How I'm Not Sick, Tired or Struggling... Too Much!

Hi there friendly friends and welcome back to the time of the day when I have been studying for a number of hours that I have no intention of counting, or accepting for that matter and my brain is in that stage where one might describe the contents feeling a little like... jelly?

It's literally leg-day. For my brain. Brain-day.

Anywho, today I thought I'd ponder a bit on this whole most-stressful-time-in-my-entire-schooling-experience specifically on the fact (and touch wood here, because I DO NOT want to jinx myself!!) that whilst the vast majority of my fellow year 12 peers have experienced some form of flu/ infection/ bacterial, viral, scary, painful fun in the past few months leading up to and including exams, I have somehow managed to dodge all this??

At the beginning of the flu season when literally, and I mean l.i.t.e.r.a.l.l.y, every person I would talk to had some form or other of the sniffles (or, you know, bronchitis), I just sort of accepted that the inevitable would amount and I would have a few days to a week feeling not so sparkly, I'd shake it off as best I could and be sweet again.

The time past and I seemed to be the only one not stuffing mountains of tissues into my blazer pockets as I arrived at each class.

Alright-y, I thought, so it's going to hit me later, like usual, when everyone's recovering it's gonna get me good and in true Steph-style I shall suffer my late-blooming illness that's almost become yesterday's news.

Still nothing.

Half my exams down and I watch as people saunter in, slightly more pale, a little thinner perhaps, looking not so sparkly themselves and yet I stood as I always did during school; fit, fed and happy, yes- my brain filled with an inconsiderable amount of facts and figures, leaving me slightly dazed and staring off into the distance but I was still feeling pretty... good?

Fully aware that this jar of nutrients is the main cause for all this health! :P :D

Yes, I still have my second half of my mock/ trial exams to go (next week- this is like a little study break week) and then of course the final FINALS! So we shall see how we fair but in the mean time I want to delve deeper into what I believe has kept me fighting fit and healthy during this extreme stress-inducing, immune-lowering time:

1. I sleep.
Yes, clap clap to me. I know, what a hero. They should probably just give me an award now.
No, but seriously, I am a baby and like a baby sleep is a priority to me.
I don't stay up late to study (you know how much of a morning person I am- past 6:00pm and I'm out. Done for the day. The brain has gone night-night! Seriously just ask my mum about some of the looney things I say after a long day of study) and I also don't stay up late watching movies/ tv/ on my phone etc. Partly because I'm up at like 5am every morning (thanks natural body clock) but also because I know how good I feel when I am truly and fully rested.
It also helps me kick butt during my workouts! ;)

2. What else helps me kick butt during my workouts? What I'm eating. And with that I am certain that the way and types of foods I've been eating during this time has been the main benefiting factor to keeping me happy, healthy and ready to tackle anything.

 Say hello to the gloriousness that is this smoothie bowl- banana mango smoothie base (more like ice cream) topped with uncooked, crunchy peanut butter granola- best. breakfast. ever.

 ^What it looks like when I'm actually about to eat it! ^

 People often see stressful times as a time for extra treats. To forego a nice home-cooked, well-rounded, nutritious meal for a quick drive-thru take out that you devour in 30 seconds without even tasting/ savouring the flavours and leaving you with nothing more than a greasy mouth and spiking blood sugar levels.

Lunch from the other day featuring raw carrots, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, mashed avoid, wholegrain brown rice and quinoa crackers and steamed peas and corn- YUM!

I fully believe in treating yourself and looking after your mental and emotional wellbeing just as much as your physical, but truthfully friends, this has been a time when I've stepped up on my diet game, not dropped back and added in extra green smoothies, extra veggies, extra antioxidants, fruits, wholegrain- the whole shebang!

Just a whole bag of raw, shredded mixed beetroot, carrot, and broccoli stems popped into a bowl with some spinach, capsicum and peas and corn :)

If I felt a little lethargic/ fatigued I'd plate up a bowl of oranges. Soups, stews, salads, roast veggies, veggie sandwiches, beans, oatmeal, raw fruit and veg- they all make daily appearances in my meals and I've honestly never felt better!

 One of my all-time favourite meals- simply roast veggies (pumpkin, parsnip, swede, beetroot, sweet potato and regular potato) drizzled in extra virgin olive oil with some spinach hiding underneath and lentils mixed throughout

Take this time as an opportunity to challenge yourself to see how many amazing, vibrant, colourful foods you can fit onto your plate, how many vitamins, minerals, body-loving nutrients you can stuff into your blender,

I mean, I think I win- but you can try!! :P ;)

how many delicious, home-made meals you can truly sit down to and enjoy every flavour and richness that is lost from reaching into a spotted with grease brown paper bag.

Pumpkin is SO GOOD!

