AD / PR / AFF. - Foodie Friday - Quick. Healthy And Easy Meals With Love Yourself*

I love cooking, I love being in the kitchen and I love the sense of accomplishment that you feel when you've just made a fabulous meal for scratch. If I had time and energy I would be working my way through every recipe book that I own, but let's be realistic life gets in the way sometimes and you don't always the time or the energy, to prepare a meal or to even go to the supermarket. I don't know about you but when I'm having one of the those days and even weeks, I just grab the first thing in the freezer, the fridge or the cupboard, to fulfil my need for food, and 9 times out 10 the things that I pick aren't that healthy or nutritious.

Now you've probably heard of one of the many food boxes that you can that contain all the ingredients that you need to make a few days worth of main meals, I personally subscribe to one and I think that they are really good for meal planning, and for solving the age old dilemma about what to have for dinner, but whilst you can select quicker recipes on average each one takes about half and hour to make, and for most of them you do actually need a few culinary skills, not only that but as I say they generally only contain the ingredients for a few main meals so you still to brave the supermarket for your other two meals and the other things that help you feel satisfied.

They are still good, and they definitely have their place, but did you know that you can have a full days worth of freshly prepared meals delivered straight to your door - no work and barely no preparation needed? Well you can, and it's all courtesy of a company called Love Yourself, who deliver freshly cooked, nutritionally balanced, healthy, gourmet standard meals direct to your kitchen.

They full comprehensive, and easy to understand and use website gives you the choice of around 15 different plans based on nutritional needs are dietary requirements, including Vegetarian, Performance, Keto, Dairy Free, Pescatarian, Halal Balanced, Gluten Free, and a basic Balanced diet option.

Once you've selected your meal type - on most diets you can then select a calorie option depending on whether or not you want to lose weight or just eat an average days calorie intake. Once you've selected that you can then decided when your want to receive your food, you can choose anything from one days worth, to five, to six days worth, to Monday to Friday, for four weeks, and eight weeks and Monday to Saturday for both both four and 8 weeks. You can buy a day or two to try the plan or you can cut out the stress and the meal planning, and order yourself a full 8 weeks of food.

Most boxes contain a breakfast, a lunch, a dinner, and two snacks and whilst you don't have the option of selecting individual meals the menus are posted the week before, and if you contact Love Yourself both when your placing your initial order and after with dislikes or allergies etc. providing they have at least 48 hours notice they will try their best to substitute unwanted meals.

Now the lovely people at Love Yourself kindly sent me two days worth of meals to try. The meals I was sent were from the Vegetarian range, and I was send the 1500 calories a day option, which was priced at £25 a day. Created by a chef and a nutritionist, all of the meals in the plan contain fresh locally sourced ingredients, and none of the food is processed and none of it contains preservatives. They also contain all the nutrients you would need for one day and slow release carbohydrates for increased energy

If your lucky enough to live in certain areas of London or Bristol then you can get your meals delivered freshly every day, but don't worry if like me, you live elsewhere in mainland UK, then your meals will be delivered via DPD, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Now I received my box on a Tuesday, and as you can it was very well packaged. My meals came in sturdy outer box, which was lined with thick corrugated cardboard, and contained some ice packs. Once you've received them the meals should be be put in the fridge and should be eaten with 2 or 3 days. Some of the meals can be frozen but Love Yourself say they won't taste as good or as fresh as they should. 

All of the outer packaging is recyclable, and the meal containers which are made out of a fibre like, cardboard are fully recyclable and compostable.

This is the menu that I received and as you can see below, the food packaging features full ingredients, and nutritional information and if you use My Fitness Pal, you can scan the meals directly into the app. I actually use Nutri Check, a calorie counting app, and a lot of the meals are already on the but it's also really easy to add them yourself. I did switch the order of the meals around and I tended to eat the lunches in the evening, and obviously I got my meals on a Tuesday, but I going to just leave the Monday and Tuesday headings, and the other placements to avoid confusion x 

Monday

Breakfast

Baked Apple And Oat Cake With Blueberry Yogurt

First meal, first breakfast, and it was something familiar for me yogurt! I eat yogurt pretty much every morning, so this was a usual start to the day. The yogurt itself was a nice thick, blueberry flavoured greek yogurt, with real fresh blueberries mixed in to it. There was no real sweetness like you get with a lot of mass, supermarket yogurts, it tasted natural, and you could really taste the flavour of the blueberries.

Alongside the yogurt there was a piece of apple and oat cake. It was a very dense, very moist piece, of gluten free cake, it contained gluten free oats, apple, coconut, agave syrup, eggs and sunflower seeds. Agin it wasn't overly sweet, you could really taste the ingredients particularly the real apple, and the coconut, and the sunflower seeds gave it a nice crunch. 

I've got to say that I not normally that full after eating my breakfast but this was a really filling and tasty start the day, and it was fun dipping the cake in the yogurt.

Morning Snack

Sweet Potato Hummus

I've got to admit that I wasn't quite ready for the mid morning snack, and I was still a bit full from my breakfast but this really was a revelation. Using sweet potatoes instead of chickpeas, blended with red pepper, and the usual hummus ingredients of garlic, salt, oil and tahini. This smooth textured dip was amazing! It was slightly sweeter than normal hummus, but you could really taste the garlic, and sesame paste. Despite been packaged for around 24 hours the carrot sticks were real still fresh and crunchy. This would normally be a lunch for me instead of a snack but again it was really fresh and tasty, and I'm definitely going to be trying to recreate this in my kitchen.

