Eating out - the healthy way!

It is a well known fact that eating out is a disaster when eating clean? Right? WRONG!

So many restaurants now offer healthy, clean, nutritious AND delicious options!

For example, nandos:

Yes this is from nandos!!

This one is there new avocado and bean salad. With a side of macho peas, a pineapple and (oooops) haloumi on top!

This is seeeeeriously filling and even more tasty than I can explain! Go try it!  

Next up we have Wagamamas:

This is a new salad with more in it than I could list- leaves, beans, radish, onion, rice noodle, tomato, butternut squash etc

All mixed in with a clean wasabi and avocado sauce.

O . M . G !

Have a great weekend and remember to veg out- just for the health of it ;)

Sofit xxxxx

Count nutrients not calories

This is what I like to call examples of eating the rainbow!

Above is mixed salad, home made quacamole and garlic mushrooms (cooked in coconut oil) NOM!

Spinach, rocket, avocado, cucumber, onion. Sweet corn and jalapeño salad!

Challenge yourself to get as many colours on your plate as possible :) 

Enjoy!

Sofit xxxxx

A weekend of festival fun!

That Friday feeling has just kicked in!

I am off to v festival tomorrow! Wahoo!

Music, friends, fun & giggles = happy & healthy living!

Mission find the vegan & healthy food whilst there is on!!

I have got my wellies ready & it's all about dancing in the rain! 

Then on Sunday I have a food festival (omg!!!!) with a fellow blogger! 

I will definitely get some pictures of that to blog about!

I am so excited!

And of course I will fit some sort of exercise in between- even if it is a stationary workout at home.

Remember- there is 24 hours in the day, and you're saying you haven't got 20-40 mins free to do some bits and bobs in your room/house/garden?? Pull the other one! ;)

Have a great weekend!

Sofit xxxxx

Snack attack!

I keep a selection of different clean snacks in my bag ALL of the time!

Yes I try to plan my food for the day but I am a hungry working woman!! ;)

Today in my bag I have the compulsory water bottle!

Organic dark chocolate. Different brands and flavours every week.

A selection of nuts. Often I have seeds and dried fruit too.

And a raw vegan chocolate brownie (which I will have on the way home pre workout!)

Sofit xxxxx

Pancake day every day!!

These pancakes are completely guilt free!

And they taste amazing!

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desert or snack. Your choice!

Simples:

Mix banana and egg with:

(Your choice) Wholemeal flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour, almond flour, protein powder or ground seeds.

Make a nice batter consistency

And fry in a pan with coconut oil until cooked!

So easy!

Top with peanut butter / honey / desicated coconut / berries etc etc

(Organic of course!)

Sofit xxxxxx

Naked balls!!!

So, ok the title is a bit rude, but these babies are soooooo good!

I first made these in January after moving to London, and my addiction to naked bars had me spending loads a week. 

So I read the ingredients and made my own naked balls!!

Best thing about these (apart from the fact that  they are super healthy and mega easy to make) is that you can make so many different flavours!

My main ingredients are always:

Dates

Raisins

Almonds

Equal parts of each.

But I also have added goji berries, cherries, all different types of nuts, loads of different seeds, coconut, vanilla, raw cacoa, dark choc pieces etc etc!

For extra goodness I add a mix of ground seeds that I got from Holland & Barrett. 

Top with honey / peanut butter / almond butter / desiccated coconut / gojis / etc

Whack it all in a processor or mini blender 

Roll into balls or bars

And enjoy!!

Sofit xxxxxx

Also good with protein mixed in.

I use pulsin raw pea protein

Or sunwarrior raw protein

(Post to follow)

Walk walk fashion baby

Living a healthy lifestyle is living a happy lifestyle!

I love clothes, I love shoes, I love jewellery, I love bags, I love anything quirky and different!

And it makes me happy! And therefore healthy!

Embrace your style! Be who you! Stay true to yourself. 'Express yourself' ;)

Sofit xxxx

Planned turns into disaster

I forgot my yummy salad for lunch :(

Looks like I am buying lunch today!

BUT that does not mean that I will be going outside of my healthy eating plan. Everywhere has healthy options- you just have to look properly. You're fooling yourself if you use the excuse 'there was nothing healthy so I had to eat crap'.

Luckily work provides a big salad bar full of clean option so you will find me there at lunch time.

 

They also have 9 bars in the vending machines. Not as perfectly clean as I like to be- but if I do need a snack outside of my planned intake then that is what I will grab. Or fruit of course.

Lots of supermarkets have healthier options now too. Bean salads, olive pots, side salads, fruit pots etc. Marks and Spencer's do mooli rolls. 

Sofit xxxxx

Thank you for the encouragement

Thank you to every one that has took the time to encourage me, and say well done  for this blog. Thank you to those who are helping me spread the love by sharing my page. 

You realise who truly supports you/who is a good egg in your life during good times- because they are happy that you are happy.

Lots of love to you!

Sofit xxxx

Get over it

Clean living is amazing & I feel so so so much better for it.

But I am human & that means that occasionally I will treat myself.

I like to aim for 80/20 balance minimum! Some weeks I do 90/10.

