Fitness Friday| Healthy Snacking| Total Greek Fruyo Yoghurts

Following on from my post about healthy snacking and showing you my fun with fruit recipes I was kindly given the chance to try Total Greek’s new range of yoghurts Fruyo*… now I am not the type of girl that says no to food, especially not free food so obviously I jumped at the chance to try them.

I was especially excited as I eat tones of yoghurt… in my diet it is in its own food group. You would never open my fridge and not find a tub of Greek Yoghurt in there. It is so versatile, healthy and great for those with a sweet tooth. I use yoghurt in my overnight oats, in  smoothies, in recipes as a replacement for cream and as a healthy sweet snack; top it with fruit or honey or crushed up meringue or as a replacement for icecream.

Since I have moved house I now make sure all my post goes to my work address so that stuff isn’t left in the lobby in my apartment building. With most things its alright as it’s normally, clothes or makeup that is delivered there. However when my parcel arrived from Total Greek there was a bit of confusion as to why there was a cool bag of yoghurt being delivered there…. it’s not normally something that people order for themselves. I had to explain it was for my blog to the confused looks on my colleagues faces. When I opened the massive box I was very surprised to see a huge cool bag full of a wide collection of Fruyo flavours; Vanilla, Cherry, Peach and Pineapple. I had to guard the bag with my life as my colleagues were eyeing it up all day.

Anyways onto the product it self. Total Greek Yoghurt say that “Fruyo yoghurts are an exceptionally thick, protein-packed, fat-free Greek yoghurt with real fruit pieces. Ideal for breakfast, as a snack or dessert. It is packed full of protein with 7.7g of protein per 100g yoghurt… a benefit which will appeal to foodies, slimmers and fitness enthusiast alike. With no preservative, colourings or artificial sweeteners this is a substantial yoghurt upgrade for many.”

I love them!  Their vanilla flavour is divine!! You get a substantial amount of yoghurt in one pot and it is unbelievably thick and creamy! Unlike some Greek Yoghurt I have tried there is no sharpness at all. Matt and I have been having one each day as one of our snacks and I have been using the non flavoured one in my meals. I can quite honestly say that I am a total convert. I love that they are packed full of  protein in as well! It means I'm fuller for longer!

Do you eat yoghurt as much as I clearly do? Have you ever tried Fruyo yoghurts? Which is your favourite brand of Greek Yoghurt?

p.s. The picture above only shows a couple of flavours, but as they were so yummy Matt and I had eaten man before I got round to taking pictures… whoops!

Fitness Friday| Fitness Bootcamp Explained

Over the past few months you may have seen my many tweets or instagrams about the Kendal Bootcamp Class that I have been attending. Some of you know exactly what bootcamp is and attend one locally, others are intrigued and want to know exactly what they would be letting themselves in for. So this post is a review of the class and an explanation of exactly what you can expect at a bootcamp class.

What is a bootcamp class like?

Obviously all classes will differ, however they are all based around the same principles of getting out in your local park, getting you to work hard by mixing strength and cardio, getting muddy, having a laugh, and getting results!

So to start with there is about a 7 minute warm up which in my class consists of jogging about 100 meters about 4 times; alternating between high knees, side shuffles, heels to bums etc. During the 7 mins we also do a few 10 second bursts of sprinting on the spot, some punching and ab twists. The 7 mins really does warm you up from head to toe and can be quite tiring; in my first class I was knackered after only the warm up!

After everyone is warm we go into a cardio circuit. The cardio circuit is done in pairs and consists of 4 different stations. Person 1 completes an exercise at the station while person 2 sprints out to a lamppost about 70 metres away and sprints back. The whole time that person 2 is running person 1 will be completing an exercise such as mountain climbers, jumping jacks, holding a plank, push-ups or whacking a large tire with a 10 pound hammer. Once person 2 returns you swap. So this time, person 1 will be running to the lamppost and back while person 2 completes the exercise. Once the pair have both completed the exercise they move onto the next station which will consist of exactly the same thing, one runs while the other competes an exercise  Obviously the exercise is different at each station. Sometimes when our trainer, Ady is feeling mean he makes one of the stations a Bergan run, so instead of just sprinting off while your partner does the exercise, you have to sprint off while carrying a 30 pound rucksack on your back! It is very much pair work as the slower your partner runs the longer you have to complete the exercise. There is no rest between the exercises and you move quickly from one movement to another, meaning your heat rate is high and you are burning fat fast! It's a tough ten minutes, but much more effective than traditional workouts.