3. Finally, I've also taken a step back. I know these exams are a big deal and the most important ya-da-ya-da-ya-da, but honestly it is not the end of the world and I'm not going to go into a stress-induced panic attack over them because in the bigger picture they are an awesome opportunity for me to reveal how much I've learned and really shine from all of my hard work!

So yes, my friends, I honestly believe that through my consistent exercise, proper eating and bigger-picture thinking, I've definitely come out of this time in the best way possible, keeping my body as happy as possible and listening to it whenever it requires my attention.

Move your body my friends. Find the exercise you love (have you tried Blogilates? Some of her videos for cardio are dancing!!), do it often and consistently, feel the benefits!

Eat the foods your body truly craves for wellbeing. The colourful veggies, the rich sources of proteins, healthy nourishing fats, delicious, flavourful wholegrain carbohydrates, nature's candy- fruits! Eat good foods in abundance- fuel your body, brain and happiness! Trust me, your brain is your biggest energy consumer!! Especially during times of intense brain-day!

Take a step back and truly appreciate everything around you for what it is. Life is good. Live it.

I hope this has shed some light on what to do in times of stress/ hard times of the body and truthfully it can be applied to any situation really! I'm no expert but this is my highly certain hypothesis as to why I'm surviving in a strong and healthy manner and I hope it can help anyone out who might be struggling at the moment!

Your turn:
What are your best tips for handling exam stress/ any stress?
Do you make diet changes during different periods of your life?
Fav meal you've eaten recently?

That's it from me today folks, I hope you have a truly wonderful day, do something you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Two Bowls of Deliciousness!!

Hi there friendly friends and HAPPY MONDAY!

Yeah, sure, Monday has that bad stigma around it that being the very beginning of the work/ school/ uni/ whatever it is you do week, it automatically brings with it feelings of despair, angst and just plain negativity. But alas! I believe Mondays should be celebrated for what they are! the beginning of another week of opportunities, experiences and discoveries!! Who knows what the upcoming week will bring and without Monday to kick us off, we'd never find out!

And to also brighten your Monday a little further I have not one but two utterly delicious breakfast bowl recipes that will simply knock your socks off on the YUM-TACULAR spectrum, so grab that blender, magically freeze those bananas in record time and gift your taste buds with the creamy, dream,y fudge-y, sweet, dessert-like experience of either of these two happy-inducing and nourishing bowls!

1. The Raw Granola Green Smoothie Bowl:

 Who else loves my baby pink 'Seconds?' Bowl :) :)

This bad boy featured that ginormous mountain of uncooked, rich, fudge-y and nutty, nut butter granola with a big bowl of creamy mango banana green smoothie/ ice cream underneath for that creamy, sweet, refreshing factor!

 For the smoothie:
1 frozen banana
1 handful frozen mango chunks
1 handful frozen zucchini (trust me you cannot taste it and it just adds more volume to your smoothie bowl!)
1 handful kale
1 handful spinach
3 spoons greek yoghurt
- whaz until smoothy-smooth, pop in freezer to harden slightly

 For the Raw Granola:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 handful wholegrain cheerios
1-2 tablespoons nut butter (I used a mix of crunchy PB and mixed nut butter- just split the dry ingredients into two bowls then making)
1/2 cup almond milk
optional- maca powder, ground cinnamon, raw cacao (choc sensation) or anything else you would add to granola for that extra flavour kick; above recipe is just the simple nutty-flavoured base :)

-Simply combine rolled oats and cheerios and any spices/ powders if adding to a bowl
-Place almond milk and nut butter in a small container and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds until warmed through
- Use hands and rub into granola until combined
-Place on plate lined with baking paper and pop in freezer for 10-15 mins

 Then simply grab your cold smoothie base, top with your cold raw, chewy, delicious granola and NOM!

 Seriously guys, this is so refreshing and satisfying and literally kept me full for hours and hours!! Happy, happy days!

 So creamy and delicious; breakfast never tasted so good!!

 Nom.

2. Our second out-of-this-world breakfast bowl features CHOCOLATE. For breakfast. Oh yes.

 This guy came about from a craving for a HUGE bowl of chocolate ice cream. Of course, probably not the most practical of breakfasts but then again, I'm Steph. The girl who will make anything she's craving. Just tweaking the ingredients a bit to make sure all those awesome nutrients are entering the body along with those delectable flavours!

 Thus enter the HUGE Choc Hit Green Smoothie/ Ice Cream bowl topped with roasted almonds (because, seriously, how good are roasted almonds- whole new deliciousness level!!)

 This also followed a rather sweaty Blogilates HIIT and cardio sesh whereby the need for something nourishing, filling and delicious was real!

