New Blog

Hello! As you can see I have been on a major break basically because i am moving across country in the next couple of weeks and life has been super hectic trying to get it all organised. I am no longer going to be posting on this blog any more I will be posting on a new blog that I will be starting soon that will be all about fitness, food, beauty, life and so much more! I hope you will join over on sweat-beautiful.blogspot.com 

Thanks for reading x

Yummy for my tummy

The weekend before last, for the first in nearly 2 months I spent the entire weekend with my husband! Neither of us had work, or exams or anything else going on. This meant a bit of a relax on the old strict new diety thing.
We had a meal at Yo Sushi (my favourite restaurant), we did gardening, I made two, yes, two completely vegan (but had some wheat in it) Mexican meals and then finished it off with some very yummy frozen coconut cream.

                              

                                   Lush vegan tacos!

It was such a lovely, relaxing weekend and I must admit I came away very bloated and groggy. I am beginning to see patterns now though, for example chilli sets me off every time I eat it. 

I am also noticing big changes in my mood. I don't know if it is psychosomatic but the more bright colour fruit and veg I eat the happier I feel (when other outside factors aren't causing me stress).

I am finding a big love naughty treat foods such as vegan cheeses, Bessant and Druary ice creams, vegan pizza, vegan mayonnaise and fries. But I have also found a new/renewed love of quinoa, bell peppers, dates, avocado, rice noodles, coconut milk, overnight oats, berries and so much more.

The only problem I am still finding is that i get board due to lack of funds. I find that my weekly shop is still edging on the more expensive side so I am going to be working on better meal plans and budgeting again to resolve the problem of eating the same meal 5 days a week! Yes the meal planning went after a few weeks due to the fact we ran out of money and I felt i needed a re-think, the problem is that all that has happened is my planning is even worse and more sporadic than before. So i need to get on it like a car bonnet and stop lolly-gagging.

This week I tried an egg mayo Sandwich. I was surprised to find nothing happened. I felt no worse and it tasted soooo good! This has made me confident that my future plans to be vegan, wheat free during the week and relax at weekends will really work for me. 

The more I go through this process the more I see that I really love food! I really have missed some of my fave foods but now I know that in the future I can be a flexible and I will always b excited for new recipes.

So what can you expect from this blog in the future? Well firstly I will be posting once a week - every other week to start with (maybe a little less at the moment due to being busy). My next post will be a full on results post with pics and measurements etc. After that it will be a mix of vegan, veggie, pescatarian, allergon free and paelo recipes, reports on meals out, general fun stuff. I will also mix in some posts on exercise as well and we will take it from there.

Thanks for reading and sorry about the recent lack of posting there was just not much to report. Speak soon xx

Herby Tomato One Pot Wonder!

Ok so I just realised today that the post I thought I posted on Wednesday had not only not posted but is not anywhere to be found?! 

So in my panic here is a special treat a cheap as chips, vegan, yummy, healthy protien packed, one pot meal!

I call this Herby Tomato One Pot Wonder

It is comfort food that is angelic and makes me feel all warm and full. I must admit it is more of a cold winter nights by the fire kind of meal but hey it is yummy so I made it!

You will need:

A tin of tomatoes 

Some onions

Olive oil (just a drizzle)

Sage (chopped)

Thyme

Some vegan butter or cream cheese (a big dollop of)

A whizzer-upper-er(or hand blender in human talk)

Some sweet corn (tinned)

And tinned cannellini beans

So begin by chopping your onion (I used a large shallot) finely and gentle fry it in the oil on a low heat then add in your herbs. Herb wise you can add as much or as little as you like! Next add your tinned toms. Stir it all together and let it simmer for a about 2 mins. 

Then take it off the heat and whizz it up until it is smooth. Add your big dollop of vegan butter and wizz again! 

Next add your sweet corn and the beans. Cover the pot and leave it to cook for about 5-6 mins. Pa the one I. The picture also has rice noodles in for extra bulk (I was super hungry that day) I just added them the same time as the beans.

As you can tell this dish is quick and simple. You just can't go wrong even if you burn the onions a bit iit won't matter the sauce will just taste richer. It was super cheap I reckon less than a pound per person eating it. The taste is super duper so it is an all round quick dinner winner!

Thanks for checking this out today please share, comment, send me some love etc. you can also follow me on twitter @sweatbeautiful. 

I will be posting another workout for your perusal and enjoyment in the coming days too. Xxx

Eating out with a Smile!