Lunch

Tofu Tikka Masala With Rice & Goji Berries 

Now, although this was officially a lunch, I prefer to eat my main meal at night so I switched this one. Although the majority of meals can be served as it, some like this need to be heated. So although you can put them in the oven for speed I popped this the microwave for 3 minutes. First thing it smelled really good and it contained tofu and I love tofu! It contains big chunks of tofu, that had held it shape and hadn't gone mushy, as well as onions, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes, goji berries, and cashews, all in a mildly spiced, subtle coconut sauce, served alongside some white rice.

I probably overly microwaved so the rice was a touch dry, but the masala itself was perfect, with a slightly sweet, mildly spicy tomato forward sauce, it was a really nice mix of textures with softness of the tofu and the veg, and the slightly chewy, tartness of the goji berries, and the crunch of the cashews. Size it was about the same as an average ready meal, but it tasted so much fresher and again I felt full.

Afternoon Snack 

Chocolate Brownie

Ah chocolate! As as self confessed chocoholic - I was so pleased to see something chocolate related in my box. Now this is a brownie but not what would you probably expect in terms of sweetness and texture. This is a healthier brownie, and it's gluten free. Containing eggs, coconut milk, dark chocolate, almond flour, and dried dates, again it was very moist, very solid, very dense, very small and almost fudge like in appearance.

It had a really good dark chocolate flavour, and at the same time it had a slightly fruity flavour from the dates. Again it wasn't too sweet, but it was very rich, and it delivered that perfect chocolate hit. If you've ever eaten something like a Naked bar, or a chocolate protein bar, then this is pretty similar taste wise. I actually saved this for my evening snack because I like something sweet before bed.

Dinner 

Nectarine, Mozzarella & Broad Bean Salad

The one thing that I was slightly, worried about with this box was the salads and vegetables - just how fresh would it actually be! Well I needn't have worried, instead of the soggy salad expected, everything was fresh and crunchy. Containing grated mozzarella, fresh broad beans, nectarine, mixed salad leaves, and cherry tomatoes, the salad came with a little separate pot of dressing which contained raspberries, cider vinegar, dijon mustard, basil, and xylitol (a sweetener).

The nectarine was a touch underripe which actually worked really well with the salad, everything was nice and fresh, but by far the star was the dressing sweet yet tart because of the raspberries, with an almost pesto hit, it had a really good flavour but oddly enough it didn't overpower the freshness or flavours of the rest of the salad.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs With Homemade County Style Bread

Day 2, and it started with one of my favourite food, scrambled eggs with homestyle bread. The tray contained a small portion of scrambled eggs, which was just eggs, egg whites, olive oil, salt and black pepper, and three smaller end pieces of a country style, brown loaf.

I heated the scrambled egg up in the microwave, and I toasted the bread under the grill, as the pieces were a bit small and thick for my toaster. The eggs were really good, they were well seasoned, and not too dry, and too wet, just the way I like them. Now I shouldn't really be eating wheat but there was so little in both days worth of meals that it wasn't a problem. The bread itself was nice, and slightly sweet, with a dense and chewy texture.

Compared to what I normally eat first thing, this seemed like a lot but I really enjoyed it, and  it made me think that I should really switch up my breakfasts a bit more.

Morning Snack

Sweetcorn & Feta Muffin

Day 2, or egg day as I came to call it, contained with a mid morning snack, and it was what was described as a Sweetcorn and Feta Muffin. Containing sweetcorn, onion, eggs and egg whites, feta cheese, coconut oil, cumin and salt, you could eat it as it was, or like what I did warm it in the microwave for around 20 seconds.

It wasn't a muffin in either of the traditional senses of the word, instead it was more like a crustless quiche, a savoury pudding, or a heavier souffle. It had a lovely creamy texture with pieces of sweetcorn and it had a lovely savoury taste. It wasn't what I expected but I actually really enjoyed it.

Lunch

Meatless Bolognese With Pasta And Cheddar

 There is nothing I love more than a good veggie bolognese, and the lunch (which again I switched with my evening meal) was a good. Accompanied by gluten free penne pasta, the meat free bolognese was full of veg includes tomatoes, onions, carrots, and chickpeas, as well as chunks of vegetable fibre, and soy based, meatless meat, and it was sprinkled with cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds.

With all the traditional Italian herbs, the sauce had a nice sweetness, and a touch of smokiness, and again the textures were a real bonus. It was more of a chunky meat based bolognese than a mince, and the meatless meat was good and added some nice texture, as did the sunflower seeds. As a gluten free pasta aficionado this was a decent pasta, it will never be the same as wheat pasta but it was decent texture wise, it wasn't soggy, it was al dente which was perfect. I really enjoyed it was tasty and filling.

Afternoon Snack

Apple And Banana Slice

Afternoon snack time, and it was another yogurt and cake combo. Again a small piece of very moist, very dense cake made from bananas, apple, coconut milk, eggs, coconut milk, buckwheat flour and agave syrup, alongside a portion of natural yogurt.

As I say it very moist, almost wet, but solid at the same time, you could really taste the nuttiness of the buckwheat flour, with a hint of fresh apple and a lot of real banana flavour. Again the cake worked really well with the tart yet creaminess of the yogurt. I've been thinking while I've been writing this post about how to describe the cake, and the only thing I can think of is if you've eaten any raw desserts, solid, damp, and full of natural flavours.

Dinner

Cumin-Spiced Lentils & Brussel Sprouts

I know it trendy to hate them, and I do know that some people genuinely dislike them, but I'm a huge Brussel sprout fan, I love them steamed, stir fried, roasted, and I even put raw ones into salads so I was really to see them served in another way. This one was another heat and eat meal so I removed the egg and popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Containing a boiled egg, some nice al dente lentils, Brussel sprouts, onions, leeks, this meal had a lovely slightly tangy flavour coming from the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. It was a really unusual but really flavourful, tasty meal, and again it was really filling.

