What I Ate Wednesday {1}

Hello Lovelies!

Today I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and do my first What I Ate Wednesday :)




Breakfast:

A rather delicious mix of Choc-o-Nut Cereal, Alpro Vanilla Soya Yoghurt, frozen strawberries and blueberries and some organic shredded coconut. For some reason this looks titchy but it was actually fairly epic!

Lunch:

Big salad of organic lettuce, organic beef tomatoes, 1/2 organic avocado. mushrooms, some pumpkin mix Munchy Seeds, hummus and a little agave/lemon/black pepper dressing :) I was trying to cram in as many nutrients as I could without much effort to try and make myself feel a little more well!

Snacks:

2 fruity chocolate mousse cups! Blended together 1 banana, 1/4 cup coconut, 1/4 cup frozen strawberries and blueberries, 2 tbsp cocoa for around 5-8 minutes until thick and fluffy and then popped in the freezer for 20 minutes for a nice little chocolate mousse style snack.

Some more hummus and a bag of Ready Salted Walkers baked for a little carby pick me up... I was desperately craving salt by mid-afternoon!

Wheat Free Cookie Dough cake! I'll bring you my recipe later in the week but it's loosely based on this

Tea:

Using up the leftover chilli from a few nights ago to make some yummy Veggie Chilli Tacos again :)

What have you munched today?


What are you craving at the moment?

Embracing a Healthier Lifestyle Part Three: Stop Comparing Yourself

Hello Lovelies! How are you today? Thought I'd share a picture of me from a friend's wedding that makes me laugh far too much!

Sexy, no? If that doesn't make you chuckle... I honestly don't know what will.

Today I'm going to continue the Embracing a Healthier Lifestyle series that I started a little while back. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the series so far:
EAHL Part One: Catching the Running Bug
EAHL Part Two: Thinking Big, Dreaming Big

Today I want to talk about something that I'm really guilty of doing all the time. It's not a healthy habit, and it's one that I'm trying my hardest to lay to one side in order to live a healthy, happy life.

I'm a chronic comparer. 


I compare myself to everyone I meet, see or interact with. I don't even have to think about it, I just do it. Most of the time, I conclude that they are prettier/thinner/cleverer/wiser/cooler/better than me. I convince myself that I'm an utter idiot and that I've got on their nerves before they've even had a chance to know me. I manage to convince myself that if I were that person, my life would be a lot more awesome and a heck of a lot easier.

You know what though? It has got to stop.


You see, being a chronic comparer does you no good if your aim is to have a happy, healthy life. In fact, if I'm going to live my life constantly striving to be someone else, I might as well stop now because its never going to happen. I am who I am and that is that. Yes, I can make some changes here and there - a more defined upper body by working that area out a little more, a slightly faster pace by introducing a little speed work but at the end of the day, I am me and that's ok :) In fact it's more than ok - it's awesome!

The other truly awful thing about being a chronic comparer is that it shows zero respect or love to the person you're comparing yourself to. It makes you jealous of them, anxious about talking to them - heck it can even make you forget that this superhuman you're comparing yourself to isn't actually a superhuman at all, just a normal human being with their own share of trouble and strife. Instead of loving, supporting and encouraging them, chronic comparers end up being pretty mean about the people we call our friends. Even if it's only in your own head, that grumpy jealousy isn't nice!

So what am I going to do? I'm going to lay my chronic comparison to bed and I've got a couple of tools to help me do it:
1. When I see something I admire about another person, I will complement them on it
2. If I find myself starting to compare myself or worry about not being that person, I'll remind myself that I am who I am and that's just plain awesome (I might even have to resort to carrying around a picture of myself in that moustache...)
3. If the thing I'm comparing is a reasonable goal, I will try to introduce it into my lifestyle. So for example: I notice that a friend eats waaay more fruit and veg than I do. Instead of getting jealous and beating myself up, I'll head to the shops, buy some fruit and veg and eat it! Makes sense doesn't it?!

