The Transformative Years

I toyed with the idea of this post for a while. I'm not a showy type of person, and having my photo taken is something that has always caused me the utmost anguish. But I was curious as to how my body shape has changed photographically throughout the years (or should I say the last two years). Obviously, I see my body on a daily basis so it's difficult for myself to notice any sort of physical change. All I know is that I've lost roughly 30lb since the end of Summer 2011 (which translates to 13.6kg), and I've gone down two dress sizes (from a 10 to a 6). Pretty drastic, huh?



The photo montage sort of speaks for itself, really. I don't want to go into too much detail for fear of sounding overly self-centred and egotistic; however, you can evidently notice the difference in muscle tone and body fat %. These photos were taken in the summer of each year. Goes to show how much a difference you can make if you persevere with a clean diet and regular exercise!

And for those wanting a little more background info...the first photo is taken just prior to my second year at university. I wasn't exercising much, I ate whatever I wanted, and was fairly happy in my body - though I knew there was room for improvement. I upped the exercise routine following this summer, and started to pay a little more attention to my diet choices.

By the time the middle photo was taken, I was a member of the gym, had finished university and had changed my diet slightly, eating less carbs (but still indulging from time to time). I think this is around the time when people (aka friends and family) started to notice a change in my shape.

Moving onto the final photo (taken just over a month ago), I'm quite a lot slimmer and have sort of 'leaned out' significantly. My muscles are more pronounced in my arms and legs, and my face is a lot less, er... round. I exercise on average 4 times a week, incorporating running, cycling (static) and strength training. I follow a semi-flexible gluten free diet (in other words, I eat gluten with caution), have cut out all types of refined food (i.e. sugar and fast-food, also known as evil energy-drainers), and rarely drink alcohol or soda drinks.

I don't see this as being an extreme measure at all - ultimately, my body runs better when fuelled with natural sources of energy/food, and whenever I do stray from the clean-eating path, my body lets me know. It's only when you've cut out the junk - and then attempt to eat it again on some random occasion - that you realise how it really affects your body for the worse. I feel like I know my body so much more now - I've finally recognised my food intolerances, and what formulae to follow in order to keep my body looking and feeling its very best.

Does anyone else have any body transformation pics to share? Any other opinions? Do let me know, I love hearing from you :).

Super Healthified Banana Bread

I told you I'd make a loaf of banana bread, didn't I? Well I didn't go back on my word...and here is the mouthwatering photographic evidence.



I've always been a sucker for my Mum's notorious banana cake. Needless to say, as with many other banana cake/bread recipes, it was misleadingly unhealthy (misleading because really, you'd expect a cake based around the humble banana to be somewhat healthy, wouldn't you?) -- packed with sugar, refined white flour, aaand... I don't remember what else. Probably a generous amount of butter/marg. But we don't want none of that!

So I guess you could say that this recipe acts as a kind of antidote or counterbalance to my Mum's banana cake recipe. Based upon this original recipe, I've adapted it very slightly to enhance its healthiness even more. You'd probably be pushed to find a healthier banana cake recipe, especially one that caters to both vegans (err...minus the honey) and those with gluten sensitivity. It sits just the right side of moist, has a gorgeous flavour and hits the sweet-tooth spot naturally (just bananas and 2 tablespoons of manuka honey to thank for that one). So yeah...delve in!



Ingredients:

200g spelt flour
2x 27g packets of quick-cook Quakers Oats
1t baking powder
1t baking soda
1t ground cinnamon
(Up to) 1t vanilla paste
4 medium sized bananas, ripe
50ml almond milk (unsweetened)
6T coconut oil
2T manuka honey
90g walnuts, 30g pumpkin seeds (add whatever nut/seed/dried fruit you prefer)

Pre-heat your oven to 350C or gas mark 4. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper (grease with a smidgen of coconut oil). That's the boring stuff out of the way. Now onto the mashing. Ahh yeah.



Get your ripened bananas and place (without skins!) in a (sizeable) bowl. Mash until they're nice n' squelchy. Meanwhile, melt your coconut oil in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. This shouldn't take too long. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When it has cooled, add it to your banana mix and combine well; add all other wet ingredients (hello vanilla, almond milk and honey), and stir vigorously. Might as well get an arm workout in there, eh?

Now that your wet stuff is all sorted, sieve the spelt flour into a separate bowl. This took me a bloody long time because spelt flour seems to have quite a lot of large grainy pieces that just got in the way whilst sieving. I orginally wanted to use all 260g of the spelt flour (as the original recipe had suggested); however, by the 200g mark my arm was aching somewhat from holding the sieve for so long - alas, I reached out for my trusty oats to save the day. Quakers did the job juuust fine.