So they were my two days and they were my meals and snacks. All the food have to say was really fresh tasting and the lack of processed food was really evident.

Of the sweet thing, all of the sweeteners were natural, and there wasn't any more added than what was needed, and as a result you could really taste the ingredients, and the fresh fruits. The cakes could possibly be a bit on an acquired taste and texture (Mummy Lou wasn't keen on the textures of the bites that I gave her) but I really enjoyed them as a more healthier, filling alternative, to chocolate, biscuits or even fresh fruit, and it really made me realise just how much sugar I eat even in the savoury thing that I eat.

The main meals and savoury items were very flavourful, again they weren't overly salted, and the seasoning and flavours were perfect for me personally. Something I really I really enjoyed about all the savoury dishes in particular was all the different textures, the crunch from the seeds and berries, to the different textures of the vegetables and pulses.

As I say purely based on food, and ignoring drinks etc. my total calorie count was 1500 or there or there abouts. What really surprised me was just how filling all of the meals actually were, I would normally eat more than 1500 calories a day, and I would usually feel a lot less full, and a lot less satisfied then I did over the course of these two. The quality of the food was really good and every aspect of each meal was really well thought out and I honestly didn't feel as though I was on a 'diet'.

The one drawback of Love Yourself unfortunately is the price,  as I say one days worth of vegetarian 1500 calorie meals is £25 but the more meals you order the more you save, and you can get 5 days worth for £115 and 4 weeks Monday to Friday for £460. You can cancel with 48 hours notice at anytime so you aren't tied in to any contracts, and you only get what you pay for.

It is pricy but you probably could say goodbye to that weekly shop, and the temptations that it brings. If you really are time poor, or energy poor, or if you're unable to cook for yourself though this is a really great idea to get good healthy, fresh food with the effort. I personally found that those two days really helped to think about food in a slightly different way, I still love cooking things from scratch but it's made think about ways that I can improve my own diet and way of eating, and it's a really good kickstart to a new healthy eating regime for me.

The Love Yourself website is full of advice, and information not only on how their plans work, but also generally on how to live better, and eat more healthily and more consciously, and if you want to try it for yourself you can use my link or quote Louise H at checkout for 20% off your first order. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be back soon with another post x 

*This Post An Unpaid Advertisement For Love Yourself. Meals Were Provided For Review And Promotional Purposes. This Post All Contains 2 Affiliate Links And An Affiliate Discount Code

Collaborative / Partnered Post - Small Changes You Can Make To Have A Positive Impact On Both Your Physical And Mental Health*

I don't know about you, but the last twelve months or so have been a bit of struggle mental health wise. I don't whether it's totally been down to Covid, and lockdown, after lockdown, or just life stresses mounting up and getting the better of me, but at times I've really struggled. The key thing when you're struggling with anything but especially mental health is to talk, be it to a friend or a family member, or even seek some professional or unbiased help.

When your struggling with your mental health every problem can seem so huge but when you look at it even the biggest problem is just a series of tiny little ones, and when you break it down, the majority of times it isn't quite as scary as what you thought it was, and the same thing applies when it comes to making changes that benefit both your mental, and physical health

As a species, humans tend to be very good at thinking big, and setting huge goals for themselves, that to be honest aren't always achievable in the one go. I know it isn't always possible but if you want to truly benefit your mental health then you need to start out with something more manageable, and more achievable. The first thing you need to do before you start focusing on some of your problems is to think about self care, and the tiny changes that you can make on a daily basis, that can help you get your mind and body into focus, and prepare yourself for the task

Exercise for 20 Minutes

It’s important to know that your version of working out doesn’t have to be anything like someone else’s, and believe me mine isn't! It doesn’t matter at all if you want to build up so you can eventually run marathons or whether you just want to try and get a little bit fitter, and get some much needed fresh air to boot, if it makes you feel better, it all matters and it all counts. Now I just do as and when, but what you need to do is make sure that you schedule it into your calendar, like you would a coffee date, or a zoom meeting, and make it part of your day and your week. You don’t have to go running either, or do anything strenuous, just spend 20 minutes or so a day being more active, you can save on the stresses, cost and self esteem issues of going to the gym by doing an online class, following a You Tube video, by buying a bit of exercise equipment (I've recently bought a seated exercise bike) or even going for a 20 minute walk. Whatever the form, exercise really gets those endorphins going, and it can really help with stress, depression and self esteem issues.

Source: Pexels (CC0 License)

Eat More Fruit And Vegetable

When I'm feeling a bit down, or stressed, I turn to food, and in particular things like chocolate, crisps, and junk food and I'm not alone in that - so many of us turn to food and comfort eat in times of stress, and that's fine, don’t restrict yourself , no food should ever be forbidden, instead though, instead of reaching for the biscuits try and introduce more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Consider how to add more vegetables into your daily meals so that you can increase your nutrient intake, add some salad vegetables to a sandwich, snack on some carrot sticks, and hummus, instead of using crisps or bread for dipping, and if you love bananas, then why not add more of them to your diet, pop them into your porridge, yogurt or cereal or even pop them in a sandwich. As I said in my last post if you hate Brussel sprouts, change how you cook them, but if you still aren't a fan then don't force yourself to eat them there are plenty of other vegetables out there to eat. It maybe because I'm a vegetarian but I do love vegetables and eating more fruit and veg is such a tiny change that can make a huge impact on both your mental and physical health.

