Another two smoothies...

At uni 9-5 again today, so made two smoothies. I made my lunch one bigger though, so I don't cheat like yesterday.

Breakfast Smoothie

Lunch smoothie

Ingredients (Breakfast smoothie)

1/3 cup raspberries

1/3 cup strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

1 raspberry yogurt pot

~200mL apple juice

Ingredients (Lunch smoothie)

1/2 banana

1/3 cup mango

1/2 cup raspberries

1 sachet raspberry pomegranate oats so simple

Apple juice to 700mL

Good Morning!

This morning I prepared two smoothies, as I'm at uni 9-5 (I'm here right now in fact). But I was bad. I drank my morning smoothie - super yummy - but I was so hungry at lunch that I had a mexican chicken and bean flat bread and a packet of crisps. Very not good.

But I've walked to uni and I'll be walking home. Stole my mum's pedometer so I can monitor how many steps and calories I'm burning doing that.

Have to say though, my thighs and my bum's killing me today! That workout yesterday was much more intense than I expected. Hoping that I have enough energy tonight to do Blogilates Muffintopless video tonight, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway.

Breakfast - strawberry banana smoothie

Breakfast was a very yummy strawberry banana smoothie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 whole banana (chopped)
1 tablespoon wheat bran
1 strawberry yogurt pot
1 tablespoon wheat bran
~200mL apple juice

T'was very yummy and I drank that straight away as I faffed around making the other one.

Lunch - tropical smoothie

Lunch was supposed to be a tropical smoothie, but that didn't really happen.

I do have it, and I am drinking it, but I cheated and ate lots of other things to.

Ingredients
3 pieces of chopped pineapple ring
1/3 cup frozen mango
1 1/2 apricots
1/4 cup blueberries
1/3 cup low fat natural yogurt
~200mL apple juice

Both these smoothies were very yummy. But today's been a bad day. In fact, it's been a bad week. I'm not doing very well lately. I must pick it up the next few days. I'm determined.

Afternoon Exercises

Just done these exercises from backonpointe. I didn't do them in their entirety, I missed some bits out, but I'm knackered now!! Going to do a little bit of work, then walk to my friends...hopefully I can get a lift home, I might die otherwise haha.

I only did workouts 1 and 2

I only did the 'Workout' and 'Stretching' bits

Any moves that I wasn't sure about I youtube'd, and I also added weights to some of these too, just to make it a bit harder.

I didn't really break a sweat, but I live in a top floor flat, so I can't exactly be doing jumping jacks or jumping about. But while I'm not going to the gym, doing these little routines and walking everywhere will hopefully work quite well :)

Apricot Raspberry Smoothie

Hello :)

Real life is totally kicking my arse at the moment, I feel like there's not enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs doing. But I'll cope, I always do.

This morning's smoothie was so tasty! Very chuffed. Had a Greggs sarnie for my lunch though - not so good. But I've walked to uni and I'm walking to my friends to sign the contract for the new house this afternoon, so that'll help.

 Ingredients
1 apricot (I used tinned ones)
1/3 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 banana
1 strawberry flavour shape yogurt
1 tablespoon wheat bran
200mL apple juice


Nutritional info
276 calories
1.2g fat
58.7g total carbs
8.4g fibre
9.5g protein
33.6% vitamin C

Warm Apple and Blueberry Smoothie

This was an odd one. I've wanted to make something warm, because it's so bloody cold here. And I'd been thinking on this recipe and figured I should just give it a go. And it tasted good, but the texture was horrible and it cooled down really quick (I don't think the milk was hot enough) anyway, I didn't finish it.

Ingredients
2 Apples cored, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup blueberries
squidge of honey
1 packet apple and cinnamon porridge
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup hot milk (seriously get it as hot as you can)

Blend it all together until completely smooth.

The texture of mine totally put me off, but other people might not be. So if you try this, let me know :)

Mango, Raspberry Smoothie

The last of my prepared smoothie bags this morning. I'm off to a wedding fayre with my mum today, quite excited :D so I needed lots of energy.

