Detox Day Five. And beyond.

Today was meant to be the last day of the detox, in the past few days I realised the importance of meal prepping, listening to your body, and keeping well hydrated but I didn't really feel that there was a physical change to my body. Only a new found appreciation for clean eating and it's principles. I'll be honest, the lack of "body transformation" was slightly disheartening and put me in a slightly defeatist attitude for the rest of the day. I still had my lemon juice but skipped breakie went straight for almonds and berries as a snack while on a walk with a friend. I didn't even prep meals for work! TUT TUT. It got worse when I got to work. A downward slippery custard slope of doom. I don't mean to drag you all down I just want to be honest about my struggles on the final day. Anyway I had taken a photo the day before I started this detox, and took one when I woke up this morning. But miraculously when I got home after my very indulgent shift at work and put them next to eachother I realised there was a change! I looked leaner, more streamlined. Yes it was a subtle difference, but one that's spurred me on to actually continue the detox. 

I know I've got a long way to go but I'm excited about it!
Also stuffing my face with custard, cakes and other silly things really made me realise how much my body doesn't appreciate it. I'd gone back to feeling bloated, overly full and slow within a matter of minutes. 10 minutes later I felt a slight sugar high which was then followed by an almighty LOW. To such an extent I felt the need to shovel more food in my mouth just to keep my eyes open. Altogether a horrible experience, but a great reminder of why I was doing this! 

So to sum up I really would suggest this detox, just make sure you make it as easy as possible for yourself by prepping your meals and following the guidelines. 

This morning I'm back feeling great! Sat on the tube writing this up as we speak with a smile on my face, water in hand, lunch boxes in bag. 

YOU CAN DO THIS! 

You're only regret will be that you didn't do it sooner. ;)

Expect lots of clean eating recipes from here on out. And for those of you that find the whole clean eating idea intimidating, start slow, make your own treats and enjoy :) 

Detox Day Four.

Evening team! How are you all getting on in this oddly muggy weather? I know, I know, us Brits are just never content with the weather... Atleast there's a little breeze today! 

Anyway it's already day four of the five day detox and I've actually decided to extend it a little. I've had a lot of digestion problems in the past and so I think it's taking my digestive system a little longer to sit up and take notice. So I'm thinking I may make it seven or possibly ten days. I'm quite lucky with the hours I work in regards to food prepping, I tend to start work at 3pm so that means I can mooch about packing little lunch boxes for the rest of the day. However when I mean (in about a week, I'm so effing excited) I'm gonna try to prep weekly. So ill let you know how that turns out. A messy kitchen I can imagine! 

Here's the food lowdown!

You guessed it, whole lemon juiced, mixed into a pint of water. Just has got soooo much easier to drink, I actually looked forward to it this morning! Never thought I'd see that day! 

Breakie was:

1 egg scrambled (I like mine still a tad runny)

Large handful of mushrooms, stir fried

2 heaped tbsp of pre-cooked Quinoa 

Quarter of an avocado. Super scrummo!

  
Once I'd eaten that I started prepping my lunch and dinner boxes for work. I say lunch but it was 2.30pm and I'd only just had my snack box before my lunch. This is why it's important to listen to your body, I knew I won't be having my "lunch" until about 5 and dinner at around 9. This may sound late in the day but its all about fuelling your body, everyone is different. Ill be at work 'till 11 so it's perfect for me :) 

For my snack box I made some spinach hummus. 

1 can of chickpeas (made sure to drain and rinse these bad boys, otherwise it messes up the consistency)

60g spinach

1 clove of garlic, grated. 

1tbsp tahini

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Put it all in the blender and blend until mixed, feel free to add water until you get your preferred consistency. This should make about 4 servings to give you an idea of portion sizes. 

Lunch and dinner is gonna be a selection of raw veggies and pre-cooked quinoa with a dressing that ill whip up while at work. I'll be snacking on berries and almonds. And ofcourse glugging on water or green tea. 

I was very proud of myself for not falling off the bandwagon yesterday so lets keep that up huh? 

Off I go.....

I decided to update this post a little after work. I still stuck to the detox however I feel like there was a constant stream of berries going into my mouth. The last hour and a half of work were incredibly busy and I didn't stop running around. I felt a little unenergised and dehydrated, but no time to drink water. Once I'm home I'm going to have atleast a pint of water before bed. I need to be able to mix it up tomorrow a bit or extended this for a few days is going to be harder than I thought. 

