty getting their family and friends to understand why they prefer a healthy diet?

Hope everyones Monday has been good! x

I have been intending to write a post on this for ages! A few people have asked how I work in healthier eating for both myself and my husband James. 

While I’ve been starting to eat healthier James has ended up making a few changes himself which have led to him losing around 2 stone. Here’s us back in 2008 at our wedding:

And us this Christmas 2010:

I know my weight loss has been a bit more dramatic, but slowly and surely James has lost weight too. He used to exist on a combination of white bread, frozen ready meals, pizza, chips and burgers – as we both did when we first started going out.

Source

As my diet has changed this has obviously impacted on us both. My approach has never been to nag him - I think a combination of me not wanting to eat frozen food or takeaways all the time and not having as much junk in the house has really helped. James also recognised that when he had junk food in the house I would nibble on it and then feel really bad afterwards so he stopped getting it as often to try and help me stick to my plan.

To be honest, in the past it has generally been the case that I have cooked two completely separate meals, one for me and one for him (I say cooked, more like placed in microwave or oven!) but more recently I have tried to make the effort to cook meals that may still be different but are still similar enough to feel like we are eating ‘together’, as I think this is really important in a relationship.

Source (please excuse hugely cheesy pic!)

James is also a committed carnivore and obviously I’m at the more vegan end of the spectrum now. Luckily James is incredibly supportive of my dietary choices and always has been.

He is also a massive fuss pot, but on the plus side he will happily eat Quorn and several veggies. When it comes buying meat for him to eat we have discussed it and agreed that he is happy to eat less chicken and turkey and more fish and seafood so that when we do buy chicken we can afford free range.

As his job has now changed we will be eating together most nights and this has prompted me to look at how we can eat together better.

So how the hell do I go about feeding us both meals together without having to cook completely separate dishes that a) he will actually like, b) satisfy my vegan / vegetarian / healthy / non processed preferences and c) not take 2 hours to prepare and cook every night?

Well, here is the plan! Based on the approach that I have tried before, my hope is that I will be able to come up with two similar dishes and just tweek the ingredients to satisfy both our tastes. For example – this week I made my tofu sausage with tomato rice – this was highly experimental and I had no idea if James would like it. I started by cooking up the garlic and onion in one pan then I split this into two frying pans and added my tofu sausages and peas to one, and 3 good quality pork sausages to the other (no peas as James doesn’t like them). I then added the rice and tomato sauce to both (giving James a larger portion of rice) and served up with the cabbage and kale. Here’s James plate (he had one cup of rice):

Here’s mine (I had half a cup of rice and more greens):

I also used the same approach for this stir fry. Here’s my plate including red cabbage, spring greens, red pepper, carrot, leek, mushroom, adzuki beans, gomasio:

James plate – he had some quorn chicken pieces, egg noodles and only the greens, carrots, cabbage and mushrooms as he doesn’t like leeks or peppers:

I know that James is pretty good compared to a lot of guys – the fact that he’s willing to at least try things and compromise sometimes is a big help.

I think if I had to sum up how things have developed with James I would give you these tips:

• Find out what healthy things they do like, that you also like, and focus on them – For James that is broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, potatoes, quorn, eggs, cheese, seafood, Italian pizza / pasta dishes
• Have a mine and yours version of each meal – like in the examples above. With each meal think of what you can tweek so that your not eating completely separate dishes. This is much easier if you meal plan. Other examples I’ve thought about for us include:

- Jacket potato with tuna and salad for him, sweet potato with beans and salad for me.

- Lean fresh beef burgers on top of grilled mushrooms with potato wedges for him, veggie burger on top of grilled mushrooms with parsnip chips for me.