This is a really lovely smoothie that kept me pepped and motivated all morning.

 Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
4 pieces of chopped pineapple ring
1/2 cup porridge oats
squidge of honey
~200mL apple juice

Nutritional Info
283 calories
54.1g total carbs
3.8g fibre
10.0g protein
22.9% vitamin C

Summer Fruits Smoothie

Ate this while I was at work. T'was very yummy. Girl at work had a taste to and she liked it - I might have converted her!

Ingredients
1/2 banana
1 cup frozen summer fruits & raspberries
1/2 cup porridge oats
1 strawberry shape yogurt
squidge of honey
~200mL apple juice

Nutritional Info
323 Calories
63.8g total carbs
5.2g dietary fibre
10.5g protein
25.6% Vitamin C
26.3% Calcium


This was quite a thick smoothie, but it was very tasty. I haven't exactly been having low calorie smoothies today, not as low as they have been anyway. But I don't mind, I need something to keep me going when I'm at work.

I'm on MyFitnessPal, follow me - missrebecca12, if you fancy :)

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Afternoon :)

Back home from work and time to post things. I prepared both my smoothies this morning and drank one before work then took the other in my bottle to work and drank it there. I'm quite hungry now, but I'll be having tea in a couple of hours and I'm planning to have a nap, so I shan't snack :).

Ingredients
1 apple, peeled cored and chopped
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 activia pear yogurt
~200mL apple juice

Whiz it all together.
For a vegan smoothie, remove the yogurt and use a whole banana instead :).

Nutritional Info
315 Calories
3.4g fat
4.9g fibre
69.0g total carbs

Morning Exercise

Got a bit of a sleep in this morning as I don't have to be at work till 10, yay :) and I'm only there till 2 - double yay :D.

Really wanted to do some exercise this morning, so I did this routine, using two 1.5kg weights:

The pic will take you back to the original tumblr I found this on. She's got loads of amazing little workouts like these, some harder than others and some shorter, some longer.

My arms definitely ache after this workout! Think I'll do this routine again tonight plus one for my legs maybe, so I get a decent level of movement done today :)

End of Week 1

Decided to do something a little different for this update :)

This is the first vlog I've ever done, so it's a bit awkward, but I think I'll get better with time. Maybe next time I'll have more to talk about :)
Let me know in the comments if you have your own blog so I can follow you

Strawberry, blueberry smoothie

Afternoon!
I'm in lots of pain, and my painkillers aren't working - yay!

This smoothies pretty yummy, and it lasted me quite a while, which is nice :)

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup of greek yogurt
squidge of honey
~200mL apple juice

I forgot to take a photo of it when it was all mixed, but it was a pretty awesome pinky-purpley colour.

It was very tasty and that's all that matters to me :)

Nutritional Info
231 Calories
48.2g Total carbs
25.8% Calcium
5.6% Vitamin C
1.1g Fibre

I just...

want to sleep.

Actually, that's a lie. I don't want to sleep, I'm feeling pretty energetic actually, but my first lectures over and I don't want to go to my seminar at 12.

It's about sexual health, and while I'm fine with talking about sex and drugs and things like that as they pertain to health, I'm not sure everyone will be. No doubt they'll be some gigglers, and I'll want to do something violent. It happens all the time. It's amazing really.

Seminars on depression - suicide even (which is a topic quite close to me) - and they laugh. Like seriously? You think depression is funny? *sigh*

Anyway. I'm going to go. I've got to go, even if I don't want to. And it's not just the topic. The stuff the doctor gave me yesterday for my 'embarrassing healthy problem' gives me a horrible headache, and it doesn't seem to work when I'm having to sit for 2 hours. I'm not sure if I can sit through a 2 hour seminar - I might cry...or be sick like yesterday.

It's not going well. Friday's are always bad for me. It's always more difficult to get into Friday morning lectures or do just about anything but sit in bed. I can do work! I generally get a ton of work done on a Friday so I can have the weekend just about off (except for actual work), but getting into uni's hard.
I need to work on that.