Once everyone has completed the 4 stations we move onto the next circuit which has 7 stations that vary between cardio and strength. Each one works a different area of your body. The photos above give you a good indication of what the stations can consist of. This circuit is timed and each station lasts for 1 minute, which doesn't sound long but when you are doing squats/running with a tire/holding a plank it is a loooong time! Ady walks around each of the stations during the minute to ensure that you are doing the moves correctly, getting the most out of it and pushing you to work harder. Thankfully he’s not a nasty drill sergeant that shouts in your face, he just offers gentle encouragement to push you harder, run faster and squat deeper. He knows each of the bootcampers well and understands their motives and fitness levels and adapts his approach to each of them.

After everyone has completed each of the stations we all play a game/relay race. This is  a great fun way to finish the session, and gets everyone's competitive side out, but it also provides a good laugh. After the games we cool down and have a good chat.

Review and Results

You can probably gather from my write up that I am an avid bootcamper. I go three times a week and actually find myself looking forward to class. It has to be the only form of exercise that I want to do all the time i.e no matter what my mood I still want to go to bootcamp. It works me hard, I always have a good laugh, I've made some great friends, it's affordable and I'm seeing amazing results.

I have been going to bootcamp for about 6 weeks now and I have seen a huge difference in my fitness levels and stamina. To be honest with you I thought I was fit until I went to the first class and almost threw up after only 25 minutes! I still get my but kicked every session but the joy with bootcamp is you get out of it what you put in. Everyone can benefit from it, you just have to go at your own speed... which for me is faster that it was 6 weeks ago. I don't weigh myself so can't tell you if I've lost any pounds, but I have significantly toned up and now have lovely toned arms, with a pretty good muscles definition;  my bum is more lifted and rounder, rather than just being large; my legs are getting more toned and my cellulite has almost disappeared; and for the first time in years my abs have some definition.

Overall I could not recommend a bootcamp class more. If like me you are anxious about starting a new class, please just bite the bullet. I put off coming for a long while because I was too anxious about meeting new people and starting something new, but I am so glad I had the courage to attend. I have significantly improved my fitness levels, which has helped massively with my running, and have toned up so much in only 6 weeks; I can't wait to see what I look like in another 6 weeks!

If you do live in Kendal and the surrounding area then please visit Kendalbootcamp.net for more info. Come down and give it a try or drop Ady an email or text; very often he lets you try your first class to see what its like and if it's for you. For June there is 50% off so you can attend all classes in June for only £25... bargain!

Do you attend a local bootcamp class? Do you love it as much as I do? Do you regularly attend a different type of exercise class that you love as much as I love bootcamp? 

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Wednesday’s Workout| Plank Challenge

Who’s ready to get some amazing abs? I’m sure the thought of bikini season being just around the corner is pushing you to try a tone up a little so you are your most confident on the beach. Now abs are completely made in the kitchen, so if you are wanting some definition yes you need to work out your core but you also need to shed the fat so you can show off your new abs.

One of the most effective moves for toning the whole of your core is the plank. Not only is it effective, it is super simple to do, requires no equipment and only takes minutes to work you hard. You can see all the muscles that the plank works in the picture above.

The Tone It Up Girls know that the plank is a super effective and have started a challenge of their own the; #bikiniseries5minplank challenge… yes we even have our own hashtag! You can see mine and others attempts in the picture above, but follow everyone’s journey on instagram and Twitter with the hashtag. So the challenge is fairly self explanatory we are aiming to hold a 5 minute plank in 6 weeks time. Yes it seems like a long time! I’m still a long way off, with my max being 1.25, however each day I rack up more seconds so I should be there in 6 weeks!

I have only been doing the challenge for 7 days but already I am seeing great results. My abs are definitely stronger, especially my lower abs, I feel more toned and solid… if you know what I mean… less jiggly! So I could not recommend this challenge enough!

If you want to plank it out and mix it up a little, the below video is a great super short workout that is full of modified planks. It is only about 7 minutes long and you hold each move for around 30 seconds, so it is very manageable if you are a beginner, but the length of means it is still a good workout for those that are a little fitter. I cannot recommend the plank enough! If you want to have a toned core in time for your bikini then start today you will soon see results within a few weeks.

What do you think of the plank? Are you a lover of a hater of it? Which other abs moves do you recommend?

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Fitness Friday| Healthy Snacking| Fun Fruit

A foodie post for you all today. I’m really trying to make significant changes to my diet at the moment and have found that if I plan and prepare my meals then I am more likely to eat healthier. I decided that my diet needs to change as my fitness regime is pretty much there now, as in I am loving exercising and have to do it 5/6 times a week otherwise I go stir crazy. I pretty much hate my rest days and when I injured my leg the other day my first thought was “ oh no, I won’t be able to workout” I pretty much panicked. I know that I am going to have to rest it so that it recovers quickly, but my days feel incomplete if I haven’t worked out.

