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Hi everyone, hope your having a great week! I can’t believe its Wednesday already. I thought I’d give you another weekend WIAW for a change, these are my eats and goings on from last Sunday.

As always click on the link above to check out all the other WIAW’s and join the party!

I had a nice lie in until 8am and made myself the usual lemon juice and warm water and ate a banana for gym fuel:

I headed to the gym for it opening at 9. I had been planning on running on the treadmill for 30 minutes but after 15 minutes I was losing the will to live so switched it up and did 30 minutes on the bike set to random. Then it was off to Kettle bells! After that I came home, got showered and made an incredible breakfast:

Pancakes! I haven’t made pancakes in ages, these were chocolate protein pancakes with fresh blueberries, peanut flour sauce and maple syrup, holy yum! I made the pancakes with 1/4 cup of chocolate hemp protein powder, 1/4 cup of spelt flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and 3/4 cup of kara coconut milk. They turned out really well although I made them too big so they broke in half while flipping, still they tasted amazing! I also had a cup of amaretto coffee with kara coconut milk and stevia:

After that I was off out to do the rounds – I visited my two best friends where I drank copious amounts of green tea and we had a great catch up it, was so good to see them and we started to make 30th Birthday celebration plans! Then it was off to see my Grandma and then to my Mam and Dad’s before coming home. I was pretty hungry by the time I got back and since I had some veg in the fridge that needed eating up I decided to make an epically massive green smoothie:

This contained kale, spring greens, 1/2 avocado, 1 pink lady apple, strawberry hemp protein powder, maca powder, midori greens, 3 chlorella tablets, matcha green tea, ground flax, water, ice, vanilla stevia and then I went a bit mental with the toppings and added raw shoyu ‘roasted’ almonds, roast salted edamame, raisins, dried mixed berries, goji berries and bee pollen. It was gorgeous and sorted my hunger out a treat.

Later for dinner I had some baked tofu (tofu that had been frozen and defrosted then marinaded in shoyu, maple syrup, mirin, ginger powder and garlic powder) swede chips, roast brussel sprouts, steamed purple sprouting broccoli and ketchup:

That tofu was spot on, I love it baked until crispy like that! Later on I wanted an evening snack / dessert but couldn’t decide what to have so made a mini snacking plate:

A sliced pink lady apple, tahini with thyme honey swirled in, Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and some The Raw Chocolate Company plain raw chocolate plus a Cosy Camomile tea.

All in all a great day of eats!

I was glad I decided to make pancakes again, I used to make protein pancakes on a regular basis when I was eating more eggs but I just got out of the habit. Those turned out so well and are so easy to make I have no excuse not to make them more regularly. How often do you have pancakes? When I was younger we only ever had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, I think its a shame so many people only have them once a year! What’s your favourite pancake recipe?

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great Sunday! What a perfect autumn weekend it has been!

The weather has been lovely. Thanks for all of your comments about the photo shoot, it was an amazing experience and I’m still buzzing from it all! This weekend has been mostly spent getting prepared for a few blog changes and a week of decorating at home, I’m currently sitting in a near empty living room!

Other than that it has been a chilled out weekend for me. Yesterday I got up and made some pancakes:

I made these protein pancakes with unsweetened vanilla life’s basics protein powder, egg whites, almond milk and baking powder. I topped them with smooshed defrosted frozen berries, almond butter sauce (just almond butter mixed with warm water) and maple syrup.

Then I went out for a look around Durham, its been ages since I’ve been into town as now that James works there every day he prefers to visit Newcastle for a change. I met up with a former work mate for a coffee and it was so good to see her. She has moved down to London (she was up in the North East last week or else I would have met her down there!) and it obviously suits her because she was glowing! I decided to wear some of my London purchases:

OOTD: gold cube necklace: Monki, stripy jumper: H&M, Army Style Jacket: c/o Next, burgundy wrap around scarf: Topshop, bag: Oasis, skinny jeans: Mango, suede style booties: Primark

While I was out in Durham I was recognised by a blog reader! This is the first time this has happened and it was a lovely but surreal experience. Hello to the lovely girl from The Mugwump, you made my day!

Lunch was a simple salad with romaine, cucumber, red pepper, chickpeas and a tasty balsamic and hemp oil dressing:

I had a green smoothie and a few russet apples as snacks and then for dinner I took the lazy option and just steamed up some kale and broccoli topped with some lentil and root veg stew / soup that I had made last weekend and frozen:

As I’m trying to get my eats back on track after a particularly indulgent week this type of nourishing food has been just what the doctor ordered. I also made up a bowl of kabocha ‘ice cream’ by blending up some roasted kabocha squash with vanilla sun warrior, almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, ice and a little vanilla stevia with some goji berries and a sprinkle of sea salt on the top:

I did very little exercise last week so I was raring to go for my double class workout this morning. Before I hit the gym I had a green juice and a coconut oil blended coffee:

The green juice was just my usual cucumber, celery, ginger, lemon blend - so delicious! My spin class and kettlecise class were brilliant, just what I needed to start feeling like myself again! For a proper breakfast when I got back I made a pumpkin scramble:

2 eggs, egg whites, tinned pumpkin, cinnamon and ginger all scrambled up and topped with almond butter. As James said, I hope it tastes better than it looks and it certainly does, one of my fave meals at the moment!