Got myself all sorted this morning though. I'm going home tonight (I go to uni 35 miles away from home where I work on occasional Saturday's), but at home I don't have a freezer drawer full of frozen fruit, so I've made these:
Three freezer bags full of fruit so I can blend myself breakfast and lunch on Saturday and just breakfast on Sunday (I have a Sunday lunch with my family).

Just need to remember to take them home, and I'll be sorted.

Weighing myself in the morning too, kinda scared, I really hope I haven't put anything on. I haven't been as good as I wanted to be, what with a night playing games with the girls when we went through a box of sour patch kids. Also me and the fiance have been eating chocolate a couple of nights. Must be good this weekend!

Almost time for seminar. *sigh* It doesn't help that the girl I usually sit with isn't coming in.

Don't make me go?

Mango and Raspberry Smoothie

Morning!

This smoothie is so delicious, I can't even begin to tell you how good it is.

It's very pink!

Ingredients
1/3 cup frozen raspberries
1/3 cup frozen mango chunks
1 tablespoon wheat bran
Squidge of honey
1 raspberry shape yogurt (just a little pot)
~200mL apple juice

put the yogurt in first, then everything else, try to whiz it then, but if like mine it doesn't work add the apple juice and whiz until smooth.

Mine ended up quite thick and lovely :D

Nutritional Info
259 Calories
2.1g fibre
50.7g sugars
9.0g protein
54.2% vitamin C
23.9% Calcium
3.9% iron

Mango, Lemon Tea Smoothie

Back from the doctors (I really wish it wasn't a 70 mile round trip home) got a prescription, so hopefully all will be well. It isn't half giving me a headache though. 

Anyway. Couple of weeks ago I bought these Twining Infusion Lemon and Ginger tea bags, they were on offer, so I figured I'd give them a try. They're horrible. But now I've found something to use them in! Smoothies!

Ingredients

1 cup of lemon and ginger tea made with cold water

1 apple peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup frozen mango chunks

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

Squidge of honey 

 Nutritional Info

140 Calories

35.2g Total Carbs

5.0g Dietary Fibre

30.8% Vitamin C

I seem to put honey in everything, but its a lower fat sweetener than sugar and I love it xD.

This smoothie it super yummy and very, very good for you! It's ideal for me because I'm in a fair bit of pain, which makes me a little nauseated, so the ginger's ideal. I think I'm going to buy some cinnamon when I do my weekly shop and I'm going to look into a warm apple and cinnamon smoothie made with skimmed milk and honey and things. Low calorie, of course. 

This is quite a low calorie lunch, but it's not all I'm having, I'm also having a bag of weight water cheesy puffs, which are 76 calories a bag :)

Raspberry Yogurt Smoothie

Bad news bears this morning. Lets just say the 'embarrassing-health-problem' has required a trip to the docs.  So I'm missing lectures to go home to my doctors, but not without making my trusty smoothie first!

 Ingredients
1/3 cup raspberries
3 peach slices
1 peach and passionfruit shape yogurt
1 tablespoon wheat bran
squidge of honey
~200mL apple juice

Nutritional Info
225 Calories
46.2g Total carbs
6.3g Fibre
16.1% Vitamin C
25.9% Calcium



It's super yummy! And went down very easy unlike some of them - almost no lumps :)

Peach and Pineapple Smoothie

I was craving carbs this lunch - not fruit carbs but proper bread carbs. I made my fiance scrambled egg on toast for lunch and I just really, really wanted that toast.

Instead I made this smoothie and then some amazing cookies. The recipe for the cookies can be found here. There are 45 calories in each cookie...and I have 4.

Ingredients for Smoothie
1 tinned pineapple ring
4 tinned peach slices
200mL apple juice
1 raspberry shapes delight yogurt

Just whiz it all together. It's quite a runny smoothie but very, very tasty :)

Nutritional Info
249 Calories
0.8g Fibre
41.3g Sugars
32.3g Total Carbs

Peach and Raspberry Smoothie

Hello!
Another new day! And still feeling great. I did not want to go to uni this morning, but if I ever want to become a pharmacist I must do it!

