getting healthy

Eating right and being healthy has always been a tricky concept for me to grasp. In my younger teenage years I was obsessive and ended up suffering with an ED. After recovering and going to uni- I went a bit far the other way, eating and drinking what I liked, when I liked. Since then my mindset swings between 'must watch what I eat and exercise more' and 'f**k it, you only live once'. 

Now I'm determined to find a healthy balance between the two. I used to be terrified of food, now I love it and I want to enjoy it.... just in a more healthy way. My first step to helping me eat right was to download the 'My Fitness Pal' App* which is great for seeing exactly how many calories your Starbucks hot-chocolate has, and how much of it is saturated fat! It also tracks your exercise which is helpful.

My main issue has always been eating out- I love going out for dinner and can struggle with not ordering bread, pasta and chocolate every time! I've found however that lots of restaurants now offer light versions which has become a life saver, (Prezzo is especially good for this), or at least tell you the calorie content of their menus. Snacking-wise I am addicted to Graze boxes- fantastic healthy options delivered to your door.  On top of this I am a big believer in the 'Cheat Meal' method, having one meal a week where you can eat whatever you want (I usually opt for takeaway pizza and chocolate!) this keeps your metabolism guessing and stops you from cheating the rest of the time as you know where your next treat is coming from.

 My eating has improved but my big issue is exercise! I commute to London every day for work which sees me waking up at 6AM and getting home at 7:30 in the evening. Suffice to say, I never want to exercise after work. My weekends are usually spent with my boyfriend relaxing so I'm rarely motivated then either! I am going to start going to the gym with him when he goes at the weekend, but would love to fit something else in during the week.

What do you guys do to keep healthy? Any tips or motivators?

(*I would not recommend this App for ED sufferers, or those who have recently recovered- it can be a touch addictive and may set off a relapse)

food glorious food

A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I had a day full to the brim of fantastic, (and home cooked I might add), food. So as a blogger armed with an iPhone, I felt the need to share our mini feast! I should preface this by admitting that I am an awful cook. I like to bake when I have the time, but savoury food just doesn't seem to compute in my head. These two dishes were cooked by my lovely other half, with me standing close by shouting motivational words of encouragement.

Our first meal was after a rather epic lie in and covered breakfast and lunch in one hit- poached eggs on an onion bagel with a side of Oscar Myer bacon, heaven.

After this we trawled the BBC food website for dinner inspiration and settled for mozzarella and chorizo stuffed chicken with a breadcrumb crust, rosemary infused roast potatoes and a Mediterranean vegetable medley.

During all this I was on the other side of the kitchen attempting to bake some white chocolate Blondies with peanut butter frosting. And while, when cooking, the mixture looked/smelled more like an omelet, they actually turned out OK! Surprisingly though, they tasted better once chilled. This is the recipe I used.

Have you created anything fabulous in the kitchen recently? Would love to hear some recipes :)

Fancy a Cuppa?

***Cocktails served in teacups***

As someone that doesn't drink tea or coffee *pauses to allow shock to pass* I think the idea of drinking cocktails from tea cups is utterly delightful. Now me and my fellow non-tea drinkers can unite and drink from cute vintage looking cups to! I love the idea of redefining high-tea for grown-ups ;)

Bourne & Hollingsworth is just one of many bars that does this in London, looks incredibly cute in there what a swanky interior.....

Looks like somewhere I could spend an evening.....

Who's coming?

Cupcakes... in a Jar!

I know what you're thinking... *puts on Peter Kay voice* Cupcakes?!?!? In a jar?!?!??!

Trust me- it's the latest trend in deserts. I know this because Style magazine and Daily Candy told me so, (and they never lie).

I personally think this is a genius re-invention: Make cupcakes even cuter that they already are and eat them with a spoon. What's not to like? Perfect for parties and you can turn the jars into something cool after you've devoured the cupcake- a nice candle holder maybe?

Take a look at G Desserts for more info, but for now, set your saliva glands to drool...

NOM.

Tea, Mexian food and portraits

Who knew this would be such a great combination? Had a lovely London bound adventure with some London bound friends yesterday in an attempt to see my nearest and dearest before I run away for a month..... We strolled around Covent Garden and had a good long look in the Tea Palace, (http://www.teapalace.co.uk/The-Covent-Garden-Shop-ACOVENT_GARDEN/) which for Tea lovers is like nirvana, but even I (not a friend of tea) enjoyed the pretty shop (which used candles to heat ornate tea pots!)

After this tea filled adventure we headed to Wahaca (http://www.wahaca.co.uk/) for the best Mexican I've ever had- I fear quesadilla's have become a new food love. Please go and get the churros for pudding- nom nom nom

So after feeling sufficiently stuffed we headed over to the national portrait gallery to see the entries and winners of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 (http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site09/exhibition2_winners.php)

I love photography and had read about this in Dazed and Confused a while ago and was dying to see the contenders. The winner was Paul Floyd Blake for Rosie Bancroft, from an ongoing project entitled 'On Track for 2012' and this was it:

To be honest as an amateur I couldn't tell which ones were 'better' than the others, I just knew which ones I liked. Here's a couple I found on google image:

Overall a grand day out :)