Post Wedding Wagon Mounting!

So I have been away for a while doing Wedding related tasks - aka getting married - and then going on my honeymoon to New York and Canada! Which, as you can imagine was amazing!

 

There was a LOT of food being consumed and none of it was in any way healthy. In the 4 weeks after the wedding, 2 of those being honeymoon, I managed to put on ONE WHOLE STONE. I am disgraced at this, but also secretly impressed that this was even possible. I love eating and if there was any time and place to go mental, then a honeymoon was it.

These are a few (!) of the amazing foods that were consumed.... 

However, I have now been back a while and the sugar intake level has not really seemed to have decreased. I can see myself getting back into old habits and although I thought that when I was married I would think: 'I can eat whatever I like cos I have captured my husband and he should love me no matter what'- turns out not to be the case and I do care a lot, still want to look good and feel good and eating crap for the rest of my life is not going to accomplish that! 

So, it begins again, another attempt to get back on the Wagon and stay on it! I am getting some help from a great book called 'Sweet Nothing' by Nicole Mowbray, who gave up sugar 2 years ago and it has changed her life. Whilst I am going to decrease my processed sugar levels as much as possible, I am not going to cut it out completely as I just love chocolate too much. Also, she gave up fruit which seems a bit silly to me, a piece now and again won't hurt and I am too obsessed with watermelon for that to happen. I may go cold turkey for a few days to try and get out of the sugar binge cycle and go from there. Watch this space.... 

A couple of Wedding pictures below: ideally the realistic size I want to return to once the 'honeymoon stone' has been shed. 

XxX

 

Healthy Banana Choc Chip Muffins

It's been a while, but we are back on it ready for summer! I found these delicious muffins on Running on real food and tried them out. They are sooooo good. I ate about 4 at once and didn't even feel bad because they have pure goodness in them, although eating 4 probably defeats the object. Butttt it's better than 4 Mars bars so I'm still winning..... Just.

They took hardly any time and don't need any special mixtures/processors which I've found a lot of recipes do, and I don't have the space or money for good ones. I also put them in fairy cake cases instead of muffins so I get more (clever). Left a couple of things out/used substitutes:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used wholemeal)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 
• 1 mashed banana
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbs flax seeds mixed with 2 tbs water
• 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• Almond/peanut butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix dry ingredients, mash banana, mix wet, add them to dry, mix altogether. Put dollop on cases, put dollop of almond/peanut butter on top, put another dollop on to cover it. Shove in oven for 15 mins, eat as soon as they come out cos you're greedy and can't wait and burn mouth.

MTL Fall Challenge

Since our last post I have fallen off/been off the wagon and nowhere near the wagon for a while. It was nice to enjoy some (lots) of naughty things and not go to the gym after work so I could go home and watch several episodes of Breaking Bad but now I'm back with a vengeance! Savannah from Muffin Topless has created a FREE Fall Challenge which I was so excited to start last week.

What is great about this challenge is that for those of us who are new to eating healthy AND working out/lifting, there isn't a strict meal plan which means one less thing to have to work on. The main thing she says to focus on food-wise is to eat in moderation (ie not eating an entire tub of Ben & Jerrys in one go which is very hard to do) and also have some sort of protein with every meal. Alsooo there is a cute calendar she has created which gives you a task/challenge for every day in the month of October as well as an exercise plan which doesn't seem too overwhelming. I think the reason I am enjoying it so much is that it gives you something different to focus on every day which means you don't get bored.

So far I'm one week in have been charting my progress via our HealthAndLurking instagram page using the hashtag #MTLFallChallenge which is also great because I can have a cheeky stalk of everyone else's progress too so I don't feel like a total loner!

I'll be doing a blog post at the end of every week on how the Fall Challenge is going. It's never too late to join me!

CP xxx

Time to get back on the wagon!