My diet on the other hand needs to improve, I still give into my cravings which is ok every now and again but not all the time. I need to eat less processed food and less sugar. So the snacks I am sharing with you above are perfect! Yes they do have sugar in them due to the fruit and little amount of chocolate spread, but they are a healthier alternative to chocolate bars or cake.

The snacks are super easy to make for the Banana Bites all you need it Nutella and a banana… these remind me of banana and Nutella crepes that I used to live on when I lived in France. You simply slice the banana then spread the Nutella onto one piece of banana and top with a second to make a little Banana Sandwich.

For the Apple Chunks you need Peanut Butter, desiccated coconut and an apple. Slice an apple and chop off the end so they are flat, this gives you an area for coat with peanut butter. After spreading on the peanut butter sprinkle desiccated coconut on top. The Apple Chunks are great to prepare for the next day in the office. I tend to have half in the morning and half in the afternoon. The Banana Bites I have in the evening if I’m craving something sweet.

Snacking is very important if you are trying to watch your weight as having a healthy snack between your meals can help reduce the amount you eat during your meals, it ensures that you don’t over eat as you are never hungry. If you prepare a healthy snack and have one to hand you are less likely to grab something unhealthy on the move. You should always have some fruit of nuts in your bag to ensure you don’t grab a bag of crisps or chocolate bar while at the train station etc. A healthy snack that is made up of complex carbs, protein and health fats increases your energy levels for a longer period of time than a sugary snack does. This will ensure that you don’t have the 3 o clock slump in the afternoon.

Nutritional value (approx..)

Banana Bites - Calories-205 carbs- 27g Fat-6g Protein-3g

Apple Chunks - Calories- 225 Carbs-27g Fat- 12g Protein-0g

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Cantara from Gym Bags and Glad Rags. If you enjoy my fitness post you will fall in love with her blog. She is a stunner with a great blog!

Fitness Friday| One Year On

If you didn't realise form my Tweeting and Instagramming this week, Wednesday was my birthday. Now usually birthdays to me are a day that revolves around me; a day in which I can behave like the princess that I think I am without anyone telling me to stop being a diva. Obviously the day did go along those lines, but this year was more special to me as it was a day to reflect on how far I have come in my health gain and weight loss journey. I didn't actually start my new healthy lifestyle until the end of June last year but I thought I would still celebrate my success on my birthday by wearing the same dress I wore the year before, but with a completely different body underneath. 

I thought that by wearing the same dress I would be able to see the changes in my body more clearly  and I think the picture above shows very well how far I have come, but also how far I have left to go. If you know me and read my blog regularly then you will know that I don't weight myself as I have an unhealthy relationship with the scales, but mark my progress through inches lost. I still have fat to lose and muscle to gain, and would say that I am 2/3 of the way through my health gain journey. 

The past year has been a year of change for me; moving across the country, moving away from my boyfriend (thankfully we're back in the same apartment again), getting a new job, new body and new lifestyle. The past year has also been an empowering one for me.  My weight used to be a very sensitive subject for me and even when I was at my thinnest I was never body confident, and this grew to whole new levels of awful when I gained weight at university. When I went to university I essentially lost control of my body and will power. My confidence took a massive knock but I would still smile my way through it and kid myself that I didn't look too bad. I now know that wasn't the truth. 

This year has been the year when I have gained back control of my body! This past year I have learnt that a healthy lifestyle can be tough to learn and master, I still have slip ups. I have learnt that my body is capable of so much more than I thought it was. I've learnt how to push myself, when to be proud but when to not over do it. Even though my body is not yet where I want it to be I am starting to love it again and can look in a mirror and feel proud, not disgusted. 

So one year on I look at the picture above and feel proud. I look in the mirror and see a smile not a look of disgust. I am now 24 years old and for once in my life I am feeling more body confident, and to me this is the best birthday present I can give to myself. 

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Wednesday’s Workout| Tone It Up Malibu Booty

*Images from Tumblr

Happy Hump day girls, what better excuse to work on your own humps? You can see from above that even Ryan Gosling knows the importance of working on your butt! I’m sure he loves a girl who squats! I’m working mine hard this month and am currently on day 13 of the 30 Day Squat Challenge. The squats are getting a little easier but my legs and bum ache all the time! I’ve taken a few extra rest days to compensate as don’t want to completely seize up and not be able to do any exercise…. worst nightmare!

