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Have had a really bad day. Had some very bad news about a family member which I don't really want to go into too much on the blog but its basically been a very stressful and upsetting day! Sorry to be on such a downer but I can't really avoid mentioning it.

Last night after I posted and while the others tucked into their take aways I ended up doing a bit more snacking, but at least it was healthy snacks in the form of an apple, some walnuts and some sweetened coconut slices. Breakfast this morning was a huge Green Monster made up of spinach leaves, a frozen banana, a few frozen blueberries, oats, ground flax, skimmed milk and vanilla rice milk. It was just what I needed!


Instead of my usual work day I had to go to a conference in Newcastle so I thought I'd best be prepared and took some healthy snacks with me. I had an apple and a babybel light in the morning break. Luckily the lunch buffet had plenty of healthy choices so I had two chicken and pepper kebabs, some carrot and cucumber sticks with a little hummus, two spinach and feta breaded nuggets and some strawberries and plums. I didn't manage to snap a pic with my phone as it was in my mouth and gone in no time! Just after I ate that I got a call from my Husband with the bad news and made the decision to come home. He had some stuff to sort out and calls to make then we spent some time talking about it all. I had a cup of green tea and a fudge baby while he had a large glass of rum!


With all the emotion and stress I could feel a binge coming on, but that was when I made the decision to try and use all that emotion and anger I was feeling and try and get something positive out of it. I had been planning on doing a DVD when I got back from the conference anyway but I was no longer in the mood for it. I decided to do what my body felt it needed and went for a short run but instead of just going at a steady pace I added a few sprints as intervals along the way. Those sprints were fueled by pure emotion. When I got home I got my big weights and mat out and did a few exercises including lateral raises, front raises, upward rows, bent over rows, lunges, squats, over head presses, press ups, the plank, full sit ups with weights etc etc. I just did what I felt like. I think I did 10 reps for most movements with more for my abs and I repeated the whole thing twice. I might end up regretting it when by whole body starts aching tomorrow, but for today it was what I needed to do. Afterwards I refueled with a scoop of chocolate whey powder in some vanilla rice milk.


We both started feeling better about things as the day went on. What had happened had been a major shock so I think that was starting to wear off. Before dinner I snacked on a couple of spoonfuls of natural yoghurt whilst having a flick through the new maxitone magazine.


Dinner was a steamed salmon fillet with a mixed salad and a little light mayo


and then I had some more chocolate whey powder in the form of protein and peanut butter pudding by just mixing the whey powder with a little vanilla rice milk and some peanut butter. I got the idea from Susan at The Great Balancing Act although she usually adds sprinkles to make hers look much prettier than mine!


Drinks - water, green tea, peppermint tea, decaf tea

Feel like I've stuffed my face today, and I'm still hungry now! I might end up having another snack before bed but if I do I'm going to try and make it just a piece of fruit or something.

Sorry for the down in the dumps post, I should be back to my normal self tomorrow with any luck!

Started the day by doing Davina top fit DVD. For breakfast had a blueberry smoothie with skim milk, natural yoghurt, oats and ground flax


Had another vanilla sculptress shake as a mid morning snack then for lunch had honeyed soup with red grapes


Mid afternoon snack - apple
Dinner - omlette with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, red onion and cheese and a big mixed salad



Followed by frozen raspberries with natural yoghurt



Drinks - water, green tea, lemon and ginger tea and decaf tea

The last couple of days around lunch time before I've eaten I've started to feel faint and sick, it goes away after I've eaten something but it's a pain in the arse! Used to get it quite bad in the past but I had thought that I had it sorted. I think I might change my mid morning snack and have something more carby in the morning and have my protein shake in the afternoon instead, let's hope that helps!

I was up nice and early this morning for my last date with Jillian for a while! I did Level 3 and the last circuit of Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. As I'll be changing my training plan this week I'll be using a different DVD for my strength workouts. I was really craving a green monster after that so I made one using two big handfuls of spinach, frozen blueberries, scoop of vanilla whey, ground flax, hazelnut and almond rice milk and a little bit of water. It goes a bit of a funny colour but tastes very good!


I had a really stressful morning at work, I was ready to go mental at several points but I managed to chill out a bit by mid morning. It was one of the teams birthdays at the weekend so we all stopped for a tea and cake break. I didn't have any cake, it was one of those awful frozen chocolate gateux things, if I'm going to have cake I at least want it to be something extra nice! I had a quick look at the ingredients list and it was a mile long, nuff said really! I had an apple instead.


*polishes halo*
We did have quite an interesting conversation about food, healthy diet and children while having our tea. We all agreed how much we liked what Jamie Oliver has been doing both in this country and now in the US, we had all been shocked when he had visited a school very near us and all the kids had been eating chips and beans and pot noodles for dinner, its just scary.

For lunch I had some sweet potato and cabbage soup from my frozen stash, it was really tasty.