After being on holiday and not having a day to day routine I have found it so hard to stay on top of eating healthily and doing exercise. My meal prep has gone to pot as I am away a lot at the weekends and find it hard to come back late and meal prep. This has meant that instead of eating my prepared snacks I will skip them, wait for lunch and then eat the world because I am hungry and have nothing ready! Once I get into a bad routine I find it so difficult to get back into a good one and swear I get really addicted to anything containing sugar and crave it forever! Other people are satisfied with just 1 or 2 bites of chocolate.... with me, if a packet is open, it WILL be finished all in one go and then I will crave more for the rest of the day, so it is actually easier not to have it at all! (I think I have a problem.)

Back from my mini holiday holiday of eating anything and everything: 3 course meals, mountains of bread, hot chocolates galore, crispy kreme' s, Rocky roads and basically anything that is even slightly chocolatey, I have decided enough is enough! I feel a lot more wobbly especially in the thigh arena which is not the look I'm going for and my skin is terrible and feels like all the sugar is exploding out of my face. So I am going on a sugar detox and not eating any processed food, so chocolate and a lot of other food is out! As I have an actual chocolate addiction this is going to be very hard! I've done it once before and managed to not eat ANY chocolate for over a month and after the initial cravings for the first week or so it was surprisingly easy and the more I didn't have it, the less I wanted it!

This is where the boyfriend comes in handy where I force him to shout at me and make me feel guilty if he sees me with any sugar related items! However, this will ultimately end in an argument with me saying things like 'leave me alone', 'stop interferring', 'why do you think I'm fat?' and 'I just need a little bit today, goddd, why don't you understand me!' It's going to be fun for him...

So as of today, its back  to the gym and running and the aim is to get back in the jeans as they are a tad on the tight side! Once I get into a routine I start to feel good again and it gets a lot easier. These things will help me get back on track:

1) Don't skip breakfast
2) Meal prep
3) Gym
4) Cut out the artificial sugar
5) Don't forget to drink water and green tea
6) Have a goal

So these are out.....













and these are in.....










Although I have massively fallen off the wagon, I don't necessarily think it is completely a bad thing as it makes me more motivated when I get back on it and it is also nice to relax a little and enjoy all the naughty foods you know you are not supposed to have. Also, as my life basically revolves around going out to eat and food related activities, I and my friends would find me extremely boring if I refused to do these things or only ate a plate of salad every time we went out. I would like to have a six pack and no wobble on my legs but my social life is also very important and I am not willing to sacrifice the fun to get these things, so I'll settle with eating well when I'm at home and exercising, but also enjoying myself and not worrying about things when I'm out with my friends. If this means I will never get a 6 pack, then so be it, I'll settle with feeling healthy the majority of the time and not being obese!

CW

Our Top 10 Favourite Yummy-And-Good-For-You Snacks!

We both have loads of yummy snacks we love, so we thought we would compile them into a list!

Our top 10 tried and tested, which we have usually between breakfast and lunch and then lunch and dinner.


1. Fruity Protein Bars. 
The absolute fave. Try not to eat them all at once. 
1/2 cup almond butter, 1/2 cup of honey, 2 scoops protein powder (I use choc). 1 1/4 ish cups of oats, half cup of dried apricots, cranberries and sliced almonds. Mix altogether, sprinkle a few mixed seeds in and put in a baking tray and squish down with a fork, put in fridge until a bit set. Wrap them up individually in foil and keep in fridge. Usually makes about 12.

2. Apple Slices with Almond Butter. 
Easy to prepare and tastes sooo good: 
Yum yum.

3. Protein Powder Peanut Butter Balls. 
Very Moreish!
Makes about 12. 2 cups almond butter, 2 scoops of protein powder (again I use choc,) 2 ripe bananas mashed, 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds. Makes walnut sized balls, place in container, put in fridge, wrap individually once a bit set.

4. Graze Box
This is a bit cheating but you don't have to prepare them and they are delicious. Order a graze box,  it's relatively cheap and you have 4 snacks prepared for you straight away! Our favourites are flapjack, chocolate pudding, and chocolate brownie.

5. Turkey Muffins

Don’t forget, like I did, that they are meat based and not just muffins and leave them out of the fridge for days.... Go to eat one and find it’s extremely sweaty and nearly makes you sick... Results in a lot of wasted muffins. Woopps.

I left out chipotle pepper spice (I had no clue what it was)

Celery (I didn’t have any and don’t like it)

Added 1 tsp of mustard for extra flavour.