Ok so week 6 was pretty good. I started off being really poorly. I am not sure if I picked up a bug or ate the wrong thing (I am inclined to say the latter) but I was not well. I was very tired from long driving trips and my tummy was not a happy digestive system. But I turned it around and by the end of the week I was feeling much better and had more energy. I am feeling a bit drained in general but I have a lot of emotions to deal with at the moment and that is sapping my mental energy.

We had crazy storms here a couple of nights back so that was pretty cool and life in general is still pretty crazy so the weather kind of reflected how much of a whirlwind I am in right now. I have yet more exams next week and more travelling so I felt really happy this weekend just gone to get a bit of a break when I got to spend an afternoon with my husband. Yes just one afternoon together this week but at least it was really good quality time. I travelled around an hour and a half to see him and we went for a lovely meal and just chilled out together for probably the first time since he moved for work.

We visited a lovely Spanish restaurant chain called La Tacsa. It serves tapas and such. I love Spanish food, I always have. Tapas is gradually getting more and more popular in the UK. The best I ever had (tapas wise) was in civil when I had amazing sizzling garlic prawns. If there is one thing the Spanish do really, really well it is seafood. As I have said before I am pescatarian and I do enjoy seafood so it was my first choice for eating out Spanish style.

                               

I chose an amazing paella. I was able to check out la Tacsa's menu before arriving so I knew it had nothing in that I could not eat. I was not disapointed. They cook their paella fresh in house so it took longer but it was so worth the wait. Now the best paella I ever had was in the north of Majorca, it was the Shiz nit. I compare every paella I eat with the glorious, lobster, Majorcan, paella. Now this paella was good but not Majorca good (not sure any other paella could be to be honest or any other meal for that matter!) I am still sure to this day that if heaven exists it is the Majorca paella, my family, peace quiet, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and my mums lemons curd ice cream (the only things I need in life to be happy in life)! 

I was still very pleased though after weeks of no eating out, my first restaurant experience was really positive and yummy. Afterwards I was a tiny bit bloated but I did gorge myself slightly so I think it was a food baby more than stomach disruption. My top tip is pre-research your dining options. Don't just go out and expect to be greeted with loads of options you can eat if you have intolerances. Some restaurants will have cross reference menus but you can only view them on-line so look up allergen friendly dining or vegan dining to have a straight forwards no fuss experience like I did. It felt like eating out before I had to worry about intolerance stuff and there was no faffing around asking a million questions to our waitress.

All in all a good Saturday nights eating. Thanks for reading. Look out for a possible future guest blog I have coming up on another site, but more about that at a later date! Speak soon xxxx

PS. Also tonight is the series 4 Game of Thrones finale which can mean only one thing for me...some form of movie/tv snack. I haven't decided what treat I will be eating with my side of violence and gore but it has to be super yummy, comforting and keep my energised while I both geek out and morn the end of another series. 

Waah i'm late for a very important date.

My apologies readers I am soooooo late in writing this post. It has been a bit hectic couple weeks already and I have only just found time to sit down and give this the full attention it needs!
So week four was yet another toughie. With very little money and a raising craving level I felt deprived this week I must admit. Dinner once again featured a lot of humus and rice cakes, quinoa and veg and not an awful lot more. That is until the end of the month came and we could buy some food!

So I was in desperate need of something junky, i won't lie I was looking for a naughty treat. I did a lovely dinner of muscle in thai broth from waitrose, but i really, really wanted pizza and chips.

Lauren! You are a fitness instructor, how can you be so naughty? Well sometimes everyone needs a slice of pizza and some fries. So I ventured over to holland and barrat. Low and behold there was a pizza I could eat, base an' all. I was so excited we got some bog standard frozen skinny fries to chuck in the oven and some extra vegan cream cheese i could have as a dip and I was away! The pizza wasn't the best in the world but it tasted like pizza and felt like pizza so no complaints here.

After my pizza a had a small bowl of bessant and drury coconut ice cream to satisfy my sweetie craving. I had the mango swirl flavour and it was a little bit of frozen heaven!

Turns out a trip to the dark side whilst staying with in my intolerance boundaries was just what I needed I feel motivated again and this week I am back on the clean, vegan eating and loving it once more! I have been very tired the last couple of weeks but now i am caught up on sleep and rest (and food) I will be back to my normal exercise routine.

The lesson, it is ok to have "naughty" junky treats sometimes as long as you don't let them be the only thing you ever eat. Let a treat be a treat and eat well the rest of the time. You will enjoy that pizza or ice cream, or cake so much more if you only do it once in a while.  