Drink One More Glass of Water a Day

It sounds strange but just drinking one extra glass of water a day can play a huge role in helping both your physical and mental health. The average adult needs to drink around 8 glasses of water, and a few more alongside, if you're drinking a lot of caffeine. If you don't drink enough water your body and your mind will suffer, you won't be able to concentrate, you may get a headache, and it can effect your skin. It can look dull, and you can get more breakouts. and suffer from more blotchiness and skin damage. If you are struggling with your skin, it may be an idea for you to look into hyperpigmentation treatment.

Sleep for Half an Hour Extra A Day

Although most of the time I'm not one of them, so many of us just don't get enough sleep that it’s so important that you make this year, the one where you actually look after yourself. I know it's hard when you're feeling anxious but give your body the sleep that it has been craving and make sure that you are getting between 7 and 9 hours every night. If you don't get enough sleep you really struggle to focus during the day, and as well as altering your mental health it can ultimately also ultimately effect your physical health. I've done a few posts on sleeping better so take a look back through the blog, but if you are having trouble sleeping then spend some time winding before you go to bed, cut down on the caffeine, turn off that phone, and prepare yourself for a goodnights sleep.

Even if you try all of things I can't guarantee that your problems will disappear but if you give them a try, they might make you feel a little bit healthier and hopefully they might help you to think a little bit more clearly x Remember though it's okay not to be okay, and there is always help out there and somebody is always there to listen

*Collaborative / Partnered Post

My Weight Loss Journey Featuring XLS Medical* - An Update And Birthdays

A million apologies that this post is a few days later than planned but yet again life got in the way. For once though it wasn't for anything bad, I've uploaded a couple of You Tube videos this week, and I had a lovely day yesterday with Mummy Lou, we went to Chiquitos for lunch, did a bit of shopping and then I had an amazing Kiehls facial, hand and arm massage in the newly refurbished House Of Fraser Beauty Rooms, in their Intu Metrocentre store. Heaven, and the perfect start to my birthday celebrations!

Yes it's my birthday on Sunday and ahead of any potential naughtiness calorie wise, I though I better update you on how my weight loss journey is going.

Not too bad is the answer, although I've had a couple of wobbles here and there, and a couple of weeks where I didn't manage to lose any weight, since my last update  I've managed to lose 6lbs taking me to 12lbs in total.

I had a couple of really good weeks then I got sick again which contributed to a couple of wobbles, and then I had my godfathers 87th birthday party, which involved cake and lots of gluten free pizza :) so I'm taking the fact that I didn't gain anything over the 5 weeks or so as a bonus.

Maybe this is the XLS Medical Max Strength doing it's thing who knows? Even on my off days and days when I haven't been calorie counting I've still been taking the supplements so maybe they've helped stop the absorption of some of the excess fat and calories

Celebrations normally involve food, and I'm not intending to be too careful about what I eat over the next few days but I will be talking the supplements and trying to make some good choices. Yesterday in Chiquitos we didn't have starters or dessert, and I just had a salad (the Halloumi Citrus Salad in case you're interested) and me and Mummy Lou shared a side order of Sweet Potato Fries. I had a Costa Creamy Cooler too but I didn't eat very much else all day.

So one  birthday event down two to go, obviously there is my birthday itself and tomorrow night I'm going for a meal with my best friend to a local Greek restaurant so although there might be a few calories from the olive oil, maybe some chips and some cheese, I'll definitely be getting my five a day when it comes to vegetables,

I intend to enjoy my birthday and if that means eating a few bad (good) things then so be it - Everything in moderation and they say and I'll be back on it as soon as I can, and I'll be updating my Instagram from Monday with my weekly weigh in's regardless of the result..

I only have about a month's worth of the XLS Medical Max Strength supplements remaining so in about a months time I'll do another update, where I'll talk more about the supplements and talk about my experiences with them.

Thanks again for your support and if you have any questions please leave me a comment and let me know x Thanks for reading xx

*Samples

A Weight Loss Journey Update - Illness, A Big Fat Fail And A Small Positive

It's been over a month since I announced that I was restarting my weight loss journey and since then it's all gone a bit quiet, so I thought I owed you an explanation.

The reality is that yet again my healthy eating and weight loss plans went down the pan - I had a good couple of weeks without managing to lose any weight (probably down to star week) and then it all went belly up.

I had a few wobbles over Mothers Day weekend but then I was hit by an awful virus or should I say viruses! Over the next 3 weeks I had a UTI (sorry if that's a bit TMI), a sickness and diarrhoea bug, and finally a horrible cold / chest infection that I can't seem to shake off, and then of course came Easter!

How I haven't gained any weight I'll never know, maybe the various viral infections played their part and scared the calories and periods of over indulgence away, but whatever the reason I have to take it as a positive and put this wobble behind me.

So from yesterday I'm back on it and I've even more determined then ever - I took what I hope will become a before photograph, that almost made me cry and that I hope will give me the push and inspiration that I need.

I'm going to trying to eat more healthily, I'm aiming to eat less than 1500 calories a day and I'm going to be resuming my XLS Medical Max Strength* trial. I'm also going to try and up my activity levels, I'm going to start slowly and just do more around the house including tidying and decorating before hopefully moving on to a bit of Wii Fit, a bit of yoga, and hopefully once the weather gets better I'm going to pop my trainers on and start going for a daily walk just to get myself out of the house and to get myself moving.

So after yet another false start I'm back and raring to go, as per usual I will be weighing on Monday's and updating my progress be it good or bad on my Instagram (link in the sidebar x ) and in a month's time I'll do another blog post to let you know how I'm getting on. Wish me luck xx

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Restarting My Weight Loss Journey Featuring XLS Medical Max Strength*

It's hard to believe but it's been nearly 3 months since I put the breaks on my latest weight journey - doesn't time fly. A lot of water has gone under the bridge and I've eaten a lot of chocolate since then but after a few months worth of trials and tribulations I'm ready to start again.