Also will get you boyfriend points (if you don’t give them gone off ones...)

6. Tone It Up Protein Bars
So yummy and a good way to use protein powder other than having a shake.
(see post on top 5 ways to use protein powder)

7. Greek Yoghurt Pancakes

Make lots, eat cold.

Add honey/almond butter/fruit/nutella for extra yuminess.

8. Greek Yoghurt with Honey and Fruit
(I like strawberries best) - so simple but very delicious.

9. Frozen Nutty Banana Nibblers
These are AMAZING. Such a good snack and one serving allows 7 which is actually really generous and you feel very satisfied afterwards. However I didn't put the 2 halves on top of each other, I kept them separate and topped them all with the mixture.

10. Cottage Cheese with Pepper and Cucumber or Reduced Fat Hummus with Cucumber and Grapes. 
I've tried a couple of different cottage cheeses and found that the plain one is definitely the best, but there are a few to try out there if you don't like one, don't be put off!

If all else fails and you don’t like any of those, then these really-not-good-for-you-but-so-good-and-ok-for-a-treat cookies are THE best cookies in the world. Loads of people have said so. Got the recipe from Tanya Burr (beauty you tuber/blogger/lots of other things. Check her out). She got it from Anna's cookie blog post and Anna got the recipe from here (I def can’t get sued.)  Just don’t eat them all at once.... you may be sick and will definitely get fat. Makes 12...

• 200g unsalted butter.

• 300g caster sugar

• 1 large egg (protein... they must be quite good for you then.....!)

• 275g self raising flour

• 75g cocoa powder

• 2 big bars of chocolate (one milk, one white, or whatever you like best)

• Splash of milk if mixture too dry.

Put the butter in a bowl and mix to make soft. Mix in the sugar until creamy.Crack the egg and mix that in. Throw in the dry ingredients. If dry add few drops of milk. Line 2 baking trays. Scoop mix into 12ish balls (about a handful). Place far apart on tray 200 degrees centigrade in the oven for only 10 mins.... they will look super sloppy but after half an hour will be at the perfect consistency to eat! I suggest inviting some friends round as soon as you get them out of the oven, or there is a massive chance you may devour them all in one go.

CW. CP. x

Crave Graze!

I love a good graze box!

Who wouldn't want 4 different yummy snacks, pop excitingly through your door for a much better price than you could get at a shop and not feel bad about eating them?!

The website is exciting and you can set your account so you get weekly boxes/fortnightly/whenever you want them boxes! It allows you to tick the snacks that you liked, loved, want to bin and want to try and there are a whole range of food types to choose from, including choosing dietary requirements for the more sensitive among us!

It also comes with a little booklet that tells you the nutritional values of all of your snacks and gives advice on the website for the healthiest snacks to choose! ---->

Even better, when you receive a box, you usually get 4 'feed your friends free graze box' to give to your friends (surprisingly) and you get £1 off your box, and considering the box was only £3.89 (including delivery) in the first place, it is not bad at all! You can also send these boxes to your friend (who wouldn't like food for a present?) Or set it up so you can buy someone 10, or however many boxes you want, pre paid, so they just choose what they want and when they want it, for free! Perfect for your health concious friends!

Best of all, all the snacks are relatively healthy and extremely yummy and because they are quite small you can eat it all but feel satisfied you have had your sweet/chocolate/whatever you crave fix that day!

Basically, go and check out their website (or be sneaky and try and get a free voucher from your friend!) Whichever way, it's delicious and definitely worth the money! Go go go! (I definitely just ate a punnet... or two, whilst typing this.)

In my box - sticky chocolate pudding (just devoured), marvellous macaroon, copacabana and brilliant black forest.

You can even use this code to receive your first box free plus you can cancel this yummy subscription at any time!

http://www.graze.com/uk/p/K311ZRQ

Yoghurt pancakes please!