Add the baking powder and soda into the flour mixture, plus the teaspoon of cinnamon (vital! Cinnamon can do no wrong), and stir well before gradually adding the dry mix to the wet. Keep on top of the blending and 'folding' sitch (yep, I do know some baking lingo) until you've got yourself a lovely looking batter.

All that's left to do is to measure your nuts and add them to the final mixture. Spoon into your tin, and place into the oven for up to 50 minutes. When time's finally up, remove from the oven and leave to cool. In my case, I was knife-in-hand after about 5 minutes of removing mine from the oven (naughty, I know). But hey, who am I kidding - warm/hot banana cake is simply too good to pass up on, especially when it's lathered with a dollop of peanut butter (a new discovery, and a match made in heaven).

Does anyone have any banana bread recipes to rival mine? This one seems to be calling my name... protein banana bread? Don't mind if I do!

Three Favourite Things

Life lately has been a bit of a whirlwind of work, work... and yep, more work. With that said, summoning as much pleasure as possible from the little things has become all the more befitting for a lifestyle that reigns very little free time for myself. These such things never cease to disappoint when I'm looking for a quickie pick-me-up. Yes, these may very well be inanimate objects; even so, they remain the objects of my desires. Who needs humans anyway?

One: Wagamama's salads and fresh juices

So as of a couple of months ago, Wagamama is my favourite place ever to eat out. If you're looking for fresh food that's been prepared with much love and grace, and that remains on the right side of affordable, then Wagamama is the place to be. I'm hooked on their salads - I've tried all but one, in fact. On my last visit I went for the bean and glass noodle salad, which was just exquisite as far as salads go! And even if you don't like Japanese food per-say, you're bound to find something on the vast menu - even if it's just a carrot and ginger juice (my precious!). Just uh-mazing, serious.

Two: Giant tubs of 100% Peanut Butter (Meridian)

So yeah...this is a no-brainer. I can't believe I went for so long buying ridiculous 454g jars of Whole Earth peanut butter for £3.19 a pop (73p/100g), when there's the option to buy two 1kg tubs from Holland & Barrett for just £8.23 (on the buy one get one half price deal - that works out at 41p/100g). Who was I even kidding?! The PB in those baby-sized jars literally just evaporated, what with my boyfriend's love (not to mention my own) of consuming peanut butter by the tablespoon (multiple times a day). It must've been at least 3 weeks since purchasing these and we're still not even into our second tub! Bulk-buying is best, full stop. Plus this stuff is made from 100% peanuts, pure and simples. I believe Whole Earth's peanut content is around the 97% marker, and many other supermarket bought jars are as little as 68% cough-Tesco low fat peanut butter-cough (THIS IS JUST CRIMINAL, by the way! Low fat peanut butter?! The whole point of it is that it contains good fats! Not to mention the fact that they've added dried glucose syrup in place of this 'evil' fat. Honestly, whut thu fug is that all about?)

Three: Sparkling water (with a drop of lemon juice or other natural sweetener)


Gone are the days where I'm a prisoner of various flavoured squash drinks (usually Robinsons), and in are the days whereby sparkling water is my favourite thirst-quencher. Basically, up until very recently I was physically unable to drink just plain water. For my entire life, I've survived on drinking squash (sugar free, but certainly not aspartame free. And who knows what else) or flavoured water of any kind. Never just water alone! God forbid! (guys, I hate my former self). So yeah...sparkling water is just perfect for me as it feels like a treat - the bubbles certainly play a part in this psychological confusion - it's sugar free, and basically glorified water. I recall the school days of drinking Lucosade and Volvic flavoured waters on a day-to-day basis; my uni days also entailed almost daily cans of diet coke (I'll say for now that these really helped me get through laborious days and nights of sitting in front of a computer screen...but you probably won't believe me. Safe to say I no longer even believe myself). With a squeeze of fresh lemon, this is refreshment like no other. Best served chilled on a hot summer's day (which England is unlikely to see any time soon. Ugh this sorry excuse for a country).

And there we have it...three of my current edible/drinkable preferences. Doubtlessly there are plenty more I could add to the list, but that would make for pretty tedious reading. What are some of your favourite food or beverage choices du jour? Anyone else a Wagamama minion?! Hoping to make some sort of banana bread today - I've pinned a load of similar recipes onto my Pinterest board, so I need to filter through them and get my bake on today - seeing as it's my only day off this week! Gotta make the most of it! Have a great week all :).