Ingredients
200mL(ish) apple juice
1/2 cup frozen Raspberries
1/2 banana
About 4 slices of peaches (from a tin)
1 tablespoon of wheat bran

Realised I've been making these smoothies all wrong, you should put the liquid in first then add the rest of your ingredients, as it makes it easier for your blender to blend.

Nutritional Info
224 Calories
5.6g Fibre
51.4g total carbs
2.8g protein
25.7% Vitamin C
6.6% Iron

It's sooooo good!! I kind of want to have it again for my lunch, but I'm not going to do that. It was very, very tasty though!

Forest fruits sorbet thing

I was craving something sweet tonight. Really I want cake, but aside from one little weight watchers cake I'm not allowing myself it. But yes, my craving for cakey things is astronomical.

So instead, I made this!
I found the recipe on a Jamie Oliver site...it's not exactly the same.

Ingredients (for 2)
1 cup frozen forest fruits
1/2 cup low fat yogurt
Squeeze of honey

Basically shove it all in the blender and whiz it up! It makes this rather thick frozen yogurt. It was tart, but tasty :) We had ours with a few tinned peach slices.

Nutritional Info
59 calories
1.7g protein
12.5g total carbs

Sausage, Tomato and Butter Bean Bake

Using the app I downloaded, the one from the healthy living people, me and my finace are making this amazing looking bake for tea :D

Ingredients
4 Sausages
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can butter beans
1 chopped onion
Olive oil
Sage

Brown the sausages under the grill, then set aside on a plate for later.
Add oil to a frying pan and on a low heat fry the onions and sage until the onions are soft but not brown. Then add the tin of tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened, keep stirring occasionally.
Then pop the tomato mix in a oven proof dish, add in the butter beans (drained and rinsed) and mix in. Then hide the sausages in the mix.
Cook in the oven at 180C (Gas mark 4) for about 15-20 minutes.

I served ours with mashed potatoes, but you could just leave it as is or serve with boiled veg or something.

Nutritional Info
412 Calories
18.0g Fat
38.9g Total carbs
7.4g Fibre
31.9% Vitamin C
13.5% Iron

It was so tasty! I can't even describe how good it was. Definitely doing this one again :)

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Afternoon. I've just spent 2 hours cleaning my flat in preparation for people coming over to see if they want to rent it. It is now spotless, and I'm intending for it to stay this way.
Rob's gone to his exam, and the snow's started again - yippy.

Need something warm for my lunch, so I'm having a dabble at a home made soup. Like all these smoothies, I'm making it up as I go, unless I say where I got the recipe from - so everything on here is my own.

Ingredients
1 carrot - peeled, chopped and boiled
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
Little bit of Worcestershire sauce
Bit of salt and pepper for taste
and as much boiling water as you want

Pop the chopped tomatoes and onions on a baking tray and slam in the oven on high until all nice as soft/roasted. While they're cooking, boil the carrot. Then shove all of it into the blender with a little Worcestershire sauce and blitz until smooth.
Then add however much water you want until it's as thick or smooth as you like :D

I also had two slices of bread with mine, so that's included in the calorie count.

Nutritional Info
255 Calories
9.2g Fibre
10.2g Protein
199.2% Vitamin A
54.8% Vitamin C
6.6% Iron

Forest fruits breakfast smoothie

Hello!!

Guess who's not at uni today....me!! yaaaaay. Which is awesome because I came on today and all I want to do is sit in my bed and eat the 2lb of America sour patch kids that grayskiesatdawn (wonderful lady from A Different Forest) sent me. But I'm not going to do that, because then I wouldn't fit into my jeans and that would be bad.

Instead I'm going to sit in bed all morning, with my breakfast smoothie and my painkillers, knitting a little, maybe watching some Sex and the City, before I take my fiance to his exam in Newcastle. At which point I'll come home, tidy the flat as the landlords bringing some people over tonight to see if they want to rent it next year.