Ta-daaaa, easy as one-two-three!

Are you a chronic comparer (or a recovered chronic comparer)?


What steps can you introduce to stop yourself falling into the trap?

Recipe: Chocolate Pear Recovery Shake

Hey lovelies :)

I'm still feeling kinda ill today hence the bulk of my food has been in liquid form or cereal (I've had 2 helpings of my Choc-o-nut Cereal today - haven't had it for a while and I'd forgotten how addictive it is!).

The main thing I've been craving though has been my Chocolate Pear recovery shake - this is what I normally drink when I get back in from a run or a workout but today I wanted it purely for being easy, simple and nutritious.

Peel, core and chop a ripe pear and pop into your blender. I like to use Sainsbury's Basics or Tesco Kids pears - they seem to change with the season but are always really reasonable (around 79p for a bag of 5 or 6) and really delicious :)

Measure out 3/4 glass of your favourite milk. I always use soya milk because I can't stand the taste of dairy and I find other milks (oats, rice, almond) etc too expensive. Feel free to use what works for you though :)

To this add 1 tsp hemp powder (I use Naturya Organic Hemp Protein Powder which has a whopping 50g protein per 100g), 1 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp peanut butter and 1-2tsp Agave depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have. I just go for a generous squeeze! Pop the lid on and blend on high for 1 or 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Guest Blogging!

Hello lovelies!

Yesterday was a super exciting day as I wasn't featured on one other awesome blog but two! So exciting, especially as they're 2 utterly amazingly blogs :)

First I was featured on by the lovely Claire over at Big Beauty Blog sharing a little more of the story of why I went wheat free and how that changed my life - it's a pretty amazing story even if I do say so myself :)

 I'm also this week's featured athlete over at the truly inspiring blog of Emma from Sweet Tooth Runner.

Do pop over and give them a read, leave some comment love and if you're not already, follow these fabulous ladies!

What are your favourite blogs at the moment?


Have you ever been featured on a blog other than your own?

Recipe: Veggie Chilli (and Tacos!)

Hello lovelies!

Hope you're all having a wonderful start to the week. I'm feeling a little ill for some reason so I decided to make one of my favourite comfort foods this evening - chilli and tacos! The best thing about this recipe is that it makes enough for 2 meals for 2 so we always freeze half for later in the week. It's also packed full of protein and vegetables! Yum yum :)

First, chop your veggies! Today I used a small onion, 3 big mushrooms, 1/2 big yellow pepper and 1/2 a massive organic courgette! I'd normall throw in 2 cloves of garlic too but we're all out. Boo!

Heat a little oil and then saute your veg over a medium heat. I generally start with my onion, then garlic. After they're nice and soft I add the mushrooms and once they're slightly browned I add the courgette and peppers.

Next add some soya mince (I used 25g of Granose dry soya mince soaked in 130ml of veg stock for 2 minutes) and your herbs and spices.

As always, I recommend you play around to find a herb and spice combination that works for you. Today I used herbs d'prov, za'tar, cumin seeds, ground coriander, cayenne, ground cumin, dill, lots of paprika, basil, vegan worcester sauce, salt and pepper. I also sneaked in a little squirt of tomato ketchup.

Now add a tin of chopped tomatoes (we use Sainsbury's Organic) and a tin of your favourite beans (I'm in love with Borlotti Beans at the moment!). Simmer for 15-20 minutes to let the flavours infuse. Pop your tacos in the oven for the last 2 or 3 minutes until they're warm and slightly brown and you're good to go!

I served our tacos with soured cream, grated mature cheddar (we always have mature - you need so much less cheese for so much more flavour) and a quick home made guacamole (chopped avocado, chopped super ripe beef tomato, a splash of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne).

To make this vegan, swop the sour cream for a little veganaise or home made faux sour cream and swop the cheese for nutritional yeast flakes of soya cheeze.

Deeelicious! Enjoy!