Chocolate Coconut Crunch Cookies

The CCC cookie has all the appeal of the regular chocolate cookie, but with a subtle coconut flavour and a sweetness that isn't too overpowering. Plus...it has chunks of 90% chocolate stashed inside, and some walnuts chucked in at the last minute for good measure.



I won't go into the recipe too much because it speaks for itself and is easy as you liiike. Step one: Sieve 3 tablespoons of coconut flour and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder; mix together. Add around 150ml coconut milk, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, and blend all ingredients into a smooth paste. Next, add a teeny dash of sea salt, a few crushed walnuts and roughly chopped dark chocolate pieces (I used one 10g square altogether, and crushed it with my bare fingers). Bake on a greased baking tray for 25mins at 350/gas mark 4. Devour with a coffee. Repeat from step one when cookies have mysteriously disappeared within an hour.

Not bad...not bad at all. Pretty darn healthy too, bursting with heart-healthy fats from all directions. And now, I'm out of coconut flour...drat.

Recipes for lazy girls: Veggie Omelette

The Omelette: what better recipe is there to fill ones stomach to such a satisfactory level, all the while keeping things nicely tidy (note: bare minimum washing up, and even less surface cleaning - unless you manage to get egg juice everywhere. uh...) and super healthy? (the answer you're looking for is there are no better recipes out there. Let's get omelette-ing!).



So this I have aptly named my 'veggie pizza omelette' recipe. The nifty inclusion of oregano (recently appointed Favourite Herb Ever, by me) tricks you into thinking you're eating pizza - when actually, you're basically eating glorified eggs and veg, all mashed up together (not literally).

This is a suitable recipe for a) Lazy girls, and even more so for b) Lazy girls who've just been for a killer run and want some nosh quick-sharpish (a run in the rain, I hasten to add). Doesn't it look appealing? Well, let me tell you: it was.

Eggs are pretty cool, and especially so for runners; full with the nutrient choline (one large egg has 30% of your daily value, mostly in the yolk), they help to keep the joints free from inflammation. They're also packed with vitamin D, vitamins A and E, and are a great source of iron (iron creates haemoglobin, which transports oxygen to your muscles), zinc, and protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids (making them the most 'complete' source of protein available, knocking the chicken's pride for six. Oh wait...without the chicken we wouldn't have the egg in the first place. My bad).



Simply chop up your preferred choices of veg (I used mini sweetcorn cobs, mini tomatoes, plus frozen peas and sweetcorn and one boiled potato - however, feel free to jazz up your omelette in any which way you deem suitable! Spring onions, cucumber, broccoli, peppers...hey, anything goes. Go crazy!) and heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil on a frying pan over high-heat. Add your frozen veg first to allow them to soften slightly before chucking the rest in. Meanwhile, whisk your eggs (I used 3 large free-range eggs) and add to the pan after a few minutes, spreading the mixture evenly across the veg.

Add salt and pepper (plenty of black pepper, in my case) and herbs de preference - oregano, if you want to experience and taste that sososweet scent nostalgic of Italian pizzeria's (not that I've ever even been to a proper Italia pizzeria. But I can use my imagination in this case). Allow to cook for a few minutes before placing your pan onto a heated grill to cook the omelette from above. Your omelette should be good to go and smash down the oesophagus in a matter of minutes. The ultimate 10 minute meal for runners, or any athlete/human being; you gotta give credit to the humble egg/chicken.

When the Going gets Tough

...The tough gets going. Well, if you take some all-important time out to rest and recooperate, that is.



The importance of resting and just letting your body rest (and breathe... at a normal heart rate, for that matter) for a while is so paramount for anyone following a regular exercise programme. Without it, you'll eventually burn out and this will doubtlessly take its toll on your body and health (I don't really need to point this out, but this totally contradicts the reason of exercising in the first place!).

I've taken some time to chillax recently because I could just feel that my body was practically in protest against itself; the combination of continuous working days with minimal fuel (food and drink) to see my brain and body through, plus extra stress and wear-and-tear from general life and fully-blown emotional chaos meant that I fully owed myself a break from the rigour of exercising like a badman. Sometimes, you just have to accept that being lazy and eating good, nourishing food is what it's all about (which, y'know, can still mean healthy... let's not go too far off the beaten track here, I'm not for one minute saying a rest from exercise equates to endless pizza/McDonald's binges or anything like that).