Breakfast!! I went shopping last night and got some frozen forest fruits, so I had to use them lol. It's pretty tasty...maybe too much yogurt, but it's all good.

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen forest fruits (blackberries and cherries and things - also a little hot water to make em squishyer)
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon wheat bran
1/2 cup low fat natural yogurt
enough apple juice to make to 500mL

Just whiz it all together until smooth :)

Nutritional Info
129 Calories
4.1g Fibre
26.6g Sugars
2.3g Protein
3.5% Vitamin C
2.4% Calcium

Summer fruits, banana, cucumber smoothie

I forgot to take a picture of the finished smoothie, but it's a kind of purpley pink colour.
It tastes good! So long as you like cucumber lol.

Ingredients
1/2 a banana
1/2 cup frozen summer fruits (dash of boiling water to soften a bit)
1/2 cup cucumber sliced
Dollop of yogurt
~200mL apple juice (or as much as you'd like)

Just whiz it all together until smooth.

Nutritional Info
220 Calories
2.5g Fibre
31.2% Vitamin C
4.8g Protein

Also, downloaded this awesome app from the Play Store (I have an android phone). It's called Be Food Smart from the people who do those healthy living 5-a-day adverts. It's got some awesome recipes in, which I'm going to have a go at this week.

Exercise!

Went to the gym - totally kicking it.
15 minutes speed walking on the treadmill - 5 minutes on a steep incline. Followed by 15 minutes on the bike - level 3 10 minutes, level 5 for 5.

Then I moved onto the mat and did some situps, press ups, other free weights. But I don't know how to record them on my key.

147 calories burned.

When I got home, to this:
Seriously, what is that? There's next to no snow left on the roads or anywhere else between Sunderland and here, but as soon as you turn on to our road, it's a mess.

Anyway, when I got home, I hopped on the Wii, and I now weigh 145lb, that's 2lb over the weekend. Fiance jokes that it's just a successful toilet visit (how crude?) but I'm sure this diet's working. Shall see what I weight on Saturday before work to see if it's truly working.

Raspberry, Blueberry Smoothie

Good morning!
It's horrible here. We've lost the snow, but gained rain. I hate rain. Made my breakfast smoothie for the morning, going to take it to lectures for 9am. Then off to the gym at 11am, then back home-home to work at 5.30 - yay.

Ingredients
1/3 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
Dollop of low fat yogurt
1/4 cup of wheat bran
Squidge of honey
Enough skimmed milk to make to volume

Pop the raspberries and blueberries in the blender - then I add just a touch of hot water to soften them a bit (my blenders a bit cack and won't whiz solid raspberries). Add everything else but the milk, whiz together, then add the milk to volume and whiz again.

Nutritional Info
129 calories
1.2g fat
7.3g fibre
19.3% vit c
10.1% iron

 Yummy :D. It's a bit like a milkshake, cause mine's mostly milk. But I like it. I like my breakfasts to be more...thick, more milky/yogurty, while my lunches can be a bit more lean.
You can of course substitute the milk for apple juice, and add a banana instead of yogurt - if you fancy dairy free :)

Oh dear

So I think that last smoothie was a bad idea. Definitely shouldn't have added both an orange and orange juice.
My stomach is...uncomfortable, to say the least.
Lesson learned, next time its either or, never both xD

At the end of day 2...

I'm feeling pretty good. I've had plenty of sleep the last two nights, have exercised and been having these smoothies twice a day.

My fiance reckons its all of the natural sugar I'm getting, I'm just on a constant sugar high. But you know, that's fine with me, because I need the high when I'm at uni. Frankly it's depressing and tiring, and I'm just about at the point where I don't want to do it anymore. But that usually happens about now.