 Into the vitamin went:
2 frozen bananas
1 handful frozen zucchini
1/2 frozen avocado
1 tablespoon mixed nut butter
1 handful kale
1 handful spinach
3 spoons greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons raw cacao powder
-All blended up together until smooth and creamy!!

 topped off with a small handful of roasted almonds for that crunchy, nutty, roast-y addition :P

 And enter one very happy Steph:

 Seriously guys, this just hit the spot- creamy, chocolate-y soft-serve ice cream for breakfast... plus like 2-3 serves of veggies hidden in there that are literally untraceable. This makes me very happy indeed:

 Fairly sure I ate this whole bowl with my eyes closed just taking in every flavour and happiness.

And there you go!

Most definitely go ahead right now (or wait til breakfast, sure) and make one of these two delights because you will not regret it! The greek yoghurt can easily be replaced with vegan yoghurt; soy/ coconut etc. or just opt it out completely. I use greek yoghurt because of the high protein levels (growing girl who loves to exercise!!) and calcium fro strong bones but feel free to swap and choose your own add-ins! (I know silken-tofu creates that creamy factor just as well!!)

Your turn:
What's your favourite breakfast of the moment?
Best breakfast bowl recipe?
Roasted almonds- yay or nay? I usually prefer raw nuts over roasted but when it comes to almonds; the roasted babies are just miles above the raw variety!

I hope you all have a truly lovely rest of your Monday; do something you love, be open to opportunities should they arrive/ slap you in the face unexpectedly (the best kind really) and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

My Typical Morning Routine

Hi there folks!

And welcome back to another blog post by yours truly; the one, the only.... Steph.

Ha. Ha. Haaa.

Can you tell how fried my brain is right now? For some reason I insist on writing up the majority of my posts after a full day of school and study and homework... I can't really blame anyone else!

Well, it is not too fried to write you up a post detailing the essential intricacies that make up a typical school morning for me for your complete and utter enjoyment. Trust me, it is highly riveting.

Ok, all sarcastic tone of voice aside, I do enjoy reading other people's Days In The Life and What I Eat In A Day's so I think it's only fair that I too share my own experiences and life with you too!

So, as mentioned above, I've detailed some of the typical occurrences of a morning before the school day begins and yep, as you can imagine, it starts nice and bright and early.

Although, not so bright, because it is usually pitch black when the 5:15am alarm goes off indicating for me to hop out of bed and pop into my day! (how fun does the sound right!? yeah, truth be told, some days are harder than others- especially in winter!)

5:15am, wake up, frequent the toilet, go downstairs, grab my glass of water and iPad, run back up stairs, back under warm sheets, sip some water, read some blog posts and Pop Sugar Posts and then onto phase 2.

Phase 2 involves getting ready to workout! This entails changing from my warm, cosy pyjamas into something generally ultra bright (although I do tend to mix it up with black shorts or a top to counter the fluorescent pinks/ yellows etc.), deodorising, hair tyer-upping, bed making and then a light jump back down the stairs to wherever it is I'm going to work out that particular morning.

Sometimes it's our home-gym to do some weights (leg day and arm day),

Post sweaty leg sesh ^^

Also quite proud of the definition that's starting to show on my arms! Yay!

occasionally it's the living room where I'll sweat it out with some Blogilates videos and other workout videos and sometimes it's straight out the door (runners put on first of course) to head out and get those legs a pumping with some kind of running fun (beach run, hill sprints, long run or just your standard run, run.)

Legs done after a 16km Sunday long run ^^

Confession time; I like to sweat. Seriously. And I don't mind if I sweat a lot. Yep, my hair needs more frequent washing (it is quite long and thick) and the curls and frizz are the end result, but there's something about sweating that just reveals hard work.

So, yes, I generally sweat for around 40 minutes to an hour most days of the week (Sunday is generally rest day! Yay!) and then jump right into the kitchen to whip up a nice big breakfast to feed those fasted muscles from the night before- definitely ready for food by then!!

Come to me Cherry Cheesecake Oats in leftover home-made almond butter!!

Brekky usually involves a rich carb source, some muscle-building protein and quite often (read; basically every day) healthy fat in the form of nut butter (my life!).

Raw Choc Black Bean Brownie Bites with cherry fro-yo (frozen cherries and greek yoghurt) following intense leg day!

Oats, smoothies, granola, (AKA smoothie bowls!), brekky sandwiches, brownies bites, oat balls, pancakes- yep, usually sweet and yep, usually insanely delicious! Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day by far and I make sure I enjoy it!

I generally have either my choc vegan protein powder or vanilla protein powder after my strength training/ weight-lifintg workouts to help with that muscle repair with quick and easy-to-absorb protein!

Tummy filled, sweat drying, emails, Facebook and Instagram checked and off to shower, put on school uniform, do hair (as nice as physically possible after the torment I just put it through), clean teeth (usually whilst showering; efficient is key people!) and then hop on downstairs, grab my prepared lunch from the night before (no time to make that food in the morning!), blazer on and out the door I head for the rest of my day!

