Paleo review time!

 It has been about 2 months since I returned to a meat eating diet with low carb intake and avoiding processed food; time for a reflect and review.

I feel so so SO much better since eating meat again. 

I feel like I have bags more energy, better mood, less cravings and I'm cheating half as much even on planned times. I'm exercising more, and recovering quicker, I'm have more motivation and my body has started improving in the last 2 weeks since going stricter. Even my skin and hair feel better!

I have been getting stricter with myself as the weeks have gone by, and plan to cut it even stricter from Monday. I've been doing a lot of reading and research into the paleo, primal and whole 30 diet approach and the results/evidence they provide. It's all making me even more motivated and inspired to cut back and get even stricter. Why not? I am honestly feeling better and better every day- so clearly it is working for me! 

'Abs are made in the kitchen',

'Weightloss = 20% exercise 80% diet',

'Food can help you or hinder you'....

Basically- it all starts with food!

If you're interested in reading more I would advise you to read the above book. I'm hooked! You can find me every day on the way to and from anywhere with my nose pressed against my iPad/iPhone reading this on kindle!

Have a great weekend- make healthy choices

Sofit xxxxxx

Sprouts and bacon!

I wrote this post a few years ago! This is still one of my favourite & most used recipes! Versatile- good as a main, or a side dish with just about anything!

Enjoy xxxxx

There are no words to describe just how well sprouts and bacon go togther.

You have to try for yourself!

Bacon & sprouts is a common go to for paleo diet followers. I love it. But this time I decided to throw in a load of garlic, chilli powder and sweet potato for the perfect dinner, breakfast and leftover lunch for work!

Quick! Easy! Cheap! Healthy! Nutritious!

It ticks all the right boxes!

RECIPE:

•Brussel sprouts

•Bacon

•Sweet potato

•4 Garlic cloves

•Chilli powder & flakes

•Salt & Pepper

•Coconut/Olive oil

•Preheat oven to 180c

•Cut bottom/stalk off sprouts & slice in half

•Cut bacon into mini strips

•Rough chop/Dice sweet potato into odd size pieces

•Dice garlic

•Throw in an oven dish and top with oil and seasoning to taste

•Cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 10

•Serve immediately and enjoy

•Box up left overs on a bed of curly kale and top with eggs for the perfect leftovers breakfast and/or lunch 

Sofit xxxxxx

The perfect frittata.

I love eggs.

But that's not new.

What is new to me, is chucking my left overs in a pan and making it into a frittata for breakfast and/or lunch the next day! Amazing!

Cost effective, quick, easy, simple and healthy!

RECIPE:

•5 eggs

•Olive oil 

•Almond milk

•Salt, Pepper and Chilli powder

•Leftover lamb & winter veggies

•Chop up left over meat and veggies and sauté in a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil seasoned to taste

•Whisk eggs and milk and pour onto mix

•Cook on low and once bottom starts to harden, pop pan under the grill 

•Once cooked- serve and enjoy!

Or pop into a lunchbox for tomorrow! 

Sofit xxxxxx

Lamb Bake dinner.

The definition of a casserole is food cooked and served in an oven/casserole dish, in Australia it is called a casserole just for the dish and not based on the contents. Well this is pretty vague and covers a lot of dishes in vast variety.

In that case 'casserole' has to be the perfect quick fix meal. You just throw in your ingredients and let it cook. It is the perfect way of cooking for anyone that is on a time restraint, therefore not having time to prep and/or stand and cook. Just chuck it in a dish and pop it in the oven. Perfect.

On Wednesday night I made a lamb dinner in a casserole dish, served it with a baked butternut squash (see previous blog post) and a curly kale green side.

RECIPE:

•Lamb steak

•Baby corn

•Leek

•Carrot

•Babystem broccoli

•Sugar snap peas

•Chilli

•Salt & Pepper

•Rosemary

•Tiny amount of stock- literally a splash

(The beetroot in the picture was used for seperately roasting, I'm addicted to it)

•Preheat oven to 180c

•Place all veg cut as desired into casserole dish

•Place lamb steaks on top

•Season to taste & add rosemary

•Add your splash of stock water

•Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes

Serve and enjoy 

Sofit xxxxxxx

Jacket Squash.

Oh my..! I am a happy person right now. This week I have discovered something perfect for my healthy lifestyle- I LOVE BUTTERNUT SQUASH!

Yeh, so what?! You say. Well let me explain- it tastes and feels just like potato! I have found my potato swap fix! 