I have my smoothies planned out for tomorrow, Monday - in uni 9-11, then work 5.30-8 - not fun. But this week should be okay for the whole smoothie diet thing, as I'm only in uni 9-11 every day, which means I can take a smoothie to uni, then be home to make another one for lunch. Next week might be more difficult, but I might just invest in more bottles, or make hot soupy type ones and take them in my flask :)

On Tuesday it'll be 3 weeks until my 22nd birthday. I'm knitting a new jumper with this super soft, super light wool, which to be honest will probably be finished by the end of the week, but will definitely be done by my birthday.

I want to go out during the day, go to Newcastle or Durham or something, before coming home, ordering a pizza and playing board games with my friends (Settlers of Catan, Last Night on Earth, Munchkin, to name a few). I'm not the sort of girl to go out drinking. But I want to wear my new jumper and my new jeans.

I will fit into them!

Orange, banana smoothie

Tea time! Well...sort of. I was hungry, so I made a smoothie. I have some clementines, that have been in the bowl for over a week and they're starting to get a bit dry, so I don't want to eat them, but smoothie-ing them is ideal! And check it out, it's a yellow smoothie! All my others have been purple because of the berries.

Ingredients
1 frozen banana
1 clementine (peeled and segmented)
1 apple (skinned, cored and chopped)
Tablespoon of low fat natural yogurt
Approx. 2 tsp of honey (I just give a good squeeze)
Orange juice to consistency

Whiz all the fruit with the yogurt and honey, then add the orange juice (I do it to 500mL) and voila!

Nutritional Info
254 Calories
6.1g fiber
2.7% vitamin A
74.1% vitamin C
2.7% iron

I'll be honest, it pretty much just tastes like banana, but that's okay with me :) It's very yummy either way.

Beef Chili

So instead of having a Sunday lunch, we're having a beef chili with rice. It's super easy, been cooking since last night, and very warming, which is just what we need when we've had so much bloody snow.

Ingredients (for 4 portions)
450g Beef mince (preferably as lean as you can get - ours wasn't lean at all)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans (drained)
1 onion - chopped
200mL beef stock (made from stock cube)
Spices - chilli powder, cumin, salt, pepper and a taco sachet (just as much or as little as you want)

Brown the mince and the onion, then add in the chopped tomatoes and beef stock, let it all simmer away, then add your kidney beans and your spices to taste. Let it simmer for about 10-20 minutes, then pour it all in the slow cooker (or do what we did and portion off two portions into tubs to freeze, so there's just enough in the slow cooker for the two of us).
We left it cooking overnight, and we're going to eat it now with a Uncle Bens 2 minute basmati rice packet between us.

Nutritional Info (per portion)
513 calories
30.1g fat
4.2g fiber
30.6g protein

It was sooooo tasty! Homemade food is always infinitely better than shop bought stuff.
Also, I know it's only been like 3 days since I started this whole 'smoothies for two meals a day' thing, but I do feel so much better. I feel...bright eyed and bushy tailed :D

Banana, Apple, Summer Fruits Smoothie

Good Morning! Time for breakfast :). I tell you, I'm very achy from pilates yesterday xD.

Ingredients
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup of frozen summer fruits
1 apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup low fat yogurt
1/3 cup wheat bran
apple juice to make up to 500mL

Nutritional Info
260 calories
14.5g fiber
5.7g protein
37.1% vitamin C
2.2% iron

This is a very tasty smoothie, but I think I put too much wheat bran in cause it's a bit...bitty. Tasty and good for me lol, but a bit bitty. So if you make it, and you want it a bit smoother, don't put so much wheat bran in.

I went shopping yesterday and bought said wheat bran for 78p for 375g - I bought two :D. I also bought some measuring cups so I can give more accurate recipes.

Me and the fiance made chilli last night, it's been stewing in the slow cooker all night and will be all day, so we'll have that for tea. Not sure how low-cal that is, but I don't care, cause it'll be tasty :).

Dinner Time!

Time for some proper food. Home made pasta bake - yay!
I found this recipe on the BBC Goodfood website, and I'm tweaking it a bit, since I don't have all the ingredients.