As well as the 30 day squat challenge I have done the below workout for my booty from the gorgeous Tone It Up Girls. This one is probably one of my favourite work outs from Tone It Up as the moves as simple to master so getting your form spot on it simple, but they work you hard! I am yet to do it all the way  through without taking a little rest. There are a lot of different moves that work the different muscles in your upper legs and booty to help lift and sculpt you butt so it looks like one of those gorgeous one above. The aim is to do the 8 minute long routine 3 time through to get a great workout but if you are finding it too tough just do it once of twice. It’s better to build up to something than to overdo it and cause yourself an injury.

I plan on doing this workout today even though it is my Birthday, so if I can wake up early and cram it in then you can definitely give it ago for at least 8 minutes! Let me know how you get on and if you enjoy it?

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Fitness Friday| Being Accountable

It’s the third of May, which  means for many of you, you are 3 days into a new/ your newest fitness and health drive. I love the start of a new month, as it’s a chance to set some new challenge and goals for myself. So have you started off strong or are you already dwindling?  If you haven’t had the best of starts remember that every day is the chance to start again… whatever you do do not wait until next month or the next Monday, just pick yourself back up and start again now! A great way to motivate yourself is to become accountable for your actions, that’s what I have been working on this week.

This week I have been taking part in Tone It Up’s Bikini Series, which is essentially 8 weeks of exercises, motivation and recipes to get us girls bikini ready. What the Tone It Up girls have taught me this week is the importance of being accountable. If you follow me on Instagram you will notice that I have been posting daily “Check-In” pictures which are part of the Bikini Series challenge. The idea is that you take pictures of each of your meals and your exercise efforts, make a little collage of them, tag it as #bikiniseries and share it with the world. This means that you are sharing your healthy lifestyle to the world and you are being accountable for your actions. It definitely makes me think twice about what I’m eating if I know I have to photograph it and share it with others, as I want to feel proud of my diet not ashamed.

Being accountable is very important when you are wanting to lose weight, change your lifestyle or up your exercise efforts. You need to be responsible for your actions when you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you need to think about the choices that you are making when you are wanting to become healthier. When you are accountable you think twice about buying that chocolate bar, you think about what you are eating and question whether this food choice is going to help you reach your goal, or are you going to regret it in half and hours time?

There are a number of ways to become more accountable. It doesn't have to involve shoving your healthy lifestyle in front of everyone and their dog. You can be accountable without shouting it from the rooftop. Here are a number of ways to become more accountable and help you on your healthy lifestyle journey;

• Start a food journal- One of my most successful attempts at losing weight was when I kept a very strict food journal. I counted every calorie that passed my lips. This made me extremely accountable, helped me lose weight but more importantly taught me about food. I would eat 1200 calories a day and when I first started with the food diary I would run out of calories come lunch time, but over time I learnt about food and nutrition and learnt that healthier food had lower calories which meant I could eat loads! From 4 months of keeping this food diary I learn so much!
• Keep an exercise journal – This is what I currently do. I use a wide range of methods to measure my performance during my workouts. I massively increased my running performance thanks to the Nike Run App. Apps such as these measure how far you ran, how long, how quick you were and how many calories you have burnt.
• Plan your week- This is a must for me. Every Sunday I sit down and plan my meals for the week by looking through recipe books and magazines. I have a little calendar that I mark with what I’m eating for dinner on that day and I have a calendar that shows me what workouts I am doing each day. This forward planning means I don’t over spend on my shops, I have healthy food in my flat and I can plan my rest days around other events in my schedule that week.
• Start a weight loss blog- If you are reading this then you will know that this is my weight loss/ health gain blog! I started a few years ago now because I wanted a creative outlet where I could share my knowledge and thoughts on health, fitness and beauty. Fitness Fridays have been on the blog for a year now and have become very popular, as a result you lovely people are my motivators. Your tweets, emails and views on my blog encourage me every day to live healthy and lead by example. I would be a massive hypocrite if I blogged about health but didn't live a healthy lifestyle myself!
• Create realistic short, medium and long term goals and track your progress- If you don’t have goals then you have nothing to motivate yourself. Whether your goals are to run 5k, fit into a certain dress or pair of jeans, eat healthy 6 days out of 7, compete a triathlon, or to have some killer abs, if you have something to aim for your efforts mean more to you.
• Take pictures of your body- This is a great way to measure progress, as you very often don’t see any changes yourself and don’t believe others when they comment that you have lost weight. If you have a photo diary you can see the changes with your own eyes! You'll be amazed at your results and the changes in your body.
• Take your measurements-  Measuring yourself give you a much more realistic view of how your body is changing. Your weight is not a real indicator of health as it can be affected by water, hormones, muscles gained or the time of the day.
• Post photos of your meals- “If you wont’ tweet it, don’t eat it!” This is a more public way of making yourself accountable, but I’ve found the daily check in I mentioned above have really helped me this week.

