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. 

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! :)