                              

However week 5 saw me back on track and feeling good once again. I was sleeping well again, eating better and generally functioning well over all. I have been poorly I wont lie but more about that next week. Well now i am half way through and life outside of the diet is hectic but good. I am up and down the country for exams, coping with a newly long distance marriage and work is busy as always. It is tough to balance everything with a new and restrictive diet. I am getting there though. I love some of the new recipes I am trying and it is such a treat when i find something i can eat from the supermarket that takes very little prep.

Thanks for reading ladies and gents, and again sorry for the gap I have had a mad couple of weeks but I will now be blogging as normal, starting with a report on my first meal out since I started this whole allergon free thing.  Ps pic above is a lovely Buddha bowl I made myself with quinoa and lots of veg! Xx

Big smiley bowl of breakfast sunshine!

So this weeks mid-week post is another recipe and this one is super easy! It is inspired by a pin (with no link or credits) on Pinterest. I made up my own version and I call it my Morning bowl of Breakfast Sunshine! It gives you energy, it tastes amazing and is well within all my intolerance boundaries. It can be as quick and simple as you like....

                                    

All you need is :

1 serving of cooked quinoa (I cooked mine the night before to make this a super quick on a Monday morning)

A teaspoon of raw honey or for a vegan twist use agave nectar 

A selection of frozen berries (I chose raspberries, blueberries, cherries and red currents) 

A selection of fresh fruit (I went with mango and banana)

Some seeds (you can see pumpkin and there is also flax seed in the mix)

Some nuts (I used pistachios but any will do)

Once the the quinoa is cooked drain it off and quickly mix in the honey. I left mine overnight but you don't have to. I also mixed in some flax seed but that is not essential.

Next chop you fruits and if they are large also chop your nuts (is it ok I giggled slightly when I retread that sentence?) 

Place your fruits and frozen berries in an asthetically pleasing way on top of the quinoa. Then sprinkle over the seeds and nuts.

Then devour it all nice and slowly savour every bite. I ate this and was full all morning and buzzing around which I really needed last week. Let me know in the comments if you have done something similar. Please feel free to like share, pin, tweet, comments etc it is all appriciated and helps. Thanks for reading and have a lovely rest of the week xx

Confessions and success

Confession...week 3 has been a hard one. I nearly broke my "diet" a number of times and even though I didn't, I did discover vegan, wheat free, gluten free junk food! 

I have had a bit of a stressful week, I won't go in to too much detail but with husband away things have been a bit emotional. If this week has helped me understand one thing it is how my hunger is soooooo very connected to my emotions. This is when the cravings started all I wanted was pizza, ice cream, nachos, cheese and so much more. 

"No!" I told myself you need to stay focused and keep the bloating and headaches at bay. So I went on an internet hunt for sweet stuff I could eat and discovered vegan chocolate pudding and "cookie dough" made with chickpeas. I was able to eat junk style food with out breaking rank. Now I am still not pleased with myself I ate off my planned menu, ate too little one day (humous and rice crackers does not a meal make) and then too much next (the cookie dough was yummy, ok?). 

My message is this, no I didn't eat my avoid foods but I still wasn't nourishing myself well. And part of this process is feeling better by truly caring for myself not abusing my body (no matter how yummiful). 

I didn't even exercise all week! Stupid emotions and making me feel all stressed and lazy.

Some times you too will have weeks like this where all you want is to gorge yourself or barely eat and eat bad but just remember it won't make you feel any better. Especially if you have felt so amazing the weeks before.

The most important thing to remember if you have a bad day or a week of cravings is not to give in you will feel so proud when you reward your body with amazing foods that are good for you and not skipping meals or over eating instead feeling comfortable in your skin.

When I did eat this week I felt it had to be quick and simple here was two of my favourite dishes (actually two of the most nourishing dishes I ate!)

                                    

 This was a quinoa colour bowl. It was delicious, there was fresh fruits, seeds, quinoa, frozen berries and honey. It was sweet and kept me full through till lunch and I felt very energetic and happy after eating this.

                                   

This was I a dinner in allmost didn't have, but am I glad I did? Heck yes! It was very simply broccoli, cauliflower, water salt and pepper. A lovely rich and thick soup full of iron and green goodness. It tasted like there was cream in and it was incredibly quick, cheap and simple.

So that wa this week. It was a hard week, full of temptation but by staying away from those pesky avoid foods I still felt good even when I was emotionally tired and needing a hug. 

Thanks for reading as always it means a lot. Please comment share, tweet, Facebook, pin etc. Next week/this week I will be doing a budget clean eating/vegan week because it is the week before pay day in loves food household. Speak soon xx