My advise: 

if you do treat yourself (its a treat- not a cheat! - Positive- not negative!) then always let it be planned, not a sudden decision/binge. 

Really think about it before. Thinking it through helps you to not over do it. 

Ok, so you're going to have some chocolate/crisps etc, but don't eat 6 bars just because! Eat one bar. A planned treat and then stop! 

I love the saying: 'If you dropped and cracked your phone - you wouldn't keep chucking and smashing it up' .... Well it's the same for your lifestyle! All in moderation.

The most important thing to remember after a treat:

GET OVER IT!!

Don't beat yourself up- it does you no good!... Instead, let it encourage you to eat even cleaner tomorrow, or work even harder in that next workout!

And enjoy!

Sofit xxxxxx

Egg-cellent egg muffins

These babies I love!

You can choose absolutely any filling - breakfast style or spicy dinner style- the choice is yours!

Today I made them with

5 eggs

Loads of spinach

Tomato 

Onion

Peppers 

& mushroom

Whisk your eggs- stir in your diced fillings- season accordingly...

Pop into a coconut oil greased muffin tray and bake on 160 for 25 mins!

Serve immediately or refrigerate and use for future breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Enjoy

Sofit xxxxxxx

Fresh prepping

Before my gym class tonight I used the half an hour I had to prep a big fresh salad, to go with the egg muffins I had in the oven.

Layer it up:

Cabbage

Spinach

Mixed leaves

Cos lettuce

Cucumber 

Onion and carrot

Then squeeze a lemon on it and cover with black pepper. 

Pop on the lid- shake it all up.

Aaaaaand fresh salad prep is done- this will last me the rest of the week!

Sofit xxxxx

Graze

I have never been keen on using graze boxes because you don't really know what's in them- and I am quite particular when being clean.

But I had a look on the website after receiving a freebie code from asos.

My free trial arrived today after I deselected the obvious bad choices (aka the puddings, all milk chocolate and the breadsticks that weren't wholemeal etc)

This is what I got this week- I'm looking forward to sampling them as the week goes on.

Sofit xxxxx

Take a chill pill!

Turns out that I am one of those special cases who doesn't feel tired after working out, and instead is bursting with energy. 

I also have a seriously over active brain and have one million billion thoughts and memories running through my head the minute it hits the pillow.

But I'm not going to let that effect me, I know to be perfectly healthy I need my beauty sleep. A good 8 hours of it ideally. So tonight after body pump and a nice hot shower it's going to be alllllll about the candles, green tea and fiction book in bed. 

Relax, chill out, take it easy.... And sleep!

Sofit xxxxxx

Juicyyyyyy

I used to hate the idea of a smoothie or juice- all that liquid! That won't fill me! I want to chew something!

But I'm now quite partial to a smoothie for breakfast or post work out with my raw protein.

You can cram so much, and so many nutrients, into one glass! Winner winner, smoothie dinner!!

This one was banana, apple, apricot, mango and a few blueberries! (Basically what I had in the house!!)

This one I packed up for work:

Banana, carrot, apple, mango and spinach.

Loads of spinach, carrot, apple and melon

You get the picture.

Blend it and drink it!

Instant nutrient hit!

NOM!

Sofit xxxxxx

Getting fruity with my lover PB

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

Seriously- it's amazing!

All you need is:

1 organic apple

Organic whole earth peanut butter.

You can thank me later ;)

Sofit xxxxx

Love your sweat!

We all know that skinny is soooo last season! 

It's all about toning and shape! I mean, yes a skinny girl looks good in clothes- but a fit girl look good NAKED!!!

I have always been into being toned and having muscle, my gymnastics at a young age set me up with a good core and the cheerleading is to thank for my biceps and shoulders! (Yeh thanks for that- man arms!)

I don't understand how people can say they don't enjoy exercising. Surely they just haven't found the right exercise that suits them?!!

You wouldn't catch me playing football or running on a treadmill- that is for sure!!

But that's fine because I know what works for me. I used to dance and cheerlead 4-6 times a week, performing at sports events in my home town and in lots of competitions. When I cut down on this the pounds started appearing and my fitness levels dropped. So since then I have trialled a lot of different types of exercise: weights, boxing, body combat, circuits, gym workouts, running, spinning, Zumba, Pilates, bootcamps etc etc.

My current exercise programme is a mixture of body pump (I love to work with weights! And always will!!), lots of walking, abs & core classes, interval training runs, bums tums and thighs advanced, my own personally led bootcamps and the newest is Bikram yoga! (I also went to a crossfit class and fell in love with it- that is next on my list to locate locally and get addicted to).

Moral of the story- you will like one exercise, so try them all and find your fix!

Sofit xxxxxx

For everything a reason

This is one of my favourite quotes.

It is so so so true.

Everything happens for a reason! Literally everything! If the things hadn't happened you wouldn't be who you are and where you are now, and you wouldn't know what you know!

So use this as encouragement to relax and enjoy what life throws at you, safe in the knowledge that you are heading in the right way.

Sofit xxxxxx

Eat clean

No excuses! Be your own cheerleader!