Although I couldn't eat anything too hard, or too sticky or too crunchy I still managed to put on quite a bit of weight over Christmas. Salvation came though when the tooth said goodbye, 7 days of liquids and sloppy food meant that my weight loss journey started without me even trying. 

In the month that' followed I've had some good days and some bad days but since I first stepped on the scales on the Monday before my surgery I've managed to lose 6lbs by just making little tweaks here and then.

From today though I'm back on it good and proper and I'm going to be resuming my XLS Medical Max Strength trial. I started using this weight loss aid last June, and I really think it made a difference (Find out more about my previous experience by typing XLS Medical into the search box or have a read of some of my previous posts, here, here and here. Thanks to the tooth though and various unrelated health issues I had to put the trial on hold. From today though I'm back on it and for the next 3 months I'm going to be taking 4 tablets a day, whilst watching what I eat, drinking plenty of water and trying to increase my activity levels. 

What I was doing before seemed to be working so I'm going to try and do the same thing again - I'm a bit of a devotee of calorie counting so that's what I'm going to do. It makes sense really, eat less calories, and you'll lose weight - simples! Well I know it's not that simple. it's tough, it's hard and it needs serious willpower, but by making small changes, taking my XLS Medical supplements,eating 3 healthy meals a day, cutting down on the cheese and the chocolate, and by moving my body a bit more, hopefully I'll be able to shed those pounds and feel a bit more confident and a bit happier.

I still don't feel confident enough to reveal my full weight on the blog at the moment so all I'll say it at the moment I weigh:

1%st 8lbs

I have quite a bit  of weight to lose, and I know that it won't be a quick fix but I'm hoping that the XLS Medical tablets can do there thing, and at least help my kick start my weight loss over the next 3 months. I'm only going to be posting monthly updates on the blog, so if you want to keep tracks on my progress please follow me on either Instagram or Twitter where I'll be posting my weekly weigh in's every Monday. Thanks as per usual for your support, if you have any questions let me know and if you're interested in XLS Medical in general or the XLS Medical Max Strength supplements then don't forget to check out their website for more information x

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Life Lately - Weight Loss, Chronic Fatigue, Illness And Family

When I first started my blog nearly 9 years ago now I talked a lot about myself, my family and my illness - I used to write regular goods and bads posts and I often used my blog as a bit of a place to whinge. Over the years though my blog has changed and maybe I've changed!  For various reasons I haven't felt comfortable sharing certain aspects of my life and my blog has become my happy place, a place where I can escape and take time out of my daily life. I always wanted my blog to be a part of me though, so every once and a while maybe it's good to share.

To say my posting has been flaky lately is probably an understatement, I seem to have a really consistent spell and then I seem to disappear for a few days or a week. There shouldn't be any pressure to blog but I do feel a bit guilty every now and then when I can't get as many posts up as I would like. Life over the last 3 or 4 months or so hasn't been kind to me in a lot of ways and that's reflected in my blog so event hough there probably isn't a need I thought I should at least give you some sort of an explanation. 

I don't want to go into too much detail but as you know I'm quite close to my family, and unfortunately my illness curse seems to have struck them too. I'm not going to go into too much detail to protect them and their privacy but two of my closest family members are having a very rough time of it at the moment. It's awful seeing people you love struggling on a day to day basis, and facing their own mortality and it's probably affected me more than I've realised, both physically and mentally, something that I could probably have done without.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a funny thing, I don't mean funny haha, I mean strange, one minute you can feel relatively "normal" and the next minute you can feel as though your on deaths door, yet you'll still look okay. You can have good days and you can have bad days and this year for whatever reason I've definitely had more bad days than good days.Throw in a long awaited, and presumed Fibromyalgia diagnosis and it's now pretty clear why I've been in so much pain and felt so wiped out.

If that wasn't all after a routine dental check up I was told that one of my wisdom teeth needs to be removed! Fury didn't quite cover it, I brush, I floss, I use mouthwash, I visit the dentist every 6 months - why!!! and why wasn't this picked up sooner! I know some of my medications can affect my teeth and my saliva (yuck, sorry!) but still!

A visit to an oral surgeon confirmed that the tooth needed to come out, and I was put on the waiting list to get it removed. Oh and in the meantime I was told to eat a relatively soft diet as the damaged tooth would potentially start to break off - hmm I wondered what that small creamy, white hard thing was in my risotto!! 

Yeah - not good but unfortunately the worst was yet to come" before any form of surgery you have to undergo certain tests to rule out any complications and after some simple tests low and behold they found a couple of issues. I'm not going to bore you with the details but I have a pile of new medication to take and I have to see a health care professional every fortnight for monitoring!

So here I am, waiting and waiting for that appointment letter to get this godforsaken tooth removed, I swear it caused me no pain or irritation until that bloody dental check up. Thankfully avoiding anything to hard or chewy, painkillers, Corsodyl mouth wash, and Anbesol liquid are making it a bit more bearable but I'm still having the occasional swollen hamster cheek moment!

At the moment finding something to eat and eating without discomfort is hard enough, without watching what I'm eating so I've made to decision to at least postpone my weight loss journey, till I get both my teeth and my heart sorted. I'm annoyed, ashamed and more than a little disappointed to give in like this, but I need to focus on improving my short term health before I start thinking about more long term concerns. It's a shame because I really think I was starting to make progress with the XLS Medical Max Strength system* - I'd lost around 12lbs and I was feeling really positive about the whole thing but it can't be helped. I'd already bought some more capsules when they were on offer so I'm ready to get back on it hopefully in the new year when I get myself pulled together.

