Back on Track… Kinda

Apologies for my lack of posts recently, but it has been an absolutely hectic time for me in the last few months. I started uni in September and have had a lot going on, what with moving, studying and partying. This has proved an extremely difficult time health-wise. It turns out that it is a massive challenge to avoid all the junk and crappy foods most students indulge in daily. 

However, in the last week or two I feel I have finally got back into a more regular eating pattern which is healthier. To begin with I was living off of baked beans and fish fingers, which isn't terribly bad, but there is a bit of a tradition which has started with my flat mates of cooking a load of fish fingers after a night out. So I was eating technically 4 meals on these days. That along with the drinking, means I have put on quite a bit of weight. I have found this quite difficult to accept, but I understand now that life is also for living, and I don't want to miss out on the fun of student life just so I can be a few pounds lighter. I am going to do my best to stay on track as much as possible though. 

I have found the cheapest and healthiest dinner I can make is literally lightly frying some chicken breast with mushroom, onion & pepper, seasoned with some spices. This is what I tend to have pretty much every day at the moment, and lunches are usually a small baked sweet potato topped with tuna and sweet chilli sauce. 

The gym routine is getting back into the swing of things too. I am focusing more heavily on cardio to burn those extra calories I am consuming at the moment, but still incorporating some weighted exercises. 

Typical dinner: chicken, mushroom, onion & broccoli 

Thanks to those of you that have still be checking out my blog. I will try and post more often to keep you updated on my progress!

Lucy x

Roast Veg

I recently visited my best friend's house, and her mum gave me a tonne of fresh vegetables from her garden to take home. How lovely is she?! I had a selection of red pepper, aubergines, string beans & tomatoes. I was trying to figure out what to do with them & Ella's mum suggested roasting them so I thought that might be tasty. I had some sweet potato & mushroom to use up in the cupboard as well so I chucked that in too. The outcome was possibly one of my favourite dinners, and it left me with plenty of leftovers for a lunch box the day after. It's a brilliant way to use up any spare veg you have in such a healthy & easy way. Recipe is below...

Roast veg fresh out of the oven

Veggies topped with roast chicken and feta cheese

Leftovers for lunch the day after

Ingredients

1 sweet potato

1/2 large aubergine

1 large tomato chopped

1/2 red pepper

handful of mushrooms

handful of string beans

+ any other veg you have

1 tbsp oil (I used carotene oil)

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to season

1 chicken breast

20g feta cheese

Instructions

1. Pre heat oven to gas mark 6

2.  Chop vegetables into chunks

3. Put vegetables into a baking tray and drizzle the oil over the top

4. Season with the spices, salt & pepper. Mix the veg around to spread the oil and spices evenly

5. Put into the top shelf of the oven for 40 minutes

6. Whilst the veg is cooking, grill your chicken breast for 20 minutes, turning once

7. Place a pile of the cooked veg in the middle of your plate and put the chicken breast on top, then sprinkle the feta over the top

Devour!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Lucy x

Quinoa Overnight Oats

 So I have been seeing more and more people eating Quinoa & I was intrigued as to what it was and what it tasted like, so I bought myself some! At £1.39 for a 300g bag in the Tesco Wholefood range, it is quite a cheap buy. Last night I decided to cook some up for my dinner, so I measured out 91g which is what I thought was 1 serving according to the instructions. However, after cooking it I realised that it was referring to 91g of cooked Quinoa, so I ended up with 3 servings worth! Idiot. Therefore, I thought I would save some to use for my breakfast in the morning, as I had seen people use it in sweet recipes as well as savoury.  

For my first attempt at using Quinoa in a sweet recipe, I thought I would try it with a trusty old favourite; overnight oats. It was very simple, in that I just mixed in the cooked Quinoa with my eggy overnight oats mixture. 

Ingredients

31g cooked Quinoa

20g rolled oats

1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dessicated coconut

2 tsp Stevia

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

2 tsp organic peanut butter

Handful of Goji berries

Instructions

1. Stir together the cooked Quinoa and oats into a jar with a lid.

2. Pour in the almond milk and water, stir.

3. Stir in the coconut and Stevia.

4. Put the lid on the jar and leave in the fridge overnight.

5. Mix in the eggs and stir until combined well.

6. Cook in the microwave on full power for 4 minutes or until all the egg has cooked.

7. Top with peanut butter and Goji berries.

Eat!

Quinoa is classed as a superfood, this is due to it's high protein content, and it is also a good source of dietary fibre, phosphorus as well as iron and magnesium. Another plus is that it is gluten-free. But the fact that it is extremely tasty makes it even more super in my eyes. The texture is lovely, almost chewy, and the taste is slightly nutty and sweet. It is pleasant on its own, in savoury AND sweet dishes - not many foods can claim to do that. So I highly recommend you try Quinoa if you ever get the chance, and why not give it a go in your overnight oats?

Lucy x

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Many people who adhere to a healthy eating diet, believe in using cheat meals to keep themselves on the straight and narrow - they find it helps to have something to look forward to. This may work for some people, but I myself enjoy my meals so much that I never feel the need to 'cheat'. There are so many great healthy recipes out there that when you get a pizza/brownie/ice cream craving, there is no excuse to succumb as there are methods of making healthy & clean versions of all these things. You just need to be a bit creative and do some research! 