I hope you have made a strong start to the month, but if not how about adopting one of the methods I have mentioned to help motivate yourself! If you have started strong how do you make yourself accountable? Do you have any other methods that I haven’t mentioned that others will benefit form hearing?

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Cantara from Gym Bags and Glad Rags. If you enjoy my fitness post you will fall in love with her blog. She is a stunner with a great blog! 

Fitness Friday| Overcoming Set Backs & Negativity

 

If I am honest with you I was a little unsure as to what to write about this week, but it wasn't until the top image came up on my tumblr dashboard that inspiration struck me. I hadn't seen it before and came across it at a time when I was feeling low about my weight loss health gain journey. 

It reads "An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards. When life is dragging you back, it means it's going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming."

This quote can be applied to any tough or difficult time in your life and I wish that I had heard it sooner for times of difficulty in my life, but if by sharing it I can motivate and encourage some of you then atleast it's helping someone!

For the past few weeks I have been feeling a little down about my healthy lifestyle journey. A few weekends ago I measured my body for the first time in three months. I was feeling great about myself and my body and wanted to confirm that I was actually making progress and it wasn't all in my head. Unfortunately that wasn't the case and I was upset to find out that I had only lost a couple of inches off my entire body in three months! I was so mortified! How could this be, I eat healthy, I workout often and for the 4 month prior to this I lost 19 inches... how can I have lost only a couple in 3 months! I spent a good day or so upset, demotivated and beating myself up about it and it wasn't until I found the image above that I gave myself a little talking to. 

Just because I had a set back does not mean I have gone completely off course. I need to remember how far I have come and remember how far I have to go. As you all know the less body fat you have the harder it is to lose it. So yes, last year my body will have lost inches fairly quickly because I had a lot of fat to lose, but this year it has less to lose so it's going to take twice as much effort to lose it. I need to refocus and keep aiming for my goal. As long as I am focused I will achieve it! So I am changing my workout routine .. less relying on running, more toning and HIIT, and I have to be stricter with my diet. My body was clearly becoming used to the routine it was in and was not burning as many calories as it used to, so it's time to shock it and put it through it's paces again so that it remains a lean, mean fat burning machine! 

So remember if you have a set back, it is not the end of the world! It may feel like it but I swear it's not! Hard work and perseverance will ALWAYS pay off! Remain focused and keep aiming for your goal! 

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Vicki and her amazing lifestyle blog A Life Of Geekery, full of food, crafts, beauty and life. Her photos are truly gorgeous and I love her recipes!

*Images above are from tumblr*

Wednesday’s Workout| HIIT the Beach| High Intensity Interval Training

 

How are your workout’s going girls? Are you still doing the 30 Day Abs Challenge? I am on day 4, a little behind, but still going strong! I’m getting the hang of mountain climbers and looking forward to trying next weeks moves. I find that each day gets easier so hope to see some inches lost soon!

Anyways on to this weeks workout. This week I am sharing with you one of my favourite workout videos from the Tone It Up girls. If you haven’t heard of Tone It Up before you need to go and check it out! It is a site run by two gorgeous girls that is a fun and motivating fitness community. They post regular workouts, recipes and challenges to get involved in, along with the added motivation of giveaways! Yesterday marked the start of their 3rd Annual Bikini Series, which is a 8 week challenge to get bikini ready. I’m all signed up for it and am currently looking through my Free Bikini Starter Pack.

The workout below is not from the Bikini Series but is still a great one! It demonstrates a number of moves for you to carry out for atleast 30 seconds to gain a High Intensity Interval workout. I wanted to share this workout as it is also very similar to the workouts I have be doing at my bootcamp class, so can tell you that they work you very hard! At bootcamp we work in pairs, one does one of the moves while the other runs a certain distance marked out by our trainer and runs back to the partner, which then releases them from the exercise move. You then swap! So the time you spend completing the interval move depends on how quick your partner runs… it makes it a bit more fun and interactive! If you don’t fancy getting out in the park and doing this, just complete each of the moves for 30-60 seconds and repeat as many times as you can! Aim for atleast 2 circuits!

High Intensity Interval Training is one of the best ways to burn fat quickly! So what are you waiting for, get going! Let me know what you think of the workout and if you give it a try! Also if you have any request for workouts that target specific areas I will do my best to find my favourite and share them with you!

 

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Vicki and her amazing lifestyle blog A Life Of Geekery, full of food, crafts, beauty and life. Her photos are truly gorgeous and I love her recipes!