- Chicken breast with mashed potato, steamed veggies and gravy for him, Baked tofu with roasted mashed squash, steamed veggies and miso gravy for me

- Ham, cheese and mushroom omelette for him, tofu and veggie scramble with nutritional yeast for me

• Still have a couple of meals a week when you eat separately, for the sake of your own sanity! – James usually has one night at least when his best friend comes over for a Play Station fest, they always get a big fresh pizza from the counter in Sainsbury’s. That evening gives me the opportunity to make something a little more experimental! I also fully accept that not everyone wants to eat the way I do so having some flexibility is important too.
• Don’t nag them – I know that with James if I go on and on about something it just makes him pissed off. I just got on eating my own food – eventually his habits improved.
• Fill the fridge, freezer and cupboards with healthy stuff – I know that James will eat strawberry yoghurt, bananas (not too ripe) and crunchy apples so I try and have them available as often as possible. This may sound bad, but if you can get control of the grocery shopping and budget then it makes it easier to avoid buying the frozen crap, or like me, just fill your freezer with your frozen fruits, soups and tofu so there's no more room left!
• Always have a healthy fall back meal option – for James as long as I have eggs and cheese for an omelette or pasta, tuna and tomato sauce he’s happy.

I do hope that some of these tips are helpful although I know some of you are dealing with some very difficult and fussy fellas! It has taken 2 years for these changes to have become habit for us, but they have worked for me. I think the most important thing is that James has seen for himself how I have benefited from eating a better diet, and although his is still not perfect its a hell of a lot better than it used to be.

I’m hoping that over the coming weeks I will be seeing plenty of empty plates from him as he tries a few new things!

Do you have any other tips for healthy eating in a relationship?

Hi there everyone, get ready for a monster post, I really wasn't joking when I said I'd shopped till I dropped...

I have to start by explaining that this may appear quite extravagant in these tough times, however I had saved for this trip using my over time cash and my lovely Mam gave me by Birthday money a couple of weeks early so I've able to afford to indulge my shopping addiction. I am cold turkey now and back on my Big Budget Challenge! 

Food
I was really excited to be able to visit some health food stores in Brighton and London. I visited Infinity Foods in Brighton and Whole Foods in London. I also stopped by a few other little shops for chocolate goodies and an oriental supermarket. Heres what I bought:

Montzuma Dark Chocolate with Chilli, chopsticks, Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter (Oh my God! How lush?) Green Chai Tea, Green Tea, Choccywoccydoodah Milk Chocolate Discs with fruit and nut, Spirutein Fruitein sachet protein powder, Kallo Flatbreads in Seeded and Rosemary, RAW Crispbreads, Organic Cacao Nibs, Clif Bars, Fizz Wizz Popping Candy, Apple and Banana Puree, Nakd Ginger Bread Bar, Trek Cherry Flapjack, Meridian Peanut Butter and Oat bar, Rosskillys Organic Stem Ginger Fudge.

I'm so excited about trying all of these products, I've already eaten the fudge and Choccywoccydoodah which was amazing. I really wish I had shops like these near me, although its probably better for my bank balance that I don't!

Home
I love all of the quirky bits and pieces you can pick up in Brighton. As we have been planning a bit of an overhaul of the flat I took advantage of the opportunity to get some interesting things:

Oriental Jewelry Box, Union Jack Doggy Door Stop (both England at Home) - we've called him Winston ;-), storage jars (Ikea, we picked these up yesterday as we didn't find anything in Brighton), Tahitan Vanilla and Chilli Pepper Scented Candle (Abode), Plastic cups / desert bowls, spotty mugs and Cath Kidson mugs (all Berts), reuseable muffin cases, mini plastic photoframes for fridge (all Habitat), Domino Book of Decorating (Urban Outfitters), Eliza Doolittle CD, Patterned Birdy Decorations, Cream Tin Heart Decoration (both Velvet). I've put all of this stuff away until our next week off in a few weeks when we will be sorting the flat out, I can't wait to put everything on display!