Followed by a juicy nectarine.

Mid afternoon I had another apple and two babybel lights.


I finished work a bit earlier, which makes a lovely change for a Thursday and headed to my newly refurbished supermarket. I think I'm really sad but I was quite excited to go! I got a load of stuff, including some trout and organic beef mince from the reduced to clear section. I also got some packs of miso soup to try out. I made myself a bowl when I got in to hold me over till dinner. It tasted really nice and savory so will be good for when I get those cravings for salty savory things, plus its only 26 cals a bowl so you can't go wrong!


Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

Was nicely suprised when I got home when I found that I had recieved a lovely box of goodies from the people at Natural Balance Foods! I was so excited when I opened the box and saw all this stuff!
I'm really looking forward to trying all of these things out. When I have I might even have my first ever blog giveaway! Another bit of good news, as mentioned in a post earlier in the week, is that I got an email saying that I had been choosen as Health and Fitness magazines June Issue Reader of the Month! That means a little piece in the magazine about me and a photo, plus I get a little prize. I know its not a really big deal but I've never been in a magazine before so I was quite chuffed!

Well now that we are almost offically in the Easter weekend I thought I'd end todays post with something nice and spring like. I bought myself a big bunch of flowers so that even if its raining outside it would feel a little bit more like spring.

Hope you have all had a great week and are looking forward to the Easter break! x

Managed to avoid the hangover after the party, I think because I managed to drink loads of water before going to bed. Started the day with granola mixed with some oats with skimmed milk which I forgot to photograph (oops). Then had a pear as a snack mid morning. For lunch had some lovely poached eggs on stone ground wholemeal toast with a pear -


For a mid afternoon snack had a nakd coco loco bar and an apple. Dinner was a stir fry with chicken, red pepper, cabbage, brocolli and ginger and soy sauce -


Drinks - water, green tea, lemon and ginger tea and decaf tea.

Exercise - rest day

I seem to be getting into a good habit of cooking something on a Sunday and today I made honeyed carrot soup which is 2 leeks, 800g of carrots (I used organic), one tablespoon of honey and veg stock then when the carrots had softened blend till smooth. I'm going to have some for lunch tomorrow so will post a pick then. Hope that everyones had a good weekend! x

As per my new training plan Tuesday morning began with a very early yoga session. I did the Yoga for Runners podcast which lasts 20 minutes almost as soon as I had woken up. It was great, not so much a workout but just an opportunity to focus and relax my mind before my day started, although it did work up a little sweat!

Breakfast was a bowl of Dorset Cereal low fat flakes with blueberries, chopped apple, almond milk and some almond meal (leftover from making the milk). I also had a mug of yerba mate tea:

Lunch was a salad including spinach, romaine, lentils, carrot, cucumber, dried cranberries, spicy pumpkin seeds, cool oil and herbamare seasoning:

I also had a bowl of grapes. Mid afternoon I snacked on half a 9 bar before hitting the gym for my first ever Body Pump class! The class was fantastic, I absolutely loved it. I still need to figure out the best combo of weights for each track but I felt like I had an excellent workout. I’m looking forward to next weeks class already!

Dinner was Thai Green Vegetable and Soya Bean Curry with steamed greens, brown, wild and red rice, shoyu, ume vinegar and a sprinkling of mixed seeds:

I sometimes forget how much I love Thai Green Curry! I was so chuffed when I found a vegan curry paste – I still have some stashed in the freezer.

Dessert was a little experiment: pumpkin protein pudding! I blended a tin of pumpkin puree with 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder, cinnamon and ginger. I had half topped with grape nuts cereal:

This was nice but I wish I hadn’t used my old whey protein powder, it just goes to show how my taste buds have changed as this tasted way too sweet and artificial. Wish I had used Sun Warrior or even my vanilla hemp instead!

This morning I was off to the gym first thing. I did 30 minutes of speed work on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of HIITs on the step machine, cross trainer and bike followed by my abs and core exercises. I really felt good during this workout, I think that I’m much better doing my cardio focused workouts on a morning when possible. I’m going to see how I can rearrange my days so I can do it more often.

Breakfast was a giant smoothie containing kale, spring greens, 2 nectarines, frozen mixed berries, vanilla hemp protein powder, matcha green tea powder, maca, spirulina, ground flax, 2 large tablespoons of almond meal (leftover from almond milk making), xanthan gum, rice milk and water. I topped it with some viva pure raw apple honey granola and goji berries:

I had this bowl plus more – it practically filled the whole blender, it was extremely filling. The granola tasted amazing – love the size of those huge crunchy chunks!