More quinoa and bulgar wheat mix ideas

During the winter I would make big batches of this to serve through the week:

Here we have quinoa and bulgar wheat boiled and mixed with cooked chopped tomatoes, peppers, onion, broccoli, mushrooms and garlic. Mix in all the herbs, spices and seasoning you want. 

Every time that I made it I just threw in what I had available to hand. So every batch had different veg, beans and spices in. 

Add some cumin for a chilli con crane style mix.

This next one is so filling! And nutritious!

This picture is from February- this meal is another favourite of mine- and super simple and perfect for a big prep to last a few lunches.

Quinoa and/or bulgar wheat (or both) boiled with garlic seasoning in the water.

Mixed with cooked onions, sweet corn, and beans.

Then stir in some tuna and fresh spinach.

(This goes great with a boiled egg!)

So good!!

You can literally mix anything in with this stuff- salad for a fresh meal or warm veg and beans for a more hearty meal.

Enjoy!!

Sofit xxxxxx

Healthy coleslaw - crunchy and raw!

This is one of my favourites- thanks mum for showing me how.

All you need is carrots, onion and cabbage and mayo or natural yoghurt (your choice on white or red for the carrots and onion- or use both!).

Cut your onion in half and peel it

Cut the onion so that you end up with long slices as shown in the piccy

Do the same with your cabbage

(Long slices are the best, you want both to be a medium thickness)

My little touch on this was to peel the carrot into the mix instead of slicing/cutting. So literally peel the carrot into the bowl.

Mix with (your choice depending how healthy you are being) mayo / light mayo / vegan mayo / natural yoghurt / fat free natural yoghurt. Or just lemon juice.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is great with BBQ food! And I like to add garlic to mine- to do this simply thinly slice or crush 1 or 2 garlic cloves into your wet mix before stirring it in!

Sofit xxxxxx

Mmmm mmmm mmm Hummus

Hummus.

The perfect food!

Great for a starter, a main, a snack, a sauce, a filling etc etc etc

And the best thing about it- it's so damned easy to make!

A blender (the smaller the better- food processor is ideal!)

Chic peas

Garlic

Lemon

(Optional chilli)

Pop a can (or pre cooked organic) chic peas into the blender/processor,

 dice 1 or 2 garlic cloves and chuck them in. 

Squeeze half a lemon on top. 

Blend.

THAT'S IT!

I love the spice- so I add a whole load of chilli flakes into mine.

It's amazing topped (or even mixed) with the clean chilli sauces you can get from health stores!

Enjoy!

Sofit xxxxx

Dinner dates with friends

I had friends round to my house for a double date dinner last night & I served up health, nutrients and goodness!

To start we had carrot sticks and hummus (hummus recipe to follow)

Followed by garlic chicken for them (not for me) with rosemary and garlic potato wedges cooked in coconut oil. (I didn't get a picture but will be posting the recipe in another blog to follow). 

This was served with a big spinach and mixed leaf, cucumber and pepper salad.

And a big bowl of this: 

Quinoa and bulgar wheat bean mix! With a twist! 

I cooked up the bulgar and quinoa. Added in some chic peas and kidney beans, chilli flakes and garlic. 

Added chopped spinach, peppers, tomato and olives! Lots of olives!

Then cooked some tomatoes and peppers with garlic as mixed them into the bowl too.

NOM!!!

Desert was blueberry banana loaf (see previous post).

Sofit xxxxx

You can have your cake AND eat it!

I've done it! I've created a CLEAN nutritious aaaaaand delicious cake! 

This is a blueberry version of my banana loaf. It turned out good- if not a little too light. Which can't be a bad thing!

I have a weakness for a blueberry muffin when I am having a bad day- so this is just perfect!

So it was the same recipe and cooking instructions as my banana loaf:

2 mashed bananas

2 eggs 

1/2 cup of water

2 cups of almond flour/ground almonds

1/2 a cup of coconut flour/desiccated coconut

1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder

1 tablespoon of natural sweetener/stevia

Vanilla flavouring/shredded vanilla

Mix it all together

Stir in the blueberries

And pop into a coconut oil lined loaf tin / or muffin tray - into a preheated oven

Cook for 25-35 mins on 180!

Please enjoy!

Sofit xxxxxx

Bring back the lunchbox trend!!

Life is hectic, eh? Life is so busy. No time to prepare healthy food?

Bullshizzzz!

This salad took me all of 5 minutes to prepare and had me filled with goodness on my lunch break!

I vote we bring back the lunch box trend. Teddy bear shaped ones and all! 

Ingredients:

Quinoa, bean sprouts, shredded carrot, radish, onion, mixed leaves, tuna and a yummy coconut water. NOM!

Sofit xxxxx

Chemical free make up? This stuff is amazing!

I am love with bare minerals make up!

I only made the switch 2 months ago, and since then my mum also got me some chemical free eye shadow. It's amazing!

There are lots of different ranges with different prices of chemical free make up- so it's no excuse that it's not cheap enough. It is!

Plus- apparently this stuff TREATS your skin whilst you wear it! So basically it's skin care! Sounds good to me!!

Sofit xxxxx