Fitness
I visited Sweaty Betty and Sheactive to see if I could pick up some bargains in their sales, as well as some other great finds:
White Nike racer back vest top, pink Nike long line racer back vest with hidden support (both Sheactive), pink bobino headphone wire organisers (England at Home), pink BPA free plastic water bottle, white sweat bands and blue head band (both Sweaty Betty)

Beauty
I have been in real need of an overhaul of my beauty products. My skin is quite good but I have a greasy t - zone, I think I'm starting to show the first signs of ageing and I would like my skin to have a better texture. I had seen a good review of the Origins Zero Oil Toner by Sarah, and my friend had recommended other Origins products so I thought I'd load up on them now while I have the money. I also got some of my favourite products from Keihls, Korres and a fab MAC lippy:

Korres Almond Shower Gel (Liberty), Creme de Corps light weight body moisturiser, Pear Tree Body Scrub, Ultra Facial Moisturiser with SPF 15 (all Kiehls), Zero Oil Toner, Starting Over Anti Ageing Moisturiser, A Perfect World eye cream, Modern Friction Dermabrasion facial scrub, Free bag with mini products (all Origins), Matte Russian Red Lipstick, Brick Red Lip Liner (both MAC)


I don't mind investing in good quality make up and skin care as, on the whole in my experience they last much longer than cheaper products and are much more effective.

Fashion

I had a wonderful time clothes shopping! I had a few things in mind that I wanted to look for - I was going for things that I can wear Autumn / Winter, which are of a decent quality and can be mixed and matched for a range of outfits suitable for work, weekends, going out etc. I wanted to focus on affordable quality rather than quanity. Most of my autumn and winter clothes don't fit any longer, so I wanted some good basic pieces. I've spent today sorting through the old stuff ready to sell on ebay! Heres what I got:

Bag for work (TK Maxx) - I need a big bag for work which will hold my net book, folder and all the other junk I carry round, this fit the bill! Grey Leather peep toe boots (Oasis) these were reduced from £60 to £15, they look a lot better on than in the pic, I love them! Make up bag (free from Origins).

Sliver Bird and Heart necklace and Angel Wing Silver pendant (both Silverado) - I visit Silverado every time I'm in Brighton and always buy something. I love these simple little necklaces.

After yesterday's evening snack fest I was determined to have a day of clean and healthy eats. We didn't book breakfast in the hotel as it was so expensive so we decided to stop at a service station on the way home instead. As I had my snack bag with me I decided to have something small before we left to kick start my metabolism so I had a mug of green tea with an apple and a bag of Bear Tropical Crunch Granola Nibbles.


As the driver it was my choice which service station we stopped at so I made sure we stopped at one with a Marks and Spencer Food so I could have a healthy breakfast. I had a melon and grape fruit salad, a pot of natural yoghurt with some black cherry compote and a super berry smoothie.


I drank half the bottle of smoothie and saved the rest for later. This made a lovely healthy breakie.

The drive home was a long one and my legs were really sore by the time we got back, but I was determined to get my scheduled run in. I did a new route which I looped twice. The route included a couple of challenging big hills as well. I did 4.81 miles in 43.53. Heres my splits:

When I got back I did 3 sets of my usual abs exercises and some stretching.

I didn't fuel up before I went out as I thought I would probably have enough energy in me from all the carbs last night! After the run I decided to try out the carton of Vita Coco Coconut Water to rehydrate myself as it had been such a hot run. This tasted pleasant enough, but I would only really drink this again for the nutritional benefits rather than the taste.


I also made myself a plate of carrot sticks and cucumber to get some veggie goodness in me and a protein smoothie made with a scoop of chocolate whey, a frozen banana and some hazelnut and almond rice milk.


I'd never made a smoothie with just the chocolate whey, banana and milk and it tasted amazing! Just like chocolate banana ice cream and so creamy.

After that I popped to the shops to re stock the fridge and then got on with sorting a few things out round the flat as well as writing my blog post for yesterday's adventures!

For dinner I decided to try something new and make a veggie and egg mess. I stir fried some brocolli, asparagus, red pepper, courgette, mushrooms, carrot and red onion with a little garlic and then scrambled in an egg and 1 egg white. I served it with a bit of spinach and some soy sauce.


It was really good, lots of veggie goodness and some protein from the eggs. I'll be making this a lot more in the future, especially when I forget to defrost some chicken! (which I usually have in stir fries)

Desert was a smal bowl of frozen raspberries with hazelnut and almond rice milk.