I forgot how yummy these were. Felt like an afternoon snack. Only 4 ingredients, really easy and very delicious. Found these on pinterest http://pinterest.com/source/everydaybelle.com/ I had honey on mine and was amazing, I would have had banana too, but had already had one today. I would suggest making half of the mixture if it is only for one person, but I have made the remainder and will eat it cold as a snack:

• 1 egg
• 6oz fat free greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Mix egg and yoghurt, (will be a bit lumpy), add dry ingredients, now it will be really thick. Put some in a frying pan with some spray, heat on medium/high. Cook like a pancake.

CW. x

Hangover hell or as fresh as.... fennel (?!)

So... the ‘minimise hangover’ techniques have been tried and tested at a fancy dress party last night... I did almost all of the things I said, however I didn't have toast when I got back in, as I had had a massive hog roast not long before and wasn't hungry/didn't want to add more calories to the already millions I had consumed through liquid and pig.

This morning, I had to wake up at 8 to let the dog out and feed the hens (house sitting for the parentals) and didn't go to sleep until 3, therefore only had 5 hours sleep.  I think the main factor that contributes to a hangover is lack of sleep and because I have not had a lot I still feel realllly tired/a bit hungover. But I do think all the things I tried helped me not to feel as bad this morning and I can still function which is always a plus, as it means I can now go and enjoy a delicious beanie burger at Nandos. Yum. I also had a delicious breakfast of eggs on toast and PB and banana smoothie which def soaked up some excess alcohol.

In conclusion: The tips and tricks did help to lessen the hangover, but unless you get a really good night’s sleep you are always going to feel a bit rubbish the next day. So make sure you get those extra zzzzz’s.

CW. x

Refreshing green smoothie and a bit of meal prep

After have a little (massive) slip up food-wise at the weekend, I think both CW and I dropped the ball a bit with our food planning, prepping and eating. Normally we would plan our food for the week on a Sunday but that defo did not happen since we were both hungover messes!
It's been a bit more of a struggle without everything ready to eat with work during the week but I caught up this evening and somehow created a yummy green smoothie that is really refreshing and filling too! Although I may have drunk a bit too much and now I feel sick...

Berry Nice Green Smoothie (see what I did there?)
I didn't use any measuring apparatus since I am a lazy fart so everything is approximated:


1 big handful of spinach
6 inch piece of cucumber
3 satsumas
1 large glug of almond milk
4 small strawberries
1 small handful of blueberries
1 tablespoon of flaxseeds

You could probably add some kale into this smoothie to make it even greener. I decided not to since I've one off kale following a bad smoothie that tasted like cumin when I didn't clean my blender out properly (whoops)!

Here are a couple of shots of the meal prep I managed to do this evening too

Chicken | cucumber and bell pepper / spinach and red pepper | baked sweet potato

Greek yogurt, strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon and flaxseeds | Berry nice green smoothie

I love the feeling of finishing off my meal prep for the week and that I don't need to think about cooking for a few days! Yay! I have been watching meal prep videos on YouTube and for some reason they are mesmerizing! I ended up watching about 5 of them back to back in bed last night at 11pm... I need a life! You can get some really good tips from them on shortening the amount of time you have to spend fannying around in the kitchen which is always a bonus!

----

CP

Amazing peanut butter protein powder bar!

As we are always on the hunt for new, yummy things, I have just discovered this absolutely amazing protein bar! It was from pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/514325219915290144/ I think it has rivalled the tone it up protein bar!
It is so nice I'm not sure I can control myself and may end up eating the whole thing in one go, which would not be clever! I changed it slightly from the recipe I found and added in some protein powder:

mix together...

• 1/2 cup of  almond butter/peanut butter

  

  There was a bit more than that but I got excited and ate some!

• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 1/4 cups of oats
• 2 scoops of protein powder (I used chocolate)
• Half a cup (ish) of chopped up dried apricots, dried cranberries and sliced almonds
• sprinkle until it looks enough - mixed seeds (I used sunflower, pumpkin and pine in a mixed packet I had lurking around.)

Line a tin with baking paper, it doesn't really matter what size tin as the mixture is stiff and won't run. Push it down with a fork or whatever, and put in fridge until you can't wait any longer! OHM. 

CW x

Breakfast Bonanza!