I really hope this hasn't come across as an oh woe is me post, although I suspect it probably has, but I just wanted to let you know what's been going on and why posting has been a bit erratic and why I haven't been posting as many recipes or weight loss updates.  Knowing that you guys are there on the interweb really keeps my going at times and it gives me something to focus on when real life is getting in the way. If you're a new reader I don't write posts like this that often so I hope I haven't scared you off! I'm making no promises as to the regularity of posts at the moment but all I'll say is I'll post when I can. I have quite a few post ideas floating around that will hopefully come to fruition before Christmas including some long overdue press sample reviews, some festive gift idea reviews, some hauls, a recipe that I might not be able to eat but I can assure you is amazing, and my usual big festive giveaway.so I hope that you'll stick around and be patient with me. Thanks for reading and of course thanks for being there x

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Foodie Friday - Upping My Protein Intake With Veganicity Pea Protein*

I've been a vegetarian for nearly 19 years now and during that time I've heard it all and pretty much seen it all. Thankfully people are a lot more accepting of special diets now but there are still those who make judgements and assumptions because of what you to choose to eat or not to eat. I've lost count of the amount of people who've suggested that my diet must be lacking in something because I don't eat meat or fish. Yes, vegetarians, and vegans can sometimes lack certain vitamins and minerals such as iron, protein and vitamin B12 but if you eat a balanced diet and a wide variety of different foods then you should be fine.

I'm a firm believer that you should be able to get all the vitamins, and minerals that you need from the food you eat but sometimes you just need a bit of a boost, particularly if you're lacking in energy or if you're stressed, unwell or if you've been eating badly,

It's funny how things become trendy or popular but at the moment you can't go on Facebook or instagram without somebody talking about protein powder. Although I follow a lot of fitness and wellbeing accounts where people are using protein powder to increase muscle mass and stamina and to aid weight loss, protein is something that we all need to help tissue regeneration and to provide the body with essential fuel.

Whilst I don't think my diet is too bad and I do still eat a lot of protein based foods such as soya, grains, and beans, I'm going through a bad patch health wise, so as a vegetarian, who wants a bit more energy and is trying to lose some weight, an extra boost of protein powder sounded like it would be perfect by me.

The problem is though where do you start - research protein powders and it really is a minefield, what is made from? what does it taste like? what do I do with it? So many questions so many options and answers and I have to admit I was a bit stuck. Thankfully though the lovely people from Veganicity came to my rescue.

Veganicity produce a huge range of vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements, all of which are 100% vegan and animal friendly, and are approved by the Vegan Society. Their products are also suitable for coeliacs and diabetics and anyone who wants to avoid unnecessary or artificial ingredients in their supplements. One of the supplements that they offer is Pea Protein, and I was kindly sent a bag to try out.

Okay, I know in this world of sweet flavoured protein powders, that pea protein probably doesn't sound too appetising but appearances and words can be deceptive. The humble pea is crammed full of vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre and protein.

The 250g bag contains nothing but pure pea powder, it contains no artificial fillers, preservatives or binders and 80& of the contents is pure pea proteins. When I opened the packet I assumed that it would be green but it's actually a very finely ground, cream coloured powder. It reminds me a bit of flour in both texture and in taste. It's classed as unflavoured but it actually tastes a little bit like raw flour. It certainly isn't overpowering and it definitely won't alter the taste of anything that you put it in.

Veganicity recommend that you take around 1 to 3 servings a day, a serving is about a heaped dessertspoon. You get around 25 servings in each bag and each serving contains around 39 calories.

There is no one way to use this, you can mix it into cold drinks, hot drinks, stews, soups, smoothies and milkshakes, and you can even use it to make pancakes. The pancake recipe is on the packet and it's both egg and dairy free, I gave it ago but instead of soya milk, I used normal semi skimmed and I used gluten free flour.

It wasn't the most successful recipe that I've ever made (thanks to the gluten free flour) but the pancakes, were really good, especially when I served them with some stewed blackberries and apple and some squirty cream. I know the cream wasn't the most healthy addition but I felt so virtuous with all the extra protein, I felt as though I deserved a treat.

Because of my poorly wisdom tooth, I'm eating a lot of soup at the moment and I've been putting spoonful or two of the pea protein  into my homemade soups and stews. It dissolves really well into hot liquids but it needs a bit of extra work when you add it to cold drinks. If you're going to add it to a milkshake or say a smoothie I would definitely recommend that you use a blender or a specialist shaker to make sure the pea protein is full dissolved because you don't want any lumps.

Here I've just made a quick milkshake with a spoonful of powder, some milk, some frozen raspberries and some frozen banana (just a tip peel your bananas before you freeze them to stop them going brown)

and here I've made a quick frozen smoothie, with some fresh orange juice, and some frozen banana and some frozen pineapple, and a spoonful of pea protein.

Whether or not all of this extra protein is doing me any good, I really can't tell but I do know that I can't be doing me any harm, and I certainly feel a little bit better for it. Although nothing can replace a healthy diet, supplements definitely can play a part when we need that little bit of something extra. If you are feeling a bit under the weather though, or if your not sure whether or not you should be taking supplements or vitamins, it's worth having a chat with your GP or another health care professional. Veganicity From Health Plus Pea Protein retails at around £8.45 for a 250g bag and is available from the Veganicity website, Amazon and from various other health food stores x

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Foodie Friday - Beanies Coffee - No Ordinary Cup Of Joe*

Although in the UK we're supposed to be a nation of tea drinkers, did you know that over 70 million cups of coffee are consumed in the UK every day (source). That's a staggering amount and whilst I will always be tea girl at heart, I drink a lot more coffee than I used to.