Lunch was some Clearspring miso and ginger brown rice ramen noodles with carrot, cucumber and red pepper plus 2 Clearspring tamari and black sesame rice cakes spread with tahini:

This was so good, I am in love with those noodles and the rice cakes with tahini tasted just amazing. I also had some fresh pineapple and blueberries:

For the first time in ages I wasn’t hungry for my usual afternoon snack, very weird especially after my workout this morning. I decided to just wait until dinner and make sure it was a big satisfying meal! I really fancied a sweet potato so I made a one pan, hash type dish that turned out to be so good I want to write it out as a recipe so I don’t forget!

Tofu, Sweet Potato, Courgette and Kale Hash (serves 1 hungry person!)

• Half a standard block of tofu (mine had been frozen then defrosted which gives it a more spongy texture)
• Tofu marinade: 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tsp mirin
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 sweet potato, microwaved for 5 minutes then chopped into 2 cm squares
• 1 courgette, chopped
• 1 cup of chopped kale
• Oil for frying (I used coconut)
• Seasonings – I used dried oregano, herbamare and shoyu, but you could play around and use what you fancy

Begin by cutting the tofu into strips or squares and marinating in the soy sauce and mirin for at least an hour. Heat some oil in a pan to a medium heat and gently fry the tofu until browned. Set aside. Add more oil to the pan and add the onion and courgette and fry on a medium heat until they are beginning to brown, then add the partially cooked sweet potato followed by the kale. Continue frying until the sweet potato has browned and the kale has wilted down a little. Add the tofu back to the pan along with the seasonings. Serve:

Seriously this was amazing. I love how thrown together meals can turn out so good!

Dessert was two chopped apples with Plamils Coffee Chocolate:

I’m really feeling the DOMS after yesterdays Body Pump – I can really see why so many of you love it! I’m so glad that I decided to give it ago. What workouts / fitness classes have you not tried yet but would love to give a go? I would love to try a proper Pilates class or a kettlebell class.

Hope your all having a good week, I feel like I’ve never stopped as work has been pretty busy. I’ll be back tomorrow with a review of Crazy, Sexy Diet, have a good one!

...till my holidays! Although calling them holidays makes it sound much grander than it actually is, its just time off really, but I still can't wait. Our February holiday is usually taken up with sorting stuff around the flat, catching up on TV and movies and just spending time together. I got some really good news at work as well, our board of trustees has agreed that we can be paid overtime, and my manager has managed to get it put on to this months pay, I was planning a bit of a spree anyway but now I can do it without feeling so guilty!

Got up this morning and got straight into my Davina Super Sculpt DVD. I then made myself a lovely big greeny blue monster! (spinach, frozen blueberries, oats, ground flax, vanilla protein powder, milk)



For lunch I had an apple and a big bowl of my favourite leek and potato soup from my frozen stash.




As a mid afternoon snack I had a bunch of red grapes which were beautiful and sweet. I worked a bit late till 6, then hit the shops and topped up my groceries. When I got back I made a delicious beef stir fry with brocolli, spinach, carrot, red onion and an oyster and spring onion sauce, yum!



After this I made myself a bowl of frozen raspberries with natural yoghurt and mixed seeds.


Drinks - Water, green tea, decaf tea, lemon and ginger tea with manuka honey, glass of water with vit C tablet

As the days gone on I've started to feel more and more lousy, I'm coming down with a head cold which I hate! I forgot to pick up some lemons at the shops to make lemon and ginger tea so I think I'll just be making myself a plain old ginger tea. Luckily I'm well prepared for colds and I have a little bag with tissues, decongestant, and this wonderful stuff -



Eight hour cream is my secret weapon against chapped lips and a red sore nose as it really soothes dry skin. What are your secret weapons against colds? Has anyone got any suggestions for remedies I could try? I don't do ill very well!

I woke up this morning with a renewed positivity, I will run on Saturday, I will run on Saturday......

I have some serious DOMS action going on today - no doubt due to the Jillian DVD I did yesterday and the leg and knee strengthening moves I've been practising.

I had my water and lemon and headed to the gym. I wanted to get my workout in this morning as I had an evening meeting to attend. I managed to get a late start at work so I could get a full hour of cardio in. I had a great workout. I did 20 minutes each on the cross trainer, step machine and bike doing my new tougher intervals. I got a really good sweat on and I was quite happy with my energy levels as sometimes I can be rubbish at the gym first thing. I finished off with plenty of stretching and 2 sets of my abs exercises.

Breakfast was a yummy yoghurt mess with a scoop of vanilla whey, a few tablespoons of Rachels Organic Low Fat Black Cherry Yoghurt, a chopped apple and some Dorset Cereals Berries and Cherries Muesli.


Just what I needed to re fuel!

Lunch was a salad beast - grilled halloumi, spinach, quinoa, spring onions, red pepper, courgette, cucumber and chopped mint.

Very tasty and filling!

I followed this with two fresh apricots and a punnet of fresh cherries.


These were both on special offer, although still not that cheap. They just taste so good so I don't mind paying a little more while they are at least semi affordable!