Fitness Friday| Low Cal Cake| Chocolate & Beetroot Cake Recipe

Living a healthy lifestyle means everything in moderation and not depriving yourself of anything! If you want a cake, eat a cake, just don’t them all! I am a massive cake fiend! I love baking them, I love decorating them and I obviously love eating them! So as I would quite happily eat cake most days I thought why not try and make my cake recipes a bit healthier, so if I do indulge I’m not going completely overboard. So I was over the moon when this month Women’s Health magazine featured 5 wonderful health boosting, low cal, cake recipes. I decided that as it was my trainer’s birthday yesterday, I would bake him some healthy Birthday Cake, so everyone at my Kendal Bootcamp Class could try some and be my little guinea pigs!

I made two batches as it was my first attempt at a “healthy cake”, the first batch wasn’t so great. I don’t think I used enough chocolate and didn’t bake it for long enough as it was a little too moist, a little bitter and tasted a lot like beetroot. The second batch was much more successful, it was baked for a few minutes longer so the consistency was cake like but still moist, and there was a little more chocolate in this one, so it tasted like a chocolate cake! The pictures are of the first cake which I dusted with icing sugar, the second cake I topped with a thin layer of buttercream icing… a little bit naughty I know, but it was a Birthday cake! The cake went down very well with everyone at Bootcamp and was a great treat for our hard work. So as it was a success I thought I would share the recipe with you!

You will need;

300g cooked, unseasoned beetroot, peeled and purred, 4 large eggs, 4 tbsp honey, 1tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt, 125g ground almonds, 135g good quality dark chocolate (It HAS to be good quality!), 8 tbsp olive oil.

Start by pureeing your beetroot in a food processor. Once smooth tip into a bowl and mix in the eggs, honey, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Next gently fold in the ground almonds.

Now melt your good quality dark chocolate. Once melted, pour in the olive oil and mix thoroughly; you should be left with a liquid that isn’t separated and is smooth and shiny. Now gently pour the chocolate mixture into the rest of your cake mixture in the bowl and fold gently.

Once everything is combined, pour the cake mixture into a greased cake tin, and bake in your preheated oven at 180c for 35-40 minutes. Try the trusty skewer test to ensure your cake is cooked through!

Finish by either dusting with icing sugar or cocoa powder, or if you are feeling naughty give it a thin layer of buttercream icing! Cut into 8 pieces and at only 260 calories per slice you can really enjoy it!

Have you ever tried chocolate and beetroot cake? Do you have any other favourite healthy cake recipes that I should try next? Do you think you will give this one a go?

Be sure to check out my blogger of the week and fellow Cumbria Blogger Anna from On The Dressing Table. She has the most amazing beauty blog, full of insightful and honest reviews, plus she is the sweetest girl!

Wednesday’s Workout| 30 Day Abs Challenge

Image from Carly Rowena Instagram

How did last weeks workout go girls? It was a tough one! This weeks workout is again all about the abs… it’s only 6 weeks until June, so it’s definitely time to work at those abs to make sure you look and feel great on holiday! This weeks Wednesday workout is again a challenge, it is the 30 day Abs Challenge from the gorgeous Carly Rowena. Carly is an amazing fitness and beauty blogger who is stunning, has a great attitude to health and fitness and posts regular videos, so if you need some motivation go and check her out! She is definitely one of my favourites and I find her so inspiring and refreshing.

Her 30 day Abs Challenge asks you to workout for only 5 minutes each day for 30 days continually. She gives you 2 moves to carry out for 30 seconds at a time and then repeat then 5 times over. So it is super simple, but will be super effective. As you can see from the picture above, the moves vary each week, and they are all tough! I do a few of these at my Bootcamp Class and can promise you they are tough! However if you want to improve your abs in 30 days with only 5 minutes of work, the work has got to be hard work! You have to put in the effort!

As Carly states in the video, abs are made in the kitchen. To achieve definition and a nice toned middle you need to have a great diet. Abs are 80% diet and 20% exercise, so remember to put in the effort in the kitchen aswell! Carly explains the whole challenge very well in her video, so check it out for info, tips and the demonstration of each of the moves mentioned in the picture above.

I am going to start the challenge today! Are you going to join me? Just think of how good you will look in 30 days! If it looks too tough, just try to complete 1 minute worth of moves and build it up from there! It’s completely adaptable to your fitness level, and a little exercise is better than none!

Be sure to check out my blogger of the week and fellow Cumbria Blogger Anna from On The Dressing Table. She has the most amazing beauty blog, full of insightful and honest reviews, plus she is the sweetest girl!

Fitness Friday| Overnight Oats Recipe| Easy, Healthy Breakfast

Since moving into my new place I have been on a mission to overhaul my diet and eat fresher, greener and leaner. I eat regularly with 3 meals and 2 snacks each day, but my breakfast and lunch were not the healthiest. They were more grab and go, think cereal bars and cup-a-soups.

