Yoghurt and Granola Parfait

This is a really quick and easy breakfast or lunch, especially if you have pre-made the granola before hand. The granola recipe I used for this parfait was 'Deliciously Ella's Cinnamon and Pecan Granola' and I will give you the recipe straight from her book, as it's delicious! For the layers in between I used fat free greek yoghurt with forest berries on top, drizzled with agave nectar.

Ingredients

These ingredients combined make one big batch that if kept in an air tight container can last for a good couple of months (if it lasts that long) 

2 and a 1/2 cups of oats

1 cup of pecans

1/2 cup of flax seeds

1 cup of sunflower seeds

1 cup of raisins

3 tablespoons of coconut oil

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

3 teaspoons of cinnamon

Place the pecans and almonds in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds so that they are partially crushed. Then add them to a large mixing bowl with all the other dry ingredients, except the raisins and cinnamon, and stir together.

Next, melt the coconut oil with the maple syrup and cinnamon on the stove, once it has dissolved into a sweet liquid add it to the dry bowl and mix well. This should form a deliciously oaty nutty bowl, which is slightly sticky.

Place the mixture into a baking tray and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 180C, until crunchy. During this time you'll need to stir the mixture to ensure that every bit of the granola gets nicely toasted and the top doesn't burn.

Once the granola is cooked perfectly remove the tray from the oven and allow it to cool, then stir in the raisins. Store the granola in an air-tight container to keep it wonderfully fresh and crunchy.

This granola is great as it's super filling added to a smoothie bowl, yoghurt or just with milk.

Enjoy!

Winter Mongolian Days

Now that the temperature has changed dramatically over the past few days, it time to say goodbye to my leather jacket and hello to my shaggy mongolian. This is the warmest thing in my wardrobe and I love throwing it over a t-shirt when its cool and a jacket when it's freezing! The bohemian look is one of my favourites and have teamed it with a pair of my favourite flares. I love it when they are really long so I can wear high heeled boots underneath then, although with this look I have teamed them with some studded boots. Everything in these pictures are Topshop, as always!

Mango and Banana Smoothie

I love a smoothie whether its hot or cold outside, I always crave one after a workout! My particular craving today was mango and luckily I had some frozen in the freezer! It was so quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:

handful of frozen mango 

handful of frozen banana 

All I did was put the fruit in my NutriBullet and fill it with water up to the line in requires and blitzed it! You can add more fruit if you want it thicker or if you're making it for two people. It is super delicious and filling. 

Oh Jimmy!

I am such a sucker for vintage style t-shirts as I love pairing them with black skinny jeans or to dress down a cute skirt such as this cord one. I got this Jimmy Hendrix super soft tee from Topshop and it's the comfiest thing ever! There are some really cool ones around at the moment and I find they are such a good way to look effortlessly cool, especially with a leather jacket!

You might have seen from my very first post of a pair of over the knee boots, well unfortunately I wore them to absolute death and eventually they fell apart, sad times!! Therefore, it was definitely time to throw out the old ones and buy some new beauties. I found the best pair from Topshop (£98) and they were also flat, I'm not great in heels, so trying to find a good pair of flat knee highs can be quite a challenge! 

Raw Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

I wanted to combine my two favourite things I love to eat, which is chocolate and berries into this raw cheesecake. Again, I have made this with only a few simple ingredients, all of which are healthy and vegan friendly. With my previous cheesecake I used quite a lot of cashew nuts (which I love) but I wanted to make one that was lighter to eat. 

Ingredients

Base

2 mugs dates (pitted)

1.5 mugs almonds

1/3 mug shredded coconut

1 heaped tablespoon raw cacao powder

Middle layer

2 frozen bananas 

1 mug cashews (soaked for 3 hours)

1/2 mug maple syrup

1 heaped tablespoon raw cacao powder

Top layer 

1 frozen banana

2 mugs frozen strawberries

handful frozen forest berries

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method:

Before you start making this, make sure you slice 3 ripe bananas and freeze them for at least 3 hours, along with the strawberries and forest berries. Again, make sure you have soaked the cashew nuts for at least 3 hours before hand in water.

Now, starting with the base, place the almonds into a food processor and blend for a minute or so until they are nicely crushed. Then add the pitted dates (I am trying normal dates rather than the Medjool dates for a change) and blend again until a sticky type mixture forms. I sometimes add a splash of water to make it stick better, then add the raw cacao powder. It smells delicious! With your hands, scoop out the mixture and press into a base of a cake tin or muffin tin (which I used) and then place into the freezer.

Next, for the middle layer, add the 2 frozen bananas to a blender and blitz until an ice cream type mixture forms. Then add the cashew nuts, maple syrup and raw cacao powder and blend until smooth and creamy. Take the base layer out of the freezer and pour three-quarters of this mix over it before putting it back in the freezer. Keep the remaining mixture in the blender as we need it for the top layer.

Now, wait about 30 minutes whilst the middle layer sets in the freezer. Then, for the top layer add the frozen banana, strawberries and maple syrup to the remaining mixture and blitz until smooth. Take the handful of berries, add them to the mixture and stir. Pour over the middle layer, if using a muffin tin like I did, make sure you spread the mixture out evenly so they are all the same height. 

Place the cheesecake back into the freezer and leave to set for 2-3 hours before serving. You will need the cake to warm up slightly before serving, but it will melt fairly quickly if room temperature it too warm!

Enjoy! 

Raw Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted on here, I have been doing my BBG workout for the past 3 weeks and have been looking after my parents little dog for 2 weeks so all of my time has been doing that! 