Detox Day Three.

Today it was time to really test the willpower. If there's food in front of me, I'm gonna eat it. Simple as that. It's the reason I got the nickname of Dustbin from my dad. So needless to say now that I'm a chef I don't really ever stop snacking. And by snacking I mean, one for you, one for me ;) One pastry, one spoonful of vanilla mascarpone, one cheeky cookie.... I dread to think of the calories I must inhale during those 8 hours. I try to tell myself it's fiiiiine, I'm on my feet in a hot environment, but still, I should be fuelling my body with the good stuff, not crap. And today, fuel it I did! It's surprising how often you think you're hungry and when you actually take a second you realise, I'm just dehydrated or bored. I can't stress enough how important it is to listen to your body. 

I don't wanna bore you with the same food routine for five days straight so I'll keep it short. 

Alarm clock. 

Ignore. 

Alarm clock. 

Stretch. 

Kitchen. 

Lemon. 

Eggs. 

Prep. 

Tea. 

Lunch. 

Work. 

Snack. 

Tea. 

Snack. 

Dinner. 

Snack. 

Snack. 

Water. 

Tube. 

Bed. 

Quick update on the squat challenge. I've been a naughty girl and crawled into my bed like a tired little bear and neglected them. But not tonight, no sir! 

Detox Day Two.

Today started off with a cheeky game of ignore the alarm clock. It turns out dancing all night long in heels after being stood statue still for 6 hours really does take it out of you. But I wasn't going to let a few yawns and blisters (stupid shoes) stop me. I dragged my butt out of my pit and made me lemon juice and water drink, there's no feeling sleeping after this bad boy. 

I felt like my hair was standing up on end....

Breakfast this morning was the Detox Smoothie, which I whizzed up and had on the tube on my way to meet my parents. I also had quarter of an avocado (it's important to get your good fats) 

Snacks, just a few veggie sticks and my trusty green tea (I'm going to make a homemade hummus tonight for snack time over the next few days. 

Lunch was 2 heaped tbsp of cooked quinoa, a few pieces of broccoli, spinach, carrot sticks, cucumber and quarter of an avocado, all drizzled with a homemade dressing of 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1tbsp of balsamic vinegar, juice of half a lime and black pepper.

For dinner I just whipped up a yummy vegetable stir fry. I included asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers, adzuki beans and tofu with a generous sprinkle of basil.

I'll be honest with you, I was NOT a fan of tofu. It had a spongey texture, but smelt like egg...odd. I'm going to experiment and get back to you guys with tastier ways to eat it. I will not be beaten ;)

Now just sat here, sipping my green tea watching House, blissful.

How's your day been?

Detox Day One.

Hunger really isn't a problem with this detox, so just listen to your body, eat when you're hungry, not bored. And make sure you drink plenty of water. I used to be crap at keeping hydrated, so I'm now carrying a 2ltr bottle of water with me everyday and challenging myself to finish it before the day is over. Also stick a few green tea tea bags in there half way through the day for a refreshing change, yum! 


As I mentioned yesterday, I wasn't too excited about the juice of a lemon part of the routine, but I grew a pair and got on with it.....
I do apologise for this photo, I just thought it was good for other people to se how much I was suffering when drinking it. (morning face)

Such an elegant little face.

As I said yesterday meal prepping really is vital with clean eating. It makes it a lot easier, and then you can just throw all your veggies etc into a tub and heading out to enjoy the sun (wherever it's disappeared to) 

I'd suggest cooking a weeks worth of Quinoa, Lentils, or Beans, black or kidney, not Baked ;) it only takes 15-20 minutes, you can glugg your morning lemon juice while you wait. 

Today's food

For breakfast (after my juice of a whole lemon in a pint of water) I had porridge, with a few hidden lovelies. 

Grapes, 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon, 2tbsp milled chia seeds and a side of two handfuls of almonds, that's about 12. 

 

 On the go... who said you can't have porridge on the train.

Lunch and dinner was prepped the night before, which was raw veggie salad. Today I included, spinach, broccoli, red pepper, carrot and mushroom. With a little apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and black pepper dressing. 

Snacks wise I had the occasional strawberry now and then and ofcourse my hefty bottle of green tea. I defo prefer mine cold and straight from the tap, no boiling and leaving needed. If today is anything to go by I'm feeling pretty positive about the next few days :) 

Could I look more like a foodie with this lot on the train this morning?