Though admittedly, it hasn't been a long one exactly... (the last time I went for a run was last friday; following that day, I felt pretty awful for a good 3-4 days, and I finally feel back on track today). Even so, I feel so much better in myself and have fully geared myself up for a run tomorrow - I can't actually wait, sad as it may sound...

I have just 9 days until the 5km race in my hometown, which I haven't officially entered yet (you can enter on the day anyway) but I'm actually so excited for it! I dunno why really...partially because the start and finish is held at my old primary school (fond memories!)...plus, I really wanna win. Like, badly! I've never won a running race before; I think the closest I ever got was 3rd place in my school year's cross country. However, I am determined. Shame I'm starting my 'training' just 9 days before the race...hey ho, I can still dream of being numero uno, right? At least it's given me some incentive to pound the pavements tomorrow! Creating fitness goals like this are ultimately a fast-track way towards staying on track and exceeding your fitness expectations. One word; Motivation! It's all you really need.

In other, slightly less fitness-related news, my boyfriend has only gone and won us two VIP Circ du Soleil tickets for next month at London's o2 arena! Needless to say, we're super excited! We're gonna be in that little box, along with all the other VIPs (might even see some famous faces close by!). Pretty damn cool. In other other news, I bought these ASOS trousers, and am completely in lust with them. They are the comfiest things ever to wear, and at £24.50 they didn't break the bank, either. All in all, it's been a bloody chaotic week - horrific at times, a few lemons have been thrown, but it's turned out all well and fine. Basically, positive thinking = a survival necessity.

Fine dining/boozing in Vilnius

Myself and my boyfriend have just returned after a spending a food (well... šaltibarščiai, mainly), beer and family-filled week in his home city, Vilnius (Lithuania's capital city). Yet again, my obsession with the traditional cold beet soup returned in full force; two portions of the glorious pink stuff every day was the norm for me, much to my boyfriend's amusement!

A late discovery of our previous holiday there, our go-to for fast, delicious and fresh meals (plus the odd gigantic-sized cocktail or beer) was the trendy Carré bar and restaurant, positioned fairly centrally along the main street in town. Though I only ate šaltibarščiai there, my boyfriend went for a dish of grilled chicken with sweet potato and sundried tomatoes. I can confirm that it was top-notch (nosh?), and something akin to what we'd expect in a top-rated brasserie at home (doubtlessly at quadruple the price - this dish cost less than a fiver!).

For anyone who considers themselves a bit of a 'foodie', Vilnius should be considered at the top of your destinations list for the simple reason that its food is consistently brilliant - high quality ingredients, plates offering perfect combinations and an expansive selection all coming in at a fraction of the price you'd expect to pay in England (read: šaltibarščiai soup with a side plate full of sautéed potatoes generally ranges from £1 to £2. A freshly stone-baked 30cm pizza from Charlie's isn't a lot more than that, either.

So to say I enjoy the cuisine of Vilnius is an understatement! Tipples of choice ranged from freshly-squeezed carrot juice (sold in even the most obscure places, such as the indoor Aqua park we spent a day at) which cost from £1 each, to beer (Svyturys Baltas is just amazing, and less than £2 for a pint), or the whopping 800ml cocktails (as mentioned before) served in Carré. Most cocktails, including my mint mojito and 'jack in the beans' (ingredients of which remain a mystery) was around £4.25, whilst my boyfriend's hangover-inducing long island iced tea was 27 litas (around £6.75).

But enough of the details for now, moving swiftly on to the photographic evidence of our various gastronomic delights. And, on a side-note, I know for certain that If I lived in Vilnius, it would be seriously difficult for me to avoid eating (and drinking) out every day. Not to mention the potential damage to my waistline - following a healthy diet would be almost soul destroying due to the ease of eating out for the equivalent cost of purchasing your food from the supermarkets - and definitely not helped by the fact that pub snacks of deep-fried brown bread with melted cheese/mayo combo are available everywhere, complimenting a beer to perfection. Oh, Vilnius; how I miss thee already!


The soup of all soups, šaltibarščiai

A plateful of Lithuanian 'sashlik' (their equivalent to our BBQ food, bought from a street market stall)

Me avec icecream - kiwi and mango (spot the Sashlik!)

A typical pizza from Charlie's

JUICE!

My boyfriend, posing like the pro he is! (he practices)

Me with an alcoholic-style grin, and my Jack in the beans cocktail. Yum.