My mid afternoon snack was a portion of my Tofu Berry Pudding.


Not very pretty looking in my little plastic pot, but still so tasty. I love silken tofu it can be used in so many recipes and adds a good filling protein punch.

Before I headed to my meeting I had a mini dinner of salmon on wholegrain rice cakes with carrot and cucumber. For the salmon topping I just mixed some tinned salmon with a little light mayo, mustard and black pepper.


This was actually suprisingly tasty, I'll be buying tinned salmon a bit more often I think.
When I got in from my meeting I had a big bowl of grapes and an orange.


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

I've had such a fab day at work, I took my net book into one of our meeting rooms and locked myself away, listened to a few podcasts and got loads of work done. After the problems I was having with my focus at work I feel like I've found something that works for me. I think I'll be trying to have a day a week working like this without distractions.

I think I've ate far too much fruit today, I actually feel a little sugared out! I just can't help buying bucket loads of fruit at the moment as so much of it is in season and looking so tasty. Whats your favorite fruit? My favorites are strawberries, cherries, crunchy golden delcious apples straight from the fridge and fresh pineapple. Yum!

If this post at any points starts to drift off into a ramble or complete randomness please forgive me, it is simply the cabin fever that I have developed over the last week of being pretty much stuck indoors. I’m going a bit stir crazy!

Yesterday I decided to walk into town and get the bus to work, it took me several hours and about 4 miles of walking in heavy snowfall but it was worth it just to get out of the house. I picked up some additional work so I could continue to work from home for the rest of the week.

At least I’ve had some tasty eats! Breakfasts:

 Toasted organic sprouted wheat bread with cashew butter and dark cherry fruit sweetened jam, 2 small sliced pears and a sliced pink lady apple, gingerbread coffee.

Dorset Cereal’s Cranberry, Cherry and Almond Muesli with Rachel’s Organic Greek style yoghurt, a grated red gala apple and local honey comb, earl grey tea

This was my first time trying the sprouted wheat bread and Rachel’s yoghurt. I really like the bread, only one ingredient (sprouted wheat) dense, chewy and filling. I picked up the yoghurt as have been trying to stick with organic dairy products when possible and unfortunately my favourite Total Greek isn’t organic, also this was slightly cheaper. I was very impressed with this, it tasted wonderfully creamy and had that perfect greek yoghurt texture.

I’ve been eating my main, heavier meal of the day at lunchtime rather than in the evenings with me being at home:

Shredded brussel sprouts, pearl barley, carrot and smoked sesame almond tofu with toasted seeds and mustard, maple, balsamic dressing.

 More smoked sesame almond tofu with roasted brussel sprouts, swede chips (so gorgeous!) and ketchup

Snackies:

 Rachel’s organic greek yoghurt with luxury fruit and nut mix and honey

 Pumpkin spice cake bar and butterscotch decaf coffee

I’ve also ate lots of fruit – oranges and apples in particular!

Last night I just made myself a mug of miso and ginger soup followed by two frozen chocolate avocado cups and a sliced apple:

Tonight I had some warming french onion soup with a chopped raw carrot followed by 2 chopped plums and a chopped apple with a tablespoon of granola and oat milk:

This morning I ventured out to the shops to try and get a big grocery shop in. I have an extreme fear of having an empty fridge, especially running out of fresh veggies! I actually have a bit of a raw veggie craving at the moment, not very appropriate for this weather!

Fitting in workouts has been a bit of a nightmare too. I got quite a good bit of exercise with my walk yesterday but I also did Davina’s Super Fit DVD plus abs for an additional 40 minutes of cardio. Today I did the Super Sculpt section of the DVD with additional upper body work. I also did an hour of Yogalates. My gym doesn’t appear to be open either which is a bummer. I’m going to have to get creative with my workouts me thinks! I actually quite enjoy walking in the snow so a long walk may be in order.

Speaking of being creative, I put up a few little Christmas decorations. We don’t really have the space for a full sized tree anymore so while we wait until we find a small tree I’ve compromised with this:

‘Snow’ covered twigs in a vase with jewelled bird decorations and home made baubles (from recycled Christmas cards)

Fairy lights strung over our screen (which hides our little rowing machine, yoga mat, free weights and foam roller)

Table centre piece – candles with string of gold beads, purple baubles on a red plate. Hopefully I will be able to find some holly and mistletoe sprigs with some cinnamon sticks to replace these, although this still looks very pretty.

I also bought a lovely Christmas scented candle, a poinsettia (always reminds me of my nana) and gorgeous advent calendar.

Just enough to add a bit of festive cheer to our living room until we can find a little tree!

I’m just about to head off and pick the hubby up from the train station, just hope my little car makes it! If you have snow how are you managing?

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas or links to challenging cardio workouts I can do at home please do share!