I don't think so, lets get prepping for tomorrow!

Meal Prepping.

I'm embarking on my first ever detox tomorrow and I've possibly picked the most hilarious day to start. About 6 months ago I said goodbye to the modelling and hello to chef whites, recipes, and constant nibbling. So it's just my luck that a good friend of mine has gone and got me a Bodypaint gig isn't it ;) 

Talk about jumping in at the deep end after a fair amount of time out of the game. Anyway I won't babble on anymore about that. 

Changing up your diet or just eating more healthily and resisting temptation is a lot easier if you've prepped in advance, so tonight I'm preparing myself a few little sandwich bags with healthy snacks, my lunch and dinner. I've also discovered that I much prefer my green tea cold, which works out well when you're on the move. So I'll be shoving a few tea bags into my 2ltr bottle and I'll be ready to run out of the door. Just as soon as I've had my "juice of a whole lemon in warm water wake up call" which may I add I'm not looking forward to...I'm a little bit scared tbh. Last time I attempted this morning ritual I managed half a lemon and pulled some seriously ugly facial expressions the whole time. So fingers crossed. 

I've also taken on the 30 day squat challenge, for those of you that aren't familiar with this, it basically means you start by doing 50 squats, an it increases every day (every third day you get a rest day) until you've reached 260 by the end of the month. I'm currently on 100, now I'll be honest, I'm not an exercise fan. I'm much more of a "I've ran up the escalator  today, GO ME" "I spend 8 hours on my feet in a hot environment, I'm burning calories right?!" Kinda girl :P but it really is true that just putting aside as little as 10 minutes a day really does make a difference. I've been doing the challenge about a week and can already feel a change in my stamina. I really would suggest getting involved!! 

Lunchbox lovelies.

As promised here are some super quick and tasty foods that you can throw in your handbag and enjoy on the go if you find yourself staring at a talking sandwich in your local supermarket. Depending on your job I can appreciate that forward planning your meals can be a strategic nightmare. Take it from me, I spend atleast 8 hours of my day in a busy restaurant kitchen. If I could I'd be having about five mini meals a day, but lets be honest it just ain't gonna happen. So the best I can do is try to stay clear of all the tempting puddings, and make the most of being fairly active for those hours. When it comes to snacking on my days off here are my top ten:

Apple segments with almond nut butter spread on them. 

Oat or rice cakes with mashed avocado and marmite. 

Soft boiled eggs. 

Any of my smoothie recipes that you can find here. Although a lot of them are more like a meal in themselves. 

Cashew nuts (try to limit yourself to a small handful) 

Bananas. 

Raw veggies and hummus (homemade or organic preferred so you know what's in it down to the letter) 

Water, not in a "I wanna be skinny so I won't eat way" half of the time you're not hungry you're just dehydrated. So always keep hydrated. Even if you're still hungry that glass of water will aid your digestion. 

A piece of meat the size of your palm. Works out as about 100g. It's enough to quiet a rumbling stomach and kick your metabolism in the butt. 

Blueberries. Take a little Tupperware of these with you to the office to keep naughty temptations at bay. Blueberries are really good for you. As a rule any fruit or vegetable that's naturally deep purple in colour is very high in antioxidants, so should be a staple in your diet.  

I hope this helps you, and stops you from wanting to inhale the contents of the fridge at work or make your way through the cookies in your next meeting. 

If you have any snack suggestions please do let me know, the more the merrier! 

Getting my green on.

As I promised you all last night this morning I got rid of all my naughty foods in my cupboard and replaced it with veggies and healthy alternatives! My first green smoothie in a week or so and I think we can safely say I've made up for lost time. Yep that's a pint glass ;)

In today's breakfast in a glass was: 

2 bananas

60g of spinach leaves

1 heaped tsp of almond butter

1 dash of cinnamon

1 squeeze of honey

3 or 4 generous handfuls of gluten free oats

4 gluggs of almond milk (delicious on its own by the way if you're scared to buy it)

And WHIZZ! A big fat glass of yum!

Speaking as a girl that's used to feeling like a pufferfish after any meal or drink its astonishing that after drinking a pint of very thick smoothie, (I'd rather have it thick than watered down, means I know I'm getting a boat load of goodness) I don't feel like a fat slug at all. Infact I just ran to the tube and then had a fight or flight moment legging it across a busy platform to catch a different train.That may not sound like much at all, but this is coming from the girl who's been feeling like she's stuck on slow motion the last week.