However for the past few weeks I have been frantically researching recipes and have discovered two new breakfasts, one of which I’m going to share with you. This week I’m sharing a recipe that is super healthy, easy to make, and the perfect way to start the day… Overnight Oats!

Overnight oats are essentially oats soaked overnight  in any liquid you fancy! The most common mixture is 1/2 of oats, milk and yoghurt. There is absolutely no cooking required so it takes literally minutes to prepare and they are easy to grab as you run out of the door in the morning.

I was dubious at first as I imaged it would just be cold porridge… and who wants to eat that. But the magic with overnight oats is that they can be totally adapted to suit your taste. You can add ingredients the night before and allow them to soak in or just stick with topping your oats with the extra ingredients. Below I am sharing with you my current favourite flavour, but feel free to get creative!

My oats are peanut butter and banana flavoured. The below recipe makes quite a substantial portion but I do a lot of exercise so need it, but if you a more dormant or can’t stomach a big breakfast, try using 1/3 cup of oat,milk and yoghurt. Here’s the recipe;

• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of skimmed milk
• 1/2 cup of low fat natural/greek yoghurt
• 1/2 mushed banana
• 1/2 tbs organic peanut butter

All you do is mix all you ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge over night. In the morning take them out of the fridge, give it a stir and add whichever toppings you fancy. I add the other half of my banana chopped banana and a small handful of walnuts.

This breakfast is guaranteed to see you right through till lunch!

Nutritional info for the oats without any topping- Calories- 365, Carbs- 55g, Fat 10g, Protein 17g.

What’s your favourite healthy breakfast? Have you ever tried overnight oats? If so what toppings a flavours do you prefer… give me some ideas!

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Natalia from Natalia’s Beauty Blog. If you enjoyed this post Natalia often posts about fitness too, so be sure to give her blog a read. She also has the most gorgeous OOTD posts.

Wednesday’s Workout| 6 Week Six-Pack Abs

 

It’s that time of the week again, it’s workout time! Firstly, thankyou to you all for the amazing feedback you have given me about this feature. There really are so many of you who say it helps them and inspires them to try something new, and I’m always over the moon to hear that I can help others. I hope that you all workout more that once a week, but even if you only manage the workouts I post on Wednesday, it is a lot better than doing nothing!

As last weeks workout was for the booty this weeks will focus on the majority of people’s problem area the abs. I am currently on a massive mission to gain a flat stomach in time for my birthday in exactly 4 weeks time! I currently have a little flabby bit on my lower abs and would love for it to be gone by then. Obviously abs are gained in the gym but shown in the kitchen so I am upping the strength moves for my abs but also trying my best to eat clean and lean so I can reduce my body fat and start to show off some of my abs.

The below workout is from one of my favourite trainers Jillian Michaels. Jillian is to credit for the 30 Day Shred that I’m sure many of you have heard of, but in America she is most know for being the tough trainer on The Biggest Loser. She takes crap from no one and makes them work hard, but after watching her on many programs it is easy to see that she truly cares about her “victims” and only wants them to be the best they can be.

This workout is similar to the 30 Day Shred but more concentrated on the abs and a little tougher. It really works all the muscles in your middle and makes you sweat. It is only 30 minute long, which is a short workout so there is no excuse not to try it. I have tried it only a handle full of times and found that I have had to adapt a few of the moves until I build up my strength but I am enjoying it.

I hope you give it a go. Let me know if you do and how you get on with it. Do you have any Ab workouts that you recommend for me? Or are there any workouts that you would like to see featured on Wednesday’s Workout?

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Natalia from Natalia’s Beauty Blog. If you enjoyed this post Natalia often posts about fitness too, so be sure to give her blog a read. She also has the most gorgeous OOTD posts.

Wednesday’s Workout| Call Me Maybe Squat Challenge

After Easter weekend I’m sure many of you over indulged and are not feeling the best this week. So what better time to kick start your health and fitness regime in time for summer. If you read my last Fitness Friday post you will know that there are less than 10 weeks until June, so I am currently following (loosely) the Drop 10 Fitness challenge and it’s really helping with my diet and improving my tone and definition, so I would definitely recommend it.

This weeks Wednesday’s Workout that I want you to try is a little less intense than the Ab ripper X, a little bit silly and lots of fun. I can’t help but giggle when I first start this one, but the smile soon fades after I feel the burn! There has been a lot of emphasis on squats recently as everyone is after that perfect booty. This workout is perfect if you want to work your bum hard and achieve the perfect booty, but also good for raising your heart beat and burning some calories!