I want to share with you one of my favourite clean recipes that I have tried so far, the cauliflower crust pizza. At first, I was very reluctant and sceptical to try it, as I really am not a fan of cauliflower and didn't see how it could possibly taste nice in a pizza crust. But one day I realised I had all the ingredients to hand so I thought I'd give it a go. The recipe I used for the crust came from Lauren Conrad's blog, and I decided to top mine with tuna. I can't say it tastes like normal pizza crust, and you will need a knife and fork to eat it due to it being crumbly. But the flavours work so well and it's such a wonderful texture- at only 109 calories per serving and zero carbs you will not be disappointed if you try it. 

Crust:

1 cup of cauliflower, chopped (can be frozen cauliflower)

1 egg, beaten

1 tspn oregano

1 cup of shredded mozzarella

1 clove garlic, crushed

Toppings:

Tomato Purée

1/2 can tuna, drained

1/2 red onion, chopped

6 small squares of mozzarella

1 tblspn cubed avocado

1 tblspn capers

1 large tomato, chopped

Handful of olives

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, and grease a baking tray

2. Rice the cauliflower by putting into a blender, or by grating. Be sure not to blend it for too long, you are aiming for a rice texture

3. Put the riced cauliflower into a bowl and cook in the microwave for 8 minutes

4. Mix in the beaten egg, oregano, mozzarella and garlic

5. Pour onto the baking tray and pat into a circular shape until it is about 1/2 cm thick

6. Bake for 15 minutes at gas mark 5

7. Take out of the oven, spread an even layer of tomato purée, leaving an inch gap round the edge

8. Layer on all other toppings with the mozzarella on top

9. Grill for about 3 or 4 minutes until the mozzarella has melted

Enjoy!

Toppings

Crust after baking with tomato purée

Pizza before grilling

I really want to try lots of different topping combinations like BBQ chicken, ham & pineapple, Sloppy Giuseppe,  so I am going to think of some clean ways of cooking these combos. You just need to make sure that the toppings you use are pre cooked as you only grill the toppings for a few minutes once on the pizza.

So next time you have a pizza craving, just get out some cauliflower and give this a go! 

Lucy x

Overnight Oats

Oats are a great choice for breakfast as they provide you with slow release energy throughout the day, and are extremely versatile. The amount of different recipes I have come across that use oats is mind-bending. Oats are said to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease, plus the are very high in fibre which will keep you full for hours. Also they are extremely affordable, which is something that really makes the difference for me- seeing as I am on a budget!

Overnight oats are definitely my go to easy breakfast for most days, and one of my favourite ways to have oats. Preparation is done the night before eating, which takes all of about 3 minutes, so you can just grab them and go in the morning- no cooking required! (However, if I have got time, I do like to heat them up in the microwave) Leaving the oats to soak up the liquid overnight makes them super creamy and extra delicious.

You will need a jar, this can either be empty or an almost empty jar of something yummy like peanut butter or jam (the leftovers of the jar get soaked into the oats over night, so it all adds to it!) The size of the jar depends on the portion size you want but remember you don't always have to fill it. Next you will need some oats, I use rolled oats as that is all that's available in my supermarket, but steel cut oats are the best option if you can get your hands on them, as they have been subject to less processing. Then literally add whatever you like! This can be chopped fruit, compotes, nut butters, seeds, whole nuts, protein powders, egg, honey,  yoghurt, the list is literally endless... 

My favourite combination at the moment which I had this morning is pictured above, and the recipe is below...

Half a jar of oats

Almond milk (you can also use water/soy milk/cows milk)

2 tsp Organic no added sugar peanut butter

Half a banana - chopped

Drizzle of honey

1. Half fill your jar with oats

2. Pour in your almond milk, just enough to cover the oats, and stir with a spoon to combine

3. Add 2 tsp of peanut butter over the top so there is an even layer

4. Squish in the chopped banana

5. Drizzle your honey over the top

6. Replace the lid on the jar and leave in the fridge overnight

7. In the morning it is ready to eat cold, or pop the jar in the microwave for 2 minutes with the lid off

et Voila!

I plan to try lots of different combinations in the future, so I will post any successful recipes I discover. What's your favourite overnight oats combination?

Lucy x

Hello!

I have been micro-blogging food & fitness photos on Instagram for a little while now, and I thought it was about time I started a 'full-sized' blog where I can post my pictures & recipes in a little more detail. 

A Little Bit About My Journey So Far...

I started eating clean around the beginning of this year. I was completely inspired by people I started to follow on Instagram who posted amazing pictures of what they ate, and it wasn't until I realised that a lot of the recipes didn't actually require many ingredients or complicated cooking to create, that I decided to give them a go! 

I have been on a mission to lose weight and get fitter since the beginning of 2012, and have tried all sorts of diets which have never worked and left me feeling starved. However, since eating clean food, my body fat percentage has dropped and I never, ever, ever feel hungry. I enjoy my food more than I ever have done, and all whilst getting healthier and fitter. 

I feel that in the UK, so many people are trying to lose weight and become healthier, but not many people have heard of the the term 'clean eating'. There are lots of blogs around with brilliant recipes & tips, but they all seem to originate from America/Sweden/Finland. So I think as of yet- it is still a well kept secret in the UK! 

I am quite addicted to taking photos of my food these days (for which I get the mick taken out of me by my boyfriend!), so I will post them all here and if I try any new recipes then I will share them here also. 

My gym regime has altered quite a lot since the start of my journey, so I will be posting details on that soon.

Thank you for taking the time to read!