Tonight we are off to see Lynyrd Skynyrd so I made us both giant stir fries for lunch:

I had a lot of veggies in the fridge that needs using up so a stir fry is always the way to go. James had quorn chicken, udon noodles, carrot, broccoli, spinach and red cabbage and mine had frozen soya beans, rainbow chard, red pepper, broccoli, red cabbage, carrot and ginger. That should leave room for a few treats later!

Blog updates

This week KHGS is making the big move from Blogger to self hosted Wordpress. This will mean that the blog may be down or intermittent for the next few days. I have no planned posts for next week, except for announcing the GIVEAWAY winner tomorrow, as I’m going to have to wait to see how long the transfer takes. At the same time, the blog is also going to be under going a make over. I hope that you will love the new design as much as I do!

Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest changes

This weekend I have changed my username on the above social media sites from @keephealthstyle to @lauraagarwilson

GIVEAWAY reminder

Just a few hours to enter my giveaway for a free registration to Meghan Telpner’s Foods for Healing Course – please check it out because it really is a fab prize!

How has your weekend been? What do you have planned for the week ahead? I’m kind of dreading all the upheaval with the decorating. Living in a very small flat there isn’t anywhere to hide from it really! Do you like decorating? If not how do you cope when your living space is a work in progress?

Hello everyone, hope you are having a splendid Sunday! So far today I’ve pottered about on the internet getting some tasks done, made a green juice and strong black coffee before heading to the gym for kettlecise and then enjoyed these amazing pancakes:

I mixed 1 scoop of Life’s Basics unsweetened vanilla protein powder with 6 tbsp of egg whites, 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 tsp of baking powder and vanilla stevia then topped with warm berries and peanut sauce. I love pancakes! I also love coffee, especially when it is served at Starbucks and its pumpkin spice flavour:

Oh yes I had my first pumpkin spice latte! It was lovely, perhaps a little bit too sweet but still delicious. I had that yesterday on a trip to town with James. OOTD:

Hooded leather jacket: Topshop, floral dress: Vintage from Beyond Retro, heart pendant: Topshop, wide black belt: thrifted, black cross body bag: H&M, black suede style booties: Primark 

I just love that dress! It was one of the things I bought on holiday from Beyond Retro in Soho. It could not be more perfect :-)

I got a few bits and pieces in town including some great bargains and a gift from James:

1. Business card wallet: gift from James from Paperchase, Erase Paste and Black liquid eyeliner: Benefit, burgundy soft skinny trousers: New Look
2. Vintage picture frames: charity shop, yellow satchel: H&M, black wool hat: H&M, naked shine conditioner: Boots
3. Regency photo frames: Urban Outfitters (I got 3 for £10)

James was so sweet to surprise me with the gift – he wanted to get me something I can put my new business cards in bless him :-) I was also really chuffed with the bag and hat from H&M on the buy one get one free accessories sale deal and the vintage picture frames are going to look great by the time I’m finished with them!

Most of my eats have been pretty standard stuff:

Giant salad with harissa hummus, beets and olives

Steamed tempeh with gingery peanut sauce, brown rice and steamed broccoli

I decided to try steaming the tempeh rather than frying it or baking it. It gave it rather a nice taste and texture – more moist than baking it which can sometimes leave it a bit dry.

I’ve been having bowls of semi frozen berries mixed with Greek yoghurt so that it goes like ice cream:

I’ve also been enjoying several of these babies:

Microwave protein cakes! Yet another thing I used to eat more regularly in the past. I made this one based on this recipe from the wonderful Purely Twins. My version is 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, 1 tbsp of mesquite, 1 tbsp of hemp protein powder, 1 tbsp of egg white, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, 20 drops of liquid stevia, 3 tbsp of water well combined and poured into a little ramekin and microwaved on high for 60 seconds. I have to say this turned out perfectly! I topped with some peanut flour ‘frosting’. I’m pretty sure that you could leave out the mesquite and just add an extra 1/2 tbsp of cocoa and protein powder in its place. So glad I’ve tried these again they will definitely be making a reappearance just like the egg white and spelt wraps!

I’m looking forward to chilling out for the rest of the day and getting myself prepared for the week ahead. How have you spent your weekend? What was the last bargain you bagged?

Wow its really feeling autumnal at the moment, its been dull dark weather all day but at least the trees are turning a beautiful colour. I really do love this time of year, I’m even starting to get excited about Halloween!