Fast Food. Slow body.

I'm sorry I've disappeared the last few weeks, I've been running round like a headless chicken with my new job, amongst other things! I promise to pay you lots more attention ok? :) 

I've been a naughty little madam and fallen off the healthy bandwagon in a big way, and my god is it showing. I'm feeling sluggish and rather sleepy all the time which is just plain crappy. If like me you need to remind yourself of all the reasons to maintain a clean lifestyle you really most check out James Duigans book "Clean and Lean Diet" it's friendly, easy to understand and incredibly motivating. I intend to read it cover to cover again tomorrow. 

I'm not going to allow myself near the Food To Go Section of Tescos again and from now on the only drink ill be glugging will be water, fruit, green and peppermint teas. 

If any of you love a good Burger King binge or need inspiration to kick the KFC bucket here are a few reasons that'll get you running from that fast food faster than they can say "would you like that supersized?"

Peanut Butter Lover? No more...
The FDA allows for there to be upto 30 insects and bugs in your favourite spread, oh and they're ok with rodent hairs too?! From now on spread Natural Almond Butter on your morning toast or apple segments. It tastes better, lasts longer, and the ingredients are JUST what it says on the tin.

Hairy facts...
In any given year one customer in one fast food chain will digest 12 pubic hairs..How many have you eaten so far? YUCK!

Those naughty little Trans Fats.
Yes they were made illegal to be served and sold to people a few years back but somehow those slimy fast food chains have slipped them into our foods and can get away with it so long as they're under a gram. Those grams add up though...

Burger marinated in Ammonia? Oh yes please... :/
The cheapo meat used by these companies is the trimmings and waste from thousands of pieces of meat and to rid it of all the germs and bacteria from where it's been sat about in a sweaty slaughterhouse is....ammonia...oh great!

French Fries...There's a reason some of you like them dipped in milkshake..
You know how sometimes you like to dip your chips in your strawberry milkshake? We've all done it! Well it turns out they've already been dunked into sugar to make them crispy. Oh jesus, hi there mr sugary, oily, fatty, starchy potato man!

Summer Salads? Anti-Freeze
A lot of the fast food chains like to soak their salads in anti-freeze to keep them "fresher" for long. Why not just cut out the middle man and drink your windscreen water? :P   

I hope this has helped to keep on the straight and narrow? Ill be going back to yummy smoothies in the morning! I'm hungry for some antioxidants! 
Night Night Girls and Boys! 

My First Week at the New Job.

Could I be happier in my new job? I'm gonna say no.  For those of you that are new to my blog, I was very lucky in that about a month ago I had a eureka moment when I transferred from a waitressing position, to working in the kitchen. I was there for about one month, and have recently started my new job. And goly gosh (yes I just said that) am I glad I did! If I could smile all day long like a cheshire cat I would, pretty sure they'd all think I was a fruit loop if I did though right?
So yeah, I'm pretty excited about it all ;)

So after almost a week of inductions and health and safety hoops to jump through I was finally allowed into the kitchen! As I arrived for my first "proper" shift I was actually slightly nervous, but I was greeted by so many welcoming hello's and and how are you's, that that feeling quickly vanished. I started the day off prepping for the breakfast service, making little layered muesli pots, which gave me so many ideas for future breakies. Later on in the day I got to try my hand at writing in chocolate, not bad for a first timer?

Not long after this I was set the task of making pizza bases from scratch, a skill I shall happily be testing and adapting with the help of some friends soon no doubt! And the next thing I knew my shift was over and it was time for me to go home, thats right, I was finishing work at 4pm on a Friday, oh how I could get used to this ;) 

Since then I've been shown how to prep all the dishes for my section and today was my first shift being left alone with the cold section. So if they wanted salads, starters, or puds I was their girl. It all went really well! 

I think I am one of those lucky little bunnies that can genuinely say she loves her job! :) 

English Tea Shop: Calming Blend.

A very food friend of mine invited me over to her new place the other. And me oh my it's stunning. Such a calming atmosphere about the whole place, the sound of the Thames and a steamy mug of tea in our hands we caught up on atleast a years worth of gossip and life stories. J is the type of friend that you hold very dear to you, hardly ever see but when you do it's like no time has passed at all. I told her all about my new healthy living plan and she was super excited for me. As a nutritionist she had lots of advice and inspiration to share with me.  We have lots of foodie adventures planned :D and I can't wait.  Even during the short time I was there she helped me with my food allergies, suggested alternatives and generally go me excited about foods I didn't even know existed. She's great. Ill be posting about her lots (sorry J) Next stop, growing my own EVERYTHING. And hunting down this tea....