Drinks - water, green tea

So I think I have successfully managed to have a day of good healthy and tasty eats to get me back on track and I feel much better for it.

Now I'm going to try and spend some time catching up on blogs and catching up on TV. I'm going to find going back to work tomorrow really hard after this lovely little break me thinks! Hope you have all had a good week so far, at least we are now over half way! x

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all having a good week. I'm now home from Brighton and can finish the post I started yesterday on my eats!
As we had been staying with my Aunt and Uncle we have had a few meals with them and my parents such as pasta and salad, tomato and olive bread, M&S cheesecake and strawberries etc. Breakfast has been ok, the only breakfast options at my Aunts were a 'diet' style cereal or white toast so I scoured the cupboards and made up my own muesli with porridge oats, mixed dried fruit, chopped nuts, chopped apple, a little apple and mango juice and milk.



Yesterday we decided to head to a local cafe called Cafe One Ten for breakfast. I started with a chai tea and a slice of the most delicious sticky oat, date, seed and spice slice.


I also had a smoothie made with berries and banana.


While we've been here we have hit the coffee shops hard, I rarely get to coffee shops usually so I've really enjoyed this! We tried a little independent coffee shop in Brighton called the Tic - Toc Cafe. I loved the decor! I had a Chai Latte and a little summer fruit pudding.


We've also had a few iced coffee's and frappes, I love these! Especially with extra cream and a muffin on the side ;-)

On Monday I decided to try something from Infinity Foods in Brighton which is a brilliant health food and organic produce store (big thanks to those that recommended I visit!) I bought a couple of boxes of food to takeaway and eat in the Pavillion Park since the weather was so beautiful.


All of this was amazing, so flavourful and healthy. I wish I had a place like Infinity near to were I live!

In London on Tuesday we visited Leon. I have the cook book at home and was really excited to give the place a try. It was expensive but didn't disapoint. I had the Leon Gobi -


Orange and Carrot Juice -

Chocolate Brownie -


All of which were amazing! I will definitely be trying out the Gobi recipe from the Leon cookbook.

On Tuesday evening seeing as I have been dragging the hubby out to eat healthy, and to him, quite unusual foods I agreed to go for an Italian (he didn't exactly have to twist my arm!). We went to Fat Leos in Brighton. I started with the Aubergine, Tomato and Mozzerella Bake -


My main was the Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni -


Delicious!

In London I also paid the Hummingbird Bakery a visit. I got these two cupcakes - a red velvet and a rose flavour.


Both were amazing but the Rose was really special and tasted like Turkish Delight!

One of my favourite places in Brighton was Lick. I went three times for my frozen yoghurt! I did see a few frozen yoghurt places in London but as I was having cupcakes I didn't want to be a total glutton!


I'm really going to miss this! (Sorry that last pic looks really rude to me, or is it just my dirty mind?)

So thats my eating highlights from my holiday! Yesterday I didn't eat that well, we went out for a carvery for lunch which included a large desert and I did go and get a bar of chocolate after we left the bar so today I've been trying to eat better. I won't add anymore more pics but breakfast was full fat greek yoghurt with honey, blueberries and oats, I snacked on an apple, a slice of apple and sultana loaf and an orange and carrot juice on the way home. Before I did my Davina workout (I did kick fit as I felt like I really needed some good cardio) I snacked on a Natures Valley Oat and Honey Granola Bar. Post workout I made a Green Monster with a scoop of Nutty Berry Spirutein, I was really craving a GM! I've just been out to Marks and Spencer and had a snack pot of cashews with raisins and a Super Wholefood salad shaker pot (quinoa, puy lentils, butternut squash, wild rice, lemon and basil dressing) - this was wonderful, so glad M&S are doing stuff like this! I've also just had a big plate of strawberries, chopped apple and raspberries.

Well I won't prattle on any longer, hope you've enjoyed the post! I'll be back tomorrow with a post on my purchases of which there is a lot ;-) Catch you later! x