Let's think about this seriously, this week I bought one large squash and it has supplied 9 meals! I have cut and roast potato styled it, I have had it roasted with chilli in my winter veg mix and last night I not only made a jacket squash, I also put it into a frittata!! 

This little squash can feed an army! Everyone seriously needs to try this! I am going to be cooking with it all of the time now! 

Even better- the squash is filled with amazing anti oxidants, minerals, vitamins, protein, fibre and mono-unsaturated fatty acids that are good for heart health! - SO GET EATING IT! :)

Quick, easy, cheap, healthy, tasty, nutritious, child friendly etc etc!

RECIPE:

•Butternut squash 

•Olive Oil

•Salt & Pepper

•Chilli Powder optional

•Pre heat oven to 200c

•Score the surface of your sliced in half squash (remember to remove seeds/pulp with a spoon)

•Drizzle on Olive Oil

•Season to taste

•Pop onto a baking tray line with foil & cook for 60 minutes

Serve and enjoy!  

Sofit xxxxxx

Turkey Casserole / Bake.

Last night I made a quick and easy one pot bake / casserole. I am becoming a big fan of these simple dishes with small prep time that you can just throw in the oven and leave. 

I made turkey casserole. It wasn't strictly paleo as I used some stock and gravy- but it was still mega healthy and tasty.

Again this is another perfect dish for young professionals with limited time, families, mums with limited time, child friendly and perfect for lunch box leftovers.

RECIPE:

•4 Turkey steaks

•2 large white onions

•2 large Carrots

•Mushrooms

•Gravy powder/granules

•1.5 cups stock

•Fresh garden peas x 1 cup

•Salt and Pepper

•4 Garlic cloves

•Chilli powder

•Pre heat oven to 180c

•Slice your carrots and onions

•Cut mushrooms in half

•Cut Turkey steaks into roughly cut odd size pieces

•Dice Garlic cloves

•Throw in an oven dish and season to taste

•Pour in stock

•Cover with foil/lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally if desired

•Add peas and gravy granules

•Stir, cover and cook for a further 5-10 minutes

Serve and enjoy 

We had ours with the roasted veg mix from my previous post and some sweet corn. It got the thumbs up from the boyfriend- and that's not always easy.

Sofit xxxxxxx

Blueberry Paleo Muffins.

Whether it's for a desert, a snack or even breakfast- try my yummy Paleo style blueberry muffins.

They must be easy to make because even I can make them (and baking is not my strong point), so give them a go!

Cheap to make, quick prep time and child friendly.

RECIPE:

•Almond Flour x 2 cups

•Coconut flour/Desicated x 1/2 cup

•Baking powder x 1 tablespoon

•2 eggs

•Water x 1 cup

•Raw honey x 1 big tablespoon

•Mashed banana x 2

•Vanilla Extract

•Blueberries

•Preheat oven to 170c

•Combine dry ingredients

•Add wet ingredients and fold mix

•Add all other ingredients and fold

•Put muffin cases into a muffin tray

•1 heaped tablespoon of muffin mix into each muffin case

•Cook for 35-45 minutes (or until a knife comes out the centre clean), turning muffin tray 2-3 times

•Leave to stand on cooling rack for 15 minutes

•Enjoy

ALTERNATIVES:

Use coconut sugar or

Chopped dried apricots or

Sultanas 

Sofit xxxxxx

Sofit's indoor mini bootcamp.

Right! This is it. No more excuses of it being too cold or of having no time or anything else! This workout takes 15 minutes only and can be done in the living room or your bedroom. Trust me! We tested it last night!

This is the perfect workout for those days  when you can't make the gym, or only have a really small amount of time to workout. Literally- it only took 15 minutes and we probably could of finished it quicker.

•20 star jumps

•20 box squat jumps

•20 knee to elbow jumps

•30 second wall sit

•1 minute plank

•20 mountain climbers

•20 core leg throws (alone or +1)

•20 push ups

•1 min side plank- left & right

•20 star jumps

•1 minute wall sit

•20 lie to sit core sit ups

•20 box squat jumps

•20 tricep dips (off the sofa)

•20 on your back hip push ups

•20 lunges - left and right

Aaaaand that's it. 

A high intensity 15 minute workout, perfect for in the home.

Feeling brave/strong/fit?? 

Rest for 5 and REPEAT! 

Variations: 

I do my mountain climbers whilst seriously tensing my abs, or throw in diagonal mountain climbers. 

I do my hip push ups (also known as a bridge) with my feet up on the sofa so I have an incline/more work to do! 