.

 
As a liquorice hater I was totally shocked when J introduced me to this, the liquorice adds a cooling effect when drank that is so incredibly calming. Hence the name ;) If I had to drank one thing for the rest of my days, it would be this. Although I would never get anything done and it makes me all melty and chilled. Ohhhh I've found it! You can buy it from here or you can check out the official website with all the amazing flavours here.  As if that wasn't enough we then decided to head off for a jacuzzi, pool and sauna session. SUPER BLISSED. Today has been delightful. We've just rustled up a yummy healthy dinner too. 

It's a veggie bananza with a touch of chili, some tuna and under that mountain of goodness some whole wheat brown pasta too. Scrummy. We're about to embark on some baaaad tv and films. BEST, DAY, EVER.

To New Beginnings...

At the end of my previous post I touched on how I was off to do something exciting, well I can now tell you all about it!  My love for food has been an on going thing, but realising that it was a career path only happened about a month ago. And I'd like to thank my boss and colleagues for making it a possibility. I really couldn't have done it without your support. OK, soppy bit over! 
Two weeks ago I got the chance to speak with a guy at Radisson Hotels, and he set up a trial for me, that's what I was heading off to the other day, and it went amazingly! They offered me a position on the spot and I start in a week! I am SO unbelievably excited to start this next chapter in my life! And I hope you will enjoy the journey with me!

It just shows that if you don't like something, you can change it.  If only I could be so strong against Icecream... ;)

Let the adventurous begin!!!

North End Rd Fruit and Veg Market

OMG I am officially such a food nerd, strolling along looking at all these different types of fruit and veg was heaven to me! I must've driven Amelie made with my chat about new recipes and ideas. It also really made me miss my childhood trips to France, and visiting those markets. Something I need to rectify with a holiday I recon! All the bright colours and smells were fantastic, and don't even get me started on the bargains and sunshine...What more could a girl want?!

£1 for a Watermelon, and £1 for all those Bananas...I'll take them all!!
 

I discovered so much new fruit and veg, this beast is called a Bread Fruit, and next to it, a cousin of the Sweet Potato, Mr Puma Yam.

 PINAPPLES- One of my diehard favs, which is why I gave both of these a home! ;)

The beautiful colours continued on our way home, with us stopped every 100 yards, ditching all our bags and whipping out our cameras!
 

I am in THE BEST MOOD after this little adventure, tasty smoothie for breakie, wandering in the sun for a few hours, buying a Watermelon a wooohoooo! And now up on my roof terrace soaking in the rays with a fresh mint tea.

Yep, that's just mint leaves and water! SO refreshing in the sunshine, calming and great for you!
Does my excitement show?

 
The Pinapples are hiding in this photo I noticed! Shy, prickly, little things clearly!

All this and more for £5!! No wonder I'm smiling! I also bought myself a little flask, for smoothies on the go!

Ok, I'm off on another little adventure now, I'll let you know how it goes afterwards! Hope you're all having fun in the sun and don't get burnt....like my shoulder...yes just one shoulder! :P

Clean and Lean So Far....

I'm officially at the end of Day 4 of 14 of the Clean and Lean Kickstart, and I recon it's going really well! I had a slight hankering for something sweet last night and today but I squashed it with either carrot sticks as my snack, or chomping a few cashews nuts! Cashews are currently my number one nut, so creamy! I can't wait to experiment a little with them once I'm on day 15.  If you fancy trying out this lifestyle the main things to remember are to cut out the C.R.A.P.

Here's my quick how to guide for sussing out the bad stuff!

Caffeine- Say goodbye to, coffee, tea, and energy drinks etc.
Refined Sugar- No more Sugar, Sweets, also Fruit (fruit is reintroduced after the first 14 days) Also Fruit juice that you buy, is crazy high in sugar, so skip that, and make your own.
Alcohol- Simples.
Processed Foods- Anything with ingredients you heat in a microwave, scrape from a tin, or can't pronounce...why would you want to put that in your body?
It also means no to all of the Ready Meal section and the Sandwiches To Go section. 