And that's a typical Steph morning; hectic, heart pumping, sweat-inducing, delicious and just the way I like it!! So yes, I am very much a morning person as well as a morning workout-er person and a fasted workout-er person too. It all just makes me feel so energised and productive and ready to tackle my day and so that's what I do currently because it works for me!

Of course, not everyone's a morning person. Some people utterly dread having to wake up in the morning and would much prefer to delay the process for as long as possible, which might mean an afternoon/ night workout, as well as a pretty simple, easy brekky or a pre-prepared brekky to ensure an as-late-as-possible wake up time!

And that's cool too! You do you! We're all made differently and our bodies respond differently to different scenarios, the above being my bodies preferred method of going about my morning.

Oh and I'll add in there; rest days are very, very different; more of a sleep-in; read 6:30 am (look, people, I just don't sleep-in!) blog reading in bed and then a slow saunter into the kitchen to whip up some FOOOD (and no I don't eat less on rest days, rest days is when the changes are really made so my body needs that fuel!!). These rest days definitely keeps me mentally sane and roaring to go for the next week!

What about you:
What does your typical morning look like?
Morning or afternoon/ night exerciser?
Fasted or fuelled?

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you want to see more Day in the Life's because I sure do enjoy writing them; definitely shows me a clear picture of my life allowing me to take a step back and really look at what I'm doing!

Have yourself a fabulous rest of your day, do something you love, look after your body and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Chocolate Ice Cream Bowl... For Breakfast!

Hidy-ho there friendly friends!

Now have I got a treat for you! Both literally and figuratively I guess (well, if you decide to make whatever is to follow immediately that is..)

The other day I woke up.

Clap, clap Steph. Here is your medal.

Yes, I woke up- hurrah! Then I chucked on the usually workout attire, did some Blogilates vids (a little bit of everything really; some legs, obliques, abs, cardio etc.) followed by some quick boxing and skipping to get the heart rate up and then it hit.

It was the realisation that I needed brekky. And fast.

You see, I always work out fasted. That is, I haven't eaten since dinner the night before (definitely feel it in the morning when I had a small dinner previously!!) and as such, following a workout.. I'm usually pretty ready to EATTT!

And I know that on this particular morning I was in the mood for a real delicious brekky to kick start my day!

Enter this guy:

That my friends is a bowl of exactly what it says; Delicious-ness

A big bowl of rich, chocolate, creamy 'ice-cream' topped off with warm, freshly baked, crunchy, nutty granola. Oh yes. Oh yes.

And by the way my friends, it tasted better than it looks!

Alright, alright, I shall put you out of your misery with all these photos of the bowl that tasted like the sweet nectar of happiness (wow. Just wow.) by handing over to you the awesome-ness that is this oh-so-simple-recipe-it-should-not-even-be-considered-a-recipe  recipe!

Ingredients:
Choc 'ice cream':
2 ripe frozen bananas
1 large handful of chopped, frozen zucchini
1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 big scoops greek yoghurt (optional; gives the ice-cream a more cheese-cake-y taste :P)
Granola:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 large handful wholegrain cheerios
2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
1/3 cup almond milk/ milk of choice

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper
2.Place all the ingredients for the ice cream into a blender and whaz until smooth and creamy delicious!
3. Transfer ice cream to bowl and place in freezer until required
4. Place the nut butter and almond milk in a small microwaveable container (or heat on stove until milk starts to bubble) and microwave until warmed through
5. Add to bowl of oats and cheerios and mix together until combined (should be kind of sticky)
6. Spread onto baking tray and bake in oven for around 15-20 mins until golden brown and crunchy (it will also smell amazing too!)
7. Leave to cool, then top ice cream off with granola and EAT!

Of course there was a heck of a lot more granola than the above pictures reveal because that would not keep a hungry Steph satisfied for very long and thus here is the true image of my breakfast:

Hello handsome!

There's just something about that smooth, creamy, sweet ice cream..

Paired with the crunchy, fudge-y nut butter granola...

That just makes my heart cry out with joy and my mouth instantly salivate (even though it is around dinner time right now and I should be thinking about dinner foods, not breakfast foods. Although... a smoothie bowl does sound pretty appropriate right now... :P Life of a hungry teen!

But seriously guys, do yourself a favour and whip up this marvellous bowl of delicious-ness because it will most definitely be one of the major highlights of your day (well, it was for me, but I'm doing year 12 so that's not too hard!)

And of course enjoy your extra granola on the side or plonked straight on top of your smoothie bowl; all depends on whether or not you want that chic Instagram shot :P.

Happy, happy days!

Your turn:
Favourite breakfast of all time?
Best smoothie bowl ingredients?
What was the best breakfast you had this week?

I hope you enjoyed this post and also have a fabulous rest of your day. As always; look after yourself, be kind to others, enjoy the simpler things in life and EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D