The workout below is a squat and plié challenge to Carly Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe. You will tone your bum, burn calories and can have a little sing along at the same time! It starts out manageable but as the squats continue you will feel the burn! The challenge is to finish the entire workout!

Let me know if you give it ago. The song is only 3.13 minute long so there is no excuse not to!

Don’t forget to check out my  advertiser of the week Cantara from Gym Bags and Glad Rags. If you love my Fitness Friday’s you will enjoy her blog. A gorgeous girl who posts beauty, health and fitness.

Fitness Friday| Freeze Your Fat| 15 Minute Isometric Workout

 

I don’t know about you but when I workout I am guilty of hammering the cardio and sometimes forgetting about strength…. which is not good! Strength exercises obviously build up your muscles and it is a fact that the more muscle you have the more fat your body will burn during the day! Now you don’t have to hammer the weights to get your strength workout in, in fact you can stay completely still and still work your body hard.

Above is a range of isometric exercises that slim you down and tone you up without moving a muscle! Isometric exercises require you to remain static and use your body's own resistance and weight to challenge your muscles. So all you have to do is hold each of the positions for 60 seconds, three to four times, will a 30 seconds rest between each.

1- Plank- Lie face down on the floor and prop yourself up on your forearms and toes. Keep your bum down and your body in a straight line. Concentrate on your abs and glutes and squeeze them as tightly as you can and hold still.

2- T-Stabilisation- Firstly get into a push-up position. Next shift your weight onto you left hand and rotate your chest to the right as the raise your right arm towards the ceiling. Keep your feet stacked. Hold for a few seconds, then try it on the other side. That’s one rep!

3- Wall Squat- Stand with your feet should width apart and back against a wall. Lower your body, slowly down the wall, until you knees are at a 90 degree angle. Push into your heels and hold still.

4- Lateral Raise- Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart with your arms at your sides and a 1kg to 2.5kg dumbbell (if you have no dumbbells, use a tin of beans). Slowly raise your arms until they are in line with your shoulders and hold them there!

5- Static Squat- Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart  or slightly wider. Extend your hands out in front of you to keep your balance. Sit back and down like you are sitting on an imaginary chair. Keep your head facing forward as your upper body bends forward a bit. Lower down so that your form a 90 degree angle with your knees and hips, ensuring that your knees never go over your toes. Press back into your heels and hold still.

Have you tried isometric exercises before? Or do you prefer to use weights? Which one of this moves is your favourite?

Fitness Friday| The benefits of Green Tea

This weeks Fitness Friday is more health related if you hadn’t already guessed. I don’t know about you but I always find that I can easily commit to being fit but struggle to keep my diet healthy all the time. Personally I try to change small things in my diet one at a time so I can make a habit of it. One of these things is drinking green tea! Since I started working in an office my tea consumption has gone through the roof, and although many say tea is a healthy alternative to drinking coffee, it still has plenty of caffeine in it when drank in large quantities!

So as I have started swapping my builders brew for a green tea when I’m in the office I thought I would share the health benefits to drinking green tea, in the hope that some of you may swap one of your usual brews to a green tea!

• Its a healer- Green tea is packed full of goodies and antioxidants that can help fight against certain medical conditions such as;cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular diseases, and infection.
• Smile- Green tea can help prevent tooth decay and bad breath. Its bacteria destroying abilities kills the bacteria that causes dental plaque.
• Weight loss- Green tea aids weight loss… fact! There have been countless studies across the world which have all found that participants who drank green tea lost more weight than those who did not. Green tea boosts that metabolism of yours, meaning you burn the fuel in your body quicker than before.
• Need a boost? Green tea enhances the energy levels in your body! so when you get to that afternoon slump, instead for reaching for a coffee and chocolate bar, try a green tea instead!
• Depression- Scientists have found that there are goodies in green tea that help fight depression. However like with all teas, those who drink it find that it is relaxing and helps fight against episodes of anxiety.
• Hydration! We all know the importance of drinking water, however I know many of you do not like the taste of it. So how about drinking a few cups of green tea? Green tea provides hydration benefit similar to water… plus it has no calories or sugar unlike some flavoured water!
• Fight the Flu!- Green tea’s high levels of antioxidants along with its Vitamin C consent help fight against infections and keeps cold and flu at bay!
• Super Skin!- Fro you beauty blogger green tea is a must! Green tea helps keep your skin clear, youthful and fresh. Many facials and face cream contain green tea extract because of its ability to keep your skin agile and help prevent the aging  process! Great for your skin

Do you drink green tea already? Do you know of any other health benefits to share with everyone? Would you swap your usual brew after reading up on the benefits to green tea?