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!! 

Duck duck MOUSSE....

It's been a while since I treated you peeps to a naughty but nice post, so here you are kids....

Does it get better than guilt free chocolate mousse? 

NO. 

What about guilt free chocolate mousse that you can whip up in less than 10 minutes? 

Amazeballs!

So here's how you get your mitts on the good stuff...grab these things:

2 bananas

1 very ripe avocado

2tbsp of nut butter (not essential) 

3-4 tbsp of cocoa powder

Shove it all in a blender and whizz until smooth. This is why it's good for your avocado to be ripe. Last time I made this mine were a little too tough and have my blender had a bit of a workout. 

I'm a bit of a freezer freak, mines filled with non dairy alternatives and a tonne of frozen fruit. I decided to top today's treat with raspberries. Mmmmm dark chocolate, raspberries and a tv catch up...perfection! 

I'm off to lick the blender bowl. 

Enjoy!! 

Step away from the Cinnamon Graham's.

This morning I woke up and all I could think was these bad boys. 

I bought them a week or so ago during a naughty day that went to far. So to squash my cravings for them I whipped up a yummy little (one pint) smoothie instead. Mmmmmm

Today's mix was:

2 bananas

2 squeezes of runny honey

Lots of cinnamon (measure to taste)

4 gluggs of almond milk

Handful of frozen blueberries

1 fat frozen strawberry

And two handfuls of gluten free oats. 

And here it is in all its glory!
 

This was delicious! It'll definitely be a regular breakfast recipe! 

Summertime, is that you?

Yesterday I finally had my first taste of an English summer! I spent far too long in bed, but when I did whip back the bed sheets I was greeted by a beautiful day. I threw on a summer dress (the first time I've been able to do that all year) and headed off to find sunshine and friends. I found both at Gordon's Wine Bar. Little fact, it's the oldest drinking establishment in Europe. Go Gordon's! We all caught up on eachothers lives for the past week or so while polishing off bottle after bottle of wine. I was sticking to the water, oh yum ;) A few hours later and I was STARVING. We managed to gather the troops and head to L'ulivo, an Italian restaurant just round the corner. If anyone has ever said to you don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry, because you'll make awful choices, you couldn't be further from the truth with this place. I was so hungry when I ordered and I don't regret the Calamari, King Prawns or the Garlic Bread.

 And I certainly don't regret this bad boy.

Yep that's all mine. Here we have, a 12oz Sirloin Steak, red wine and rosemary sauce (swoon) and 2 sides of veggies, much to my waiters dismay I polished off the whole lot with a little help from a slightly tipsy partner in crime. 

We had every intention of going to meet more friends to continue the evening, but after that much food and that much sunshine we were all pretty sleepy. So we said our goodbyes, went our separate ways. 

And promptly fell asleep on the tube home. 

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! 

Whites off, black on.

The other day I was asked if I minded helping out on the other side of the kitchen door at work. They needed a hostess and as I do have previous experience asked if I would be up for it. 

So I had to say goodbye to comfy whites and pour myself into this number instead. 

Yes, I love a good selfie, deal with it ;)

It was pretty standard hostessy type stuff but instead of making the canapés I was serving them. And who better to serve them to than the head chefs of the company. It was a great opportunity to socialise with people that have been in the industry for years and still love it. It was very inspiring indeed, chatting to them made me realise its up to me if I want to push myself, and push myself I shall! :) Luckily I'm pretty content sat in bed thinking up recipes and doing ingredient research. So watch this space kids.