I started my day with my usual hot water and lemon (I always have a mug of warm water with the juice of half a lemon everyday when I wake up) and then a yummy bowl of Dorset Cereal Tropical Fruit and Fibre Cereal with two chopped figs, a chopped plum and soy milk.

This tasted really good! I’m not that fussed on cereals usually but this hit the spot. Probably something to do with the fact I ate twice the recommended serving amount, haha!

Mid morning I snacked on some carrot and cucumber with a little home made white bean dip (1/2 can of cannellini beans, juice of half a lemon, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, water, blended in food processor for two servings)

This was really tasty, will be making my own dips and hummus a lot more often me thinks!

Lunch was a beautiful salad including kale (massaged with garlic olive oil), quinoa, spring onions and flaked almonds mixed with grated carrot, courgette and apple. I dressed it with a little bit of apple cider vinegar.

This was really tasty and filling, the apple added a lovely sweetness. I also had an orange.

Before heading to the gym I had a Beet It Shot (review to come soon!)

At the gym I did 30 minutes of HIITs on the step machine and cross trainer followed by my abs exercises and my spin class. We had a new instructor today and she was great, it was a much tougher class, I really felt the burn!

For dinner I made an Asian Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Broth (serves 2):

• 2 chicken breasts (I used 1 super big one)
• 3 cups of hot chicken stock
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 chilli, finely chopped (I use the pre chopped chilli from a tube)
• thumb size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• juice of one lime
• 2 carrots made into ribbons using a veggie peeler
• 1 courgette made into ribbons using a veggie peeler
• handful of mushrooms sliced
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 2 heads of pak choy sliced length ways
• Egg noodles (optional)

Heat the pan of chicken stock and add the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, chilli and ginger. Slice the chicken into strips and add to the pan to poach in the hot stock. While the chicken is cooking make the noodles according to the packet instructions (or if like me your going for the veggie ‘noodles’ make into ribbons using vegetable peeler). When the chicken is cooked through add the mushrooms, spring onions and pak choy to the pan. Place the noodles or veggie noodles (or both) into a bowl then ladle the chicken and broth on top. Serve with more lime juice or soy sauce if desired.

This is a great recipe if you have a cold or feel a cold coming on. The garlic, chilli and ginger are excellent for making you feel better and the warm broth and chicken are so comforting. I wouldn’t use pak choy in this recipe again though, it went a strange chewy texture in the hot broth, yuk!

For desert I decided that I would make some protein pancakes. I combined a scoop of chocolate whey with 8 tablespoons of liquid egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and a few drops of natural orange flavouring. I made 5 little mini pancakes by frying the batter on a medium high heat with spray oil and flipping when the underneath of the pancake becomes set.

These are great, the inside stayed gooey – yum! They’re a bit like having a protein cake from the microwave but I found these a bit more filling. I ate them plain with some cacao nibs but as this recipe is less than 200 calories you could add some nut butter, yoghurt or agave syrup too. I also had an un pictured apple with cinnamon.

Talking of protein filled deserts…

Protein Ice Cream

I’ve had a couple of emails and comments from readers about the protein ice cream I’m currently addicted to so I thought I’d include a bit of information for you all. I got the idea from Heather Eats Almond Butter – she did a great ‘how to’ post here. This gives a great breakdown of how to make it including a video so if your really interested check this out. I’ve had to amend the recipe slightly to suit as I don’t have all those ingredients but what I end up with is still very tasty!

This is how I make my double chocolate protein ice cream:

To the blender add: 1 scoop of chocolate whey powder, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon of agave syrup or sweetener (to taste) and then about 1/2 cup of soy milk. I then add 4 ice cubes. You really need a decent blender with an ice crush function for this to work really well. I then blend this for a few seconds until smooth. Then add another couple of ice cubes, blend, add another couple of ice cubes and blend again. I tend to use about 8 ice cubes in total. Then I add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum, blend and then check the thickness. If I want it thicker I add a 1/4 of a teaspoon more then blend, and so on (be careful not to over do it with the xanthan or it can go a bit of a strange texture)

Scoop the lovely thick mixture into a bowl and add the topping of your choice, my favourite is a few dark chocolate chips.

Holy yum!

I’ve found that the volume in this along with the xanthan gum makes me feel really full and has helped me to beat the Friday night snackies.

Heather also advises using guar gum but I am yet to find somewhere that sells it. I get my xanthan gum from the gluten free section of the supermarket.

Have you tried making protein ice cream before? What’s your favourite recipe / toppings?

Oh and before I go I read this fantastic article with Jamie Oliver, his show 30 Minute Meals started tonight on C4, I didn’t realise it would be shown so early so I’m going to have to catch up on 4OD. I’m such a big fan of what he’s trying to achieve, getting more of us to eat home made food. Are you a Jamie fan? I think you either love him or hate him!