On top of that I am steering clear of Gluten and Dairy where I can as I seem to have an intolerance, the diet suggests this also, but it's not a deal breaker if you can't manage that as well as everything else. There are lots of alternatives out there. I would suggest going to Whole Foods, or Holland and Barrett and get adventurous. Just as soon as I have done this Kickstart I'll be blogging about more of my yummy alternatives!

At first this does make you think "Oh wow, I'll just eat lettuce then shall I?!"
But fear not! I think my diet is a lot more varied now, no getting stuck in a "I want a chicken wrap from Tescos" rut. Just to give you an idea here's some photos of what I have prepared in the last few days, not all breakfasts were photographed as I had a busy few days at work.

My Lemon, Garlic and Ginger Prawns from the other day you can see my recipe here 

So simple! Half an Avocado (I have just learnt to appreciate these) and Smoked Salmon. One of my favourite breakfasts so far!

Lamb Chops with spinach, broccoli and red peppers.

DIPPY EGGS! This is when I knew I loved this diet, I can still have dippy eggs! YES! Just swap out the bread for red pepper.... 

Or Avocado....

Or my personal fav, a spoon!

One of my packed lunches, I felt like a little kid taking this into work, but I also felt good for sticking to the rules! :P This one is Cajun Chicken, spinach leaves, chopped tomato, and olive oil. The day before, I had it with plain Turkey strips.

More Lamb Chops, this time with gorgeous greens.

Tonight a whipped up a quick Salmon Dish for dinner and I did a quick step-by-step which you can see here.

Lemon, Garlic and Ginger Prawns with Stir Fry Veggies.

It's Day One of my James Duigan's Clean and Lean Diet, and everything is so darn tasty I want it to be dinner time so that I can have a steak, yes, STEAK! This is a dream diet. Ok, before I start babbling on about it I'd like to say it is more of a lifestyle than a diet really. It's all about knowing what you're eating and being considerate to your body. So after every delicious meal you never get that "oh crap I shouldn't have eaten that" feeling, I know all I think is "that was amazing and good for me" and normally do a little go me dance!

You guys should all go out and buy his book :) 

It talks you through why you are doing it, explaining why certain food groups are bad for you, some are pretty obvious, like processed foods but the way it's told is friendly and not at all patronising! It's like your best friend has just become a food genius and is helping you to be the best you can be!
So after explaining all the good and bad foods available to you, there is a 14 day kickstart meal plan which is great because you can mix and match it to suit your schedule. As a chef I sometimes have a full day off or I am working during food times so it's brilliant that I can look ahead and figure out what I can do to stay on track! 
Riiiiight now before I continue dribbling on about this and you think why am I reading this groupies blog, I'll just show you the good stuff!

Look at all the colourful goodies in my cardboard!

 As well as all these treats, my fridge is now brimming with meat, seafood and rice milk (I am yet to try it but I've heard good things)

Todays Breakie
Super simple, 1 egg scrambled and smoked salmon. I am OBSESSED quite fond of, smoked salmon.

Todays Lunch
Prawns marinated in Lemon, Ginger, Garlic and Chopped Parsley, with Stir Fry Veggies

100g prawns
juice of half a lemon
ginger
clove of garlic
parsely
olive oil

and then whatever veggies you fancy stir frying. I went for courgette, spinach, asparagus and mangetout.

Finely chop 1 garlic clove and a piece of Ginger the size of your thumbnail, depending on how much you like it, juice half a lemon and a sprinkle of parsley. Add all these ingredients together with a tiny bit of olive oil and pour over the prawns, shake them up and stick in the fridge for up to an hour. I took mine out after 25 minutes because I was so hungry and that seemed to be enough time.

On a low heat, warm up your wok or frying pan and add the prawns, leave the veggies out for a second and wait for the prawns to brown off slightly. Now add your veggies, as I decided to use spinach I'll be leaving that to the very end as its takes such a short time. In the same respect put asparagus in before the other veggies as they take slightly longer. All in all I recon the veg takes about 5-7 minutes to be done (depending on how crunchy you like your veg) I am a crunchy veg kinda gal.

Et voila!

Is it dinner time yet? ;) STEAK STEAK STEAK!...and breath.

My First Ever Poached Egg

Before you start doubting me, I've eaten many a poached egg in the past and found every single one to be lip-smackingly, runny-licious!

But this ladies and gentleman...

is my first attempt at making one at home, ain't it a beauty.