When I first started drinking coffee dare I say it, but it was a bit boring. Cappuccinos and lattes were a rarity, and flavoured coffees just didn't exist, in my house it was a mug of instant black, or with a dash of milk and that was it. These days though go to any cafe never mind a specialist coffee shop and the list of coffee varieties and flavours is endless. I think that's one of the reasons why so many of us drink coffee now - all of those different seasonal flavours drag even coffee haters into the hype.

By all means enjoy your coffee shop treat, I know I do, but whatever you do don't think about the sugar and the calories - buy a flavoured coffee in a coffee shop, and you've got sweet, sugary syrup, sprinkles, sauce, and even whipped cream - a simple cup of coffee can often have the same amount of calories as a main meal - scary!  If like me you're watching what you eat though, don't despair, there are ways of having a nice cup of flavoured coffee without the calories and without the sugar courtesy of Beanies.

Based in my home county of Durham, Beanies are one of the pioneers when it comes to producing flavoured instant coffees. Founded in 2009 Beanies use only the finest ethically sourced Brazilian coffee, which they infuse with lots of yummy flavours. All of their products are suitable for vegans, they are gluten, nut and alcohol free and although the blends have a sweetness they are all sugar free. They're also very diet friendly at only around 2 calories a serving when you drink it black.

The lovely people at Beanies kindly sent me 3 jars of their most popular flavours to try, so me and Mummy Lou got stuck in and embraced the caffeine high.

Beanies Double Chocolate Flavour Instant Coffee - 50g

Packaged in a cute 50g glass jar, the first thing that hits you when you open the jar and pierce the seal is the smell. It's one of the best smells in the world opening a new jar of coffee but instead of the pure coffee hit with this one you get a very dark chocolate hit, with just a tiny hint of rich coffee.

All you do is add one heaped teaspoon to a mug of boiling water, you can either drink it black or for a few extra calories you can add a touch of milk or cream to taste. I'm not a huge lover of black coffee (I was when I was about 16 I though I was so sophisticated) so I added a dash of semi skimmed milk.

The taste with this one was the direct opposite of the smell, the coffee dominated and you only got the merest hint of the dark chocolate. I personally didn't find this one that sweet so I think that this is a drink for real coffee lovers, it was rich, dark, and velvety, and it's definitely something that would wake you up in the morning.

Beanies Very Vanilla Flavour Instant Coffee -  50g

A Vanilla Latte is one of my posh coffees of choice so I was excited to try this one and I wasn't disappointed. At first sniff you get a huge hit of a rich, creamy almost floral vanilla, with only the tiniest, tiniest hint of coffee. Taste wise the coffee comes into it's own when you drink it, again it's rich and dark but with a strong vanilla hit. Again I preferred this one with milk, and although it's a little bit naughty I also added a spoonful of brown sugar with brought out both the creaminess of the vanilla and the richness of the coffee

Beanies Nutty Hazelnut Flavour Instant Coffee - 50g

As the song goes I've saved the best till last -  Nutty Hazelnut was my favourite of the three and it was Mummy Lou's too. Hazelnuts can sometimes be bitter but this had a warm nutty, almost praline aroma with just a smidgen of coffee. Taste wise it was very similar, and it reminded me a lot of one of the major coffee shops festive offerings, only without the overt sweetness and creaminess. Again the flavour was rich and full, but without any bitterness. I served this with semi skimmed milk, and Mummy Lou liked it with soya milk for a few extra calories, and don't forget even though this cup of Joe tastes nutty, the entire Beanies range is nut free.

Based on my experience with these 3 flavours I can see why Beanies coffees are so popular.Unlike some of the coffee shop offerings that don't taste a great deal of coffee, Beanies coffees are for real coffee lovers, all of the flavours are rich, and velvety and you can really taste the quality of the coffee and the ingredients.

I have quite a sweet tooth and personally for me, they weren't sweet enough and I felt I needed to add a little something, but even with the addition of a dash of milk, and some sweetener or even a cheeky teaspoon of sugar, the calorie count is still way less than a syrup and cream covered coffee shop special.

Beanies aren't just for making coffee though you can also use them in smoothies, milkshakes and in recipes, and I think that all of these flavours would make a fab addition to either a chocolate cake, a coffee and walnut cake or even in some butter cream.

If these flavours aren't for you there are plenty more to choose from including decaf varieties, and festive varieties such as Christmas Pudding and Gingerbread, and yummy sounding flavours such as Chocolate Orange, Irish Cream and Cinder Toffee. Beanies Flavoured Instant Coffees retail at around £2.50 for a 50g jar. Tesco and Sainsbury's offer a small selection but the full range and even some gift boxes are available online from the Beanies website. Are you a flavoured coffee fan? Let me know x 

*Samples

My Weight Loss Journey Featuring XLS Medical Max Strength* - Part 2

It's been a little while since I posted a weight loss update so I thought it was about I did a little post to let you know whats been going on.

I started my new weight loss programme with XLS Medical Max Strength, with a huge amount of enthusiasm and willpower and by the time I published my first post, which you can read here, I'd already lost 5lbs, fast forward over a month and a half later I'm only 8lbs down, so what happened?

Well the usual thing for me - illness. The chest and lung infection from hell, attacked my system for over 3 weeks, so dieting was pretty much out of the question, my immune system was shot and it needed all the help it could get. Throw in a family bereavement and another relative being in intensive care and to be honest I'm surprised that the scales are still showing an overall loss.

From this week though I'm back on it, I'm keeping an eye on my calorie intake, I'm keeping a food diary and or course I've started taking my XLS Max Strength supplements again.