Ingredients (serves 2)
3 decent handfuls of pasta
1 chopped onion
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce (Lee and Perins)
50g grated cheese
Peas and broccoli

Cook the onion in a frying pan, then add the tomatoes, a pinch of sugar and the Lee and Perins.
Meanwhile, boil the broccoli and peas, and the pasta (in separate pans)
Then pop it all in a dish, sprinkle over the cheese, and pop under the grill for about 10 minutes :D
This was sooo tasty. Not too much sauce, but plenty of veg. Total calorie intake of the day (including shape delights yogurt and some special K crisps) 960 calories.

Nutritional Info (per serving)
501 Calories
22g Fat
5g Fiber

Cucumber, Raspberry, Blueberry Smoothie

Lunch time!!

I wanted something that would fill me up, but that would taste a little more like lunch. So I started looking at cucumber smoothies, but didn't find any I liked, so I made my own.

Ingredients
Handful of frozen raspberries and blueberries
About 3 inches of cucumber sliced in half, then half again and chopped.
2 tablespoons ish of fat free yogurt
Enough apple juice to just cover it
Dollop of honey

Blend it all together until there are no/minimal lumps and you get this--->

It's pretty tasty, I'm surprised to be honest. I'm a little skeptical about vegetables in smoothies, drinking vegetables just doesn't appeal to me. But this is really good.

I really like cucumbers and you can definitely taste it in this. There's a sweetness from them, quite unlike the sharpness of the raspberries. The yogurt makes it very creamy, and the apple juice is simply a base for everything else. The little shot of honey makes it just a touch sweeter.

Nutritional Info
98 calories             1.2% Vitamin A
0.3g fat                  8.5% Vitamin C
1.2g dietary fiber    1.2% Calcium
1.1g protein           1.4% Iron

Lunchtime Exercise

Okay, so I finally got out of bed after completing my Community Placement 2 Task 1 write up, and I'm doing some Blogilates.

For those of you who don't know, Blogilates is this amazing site run by the ever brilliant Cassey Ho. I found her videos on youtube like....a year ago, maybe, and she completely changed my life - that's not an exaggeration.
I've had quite a few injuries over the years, I used to horse ride as a child and do judo. I've dislocated my knee, I don't know how many times, and sprained my ankle twice. As such I find it difficult to do high impact exercises - I still can't run on the treadmill after dislocating my knee 3 months ago. Pilates is perfect for me.
It's low impact, but high reward, which is just what I need.
I try to do some at least once a day, and Cassey Ho helps with that. Her videos are between 5-20 minutes in length, so I can mix it up.

This is what I've done today:







I'll admit, I did have to stop in some of them. But I'm done!! I am sooooo tired. My arms and my abs and my legs are killing me. But I feel good!

Time for lunchtime smoothie I think :)

Breakfast Smoothie

Four days ago I bought a blender. Since then I've been having a smoothie a day, but this weekend, I'm kicking it up a notch.
I'm going to have a smoothie for breakfast and lunch, and probably one as a snack before tea, too. I want to kick off my weight loss. I'm not snacking, and all I'm going to drink is smoothies and water.

This morning I made myself a lovely purple smoothie:

 Sorry for the crappy photo, my phone's having issues focusing of late.
Ingredients:
1 banana (slightly past it's prime - makes it easier to blend)
Handful of blueberries (not too many, maybe like 8?)
Dollop of fat free yogurt
1 sachet of Quaker Oats So Simple Raspberry and Pomegranate (or any instant oats you have)
As much skimmed milk as you like for consistency.

Whiz the banana, blueberries, oats and yogurt together, then pour in the milk till it's the consistency you like.

Nutritional Info
302 calories                  1.3% Vit A
2.8g fat                         24.3% Vit C
6.2g fiber                      33.1% Calcium
13.9g protein                1.9% Iron


The other day I also bought myself this pretty nifty bottle. It's got a grate in the top, so I can keep shaking my smoothies and also no big lumps come through. And a screw top, so it's ideal for carry in my car to uni or anything really :).

Not sure what I'll be having for lunch, but I'll be sure to post it.

If you try the smoothie let me know :)