Sometimes it’s hard to begin the day eating well because you just can’t think of different things to have, so you end up having the same sugary cereals every day. CP and I have put together some breakfast options that we often have. We try to change what we have most days so we still get excited about getting out of bed (the only reason to get out of bed...food!)

Breakfast

• 2 boiled eggs on soya and linseed toast (or poached or scrambled, hard boiled is the best though). I also like to have marmite on my toast underneath the egg that I squish on... try it, it’s amaze.
• Overnight porridge (www.laurenconrad.com ) I like to add sliced almonds and dried cranberries on mine. Also sometimes if I’m feeling a bit crazy, almond butter mixed in too.
• Overnight chocolate porridge www.greatist.com (similar but with chocolate protein powder mixed in.)
• Granola, low fat greek yoghurt, fruit and flax seeds.
• Smoothie (see top 5 smoothies post...... http://healthandlurking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/top-5-super-scrumptious-sexy-sometimes.html )
• Quinoa breakfast (I can’t remember where I got it from so sorry internet person that will be angry I stole their recipe):
• ½ a cup of cooked quinoa
• 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds
•  ¼ cup of raisins
• ½ banana mashed
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 cup almond  milk
•  1 table spoon maple syrup

• Almond butter on soya and linseed toast.
• Omelette, spinach, ham, mushroom, anything you can find.
• Yoghurt pancakes (from pinterest.) Makes 4 big/8small. Mix altogether, fry like pancake (surprisingly..)
• 6oz greek yoghurt (low fat)
• 1 egg
•   ½ cup of flour
•  1 tsp baking powder

• Chocolate peanut butter protein shake and hard boiled egg (separately...)  from www.muffintopless.com           
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 table spoon almond butter
• 1-2 stevia packets... (Think this is weird American uncalorifc sugar... That’s what I decided anyway so randomly added a bit of truvia (sounds the same so....)
•  4 ice cubes.

Also, my minimising hangover strategies did not take place this weekend for many reasons, so I’ll definitely do it this weekend on my next fancy dress outing... and hope it helps... watch this space.

Lunch and dinner options coming soon.....

CW. x

Never get another horrific hangover ever again.... hopefully!

Lately, I have not been going out drinking much, this is because I have been really busy, but also because I actually cannot take the hangovers any more. Since I turned the grand old age of 25, I swear they have got a thousand times worse and I literally cannot move or function the next day, whether I have one drink or ten. 

This does not amuse me, as I do love a drunken night out. (I know to be really healthy you are supposed to cut alcohol out completely, but that is nearly impossible and also quite boring, as your non health concious friends will tell you.) I also have the problem where I can’t dance sober, (I can’t dance drunk either, but I think I can at the time and don’t care if people think I look like a deranged monkey) so I actually have to get drunk if I know we are ending up in a club.

So, I have put together all the things CP and I have heard about minimising hangovers and am on a mission to be able to get out of bed the day after a night out and not spend it in bed feeling so ill we never want to drink again. We are going to try EVERYTHING on this list and see what happens... it HAS to make us feel better than the state we seem to be finding ourselves in the next morning! If not, then all these people/ things we heard these tips from are big liars and obviously are just lucky and don’t get hangovers.

Before the night out:

• Drink loads of water that day so you are not dehydrated before the night even starts.
• Eat a good meal. Some people have said to eat greasy food before going out, but I have also heard a different approach would be to eat some healthy foods, like protein rich oily fish with veg such as broccoli, as that is liver detoxifying apparently.  As eating greasy food has clearly never worked for me, I might as well try and take the healthy route.
• Take vitamin tablets as drinking depletes vitamins and nutrients. Fight back.
• This is one we think will help just because we love it and it feels so good and surely can’t do any damage: have a green smoothie (see post on smoothies... http://healthandlurking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/top-5-super-scrumptious-sexy-sometimes.html )
• Have a glass of milk as it lines the stomach.