I promised in my last post that I'd tell you a little bit more about the supplements and how they work, so here we go x I'm not going into too much detail but basically what XLS Medical Max Strength is, is weight loss aid that can help users reach their weight loss goals up to 4 times faster than diet and exercise alone.

How it does this is by the inclusion of a patented, gentle, organic plant based complex, Clavitanol, which reduces the break down and absorption of dietary carbohydrates, sugar and fat, which in turn leads to a reduced calorie intake. It also helps to stabilise blood glucose and insulin levels which helps to reduce food cravings.

This product has been rigorously tested, and the plant based ingredient is gentle on the system. Full instructions and contra indication information is supplied in every box and all you do is take two tablets, about half an hour before you eat your two main meals of the day, you even get a nifty little pillbox for when you're on the go. Unlike some weight loss supplements I've used in the past these don't seem to have any of the nasty side effects such as diarrhoea or nausea, in fact all I've noticed is a little bit of bloating.  

Although it sounds good these tablets aren't for everyone and for good reason. Supplements like this are for people that have a weight problem and really need to lose weight. For that reason you need to have a BMI of over 18.5 to take them. It's also only recommended for adults over the ages of 18 unless it's given under the supervision of a GP or a dietician, and it goes without saying that it isn't suitable for women who are pregnant or breast feeding. If you're diabetic its also recommended that you consult a health professional before use as the tablets can interfere with medication, but to be honest before you take any form of supplement or pill you should always consult with your GP even if you consider yourself fit and healthy.

So I'm back on it and with just over 2 months supply of tablets remaining, I'm going to give it my best shot x I I'm looking forward to receiving some support and encouragement from Jodie Reif who is a registered dietician and in house dietican for XLS Medical Max Strength, and of course from you guys x  I want to thank you all as per usual for your support. From next week, weekly weight losses (or gains!) will be appearing again every Monday on my Instagram and Twitter page so don't forget to follow me, and in a month I'll do another update post for you x You can find out more about XLS Medical Max Strength by visiting their website and if you have questions about my journey please let me know x 

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My New Weight Loss Journey Featuring XLS Medical Max Strength* - Part 1

I guess I'm beginning to sound a bit like a broken record with so many false dawns and false starts, but last week I restarted my weight loss journey.Over the last 12 months or so it's been a bit stop / start but on my birthday of all days I decided that I needed to make some changes in all areas of my life.

Why weight loss? well I'm officially classed as obese, bah humbug you should be happy what ever your size, people shouldn't be labelled and all that. Fine if you're happy and you have that self confidence but not so much if you're like me and looking the mirror at times makes you feel miserable.

Recently I attended a press event and I the night before I literally burst into tears as I tried to find something that looked decent and didn't highlight my wobbly tummy and my bum. Okay I was probably being a bit dramatic but if you don't feel comfortable in your own skin, all the reassurances and common sense in the world won't make one bit of difference. Believe me I've tried, I admire and love so many plus size / eff your beauty standards bloggers but when you're hating on yourself as much as I have been lately it's impossible to see anything positive about the way you look.

I've never had a lot of self confidence, or confidence in my appearance, even many moons ago when I was a size 8, so why do I think it will make a difference now? Well I'm older and maybe a little bit wiser, I know that being a bit slimmer isn't going to change my life dramatically but I need to at least give it a try for my health, if not for my self confidence.

I didn't want this to be an Oh Woe Is Me post, so I'm sorry if it's heading that way but losing weigh isn't the easy thing that some people make it out to be. It's a physical and emotional journey that effects every part of your life

I've been told on many occasions by my GP and my hospital specialist that it's will be hard for me to lose weight due to my illness, lack of exercise and my medication but I'm going to give it my best shot and I fully intend to prove them wrong.

So how am I going to be doing it? Well pretty much the same way that I've done it in the past, watching what I eat, making healthy choices, and less snacking. I did consider trying a slimming club but the expense put me off and I know that this method works for me - Many moons ago I lost 4 stone doing something similar so despite the obstacles now in my path I know it can be done.

This time round though I do have a little bit of a support. A month or so ago now I was invited down to London to meet Denise Van Outen, who is the brand ambassador for weight loss tablet XLS Medical Max Strength. Unfortunately because I'm a northerner travelling down to London the majority of times just isn't possible so the PR company gave me the opportunity to take part in the week XLS Medical Get Back To The Real You, 12 week challenge, and sent me three months supply of the XLS Medical Max Strength supplements*

Diet pills and supplements have always been controversial but for me I need a kick start. I'm going to talk more about what they do and who they are for in a future but be rest assured these aren't just some random pills I've got off the internet. XLS Medical are the biggest weight loss brand in Europe and their products are available in most major pharmacies. My BMI is high enough and I've checked with my GP so I'm good to go.

I'm not going it alone though, every person who buys XLS Medical Max Strength can either log onto their website or download the app, and register for their free support programme, to get support, meal tips and advice from their in house dietician Jodie Relf. I'm going to be speaking to the XLS team once a week via email and I think that their support will be invaluable.

I've been taking four tablets a day for the past week, and in my first week I've lost 5 pounds. Have the tablets helped? I'm not sure yet but I've experienced no side effects as yet so all's well. I'm not going to be doing a weekly update post or anything like that, instead I'm going to be updating my instagram every Monday with how much I've lost or gained, and I'm going to be doing a monthly post to keep you updated. My next post will be in around four week time and as well as updating you on my progress I'll also be explaining a bit more about XLS Max Strength how they work, the science behind them,and who can use them, but if you want to find out more please have a look at their website x

So although I'm going down a slightly controversial route to some, hopefully it's going to give me the kick start that I need x Thanks for your support as per usual and thanks for reading and I'll see you soon with either a beauty or fashion post depending on how I'm feeling xx

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