Now, anyone who knows me will understand my love for cheesecake, so on my days off I have been obsessing over these raw cheesecakes and experimenting with different flavours and ingredients. I am really into my raw foods at the moment and being healthy, so thought I would give these a try. I was really surprised at how quick, easy and simple it was to make. I loosely followed Deliciously Ella's recipe as I did want to make it more my own. 

Ingredients:

Base

1.5 mugs almonds

2.5 mugs Medjool dates (pitted)

1 teaspoon water

1/3 mug shredded coconut

Middle Layer

2 mugs cashews (soaked in water for 3 hours)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons lemon rind

1 mug pure lemon juice 

1/4 mug melted coconut oil

Top Layer

1 mug fresh blueberries

1 mug cashews (soaked in water for 3 hours)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

handful of fresh blueberries

Method:

For the base, place the almonds into a food processor and blend for a minute or so until the nuts are nicely crushed. Then add the pitted Medjool dates and blend again, adding the water to create a sticky mixture. Press this into a base of a cake tin and then place in the freezer.

For the middle layer, place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until a thick and creamy mixture is formed. Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the mixture over the base evenly. Then place the tin back into the freezer for 20 minutes or so.

Finally, for the top layer place all of the ingredients (except the handful of fresh blueberries) into a blender and blitz again until a smooth creamy consistency appears. Then add the handful of fresh blueberries to the mixture and stir in, but do not blend. Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the mixture over the middle layer. 

Place the cake back into the freezer and leave to set for around 3-4 hours before serving. You will need to take the cake out of the freezer and allow it to warm up for a few minutes before it is served.

Enjoy!

The start of my Bikini Body Guide journey

I am not sure if many of you are aware of an amazing personal trainer called Kayla Itsines, so if you don't make sure you check her blog and Instagram account immediately! She is based in Australia and started her own business called The Bikini Body Training Company a few years ago. Kayla had such an amazing response in the first 6 months, her online presence and following became so great, 3.4 million in fact, that she now does huge (think stadium size) boot camps around the world! One of the reasons she has had such a great success is because of her interaction with her BBG (Bikini Body Guide) followers. In her guide she says that progress photos are the primary measurement to track the changes that occur during the 12 weeks of the guide. She posts her followers progress photos on her Intsagram and blog, which shows that this guide can really work for anyone and this is why I have finally decided to do it. I am not doing it because I want to be thinner, but because I want to be fit and strong. I am fine with the size that I am, I would just like to feel more confident, fit and strong. 

To prepare me for this new journey, I have to bought myself a new fitness mat by the one and only Davina McCall. Then to help me with the new lifestyle that goes along with the BBG, I bought Ella Woodward's cookery book 'Deliciously Ella' as there are many amazing healthy recipes to help me with  having more energy and goodness in my body.

I have posted my first photo (apologies) that Kayla has told me to do, then in 4 weeks time I will take the same photo and will be comparing them to see the results so far. Although, I may post the first 2 weeks as I am one of those girls who likes to see if there is a difference straight away! Even though I know its a marathon, not a sprint, to achieve results. Wish me luck!

Mango, Vanilla and Raspberry Smoothie

I apologies for another smoothie picture but I just can't seem to get enough of them! When the weather is this hot and after an intense gym session my body just craves them! I wanted to share this recipe as there are only a few ingredients involved and tastes just delicious!! I tend to use a lot of summer fruits in my smoothies as I love the sour taste. I know some people aren't so keen on the sourness, so for this recipe I added 1 vanilla pod and a dash of honey. If you cant be bothered with the hassle you can replace the honey and vanilla pod by just buying a fat free vanilla yoghurt. Also, depending on how thick you like smoothies, the more water you add, the thinner it becomes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons fat free yoghurt

1 vanilla pod (scrape the inside out)

honey to taste

handful frozen mango

handful frozen raspberries 

Toppings

frozen mango

frozen raspberries

Smoothie Bowl

On these hot summer days sometimes a smoothie on its own isn't enough. So if you do have a little bit of extra time to sit down and have breakfast before work or you're on a day off, a smoothie bowl might be right up your street. I make mine the same way as a smoothie, I just use slightly less water to create a thicker consistency, like ice cream! You can be quite adventurous with the toppings, I added some sugar free granola to make it more filling.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons fat free yoghurt

handful frozen blueberries

half a chopped banana

handful frozen mango

handful frozen summer berries

water to preferred thickness

Toppings:

frozen blueberries

sugar and salt free nut granola

slices of banana

Investing in a glamourous jacket

This Topshop vintage sequin jacket has been in my life for about 7 years and it is probably the best thing I have ever bought in terms of cost per wear. It has been through a lot (mainly drunken nights out at uni) but I just can't seem to let it go. I have always been a bit of a magpie when it comes to sequins and glittery things, so this jacket was perfect for me. I always like to feel comfortable, especially at work, so seeing me in a pair of ripped jeans and a t-shirt isn't that uncommon. Throwing this jacket on with a typical outfit of mine gives me the instant glam that I need to make me feel great about what I'm wearing. Investing in a glamourous jacket is definitely worth doing, as it makes a simple outfit more interesting, and is a piece you will probably keep forever. 

Jacket: Topshop

T-Shirt: Tee and Cake

Jeans: ASOS

Boots: Topshop

Pre-workout and post-workout snack

One of my favourite pre and post workout snacks is wholemeal toast  (or rye bread) with cashew butter and sliced banana. I also like to mix it up, as sometimes avocado on toast can get very repetitive. Carbs are your friend when it comes to a hard gym session or a long run, the key is to have a mixed bag of complex and simple ones, so that the release of energy during working out is slow and steady throughout. Wholemeal toast with fruit gives both types of carbs with the bonus of being super easy to digest. Complex carbs will keep you going, while the fruit adds an extra kick of energy. If you want to make it sweeter, just add some honey or for an added bonus, add a dash of cinnamon.