During night out:

• Drink:  clear alcohol, like vodka, which is also low (ish) in calories. Don’t mix your drinks, (especially not red wine with WKD because that was the only thing available... it does NOT end well!) Drink with soda water to minimise calorie consumption too. (Or if that is too gross, diet coke).
• Every single drink you have, drink a glass of water before the next alcoholic one. I think as well as helping you not get so horrifically drunk, it might also trick you into feeling too full to drink any more  and thus preventing vomiting and more mental dancing.
• Stop when you are satisfactorily drunk. (May need to designate a helper to tell you when to stop... Boyfriends are good for this, as you can scream at them ‘I’m not drunkkkk, you’re trying to ruin my fun, you’re way more drunk than me anyway. Shut up. I hate you!’ rants.) Don’t keep drinking because you think the effects (affects?!) are wearing off and you don’t want to become ‘sober’ before the night ends and have to dance.

Straight after night out:

• Apparently drinking lucozade as well as drinking more water when you get in is good as it replaces all the electrolytes you have lost... not really sure what this means, but it sounds good.
• Eat something a bit stodge but not greasy and bad for you, like toast and marmite or toast and honey. (Replaces the sugar.)
• Sleep loads!!! Sometimes when I haven’t even been drinking but am really tired, I feel hungover so that definitely adds to the horrific feeling.

Morning after:

• I, like most people (I hope) crave stodgy carbs allll day and stuff my face because I’m hungover and feel gross anyway so I might as well get fat. But apparently eating greasy stodgy food is not the answer and you should eat toast again with either marmite/honey or an egg (probably poached or scrambled so it’s not fatty) and a banana as it is full of potassium: another thing alcohol has stolen from you.
• Also eat Fruit and veg to replace minerals.
• Drink more water to rehydrate.

Soooooo, these are ALL of the things we are going to try before, during and after our night out this Saturday and we will update with how bad our hangovers were/hopefully were not. 

CW. x 

Diets, Diets and MORE DIETS!

I think I have spent most of my life from my late teens up until now consciously thinking about my weight and how I look as most girls/women do! CW and I spent many a time at university trying out new things at the gym, doing Davina workouts in the living room to hilarious effect and attempting to be healthy food-wise but nothing ever really stuck. Although spending most weekday evenings out at the union bar doing shots and living opposite a corner shop in our final year probably wasn't the biggest help! At one point we were having a chocolate bar a day which I would like to blame on one of our friends for starting as she is one of those lucky people who doesn't seem to gain weight! Anyway, we seemed to be constantly trying new things including some rather scary diets that, looking back on them, were mental! One of them had me only eating 500 calories a day and taking a herbal spray (what was I thinking...). They all seemed to work at the time but none were something I could stick to in the long run and the weight slowly sneaked back on. My love of food was too great to deny eating a whole bag of chocolate raisins!

The latest tipping point was when I met up with CW and some of our other uni housemates a few months ago and we all decided it would be a good idea to weigh ourselves. OH GOOD LORD. I nearly cried! CW had been trying out this snazzy new diet called the 5:2 diet which is basically 2 fasting/500 cal days a week and then 5 days of normal eating. This went well for a while until I thought it would be a good idea to have a bunch of chocolate on my fast day and then be really hungry the next day because my body hadn't got the goods it wanted. I would end up demolishing even more food than I normally would.

Then a few weeks ago, CW spotted a girl on Instagram who had an amazing body AND got to eat loads of food every day. We were sold at 'food'! Since then we have been eating whole/'clean' foods (raw foods, as they are or put into a meal) and trying to include weights into our exercise routine. I have to admit I live with a guy whose whole family run off this WOL (way of life) (minus the exercise) and not a single one is fat! I don't know why I didn't start doing this earlier?! Since starting this, CW and I have constantly been messaging each other with recipes and a LOT of photo's of our food/meals which I think has really helped us stay on track. 

Dinner tonight - Tomato and Red Pepper Omelette with Courgette

In summary, fad diets do not work as a long term lifestyle. All you need to do is eat the foods your body loves (no your body does not want a whole family sized bag of Malteasers) and get moving!

Some of the good points I have noticed since starting are:
- Increased energy levels
- Rarely hungry
- The bloated/food baby/stomach pooch has gone down
- We have lost weight without really thinking about it
- My skin is looking better (I think this might be the reduced amount of sugar in my diet)
- I look forward to going to the gym - WHAT?