This is a bridge/hip push up:

Enjoy

Sofit xxxxxx

Paleo Meatballs & Roasted Winter Veg.

I made some yummy meatballs to go with my roasted winter veg last night. 

Meatballs has to be one of the easiest meals to cook, literally just pop it in an oven dish with the other bits and cook! Quick, easy and healthy- perfect!

Last night was minimal effort night- I'm trying to make my meals as easy and as quick to make as possible so that anyone with any time constraint can make them at home.

RECIPE:

•3 x Big Tomatoes

•2 x White Onion

•4 x Garlic Cloves

•Preheat oven to 200c

•Dice garlic cloves

•Dice or chop 2 x white onion

•Chunky chop the tomatoes

•Put all on an oven dish

•Drizzle with olive oil

•Add salt & pepper and stir

•Cook for 35-40 mins, stirring 2-3 times throughout

Serve immediately and enjoy  

Sofit xxxxxxx

Roaster Winter Veg.

I'm sure by now you all know how much I love winter, and especially Christmas. I love the colours of winter, I love wrapping up in winter clothes, Christmas films are definitely the best films and everyone just seems so happy around Christmas!

Another great thing about the winter is the food! I love making hearty and healthy winter perfect filling meals, I love to cook through the winter. Warm meals are definitely my preferred choice- don't get me wrong I love a salad and a fruit juice, but if I had to choose- it would be warm food all the way!

This winter I will be trying new recipes every week for the blog, and expanding my cooking knowledge (hopefully by a lot) and sharing it with you all. I have been reading up on a few blogs and some recipe books and adapting them to be healthy and as I like them, so hopefully you will too. I have a massive list of meals to attempt and I'm looking forward to getting through it.

So, last night I had a friend to my house and we completed a quick high intensity mini bootcamp that I designed earlier in the day. Then we feasted on a warm paleo style meal of garlic meatballs and roasted winter veg. 

I always always keep my meals simple, so I like to think (I hope) that nobody feels that they can't attempt to make them at home by following my recipe.

Last night I roasted two new vegetables, I can't believe I have got to 25 and not tried them roasted to be honest! I had beetroot and butternut squash.... and I absolutely LOVED them. In fact I would go as far as saying that they were my favourite part of the meal. It got the thumbs up from my dinner guest too, who loved the taste that the seasoning have to the veg. 

RECIPE:

•Butternut squash 

•Beetroot 

•Asparagus 

•Courgette

•Sweet Potato

•Mushroom

•Preheat oven to 200c

•Peel squash and chop into chunks of varied sizes

•Slice beetroot slices, 2 cm thick

•Chop courgette and mushrooms into chunks

•Wash sweet potato and slice leaving skin on

•Put all veg into a baking tray and drizzle with Olive Oil/Coconut Oil

•Season with Salt, Pepper, Chilli Flakes and Chilli Powder

•Cook for 35-40 minutes, shaking/turning veg once or twice

Serve immediately and enjoy 

Sofit xxxxx

Friday & Saturday Diary entry.

Is everybody still keeping their food diaries? I really think that it helps me to stay on track and encourages me for the following day. I sometimes often write in the diary for a few days ahead also, this helps me to plan and again encourages me to stick to the plan.

I also pop down what exercise I have done that day.  Find that this helps when I am trawling back through my diary, feeling like I have lost the plot or gone off track. It's actually quite reassuring when you notice that actually- I didn't eat all that bad at all, AND I did 30 minutes exercise etc, and then that reassurance will encourage me to carry on! 

But of course, it works in the opposite situation also. I always put everything in my diary- even alcohol, even a bite of chocolate. Be honest. 

So if I have fallen off the wagon and had a bad day (or two) I will simply read back over my diary and use it as encouragement to stop and to contribute being clean and healthy. If I don't see any exercise written next to the entries then it gives me motivation to go do some! It really works for me. Give it a try! :)

Working breakfast on Friday was Salmon & Eggs with a peppermint tea. 

Lunch was leftover beef, carrot roasts and pancetta sprouts (see previous post).

From work I had my hair done, and didn't get home until 9.15! I grabbed a mixed bean salad & chorizo salad mini pot from M&S for dinner.

Breakfast on Saturday was this amazing saVse super red smoothie- literally crammed with raw goodness.

Brunch was a big breakfast and organic sourdough toast.

Dinner was a massive treat meal at Bar Baloud at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. An amazing treat! 

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Sofit xxxxxx