I think the only downside is that you will end up buying more fresh produce which is more expensive than canned/processed stuff and the time you have to put into the meal prep but I think we secretly enjoy that, right CW? Sunday = Meal Prep Day = Yay! PLUS, once you have done all your meal prep you don't have to think about it for the rest of the week!

If you have any questions on how/what we are doing, feel free to comment below!

---

CP

Twitter!

Follow us on twitter for updates of our meals and tasty snacks to try! @healthandlurkin (it wouldn't fit the g on lurking....)

A Day of Food 10th June 2013

Today was the first day of week two of our new WOL (Way Of Life (ha)) and I had already prepped all but dinner the day before. Being this organised makes me feel like I don’t need to worry about maybe buying that sneaky chocolate bar on my lunch break on Monday morning when I would normally be stocking up my snack drawer with all sorts of processed junk from the shops. As CW said in her last post, the great thing is that another meal or snack is just around the corner which I think is why this suits us so well! 

Breakfast - Greek yogurt, cinnamon, blue berries and flaxseed

Mid-morning snack - an apple and a homemade protein bar

Lunch - Tuna, wholewheat pasta, cucumber and sweetcorn

Afternoon snack - Carrot sticks and Be Good To Yourself Red Pepper houmous

(Snack before cardio - Homemade turkey muffin)

Dinner - Grilled chicken, broccoli and sweet potato. There was a lot of food on this last plate which I didn’t quite manage to finish! 

I feel really full from all this food and I know exactly what’s gone into it since it’s all homemade (apart from the houmous!). All i drink during the day is water, although I am trying to get into green tea!

---

CP

Protein Powder Trickery!!

CP, I will take the blame for your dislike towards true protein! (Pink one.) I ordered a sample sachet and I can honestly say it tasted EXACTLY like a yummy chocolate milkshake! I could have had it every day, just for fun. So I thought I would buy the 1.8kg bag and save money as it was £30, which seems like a lot, but my boyfriend has a different one and he says it lasts about 3 months. Plus, I only used 1 scoop as opposed to 2, therefore hopefully would last me 6 months!

Anyway, I got this yummy protein…. tried it and it tasted NOTHING like the previous tester one! I really really think they gave me a different one to trick me into buying a huge bag!!!

Basically, I am not amused at all about this purchase and won’t be re-buying it! I will still drink it though and hopefully use it in protein recipes to get rid of it!

---

CW

Protein Powder Review - Active Woman Refuel vs. MyProtein True Diet

I am totally new to the protein powder game so it’s really interesting to see the huge variety of different options out there! I’ve only tried out chocolate flavours so far and I prefer the Active Woman - Refuel which I found in Holland and Barrett during a lunch break last week while I was waiting for the True Diet to be delivered. It’s more chocolatey and sweet than the True Diet one but does that mean more sugar? I should really look at the ingredients!The True Diet one I have only tried once so far with almond milk which was still lovely so the jury is still out on this one.

I’m really enjoying having one after a workout at the moment and it feel almost like a reward for the hard work!

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CP

Meal Prep for Week Two

Breakfast and snacks

Turkey Muffins

Turkey Muffins, Lunches and Snacks

Food prep seems to be becoming my Sunday ritual and I love it because it makes me feel organised for the week ahead! I really struggle to not eat half the yummy stuff I am preparing though, especially those turkey muffins which I could demolish in under 2 minutes!

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CP

Green Smoothie

The best smoothie ever…. Can’t really taste the veg, it’s just refreshing and so good for you! 
1 cup spinach leaves
1 cup kale
Half a cup low fat Greek yog
Half cup orange juice
3 ice cubes
Half cup strawberries (I used frozen)
Half a banana! 
Amazeeee

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CW

Almond Butter

I changed my overnight porridge to boiled eggs on toast on Monday as I am already having almond butter that day and don’t want to have too much even though it's amazing!

I bought it for £10 for a 1kg tub… (see below for website.) Not bad when I think how much that amount of pb would be from the supermarket and it’s better for you! (review coming soon...)

I love to have it with apple for a yummy snack and add it to my overnight porridge (Laurenconrad.com) for a bit of extra taste! Ohm.

I got almond butter from here…

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CW